Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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This time of year I think back to that unforgettable night of the annual Christmas musical at our college. All the school choirs were there to present a powerful musical evening. The backdrop of the stage was all black, to simulate the night of Jesus' birth. And as the choir sang, costumed Christmas story characters would re-enact some of those familiar scenes on the stage. The one I'll never forget is "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night." My friend Al was the angel. The shepherds were all shepherding on the stage, and Al was to step out of the black velvet night and onto this little platform to announce Jesus' birth - good plan. I guess being coordinated is not a qualification for being an angel. See, Al stepped out onto that platform and promptly lost his balance and fell out of the night sky and right onto the shepherds. Now, that is being touched by an angel! But on his way down, Al did manage to get his opening line out, "Fear not!" Well, that is the important part.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "God's Opening Line."
Our word from the Word of God comes from Luke 2:9-10, "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.'" As God is preparing to introduce those shepherds to something great that He's going to do, He opens with a "fear not."
When the angel appeared to tell Mary the miracle part she was going to play in Christ's coming, early on he said these words, "Do not be afraid, Mary" ( Luke 1:30). How about the angel's announcement to Joseph about his part in it? "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife" ( Matthew 1:20). But this "fear not" is not just in the Christmas story. It's all through the Bible in God's dealings with people. On numerous occasions in the Old Testament when God's people were facing a variety of challenges, God said these words over and over again, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" ( Joshua 1:9).
When God has something to say to us, He often seems to begin by addressing our fear. Why? Because fear often keeps us from hearing or responding to what God wants us to hear. We focus on the uncertainties, the pressure, the possibilities that could happen - the mountains - and we panic. Which usually leads us to one of two nowhere responses. We start running around doing things God never told us to do. Or we just freeze up and do nothing. If we do our thing or nothing, we're probably not doing God's thing.
So He opens what He wants to say with, "Do not be afraid." It may very well be that this is what He's trying to say to you right now. "Do not be afraid of ________." You have to fill in the blank with the thing that you're worrying a lot about right now; the things that are keeping you awake, keeping you stressed. Listen to your Lord. First put your name in here (in the blank) ________ . There's your name, then "do not be afraid of ________." "Do not be afraid that ________." See, He's trying to deal with that fear that has your heart and mind so tensed up that nothing can get in there - even God's voice.
At a time when David's life was literally in the balance, he wrote, "I sought the Lord and He delivered me from all my fears" ( Psalm 34:4). God wants to do that for you right now. Like a distraught little child, cuddled in a parent's arms, let your Father reassure you that there's nothing facing you that He can't handle. The whole point of Jesus coming at Christmas was that we could belong to God in this intimate personal way, and finally be in the only really safe place in the universe - in a relationship with our Creator. He had to die - Jesus did - for that to happen, and walk out of His grave under His own power. And this Christmas season, He may be knocking on the door of your heart. That may be what you feel inside; giving you the opportunity to finally be safe in God's arms.
If you would like to know how to begin that relationship, why don't you go to our website. It's yoursforlife.net. God's coming to you today with those wonderful opening words, "Do not be afraid." In His arms you are so safe, no matter what's coming down around you.