1. There are no comebacks without setbacks.
2. Every setback is a setup for a comeback.
3. A setback is not intended to punish me, but to prepare me for my next stage of life.
4. Setbacks are the stepping stone for my future.
When things don't happen how we want it and when we want it, we panic.
Fear is our greatest enemy in life. Fear, worry, anxiety.
5. What do you do when your setback fills you with fear?
Everyone has secret fears.
To illustrate this, we've got to look at the Christmas story.
Don't be afraid is used four times in the Christmas story.
For those who heard it first, it scared them.
Everyone plans had a setback.
I don't know your fears.
I do know that God does not want you to be fearful.
I want to show you 5 fears and their antidotes.
1. Mary faced the fear of inadequency.
She was about 15 years of age, and was planning her wedding.
Then, one day an angel interrupted her plans.
The angel's message was even more shocking.
By the way, you will be pregnant, and you will carry the Son of God.
Her simple plans were interrupted with panic.
Luke 1:29-34 (NIRV)
29 Mary was very upset because of his words.
She wondered what kind of greeting this could be.
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary.
God is very pleased with you.
31 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must call him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God.
The Lord God will make him a king like his father David of long ago.
33 The Son of the Most High God will rule forever over his people.
They are from the family line of Jacob. That kingdom will never end.”
34 “How can this happen?”
Mary asked the angel.
“I am a virgin.”
She's going to be an unwed mother.
She'll be going on a long trip to Bethlehem, having a baby without doctor.
2. Joseph faced the fear of disapproval.
His fiance said that she had a baby without a man.
It was unbelievable!
It was embarrassing.
Matthew 1:18-20 (NIRV)
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about.
His mother Mary and Joseph had promised to get married.
But before they started to live together, it became clear that she was going to have a baby.
She became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.
19 Her husband Joseph was faithful to the law.
But he did not want to put her to shame in public.
So he planned to divorce her quietly.
20 But as Joseph was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.
The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.
The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit.
Whose disapproval are you afraid of?
Whose approval are you living for?
3. The shepherds face the fear of unexpected change.
Did they think that they saw U.F.O.s when they saw the angels?
They would never be the same again.
Luke 2:8-10 (NIRV)
8 There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby.
It was night, and they were taking care of their sheep.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them.
And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news.
It will bring great joy for all the people.
Do like being caught off guard, and you get that natural fight or flight reaction?
Sometimes a setback is just God showing up in your life.
It can be scary, but God doesn't want you to be afraid.
4. King Herod faced the fear of losing control.
King Herod was already known to be the king of the Jews.
He had his brother murdered.
His mother murdered.
His wife murdered.
His two sons murdered.
He had all the children under two years old murdered in Bethlehem.
Matthew 2:1-3 (NIRV)
2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea.
This happened while Herod was king of Judea.
After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem.
2 They asked, “Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews?
We saw his star when it rose. Now we have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset.
Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too.
We sing Silent Night Holy Night at Christmas.
All is calm.
All is bright.
The truth is everyone was in turmoil in fear at Christ's birth.
What are you afraid of losing control of?
What's out of control in your life and it's scaring you to death?
What are you trying to control that's uncontrollable?
Do you know that you have a warning light when this is taking place?
It's called worry.
5. Zechariah faced the fear of being disappointed.
Zechariah was married to Elizabeth who was Mary's cousin.
When Mary got pregnant, she went to say with them.
They were very old, and couldn't have a child.
One day God's angel shows up and says...
Zechariah you're going to have a baby.
Luke 1:11-13 (NIRV)
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah.
The angel was standing at the right side of the incense altar.
12 When Zechariah saw him, he was amazed and terrified.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah.
Your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will have a child.
It will be a boy, and you must call him John.
Zechariah was the father of John the Baptist who was Jesus's cousin.
Which of these fears do you have?
All of them?
You're going to have to change your fear into faith in God.
Do the same four things the people did in these passages.
1. Surrender your life completely to God everyday.
This is the first antidote.
Mary did it.
If God calls you to do it, He will equip you.
Luke 1:38 (NIRV)
38 “I serve the Lord,” Mary answered.
“May it happen to me just as you said it would.”
Then the angel left her.
Job said it like this.
Job 11:13-18 (NIRV)
13 “So commit yourself to God completely.
Reach out your hands to him for help.
14 Get rid of all the sin you have.
Don’t let anything that is evil stay in your tent.
15 Then, free of those things, you can face others.
You can stand firm without being afraid.
16 You can be sure you will forget your troubles.
They will be like water that has flowed on by.
17 Life will be brighter than the sun at noon.
And darkness will become like morning.
18 You will be secure, because there is hope.
You will look around you and find a safe place to rest.
2. Stop listening to the voices of fear around you.
Like the people around you.
The voices in you.
The media.
Paul said this...
Romans 14:23 (NIRV)
23 But whoever has doubts about what they eat is guilty if they eat.
That’s because their eating is not based on faith.
Everything that is not based on faith is sin.
Fear is the opposite of faith.
Anytime you'er walking in fear.
You are not walking in faith.
Fear is highly contagious.
a. Turn off talk radio.
b. Start hanging out with people of faith not fear.
3. Fill your mind with the praises of God.
Praise is the antidote for panic.
Worships is the antidote of worry.
You lose your fear when God is near.
Mary wrote a song of worship to overcome her fears in Luke 1: 46-56.
It's not an accident that Christmas is the most worship centered holiday.
4. Base your hopes on the promises of God.
Luke 1:45 (NIRV)
45 You are a woman God has blessed.
You have believed that the Lord would keep his promises to you!”
Do you believe that God will do what He said?
David said it this way.
Psalm 56:3-4 (NIRV)
3 When I’m afraid,
I put my trust in you.
I put my trust in you.
4 I trust in God. I praise his word.
I trust in God. I am not afraid.
What can mere people do to me?
Only if you do this.
Will it save us.
I pray for the people who have been full of fear.
Lord, I pray for those who have been afraid.
Tell God.
I surrender my life completely to you including the things that are scaring me to death.
I choose to fill my life with faith not the voices of fear.
I want to hear your voice, and fill my mind with praise.
I take my mind off the problem, and onto you who are my solution.
Jesus Christ come into my life and be my manager this day forward.
Notes from Rick Warren, Saddleback Church.
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