What Are You Afraid Of?
Griffith Baptist Church – 12/23/07
P.M. Service
Text: Psalm 27
Introduction
Fear can make you look foolish. A friend of mine got to start on the football team his sophomore year. He received the opening kick-off and dropped the ball, picked it up, broke through in the open, and raced down the sidelines with nobody after him. But as he was running, he glanced to his right and saw the shadow of somebody chasing him. He ran faster, but the guy stayed right behind him. He didn’t want the guy to catch him so he dived into the end zone. He looked back and there was no one behind him. The shadow he had been running from was his own.
"He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat." - Napoleon Bonaparte - _Instant Quotation Dictionary_, p. 132.
In 1875, a fall fractured both of Trench’s knees, after which he never fully recovered his health, living in fear of paralysis. A lady sitting next to him at a dinner noticed that the elderly cleric was agitated and muttering to himself, "It’s come at last; I can’t feel a thing; I’m paralyzed." She asked Trench what was wrong. "I’ve been pinching my leg for the last five minuted and I can’t feel a thing," he replied. "I must be paralyzed." The lady colored. "It’s all right, your grace," she replied, "It’s my leg you’ve been pinching"
Listen to all the fears or phobias people have. These are real fears by the way:
• Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people.
• Aerophobia: fear of drafts.
• Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple.
• Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.
• Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.
• Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body.
• Auroraphobia: fear of the northern lights.
• Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings.
• Thalassophobia: fear of being seated.
• Stabisbasiphobia: fear of standing and walking.
• Odontophobia: fear of teeth.
• Graphophobia: fear of writing in public.
• Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.
From Nothing to Fear, by Fraser Kent, Doubleday & Company, 1977.
Outline:
1. The Product of a Fearless Heart – 27:1-6
2. The Plea of a Fearless Heart – 27:7-12
3. The Patience of a Fearless Heart – 27:13-14
1. We need to tell the difference between legitimate fear and illegitimate fear
A. Illegitimate fear
i. This can be described as things that cause fright or terror.
ii. Affects you physically and impairs judgment
iii. Man and what they will do - Psalms 56:11 - In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. (Is. 51:12)
iv. Following God – we are to fear God, not following Him
v. Phobia’s (heights, planes, closed spaces) we all have those, but with God, those are not legitimate – 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; . . .
vi. Ministry – Ephesians 6:19-20 - 19And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
vii. Prayer – Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace . . .
viii. Witnessing – Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. and Mark 8:38 - Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
B. Legitimate fear
i. The fear of the Lord - Prov. 22:4
ii. We are not even to fear fear itself – Isaiah 8:12-13 - 12Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 13Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
2. What is the Psalmist’s question to us? (two parts, same substance)
A. Whom shall I fear? – to revere, to stand in awe, dreadful
B. Whom shall I be afraid? – to fear, tremble, to be in dread
C. The Answer – no one
D. Why? God provides
i. Light – illumination so evil cannot triumph in the dark
ii. Salvation – security and stability in the hand of God
iii. Strength – a refuge and fortress for us at all times
How do we get a fearless spirit?
A fearless spirit comes from understanding four (4) truths —
Body
1. Who God is
A. We know that He is holy, just, loving, kind, etc.
B. We also need to see Him as the Psalmist does:
i. He is beautiful (the beauty of the Lord – v. 4)
ii. He is a good listener (7-8)
iii. He does not abandon (10)
iv. He is the greatest teacher (11)
v. He is good (13)
C. Who is God? A Father who tells us that we do not need to fear anything when we stay close to Him.
2. What God does
A. He is in control of and defeats our enemies (2-3)
B. He provides a place of closeness for us (4)
C. He conceals us from danger we cannot handle (5)
D. He keeps me on a high and solid place (6)
E. He gives us instruction that is true and reliable (11)
F. What does God do? He supplies everything necessary to give us confidence in this life.
3. What we need
A. We need illumination (1)
B. We need salvation (1)
C. We need strength (1)
D. We need His presence (2-6)
E. We need to pray (7-10)
F. We need His guidance (11)
G. We need his protection (12)
H. What do we need? We need to trust the divine provision more than the physical.
4. How to get what we need
A. It is a matter of trust and faith
i. The Lord is (1), my heart shall not (2), He shall hide (5), He shall set me up (5), shall mine head be lifted up (6), the Lord will take me up (10)
ii. He doesn’t sound like a doubter to me.
iii. Matthew 21:21 – 21Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
iv. 1 Timothy 2:8 – 8I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
v. James 1:5-8 - 5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
vi. Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
vii. You say, but how do you have faith? If you have trusted Christ as your Savior that is the greatest exertion of faith you will ever have. Everything else will take less faith than that.
B. It is a matter of looking up rather than looking around (13)
i. We get to busy looking at the visible
ii. We get burdened down by the baggage of today’s problems and tomorrow’s troubles
iii. Leave the tomorrows in God’s hands - Matthew 6:34 – Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
iv. Renewal is day by day, not a one time fill-up - 2 Corinthians 4:16 - For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
C. It is a matter of waiting for His strength and not our own (14)
i. The word “wait” does not mean sitting around, twiddling your thumbs and doing nothing.
a. It is an active waiting (verb)
b. It means to look for, hope, expect
c. Look for it, expect it, because it comes from a reliable God
d. He always follows through
ii. Strength from the Holy Spirit - Ephesians 3:16 – That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
iii. Strength from God the Father - Ephesians 6:10 – Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
iv. Strength from Jesus Christ - Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
v. What an unbeatable team, amen?
vi. Sometimes we have to wait, but it will come
Conclusion:
Have you given every doubt and fear to God?
