We continue in our series on Discovering your Destiny and today we are going to be thinking about how we can conquer our fears.
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Dictionary.com defines fear in these ways:
NOUN:
A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
Concern or anxiety.
Something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of.
Reverential awe, especially toward God.
Anticipation of the possibility that something unpleasant will occur.
VERB:
To regard with fear; be afraid of.
To have reverential awe of.
To consider or anticipate (something unpleasant) with a feeling of dread or alarm.
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There is a website called fearof.net that lists the 100 most common fears or phobia that people can suffer from.
The Top 10 are:
1. Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders.
2. Ophidiophobia – The fear of snakes.
3. Acrophobia – The fear of heights.
4. Agoraphobia – The fear of open or crowded spaces.
5. Cynophobia – The fear of dogs. Everything from small Poodles to large Great Danes.
6. Astraphobia – The fear of thunder/lightning.
7. Claustrophobia – The fear of small spaces like elevators, small rooms and other enclosed spaces.
8. Mysophobia – The fear of germs.
9. Aerophobia – The fear of flying.
10. Trypophobia – The fear of holes is an unusual but pretty common phobia.
Then there are a few more further down the chart that caught my eye.
17. Alektorophobia – The fear of chickens.
25. Gamophobia – The fear of commitment.
26. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – The fear of long words.
34. Globophobia – The fear of balloons
37. Phobophobia – The fear of fear.
60. Achondroplasiaphobia – The fear of midgets.
74. Pogonophobia – The fear of beards.
If you read or watch the news it seems that there are also many other things that much of the world seems to fear at the moment, Brexit, Trump, ISIS, house prices, the rising cost of food, so many things that can create fear.
Fear can hold us back in every area of our lives. Fear can hold us back in our Christian walk.
Fear is the opposite of faith. Are you gripped by fear or do you have a confident faith in God?
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 1:7-8 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.
Fear is something the enemy uses against us. But we can learn how to defend ourselves against fear. God has provided us with a gift to overcome fear - a spirit of power, love and self-disciple. By faith we have the ability to overcome fear. The words of Moses in Exodus 14:14 are still relevant to us today “The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” God fights our battles. When we are confident in the fact that God fights our battles, fear cannot grip us.
There are many verses in the Bible that teach us we should have faith in God rather than fear of circumstances and situations. Need some examples?
Jeremiah 1:8 “And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
What about, Psalm 34:17 “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.”
These are great words of encouragement. They are truth we need to hold deep inside our hearts and minds. We have no reason to fear because we are children of God, we are disciples of Jesus, God is with us in every situation and circumstance. God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Don’t allow fear a foothold in your life. Even when the situation looks bad, even when there seems to be evidence we should be fearful, we are to trust God, 2 Corinthians 5:7 reminds us For we live by believing and not by seeing.
God’s destiny for you, His beloved child, is not for you to live in fear, God wants all of us to trust Him in all circumstances, God wants us to live by faith.
We need to walk by faith and not by sight. We can trust God, He knows what He is doing.
Dr. E. Stanley Jones, the Methodist missionary, said this about faith and fear:
“I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath–these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely–these are my native air. A doctor says, ‘We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non- worriers, but that is a fact.’ But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.”
We are not to be controlled by fear. We are meant to live by faith not by fear. We are meant to have faith in God.
Faith can move mountains, but fear can make molehills feel like mountains. According to God’s Word, faith can move mountains and work miracles.
In Matthew 17:20 Jesus told His disciples “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."
The expression Jesus used was a common colloquialism of that day; to a Jew of Jesus’ day, a mountain was a metaphor for a seemingly impossible task.
Faith that can move mountains is not meant to imply a faith that can literally move literal mountains. The point Jesus was making is that even a little bit of faith—faith the size of a tiny mustard seed—can overcome mountainous obstacles in our lives.
God has given you a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. Don’t stumble in fear when you can walk in faith. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in you, allow the Word of God, the promises of God to penetrate your heart and mind. You can be set free from your fear by the power of the Spirit.
Do you remember the account of when Jesus was asleep in a boat during a storm? It was on the Sea of Galilee and the disciples were fearful and wide awake even though Jesus was with them. Matthew 8:23-27, “Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”
Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid?” and provides the answer, “You have little faith.” The parallel account in Mark 4:40 phrases it this way, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Jesus is declaring Fear is the opposite of faith. If you have faith, you will not have fear. If you have fear, is it because you have little faith?
How can we banish fear from our lives?
By growing in faith. The more faith we have in God, the less fear will have an effect on us.
So how do we increase our faith in God?
Romans 10:17 provides the answer; “faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”
The Bible, the Word of God, helps our faith to grow. If you want more faith, allow God to speak to you from His Word.
Colossians 3:16, "Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts."
Fill your heart and mind with the Word of God, let God fill your life with faith. Learn the promises of His Word, draw strength from His Word, be encouraged by His Words,
There are many people in this world who do not know Jesus who are filled with fear. There are many people in the world today who ignore God, they ignore His Word, they say it is irrelevant, outdated. There are people in the world who treat God’s Word with contempt and they live lives that are filled with fear - fear of what they have done, fear of what they are doing, fear of what may happen today or tomorrow. Romans 12:2 encourages us "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."
When we read the Word of God, the Holy Spirit works within us, our faith increases. John 6:63, “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
Faith comes by reading the Word of God, by hearing the Word of God. There is power in the Word of God. In Mark 13:31 Jesus said “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”
Hebrews 4:12; “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
The Word of God is a living word, God speaks to us, encourages us, helps us. The Word of God is effective, the Word of God is true.
Have faith in God, choose to trust God and His Word, Hebrews 13:5-6; “God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear.”
Be confident, God is with you, the Lord is your helper in every situation.
If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
Isaiah 43:2 “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
In life we will encounter difficulties and problems, but we can go through difficult times without fear because God is with us. Whatever problem you are facing right now, or will face in the future, have faith, trust God. You are a child of god, He cares for you, He protects you, He loves you, walk in faith not in fear.
We can’t get away from the love of God, the Bible tells us the way to rid fear from our lives is to have the love of Christ. 1 John 4:18; “love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
The Bible also declares that nothing can separate us from the love of God, Romans 8:35-39, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Knowing that God loves us should free us from fear. Knowing that God is with us should free us from fear.
As I draw the sermon to a close, let me remind you:
The God who was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace is with you.
The God who was with Daniel and closed the Lion’s mouths is the same Jesus that is with you.
The God who was with a little shepherd boy called David when he fought the giant Goliath is with you.
The God who was with Gideon is with you.
The God who led the Israelites out of Egypt, and parted the waters of the Red Sea and provided Manna in the wilderness is with you.
The God who spoke this universe into being, the God who has a plan and a purpose and a destiny for you is with you.
Do not fear, have faith 1 Peter 5:7 “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”
We have no reason to fear because God cares for us, God is with us, have faith in Him and Him alone!
Listen to Psalm 34:4-8,15,17
I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
He saved me from all my troubles.
For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
He surrounds and defends all who love Him.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
His ears are open to their cries for help.
The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
Trust God, don’t fear, have faith For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.
Amen
