Fearless in 2023 – Pastor Patrick Hines Sermon

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Fearless in 2023 – Pastor Patrick Hines Sermon

The following sermon is the most powerful one I have heard in a long time. His points clarify how a Christian should deal with social conspiracies; opposition; discouragement; sin… via various passages from the Bible.

I was moved to tears during the conclusion of his sermon, as he encouraged his congregation by recounting a portion of the Diary of David Brainerd which proved to be a fitting illustration that tied his points together.

If you have been paralyzed by fears of being cancelled, doxed, hated by this pluralistic, Marxist, politically correct culture… then Pastor Hines sermon will re-orient you in your Christian walk. Invest 39 minutes of your life today so that in this new year you might be more constrained by the love of Christ to follow Him in the midst of the apostasy that is occurring all around you.

The following sermon highlights do not convey the force, or impact of his sermon.

  • Sermon text: Isaiah 43:1-5 and 1 John 4:16-18 [for those who want to read it]
  • Isaiah 43:1  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4  Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5  Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.
  • 1 John 4:16-18: 16  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17  By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
  • The social atmosphere in America is filled with fear and anxiety
  • The LGBTQ revolution; ecumenism: evangelicals compromising with religions that oppose biblical truth in the name of ‘unity’
  • Very little real evangelism is occurring in the church because the biblical gospel is being obscured
  • Another major area of fear/anxiety during the past 3 years has been the global pandemic and it’s many aspects
  • THE REMEDY TO SUCH FEAR IS ALWAYS A CLOSE WALK WITH CHRIST AND A LIFESTYLE OF MEDITATION UPON BIBLICAL PROMISES
  • That involves regular reading of your Bible; praying and giving thanks to God
  • POINTS OF SERMON: 1, Fear and all emotions are good, given by God; 2, When fear becomes sinful; 3, Resting in the comforting love of God; and 4, Love casts out feat
  • Emotions are not destructive when experienced in a godly, self-controlled manner
  • Jesus experienced grief, joy, anger…, and was exceedingly troubled in the garden
  • Emotions become destructive if unrestrained; but are not, if governed by self-control, a fruit of the Spirit
  • Without fear, we would not live long, it causes us to be cautious
  • Examples of how children learn fear from their experiences
  • One mark of rebellious man is that he has no fear for things he should fear, especially God
  • The apostle Paul concluded his long list of indictments in Romans 1 with that one:
  • Romans 3:14  “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15  “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16  in their paths are ruin and misery, 17  and the way of peace they have not known.” 18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
  • Peter also addresses that topic: 2 Peter 2:10  and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 
  • Three examples used: one current; one about the man crucified with Jesus, (see Luke 23:32-43); and one of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (see Genesis 39)
  • When does fear become sinful?
  • Only when we fear what God forbids us to fear
  • 5 POINTS ON FEAR: a) Conspiracies, they exist, but consider what God says below
  • Isaiah 8:11  For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12  “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13  But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14  And he will become a sanctuary….
  • Enumeration of a list of conspiracies: …the Rothschild’s; George Soros; …the Masons; …Illuminati; the communists….
  • There are real conspiracies, these need to be exposed
  • He presented the Tower of Babel, from Genesis 11 as one, and noted that God laughed and dealt with it in His time
  • In Psalm 2, the nations conspired against God…again, God laughed
  • There have been and are conspiracies against the church by communist nations such as the Soviet Union; he noted that the collapse of the Berlin wall was of God, to end that conspiracy
  • God laughed at their attempt to create a utopia based on atheism which actually created hell on earth for a 100 million or so people
  • We are to fear the Lord of Hosts alone
  • Man and his conspiracies do NOT determine the flow of history
  • Jesus said that the gates of hell will NOT prevail against the church
  • God controls history
  • The church has and will outlive all that conspire against it
  • For example, 10 Roman emperors conspired against biblical Christianity but it became more holy
  • God’s plan includes the destruction of all such conspiracies and forces of opposition
  • Darkness is dispelled by Christ’s light shining on men and changing them from the inside out
  • When men conspire to make a kingdom or a name, they can only do it with external power, war
  • God builds His kingdom by supernaturally changing hearts such that there is real love
  • Have heretics been successful in their controversies?
  • Yes, they have seemingly experienced a measure of success; but, for example, the Arian heresy was dealt with by the Nicaea council, and in time, faded out; yet it was reignited by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other groups
  • Only the truth can bear lasting fruit, as it is of God
  • All the LGBTQ garbage that has bulldozed its way into God’s church is but another example that will go the way of the wind
  • Eventually, it, like all heresies, will morph into total Liberalism, apostasy
  • 100 years ago, the same thing happened
  • Ecumenicalism via Roman Catholicism
  • What such movements actually are amounts to unbelievers, dead in sin, preaching to other unbelievers, dead in sin, affirming them in death-culture ideology that will produce more death
  • Beware of men’s conspiracies, but don’t live in fear of them; they do not produce the real thing
  • Fear is sinful when, part b): when we fear man more than God
  • Proverbs 29:25  The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
  • When the New Testament believers witnessed the biblical gospel to Romans, they were confronting a culture of relativism that was indifferent to claim of absolute truth of the word of God – like America presently
  • When Christians refused to worship Roman gods, but only Christ, they were called by Nero, haters of all mankind; that is used today, along with ‘bigots,’ ‘intolerant…’
  • People who worship idols and other gods, need to repent before they end up in hell
  • Christianity thrived in the hostile environment of Rome
  • Shame on churches today that do not confront the cultural sins of the day because of the fear of man
  • Psalm 56:11  in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
  • Psalm 118:6  The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
  • Fear is sinful when, part c: it keeps us from obeying God
  • Abraham lied about Sarah, saying she was his sister, from fear of man
  • Peter denied Christ from a fear of being arrested….
  • In Numbers 14, the people refused to believe God and go in and take possession of the LAND God had given them, out of fear of dying
  • At some point in your Christian life, you will be tempted to disobey God out of such fears
  • Fear is sinful when, part d: it causes us to shrink back from problems and persons, to self-protect
  • An unhealthy preoccupation with self-protection and self-survival underlie such shrinking back
  • The remedy to such fear is to become more self-sacrificial
  • Fearlessness is the natural bi-product of a close walk with Jesus; of being concerned with His glory
  • Fear of embarrassment, of looking bad, of being hated… will not concern us when we are walking closely with Jesus
  • Fear is sinful when, part e: it causes us to fear hell
  • Proverbs 28:1  The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
  • Unbelievers should fear hell, deep down they know they are hell-bound despite all their lashing out at God and Christians
  • Romans 1:32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
  • One cannot drink enough alcohol, take enough drugs, or experience enough pleasure to make his conscience disappear
  • You will eventually die and then you will face your Almighty Maker and Judge
  • In Proverbs 28:1 above, the wicked is running from God, but he will not be able to run on that day
  • Hebrews 2:14  Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
  • The above is a promise to consider for those believers who fear hell and judgment
  • Isaiah 43:1  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
  • The third sermon point: Christians must learn to rest in the comforting love of God
  • Isaiah 41:10  fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
  • Matthew 6:25  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 
  • Mat 10:29  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
  • If your heavenly Father cares for the birds, how much more for you. Trust in His wise Providences to you
  • One more example of God’s almighty providential ways can be seen by reading Daniel 4:28-37, wherein he took Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom away from him for a period of 7 years, after which time the restored ruler praised Him as follows: Daniel 4:37  Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
  • For those Christians who are plagued by unbiblical thoughts of remorse, believing they have ruined their lives… consider the following example wherein God’s providence was definitely at work:
  • The Rev. David Brainerd was first in his class at Yale divinity school. Yale had instituted a rule that students were not permitted to question the salvation of their instructors. After a long, pretentious prayer at chapel one morning, a fellow student asked Brainerd what he thought of that prayer and he said that prof had about as much grace as a chair
  • Brainerd’s remark was overheard and he was expelled permanently and did not receive his degree
  • [Pastor Hines account of the following was very moving to me and you cannot get that from my points, please listen to the last 10 minutes or so of the video if nothing else, for that account]
  • Pastor Hines told his story, based on his diary, wherein he started a missions endeavor with the American Indians. Some events from Brainerd’s harsh life were recounted by Pastor Hines; those events led Brainerd to often think that his life had been a failure
  • He died at age 29 of TB under the care of Jonathan Edwards’ family and Edwards later read and published Brainerd’s diary
  • What Brainerd actually accomplished was being a missionary pioneer, a movement started thereafter and grew and has continued to this day
  • Had Brainerd not made the comment and had graduated, then he likely would have just become another pastor, caring for the members of his congregation…; but as it turned out, his efforts pioneered a new part of the church
  • Was the comment an accident?
  • It was divine design. God uses even our sins to light a fire in us, for example, one might come to think: “I want to be holy, I’m not going down that path again.”
  • Romans 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
  • Look at the birds, at the flowers; consider His redemptive work in your life
  • Rest in His loving providence, it includes even the sinful and foolish things we’ve done
  • Brainerd may have thought he’d ruined his life, but that was not the case
  • Little did he know that his diary would be published for three centuries after his death
  • He did not know that his diary would inspire many people to take up the work of missions….
  • Walk away with this: only the power of divine love can overcome fear; both the love God puts in our hearts for Him, and the love He has for us will cast out fear

 

 

The following link is to the above sermon video at the YouTube site, Christian Sermons and Audio Books.

[All Christians should subscribe to this site for biblical instruction via sermons and book readings of men of faith that God has greatly used in his church, to current preachers that God is greatly using today. These days, biblical churches are few and far between; sites such as this enable believers to know what a biblical church looks like and how to live a life of faith….]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dzFj6KkmbM&list=LL&index=1

▶️The Gospel of God’s Free Grace: An Overview of Romans Chapters 1 through 8 eBook:

Pastor Patrick Hines https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN6S4MPQ

▶️Reformed Presbyterian Pulpit Supplemental (Pastor Hines’ YouTube Channel):

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClW5…

▶️Bridwell Heights Presbyterian Church http://www.bridwellheightschurch.org/

▶️Pastor Patrick Hines (PLAYLIST): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

From church website:

We subscribe to the Westminster Standards as our doctrinal statement. It consists of the following documents:

The Westminster Confession of Faith

The Westminster Larger Catechism

The Westminster Shorter Catechism

We also believe that Christian Worship is to be regulated and defined by God’s Word, the Bible.

Our worship services are designed to please and honor the Triune God of the Bible. We place Scripture reading and the preaching of the word of God at the center of worship along with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These are God’s gifts to His church and ought to always be at the center of Christian worship. We are a congregation that loves to sing God’s praises, recite His Word back to Him, and actively engage in hearing and learning from God’s Word.

We embrace and promote a comprehensive Christian world and life view.

There is no area of life which is not under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is to God and His law which all people, including governments and civil rulers, will answer. The Word of God embraces and informs the way we view marriage, the family, children, education, politics, worship, law, government, war, the church, missions, evangelism, and worship. In the world today there is a battle of opposing worldviews. There are basically only two positions: God’s Word and man’s ideas. We stand positively for Biblical truth and negatively against man’s ideas which are opposed to Biblical truth.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind.

Because all men fall short of obeying God’s law, all men everywhere are in need of divine grace and salvation from God. This salvation is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for sinners, was buried, rose again, and is alive today seated at God the Father’s right hand.

We Worship God Together as Families.

We offer nursery during morning worship service for newborns and infants but encourage people to keep as many of their children as they can with them for morning worship. The audio of the service is in the nursery via speakers. There is also a crying room with a video screen and audio of the sermon. We offer Sunday school classes for all ages but worship together as families. We do not offer “children’s” church. Children need to be in morning worship as soon as possible so they can learn how to participate as active worshipers of God which includes the singing of His praises and listening actively to sermons.

Please watch: “A Call to Separation – A. W. Pink Christian Audio Books / Don’t be Unequally Yoked / Be Ye Separate”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBDg7…