He is still risen, but did it change much about the way you lived this past week? I think that, too often are Christian life is nothing more than a game of “hide and seek.” A maybe better put, “hide or seek.” We find ourselves either hiding from or seeking something.
Last week was all about seeking. We want to know that cross was for us and that the tomb was empty. We came seeking a Savior.
But it is our fear that chases us into hiding.
We hide from what we’ve done or what has been done to us. Hiding gives us a sense of security and control. We hide from God and others out of fear.
In his book Fearless, Max Lucado writes about the power fear possesses to turn us into beastly people: “Fear turns us into control freaks … [for] … fear, at its center, is a perceived loss of control. When life spins wildly, we grab for a component of life we can manage: our diet, the tidiness of our home, the armrest of a plane, or, in many cases, people. The more insecure we feel, the meaner we become. We growl and bare our fangs. Why? Because we are bad? In part. But also because we feel cornered.”
Martin Niemöller documents an extreme example of this. He was a German pastor who took a heroic stand against Adolf Hitler. When he first met the dictator in 1933, Niemöller stood at the back of the room and listened. Later, when his wife asked him what he’d learned, he said, “I discovered that Herr Hitler is a terribly frightened man.”
Fear releases the tyrant within.
When we fear, we hide physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Fear feeds the tendency to hide and fortify. When I choose to hide, I am not living a resurrected life.
The resurrected life faces fear with the peace of the Risen Savior.
John 20:19-23 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
The disciples were assigned a mission, but first, they had to deal with real fear.
Why were the disciples afraid? Persecution. Mob mentality. The government would crush them. Alienation.
Maybe they were asking… Where do we go? What do we do? Who are we now? They feared death. They feared what they did in abandoning Jesus They feared what they were capable of doing. They feared their failure, shame, and humiliation.
Then Christ enters the room but doesn’t give criticism, or voice his disappointment. He gives peace
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Then Jesus gives them (and us) four other things that straight throat punch fear. Assurance. Purpose. Holy Spirit Power. Authority.
Disciples go from being fearful to overjoyed. They came out of hiding and changed the world.
Fear tries to confine, define, and undermines the plans and blessings that God has for us.
So what can we do with our fear?
Pray first
Slow down – assess the situation and speak it clearly to the Lord (think about Jesus’ first miracle with the wine at the wedding)
Know what you know – assurance
Do what you’ve been called to do.
Remember the empty tomb and nail-scarred hands
Breathe in the Holy Spirit
As believers, we live with Christ in our midst. He is not satisfied by merely saving us; He comes to resurrect us.
With assurance, purpose, the Holy Spirit, and authority. Our barricades of fearfulness are no match for Him. Locked doors do not keep out Christ.
The resurrected life faces fear with the peace of the Risen Savior.
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