God’s War on Terror
My subject this morning is God’s War on Terror. Terror
is a word much in news these days – we hear about the
terrorist bombings in the Middle East and all the
upheaval that is going on there. There is a war on
terrorism going on in Afghanistan even as we speak. Our
lives here in the States have been significantly
affected by the events of September 11th. America is at
war and the enemy is terror!
God has been at war with terror for a very long time.
Terror is not new. The Bible says that our adversary,
the Devil, goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom
he may devour. A lion roars to terrorize a heard and get
them into confusion and on the run. Then he devours the
weak stragglers. Terror is a terrible weapon.
Another word for terror is fear. 2 Tim 1:7 says, “For
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and
of love and of a sound mind.” Fear has many faces –
sometimes it comes with a horrific, paralyzing shock.
But more often it appears in more subtle forms like
worry or excessive stress or an underlying sense of
anxiety and dread. Do we look into Future with hope &
optimism? Or is there a subtle dread of what may happen
next? Not just in world as whole– but in our individual
lives -- Are we being robbed of the joy of present
because of a fear of tomorrow? Do worries and anxieties
drain our strength and steal our peace?
I’m talking about a fear that carries with it an
unhealthy element of torment --that makes life more
stressful than it ought to be. There is a healthy,
rational kind of fear that causes us to jump out of the
way of a speeding truck and stay alive. But there are
many fears that have a terribly negative influence on
our quality of life and upon our effectiveness in life.
“…God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power
and of love and of a sound mind.” Notice 3 influences of
the Holy Spirit in II Tim. 1:7 that counteract fear:
** Power – strength to face and overcome our fears.
David said in Ps 34:4 “I sought the Lord and He heard me
and delivered me from all my fears.” What an encouraging
testimony. What God did for David He will do for you and
me.
** Love-1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casts out fear,because fear involves
torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in
love. “
How does love counteract fear in our lives? Obviously,
to know that the almighty God of heaven and earth loves
us and is seeking our highest good—that revelation of
God’s attitude toward can relieve a lot of fear. Have
you experienced His love? Have you come to know Him as
your loving, heavenly Father? If you have, you know the
peace that comes in that relationship.
In Matthew 6 Jesus told us to not live in a state of
worry – why? Because it does no good. “Which of you by
worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (verse 27)
But also because you are valuable to God and He cares
for you. Verse 26 “Look at the birds of the air, for
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more
value than they?”
That love provokes a response of love in our hearts. “We
love Him because He first loved us.” (I Jn 4:19) The
love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit. So that instead of just loving ourselves—just
The basis of fear is self- preservation. There is a healthy attitude toward self-preservation that God gives us. But when we become consumed with self we are
vulnerable to all kinds of unhealthy fears. Self- centeredness is a feeding ground for fear. But when love begins to dominate our thoughts and motives that opportunity for fear is removed. “…perfect love casts out fear..” Instead of being so focused on how events might affect us we gain a broader perspective. We become focused on others and how they are being affected and how we can help them. We become focused on God and how we can please Him. Fear can not survive in an atmosphere of love.
** Sound Mind is the other result of the Holy Spirit in our lives that is mentioned in II Tim. 1:7. The real foundation for tormenting fear is wrong thinking. When we’re thinking right- when we’re remembering God – when everything is kept in proper perspective—then fear can not dominate our lives. In the Bible God gives some very good Reasons for us to Not be Afraid! I want to share a few of those with you this morning. All begin with the instruction “Do not fear for…” and then the reason is given. All these reasons are related to: What God is to us !
1. PROTECTOR : Gen. 15:1 “After these things”—we will talk in a moment of what things that is referring to “ the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’" NKJV Do not be afraid – why? Because “…I am your Shield…”. a shield is a source of protection. In Abraham’s culture you didn’t want to be in a battle with your shield.
In other places David referred to God as his Refuge, his Hiding place. (1) There is a blockbuster movie out called the “Panic Room”. A panic room fortified place in a house where you go when you’re afraid. Nothing can get to you there to harm you. God is the ultimate panic room. Whenever we’re afraid we can run into Him and be safe from all harm. That’s why we do not have to live in a state of fear and worry.
Let me give you a little of the context of this statement that God made to Abraham. In the previous chapter a confederacy of power kings attacked and plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding area. They carried away Lot and his family along with the other captives. Abraham with an inferior force defeated those kings and recovered Lot along with all the other captives and all the spoils.
There had to be some apprehension in his heart concerning those kings. Will they counter attack? What will happen if they do? And God is saying to Abraham – Don’t worry it– I’m your protector. I’ll take care of you. I – I – I am your Shield-it’s not just that I will provide a shield—I will personally Be your shield! That is fail proof protection.
God says to you and me, just as He said to Abraham thousands of years ago, “I am your shield.” Do not be afraid. Is God big enough to protect you? There was Pharaoh his terrible army charging on Israel--God had Moses stand up and say to the people: “Do not fear, stand still and see the salvation of Lord.” And they saw it in a powerful way.
It is really amazing all the things we fear. I found interesting list of phobias on internet. Does anybody know what Peladophobia is? It is the fear of baldness. I’ve struggled with that fear and didn’t even know what it was. Here are some others:
Chactophobia- hairy people
Odontophobia – teeth
Cyberphobia – computers
Ecclesiophobia – Church
Chronetophobia – Money
Europhobia –color Red
Homilphobia – Sermons
Phobophobia – Fear of Fear (That’s for those who can’t think of anything else to fear.) (2)
God does not want us living under irrational fears like that. “I sought the Lord & He heard me & delivered me from all my fears” In this same verse God tells us not to fear because He is our reward.
He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
When Abraham returned from defeating those kings – Melchezedek came out to meet him and encourage him. Abraham gave him a tithe of the spoils. Melchezedek was the priest of the Most High God. Here is the father of faith tithing. For those who think tithing is of the law, I want to point out that before the law was ever given the father of faith was tithing.
After that the King of Sodom was so thankful for the victory that he told Abraham to keep all the spoils. It was a great deal of wealth. To the victor belongs the spoils. Abraham deserved the spoils. But out of commitment he had made to the Lord Abraham refused to take any of the spoils. I wonder if Abraham had any struggles or 2nd thoughts after that decision. Have you ever had a battle in mind after a step of faith in giving? Abraham had done the right thing. It’s possible that he struggled with whether he would need that money some time in the future. Here God is saying don’t worry, I’m your provider. I’ll not just provide but I’ll BE your PROVIDER. I am your exceeding great reward. You passed up the reward of the spoil for My sake. Great is your reward in Me.
The fear that there might not be enough in the days ahead can be a terrible bondage. It can cause people to hold on to things they ought to give to God. It can cause people to miss blessings God wants to give them. I read a Story about a woman who died in 1916 named Hetty Green. She is sometimes called America’s greatest Miser. When she died she left an estate of over $100 million. But she was so tight – she ate her oatmeal cold in order to save cost of heating up the water. When her son injured his leg –she took so long trying find a free clinic that his leg had be amputated because of advanced infection. She was so afraid of losing her wealth, she never got to enjoy it. That’s what fear will do to a person.
Perhaps our fears are more rational than that. Perhaps we’re concerned about losing our job, or losing money in the stock market, or providing for our kid’s college, or our own retirement. We should be responsible stewards in those areas– but we should not live in a state of worry and dread. We should put our confidence in Lord Who says to us “I am your…exceeding great reward.”
Luke 12:32 “Do not fear little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
