"Life Lessons From the Bible" Part 3
"Fear"

This is the third in a series of messages on how the Bible can provide lessons on overcoming some of the obstacles we face in life. Today we'll look at fear. The Scripture text I'm using is Psalm 34:4: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears." The Gospel is good news that the Lord can help us overcome the things we fear!

Fear is a part of life. It's a human emotion that can have a positive or a negative effect on us.

Some fears serve a very useful purpose. We want our small children to be afraid of touching hot stoves or walking onto busy streets - we worry about little ones who seem to have no fear of anything. It's good that we're afraid of what might happen if we drive 85 miles an hour on a twisting, country road. It's a very healthy thing to fear the consequences of smoking cigarettes or drinking too much alcohol or being sexually promiscuous. Some fears serve us well.

But other fears can hinder us from living joyfully and creatively! What are the things you fear?

We have a group that meets once a month to help plan our worship services around the sermon themes. When we talked about this message, we listed some of the things we can be afraid of: driving in the snow, flying in a plane (some people can be uptight and on edge the whole flight, noticing every little movement of the aircraft), being out of control, or going new places.

We can fear getting sick, or getting old, or dying. Some persons fear being alone; others fear crowds, or being with people different from them. We may fear committing to marriage. Married people may fear getting divorced. We fear surgery - anyone who says he or she has no fear going into surgery is probably not being honest! Over four years ago when I had surgery for prostate cancer, although I was not a basket case of worry, there was some fear there - fear as I was going through the preliminary tests, that they would show the cancer had spread. Fear of the actual surgery - would it go ok? And what would it be like afterwards?

Some of us may be reluctant to admit that we're afraid of certain things. We may see it as a sign of weakness. I guess guys, in particular, have a hard time admitting they're afraid. This image of the tough "macho guy" - "I'm not afraid of nuthin!" Nancy and I went to Hawaii last March. It's something we had hoped to do for our 25th wedding anniversary. It didn't happen. Finally, about 12 years later we went. Nancy wanted to go snorkeling. I could take it or leave it. But we signed up for a day of snorkeling - where they had someone show you how and accompany your group in the water. But we backed out of that excursion and went to a beach where you could do different activities, one of which was snorkeling. But you just grabbed your gear out of a big tub, and were left on your own to figure out what to do. I put this mask on, and tried to adjust it right and get the feel of it. Finally I ventured out a ways from shore into deeper water. Then the mask started filling with water. I started to panic a bit. I can swim, but I'm not a strong swimmer. And the thought raced through my head, "Isn't this lovely. Finally get to Hawaii, and drown!" But I collected my thoughts, and with my heart somewhat pounding, I managed to swim to shore. That was enough snorkeling for that day (maybe for the rest of my life!).

Now those of you who are good swimmers or good at snorkeling may be snickering and thinking, "What a wuss!" But I'll tell you what. Why don't you come up here and preach a sermon! For some of you, that could be an unnerving experience. See, we all fear different kinds of things. The things that rattle you may be a cinch for someone else! In one of the churches that I pastored there was this guy in the choir who was a State Police detective. Burly, tough guy. One Sunday he was slated to sing a solo. A few days before he was to sing, I was outside our house and he passed by in his State Police car. He pulled over and asked me to get in. He confided how nervous he was about singing on Sunday. He said, "You know, I just apprehended a murderer and I wasn't afraid (he picked up that evening's newspaper and showed me a front page picture of himself with this handcuffed criminal), but I'm scared to death of singing a solo."

We all have our fears. Or maybe we’re struggling with some sort of phobia. We can have a phobia about snakes or bees or high places or confined spaces. I did a web search under "phobia" and found that the list of phobias is exhaustive! There is the fear of books -
Bibliophobia (a lot of students seem to have that!); then there is the fear of mother-in-laws - Pentheraphobia! Fear of anything new – Neophobia (a lot of church people have that!).
The fear of things on the left side of your body – Levophobia. And fear of things on the right side of your body – Dextrophobia. Would you believe there is the fear of sermons -
Homilophobia! And the fear of Friday the 13th - Paraskavedekatriaphobia (I'm not even going to try to pronounce that!).

But our text from Psalm 34 says, "I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears" (Psalm 34:4).

What was the Psalm writer's secret for overcoming his fears? He says, “I sought the Lord”. God in his life was the antidote for his fears.

The place to begin to overcome our fears is to know God and to trust in God. The psalmist talks about fearing the Lord. "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord" (Psalm 34:7-11). Isn't it interesting? The cure for living in fear is to fear the Lord!

This phrase, “the fear of the Lord” is very common in the Old Testament. It is reverence and respect for God, but it's more than that. It means you bow before the awesomeness of God. We are sinful creatures; God is holy Creator. It’s that healthy recognition of God’s holiness that causes you to bow in absolute surrender. It’s a description of our true condition before God: We are not equals! And the only way we can have a relationship with God is to realize this, and bow before Him in worship and submission. Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 128:1: “Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways.” And Proverbs 14:26-27 tell us: "In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence…the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.” Notice, it’s this “fear of the Lord” that leads to life and erases many of our worldly fears!

A lot of the debilitating fears that people have are because they don’t “fear the Lord”- they don’t have God in their life and don’t have a relationship with God. If we have God in our life and trust in God, we don’t have to be afraid of death, for example. We have Christ's promises for eternal life. We don’t have to be nearly as afraid when we face surgery, because we know God will be with us. We don’t have to panic if we lose our job, because we can commit ourselves to God’s will and believe He will provide our needs. This kind of fear-reduced living is expressed in another psalm. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh - my adversaries and foes - they shall stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident"(Psalm 27:1-3).

When you "fear the Lord", you don’t have to be afraid of and hyper about what people will do to you, because your life is not in their hands. It’s in God’s hands. Psalm 118:6 says, "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?” Isaiah 41:10 eloquently expresses God’s promise to those who have Him in their life: "Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” The great missionary-evangelist E. Stanley Jones said, “When we don’t belong to God, we do belong to fear.”

Maybe you don’t have God in your life. Jesus came so we could know God and experience God. Turn from your sins and surrender your life to Jesus. And because He is God, He will come into your life and take away a lot of your fears! How often did Jesus say to His disciples, “Do not fear”. “Don’t be afraid”.

Let’s be honest here, however. There are times when, even if you're a Christian, you have
to struggle to overcome certain fears. So here are some steps we can take to conquer our fears.

1. Admit your fears. We all have them at times. There’s no shame in that. It’s part of being human. It doesn’t mean you’re not a Christian or you don’t have faith. Don’t pretend to be macho man or superwoman. Name your fear: “Ok, I admit I’m afraid to…I’m afraid of…”.

2. Remember that a lot of our fears are foolish. Many of the things we fear never materialize. Living in fear is a stupid way to live. Sometimes it helps to laugh at our fears. Go to a mirror. Look at the worried look on your face. What good is all of
that fretting doing you? Then burst out laughing at how foolish you are.

3. Surrender your fears to God. This sounds easy, but it’s often hard to do. But turn your fears over to the Lord. Then He has them, not you. Give your fears over to God and focus on God, not the thing you fear.

For example, instead of concentrating on the fear, give thanks to God. Praise God! The writer of Psalm 34 praised God in the midst of his fears! He said, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1). His whole life was filled with praise to God! Sometimes we can be so focused on the thing of which we're afraid that we lose sight of God – His power, His glory, His goodness, His faithfulness, His promises, His mercy! The next time you're afraid of something, start praising God! Even if that's the last thing in the world you feel like doing, do it anyway! There isn't enough room in us to house both praise and fear. Pick praise if you have to choose between the two. Surrender your fears to God. And if they come back, turn them over again to Him.

4. Do the thing you fear. A young man had a phobia for walking in alleyways. So, he deliberately went into every alley he could find. He got over his fear of alleyways. I heard church consultant Bill Easum tell of surviving a plane crash, and afterwards having a terrible fear of flying. But his job as a consultant took him all over the country. After trying to keep his commitments traveling on land, he realized he would have to fly in order to continue his work. So what did he do? He took flying lessons and got his pilot’s license and overcame his fear of flying!

Overcoming deep-rooted fears or phobias may mean we have to overcome them in small steps or increments. For example, if you're afraid to get up in public and speak and you have to do that or want to learn, practice before a few people (a few friends, or family members, or even in front of your dog or cat or both). If you're afraid of teaching a class or leading a group, you may want to assist someone who does it well, then ask that person to sit with you and coach you as you lead. Then, when you gain more confidence, try it on your own. It's like climbing a ladder - you take it one step at a time.

The writer of Psalm 34 said: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4). That’s a great word of hope for us as we try to overcome the things we fear!

Harry L. Kaufhold, Jr.
Sermon preached at Lititz United Methodist Church
January 20, 2008

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