Fear of the Lord (5)
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Freedom from the Fear of Man
Freedom from the Fear of Man
As we talk about fearing God we must guard ourselves from the fear of man. Ask yourself these questions:
What stops you from full abandonment during worship?
What stops you from stepping out in faith and inviting people to church?
What stops you from continuing a toxic pattern of behavior?
What stops you from fully embracing what God has for your life?
Now some of these answers may not be man, but if I were to guess the majority of these answers would be. You cannot live out the fear of God in your life if you are worried about what other people think.
For me it was my father. After I got through my rebellious teenage years this desire to impress my father kicked it. I didn’t realize it then, but once my eyes were opened I began to realize that the majority of the decisions I made in life were geared toward hearing my Earthly Father say he was proud of me. I chased that idealization for years, but when I realized my behavior I realized I wasn’t following God or fearing God I can entered the dangerous territory of fearing my Father’s response. When we do that we being to make big mistakes.
Peter fell into this position of fearing men.
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Background: Peter was ministering with the gentiles. He was, as Paul said, acting like a gentile. He wasn’t in sin. What he was doing wasn’t wrong.
20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
Paul states that he became like the people he ministered too, not in the sin they performed but rather his mannerisms matched those we was with.
When I pastored in NJ I wore a suit and tie. The majority of the people in the church worked in New York and were busniness men and women. They wore suits. They ate fancier foods. So I modified myself to minister to them. When I moved to Nicholson the average income is $33,0000. I can’t expect people to buy a suit and tie to wear just to church. Most people in the area don’t dress up for funerals it isn’t wrong, it’s just the culture where we live. So I ditched the suit. I ditched the tie and became like those I ministered too.
Now here is where things went wrong.
12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
When Peter’s friends showed up Peter stopped fearing God more than man and he reverted back to his Jewish mannerisms instead of the leading his Jewish friends to minister to the gentiles where the gentiles were at Peter started demanding that the Gentiles act like Jews. This wasn’t biblical so Paul dealt with the situation.
It would be like this: If my NJ church started to attend here and I would impose a suit rule. That because they came, because I wanted to impress them, because I wanted people to think more highly of me. Everyone had to wear a suit to come to church. This simple rule would put a gap between the people of Nicholson and God.
a Decade later after Paul Corrected Peter-Peter wrote his first epistle stating this:
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
Peter learned that no matter who he was ministering too his actions should derive not from the fear of men, but rather from the fear of God.
So how do we free ourselves from the Fear of Men.
Confess your fear
You cannot be free from that which you refuse to acknowledge.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
This is true with any sin in our lives. If we cannot confess it we cannot overcome it. You can’t live in denial and be free from it at the same time.
2. Challenge your Fear
What exactly are you afraid of?
What would be the outcome if I went against my fear?
What would the benefits be?
What would the downside be?
This is done mentally. You have to overcome the mental before you can manfest the behavior in the physical.
16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
At first glance this verse doesn’t seem encouraging, but for most people the worst fear they have is failure. What if they try to brea free and fail? What if I challenge my fear of men and failure to overcome. The promise of God is this: As long as you continue trying he sees your heart. Failure is a sign of moving forward. Not a sign that you are wrong. What if the baby stopped trying to walk the first time they fell down? Would you tell the baby to give up? No we encourage, we uplift, we push them to move forward. The same should be true for overcoming your fears.
3. Confront your Fear
This is done physically.
What does the bible say about fearing men?
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
Understand: Trusting God is hard but it’s safe
25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”