I was listening to Shane Hipps, of MHBC, He did a second sermon on fear. It was about how God may be confronting us with something that we have been told to watch out for, only to find out that it is Jesus coming to set us free.

Many times we are wary of people who might challenge our faith, as if they are some devious person that is teaching us something heretical. However, what if our fear of change and being challenged is keeping us from showing the love that we are to give. The fear instead breeds hate. Us vs. them.

I wonder how much we challenge love because it doesn’t fit our framework of religion and the fear of the thing, when the thing is Jesus coming to set us free from the thing.

Here’s a good case in point. The story of the church that was picketing the exotic dance club. The dancers got fed up and picketed the church. The resolution was when a group of women stepped in loved on the girls and the church. The church then talked with the dancers and began to speak into the girls’ lives. In a way, I think that the church feared the dance club, until a group of women from outside the church showed them that it was Jesus trying to free them from the thing. How? The congregation saw the dance club and the girls there as a thing and us vs. them. It built up fear and hate between the two groups. but once they met and showed love to the girls they realized whether they agreed or not, that the girls were children of God. Love won out.  Read the post here at xxxchurch.com

Jesus was coming to set the church free from being judgmental to a groups of people and the fear made them question whether it was Jesus or a ghost. When they recognized Jesus, they got out of the boat.

So what do you fear? Could it be Jesus coming to set you free?