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Study #4/Spring of 2022

Today we look at why a spirit of FEAR comes from seeing the sovereignty of man,

…while FAITH defeats our fear by seeing the sovereignty of God.

What do you fear most today?
— Perhaps it’s dying from Covid, or cancer, or from a violent attack? OR maybe it’s not about you, maybe you struggle with the constant worry over a loved one. We sometimes have to deal with loved ones who are making or have made bad choices, and now find themselves in serious difficulty.
(These can range from those who have forsaken the teaching you have tried to instill in them, right down the line to those who are trapped in terrible addictions.)
— It doesn’t really matter what situation holds you in a grip of fear… There is an answer to set you free.

The answer is found in Hebrews 11:1-6  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  (2)  For by it the people of old received their commendation.  (3)  By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.  (4)  By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.  (5)  By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.  (6)  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The key verses for this study are Vs.1) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

~ And Vs.6) And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

I want us to think about how the factor of where people put their FAITH, relates to, why a spirit of FEAR comes from seeing the sovereignty of man.

1/ If you are dealing with a fear of Covid, cancer, or any other illness, we fear because we see that in truth we have very little control over these. We cannot guarantee that we will not contract these, and if we do contract cancer, we fear because we don’t know if our efforts to control and defeat it will succeed. So when we live in some measure of uncertainty it brings forth anxiety, we worry, and if worry grows in us it can become a full-fledged fear. (I want you to remember the factor of lack of control in this.)

2/ When we fear for our loved ones, it is also mainly because they are out of our circle of a controlled safety zone. (They’re on their own in college, or they’ve moved out to start a new relationship with someone, or they’ve moved on their own to start a career, or in maybe the worst-case scenario, they’ve become addicted to some substance and are living out on the streets.)
— We have a term for this phase of a parent’s life, it’s called the ’empty nest’…
— We need to admit that we worry about them because we can no longer protect them.
— This worrying can be an expression of love, if we contain it within proper boundaries. We can tell them that we are worried about them because we love them. And that is true.
— However if this worry takes control of your life, it has now become a spirit of fear and can be very debilitating, and destructive.

3/ Our Pastor Monte gave us a good word about sovereignty in one of his sermons. He tried to get us to see how when we hold onto the decision-making power in our lives, rather than trust in the guidance of the Lord, we take sovereignty away from the one we claim to be serving.

— We need to ask ourselves if we truly seek God’s will when making decisions?

— What if the Lord’s will is not what we desire? (Do we manipulate our way around obeying His will?)

In all these things we fall to fear because we have lost control, and we desperately want control.

Does trying to put your trust in the control of others also give birth to FEAR?

— For example, do you place full and confident faith in your political leaders? (Or do you worry that they might make improper and unwise decisions?)

— All those political protests stem from people having extreme anxiety over the lead of those in authority.

A spirit of FEAR follows those who believe in the sovereignty of man, and it has always been so…

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Let’s look at what God tells us of the REALITY of man’s reign… (This is only one of many passages of scripture that expands on the ‘heart of man’.)

Ephesians 2:1-14  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  (2)  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—  (3)  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  (4)  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  (5)  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—  (6)  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  (7)  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  (8)  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  (9)  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  (10)  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  (11)  Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—  (12)  remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  (13)  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  (14)  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

Do we want that PEACE from verse 14?

— Let’s dig into these verses and see if we can find it…

2:1-3… And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  (2)  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—  (3)  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

— Q1/ When “we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind”, who do we serve? (Is it really ourselves, or are we serving someone else? HINT see vs.2)

— Q2/ What is the eternal destiny of those who live to serve selfish desires?

2:4-7… But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  (5)  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—  (6)  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (7) so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

— Q3/ From these verses, WHO did God send to deliver us from our self-centered eternal destiny?

2:8-9…  (8)  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  (9)  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

— Q4/ Can you find the two factors about how we are saved that God is stressing that we understand here? HINT These facts are both mentioned 2X in vs.8-9.

2:10… For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

— Q5/ So what does this tell us about DOING GOOD? (Of what value is it to us? – If we are already saved by this GIFT, why bother with good works?)

2:11-13… Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—  (12)  remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  (13)  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

— Q5/ Why does it say in vs.12, that Gentiles should “remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. “

— Q6/ What does the term GENTILE have to do with the fact of circumcision, and how DID (*note the past tense)… did that separate us from God?

— Q7/ How did the ‘blood of Jesus’ change our GENTILE status? (Remember that circumcision was once a sign of being part of the family of God, His people, His children. The blood of Jesus became the new sign of belonging to this family.) SEE Acts 10:15 The voice spoke to him again, “Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.” (This is from Peter’s vision.)

2:14… For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

— Q8/ How does Acts 10:15 make Jews and Gentiles one?

— Does being ‘adopted’ into God’s people give us a PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING?

— Our final questions for today… What if you try to serve two masters?

~ So if we take sovereign control of our life, who is the master?

~ And if God is sovereign in our life, who is the master? (You can see we must decide.)

Man’s sovereignty brings fear, while God’s sovereignty brings us that PEACE that I cannot even fully express… One that is there through the darkest of times.

— So we’ll close by giving you the opportunity to express your own thoughts about this PEACE.

THINK ABOUT IT… as we close with the very appropriate song, HE IS OUR PEACE…

Then we will close with our time of prayer… May God Bless!