Faith Overcomes Fear

Faith Overcomes Fear

Main Thought: Fear subtracts from life, but Faith expands who we are and what we can do.

Mark 9:23-24

23 “‘If you can’?”said Jesus.“Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed,

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

It is God’s will that we are filled with ALL joy and ALL peace as we trust in God, FOR THE PURPOSE OF overflowing with HOPE and this can only happen by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Because of Jesus Christ we have the riches of heaven promised to us, but many times fear will stop us from living in the abundant life that Jesus Promised to us.

I am reminded of the story of the Mother who was very concerned for the safety of her children while the were going to school. The school was located in an area of the city where the drivers did not heed the school zone speed limit. Because the police were not taking action, this mother decided to take matters into her own hands.

She decided that she would put the fear of a speeding ticket in the speeding drivers going past a local elementary school. Every morning she would park her car in front of the elementary school and point her black hair dryer - shaped like a radar gun, out of the window at speeding cars. The effect was dramatic as drivers slowed down fearing they might receive a speeding ticket.

You see fear is a very influential thing. It can cause drivers to slow down for fear of a ticket, and it can cause you and I to grind our lives to a stop for any number of fears.

Here are some of the effects that fear can have on your life.

• Experience lack of enthusiasm. (Life just isn’t exciting and purposeful anymore)

• All we can think about is what we fear.)

• Keeps us from interacting with others. (All we want to do is be alone and deal with it by ourselves.)

• Keeps us from getting anything done. (All we are consumed with is the fear.)

• Eventually turns into wrong behavior.

• Causes health problems. (This fear & anxiety puts a tremendous strain on our bodies. Causes abdominal trouble, tension of the muscles, pressure in the head.)

• Chips away at our intimacy with God. (We see God as having caused this. We see him as being mean to us.)

But the Bible says He will fill us with joy and peace. 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Faith expands who we are and what we can do.Fear subtracts from life

How do we Overcome Fear with Faith?

1. STAND ON THE WORD RATHER THAN LISTEN TO SATAN!

Two gas company service men, a senior training Supervisor and a young trainee were out checking meters and parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked there way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter. As they finished the meter check the older supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race down the alley back to the truck. As they came running up to the truck, they realized that the lady from the last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong. Gasping for breath she said, "When I see two gas men running full speed away from my house, I figured I had better run too."

This lady had evaluated the situation, she had seen what was going on with her own two eyes, and she made the decision to run.

Friends, there is significant difference between Reacting and Responding.

• Reacting makes a knee jerk decision.

• Reacting is usually a very swift action, and in many times it is accompanied and influenced by intense emotions.

• Reacting does not check for accuracy.

• Reacting can make sense at the time, but often in hindsight a better solution can be found.

On the other hand, responding allows us to gain a better perspective and a wiser decision.

Listen to this story of how two young girls were able to respond rather than react to a chaotic situation.

Rebecca and Abigail Bates lived on the coast of Massachusetts, near a little village named Scituate. Their father was the keeper of the lighthouse, which stood at the entrance of the harbor and warned ships away from the rocky coast. One day Rebecca and Abigail were up in the tower, polishing the great glass that sent the light far over the sea. Their father and mother had rowed across the bay to the village, leaving the lighthouse in their daughters’ care. As they polished away with all their might, they noticed a strange ship creeping around a point. It stopped and lowered two little boats, which turned and started toward land. At that time people feared every ship they did not know, for the year was 1814 and America and England were at war. British ships often sailed right into harbors and sent their soldiers ashore to attack the villages. The British had already made one raid on Scituate’s harbor, and had burned ten vessels before putting back to sea. Now Rebecca and Abigail stood frozen in the lighthouse, peering down and holding their breath while they waited to see what these two strange boats would do. Closer and closer they crept, until finally they entered the harbor. They were full of British soldiers! The girls looked along the shore. No help was to be seen. What could they do? If they could only warn the townspeople! But they had no boat, and there would be no time to run to the village, for it was a long way around the bay. Rebecca grabbed her sister by the sleeve. "Listen, Abigail," she cried. "Here’s what we two girls are going to do." And she began whispering into her ear, as if the British might hear her plan as they rowed swiftly across the water. The sisters raced down the winding staircase and across the lawn to their house. Abigail snatched up a drum, which her father had brought home to mend just the other day. Rebecca grabbed a fife, and they slipped out of the house toward the beach, crouching behind bushes and sandhills to keep out of sight. The British boats were now quite close, and the soldiers were preparing to leap ashore. Suddenly the order was given to halt. The soldiers listened closely. From behind a clump of cedar trees came the beating of a drum, and then the squeak of a fife. It was not skillful, but it was loud and clear -- the strains of "Yankee Doodle" floated over the sands. "The militia has seen us coming!" cried the British soldiers. "They will attack us as soon as we land!" They turned their boats around and rowed for their lives, back to their ship. A moment later the villagers spotted the British boats. They raised a great alarm, and all hurried toward the lighthouse. When they reached the point, they found only Rebecca and Abigail Bates, sitting on a rock, watching a faraway ship put to sea. A drum and fife lay beside them. The "American Army of Two" had won the day.