How to live in an anxious world and yet have peace and joy in life? There are hundreds of reasons to be afraid. But only one reason not to be afraid that is our faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ. There are two kinds of fear! One is Divine and the other is demonic!
Fear is a painful emotion or passion caused by an expectation of evil or suspicion of impending danger. Fear manifests itself in many ways. Some of the more serious ways include panic attacks, which are defined as “sudden, brief episodes of intense fear”, and phobias, which are defined as “persistent, irrational fears of an object or situation that presents no real threat”. Fear is the belief that someone or something poses a threat. It is the anticipation of danger, evil, or pain that may be real or imaginary. It can be crippling and/or controlling, and this is why fear is one of the tactics Satan uses to grab hold of us.
There are two kinds of fear
a) Fear that drives us away (demonic)
b) Fear that draws us nearby (Devine)
Fear that drives us away
This type of fear is initiated by demons. It drives us away from God. It drives us away from peace, joy and comfort. It brings chaos in one’s life. If a person doesn’t resist this, it can damage his life completely. Stress, anxiety, and worry are the number one reason for disease and doctor’s visits in the world today. It is a killer at every level, it shortens our life. A survey was taken to find out what emotion was the most prominent in people’s thinking and by far anxiety is number one. Worry, anxiety, and fear are the same thing emotionally. Worry-free living is part of what the Lord offered to those who put their trust in Him (Matthew 6:25-34). Our Lord has warned us against this fear in Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”.
Fear that draws us near
This is a type of fear ignited in by the Lord. A kind of fear that draws us near to God. We read in Luke 15:16-20; the lost son was drawn to his father’s house. He was afraid of his circumstances and the fear about his future brought him to his senses. When we were living in sin, the Lord had brought a kind of fear in our heart about the judgement of God on sinners, and the eternity future. It was the fear of God’s judgement on sinners initially brought us to the Lord. When Apostle Peter preached the first gospel message, people were pricked in their heart asked this question, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37-38). Matthew 3 talks about the powerful preaching of John the Baptist about repentance. The fear of God’s judgment had brought them to repentance, and they were baptised (Matthew 3:6-12).
THE THINGS WE FEAR IN LIFE
1) Fear of failure
First of all, there is fear of failure. Remember Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25? The Master gave three of his servants talents to put to work until he came back. But the third servant who received one talent went and buried it in the ground. And when the master returned and asked him why, he replied “I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground” (Matthew 25:24-25). He was uncertain about the love and kindness of his master. He didn’t trust in his love. Many a times, this happens in our life as we hesitate to take further steps due to the fear that we will turn out to be a failure. We must know that we have a father in heaven, and a Lord who loved us more than his own life, is on our side and every opportunity we have, is given by our God (Psalms 37:23-24). He wants us to progress in life, trusting in Him completely. Psalmist says, “when I am afraid, I will trust in the” (Psalms 56:3)
2) Fear of Loss
Secondly, there is fear of loss. We fear losing our jobs, we fear losing our loved ones, we fear losing our savings. We worry often, our present situation may change, and we lose something that we have now, or some calamity will strike us. We worry about our health, wealth, children, properties, etc. We need to believe the words of our Lord Jesus, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Our future is in the hands of our Lord. We can trust in His promises without a doubt!
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”.
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.
Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever”.
Malachi 3:6 ““For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed”.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope”
3) Fear of harm
Thirdly, there is fear of harm. When fearing harm, we need to take God’s words in Psalm 91 to heart. “You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, not the plague that destroys at midday….If you make the Most High your dwelling…then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent” (Psalm 91:5-10). If the Lord is on our side, we are the victors no matter what we think about the other side.
4) Fear of death
It’s only natural to be afraid of death and dying, and yet one of the reasons Jesus came was to free us from this fear. We read in Hebrews 2, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.…” (Hebrews 2:14-15). The good news of the gospel is that we don’t have to be afraid of death and dying. Our times are in God’s hands. Psalmist says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalms 23:4)
HARMFUL CONSCEQUENCES OF FEAR
1) Fear separates us from God
The opposite of ‘faith’ is fear. When ‘fear’ comes in, ‘faith’ goes out. Bible says, it is impossible to please God without ‘faith’ (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is obeying God one step a time. At its best, fear distracts us from our relationship with God and the truth that He is “Lord of heaven and earth” (Matthew 11:25). At its worst, fear is a crippling disease, taking over our minds and plunging our thoughts into darkness.
2) Fear breaks us down physically, mentally and spiritually
When we live in a state of fear and anxiety our bodies can’t function normally. Sleep is elusive, fatigue sets in, and our immune system becomes compromised. Our risk increases for developing high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, migraines, eating disorders, stomach pain and ulcers. Fear places us in bondage (Romans 8:15). We can’t enjoy the sunshine, sunsets or being with friends, or be uplifted by the natural beauty around us during a walk in the park, if we’re consumed by a big black cloud of worry. All the horrible things that could happen dominate our thoughts and prevent us from seeing what’s uplifting and pleasant. When we worry, we have in effect decided to disobey God’s commands to not be afraid and are putting ourselves and our own perspectives ahead of what God tells us to do (Philippians 4:6-7). This leads to serious spiritual problems. We can’t grow in godly character and understanding if we aren’t humbly submitting to God’s teachings (1 Peter 2:2). When we decide for ourselves how we should live, that blocks our minds from grasping how God thinks.
3) Fear weakens our usefulness
Obsessing over our fears paralyzes us and steals our time. We’re not going to be able to focus on constructive tasks if we’re directing our time and energies to nursing our fears. Worry can also make us feel worn-out, which makes us even less productive.
WAYS TO OVERCOME FEAR
A) Put God first in your life
Psalms 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you”. There are many scriptures assuring us of God’s great promises. Romans 8:31-32 says, “What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?”. Following verses are a few of the promises in the scriptures at the time of worries and anxiety.
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
Psalms 55:22 “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved”.
Hebrews 13:6 “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?..... (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
B) Be filled with the Holy Spirit
We see the transformation happened in the lives of Apostle after the Day of Pentecost. They were fearful and cowards though they had walked with the Lord for 3 plus years. When the Lord left them, they had locked them up behind the doors due to fear (John 20:19-29). They were afraid to come out from the room. But when they were baptised with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, their lives changed. They became bold witnesses. They were not even afraid of death. Peter who had denied the Lord before a girl (Luke 22:54-62) three times, now had become a powerful witness before the authorities and people. Baptism in the Holy Spirit will change a person from fearful to a bold witness.
C) Meditate on Scriptures
We know from the scriptures, when our Lord was tempted by the devil, our Lord overcame him by speaking out scriptures (Matthew 4:3-11/ Luke 4:3-13). If we have the habit of meditating on scriptures, Holy Spirit will bring the right Word to our mind at the time of fears and temptations so that we can be comforted in our distress. I give a few scriptures below for your encouragement.
Philippians 4:6-7
Joshua 1:9
Isaiah 43:2
Isaiah 54:17
D) Change our perspective
We need a profound spiritual awakening. We must know our identity. When our life is rooted in the will of God, Satan will have no power over us. Our perspective needs to change as we look at life in relation to God as our Father and Jesus as our Savior and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter.
By Pastor Renji George
Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:2, 1 Peter 5:6-7, 2 Timothy 1:7, Acts 2:37-38, Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 13:6, Hebrews 13:8, Hebrews 2, Hebrews 2:14-15, Isaiah 40:8, Isaiah 43:2, Isaiah 54:17, Jeremiah 29:11, John 20:19-29, Joshua 1:9, Luke 12:32, Luke 15:16-20, Luke 22:54-62, Luke 4:3-13, Malachi 3:6, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 11:25, Matthew 24:35, Matthew 25, Matthew 25:24-25, Matthew 3, Matthew 3:6-12, Matthew 4:3-11, Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 37:23-24, Psalm 55:22, Psalm 56:3, Psalm 91, Psalm 91:5-10, Psalms 56:3, Romans 8:15, Romans 8:31-32, Romans 8:32
Sermon Topics: Fear, Anxiety, Overcome, Worry, Resisting Devil
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