By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau
There was a fear factor to Jon Demeter’s talk during Monday's Chapel in the Arena.
Demeter, director of the Ultimate Training Camp, a high intensity sports camp for college and professional athletes operated by Athletes in Action, used the parable Christ told in Matthew 25 to demonstrate the importance of using God's gifts. In it, three servants are given money by their master and two invest it while the other, out of fear, buries it in the ground.
The third servant’s actions, he pointed out, showed that he didn’t fully understand his relationship with his master.
“Fear is an interesting emotion,” Demeter said. “Sometimes it will protect us. But sometimes if it is not properly aligned with the kingdom, it will destroy us.”
But he was the first to admit that he, too, fights the fear factor. Because his family moved around a lot when he was young, robbing him of friendships he had built, Demeter said he has a fear of abandonment.
As a result, he said, “I try to do things really, really well, because if I do things really, really well, I have kind of a sense of control, and you won’t leave. And not only do I do that in my relationships with people, I do it in my relationship with God. I begin to believe the lie that if I have my quiet time in the morning, I read my Bible, I do my full-time ministry, I do all these things and I climb the spiritual ladder, God will be impressed with me and He won’t leave me — because on the inside I’m terrified of that, because of my experiences.”
Demeter referred to research that delved into why some people feel connected and loved and others feel disconnected. The one main difference in the two groups: The people who feel connected and loved feel worthy of it.
“Because of the influence of the world and the lies of the enemy, we believe we’re not worthy of love and belonging,” he said.
Demeter closed his talk with a video that went viral a few years ago, in which soldiers are reunited with their children. It’s no different, he said, than how we should feel about Christ coming back someday.
“Can you imagine,” Demeter said, “if the kid ran off because he didn’t understand his relationship with his dad?”
So don’t be the servant who buries his talents, he said. Rather, stay aligned with God and “invest well now so that you can know the full measure of His healing.”
● For a replay of Demeter’s talk, click here.
● For a slideshow from Monday, click here.
● Next week’s Chapel speaker: Ron Merrell, Heights Church
Contact Rick Vacek at 602-639-8203 or [email protected].
