How To Handle Fear (3)

Click and study all the 74 "fear not" passages in the KJV (click for 57 occurrences in NASB or click to study the 65 occurrences in the NIV). Note who says these words most of the time, who is being addressed, what the situation is that is conducive to production of fear, what the effect of the command to "fear not" had on the recipients (encouraging, discouraging?), etc.

Remember that

everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (See note Romans 15:4, NIV)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

Worry is like a rocking chair—it will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere (Click Our Daily Bread devotional) Fear always has a definite object. Every fear object is something we perceive as both present and powerful, something over which we have no control. This is where fear differs from worry. People worry about something uncertain or unknown. Worry will often give way to fear.

Ray Stedman (in exposition of Ephesians 6:10-11) adds that

Worry comes from fear, and the only thing that will dissolve fear is facts. Therefore, to put on the armor of God is to face the facts just as they are. Therefore, to put on the armor of God is to face the facts just as they are -- not as they appear to be in the illusive picture that the world gives us, but squarely as they are. Therefore you are to worry about nothing. (See sermon Advice when Attacked) (Related resource - notes on Ephesians 6:10; 6:11); see notes on

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) wrote that

the remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.

C H Spurgeon has the following illustrations on fear...

Fear about your future.

When a great vessel is crossing the sea, and another comes within sight, they propose the question, "Where are you bound?" If the other vessel took no notice, gave no answer whatever, it would look suspicious. A craft that will not say where it is going, we don't like the look of. If one of Her Majesty's vessels were about, and it challenged a sail, and received no reply to the question, "Where are you bound for?" I think they would fire a shot across her bows and make her heave to till she did answer. Might not the silent craft prove to be a pirate? When a man confesses he does not know where he is going, or what his business may be, the policeman concludes he is probably going where he ought not to go, and has business on hand which is not as it should be. If you are afraid to consider your future, your fear is a bad omen. The tradesman who is afraid to look into his accounts will, before long, have them looked into for him by an officer from the Bankruptcy Court. He who dares not see his own face in the glass, must be an ugly fellow; and you who dare not behold your characters, have bad characters. — Barbed Arrows from the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon

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Fear of man.

Think of a king saying, "I am afraid," but that is what the French king said to Bernard Palissy, the potter. As nearly as I can remember the story, the monarch said, "Palissy, you must go to mass." "That I never will," he answered. "Then I am afraid I shall have to give you up to be burnt." "There," said Palissy, "your Majesty could never make me say such a word as that, with all your power. I am no king, only a poor potter, but nobody made me say, 'I am afraid.' "Oh that fear of men, that dread of ridicule, that wishing to avoid sarcasm! How it has made a man come down from the dignity of his office, from the honor of the position which God has conferred upon him, and has made him baser than the menials around him.— Barbed Arrows from the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon

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Fear of Sin

The old naturalist, Ulysses Androvaldus, tells us that a dove is so afraid of a hawk, that she will be frightened at the sight of one of its feathers. Whether it be so or not, I cannot tell; but this I know, that when a man has had a thorough shaking over the jaws of hell, he will be so afraid of sin, that even one of its feathers—any one sin—will alarm and send a thrill of fear through his soul. This is a part of the way by which
— Feathers for Arrows

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Some of Spurgeon's sermons related to how to handle fear...

Isaiah 41:14 Fear Not

(Excerpt) I SHALL SPEAK this morning to those that are discouraged, depressed in spirit, and sore troubled in the Christian life. There are certain nights of exceeding great darkness, through which the spirit has to grope in much pain and misery, and during which much of the comfort of the Word is particularly needed. Those seasons occur in this manner. Frequently they occur at the outset of a religious life. A young man, deeply impressed under the ministry, has been led to feel the weight of sin; he trusts also he has been led to look for salvation to the Christ who is preached in the gospel. In the young ardor of his spirit he devotes himself wholly to Christ; with the most solemn vows he dedicates body, soul, time, talents, all that he has, to the great work of serving God; he thinks it easy to fulfill his vow; he doth not count the cost; he reckons it will be easy to forsake gay companions, to renounce old established habits, and to become a Christian. Alas! before many days he finds out his mistake, if he did not reckon without his host he certainly reckoned without his heart, for his evil heart of unbelief had deceived him, he knew not how hard would be the struggle, and how desperate the wrestling between his old evil nature and the new-born principle of grace within him. He finds it to be like the rending off of right arms to give up old and cherished habits; he discovers it to be painful to renounce his former pursuits, as painful as it would be to pluck out his right eye. He sits down then, and he says, "If this be the trouble at the outset what may I expect as I proceed. O my soul, thou wast too fast in dedicating thyself to God; thou hast undertaken a warfare which thy prowess can never accomplish; thou hast started on a journey for which thy strength is not adequate; let me again return unto the world;" and if the Spirit saith, "Nay, thou canst not," then the poor soul sits itself down in deep misery, and cries, "I can not go back and I can not go forward; what must I do? I am exceedingly discouraged because of the way."

The same feeling often overcomes the most valiant Christian veteran. He who has been long experienced in the things of the divine life will sometimes be over taken with a dark night and a stormy tempest; so dark will be the night, that he will not know his right hand from his left, and so horrible the tempest, that he can not hear the sweet words of his Master, saying, "Fear not, I am with thee." Periodical tornadoes and hurricanes will sweep o'er the Christian; he will be subjected to as many trials in his spirit as trials in his flesh. This much I know, if it be not so with all of you it is so with me. I have to speak to-day to myself; and whilst I shall be endeavoring to encourage those who are distressed and down-hearted, I shall be preaching, I trust to myself, for I need something which shall cheer my heart—Why I can not tell, wherefore I do not know, but I have a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me; my soul is cast down within me, I feel as if I had rather die than live; all that God hath done by me seems to be forgotten, and my spirit flags and my courage breaks down with the thought of that which is to come. I need your prayers; I need God's Holy Spirit; and I felt that I could not preach to-day, unless I should preach in such a way as to encourage you and to encourage myself in the good work and labor of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a precious promise to the young Christian, or to the old Christian attacked by lowness of spirits and distress of mind! "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer the Holy One of Israel. Christian brethren, there are some in this congregation, I hope many, who have solemnly devoted themselves to the cause and service of the Lord Jesus Christ: let them hear, then, the preparation which is necessary for this service set forth in the word of our text. First, before we can do any great things for Christ there must be a sense of weakness: "Worm Jacob." Secondly, there must be trust in promised strength; and thirdly, there must be fear removed by that promise: "Fear not, for I will help thee." (Read the full message)

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Isaiah 41:10 Away With Fear (Pdf)

(Excerpt) ...First, then, we are reminded Of A Very Common Disease Of Good Men-Fear And Dismay.

This disease of fear came into man’s heart with sin. Adam never was afraid of his God till he had broken his commands. When the Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of day, and Adam heard the Almighty’s foot-fall, he hastened to commune with God as a dear child talks with a loving father. But the moment he had touched the fruit that was forbidden, he ran away and hid himself, and when God said, “Where art thou, Adam?” Adam came cringing and trembling, for he was afraid of God. It is sin, consciousness of sin, that “makes cowards of us all.” Though he who made us is a consuming fire, and we should always have a holy awe of him, yet the fear that gendereth bondage would never have come into our spirit if we had not first of all transgressed his law. Sin is the mother of the fear which hath torment.

And, brethren, fear continues in good men because sin continues in them. If they had attained to perfect love it would cast out fear, for fear hath torment; but, since the flesh is still in them and the lusts thereof still strive for the mastery, even the holiest of God’s people are sometimes afflicted with the mockings of the child of the bondwoman. O that he were cast out, for he can never be heir with the free-born nature! As grace grows and increases in power, fear declines; and, when sin is cut up root and branch, then no doubt or fear will ever vex us again. Once strip us of these houses of clay, once deliver us from all indwelling sin, and our spirits shall seek God as the sparks seek the sun; but until then, since by reason of weakness sin sometimes prevaileth, fear also prevaileth, and we are sadly cast down.

Fear, coming in by sin and being sustained by sin, readily finds food upon which it may live. Let the believer look within, and, my brethren, he has only to do that but for a moment to see abundant reasons for fear. “Ah!” saith fear as it looks within, at the heart still prone to wander, I shall never hold on my way.” “Ah!” saith fear as it looks at the besetting sin, “I shall be tripped up yet; I shall never persevere to the end.” Grace is there, it is true, but fear is blind to the better nature, and fixes his glance only on the body of this death. Looking within upon the old nature is seldom a very pleasant operation, especially if we forget that it is crucified with Christ. I suppose if any man among us could see his own heart as it really is, he would be driven mad. The poet was right when he said —

“Heaven’s Sovereign saves all beings but himself,
That hideous sight, a naked human heart.”

Faith looks at all the ruins of the fall, and she believes that the blood of Christ will get the victory, and she sings her poem of triumph even while the fight is raging, rejoicing with the apostle, that “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” But fear saith, “I shall one day fall by the hand of the enemy; such a poor frail bark as mine will never stem the flood and weather the tempest, but I shall make shipwreck after all.” And then, my brethren, if fear finds food within, it also very readily finds food without. Sometimes it is poverty, sometimes sickness, sometimes the recollection of the past, and quite as often dread of the future. Even those who have faith in God may occasionally be weak enough to fear and be dismayed about common circumstances to which they ought to be indifferent, or over which they ought by faith to exult. Desponding people can find reason for fear where no fear is. A certain class of persons are greatly gifted with the mournful faculty of inventing troubles. If the Lord has not sent them any trial, they make one for themselves. They have a little trouble-factory in their houses, and they sit down and use their imaginations to meditate terror. They weave sackcloth and scrape up ashes. They know that they shall be bankrupt; there was a little falling off in their trade last week. They believe that they shall soon be too old for labor; it is true they are older than they were a month ago. They feel sure that they shall die in the workhouse; it is clear they will die somewhere. They feel certain about this dreadful thing and that, and fret accordingly. None of these things have happened to them yet, and in the judgment of others they are less likely to happen now than ever they were, but yet they convert their suspicions into realities, and torture themselves with them though they be but fancies. Oh! it is sad that we should degrade ourselves to this. (Click for full message)

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Revelation 1:17 Fear Not (Pdf)

“FEAR not” is a plant which grows very plentifully in God’s garden. If you look through the lily beds of Scripture you will continually find by the side of other flowers the sweet “Fear nots” peering out from doctrines and precepts, even as violets look up from their hiding among places of green leaves. “Fear nots” bloomed in the old time, at the feet of Abraham, when he returned from fighting with the kings. Melchisedec blessed him, and the Lord comforted him. The patriarch might have been half afraid that he would always lead a troubled life, now that he had once drawn the sword; but the Lord came to him in vision, and said, “Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” If he had to undergo a soldier’s toils, he should have a soldier’s shield and a soldier’s pay, and both should be exceeding great, for he should find them both in God. After you have been fighting battles for Christ you may feel weary and worried, and then your great Melchisedec will refresh you with bread and wine, and whisper in your ear “Fear not.”

A “Fear not” was spoken to Isaac when he had dug wells, and the Philistines strove for them, and he, like the meek soul that he was, gave them up one by one to avoid a conflict. At last he settled down at Beersheba, and there the Lord appeared unto him, and said, “Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee.” He was a feeble man, and therefore the Lord dealt tenderly with him. If any of you are meek and quiet spirits, and rather apt to tremble exceedingly, may the Lord often give you a blessed “Fear not” to wear in your bosoms, that its fragrance may comfort your hearts. Then there was Jacob. You know how troubled his life was, but when he heard that his beloved son whom he thought was dead was alive in Egypt, and was clothed with glory, and that he had sent for him to go down to see him, he was afraid to go till the Lord said to him, “Fear not to go down into Egypt,” and gave him this encouraging promise, “I will go down with thee into Egypt.” If any of you are making a great change in life and moving, perhaps, to the very ends of the earth, “fear not to go down into Egypt.” Should God command you to go to the utmost verge of the green earth, to rivers unknown to Bong, yet if he bids you go, fear not to go down into Egypt, for certainly he will be with you.

The Israelites at the Red Sea were afraid of Pharaoh, and then the Lord said to them, “Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of God.” If you are brought to a pass to-night, and know not what to do, take the advice, of Holy Scripture, and “Fear not”; but “stand still and see the salvation of God.” As we observe the Scriptures we perceive that “Fear nots” are scattered throughout the Bible as the stars are sprinkled over the whole of the sky, but when we come to Isaiah we find constellations of them. When I was a boy I learnt Dr. Watts’s catechism, and I am glad I did. One of its questions runs thus, “Who was Isaiah?” And the answer is, “He was that prophet who spake more of Jesus Christ than all the rest.” Very well, and for that very reason-that he spoke more of Jesus Christ than all the rest-he is richest in comfort to the people of God, and continually he is saying, “Fear not.” Here are a few of his antidotes for the fever of fear: “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not.” “Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God.” “Fear not, I will help thee.” “Fear not, thou worm Jacob.” “Fear not, I have redeemed thee.” “Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame”; and so on, I was going to say, “world without end.” So abundant are these “Fear nots” that they grow like the king-cups and the daisies, and other sweet flowers of the meadows, among which the little children in the spring-time delight themselves. As to gathering them all, no one would attempt the task. The bank that is fullest of these beautiful flowers is that which Isaiah has cast up; go there and pluck them for yourselves.

Now I gather from the plentifulness of “Fear nots,” even in the Old Testament, that the Lord does not wish his people to be afraid, that he is glad to see his people full of courage, and especially that he does not love them to be afraid of him. He would have his children treat him with confidence. Slavish fear may be thought to be congenial to the Old Testament, and yet it is not so, for there the Lord cries to his chosen, “Fear not.”

When we come into the New Testament, there we see God coming more familiarly to men than ever before; not descending upon Paran with ten thousand flaming chariots, setting the mountain on a blaze, but coming down to Bethlehem in an infant’s form, with angels chanting the joyful lay, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” The genius of the New Testament is drawing near to God: ceasing to tremble and beginning to trust, ceasing to be the slave and learning to be the child. Though in the precise form of it the words of my text were not very often spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ, yet his whole life was one long proclamation of “Fear not.” I think I shall give you to-night most of the instances in which our Lord himself expressly said “Fear not,” and as each one I shall give you will either come from the lip of Christ, or else from Christ’s own angel, sent to comfort one of his servants, I pray that it may come fresh from God to every tried and troubled believer, and that all of us together may receive for our different fears this one same solace from the mouth of the Eternal, “Thus saith the Lord unto thee, fear not.” (Click for full sermon)

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Other Sermons by C H Spurgeon on Fear

Psalm 56:3 Faith Hand in Hand with Fear (Pdf)

Matthew 14:31 Mr. Fearing Comforted (Pdf)

Isaiah 51:12, 13 Needless Fears

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

Eugene Asa Carr (1830-1910) once wrote that

The only sure way to take fear out of living is to keep a respectful fear of God in our lives, which means to maintain a reverent attitude toward His place and influence. This brand of fear is a healthy ingredient, a deterrent to want, a spur to courage and confidence, an insurance against loss, and source of comfort and understanding.

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

Whenever John Wesley felt afraid he would just pause to pray and praise God for the fact that He was still on the throne of heaven ruling all things well. Wesley wrote

I have never known more than fifteen minutes of anxiety or fear. Whenever, I feel fearful emotions overtaking me I just close my eyes and thank God that he is still on the throne reigning over everything and I take comfort in His control over all the affairs of my life.

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

Ray Stedman reminds us that

The devil always makes his appeal in this realm to our fears, while God makes his appeal to faith. From faith comes hope and love, but the devil pushes to the opposite. He wants us to give way to our fears.

The one thing Jesus said over and over again to his disciples was, "Fear not. Be not fearful, be not anxious, be not troubled." Why? Because, "I am with you," he said. From fear comes despair, the opposite of hope, and hate, the opposite of love. That is what the devil is after. If you give way to fear, you will soon be discouraged and defeated. If you give way to defeat you will begin to hate, and then the devil will have accomplished his purpose. He has destroyed, he had ruined, he has laid waste that which God loves and desires to bless. (See full sermon The Tactics of Terror)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Excerpt from John Piper's sermon
Fear Not, I Am with You, I Am Your God
Isaiah 41:1-13

There are two commands in the verse (Isaiah 41:1-13) not to fear and five pillars of fearlessness. "Fear not" is the first command at the beginning of the verse. And then the second is "do not anxiously look about you" (RSV: "do not be dismayed"). As always in the Bible, there are reasons for the commands. Commands don't hang in the air with no basis in reality. If God commands us to do something there are good reasons to do it. And power comes from understanding and believing those reasons.

Here there are the five reasons--call them

The Five Pillars of Fearlessness.

"For I am with you"--
"Do not fear, for I am with you."

"I am your God"--
"Do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God."

"I will strengthen you."

"surely I will help you."

"Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Restated, the Five pillars of fearlessness are:

God is with me;
God is my God;
God will strengthen me;
God will help me;
God will uphold me.

When God calls you to be free from fear as you do evangelism, as you take a test, as you face an interview, as you take a stand against an unjust business practice, as you confront someone with sin in their life, when you leave a secure position and take a risk in a new venture, when you face an operation or a treatment, when you lose a spouse or a friend--when God calls you to be free from fear (to overcome this natural emotion and have peace, he does not leave the command hanging in the air. He puts pillars under it. Five of them. That's the nature of all Biblical commands. They come with divine support.

Fear not . . . God is with you;
Fear not . . . God is your God;
Fear not . . . God will strengthen you;
Fear not . . . God will help you;
Fear not . . . God will uphold you

The key to overcoming fear is resting on the pillars of the promises of God....If the key to fearlessness is believing that God is your God and is with you and will strengthen you and help you and uphold you, then knowing the greatness of this God will intensify your faith and your fearlessness....

Or change the image for a moment. Not five pillars. But God in five relations to you expressed in five different prepositions.

I am your God--over you.
I am with you--by your side.
I will strengthen you--from inside of you.
I will help you--all around you from wherever the enemy comes
I will uphold you--from underneath you.

Over you, by you, inside you, around you, underneath you.

Therefore do not fear.

We come to the end of this series with one great ground for fearlessness--GOD!

I - am your God.
I - am with you.
I - will strengthen you.
I - will help you.
I - will uphold you.

I call you this morning to stop defining and limiting your future in terms of your past and start defining it in terms of your God. I call you to recognize that God is greater than your personality. God is greater than your past experiences of timidity. God is greater than your "family of origin". And God calls you to joyful fearlessness. The crucial factor in your fearless living is not your family but your God.

"Let not your hearts be troubled, BELIEVE IN GOD."
Believe in God! Trust God! Let God be your God!
Your help. Your strength.
He will uphold you with His righteous right hand.

(Click for message - Fear Not, I Am with You, I Am Your God)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
From sermon by John Piper
"Fear not, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel."
--Isaiah 41:14

The main point of this text is that the people of God should not be a fearful people. We should not be a people who are anxious or troubled or worried or fretful about things that threaten our life and happiness: economic adversity, hostile people, satanic opposition, guilt-laden consciences, deteriorating health, and death. The mark of God's people is not incapacitating fear, but rather contrite courageous confidence in God. That's the main point of Isaiah 41:14.

Then there are two subordinate points which clarify for us this experience of fearlessness. First, God's people are in the condition of a worm: "Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel." Second, the source of our fearlessness is the promise that God will help us: "Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel." In other words, freedom from fretting comes not because we are not in the condition of a worm but because God engages all his forces on behalf of worms who take refuge in him. (See entire message - Fear Not, You Worm Jacob (Isaiah 41:14)!)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Reason Believers in Christ Need Not to be Afraid
by John Piper

We will not die apart from God's gracious decree for His children.

James 4:14-15, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

Mt 10:29-30, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Dt 32:39, "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand." (See Job 1:21;1 Sa 2:6; 2 Ki 5:7)

Curses and divination do not hold sway against God's people.

Nu 23:23, "There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel."

The plans of terrorists and hostile nations do not succeed apart from our gracious God.

Psalm 33:10, "The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples." (Spurgeon's Note)

Isa 8:9-10, "Take counsel together [you peoples], but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us." (See 2 Samuel 7:14; Nehemiah 4:15)

Man cannot harm us beyond God's gracious will for us.

Psalm 118:6, "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Spurgeon's Note)

Psalm 56:11, "In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Spurgeon's Note)

God promises to protect His own from all that is not finally good for them.

Psalm 91:14, "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name." (Spurgeon's Note)

God promises to give us all we need to obey, enjoy, and honor Him forever.

Mt 6:31, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' . . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Philippians 4:19 (note) "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

God is never taken off guard.

Psalm 121:4 (note), "Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." (Spurgeon's Note)

God will be with us, help us, and uphold us in trouble.

Isaiah 41:10, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:13, "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'"

Terrors will come, some of us will die, but not a hair of our heads will perish.

Lu 21:10-11, 18, "Then [Jesus] said to them, '. . . there will be terrors (!) and great signs from heaven. . . . and some of you they will put to death. . . . But not a hair of your head will perish.'"

Nothing befalls God's own but in its appointed hour.

Jn 7:30, "So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come." (See John 8:20; 10:18)

When God Almighty is your helper, none can harm you beyond what He decrees.

Hebrews 13:6 (note), "So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'"

Romans 8:31 (note) "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

God's faithfulness is based on the firm value of His name, not the fickle measure of our obedience.

1 Sa 12:20-22, "And Samuel said to the people, 'Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. . . . For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake.'"

The Lord, our protector, is great and awesome

Nehemiah 4:14, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome." (Reason Believers in Christ Need Not to be Afraid)

Trusting firm promises with you in fragile times, Pastor John (Piper).

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

FEAR OF REJECTION
from Overcoming Fear-pt1 by Sammy Tippitt

Fear has also paralyzed the Body of Christ. One fear that knows no boundaries, has no time limitations, is found in Eastern and Western Europe as well as in the United States. It cripples the church and robs men of the blessing of the Lord.

It's the fear of rejection. All people have a deep fear of being rejected by their friends and family members. In the East, that fear runs even deeper. Christians may be rejected for sharing the gospel, and then, they lose educational and economic opportunities.

The need for acceptance stems back to the beginning of human history. When Adam was in the garden with Eve, his every need was met. There was no fear. God walked and fellowshipped with Adam. There was perfect harmony. However, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, fear filled their hearts. When God visited them, they hid. God is holy, and they had become unholy. Since that day, there has been a deep sense of rejection in the heart of sinful man.

Every person desperately wants acceptance. We try to gain acceptance in three ways. One way is legitimate; the other two are not. People try to find acceptance through other people. A teen might try drinking or drugs. He thinks that will get his friends to accept him. After he has compromised, the sinking feeling of rejection remains. A girl might compromise her moral principles to gain acceptance. But after her sexual encounters, she is still haunted by rejection.

I've met husband and wives who loved each other when they married, yet several years later, they almost hate each other. How can this be? The moment one feels rejected by the other, there's a feeling of betrayal. They though they had conquered rejection through the relationship, but rejection follows them through their lives. Young people feel rejected by heir parents, yet some of their parents are the most loving, kind and gracious people anyone would want to meet. Even wonderful parents can't overcome that deep fear of rejection. No individual or group can give us enough acceptance to conquer it.

Fear of rejection is there because of a broken relationship with a holy God. Many attempt to please God and thus receive His acceptance. Many become more religious. But in the shadow of their religion stands a tall, ugly figure called "Rejection." Many churches are filled with people working hard to escape this figure, but the fear of rejection can never be escaped by religion.

Revival always awakens man to the true basis of acceptance. Acceptance can be found only through faith. Martin Luther understood that "the just shall live by faith," and he shook the world for God's glory. He didn't experience some new faith. He came to know and experience the faith of the spiritual giants of centuries past. His faith was the same as Abraham's, Isaac's and Jacob's. It was the faith of Paul, Peter and John. True faith is simply our acceptance of His acceptance of us based on what Jesus did on the cross.

Old Testament believers found acceptance by looking forward to the Messiah. We find our acceptance by looking back to the cross. One word gushes forth from the cross: grace. Rejection has to flee when that word is spoken. Hallelujah! I have been accepted! By grace I have been accepted! Sin separated man from God. But God entered human history uniquely through Jesus. He was unique. He was so much God that it was as though He wasn't man. And yet, He was so much man that it was as though He wasn't God. He was Son of God and Son of Man. He was the God-man. He crashes through the wall of sin that separates man from God. He has become the door through that wall. He forever stands as the doorway to God's acceptance. And when we have been accepted by the Father, we have really been accepted! That causes us to bow before the Father to love and worship Him in simplicity and devotion. He has met the deepest need of our lives through His Son, Jesus. (Source)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

The following question was posed to the noted expositor John MacArthur

"What are practical ways of dealing with Satan in terms of fear, especially at night?"

Dr MacArthur's answer

I don’t know if you’ve ever had that problem. I went through a little phase in my life where night was a fearful thing for me—and it was wasn’t when I was 6, it was when I was an adult. I don’t know what I was afraid of, but I had a little time of about a couple of months there where I was sort of, you know, in bed like this, just, you know, checking everything out. There are people who have this problem. It may depend upon their background and what they were saved out of... But, how do you deal practically with fear? Well, I would suggest this method—and I’m not going to take the time to explain all of it...Sit down with your concordance and find every use of the word “fear” in the Bible and just trace it through and see if you can’t build a little theology against fear.

I think the greatest thing to give you security is to know how the Bible teaches fear and how it deals with it.

But, let me just add this: there are two causes of fear, basically. One is a guilty conscience. The other is a lack of trust. Two things cause fear: sin in your life that you haven’t dealt with (then you feel you have a right to being punished and so you’re afraid it’s going to come) (Ed Note: click for OT illustration or here) or, secondly, you’re afraid because you don’t think God can handle your situation. You’re afraid you’re going to die, you’re afraid you’re going to get sick, you’re afraid your kids are going to get hurt, you’re afraid the roof’s going to fall in, you’re afraid the demons are going to get you… Whatever it is, it comes from two things. Number one, you have a guilty conscience. Number two, a lack of faith. Now, you can deal with both of those. A guilty conscience: confess your sin and get it all cleaned out. A lack of faith: get your Bible open and read what God says about himself and learn to trust him. Okay? And pray. (Source)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

"How is it that you have no faith?" -- Mark 4:40

Ray Stedman commenting on this section writes that

"This is why people become afraid -- because they lose faith. Faith is the answer to fear. This is the first lesson which comes to us out of this incident (read Mark 4:35-41). Faith is always the answer to our fears, regardless of what they are. Jesus put his finger right on it: "Have you no faith?

Well, evidently they did not. They had forgotten all the things he said to them in the Sermon on the Mount about the extent of God's care for them: "You are much more valuable than flowers and birds. God cares for them; will he not much more care for you, O ye of little faith?" {cf, Matt 6:30}. Here he was in the boat with them; their fate would be his fate; and yet they had forgotten this...

The significance of this event to us is that faith is the answer to fear -- faith in the goodness and care of God in our lives, faith that he loves us and he is able to work in our midst." (Read the full sermon Why are you Afraid?)

Commenting on John 14 Ray Stedman writes that

The remedy for heart trouble is contained in the two phrases which follow: "believe in God, believe also in me." "Let not your hearts be troubled." How? Why, "Believe in God" -- God who is still in control, who knows what he is doing, who is capable of exercising infinite wisdom, infinite power, and infinite love -- and, "believe also in me," Jesus said, who is the means by which all that wisdom and resource and power of God is made available to you. That is the secret...the answer to fear is faith. The next time you are afraid, reach out for a promise of God, and lay hold of it by the power of Jesus, and your fear will vanish. There is no other answer to fear but that. Anything else will permit the fear to come back again and again. But the promise of God remains steady and sure, and the availability of the resources of Jesus to lay hold of it is the way of deliverance. (Read full sermon The Cure for Troubled Hearts)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

There is no fear in love;
but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves punishment,
and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
-- 1John 4:18

Ray Stedman comments

Love accomplishes something, not only for the future, but now. It casts out fear now. It gives us complete freedom from fear. Before we look further at this there is a translation we need to correct. In the RSV it says that "fear has to do with punishment," but that is not exactly right. What it really says is, "fear has punishment," not "has to do with punishment," as though it always produces it. Even more literally, perhaps, since this word for punishment comes from a root word which means to limit or to restrain, what John is saying here is that fear has limitation, fear imprisons us. Now is that not true? Fear imprisons us. Anxieties, tensions, worries, apathy -- all these things are forms of fear, and they literally imprison us, they limit us. I have known people who were unable to go outside the door of their house because of fear. I have seen Christian people who were unable to drive their cars because they were ridden with anxiety, or who were afraid to meet people, afraid to be in various circumstances. It is because fear has limitation. Fear imprisons us, narrows us in, binds us up, limits our life, pushes us into corners and keeps us there, and we cannot live as God intended us to live.

This is a common experience of life, is it not? What is wrong? Well, John puts his finger right on it. He who fears is not perfected in love. That is the trouble, that is the analysis. Love may be in him, if the life of God is there, but it is not perfected, it is not coming out, it is not expressing itself, it is not manifest, it is not taking the form of deeds and words, it is all inside. That is the trouble. Love, perfected, casts out fear. Now do you dare try that? What a dramatic solution to the problems of fear and anxiety, and yet, how wonderfully true it is. I have often seen it happen. There are those who have the life of God and yet never let it out; their pride and self-pity bind them up and they do not want to show love, they are afraid to. They are afraid it will open them up to be hurt, or that it will give someone an advantage over them, and so they bottle it up, keep it in, and then they wonder why they are oppressed by anxieties, tensions, and problems of nervousness. They are limited, unable to move and do as they ought to. But love, perfected, casts out fear. John is not talking about a perfect kind of love; it is love that is made perfect, love that is perfected, love that comes to its end and accomplishes its purpose. I have often seen people who begin to show love to somebody else, feebly at first, tentatively, perhaps saying but a kind word, but beginning to minister to another's need. As they did, they found their own heart flooded with release and deliverance. Gradually they were set free and able to be what they were intended to be. (Read full sermon - Love's Accomplishments)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Joshua-Facing Fear
by Sammy Tippitt

Several years ago, during the dark days of communism, a dear Romanian brother was traveling with me across his country. It was very dangerous for him because he was interpreting for me. Following the evangelistic meetings one night, he was walking to the apartment where he was staying. He knew someone was following him. His heart began to race. Fear gripped him. Then with one simple decision, he shattered the fears of his heart. He kept walking faster and faster in an attempt to get away from the person following him. Finally, he stopped and looked straight into the eyes of the person following him. The man in shock, turned and began walking away. My friend began following the man. The man fled, and my friend's fear fled. Thus, my friend learned a great lesson. The only way to overcome your fears is to face them.

There's one thing that I really appreciate about the Bible. It is SO honest about its heroes. One of the great men of the Bible was Joshua. Yet, we find that he had to deal with fear. In the beginning of the account of Joshua's leadership among the children of Israel (Joshua chapter 1), God has to tell Joshua four times (Joshua 1:6,7,9,18) "be strong and of good courage."

Joshua had much to fear

First, he had to deal with the fear of failure.

Anyone who steps into a position of leadership understands how powerful and paralyzing this fear can be. Joshua followed one of the greatest leaders of all times. Moses saw the Red Sea parted; the people fed "manna" daily; and many great signs and wonders among the people of God during Moses forty years of leadership. Could Joshua step up to the plate and take the reigns of leadership from such a great man of God. Certainly, he had to deal with the fear of failure.

But a second fear must have been the fear of family and friends.

He knew how fickle the children of Israel were. He had seen them love and revere Moses when everything was going well. But he had also seen them become rebellious when things weren't going so well. Joshua must have had to deal with the fear of rejection from those he loved so much.

I'm also sure that Joshua had to deal with the fear of the future.

There's a certain sense of security in being under someone's leadership. The buck stops with him. When we're second in command, we leave all the worries up to the top brass. However, when we are placed in the top position of leadership, all of a sudden, we begin to realize that the future of those whom we are leading rests in our hands. That is enough to cause anyone to tremble in fear.

A final fear that Joshua must have faced was the fear of the foe.

He had been into the promised land as a spy. He and Caleb had come back and told Moses, "No problem. Sure, there are giants in the land, but they are no match for our God." That was easier to say when Moses was leading. But now Joshua was the bottom line leader, he had to put up or shut up.

So, how did Joshua face his fears?

There's one remarkable provision for facing our fears that stands out in the first chapter of Joshua - the word of God.

First, Joshua had the promise of God.

The Lord said to Joshua after Moses died, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Joshua 1:5 NIV). I have discovered that there's nothing like the promises of God to enable us to face our fears. Too many Christians have sat for too long in the church premises and have stood too little on God's promises.

But Joshua also had the commands of God.

The word of God came to Joshua saying, "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go" (Joshua 1:7 NIV).

Obedience to God's word drives away fear.
It gives a sense of victory and it secures God's provision.

God is looking for men and women who are courageous. I've been in some of the most difficult areas of the world. But I've never met a courageous Christian who wasn't standing on the promises and walking according to the commands of God. Trust and obey - there's no other way. (Joshua-Facing Fear)

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

Elisabeth Elliot writes that

The world is shaking with fear. "What will become of us? Where will it all end? What if Russia...? What if cancer...? What if expression...?" The love of God has wrapped us round from before the foundations of the world. If we fear Him--that is, if we are brought to our knees before Him, reverence and worship Him in absolute assurance of his sovereignty, we cannot possibly be afraid of anything else. To love God is to destroy all other fear. To love the world is to be afraid of everything--what it may think of me, what it may do to me, what may happen today or tomorrow for which I am not prepared.

- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -

In his sermon Freedom From Fear Steve Zeisler discusses Jacob's recurring irrational fear explaining that

Most of us suffer from irrational fear of one kind or another, and no matter how much others reassure us to not be fearful their words don't seem to help much. What they are saying is true, and they mean what they say, but we don't find their reassurance helpful. The reason we are not helped by their words, of course, is that we are ultimately unwilling to trust God...Fear is a spiritual problem. Left to ourselves, we will never learn how to deal with it. All we will succeed in doing is masking and hiding what we fear. The only way to finally overcome our fears is to allow God to separate us from what we feel is our strength, and to fear Him instead. Then we will never again have to fear anything.

If you suffer from the "Jacob Syndrome" (and we all do to one degree or another) read the entire chapter of Genesis 32 and then read Zeisler's sermon for some very insightful comments on how God Himself "cured" Jacob of his irrational fears, even to the point of giving him a new name "Israel". (Click full