Fear or Faith

From a message by Pastor Randy Thornton 

“Whenever a person is ruled by fear, he takes matters into his own hands,” said the Rev. Randy Thornton, during a recent sermon at the church he leads, Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C.   

Israel wanted a king, and Saul was tall, attractive and humble, said Thornton, 52. Saul, who reigned from 1025-1004 B.C., seemed to love God and even prophesied, but during Israel’s war with the Amalekites, he failed to follow God’s instructions.

The Amalekites were descendants of Amalek, Esau’s grandson. They refused to allow the Israelites to cross their land when the Israelites migrated to the Promised Land (Exodus 17). God directed Saul to destroy the Amalekites, including their possessions, livestock and king.

Saul spared their King Agag and took the best of their livestock for himself. The Prophet Samuel rebuked Saul, beheaded Agag and told Saul that God had rejected him as Israel’s king (I Samuel 15).

“God demanded judgment, but Saul showed mercy,” Thornton said. “Did your child need judgment (discipline), and you showed mercy? And now he’s on drugs…When judgment is due, do we show mercy? (Someone called that error “the problem of ‘misplaced mercy’.”) How many can say that at some time in your life you’ve made decisions out of fear?”

Thornton contrasted Saul with David, Saul’s successor. When fear crippled Israel, David viewed Goliath, the Philistine’s giant strongman, through God’s perspective and killed Goliath with a sling and a small stone.

“…When David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine…the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets (tambourines), with joy, and with instruments of music (lutes). And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him…” (1 Samuel 18:6-8).

Saul feared loosing his kingdom; he probably feared his son would never sit on Israel’s throne. 

“When you find yourself taking matters into your own hands rather than trusting God, you are headed for disaster,” Thornton said. “Fear destroys faith and causes us to manipulate. Where does the spirit of fear come from? From Satan himself.”

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

“Our children are growing up in a world where it’s almost embarrassing to be called a Christian,” Thornton said. “There are many undercover Christians, today.”

Five stumbling blocks to standing for Christ and overcoming fears:

1. The Approval of Others: “…Among the chief rulers…many believed on him (Jesus); but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42-43).

“We can let fear control us, or we can pay the price to do the right thing,” Thornton said. “The ‘soft choices’ destroy us.”

2. Traditions: Jesus said, “For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men…” (Mark 7:8).

3. The Voice of Reason: “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25).

4. Letting Feelings Determine Your Decisions: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes…” (Judges 21:25).

“Mick Jagger has been singing ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’ for 40 years,” Thornton said. “Let truth guide you, not feelings.”

5. Letting Doubts Cause You to Question Absolute Truth: Instead of doubting these verses, believe them: “I am the LORD; I change not” (Malachi 3:6). “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrew 13:8). “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

“Biblical absolutes guide and protect you,” Thornton said. “How many realize fear has had some influence on your lives? Fear is overcome by faith. ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil’…He has not given us a spirit of fear. You can make right decisions when fear doesn’t dominate your life.”