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No Fear
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 28:5
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
Luke 1:13
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luke 1:30
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
Luke 2:10
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke 5:10
And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men
Luke 12:7
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:32
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Revelation 1:17
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
No Fear
Luke 2:8-14
8That night there were fshepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.9Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,10but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.11The gSavior—yes, the hMessiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!12And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14“iGlory to God in highest heaven,
and jpeace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Jesus Calms the Storm
Mark 4:35-41 // Matt 8:23-27 // Luke 8:22-25
35As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”36So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).37But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
38Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
39When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.40Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
Years ago I used to see this sign on some young people’s vehicles but did not know what it meant except that young people have a no sense of fear and felt that they will live forever.
Social scientists believe that there are only 2 fears that we are born with; Fear of falling and the fear of load noises. This is not a proven fact.
Recently there was a survey taken of 500 people and they were asked about fear; over 7000 fear were
admitted to at that time. We are weighted down with all types of fear; fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of the future, fear of death, fear of life, fear of growing old, fear of the future, fear of acceptance, the list could go on and on. Our fears are home grown and we should put them aside and grasp the faith that is within us through Jesus.
Let us look at David:
Psalm 34:1-22
A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.
1I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
2jI will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
3Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us kexalt his name together.
4I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7For the aangel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
8Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the bjoys of those who take refuge in him!
9Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
10Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
11Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
12Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?
13Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies!
14Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for cpeace, and work to maintain it.
15The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
his ears are open to their cries for help.
16But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
he will erase their memory from the earth.
17The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
18The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he drescues those whose spirits are crushed.
19The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
20For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
not one of them is broken!
21Calamity will surely overtake the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
How can we find freedom from fear in our lives?
Proverbs 3:5-7
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
7Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
How should we use fear for our own good?
Proverbs 9:10
10Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
Proverbs 19:23
23Fear of the Lord leads to life,
bringing security and protection from harm.
If we turn our fears over to God we can accomplish anything
Acts 1:8
8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
1John 4:11-15
11Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.12No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
13And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.14Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the gSavior of the world.15All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.16We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.17And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.19We love each other because he loved us first
If we drawback from our fears and disappointments then we can slip into spiritual deprivation.
As we are drawn more and more into our fears and disappointments we go into a position of self protection and self control and move further and further away from God.
How did the apostle Paul handle fear and disappointment?
Ephesians 3:16
16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited bresources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
If we trust in God and follow him with faith we can have victory in our lives.
As we are tested by God we strengthen our faith and learn to depend on him instead of ourselves. When storms come into our lives we have to believe that we can trust in the Lord in all the storms of life. How often in our storm in life do we cry out to God and wonder where he is and accuse him of not caring. Of course God cares about you and is worried about you. Jesus said he would never leave or forsake us.
Hebrews 13:6 (New Living Translation)
6 So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
How do we overcome fear?
Ephesians 6:10-18
The Whole Armor of God (6:10-20)
10A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the jdevil.12For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.14Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s krighteousness.15For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.16In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.17Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
19And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s amysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.20I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
Psalm 33:18-22
18But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
those who irely on his unfailing love.
19He rescues them from death
and keeps them alive in times of famine.
20We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone.
