The Paralysis of Fear*
Psalm 91 and Rev. 12:7-12
(Responsive reading From Psalm 91 provided at the end of the sermon)
Sermon Objective: Many Christians are harangued by Satan’s exaggerated lies and it produces fear and worry whereas trusting in the victorious God gives courage to act.
Supporting Scripture:
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 41:13
I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Hebrews 13:6
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
2 Timothy 1:17
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (KJV)
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Revelation 12:1-7
7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
During the dark days of World War II the free world was on the edge of panic. Hitler seemed invincible. Through the blitzkrieg technique, he amassed victory after victory.
The blitzkrieg worked—not because the German bombers carried such a great load of potential destruction, nor because, as rumor had it, artillery shells would literally bounce off the German Panzer tanks. The blitzkrieg was effective because it was calculated to strike terror in the hearts of Germany's opponents.
It was a war of nerves. Special equipment had been attached to the otherwise slow Stuka dive-bombers to produce a bone-chilling shriek as they dropped from the clouds. Similar whistles were also attached to the bombs themselves. Upon hearing that sound, potential victims would tend to freeze rather than run for cover. Hitler's armies hit hard and fast in the most vulnerable and visible places, and the press was always on hand with movie cameras to show the disheartened prisoners, the decaying dead and the jovial, victorious Nazi legions.
As reassurance in the face of that demoralizing psychological warfare, a statement by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was quoted time and again. In his inaugural address in 1933 he had said, "…first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed effort to convert retreat into advance." That simple insight, which surely helped the Allies through the dark days of World War II, applies equally to the spiritual warfare of the Christian life.
Hitler might have learned the blitzkrieg technique from Satan himself. That's just the way Satan attacks God's people. He demoralizes us. He shows his hideous strength, our horrible inadequacies, and makes himself appear invincible. The Scriptures call Satan "the father of lies." He is the originator of the proverbial "snow job." His tactic is to produce a storm of lies that buries us to the neck in a drift of freezing fear. The flecks of fear fly in our faces and become flakes of worry. Quickly they pile up until we find ourselves immobilized in the blizzard. We are too paralyzed with fear to realize that it is all a cold mirage. We do not see that the storms of anxiety are illusions projected on the screens of our minds by the adversary to keep us from standing and acting on our foundation of faith.
Ungodly Fear Vs. Christian Concern
There is a difference between ungodly fear and Christian concern. Ungodly fear—the emotion produced by Satan's blitzkrieg—enervates. This is it:
• It makes us "react" to problems that may never even arise.
• It dulls our awareness.
• It weakens and paralyzes us
• It robs us of peace, replacing it with worry.
• It robs us of productivity, channeling our energies into jousting at windmills.
• It robs us of relationships, focusing our time and attentions on overwhelming concern.
• Finally, it robs us of God's blessings as we deal with the real or imagined problem in our own strength rather than trust God to see us through.
Fear in Disguise: Guilt and Worry
I once saw a Bumper Sticker that said, “Why pray when you can worry?”
Ungodly fear in the Christian life often stems from feelings of guilt. One of Satan's lies is: "You deserve to be unhappy. You are not good enough for good things to happen to you." On the screens of our minds he flashes close-ups of our sins and bad attitudes that merit God's judgment. Reacting to this fiery dart from the evil one, some Christians live a continual horror story of exaggerated perils and imaginary threats. In doing so, they punish themselves for sin. They struggle on from one anxiety to another, haunted by horror. They plod through deepening drifts of dread that could be melted by God's warm love—if only they could accept the amnesty he offers at Calvary.
The other day, I was bent over the bathroom sink brushing my teeth getting ready to come to the office and I looked up into the mirror and had a very vivid flashback of a stupid indiscretion from my teen years. Something from thirty years ago hit me as if it happened yesterday. I literally groaned out loud as I thought about what a mean stupid person I was. I stood there, paralyzed looking in the mirror with tooth paste in my mouth punishing myself for a long-past sin. It was then that I sensed God’s small still voice speak to me, “Ken, I forgave you for that on Calvary. Will you forgive yourself?”
I had a choice to make. I could accept God’s all-encompassing forgiveness or punish myself.
Satan's accusation of unforgivable guilt is designed to make us lose confidence in the future through losing our confidence in God. YET GOD ANSWERS THE ACCUSATION IN JUST ONE WORD—ONE NAME—ONE ACT THAT HAS FOREVER ESTABLISHED HIS LOVE AND FORGIVENESS: JESUS!
In Jesus we are not only good, we are great. We are not only strong, we have the entire arsenal and might of heaven for our defense. So why carry a load of guilt when we can repent and be forgiven? Why worry when we can pray? The absurdity of doing otherwise comes through in the irony of that popular bumper sticker. Confronted with life's problems, a person will usually pray or worry and thereby be filled with a spiritual and emotional numbness that paralyzes us for any action.
When our senses tell us that things are not right we are prone to worry. But when we know that Jesus has made things right, that he has given us the power to do right, that in the final settlement all will be right, we can (1) Rest in Jesus and (2) resist the enemy’s whispers.
Have you ever noticed that most of our fears and worry are exaggerated and hypothetical?
Have you noticed they are “worse case scenarios” that develop (even evolve) in our minds? That is the work of the enemy – not God’s Spirit.
A Christian Response to Fear
The Christian response to fear is faith.
• Faith looks at troubles realistically.
• Faith empowers us to follow through with an action plan.
The verb form of faith is – trust. Trust is a decision. It involves taking a stand, sticking to our commitments, and behaving accordingly. It means that in the midst of an anxiety attack, we must call upon God, our Defender and Advocate, who just "happens" also to be in control of the universe.
Faith / trust are bound together, and you cannot have one without the other. Choosing to trust is an antidote to anxiety. At first an anxious person's commitment to trust may be feeble and bring only momentary relief. But increasingly applied, it will grow in strength and duration.
Some Pointers On Applying Faith/Trust In God
Fear almost always paralyzes you in one way or another. It stops you from doing what needs done in that situation. You react rather than respond. The Bible suggests we cannot have a “sound mind” and be fearful (2 Timothy 1:17) at the same time. Fear circumvents good decisions and good living. Fear short-circuits living by faith.
Allow me to give you a few pointers on addressing fear when it swells up within you.
1. Do not fixate on the problem – look to THE solution.
This does not mean pretend there is no problem but it does mean looking beyond it.
The solution is a person. Jesus Christ – from whence cometh your help.
Affirm and confess that “God is” and that God is greater than your problem.
Many of you know that Cindy * passed away recently. At the funeral they read some portions from her journal. There was one entry that I doubt I will ever forget that directly addresses this. Cindy said, “I will not tell God how big my illness is but I will tell me illness how big my God is.”
When we fixate on the problem and not THE solution then the problem gains the upper hand and becomes bigger than life. God is good, that He loves you, and that he will not let any test befall you that he will not give you the strength to overcome (I Cor. 10:13).
2. Feed your faith.
• Read scripture; memorize the "trust" passages.
Did you know that the Bible says “Do not be Afraid” or “Do not fear” 83 times? In many of those passages God also tells us why we should not be afraid. For example, the very first one we find in Scripture (Genesis 15:1) says “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
• Fellowship with victorious and positive Christians.
Not all Christians are victorious and positive and they can be a hindrance during times of anxiety and stress. It’s the “Eyore factor again.” Their gloom and pessimism are contagious and demoralizing.
Have you seen the recent insurance commercial with professional golfer Davis Love III and his caddy? Love is on the green and he asks the caddy what he thinks about the coming putt. The caddy launches into a pessimistc speech; something like, “Well its down hill and breaks left but there is that gully which gives it a double break. Its gonna require a lot of skill – I don’t think you’re up to it. Not to mention there are millions of dollars riding on this – too much pressure for you. Good luck.”
The caddy takes the golf bag and walks away leaving Love standing there with a blank stare of paralysis. That’s what negativity will do to you.
I know I have told you this again but I feel I must repeat it. Everyone of you (us) need relationships with others. Particularly you need three kinds.
{i} You need a relationship with a MENTOR. Someone who serve as a spiritual director and help with your spiritual formation.
{ii} You need relationships with FELLOW-TRAVELERS. Those you can have a bond with, be yourself with and walk, worship and grow together.
{iii} You need relationships with those you can BE A MENTOR TO. Regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey – regardless of your level of spiritual maturity you can be a witness and influence for the Gospel of grace.
• Read good Christian literature.
• Serve.
Do something for others in Jesus’ name. Love your neighbor as your self.
• Worship. – ‘nuf said.
3. Resist Satan.
Remember that he is besieging you with a spirit of fear in order to destroy your victory as a child of God. Remember your fear is inspired by the enemy and that Christ has defeated him at Calvary (Ephesians 1:20, 21; Colossians 2:15).
4. Rest in God’s love.
Remember that perfect love casts out fear (I John 4:18). God's perfect love that culminated at Calvary banishes Satan's power and his arsenal of accusations against the child of God. It is not our love for God, but his love for us that accomplishes this.
5. Seek God’s plan of action.
And believe me … there is almost always a plan of action. As I read the 83 “Do not be afraid” passages in the Bible I am made aware that there is often a proper, faith-filled response for God’s children. Fear paralyzes – faith acts with God’s power and blessing.
When you find that plan of action – be courageous and do it!
When blitzkrieged by Satan, the most important thing an anxious child of God can do is take a reality check. The evil one would have us believe that the forces arrayed against us are invincible. But remember: his power is limited. His bark is worse than his bite. The shrieking threat of his attack deceives us into thinking that he can do more damage than God will allow.
It's just not so.
God himself is our Defense and our Defender. When we take shelter in him, truly we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
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* This sermon was inspired by / adapted from an article written by Moishe Rosen in January of 1986. Mr. Rosen was a missionary for “Jews for Jesus.”
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene, Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
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Responsive Reading – Fear Not!
Psalm 91 {Portions}
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I WILL SAY OF THE LORD, “HE IS MY REFUGE AND MY FORTRESS, MY GOD, IN WHOM I TRUST.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
HE WILL COVER YOU WITH HIS FEATHERS, AND UNDER HIS WINGS YOU WILL FIND REFUGE;
His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
YOU WILL NOT FEAR THE TERROR OF NIGHT, NOR THE ARROW THAT FLIES BY DAY,
If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the LORD, who is my refuge
THEN NO HARM WILL BEFALL YOU, NO DISASTER WILL COME NEAR YOUR TENT.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
“BECAUSE HE LOVES ME,” SAYS THE LORD, “I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
WITH LONG LIFE WILL I SATISFY HIM AND SHOW HIM MY SALVATION.”
