FEAR IS A FAITH KILLER!
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Can we define FEAR? Fear is not easily defined. Let us try?
*FEAR: fear is an emotion, dread, panic (unreasoning or overmastering, hysterical fear), terror, anxious, an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger, reason of alarm, danger.
FEAR IS A FAITH KILLER! FEAR IS MENTIONED OVER 5000 TIMES IN THE KING JAMES VERSION. There is a good healthy fear and there is a very negative, harmful fear. We need wisdom and understanding when we deal with fear. We are encouraged to FEAR GOD, a healthy fear. Fearing God is considered an attribute of wisdom.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Psalms: 111:10 (AMP)The (reverent)fear of the Lord is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom; a good understanding and a teachableheart are possessed by all those who do the will of the Lord; His praise endures forever.
Psalm 111:10 (MSG) The good life begins in the fear of GOD— Do that and you'll know the blessing of GOD. His Hallelujah lasts forever!
*3 areas we need to consider about fear:
• *1. What is at the root that causes your fear.
• *2. Identifying factors or symptom of fear, Diagnosis
• *3. Prognosis, how will we treat this?
Fear is at the root of PANIC ATTACKS. ANXIETY is a reaction to FEAR.
FEAR PLAYS GAMES WITH OUR EMOTIONS.WE KNOW AS FACT THAT FEAR BREEDS SADINESS DISCOURAGEMENT, DEPRESSION.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Fear seems to have this paralyzing power. Have you ever noticed the power of fear has a gripping effect? Fear can torment a person for years. It appears somehow we find comfort in fear to the point we take ownership of fear or perhaps fear takes ownership of us? We might even allow fear to become a driving force and we rather run from our fears than to FACE FEAR STRAIGHT UP. WE NEED TO TAKE OWNERSHIP AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT FEAR BRINGS HARM.
There are basically 4 ways to deal with fear. 1. DENY we have fear. 2. RESIGN and accept. 3. RUN-AWAY,flight. 4. FIGHT, face your fear.
THERE ARE SEVERAL RECENT STUDIES THAT SUGGEST FEAR AND PANIC ATTACKS CAN LEAD TO MEMORY LOSE…
The first Biblical record of fear is in the GARDEN OF EDEN. Life was perfect in the garden. Each evening in the cool of the day, God would come and walk and talk with his beautiful creation. ONE EVENING WAS DIFFERENT. THERE WAS A NEW EMOTION THAT THE COUPLE EXPERIENCED… FEAR? Adam and Eve were afraid? Why? What was the consequences of their fear?
Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
This might be connected to the FEAR ELEMENT OF DENY? IGNORE? ACCEPT? FIGHT? OR FLIGHT? There was a since of dread this evening? Why dread meeting God? Worry is an element of fear. Worry can cause a lack of focus and concentration. FEAR IS A CONSEQUENCE? Then there are consequences of fear?
THERE CAN BE INTENSE FACTS IN OUR VISUAL FIELD… WHAT IS BEFORE YOU? WE HAVE TWO CHOICES: TRUST GOD’S PLANS OR FACE THE FACTS WITH GREAT FEAR AND DREAD? FEAR BECOMES AN OPTION TO EACH FACT BEFORE US. FEAR KILLS FAITH!
The bigger the giant, the greater the obstacle the GREATER THE FEAR. Little problems? Little fear? Great trials means great fear.
2 Chronicles 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
Fear seems to breed more fear. I understand there is much research that fear distorts facts and tends to weaken your immune system and damage your heart over term exposure.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18 (MSG) There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
1 John 4:18 (AMP)There is no fear in love (dread does not exist), but full grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, an (so) he who is afraid has not reached maturity of love (is not grown into love’s complete perfection.
WHY? WHY IS THE MAN IN A CLOSET… ?
I have a very talented friend that lives in his closet under the stairs. FEAR RULES HIS MIND. My friend has been pretty successful in life. He has a beautiful white house and a big yard. He has several bedrooms, bathrooms, a garage, two front rooms, and a big kitchen and dining room in his house. But he lives in a dark closet under his stair way. He only comes out of the closet to eat and to the bathroom. He has pushed everything back and placed a chair in the closet. He is contented to spend his life hidden in the closet. Oh, did I tell you he leaves CNN and FOXX NEWS on 24 hours a day in the front room. His house has big beautiful windows, the shades are always down and the curtains are always pulled. It is always dark in his house. He seldom answers his phone, he has caller ID, but he rarely answers his phone. He is secure financially. He could travel? He could help a church? But he spends most of his hours in a dark closet with the door shut. Why? WHY?
WHY WOULD A MAN LIVE IN A CLOSET? You probably know the answer: FEAR! FEAR! His life might be better in a prison? His closet is smaller than a jail cell? TRAPPED IN A CLOSET? WILLFULLY? HIS CHOICE IS A CLOSET? I HAVE A SERMON CALLED METAL BARS OR MENTAL BARS…
WHAT IS THE ROOT OF OUR FEAR? FEARS?
Have you ever thought about YOUR FEAR? Think about what is causing your fear? What gave birth to your fear? Have you ever tried to understand your fear? Is your fear GENERATIONAL? Have you allowed fear to dictate your life style?
The good old boys were riding in a boat when FEAR OVERTOOK THE BOAT. WHY FEAR? A STORM? A BAD STORM CAN BREED GREAT FEAR? Those in the boat were believers? NOT ONLY WERE THEY SUPPOSE TO HAVE FAITH, THEY HAD JESUS IN THE BOAT? NO, THEY HAD ACCEPTED FEAR IN THE BOAT?
SOMEBODY GO GET JESUS? SOMEONE WAKE JESUS UP?
Matthew 8:26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
JESUS HAS A PLAN… HE WILL EITHER CALM THE STORM OR HE WILL CALM THE BELIEVER THROUGH THE STORM…
FEAR HAS MANY ADVERSE EFFECTS BOTH IN THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL REALM…
Fear is a real FAITH KILLER…. Fear shows a lack of trust. A PROBLEM WELL STATED IS ON THE TRAIL TO A SOLUTION AND TO CORRECTION. Will you identify your fear?
We look at GENERATIONAL FEAR WHICH CAN OFTEN BE CORREALATED TO SOMETHING FROM YOUR PAST.
Have you ever tried to understand your personal fears?
Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
TWO OPTIONS: DO WE LIVE IN FEAR OR DO WE TRUST THE PLAN OF GOD… JOY AND PEACE COME IN COMPLETE TRUST OF AN ALMIGHTY GOD.
There was a new young rooster running all around the chicken pen. The hens were still in the chicken house when the young rooster ran out of the hen house in a panic. He ran all around the chicken lot looking for big, fat juicy night crawlers. The young rooster came back into the hen house and he demanded all the hens gather around him as he explained his observations to all the hens. The young little rooster when on to explain: TIMES ARE HARD, AND THEY ARE EVEN GOING TO GET HARDER. I can’t fine any juicy worms to eat, I did find one worm that was all dried up. Seems to me there had been so many worms during the wet weather, but the worms that were a plenty are now scare and are a rare find. I can’t find enough worms for me, little alone all you hens. I guess we are going to all die. I don’t know what happened to all the night crawlers that was here this spring. The young hens listened intensely to the young rooster dyer food shortage report. All the young hens panicked, they started complaining, murmuring and grumbling… we have these baby chicken to raise and there is not enough food. We are all going to die a slow death by starvation. This dry spell must have killed all the worms.
The young hens agreed with the young rooster that times were tough and the worms were scare. All the young chickens were worked up in a doom and gloom frenzy. The worms that were PLENTIFUL ARE GONE. The young hens were convinced by the young rooster’s report: DEATH IS SURE!
Several of the older hens stood and listened to the young rooster negative report and they laughed at the rooster’s doom’s day report on the worms. The old hens walked out of the hen house and then headed out to some rocks over in the corner. While all the young chickens were spreading the death report the older hens were over on the rocks. One old hen said did you hear the new rooster’s report. They all chuckled about the frenzy of the ones staying in the hen house. The older chickens discussed living through wet seasons and dry seasons and the elder hen spoke very calmly: I have seen the spring’s wet seasons and I have seen the summer’s
dry and hot, I have lived through winter’s cold. God has always provided for us and the farmer.
So the older hens started sharpening their claws on the rocks. The older wise hen said: I HAVE NEVER LIVED THROUGH A SEASON THAT WE HAD PLENTY OF FOOD. Why get so worked up? She spoke to the hens around her, don’t believe the new rooster, sharpen your claws, there will be plenty of worms and food to eat. So they all sharpened their claws and listened and prepared.
Once they had their claws prepared, the one old hen lead the other hens that were with her over into a new corner. The ground was packed and hard. The new rooster laughed and mocked the old hens. He said that “new ground” is as hard as a rock, there are no worms under there. The new rooster gathered the young hens around him and said: LOOK HOW FOOLISH THEY ARE, DIGGING IN THAT HARD, WORTHLESS GROUND. THERE ARE NO WORMS THERE! The old hens never listened to the negative mocking, they just started digging with their sharp claws. They were prepared. They knew if they would dig deep enough they would find plenty of big, fat juicy night crawlers. The old hen yelled to the young rooster: IF THE NIIGHT CRAWLERS WON’T COME TO US, WE MUST GO TO WHERE THE WORMS ARE! SHE SAID TO THE OLDER HENS, DIG DEEPER!
ROOSTER SAID: YOU HENS ARE TIRED AND HUNGRY WITH ALL THAT DIGGING? All of a sudden the old hens started clucking. Get EXCITED, then joy crushed the doom and gloom. The rooster was learning quit running around looking for worms, DIG --- DIG UNTIL YOU FIND THE FOOD. The young hens were watching, they sharpened their claws and began digging. They all had their fill of delicious fat worms. That night the young rooster said: You old hens must really be hungry and tired from all the scratching in the dirt?
The old hen was grinning ear to ear as she dozed off to sleep. She looked over to the young rooster and said: BOY, YOU HAVE A LOT TO LEARN and STOP COMPLAINING AND SHARPEN YOUR CLAWS AND DIG. BOY, THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN PLENTY OF WORMS, YOU JUST HAVE TO LEARN TO DIG. THE DRIER THE TIMES THE DEEPER YOU HAVE TO DIG. QUIT COMPLAINING AND DIG. THE HENS ALL HAD A GREAT NIGHT’S SLEEP FROM HARD WORK AND THAT FULL BELLIES.
CONCLUSION: FEAR IS ONE OF OUR ENEMIES TERRIBLE TOOLS HE USES AGAINST PEOPLE. Fear is a difficult problem not just for the believer but also for unbelievers. Parents can use fear to control a child. Oh, don’t go into that dark room, a monster is in there? Then a year later you try to get the child to go to bed and they are still afraid of that monster you used to control them?
There have been many teach there are 365 FEAR NOTS or BE NOT AFRAID in the Bible. One fear not for each day of the year. While this is a wonderful thought, it is not accurate, an in-depth study reveals there are 103 occurrences of FEAR NOT OR BE NOT AFRAID… Be aware my friend FEAR WILL ALWAYS HINDER THE WORK OF GOD. Fear will kill faith.
I was walking into church one morning to study… I had talked several times to our neighbor. They had a several weeks study on the devil and demons. I detected fear as she spoke about all the evil around. A few days later. I noticed her small daughter playing and great fear would come over her. It had rained and there was puddles all around. I stopped to watch the girl. She would look in the puddle and run away in fear. She would look, and run as her fear was so real? I asked her what was she was doing? She explained to me that there were demons in the puddle, big, bad demons that was going to jump on her and possess her? I had watched… when she got near the puddle of water she saw her own reflection, a beautiful little girl reflection, but she ran away in fear as she thought there was demons in the puddle.
I hugged the little girl and told her Jesus was with us. We had nothing to fear. She explained about the demons in the puddle. I took her hand and walked over to the puddle and showed her our reflection. What she was seeing was her own reflection. She refused my words. Her mother came out and she yelled to her mother about the demons in the puddle. The girl had rather believer her observations than the truth.
We must realize FEAR HAS POWER. Our eyes and ears can distort the truth. Be very careful: FEAR IS A FAITH KILLER.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Again, I want to say thank you for serving the Lord. Have faith in God. Study to show yourself approved… Dig your well deep.
