A sermon on fear
1. What would say are some of the top “fears” people have in today’s world?
2. Some fear that the price of gas and food will continue to escalate.
3. Others fear for the safety of their children or a job.
4. People have fears about getting old, retirement, sickness, death, and many other things.
TONIGHT WE WANT TO TAKE A GENERAL APPROACH TO THE SUBJECT OF FEAR.
a) The first time I find fear in the Bible is in the book of Genesis.
b) Adam and Eve sinned and a consequence of their sin was fear.
c) Sin caused the first couple to be scared.
2) We start with Gen. 3:10 - READ
a) There are some things that are not associated with fear in the life of Adam and Eve.
b) We find no hint of Adam being afraid of snakes and other creatures on the earth.
c) It seems he only became afraid he realized he had violated God’s will.
d) In the Bible fear is more often associated with God than the things of this life.
e) Jesus said in Mt. 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the physical body.”
f) “Fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in Hell” (i.e. God).
g) God is the one who is to be feared (this fear will be explained a bit later).
3) For now consider that Gen. 3 and Mt. 10 are contrary to what we find in our world.
a) Society has conditioned people to fear many things and should say many of the wrong things.
b) Various media sources have caused fear about global warming.
c) I listened to story not long ago about a woman who decided to have an abortion.
d) She was afraid the planet is getting too crowded and another person would help destroy the earth.
e) Because she feared a child would help damage the earth, she had her baby killed.
f) People are afraid now, but this fear is by no means new.
4) 30 years ago I can remember a similar fear being spread by people; some of you will recall it too.
a) Scientists were telling everyone we needed to fear a coming deep freeze.
b) Our planet was going to be turned into one giant iceberg. Does anyone remember that?
5) C.C. Wallen of the World Meteorological Organization said, "The cooling since 1940 has been large enough and consistent enough that it will not soon be reversed."
6) In 1968, professor Paul Ehrlich, former Vice President Al Gore's hero and mentor, predicted there would be a major food shortage in the U.S. and "in the 1970s . . . hundreds of millions of people were going to starve to death." This scared people.
7) In 1972, a report was written for the Club of Rome warning that the world would run out of gold by 1981, mercury and silver by 1985, tin by 1987 and petroleum, copper, lead and natural gas by 1992.
8) In 1975, the Environmental Fund took out full-page ads warning, "The World as we know it will likely be ruined by the year 2000."
9) Harvard biologist George Wald in 1970 warned, "Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind." That was the same year that Sen. Gaylord Nelson warned, in Look magazine, that by 1995 "somewhere between 75% and 85% of all the species of living animals will be extinct."
10) In 1885, the U.S. Geological Survey announced that there was "little or no chance" of oil being discovered in California, and a few years later they said the same about Kansas and Texas.
11) In 1939 the U.S. Department of the Interior warned we had only 13 years of oil left.
12) Scores of people (often well educated people) have said the sky is falling. Watch out; be afraid.
13) Our world has told people to have fear just about everything under the sun except 1 thing: God.
i) A fear of God is at the beginning of the Bible (Gen. 3).
ii)
A man came to
realize he had sinned and this violation of God’s law greatly concerned
him.
iii) Today people need to know that God exists, God has a law, and people violate that law.
iv) When a person breaks God’s law and sins, there is to be great concern.
v) In fact, this fear is actually a consequence (result of) sin.
14) We see this in our next reference, Lev. 26:17.
i) In the first 13 verses of this chapter God promised blessings if His people would obey.
ii) If the Jews would not obey, God said Israel would experience some terrible consequences.
iii) One consequence was going to be fear.
iv) Verse 17 of Lev. 26 – READ
15) Imagine a person who runs out of fear even thought he is not being chased or threatened.
16) God says this would happen to His people if they chose sin.
17) Fear would cause them to be concerned when there was no.
18) This was part of the punishment for sin.
19) This passage also tells us that fear is a powerful force.
i) Rahab affirmed this point in Josh. 2:11.
ii) She said the people of Jericho had “heard” about what Israel had been doing.
iii) When the name “Israel” was mentioned, fear gripped the hearts of those in Jericho.
iv) Fear is so powerful this point is made in Deut. 20:8: any soldiers who were afraid were to return home.
v) God knows fear is contagious (it can spread among people, even military soldiers).
vi) In the Old Testament fear is often spoken of in a bad way.
20) In the New Testament we also see fear often portrayed in a negative way.
21) Jesus spoke of a man who received a single talent (a relatively small amount of money).
i) This man was given this wealth for a time and then the Lord can to get it back.
ii) One man had received 5 talents and this fellow gained 5 more for a total of 10.
iii) A second man received two talents and he also doubled what he had been given.
iv) The third man received only one talent and he hid what the master had given him.
v) When the Lord returned, the man handed the talent back to its owner.
vi) He had not lost anything, but neither had he gained anything.
vii) Fear was one of the things that kept him from trying to make use of that talent (Mt. 25:25).
22) The man who received one talent said, “I was afraid.” He didn’t lie. It does not seem he was lazy.
23) He simply admitted he was scared.
24) Jesus said the master was not pleased with this servant.
25) Jesus said this man was a “wicked servant” and was to be cast into Hell (Mt. 25:26-30).
26) Jesus’ story reminds us of Rev. 21:8 – the fearful are not going to be saved.
i) God does not call His people to a life of running scared.
ii) God does not want us to be terrified by all the things the world says might happen.
iii) God wants His people to be persons of courage.
27) Fear is to be conquered by faith. Sometimes this is a very difficult thing to do.
i) In Josh. 1 we find that Israel had to finally look to someone else.
ii) Moses had died and it was time for Israel to begin looking to Joshua for leadership.
iii) Three times in this chapter God spoke to Joshua.
iv) Josh. 1:6 says “be strong and of good courage.”
v) “Be strong and very courageous” (Josh. 1:7). Verse 9 repeats this information a third time.
vi) God knew that Joshua could be bothered by fear.
28) Jeremiah also had to receive this type of encouragement.
29) This prophet had some very difficult circumstances.
30) In the opening chapter of this book (1:8) God said, “be not afraid because of them.”
31) Ezekiel (2:6) received similar encouragement from God (I am going to read this in a paraphrase):
32) “Son of dust, don't be afraid of them; don't be frightened even though their threats are sharp and barbed and sting like scorpions. Don't be dismayed by their dark scowls. For remember, they are rebels!
33) Fear can be a crippling problem and it can affect anyone who is a child of God.
WE HAVE DESCRIBED THE TYPE OF FEARS GOD DOES NOT WANT US TO HAVE. THERE IS ANOTHER TYPE OF FEAR THAT IS RIGHT.
i) Ps. 111:10 says “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
ii) Prov. 8:13 says fearing God leads people into a path of righteousness.
iii) A person who walks uprightly fears the Lord (Prov. 14:2).
iv) Fearing God means we keep His commandments (Eccl. 12:13).
v) Those who fear God are people who please God (Ps. 147:11).
2) This “fear of God” is a respect for God. We know who He is, what He does, and His power.
3) Because we love and respect God, our lives are molded into a specific way.
4) There is what we might call a “tension” in a person’s relationship with God.
i) Love for God is mixed with “fear” (a strong respect for God and a recognition He is deity).
ii) We fear God when we realize He is the creator and we are the created.
iii) God owns us and we respect and live in view of that fact.
iv) Col. 3:22 says servants were to “obey their masters in all things.”
v) Slaves were to be the best possible servants to their masters.
5) Imagine that we are a slave – someone else has complete control over our life.
i) Our master tells us when to get up, when to go to bed, and what we could wear and eat.
ii) He can beat us, mistreat us, and even kill us if he wants.
iii) Under these conditions we might be tempted to rebel – run away and find a new life.
iv) Paul said servants could and would be obedient if they remembered something: fear.
v) This was not fear that the planet would one day get too hot; it was a fear of God.
6) A proper respect and love for God means people will be good and honest in their lives.
7)
An individual
may not have the best circumstances, but they will be a godly person
because they fear God.
8) Our world often comments on the fact that people are dishonest.
i) We find corruption in place after place after place.
ii) Why is this the case? Often times the problem is no fear of God.
iii) There is not the word of God to guide, shape, mold and change people.
9) It is a “fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).
10) If we have loved and served God, meeting Him is not fearful – it will be a time of joy.
11) If we have not respected and honored God, it will be a terrible thing to meet Him in death and judgment.
12) God is all knowing, all powerful, and present in all places at all times.
13) These are some of the reasons Paul said, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).
14) A person should only fear God (in the sense of being worried and uneasy) when he is being disobedient.
15) Living in sin should scare people and should scare them a lot.
16) For the Christian, fear is a respect for God and being obedient to Him.
17) Tonight do we “fear God”? Do we fear Him because we have chosen to live in sin?
18) If so that type of fear can be easily taken away by helping you right what is wrong.
19) If we are a Christian, do have a proper fear of God (love and respect mixed with confidence)?
20) We know that with children we can provide them with “healthy fear” and “unhealthy fear.”
21) There is to be a “healthy” fear of God.