So
what are you afraid of? Some of you macho men, are saying, at least to yourselves, “I’m
not afraid of anything, man!”
In response to
that thought I like to share the story about a little boy who was afraid. “One summer night during
a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn
the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, ‘Mommy, will you stay with me all
night?’ Smiling, the mother gave him a warm hug and said tenderly, ‘I can’t
dear, I have to sleep in Dad’s room.’ A long silence followed. At last it was
broken by a shaky voice saying, “The big sissy!” [www.
bible.org/illus/f/f-22.htm]
All of you are
“big sissy’s” whether you admit it or not. Because everyone has something
they are afraid of, for some it is things in the physical realm; some are afraid of snakes
or spiders, or mice, some of you are afraid of things in the emotional realm, such as
loneliness, or commitment or ___________. Or your fear may physical, job related, economic
or even spiritual.
Psychology Today asked 1,00 respondents what
they feared the most. The answers in order of frequency were: death of a loved
one, serious personal illness, financial worries, nuclear war, being a victim of a crime,
spiders, loss of a job, natural disaster, the dark, loneliness and being unloved.
Probably some of your fears are on this list. Although I can’t understand personally
why spider made the list and snakes did not.
According to
recent research in the United States, 20 to 30 million people suffer from some form of
fear. God knew this, and that is why “Fear Not” is in the Bible 364 times.
Tonight in our
study of the “Commands of Christ,” Jesus deals with that most common of
all of man’s enemies, fear. Turn with me to Matthew chapter ten and verse twenty-six
where we read,
"Therefore
do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that
will not be known. (27) "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and
what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. (28) "And do not fear those who
kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell. (29) "Are not two
sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your
Father’s will. (30) "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (31)
"Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
The imperative in
these verses is (probesisthe) “do not fear”
and is repeated in verse 31. The context of this statement is the challenge of sharing the
good news of Jesus Christ in a sometimes hostile world.
First, What is fear?
It is the
vicious, tormenting spirit that produces felling of disquiet caused by an expectation of
danger. Some times fear is justified. If the external circumstances are perceived
correctly, sometimes fear can be an appropriate reaction.
I was told that during the ladies retreat a group of ladies was sitting on
the porch visiting when a skunk decided to take a stroll through. I heard that Julie Kerr
gave some sound advice when she said, “Ladies sit very still.” I think you
ladies might appreciate this story. “Two explorers where on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious
lion jumped in front of them. “Keep calm” the first explorer whispered,
‘Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and
look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run.’ ‘Sure, replied his companion,
‘You’ve read the book and I’ve read the book. But has the lion read the
book?” [www.bible.org/illus/f/f-22.htm]
But another
possibility is that your fear may not be justified at all.
This unjustified
fear can be defined by the acrostic F.E.A.R.
F alse
E xpectations
A ppearing
R eal
Secondly, What
does Jesus mean when he says we are not to fear?
First we need to
understand that Jesus is not forbidding us to ever experience fear, but teaching his
disciples to not allow themselves to be paralyzed by fear, cowered by it, or allow it to
prevent them from accomplishing their mission because of it.
Third, How Can I
Handle Fear?
Charles Swindoll in consideration of fear in his book Three
Steps Forward, Two Steps Back gives four practical steps to handle fear.
1. Admit Them.
If we have something that is cause us to fear in an unhealthy way we need to name it and acknowledge it to God.
Fear is not of
God for we read in 2 Timothy 1:7, ”For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Fear is a tacti of our enemy, the Devil. His
purpose is to make our lives miserable and to keep us from doing what God has called us to
do.
“During
World War II, a military governor met with General George Patton in Sicily. When he
praised Patton highly for his courage and bravery, the general replied, ‘Sir I am not
a brave man…the truth is, I am a utter craven coward. I have never been within the
sound of gunshot or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn’t so scared that
I had sweat in the palms of my hands.’ Years later, when Patton’s autobiography
was published, it contained this significant statement by the general; ‘I learned
very early in my life never to take counsel of my fears.” [www.bible.org/illus/f/f-22.htm]
Courage
then is not the absence of fear but what we do in the presence of fear.
2. Commit Them to God.
You not only need
to admit your fears to God, you need to verbally declare ourselves in his care.
But sometime I believe we are a little to simplicist
[Connecting
Point. Fear and Phobias:Replace Panic With Peace. Wednesday,
3. Release Them. The Psalmist David wrote in
Psalm 55:22 “Cast
your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to
be moved.”
This thought is repeated in the New Testament when Peter wrote in the precious
invitation found in (1 Peter 5:7) to ”casting all your care upon Him, for He cares
for you.”
4. Refuse to Retreat. Refuse to
submit yourself
(8)
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
[Principles drawn
from Charles Swindoll. Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back: Persevering Through
Pressure. Chap 11 – Fear: Fierce
Grip of Panic (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1980) p. 146]
In our last study on the commands of Christ we considered the command to “Be Wise As Serpents” in Matthew
10:16-22. We found this command in the Lord’s instructions to His disciples as He
sent them out. In fact there were three
commands found in those verses. The first command was that we are to “Behold,”-
“pay special attention to” the fact that we are sent as sheep among the wolves.
Our primary defense is dependence on the Shepherd. The Second
command is two-fold; We are to be Shrewd Minded And We are to Soft Hearted. The
Third Command is that we are to beware of men, that is we are to be on guard against
being taken unaware.
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