God Is Big Enough To Uproot My Fear Series

INTRODUCTION

• PC VIDEO

• SLIDE #1

• I remember seeing that when it came out, I was scared!

• Depending on what list you find, Americans fear many things. One list of fear from selfhelpcollective.com suggests that the top two things people fear is flying and public speaking. Fear of heights comes in at 3, fear of the dark enters in at 4.

• Fear of intimacy is 5

• Fear of death comes in at number 6.

• Fear of failure is 7, fear of rejection is 8, fear of spiders is 9 and the one they called the male fear, the fear of commitment is 10.

• I would contend that fear of flying, heights, and the dark can be tied in with fear od death.

• A Chapman University survey from April of 2015 suggested that the number one fear of Americans was the fear of corruption of Government Officials. https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/2015/10/13/americas-top-fears-2015/

• All I can say to that is RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

• They put public speaking at 26 and dying at 43 behind reptiles which came in at 17.

• There are many things people fear in life and about life. The Chapman University study broke the various fears into 10 categories from man-made disasters, to Government, to personal failure, daily life, etc.…

• I believe fear is something we all deal with on various levels. Some folks are consumed by fear; others are touched by fear.

• I do not believe Jesus wants us to operate out of fear, the disciples operated out of fear and that fear stifled their effectiveness until they were able to trust God enough to overcome that fear.

• I believe in life you have a choice, to be driven by fear or to be driven by faith.

• Throughout the Book of Romans, Paul talks about the freedom we have in Jesus versus the slavery we endured when we were in bondage to sin.

• In verse 1 of chapter 8, we are told that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ! Verse 2 reminds us that in Christ, we are free from the law of sin and death!

• Throughout chapter 8, we are reminded that when you are in Christ, you are part of God’s family!

• Whatever fear you are facing, God is big enough to uproot your fear!

• In Christ, we can have victory!

• Let’s look at Romans 8:15 together this morning as we examine how God can uproot your fear!

• SLIDE #2

• Romans 8:15 (HCSB) For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

I. Christians have not received a spirit of slavery from Jesus.

• In the previous verses, Paul reminds the readers that they are sons of God, so when he hits verse 15, he begins the verse with the simple word FOR.

• This word is meant to appeal to the conscience of Christians, to confirm his statements that they are indeed sons of God and that son-ship equals them being heirs in verse 17.

• Verse 16 will show that the Holy Spirit will confirm our one’s inner spirit that they belong to God.

• As we dive into verse 15, we need to understand what is being said concerning the use of the word “SPIRIT”.

• There are three possible meaning to Greek word PNUEMA. Context determines the meaning here.

• It could refer to the Holy Spirit, which would mean this verse offers two more titles for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Slavery and the Spirit of adoption.

• It could refer to the HUMAN SPIRIT, the spirit of a person.

• It could refer to a FRAME OF MIND, therefore a SPIRIT OF SLAVERY would be the mindset that follows slavery and the SPIRIT OF ADOPTION would the mindset of one who has been adopted by God. (Reference TDNT #7)

• Commentators and translations are not on the same page as to what is being referred to when the word PNUEMA is used.

• The American Bible Societies translation the TEV (One known as the Good News Translation) renders the passage this way.

• SLIDE #4

• Romans 8:15 (GNB) For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, “Father! my Father!”

• So the first use of SPIRIT indicates the GOD’S SPIRIT, the HOLY SPIRIT did not make you a slave, but rather does something positive.

• Even though the word RECEIVED is in the aorist verb tense which denotes something was done in a one-time act in the past, I will lean toward the word SPIRIT being a reference to a FRAME of MIND.