“Then Jesus said, “Be brave and don’t be afraid. I am here!””
Matthew 14:27 TPT
Fear is an emotion caused by the belief that something or someone poses a threat to us. I remember growing up watching African movies, you guys know Patience Ozokwor movies yes? I’d always be scared because I thought oh she’s gonna show up and mince me up. The Blood Sisters scenes would play in my head – as a kid – l really thought dead people have more power than the living – now I realise , fear also comes from not knowing TRUTH. Had I known what I know now, I’d have really slept like a baby. What a waste man! 🙃
The spirit of fear causes us to weaken our resolve and shrink back. Let’s discuss types of fear;
- The fear of man
Part of the after effects of the fall was the fear of man—a sinful craving for approval and status. We say things like ,”I fear to fail my parents, I want to be accepted by so and so , I’m afraid they will leave . I’m afraid of being different in my community/family” . We have threats like social media saying , “Everyone here wears almost nothing. You can’t dress modestly here. Nobody will accept you.” And so because we fear not having a “following” we start to become like the world . Like chameleons, we change our conduct to blend in with the new “man” you fell in love with , you compromise because if you don’t , he threatens to leave. The fear of man.
The bible has examples of men who were feared by the people. The parents of the blind man feared the Pharisees so they refused to be witnesses. One wrong word and the Pharisees would ban them from having anything to do with the synagogue. They had a lifetime of social interaction to lose, so they just claimed him as their son and said, “He is of age; ask him.” Imagine how they felt – not being able to celebrate their sons healing because of fear. We fear telling our friends we prayed for the blessing and we just tell them “I hustled” – to look cool yes? We can’t post about Jesus because we fear that people will call us “holier than thou”. People will say “You’re too serious about church, you’re boring!” Anytime we fear people , we rob ourselves from the liberty of living as God wants us to.
It’s easy to say “oh his parents should’ve just spoken up!” But what about us? Do we speak up against what is wrong? Do we tell the world the truth about Jesus? I know people who will never go to the streets to evangelise because they’re afraid their buddies who know them for other things will be shocked. Have you ever remained silent when you should have said something? Have you watered down your talk in order to not offend? You don’t want to offend your friends so you tag along to a wild party?
Do you go to church on Sunday but keep it a secret from those you meet on Monday? Are you afraid to go to a church that boldly proclaims the gospel because you’re afraid you’d have to drop your other life and risk losing your lifestyle that is funded by that life? There are people who can’t be trusted with big visions because they will compromise and a big number of people will fall with them. Big vision is for bold people like the blind son. He boldly spoke about his healing. The people you’re afraid of can be addressed. Someone will address them!
“We have no idea,” they answered. “We don’t know what happened to our son. Ask him, he’s a mature adult. He can speak for himself.” (Now the parents were obviously intimidated by the Jewish religious leaders, for they had already announced to the people that if anyone publicly confessed Jesus as the Messiah, they would be excommunicated. That’s why they told them, “Ask him, he’s a mature adult. He can speak for himself.”)
John 9:21-23 TPT
What did their son say?
“I tell you, if this man isn’t from God, he wouldn’t be able to heal me like he has!”
John 9:33 TPT
So their son was not afraid of being chased out of the temple. Their son was not afraid of being questioned. He wasn’t afraid of confrontation. Many people are afraid of confrontation. They will mize the questions even if they know the answer. The world will confront you about your beliefs – who will answer? He says I sought for a man! You can say there are many men but which man is ready to be used? Who is the Elijah who will confront Ahab?Who is the Moses who will confront Pharoah? The world is filled with many “men of “ God who are like the parents of the blind man – afraid of “men of the world” … if you still want to look cool you’re not ready to be a witness of Christ! If you still fear being cut off by your family or friends – you’re not ready! The bible says we ought to love Him even more than our own family! Yes! If my mother says not to worship God anymore, I will honour her all my life but my obedience is to God first before anyone in this world. The fear of man is all over the church! We fear man so we don’t talk about same sex marriages, we don’t talk about the filthy happenings of Sodom and Gomorrah being validated by the government! We are quiet! We don’t want to speak up against rape because we know some rapists sit in parliament! We are mute! Scared to be jailed! I love John the Baptist! Let’s talk more on the fear of man tomorrow. We will study the fearless prophets. Ah I’m already excited!
And hey, I love you. Go and tell your world about Jesus! Fear not, He is with you!