WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO PART 2 FROM FEAR TO FAITH
2 Chron 20:3
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Jehoshaphat received a bad report concerning a multitude of enemy forces and his First response was fear.
This is understandable ….a great coalition of three enemy armies were aligned against Him.
Not much has changed over the centuries. When we receive a bad report, or face a multitude of problems--when we don’t know what to do—we usually respond with fear. But understand that impossible situations are never resolved by fear
So then, after recognizing our problem or situation is a spiritual battle…..and taking the situation to the Lord …the first thing we must do is replace fear with faith.
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF FEAR SEEN THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURE
The first One is positive, reflecting a healthy respect for God, and it is foundational to spiritual wisdom:
The psalmist said in Psalms 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
This positive fear of God results in blessings:
Psalms 112:1 declares, “ Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.
Those who fear God are protected from evil:
Psalm 34:7
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; he also will hear their cry and save them. (Psalm 145:19)
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. (Proverbs 14:26)
Those who fear God know no want:
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. (Psalm 34:9)
There is a tremendous spiritual heritage for those who fear the Lord. They receive mercy, salvation, and compassion from God: For You, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. (Psalm 61:5)
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him (Psalm 103:11)
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. (Psalm 85:9)
As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:13)
The fear of the Lord is the fountain of spiritual life:
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27)
The fear of the Lord is a positive emotion that enables you to reject evil: In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. (Proverbs 16:6)
To have a Godly, Holy fear of the Lord has many benefits…the Child of God is truly blessed…but our enemy works very hard at trying to discourage us and blinding our eyes and our minds from focusing on these benefits
NOW LOOK AT THE SECOND TYPE OF FEAR..THE NEGATIVE FORCE OF FEAR
Negative fear first This type of fear first appeared when Adam and Eve were ashamed and fearfully hid themselves from God’s presence.
Shame over the past and fear of the future were the two responses that resulted from man’s fall in the garden
And shame and fear are the root of all other negative emotions. ...This type of fear is tormenting:
You see Psychologist are not really so smart…all the counseling methodologies I learned while studying for my doctorate are located right in the Bible and available to every born again believer…You don’t have to be a PHD to solve the problems of Mankind….You do have to be a BAB…Born again Believer…and the key word there is BELIEVER
1 Jn 4:18 says
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
When you are “perfect in love,” you will not fear because you know there is no circumstance of life that can separate you from God’s love.
The Apostle Paul declared in Romans 8:35,38-40 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Listen Gods word declares the you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)
Fear is a snare hidden the negative circumstances of our lives …it traps us like and animal is trapped in the hidden snare purposely set.
The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. (Proverbs 29:25)
And once the animal is trapped in the snare it becomes immobilized
THE MANIFESTATIONS OF FEAR ARE SEEN ALL AROUND US…AND SOME OF US HAVE BEEN CAUGHT IN SATANS SNARE FROM TIME TO TIME
But thank God, we can be set free by the blood of Jesus ...We have not been given the Spirit of Fear but of Power Love and a sound mind...Satan wants to torment you today with fear
Multitudes of people live in fear…they are trapped….
Think about it….people fear for their safety, hiding behind closed doors and safety bars on every window…….and then if that not enough they arm themselves with Guns, knifes, and every kind of weapon.
People fear failure, rejection, pain and sickness, poverty, old age, and death.
There are so many fears that psychologists have developed an extensive list of common “phobias” to catalog them:
Acro-phobia: The fear of high places
Agora-phobia: Fear of open and public places
Achmo-phobia: The fear of sharp objects
Algo-phobia: Fear of pain
Anthropo-phobia: Fear of man or a particular person
Astra-phobia: Fear of thunder, lightening, or storms
Claustro-phobia: A fear of closed places
Hemato-phobia: Fear of blood
Hydro-phobia: Fear of water
Mono-phobia: Fear of solitude
Necro-phobia: Fear of dead bodies
Pyro-phobia: Fear of fire
Toxiphobia: Fear of poisons
Zoo-phobia: Fear of animals
…and on and on we can go
IF YOU ARE GOING TO DEAL with this powerful force OF FEAR then you must recognize fear for what it is. SIN
Fear is a spirit Satan uses to torment, dominate, oppress and control you..It is not of God..….For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
So, whenever you fear, it is because you allow the spirit of fear to seize control of your mental processes. Remember Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father
Fear draws your focus from God to your circumstances.
Fear immobilizes and paralyzes you when you face difficult situations.
Fear is sin because “whatever is not from faith is sin” according to (Romans 14:23).
If you are not demonstrating faith then you are operating in fear--and fear is sin.
Have you read Revelation lately….The Apostle John records in the Revelation that......the fearful, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)....The list begins with the fearful
When you face a problem and you are not sure what to do, there is one thing you Know not to do and that is to fear!
The opposite of fear is faith, and fear and faith cannot operate together
Do you remember the Disciples of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee in a great storm that threatened to capsize their boat. They were fearful as they struggled against the raging torrents and Jesus said to them: “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. (Matthew 8:26)
if you are full of fear then there is little room for faith to operate…WHY?.
Because both fear and faith have creative powers: Faith generates positive results and fear generates negative consequences.
After losing his family, servants, and flocks Job declared, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me” (Job 3:25).
When you are fearful you release a negative creative force that prevents you from hearing from God:
Isaiah 66;4 says, “So will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight. (Isaiah 66:4)
You will never…never….never….. conquer your problems operating in fear.
In Old Testament times the fearful were not allowed to go into battle for the Lord:
The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, “What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.” (Deuteronomy 2:8)
When Gideon was building an army to confront enemy forces God told him:
“Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, `Whoever is fearful and
afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. (Judges 7:3)
The fearful were not allowed to engage in battle because fear paralyzes and renders a person immobile.
The fearful freeze in conflict and have tendencies to retreat from the enemy.
Every area of your life is either governed by faith or fear. In the face of impossible situations for which you have no answer you will either be mobilized by faith or conquered by fear.
Fear binds and renders you ineffective to deal with the difficulties of life.
Fear paralyzes, but faith energizes.
“Jehoshaphat feared” initially but he did not continue to operate in fear. If you peek ahead in the text of 2 Chronicles 20 you will discover that Jehoshaphat effected a mighty victory against the enemy.
The question is, how did he make the transition from fear to faith?
--how can you be released from fear and begin to operate in faith?
HE BELIEVED GOD AND THE PROPHET WHO SPOKE TO HIM
Are you fearful today…has fear immobilized you?
RECOGNIZE IT AS SIN….CONFESS IT AND RECEIVE FORGIVENESS AND DELIVERENCE
BELIEVE GOD AND HIS WORD AND ALL THE MEN OF GOD HAVE SPOKEN THROUGH OUT THE SCRIPTURE
