2 Timothy 1:7 & Matthew 25:14-30 (NKJV)
Have you ever suffered from nebulaphobia? It’s the fear of fog. Some people suffer from the fear of fog because they are afraid that while driving in fog they may have an accident and suffer injury. Because of this, when they see fog they either become paralyzed to where they can’t do anything or they panic and do something foolish.
Today I want to turn nebulaphobia around and look at the fog of fear. How that fear itself can fog our thinking and actions and either cause us to be paralyzed to where we do nothing or panic and we do things that are not the wisest. When a person is overcome with fear, it definitely causes either paralysis or panic, both of which are unhealthy and damaging to our lives.
As we look at fear today in 2 Tim. 1:7, I want you to realize that the scriptures teach us that God has not given us the spirit of fear. If God has not given it to us, then the only other option is that Satan has given us the spirit of fear. Therefore fear is destructive. Notice that Paul calls it a spirit of fear. He is not referring to just a one-time shocking moment, but a reoccurring fear in a certain area of our life that has a grip on us.
We can say that there are three kinds of fear in general: Holy fear, which is like the fear of God described in Deuteronomy 6:13 (NKJV): You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him. Healthy fear, which is like the fear of danger described in Matthew 10:28 (NKJV): And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Harmful fear, which is what we are going to look at today. Fear that causes paralysis or panic and the end result is damaging to our lives.
Let’s look at the types of harmful fear and how fear can overcome us and then look at the truths to defeat fear and how we can overcome fear. We are going to look at what God’s word says about fear in 2 Tim. 1:7 and then see examples of fear in Matt. 25:14-30.
Fear Can Overcome You
- Fear of failure can overcome you.
In Matt. 25:25 there is a servant that was afraid and he hid the one talent that the master gave him. He was afraid of failing to make any progress with the talent and he hid it. The fear of failure overcame him. In the Christian life we can be afraid of taking on something like teaching a class because we have fear of failing at the responsibility. - Fear of rejection can overcome you.
In Matt. 25:24 the servant was afraid that his master would reject him if he didn’t meet the master’s expectations. The fear of rejection overcame him. In the Christian life we can be afraid to tell someone about Christ because we are afraid that they will reject us or make fun of us. - Fear of embarrassment can overcome you.
In Matt. 25:24 the servant mentions that the master reaped where he had not sewn, so the servant was afraid of being embarrassed when he faced the master. Fear of embarrassment overcame him. In life we can be afraid of stepping out on faith because we are afraid that we are going to embarrass ourselves. - Fear of loss can overcome you.
In Matt. 25:25 the servant said, look, your talent is still there in the ground. Basically, I didn’t lose it. Fear of loss had overcome him. In the Christian life we can be afraid to tithe because we are afraid that we will not have enough for our bills or what pleasurable things we want to do.
You Can Overcome Fear
- God has given us His power.
The Bible uses the Greek word that we get our word dynamite from to express God’s power. God is not lacking in power to work in your life. Eph. 3:20. - God has given us His love.
The Bible tells us in1John 4:18 that perfect love casts out fear. - God has given us His soundness of mind.
In Rom. 12:2 the Bible tells us that we must renew our minds. God’s word is what renews our mind and gives us the soundness and clarity to think for the best decisions.
Fear can overcome you or you can overcome fear! It’s your choice, you can be a coward or courageous.
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