Fear Doesn't Live Here

For fifty dollars, visitors to the air show could take a ride in a biplane. An aging couple decided to seize the opportunity and take their first flight. Never having ridden in an airplane, however, they were a bit fearful.

“I’ll tell you what,” said the pilot. “I’ll take you up together for fifty dollars. Just promise me you won’t do two things: scream or tell me how to fly my plane.”

They decided to accept his offer, and off they went. They did loops and rolls, and the pilot never heard anything out of his passengers.

“Sir, you were great!” shouted the pilot to the old man as they were landing. “I was sure you’d both yell when I put it in that nosedive!”

“That part wasn’t so bad,” yelled the old man. “But I almost broke my promise a little before that when Marge fell out of the plane.”

Well, at least they conquered a fear of flying. Marge also had the opportunity to conquered her fear of sky diving!

We have all had to face fear in our lives. I came across a promise in the book of Isaiah that I wanted to share with you that I feel might help you when you are afraid.

Isaiah 12:2 (CEV)

2 I trust you to save me, Lord God, and I won’t be afraid. My power and my strength come from you, and you have saved me.”

These words from Isaiah 12:2 are worth knowing in these days when it is so easy to become frightened. Jesus told us that in the end times men’s hearts will fail them for fear of the things about to happen; and I believe we are seeing some of this take place today.

We have more and more opportunities to live in fear.

There are some kinds of fear that are good for us. For instance, we warn our children not to go near the busy streets, and we put within them a healthy fear of being struck by a car.

Eventually, of course, that type of fear will be replaced by mature common sense; but until that happens, we teach our children what could happen if they make a wrong decision. Fear can be good in that regard.

In society we have the fear of being punished for doing something wrong. If you run a stoplight and get caught you’ll get a ticket. This type of fear may not be the highest motive for doing good, but at least it helps us to get started.

The Bible talks about the fear of the Lord.

It tells us that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” and that “the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.”

This fear, of course, is a proper respect and reverence for God. This fear is like the proper respect of a son before a loving Father. Not trembling because of punishment, but fear in that God is Holy and worthy of our respect. Really, that kind of fear opens the way to abundant life in Christ.

When Isaiah says, “I trust in you to save me, and I won’t be afraid”. The fear he is talking about is the fear that paralyzes people—the fear that gets into the heart and mind and creates tension and worry, and that keeps a person from enjoying life and doing his best.

I meet people every week who are afraid of life, afraid of death, afraid of the past, afraid of the future—in fact, people whose lives are being enslaved by fear.

Jesus never meant for us to be the slaves of fear. It is exciting to read the Bible and discover how many times God says “Fear not” to people.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of Christ at Bethlehem, their first words were, “Fear not.”

When Peter fell at Jesus’ feet and asked Jesus to depart from him because Peter felt he was a sinful man, Jesus said, “Fear not, Peter.”

When Jairus received the bad news that his daughter had just died, Jesus said to Jairus, “Fear not, only believe.…” Jesus Christ wants us to conquer fear; and He is able to help us win the battle.

What causes fear in our lives? I can think of many things things: guilt, ignorance, the future, our weakness, and even in our victories.

Sometimes fear is caused by a guilty conscience. When Adam and Eve sinned, they felt guilty and became afraid; and they tried to hide from God.

Whenever we disobey God, we can fee like we’ve lost our close fellowship with Him, and that spiritual loneliness creates fear.

Fear from guilt makes us wonder if anybody knows what we have done. We worry about being found out and hope no tragic consequences come from our sins.

The solution to that problem, of course, is to seek God’s forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 (CEV)

9 But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

God promises to cleanse our sins if we will but confess them and forsake them.

Often fear is caused by ignorance. Children are afraid in the night because the shadows look like giants and bears and ghosts. But even adults can get frightened when they really don’t know what is going on.

Anxiety about the future, either for ourselves or for our loved ones, can sometimes create fear.

Another cause is our own feeling of weakness. We are so accustomed to managing things ourselves that when an unmanageable crisis comes along, we feel helpless and afraid.

Sometimes fear comes, not before the battle or even in the midst of the battle, but after we have won the victory.

Abraham had this experience in Genesis 15 after he had waged war against four powerful kings and won the victory. That night as he lay down to sleep, Abraham wondered if those kings would return and challenge him again, and maybe even bring back superior forces.

What did God tell him when he was laying there in his bed shaking from fear?

Genesis 15:1 (CEV)

1 Later the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don’t be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.”

What’s at the root of these types of fear? Really it’s actually simple: the real cause of fear is unbelief.

Let’s read a quick passage from the new testament in the book of Mark.

Mark 4:35–41 (CEV)

35 That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the east side.”

36 So they left the crowd, and his disciples started across the lake with him in the boat. Some other boats followed along.

37 Suddenly a windstorm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.

38 Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown?”

39 Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.

40 Jesus asked his disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don’t you have any faith?”

41 Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Jesus calmed the storm with His words. He asked a question that I want to ask you right now: Why are you afraid? Don’t you have any faith?

Fear and faith can never be friends; and if we are afraid, it is a sign that we have no faith.

Faith is at the core of what Isaiah said to God:

Isaiah 12:2 (CEV)

2 I trust you to save me, Lord God, and I won’t be afraid. My power and my strength come from you, and you have saved me.”

The key to overcoming fear is TRUST.

Last week my family went out on a walk. Well, we ended up walking for a couple of miles and realized we had made a mistake…we had to walk back to the car! Well, right as we turned around, Ollie said, “My legs hurt”. I knew we were in trouble.

Let every good dad would do, I told her she could ride up on my shoulders. She seemed excited. Until I raised her up. Her fear of heights kicked in and I almost lost an eyeball. She was scratching and clawing and kicking. She wanted down.

She decided it was too scary to be that high, so she complained all the way back to the car!

She was tired. I could have helped her. But her fear stopped my help. I couldn’t help her because she didn’t trust me not to drop her.

This is how we are with God all the time. We say, “Lord I need your help”, He says, “Ok, trust me” and we say, “Nah, I’ll keep trying my own way” because we don’t trust He can do what might seem scary to us!

I hope you understand what I’m saying because it can change your entire situation.

The secret of victory over fear is faith in God.

There is no problem too great for God to solve, no burden too heavy for God to carry, no battle too overwhelming for God to fight and win.

God is big enough to conquer the enemies that rob us of our peace and leave paralyzing fears behind. Isaiah 12:2 doesn’t say, “When I am afraid, I will trust”; it says, “I will trust, and not be afraid.”

Faith is not simply medicine to kill the disease; faith is spiritual power to keep us from being infected in the first place.

I like the New King James translation of this verse:

Isaiah 12:2 (NKJV)

2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”

Notice what the prophet puts first: “Behold, God is my salvation.”

If you want to overcome fear, get your eyes off yourself and your feelings, and off the problems that have upset you, and get your eyes on God.

Think about those Jewish spies in the Old Testament. Remember how they became frightened when they investigated the Promised Land, because they saw giants and high walls and felt like grasshoppers in comparison.

The enemy soldiers were big, and the walls were high, but God was far above all of them.

What would have happened if those spies would have looked above the tall giants? They would have seen a bigger God and they would not have been afraid.

Let me tell you, when you face fear in your life, if you choose to take your eyes off the problem and look to God then you will have accomplished the first step in overcoming fear in your life.

There are actually three things you can do to overcome fear in each and every situation you face.

The first step in overcoming fear is to:

Look by faith at God

Worship God, get a fresh glimpse of His greatness and glory, and realize that He is still on the throne.

When many people hear the word “worship,” they think of music. Music is one way to worship. But worship really is an entire lifestyle. Every aspect of your life can be an act of worship to God.

Worship is understanding God. His holiness, righteousness, purity, strength, power, authority, and faithfulness.

He is everything we need! There is nothing outside the control of God. He can do all things.

I said it this last week, but I’ll bring it up again. Jesus gave us the purest example of worship when he prayed.

Mark 14:35–36 (CEV)

35 Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt down on the ground and prayed, “Father, if it is possible, don’t let this happen to me! Father, you can do anything. Don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want.”

See what Jesus said? God You can do anything…which is a recognition of God’s power, authority.

But Jesus, in worship, surrendered to the Father by saying do what you want, not what I want.

This is WORSHIP in the purest form. It requires faith to surrender and trust God.

Paul reiterates this same point:

Romans 12:1 (CEV)

1 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God.

This is how we overcome fear. By surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus in our life. We look to Him as the author and finisher of our faith and life.

You won’t die one second before God allows it to happen! He is in control. When we look to him we can have faith over fear.

The second step in overcoming fear is to:

Look at God’s Word

Romans 10:17 (CEV)

17 No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. When you read the Bible, you find your faith growing. You discover that God has always been adequate for the needs of His people.

When you come to church, you’ll here scripture. We take a portion of scripture like we have for this message:

Isaiah 12:2 (CEV)

2 I trust you to save me, Lord God, and I won’t be afraid. My power and my strength come from you, and you have saved me.”

We think on those Words from God. We study how it compares to other parts of what God said in scripture. Then hopefully you hear a message that encourages, equips, and empowers you to live according to this scripture.

Now, this is just 30-40 minutes of me sharing my thoughts with you. You know what would be more beneficial in your life? Spending 30-40 minutes per day reading the Word by yourself and allowing God to share HIS thoughts with you.

When we do this then fear is turned to faith.

Psalm 119:105 (CEV)

105 Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk.

If you want to rid yourself of the darkness of fear in your life then you must turn on the light of the Word of God each and every day.

Hide it in your heart!

Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Meditate on His words day and night, apply what you have read, and walk in the promise of prosperity.

The word of God is incredibly essential to overcoming fear because it speaks truth to your situation.

The third step in overcoming fear is to:

Look to the Holy Spirit

Tell God about your fears—tell Him that your fears are really evidences of unbelief. You might say, “It’s hard for me to believe in the face of fear”

I would remind you of something Jesus said, and the response of an honest person who wanted to believe in Jesus even though they had some doubt.

Mark 9:23–24 (NLT)

23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

You can do the same thing, ask God to help your unbelief.

Surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit of God, because the Spirit can work in you to take away fear and give you peace.

2 Timothy 1:7 (CEV)

7 God’s Spirit doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control.

The Holy Spirit within you can give you power for your weakness; He can generate love; He can give order and discipline to your mind. The Holy Spirit is God’s psychologist, so turn yourself over to Him.

One of the ministries of the Spirit of God is making Jesus Christ real to us.

As you pray and read the Word, the Spirit will give you a spiritual understanding of Jesus Christ, and He will become very real to you. Even in the midst of storms and trials, Jesus Christ comes with peace and courage for you.

There is no reason for you to be afraid. Fear will only rob you and harm you and paralyze you. Jesus Christ can take away your fear and give you peace.

When fear comes knocking on your door maybe you can say these words:

Isaiah 12:2 (CEV)

2 I trust you to save me, Lord God, and I won’t be afraid. My power and my strength come from you, and you have saved me.”