Overcoming Fear
John 20:19
Purpose Statement: To encourage the congregation not to live by fear, but by
faith
Introduction
What is it that you fear? Fear of the unknown perhaps? The
possibility of death, the insecurity of a job, the fear of being alone. Well,
that’s what I want to talk to you today about. I want to talk about
overcoming our fears. I want to share with you my own personal definition of
fear. Then, we will discuss whether or not all fear is bad or good. Finally,
we will talk about how to overcome the fears that keep us from being all that
God wants us to be. First, let’s look at a passage about when the disciples of
Christ were fearful Read John 20:19
Fear defined- the word in this passage is the Greek word Phobos- fear,
dread, terror, that which strikes terror. In John it is always uses in reference
to the Jewish leaders. The definition we will use to describe fear then is a
god given emotion and reaction for the purpose of alerting, preserving and
preparing a person for a upcoming situation or problem. It’s important to
note that fear is not given to paralyze, but to prepare.
By the very definition then, all fear is not bad. If I fear falling off my
motorcycle, I may cause me to put on a helmet. If I fear failing a test, it may
cause me to study harder. If I fear failing in my business, it could cause me to
work into the night to bring in a profit.
I once took a load of books with me on a trip to the Grand Cayman
islands. The trip was a graduation present from my parents for graduation of
college. I had a upcoming Biology test that if I didn’t pass then I wouldn’t be
graduating. So, my dad and I went sight seeing during the day and then at
night I would study biology and for some other exams. Dad was surprised
that I would bring books on a trip like that. But, I was afraid that if I didn’t
study hard then I wouldn’t be graduating. The fear of failing kept me diligent
until the hour I walked in to take the test, which I ended up getting a C on.
I once knew a teenager named Michael. Michael’s dad owned a
corvett dealership. Before Michael had graduated high school he had
wrecked 3 corvettes totaling them. Michael was a careless driver. I once
saw him coming up behind me on a two lane road near my parents house. I
was about 17 and had only had my license a year. We were coming up on a
hairpin corner. You couldn’t see if traffic was coming or not. Michael went
around me on that corner without slowing down. Laughing the whole time at
the fear he caused me. Michael lacked good sense or judgment. Michael
lacked a healthy fear of the road that would have caused him to be more
cautious.
There is another fear mentioned in the Bible that is associated with
wisdom and that is a reverential fear of God. Proverbs 1:7 indicates that
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It is healthy and good to
have a reverence for God. It may cause us to consider our own mortality and
our need to get right with our creator. Many people today seem to have lost
the sense of the reverence for God that people use to have. A lack of this
kind of fear allow people to take the Lord’s name in vain and to not worship
Him and to live without honoring Christ. A reverential fear for God causes
me to consider judgment and where I stand with God.
Every person should have a fear of God that causes them to think about it
before they commit that sin or speak that ill word. I wish more people
stopped to consider this eternal issue like they do taking care of the bills and
other temporal issues that won’t last. (Matt 10:26-31)
There is another kind of fear though that is not good and keeps me
from being all that God wants me to be. I believe there are many, but
probably the main three are centered around the fear of the unknown
including death, disease or judgment. Fear of uncertains, like a loss of a job,
a upcoming divorce or some other problem that causes insecurity. Or a fear
of being unloved or unwanted. Nobody really wants to feel unloved or
unwanted. The last one I would mention is a fear of change. Even good
change like graduating or being promoted can cause fear.
What to do to overcome fear:
1. Control what you can and leave the rest to God. Matt 6:25-34
W.A. Criswell once said that “what worrisome fear does to us. It hurts our
health, it shortens our days. It clouds our vision. It saps our inner strength.
And it’s easy to fall into.”
2. Realize that God is in control. God can bring good out of the bad.
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of
power, of love and of self-discipline.”
3. Realize that God has promised never to leave you or forsake you.
4. Begin to cultivate a eternal perspective. Many problem that we face are
not eternal.
