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THE FOUNDATION FOR NO-FEAR LIVING
Freedom From Your Fears - Part 1 of 10
Ephesians 3:12 09/18/11 Sermon
"In Christ we can come before God with freedom and without fear. We can do this through faith in Christ." Eph. 3;13 (NIV)
HOW TO ESTABLISH YOUR FOUNDATION
A _______________ GOD'S LOVE FOR ME.
"Where God's love is, there is no fear, because God's perfect love drives out fear." 1 John 4:18 (NCV)
"... Nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:39 (NIV)
"God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don't be afraid. You are worth much ..." Luke 12:7 (NCV)
B _______________ CHRIST DIED & ROSE FOR ME.
"By embracing death... Jesus destroyed the devil's hold on death and freed all who cower through life scared to death by death." Heb. 2:14-15
"Only in that way could He deliver those who through fear of death have been living all their lives as slaves to constant dread." Heb. 2;15 (LB)
"Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed." Rom 10:13 (GN)
C _______________ MY FEARS & MY LIFE TO CHRIST.
"Don't be afraid of anyone and don't worry. But have reverence for Christ in your heart and honor him as Lord." 1 Peter 3:14-15 (GN)
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
"This resurrection life you've received is not a timid, grave‑ tending life. Instead, it's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, `What's next, Papa?'" Rom. 8:15 (TM)
"May God bless you richly and grant you increasing
freedom from all anxiety and fear." 1 Pet. 1:2 (LB)
THE FOUNDATION FOR NO-FEAR LIVING
Freedom From Your Fears - Part 1 of 10
Ephesians 3:12 09/18/11 Sermon
What were the first words the angels said after Jesus rose from the dead? "Don't be afraid!" What were the first words Jesus said after He rose from the dead? "Don't be afraid!" What were the first words the disciples heard Jesus say when He met them as a group? "Don't be afraid!" That's the message of Easter. Two thousand years later it's still relevant. USA NEW & World Report had a cover that said "In God We Trust, Spiritual America. Testing personal faith in a cynical age." The very first article was "Praying to end a wave of Fear. America is experiencing a fear wave. Fear flows not just from TV pictures but from real life experiences."
Ann Landers gets over 10,000 letters a day. She was once asked "What is the most common problem that you find in your letters?" She said, "Without a doubt, fear."
If we were able to project your hidden fears up here on the wall, what would be on that wall? Some of you are afraid you're going to lose your job. Some of you are afraid you're going to lose your marriage. Some of you are afraid you're going to lose a kid, that he's going in the wrong direction. Some of you are fearful about your health. Some of you are fearful about death. Some of you are fearful about other things.
A pastor has a son who asked him, "Daddy, are you afraid of spiders?" No. "Are you afraid of thunder? of ghosts? of robbers" No. "Then I guess Mommy is the only thing you're afraid of."
We call fear by many names. We call it worry, tension, anxiety, being uptight, stress. One recent study did a study of 500 different people and they discovered 7000 different fears in 500 people -- that an average of 14 different fears per person. This is not some minor issue that the bible talks about when it says, "Don't be afraid!"
What do we know about fear? Well, we know it's contagious. You can get it from other people. We know that it's limiting. Someone has said "Fear is the dark room where negatives develop." We know that it's draining. Have you ever been worn out by your worries?
But the most important thing we know is that God doesn't want you to be afraid. Ephesians 3:12 "In Christ, we can come before God with freedom and without fear... Circle "with freedom" and "without fear". ...We can do this through faith in Christ."
We're beginning a new series about fear. I could have called this seres "Everything you ever wanted to know about fear but were afraid to ask." We're going to look at the Foundation for No fear Living. How do I establish a foundation? There are three foundational truths. Everything we're going to talk about in the next weeks together, none of it matters if you don't get this first part. This is the core, the bedrock, the bottom line. Once you've got this foundation established, then in the coming weeks we can talk about practical steps of overcoming fears, worries, anxieties and stress in your life. But this is the foundation. So to make it simple and brief I just put it A-B-C.
The first is: A - Accept. I accept God's love for me.
ACCEPT GOD'S LOVE FOR ME.
I John 4:18 "Where God's love is, there is no fear because God's perfect love drives out fear." The Bible says the opposite of love is fear and the opposite of fear is love. Love and fear can't operate in the same room. When love comes in the front door of your life, fear goes out the back door. Love is the antidote to fear.
There are three kinds of fear that you can have. The first is surface fears. Surface fears are things like you're afraid you're not going to be able to pay your bills, you're afraid you're going to run out of gas before you get to the gas station. That's a surface fear. You're afraid you're going to have a car accident and not have clean underwear. Didn’t you r mother always warn you about that? Those are surface fears and they're not really that important.
The next level down is more significant and far more unsettling. These are soul fears or spiritual fears or subconscious fears. They are the things that are right below the surface. They're a lot deeper like the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of abandonment, the fear of losing control, the fear of not being adequate for the task, the fear of being found out.
A number of years ago, as a prank, a man set an anonymous note to a number of prominent friends of his. All it said was “All is found out, flee at once.” Within 24 hours all of them left the country!
These are the fears that are right below the surface.
But those aren't even your deepest fears. There's a deep level fear that we will call The Soul Fear. It singular. It's the tap root that all your other fears come out of. It's the source. It's the well. No matter how much you try to get rid of all these other fears, until you deal with the tap root it's not going to work. Until you get healing at this deepest level of your life, you're going to still have problems with all the surface fears. It's the gut level tap root, the surface fear. You need healing in that.
What is it? What is my deepest need? Your deepest need in life is to feel absolutely, totally, unconditionally loved. Completely loved. Not for something you could be, not for something you should be, but being loved just as you are. That is your deepest inner need. That's why perfect love casts out fear.
Until this issue is resolved, you're going to be tormented by other fears. Only God can love you with as much love as you really need. Only God can do that. God doesn't love you randomly. He loves you consistently. He loves you every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year. There's never been a time in your life when God didn't love you. That's not true of everybody else. Only God can love you as deeply as you really need to feel loved.
Secondly, if you try to get from other people what only God can give you, you're going to be disappointed, you’re going to be let down. Only God can give this to you. If you never get to know God, or if you just have a religious belief about God, or if you drift away from having this close relationship to Him you're going to deal with these fear issues the rest of your life. It's not dealing with the source, the tap root. You must accept God's love. If you don't get to know God, there will be a giant, gaping cavern in your soul and it will fill up with fear if you don't have love in it. Only God has enough love to fill it.
The first step is to accept God's love because where God's love is there is no fear. Why is it that people avoid God? Because they don't know what He's like. They don't know how much He loves them. It's ironic to me that when you need God's love the most is when you tend to go the other way the most. Guilt causes us to run from God instead of running to God. This is as old as Adam. Adam at the cranapple or whatever it was back in the Garden of Eden and it says, "I was afraid and I hid myself." People have been afraid of God and running from Him ever since. I saw a bumper sticker that said, "If you feel far from God, guess who moved?" God hasn't moved. He's never stopped loving you. We need God's love in our life.
But some of you might say, "But you don't know what I've done! I've blown it too much. God can never love me." Wrong. The scripture on your outline says "Nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus." Circle "nothing". That means nothing! God has never stopped loving you. That doesn't mean He approves of everything you've done. He doesn't approve of everything you've done. But He's never stopped loving you.
Others might say, "I don't feel like I'm a bad person but I just don't think God's interested in me." You're wrong too! The bible says "God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don't be afraid, you are worth much!" He says you're worth much! If you ever want to know how much you're worth, look at the cross.
The starting point for fear is to accept God's love in my inner being. It's one thing to know about God's love. Probably everybody here in this room knows about God's love. It's another thing to accept God’s love. You're never going to feel it until you first accept it. That means saying "Yes, I receive Your love, God. I don't want to just know about You. I want to know You." God made you to love you. The Bible says God created you as an object of God's love. You were created just so He can love you. He knows everything about you. And He wants you to know Him. He wants to have a relationship. The God of the universe wants to have a relationship with you. Not you on your side of the fence, I'll stay on mine. He wants to know you. When you love somebody, don't you want them to love you back? Sure. God wants you to love Him back. So He sent Jesus Christ to earth to show us what God's like, to live a perfect life, to die on the cross for us, to rise again.
The second point of the ABC’s is B--BELIEVE THAT CHRIST DIED AND ROSE FOR ME.
Circle "me". Not that He just died and rose, but He died and rose for me. You! It's one thing to believe about something, it's another thing to believe in something. It's one thing to believe about a person. It's another thing to believe in a person and trust a person.
For instance, I believe about George Washington. I know some facts about his life. I know some of the things he said and did. But I don't believe in George Washington. George Washington is dead. I don’t trust him for things in my daily life today.
People say, "I believe there's a God." So what? Big deal! Do you think that puts you in the Book of Life because you believe there's a God. Even the devil and all his demons believe that. Do you think that will get them into heaven? The Bible says the fool says there is no God. You have to have more faith to believe that creation happened by accident than to believe there's a creator. Where you have a creation there must be some creator. It takes more faith to not believe in God than it does to believe in God. If I took a watch and took it all apart and shake it up in a bag and it comes out as a watch, would you believe that? No! Somebody had to put it together. It's a bigger leap of faith to think the universe happened like that.
It's more than just a head knowledge. It's not just believing about, it's believing in. The Greek word for believe means to trust in, cling to, rely on, adhere to, sell out to, commit to. I believe in Lenin but I'm not a Communist. I believe in Hitler but I'm not a Nazi. I believe in Jesus and I'm a Christian. Why? Because I've committed myself to Him.
It's like the pew you're sitting on. You say, "I believe this pew will hold me up." It's one thing to say you believe it. It's another to sit down on it. The moment you sat down on it, that's real belief.
If I believe in Jesus what difference will it make? There are a lot of differences that will make, but one of them is if you believe in Jesus and you believe what He says about the future is true, about salvation, then you can stop being afraid of death.
The bible says, "By embracing death, Jesus destroyed the devil's hold on death and freed circle "freed" all who cower through life scared to death by death. Only in that way could He deliver those who through the fear of death have been living all their lives as slaves to constant dread." People don't like to talk about death. They don't like to think about death. They don't even like the word death. Why? One, they don't know what's going to happen afterwards. And, two, they're not ready to meet God. I'm not afraid to die. I've known God for a long time. Many of you have too. I have a relationship with Christ. He's my friend. When I die, I'm going to go be with Him. I'm not afraid to do that.
A pastor was out doing some street witnessing. He went up to a guy and said, "Do you want to go to heaven?" The guy said no. "What? Don't you want to go to heaven?" No! "Why?" The guy said, "Oh, I thought you were taking a bus load right now!"
You need Jesus Christ in your life. You need to have a relationship with God, not cause you're going to die tonight, because you're probably not. You might, but you're probably not. You need Christ in your life because you're going to live tomorrow and you are going to die someday. Only a fool goes through life unprepared for what he knows is going to happen for sure. That's foolish. Be prepared.
The bible says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." What's heaven going to be like? We don't know all of what heaven's going to be like. But you're not going to have wings like angels. There's nothing in the Bible that says you'll have wings. And there is nothing in the bible that says you will become an angel. Angels are angels and people are people. You're not going to sit on clouds and you're not going to play the harp. That's in every commercial you ever see about heaven. White robes, harps, wings. I can't imagine anything more boring. But God made the earth in seven days and look how much fun it is here. He's been working on heaven for centuries. Imagine you're a little canary and you've spent your entire life in a cage and you think all there is to life is a little food dish, a little bar to swing on, and a mirror to look at yourself, and a bunch of bars around you. If somebody takes you out of that cage and takes you to a jungle where there's waterfalls and millions of other birds tweeting and it's free, do you think you're going to be bored? Not a chance. The Bible says, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the wonderful things that God has prepared for those who love Him." You can't imagine. God guarantees you won't be disappointed.
A third thing you need to do to build this foundation for all we're going to talk about in the weeks ahead on releasing your fears is C...
COMMIT MY FEARS AND MY LIFE TO CHRIST.
I Peter 3:14-15 (Good News) "Don't be afraid of anyone and don't worry, but have reverence for Christ in your heart and honor him as Lord."
A lot of successful people are outwardly successful but inwardly there is a gnawing insecurity that's eating them up. Outwardly, they look like they've got it all together, but inwardly they're worried thinking, Can I pull off another day's performance or will I fall flat on my face? Outwardly, they're saying to the world, "I can make it!" Inwardly, they're thinking, "Who are you kidding?" They've got their BMW, their MBA, their DVR, but they are SAD! They look good on the outside but inside they are caving in.
How many of you would say "I try to follow the Ten Commandments." How many of you know the Ten Commandments? How many of you could say the Ten Commandments? Do you know what the first commandment is? "You shall have no other gods before Me." That's the first one. Number one on God's big ten! No other gods. The Bible calls it idolatry. Idolatry is any time you put anything, any person, any career, any job, any decision, anything first place in your life instead of God. That's called idolatry. It may be a good thing that you have put there, but if it's in first place in your life where God ought to be, you've made it god. Like your family may be god, or your house, or your job, or your bank account, or your girlfriend or boyfriend. But that's called idolatry. Any time you let this happen you're setting yourself up for fear because you weren't made to live that way. Anytime anything else besides God becomes more important in your life it can be taken away from you so you're going to develop fears.
If getting people's approval is the most important thing in your life, then you'll develop a fear of losing the approval of other people. If making money is the number one goal in your life, then you'll develop a fear of losing it all. If getting married is the most important thing in your life, then you'll have a fear of never getting married or you’ll have a fear of losing your marriage. If success is the most important thing in your life, you'll develop a fear of failure. If your reputation is the most important thing in your life, you'll develop a fear of losing it and you'll have to work on your image all the time. Idolatry equals fear. Think about what makes you afraid. Is there any chance that issue could be competing with God in your life? That's why you're afraid.
The Bible says, "Don't worry! Don't be afraid of anyone. Have reverence for Christ in your heart and honor him as Lord." Circle "Lord". That's not a word we use a whole lot. We don't have lords and ladies and counts in America. This is a democracy. What does it mean to be Lord? It says honor Christ as Lord. It means let Him be the manager of your life. Let Him be the boss. Let Him call the shots. Let Him be the chairman of the board. He doesn't want to be just resident in your life, He wants to be president in your life. "God, You be number one." That's what it means to be Lord. Let God be God! To honor Christ as Lord means He's the only person you ultimately have to please.
If you really make Christ Lord of your life, then He becomes the only person ultimately you have to please, do you think that might simplify your life? Do you think it might reduce the stress? Do you think it might release the tension? If you weren't try to gain the approval of 50 people, but instead focused on one person, knowing if you do what He says to do, it's always the right thing to do. Doesn't that make sense?
The bible says, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." Imagine a garbage bag in front of you in which you cast all your worries. Fill up the garbage bag with your worries. Tie it all up and toss it out. The garbage truck comes along and picks it up. It says throw your worries on God. Why? Because He cares for you.
Peter says "Cast". There are two kinds of cast. One is you cast to throw away. You throw it and let go of it. That’s what you want to do. Another is to cast as in fishing -- you cast it out and real it back in. You don't want to do that. Let it go.
Let God be God. Resign as general manager of the universe and you'll be a whole lot more relaxed. The world does not depend on you or me. God is God and you're not! As long as you try to be God, you'll be filled with fear. You'll be filled with worry. You can't handle it all yourself. Worry is a warning light that says two things. One, it says, something has become too important to me, so I'm worrying about it. It's more important than it should be. It's taking first place in my life. Two, it means I'm trying to solve it. I'm trying to play God. I'm trying to control the issue. Both of those don't work.
This is what it means to commit your fears and your life to Christ. What kind of life will you have? The bible says "This resurrection life you receive is not a timid grave-tending life. Instead it's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a child like `What's next, papa?'" The Christian life, the life God means for you to live is an adventure. Jesus said "I have come that you might have life," not death. Not just to exist! What fear is keeping you from fully living?
A guy said, "I've had this overwhelming sense of uneasiness, emptiness, frustration. It's like pieces of the puzzle didn't fit. I thought I was having a mid-life crisis. I just realized I needed God in my life."
Maybe you feel that way. Maybe you feel like things aren't fitting together right. Maybe you've felt like things aren't falling in place and you're feeling a sense of incompleteness. What am I here for? Is this all there is? Why am I here?
If you've had those feelings, congratulations. Where do you think those feelings are coming from? That sense of "Is this all there is?" where do you think that's coming from? God is putting a hunger for Himself in your life. He's saying "I know you and I want you to know Me. I made you. I love you. I've watched everything you've done from the moment you were born." He's putting in you a dissatisfaction that says, "There's got to be more to life than this!" And, there is.
There's a God-shaped hole in each of us. Nothing else can fill it. If you don't fill it with God, it will fill with fear. Then you wonder why you're stressed out, why you worry, and why you're up tight all the time, why things just don't seem to go the way you think they ought to go. Nothing else can substitute for God. It doesn't matter how much human affirmation you get, it doesn't matter how many awards you put on your shelf, how many achievements you get, how many possessions you tend to stockpile, nothing can substitute for God in your life.
Easter is relevant all year long . The message of Easter: He came out of an empty tomb to fill our empty heart, to fill it with His love. There is no fear in love. Why don't you accept God's love today?
Why don't you accept God's love today and begin to get to know Him? You say you've fallen away from God. What do you do? Isaiah 54:7 says, "With deep love I will take you back." Come home to God today. "May God bless you richly and grant you increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear." That's my prayer for you today, that you will have increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear.
As we close, I'm going to say a prayer and I'm going to encourage you to follow me in it. Pray this prayer in your heart, "Dear God, I realize You've never stopped loving me. Today I want to accept Your love. Jesus, I believe You are who You say You are and I want to get to know You. I commit my fears and my life to You. Amen."
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