FEAR

The Christian and his emotions Session 6

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Every normal human being experiences fear

It's a reaction to danger

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Types of fear:

Physical fear - fear of real physical danger due to famine, pestilence, robbers, etc.

Today people deal mainly with social fear. Fear of not being liked, accepted or understood.

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Fear is partly a matter of nerves, of glands and of thoughts.

Fear is intended by God to protect us and to serve us in life. Unfortunately, fear often is more of a burden than a benefit.

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FEAR

We need to know God and understand Him and His ways. Study is a deliberate, focused exercise of the intellect, not referring primarily to scholarly or academic endeavor but to the wider process of understanding more about God so we can love and better serve Him.

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FEAR

A God-given emotion

1. Wrong attitude: fear has no place in the Christian life. Equate fear with cowardice.

2. Fear is a gift from God and is basically good, so long as it works in right order in our lives.

3. Fear can be good or bad, depending on circumstances.

a) Some kinds of fear are basically good in themselves. E.g., fear of God, respect for laws and authority.

b) Fear as an emotional reaction to real physical danger is good. Prepares us to handle the situation by fighting or fleeing.

c) "Chronic internal" fears.

* Social fears.

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FEAR

A God-given emotion

* Commonly expressed in habits such as caution or conservatism, timidity or cowardice, insecurity and anxiety.

- caution: thinking prudently in advance in order to minimize the risk.

- conservatism: an inclination to avoid change or things new and different and to cling to existing ideas, institutions and ways of behaving.

- cowardice: fleeing when one should stand his ground.

- timidity: constant fearfulness; a wary approach to life, as if real danger were present at every turn; chronic low-level cowardice.

- insecurity: the fear that things we depend on for safety and success may fail us, or in the social area, that others won't accept us, care for us, or accord us the position we desire.

- anxiety: chronic uneasiness of mind over some anticipated misfortune

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THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

The Christian should be able approach life with certain God-given character traits that reinforce our freedom from fear in situations that are neutral and enable us to respond correctly when we experience fear as a result of real danger.

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Marks of the Christian

• Confidence

* Founded not on human strength but on the Lord himself. Proverbs 3:25.

* Since we trust in God's promises, we can be sure that things in life will ultimately work out, no matter how uncertain they seem now.

* Respond confidently in the various social situations we confront. Trust that others will respond well to us

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Marks of the Christian

b) Boldness.

*Connected with righteous living. Proverbs 28:1.

*The Holy Spirit will give us boldness.

- Phil. 1:12-14. As a result of what has happened to Paul (he is in prison), others have become more bold. - Acts 4:27-31. Christians pray for boldness to spread the gospel and they do receive the power of the Holy Spirit for it.

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Marks of the Christian

c) Courage

*A strength of mind and will that enables us to resist opposition, danger, hardship, to do what is right in spite of dangers and the fears that they arouse.

*Acting courageously does not mean we do not have fear. Rather, it means being willing to act strongly and uprightly in spite of our fears.

- Deut. 31:2-8. Joshua will lead but the Lord will be with him.

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Qualifications of the above

• Sometimes fear is appropriate and sometimes it is not. Fear of the Lord, reverence for the Lord is good. Conservatism is often not good.

b) Don't confuse traits or marks of Christian character with counterfeit or distorted versions. Presumption is not the same as confidence. Foolhardiness or recklessness is not the same as courage. Sometimes what we also call as prudence and wisdom are mere excuses for our excessive fears.

c) In this we need wisdom.

d) These qualities are more than what we do. They involve the kind of people we are. They are the very character of God Himself, imparted to His sons and daughters by the working of the Holy Spirit.

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We are not to avoid all suffering.

Suffering was part of Christ's life

• Suffering was part of Christ's life. We are called not to be fearful, but we are not called to be free from suffering.
• We can be confident that God will give us the strength to deal with suffering. Thus we can face every situation with courage.

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Overcoming problems

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Know that you can fight your fears

2 Tim. 1:7. The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us of power.

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Have faith

• Faith is an antidote to fear. The more we have faith and live in faith, the more we will be in a position to deal with fear.
• Scripture stresses this.

*Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd.

*Psalm 27: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

*Psalm 34:4-10; Luke 12:22-32; 1 Peter 5:7.

c) If we have a healthy fear of the Lord, all other fears and concerns in life will take on their proper perspective.

d) Anxiety is the opposite of faith. By faith we know God is caring for us.

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Face reality.

• Problem: either we don't face up to those things that are wrong and need correcting in our lives; or we blow the problems we see all out of proportion. The first group distorts realities about themselves; the second distorts realities about their problems.
• b) We need to face up to our problems.

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Deliberately shape your life environment to give you every possible advantage over your weaknesses and the attacks of Satan.

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• Right spiritual environment. Prayer, righteous living, service to God and brethren.
• Our thought life. It's a mistake to allow inputs from the world equal standing alongside the truths that come from God.
• Shape our lives such that we are not under unnecessary pressure to operate beyond our abilities.
• Form strong, supportive, personal Christian relationships

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Have a fighting spirit

• We give witness to our faith in Jesus by the way we live our lives. Be alert to opportunities to share your faith verbally with family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and the world at large.
• Make ourselves and our resources available for God’s work. Our time, talent, treasure.
• Do good works (James 2:14-17).
• • Support through prayer and financial giving sound Christian ministries that further the spread of the gospel.
• Look for opportunities to give your time and energy to serve in a Christian group on a regular basis.

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SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES

Confidence: Proverbs 14:26, Hebrews 13:5-6 Phil. 4:13

Courage: 1 Cor. 16:13-14

Non-avoidance of suffering: 1 Peter 3:13-18

Freedom from fear linked with righteousness: Lev. 26:3,6,14-15,17, 1 John 4;18

Fear God not man: Matt. 10:28-31

Faith, not fear: Mark 5:36, Psalm 112:7-8

Anxiety: Phil. 4:6

Live righteous lives: Rom. 14:7-8

Set our minds on the Lord, not on the world: Col. 3:2, Phil.. 4:8-9

Suffering: Romans 5:3-4

Faith and fight: 1 Tim. 6:12, Psalm 18 31

A fighting spirit: Phil. 3:12, 1 Cor. 9:26-27, 1 Tim. 1:18-19, 2 Tim. 4:7

BOOK REFERENCE "The Fear Factor" by Jim McFadden

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