Sins of the Spirit: Part 9 (Fear)

Sins of the Spirit: Fear

Let's take our Bibles and turn to 1 John chapter 4. We are certainly in that passage right now as we are working our way through the memorization. I wanted to look here in one other passage before we begin to break down the scriptures tonight and break the bread. But 1 John chapter 4 verse number 18. In verse 18 there is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, verse 19 as we are new verse for this week. We love Him because He first loved us.

And then over in Romans 8, please, Romans chapter 8, verse number 38. Romans 8, I wanted to remind you of what verse 28 says we know it well but I wanted to read those words and then jump forward and in verse number 28 and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. He goes on talking about how God has predestinated us. He's called us, those who be called, He justified and ultimately glorified but we see in the question He asks here about us as believers, those who are called, those who are justified, those who are for whom all things work together for good, those that love God, He says in verse 35 who shall separate us from the love of Christ. Well, the long answer is, the short answer is nothing. Nothing, particularly, He says in verse 38, for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height, nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord and amen to the reading of God's word.

Tonight I wanted to speak to you about the sins of the Spirit once again and that sin I want to speak about tonight is the sin of fear, not the fear of God but the fear of the things that God tells us, the fear of anything but God, the fear of anyone or anything but God Himself. There's a lot of things that people fear. In fact, there's a whole, if it wasn't for fear, the fears we have as human beings then psychology would be out of business. There's all the phobias, right? People have fear of spiders and heights and tight places and crowds and everything in between that.

All these fears and we and certain ones of us may be more naturally predisposed, I guess we can say or maybe because of some childhood experience or just because of our personality we might have a tendency to be tempted more to certain kinds of fears, certain types of fears, maybe more of a challenge to us, I guess we can say it that way. But fear in various forms is presented to all of us. We are presented with the temptation to be afraid but what we do with that temptation, and what we do with that presentation of fear to us is the difference between sin and obedience, isn't it? It's the difference between obeying the Lord and disobeying Him.

Sometimes children may get in a panic over something that we know is not that big of a deal and we say calm down, calm down, you need to listen to me, calm down. If you're in a panic then you're going to hurt other people. If you're in a panic you're going to, you might hurt yourself. Most of the time it's not snakes that hurt people as people hurting themselves when they see the snakes, right? It's the fear that causes harm, it's the actual fear itself more than the, I used to be so afraid of needles, so afraid of going to the health department to get my shots and I'm, I made things 10 times as bad as they had to be because I just worried and feared so much, getting the shot and then it was over and you thought, well, that wasn't worth all of that. That wasn't all it was, oh, I made it out to be.

But fear is something like wrath, anger, envy, fear is like, um, evil speaking we've read about. Fear is like malice, it's to be put away from us, right? In fact, we read in that first passage tonight in 1 John 4:18 that, uh, that love, what does it say there, that there is no fear in love. But it says that perfect love casteth out fear. So the Bible is telling us that it is a good thing to be filled with God's love and it's a good thing that fear is cast out. That's, that's a good thing.

Sometimes before we can even teach our children fully in a formal way about what God's word says about every matter, we teach them informally by the example that we set before them, we teach them by what we do in situations and they learn and they, and they gain from our example or they maybe are to their detriment at times by following our example. But fear, as David said in Psalm 56, let's look over there, Psalm 56 verse 3, we all know it so well. Psalm 56 verse number 3, he says, what time I am afraid I will trust in thee and I'm often reminded as I think on this verse that we all get afraid at times of certain things.

But what do we do with the fear? Do we, do we just, follow in it? Do we stay in the, a state of fear? Do we panic? No, it's a sin. It's a sin if we don't, when we become afraid or when fear comes to us, if we don't turn with trust to the Lord and remember what I am afraid, but I remember what God said. I am afraid, yes, I would be lying to say I'm not afraid of heights or I'm not afraid of this. But even as real as the fear that has come to me is, I will not live in fear, I will, I will trust what God's word says, even though I may not feel, it may not feel that it's true. I know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose.

And so the Lord has promised to deliver us from fear. In fact, in Psalm 34 verse 4, if you look over there Psalm 34 verse number 4, it says there, David says, I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. If fear wasn't a sin, if it was not a sin for us to fear, then why would the Lord need to deliver us from it? If fear wasn't a sin, then why would we, instead of fearing, need to trust in the Lord? It's very clear that fear is something the Lord is kind of like anger, right? We may be angry, but what do we do with the anger, right? What does it turn into?

We cannot, we cannot let anger just rest in our bosom and burn in our bosom and in our inner man and just, it will turn into bitterness. It will lead us to do sinful things. If we do not take that anger to the throne of grace, Lord, I'm angry about the situation, but Lord, you've told me to pray. You've told me to trust. You've told me to submit, humble myself. You've told me that blessed are those that have a contrite heart, right? Yes, sin should, and injustice should bring a sense of righteous anger, but get placed in the wrath. Vengeance is mine, the Lord says, I will repay. It's not anger should never be us taking justice and vengeance into our own hands. No? It should quickly move in another direction because it will be sin to us.

So the Lord, David said, I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. In contrast, the wicked lived in fear. In fact, the scripture says that before we were in Christ, we were all our lifetime subject to bondage because of the fear of death. Fear, the wicked have no peace. They do not know the way of peace. They do not have the peace of God in their hearts. In fact, Revelation 21, look over there with me in verse number eight, Revelation 21:8. If an individual doesn't do something about his fear problem, he's going to end up in the lake of fire. Revelation 21, verse number eight, if there is no salvation from this life of fear that assumes the wicked, then it will end very badly.

But the fearful it says in verse eight of chapter 21, but the fearful, those are the opposite of those that overcome, right? He that overcometh is showing here at all things and I will be God, his God, and he shall be my son. But in contrast, the fearful, those who are filled with fear and unbelieving, and then interesting those go right together, right? The fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and the end murders and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Jesus came to save us from our sins. And one of the expressions of that sinful heart is fearfulness, fear. What kinds of fear? Well, there's the fear of man. The scripture says that the fear of man brings a snare. The fear of man brings a snare. Look in Proverbs 29 with me, Proverbs 29, verse 25. Proverbs 29:25. What does it say there? Well, it says, the fear of man brings a snare. But whoso putteth in contrast here, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe? Just because the snare is there doesn't mean you have to be caught in it, right?

The fear of man brings a snare. It traps us. It keeps us from the proper fear of the Lord. It keeps us from properly trusting in the Lord when we are living in the grasp of the fear of man. Flee from the fear of man is the idea. Avoid this snare. Avoid this trap. If you fear the Lord, you won't be in the snare. If you're in the snare, you won't fear the Lord. You won't trust the Lord like you ought to. You may certainly give honor. We give honor to men where honor is due, but we always remember they're fallible. We always remember that the Lord is the only one we can trust with all of our heart. And he will never fail us.

There's another fear associated with the fear of man. The fear of what's going to happen to us if we do the right thing. The fear of what will happen to us if we trust and obey God. You know, the devil works in our minds in that way. I'm Daniel chapter three. Let's look there. Daniel chapter three, verse 15. Daniel 3:15. And it's there in verse number 15 that we read these words. Daniel 3. And verse number 15. It says, now if you be ready that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery and dulcimer and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made. Well, but if you worship not, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O king Nebuchadnezzar, or O Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar. We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. In other words, we fear God more than what you might do to us if we don't obey you. If we obey Him, we're going to obey Him and we're not careful to answer thee in this matter, king. Well, the temptation is to take the, at least for the moment, the path of least resistance, right? The temptation, the fear of man, looks like it would be the easy way out, right? But actually it's a snare. It brings a snare.

There's also the words of Rabshakeh in 2 Kings chapter 18. Look over there. 2 Kings chapter 18, verse 28. Chapter 18, verse number 28, we read, then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language and spake, saying, hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria, thus saith the king, let not Hezekiah deceive you for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand, the king of Assyria's hand. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord saying, the Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. In the hell the devil works, he wants us to fear that God is not able to deliver us, but we've already read tonight that he is able to deliver us. David testified that he had delivered him from all his fears. He had delivered him from all of his fears.

Well, chapter 19 here in 2 Kings, verse 1, and it came to pass when king Hezekiah heard it that he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. What do we need to do when the devil tempts us to fear? We need to come before the Lord with trust, come before the Lord, and spread the matter before the Lord and say, Lord, this is my dilemma, this is the fear I'm presented with, and be reminded of what God's promises are, be reminded of what his truth says. Look in the on verse 14 of the same passage, and Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers and read it, and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. Here he's this threatening word, and Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear and hear, open Lord thine eyes and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

We mentioned David this morning in how he did not fear Goliath. He had clear thinking about this because he had committed his way unto the Lord. He had committed his way unto the Lord, and his thinking was clear, his thinking, his thoughts were established. Established thoughts are not fearful thoughts. Established thoughts are not troubled thoughts, but their thoughts that are based on truth. The level ground of the truth of God's word, not the shaky ground of feelings and emotions and fearful temptations, we can fear the future. The future can be a very fearful thing that's presented to us, especially when we consider all the unknowns and uncertainties associated with the future.

If you turn over with me to Matthew 24. We see a pattern here tonight. We're told that perfect love casts out fear. Well, we see also that we're to trust. You can't really separate loving God from trusting Him. I love you, Lord. I trust you, Lord. What time I'm afraid I'll trust in thee? Well, we love Him as the verse 19 says because He first loved us. But Matthew 24, verse 1, let's read these words of our Lord. It says here in Matthew 24, verse number 1. And Jesus went out and departed from the temple and His disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things. Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.

And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled for all these things must come to pass. But the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. A scripture makes it very clear that as these things begin to come to pass, that men's hearts will fail them because of fear looking after those things that are coming upon the earth.

The fear of, well, ultimately what this means when these things are happening is that it's reminding people of the uncertainty of their future and what will happen to them. Will this, will they die? Will they die in their condemnation? Will they die in their sins? Will something take away their hope? If our hope was only in this life, then we will certainly be miserable people. But thankfully our hope is, and our expectation is not simply for this life. Our expectation is eternal life. We anticipate eternity with our Lord and Savior.

Well, the temple was the center of Jewish life. It was there as they called it, our place. They took great confidence in that temple, this beautiful temple. Look at this, look at the gold, look at the stones, look at these costly stones of this temple. And yet the Lord said, he said there will not be one stone left upon another that shall not be thrown down. Everything that you put your confidence in here is going to be gone. It's going to be taken. It's going to be removed. And that would certainly happen under, in the time of the invasion by Titus, ultimately in 70 AD, Jerusalem would be leveled. And this is what the Lord promised was going to happen. But that still, even with that, God's people did not need to fear because their confidence was not in that.

There's a lot of people, as you talk to them, you can tell that their confidence, their hope is in America making it. Well, I have news that America is ultimately not going to make it. Nor any other country in the face of the earth. All the kings and men are going to come down. They're going to burn. They're going to be destroyed. They're going to be, they're going to come to an end. No matter how great or how long or how rich and powerful and prosperous they've been, all things must come to an end. But not our Lord, as we saw this morning talking about the reign of these different kings. They all came to an end. But there's one king who will rule and reign forever of his kingdom. There shall be no end. And therefore we need not fear.

And that's why we're told here in Romans chapter 8 tonight, neither death nor life, angels, powers, principalities. None of these things shall separate us from the love of God in Christ. Things present, things to come, things we haven't even realized yet, things we've not been made aware of. I mean, who knows what the new year will bring? Who knows if we make it to the new year? But I'm just saying, who knows? I'm hearing people getting all upset now because their EBT benefits are going to be cut off next month. I mean, that's just a week away, right? Who knows what the reaction to that's going to be? I don't know. But people trusting in the government are certainly going to be greatly disappointed in all of those things. But those that trust in the Lord will not be disappointed.

Well, we're not to let our heart be troubled. What does it say in verse 6? Matthew 24, verse 6. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. What do you do about it? Living fear. It says here, see, kind of like we say, see to it, be sure, make this a point in your thinking, in your heart that ye be not troubled. Be sure, see that ye be not troubled. For all these things must come to pass. Paul told Timothy that things will wax worse and worse. But we need to be see to it that we'd be not troubled. Don't be troubled. Don't be fearful because these things, as the Lord said, must come to pass.

We are to be careful for nothing, anxious. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Have you noticed that the devil is always working to disturb your rest and your peace and your life? He is always working. He is most effective when he keeps people stirred up with something, stirred up in anger, stirred up in fear, stirred up in envy and strife and evil speaking and haste. All of these things, this is a spiritual battle, a spiritual warfare that we must wage. We must put on the whole armor of God. Let not your heart be troubled. Do not be afraid. Yes, it's going to grow worse. The Lord told us it will, but we need not be afraid.

Sometimes we fear that we will fail. Sometimes we fear that we're not good enough. I know I face that fear. I'm just going to be a failure. Well, if we keep our eyes on ourselves, we will fail. But you know God has not left us without His Word. He's not left us without the Holy Spirit. And as long as the Father loves us enough to chasten us and we know that He's preserved His Word and His Spirit is good and His Spirit works in our hearts and creates in us that yearning to cry out to God in prayer. We have an open avenue to the throne of grace. We don't have any reason to live in fear. We don't have to fear our own failure because there's something that will displace that we're in. It's the love of God. And we don't even love Him first. He loved us first. And we love Him because He first loved us. We're just responding to His love.

We're just responding and knowing that He's already promised us that all these things in our lives, all the unique things in Brother Andy's life and Sister Donna's life and Brother those that are called according to His purpose. They're all working. He's tailor-made it. These circumstances, providentially in His plan, He's working it together for good. And so we just, we just, the key is getting our eyes on Him and knowing that He has a plan and knowing that He's working it out. And we just need to trust Him rather than living in fear. The devil can do a lot of damage in our lives if we give into fear. He can do a lot of damage in our lives and even to others through our lives if we live in fear.

But I think of the words of that hymn, those sorrows, befall us and Satan opposed. God leads His dear children along through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes. God leads His dear children along. That's God's working it all out. He's leading those who trust in Him. And we said tonight in Revelation 21, remember in contrast to the fearful and unbelieving of verse 8 wasn't it? Verse 7 said that we are overcomers in so many words there that we will overcome. Let's remind ourselves of what that verse 7 told us again. In verse 7, chapter 21, Revelation 21 said, He that overcometh shall inherit all things. We're promised the glorious rest aren't we? We have an incorruptible inheritance that fadeth not away. That's our hope is all tied up in what Christ has fought for us with His precious blood. And I will be His God and He shall be My Son.

Well, what is it that overcomes the world? What is the victory? Even our faith. Faith in God. Why do we believe Him? Because He has manifested His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And we believe the record that God has given us of what His Son has done for us. Because we believe that record, we love Him. Having not seen we love and the Scripture doesn't say and we cry with great fear. No, it says we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. It's more so that our spirit's vision is unchanged on what the Lord has done for us. Not when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, get your attention on that though. Get your eyes on the Lord. Yes, fear God, trust Him. Don't fear man. Don't fear your own failure even. Because, well, left to ourselves we will fear, but we haven't been left to ourselves. Our Savior is with us. He's always watching over us.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for this reminder tonight. We do not want to commit the sin. Live in sin and fearing man. Fearing failure. Fearing the future. Fearing those things of those reports of wars, of rumors of wars, of things happening on the earth and the news cycle is spinning quickly, it's spinning fast. There are many things that can fill our hearts and minds, but we need to see that we are not troubled. See that our heart is not filled with these troubling fears, but instead that as we trust in your word we will overcome these things that control the hearts and lives of those who know, no, not the Savior, that those who unless they turn from their life of fear will end up in the lake of fire. Oh Lord, help us by our daily lives and our response to your word to show that we believe you. We trust your word. And we pray that we would be able to, by your grace, just put away all fear. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.