Title: Fear vs. Faith – 8
“Fear Fighters”
Text: II Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
A police recruit was asked during the exam, “What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?” He said, “Call for backup.”
This morning I am going to be talking about “Fear Fighters.” Now this message has nothing to do with being fearful of your mother. That was just a joke, honestly! We are going to finish out this year talking about Fear vs. Faith. We are going to go into 2015 with NO FEAR HERE!!! I know I have preached on this subject off and on for a few years now, but you have to understand what happens to a preacher that is so heavily impacted by a life changing truth in God’s Word. It was 7 years ago that my whole life and the lives of all my family members were transformed. We have decided as a family that we are going to fight fear on every turn. That means fear of doctor’s reports, fear of financial reports, fear of failed relationships, fear with phobias, and the list goes on and on. We have decided to not let fear into our family.
I just want to remind you all that fear is a spirit, not an emotion. The spirit of fear causes the emotion of fear to rise up within you, but the root of fear is a spirit.
I have learned a lesson over the past few years and that lesson is this: When fear comes my way, and it will come, I have a choice. My faith can fight fear. I don’t have to panic and get myself worked up in fearful and frightening situations that come against me. If I stay focused on God’s promise and allow my faith to fight my fear, then I will remain in perfect peace.
Overcoming fear is something we all face when we endeavor to do new things, such as taking on a new job, falling in love, starting up a business, anything new in our lives creates a certain level of fear, but it is very essential that we never allow that fear to dictate our decisions.
I have entitled this message “Fear Fighters,” because if we do not fight our fears, they will keep us from living the victorious life that God meant for us to live. When God asks me to do something that seems impossible for me to do, I have learned to fight my fear. When I am faced with an impossible task, when the job feels too big for me and I feel that I am out of my league, which happens sometimes, I have learned to fight my fears. I want to preach a very personal message to you this morning and tell you what I use to fight my fears with. I have overcome a lot of fears in my life and I fight them with two things, I preach two things to myself in the midst of my fears:
I. JESUS IS WITH ME
This first fear fighter is something so simple, but yet so powerful. When fears try to attack me, I have to remind myself that Jesus is with me. Paul tells the Hebrews something that encourages me every time fear tries to pop its ugly head in my life:
Hebrews 13:5-8; “For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" 7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Jesus promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Why is it important to Him that you know this? We must know that Jesus is with us all the time because once we realize that He is with us, then we can say of the Lord, “He is my helper and I will not fear.” This Scripture is one Scripture that we must memorize. We must know that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us and because we know this, we also know that we NEVER have reason to fear. The greatest weapon we have in fighting fear is knowing that Jesus is with me. So, when fear tries to pop up its ugly head in my life or in the life of my family, I remind fear (because it is a spirit) that we have no room for you in our lives or in our homes. Jesus is with me and if Jesus is with me, then I shall not fear anything in my life.
I want to clear up some misunderstanding that some people may have when it comes to my preaching on fear. I want to let you know that we are not immune to fear. We will all be attacked with fear at some point in our lives, but it is what you do when that attack comes against you. We must face fear and become fear fighters. One of the greatest ways we can fight fear is to realize that Jesus is ALWAYS with me. When I feel shaky and fear comes upon me, I have to start declaring the Word and say, “Troy, smarten up! Quit talking all that negative stuff! Jesus is with me and all power is in His hands.”
Instead of talking fear, we need to start declaring;
➢ The same Jesus who was in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew boys is the same Jesus that is with me.
➢ The same Jesus who was in the lion’s den with Daniel is the same Jesus that is with me.
➢ The same Jesus that was with David when he fought Goliath is the same Jesus that is with me.
➢ The same Jesus that was with Gideon when he was up against an impossible army to fight is the same Jesus that is with me.
➢ The same Jesus that was with the children of Israel at the edge of the Red Sea and delivered them is the same Jesus that is with me.
➢ As the Scripture already has said, “Jesus will never leave me nor forsake me so that we may boldly say, “The Lord is my Helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
➢ I have NO reason to fear if God is with me. YOU have no reason to fear because the Lord is with you. #1 FEAR FIGHTER
II. GOD IS AT THE BOTTOM
The number one fear fighter is realizing that Jesus is always with you. The second thing that I have to realize is that God is at the bottom. What does that mean? That means that we have to understand that no matter how low the valleys seem to go in your life, Jesus is at the bottom. Even when you feel you have reached rock bottom, Jesus is still there at the bottom. Well, I don’t feel Him sometimes. That doesn’t mean He is not there, that is when you need to realize that He is right there at your lowest point. Even when life seems to fall apart, there is no reason to fear because Jesus is always with you.
Deuteronomy 33:26; ΒΆ “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds.”
This is at the close of Moses’ life. He gives a national address to the children of Israel and just says how awesome God is. He told them there is no one like our God. He rides the heavens to help you. He described a God who is on top, above all, on high, a God who is great and mighty.
Remember the mighty miracles that God performed on mountaintops:
➢ It was on Mount Moriah that God met with Abraham and Isaac and made His covenant with them.
➢ On Mount Horeb Moses encountered the burning bush.
➢ It was on Mount Sinai that God gave the Ten Commandments.
➢ On Mount Nebo Moses looked across and saw the Promised Land.
➢ On Mount Carmel God sent fire down for Elijah.
We know that God is a God of mountaintop experiences, but Moses makes a shift right in the middle of his address. Listen to what he says next:
Deuteronomy 33:27; “The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms;”
The Hebrew word for underneath means; “bottom.” You could translate this Scripture, “At the bottom are His everlasting arms.” When we get to the bottom in life, a lot of us begin to fear. When the doctor gives us the worst report ever! When the bank account looks dryer then it has ever been! When the oil in the tank is running low and there is no money to get more! When the food is running low and you really don’t know how you are going to buy the groceries this week! I am sure that some of you have been there, but when those things come up in your life, you can fight fear with knowing that God is even at the worst of my circumstances. No matter how deep the valley you have to walk, God’s arms go deeper. His arms are underneath you even at the bottom. That should bring a tremendous peace to your life. The Bible describes this peace as a peace that goes beyond all understanding.
We all know that God is at the top, but what we need to know is that even when we are at the bottom of the barrel, that God is still with us. We may look like we are down, but we cannot go so low in despair or depression, trouble or sorrow, that He is not there. When you feel like you can go no lower, underneath are His everlasting arms. God is not just the God of the top, He is also the God of the bottom. You can stand firm in His ability and power to keep you even when things are not going the way you think they should.
Life is easy when you're up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind like you've never known.
But then things change and you're down in the valley.
Don't lose faith for you're never alone.
For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.
You talk of faith when you're up on the mountain.
Oh but the talk comes easy when life's at its best.
But it's down in the valley of trials and temptation
That's when faith is really put to the test.
Whether you are on the mountain today or in the valley, there is no reason to fear, let your faith loose to fight that fear and know that God’s everlasting arms is still with you at the bottom. This message is not meant to get you to focus on your rough times, this message is meant to encourage you during this rough time that you face and to remind you that Jesus is with you no matter what stage of life you may be in.
Hebrews 13:5-6; “For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
