Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Fear is a very powerful and controlling emotion.

It is for this reason that many use fear to control others. For example, if an advertiser can make people fearful, they can drive them to purchase their product. “You don’t want to be rejected by your friends for your bad breath, do you? Then, use our mouth wash and you’ll have nothing to fear.” The mob uses fear to control individuals and communities. “You might want to think about doing what we say; I’d hate to see anything bad happen to you or your family.”

You see, fear can make you do things or keep you from doing things. Fear constrains us.

Thus, if we are controlled by a fear other than the fear of God, that fear becomes our functional god and keeps us from obeying the true God.

So, for example, God commands us to love Him and others. But love requires vulnerability—opening yourself up to possible hurt or misunderstanding—risking your comfort in order to connect with God and others. Such loss of control can be terrifying. And so, it is at that very point that worldly fear steps in and promises an alternate path: “You can keep your life safe and intact if you just put up enough barriers. Keep up your guard. Widen your margins.”

Such fear operates on a lie that says it’s possible to preserve your life by clinging to it. It promises control by controlling you.

Jesus interrupts such foolish thinking by saying, “…whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35).

Fearing your life will imprisons your life. Fearing Jesus liberates it.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”

~ Mark 8:34-36 (NASB)