Living By Faith (Lesson 14) Reasons Why Not to Fear (Part I) Ricardo Rick Pina Victory Gospel Experience (VGE), Camp Victory, Iraq Wednesday Night, 5:30pm (April 22 nd, 2009) Intro: I am always amazed by how much that Bible has to say about real life issues, struggles, and challenges. Dealing with fear is not a small thing for many. Fear can consume and suffocate your life. I hope you have seen in this series that fear is NOT God s desire for your life and it is certainly not God s best. Jesus came that we might have and enjoy life (John 10:10), but you can t do so if you are afraid of flying, of getting in the water, of elevators, of failure, of rejection, and etc.; the list could go on and on. Fear pleases satan, faith pleases God. Avoid fear at all costs. Reason #1: God Said Not To! God told us not to lie, cheat, steal, envy, backbite, commit adultery, murder, sexual sin, and etc. We know most of those and they are easily identifiable as sin. Paul said, Whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23). The most basic definition for sin is Missing the mark. Whenever we do anything that God told us not to do we are clearly missing the mark. In one way, shape, or form, God told us hundreds of times in the Bible not to fear. (Genesis 15:1 KJV) After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. This is the first mention of the words, Fear not in the Bible. In chapter 14 Abram (later Abraham) led a rescue mission to recover his nephew and his entire family. The rescue mission also netted a great deal of spoils from the enemy. Abraham decided not to take the spoils from the enemy. He told the king of Sodom that he did not want the king to be able to say, I have made Abram rich (Gen 14:23). Two verses later we see God telling Abram not to fear. What was the point? The point was that whenever we make a stand to rely on God as our source of provision the enemy will attempt to get us to doubt God and thereby fear lack. God reassured Abram that He was not only his protector (shield), but also his source (exceeding great reward). It would take too long to go through all the scriptures where God said, Fear not, or Fret not, or Do not be afraid. God does not want you to fear. God told you not to do it. Every time the nation of Israel got in fear in the Old Testament God would send a Word through a Prophet to tell them, Fear not. Every time the disciples got in fear in the New Testament Jesus would tell them, Fear not. God never said, Try not to fear. His simply said, Fear not. This implies that we can do it. God will never expect us to do something that He has not equipped us to do. It would be unrighteous of God to expect us NOT to fear if we could not live fear free! So just like you are avoid other things God told you not to do, you must make every effort to avoid fear. Faith pleases God, fear disappoints Him, because fear tells him that you have more confidence in your opposition than your God! 1
Don t disappoint God today, choose to operate in faith and not fear. Why? Because God said so! Reason #2: Fear is not of God! (2nd Timothy 1:17 KJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Fear did not come from God. Fear showed up after Adam committed the original sin. Fear was a result of the work of satan, not God. Fear was a result of man s separation from God. While Adam and Eve were enjoying their fellowship with God they did not even know what fear was. They had no concept of fear until they were separated from God, because of sin. The Amplified translation of this verse says, For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. It is not now, nor has it ever been the will of God that we operate in fear. Fear is not God s will for the believer, because God never instituted it. Fear is a by-product of sin and sin is not God s will. (Romans 8:15) Paul said, For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Paul connects fear with bondage and he lets the believers in Rome and us also, for that matter know that we did not receive fear or bondage from God. What we received from God was a spirit of adoption; meaning that God accepted us as His children through the finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary s cross. As God s children we can cry out, Abba, Father. The word Abba literally means, Daddy. God is our Daddy; He is our loving, caring, and sharing heavenly Father. James said, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above (James 1:17). As our Daddy, God has never and will never desire that we, as His children, live subject to the bondage of fear. Why? Because He loves us. John told us that fear brings torment (1st John 4:18). What loving father would want his children to be tormented and in bondage? Not even a human father would want that, much less God! You should want to receive the things that come from God and reject the things that don t! Fear does not come from God and it is not God s desire for your life. Fear was never part of God s plan for you. God has plans for you (Jer 29:11), but living in the bondage and torment are not part of it. Reason #3: Because You Must Rule Your Feelings! (2nd Corinthians 5:7 KJV) For we walk by faith, not by sight. A person that is always afraid is giving off indications that they are immature in Christ. People that are governed by fear are people that are governed by their emotions. It was never God s design that our emotions rule over us, we are supposed to rule over them. Think about it. Do you think that successful believers don t have bad feelings? Of course they do, but they don t allow their feelings to rule their life. 2
I run into people all the time that tell me that they don t feel saved anymore, or that they don t feel God like they used to. I ask them, Have you repented of your sin? Yes, they reply. Then they say, But I still don t feel right. Guess what? You don t have to feel right to be right. The job of your feelings is to amplify your thoughts. If you sit back and think of the goodness of God, of all the things He has done for you, and of how much He loves you, before you know it, you will feel good! You might even throw up your hands and worship God for His goodness and mercy towards you. Now, if you sit back and think about all the negative things in your life, and how bad things are, and how bad this is or that is, before you know it you will feel bad. If you do it too long you might even delve into depression. However, in both cases your feelings are doing their job; they are amplifying your thoughts. If you change the way you think you will change the way you feel; but even with all of this, it never has anything to do with your right standing with God. You may feel unrighteous, but that has nothing to do with the fact that Jesus has made you the righteousness of God. If you are a Born-Again believer you are righteous, whether you feel like it or not. Four times in the Bible (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38), God tells us that that just those of us that have been declared righteous are to live by faith! Paul tells us to walk by faith and not by sight. Our life is supposed to be lived by faith, not feelings. To walk by sight is to walk by your senses, or sense-realm-evidence. This is not God s will, because what you see will fluctuate. If you live your life by what you see you will live an unstable life. If you live your life by faith, rooted and grounded in the Word of God, that never changes, you will live a strong, stable, and secure life! God does not want you to live your life by what you see, because what you see will change. Base your life on His Word, because His Word never changes. Walk by faith no matter how you feel! Reason #4: What you Fear Will Come on You! (Job 3:25 KJV) For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. The more afraid of something you become, the more susceptible to it you are. You open doors for things to happen to you when you fear. Most believers know the story of Job, but most don t know that Job opened the door for some of the things that happened to him to happen, because he was in fear. Job said, with his own lips, that what he was afraid of actually came upon him. (NIV) What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. Have you ever met someone that said, I need to hurry up and get this done, because if I don t I m afraid that such-and-such will happen to me. Only to find out later that the very things they were afraid of happened. Why? Because fear opened the door to it. Fear opens doors for us, just like faith does. 3
Fear is a negative form of faith. Faith is believing God to do good things in your life. Fear is believing satan to do negative things in your life. Faith is a confidence in God; fear is a confidence in satan. (Hebrews 2:14,15 KJV) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Your fear makes you subject to bondage. Fear opens you up to the possibility of bondage, just like faith opens you up the possibility of liberty. The good news is that you can stop the cycle of fear in your life. This series is designed to expose the schemes of the enemy, so that you can live a victorious life in Christ. So instead of expressing confidence in the negative, simply doubt it! Just like doubt can lead to faith-failures, doubt can lead to fear-failures. When the enemy puts a negative thought in your mind, a thought that goes against what you are praying for in faith, then simply tell him, I doubt it! If you doubt what the enemy can do in your life then you will close the door to fear. If you remain in fear you will open doors that you want closed and close doors that you want open. Overcome fear and close every door to failure in your life! Reason #5: There is NO god like our God! (Isaiah 43:10 NIV) You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "And my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. After declaring what He declared in verse 10, God went on to say, I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God. Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it? (verses 11-13). Who can overturn Jehovah? Who can overpower Him? When He does something, who can stop it? He is stronger than any other gods. In reality, there really are no other gods but our God! This should give us an overwhelming confidence that should enable us to face every day with fearless confidence! (Isaiah 44:8 KJV) Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any. I like the way that God finished that verse. In reference to any other gods Jehovah says, I know not any. God has a sense of humor. It is as if He said, Hey, I have looked and I can t find any other god but me! There is no God but our God. 4
Based upon the fact that He is the only God and based upon the fact that we are His children, He says, Fear ye not, neither be afraid. That sounds like a good enough reason for me not to fear. He sits on the circle of the earth (Is 40:22) and He rules over everything. He has all things in and under control. This God, our God, Jehovah, has told you not to fear and not to be afraid. That should be good enough reason for you to enter into this day with fearless confidence. Jehovah the only true and wise God is on your side! Reason #6: The Lord IS on our side! (Psalm 118:6 KJV) The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The all-knowing and all-powerful God, is actually FOR us and not against us. He is on our side and not on the side of our enemies. I run into people all the time that say, Well, I know that God can do this or that, but I am not sure if He will. Or, I know God can, but why would God do that for me? Let me tell you why: because He is on your side. Believe me; God does not spend His days looking for ways to destroy you. If God wanted to destroy you, you would have already been destroyed. God is looking for ways to bless you, not hurt you. The psalmist came to the conclusion that since the Lord is on his side, he will simply not fear. He asks the question, What can man do to me? The psalmist went on to say, It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man (v.18). You serve a God that is out to bless you and not curse you; to help you and not harm you. When you realize that this God, the God that sits on the circle of the earth, is the God that is on your side, it gives you a fearless confidence that will enable you to face any giants. Closing Confession: Father, God, I seek to live a life that is pleasing to You. I know that faith pleases You and fear does not. Right now, by faith, I declare that my confidence is in You, Lord, and my confidence in You overrides anything that man can do to me. I will never again be entangled with the bondage and torment of fear. Fear has no power over me. I accept and walk in Your love. I realize that I may not always feel right, but I am right. Jesus made me right. I will speak, believe, and live what You say, even when I don t feel like it. I refuse to live my life by unstable feelings. I will live my life by faith and that will ensure that I live a strong, stable, and secure life! There is nothing and no one that can touch me. You sit on the circle of the earth and You have all things in and under control. You are the God that was, and is, and ever shall be. You looked out and You could not find any other gods. I take Your Word for it and I exercise my trust in You and in You alone. You told me not to be afraid. You explained to me that there is no need for me to fear. I declare, right now, by faith, that I believe You. I will not fear. No fear here. Fear has no power over me and never will! In Jesus name. Amen! 5