11/08/2019
FAITH VS FEAR (2 Timothy 1:7)
Second Timothy 1:7 says “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love. And of a sound mind.”
Psychologists define fears and anxieties as, “what a person experiences when faced with an event that they cannot control or predict or that which seems threatening or dangerous. Fear is a reaction to a perception of immediate danger that is characterized by a strong desire to escape the situation.”
Too many times it is fear that incapacitates us. It’s fear that keeps us from realizing our full potentials. Not lack of skill, not lack of opportunity, not lack of money or influence. It’s fear and the paralyzing grip that it gets on us that threatens to keep people from trusting and obeying God.
The enemy uses fear to paralyze, immobilize, and render our faith useless. Fear will break you down physically, mentally, and spiritually. It is the Devils plan to destroy as many Christian as possible and he achieves that by implanting fear in their hearts.
FAITH AND FEAR ARE OPPOSITE
The antidote for fear is faith in the Almighty. Fear is the direct opposite of faith. It is either we face faith with our backs turned to fear, or we face fear with our backs turned to faith. The great Job during the period of his travails confessed “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come upon me.” (Job 3:25)
Fear is a spirit that does not emanate from God. It’s not so much that fear is a sin. Fear is not the problem; it’s how we respond to it. All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears: of falling, of the dark, of speaking in the public or before an audience, etc.”
Brethren do not respond to the spirit of fear. Do not allow the spirit of fear overwhelm you and take away your faith. When ever you hear words that terrifies you or you are faced with a disastrous or panicky situation, always remember Psalm 91:7 “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee.”
Fear is not from God. Fear is from the Devil. As Christians we are commanded as many as 365 times in the bible to “fear not”
WHAT FEAR MAKES US LOSE
Fear usually comes when there is an element of risk. How we respond to the fear is determined by our willingness to take the risk or not – Are we willing to pay the price for success or failure?
Too often, we aren’t willing to pay the price. We see the risks as seeming too big to take.
There is, however, a price to pay for not taking the risk. That is the cost of living in fear.
Consider the following cost of living in fear:
1. Loss of Self-Esteem:
Fear makes you lose confidence in yourself. You may be very well endowed with a lot of potentials, you may be very intelligent, attractive and well liked, but once fear sets in you begin to doubt yourself and struggle with self-esteem. You develop the feeling of inadequacy and incapability. Steve Lawson says, “All research suggests that self-esteem largely boils down to one issue: When you face a difficult situation, do you approach it, take action, and face it head on, or do you avoid it, wimp out, and run and hide?”
2. Loss of Destiny:
Fear can make you lose God’s direction for your life. Reality is, if you live in fear, you will never experience the potential that God has placed in you. You may find yourself where the Devil desires of you. A colleague of mine in the office once said to me that “Fear births failure.” Fear is a major barrier to achieving success. We are capable of succeeding in several ventures, but we may not be able to do that until we break the fear barrier. Brethren be bold and take hold of your destiny .
3. Loss of Joy:
There’s no two ways about it. Fear kills joy. Living in fear, worry or anxiety will destroy your joy. Too often those who are caught on the grip of fear play the “what if” game. What if something bad happens? What if this doesn’t work? What if I fail? What if...What if…What if? You lose your inner joy when fear overtakes you.
4. Loss of Authentic Intimacy:
Fear makes you withdraw from people and also from God. Fear and hiding seem to go hand in hand. Too often our biggest fear is that others might see the “real me”. Fear is usually translated – weakness. The last thing we want is to get in a position of vulnerability and let others see our weaknesses, so we tend to be overly cautious and withdrawn from people. Fear and embarrassment is a state of the mind.
“I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” – Adam (Genesis 3:10)
5. Loss of Availability to God:
The paralyzing grip that fear has on us will cloud our vision. When we are in bo***ge to fear, we have a hard time hearing and responding to God. We most likely don’t want to have anything to do with Him. We can’t see the freedom and life that He offers because we are so distracted and deceived by our fear. Our worries can thoroughly block our vision of the light of God’s promises, but the fact is, they have little substance to them.
HOW TO GET RID OF FEAR
Dr. Larry Ollison wrote in his book The Practical Handbook for Christian Living, “Fear is negative. Faith is positive. Fear is associated with hate, greed, stress, worrying, sadness, depression, and so on. Faith is associated with love, generosity, peace, power, rest and relaxation (not laziness), joy, and laughter.”
God is a God of faith and it takes faith to please Him. Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Satan is the author of fear and uses fear in an attempt to destroy faith. Everything that pleases God, Satan hates – and faith pleases God.
In order to get rid of fear, we must develop faith. Here are some basic steps to completely remove fear from your life.
1. Plug into God’s Power: Develop a positive and active faith in God. Faith can be described in these two words – Assurance and Certainty. Be always sure and certain that God has unlimited power and can do anything He says He will do. Believe that He is the “I Am”, He is who He says He is. Believe in His promises – He will do what He says He will do. (see Ephesians 3:16-21)
2. Listen to the Word of God: You have to keep listening to the Word of God and quit listening to the words of the devil. Proverbs 1:33 NKJV says “But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.”
3. Speak the Word of God: Be a master of the Word of God. Always speak the Word of God and quit speaking the words of the devil. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4: 12 NIV). Speak the Word of God to any fear-causing situation, it will surly break it down. Jeremiah 23:29 NIV says “Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”
4. Act on the Word of God: Put your faith to work. Act in faith and doubt not the Word and promises of God. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26 KJV)
5. Speak and Act Love: Let all your speech and actions be motivated by love and expunge pride, arrogance and hate from your life. 1 John 4:18 NKJV says succinctly that “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love”
