We were made to have fear.
- Proverbs 22:3
- Fear is useful and keeps us alive.
- Healthy fear can be a good thing.
Fear is real.
- 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
- Fear of acting in this case was called wicked and lazy.
What causes fear?
- Danger
- The unknown or unfamiliar
- Overwhelming opposing force
- Personal experience – II Corinthians 12:20-21
- Other people’s experiences – 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
- Phobias
- Spiders, snakes, etc.
- Heights, people, situations
- Memory fear
- “I remember what happened last time I did that.”
- Fear of consequences
- Jonah – Jonah 3:10-4:3
- Ecclesiastes 8:11
It can be controlled
- If we couldn’t control our fears, God wouldn’t have told us not to fear.
- Some general guidelines
- Objectively examine what makes you afraid and why (awareness)
- Known what you can use to mitigate it (knowledge)
- Learn to use those items of mitigation (confidence)
- Example – fear of flying
Subjecting fear
- Knowledge
- Familiarity
- Doing activities that make you fearful
- Understanding better through instruction
- Confidence through repeated exposure
- Faith
- Matthew 10:29-30 – Truly believing you will be all right
- Faith that God is with you
- Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:4-8
- Apostles – Matthew 28:19-20
- Other times and other ways
Love
- I John 4:16-19
- Motivation to put the fear behind you.
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
- It has eternal consequences – Revelation 21:8