Fear: When You're Scared Senseless

Psalms: Transforming the Heart  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Emotions are both complicated and complex, both mysterious and mystifying. Even the experts are not sure what causes us to experience emotions. Both social science and neurobiology have tried, to no avail, to explain the origin of emotions. And for Christians, emotions can be troubling, frustrating, and untrustworthy. Some emotions seem deeply spiritual; other emotions seem downright sinful. God created us to experience emotions, yet there are still godly and ungodly ways to manage them. This 12-session course on the Book of Psalms will help you sort this out.

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This works for fear too

John 10:7 NET 2nd ed.
So Jesus said again, “I tell you the solemn truth, I am the door for the sheep.
John 10:8 NET 2nd ed.
All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
John 10:9 NET 2nd ed.
I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture.
John 10:10 NET 2nd ed.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
John 10:11 NET 2nd ed.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Fear, phobia and anxiety

Psalm 55 - The Warrior Fears

Psalm 55:1 NIV
Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;
Psalm 55:2 NIV
hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
Psalm 55:3 NIV
because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked; for they bring down suffering on me and assail me in their anger.
Psalm 55:4 NIV
My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me.
Psalm 55:5 NIV
Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.

A. It is correct to look within and examine our feelings

Psalm 55:6 NIV
I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
Psalm 55:7 NIV
I would flee far away and stay in the desert;
Psalm 55:8 NIV
I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”

B. Fear can compel us to search for a place of refuge

Psalm 55:9 NIV
Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city.
Psalm 55:10 NIV
Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.
Psalm 55:11 NIV
Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.
Psalm 55:12 NIV
If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide.
Psalm 55:13 NIV
But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,
Psalm 55:14 NIV
with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.
Psalm 55:15 NIV
Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them.

C. What is the root of the fear? A close friend betrays you.

Psalm 55:16 NIV
As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
Psalm 55:17 NIV
Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.
Psalm 55:18 NIV
He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
Psalm 55:19 NIV
God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change— he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.

D. Who you gonna call? God, Who is your refuge.

Psalm 55:20 NIV
My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.
Psalm 55:21 NIV
His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.

E. Examine the situation - dive deeper. Even friends are people, and people are deeply flawed.

Psalm 55:22 NIV
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Psalm 55:23 NIV
But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.

F. Dive deep, but soar high...

Isaiah 40:12 NET 2nd ed.
Who has measured out the waters in the hollow of his hand, or carefully measured the sky, or carefully weighed the soil of the earth, or weighed the mountains in a balance, or the hills on scales?
Isaiah 40:13 NET 2nd ed.
Who comprehends the mind of the Lord, or gives him instruction as his counselor?
Isaiah 40:14 NET 2nd ed.
From whom does he receive directions? Who teaches him the correct way to do things, or imparts knowledge to him, or instructs him in skillful design?
Isaiah 40:15 NET 2nd ed.
Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales. He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust.
Isaiah 40:16 NET 2nd ed.
Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.
Isaiah 40:17 NET 2nd ed.
All the nations are insignificant before him; they are regarded as absolutely nothing.
Isaiah 40:18 NET 2nd ed.
To whom can you compare God? To what image can you liken him?
Isaiah 40:19 NET 2nd ed.
A craftsman casts an idol; a metalsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.
Isaiah 40:20 NET 2nd ed.
To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not fall over.
Isaiah 40:21 NET 2nd ed.
Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you since the very beginning? Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?
Isaiah 40:22 NET 2nd ed.
He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, and spreads it out like a pitched tent.
Isaiah 40:23 NET 2nd ed.
He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing; he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
Isaiah 40:24 NET 2nd ed.
Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw.
Isaiah 40:25 NET 2nd ed.
“To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 40:26 NET 2nd ed.
Look up at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome strength, not one of them is missing.
Isaiah 40:27 NET 2nd ed.
Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel, “The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me; my God is not concerned with my vindication”?
Isaiah 40:28 NET 2nd ed.
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is an eternal God, the creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom.
Isaiah 40:29 NET 2nd ed.
He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
Isaiah 40:30 NET 2nd ed.
Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble.
Isaiah 40:31 NET 2nd ed.
But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.
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