The Problem of Fear, Part 1

Tonight we're going to talk about the very common problem of fear, and hopefully the things you learn this evening will give you great ammunition to face each and every day. The things I'm going to share with you this evening are some of the things that God has taught me over the years concerning standing strong for Him, never fearing what man can do or what man wants to do, but trusting in God to always accomplish His purposes. And so I want to begin our time with a very familiar story in the Gospel of Mark.

And so turn with me to Mark chapter 4. This will set the tone for our time together this evening. It's a very familiar story, but I just want to read it to you and then make a couple of comments that will lead us into our study of the problem of fear. It reads as follows, Mark 4, verse number 35, I love to preach this sermon on a boat in the Sea of Galilee.

I've done it several occasions, but let me read to you verse number 35 down through the end of the chapter. It says, On that day when evening had come, He said to them, Let us go over to the other side. And leaving the multitude, they took Him along with them, just as He was in the boat, and other boats were with Him.

And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. And He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they awoke Him and said to Him, Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing and being aroused? He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush, be still.

And the wind died down, and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they became very much afraid, and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him? This story is a story that speaks to you and me. Let me begin by saying this.

You will be fearful or you will be faithful. You can't be both. If you are faithful, you will not be fearful.

But if you are fearful, you will not be faithful. That lesson is taught throughout the Bible. And the disciples were men who either had no faith, little faith, or they were absolutely out of line.

And the Lord would always rebuke them about their lack of faith or their littleness of faith. And on this occasion, when they sailed out into the sea and the fierce wind came, they were fearful for their lives. And they were fearful because they were not faithful.

Because God said to them, Let us go over to the other side. Faith is believing in what God has already said. He told them their destination.

He told them where they were going. But as soon as the circumstances were out of control, what did they do? They doubted the word of the Lord. And when they doubted the word of the Lord, they became very fearful.

And they woke the Lord and said, Don't you care that we are about to die? That is not believing what God had already told them when they got into the boat. They presumed that they would die. They assumed that what God said was not true for them.

That's why they became fearful. And so the Lord, once He awoke, He said, Hush, be still. And the sea became like glass, perfectly calm.

He says, Why is it that you of all men, of all people, are cowards, are fearful? It's a word that means full of fright. Why? Why is it you men are that way? Why is it you men have, listen, no faith, none. Why is it you men do not believe what I say? Folks, let me tell you something.

This is very important. Because after He says that, it says they became, what? Very much afraid. They became very much afraid.

You see, a greater fear came over them because a greater force stood beside them. And they realized the greatness of the power of Almighty God. And they became more fearful.

Simply put, when there is little faith, there is lots of fear. Yet, when there is true faith, listen, there is tremendous fear. That's the lesson we all need to learn.

When there is little faith, there is lots of fear. But when there is true faith, there is tremendous fear, fear in God, fear for who He truly is. And once these men focused on what they saw, instead of focusing on what God said, their world began to crumble.

And that's exactly why you and me have fears. We focus on what we see, not on what God has said. But it's so important for you to listen to what God says.

These men simply didn't listen. God would give them another test in Mark chapter 6. He would give them another opportunity to trust Him when the winds came in the boat. And they would fail that test as well.

Meaning to say this, if those men who were with Him every single day saw what He did, listened to every sermon He ever preached, had little faith, guess what? So will we. So we need to know how to overcome that. Turn with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. It's so important for us to listen to what God says.

It says in verse number 23 about those people who do not want to hear the word of the Lord. It says this, verse 24, God says because you don't want these things, listen to this, And your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distresses and anguish come on you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer.

They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me. Why? Because they hated knowledge and did not choose, what? The fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel.

They spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them.

But he who listens to me shall live securely, and shall be at ease from the fear of evil. God simply says, when you listen to me, and do what I say, and follow me, you will be at ease from the fear of evil. But when you stop listening, and stop doing what it is you want, God says, I will laugh at your calamity, I will mock you when you fear.

Because you have refused to trust in me. You see, we think that our anxieties are not that big a deal. We think that the fears that we encounter day in and day out are just not big things.

That's just the way I am, we say. Folks, if that's the way you are, you need to change. You need to change and follow what God's Word says.

Because your fears are as big a sin as anything else in Scripture. Because it tells God, you're telling God that God, you can't handle my problem. You're not big enough to deal with my issues.

And therefore, I've got to worry about it myself. And so I become anxious. And I become concerned.

And I become overly concerned so much that I begin to fear and to sweat and to worry day in and day out. And that's a mark of not trusting in God. God over and over again in the Bible says, don't fear.

Fear not. Stop it. Don't do that.

Now He can say that. Because He knows why you shouldn't fear. But what do we do? We say, we know you said don't do it, God.

But we're going to do it anyway. Because somebody's got to worry. So this will be me worrying about what's going to happen next.

If I don't worry, my husband's not going to worry. So I better do all the worrying. What does the Bible say about that? So I want to talk to you tonight about what are some of the reasons for man's fears.

And then I want to be able to look at what are the results of man's fears. I do admit, you must fear. But you must only fear God.

A couple of years ago we wrote a book called The Fear of God. If you've never read this book, you need to get it and read it. And memorize it.

It's only 24 pages long. It's not very big at all. But this book will revolutionize the way you look at life.

This is simply entitled The Fear of God. You need to have fear. But you only need to fear God and nothing else.

It was J. Oswald Sanders who said, For those who fear man, they never fear God. But those who fear God will never fear man. So the moment you fear man, you know you're not fearing God.

Because when you fear God, you fear no man. And let me explain that to you this evening. What are the reasons for some of our fears? Let me give you four of them.

One is evil. Evil. You know the verse.

Psalm 23, verse number 4, right? Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no...what? Evil. The psalmist said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

He talks about how the Lord is his shepherd and causes him to lie down in green pastures and to rest besides quiet waters. And even though he says, I'm going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will never fear any evil. Now folks, that's where we need to be, right? But there are times we fear the evils of life.

That something bad is going to happen to me. That something unknown is going to take effect in my life. It's the fear of...you've met those people, they're afraid that because their parents had cancer that they are going to get cancer next.

Well, you might and you might not. But we begin to fear. See, we spend more time in anxiety over things that could happen instead of living in tranquility with the God who controls everything that happens.

You see the difference there? We really love to live in the realm of the unknown. And we live fearing evil. When we live fearing evil, we fail to recognize the presence of God.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.

When you fear the evils of life, you fail to recognize the presence of God in your life. That's why God gets so upset at us when we fear. Because you say, wait a minute, I'm right here.

How did you miss me? How did you miss my place in your life? Number two, not only do we fear evil, but we fear the enemy. The enemy. Listen to Psalm 64, verse number one.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy. The ten spies feared the enemy.

They were too big. They were too great. They were too powerful.

They feared the enemy. We fear the opposition. We fear those who come against us.

Why? Because somehow we think they are greater than us and God together. That somehow God is not strong enough. When I fear evil, I fail to recognize the presence of God.

When I fear the enemy, I fail to remember the promises of God. Those two spies, Joshua and Caleb, who had no fear whatsoever, in fact, they said to the multitude, do not fear. Moses said the same thing.

Do not fear. Why? Because they remembered what God said. They remembered the promises of God.

You can bank on this, that when you begin to fear your enemy, you have forgotten the promises of God. You have forgotten what God has said. When you begin to fear evil, you can bank on this.

You have failed to recognize the presence of God. Listen to what the Bible says over in 1 John 4, 4. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Our enemy is Satan, of course.

He is the ultimate evil one. But, you know, the Bible says never fear him. The Bible says resist him and he will flee.

Resist him steadfast in the faith and he will flee. The Bible never says to fear Satan. It only says to fear God.

That's it. Number three, a third reason man fears. He fears because of evil.

He fears because of his enemy. And he fears man. He fears man.

Proverbs chapter 29, verse number 25. The fear of a man brings a snare. Psalm 27, verses 1 to 4 reads as follows.

The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life. Whom shall I dread? When evildoers come upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumble and fell, though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear.

Though war arise against me, in spite of this, I shall be confident. The psalmist says, very simply, listen, I'm not going to fear. I'm not going to fear the enemy.

Why? I will be confident because God is my light. God is my salvation. He is my stronghold.

Listen to Psalm 56. Be gracious to me, O God, verse number 1, for man has trampled upon me. Fighting all day long, he oppresses me.

My foes have trampled upon me all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me. The psalmist says everybody is against me. Nobody is for me.

Everybody is in battle against me. When I am afraid, listen, I will put my trust in Thee. The psalmist knows that the moment he is afraid of any man, he is not trusting his God.

So he says, when I become afraid, I'm going to trust in God. In God whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust. I shall not be afraid.

What can mere man do to me? He says the exact same thing in verses 10 and 11. What can mere man do to me? We tend to fear man more than we fear God. So when I fear evil, I have failed to recognize the presence of God.

When I fear my enemy, I fail to remember the promises of God. When I fear man, I fail to rely on the protection of God. I fail to rely on the protection of God.

Romans 8.31 says that if God is for us, who can be against us? We fear evil. We fear the enemy. We fear man.

We fear death. We fear death. Hebrews 2 verse number 14 says this.

Since then the children share in flesh and blood. He himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. God in saving us delivers us from the fear of death.

Why do people fear death? Because they fear the unknown. They don't know what's on the other side of the grave. The reason the believer doesn't fear death is because he knows what's on the other side of the grave.

He knows where he's going. And he knows what's going to happen when he gets there. Because God himself has built him a mansion and prepared a unique place for him in glory.

And the man who's a believer in God knows that when he dies, he is going to go home to be with the Lord. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. The unbeliever does not have that assurance.

And the unbeliever fears death because they fear the unknown. But the believer knows what happens after death. So there is no fear.

See, when we fear death, we fail to rest in the provision of God. We fail to rest in the provision of God. And we need to be people who live in the realm of faith, not in the realm of fear.

We need to be the kind of people who know that no matter what happens, we will live forever with our God. Folks, let me tell you something. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you ought to be the number one person who never fears death.

Never fears death. You should not do that. Because you do know where you're going, right? Let me tell you something.

It's a lot better than where you're at today. I guarantee it. And there's a lot of people who claim Christianity who fear death because they really truly are not saved.

I firmly believe that. I firmly believe that. There are a lot of people who claim to be Christians, but are so afraid of dying, and they should not be.

But they're afraid of dying because the fear of death is still there. Hebrews 2.14, when Christ died and rose again, He took away that fear and gave you the assurance of your eternal destiny. So those are some reasons man fears.

Let me give you the results of man's fear, three of them. Number one, when we fear evil, enemies, other men, other people, when we fear death, we become, number one, emotionally trapped. When you live in the realm of fear, you are an emotional basket case.

Nobody wants to be around you because you're always uncertain. If there's one thing that marks the Christian, he knows. He knows because he has the truth of Almighty God.

And you become an emotional basket case. You become emotionally trapped in the cage of fear. Let me give you an example.

Turn back to Genesis chapter 15 for a moment, please. Genesis chapter 15. This is a very important passage of Scripture.

Because in Genesis 15, there are four firsts in the Bible. Meaning there are four things that are mentioned, that are mentioned for the very first time in the Bible. So when something is mentioned for the very first time, you want to take note of it.

Let me tell you what they are. Number one, the Word of the Lord. Number two, fear not.

Number three, I am your shield. And number four, the word believe. Genesis 15 records those four firsts.

And fear not is mentioned the first time in Genesis 15. It's associated with Abraham. It says this, after these things, what things? Well, Abraham had just defeated the enemy kings.

He had retrieved his nephew Lot from their captivity. And he could be fearing that these kings would now retaliate. They would seek revenge on them.

They would come back and they would seek to destroy Abraham. He only had 318 men when he went to battle. And maybe he was fearing the fact that these men, these kings are going to regroup, come back and destroy him and his family.

And if so, then the promises of God would not be accomplished. That's one thing. Another thing is this.

Abraham was getting up in years, Genesis chapter 12. And the promise of God had not yet been accomplished. And the older he gets, the more he realizes Sarah's not getting any younger.

She's getting older. And if God promised a son, when is it going to happen? So the Bible says, after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abraham. Now listen, the first time the word of the Lord is mentioned in the Bible, it's mentioned in Genesis 15, and it's mentioned, listen, in conjunction with the phrase, fear not.

Folks, listen, everybody look up here for a second. I'm going to tell you something right now. Those who fear are not in the word of the Lord.

So if you're afraid of something, it's because you are not in the word of the Lord. And therefore, you realize that what God is doing is something very significant. The word of the Lord comes to Abraham in a vision saying, do not fear.

Abraham, you're fearing. Stop it. You have no reason to fear.

None whatsoever. I am your shield. I am your reward.

I am literally your very great reward. Let me tell you something. The reason you don't fear, number one, is because God speaks.

Number two, because God shields. And number three, because God satisfies. That's why you are not to fear.

God speaks, God shields, and God satisfies. And you will note that it's in this chapter that the Bible records that it was Abraham who believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. He believed what God said.

He began to trust what God said. You see, he was emotionally trapped in a cage of fear. And God says, Abraham, don't do that.

You are the father of faith. He's the father of our faith, Abraham is, right? He says, you've got to lead the way for all the people who are going to come behind you. I can't afford to have the father of faith fearful.

So the word of the Lord comes to him, says to him, don't fear. Why? Because I am your shield. I'm going to protect you.

You've got nothing to fear, Abraham. On top of that, I am your reward. I'm it.

Everything's about me, Abraham. And if I'm enough for you, and if I'm your reward, you have no fear because I'm all you need. That's the message of Genesis 15.

And so we need to realize that when we are emotionally trapped inside of our fears, we need to remember that God speaks through His word. And His word tells us that God shields those who are defenseless. And God satisfies the longings of our hearts.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your word, the truth that's there. Help us to live in light of it.

And may we honor You with all of our lives. May we leave this place believing in what You've said, because we have confidence in the name of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.