Fear Not Matt. 10:28 Wednesday Night Bible Study 10/04

Intro:

A- Fear’s Destructiveness

1. Hebrew word – (yare’) to revere, to be dreadful

2. Greek word – (phobeo) to be alarmed, to be in awe of, to revere

a. Bill Gothard – “fear in important because we worship what we fear”. If we fear man he’ll intimidate us.

B. Fear is the opposite of faith

1. Prov. 29:25 -

a. Snare – a trap cleverly concealed so victim doesn’t see it until it’s too late.

I. Effects of Fear

A. Fear corrupts worship -

1. 1 Sam. 15:15 – Saul feared the people.

a. We fear rejection by our friends so intimidated, we join them in ungodly ventures

B. Fear disqualifies us from fighting God’s battles

1. Deut. 20:8 – God established a command that any soldier who had a fear of the enemy was allowed to go home.

II. Causes of Fear

A. Guilt – (Gen. 3:8-10)

B. More powerful adversary – (Jer. 32:27, 2 Kings 6:16)

C. Rejection – (John 9:22; 12:42)

D. Personal loss – Two motives for all – desire for gain and fear of loss

III. Conquering Fear

If we are to overcome fear, a major enemy of God, we should:

A. Anticipate rejection by others

1. Fear may cause us to compromise godly standards so others won’t reject us. (Ie – clothes you wear aren’t like other teens wear, you don’t do the things others do, go out after word for a drink)

a. Matt. 10:22-25; 32-33 -

2. Give up you think about yourself and be concerned only with what God thinks

B. Dedicate all possessions to God

1. Phil. 3:7-8 -

2. Matt. 19:29 –

C. Consecrate yourself to God

Fear Not Matt