There is no substitute for obedience.  If you know God has called you to do something, something that requires faith, something that requires you to overcome fear, and you repeatedly ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit, you do so at your own risk.  If you think that if you pray more that will make up for what God wants you to do, you are sadly mistaken.  You can read your bible, quote scripture, be nice to people, praise the Lord, no matter, unless you obey the Holy Spirit, God is unsympathetic.  In this scripture the servant feared what God asked him to do.  He laid his pound in a napkin rather than investing the pound as God required.  He knew God was an austere man, taking up that thou laid not down, and reaping where thou did not sow.  Expecting God to be sympathetic, surprisingly Jesus is unsympathetic.  He calls him his enemy. 

            We do not know all the reasons God has when he calls us to overcome fear, public opinion, anxiety, and doubt, but I can tell you this: it is better to obey than disobey.  Those who obey, those who choose to live by faith, get blessed.  Those who choose to disobey.  Those who choose to disregard the leading of the Spirit are subject not only to the devil’s attack but also, and more importantly, to the displeasure of God.  This passage of scripture in Luke among others compelled me to overcome great fear, mental illness, and great anxiety to give my life to God and follow Christ.  The leap of faith was great.  The chasm between me and God was deep and wide.  But instead of drawing back I went forward.  I gave my life to Christ and God honored my faith.  But that was only the beginning.  Over and over again God has called me to live by faith, to make choices that were not easy and comfortable, choices that brought me great trial before those choices brought great consolation. 

            I want to encourage you today to live by faith.  I want to encourage you to overcome fear and doubt and put your trust in God.  God calls us to make decisions based on the moving of the Spirit rather than law, tradition, rules, rituals, public opinion, and what we like to think of as self-preservation.  Unless you choose to live by faith you are subject to great hardship, sickness, lifelessness, and ultimately death, but if you overcome fear and do what God requires, the reward is receiving the Blessing and health, prosperity, and life in abundance.  This servant knew exactly what Jesus expected of him but instead of moving forward, he buried his pound and rather than confronting a sympathetic God, he met an unforgiving one.

            Not all of scripture is palatable.  Some things God says to us require faith in contrast to living in fear.  They ask us to take a deep breath and move forward.  Be people of faith!  Live by faith.  God is there to see you through the hard times and he is there to reward your faith with abundance too. 

Amen