We were all bundled up trying to fend off the cold Russian winter air as we stood waiting for our train that would take us from Moscow, Russia to Kharkov, Ukraine. As the train approached the platform, my dad, and our team started getting the tickets out, and maneuvering along the platform trying to gauge where our wagon would finally stop. Other than the creepy, dark atmosphere of Russian train stations, everything seemed normal, until I noticed the conductor of the train examining our tickets started getting into a heated conversation with my dad, and the translator. After finally finding someone who was willing to inform the only non-Russian-speaking eleven-year-old on our team what was going on, I learned that something was wrong with our tickets, and they weren’t letting us on the train. What could be wrong with our tickets? Something was really fishy, and I had no idea what was really going on, but seconds before the train started moving for departure, my dad made the executive decision that we were getting on, no matter what.

We all piled onto the train as my dad was exclaiming something about us perfectly fairly purchasing our tickets, as they continued to argue with the conductor.

It all happened so fast.

Once on the train, I learned that the conductor lady wasn’t alone.

At least two large, very tall, males emerged, and as the train was already starting to move, they proceeded to help us off the train.

My mom’s 1976 Martin went flying onto the floor as someone got shoved to the side.

As my infuriated mom was trying to recover her guitar, hoping it wasn’t damaged, in the middle of the yelling and screaming, I turned to see my dad getting shoved toward the exit by the two large males.

The last vivid thing I remember was my dad holding onto the frame of the door of the train as the two thugs exerted all the force they could muster to get him to fall out of the train.

Every muscle in his frame flexed and as he boldly continued to yell out something about our rights.

The thugs looked like waves of water slapping up against a wharf.

Playing linebacker in high school, where he managed to injure quite a few quarterbacks who he sacked, was paying off.

I don’t know how long this lasted, but at some point, my dad decided that it wasn’t worth letting the situation escalate any further, and we all got off the train.

I was back in my eleven-year old place of confusion, and lack of information, not knowing Russian at the time.

All I knew, was there was a Russian police officer with an AK-47 talking to my parents, and the translator.

Later I learned that those two thugs who were trying to throw us off the train were part of the Russian mafia, and the police officer basically said

“I’m sorry. There’s literally nothing I can do to help you guys, because this is the mafia.”

The mafia needed to go somewhere, and we were the lucky bunch whose seats they decided to take.

So all of sudden our tickets were illegitimate, and the police officer with the AK-47 wasn’t going to do anything.

My ignorance however did not produce bliss, but frustration, because I didn’t understand why a police officer with an AK-47 couldn’t handle a couple losers who wanted to steal our spots on the train.

You see at the time I did not know that the Russian mafia was so bad at that time, that Louis Freeh, former director of the FBI, said that the Russian mafia posed the greatest threat to U.S. national security in the mid-1990s.

It was quite a scary situation, that potentially could have ended far worse than it did.

Thankfully nobody was hurt.

Nobody even got punched, much less kidnapped or murdered by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting in the Russian mafia’s way.

The opposite of fear is not bravery.

When I think of fear, I usually think of the opposite of fear being BRAVERY.

However, I don’t think that’s quite accurate.

The opposite of fear is love.

It’s the people who love, who do brave things.

People who have a deep value of love, in frightening situations, in the time of a few split seconds, can do incredibly brave acts of heroism.

The real choice is not whether we choose to be afraid, or choose to be brave.

The real choice is whether we choose fear or we choose love.

God calls us to love.

God is far more concerned with how we love, and how we demonstrate faith, than He is in us being safe.

When Jesus called His disciples to follow him, He didn’t say “Follow me, and I’ll make you safe from all the crazy things happening in this crazy world!”

He said “Follow me! I’ll make you fishers of men.”

And he talked about receiving “a hundred times as much now in the present age” of what was sacrificed in order to follow him, but also that this would come along with “persecutions.”

In our modern culture we have a bit of an obsession with safety.

Perhaps that’s why those who would want to lure us into an international state of tyranny would use safety as the bait.

This spirit of fear wants to get on us.

It shouldn’t surprise us.

I don’t think anyone has interviewed him about this, but it is my guess that one of the devil’s favorite weapon of choice is fear.

But most of the time fear is no more no less than bluffing.

A recent example of this was when worship leader Sean Feucht and his worship team was threatened by individuals from the organization called Antifa along with a Satanist group when they were leading a prayer and worship rally in Portland. In an interview Sean said:

“With a lot of these guys, kind of their main goal is to intimidate. But I was so proud of the church of Seattle. They stood their ground. They worshipped their God. And the Lord started to move! Even on some of the Satanists that came! We were able to pray and minister to a lot of them!”

To the question “Were you scared at all? Even a little?”

Sean answered:

“Well, at one point during the worship time they were lunging at our band. One of the Antifa guys poured glue all over our keyboard, they were stomping our guitar pedals, but thankfully we had some guys there to kind of help protect us. But we just kept worshipping Jesus and the presence of God showed up, and we pressed through it. And toward the end, they kind of realized we weren’t going to be intimidated. And that we weren’t going to back down, and they really didn’t know what to do. I think they’re used to people kind of cowering. And we just refused. We knew that God had called us there for such a time as this.”

Safety is good.  I like safety.

But the safest place to be in this world is in the middle where the Father calls you to be.

Sometimes the Kingdom of God wants to go to dangerous places.

Sometimes the Kingdom of God wants to go to dangerous people.

I love Wendy Backlund’s quote:

“If you look at it realistically, it’s probably hopeless. But we’re not called to be realistic. We’re called to be supernatural.”

In 2 Timothy 1:6-7 Paul says:

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,  for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

One thing that is worth pointing out is that Paul is saying that the fanning into flame is something that’s OUR responsibility.

And the next thing that I believe is important to notice is that there is a connection between the “fanning into flame the gift of God”, and falling into fear, because Paul connects the two verses with the word FOR…

After which he goes and to say that  “…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

When we are not fanning into flame the gift of God that we received through the laying on of hands, then we easily fall into a spirit of fear.

Why?

Well, try to do things on your own, on your own strength, without the gift God gave you active and functioning.

It doesn’t go so well.

The default condition of humanity without the fire of God being fanned into flame is that we tend to fall into living under a spirit of fear.

When you’re on fire for God, it becomes a real problem for the enemy to get you under a spirit of fear.

Those who love are fierce, and brave.

Those who are hired are not.

We need to stay close to the breath of God. Close to his face.

We need to continually be getting into that place where He can breathe on us.

Where Real bravery is rooted in love.

The Hired Hand vs. the real shepherd

Jesus said that the real shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, but the hired hand chickens out and runs, when the wolf comes. (see John 10:11-12)

The beloved Apostle John also writes:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18

A lack of fear is a good sign of healthy spiritual development and that you’re on the path to perfection.

Because it’s perfect love that casts out fear, and it’s only through love we are perfected.

The more we experience His love, the more His perfect love casts out fear.

And the more we receive His love, the more we love, and there is no fear in love, so then all the more, we can live without being vulnerable to a spirit of fear.

“The way I put it (to get dramatic), is this. Somebody is trying to murder your child. And they’re over there somewhere. You can’t see them. And somebody comes to you and says ‘Listen. I’m going to be honest with you. The person who’s trying to torture, and rape, and murder your child, is so well armed, that if you go over there and try to do something about it, there’s a 95% chance you will be killed.’ You and I would not hesitate. We would tell the person giving us that advice ‘You go to hell. If that’s true, I will still go over there. I will be happy to die, even if the odds were a thousand against one, because this is what’s called DOING THE RIGHT THING.’” — Eric Metaxas

David Livingstone, one of the greatest missionaries and explorers of Africa is such an amazing example of someone who very distinctly had love always outweighing the risk of danger and fear.

In one of the villages where he preached the gospel Chief Sekomi approached him and said this:

I have come here to ask you for something. Give me some medicine that will change my heart. I am too proud, and I always feel angry with my people. I don’t want to be like that anymore.”

When David Livingstone was buried April 18, 1874, that day was declared a day of national mourning throughout the British Isles.

In 1913, years after Livingstone’s death, Lord Cruzon, president of the Royal Geographical Society, summing up David Livingstone’s life said this:

In the course of his wonderful career, Livingstone served three masters. As a missionary, he was the sincere and zealous servant of God. As an explorer, he was the indefatigable servant of science. As an denouncer of the slave trade he was the furious servant of humanity.”

Now, we can’t allow the pandemic of FEAR engulfing the planet, to keep us from fulfilling our mission every one of us has received from the Lord.

Don’t trade freedom, and your God-given destiny for what is perceived as safety!

Do not fear!

 

Image courtesy of: Tania Shi on Flickr