Haunted By Fear Series

INTRODUCTION

• GEICO COMMERCIAL CLIP

• SLIDE #1

• When we are wrought with fear we can make some bad choices in life. We may end up hiding behind the chainsaws!

• Fear is one emotion that grips all of us at one time or another. Fear can be debilitating in some cases, fear can also motivate some.

• There are so many things we can fear in life. The economy, the lost morality, death, taxes, public speaking, aging, not aging, Ebola, crime, spiders, snakes, CHANGE, among other things.

• I some instances a little fear is good, it can keep you from doing things that could injure you; however, an inordinate amount of fear can be harmful, it can hold one back from enjoying life to the fullest.

• The country was in shambles, FDR is elected President and in his famous Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933, the President stated; “that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

• A 2011 article lists the top 10 things people fear, the top 3 were rejection, death and failure. http://listverse.com/2011/09/30/top-10-strong-human-fears/

• Is fear paralyzing you? God can help you to calm your fears.

• I want to take us to Romans 8:12-17 this morning as we look at the issue of fear together.

• Paul is trying to encourage his readers to leave their past life without Jesus behind, he reminds them they possess the Spirit of God within them.

• There are some fears that are healthy and we will look at one of those to begin with then we will see what God can do to eliminate that fear from one’s life.

• SLIDE #2

• Romans 8:12–13a (HCSB) So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die…

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

I. Living without God is the foundation for fear.

• There is one thing that should send a chill up our spine, living a life without Jesus.

• In the 1st verse of chapter 8 Paul reminds us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

• In verse 5 he encourages us to set our minds on the things of the Spirit.

• In verses 9-10 we are reminded the Spirit dwells within those in Christ.

• And in verse 12 is a reminder we are not obligated to live in the flesh.

• An obligation is a debt imposed from within whereas duty is imposed by an outside authority.

• When we are in Christ we no longer have a debt within us to live for the flesh or to live like there is no God.

• One of the things we probably do not fear enough is living like there is no God, living as if we have no obligation to live for Him.

• As a Christian, one cannot mix the world ways with God’s ways. On the other side of the coin we also need to maintain a loving and compassionate heart for lost people.

• If we are the only Jesus people see, we must make sure we reflect the trues Jesus in attitude, action, and by living by the truth of the Word of God.

• Verse 12 is actually a broken sentence in the Greek. Half of the verse has been suppressed by Paul.

• The context suggests we are to mentally supply the other half, the obligation to live for Jesus.

• By suppressing the positive half of the sentence Paul forces the reader to step back and consider where their obligations ought to lie.

• The point made here is how contradictory it is for the Christian who has been delivered from the bondage of sin, and has been given the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism, to yield in obedience and service back to that from which we were freed!

• Now I want to bring in the first part of verse 13.

• “for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die…”

• This is where a healthy fear should reside. If one chooses to live by the flesh the result WILL be death, separation from God.

• The word “LIVE” is a present tense verb indicating a habitual way of life currently being lived.

• SLIDE #4

• Romans 6:16 (HCSB) Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey —either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?

• A Christian who thinks he or she can live according to the flesh has death hanging over them because they have given themselves back over to the bondage of sin.