http://www.unlockingthebible.org/how-the-coming-of-christ-brings-and-relieves-fear/ Pastor Colin Smith preached this Christmas sermon on the fear of the Lord from Luke 2:1-10 at The Orchard Evangelical Free Church, in Barrington, IL. http://theorchardefc.org/ To download the series or order these sermons on CD, see the link at the top of the description. How the Coming of Christ... ...Brings and Relieves Fear Luke 2:1-10 December 10th / 11th 2011 by Pastor Colin S. Smith 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. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." Luke 2:9-10 As I've been reading the Christmas story again this year, I've been struck by how many times we read about fear... Zechariah Luke begins the story with a man called Zechariah, who was a priest serving in the temple. Zechariah was a religious man who was devoted to serving God and serving others. It had fallen to him to burn incense in the temple of the Lord, and on the day he went in "an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear" (Luke 1:11-12). Here is a man who has his heart set on heaven, but when heaven is opened he is gripped with fear. His first response is not to move forward, but to move back. The shepherds On the night Christ was born, the shepherds were out in the fields with the flocks. Another night of the same old, dull job, but then "an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified" (Luke 2:9). When heaven is opened, the natural response of ordinary people is not joy but fear. When God comes near your first instinct will not be to step forward, but to step back. When the apostle John, who knew Jesus so well, saw Christ's risen glory, he fell as His feet as though dead. You would have done exactly the same and so would I. There is a fear that Christ brings, whenever heaven is opened, whenever God comes near. Fear not The Christmas story is also full of fear being relieved. The words "Fear not" run through the story... The angel says to Mary, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:30). And the same message is given to Joseph, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20). To Zechariah, the angel says, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John" (Luke 1:13). And to the shepherd in the fields, the angel says, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10). So, the coming of Christ brings and relieves fear. The Bible speaks about two different kinds of fear. There is a fear that God commands and a fear that God forbids, a fear the builds you up and a fear that tears you down, a fear to gain and a fear to lose. There is a fear that Christ brings and a fear that Christ relieves. The fear that you want to gain is what the Bible calls "the fear of the Lord." The fear that you want to lose is the fear of anything and anyone else. I wonder what kind of fear you would want to lose? Fear of failure? Fear of other people? Fear of loss? Fear of pain? Grow in the fear of God and you will find strength to face all your other fears. Let's begin with the Scriptures that tell us about the fear that Christ brings, "the fear of the Lord," the fear that you want to gain in your life, because we normally think of fear as a bad thing. The Fear of the Lord is a Blessing to be Sought i. It is the beginning of wisdom
