Step into Fear

Intro.

A new year has started, and the world seems so different from the previous year. In January 2020, the world seemed so full of possibilities. Now, at the start of January 2021, the future seems uncertain. Everything our world has been through this last year has potentially created a fear of the unknown for our students. So much has changed so quickly—the future that once seemed exciting is now full of unknowns and questions. Jesus is very clear we are not to worry or fear tomorrow, but that's easier said than done.

Opening Question

·What is something that you are afraid of, and why?

I need a volunteer

Object lesson using 1 boxes for them to put their hands into: It has “dye”, one something alive (a cricket or something), and something fuzzy.

What the Bible Says about fear

FEAR Natural emotional response to a perceived threat to one’s security or general welfare. It ranges in degree of intensity from a sense of anxiety or worry to one of utter terror.

1. It can be a good thing.

When it pertains to how you feel towards God. God created this emotion within us. Especially for us to realize His greatness and our insignificance.

Proverbs

English Standard Version Chapter 1

7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Jeremiah

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” is probably the best known verse in the Bible dealing with “fearing the Lord.” Fear is not something people normally desire to have. It is an emotion we would like to do without. Yet, the book of Proverbs says that the “fear of the Lord” is a good thing.

2. We are not supposed to worry.

Anxiety is the beginning of fear.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

In verse 31, Jesus gets to the heart of his message with a few questions. "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?’" These are rhetorical questions, and the answers are all the same: "what God has provided for you." This is where the rubber meets the road.

Jesus is clear that he will provide in all situations and at all times, but that provision comes with a cost—our trust in Jesus. See, Jesus is asking us not to worry about tomorrow because he wants us to trust him to be in control. We all know this is easier said than done, especially when we jump online and see the latest news. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty.

3. Trusting Jesus is the only remedy

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Heb 11:1–6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

However, what if there was a better way of living our lives? What if, as student leaders, you modelled a life of trust and not fear? What kind of impact could you have on your world this coming year?