The Sin of Fear

The Sin of Fear

During my incarceration I was able to maintain my Christian faith; I went to as many Protestant Christian services as I could go to and at times led a Bible reading group in my dorm.

Since my release from incarceration and parole I have resumed an active church life; prior to my beginning to attend Sunday services, I met with the pastor and informed him of my wish to begin attending services there and of my convicted sex offender past.

Also since my release from parole stipulations, I have become an outspoken activist on sex offender/registry issues. If you had known me in my old life, you would understand what a leap this putting myself so blatantly out into the public eye for scrutiny and possible risk is.

I understand the fear of being an advocate for something that so many despise and fear to the point of violence, but the truth is; nothing is ever going to change unless we make it change by overcoming these fears and becoming engaged to educate the public to the truth about sex offenses, sex offenders, their families and the effects of the registries.

I understand the fear that comes with having your house or computer searched just because somebody in law enforcement decides it needs to be done; even when you know you’re doing no wrong.

I know the fear of worrying about your kids at school just because they’re your kids and you’re on the registry, because nobody can be crueler than another kid who thinks they have something to hold over you.

I know the fear of being one of the first to exercise the newfound social networking freedom granted in Indiana by the U.S. 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals just a couple short months ago.

I understand the fear of enrolling in the local community college when the registry laws require that a registrant report their address, place of employment and place of study so all can be posted on the internet for all to see, including your classmates

I know the fear of doing all of this while still being on probation with time still hanging over your head.

I understand not wanting to draw attention to you and your family, but I refuse to let fear rule over me and dictate my actions. I can make a very long list of why I should crawl in a hole and hide, but I refuse.

While I was incarcerated, I wrote a sermon titled:

The Sin of Fear

My NIV Study Bible lists 14 different things people feared, as in being afraid of, there is:

The fear of seeing God

Fear of a vision of angels

Fear of the unknown

Fear of the punishment of sin

Fear of danger

Fear of being killed

Fear of losing one’s life

Fear of losing one’s loved ones

Fear of bringing unpleasant news

Fear of an enemy

Fear of a person in authority

Fear of what another person might do

Fear of what another person might say

and Fear of the future

There might be more things in life for us to be afraid of, but if we don’t learn to conquer our fears and are afraid, we can scare ourselves from doing basic things we need to do for ourselves and our families. We can even scare ourselves and let our fears prevent us from enjoying the full life God has intended for each of us.

We are not to be afraid or scared. Do you know? The NIV Bible tells us in the forms:

“Do not be afraid”

“Do not be alarmed”

“Do not fear”

and “Do not be frightened”, at least 138 times

We are not to live our lives in fear.

      In Genesis 15:1, God commands Abram:

                  “Do not be afraid Abram, I am your shield,

                  your very great reward.”

      In Joshua 1:9, God commands Joshua:

                  “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and

                  courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged,

                  for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

      Psalm 27:1 says:

                  “ The Lord is my light and my salvation-

                        of whom shall I be afraid?”

      Psalm 91 says:

                  “ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the

                        Most High

                  will rest in the shadow of the

                        Almighty.

                  I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my

                        refuge and my fortress,

                  My God in whom I trust.’

                  Surely He will save you

                        from the fowler’s snare

                        and from the deadly pestilence.

                  He will cover you with his feathers,

                        and under his wings you will find

                        refuge

                  His faithfulness will be your shield

                        And rampart.

                  You will not fear the terror of night,

                        nor the arrow that flies by day,

                  nor the pestilence that stalks in the

                        darkness

                  nor the plague that destroys at

                        midday.

                  A thousand may fall at your side,

                        ten thousand at your right hand,

                        but it will not come near you.

                  You will only observe with your eyes

                        and see the punishment of the

                        wicked.

                  If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’

                        and you make the Most High your

                        dwelling,

                  no harm will overtake you,

                        No disaster will come near your tent.

                  For He will command his angels

                        concerning you-

                  to guard you in all your ways;

                  they will lift you up in their hands,

                              so that you will not strike your foot

                              against a stone

                  you will tread on the great lion and

                              The serpent.

                  ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord,

                        ‘I will rescue him;

                        I will protect him, for he

                        acknowledges my name.

                  he will call on me, and I will answer

                        him;

                        I will be with him in trouble,

                              I will deliver him and honor him

                        with long life I will satisfy him

                              and show him my salvation.

In 2 Chronicles Chapter 32, King Hezekiah is preparing to defend Jerusalem against Sennacherib, king of Assyria and his army.

      Versus 6-8 say:   ‘He appointed military officers over the people

                                 and assembled them before him in the square

                                 at the city gate and encouraged them with

                                 these words: ‘Be strong and courageous. Do

                                 not be afraid or discouraged because of

                                 the king of Assyria and the vast army

                                 with him, for there is a greater power

                                 with us than with him. With him is only the

                                 arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our

                                 God to help us fight our battles.’

Matthew 8:23-27:    ‘Then he (Jesus) got into the boat and his disciples

                                 followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up

                                 on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.

                                 But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and

                                 woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to

                                 drown!’ He replied, ‘You of so little faith, why are

                                 you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the

                                 winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

                                 The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of

                                 man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey

                                 him.’

Jesus is telling us, we have the ability to calm our own fears, our storms and troubles, if we have true faith and do not doubt God, because God is all powerful and he loves us. Faith, belief and prayer are the keys.

      Above all, remember; 1 John 4:18-19 says:

                                 ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out

                                 fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one

                                 who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because

                                 He first loved us.’

In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus tells us, the two greatest commandments are:

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’

We are to have no fear in any circumstances, for God loves us, and if we “dwell in” and “Love the Lord your God,” he tells us:

‘Because he loves me’ says the Lord,

         ‘I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he

         acknowledges my name.’

                       

                        Psalm 91:14

I hate to go here, but since God made them I guess it’ll be OK and I’m sure he’ll forgive me if it’s not, but now you know why I say, “I’ve got balls big as an elephant's”, it's because I know that no matter where I go, God will be there with me and you too if you let him.

Chuck