Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. I've seen it over and over again. How could this happen to me? Why did God allow this to happen to me? You see, doesn't God care about me? You see, that's exactly what they said.
It's very normal human response. You do not care that we are perishing. You know, if you were Jesus, you'd want to say, You don't think I care? You've looked at my life, you've followed me for all these months or years now, and you don't think I care?
Is that what you're saying? You see, if you follow Christ enough, you never ask that question. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's word meets our world. He said, let me give you perspective. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul. He said, rather fear him who is able to destroy both the soul and the body. He said, in hell, you want to fear anybody, you fear God. And he said, these are the beginning of God fearing people. You see, he said, you fear God. Don't you fear what man can do? You don't fear anybody that could just kill your body.
Or anything, I think, that could just kill your body. He then goes on and explains it. He says, are not two sparrows sold for a cent? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground. And he says, apart from your father.
You ever think of that? He's saying, God is involved every single time a sparrow falls to the ground. There are probably hundreds of millions of sparrows, billions and billions of them. And just right now, as I'm speaking, somewhere in interior Africa, a sparrow fell. God says, yeah, I saw that.
What's Jesus' point? He's sovereign. Like over everything.
Even a sparrow falling. And then he says even more, though. Notice he says, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. That's a funny thing, isn't it? I mean, do you ever think about that? I said this earlier.
I was thinking about the first service, but just came to me. I thought I would never do this with God because usually I think once you're in the presence of the Lord, you don't really want to be too funny with him that way. But I, you know, I could name any one of you and he would give me the number of hairs in your head.
I mean, what a game that would be. Name a person. He'd name the number of hairs. Why would Jesus say that? It tells you, first of all, just down to what his omniscience is. It's almost beyond, it is beyond our belief.
It's just unfathomable for us that somebody would know that much. Then he says this. So do not fear. You are more valuable than many sparrows.
There it is. Not only is God sovereign, not only is God omniscient, he said, but you have tremendous intrinsic value to God. You see, you mean a lot to God. He's assuring them of God's presence. He is confident, trying to give them confidence in God's power. And he is trying to secure them in God's love. And he says, and when you have that, you will not fear. You see what Jesus didn't do here. He didn't tell the disciples when you go out and they take you into court, I'll give you a get out of jail free card. You see, he doesn't say any of that. He said, whenever they do this to you, don't fear them. You see, I think what we would want often is, look Lord, what we'd rather have them is not do anything to us.
He says, no, it doesn't work that way on a cursed planet in the real world. Turn back with me now to Matthew six. Matthew Chapter six and take something much more mundane. Matthew Chapter six.
Sermon on the Mount. And at the end of the chapter versus twenty seven to thirty four, he's saying, look, don't worry about what you wear. Don't worry if you have clothing to wear. Don't worry if you have food to eat. Now, by the way, that to us would be the necessities of life. You know, I'm not talking about being worried about being arrested and flogged because I'm proclaiming Christ.
Now I'm just trying to eat and get through the day. And Jesus said, don't worry about that. Whatever you do, don't worry about it.
Don't worry about that. So he says in verse thirty one, do not worry then saying, what shall what will we eat? What will we drink?
What will we wear for clothing? He said, the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. He said, your heavenly father knows that you need these things. Well, what do you mean?
He said, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. All these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
And then something none of us like to hear. Each day has enough trouble with its own. I thought there would be no trouble. I don't want trouble.
No, he said, every day is going to have its own trouble. Now, I want you to see what Luke adds to this and go with me now to Luke Chapter 12. Luke Chapter 12, same message. And down to verses thirty, thirty one and thirty two. In verse 30, Luke says this. He says for all, quoting Jesus, for all these things, he said, the nations of the world eagerly seek. But your father knows that, he said, you need these things. Seek first his kingdom, these things will be added to you.
But Luke adds something. He says, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Now, let me tell you something.
If you don't have enough food to eat, shelter or clothing, would you have fear? You see, Jesus said, not if you're a follower of mine. I've just told you, don't be afraid. There's nothing to fear here. He says, do not be afraid, little flock, for your father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
Wow. One verse, four different images. First, he calls us the little flock.
So what do we know? He is our shepherd. That's why we're the flock. He said, don't be afraid, little flock. The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want. You see, Psalm 23 and this Sermon on the Mount passage are hand in glove. He said, your father, your father, not only is the Lord my shepherd, but he's God's also my father. He said, your father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. My father is not just the shepherd.
He's not just my father. He's king. We know later from scriptures, king of kings and Lord of lords, and he will gladly give us the kingdom. That word gladly is great.
That word is the word joyfully. God says, I'll joyfully give you the whole kingdom. So don't worry. You see, he's my shepherd. He's my father. He's my king. Don't worry. I'm giving you the whole kingdom.
It's astounding how this works. Don't be afraid of men who could even kill you. Don't be afraid of the sustenance of life. I'll provide.
Well, something else we can identify with here. Go with me to Mark Chapter four. Mark Chapter four.
What about mother nature? Mark four, verse thirty five. Mark writes this on that day when evening came, he said to them, let us go over to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him along with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with them. And there arose a fierce gale of wind and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. And Jesus himself was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
This is an incredible storm. By the way, Jesus would have to be aware of it. If he's in the stern, he's down low. If the water's coming in a boat, it's going down to where he is. But he's asleep. Now, what's interesting about this, we know there are four sailors on that boat, at least four.
You have Peter and Andrew and James and John. They're professionals. But apparently they're terrified. Now, look what happens when fear grips us.
It says they woke him and they said to him, teacher or rabbi, do you not care that we're perishing? That's what fear does. For the believer in Jesus Christ, that's what fear does.
I've seen it over and over again. How could this happen to me? Why did God allow this to happen to me? You see, doesn't God care about me? You see, that's exactly what they said.
It's very normal human response. You do not care that we are perishing. You know, if you were Jesus, you'd want to say, you don't think I care? You've looked at my life, you've followed me for all these months or years now, and you don't think I care?
Is that what you're saying? You see, if you follow Christ enough, you never ask that question. You see, when you're following Christ, you'd never say, I don't think he cares.
He has proven it with his life and his words. He cares. It says he got up, rebuked the wind and said, hush, be still. I have a hunch that he didn't quite say it with much enthusiasm. He didn't have to. Hush, be still.
And the wind died down and became perfectly calm. And he said, and this is the more important question, why are you afraid? Why? Every time you and I, as believers in Jesus Christ, have fear in our lives, Jesus asks us the same question. Why are you afraid?
Why? Why are you afraid? Look, I've assured you of God's presence. I've given you confidence in God's power. I've secured you in God's love.
Why are you afraid? See, don't you believe me? You see, they want to say, well, Lord, have I ever misspoken to you? See, Jesus always means what he says, says what he means, always. So look back on verse 35. Jesus said, let us go over to the other side. Now, if Jesus said that and you're a follower, what's the one thing you can absolutely be assured of? You're going to the other side. You see, no, we're not going and you don't seem to care.
I love the response. It's exactly what Jesus would have wanted out of this. Verse 41, they became very much afraid. Very much is not good. It's the word phobia for fear, but it's mega, mega phobia. They became big time fearful. Now they're really afraid. You see, mega phobia.
He says they became very much afraid and they said to one another, who then is this that even the one in the sea obey him? I'm the son of God. I've told you this. I mean, you've seen me do all kinds of things.
I feed 5000. I walk on water. I can raise the dead.
Come on. Because I said, hush, be still. But notice one thing is just what Jesus said in Matthew 10 38. He said, you know who you need to fear? You need to fear God. And so who now are they really afraid of? They're really afraid of God. He said, don't be afraid of storms.
Jesus said to us, don't be afraid of hurricanes. Don't you know that I know? Don't you know that? Don't you know that I'm here? You see, don't you have the assurance of my presence? Don't you have confidence in my power? Don't you aren't you secure in my love? I'm going to give you the whole thing.
You're getting all of it. The longer I follow Christ, the more I trust him. The longer I follow and trust Christ, the more I love him. That's why John wrote in 1 John, perfect love casts out fear. Jesus says, follow me and you'll have faith and love in me. And he said, and you will cast out the fear.
Let me illustrate this. Go to Romans 8 with me for just a moment and the apostle Paul, not in the gospels. If you said to Paul, if you had a pain-free, problem-free ministry, what do you think Paul would have said? He wouldn't have said anything.
He would have laughed. Like, let's see, I don't know. They beat me with rods. They stoned me and left me for dead. I've been bitten by poisonous snakes. I've been shipwrecked. My family disowned me.
Yeah, I've had a pretty good time with this. I have a thorn in the flesh, by the way, that I keep entreating the Lord. Please let it go. And he said, no. But notice what Paul says in that context, verse 18 of chapter 8. He said, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is revealed to us.
What's that mean? He said, I take Jesus at his word. You see, he said, I believe Luke 12. He said he's going to give me the whole kingdom.
I don't even compare the two. You see, Paul was in pain, and I'm sure he had agony. And I'm sure he might have had tears of pain, but I can tell you one thing, Paul never was. He's not afraid. He has no fear. He's not afraid. Just think how we could use that in our lives. There are so many things out there to make us afraid. And he says, look, if you follow me close enough, you won't be afraid.
You might not have a pain-free problem for your life, but you won't have fear as your companion. Notice Paul said, let me give you a perspective of life, 828. We know that God causes all things to work together for the good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Paul said, that's kind of how I see it, everything. God is sovereign. You see, he's omniscient and omnipotent, and he's sovereign, and they're all worked together for good.
I just trust him with that. So Paul said, look, let me tell you what I really mean here and why I'm not afraid. Verse 35, who will separate us from the love of Christ? You see, what's going to make me not love Christ? And if I have enough love for Christ, it drives out the fear.
This is why I'm not afraid. He said, what could overcome that? He said, well, tribulation. Wow, tribulation is a big word. It covers everything. He said, or distress, or persecution, or starving to death, or nakedness, or peril, or sword.
That's execution. He said, well, do you think any of that will make me afraid? It won't. He said, it won't. He said, verse 37, but in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who has loved us.
I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He said, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid.
They're going to behead him. I'm not afraid. You see, I'm not afraid. Absent from the bodies present with the Lord, I'm not afraid.
You see, that over and over again becomes the mantra. Of all the things that we could use in our life, just think how wonderful it would be to have a life on this planet in this day in your life with no fear. I'm not afraid.
Doesn't mean it's going to be without pain or without problems, but I'm not afraid. That's what he's saying. Following Jesus drives out fear. Last passage, Jesus speaking, he should have the last word. John 16.
After all this time that Jesus has spent, this is the night before the crucifixion, he asked the disciples and you and me this great question in verse 31. He says, do you now believe? Do you believe? Do you believe me when I speak to you? You see, do you believe?
That's all I'm asking. Do you believe? And then he says in verse 33, these things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace.
I thought maybe we're going to have no problems, no pain. That's magic. That's not Christianity. He said, you can have peace.
These things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world, you have tribulation. There's a promise from Jesus.
You're going to have tribulation if you're in the world. And our lives are all marked by that. But then he says, but take courage. I've overcome the world. You see, I've overcome the world. I've said this over all the years, over and over again, but some of these things are really wonderful things when it comes to not being afraid.
What Jesus is saying is, look, the worst thing that could happen to you can happen to you. You have to live by that. You have to believe that. Or I've said over the years, like, look, I've read the end of the book.
We win. You see, you need to do that. You need to get a perspective of it. Not because it won't be painful. It will be. Not because there's not sorrow and tears.
Of course there are. But you don't have to be afraid. You see, perfect love casts out fear. Following Jesus drives away our fears.
Let's pray. Father, I am convinced that somebody in this very room today is dealing with fear, fear of something. There are so many things that can make us afraid in this world on which we live. Father, I pray that they are reassured by the word of God and by Jesus himself that they don't have to be afraid. You see, Father, I can be poor but not afraid. I can be unhealthy but not afraid.
I can be lonely but not afraid. Father, I pray that the words of Jesus in your spirit will challenge all of us. The next time that we feel ourself being full of worry and anxiety and fear, that we hear the words of Jesus asking us, Why are you afraid? Father, I pray that our response to him is, Because, Lord, we have not enough faith in you. Father, I thank you for this tremendous blessing of following Jesus Christ, to live in a fallen, cursed world without fear, how I covet it for myself and all these people.
In Christ's name, amen. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt, on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called OnePlace.com. That's OnePlace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online. At that website, you will find on oneplace.com, a link to our website, and a link to our website, and a link to our website, Fellowship in the Word online.
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That's fbcnola.org. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives and the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word. .
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