“4 STEPS TO OVERCOME FEAR?” in 1 Ki 19:1 -18
Good evening Brothers and Sisters, welcome to Upperlight Meeting. The title of my message is
Fear is irrational and can be a powerful force to reckon with.
Sometimes it comes suddenly, at other times it gradually builds up over time. But we all have experience fear before. It can be paralyzing and control a person to a point that he/she cannot function at all.
Here are some common fears are below
Fear of being alone - autophobia,
Fear of confined or crowded spaces - claustrophobia,
Fear of water - hydrophobia,
Fear of animals - zoophobia, and the list goes on.
What are your fears? Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of what other people think, fear of the future. Fear of the unknown. Fear of losing your job. Fear of people finding out something you have done or not done.
Today we will look at 4 steps to overcome our fears. When fear comes, we need to activate these steps.
We can learn from this story what are the steps we can take to overcome fear before fear overcome us. In 1 Kings 19 records an occasion when Elijah, a mighty prophet was overcome by fear and ran for his life. And we will see how God came to help his servant during his time of weakness.
This great prophet of God who was victorious in a spiritual battle with 450 prophets of Baal on Carmel – a mighty prophet who called fire down from heaven
and caused rain to come after years of drought. But now he runs away from Jezebel. He was running from a wicked and demonic queen
1. Run to God (1 Ki 19:3 & 8)
v.3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
Elijah was running for his life and running from Jezebel – this is what fear will do to anyone who succumb to it.
We asked the question that he could defeat 950 false priests and prophets, could he not defeat this wicked queen?
Some possible reasons: was that he was drained physically, emotionally and spiritually after his confrontation with the false prophets on Mount Carmel. After that he was discouraged and depressed because he expected a mighty revival of Israelites to turn back to Jehovah worship and to have great social and religious reforms to take place.
The absence of such visible results after the confrontation with the enemies of God, may have caused him to be discouraged and depressed. The attack of fear on him came at a time of his vulnerability.
The Lord took care of his servant when he was down and out by sending supernatural bread and water to continue on his journey. Here we see the grace of God to come to us when we needed it most.
v.8 Strengthened by that food, he travelled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
The lesson which we need to learn is to run to God instead. Don’t run away out of fear. But run to. Where to run when you are fearful. We run to God, only when we take refuge in the Lord, then we can find true safety and security.
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Ps 18:2
2. Feed on The Word (1 Ki 19:6 & 7)
v. 5-7 All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”
When a person is physically, emotionally and spiritually tired, hungry and thirsty, he can be vulnerable.
We get our spiritual food by spending time feeding on the Word of God and in the Spirit. The refreshing water of the Holy Spirit comes when we become lost in praise and worship, prayer and speaking in tongues. It will renew our strength and help us to be edified.
The importance of feeding on the Word of God cannot be overemphasized. We must develop the practice of regularly memorizing and meditating the Word of God.
What are the verses in the Bible that are your life verses?
Make a list of Scripture promises that you will commit to memory to bring to mind in times of crisis.
Some of the suggested verses I have memorised over the years are:
• Prov 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.”
• Num 23:19 “God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind. Does he speak and not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?”
• Jer 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is there anything too hard for me?”
• Mark 11:23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”
3. Hear God Speaking (1 Ki 19:13)
V.11 & 12 tells us that there was a great and powerful wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks, an earthquake, and fire, but the LORD was not in any of theses
God uses these demonstrations of nature to remind his prophet of His might and power. Elijah reminded of God’s power. However, when the Lord show up, He came as a gentle whisper.
Elijah has the wrong thinking that he was the last man standing, that he was the only one of God’s servant still alive. And he was alone.
But God spoke to him and put him in perspective.
The Lord says to Elijah that there are seven thousand of His servants who have not bowed their knees to Baal or serve him.
There must be a strong intention in our hearts that we want to hear God’s voice in order for us to be able to hear him. It is not a causal passer-by who does not care whether he has actually God speaking or not. God will not reveal himself to any other than those who are really serious with him. The words “sanctification” and “holy” actually means to be set apart. You will not mix the holy thing with other things that are common. In other words, it is dedicated to the Lord. It is use for the Lord and for him alone. This is the attitude of one who wants to hear the Lord’s voice. He is serious to make sure that he really hears the Lord’s voice correctly and is prepared to obey that which the Lord tells him what to do.
Jesus says that his sheep hear his voice and he know them, and they follow him (Jn 10:27). Those who are in a hurry will miss hearing the still small voice of the Lord speaking to them. So are those who are half hearted and could not wait for God to speak. They will end up doing their own thing instead of doing what God wants them to do.
God will speak to us when we spend time reading and meditating on His Word. When we do this regularly, the Holy Spirit will enlighten the eyes of hearts and quicken our spiritual ears to hear him speaking to our spirit man.
4. Obey God’s Command (1 Ki 19:15 -17)
v15- 17 The Lord tells Elijah to go back to his original location where he was first called. In addition, God gives him a new assignment to anoint Hazael as king, anoint Jehu as king and Elisha as his successor. By so doing it will seal the fate of queen Jezebel and bring about the plan and purpose of God beyond his time on earth.
Obedience to God’s command is the ultimate proof of our faith and trust in God. It may go against what we want, or demand that we step out of our comfort zone. Because we want to have the easy way out and we would rather do things in our own way. This is true even for the Son of God, Jesus had to do what was not comfortable for him. After he was baptized, the Holy Spirit led him to the wilderness. When the Holy Spirit lead us, he does not always lead us to the green pasture.
We need to forge forward and do the will of God in the face of the fearful circumstances around us. Despite of our personal fears, we must continue to obey God.
Conclusion
We can remember the illustration of an elephant which has been conditioned to think that it cannot break away from the stick that the rope has tied to it.
The Church has many fears that keep it under bondage. It is not functioning as it should. Jesus says upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hades will not prevail against it.
Jesus Christ who was crucified and buried. He sits on the throne. He rose from the dead and forever alive. He has won the victor’s crown and reign forever. Every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. We must look to God and see that despite the fearful circumstances around us. God is mighty in his power and he is in control. Pandemic or no pandemic this command has never change. We are called to be salt of the earth and light of the world. We must continue to do what we are called to do. The Church must arise and be all that Christ has called us during this time and especially in the end time.
