Fear of reaching out traps us in "shelters" that ultimately make things worse. No matter how scary or hard it is, we must build our lives on Christ's teaching--and reaching out was one of His major themes. Like the early church, we must fear not reaching out more than we fear whatever keeps us from trying. Sharing Christ's love drives fear out of ourselves and the ones we are serving.
Series: Wise Choices: Whom Shall I Fear
Speaker: John Pryor
Notes:
Fear of reaching out traps us in our “shelters". Fear began right after the very first sin, and we have desperately tried to hide ourselves ever since. While we should protect ourselves and others as much as we can, many of our “shelters” become traps and prisons that make things worse.
Genesis 3, 12, 20 & 26
Great shelters require strong foundations. God longs for us to build our lives around Him and what He reveals to us. Jesus made this clear and warned us that the storms of life reveal what we really believe and value most.
Deuteronomy 5:29, Proverbs 9:10, Matthew 7:24-27, Luke 12:1-5
Jesus taught and commanded us to reach out. Jesus compared God's love for non-believers to a shepherd risking everything to find a lost sheep and a woman relentlessly searching for a lost coin until she finds it—and His parting words were a command to reach out.
Luke 15, Matthew 28:18-20
We must follow the example of the early church. The first believers were devoted to God, to each other, and to reaching out by sharing food, money, and time; this was part of the Good News. The only fears they spoke of were fear of God and fear of ineffectiveness.
Acts 2:37-47, 4:23-36, 5:11, 40-42, 2 Corinthians 11:23-30, Philippians 2:12, Galatians 4:11, 1 Peter 1:17-25
Fear of not reaching out sets us free to truly live. Fear is driven out and we are made perfect in God's eyes when we reach out in love the way Christ reached out to us. This includes speaking the truth in love, sharing time and resources, praying, encouraging, and much more!
Hebrews 12:11 & 13:1-3, 1 John 4:17-19, 2 Timothy 1:7
Lord, I will…