Ep 26 – Five Faith Killers, Part 2

Vicky, my wife and I have been excited to talk about calligraphy store which is the Greek word. We’re focusing in on how Jesus used this word five times in Matthew six and Matthew eight in Matthew 14 in Matthew 16 and in Matthew 17 to teach us five of the most important areas of our life so that we will grow in our faith. Olivero pistol means little faith or live a little and pc’s faith. We’re gonna go into the discussion on this whole aspect of fear and how fear paralyzes our faith. Let’s go in and listen as Vicki and I discussed it. Hi there tom and Vicky maris with it’s all greek to me and we are thrilled that we’re able to get into God’s word and studying these incredible greek words that help us to not only know who God is and believe in his word but to also understand the pressures of life and and the enemies to our faith. And that’s what we’ve called this particular series. The five faith killers. We’ve been on faith. But now we’re focusing in on the five faith killers and the word is a lego piece does well I hope this does comes from two greek words or legal, which is little mp cities which is faith and you put them together all in one piece does one word. He uses this in five different places in the gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter six, Matthew chapter eight, Matthew chapter 14 16 and 17. And the Lord jesus christ gives us great insights on what attacks are our faith and he calls them all year of little faith and, and then he identifies the problem. Uh, we’re looking at these five areas and how these areas are, are identifying these problems. So Vicky if you will identify the problems for our audience. The first one was distraction in Matthew chapter six. The second one is dread and discouragement which will be reading today in Matthew chapter eight. The 3rd 1 is doubt in Matthew 14 and then dialogue and demonic with Matthew 16 and 17. So today we’re focusing on a bad part of anxiety and worry is fear and dread that comes into our life and we causes us to be discouraged and not to really function well as a christian. Somebody might ask, what about the bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and uh you know that that’s a good thing. And so what, what’s going on there? Isn’t that a different word, phobos? Yeah, it is a different word, right? So the fear of the Lord of course is the beginning of wisdom. Uh, it’s a righteous acceptance of who God is and honoring him. Uh good fear is good. We teach Children, don’t touch the stove, that’s a good fear. We teach people respect and honor and that’s a good fear also hears the words broken up very, very clearly. The leos is uh, it comes from video. Uh, the the loss. Uh, the loss rather comes from video, which is fear driven and uh that is always used in the negative Vicki fearful of losses refers to an actor excessive fear, dread of losing or causing someone to be faint hearted or to go down with cowardice. Like the first picture here that we that we pointed to in Matthew 8 26. If you could read it, he said to them, why are you afraid you men of little faith? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and it became perfectly calm. So here was the story that the Lord jesus christ is giving us in Matthew chapter eight verse 18 through 27. And uh if we could just read that passage of scripture and and get into it. Some, why don’t you go ahead and read it honey? Now when jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to depart to the other side and a certain scribe came and said to him, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. And jesus said to him, the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head and another of the disciples came to him. Lord permit me first to go and bury my father. But jesus said to him follow me and allow the dead to bury their own dead, we will be discussing this interesting path. Very interesting, we had to do homework on that one. And when he got up into the boat, his disciples followed him and behold there arose a great storm in the sea so that the boat was covered with the waves. But he himself was asleep and they came to him and woke him saying, save us Lord, we are perishing. And he said to them, why are you timid or fearful? You men of Oligopoly stows, little faith. Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and it became perfectly calm. And the men marveled saying, what kind of man is this? That even the winds and the sea obey him. You know, I started uh the series with fixing our eyes on jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith in that word, uh fixing or or focusing our eyes on jesus is really so important because what it’s saying is forget about everything else, blur everything else. Just take the camera aperture and just focus it on one subject, jesus christ. Now I got a perfect illustration on this. Uh we were out here at the Long Island sound uh years ago with our elders on one of our members had a boat, a sailboat. So we went sailing with the elders on the Long Island sound. Now, jimmy was the captain of the, of the sailboat and we’re having a fantastic time and I’m just enjoying myself and I’m looking in the face of jimmy. Uh and he looks at me and he and he says, look at that, and he’s looking at something in the sky that I don’t know what it is, I mean, But he sees it, he says, you see that? I said, yeah, yeah. What’s that? He says, that’s a thunderhead. I said a thunderhead. I had no idea what he was talking about, A thunderhead. And what he said to me was this, he says, well, in a couple of minutes there’s gonna be a terrible storm here And we better tie everything down and let everybody know. I mean, there were, I don’t know, maybe 10 guys on the boat and we’re just kinda, I’m waiting for this and I see the sky is getting dark, just like the captain told us, and you know, the boat started rocking and within minutes this place was wind waves, 567 ft waves. And it was so and then 10 ft waves, it was so dramatic that the sale of this pretty sizable sailboat hit the the ocean, the ocean, the sound boom like that. And I mean, we’re in this boat, my feet, uh he told us to hold on, so I was holding on and my feet were against the side of the boat and my feet were in the water like this, it tipped over like this and I’m thinking, but I was watching his face, I was watching his eyes, all the guys went down into the, into the sailboat, I was up there with him and I’m watching his eyes jimmy’s eyes, I’m watching his face and he’s just totally confident he’s moving strong. He’s I said, have you ever seen anything like this before? He said, oh yeah, I’ve been in storms like this, we’ll get out of it. And he was so confident. I’m looking at him. I wasn’t, you know, I knew I was afraid of everything that was going on. You know what he said to me? He said, you see that dinghy? Because the dinghy which is a little boat that you have there just to save your life. It was going back and forth like that, the rope had loosened and it was banging away like this. So he said to me, crawl out there and going, tie. I’m like what? The guys that were with us from the Manhattan bible church, They were petrified down there. They said, what’s going on? What’s going on? I said, I gotta go tie the dinging. I went out there, I crawled, literally crawled, holding on, crawled out there, tied it, came back. But I was looking at the captain, that was the key. I was looking at the captain and he was perfectly in control of himself. He was confident of what he was doing. And he was sure we’re gonna get out of this thing. And sure enough, a couple of minutes later, things started coming down. We came out of this thing and I was and I was just so grateful that I was able to look at the captain jimmy who knew what he was doing and was confident, had been through this experience before and told me exactly what to do. Well this is a lot like that when you read And you realize that these were, these were fishermen, these were incredible uh sailors who knew what was going on. It says uh that Jesus Christ got into, got into the boat in verse 23 and uh and the bible says his disciples followed him and behold there arose a great storm when it says great mega low, it means great, there were storms out there, but this one was a great storm in the sea so that the boat was covered with the waves. I mean just like the day we were out here at the long island sound in new york in new york and uh he himself was asleep now wait a minute, now wait a minute. So you know the, the old this right here is telling us the sea was just kind of, you know the difference between a C. And an ocean right to see is a lot closer to land and you can see land, ocean is out there, it’s way out there. So you know, jesus christ felt like he was gonna take a nap, He was taking a nap, he was sleeping, he was having a just enjoying himself. He was just in a big crowd. People wanted to follow him and look what it says here. They came to him and awoke him and saying save us Lord, We’re perishing. They thought they were going down. This was a terrible day. It was a fearful day. These guys were so afraid. The Bible says in verse 26, he said to them, why are you timid now? This is an important word and we’re going to hear it again and again and again because in in second timothy chapter one and verse seven, it says God has not given us the spirit of timidity. This word timid Delia in that verse only time it’s in the feminine. In second timothy chapter one in verse seven, God has not given us the spirit of fear or timidity, cowardice, dread that leads to discouragement, hopelessness, but of power, Vietnamese and love agape e and of a sound mind saffron, which you know is an incredible words. The only place you was there also. It means to think in a way that guide your actions the proper way. You know, you can’t just lose it at a moment like that and you gotta collect yourself and that’s what jesus christ was in total control. He was sleeping. He woke up, he said to them, why are you so fearful using this very word that we just looked at. You see, why are you so fearful? It wasn’t the word for votes, which can be a good for you. It was the word the loss, which is a fear of cowardice of total despair. No faith. And he says, oh men of little faith now this is so important Vicki because we go through life that creates such havoc, such overwhelming pressure and fear on us that we feel like, you know, I mean we’re trembling. So maybe you can, you know, you can say something about this passage of scripture and and it says when he rebuked he arose he rebuked the wind, the embassy and it became perfectly calm. And the men marvel saying, what kind of man is this? That even the wind wins and the seat obey him. Well when we get into a fearful situation in life and we have them, we don’t normally go through great storms like that, but we definitely have storms. We go to the doctor, he says you have a serious disease. You may not have long to live and we don’t even know what we’re supposed to do to solve the problem. We have family problems Working in a church for over 40 years at the Manhattan Bible Church, marital problems, relational problems. People who have before they come to christ many have been divorced and remarried and they’re trying to be healed and and raise Children whose that’s that their father or their mother and conflicts of relationships and we get fearful. We get fearful when you know we’re worried about finances and our family and all these other things that come into our life. And we have to have faith that God himself, he can actually tell the winds and the waves hush, be still. We need to remember that in our problems of life. What about that verse that I mentioned in second timothy in chapter one and verse seven that God has not given us this Spirit of Fear. It’s not from God. The Spirit of God is the spirit of power. The Vietnamese are happy and Saffron sound much sound judgment, sound ability, ability to discern things and to make a good decision. Power love. You know, and and I think that that that is so important honey, that when we go into situations that are so overwhelming and we were so fearful. We need to remember that’s not God because God is with us. He will never leave us or forsake us his promises, he gives us peace. He doesn’t allow things to happen to us that he’s not aware of anything that we go through. He’s already aware of it, right? I catch myself with the way I think because our brain is really important in our thoughts and our words and sometimes we say things silently in our mind. But that’s not healthy also because we are thinking those things and we are producing emotions in our body and our our language the way we speak. So it’s important to think sound thoughts, to think, to think truth and to to rely on promises once again in the midst of storms do not let fear overwhelm us. Do not forget who is in control of our future in our lives. God hasn’t given us that spirit of he has not. This is from the enemy satan that is such a great point that our thoughts trigger emotional reactions actually chemical reactions in our body. And we actually begin to feel things just like when you get nervous, you know because you think a certain thought or you’ve got to perform or do something and God wants us to to let him govern us from inside and to give us that power in that love and that sound mine. Thank you Vicky these five areas of our life. I call the five faith killers because God without faith it’s impossible to please God. And God wants us to grow in our faith. And so here you have I said that it was faithful provisions In Matthew 6 25 through 34 talking about food and clothing and lifespan and All of that. And then in the second one, faith for peace in Matthew eight 18 through 27 And in Matthew chapter 14 It’s faith for protection and then in Matthew uh 16 1 through 12 it’s faith for perception to understand and perceive what jesus means when we read something. He was talking to the Pharisees and the securities and the disciples thought it was about bread and he know he was talking about the teaching of the sad uses of the Pharisees sometimes he uses metaphors, sometimes it’s literal. We have to when we read God’s word no and have perception and discernment to know what god means and study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman who do not need to be ashamed handling accurately the word of God. And then there’s the last one Matthew 17, which is faithful power and authority when he was dealing with the demon demon that was demon possessed, that little boy that father came and to get some help. So these are the areas that Jesus uses this one word, Olivo, priestess, Olivo pistols and he uses this word to spur us on to greater prayer and bible study fasting and really develop our spiritual trust. Looking on to jesus who is the author and the finisher of our faith. I, I just love God’s word. It’s so powerful. I want us to, to be able to understand what he means when he uses the second word, which is the word for fear. He talks about uh, the, the uh, the loss in Matthew 8 26 he said to them, why are you afraid? You men of little faith, he said then he got up and he rebuked the winds and the sea and it became perfectly calm. Now the disciples were coward ng they were fearful. This was a bad fear, this is not the favelas fear. this is, this is the, the loss fear. And so we have to understand that there are different kinds of fear in the greek language when, when it says the loss, this is an adjective derived from vido fear driven properly dreadful. And describing a person who loses their moral gumption fortitude that is needed to follow the Lord. Um notice what else it is. Villa says fearful losses refers to an excessive fear or a dread of losing, causing someone to be frightened, uh faint hearted and cowardly hence to, to fall short in following christ as our Lord Delos has always used negatively in the new testament and stands in contrast to the positive fear, which can be expressed through the word phobos, uh, in Philippians two for instance, it uses the word for all of us there uh that we are to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. It’s a positive fear, but this word, the, those a little bit different and and gives us some specific things that I want to talk about right now concerning the, the passages that I’ve written down here, it is derived from the, though we said it’s dreadful describing someone who loses the moral gumption, Let me go on here are some passages of scripture where you’ll find us not only in Matthew 8 26 he said to them, why are you afraid Human of little faith, but also in Mark 4, 40, he said to them, why are you afraid notice the difference in the text here. Do you still have no faith? So it really is like he’s challenging, Do you still have no faith? He’s actually, he’s going, he’s overstating something to get them to respond to faith. And then he says, and then he says s in do you not yet have faith? It’s translated. Do you not have faith? Do you not yet have faith? It’s very interesting how he changed from ali rope historian Matthew, the same incident to Mark chapter four verse 42. Have you yet not have faith? So he’s challenging the disciples to faith john chapter 14 27 it says this peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives it do I give you? Do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful. The liao, that is the same word. It’s only used here in the gospels in in this way. And the contrast between this word for fear and the contrast to faith. You believe in God believe also in me, the Lord jesus christ said in that passage of scripture in my father’s house are many mansions, john chapter 14 verse one it continues in revelation 21 8. But for the cowardly, it’s also translated cowardly. The loss and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and a moral person, sorcerers and idolaters and all liars? Their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. This is a negative fear. This is a bad fear. And uh that cowardly and second timothy 17, I love this passage of scripture. Uh, and and it it says this for God has not given us the Spirit of Fear but of power and love and discipline. Now in some translations, it’s translated, he has not given us the spirit of timidity and other other translations. It’s fear. It is the word the lia which is fear. It’s this dread. It’s this coward ng uh pressure on us hopelessness and discouragement. And God says it’s no good for us. We can’t have it. For God has not given this spirit. It’s not from God, it’s from demons, It’s from the devil, it’s from the flesh, but it’s not from God. God has not given us that spirit. The Spirit of fear but of power. Notice the contrast here Not the piece that we found in John 14 but of power and love and of sound mind so far on which is literally the mind that is controlling. Now my actions total governing of God in my soul and in my spirit so that I may do what God wants me to do. Four votes on the other hand, the word for votes, which is another word for fear is flea and withdraw properly to withdraw with fear. And uh for Vos is used positively of avoiding uh what pleases the Lord to embrace what is truly good of his will and therefore cannot be trifled with or lost Philippians. Chapter 2: verse 12 and 13 we mentioned this before. So then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed not only in my presence only, but much more in my absence. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his own good pleasure. You see, God wants us to have this sense of awe and sense of reverence and sense of respect towards the things of God and that causes us like Vicki said. You know that when when you fear the fire, you don’t put your hand in it. You realize, hey, that fear is there for you to be protected by it by the same token, God, God is a consuming fire. And when he speaks, we need to realize that hey, we need to obey God. We need to stay away from the things that he doesn’t want us to go near and draw close on to God. The things that he wants us to go near. Uh first timothy in chapter five and verse 20 those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be what four of us fearful. You see, when when we discipline people for doing that, which is not right and those that are watching and those that are, that are observing also will get this healthy Godly for Vos, which is different than the leos. Uh, and they’ll also be fearful of sinning first peter 1 17 If you address as father, the one who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear for all of us during the time of your stay on the earth. Think about that. God says, why you’re on this earth, conduct yourself in such a way that you realize that God is watching and weighing everything. You’re doing your your thoughts and your emotions, your motives, your actions, your reactions, everything. And let me read it again. It’s very powerful verse. If you address as father, the one who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves and fearful of us during the time of your stay upon this earth reflection. Fear of losing God’s approval is not only healthy, it is the beginning of wisdom, God says. And there are so many passages in the old testament Proverbs 1 17 Proverbs 1 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction and that word for fear is era coming coming from Yeah, Job 46. It is not your is not your fear of God, your confidence and the integrity of your heart. Uh, wage your hope. Job 28 28 a man he has said behold the fear of the Lord that is wisdom and the to depart from evil is understanding. Let me just stop right there and just ask you a question. Do you know God? Do you understand the word of God? Have you come to a point where you realize and respect the things that God has said in his word and you need to respond in healthy fear phobos but not villus the Delia which which is to cower down and not to allow the Spirit of God to give us that power. Because God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind. Father God, I pray that you would help us to constantly allow your spirit to fill our hearts with power and love and of a sound mind. God bless you until next time. It’s all greek to me.