The fear of pain, the fear of loneliness, the fear of the unknown, the fear of failure; whatever the source may be, everyone struggles with the great antithesis of faith—fear. Fear can cause us to doubt the truth, waver from our call, compromise our convictions and abandon our hope. But as believers, we are called not to succumb to fear but to surrender in faith. In this series, we will be examining the character and life of the apostle Peter; studying his journey from a fearful fishermen to a faithful follower. From his life, we will see how God can help us conquer our fears and live a life of bold faith. From this new series we will discover that although we are fearfully made, we are also faithfully saved.
By: Ian Opiniano
As we began our new series entitled “Fearfully Made”, we discussed the role that fear takes in a believer’s life. Observing the life of the Apostle Peter, we saw how fear can be an obstacle to our call in Christ; we are called to live lives of faith, but fear can prevent us from this. We also saw that the fearful situations in our lives are not random, but that there is an objective to them—God utilizes fearful circumstances to bring Himself glory. In addition, we learned that God also uses fearful times as an opportunity to shape and refine us. For those in Christ, fear is not meant to be detrimental but functional—enabling the believer to bring glory to God and shaping them for good. Praise be to Christ, that in Him, our most fearful circumstances, are just stepping-stones to our most joyful conclusions.
By: Ian Opiniano
From financial problems, to relational strife, everyone experiences some sort of storm in their life, and depending on our mindset we can either respond in faith or react in fear. In this continuation of this series, we looked at the story of Peter and his venture out on the waters with Jesus during a frightful storm. From his experience we examined the requests that we make during times of crises; are we asking for the absence of problems, or the presence of Christ in our problems? It is in His presence where grace and peace in the storm is found. We also examined where our focus is during the storm. If our focus is on the crises rather than on Christ, we’ll have the tendency to doubt and inflate our fears. But when our eyes are set on Christ, are problems are illuminated in light of His glory and grace. Finally, we discussed the idea of not delaying to call out to God in times of storm. Our tendency is to make efforts on our own to resolve the problems of life, when in reality we should surrender our problems to God and seek His help in them. Storms of life are unavoidable, and they can be times where we sink in fear—but they can also be opportunities to walk out on the waters with our Savior in faith.
By: Josiah Tse
How does one go from saying things prematurely and failing in cowardice like Peter, to a full-blown martyr and lover of Jesus? There is only one way: God Himself makes it possible for all Christians to live the Christian life. In this continuation of the “Fearfully Made” series, guest speaker Pastor Josiah Tse spoke about how it is only by the power of God that we are able to live the Christian life. We learned that God alone can open our hearts to realize the need for repentance, but that He also provides a way for reconciliation. Like Peter, we learned that it is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that genuine revival can occur in a believer’s life. This revival is one that allows for dead men to live transformed lives to the glory of God. In the end, only by the work of God can we hope to overcome the obstacles of fear and failure in our lives.
By: Ian Opiniano
Fear is often perceived in a negative light; regularly seen as a detriment to our lives rather than a benefit. But fear can help us have a proper perspective of what is required of us and the weight of our responsibilities as a follower of Christ. In this sermon, we looked at the healthy fear believers ought to have towards the cross we are called to carry. We examined the call of Peter to be a follower unto death and his fear associated to this call. This fear is necessary to remind us that the Christian life is not easy, and that there is a costly price to following Jesus. Yet in the midst of this weighty responsibility, our encouragement is that we have the example of Christ to follow. Like Christ we are to lead in our various ministries empowered by the Spirit; for it is only by the Spirit of God that we can hope to faithfully carry our cross. Similarly, we are to love like Christ for when we do, we become more willing to lay down our lives for the people that God has called us to love. Finally, we are to live like Christ, purposing our life to bring glory to God. The call to carry our cross is a daunting one, and requires that we must die to ourselves. Although this call can be a fearful reality, it is ultimately an opportunity to be faithful.
By: Ian Opiniano
As we concluded our Fearfully Made series, we examined one of the most detrimental fears to the life of the believer—the fear of man. In an effort to reason through this fear, we looked at Paul’s confrontation with Peter over his fear of the circumcision party (Galatians 2:11-20). We learned that when we give into this fear it dilutes the gospel for it asserts justification by works for the approval of man. The fear of man also denies God’s sovereignty for it focuses on what man can do to us, rather than what God has done for us. Finally, when believers succumb to this fear it diminishes our identity in Christ; it causes us to forget that we are more than conquers through Him who loved us. Understanding these three truths should help equip believers to better reason through the fear of man. For it ultimately reminds us that the approval of man is not what satisfies, but rather knowing that in Christ we are already accepted by God.