Called to Live in Fear and Freedom

As part of our series, looking at lessons that we might learn from the early church,

as presented in the Bible and the book of Acts,

we're thinking today about what it might mean as a church today

to live out a calling in both fear and freedom.

When you hear those words, fear and freedom,

then probably instinctively we would say, well, how do those two go together?

One seems a very positive concept, the other seems very negative.

How can it be as a Christian that we're called to live in fear and freedom?

What I want to suggest to you is every single one of us has fears.

We all have fears of some kind.

At times they may really surface in our lives, and when that happens, it's ugly.

It's horrible.

At least a certain type of fear is.

But with faith in God, we discover a new sense of fear, a different type of fear,

a fear that's a good fear, a positive one, a healthy one.

And when we discover that sense of fear, it puts all others in perspective and we find freedom.

What is it that you have as your negative type of fear?

We'll come back to that right at the end when we come to pray.

First, a story.

I love today's Bible reading.

I love it because I find it so difficult.

It's one of those stories that is definitely not an easy one to read.

It's not easy to swallow.

It's not a fluffy reading.

It's a jagged, edged reading because it's so challenging.

There's a story of three ministers that met together,

and they were discussing, arguing would be a better word,

about the best way of funding the church.

And they got on to the subject of offerings on a Sunday.

And one of them said, well, you know, we tend to,

we're sort of phasing out having any sense of offering,

but we do still encourage people to give through using the envelopes

and putting a check and gift-aiding it and putting it in an envelope

because that's really the way to go.

And another one, another minister said,

oh, actually, you're a little bit behind the times there.

We actually encourage everyone to give by standing order.

That's a much more efficient way.

And gift-aided as well, of course.

The third minister said, oh, actually, I totally disagree.

We still have cash, and we insist on cash offerings.

And what I like to do is I like to physically get the plate passed around

and then take it in my hands, and right at the end,

I throw the thing as hard as I can up into the air.

As I pray, receive, oh, Lord, all of these gifts

that these fine, generous people have offered to you.

And if it's your desire, dear Lord, to bless me as their pastor today,

then in your sovereign and miraculous strength and power,

I beseech thee to rain back on me all that you want me

to put into my personal bank account.

The story that we have this morning is about the way

in which the early church structured their giving.

We see mind-blowing generosity of people brought everything they had

and laid it before God in his service, his kingdom,

and of his church here on earth.

And it would be a great passage, perhaps, to use

if our subject this morning was about money and how we handle it

and how we offer it in the Lord's service.

But that's not actually our subject.

You see, I want to suggest to you that this story,

whilst it is about that subject,

I think there is something even deeper than that going on here

that it exposes.

It's about truth and integrity and a sense of what it means

to have that godly fear that brings with it a new sense of freedom.

Let's just rewind some 2,000-odd years back to this reading

that we've had this morning.

The church was very, very young.

It was still in its infancy.

Living very, very close to Jesus' historic resurrection.

The Holy Spirit had come.

The people that we are reading about here

are the first generation of Christian believers.

The gospel was literally in their hands.

Were it not for these people,

the New Testament would not have been written.

And they had an agreed understanding

over how they would live

and ensure that all the needs were met.

I want to suggest that Ananias and Sapphira's wrongdoing

was not that they had sold and held back money,

although that is what the reading is telling us,

but that there's something even below that,

namely that they had broken trust.

They had decided, maybe unwittingly,

but in a kind of casual way,

that they didn't need to live by the same frame of reference

that had been agreed upon.

I've come across two interpretations

of what is perhaps the hardest part of this passage,

namely that the two figures there,

Ananias and Sapphira,

that they dropped down dead.

The first interpretation is that they were quite literally,

supernaturally struck down.

The second interpretation is that

upon realising the seriousness,

the gravity of what they had done,

they were so overwhelmed by fear

that they collapsed and died.

We can neither prove nor disprove

which of those interpretations is the truth,

but either way,

they still raise exactly the same theme,

and it is this.

It is fear.

There is such a thing as a healthy sense of fear.

And these words,

the events in this story,

expose the reality that

things go wrong

when we live by the wrong type of fear.

Now let's just think about that theme of fear,

fear as a healthy thing.

Or rather,

let's think of an unhealthy sense of fear.

The sense of fear that has to do with dread.

The sense that drives people away from God

because they fear that God is such a terrible,

terrible, vindictive being.

You know, whatever else,

that kind of guilt-inducing,

scaremongering fear

is not the type of fear that the gospel is about.

It can't be.

Because John tells us that there is no fear in love.

Perfect love drives out fear.

So whatever else fear means,

it doesn't mean that

when we're talking about the kind

that is healthy

and that God desires of us.

God is an awful God.

A-W-E

or full.

Not an awful God.

A-W-F-U-R.

So what might be

that sense of

awe-inducing,

awe-inspiring,

healthy,

wholesome,

helpful,

life-giving,

energy-breathing,

Holy Spirit instilled fear

be about.

A number of years ago,

there was a theologian

called H.H. Farmer.

And H.H. Farmer,

he was a biblical scholar,

would say to his students,

you can't be pally

with God.

And they used to,

the students

under H.H. Farmer,

used to,

they coined the phrase,

they used to say,

you can't be pally

with the farmer.

Because he had said,

you cannot be pally

with God.

And when he said that,

you can't be pally

with God,

what he wasn't doing

was denying

the importance of the sense

of the personal relationship

with God,

which is central

to the Christian gospel.

He wasn't denying that.

But what he was warning of us

was the danger

of embracing a gospel

that so,

so emphasizes

the personal

that we lose sight

of the sense of mystery

and the power of God.

You see,

first and last

and everything in between,

being a Christian

isn't just about

knowing about God,

it's about knowing God,

it's about loving God,

it's about living

that relationship

with God

in a very deep,

real,

meaningful

and personal way.

It's about knowing

Jesus as your friend,

it's about knowing God

as your father,

it's about knowing him

and listening for him

in our daily lives

and having that relationship

that is built on love

and grace and peace.

But when we use

all of that language,

if we're going to be

true to scripture,

if we're to be authentic

with it,

what it doesn't mean

is that it's just

a casual thing

by which there is

no sense of mystery.

And when H.H. Farmer

said,

you can't

or you shouldn't

be pally with God,

I think that is what

he was driving us towards.

You see,

there is such a thing

as an important,

helpful kind of fear.

Think of fire.

Now, fire

can be

one of the greatest,

most helpful resources.

It can save life.

It can keep us warm.

It can be creative.

It can kill off germs.

But if it's not treated

with anything other

than fear and respect,

it can kill us.

A major challenge

to us today

as a church

in the widest

global sense,

I would suggest,

is

that we recapture

such radical respect

and recognition

of God's power.

That God

blesses us

and God longs us

to know his blessing.

But as Christians,

we need

to relearn

the importance

of being able

to carry

a full cup

with a steady hand.

these words

of Scripture

today

bring us

to that point

where we are

called to

rediscover

something

of what it means

to live in a wholesome

and healthy

and constructive

kind of fear.

And that means

rediscovering

the sense

of the reality

of prayer

and expectation

that when we pray,

something genuinely

supernatural

is taking place.

There's a

story of

three

religious leaders

meeting together

discussing the best

positions for prayer.

And this conversation

was taking place

in a room

that happened

to have

a phone

connection,

their landline,

and in the background

was a man

repairing

the

phone line

line,

the landline

connection.

Well,

one of the

leaders there

was saying,

well,

I believe

that when you

pray,

there is only

one way

to pray

and that

is by

kneeling.

That's the

way to

pray

with dignity.

Another

leader was

there and

said,

no,

no,

no,

I don't

agree with

that at

all.

It is a

far better

way

to pray

with your

arms

outstretched

looking

upwards.

That

is the

best way

to pray.

There

was another

leader there

that said,

no,

no,

no,

the best

way to

pray is

prostrate.

You

should lie

down on

the floor

with your

face flat

out of

respect.

The

telephone

repair guy

couldn't

help overhearing

the conversation

and just as

he was

leaving,

he chimed

in,

well,

the best

praying that

I've ever

done was

when I

was hanging

upside down

from a

telegraph pole.

Isn't

there a

real sense

in which

we pray

in a

way that

is far

more

dynamic,

and by

that what

I mean

is personally

meaningful

and engaging,

where we are

truly paying

attention when

we are on

the edge,

when we are

in those

situations

where we

are feeling

vulnerable.

And notice,

well,

you won't

have noticed

because it

wasn't projected

onto the

screen,

but in

the book

of Acts,

the verse

immediately

preceding the

story that

we read

this morning,

we're told

in verse 31

of Acts chapter

Acts 4 · chapter mention

4,

just before

we get all

of the other

story about

how the

believers shared

their possessions

and lived

sacrificially

together,

it says that

the believers

were gathered

together and

they were

praying,

and it

says,

after they

prayed,

the place

where they

were meeting

was shaken,

and they

were all

filled with

the Holy

Spirit and

spoke the

word of

God boldly.

that's the

context of

everything else

that happens,

that was the

thing that

underpinned the

life of the

early church,

that they

had that

sense that

prayer isn't

just a

religious

activity,

it's a

sense of

knowing the

reality of

God's

presence,

knowing and

in an

expectant

way that

God is a

God to be

feared in

a positive

kind of way,

in the same

way that we

fear something

awesomely

powerful like

fire.

God is

there on

the move,

calling us to

be a part of

his movement,

and we are

called to

live in that

sense of

fear, but

that fear

that brings

with it a

new freedom.

the church

is ill-served

when we

dilute or

deny the

demands of

the gospel,

and we

lose sight of

the importance

of that

fear that

actually sets

us free.

One last

story.

thing.

I read a

while ago

of one

way in

which in

some parts

of the

world they

train

elephants.

You never

know when

you might

need that

piece of

information.

And what

they do is

they take

the elephant

and they

take a

very,

very strong

chain and

attach one

end of the

chain to a

very, very

strong tree and

the other

end to one

of the feet

of the

elephant.

And just

out of the

elephant's

reach they

place some

food.

Now for

several days

the elephant

will try

really hard

to get to

the food.

But every

time it

does so it

tugs on the

chain and

it causes

pain and

it can't

quite reach

the food.

This goes

on for

several days

until the

elephant has

come to

accept that

it cannot

reach the

food.

It accepts

its limitations.

It has

been conditioned.

And at

that point

they can

then remove

the chain

and replace

it with a

rope.

Now the

rope actually

isn't that

strong and

the elephant

could easily

snap it at

any point.

However by

this stage it

has been so

trained and

conditioned to

accept what

it thinks are

its limitations

that it

will simply

not try to

stray away

from where

it is.

However

there's one

exception

and that is

if fire

breaks out

near where

the elephant

is.

Because at

that point

the elephant's

instinctive

fear of

fire will

overtake its

fear of

pain or

indeed

anything

else and

it will

just bolt.

The rope

will snap

and apparently

if that

happens you

will never

ever train

or condition

that particular

elephant again.

The fear

of God

in the

best,

most wholesome,

positive and

life-giving way

brings us

that kind

of freedom.

It puts

all other

fears into

perspective and

holds them in

check.

Sure,

things happen

in our

lives that

make us

feel afraid,

that make us

worry,

that will

from time

to time

keep us

awake at

night.

But they're

given a

new perspective

for ultimately

God.

God is

there.

God is

the one

who is

all-powerful.

And whilst

there are

things in

this life

that do

not make

sense to

us right

now,

things that

we can't

quite get

our minds

around,

things that

come our

way,

things that

worry about

us,

we know

in the

depths of

our being

that God

is bigger

and greater

than it all.

And when we

have that

sense of

respect,

that sense

of healthy,

wholesome fear

for him,

everything else

is put in its

place.

things.

So let's

come back

to that

question that

I started

with.

What sort

of things

do we

live in

fear of?