Sermon Central
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Overcoming Fear And Anxiety
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Feb 20, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: God does not give us a spirit of fear. He gives us the ability to live a full and victorious life.
Overcoming Fear and Anxiety
Selective Scriptures
Introduction-
This morning I want to look at becoming an overcomer. Centering in on the overcoming of fear and anxiety. Truth be told, there are a lot of things to be fearful of. From the failing economy, people stealing our money, to being afraid of the dark. There are people that live their life in fear.
Some common fears:
Fear of the dark,
Fear of rejection,
Fear of failure,
Fear of danger,
Fear of heights...you get it. There is a phobia for almost everything. Remember my confession of the fear of roller coasters. They actually have a phobia for that.
Questions to ask yourself:
What does God’s Word say about fear.
How do you know if your living in fear.
What can you do to live victorious.
(FDR) President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at his first inaugural address after the 1932 elections. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” I think there is truth in that. But the God of the universe say’s that we have nothing to fear...period.
“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you Do not fear; I will help you.”
This does not mean our lives will be trouble free- far from it. But the message of God’s word is that fear...of our enemies, of the future, of failure, whatever your fear is- need not dominate your life and paralyze you from living victorious.
There are many faces of fear-
guilt and shame are forms of fear inwardly, commonly causing depression and anxiety.
Anger and hatred manifest themself outwardly at someone else.
Most fears seem to be subtle and unexpected. It starts with one fearful thought, leads to another, before you know it, it has taken a life of it’s own.
The Bible is full of promises.
Promises that God will do what He says that He will do. (Trustworthy).
God says that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Protector).
He tells us that this life is not all there is- for those that know Christ, are a child of God, this is a moment of time (Eternal).
When you look at it that way- some promise scriptures have personal meaning.
“The Lord is my light and my Salvation, so why should I be afraid”
“Don’t be afraid for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you . I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
This is the scripture that helped Becky get enough courage to sing in front of people.
“Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Allowing God to search within your life, He will be able to identify the birthplace of that fear and begin the process of overcoming and healing it.
Example-
fear of water because someone held you under the water.
fear of public speaking because someone made fun of you .
A single fright incident that marked your life and has given you this fear.
Every fear , small fear, big fear, real fear, imaginary fear...all are real to us. But will we let it control us and stop us.
As a kid, the monster under the bed is real, until mommy or daddy convinces us otherwise and we know that they have taken care of that fear.
Illustration
little boy, who was afraid of the dark, was told to go to the unlit back porch and get the broom. He told his Dad he couldn’t because it was so dark and his Dad said, Son, don’t be afraid, Jesus is out there. So the little boy went to the back of the house, opened the door, stuck his hand out into the porch and said, Jesus, would you give me the broom? And much like that little boy, much of what we fear is not real. One study showed that 92% of things we fear never come to pass.
Watch this:
Faith is believing what we cannot see to come to pass.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen”
Fear is believing what we cannot see to come to pass.
Did you catch that
They can be the same definition.
The only difference is how we look at it.
It makes a difference of what your focus is on.
Hope by definition is expecting what is desirable to happen.
Fear directs our attention to the past or to the future- based on what we believe will happen in a negative way.
I like the acrostic, Fear is: False Evidence Appearing Real.
