1 Samuel 16:1 – And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

1 Samuel 16:2 – And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

1 Samuel 16:3 – And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.

1 Samuel 16:4 – And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

1 Samuel 16:5 – And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

Hello readers, new blog today. Quite a short one. Who’s more afraid? God told Samuel to go and anoint David king. But here is Samuel, and he’s just like us, he’s got a bit of fear. Saul’s gonna kill me! How often we won’t witness to people or obey God because of what we think they or others will think. If Samuel can get fearful, so can you and I. It’s somewhat comforting to see that even great men in the Bible battled things like fearfulness. It’s not a crime to be fearful. Our flesh is fearful.

But if you are saved, you can have victory over fear. Paul was writing to a young man in the ministry, a guy called Timothy… and he said in 2 Timothy 1:7 – For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Timothy couldn’t do it all without having victory over fear. The solution to fear is the Spirit of God, our natural man is fearful, so trying to fulfill the calling of God without the Spirit of God… all the best with that. Don’t be afraid Timothy, and the fear isn’t coming from God.

Ok so that’s cool, but I’m still afraid. Samuel was afraid. But he got over his fear. How did he? He had the power of God to do so. Paul told Timothy in the previous verse to stir up the gift of God… the Holy Spirit is a gift from God to the believer, and he it is who enables us to overcome this world, just as Jesus overcame the world. You stir up that gift by praying, by getting in the word of God, by trusting God. That’s what Samuel did. You see, the solution isn’t in us, it’s in trusting God. When you trust God, God delivers. That’s what being a child of promise is. Rather than being an Ishmael, you’re an Isaac… the miracle child, has the Isaac been birthed in you? If you’re born of the Spirit, you have the answer to fear. God wouldn’t tell you to do something in his word that he didn’t also enable you to do. You either have the Spirit of God or you don’t. How can you walk in the Spirit if you don’t have the Spirit? You can’t. God delivered Samuel, and God will deliver in your life. Just trust him.

But today we are talking about who is more afraid? Because there were another bunch of folks in this story who were afraid. When Samuel went to the town that God told him to go to… the elders of the town trembled at his coming. You’d think they would have been glad for Samuel coming, but instead they were afraid. It’s that what you’re like? Samuel was the guy they went to for God’s word. He had God’s word. Does the Bible make you afraid? Many people are afraid of the Bible. Old Ahab was pretty afraid of Elijah. Herod was afraid of John the Baptist. The fact is, people are afraid of God’s word. People don’t want to be around people who have God’s word. God’s word is powerful, it’s alive, it is exposing, it is convicting.

If you are a Christian, people are a lot more afraid of you than you of them. They’re afraid of Jesus Christ in you. People are afraid of the Bible. That’s why Bible rejecting people won’t want to be around true Christians. Even if you are saved, if you are in sin, you won’t want to be around someone who is right with God. You just gotta get away. Remember those Israelites down at the base of the mount, they entreated Moses for the word of God not to be spoken to them any more (Hebrews 12). Moses make him stop! The Bible said they couldn’t endure that which was commanded. People cannot endure God’s word because they are afraid. Our flesh doesn’t want anything to do with the word of God… just as Adam and Eve hid themselves after they had sinned.

So when we ask… who is more afraid? If you are saved, it shouldn’t be you. People are afraid of the Bible. Someone who is estranged from their Creator, someone who isn’t right with their Creator… of course they want to split. If you are a creature of the night, you don’t want to be exposed by blazing light. People tremble at the word of God. The devils tremble at the word of God, look how the evil spirits reacted to Jesus Christ. Look at this… Acts 24:25 – And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. Felix said go thy way… get out of here Paul, this is way to close to home. He never called for Paul again. What about Belshazzar, he saw the writing on the wall and he was astonished, his knees smote against each other. People are afraid of God’s word, the Bible. They want it out of schools, out of sight, out of churches, out of conscience, out of society, out of this world.

So why are we afraid? When we have the victory, the authority, the sword? Maybe you have experienced rejection because you believed God’s word. Maybe you’re thinking… I can’t do that, Saul will kill me! Maybe you’re paying the price for God’s word in your life… people don’t like you, they don’t want to be around Bible stuff. That’s what happens when you follow Jesus Christ. People who don’t want anything to do with the Bible… of course they won’t want to be around someone who is a vehicle of God’s word. Their problem is really with Jesus Christ. They’re afraid of God’s word. God’s word is powerful, it has the power to save you and condemn you. It contains the gospel which produces a new creature, it also is the standard by which you will be judged at the last day.

Samuel wasn’t the one who should’ve been afraid! He had been told by God what to do yet he is the one afraid. Why are we the ones afraid, the ones of all people who should not be? We are afraid to obey God’s word, while people are afraid of God’s word. Everyone seems to be afraid! The solution to afraid is in Jesus Christ, faith in he who is faithful to us, remember how faithful God was to Abraham… and that child of promise came right on time. It truly all comes down to whether all this head knowledge is actually heart reality. If you don’t have the Spirit of God, of course you won’t have victory. People of this world are really afraid of the Bible, and so they should be if they’re not right with God… although they can be. But if you are saved and right with God, you don’t need to be afraid. Trust and obey God as Samuel did. Notice how he took a sacrifice with him? Jesus Christ is our sacrifice, if you’ve got him, if you’ve got his shed blood on your life, if you are his, we have victory because he had victory… and you will be fine!

Blog Bible Christ Christian Fear God Gospel Holy Spirit Jesus Lord Salvation Saved Truth