Today I want to talk to you about fear, and about how only with God can we become someone who truly isn’t afraid of anything, someone who has no fear. Now if we look at the bible, we see many verses about not being afraid, in fact the words “fear not” are in the bible 365 times, once for everyday of the year. The bible tells us not to be afraid; the bible tells us in Isaiah 54:14 that we have nothing to fear.
14 In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.
It tells us that terror will not come near you. Now my question is? What does terror mean to you?
- : a very strong feeling of fear
- : something that causes very strong feelings of fear: something that is terrifying
- : violence that is committed by a person, group, or government in order to frighten people and achieve a political goal
I don’t think we have ever felt true terror. Why? Because God keeps it away. Deep down we all know that we can’t be hurt by these fears we create in our head. Now I want to look at why we create fear, scientifically speaking fear can be put in our head at very young ages, and can be caused from an event that happens to us or even someone else, a movie, T.V show, even a story that sticks with us. We shine a spotlight on fear, and we put them above everything. Fear can control your life and hold you back from what God has planned for you, but God can block your fear, like an object blocking the spotlight, and putting your fears in the dark.
Now I use to say the only fear I had was fear itself, and while that’s sounds good, it’s not what the bible tells us to fear. Now believe it or not but, Jeremiah 5:22 tells us to fear God.
22 Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord. “Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross
Now I want to point out how powerful this is, water is maybe one of the most powerful forces on the planet, it has destroyed cities, killed millions, and even destroyed the world, and yet God made the sand so it cannot cross. But I must ask.
What does it mean to fear God?
It becomes harder to explain when we read (1 John 4:18) it says …” perfect love expels all fear…” How does fear of God, who is perfect love, take away fear?
Now before we go on I want to ask, why do we fear God?
Fearing God is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature. That’s why hearing someone is God-fearing makes us trust that person more. If they fear God, they are more likely to keep their word and treat others with kindness. In fact, Romans 3, a classic chapter on sin, says that our chief sin is that we “have no fear of God at all” (Romans 3:18).
So, we see why we fear God, but what does it mean to fear God? Before we can answer that I must ask?
What does fear mean to you?
: To be afraid of (something or someone)
: To expect or worry about (something bad or unpleasant)
: To be afraid and worried
: (Fear) according to the bible is to respect highly to feel reverence and awe
Knowing this we see that by fearing God we are showing our praise, we are worshipping him and all his power he has over the world, and that fact that he has power over the world, is why we can move forward in life with no fear. He controls our density and with him at the wheel, we have nothing to fear. That’s how I believe that the fear of God, who is perfect love, takes away fear. Only through God can we have truly no fear.
Now the only thing left to do is to give your fear to God, and let him take control.
So what is your biggest fear?
I want you to think about it. Now I want you to think why it is that you fear this, why do you make this an idol in your head, and shine a spotlight on it?
God tells us in Jeremiah 10:5; not to fear idols.
5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good
Let’s break this down; it says they must be carried, what do you think that means? I think it means that these fears cannot follow you on their own; you bring them with you when you walk, and take them everywhere you go. It tells us not to fear them for they can do no harm, or any good, which I think means no good comes from having fear, but the thing your afraid of can do no harm, For God is bigger than anything that can hurt you.
I want to show you this promise I made with God, a promise of no fear. “Never again will I fear the dark, never again will I runaway, never again will I cower, for my God will stand by my side and take my fears from me. I will stand before my fears, and not be afraid. For he who kneels before God, can stand before anything! From this day on I will have no fear; For God is bigger than anything that can hurt me!”
Now this promise is a way of living your life with no fear, being able to stand before your fear without being afraid. This isn’t saying you walk out of here fearless and able to do anything. This is the first step, saying you’re done letting fear run your life, and you’re letting God take the wheel. Now here’s the thing, the hardest part about standing up to your fear, the only hard thing, is saying you’ll do it, once you made that choice you’re in, but once you’re in, it’s not as hard as you think. All you have to do is let God take control. He tells us that he will save us from our fear in Jeremiah 39:17.
17 But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear.
But you have to give your fears into the hands of God. And I will leave you with this; the verse that best says “no fear” is Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
At the beginning, I told you that the bible says “fear not” 365 times, once for everyday of the year, I don’t think that’s a coincidence, God’s telling us to never be afraid.
So, are you ready to give your fear to God? And live of life of no fear?
