Handling Fear Series

INTRODUCTION

• PC VIDEO

• SLIDE #1

• We are approaching the time of the year where the focus in our country tends to lead toward things that scare us.

• Halloween is coming up in October and during that time of the year we see a lot of the new scary movies come out, children will go out into the streets dressed in scary costumes.

• We will see a lot of “haunted” houses set up for people to go through.

• Life can be scary enough without all that stuff going on.

• Over the next few weeks want to take us through a series entitled, “Halloween Handlings Series, Dealing With Dark Emotions.”

• We will look at such dark emotions as handling rejection, bitterness, unforgivness, dealing with a broken heart, burn out, and our emotion of the day, FEAR!

• SLIDE #2

• What do you fear?

• In the clip from the new version of the Karate Kid, Dre becomes the enemy of the class bully, Cheng who uses his martial arts training to bully Dre into submission.

• Dre is ruled by fear and he knows he cannot live that way.

• In the real world many people are ruled by fear. Fear keeps us from achieving many great things in life. Fear can keep us from trying to help people get to heaven. Fear is a paralyzing emotion and if it is left unchecked, it can destroy a once promising life and future.

• I know this dark emotion rules the lives of WAY too many people, and I am SURE there are those here this morning with whom this will really hit home with.

• Let’s look at our text for this morning, as we do it is my pray that we will see that we do not have to be ruled by a spirit of FEAR any longer!

• SLIDE #3

• 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

• In the context of this passage, Paul is trying to encourage the young evangelist Timothy to carry out his ministry with boldness and enthusiasm.

• SLIDE #4

SERMON

We can handle our fears when we realize…

I. God does NOT give us a spirit of fear!

• As Paul is trying to encourage the young evangelist, he reminds him of an important point, God does not give us a spirit of FEAR.

• God called Timothy to ministry and God did not give him a spirit of fear in which to do that calling.

• I know fear on one level or another is something that we all deal with, the question becomes, is that what God desires for us?

• The word is used close to 800 times in the bible, although some of the instances deal with more of a reverent fear, or respect for God.

• We see fear demonstrated on many occasions in the bible, from Moses, to Gideon to those closest to Jesus.

• Time and time again God responded to the fears by showing those who struggled with it that they did not need to fear.

• Fear is a paralyzing tentativeness or cowardice that would effectively stop any acts of Christian ministry or service.

• In this passage it deals with a cowardice caused be a lack of moral strength.

• Moses did not want to do what God called him to do because of fear; Moses was not an eloquent speaker so God used Aaron to help him. This is just one of many examples.

• I believe that God has called ALL of us to do great things for Him but many will never reach their potential because of the inability to deal with fear.

• We will use fear as an excuse not to do anything.

• I know there are a lot of things that can cause fear to well up inside of us, but when you think about it, what do we have to fear?

• SLIDE #5

• 1 John 4:4 (ESV) 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

• Fear is one of the tools that Satan uses to keep us from doing things we are destine to do!

• Let me ask you a question, what are you afraid of? What is it keeping you from doing? Where is the fear coming from?

• I am not talking about fear of doing something stupid like jumping off the mountain!

• Are you afraid of rejection? Are you afraid of failure?

• Where is your fear coming from? God does not give you a spirit of FEAR!