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Fear Not
Advent Series: Messages from the Angels
A sermon preached by Dr. James Flamming, Pastor
First Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia
December 3, 2006
Scripture: Luke 2:8-14
This is the first Sunday
in what we Christians call Advent. Advent. Why do we Christians use the word
advent? Because the secular world has taken over Christmas. At the first
Christmas there were no trees, no decorations, no gift giving, not even lights.
All of these wonderful traditions have began in recent centuries. Let us rejoice
in them. But they have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. So we Christians
in our December worship, seek to pull apart from the crush and cash-drivenness
of the Christmas sellathon. We seek to celebrate the coming of Jesus. Advent
means arrival, the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We celebrate his
arrival during the four Sundays before Christmas day. We light a candle each
Sunday to remind us that Christ needs to be born in our hearts anew.
This year I fasten your
attention and mine upon the messages the Angels delivered to a quite unlikely
group of recipients – the Shepherds. Focus your attention on the first word the
Angel said to the Shepherds: “Do not be afraid.” Turn to Luke 2:8-14.
The four words, “Do not
be afraid,” weave themselves like a strong cable throughout the Bible. The words
are followed by God’s answer to our fears: “I am with you always.” I am going to
turn to some of the times these words are given. When I read, “Do not be
afraid,” you repeat with me, “Do not be afraid.” Begin with Deuteronomy 31:8:
Moses asked his people to grab on tightly to this cable before they went into
the Promised Land. “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; he
will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged.”
Joshua was to lead the
people into the Promised Land. Challenges confronted Joshua and his people on
all sides. The Philistines were on the coast. They were big and strong and had
the best protective armor in the world of that day. On the other side the
Canaanites were in the hill country. They were trained warriors. What does God
say to Joshua? Look in Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong
and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be afraid.”
Perhaps the favorite
Psalm of Jews as well as Christians all over the world is Psalm 23. Verse 4
proclaims “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil for you are with me. . . .”
Centuries went by. The
bitterest of times came upon Israel. Babylon, which we know today as Iraq,
completely destroyed Jerusalem. Most of the population were carried as slaves
into Babylon. Here is what God said to his people in exile through the Prophet
Isaiah (Isaiah 43:1-3): “This is what the Lord says – Fear not, for I
have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass
through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be
burned. . . For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
But nowhere is this
cable of hope and trust more evident than in the Christmas story where it
appears on almost every page. The Christmas story begins with the story of the
birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:12,13 p. 1587). The angel appeared and said
to his father Zacheriah, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayers
have been heard. You wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will name him,
John.”
Turn the page. Gabriel,
the angel, appeared to Mary who was understandably troubled. (Luke 1:29) “Do
not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.”
Joseph’s story is found
in Matthew 1:20, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
“Do not be afraid.” It is like a cable upon which our trust in the Lord is
suspended.
So we will not be
surprised that when the angel appeared unto the shepherds the first words that
they hear are these, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great
joy that will be to all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been
born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
So when the angels came
to the Shepherds on that night so long ago, it was not a new message, but an old
Message with a new Presence. The presence of the Lord that had been known by the
faithful through the ages is now going to be among us. As John said, “The Word
became flesh and dwelt among us.” “The Father in heaven is taking his Presence
up a notch. He will not only be present through his Holy Spirit, he will be
present on our level. He will speak our languages; work with his hands as a
laborer; he will be tired like we get tired; bleed like we bleed; and suffer
like we suffer. The day will come when he will die like we will someday die. He
pioneers resurrection for all of us.
I am told that at a
place at the foot of the Alps in Europe is a statue of a guide. He is pointing
to the peaks and mountains ahead. At the foot of the statues are these words:
“Follow me. I know the way.” Our Lord Jesus stands at the foot of the
challenges of life and points ahead as he says, “Do not be afraid. Follow me. I
know the way.”
Why are the angels so
consistent with their heavenly message – “Do not be afraid?” Because God knows
until we have faced our fears and grasp God’s answer, which is trust in God, we
are still groping around in the dark. Those who study us, our personalities, our
psyches, our inner workings, have pretty well agreed that when you peal us back
as you would an onion, at the core is fear. It is what fuels our anger, and
breaths questions into our doubts. It is the underground spring that often feeds
our grief. Fear is often the power source which fuels our conflicts.
God knows us through and
through. He knows that unless we have begun to handle our fears through trust in
him, we remain as little toddlers spiritually.
I think of the many
times in the history of our church when fear had every right to completely take
over. Go back to the beginning in 1780. The Revolutionary War was not going well
for our side. Short on everything from ammunition to food to foot-soldiers,
things looked hopeless. If you have read 1776, you will finish it wondering how
in the world we won that war. Historian Barbara Tuchmann calls 1780 the blackest
year of the war. Guess when our church was started – 1780. Jump forward l50
years. The building you are sitting in was being built. The Pastor, past
President of the Southern Baptist Convention, came out to watch the pouring of
the foundation and had a stroke. Eight days later he went to be with the Lord.
Then Depression hit. Talk about fear. The church was without a Pastor entering
into the greatest depression the Nation has ever known. Somehow the word came
through: Do not be afraid. Now that I am stepping down some of you have
not heard the word from the angels yet: “Do not be afraid.”
Are we willing to hear
the angelic word to the shepherds: Fear Not?
How? What is the first
step toward overcoming our fears? Well, Luke’s shepherd story begins like this
in Luke 2:8: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping
watch over their flocks at night.”
Your image of all of
this might be to see the shepherds on a hill with a big full moon, stars in the
sky, with a light illuminating the field like a football stadium at night. But
the truth is there were no lights, no street lights, no floodlights to keep the
coyotes away, no porch lights anywhere to be seen. So how do you keep watch over
the flock by night when there is little light? Keeping watch, is the answer.
Keeping watch is an intense watching, so your eyes tend to see movement in the
dark. But you would also watch with your ears.
Why didn’t the angels
appear at the King’s palace? or at the temple? or at the High Priest’s house? or
at the Inn Keepers place? or even on main street? My guess is they would have
been too busy to notice. Whereas the shepherds had to keep a listening watch, a
careful watch, an intentional watch, over those sheep. They were the ones to
whom the angels appeared.
I think there are
earthbound angels which the Lord sends our way: people, friends, neighbors,
office people, church people, words and songs in worship, insights in Bible
study and fellowship.
A little sign was placed
on a church bulleting board which said:
“The universe is filled with miracles and
surprises
simply waiting for our wits to become sharp
enough to notice them.”
Remember the words of
Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
Earth’s
crammed with heaven,
And every
common bush afire with God;
And only he
who sees, takes off his shoes;
The rest sit
round it and pluck blackberries.
If the angel were to
appear in our midst this day I think this is what he would say, “The Lord is
with you; do not be afraid,.” Maybe the place to begin is to put a name on your
number one fear, the number one something that keeps you awake at night. Listen
to the word from the angels: “Do not be afraid.” Then take it to the Lord and
place it in his hands. Maybe you might even feel the rustle of angel’s wings as
you name that fear and pray about it. Trust the Lord to help you walk through it
one step at a time. One step at a time.
The Lord is here and he
will go to the cross to help us with our fears.
On the night he was
betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks for it, he broke it and
said, “This is my body which is broken for you.” And then as he took the cup,
“This is my blood which is shed for you, for the remission of your sins.”
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