The Problem of Fear, Part 2

Tonight, we're going to talk about the very common problem of fear. Fear not, but what do we do? We say, we know you said don't do it, God, but we're going do it anyway because somebody's got to worry. So this will be me worrying about what's going to happen next. What does the Bible say about that?

I do admit you must fear, but you must only fear God. Let me give you the results of man's fears. 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. 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.

Number two. Not only does man become emotionally trapped, but man also personally trembles. Men, women literally tremble because of fear. Over in Luke chapter 21, it says this in verse number 25: "And there will be signs in the sun, and moon, and stars, and upon the earth, dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world, for the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Christ is speaking about the end times, and man fearing because of what's happening in the world. And the Bible says we are not to fear the world. We are to fear the word of God. Isaiah 66, verse number 2: God says, "To this man I will look, to him who is broken and of a contrite heart, and who shakes uncontrollably with fear under my word." We as Christians need to tremble at the word of God. We need to fear the word of God, not fear the world of man.

But what's going to happen during the end times is that man is going to be so fearful because the sky is falling, the heavens are splitting apart. The world around them is being shattered by the devastation of the trumpets and bowl judgments of God. And man becomes fearful, fearful for his own life, so much so that he begins to tremble. That's why in Revelation 14, the angel flies around in midheaven, and the very first words the angel says when he presents the gospel is, "Fear God." Everybody on earth is fearing what's happening to them, and the angel says, "Don't worry about that. You better be fearing God. Because if you don't fear God today, you will suffer forever."

And we need to realize that people personally tremble out of the fear that encompasses them. They become emotionally trapped in those cages that keep them from being what God wants them to be. And they also become spiritually timid. That's number three. Spiritually timid.

Matthew chapter 10, verse number 24. Christ says, "The disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household? Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent, and yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father? But the very hairs of your head are all numbered, therefore do not fear you are more valuable than many sparrows."

Christ says, do not fear. But one thing that happens is that we become very spiritually timid to speak out the truth of God. And Christ says, "Don't fear." What are you fearful of? In John chapter 7, it speaks of those people who were afraid to speak out because of the Jewish authorities and what they might do to those who spoke out. In John 20, verse number 19, you realize that after the resurrection of Christ, it was a week later the disciples were still in that upper room, locked away in fear for what the Jews might do to them. And Christ shows up right through the door and says, "Be not afraid. Don't be afraid."

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-discipline." Our God has given us a unique spirit, unlike anything else. And it's not the spirit of fear. So you know that if you are fearful in your spirit, it's because God is not dominant in your life. Because the Spirit God gave us is His Holy Spirit. And that's why in Acts 1:8, he says, "And you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you." You see, there is great power that comes with the Spirit of God. And we, as Christians, need to live in the realm of that power and stop living as if we are impotent people. Because God lives within us. We should be the strong ones. We should speak forth for God. We should not be afraid of what man can do to us. Speak the truth and not become spiritually timid.

You see, it's so easy for us to become fearful. Let me relate a story to you. Many of you might know this already, but it was a number of years ago, and I was coming home one Saturday night after doing some studying, and it wasn't late, and I pulled into my driveway, and when I got there, there were two cop cars. Two cop cars. And I'm thinking, man, there must have been a robbery. Somebody broke into somebody's home. And so I pull my car in the garage and I'm getting the groceries out of my car. And here come these two policemen and this other woman walking with them toward my house. I'm looking and I'm thinking, what are they doing here?

And the lady comes to me and she says, "Are you Mr. Sparks?" I said, "I am." She says, "Sir, we would like to talk with you." I said, "Sure, what do you want to talk about?" "We've received a report concerning child abuse in your home, and we need to talk to you." You know what I said? I said, "Sure, come right on in. I'd love to talk to you." So I took these groceries in and I said, "Hey, Drew, hey, Ashley, get outside, get the rest of the groceries, because these people want to talk to us." And so I brought them in and I said, "Honey, we have some policemen here. And we have a lady from child protective custody. They're concerned about child abuse in our home."

My wife was like, she just turned as white as a sheet. And I'm thinking, wow, man, this is a great opportunity to stand for God. I can't wait. So they come in, and I'm greeting them. I said, "My name is Alan. What is your name?" "He's Officer So-and-so." And you know, all macho kind of guys, you know. "How are you doing? Good to have you. Can I get you a drink? Got soda. You want something to drink? Want something to eat? You know, I just went to the grocery store, got plenty of food. What can I get for you?" You know?

And finally, the lady said she told the officers, she dismissed the officers, and she sat down in our living room. And I said, "You know, explain to me, you know, what's taking place." She said, "Well, we've had a report that there's been child abuse in your home." I said, "Really? Who reported that?" She goes, "Oh, well, we can't tell you." I said, "Oh, that's too bad. That's okay." She says, "You know, we'd like to talk to your children." I said, "Oh, I'd love to have you talk to my children. That would be a great thing." She goes, "Do you mind if I go upstairs and talk to them?" I said, "Not at all."

So I sat downstairs with Lori, and Lori is now more of a vanilla color. Okay? And so she goes upstairs to talk to our children. You know? And I don't know what she's talking to them about. She wants to talk to them alone. But see, you got to realize: I have no fear of man, nor do I fear what man can do to me. I have nothing to hide. See? So let them go up and talk.

She comes down, real nice and real sweet. She sits down and she says, "You know, Mrs. Sparks, I understand that you spank your children." I said, "Oh, absolutely." She goes, "You know, it's against the law of California for you to spank your children." I said, "Really? I said, but I don't answer to that law. I answer to a higher law, the law of God. And God demands I spank my children. And God tells me, if I don't spank them, I hate them. Let me tell you what God says: God says, if you spank him, you'll love him. I love my children." And I said, "If truth be known, the conversation you had with them upstairs would reveal that to you, wouldn't it? Let me tell you what the Bible says about spanking your children."

And she was like, "Oh, I don't want to hear what the Bible says. You know, the Law of California." I said, "You know what? It doesn't make any difference what the Law of California is. The Bible says, and I live by what the Bible says."

Let me tell you something. There was a great confidence in my home that night. A great confidence. You know why? Because God said something. And when you believe what God says, you don't fear anything else. You must believe the word of God. I had a great opportunity to explain to her our submission to a higher authority. That God is the ruler of our home. She left that night. She said, "Well, we'll be in touch with you." I said, "Great to hear."

She left, and my kids came down, and I think it was Anna who was so upset. Because she didn't get a chance to speak about how daddy spanked her. You know? You know, she wanted to tell how daddy spanked her. You know, she wanted to speak to that issue. You see? And I think that we need to realize, folks, listen, we need to be obedient to the word of God no matter what.

And as Jesus told those men, "Why is it you, of all people, are cowards? Why is it you have no faith?" None. And these were the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And sometimes I wonder what the Lord would say about us. When He sits up in heaven and says, "You know what? Why is it you don't have any faith? Why don't you believe what I say? Why don't you trust me? Why don't you have confidence in my word? Why do you take matters into your own hands? Why do you live in fear? Why is it you can't sleep at night because you're up all night fearing what's going to happen the next day? Why do you do that," God says? "Why don't you just trust me? Why don't you just give it to me?"

But you know what? We want to take it upon ourselves. Instead of giving it to our God. And that's why the word of the Lord is so important. That's why God says, "Listen to me. Listen to me. Because if you don't, when your calamity comes, I will mock you in your fear. I will laugh at you because you refuse to trust me."

You know, the Bible speaks very rarely about God laughing. But in Proverbs 1 and Psalm 2, God scoffs at his mockers. And God laughs at those who face calamity. When they fear the calamity and not fear God. Folks, those are pretty serious things. I think we need to realize what God says. I think we need to realize what the Bible says and start acting upon it and live out our faith on a daily basis.

We are born-again believers. We claim to have Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, who's given us the power of His Spirit to rule and reign in our lives. And it's about time we started acting like it. It's about time we started standing strong for God. It's about time we, of all people, would never back away from those who come against us. Why? Because we stand for the truth and will never back away from that which is true.

Now. Point number three, we are to fear. We are to fear God. And let me explain to you what that requirement means. The Bible says in Psalm 130, verse number 4, "There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared." God forgives you not so you go to heaven. God forgives you so you'll fear him. He wants you to tremble before him.

People say, "Well, you know, the fear of God, that's really just kind of having a reverence for God, a kind of respect for God." Folks, let me tell you something: that's hogwash. Fearing God is exactly what it means. It means to fear Him. Let me tell you something. I am afraid of Almighty God. I'm afraid of him because I know him and I know what he can do. And we all need to be afraid of him. That's why in Isaiah chapter 8, verse number 13, it says this: "It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy, and he shall be your fear, and he shall be your dread."

When you regard him as holy, the only response is that you're absolutely terrified of him. That's why every time you read in the Bible, people who encounter the living God, they're afraid. That's why the disciples were absolutely terrified in the boat. When they recognized the power of Almighty God, the holiness of God, there was more fear that came upon them after they recognized who He was than when they faced that storm on the sea. They realized his greatness, his majesty, and they tremendously, tremendously had great and awesome fear for God.

The reason we fear God is because, number one, it is commanded by God. It's commanded. Solomon, who wrote Proverbs, wrote Ecclesiastes 12:13, he says, "Fear God and keep his commandments." Proverbs chapter 24, verse number 21 says, "My son, fear the Lord." Folks, let me tell you something. If you're a parent, there's really truly only one thing you've got to teach your children, only one, and that's to fear God. If all you do is teach your children to fear God, you have to worry about nothing else. Nothing else. Just teach them to fear God. Fear God. If they fear God, they will keep his commandments.

The reason people don't keep the commandments of God is because they don't fear him. Teach your children to fear God. Study the book of Proverbs. Help them understand what the Bible says about not fearing man and what it means to fear God. Look at the Gospels and see how many people became afraid of God when they recognized who He was. And go through the Psalms and look what the psalmist said about learning to fear his God. Teach your children to fear God, and they'll fear nothing else. Teach them to fear only God, and they will trust him and believe in him and live for him. That's what you need to teach your children: teach them to fear God.

It's commanded by him. Over in Proverbs 23, 17, it says, "Be in the fear of God all day long." Wow. Be in the fear of God all day long. It says over in Proverbs 28, verse number 14, "Blessed is the man that fears, listen, always. Blessed is the man that fears always." He lives in the realm of fear. Not fear because of evil, not fear because of his enemy, not fear because of any man, not fear because of death, but because of the fear of Almighty God.

Number two, the fear of God is not only commanded by God, but it is connected with the knowledge of God. It's connected with the knowledge of God. Proverbs chapter 1, verse number 7: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 2, verse number 5, it says this in verse number 1: "My son, if you will receive my sayings and treasure my commandments within you. Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding. For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding. If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures. Then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God."

The fear of God is connected with the knowledge of God. When you spend time studying the Word of God, you fear God. The more you study God, the more you fear Him. The less you study God, the less you fear Him. The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom.

Number three, the fear of God is conveyed by a hatred of evil. It is conveyed by a hatred for evil. Proverbs 3, verses 7 and 8: "Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones." Don't be wise in your own eyes. Don't try to take things into your own hands. Fear the Lord. Turn away from evil. And if you do, it'll be healing to your bones. It'll be refreshment to your life.

Proverbs 8, verse number 13: "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way." Proverbs 16, verse number 6: "By loving kindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, but by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil." The fear of the Lord is conveyed by a hatred of evil. It's commanded by God. It's connected with the knowledge of God.

And number four, it is characterized by a strong confidence and trust in God. Proverbs chapter 14, verse number 26, says this: "Do not be afraid of sudden fear, nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught." Remember, we told you that the book of Proverbs is the only book written to young people. Can you imagine teaching your children those words? "Don't be afraid of sudden fear, nor the onslaught of the wicked when it comes. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught."

Proverbs 14, verse number 27: "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may avoid the snares of death." You avoid the traps of death because of the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 19, 23 says, "The fear of the Lord leads to life. So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched with evil." Isn't that good? You know why people don't sleep at night half the time? They fear something else other than the Lord.

About a year ago, I couldn't sleep. I mean, I just couldn't sleep at all. And I figured sleep was overrated because I must not need it. So I'm reading my Bible. I'm praying for you folks. And I'm thinking, "Lord, Lord, I got to get some sleep, man. I'm going to bed at 2:30, 3 o'clock, getting up at 5:30. I'm thinking, that must be all the sleep I need because I'm not tired throughout the day." This went on for about a year. You know, I had people in the church praying for me. "What's wrong with the pastor? The man can't sleep."

And I thought, you know, maybe I'm fearing something. I can't imagine what it may be. So I searched my heart, read the Bible, read Proverbs 19, verse number 23, and thought to myself, "Wow, am I fearing something here? Is there something here that I'm afraid of as a reason I'm not sleeping with ease at night?" Come to realize it was aspartame, too much Diet Coke, man. It was keeping me up all night. As soon as I got off that aspartame, man, I was sleeping like a baby. My wife says, "I can't wake that man up." I wake up at 2, 2:30 in the morning. I'm sleeping like a baby, boy. I tell you, it's great. That's stuff Diet Coke. I stopped drinking Diet Coke. I sleep great now.

But you know, the Bible says that so many times it's fears that keep us awake. But the fear of the Lord keeps one untouched by evil. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is compared to riches, honor, and life. The Bible says in Proverbs 15, verse number 16: "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and turmoil with it." Proverbs 22, verse number 4 says this, "The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life." The Bible says over in Psalm 128, "How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children like olive plants around your table. Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord."

The one who fears the Lord is the one who receives riches, honor, and life. Also, the fear of the Lord is contrasted with disobedience and lack of conviction. If you go to Genesis chapter 20, you read about Abraham and how his lack of faith led him the second time to lie about his wife, saying that she was his sister. And it caused great compromise of his testimony. And the effects of his second lie went further than anything because not only was his testimony tainted, but his son would follow in his footsteps. In his son, Isaac, would lie as well. And we got to realize that the fear of the Lord is contrasted with disobedience and a lack of conviction.

Listen to this verse: Proverbs 13, verse number 13: "The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, but the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded." If you despise the word of God, you will be destroyed by it. You will be in debt to what God says about your rebellion against that word, but a man who fears the Lord, he'll keep the commandments of God. He will be rewarded.

And number six, the one who fears God is committed to a godly lifestyle. That's the requirement for fearing God. Briefly, let me give you the reactions of those who fear God. One is this: when you fear God, you will realize the judgment of God. Psalm 119, 120 says, "My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments." Folks, let me tell you something. God judges sin. He judged our sin at Calvary in His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. But we still need to fear the judgment of God. And a man reacts to the fear of God by realizing the judgment of God, also recognizing the anger of God. Psalm 2, verses 10 to 12, talks about fearing God and kissing the hand, bowing in homage to the Son of Man and worship Him, lest He become angry with you and you be destroyed. That's Psalm 2, verses 10 to 12.

A third reaction is that he remembers the holiness of God. He remembers the holiness of God. Psalm 96:9 says, "Worship the Lord in holy attire. Tremble before Him, all the earth." A person who fears God remembers the fact that He is a holy God. And also, this: the person who fears God reacts this way. He responds to the mercy of God. He responds to the mercy of God. Over in Lamentations 3:22, it says, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."

But turn with me to Psalm 34 for a moment and listen to what the psalmist says concerning trusting in his God. Psalm 34, verse number 1. The psalmist says, "I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Then in verse 4, he says, "I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears." He delivers me from all my fears. If you seek God, He will deliver you from your fears. "They looked to him and were radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and rescues them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints. For to those who fear Him, there is no want."

What's the next word? Want. For those who fear Him, there is no want. "The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord."

Folks, let me tell you something. God says, "Listen to me, trust me, believe in me, fear me, and I will erase every other fear that you have. I will erase them all. I will save you out of all your troubles. I will protect you. Because that's the way our God is." It was Psalm 119:74 that says, "May those who fear thee see me and be glad, because I trust in thy word. May those who fear thee see me and be glad." I wonder when people see you if they are glad. Because you trust in what God has said. Let's pray.