Bible Study Notes - Joh 8:21-30

Bible Study Notes - John 8:21-30

In this brief passage, the evangelist portrays the Lord Jesus Christ as “The Father’s Ambassador.”  Jesus perseveres in His claims about being the Son of God.  He expands His teachings as He states that He is the ambassador of the Heavenly Father on Earth.  As all ambassadors leave their home countries and travel to foreign and other lands to represent the interests of their nations, they eventually return home.  Blinded by their longstanding presuppositions about God and their disdain toward Jesus, the Pharisees are unable to comprehend anything that Jesus says about His heavenly origins. Nevertheless, Jesus continues His teachings to reveal the Father’s perfect love.

Like an ambassador who has been given a clear directive to pronounce in the country to which he has been sent, Jesus straightforwardly share the Father’s message about love, holiness and Law within relationships with other persons.  The indescribable love that the Father and Son share as they are One is the message Jesus shares with His audience.  The Father sends the Son into the world to simply the Law, the heart of which is love.  Contrary to the heavy laden millstone upon the necks of Jesus’ listeners of which the Pharisees make of the Law, the Father gave the Law to Moses during the wilderness period to enable the people to relate rightly and lovingly to a holy God.  Essentially, the Law depicts God’s holy character; more specifically, the Ten Commandments characterize God as a jealous God who will not tolerate any displacement from the number one place in anyone’s heart.  God demands unequivocal allegiance and unwavering love from each daughter and son because He covenant with Israel means that Almighty God must extend love with the same quality that He requires.  In complete contradiction of Jesus’ teachings, the Pharisees defile the Law and offend God’s holy character as they use the Law to exploit the people.  As they are unable to understand God’s original intent in delivering the Law which the Pharisees spend their lives studying, assuredly, they are unable to comprehend Jesus’ delivery of the “new Law of Love.”  As it conflicts with their religious racketeering and seemingly incalculable profits from demanding ill-gotten but lucrative sacrifices from common people, the Pharisees summarily dismiss Jesus’ teachings and portray Him as a dangerous and blaspheming lunatic who deserves death as a means of relieving His misery.

Consider the following thoughts and questions as you more fully explore this brief passage.

·         To where is Jesus going?  If you respond heaven, please offer a vivid description.  Perhaps, Jesus means Calvary instead.  Compare these two possibilities.

·         What exactly does Jesus mean when He tells the Pharisees, “you will die in your sin.”

·         He tells them that they cannot join Him where He is going. 

·         They do not understand His heavenly origins and thus could not return to his celestial space.

·         Within the original context and chronology of this teaching, Jesus’ words probably sound like the ravings of a lunatic.  The Pharisees would not have any point of reference with which to appreciate anything Jesus says.  Quite possibly, we too suffer with the same scientific and faith challenges that they had.  Discuss the similarities between their hurdles to faith relative to their period in history and the hurdles before us as we live in a world that uncritically accepts the scientific method as the surest means to verify truth.

·         In the next verse, Jesus distinguishes between heavenly and earthly realms.  Were we to emphasize the natural and scientific dimensions of these two worlds, we miss the opportunity to apply the evangelist’s allegorical writings to our personal spirituality.  John emphasizes the necessity of a relationship with Jesus, Emmanuel who is God with us, rather than strict adherence to religiosity and personal piety.  Higher realms allude to communion with God.  Lower spheres revolve around human self-reliance and methods self-justification before Almighty God.  Colloquially, it is said that religion is an effort to reach God and spirituality is a genuine attempt to relate to God.

·         Dwelling in this world ends in physical death and thus death in one’s sin.  However, faith in the great “I AM” whom God sends enables anyone to transcend final termination, decomposition and ultimate annihilation.  Jesus who defeats death thereby empowers anyone who believes in Him equally to overcome death. 

·         Jesus’ use of the characterization, “I AM,” particularly infuriates the Pharisees who consider Jesus’ words as repugnant blasphemy as those words are the very Name of God.

·         Thus, they question Him about His origins.  He rebuffs them as He insist that He condemns their lack of faith.

·         They do not understand that Jesus means the Father when He speaks about the One who sent Him. 

·         To assist them in understanding His teaching, mission and destiny, Jesus predicts His forthcoming crucifixion.  His cross will prove Jesus is the Son of God and One with “I AM.”  His resurrection from the dead will seal the authority of Jesus’ teachings and provide the surest evidence and validation of everything that Jesus says.

·         You will recall that many Israelites ignited God’s wrath during the wilderness years with their obstinacy, complaining and faithlessness.  He sends a plague of scorpion s to bite, poison and kill them.  After interceding in their behalf, Moses lifts up a snake in a cross.  Anyone who goes to that cross and looks upon the snake receives immediate healing and a new life. 

·         For John, similarly, anyone who looks to Jesus and the cross finds healing and new life.

·         Jesus submission to the cross proves that He does whatever the Father instructs Him to do.

·         Jesus humility and obedience means that He is the Father’s ideal ambassador as Jesus willingly lays down His life to offer abundant and eternal life to anyone who believes the Father sent Him to reflect God’s unconditional and covenantal love for humankind.

·         John does not include the Garden of Gethsemane episode in his gospel.  However, in the twenty-ninth verse, Jesus appears to allude to that fateful experience in which He began to sweat drops of blood as the synoptic gospel writers record.

·         That very graphic image of anxiety reassures us that Almighty God is always with us in the midst of every trial and tribulation regardless of how palatable and power our anxiety may become.

·         It helps disciples to retain permanent mental images of the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane and Christ’s cross on Mt. Calvary.  John depicts a very human Savior who walks beside us on the journey of life. As the well-known poem, Footprints, teaches, if we fall He will pick us up and carry us until we are able to walk again.  Christ’s example of redemptive and even unjust suffering infuses us with divine strength when challenges spontaneously arise. 

·         Utterly debilitated by domestic abuse inclusive of emotional, verbal and physical violence, a professor of Religion at a Southern research university could not function vocationally.  For a year and a half, she could not read and write which are non-negotiable functions for an academic.  Mercifully, she was able to listen to music to avert lapsing further into a clinical and paralyzing depression.  Within that period, she freshly recalled the imagery of the cross.  She substituted herself for Christ realizing that the resurrection of the Easter dawn always follows the death and finality of crucifixion on Good Friday.  Fortunately, Jesus’ example empowered this suffering with divine strength to surmount her most regrettable experience.

·         The passion narratives offer reassurance that Almighty God intervenes in human messiness and intervenes in accord with His sovereign will to empathize with myriad human pain and suffering.

·         In the twenty-ninth verse, Jesus reminds His listeners that the Father never leaves Him and in turn them.

·         John concludes this brief passage with an affirmative note of belief.  “Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.”  To evade condemnation, a person must believe in Jesus and the One who sent Him.  Earlier in the gospel John declares, “Anyone who does not believe in the Son stands condemned already.”  It is important to note that a person must believe in Jesus and the One who sent Him.  Belief in Jesus practically means that a person crosses over from existential death to abundant and eternal life.

Bible Study Notes - John 8:12-8:20

Bible Study Notes - John 8:12 – 8:20

In this brief passage, the evangelist depicts the Lord Jesus Christ as “The Light of the World.”  Jesus teaches in the treasury section of the temple.  He spars verbally with the religious leaders about the validity of His testimony.  Jesus angers some Pharisees, Sadducees and teachers of the Law when He insists that the Heavenly Father testifies on Jesus’ behalf.  Jesus references the Law and the fact that the testimony of two creditable witnesses yields legitimacy.  Thus, the testimony of the Father and the Son validates Jesus’ teachings.  Extending his literary theme of duality in contrasting light and darkness and his prevailing motif of high Christology, the evangelist posits that Jesus’ teachings offer greater illumination than the torches of illumination within the temple area.  More practically, John submits that a relationship with Jesus and a lifelong commitment of studying His teachings imparts greater internal light for disciples than rote religiosity, repetitive rituals and redundant righteousness.  

Establishing a transformative relationship with Jesus is one the main premises of John’s gospel.  The evangelist desires that readers and potential disciples find salvation which existentially means healing, cure and wholeness in Jesus rather than creeds, doctrines and routine practices.  Moreover, Jesus’ teachings illuminate the best in a person’s mind, heart, character and soul.  Morality, ethics and principles emerge more authentically from this relationship than memorization and theoretical study of religious dogma.  Just a study of the Law without any relational or experiential knowledge of God is lifeless, theoretical knowledge of Christianity without a relationship with Jesus is equally unprofitable.  Contemporary Christians in the United States could easily fall prey to the fallacy of equating dramatic, celebratory and largescale worship with a relationship with Christ.  The evangelist means more than attendance at a weekly inspiring worship service.  In any generation, disciples of necessity must learn and internalize Jesus’ teachings as means and methods of daily living.  Most regrettably, weekly Bible study and prayer meeting are the least attended activities in any local church.  Further, biblical illiteracy accounts for most inexplicable and unreasonable congregational conflicts.  Still, individual and collective relationships with Jesus comprise divine light to guide persons towards their better selves. 

In his immortal poem, If, Kipling asks, “Can you keep your head when all about you are losing theirs?”  Pervasive darkness often seems to surround the global village in which the whole world now lives.  A legitimate desire to respect all peoples irrespective of cultural, racial, religious, political, class and other social distinctions possibly contributes to moral, ethical and ideological relativism.  The decline of generally and broadly accepted moral and ethical principles and practices inadvertently creates darkness that permeates human relationships.  Some persons deem being caught to be worse than the offense.  Lying is an acceptable means of evading responsibility.  Celebrity equates with justifiable exemption from accountability.  In utter extremes, there are persons who justify commission of murder, torture and divergent forms of terrorism of any of these activities result “logically” from their relative “values.”  How do Christian disciples maintain moral and ethical integrity as this intractable relativism surrounds them?  The evangelist suggests they appeal to the teachings of Jesus as their light in the darkness.

As you study this passage, consider the following questions and ideas.

·         Translate into your own words what Jesus means when He says, “I am the light of the world.”  Write a statement of personal and practical application as a disciple.  How do Jesus’ teachings illuminate your moral and ethical decisions?

·         Jesus says further, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  In addition to the references to “darkness” above, what are other ways in which disciples possibly stumble in darkness?  Depression, anxiety, stress, anger and other negative emotions create considerable bleakness in a person’s life.  Consider ways in which a relationship with Jesus can resolve these dilemmas.  Evaluate the potential benefits of genuine spirituality in supplementing the work of mental health professionals.

·         Contrast personal and societal forms of darkness.  Consider ways in which disciples lapse into collective morally questionable behavior.  What are some pragmatic and practical ways in which Christians effectively combat this tendency?

·         The Pharisees dismiss Jesus’ teachings and testimony because He testifies on his own behalf.  Note the evangelist’s use of legal language in depicting Jesus as the “One and Only Begotten Son” of the Father and establishing Jesus’ authority to act on the Father’s behalf.  For John, Jesus’ words possess the weight of sworn testimony and creditable evidence in a court proceeding.  Still, the Pharisees essentially cross examine Jesus with an objective of discrediting His testimony and claims to be God’s Son.

·         Secure in His heavenly origins and immaculate descent, Jesus perseveres with His testimony as He in turn dismisses the Pharisees accusations. 

·         Jesus then condemn the Pharisees for “judging by appearances.”  What exactly does that phrase means?  Apparently, the Pharisees discard anyone whose pedigree inclusive of genealogy, education, economics, religious practice and other social distinctions do not accord with their preferences.  Most regrettably, many churches administer a common day pedigree test to new believers and disciples whose backgrounds and demographical peculiarities are incongruent with an average congregant.  Have you witnessed this unfortunate occurrence in a church? 

·         Some churchgoers are more conversant with their traditions than they are with the Bible.  These traditions comprise the litmus test that new believers and members undergo to win approval within some churches. 

·         The Bible portrays early Christian churches that welcomed persons from the most diverse backgrounds.  Roman soldiers, government officials, tent makers, fishermen and tax collectors, all, belonged to churches where they shared fellowship in study of the Word, worship, meals and encouragement to persevere.  The Church in the United States needs rejuvenation whereby she returns to her biblically based Christian origins.  A church greets and accepts anyone regardless of his or her preferences, orientation, constitution or identifying characteristics.  Were disciples to return to these primary and fundamental Christian principles and practices, the Church in the United States would experience a desperately needed renaissance.

·         Jesus insists, in further reply to the Pharisees, “I do not judge anyone. And even if I should choose to judge, my judgment is valid because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me.”  The evangelist reminds us that love is the prism through which the Father and the Son judge.  Earlier in the Gospel, John pens the immortal words of the third chapter and sixteenth verse.  The Father’s love compels the gift of the Son.  The seventeenth verse declaratively states, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.”  God’s unfailing love always triumphs over condemnation, judgment and punishment.  Jesus’ correctness in judging emerging perfectly from the Father’s unquestionably perfect love.

·         As Jesus does not judge anyone by outward appearances, reminiscent of 1 Samuel 16:7, Jesus looks inwardly and assesses what lies within a person’s mind, heart and character.  The basis of forgiveness, love enables us to look beyond a person’s shortcomings and focus upon his or her potential.

·         The other evangelists concur with John that disciples resist the very human tendency to judge other people’s character defects.  One author sagely exhorts disciples about the ease with which persons forgive within themselves transgressions and offenses that they condemn in other people.

·         Earlier in his Gospel, John records the salacious and salient story of a woman caught in the act of adultery.  The gathering crowd, summoned at the call of the Pharisees, quickly picks up stones to judge and punish this woman.  Their grab stones without any pause as their contempt for her immoral actions compel them.

·         In stark contrast, Jesus challenges the crowd, “Let the person without sin cast the first stone.”  He refuses to judge this woman as she may have been victim of rank hypocrisy by the Pharisees.  Quite possibly, the man with which she indulged in adultery was one of them.  They exploited her by offering her as the scapegoat to cloak their comrade’s sin. 

·         Given this inconsistency of belief and behavior, Jesus warns against the deficient practice of judging people.

·         Jesus further chides the Pharisee as He insists any judgment that He would offer is valid as it receives the Heavenly Father’s endorsement.  As the Father sends the Son to embody and reflect unconditional love, He intends that Jesus teaches His followers to utilize the “New Law of Love” in their assessment of other people’s characters.

·         Not surprisingly, the Pharisees fiercely question Jesus’ claims to be in direct relationship with the Heavenly Father.  Jesus’ attestations strike them as blasphemy.  Who is He, a mere mortal like them, to equate Himself with Almighty God?

·         Jesus insists that the agreement between the Father and Him equates legally with the necessary requirement for valid testimony.  Jesus and the Father are two valid witnesses whose testimony established the legal standard of trustworthiness.

·         Implied within the Pharisees’ condemnation of Jesus’ claims of divinity is the suggestion that He is insane.  What man reasonably and unapologetically says that he is the Son of God?

·         Consider further how incredulous Jesus’ claims sound to these learned men who devote their lives to studying and learning the Law.

·         Jesus dismisses their criticism as they do not know God.  Interestingly and ironically, their theoretical knowledge of the Law does not equate automatically with a relationship with the Heavenly Father.  Jesus means experiential and relational knowledge instead of the retention of concepts from reading and memorizing written manuscripts.

·         This exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees reflects a religious fallacy that seduces many contemporary disciples.  Church attendance and thorough memory of Bible verses does not mean that a person has a relationship with the Lord.

·         As the Pharisees rely upon their academic knowledge of God, they are unable to comprehend Jesus’ relational revelations.

·         The evangelist notes treasury area of the Temple is the location of this teaching.  Discuss the significance of the setting and any correlations it may have with Jesus’ words.

·         John additionally records the fact that no one attempts to seize Jesus as “his hour had not yet come.”  The Pharisees’ furor about Jesus probably compelled them to seek his arrest, imprisonment and crucifixion.  As the crowds began to follow Jesus in greater numbers, quite possibly, these religious leaders feared that a rebellion loomed.  Given Roman’s intolerance of any insurrection, the Pharisees reasoned potential and wholesale harm to the Jewish nation were any act of opposition to occur.    Still, as their vitriol motivated them to eliminate Jesus, they were unable to initiate their plan at this time as it did not accord with the will of God.  This concluding statement reminds of God’s sovereign presence and will in our lives.

Sermon - Conquering Fear on the Road to Wholeness - Part One

Conquering Fear on the Road to Wholeness – Matthew 25:14-30

I first delivered this sermon at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY

on Sunday,31 January 1993.

Brothers and sisters, fear can be the most significant determining factor in our behavior and lives. 

For many of us, fear belies our most crucial choices.  Fear limits our decisions regarding careers, vocation, education, relationships hobbies, gifts, talents and any number of other interests.  Fear impedes our ability to experience abundant and freedom in daily living.  Because we fear failure, we forego the pursuit of heartfelt dreams and goals.  Conversely, some people actually fear the consequences of success; they therefore falsely reason it is better not to challenge themselves.  Serial monogamy emerges because of the fear of love and vulnerability.  Non-committal encounters, sexual promiscuity and non-affirming behavior toward all participants results.  Anxiety about the possibility of rejection forces many people to refuse invitations for dates and other social activities.  Perhaps, some of these opportunities may have proven relationally beneficial and yielded positive outcomes.  This type of apprehension explains why some people isolate socially.  The consequences of prevalent fear are a self-sabotaging pattern of choices, consciousness and character that practically furthers procrastination, resentment, shame, guild, regret and very low self-esteem.  Summarily, fear can be the sole determining factor in a person’s life.

Sigmund Freud said that life consists mostly of love and work.  Indeed, it does!  We spend most of our time at our respective places of employment.  Who does not long for a genuine, trustworthy and growing love relationship?  Love and work are two essential parts of a happy, serene and whole life.  I pray that we may conquer the fear in our lives that prevents us from enjoying an occupation that complements our experience of a self-confident life and inhibits us from giving and receiving love.  Jesus says, “The thief [fear] comes only to steal [our dreams and goals] and kill [our faith, hope, trust, ambition, motivation and determination] and destroy [gifts, talents, drive and actions]; I have come that [you] may have life, and [more abundantly] and have it to the full.” Brothers and sisters at Emmanuel, may we strive to defeat and resolve any fears that plague our choices.  Wholesale annihilation of timidity enables us to live healthy and holistic lives.  Let’s fully and boundlessly enjoy the precious gift of life!

Today’s text, “The Parable of the Talents,” offers invaluable insight about the debilitating nature of fear.  Interestingly, one biblical commentator refers to this passage as “A Parable on the Use of Capabilities.”   A detailed analysis of this provocative biblical portrait contrasts polar opposite responses to emotional, experiential and existential fear.  In contemporary terms, a wealthy and successful businessman summons three employees and gives them oversight of several major projects.  The first employee receives managerial charge of five divisions.  A second worker is responsible for two departments.  The third middle manager must invest a particular aspect of the company’s portfolio.  The chief executive officer grants the assignments in accordance with his assessment of his subordinates’ abilities and potential to succeed.  Straightforwardly, the text states that each employee receives a single or multiple talents relative to his possibilities of actualizing a profit. 

Fundamentally, the distribution of talents depends upon the employee’s character, historical context and personal circumstances.  Almighty God, however, justly gives talents and gifts to each person.  The businessman’s confidence in his workers reflects God’s investment in each of us.  Absolutely no one can say reliably or honestly that he or she does not possess some type of special ability.  Again, God is just.  Whereas fairness dictates an equitable distribution of gifts in quality and quantity to each worker, God’s justice prevails as He, in His infinite providence and unerring wisdom, gives talents to each person according to his or her interests, passions and wills.  An equality of opportunity exists for each work to utilizes and succeed with what he or she receives.  Life’s complexity and diversity precludes any possibility of an equality of ability.  God through natural selection endows humankind with disparate and diverse abilities.  Jefferson in The Declaration of Independence posits this divine prerogative and will as he insists upon the inalienable rights that God grants each human being chiefly among them being the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  A person enjoys these God given rights to the fullest extent of his or her natural endowments; whereas the endowments are not equal, the right to actualize them is.  Natural endowments could only be equal if human origins were to possess uniformity.  The incongruence in a person’s beginnings such as race, class, language, culture, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, gender and other social distinctions prevents equality of ability.  Such a superfluous uniformity would rob us of our unique personalities that yield the breadth and depth of human creativity as evidenced in art, music, literature, poetry, drama, dance and the disciplines of the natural and social sciences.  Summarily, Almighty God justly gives each of us a talent or talents according to who we are. 

Incidentally, God’s will for each us is the fulfillment of our heart’s deepest desires and intentions in conjunction with our capabilities.  What do you wish to accomplish in life above anything else?  Are you capable of achieving it?  If your answer is “Yes,” then you have quite possibly stumbled upon God’s will for you. 

For the hearer’s of Jesus’ words, the talent was a unit of money worth approximately $10,000.  Some biblical commentators posit that a talent was a certain weight of gold, silver or copper.  Those three precious metals differ in the value of their worth which depends largely upon the use of these elements.  To reiterate, all of us have been given a gift but some of us may have to mine deeply to find the treasure and talents that lies within us.  Like some pursuers in the California gold rush of 1849, some people immediately discover gold.  Others of us stumble upon silver after digging for a while.  Then, some other persons mine tirelessly and interestingly find coal.  What happens to coal in time?  It becomes diamonds which are rarer and more precious than the other metals.  Whether monetarily or in terms of precious gems and minerals, a talent symbolizes God’s gracious bestowal of innate abilities and endowments within each person.

In the sixteenth verse of this passage, we observe the worker who was given five talents “went at once (immediately) and put his money to work and gained five more.”  This worker seized the moment and momentum.  He resolved to take full advantage of the opportunity which his master gave him.  Was he merely the recipient of good luck?  It is quite possible.  However, I agree with friend of mine who describes luck as a meeting of preparation and opportunity.  Nonetheless, this servant’s industry yielded a dividend of one hundred percent (100%).

Sermon - Conquering Fear on the Road to Wholeness - Part Two

Conquering Fear on the Road to Wholeness – Matthew 25:14-30

Part Two

Similarly, the worker given two talents followed the same path as his coworker with five talents.  These two employees promptly responded to God’s grace and gifts.  They forsook wishful thinking and anxiety.  As they began to seek a return on their master’s investments, they overcame any doubts or fears that they may have felt.

In stark contrast to his fellow employees, the third servant chose a different path.  The text states, “[he] went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”  Grotesquely, the evangelist’s description is reminiscent of the act of defecating.  He literally sat on the gift that he received. 

Suddenly, “after a long time, the master …  returned and settled accounts with them.”  The text provides no details about the master’s abrupt and seemingly unexpected return.  Parenthetically, although many contemporary pastors forego preaching about the Second Coming of Christ and His imminent return as past generations of clergy did, we believe and affirm that the Lord Jesus will come again as the Bible says.  It shall be quick, sudden and unexpected.  How will we fare in settling accounts concerning our stewardship over talents, gifts and responsibilities that the Lord entrusts to us?

Jesus; audience understood this parable as a lesson regarding the spread of the gospel in His absence.  The evangelist envelopes “The Parable of the Talents” between two other “signs of the End of the Age” parables, “The Parable of the Ten Virgins” and “The Parable of The Sheep and The Goats.”  All three parables warn believers of the necessity of duty in preaching the Gospel and faithfulness in daily living. 

The Scriptures teach “to whom much is given, much is required.”  Consequently, the master summoned the servant with five talents to assess his profits and losses.  Not surprisingly, this servant confidently rectified his accounts.  He forthrightly acknowledged the initial investment that his master made in him.  He explains his use of the talents.  With superlative self-esteem and personal assurance, this servant summarizes his activities during his master’s absence.  “Here are five more that I have gained.”

The twenty-first verse teaches the importance of faithfulness and stewardship.  The evangelist emphasizes these virtues as he utilizes the word, “faithful,” twice.  The master responds, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful with this small sum [with a few things].  Because of your faithfulness in these small matters, I will give you charge of a great one [put you in charge of many things.] Come and share your master’s happiness [joy].” 

A few lifelong lessons are readily evident.  Faithfulness primarily qualifies disciples for God’s work.  He prefers persons who are faithful over people who are multitalented.  Throughout the Bible, the one criterion that God’s human instruments share is faithfulness; for example, consider the lives of Noah, Joseph, Joshua, Gideon, Hannah, Mary, Phoebe, Lydia, etc.  These inductees in the “Faith’s Hall of Fame” as the eleventh chapter of Hebrews details possess unrelenting faithfulness.  If you wish to serve as an instrument of God’s will and vessel of His love, then cultivate the quality of faithfulness.  Additionally, faithfulness often requires small steps; proverbially crawling before one walks.  One biblical commentator suggests, “Fidelity in small things leads to much greater reward, a reward which consists in still greater responsibilities.”  If we have not been trustworthy and responsible over small, less challenging affairs, can we reasonably expect control of larger and more important matters?  Third, faithfulness often solidifies the characteristic of discipline which yields productivity and success which in turn creates myriad possibilities for happiness.  The unbridled joy of completion, accomplishment and victory is an incomparable feeling.  That emotion eradicates fear! 

Not surprisingly, fidelity in love relationships strengthens those bonds and furthers nurturing, caring and enduring partnerships.  As with professional rapports and friendships, faithfulness in marriage and committed relationships defeats fear. In 1 John 4:18, the apostle of love declares, “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The [person] who fears is not made perfect in love.”  The possibility of infidelity creates and maintains a pervasive and looming danger of betrayal, deceit, distrust, duplicity and other types of punishment.  Fidelity, in contrast, allows emotional security, faith and trust in your relationship.

The evangelist uses the twenty-second and twenty-third verses to reiterate the necessity of good stewardship.  Regardless of the composition, number and diversity of our gifts, God expects appropriate and thorough us of them.  Success and joy are our personal rewards for faithful use of our talents and abilities.  Irenaeus, one of the early Church fathers, posits, “The glory of God is the human person fully alive.”  We cannot underestimate both the affects and effects of faithfulness and good stewardship.

With the twenty-fourth verse, we must consider the dilemma of the one-talent worker.  This parable centers upon this man, as Matthew devotes twice the amount of time and space to the third worker.  This servant begins his settlement response with excuses.  He does not acknowledge his inability to produce a return on his master’s investment.  The servant says, “Master, I know that you are a hard man.  You reap where you have not sown and you gather where you have not scattered.”  None of his words are relevant to the fundamental issue which is the servant’s failure to earn a profit on his talent.  The worker offers simple excuses instead of justifiable reasons.  Still in heavy usage contemporarily in the American South, there is a great word that perfectly describes this one-talent servant.  He is trifling!

How do we understand the servant’s failure to utilize his God given talent?  He himself explains his shortcomings in the twenty-fifth verse, the most pivotal verse of the parable.  The servant says, “I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.  See, here is what belongs to you.”  Allow those there most lethal words to reverberate in your minds and hearts.  “I was afraid.”  “I was afraid.”  “I was afraid.”  “I was afraid.”  How many times have we said something similar to ourselves and other people in a feeble attempt to rationalize professional and personal failures?  Fear paralyzes this this third servant thereby preventing him from bettering his life.  Risk is inherent and non-negotiable if you expect progress and success in any financial, material, emotional, spiritual and relational matters.  The servant’s fear of failure obliterated any chance of success.

What exactly is fear?  One of the best ways to define fear is considering its practical results.  The Oxford English Dictionary states one of fear’s salient effects.  It causes people to feel perpetual alarm lest something dangerous should happen.  It leads other persons “to be afraid of an anticipated event or state of things as painful or evil.”  As an example, an employee who justly desires and asks for a raise or promotion but feels apprehensive about whether he or she will receive it.  If you wish to hold a leadership position within an organization to which you belong, would you forsake any fears and run for office?  Fear also motivates people “to have an uneasy sense of the probability of some unwelcome occurrence in the future.”  Specific to the thrust and premise of this sermon, fear induces people “to defer from a course of conduct.”  The third servant certainly allowed his fear to derail his ambitions and abilities.

Sermon - Conquering Fear on the Road to Wholeness - The Conclusion

Conquering Fear on the Road to Wholeness – Matthew 25:14-30

Part Three

How many of us have permitted gut wrenching fear to rob us of joy and liberty in daily living!  Fear prevents a return to school to earn high school equivalency or college or graduate degree.  From day to day, we utilize shallow excuses to cloak penetrating fear.  Unfortunately, some of us settle for a severely reduced standard of living in regards to relationships because our fears coerce us to tolerate “unacceptable” situations.  We remain in unfulfilling, unrewarding and possibly disrespectful relationships.  The most extreme example is a battered spouse who stays because he or she is afraid to leave.  For such an unfortunate person, fear becomes larger than life as he or she no longer believes that life offers any better possibilities for love, communication, trust and respect.  Other people’s internal terror and anticipation of their spouse’s reaction tolerate emotional and verbal abuse.  As people settle for meager modes of living, fear turns them into zombies.  They cease to dream or pursue the life that they imagined within the innocence of their youth.  Practically, they fail to reach for anything more, higher, greater, or deeper.  I firmly believe that a person who stops dreaming has stopped living!  Each of us possesses a dream file in the deep recesses of our consciousness and hearts.  I reason that our dreams connect to our purpose for being.  Sarah Vaugh, the late jazz vocalist who hailed from Newark, New Jersey, sang, “You’ve got to have a dream.  You’ve got to have a dream.  ‘Cause if you don’t have a dream.  How you gone have a dream come true?”  Fear destroys dreams and kills our efforts to achieve them.  With contrasting encouragement, the enduring words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt empowers us to forsake fear.  In the height of the Great Depression, he exhorted the nation, “The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself!” 

It is easy to condemn the third servant whom I charitably characterize as “Mr. Trifling.”  However, we must humbly admit that we share his pain and suffering.  We can relate to his predicament.  This servant lacks self-confidence.  Unsurprisingly, he surrenders to his fears like a victim of circumstances.  Fundamentally, fear is a self-centered emotion yielding unwillingness to accept on its terms and not ours.  Risk is a necessary precursor to achievement and success.  The third servant wanted advance assurance of success before trying to earn an investment.  Whatever the origins and causes (past experiences, dysfunctional family or previous failures) of his low self-worth, they did not justify the servant’s resentment of his master’s success.  Biblical commentators concur that the words of the third servant to his master are ones of bitterness, envy, jealousy, contempt and resentment.  Some people have equal feelings towards their friends, neighbors and coworkers.  We resent them for conquering their fears and then succeeding.  We focus on other people instead of examining ourselves.  It is easier to assassinate other people’s character and denigrate them instead of undergoing slow, excruciating and painstaking self-evaluation which inevitably yields personal growth and spiritual development. 

The twenty-sixth verse suggests that fear leads to perversion, evil and wickedness.  Fear lies beneath much untoward behavior that we classically label as sin.  I define sin as “choices of patterns of behavior that work against me.”  Fear compels choices that impeded a person’s progress toward wholeness.  Fear of intimacy and its necessary vulnerability are the source of a lot of sexual promiscuity.  Fear contributes to countless and immeasurable societal problems such as alcoholism, gambling, drug abuse, debt and mental illness. 

In closing, as we travel the road of wholeness, how are we to conquer fear in our daily lives?  How are we to defeat this thief who comes to kill, steal and destroy our joy?  I would like to offer a few practical suggestions.  First, Jesus Christ came to impart abundant and eternal life to anyone who genuinely believes in Him.  Practically speaking, Christ delivers believers from fear: Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Joshua 1:9; Psalm 27:1-2, 34:4, 46:1, 46:10; Isaiah 41:10-13, 42:16, 43:1-3, 50:7, 52:12, 54:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:1, 28-39 and 2 Timothy 1:7.  Second, the Word of God calms all fears and soothes each doubt.  As you progress along your journey to wholeness and clouds of fear and doubt burst on the horizon, you can find relief and solace in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We walk by faith and not by sight,” among other scriptures.  This verse assures you that Christ walks with you; when you walk by faith in Almighty God, you are never left to walk alone.  Moreover, the Psalter enduringly says, “Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.  Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.”  As the title of an encouraging and empowering book pertaining to cancer survival by the late Larry Burkett posits, There Is Nothing to Fear.

Prayer alleviates all forms of anxiety.  One author proposes, “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”  As we obediently and faithfully pray without ceasing, we cultivate courageous faith to surmount any adversaries and adversities that we might face.

Build a support network of fellow disciples.  Attend services with your church family as often as possible.  When you feel alone, afraid, weak and abandoned, someone within your fellowship will have an encouraging word from the Lord.  Someone else will intercede on your behalf.  Yet another person may offer an empathic word of testimony.

Additionally, you might consider supplementary sources of help in conquering fear.  Pastoral or psychoanalytic counseling may prove helpful.  A twelve-step program or some other type of support group might meet your needs. 

Allow me a final reiteration as my last point.  The Apostle Paul exhorts the Ephesians, “Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.”  I accordingly urge you to utilize God’s word and power to conquer any fear in your life.  Personally, I rely upon Psalm Twenty-seven (27) in time of terror.  It says,

The Lord is my light and mu salvation

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life

Of whom shall I be afraid?  …

Though an army besieges me

My heart will not fear

Though war breaks out against me

Even then will I be confident …

When evil men advance against me

To devour my flesh

When my enemies and my foes attack me

They will stumble and fall …

Though my mother and my father forsake me

The Lord will receive me …

I am still confident of this

I will see the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living …

Wait for the Lord

Be strong and take heart

And wait for the Lord

Weep not!  Wail not!  Mourn not!  Fear not!  God does not leave abandon or forsake.  He gives His power to you to enable you to conquer fear on the road to wholeness.