Conspiracy of Fear
“the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me…“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honour as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” (Isa 8:11-13)
Preamble
In the last week I have been praying that the Lord reveal to me sin in my life that prevents me from being a true reflector of his glory (2 Cor 3:18). A surprising answer to this prayer is the immediate foundation for this teaching.
Introduction
First it was Bill Gates, 5G and microchips, now it concerns the looming vaccination programme for COVID. Why is it that Christians, especially “Bible-believers”, seem disproportionately prone to believing all sorts of wild tales? Even this morning I read an email addressed to the organisation I chair (EAF) wanting info about our Christian position on the use of vaccines developed using foetal cells. The writer insisted that anyone being vaccinated must possess “Nazi values”. Such driving passions are plainly very deep. To impart insight into them I need to tell a personal story.
See the Log Within
Yesterday I was approached by an aviation security guard about safety concerns. (Sometimes it’s police who have a chat with me on the dark streets). The conversation with Ash, an educated Moslem Bangladeshi, ended well, but the Lord shocked me with insight about how the chat started. Just prior to when Ash spoke, I sensed my heart was erecting a safety barrier of distance between me and him. When I prayed concerning this the Spirit showed it was a mechanism of self-protection generated by fear. As this sort of anticipation-and-defence was never generated between Jesus and others it is a sin. I believe that at the hidden level of the heart (1 Cor 4:5) most believers are riddled with fear. Think about the following.
Have you ever “rehearsed” what you are going to say in an anticipated difficult situation. Jesus commanded, “Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer” (Luke 21:14), and assured us that the lovely “Spirit of our Father” (Matt 10:20) would give us words. Our common-sense approach to life has grieved the Spirit many times (Eph 4:30; 5:19). Husbands/wives, have you feared your spouse in such a way that this has compromised your godly behaviour in marriage and life? The emotion of fear is not sin (Mark 14:36), but submitting to it rather than to the sole Lordship of Jesus (Acts 10:36) is sinful.
Fear of Punishment
When the fallen first couple hid from “the face of the Lord” in Eden (Gen 3:8, 10) they did so because they fearfully anticipated impending divine judgement. John explains, “If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment,” (1 John 4:17). Adam and Eve not merely expected death, they knew they deserved what was coming. This does not at all belong in the Christian life. Every fear that causes us to “shrink back” from fully doing the will of God with boldness is a failure to trust we have complete peace with God (Rom 5:1; Heb 10:38). All self-protection is a failure to trust in the finished work of Christ. This sort of fear is the foundation for commitment to the conspiracies plaguing so many “believers” As a disorder of the conscience no amount of reason or argument will ever shift such a malady. Let me open this up a little.
Fathering Fear and Evil Suspicions
Years ago, a brother educated in an influential conservative Evangelical college told me they were trained to be suspicious. I remember being at this institution when a woman presenter on a controversial topic began by declaring, “It’s ok, I am safe”. On a host of issues many believers have imbibed as climate of suspicion that obscures the all-conquering power of the gospel. Such “evil suspicions” (1 Tim 6:4) are incited by the “elemental spirits” (Col 2:8) who serve Satan and rob us of “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” that keeps us centred in Christ (Phil 4:7). The devil is the father of all slavish un-sonly fear (John 8:44; Rom 8:15). The fear behind every conspiracy theory, plus issues which polarise the Church, like eschatology, spiritual gifts, women in ministry, can only be healed by the pure fear of the cross.
The Fear of the Cross
Knowing the uniqueness of his impending death the Son of God was filled with faith (Heb 12:2) and relied entirely on the Spirit to lead his response to his upcoming agonies. In a climate of the most intense emotions Jesus was unreactive to both the mockers and wailers around him (Luke 23:11,27). He in no way “feared what they feared” because the holy Father was his sole “fear and dread” (Isa 8:12-13). By his unflinching obedience Jesus healed the most stubborn of our feelings, fear. Through the cross Christ “perfected holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1). Separating himself from all worldly thinking and feelings Jesus opened himself up to the dreadful saving will of God (Mark 14:36). “My God…Why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) means the fearless Son is immersed in all that every self-conscious sinner (2 Cor 5:21) has ever feared. Yet the resurrection has transposed our Intercessor (Heb 7:25) into the realm beyond fear on our behalf. This is great news. For those who abide in Christ by the power of the Spirit our fears can be progressively perfected so that we are set free from the power of all suspicion. The gospel is triumphant over all deceptive conspiracies.
Conclusion Application
COV19 has exposed the sad truth that through fear and suspicion Satan has far more influence in the Church than any of us admit. Jesus prophesied about a time of “men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). We are in this time. Many Christians are just as fearful as the world is (Matt 24:12). How can this be? Only a sovereign act of God can deliver us. Only when there is a humanly incomprehensible stillness and peace amongst the people of God (Phil 4:7) will we have a potent testimony to these hyper-anxious times. This must happen in the same way it came to the prophet Isaiah. When the “strong” and crucified “hand” of the Lord is laid upon us (Isa 8:11; Rev 1:17), all our naturally sinful expectations and reactions will be expelled. Glory and suspicion cannot dwell together. When the times of supernatural dread and awe characteristic of the Early Church (Acts 5:5, 11; 9:31; Phil 2:13) come upon us the demonic nonsense of conspiracies will lose their power. May it be so, to the greater glory of God!