Walking in Fear and Comfort

Sermon from CCM Fallowfield

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LISTEN

 

This sermon was preached by Liam Thatcher at the Fallowfield site of Christ Church Manchester on Sunday 14th November 2021.

BIBLE VERSES

 

This sermon was based on Acts 9:31.

Acts 9:31

31So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

KEY POINTS

Comfort = Courage

• The Holy Spirit has never stopped working. The same power that dwelt in Jesus, Paul, and the early church… that same Spirit lives in you and me, and he wants to do the same things through US that he’s always done. Bringing healing, hope and salvation to this world. 
• Saul has a spiritual experience – an encounter with Jesus – on the road to Damascus, and his whole life is changed. 
• The Spirit completely transforms him.
• Despite all the pressure, fear, danger, rather than shrinking, the church grew.
• Humility… recognising we don’t have what it takes to heal this broken world… and opening ourselves up to the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Walking in the Fear of the Lord

• FEAR: On the one hand, if we’re inclined to think of God as being an angry, judgmental being, the phrase FEAR of the Lord can reinforce that idea. God is to be feared, therefore I want to keep away from Him.
• LOVE: On the other hand, if we think of God as being a God of Love the phrase FEAR of the Lord can sound jarring. Surely FEARing God is a bad thing. Shouldn’t we LOVE God? 
• Fearing God and loving God are not two opposite, incompatible ideas. They are two sides of the same coin. Because the kind of fear we’re talking about is not abject terror. It’s not the dread of punishment. It’s awe. It’s wonder. It’s love. 

Falling Backwards vs Falling Forwards

• The fear of the Lord is not the kind of fear that falls BACKWARDS. Cowering. Arms outstretched to keep God away from us, in terror. 
• The fear of the Lord falls FORWARDS. Kneeling. Arms outstretched in reverence to God, in worship. 
• The fear of the Lord is about living in a state of humble, worshipful awe at the Creator of all things, who loves you, and draws near to you. 
• There is something deeply healthy about this kind of fear…

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