Tonight’s the night where it’s okay to be scared.

At least that’s what we tell our kids before they sit down to watch A Garfield Halloween Special. The scene with the scary ghost pirate scares ME, and has for decades.

We always say “It’s okay to be scared, you know it’s not real. It’ll be over soon.”

And it soon is (I mean the show only last 23 minutes), and then we have candy.

 

Now if that’s not a metaphor for life I don’t know what is. The world throws all kinds of boogeymen at us, but it’ll all be over soon and then we get candy (I assume there’s kit kats in Heaven).

 

So what are you afraid of?

 

Death?

Listen to Paul:

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

2 Corinthians 1:8-10

Paul didn’t fear death, even when faced with it constantly. He knew God would deliver him, and when the time came that he would die, he still wasn’t afraid because he knew Heaven was just a heartbeat away.
So what are you afraid of?

 

Taxes?

By that I mean “money troubles.”

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:24-25, 31-33

People don’t really worry about a lack of money; they worry about a lack of means. “How will I buy this or that?” is the real worry. But Jesus says if we put God first He will take care of us. Do we believe Him, or do we worry when tax day comes and the government comes to take a big bite out of our already-small apple? Don’t worry: Trust.

So what are you afraid of?

 

Persecution? How about prosecution? One is just a means to the other’s end, right?

Everyone flipped their lid when the mayor of Houston threatened jail time to any preacher who didn’t hand over their sermons.

Or something like that…You know how unreliable the news is on Facebook.

But still…so what? You want my sermons you can have them. If you don’t like them…again, so what? It’s not my doctrine. If you want to arrest someone, arrest Jesus.

Oh you can’t. Too bad.

So you can arrest me instead. The servant is not greater than his Master. They arrested my Master for the things He said; who am I to resist arrest under similar circumstances?

We should not fear what men may do to us. No amount of persecution or prosecution should deter us from doing our God-given duty (Mark 16:15).

So what are you afraid of? You’re on God’s side right?

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Hebrews 13:6

 

Have a great Halloween!