Fears

Continuing with our Bible reading of the Book of Acts (Acs 21), we see the prophet Agabus giving Paul a personal prophecy - that he would be bound and handed over to the Gentiles in Jerusalem (Ac 21:10-11).  What an unencouraging word!  It definitely puts fear in the hearts of Paul's travelling companions and the people who were at Philip's house. They begged him not to go up to Jerusalem (v 12). 

What would you do if you receive such a word?  For one, we would certainly test the spirit of prophecy.  If he/she is a fly by night prophet, we can certainly dismiss the word as coming from the flesh.  But Agabus was a well-recognised prophet in those days having prophesied concerning a world-wide famine which came to pass (Acs 11:28).  The fact of the matter is that God certainly knows the end from the beginning where our personal pilgrimage in life is concerned (Is 46:9-10).  It is His prerogative to reveal certain aspects of our future if He wants to, by way of encouragement or warning. 

In the case of the apostle Paul, God had already pre-warned him regarding how much he should suffer for Christ's sake (Acs 9:15-16).  So, the word of the prophet Agabus did not take him by surprise as seen in his response, which was in contrast to the people around him.  He accepted the word given saying that he was prepared to die in Jerusalem for the Lord's sake (v 13).  In the book of Revelation, it tells us that this kind of response is one of the victories that overcome the devil (Rev 12:11); the other two being the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. 

The devil uses death as a weapon to put people under the bondage of fear (Heb 2:14-15).  But praise God, Christ has rendered the devil powerless through His resurrection from the dead.  We no longer need to fear death because it has been defeated by the life that God gives to Christ and to those who would believe in Him.  Indeed, Christ is the first fruits of those who are dead (1 Cor 15:20).  Jesus said to His disciples, "Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."    (Mt 10:28 NASB).

Beyond the fear of death, there are many other fears that plague us in life.  It could be the fear of animals, insects, people, unknown circumstances etc.  "The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord would be exalted."  (Pr 29:25 NASB).  This means that we can be paralysed by a phobia (in this case to man) that prevents us from being effective in doing things for the Lord.  If Paul had listened to the people telling him not to go to Jerusalem, he would not have accomplished what was written of him; to be a witness to kings and those in authority like Festus and Agrippa.

Yesterday, I went to watch Karate Kid with my family.  It was a very good show starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith.  One of the lessons imparted was overcoming our own fears - this was seen in Dre Parker (Jaden) who despite the injuries sustained wanted to carry on fighting in the competition, because if he does not face his own fears head on, he would still be afraid when he leaves.  We challenged one of our daughters, who is afraid of the dark, to overcome this fear by trusting in God to watch over her.  The movie also illustrated the power of mutual encouragement to enable one to rise from despair to victory. 

Finally, the theme verse for our church as we have been reminded at last Sunday's service is about our all-encompassing God:
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  (Is 41:10 NIV)