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Author Topic: Perfect Love Casts Out All Fear  (Read 14889 times)
pastordan
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« on: March 12, 2010, 10:39:31 AM »

I was inspired by "Lying, Cheating and Stealing" thread to write this sermon for Sunday, based on the story of the Prodigal Son. Thought you all would get a kick out of it. I wonder if it dd will get it, or if it will go right over her head?

Luke 15:1–3, 11b–32

Once upon a time, there was a man who had two sons.

Now, the father was wise and very loving. But his sons were afraid.

The younger son feared that his father might stop loving him and leave him nothing to live on after he died. Because he was afraid that his father might reject him, he broke away from his father first. He asked for his inheritance early and ran to a faraway land, where he blew the money on wine, women, and song.

He ran a few cars into the ditch, too.

When he realized what a mess he had made of things, he was even more afraid. He did not want to go home because he feared that his father would be disappointed in him and might refuse to see him. But he was even more afraid that he might starve in the faraway land.

So he screwed up his courage and went home.

There, to his surprise, his father welcomed him with open arms. He was, after all, a wise and very loving father. "I am just happy that you're still alive!" his father exclaimed. "Welcome home." And he threw a huge party to celebrate his son's return.

He was, as I said, wise and very loving.

When the older son found out about this, he too was afraid. He was afraid that his father would be so overjoyed about his brother's return that he would stop loving him. He was afraid that his little brother would get all the attention. And he was afraid that his brother would get to waste all that money and then get some of what belonged to the older son.

Some people lie when they are afraid. Some people steal. The younger brother ran away when he was afraid. But the older brother got mad. He sat outside the party and sulked.

The father, being wise and loving, knew that his son was afraid. He also knew that punishing his older son would only make him more angry and more afraid. It would only drive a wedge between them.

He knew too that doing something nice for his son would make him feel better.

So when he went out to talk to his son, he didn't yell. He didn't scold. He didn't judge. He simply went out and asked his older son to join the party.

The son complained to him about how unfair it all was. But the father told him: "I love you now and I will always love you. There will be plenty to go around. You don't need to be afraid. But at the moment, it isn't about you. It's about your brother, who was lost and now has been found. So don't be afraid. Don't sit out here and make yourself miserable. Be happy. Come in and enjoy the fun."

The end.

That's a nice story, isn't it?

We are happy to see ourselves as the younger son, happy to see ourselves returned to our Heavenly Father's love.

What we don't like to admit is that we are afraid, just like that son. We are afraid that God will stop loving us, so we stop loving God first. We push him away before he can push us away.

The way that we do this is to refuse to follow God's expectations. We know we shouldn't be so materialistic, but we tell ourselves that in this case, this one instance, it's okay. We know that we shouldn't use medicine or technology to solve all our problems, but instead accept graciously our limits. But we tell ourselves, no, I can't, it's too hard, I don't want to die. We know that we shouldn't depend on armies or violence to keep us safe, but it's easier and less frightening and less disruptive than making peace in the world, and so we go along with it.

We take the easy way instead because we are too afraid to take the hard way. But we know that what we are doing is wrong. And we know that we will be caught eventually, and we are afraid that we will be punished for what we have done. So when we push God away before he can push us away, it only makes us that much more scared. We become anxious, and we see no way out of it.

We also don't like to admit that we are an awful lot like the older brother sometimes. We are afraid and we resent that our little brother gets all the attention and seems to get all the love.

We are afraid that he will not get punished for his misdeeds like we have been punished for ours.

We are afraid that because God loves him, there won't be enough love for us.

We have all kinds of names for him, don't we? Him really means them these days. Those people aren't doing what's right, and they are not being punished, and that makes me angry. What we can't say is: it makes me afraid that God might love them more than me.

Anxiety and anger are both funded by fear. We are all afraid of God in one way or another.

But as the Apostle John tells us, "there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love."

God, that wise and loving father, loves us perfectly. He sent us his only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to teach us that we need not be afraid of him. We have not yet learned that lesson, because we are afraid of being punished, or afraid that somebody else will not be punished. That is just another way of saying that we are still sinful, imperfect people.

But the good news is this: through Jesus and by the power of his Holy Spirit, we can be made perfect in love, and drive out all fear. And then, we can live happily ever after with our father and our brothers and our sisters and just enjoy the party together.

The End.
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MaKettle
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« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2010, 10:54:10 AM »

Love it!  I think I'll print it out & tape it to DD's bedroom door.

When you really stop to think about it, isn't most ugly behavior caused by fear?
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Fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff & shut it when I've said enough.  Amen


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pastordan
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« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2010, 10:56:34 AM »

I can hear dd's response already. "Papa, I didn't get it."
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Bizzziemom
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« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2010, 12:11:00 PM »

 blob1 blob1 laughing6 laughing6 hello2 hello2 hello2 hello2

DEAR SON wouldn't get it either.  OH!  he'd get it, he'd just pretend he didn't.

Afterall after watching the Passion of the Christ he told me what he understood out of that movie was ...it was my fault he had to ask Jesus for forgiveness.

bizzzie
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bizzziemom
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traci
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« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2010, 01:05:18 PM »

Pastor Dan,
That is a great learning story, and I'd never viewed it with the "fear factor" involved. Fear does not come from God, you are right.
I wake up every morning, Telling Jesus that I am his servant use me as he will. He already knows this but it's my reminder. We had 2 foster children ages 2 and 4 now returned to their home 2 months ago and I'm struggling because the dad is still hitting them, saw it with my own eyes, refuses to get a job, doesn't know how to take care of their chronic conditions etc, etc. I'm struggling with my Peace, I can't be at peace with this situation, I try to give it to God, I told him yesterday that I can't find Peace on my own, I need him to do it for me. I FEAR for their lives and know that their is nothing left that I can do. How does a person find Peace in this, or find Peace at all when bad things happen to good kids?
Thank You!
Traci
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Hebrews 13:5-6 Amplified Bible
for He God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will Not, I will Not, I will Not in any degree leave you helpeless nor forsake nor let you down nor relax my hold on you ASSUREDLY NOT.

A ds 17
pastordan
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« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2010, 07:39:06 PM »

Traci: this seems like a case where you just have to pray that God will lead those kids to where they need to be. Your job is to pray, and to stick with them - and call the cops when the moment is right.

Hope that helps.

Pastor Dan,
That is a great learning story, and I'd never viewed it with the "fear factor" involved. Fear does not come from God, you are right.
I wake up every morning, Telling Jesus that I am his servant use me as he will. He already knows this but it's my reminder. We had 2 foster children ages 2 and 4 now returned to their home 2 months ago and I'm struggling because the dad is still hitting them, saw it with my own eyes, refuses to get a job, doesn't know how to take care of their chronic conditions etc, etc. I'm struggling with my Peace, I can't be at peace with this situation, I try to give it to God, I told him yesterday that I can't find Peace on my own, I need him to do it for me. I FEAR for their lives and know that their is nothing left that I can do. How does a person find Peace in this, or find Peace at all when bad things happen to good kids?
Thank You!
Traci
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Kathleenb
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« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2010, 09:02:55 PM »

@PastorDan - AMEN!

@Ma - AMEN!

Everyone who thinks their kid won't get this story is right, of course - these are words, words belong in the logical part of their brains, they live in the emotional part, especially when they're worked up (dysregulated).

But what DOES get thru to them are our actions, demeanor, body language, love, authenticity, engagement, regulation, if we can hang onto those things, when they ARE dysregulated.
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anne
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« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2010, 09:09:51 AM »

Love that and thank you PastorDan!  Sorry I'm coming on-board a bit late.

Sometimes, though, I know that these things we read to them, talk to them about, and leave for them to experience, DO get in.  We ARE seed planters and plant we must - through action, but also through our words.  Maybe that's why I keep trying to talk to our kiddos when the therapists tell me it's a waste of time?  Most times there is nothing, but over time I do see some slight changes in the right direction.  It's not up to me to make them grow, just to plant and water.  Some seedlings take a really long time to do anything - oak trees seem to take their own sweet time.  God said for us to talk about Him with our children when we are coming/going in daily life - eventually it will soak in.  So, I'm printing this out and using it for a family devotional tonight in the hopes that either the planting or the watering I'm doing will be blessed by God in His time.  Perhaps that's the hardest, leaving it in His hands.  I've always admired the Father in that parable, for his ability to wait and keep going with daily life at the same time.  Sometimes when the raging, the mania, the, um, muck that we're cleaning up, makes it so hard to just keep going.  That Father did it anyways.  If our Father can wait so patiently for the lost and love that fearful and mad older brother, then I can do my best to keep loving those that try to make themselves unlovable and push us away, because we love not with our own ability, but with His.

PastorDan, as our Ds12 is once again in his 'crazy world' of autism/RAD/?, you have given me a gift today, and for that, thank you.  God bless.

anne
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Darlins are bio sibs -Dd20 (RAD, GAD-NOS, PTSD, Bipolar? ABC?), Ds18 (AD,CP,PDD-NOS,PTSD); adopted at 6 and 3.5 yr
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