- Man and beast have fear
- God made us and them that way
- Protected and fed by animals’ fear of us – Genesis 9:2
- Fear can help us – Proverbs 1:7
- Fear can hinder us – Matthew 25:24-28
- What causes fear?
- Danger
- The unknown or unfamiliar
- Overwhelming opposing force
- If God is with us, there is no such thing as overwhelming opposing force.
- Personal experience – II Corinthians 12:20-21
- Other people’s experience – Acts 9:26
- Disapproval of others – John 9:17-22
- Immediate consequences for actions – Jonah 3:4-9
- Kinds of fear
- Reverence and respect
- Cornelius – Acts 10:1-2
- Jonah – Jonah 1:1-3
- Mortal fear
- Belshazzar – Daniel 5:1-6
- Saul and the Israelites – I Samuel 17:8-11, 21-24
- Peter – Matthew 14:27-31
- Phobia
- Spiders, snakes, etc.
- Heights, people, situations
- Memory fear
- “I remember what happened last time I did this!”
- Fear of consequences
- Jonah – Jonah 3:10-4:3
- Ecclesiastes 8:11
- Reverence and respect
- Subjecting fear
- Knowledge
- Fear is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7
- Learn what should NOT make you afraid. Matthew 10:24-33
- Familiarity
- Doing activities that make you fearful.
- Understanding better through instruction.
- Faith
- Truly believing you will be all right – Matthew 10:29-31
- Faith that God is with you
- Isaac – Genesis 26:24
- Israel – Isaiah 41:8-13; Haggai 2:13
- Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:4-8
- Apostles – Matthew 28:19-20
- Other times and other ways
- Love
- Love ultimately overcomes fear – I John 4:16-19
- Motivation to put the fear behind you.
- Knowledge
- Helping others gain courage
- “Encouragement”
- Mentorship and examples
- Missionary activities rarely done alone
- Titus 2:1-8
- Why is courage so important?
- Why work so hard for it?
- Why strive to encourage others?
- God instructs us so
- It has eternal consequences – Revelation 21:8
- Take courage
- Encourage others
For further study, see also:
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