Fear is the strongest
emotion of 21 century.
What
is fear?
Fear is an
apprehension of sufferings and losses
Fear is an
emotion over something unpleasant which may occur in future.
Suffering
of pain
– hunger, sickness, torture, dishonor etc.
Loss
of
- property, income, time, health, honour, power, life itself etc.
Fear is caused
by the existence of another personality/power that is against our life.
It may be:
Evil
people
Evil
supernatural powers
It may have its
base in our past life or the life of other people.
The cause of
fear is always an unexpected or unwelcome incident.
So whether it
may happen or not, we tend to fear.
What are you
afraid of?
1.
Losing Your Freedom
2.
The Unknown
3.
Pain
4.
Disappointment
5.
Misery
6.
Loneliness
7.
Ridicule
8.
Rejection
9.
Death
10.
Failure
Some Results of Fear
Fear
is one of the greatest tools that the devil uses to destroy both the unbeliever
and the Believer.
1. Fear immobilizes.
2. Fear leads us to sin.
3. Fear causes various physical problems.
4. Fear opens the door for the work of the devil.
5. Fear brings confusion.
6. Fear causes us to hide.
7. Fear causes us to abandon our love for others.
8. Fear keeps us from serving God.
9. Fear causes us to flee when we should stand.
2. Fear leads us to sin.
3. Fear causes various physical problems.
4. Fear opens the door for the work of the devil.
5. Fear brings confusion.
6. Fear causes us to hide.
7. Fear causes us to abandon our love for others.
8. Fear keeps us from serving God.
9. Fear causes us to flee when we should stand.
Positive
Effect of Fear
Fear has
positive side too
It causes self
restraint on us.
Since we are
afraid of suffering and loss, we try to avoid thoughts, words and action that
may cause suffering and loss to us.
How
to Escape from Fear
Fear as a
negative emotion always has an enemy on the other side.
It tells us
always that we will be proven impotent against the enemy at any time in our
life.
So we try to
keep away the fearsome suffering and loss.
1.
By
trying to please the enemy/fear
2.
Entering
into a compromise/treaty with the enemy
3.
By
avoiding a confrontation with the enemy
4.
By joining hands with a more powerful
personality
The first three
methods are that are of a coward.
You are
acknowledging that you are afraid of the enemy
You are ready to
acknowledge:
His
existence
His
power to harm you
Your
inability to stand against him.
It means you
agree to remain subservient to fear.
That is what the
Moorish proverb says.
"He who is afraid of a thing gives it power over
him." The
Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of Morocco, Western Algeria, Western
Sahara, Mauritania, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta.
You are giving
power and authority over you to fear.
Hence fear rules
over you.
Why do lions roar? The roaring sound of the lion sends a
chill into the heart of weaker animals. The roar of lions announces their
presence in and around. The bigger the sound nearer they are.
Fear has many
arrows in his quiver to keep us servile.
Once we have
subdued to him, it is difficult to escape. He is a relentless enemy who follows
us to the grave.
He will never
bless us. But he will try to ruin those who are disobedient to his authority.
He will teach us
that:
We
have no authority or no free will over our life
Everything
in our life is controlled by fate or an insensible supernatural power
Everything
is predestined and it will happen whatever we may do
We
are destined to live in fear of fear.
Join
With a More Powerful Personality
The last option
to escape the unexpected suffering and loss caused by fear is to join the other
more powerful personality.
He is called
GOD.
He is Almighty,
Omnipotent and Omnipresent.
Those who have
joined hands with God have decided to fight against fear.
They believe
that:
God
is almighty – more powerful than the enemy
God
is beneficent
God
does not want us to live in subservience
With
God we can overcome all enemies
Their decision
is to:
Fight
against fear
Defeat
fear
Live
a life of victory
The only option
available to those who wish to live a life of victory is to fight and defeat
fear.
Fear is a Choice
Even though fear is an
emotion, we do not have to let it rule our minds.
As Christians, we have
the mind of Christ.
LIVING IN FEAR IS A
CHOICE.
Living in unbelief and
lack of faith is a CHOICE.
“Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 16:31
– NIV) is also a divine
imperative, a COMMAND.
Why
Should We Not Fear?
Almost
every book in the Bible has a "fear not" in it.
The
enemy uses fear, but God would have us to have faith in Him.
Although
Job was a righteous man and would not speak evil, he opened the door through
thoughts of fear for the enemy to work in his life.
Job 3:25-26
25 What I feared has
come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.
26 I have no peace,
no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil. (NIV)
With each COMMAND to fear not, God
gives a little promise of:
His
presence
Help
Power
Provision
Direction
for us to focus on
Fear Not
Genesis 15:1 After
this, the word of the Lord came to Abram
in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. (NIV)
To all
our fears, God says, "I am your shield."
We should not
think of a small shield that covers only the chest area, but rather of a shield
that stretches from head to toe and completely protects every part of the
soldier’s body.
Such a shield
offers complete protection from every attack of the enemy.
God does not
say, “I will give you a shield,” but “I am your shield.”
The very God of
heaven says that he will be our shield, which means we have a shield that is
omnipotent, universal, eternal.
That shield
cannot be defeated. It is as strong as God himself.
We could not be
in a better position.
The great
message is certainly clear. If God is your shield, fear not!
A Christian is immortal until his work on earth is
done.
Nothing can harm you without God’s
permission.
Not cancer
Not AIDS
Not bankruptcy
Not theft
Not physical disability
Not the loss of your job
Not a terrible accident
Not the death of a child
Not any of a thousand other sorrows
that afflict the children of God.
Christians
aren’t immune to sadness.
What happens to
others also happens to us.
Our sorrow is
different precisely because we hope in God.
The difference
is this.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 Brothers and
sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death,
so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. (NIV)
Deuteronomy 4:19 - And when you
look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly
array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has
apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
Exodus 15:3: The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
(NIV)
Balaam and Balak
Numbers 23:7-10
7 Then Balaam spoke his message: “Balak
brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said,
‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’
8 How can I curse those whom God has
not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord
has not denounced?
9 From the rocky peaks I see them, from
the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider
themselves one of the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob or
number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may
my final end be like theirs!” (NIV)
Numbers 23:20-24
20 I have received a command to bless; he
has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21“No misfortune is seen in
Jacob, no misery observed
in Israel. The Lord their God is with
them; the shout of the King is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt; they
have the strength of a wild ox.
23 There is no divination against
Jacob, no evil omens against
Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’
24 The people rise like a lioness; they
rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and
drinks the blood of its victims.” (NIV)
Conclusion
If you are
afraid of fear, you live:
A
defeated live
Subservient
to fear
Those who live a
victorious life over fear, live a life:
Resisting,
fighting against fear
Overcoming
and defeating fear
______________________
Sir very impressive...
ReplyDelete
Deletethanks for your positive response