7-5-2013 Confronting Fear

[Adriel]

Lucan : Holy and loving Father. We thank you for this opportunity to gather together in your name, learning of you and drawing closer to each other as we grasp more of your character. We pray for those that are not with us tonight, for we know that where your people are gathered, there are blessings to be had. We ask for the presence of your Spirit with our proceedings, that all may be according to your purpose. In the name of Yahshua we pray, amen.
Zahakiel : Amen.
Barbli : Amen
Guest_Daphna : Amen
Naraiel : Amen
Guest_Abraham : Amen
Pastor_Chick_CSDA_7 : Amen.
Zahakiel : Happy Sabbath to everyone.
Guest_Gadriel : Amen& Amen
Zahakiel : We have a relatively short study tonight, but one that, as usual, I believe is critical to our sanctification, and it is entitled, “Confronting Fear.” As a general rule, the solution to the problems that the world directs our way, particularly those that are clearly spiritual, is reliance upon the promises of Yah.
Yahshua, who was our Example, showed us precisely how this was done during the three temptations in the wilderness that marked the beginning of his earthly ministry.
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Zahakiel : I would like to examine these temptations one at a time, beginning with this first one:
“Then was Yahshua led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Mat 4:1-4) Zahakiel : On the surface, the temptation here is with regard to a physical matter.
It is said that Yahshua was hungry. It should not be thought, however, that the hunger that the Savior felt took Him by surprise. In other words, He went out into the wilderness. He chose to fast. He decided to undergo this trial. It should be obvious, then, that he expected to endure the feelings of hunger for a period of time. And yet, when Satan came to Him, the “root” of the temptation was that Yahshua would die or suffer greater pain that He could bear before partaking again of food.
Temptations that are based upon appetite have a deeper level, when seen spiritually, that involves a fear of not having what one desires, or not having enough to be content. That His intention was to deny the flesh for the sake of obedience to the Word of Yah.
Now, here is something that is of significance to us, although it may seem, at first, to be a bit of a side-path.
It should be noted that nowhere in the Word of Yah does it say, “Thou shalt fast in the desert for forty days and nights before undertaking a ministry.” Yahshua’s response to Satan implies that by participating in the temptation, He would be violating the intention of His Father. However, He would not be breaking any commandment to perform a miracle resulting in bread. In fact, He produced bread through miraculous means at least twice during the course of His work among mankind. He would not be breaking any commandment to eat, because He had not been following any written commandment to fast. What we are told is that Yahshua was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness.”
He was obeying the direct inspiration of the Almighty with regard to His choice of location and activities. He was performing His Father’s will, and to violate what He knew of that will would have constituted a sin, just as clearly as if He had violated an element of the Decalogue.
Now, for CSDAs, our faith involves a belief in the continuing Spirit of Prophecy, the voice of the True Witness. We have a faith that involves individual communication with, and responsibility towards, the Father and Son by means of Their Spirit dwelling within us. We have a faith that balances this individual communication and responsibility with corporate inspiration and accountability, with a belief that we, as a unified Body, know and fulfill the desire of the Most High on the earth.
For us, the 10 Commandments are the clearest revelation of the character of Yah in written form; however, they do not constitute the entirety of His directions to mankind. In addition to the everlasting principles that are revealed by those Commandments, Yah has also given His people particular instructions for their specific covenant, or agreement, with Him.
We do not know of many specific details of the covenant with Adam and his immediate sons. I suspect that, because our first father had knowledge of Yah and His holiness firsthand, and had been created directly by divine perfection, he did not require a large amount of guidelines and warnings. By the time of Abraham, it became necessary to introduce some specifics. Of course, by Moses’ generation it was necessary to inscribe the Commandments on stone for a permanent record of Heaven’s highest principles, and then to provide additional instructions with regard to the system of religion on which Israel was founded.
Yahshua, during His time on earth, prepared the way for the New Testament understanding of the Law (as a means of education, rather than justification) and the rebirth into a life of grace that is symbolized by baptism.
In this last generation, we have been given the task of restoring the Old Paths, which have been largely corrupted or lost during the intervening centuries.
When, therefore, we speak about the observance of New Moons, or the use of the name “Creation Seventh Day Adventist” as a divine mandate, we need to be able to explain to others that even though these things are not written down in literal stone, they are engraved on the tables of our hearts just as surely as the instructions that Yahshua was following when the Spirit led Him into the wilderness.
We know that we will be troubled by the world for our obedience to Yahshua’s instructions. We know that those who do not know Him, who have never truly heard His voice, will be offended. It is natural. The false prophets have always struck the true ones, and asked them, Why do you think God told YOU these things, when we have not been told?”
As one incident was recorded, “Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, ‘Which way went the Spirit of Yahweh from me to speak unto thee?’” (1Kings 22:24)
Now, there are various individuals out there that we know, who agree with our doctrinal and spiritual convictions to a significant degree. They accept (on paper, in any case) the basics of the victory over sin. They reject the man-made Trinitarian understanding of the Godhead. They may even be favorable toward feasts, New Moons and the principles behind our civil disobedience with regard to the name that Yah has given us. And yet, they stand apart from us.
In many cases, and we might be surprised to learn how many, the reason is because of a fear of losing their “daily bread.” This may be directly, because they would lose the benefits of their connection to their current church, or indirectly due to potential loss of credibility or perceived independence.
The root of this kind of temptation is fear, fear of losing something or suffering when it is technically within their power to end or prevent that suffering, even though it means violating a spiritual principle.
Let us look at the second temptation as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel: “Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, ‘If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.’ “‘Yahshua said unto him, ‘It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’” (Mat 4:5-7)
It might be difficult, at first, to see that fear is also at the root of this temptation. That might seem not to be the case, because the temptation appears to be encouraging Yahshua to face His fear, to jump off the temple and trust His Father to protect Him. For many people, unfortunately, this is their definition of “courage” or “faith.” They need to be educated, however, that had Yahshua jumped from the temple, while He would apparently been confronting a fear of death, He would actually be submitting to an even deeper fear – that of being misled.
“If you are the Son of God, prove it.” This is the oppressor’s challenge. The question itself is designed to inspire doubts, and if Yahshua had followed through, He would not have done so in order to prove His divinity to Satan (who well knew the Father and Son’s true nature and identities) but to Himself.
As it relates to us, I actually covered this last week when I spoke of those who follow along for the ride (member or not) because the fear of being wrong is greater than the conviction that our teachings are correct. They are afraid of being misled by false doctrines, and so there is a temptation to go with the least potentially damaging (as they judge it) set of beliefs.
Another way this idea may be applied is this: there are many more who would be with us now, if they had not been “burned” by previous association with corrupted churches. As a result, they have come to believe that organized religion as a whole is broken, and will say things like, “There is no one, true Church,” or “Churches are no longer necessary, for Christ lives in us all.”
Yahshua responded to this kind of temptation to fear, not by arguing for His correctness, by stepping over the problem entirely. He said, “I am not going to test my Father.” He gives no place to the question, and entertains no doubt. His response assumes His assertion that He IS the Son, and that the Father would protect Him – but changes the focus, to drawing the line between true faith and presumption.
Why should the Father protect Him (Son of God or not) if He jumped off of that building for the sole purpose of presuming upon His Father’s promise of protection? That is not true faith, and we need not fear the possibility of our Father’s promises failing us.
Here is the third temptation recorded in the Gospel: “Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, ‘All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.’ “Then saith Yahshua unto him, ‘Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.’ Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.” (Mat 4:8-11)
Clearly, there is a spiritual element to these temptations, because there is no physical mountain from which “all the kingdoms of the world” can be seen, and certainly not clearly enough that “the glory of them” could be appreciated. The idea here, however, is that Satan was offering Christ power and authority.
Where is the fear in this? The potential for fear comes in when the alternative is considered. If He did not seize worldly power, Yahshua knew that He would be persecuted, and ultimately put to death.
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The wealth and authority that Satan was offering would be protection against this eventual fate. Incidentally, this is the very temptation that ultimately captured Judas’ heart. He, seeking to avoid undue suffering for both himself and his Master, betrayed both when he rejected the very principles of the Kingdom that Yahshua was sent to establish.
The common thread behind these three temptations, which are the prototypes of all the temptations that a Christian may face, is the emotion of fear. Satan’s key weapon is fear, and this only makes sense.
As we read from the Book of Job and other inspired sources, the only power that the demons actually have over the believer is that which is explicitly granted to them. In other words, they can do nothing against us that the Father has not allowed for some greater purpose. The tempters know that if the believers rested in this knowledge (for that is the true Sabbath!) and meditated upon it, they would not be able to gain any success at all.
What they do, therefore... in fact the only thing the CAN really do, is attempt to inspire doubts, and to exaggerate fears. If the believer accepts the fear, and surrenders to the doubt, then he or she steps out of the protection of faith, and then true “evil” can befall them.
Because Yahshua confronted the fear, and that with the Word of Yah, this was the reason why He said, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” (John 14:30)
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Now, the manner by which Yahshua overcame these temptations is clearly the pattern we are meant to follow. There were two aspects to the way He did so.
The first was the directness of the confrontation. He did not put off dealing with the troubles that were before Him. He did not attempt to avoid or ignore the cause of the temptations. After all, He did address Satan directly in order to rebuke him.
Ellen White, in various places, was known to warn the Church about impending dangers and problems, but said that when each appears, we must “meet it” firmly and with the authority of Heaven.
This applies both to church-wide situations, and to individual obstacles that are allowed in our paths.
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The second was communication. The most important communication, of course, is between the Father and the Son. By knowing the Word of Yah, the Son was able to know precisely what to say in order to both expel the influence of Satan, and to set an example for all the generations that have followed Him.
But there is also communication as a very general concept. Just today, I was able to resolve an issue that had been “in the back of my mind” for many months, and I did so by seeking out an individual I needed to clear a matter with, and laying out my thoughts for discussion. There is an expression that the world uses, “Let sleeping dogs lie.” This means, basically, that some problems are best resolved by leaving them alone. Certainly, a case can be made for avoiding needless controversy; however, when it comes to issues that remain with us, that bother us, or that might be an opportunity for Satan to inspire anxiety or fear, we cannot be content utilizing this principle.
This also applies to situations that can be turned to opportunities for witnessing to others. Communication among Church members is certainly essential. It is one of the keys to the Kingdom. Nothing ought to prevent loving brethren from speaking their minds to one another, but naturally, Satan will seek to drive imaginary wedges where he can, using fear of correction, or fear of examination, to draw shadows across the Father’s light.
We must resolve, each of us, to be open, honest, and free in our dealings with both our brethren and the world – and this is a true test of faith.
If we believe, fearfully, that we can be hurt, or abused, or mistreated in any way by another human being, or by any power of this world, then we cannot function effectively in or for the Kingdom of Heaven. We must know that we are free to communicate without fear of condemnation, remembering two key passages that can guide us in this process:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Yahshua, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom 8:1)
And second,
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“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)
These promises, like all the promises of our Father, are reasons to rejoice. Are there any questions or comments on tonight’s study? All right, if there aren't then I will ask pastor to close the study with a prayer.
Pastor_Chick_CSDA_7 : Dear Father in Heaven. Thank You that we have not been given a spirit of fear. Thank You for Your most precious promises that provide us the blessing of partaking of the Divine nature. Bless our Sabbath with Your presence, and may all our absent brethren be blessed as well. Thank You for answering all our prayers according to Your wisdom. In YAHSHUA's name, AMEN!
Barbli : Amen
Zahakiel : Amen.
Guest_Abraham : Amen
Guest_Daphna : Amen
Lucan : Amen
Naraiel : Amen.
Guest_eagle : Amen.