Freedom From Fear-Get Out Of Your Shell!

FREEDOM FROM FEAR – Get Out of Your Shell!

2 Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJ) For God has not given us a spirit of fear

but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

INTRODUCTION:

ILLUSTRATION: John Ortberg writes in his book, If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat:

“What would you guess is the most common command in Scripture?

“It is not for us to be more loving. That may be the core to God’s desire for human life, but that is not his most frequent instruction.

“Writers about spiritual life often speak of pride as being at the root of human fallenness, but the Bible’s most frequent imperative does not have to do with avoiding pride or gaining humility.

“It is not a command to guard sexual purity or to walk with integrity, important as those qualities are.

“The single command in Scripture that occurs more often than any other-God’s most frequently repeated instruction-is formulated in two words:

“Fear not. Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. You can trust me. Fear not. Why does God command us not to fear?”

If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat.

“WHY DOES GOD COMMAND US NOT TO FEAR?” What do you think? Why has God repeatedly told us throughout to not be afraid?

There are 366 ‘fear not’ verses in the Bible-one for every day of the year, including one for leap year!”

Many reasons can be offered as to why God tells us to not be afraid.

One reason God says “fear not” so often because fear is the number one cause of temptation that keeps us from living out God’s will. Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from doing what God wants us to do. Fear traps us like a turtle inside its shell. Let’s talk about fear and discover how we can break free from its control of our lives. Lets Get out of our shells!

I. WHAT IS FEAR?

1. In its simplest form fear is an internal warning cry designed by God.

a) God created us with the ability to sense danger.

b) Fear prepares our body to run, hide or fight.

1. Fear sends adrenaline into our bloodstream to give our muscles the needed energy boost.

2. The pale look of fear is caused by blood being diverted from the surface of the skin to our

muscles.

3. The eyes widen as the pupils dilate so we get as much visual sensory information as

possible;

4. the ears are attentive to every sound.

ILLUSTRATION: Think about the way your body responds when you ride a roller coaster. Part of you is terrorized by the sights and sounds as well as the speeding motion with the sudden twists, turns, tugs and twitches.

a) Fear can be a good thing. Healthy fear protects us from danger. heights - falling--etc.

b) Fear can also be a bad thing; it can paralyze us and keep us from doing things that we

should do.

3. The spirit of fear.

• 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJ)

7For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJ)

a) Unhealthy fear—regardless of its form—is not from God.

b) Satan wants to bind us with chains of fear. He wants to use fear to keep us from God, to

cause us to not trust God’s faithfulness, love and power. Satan will use fear to stop us cold

in our tracks so we are unwilling to take steps of obedience. The devil uses fear to harm our

relationships with one another. Fear separates; love unites.

• Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

c) Satan would like nothing more than for us to think that our fear is just all in our heads, that

we can overcome our fears using our own strength. Fear is more than just physiological

processes within our bodies; fear is more than just an emotional response or the way we

think.

d) Fear is a weapon and strategy Satan uses to defeat us. The devil wants to destroy us and he

will use fear as a lethal weapon.

e) God has not given us a spirit of fear BUT HE HAS GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF POWER LOVE

AND SELF DISCIPLINE! I’m glad Paul didn’t leave us wondering what to do with our fear.

God has provided the spiritual weapons to overcome the enemy and set us free from our fear.

God sets us free to stick our neck out and get out of our shells to live our lives free from fear.