They Must be Giants
3 – Fear
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Ministries
www.PS127.org
WELCOME
INTRODUCTION
Most of us are all familiar with the story of David & Goliath.
1 Samuel 17
We are continuing our series entitled “They Must be Giants!”
Topics over the next few weeks;
† Loneliness
† Anger
† Addiction
Last week we spoke on Un-forgiveness.
Un-forgiveness can hold us captive to ourselves.
Un-forgiveness can literally make us a slave to it.
Remember these points from David & Goliath over the next few sermons;
The battle between the Palestinians and the Israelites was a spiritual one.
† David had the Holy Spirit just as all of those who belong to God have access to.
† David recognized the battle was spiritual even though everyone around him could not. He was walking in the spirit, not by sight, but by faith.
† When David faced the giant, he knew the battle was not a man against a giant, but a giant against a man of God.
† The battle was the Lord’s!
We must remember these points in our lives as well when we face things.
1. It’s a spiritual battle
2. We have the Holy Spirit
3. The battle is the Lord’s
Today we are talking about fear.
SCRIPTURE READING
Acts 10:34 – 36
“Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING
THE GIANTS NAME IS FEAR
Fear can cause us to;
† Make irrational decisions
† Forget who we are
† Not stand when we need to
† Act out in anger
Or worse, do nothing at all…
GOD DOES NOT SHOW FAVORITISM
In King James it says, “God is no respecter of persons.”
He loves me JUST as much as He loved Moses!
He loves me JUST as much as He loved Abraham!
He loves me JUST as much as He loved Peter!
And He loves me JUST as much as He loved Judas…
God’s love for us is NOT based on our behavior.
“For ALL have sinned and fall SHORT of the glory of God!”
If God’s love was based on us, He would love none of us.
He loves us ALL, and does not show favoritism.
What He does for one, He offers to all.
Why is that important?
Lots of reasons…
It’s easier to forgive others when you realize your not God’s favorite.
When you realize that you are no different than the one you need to forgive.
And that you will be judged by God in the same way everyone else will be judged on that day.
The scripture says “He accepts men from EVERY nation, who fear Him…”
Fear God?
The Greek word used for fear here is fob-eh’-o, this is where we get our Latin word Phobia.
Phobia means to have a fear of something.
Arachnophobia – Arachno (spider) Phobia (fear)
Claustrophobia – Claustro (to shut or close in) Phobia (fear)
Or what a lot of boys have;
Ablutophobia – Abluto (washing or bathing) phobia (fear)
So this word used in the scripture here means to fear Him…God.
This fear means to have respect, or reverence for.
For instance, if there is a bomb on your kitchen table, you have reverence for it.
Not because of what it did, because it’s done nothing. But for the power it does hold, and what it could do.
We have reverence for God, not because He has come down on us with His strength, but because He IS the creator of the universe.
He is the Almighty. The beginning and the end!
And although He has every right to destroy each one of us, He chose love.
The RIGHT fear we should always have, is the right fear of the Lord.
The respect and reverence for Him.
So He offers us each His love because He does not choose favorites.
And we are to have a right fear for Him.
But what happens when we worry or fear something other than God?
This is the WRONG fear.
The right fear is reverence for the Lord.
The wrong fear is fearing or worrying about anything.
When you fear something other than the Lord you are saying something.
You are saying “I have more reverence (respect) for the thing coming against me, than I do for the Lord.”
When the Israelites were facing the Palestinians, they feared them.
They mad irrational decisions, such as let’s do nothing for 40 days.
They could have sent for reinforcements.
They could have formulated an attack plan.
They could have done SOMETHING.
But instead, their fear of something other than God caused them to do nothing.
They forgot who they were. The children of the Living God!
They forgot who was with them…the LORD!
They forgot who the battle belonged to.
Their fear of something other than God caused them to forget.
Their fear caused them NOT to stand when the Lord their God was being mocked and blasphemed!
For 40 days the Lords name was dragged through the mud in the face of His children, and their fear, their reverence for the Palestinians, caused them to stand silent to the smear campaign.
They stood mute, and army of the Lord.
They had the wrong fear.
They feared something other than the Lord.
Their faith was misplaced.
That’s what fear and worry is, misplaced faith.
When you worry or fear something other than the Lord, you are saying “I have more faith in what MIGHT happen, than faith in what God CAN DO.”
The Israelites had MORE FAITH in the Palestinians destroying them, than in GOD PROTECTING THEM and making them victorious!
This is what we do.
We GIVE power to the devil!
The Devil has NO POWER OR AUTHORITY in our life!
WE GIVE IT TO HIM!
Every time we choose sin over righteousness.
Every time we choose hate over love.
Every time we choose flesh over spirit.
Every time we choose WRONG fear over RIGHT fear.
Every time we submit to our enemy instead of submitting to the Lord.
We hand authority over to the devil in our life, then whine…
Things are going bad, what am I to do?
Lord, why is this happening?
Lord please take it away…Lord answer my prayers…Lord are you listening?
And the Lord says, “EVERY TIME I TAKE IT AWAY, YOU TURN AROUND AND GIVE AUTHORITY IN YOUR LIFE BACK TO SATAN!” … “STOP!”
Remember the battle is spiritual.
Remember what Goliath, the Giant of Satan, said; “come and face me, and if I win, you will become my slave!”
Every time we submit to worry or fear of anything other than right fear of the Lord, we become the slave to it.
Like the Israelites, we are frozen, forgetting who we are, doing nothing as the Lord is mooched by one of His children handing authority in their life back over to Satan.
And the Devil laughs, as you give more and more authority to him.
The devil can not take anything!
He has no power or authority in your life.
You have to GIVE IT!
And we give it to him all the time.
We know to do right, but we choose wrong.
We know to love, but we hate.
We know to forgive, but we don’t.
And every time we sin, the devil has a little more authority in your life.
Fear of anything other than God is saying, “I have more faith in what could happen, than in what God CAN DO!”
1 John 4:3 – 4
“3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
God is in you, if you belong to Him. And He IS greater than he that is in the world.
Do not be fooled by the devils lies.
Do not fear the giant the devil places before you.
Do not forget who you are, a child of the Most High.
Stand against the devil, resist him and he WILL flee.
If you have fear facing you today, come and let me pray for you to stand against that giant, and release the power of God in your life, and return to a right fear of the Lord, and submission to the most high, giving Him the FULL authority in your life!
