Trusting God
2 Timothy 1:7
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, “Mommy, will you stay with me all night?” Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, “I can’t dear. I have to sleep in Daddy’s room.” A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, “The big sissy!”
There is probably no emotion that plagues and crushes the human personality and spirit more than that of fear. Everywhere we turn we see people faced with fear, every road we take we meet that dreaded monster - fear. What is fear? What is the source of fear? And how can we be delivered fr0m fear?
I. The Definition of Fear
A. Robert McLaughlin states that “In the Bible, fear is represented in two ways: as an emotional or mental attitude sin, and as a term for reverence towards God. First, fear is a mental attitude sin that is characterized by panic when one is intimidated by something, or finds oneself in a dangerous situation. Fear arouses the emotions in a bad way. It is a painful emotional distress produced by actual impending pain, danger, and disaster, or by illusions regarding the same.”
B. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
C. The word used for fear, deilia, is defined here as timidity or a lacking confidence or ability. Whenever it is used in the Bible it is used in the negative sense.
D. In this sense it addresses the base of all fear – the fear of not measuring up. Illustrating that are two great fears of man; the fear of failure and the fear of success. Both are based on lack confidence and feeling a sense of impending doom or downfall.
E. Fear is also defined as lacking mental or moral strength, lacking courage, timidity.
F. “Our fears may be real or imaginary. Whether the conditions causing the fear are real or imaginary the results are the same. Fear will torment and punish you, and the worst thing is, you do it to yourself. Fear is self-induced misery. Fear is worry, apprehension, horror, or consternation, all of which cause the person to become paralyzed toward their problems. They run away from the problem like frightened mice, close their doors and hide from society. Fears will paralyze you physically and mentally to the point that you lose the normal function of life as God has designed it. People are afraid of many things, and death is usually at the top of the list...” - copied
G. Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression
H. Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no man pursues; but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
I. 1 John 4:18 “...Fear has torment...”
II. The Fears of Men
A. Newspaper counselor, Ann Landers, reputedly received an average of 10,000 letters each month. When asked if there was a particular problem that seemed to predominate she said it was fear. Afraid of losing their health, wealth, loved ones, even of life itself.
B. Many specialists estimate that 90% of today's chronic patients have one common problem - fear. Fear of losing their jobs, old age, being exposed, of facing the future etc.
C. There are many unusual fears that men are plagued with. Here are a few:
1. Ophthalmophobia - fear of being stared at
2. Arachibutyrophobia - fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth;
3. Genuphobia - fear of knees;
4. Alektorophobia - fear of chickens;
5. Coulrophobia - fear of clowns;
6. Didaskaleinophobia - fear of going to school;
7. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - fear of long words;
8. Thanatophobia - fear of death;
9. Athazagoraphobia - fear of being forgotten or ignored;
10. Kakorrhaphiophobia - fear of failure;
11. Monophobia - fear of loneliness.
D. The base or core of most fears is the fear of death.
E. Hebrews 2:14-15 “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
F. Someone has said that the fear of death is the root of all other fears.
III. The Source of Fear
A. The source of all of our fears is to be found with our earliest ancestors – Adam and Eve.
B. Man was created in righteousness without any fear. But when he disobeyed in the garden all that was changed. The moment he sinned Adam was stricken with fear. No longer in right standing with God, the fear of death entered the human race.
C. Genesis 3:8-10 “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, ‘Where art thou?’ And he said, ‘I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’”
D. In the beginning God created man in complete harmony with Him, perfect and without sin or fear. Fear was introduced to man when he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. With this understanding of good and evil, Adam became aware that he no longer measured up to God’s standard and became guilt ridden. The fear of never measuring up entered into his heart – the fear of death, physical and spiritual.
E. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short (fail to measure up to) of the glory of God.”
F. Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death passed (spread) to all men, because all sinned.”
IV. The Deliverance from Fear
A. After sin entered the world God addressed Adam and Eve’s fear by giving a promise of a coming Redeemer, the Seed of Genesis 3:15.
B. Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
C. The seed of Eve would destroy all sin and in doing so provide deliverance from all fear.
D. Jesus Christ came to provide a means of re-establishing a right relationship with God and to allay all fear.
E. Hebrews 2:14-15 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
F. When one comes to Jesus Christ the Bible declares that all the enmity between God and man ceases as man receives and trusts solely in God’s grace.
G. Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
H. Deliverance from fear is found in trusting Christ.
I. Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
J. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
K. Power - dýnamis – properly, "ability to perform"; for the believer it is power to achieve by applying the Lord's inherent abilities. "Power through God's ability"
L. Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
M. As believers no longer to we have to fear measuring up, no longer have to fear missing the mark, no longer fear because we trust Him.
N. Psalm 56:3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
O. Trusting God dispels all fear. Faith and fear cannot totally occupy your mind and heart at the same time. It's impossible! Faith and fear cannot exist together. It's like the natural law of physics that states, ‘Two bodies cannot occupy the same place at the same time.’--And the same holds true in the spiritual. Faith is the opposite of fear, and when you have faith, you cannot fear.
P. Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee."
Q. Someone has said that “We need an absolute belief that God is constantly working behind the scenes in every area of our lives, even when there is no tangible evidence to support that fact.” That is how the Bible defines faith.
R. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
S. As believers we can trust God to meet our every need, equip us to carry out His will, and not allow anything without His loving watch care.
T. Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
U. “This week I ran across the following quote: ‘A Christian is immortal till his work on earth is done.’ That statement means that nothing can harm without God’s permission. Not cancer, not AIDS, not bankruptcy, not theft, not the loss of your job, not a terrible accident, not the death of a child, not any of a thousand other sorrows that afflict the children of God. Folks, we aren’t immune to sadness. What happens to others also happens to us. The difference is this: We know that God protects us from harm so that nothing can touch us that doesn’t first pass through his hands of love.” – Ray Pritchard, www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/1996-04-28-How-to-Overcome-Fear.
V. As Christians we don’t have to let fear of anything rule our actions. We can apply Psalm 56:3 “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in [God].” Trusting Him and not leaning not on our own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
W. Into His hands I lay the fears that haunt me,
The dread of future ills that may befall;
Into His hands I lay the doubts that taunt me,
And rest securely, trusting Him for all. —Christiansen
X. Proverbs 3:26 “For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Y. Trusting God, His love, His grace, and His power dispels all our fears. The question is “Have you placed your trust in Him?”
