DELIVERED FROM ALL MY FEARS
2 Tim 1:7; Ps. 34:4
INTRODUCTION
A. GREAT OPPOSITES
1. The Wise..............the Foolish;
2. The Wicked..........the Righteous;
3. The Good..............the Evil
4. Life....................Death;
5. Truth.................Error;
6. Light..................Darkness;
7. Fear...................Faith
B. A LOST HUNTER’S STORY
1. On Nov. 3, 2025, an experienced hunter who was lost in the California wilderness for nearly 20 days was found alive by another group of hunters. "They saved my life," Ron Dailey [said], according to ABC News.
2. Dailey went hunting in the Sierra National Forest. When he did not return from his hunting trip a massive search-and-rescue operation was begun through "tough terrain."
3. Dailey said it began when he traveled up the Swamp Lake trail in his truck, reached the top and then took a "jeep road." When he tried to turn around he couldn't, nor could he back out. Dailey kept going and ended up on a "rocky plateau" at 10,000 feet where he was stranded.
4. Several days later, he realized he needed to abandon his truck and start walking down the trail. "You either try to get out or you sit here and die," Dailey said. “It was the "toughest walk I've ever done in my life" he said.
5. Finally, Dailey stopped and began to pray. "God, You gotta send somebody up here to me. I can hardly walk anymore," Dailey said in the interview, holding back tears. Then he saw the headlights of a car and raised his hands in the air. After the hunters recognized Dailey, he "started hugging them and praying."https://abcnews.go.com/US/hunter-missing-20-days-california-wilderness-found-alive/story?id=127128664
C. THESIS
1. That man had known what fear is. This morning we’re going to look at another man who struggled with fears – Timothy in the New Testament.
2. In 2 Tim. 1:7 Paul gave him the prescription for defeating fears. Read it with me; “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1:7.
3. The title is “Delivered From All My Fears.”
I. TIMOTHY’S STRUGGLE WITH FEAR
A. FEELINGS OF INADEQUACY
1. Paul met Timothy when he was in Lystra in Acts 16. Timothy’s father was Greek but his mother was Jewish. Paul circumcised him and took Timothy with him on his missionary journeys. Timothy was put into ministry in Ephesus.
2. Timothy suffered from feelings of inadequacy. Paul told him not to, “...let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” 1 Tim. 4:12. Paul encouraged him not to allow people to intimidate him because he was young.
3. Paul also mentioned (1 Tim. 5:23) that Timothy had stomach troubles, which many expositors believe was related to fear in his life.
4. Unless Timothy mastered his fears, he would become ineffective for God and not accomplish God’s destiny for his life. Israel didn’t enter the promised land because of fear! It’s the same with us! We can fail to gain God’s blessings if we let fear control us.
B. JOKE: FEAR IS CONTAGIOUS!
1. There were 2 gas company servicemen checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They had parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. A lady at the last house was watching them out her kitchen window.
2. Finishing the last meter check, the supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a footrace down the alley back to the truck to prove that an older guy could outrun a younger one.
3. As they came running up to the truck, they realized the lady from that last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped immediately and asked her what was wrong.
4. Gasping for breath, she replied, "When I saw you 2 gas men running as hard as you could, I figured I'd better run too!"
C. COURAGE: MASTERING YOUR FEARS
1. What is courage? Mark Twain described it best: “Courage is RESISTANCE to fear – NOT ABSENCE of fears.” We all have fears. Courage is a decision of the will, not to let fears cripple us.
2. Napoleon often referred to Marshall Ney as the bravest man he ever knew. Yet Ney’s knees trembled so badly before a battle that he had trouble mounting his horse. He shouted at them contemptuously, “Shake away, knees! You would [shake even] worse if you knew where I am going to take you!”
3. Fear can cripple us. Resigning ourselves to fears and phobias can chain us to survival mode and make us miss God’s will.
4. The Los Angeles Times once (1992) carried the story about a man who had a fear of heights. He could only cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland if his wife drove the car and locked him in the trunk!
5. Paul pointed out that when fear is irrational and overpowering that it’s a “spirit of fear” from the devil. It must be defeated by the Word and the Spirit.
II. THE NEED FOR COURAGE TODAY
A. IN ORDINARY SITUATIONS
1. Every single day we make choices that show whether we are courageous or cowardly. We choose between the right thing and the convenient thing, to sticking to a conviction or caving in to peer pressure. Will we take a risk or crawl into a shell of safety?
2. To say “yes” to Jesus Christ is the first courageous act – to admit your vulnerability. Christianity is not for weak, cowardly people. It takes backbone to obey God and go against the culture.
3. It takes courage, because God call us to go places we’ve never been. He gives us tasks we feel inadequate for. That’s why many people begin with faith, but settle for religion. Living by faith is sometimes scary!
B. RELATIONSHIPS TAKE COURAGE
1. Marriage takes courage; intimacy must be developed. It takes courage to drop your guard and be real with your spouse, “Honey, we’ve got serious problems in our marriage and we need to do something about it.
2. It takes courage to say, “Let’s fight to keep this marriage together. Let’s go see a counselor. Let’s go to that marriage retreat.”
3. If you’ve got kids, you’ve got to have courage to raise them. Many parents back off from disciplining their kids because they’re afraid of their kid’s disapproval. Courage says, “No, here are the consequences and I’m sticking to them no matter how many tantrums you throw.
C. COURAGE TO DO THE RIGHT THING. We’re tempted at every turn to do the wrong thing.
1. HUMOR. A Rancher asked a veterinarian, “I have a horse that walks normally sometimes and limps sometimes. What do I do?” The Vet answered, “The next time he walks normally, sell him!”
2. We all know that wouldn’t be right. It takes courage not to compromise our principles for the sake of money or influence. The Bible says that the godly person “keeps his oath, even if it hurts” Ps. 15:4.
III. PAUL’S PRESCRIPTION FOR DEFEATING FEAR
In 2 Tim. 1:7 Paul outlined 3 things that would eliminate Timothy’s fears. First, God has given us...
A. THE SPIRIT OF POWER
1. WE have the Holy Spirit inside us. Fear tells us we don’t have the resources we need to defeat our enemy, but 1 John 4:4 reminds us, “Greater is He that is IN US than he that is in the world.” God is with us! Are we leaning on God’s power?
2. Luke 10:18-19; “I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions.” Get this into focus – Jesus ascended to heaven and Satan was sentenced to crawl on his belly (Gen. 3:14). Faith soars and fear crawls! One Christian man was asked why he had a pair of snake-skin boots. He replied, “I’m treading on serpents!” We should only glance at our problems but gaze at God’s power!
3. Next, God has given us...
B. A SPIRIT OF LOVE
1. Love is a mighty force to deal with fear. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.”
2. Love is the greatest power in the universe. Love conquered death. Love conquered fear. Thirdly, God gives us...
C. A SOUND MIND
1. A disciplined mind; self-control. Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:5, “KEEP YOUR HEAD IN ALL SITUATIONS” In other words, don’t freak out or lose control, but maintain calm objectivity, no matter what happens. God is a God of order.
2. Like Peter said, “The end of all things is near. Therefore be...of sober mind so that you may pray” 1 Pet. 4:7. Self-control helps us in making decisions; it helps us be able to pray. Loss of control bring confusion and defeat.
3. We’re often afraid of things that aren’t even real. Proverbs 28:1; “The wicked flee even when no man pursues.” 90% of what we fear will never happen. Look at things in the light of God’s Word.
4. During WW2, a Japanese soldier hid in caves. He ended up staying there for 28 years. He ate frogs and rats and only came out at night. All that time there was nothing to fear. The conflict had ended many years before.
5. It’s the same with us; the great spiritual battle has been won by Jesus at Calvary. Satan has received a mortal wound. His days are numbered. We’re on the winning side; “All things work together for good to them that love God.” Let fear be banished from your life!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: PRAYING THROUGH FEAR
1. On October 3, 1993 Sergeant Jeff Strueker ’s squad was ordered into the center of Mogadishu, Somalia to secure a building as part of a larger operation.
2. In the first trip into the city he and his men drove through a hailstorm of bullets. One soldier was shot and killed. It was then that Jeff felt the fear. He began to pray. The Humvee was covered with blood as they escaped the city with their dead and wounded comrades and returned to their base.
3. Then the news came that a black hawk helicopter had been shot down. Strueker’s squad received orders to return to the fight. As Jeff was cleaning out the bloody Humvee, he remembered: "I began to talk to the Lord. I thought I was going to die," he said. Feeling his fear grow, he began to ask God to protect him. But his prayer soon changed.
4. He prayed, "If I die tonight, that’s fine, as long as your will is done," Struecker said. "For the first time in my life (and I had been a Christian since age 13) - I was prepared to die. God spoke to my mind and my heart and said, ’I’ve been protecting you every day of your life,’" He did NOT tell me, ’You will live through the night.’ He simply showed me my life has always been in his hands."
5. We need not fear – when it’s our day to die, then we will die; but if it’s not, then nothing on this earth can take our life! Your life has always been in God’s hands.
B. THE CALL
1. Timothy overcame his fears and served boldly – even being imprisoned! He received courage to do the will of God.
2. It’s normal to wrestle with fears. Even King David, the man after God’s own heart, wrestled with them. He said, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” Psalm 34:4. Do you need to be delivered from your fears?
3. Why don’t you join me at the front. PRAYER.
