Beware, But Be Not Afraid

Our text: 1 John 4:4 “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

Our main idea is “Beware by being aware of why you, as a believer needn’t be afraid.”

Beware because:

• Peter instructs us that the evil one prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:9)
• Paul instructs us that he is armed with flaming arrows of doubt and deception. (Ephesians 6:16)
• Paul also instructs us that he blinds the minds of those who need Jesus so they can’t see how glorious is His offer of eternal life. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
• Jesus said he is a liar and a murderer. Not that he lies and murders sometimes, no that is what he is in his essential nature. (John 8:44)

The primary reason we need not be afraid is because of what our text tells us: The One who is in us is greater than the one in the world.

We remember the familiar scene of the Last Supper.  Jesus and the disciples in the upper room.  Jesus washes the disciples’ feet.  He gives them the new commandment to love each other as He loves them.  He talks about who it is that will betray Him.  He breaks the bread and passes the cup.  And then He promises them a fantastic going away present.  A gift He calls the helper and the comforter and the spirit of truth.  We know this gift as the Holy Spirit.  The promise is that He will not only be with them but will also be in them.   This is a gift literally for the ages.  A gift that would be with us and in us forever.

Several things to understand about this gift:

1.  This gift is a person.

John 14:16-17,26

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.

According to Ephesians 1:13, He came to live inside of you the moment you believed.

2.  He will guide us into all truth.

John 14: 26 He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.

16:12-14 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them at the present time. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you. 

In addition to that the Scripture tells us he comforts us.  He accompanies us.  He strengthens us.  He enlightens us.  He refreshes us.  He intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  He is the One who activates the power of all the armor of God in Ephesians 6. 

3.  His presence is a greater asset than the earthly presence of Jesus.

John 16:7  But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 

It’s better because,  He is always with us and never leaves us.  He’s an indwelling bodyguard who never leaves us unguarded.  “I will never leave You or forsake You.”

A Safeguard regarding the Spirit

When we think of the Holy Spirit it is safer to think of Him as a person and think in terms of relationship and not “Power.”    The reason I say that is when we think of the Holy Spirit as “power” and not as a person, we begin to think we are the ones controlling the power.  We begin to link the Holy Spirit with a particular manifestation. … In other words don’t limit His majesty or despise His subtlety. A whisper from His is as glorious as thunder.  Make room for the mystery of His total unfathomable person.  When we think “power” we are tempted to think we have His power on demand in the way we want to use it – like a sorcerer.  This presumption has proven a snare to many a Christian who claim certain effects like healings or who tell other believers they need to speak in tongues to truly be a believer or to have the fullness of the Spirit.  But when the Spirit enters our lives we get all of the Spirit and to be filled with the Spirit means to be enjoying our connection with Him personally, expressed by songs and thanksgiving.

Let God be God in You and through You.

The Holy Spirit lives in us to help us to recognize His movement in our lives and around us, to help us receive what He is offering to us and to help us rely on Him for the challenges in this life and for protection against the schemes of the evil one.