I. Intro: Developing a Strategy to Face any Fear.
A. What is your strategy for dealing with fear and anxiety?
1. Do you have one? Or will you figure it out in the moment when fear rises up?
2. We are not ignorant of the devil’s schemes. We know that he tempts us in various ways. Temptation doesn’t always come in the ways that we think it will.
a. Not always tempted by lust, greed, alcohol, drugs, indulgence, etc.
b. We need to realize that in all fear, panic, anxiety lies a temptation.
3. If we don’t realize that and we give in to the temptation hiding in the fear, then we stop trusting God and take matters into our own hands. When we’re afraid, we always look for a refuge, but we don’t always look to God to be that refuge.
4. In 1 Samuel 13, Saul gives us an example of giving into the temptation of fear.
a. About to face an enemy, he was supposed to wait for Samuel to offer the sacrifice.
b. The army was deserting him, so he offered the sacrifice without Samuel.
c. He was afraid and took matters into his own hands to control the outcome.
d. Samuel arrived after Saul had offered the sacrifice.
e. This caused Saul to lose His kingdom.
5. We know that fear is a part of life, so why don’t we prepare for it and be ready to face it when it comes?
B. Key scriptures.
1. Isa 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
2. Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
3. Psalm 56:3 “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.”
4. 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
5. 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.”
II. Four foundations from the Word about fear.
A. #1: God does not condemn us for being afraid.
1. Fear is a valid emotion and a part of life. The important thing is how we handle it when we start to feel afraid.
2. God says “Do not fear…” in Isaiah 41:10 to reassure us. It is meant to be comforting, not condemning.
3. It’s like Father is saying to us “It’s OK, I see what you’re up against and you don’t need to be afraid.”
4. A lot of times the enemy will prey on our fears and then accuse us for being afraid. Romans 8:1 says “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
5. So when you feel fear, refuse to feel condemned and realize that God is ready and willing to comfort you.
B. #2: God is with us in every trial and situation.
1. This is the second part of Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear… because I Am with you.”
2. Fear and faith have an inverse relationship: as one increase, the other decreases.
a. When we focus on our fear, faith diminishes
b. But when we focus on God instead of the fear, faith rises and fear diminishes.
3. God doesn’t expect us to exert our willpower over fear, He expects us to remember His power over everything that we face in this life. When we look to God we realize that He is bigger than the danger and He is with us.
4. In scripture, God established this same principle to Abraham, the nation of Israel, Joshua and the disciples. To all of them He said “Don’t be afraid, I Am with you.”
C. #3: God expects us to take refuge in Him when we are afraid.
1. Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
2. Seeking refuge in God is not quitting, wimping out or being weak, it is the smartest and most righteous thing we can do when we are afraid.
3. Psalm 56:3 “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.”
4. In the scriptures we find God as
a. Our refuge (Psalm 46:1&2)
b. Our fortress (Psalm 18:2)
c. Our shield (Psalm 3:3)
d. A hiding place (Psalm 32:7)
5. Fear will quickly reveal if our fortress is in God or something else. If you find that fear is getting stronger and faith is getting weaker, it’s a sure sign that your refuge is not in God. So change your strategy and make God your refuge.
D. #4: God’s perfect love produces courage, clarity and peace when we are faced with fear.
1. 1 John 4:18&19
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
2. When we remember how much our Father loves us, we realize that He cares for us more than we can take care of ourselves. Our Father is committed to always do the most loving thing for us.
3. Fear and love have an inverse relationship: when we mediate on His love for us, fear diminishes.
a. God’s love will begin to fill the space in us that fear tried to occupy.
b. God loved us while we were still in sin, He loved us before we loved Him, so we can rest and trust in His love.
4. 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.”
a. Fear is not just a human emotion, it can also be an evil spirit.
b. It’s not a sin to feel fear, it’s a sin to let fear run wild in our heart and mind, overshadowing the promises and love of our Father.
c. When we allow fear to to drive us and rule our thoughts and behaviors, evil spirits will amplify those thoughts and reinforce them.
5. When you start to feel afraid… acknowledge the fear as simply a messenger, alerting you to pay attention to the situation, once you have received the message, send the fear away.
6. Then pray according to James 4:7, which says “Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
7. “Father, I do not accept this spirit of fear. I submit to Your Word that tells me not to fear, because You are with me and You love me. Instead of fear, I receive Your power, love and a sound mind that is free from fear.”
E. The Four Foundations for Dealing with Fear.
1. God does not condemn us for being afraid.
2. God is with us in every trial and situation.
3. God expects us to take refuge in Him when we are afraid.
4. God’s perfect love produces courage, clarity and peace when we are faced with fear.
III. The Three Part Equation.
A. The Source of our Strategy for Dealing with Fear.
1. Philippians 4:6&7 NKJV
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
2. Philippians 4:6&7 NLT
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
3. Prayer + Thanksgiving = Peace (The three parts)
4. Definitions:
a. anxious: merimnao, to be troubled by the cares of this world
b. nothing: medeis, nobody, no one, nothing
5. Merimnao medeis: “Don’t let your soul be troubled by anyone or anything.”
6. To paraphrase:
In every situation, whether general prayers to God or specific and urgent please for help, make all these requests to God with thanksgiving. As you do this, the peace of God will flow from His Spirit into your spirit, it will surpass your natural understanding, and it will guard both your heart and your mind. This means that your logical and emotional processing centers will experience calm and relief from stress and you body will rest.
B. The lie that tempts us in our fears: we can’t trust God to care for us.
1. Merimnao, the same word used in Phil 4:6 to mean ‘anxious’ is the same word used in Matthew 6:25 when Jesus said “…do not worry about your life.” Also in vs 31.
2. Jesus says the Gentiles seek after all these things, and seek them anxiously. But the carefree life is the mark of a Christian. Only a person who trusts the Father completely will be free of anxiety.
C. The Direct Relationship between Control and Anxiety.
1. So far we talked about inverse relationships, where as one variable increases, the other decreases.
a. fear and faith
b. fear and love
2. Now we need to look at a direct relationship. This is where each variable changes in the same direction, they either both go up or both go down. In this case, the variables are control and anxiety.
3. The more we attempt to increase our control over a situation, the more our anxiety will increase.
a. Anxiety comes when we stop trusting God.
b. when we want to be in control instead of surrendering control to God.
c. when we believe the lie that we have to handle it ourselves.
4. This is a trap! It’s a self-delusion because we try to control things to reduce anxiety, to protect ourselves, etc., but control has the opposite effect. The more we try to control the outcome, the more anxious we become.
5. We should control our mouths, our finances, our diet and our time. (Self-control) But the motivation for self-control should not be fear and anxiety, it should be stewardship, holiness and accountability.
IV. Two Benefits of Thanksgiving.
A. Remember the source of our strategy.
1. Philippians 4:6&7 NKJV
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
2. The first part of the equation is prayer and supplication.
a. Proseuche a general term for prayer in the bible, any communication with God.
b. Deesis specifically refers to petition, it implies a sense of need and of humbly making requests or pleading for assistance.
B. Care and Prayer: Another Inverse Relationship.
1. Care and prayer also have an inverse relationship. When one goes up, the other goes down. The more we pray, the less we will be burdened by the cares of this life. But the converse is all true, the less we pray, the more we will feel burdened by the cares of this life.
2. 1 Peter 5:7 cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares for you.
3. Psalm 55:22 cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you, He will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Remember, you are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, the righteous live by faith, so just by casting your burden on Him you are demonstrating your faith.)
C. Thanksgiving benefit #1: Peace through surrender.
1. In Phil 4:6&7, peace: eirene, safety, security, prosperity
2. Thanksgiving is how we turn our cares over to the Lord. When we have prayed our heart out and close it with thanksgiving, it seals the deal. It’s how we let the burden go.
3. For me, thanksgiving is what releases the burden to God and ushers me into the next phase which is trust. When I give thanks, I have fully let go of the burden and can enter rest, emotional and mental rest, knowing that I’ve done all I can do and now the burden is in God’s hands.
D. Thanksgiving benefit #2: Thanksgiving completes the work.
1. Luke 17:11-19
11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
2. Vs 13&14 “…they were cleansed…” healed of their disease.
3. One came back to give thanks, and Vs 19 says that he was made well. Some translations say “made whole”.
a. sozo: restored to health.
4. Leprosy is a disease where people lose fingers and digits. The nine were healed of their disease, so it would progress no further, the one who returned to give thanks was restored and made whole again.
5. So many times, we cry out to God when we’re afraid and then when He acts on our behalf, we go right back to life as usual without ever coming to Him in thanks.
6. Let’s give Him thanks even as we’re praying for His help.
V. Closing.
A. Recap.
1. The Four Foundations.
a. God does not condemn us for being afraid.
b. God is with us in every trial and situation.
c. God expects us to take refuge in Him when we are afraid.
d. God’s perfect love produces courage, clarity & peace when we are faced with fear.
2. The Three Part Equation: Prayer + Thanksgiving = Peace
3. Two Benefits of Thanksgiving:
a. It finalizes surrender.
b. It makes us whole.
4. This is one strategy for dealing with fear.
B. Don’t Never Stop.
1. Colossians 4:2 “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving…”
a. Continue: proskartereo, keep going, persevere, be diligent
b. earnestly:
c. being vigilant: pay close attention to continuing in prayer
2. With thanksgiving.
a. For making all things work together for our good
b. For giving us everything that we need for life and godliness
c. For supplying all that I need from His own riches in glory, where they can’t be stolen or corrupted
3. 1 Thess 5:16-18 “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
C. Song