Welcome to Redemption Church of Plano, Tx. My name is Chris Fluitt…
We’re starting a brand-new series today called Facing Fear: What’s Keeping You Up at Night
Let’s be honest – fear is something we all wrestle with.
We’re taking four weeks to talk about the real fears that weigh us down most – and how God gives us courage and faith to face them.
You know that stress, the expectations, and the weight that makes you feel like you can’t breathe.Week 3: Is Evil Winning? Darkness, the Devil, and Death.
We’re going to be honest about spiritual darkness, the devil, and death itself – and what it means to live in the victory of Jesus.Week 4: What If Everything Falls Apart?
We’ll look at financial collapse, world chaos, and the things we’re most afraid of losing – and what it means to have an unshakable foundation in Christ.Make plans to be here and bring a friend!
Along with this series, we’ve put together something extra: a free e-book called the Facing Fear 31-Day Action Plan.
It’s practical, it’s encouraging, and it’ll help you walk this out every single day in October.
And today we start with this fear we’re all feeling: I Don’t Feel Safe Anymore.
I’ll be honest with you – sometimes I don’t feel safe anymore.
For me, the sharpest version of that fear shows up when I send my kids off to school.
Last spring, I got one of those messages from my kid – there were rumors of a gun in the school. They had found evidence that a gun had been brought inside, and everyone was worried.
I remember rushing to the school to pick up my middle schooler, and when I pulled up, there was a line of a hundred parents outside. Parents full of fear. Parents pacing. Parents & kids crying. Everybody worried, because when it comes to our kids, we all feel powerless.
I check my phone now, not just for work or texts, but to make sure there’s no emergency message from the school. I don’t like to be far away in case my kids need me. And I find myself praying – a lot – that God would protect our schools, protect my kids, and protect my wife at work.
That moment reminded me of something I think we all feel: I can’t always be there to protect the people I love. And that’s a fear that hits hard.
It is one of the many ways “I don’t feel safe anymore.”
And I don’t think I’m the only one.
Because the truth is, everywhere you turn, people are carrying that same heavy sense of danger.
Unsafe Data
And the data backs it up.
In 1972, nearly 46% of Americans said “most people can be trusted.” By 2018, that number had dropped to about 34%. (Pew Research Center, 2025).
Over 70% of U.S. adults say they feel anxious or extremely anxious about their future or personal safety. (American Psychiatric Association, Annual Anxiety and Mental Health Poll, 2023).
Trust is evaporating. We don’t feel safe. When we don’t feel safe, we start to live like everyone and everything is out to get us.
We look at the world and see enemies everywhere.
We start locking down. Pulling back. Avoiding. Suspecting.
It’s exhausting. And maybe that’s exactly where you’ve been living lately.
But what does God say into this moment?
Today I would like to talk about a safety plan.
1. God’s Presence Is Our Protection
Here’s a problem: safety isn’t what we think it is.
We might be struggling with fear because we don’t really understand what safety is about – or more importantly, who it is about.
Notice this: God doesn’t promise to take away the valley. He promises to be with you in it.
Safety isn’t the absence of danger. Safety is the presence of God.
That’s why Daniel could face lions. That’s why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could face the fire. Not because the danger wasn’t real, but because God was present.
And here’s the real challenge for us: when we pray, are we asking God to remove the valley – or are we asking God to walk with us through it?
2. God’s Love Drives Out Fear
You can’t feel safe if fear and love are fighting for the same space.
Get this! Fear and love can’t coexist in the same heart. One will push the other out.
And this is why so many of our relationships feel unsafe: we’re letting fear and love try to occupy the same place.
That constant back-and-forth leaves us confused, guarded, and exhausted. It’s no wonder we don’t feel safe.
The enemy wants you to live in fear – because fear keeps love on a leash.
But God wants you to live in love – because love sets you free.
3. God Redefines “Neighbor”
You’ll never feel safe if you label everyone around you as a threat.
Luke 10 shows us something powerful. Jesus explains that loving your neighbor is not just a good idea – it’s an essential truth. It’s what real faith looks like.
And right after that, an expert in the law tries to wiggle out of it by asking: “But who is my neighbor?”
And Jesus answers with the story of the Good Samaritan.
Story: A man is robbed and left for dead…
The hero isn’t the priest.
The hero isn’t the Levite.
The hero isn’t the Jewish religious leader.
Instead, it’s a Samaritan.
Now, this would have been shocking to Jesus’ audience – because Jews and Samaritans had a long history of religious conflict, cultural division, and even racial prejudice. Jews avoided Samaria altogether. They sneered at Samaritans, dismissed them as half-breeds, unclean, unworthy.
And Jesus makes that person – the one everyone thought was the enemy – the hero of the story.
That’s not just about being kind. That’s about reconciliation. That’s about tearing down walls of suspicion and prejudice. That’s about saying the people you’ve been told to fear are people God is calling you to love.
So what does that mean for us?
What would it look like for us to risk our safety and cross the street to show love? Who is the person you’ve been tempted to write off as “the enemy,” but God is whispering to you, “That’s your neighbor. Love them.”
Here’s the truth: When you see enemies everywhere, you’ll never feel safe. But when you see neighbors everywhere, you’ll start to live in God’s love.
4. Jesus Is Our True Neighbor
You’ll never love your neighbor until you first realize how Jesus loved you.
The Good Samaritan ultimately points us to Jesus.
Because here’s the truth:
He is our true neighbor!
And now He looks at us and says: “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus Himself makes this crystal clear in John 13:34:
That’s the pattern. That’s the standard. It’s only because He loves us that we can love others.
That’s also a command: the same love we’ve received from Jesus is the love we are called to give away.
And let’s be honest – that’s not easy. That’s a task we’ll be working on for the rest of our lives. But it’s also the most important work we can give ourselves to.
So let me ask: Who do you see as unsafe?
Who feels like the enemy to you?
Jesus is calling you to something radical. His safety plan for you is radical.
God’s safety plan is that you would not run away from fear – but that you would step toward love.
So what does it look like to step into God’s safety plan this week?
Here’s the truth: God’s safety plan isn’t about escaping danger – it’s about embodying His love. And you can start living that plan right now.
Imagine if we lived this out together.
Imagine if Redemption Church became known in Plano as the safe place. Not because nothing bad ever happens, but because people are loved here.
A place where rich and poor, young and old, left wingers and right wingers, people of every background come together and worship one King.
A place where fear doesn’t divide us because love binds us together.
That’s what the church is supposed to be.
That love is your safety. That love is your calling. That love is stronger than fear.
So when you feel unsafe – when the world feels dangerous, when everyone looks like an enemy – remember this: You are loved. And because you are loved, you can love.
1: Invite God into your fear.
2: Show love where you’ve been tempted to pull back.
3: Embrace God’s love in worship and prayer.
