The Fear Factor Series

REALITY CHECK SERIES

# 1 The Fear Factor

Intro: We begin tonight a new series that I believe is relevant to us all. It is relevant, because it deals with reality. There seems to be a craze today when it comes to ’reality t.v." I know most of have at least heard of them. There is The Fear Factor, The Survivor,Temptation Island, The Mole, The Great Race, The Bachelor, The Bachelortte, Nanny 911, Marriage 911, Trading Spaces and more and will probably be more by the time this series is over. I will attempt to draw from some of these lessons about Real Reality. I am convinced that these shows don’t deal with reality at all. However, we can learn from what is not seen as well what is. I don’t suggest that you watch any of these shows but if you have you will gain much more from what is taught here the next several Sunday Nights than you will watching a whole season of these attempts at reality. I am going to be ’real’ with you and true to the scripture as we delve into this Reality Check.

We begin tonight with one of the first and perhaps second most popular of these reality shows. It is entitled The Fear Factor.

Everybody is afraid of something. Some are afraid of many things. What is it that you are afraid of? What is it that can soother your fear? This reality show [and I use the term lightly] different individuals are placed in various situations to be overcome for the sum of $50,000. Question: What is it you won’t do for any sum of money? Some will just about do anything. To me the show is not so much about fear as it is about greed. However, these people are placed in situations that they will most likely never be faced with in ’Real Life’.

In fact, there is something or someplace that is very real and is not thought of or talked about much these days. Yes, there are other things in life that bring fear to people’s hearts. Some of these are called Phobias.

The term phobia, which comes from the Greek word for fear (?????, fobos), denotes a number of psychological and physiological conditions that can range from serious disabilities to common fears to minor quirks.

Most psychologists and psychiatrists divide phobias into three categories:

Social phobias - fears to do with other people and social relationships such as performance anxiety, fears of eating in public, etc.

Specific phobias - fear of a single specific panic trigger, like dogs, flying, running water and so on.

Agoraphobia - a generalized fear of leaving your home or your small familiar ’safe’ area, and of the inevitable panic attacks that will follow. Agoraphobia is the only phobia regularly treated as a medical condition.

A philia is the love or obsession with a particular thing or subject. The suffix -philia is used to specify the love or obsession with something more specific. It is antonymic to -phobia.

There are some 280 known phobias. Some of which are:

Ablutophobia- Washing or bathing

Acrophobia – Heights

Androphobia – Men

Autophobia – Alone

Bufonophobia – Toads

Cyberphobia – Computers

Dentophobia – Dentist

Ecclesiasiophobia – Church [Some members must suffer from this]

Octophobia - #8

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear."

--- H.P. Lovecraft

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear."

--- H.P. Lovecraft

Among all these fears I do believe there is hope that will help us conquer all our fears. At least those things that are real. This doesn’t come without a price. The Bible says;

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.

Yes there are things, places and people that bring fear. What I want to leave you with tonight is what I think most are afraid of most. It is the fear of reality itself. The reality about what?

1]. Our Self and Sin: There is a phobia called Hamartophobia. It is the fear of sinning don’t necessarily think we are living in a day when people are afraid of sinning. 2 Tim. 3:13

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

However, I do think they are afraid of the reality of sin is and does.

Numbers 32:23

But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:12

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: