Fear Not Week 1

Week 1 - Healthy and Unhealthy Fear

Fear is prevalant in our society today, from violence, health, weather, and finances we all have to face fear daily! However as a child of God we have NOT BEEN GIVEN TO A SPIRIT OF FEAR!

2 Timothy 1:7 “7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

There is healthy and unhealthy fear, (Godly fear and ungodly fear) we need to know the difference so we can respond appropriately.

Think about the different fears in life and recognize the differences between them.

Your church should feel empowered in hearing that they can respond to unhealthy fear with power, love, and self-discipline

Learn to recognize the difference between healthy and unhealthy fear and exercise the necessary disciplines in dealing with them.

2 Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

1 John 4:18 Romans 8:11

1 John 4:18 NKJV

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Romans 8:11 NKJV

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Introduction

Has anyone here today ever been scared? Has anyone ever been literally - paralyzed by fear - unable to take another step?

( Fear of heights, fear of spiders, fear of a move or a change that you felt you were being called to make.

Well, we’re all in luck because today we begin a looking at Fear Not over the next couple weeks. Surprisingly, fear is something the bible has an awful lot to say about.

In fact, the command, fear not appears in one form or another 365 times from Genesis to Revelation. It is specifically given to dozens of different individuals and/or groups in a variety of circumstances. It’s abundantly clear that God doesn’t want His people to fear in the face of adversity or decision, or uncertainty. To put it another way, we’ve been given a different, fear not, exhortation for every single day of the year.

With such a clear daily prescription from the creator of the universe, why do we so often respond in fear? What can we do about this and is there a better way?

Main Teaching

We begin our Fear Not series with an exploration of Paul’s advice to Timothy in his second letter to the young pastor.

Paul’s encouragement is this, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (Some translations say timidity in place of fear but the original Greek word can mean either… It can also be translated as cowardice. but the root of cowardice and timidity is fear! Afraid to take a stand, afraid to speak up, etc…

If fear doesn’t come from God, then where does it come from?

‘ I thought that the beginning of wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord, so what does that mean?

What’s the difference?

One important difference to recognize is that there is both a healthy/Godly and an unhealthy/ungodly fear. Understanding the difference could save your life, and it will definitely help you interpret God’s daily encouragement to Fear Not.

Let’s begin with healthy fear.

Healthy Fear

Healthy fear can literally save your life. Let’s pretend for a moment that you’re hiking in the woods and you stumble upon a momma bear and her three cubs. Do you think that the best course of action in this situation is to share a handful of your go-to bible verses with the bears and keep walking, or should you slowly back away, turn, and run like a cheetah across the African plains back to safety?

Healthy fear can heighten and sharpen your senses, which in many situations is a great benefit. There is ample evidence that a person's internal fight or flight mechanism is simply a natural response to situations that you’ll find yourself in. Like running into a momma bear and her three cubs, getting into a car accident, or having a volcano erupt near your home.

Whether you call it fear, or maybe just common sense, there is a healthy fear in life that again, can be a beneficial thing to recognize.

It’s also important to note that as followers of Christ, a healthy fear of the Lord is not only beneficial, it’s biblical. Let’s look at a few verses here to frame the idea;

Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” The Hebrew word here also means reverence, which is important as we consider a healthy posture towards the Lord. It is good and right to hold Him in a place of awe and reverence. As the creator and sustainer of the entire cosmos He is the rightful owner of this uniquely divine place. To ascribe to Him something less is a theological misstep that none of us wants to make.

In Psalm 5:7 David says, “...in reverence I will bow down…” In Proverbs 9:10 Solomon adds that, “... the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” David had a healthy fear of the Lord throughout his life and Solomon knew the fear of the Lord was the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom. Divine reverence brings godly understanding, what an amazing gift!

Interestingly, Godly fear and reverence are fundamentally about acknowledging the proper place of the Lord as the divine creator and sustainer of the entire cosmos. As we move now to discuss unhealthy fear, make a note that it’s proper place is in the hands of this same almighty God, who has given us strength through his son Jesus to be free from the grip of unrighteous fear. We’ll talk more about this next week, but first let’s take a look at unhealthy fear.

Unhealthy Fear

Unhealthy fear can paralyze and stagnate you, and this is not God’s heart for you. As Paul explains in 2 Timothy 1:7, “...God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind”

God wants you to grow in relationship with Him, with your local church, in your relationships with other believers, and ultimately in faith. This journey is often called the process of sanctification and is described frequently throughout the New Testament. In his first letter to the church at Thessalonica Paul says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3) And in his letter to the church in Jerusalem, James says;

James 1:2–4 NKJV

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

God wants us to persevere, to finish the race so that we will be mature and complete, not lacking anything. This process can be a costly one, and there are many potential problems and obstacles that could incite fear.

Early church members faced all kinds of ridicule and persecution which would occasionally lead to death. Nowadays, I can’t say that we fear death in our country, but the potential is there to experience ridicule, bullying, and even ostracization because of your faith in Christ.

Oh, and don’t forget that your allegiance to Christ makes you an enemy of the prince of this world. There are powers and principalities, spiritual wickedness in high places opposed to your faith. It is in the face of both earthly and eternal enemies that the Lord would remind us to fear not.

In fact, Jesus says,

Matthew 5:11 NKJV

11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

Fear can rob you of joy and paralyze you from moving forward into all that God has called you to. Instead of a spirit of fear, you have been given a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. Let’s take a moment to look at those three words and how they can help to strengthen your faith.

Power

What I’m about to tell you is some of the most exciting and important news that a believer can receive. The same word that Paul uses to encourage Timothy is also the word that Jesus gave the disciples in Acts 1:8 when He said, “And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”

This kind of power leaves no room for fear or doubt. When a believer has the Holy Spirit working in and through them there is nothing that cannot be accomplished in accordance to the will of God. Not to mention,

Romans 8:11 NKJV

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

If you are experiencing unhealthy fear that is hindering you from experiencing the life in Christ that you are destined to live, then you need to check yourself, and remember that you were given a spirit of power; Miracle working, death-defying, grave robbing power in Christ to do all things in accordance with the will of God.

Love

The book of 1 John uses the same word that Paul uses when he tells Timothy that he has a spirit of love, and this could be an entire sermon in and of itself; “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…”

When we walk in a spirit of love, as Christ did, unhealthy fear is driven far away from us. Jesus walked to the cross in a spirit of love and we can assume that he walked out of the grave in the same empowered spirit. Don’t forget, this is the same spirit alive in you. The next time you’re experiencing fear or any of it’s associates like anxiety - worry - or doubt then check yourself to make sure you’re walking in a spirit of love.

Point out the types of love the New Testament uses and that the love described here is agape.

A Sound Mind

How many in the room struggle with a sound mind? How many of us have struggled already today? You’re in good company, and I have good news to share with you.

It takes a lot of discipline to recognize fear and deal with it appropriately. It’s simply easier to let it go, shrug it off, and just call it a fact of life. The issue is, it’s not a fact of the life God has for you in Christ. Paul wraps up his encouragement to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7 by reminding him that he has been given a sound mind along with the other two. Discipline is an imperative ingredient in the process of sanctification. We need discipline to take the time necessary to accurately diagnose the fear we’re experiencing and even more discipline to deal with it.

Isn’t it just like God to give us exactly what we need? He knew that all three ingredients would be necessary on this side of heaven. And for all of us who struggle with self-discipline don’t forget that this is an area where you have been given power through the spirit to experience victory.

For many of us fear and anxiety are ever-ready responses to the troubles of this life. It’s so deeply ingrained in our thinking that you could say fear has become a habit for most of us. The good news is that like any other habit, you can develop new ones in place of the old.

At the end of his letter to the Philippian church the Apostle Paul gives numerous exhortations, there are 2 verses in particular that are important today;

Philippians 4:6–7 NKJV

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Free From Fear and Anxiety

I think we can all agree that fear and anxiety are intimately related. We can also agree that living a life completely free from all fear and anxiety sounds too good to be true. Paul sounds delusional when he says, “Do not be anxious about anything…” Has Paul ever seen rush hour traffic, or had a mortgage to pay? Has he ever lived with social media, healthcare deductibles, or had his credit card accounts hacked? He doesn’t have any idea how difficult and troublesome it is to live today!

While it’s true that Paul lived in a very different time and experienced life in very different ways than we do today, it’s also true that He just might know what he’s talking about. He says,

“Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” - 2 Corinthians 11:24-28

Paul has as much experience as any of us with trials and tribulations. He’s had ample opportunity to be scared out of his mind and to work through fear and anxiety. He says himself that he deals with daily concern over all the churches he’s worked with. In light of all this, he also says, “...I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” (Philippians 4:11-12)

What if Paul knew the secret to living a life free from fear and anxiety? What if he truly knew how to live a deeply content and satisfied life? Wouldn’t you want to know if he did?

Give it ALL to God

I know it sounds too simple. I know it sounds too Christian. I know it feels like the answer should be more complicated for such a complex and destructive problem. But I also know it’s true.

The secret that Paul learned about fear, anxiety, and worry is that they belong in the hands of God - not yours. The secret sauce is gratitude laced prayer in every circumstance and situation you find yourself in. It’s not that fear, anxiety, worry, doubt, etc… don’t exist, it's that they have a proper place. THE DIFFICULTY of course is developing the habit in which you place those troublesome situations and circumstances in the hands of God INSTEAD OF holding onto them yourself.

Let me say that last part again. The difficulty is developing the habit in which you place those troublesome situations and circumstances into the hands of God.

DOING THIS REALLY SHOWS OUR TRUST OR LACK OF TRUST IN GOD! IS WHAT HE SAYS TRUE?

Make Your Requests Known

One of the things I love about God is that He’s not surprised about the way you feel. He formed you and knit you together in the womb, numbered your days, and knows every hair on your head. I can guarantee you He doesn’t think your irrational fear of clowns is silly, or that your anxiety about getting cancer someday means you somehow have less faith then others. But I also know He wants to hear from you;

“...in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God.”

Let’s practice this one together. Your prayer and request might sound something like this;

We present our requests, with thanksgiving, to God. And when we are faithful to put our fear and anxiety in its proper place we can expect that peace will follow.

Expect Peace

As you pray through fear, trouble, adversity, etc… make sure that you simultaneously hold the expectation that God will come through on His end of the deal. TRUST HIM

I cannot logically explain, “peace that transcends all understanding,” but I can tell you that I believe it’s possible. And I can tell you, it’s amazing.

Later on in Philippians after Paul says he has learned the secret to being content in every situation he says, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) Paul knows what we need to know; that in the hands of God through the power of Christ, anything is possible.

Conclusion/Application

I know that there are some here today who have their doubts. I know that there are some who are facing impossible situations, terrifying medical diagnoses, and adversity. I know that a life free from fear and anxiety seems completely ludicrous. All I can ask is that you commit this coming week to developing a more faith-filled response in every circumstance and situation.

I said earlier that, The difficulty is developing the habit in which you place those troublesome situations and circumstances into the hands of God. Let’s commit together this coming week to changing our habits by letting go of fear, anxiety, worry, etc. and expecting a divine peace that transcends understanding.

Begin and end your prayer with gratitude, name your request to the Lord, and trust the process. Throughout the day, as trouble comes, practice the same thing by audibly thanking God and naming your request to Him. I trust that these small steps will lead to big breakthroughs for you over time.

There is so much unhealthy fear in our world today, and much of it for legitimate reasons. It’s time we as believers recognize it and start putting it all in its proper place; The almighty and ever-capable hands of God.