We were made to have fear.

• Proverbs 22:3
• Fear is useful and keeps us alive.
• Healthy fear can be a good thing.

Fear is real.

• Man and beast have fear.
  • God made us and them that way.
  • Protected and fed by animals’ fear of us – Genesis 9:2
• Fear can help us – Proverbs 1:7
• Fear can hinder us – Matthew 25:24-28
  • Fear of acting in this case was called wicked and lazy.

What causes fear?

• Danger
• The unknown or unfamiliar
• Overwhelming opposing force
• Personal experience – II Corinthians 12:20-21
• Other people’s experiences – Acts 9:26
• Disapproval of others – John 9:17-22
• Immediate consequences for actions – Jonah 3:4-9

Kinds of fear

• Reverence and respect
  • Cornelius – Acts 10:1-2
  • Jonah – Jonah 1:1-3
• Mortal fear
  • Belshazzar – Daniel 5:1-6
  • Saul and the Israelites – I Samuel 17:8-11, 21-24
  • Peter – Matthew 14:27-31
• Phobias
  • Spiders, snakes, etc.
  • Heights, people, situations
• Memory fear
  • “I remember what happened last time I did that.”
• Fear of consequences
  • Jonah – Jonah 3:10-4:3
  • Ecclesiastes 8:11

It can be controlled

• If we couldn’t control our fears, God wouldn’t have told us not to fear.
• Some general guidelines
  • Objectively examine what makes you afraid and why (awareness)
  • Known what you can use to mitigate it (knowledge)
  • Learn to use those items of mitigation (confidence)
  • Example – fear of flying

Subjecting fear

• Knowledge
  • Proverbs 1:7
  • Matthew 10:24-33
• Familiarity
  • Doing activities that make you fearful
  • Understanding better through instruction
  • Confidence through repeated exposure
• Faith
  • Matthew 10:29-30 – Truly believing you will be all right
  • Faith that God is with you
    • Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:4-8
    • Apostles – Matthew 28:19-20
    • Other times and other ways

Love

• I John 4:16-19
• Motivation to put the fear behind you.

Helping others gain courage

• “Encouragement”
  • Isaiah 35:3-4
  • Acts 11:22-24 (Acts 4:36)
  • Colossians 4:7-8
  • Hebrews 3:13
• Mentorship and examples
  • Missionary activities rarely done alone.
  • Titus 2:1-8

Why is courage so important?

• Why work so hard for it
• Why strive to encourage others?
  • God instructs us
  • It has eternal consequences – Revelation 21:8

Take courage

Encourage others

Introduction

• When you think of the book of Judges …
  • What event comes to mind?
  • What character comes to mind?
  • What quality of God comes to mind?
  • What spiritual takeaway comes to mind?
• Judges depicts a bleak chapter in Israel’s history: one of idol worship and faithlessness, necessitating God’s continual intervention to punish and deliver the Israelites from oppression.
  • Psalms 106:34, 37-38
  • Ruth 1:1

Historical context of Judges

• Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt and then thoroughly and repeatedly warned against the pitfalls of living in Canaan.
• Deuteronomy 4:1, 9, 23-24; 11:18-23, 26-28
• Covers a period of about 300 years and depicts part of the transition from “house of the father” (e.g. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to tribal confederacy to dynastic monarchy.
• First event chronologically – Judges 2:6
• The Israelites go from a time of relative unity (under Moses and Joshua’s leadership) to assimilating with heathen nations to anarchy and civil war.

What did the judges do?

• God intended for judges to lead throughout Israel (Deuteronomy 16:18-20; 17:8-13).
• Described using one or two Hebrew words – the first associated with saving or rescuing and the second with dispensing judgment.
  • Both found in the accounts of Othniel and Deborah (Judges 3:9-10; 4:4, 9-10), but more often the judges are said to serve as deliverers, (military) leaders, or decision makers.

Outline of Judges

• Chapters 1-2 – Roots of Israel’s apostasy
• Chapters 3-16 – The downward spiral of Israel’s apostasy
• Chapters 17-21 – The depths of Israel’s apostasy
• Latter parts of the narrative focuses on two points (Judges 21:25)
  • “in those days there was no king in Israel”
  • “everyone did what was right in his own eyes”
• Several graphic descriptions of God’s judgment (Ehud and Eglon) but also of wanton violence and depravity (Levite’s concubine).

General observations

• God’s intervention does not imply either commendation or condemnation.
  • Judges 14:4
• God’s silence does not imply either commendation or condemnation.
• Imagine trying to please God while living in Israel during this time.
• God’s people need godly leaders.
• Worldly surroundings negatively influence us.
• We must take God’s warnings seriously!

Class goals

• Better understanding of the text and its place in the Bible story.
• Greater appreciation for God’s character.
• Increased knowledge of the divine perspective on human nature.
• Learn how to escape the trap into which the Israelites fell (Judges 8:34; II Peter 1:9).

Introduction

• Many people consider the Bible an old book that has been endlessly copied. How do we know we can trust what it says?
• The first big translation was the Septuagint. But Jesus, Paul, and other New Testament writers quoted from it.

Three sources of evidence

Jesus

• Luke 4:14-21 – Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2, which was a messianic prophecy. Jesus called this passage scripture – God’s divinely inspired word. Were there copying mistakes in this scroll? Probably. But still, Jesus called it scripture.

Peter

• II Peter 3:15-16 – Note that Peter called Paul a beloved brother despite Paul previously sharply rebuking Peter for hypocrisy.
• I Peter 1:1 – Paul’s letters were all in wide circulation to all the churches by AD 70. Peter considered them equal to Old Testament scripture.
• Colossians 4:16 – Paul directed that his letters be copied and read by all.

Paul

• I Timothy 5:17-18 – Elders who rule well can be paid for their work. This is a quote from Luke 10:7. Paul quoted it and put it on par with Old Testament scripture.
• All of these quoted from old, likely flawed manuscripts and called them scripture.

Conclusion

• II Timothy 1:12

Discerning between good and evil, continued

Questions that help us test, continued:

Does the action bother my conscience?

• The conscience is a person’s inner awareness of conforming to the will of God or departing from it, resulting in either a sense of approval or condemnation.
• Scripture talks about having a “good conscience”
  • I Timothy 1:5
  • I Timothy 1:19
  • Acts 23:1
  • Acts 24:16
• Conscience can be tainted:
  • I Timothy 4:1-2 – seared with a hot iron
  • Ephesians 4:19 – being past feeling
• Limited or incorrect knowledge is no excuse!
• Romans 14:5 – let each be fully convinced in his own mind
• Romans 14:23 – one who doubts is condemned

Does this action hinder my influence?

• Matthew 5:13-16 – you are the light of the world
• Philippians 2:14-15 – shine as lights in the world
• Does my language hinder my influence?
  • Ephesians 5:1-11 – obscenity, foolish talk, crude talking
  • Ephesians 4:29 – no corrupt word
  • Ephesians 4:31 – put away evil speaking
  • If people are not ashamed of obscenity around you, maybe you aren’t having the influence you should.

Does the action dominate my life?

• I Corinthians 6:12 – I will not be mastered by anything.

Could this action cause others to stumble?

• I Corinthians 8:13 – if food makes my brother stumble, then I will never eat meat again

Can I carry out this action to the glory of God?

• I Corinthians 10:31
• Can I do this action and at the same time glorify God?

Introduction

• John 13:34 – Love is the hallmark of Jesus’ disciples. They had personal contact with each other.
• Time on devices is starting to replace time with other people.
• When people cut back on social media, within two weeks they were happier and less depressed.
• 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High Tech World by Jean Twenge

Make sure your daughters and sons know how valuable they are.

• Genesis 1:26-27 – We are made in God’s image.
• Genesis 9:3-6
• John 4:24
• I Corinthians 15:50-53
• My body is not me. I just live here right now.
• I Peter 1:14-16
• I Peter 3:3-4
• Our value comes from being created in the image of God.

Teach your sons and daughters to be pure.

• Job 1:1; 31:1
• II Peter 2:14
• I John 2:16
• Matthew 5:27

Help them grow comfortable being different from the world.

• Matthew 5:29-30 – It is worth whatever it takes to make it to Heaven.
• Matthew 7:13-14 – We want to be one of the few.
• Romans 12:2
• Meta’s internal research shows that most people wish Instagram didn’t exist – including Instagram’s own users!
• Matthew 5:14-16