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A Discussion Bible Study
An Article Written by Dr. Neil Chadwick
This exhortation was given to a man we might well nick-name "Timid Timmy." It seems that his mentor, Paul, was getting the impression that Timothy was not "stepping up to the plate." At several points in his correspondance to Timothy, Paul is doing everything he can to get his "son in the faith" to be more corageous in his Gospel work. It's a message all of us need to heed if the message is going to get out. In the extremely popular book and now movie, "Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring," a number of statements are made related to the subject fear. Before looking at them, let's take a quick quiz to see how familiar you are with this story. 1. What is name of the evil king who created the golden Ruling Ring? _____________ 2. Where was this evil kingdom? _____________ 3. Where were the fires where the ring was cast? _____________ _____________ 4. What is the name of the King's son who cut the Ring from his enemy's finger? _____________ 5. Who was the travelling hobbit who came into possession of the ring? ________________ 6. How many Dark Riders did the evil king send to the Shire to retrieve the ring? _____________ 7. What kind of creatures are the Dark Riders? _____________ 8. To whom did Bilbo give the ring before leaving the Shire? _____________ 9. Where did Bilbo go after passing on the ring? _____________ 10. Who warned the hobbit who possessed the ring and sent him away from the Shire? _____________ 11. Where did the hobbits go when fleeing from the Shire? _____________ 12. Who was the stranger who helped the hobbits escape from the Dark Riders? _____________ 13. Name the nine members of the Fellowship. ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ (Answers to this quiz and a summary of the story line are given at the end of this article.) Here then are several quotes relating to Fear along with coresponding questions for discussion and scripture verses. 1. Fear is a good thing. Strider, speaking of the Dark Riders, told the hobbits, "You fear them, but you do not fear them enough, yet." How is it possible to not fear something or someone enough? "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28) 2. Fear makes problems seem larger. Speaking of the head wizard, Gandalf said, "The power of Saruman is still less than fear makes it." How can this be so? How does fear magnify an adversary or a problem? Is it possible that imagination can blind us to the truth? (Matthew 14:26; II Corinthians 2:11) We must fight intimidation with the Word. (I John 4:4) (In some segments of the Church, Satan has been allowd to become too big.) 3. Courage is a characteristic which grows. We are told that "There is a seed of courage hidden in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow." Can you identify an area of your life where you are more courageous now because of a past experience when you had to face down your fear? Joshua is a Bible example of someone who was called upon to step to take the opportunity and overcome their fears. Jesus said, "According to your faith" - believe that courage is there and act accordingly. (In the power of the Holy Spirit the Disciples could speak boldly. - Acts 4:31) 4. There are times when pep-talks don't matter. Frodo told Boromir that no speech will help him, "For I know what I should do, but I am afraid of doing it." What do you know you are to do but are afraid to do it? "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." (James 4:17) 5. Fear must not deter friendship. Merry tells Frodo, "We are horribly afraid, but we are coming with you." What kind of situations call us to stand with someone even when there is fear? Are there any instances in your, your family's, or your friends' lives when someone acted in spite of fear? "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24) 6. Why, as Gandalf said, would it "be well to trust rather in friendship than to great wisdom" in deciding who should accompany Frodo? In what ways might true friendship be more powerful than great wisdom? How can this be made compatible with Scripture which seems to clearly say that wisdom is the greatest? "How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!" (Proverbs 16:16) "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known thou, nor thy fathers." (Deuteronomy 13:6) "Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom." (Micah 7:5) "Faithful are the wounds of a friend but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." (Proverbs 27:6) Let's go back to the verse we started with: For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (deilos, dread; timid, i.e. (by implication) faithless:--fearful), but a spirit of power (dunamis), of love (agape) and of self-discipline. II Timothy 1:7 1. The power is there because "Greater is He" - I John 4:4. 2. The sacrificial love is there because "God shed abroad His love in our hearts. (Romans 5:5), and perfect love casts out all fear ( 1John4:18). 3. And discipline (a sound mind) is there, denoting denotes "one of sober mind; a man of prudence and discretion. The state referred to here is that in which the mind is well balanced, and under right influences; in which it sees things in their just proportions and relations; in which it is not feverish and excited, but when everything is in its proper place." (Barnes) What is name of the evil king who created the golden Ruling Ring? Sauron Where was this evil kingdom? Mordor Where were the fires where the ring was cast? Mount Doom What is the name of the King's son who cut the Ring from his enemy's finger? Isildur Who was the travelling hobbit who came into possession of the ring? Bilbo Baggins How many Dark Riders did the evil king send to the Shire to retrieve the ring? Nine Dark Riders What kind of creatures are the Dark Riders? Ringwraiths (mounted, sword-wielding spectres) To whom did Bilbo give the ring before leaving the Shire? Frodo Baggins Where did Bilbo go after passing on the ring? The Elf-city of Rivendell Who warned the hobbit who possessed the ring and sent him away from the Shire? Gandalf the Wizard Where did the hobbits go when fleeing from the Shire? Bree Who was the mysterious stranger who helped the hobbits escape from the Dark Riders? Aragorn (Strider) Name the nine members of the Fellowship. Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn (Strider), Boromir (a warrior of Gondor), Gimli (a burly dwarf), Legolas (an archer elf), Gandalf. Summary In Middle-earth many years ago, the evil Sauron cast a powerful golden ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Many rings were made, but this was the one Ruling Ring, imbued with the very power of Sauron himself. In the battles that followed between the evil servants of Sauron and an alliance of Elves and Men, Isildur, the King's son, cut the Ring from his enemy's finger. This greatly diminished Sauron's power for many years. After a time, Isildur too was slain and the Ring fell into a river where it was lost for many years. Then it came upon the hand of the creature Gollum, who bore it for five hundred years. He lost it to a travelling hobbit called Bilbo Baggins. It might have been assumed that a righteous hero could use the potent ring of gold to thwart Sauron's forces. Not so. Many had tried and failed. Created for evil, the ring could only be used for evil and would corrupt whomever would wear it. It could yield no good. That's why a virtuous hobbit named Frodo Baggins was chosen to guard the ring until it could be thrown into the fiery bowels of Mount Doom where it was forged. When Bilbo returned to his home in the sleepy Shire, it looked as if the Ring would always be safe. The hobbit had little understanding of its power and would hardly have had a use for it where he lived. But Sauron, whose strength was growing again, did still have a use for it - the power of evil. Sauron got hold of Gollum and tortured him until two words were forthcoming on his lips: Shire and Baggins. Immediately, nine Dark Riders were despatched to the Shire to bring back the Ring. Meanwhile, Bilbo passed on the Ring to his relative, Frodo Baggins, and left the Shire for the Elf-city of Rivendell. Later, their wise friend, Gandalf the wizard, heard of the Dark Riders' mission and told Frodo that he must leave the Shire at once - he must head for Bree where the Ring will be safe for the moment. Frodo hurried off with his hobbit friends, Sam, Merry and Pippin. When they got to Bree, a mysterious stranger called Strider helped them to escape from the Dark Riders. It happened that Strider was a friend of Gandalf, sent to deliver them to Rivendell where the fate of the Ring would be decided. Gandalf rejoined Frodo as he appeared before a council representing the concerns of elves, dwarves and men. Although the Ring was powerful, it was agreed that the power could only be used for evil rather than good. The only solution was to throw it into the only fire strong enough to destroy it - Mount Doom - in the heart of Sauron's evil kingdom of Mordor. The Ring-bearer must be strong to resist its power, so who will take on the burden for this dangerous journey? Frodo stepped forward. Eight others promised to accompany him on his mission and so the Fellowship set out, hobbits, a man, Aragorn (Strider), Boromir (a warrior of Gondor), Gimli (a burly dwarf), Legolas (an archer elf) - the wizard Gandalf would be their guide.
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