Peter Tan-Chi - Overcome Fear
Greetings in the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Let me begin by asking you a question: What do you think is the prevalent emotion that's going on today, especially during this time of lockdown pandemic? Can you guess? Is it sadness? Is it anger? Is it loneliness? Or is it fear? Worry? That's right. The most common negative emotion is fear, the fear of what may happen. There is financial fear, fear of your job, fear of what will happen to your loved ones, your health. And the root problem is really the fear of dying, death. So how do we overcome fear? Let's look at 1 Peter chapter three, as we continue our series. What is the title for today?
Once upon a time, Peter was overwhelmed with fear. Do you remember? He was afraid of a servant girl when he was asked, "Aren't you with Jesus"? And how many times did Peter deny Jesus out of fear? And by the grace of God, this man who was full of fear was transformed. What happened to him? Let us learn from the apostle Peter how to overcome fear. Let's begin by reading 1 Peter 3 as we continue our series, 1 Peter 3 verses 13 down. In these two verses, you will notice Peter gives them a command. He says: "Do not fear," don't be afraid. "Don't fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled". This is a quotation from Isaiah 8, where God says do not be afraid of men. Don't be afraid of what people can do to you.
In fact, in these two verses, he is saying: if you do what God wants you to do, you have nothing to fear. Can you imagine? Our Lord and Savior, our God is telling us do not be afraid. The command, "do not be afraid" is repeated over 365 times because God wants you to know his heart. He is saying don't be afraid. In fact, in Matthew 6:31 to 34, Jesus tells us do not worry. You see fear, anxiety, worry, they are all interrelated. You begin by worrying, you begin to be anxious and later on you become fearful. He tells us, do not worry. What do you worry about today? Most of us, what do we worry? These are things that are basic. That's what we worry about. Wow. Jesus tells us, don't worry, Notice: He tells us, don't worry; your Father, God knows.
Do you notice? Jesus tells us, how do you overcome worry? How do you overcome fear? Put Him first. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Live a Christ-centered life. And then He tells you: don't worry about tomorrow. The truth is most of us worry. A study was made about what people worry about. Majority of the times we worry about tomorrow. We worry about the future. The truth is, what you worry about, what will happen in the future, they don't happen. And God is saying you can live a life that is not fearful. And that is God's legacy for His people. So He tells us, according to the apostle Peter, three principles to overcome fear: live a Christ-centered life, a clear conscience, and confident in Christ. Let me explain to you. What does it mean to live a Christ-centered life? The word "sanctify" Christ, that's the word from holy, "hagiazō". This is a command.
Peter is saying, sanctify Christ, set apart Christ as Lord. For many of us, we think of Jesus as our Savior. But if you look at the New Testament, the words describing Jesus are as follows: 700 times, Jesus is described as Lord, capital L. He is the Lord, the King of Kings, the absolute Sovereign, the Creator, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the One that has all authority, that is Jesus. "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts", it has to be in your hearts. In other words, in our heart, there is really only one throne. Who will be seated on the throne? Who will be the most important person in your life or in your heart? And Peter is saying: set apart, sanctify Christ as Lord. Christ as Lord. Let me ask you a question. Do you really know why you believe what you believe? How do you really know that Christ is Lord in your heart? How can you tell?
In Luke 6:46, Jesus tells us: In other words, if we call Jesus as Lord, if we sanctify Jesus, if Christ is center, He is Lord. The evidence is obedience! Now, let me ask you an honest question: Is Jesus is Lord in your heart, do you really obey Him? I don't know your life. I don't know your heart, but I'd like to submit to you: there are many, many so-called Christians today who will say Jesus is their Lord but they don't really obey Him. What do I mean? My wife and I were counseling this girl because she was very religious. She would always insist she has to go to this particular church. And wow! My wife and I were saying, "That is so admirable! She is so faithful to her church"!
Except there's a problem: She does not mind living in with her boyfriend. She does not mind living in with somebody who is married. And that my friend is the problem of not knowing the Lord of our life, Jesus. He knows everything, And when He is Lord, we have to obey Him. No wonder in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus tells us. He is now giving a comparison. He is saying don't be afraid of men. Don't be afraid of the intimidation. Don't be afraid of what they can do to you. Just remember: set apart Christ. Give Him your highest respect. Give Him reverence. Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body. Do you realize who is Jesus? That's why if you read the entire verses, he tells us that we must know who Jesus is. He is a good master. You know why? Instead of running away from Him, the word "fear Him" is to give Him the highest respect.
So friends, what are you afraid of? There's only one being that you should give Him the highest respect, the highest adoration: Christ. He is a good Lord. I have asked people oftentimes, "Do you attend the worship service of CCF"? They say yes. And I ask them why. Well, praise God! Some people they attend worship, they like the music. Good! But that's not good enough. Some people attend worship because they like the preaching. Praise God, but that's not good enough. The reason why you must pursue Jesus, you must follow God is because of this simple answer. I worship, I follow, because of who Jesus is. So when I worship on Sunday, my purpose is to have an encounter with Jesus, to worship Him, to know Him. Why? Because of who Jesus is.
You see, if you don't know who Jesus is, why will you love Him? Why will you pursue Him? Many times, our Christianity is very shallow. It's all feel-good. You pursue Jesus. Why? Because of what He can do for you? That is never good enough. Peter is saying you must be able to explain. You must be able to give an account for the hope that is in you. Can you explain why you believe in Jesus? "Yet with gentleness and reverence;", don't be proud. But explain this clearly, why is this so important. Let me explain to you why putting Christ first, a Christ-centered life, is so crucial, provided you know why. Many years ago, there was a young man. He memorized the Bible. Do you know why he memorized the Bible? Because his Bible teacher would give him candy, and he loved candy! And because his memory was so good, he was able to memorize the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Wow!
This guy knew the Scriptures! And yet, when he grew older, he became an atheist. He is known as Nikita Khrushchev. This guy is the leader of the Communist party after Stalin. He was more brutal in eradicating Christianity. He closed down churches, he imprisoned pastors, and yet this guy memorized Scriptures. What's my lesson? What's your lesson? If you're attracted to the Bible, to Jesus, for the wrong reason, then He is not Lord, because you do not know that Jesus is Lord. Jesus is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. The question is this: have you surrendered everything? Is Jesus really Lord of every area of your life? That is the bottom line. Sanctify Him as Lord in your heart. To overcome fear, you must have a clear conscience. What does it mean, clear conscience?
Let's look at what the apostle Peter has to say. It is in the present tense. Keep on maintaining a good conscience. Grammatically, it is like an imperative. It's like a command. "Keep a good conscience", for what reason? If you have a good conscience before God, before men, your behavior would become exemplary. Live your life in such a way based on your conscience, so that you'll bring glory to the Lord. Can you now see the power of sanctifying Christ as Lord? If you and I live a Christ-centered life, then what's going to happen? You want to have a clear conscience. And if Christ is central, then your life, your action, will bring honor to the Lord.
People often ask me, "What do you mean by a good conscience"? Well, let me first tell you what is conscience? Conscience has to do with moral issues in the heart. Somebody once said you can debate with your mind. You can argue with your mind, what is right, what is wrong. However, you cannot debate with your conscience and win. Look at Romans 2:14: The apostle Paul is saying the Gentiles who don't have the Bible, they don't have the word of God, how do they behave? He's now telling them, even though they don't have the 10 commandments, they don't have the Law, notice the word "do instinctively the things of the Law". What are those instincts? In other words, conscience is that gift in your heart where what is right and wrong is written in your heart. All human beings, all over the world have a sense of right and wrong. It is what I call the place where God's Spirit and man's spirit connects to tell you what you are doing is right or wrong. It has to do with moral issues.
The apostle Paul tells us He's telling Timothy when you disciple people, when you help somebody grow in Christ, you must know the objective. The objective is not knowledge. The objective is more than knowledge. The objective is love; teach them how to love like Christ, but more than that, "a good conscience and a sincere faith". In other words, whatever you do when you teach people, when you disciple people, teach them the importance of a good conscience. The Bible tells us: "keeping faith and a good conscience", you must maintain a good conscience, "which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith". You cannot neglect your conscience, because to neglect your conscience is to experience spiritual shipwreck. There have been times when God convicts me from the heart.
Let me give you an example. My wife, I don't even recall the specifics, but I recall there were times when my wife asked me some questions and I did not answer her straight. And can I tell you something? My conscience bothered me. And when my conscience bothers me, I know there's only one thing to do. I go to my wife and I tell my wife, "Honey, I'm really sorry. This is really what I meant. This is really what happened". I'm reminded of their story of this girl, Ffyona Campbell. Ffyona Campbell was in the Guinness Book of Records for the first woman to walk across the planet Earth, over 19,500 miles, almost 20,000 miles. It took her 11 years across five continents.
In 1994, she was able to receive the acclaim, the popularity she wanted, people recognized her. But guess what happened? Her conscience bothered her. Why? Because in the last part of her leg, probably in the 11th year, we don't exactly know when, she rode a truck for 1,000 miles. Why did she ride the truck? She was then pregnant. But you see, no amount of rationalization will suit her conscience. She called her sponsor, She called the Guinness Book of Records to remove her name. Why? Her conscience bothered her. I don't know about you. How are you living with your conscience? My prayer is you and I will have a clear conscience, because a clear conscience will help you overcome fear. That is why we need the word of God. What do I mean? We need the spirit of God.
Hebrews 9:14 tells us, Our conscience has to be cleansed by the Spirit of God, by the word of God. You know why? Conscience that is not balanced by the word of God and by the spirit of God can be dangerous. For some people, their conscience is way off. They are ultra sensitive, like they are bothered. Example, eating of pork. According to the Bible, what God has cleansed, you can eat if you eat it with gratitude. What is the other extreme? The other extreme is a dead conscience, a seared conscience, a conscience that is defiled. I remember years ago when kidnappers kidnapped my brother. After hitting him in the head and blood all over, the kidnappers told my brother, after a long negotiation, he was dropped somewhere in the expressway. And the kidnappers told him, "Here's some money for you to take a taxi. Our conscience tells us to give you some money".
Can you imagine, kidnappers claiming to have conscience? So how do you have a good conscience? My advice, a good conscience means your conscience has to be calibrated by God's word, balance it with God's word, what God has to say, and God's Spirit, purified. And the result is a clear conscience. You cannot just depend on conscience. It has to be calibrated by the objective word of God. What does the Bible have to say? Just because you're conscience tells you it's okay to sleep with a girl, just because your conscience tells you it's okay to commit adultery, does not make it right. You know why? You need to calibrate that with God's word and God's Spirit.
A clear conscience, remember it is not perfection. However, it means when God's Spirit is bothering you in your heart, you need to pause, confess your sins to the Lord, or confess what you have done to somebody and ask for forgiveness. That's the idea of having a clear conscience. You deal with it, moment by moment, day by day. Live a Christ-centered life, have a clear conscience, confident in Christ. Place your confidence in Christ. Confident. What does it mean? You see, it's one thing to believe in Jesus, but do you have confidence? Do you really believe that He will keep His word, He will keep His promises? Let's look at what the apostle Peter had to say about Jesus from 1 Peter 3:18 up to verse 22, it has to do with the victory of Jesus. What do we mean? This is the essence of the Gospel! Confident in what Jesus did for us. Christ died for our sins.
Notice: once for all. He doesn't have to die again. Jesus died once and for all. Two thousand years ago, He went to the cross and died for our sins "once for all, the just for the unjust". The Bible tells us Jesus was without sin. He took your place, He took my place. That's what Christ did, what else happened? The Bible says when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the just for the unjust, what was He able to accomplish? You and I can now be presented before God. God is holy! I cannot come before God, but because of what Jesus did, listen! He died on the cross for your sins, for my sins. Do you really understand what He did? So that you will have confidence in going before God. Why? Because all your sins have been paid for. "Having been put to death in the flesh,", Jesus died for us, "made alive in the Spirit; in which He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison".
What does this mean? The Bible tells us some time between Friday and Sunday, when Jesus died on the cross, His flesh, He died; but His spirit, what was Jesus doing? Between Friday and Sunday, the Bible tells us what was Jesus doing? "He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison". The word "proclamation" is from the Greek word, "kēryssō". "Kēryssō" simply means an announcement, a declaration. It has to do with victory. That same word is used to describe a victorious general. And before the general will go to the city to have a parade, There is the "kēryssō", there's the proclamation. Before the emperor, before the king will come as a victor, there will be a "kēryssō", there will be an announcement. So the Bible tells us Jesus in His spirit went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison. Who are these spirits now in prison? Well, let's find out.
According to 1 Peter 3:20, these are men and women In other words, they did not listen to Noah because Noah warned them and God warned them. They must repent, and they have to build an ark for their safety. They refused to listen. So that's one group of people being referred to. And when Jesus died, His spirit went to these people to show them that Noah is correct. It's a declaration that they were all wrong by not listening to Noah. Another school of interpretation is as follows: these are spiritual beings. These are angelic beings. Remember: these are possible interpretations, it does not change the doctrines of the Bible. However, for curiosity, I just like to share this with you.
Notice: the Bible talks about how God did not spare angels. Apparently there are certain angels right now that are imprisoned. They're not free to roam around. "Cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness". That's the allusion. In Jude 6, the Bible tells us, What the Bible is saying, there are demons today that are not, they are not free to roam. God in His sovereignty locked them up. "Angels who did not keep their own domain, abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the day of the judgment of the great day", What God is saying, certain angels are so wicked, they did not follow the guidelines given, and God is saying they were... They are now locked up. And who are these angels?
Well, you'll now get a hint when you read Genesis 6:1-4. It says, That word "sons of God" can refer to angels. What do I mean? Job 1:6: These are referring to demons, fallen angels, sons of God. Now you begin to connect the two, it says in Genesis 6:4, The word "Nephilim" comes from the Hebrew word, "fallen". Fallen angels. These are giants. Is that possible? Maybe. The point is this: God is sovereign, and Jesus was the complete victor. Jesus has victory over all powers, including angels, and Jesus went to make an announcement that He's the victor. And notice the emphasis: Jesus is a picture of a victor, the triumphant Jesus. He died for our sins. He rose again, and salvation is sure.
Notice the word, "corresponding to that", what does that mean? "Baptism now saves you", notice the word "immersion", the word "baptism" means immerse. And he's saying, "not the removal of dirt from the flesh," it's not talking about the literal aspect of water baptism. He's talking about, it's a picture, it's a metaphor. It's a picture of how God saved Noah when he entered the Ark. And so how God will save us today because Jesus is like the Ark.
When you are in Christ, you are protected from the coming judgment. And that's what 1 Peter is talking about. You can have confidence in Jesus because He's the complete Victor. "Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him". Do you notice the emphasis? The emphasis is not Christ just dying on the cross for our sins, but also His resurrection. But the emphasis is not only through His resurrection, The emphasis is "who is now at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers have been subjected to Him".
Here is a picture of the complete victory of Jesus, the triumphant Christ. You can have confidence in Jesus because of who He is, what He has accomplished, and His complete victory. So baptism is a picture of dying to our old life and being raised up in newness of life. So that's the picture of what Peter wants you to know: what Christ did for us, He took the judgment, He took the punishment for us, and when He rose again, we're given new life. Christ-centered life, a clear conscience, how will that help you overcome fear? It's one thing to know about Christ, to know about God, but do you have confidence in Him? Do you believe what He says will come true? The example given was Noah. What do I mean by Noah as an example of somebody who has faith, who has confidence in God? Let's find out.
The Bible tells us Here is a picture of what happened in the time of Noah. The Bible tells us the earth was filled with violence. Sounds like today! Corrupt! God gave Noah the most sobering announcement. God tells Noah, "The earth is filled with violence, it's corrupt. I am going to destroy the whole earth". Here, you can see the holiness of God, you can see the sovereignty of God; Nobody could stop God, Nobody's telling God what to do. God is saying, "On my own, I am making a judgment. I'm going to destroy the entire earth". When God wants something done, nobody can contradict Him and nobody can stop Him. But He gave Noah a warning. What is that warning? "Noah, I want you to do something:" God gave Noah the exact dimensions on how to build the ark. And what did Noah do? Look at Hebrews 11:7: By faith, The Bible tells us what Noah did. When God warned Noah, what did Noah do? "By faith, being warned by God about things Not yet seen".
What God told Noah has no precedent. There has been no rain yet. If you read the book of Genesis, there was no rain. Noah had no idea. What does it mean there will be a flood? Noah had no idea what is the meaning of an ocean? What is the sea? There was no precedent, but Noah simply believed. And because he believed, he acted. The Bible tells us, "warned by God about things not yet seen," "reverence", that's the word for godly fear, godly respect, "prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world". I want you to notice why the Bible used Noah as an example, because Noah is a man who went against the culture of his day. Can you imagine Noah preaching righteousness, telling people to repent, and telling them to build an ark? Against the entire culture, against the value system, I won't be surprised if they were laughing at Noah. Can you imagine?
It is one thing to be faithful, to follow God for one week, two weeks, one year, not Noah. Noah invested everything, his entire energy to do what God wanted him to do. 100 years of faithful obedience, building the ark, preaching, even though he has no idea what it means to have a flood. That's faith: confidence in God's word, in God's promises, and above all, in God's character. God promised to save Noah. And by the grace of God, I can guarantee you, Noah has no regret. When you give your life and place your confidence in God, in Christ, you will have no regrets. At the end of your life, you will know it is worth it. That is the example of Noah. I realize today, it is similar. People may laugh at you. People may say, "Are you a Christian? You're crazy! Do what you like to do! Why follow the Bible"?
You see, the Bible tells us to overcome the fear of men, to overcome the fear of being ridiculed, you must be Christ-centered, live a life with a clear conscience, and place your confidence in God, because you believe in God's warning, because you believe in God's promises. And you don't have to be afraid of men, you live for the audience of One. You know, surprisingly, the flood is a worldwide event. It did happen historically, geographically, archeologically speaking. I wanted to study the reality of that judgment. You will read that in the Babylonian epic, in different cultures, even in Palawan, the natives have a story of the flood. What's my point? My point is this: are you living a Christ-centered life with a clear conscience, and your confidence is in God's word, God's promises?
In Matthew 24:37-39, The Bible tells us: What does it mean? The Bible tells us one day, Jesus will come again. And when Jesus will come again, the Bible is very clear: it is not water that will destroy this world. The Bible tells us in 2 Peter, it is going to be fire, fire coming down from heaven. Judgment will surely happen, but when did judgment happen? The Bible is very clear: "until the day that Noah entered the ark". Friends, judgment is coming. Question: are you inside the ark? Are you in Christ or are you not? Today, the Ark of God is open. Anybody can come to Jesus. It's open. But the day will come when it'll be too late to come to the ark of God. Jesus is our ark. When you are in Jesus, you are saved from the judgment to come.
Question: will you have the courage to explain to the people the good news? Will you have the courage? As 1 Peter 3 tells us, can you explain to the people why you believe what you believe? We are given the greatest opportunity today. In light of the pandemic, in light of what's happening, we are to live a life that is going to tell people the reality of the coming of Jesus. The Bible tells us you don't have to be afraid. In fact, Titus 2 tells us, Our greatest hope. Our hope, our blessed hope is the coming again of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is called the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. Complete victory! And that, my friend, is what God has promised to you and to me.
If it's your desire to make sure that you can have this living hope based on the promise of Jesus to protect us from the judgment to come, I want you to pray with me. If God has spoken to you, and you are not even sure you are in Jesus, you are not yet in the ark that God has provided, Jesus is the ark of our salvation. Are you in Jesus? He's asking you today and I'm asking you today. Can you be sure that you are in Jesus, so that when He comes again, it's going to be a glorious day. It'll be a glorious day of seeing Jesus, and you don't have to live in fear or be afraid. I'm going to give you a chance to pray, to surrender your life, to repent, and to come to Jesus. Let's pray.
Father God in heaven. Thank You for reminding us. Thank You for reminding me that the day of judgment is coming. Thank You for reminding us not to be afraid of people, not to be afraid of circumstances, not to be afraid of what people can do to us. But Lord, we are to sanctify You. We are to live a Christ-centered life. You are to be center in our life. And most important, we should place our confidence in You. So Lord Jesus, I now pray for those who are not yet sure. You are not central. Will you speak to them?
Please pray this prayer with me.
Lord Jesus, I invite you into my heart. I want You to be central. I want You to be the center of my life. I want You to be my savior. So Jesus, I will trust You. I will entrust to You the salvation of my life and my family by committing my life to You. Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the cross, for taking the judgment for my sins. And now I come to You. Be my Lord. Be my savior. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.