WHY ARE YE FEARFUL?

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   Human beings are filled with emotions.

1.    Some of our emotions are positive:  compassion, joy, and zeal.

2.    Some of our emotions are negative:  anger, envy, and hate.

 

B.   In this lesson, we want to address an emotion that most of learn that we have from a very young age.

1.    We may have experienced it when we tried to go to sleep in the dark.

2.    We may have experienced it when we got lost from our parents for a few minutes.

3.    We may have experienced it when we went to school for the first time.

4.    We may have experienced it when someone bullied us.

5.    We may have experienced it when we played our first ballgame or concert.

6.    We may have experienced it when we asked that first girl out on date.

7.    We may have experienced it when we were able to get behind the wheel of a car.

 

C.   Yes, it is the emotion of fear.

 

D.   In the right scenario, fear might be a good thing.

1.    It alerts us to a danger.

2.    It causes us to either fight or take flight.

 

E.   Fear, however, is usually negative in nature.  The Bible has a lot to say about fear.

1.    Fear:  84 times in 78 verses

2.    Feareth:  4 times in 4 verses

3.    Feared:  19 times in 19 verses

4.    Fearing:  7 times in 7 verses

5.    Fearful:  6 times in 6 verses

6.    This makes for a total of 120 times the word “fear” or a form of it is found in just the New Testament alone.

 

F.    The title of our lesson is:  “Why Are Ye Fearful?”

 

I.             EXPLANATION

 

A.   Why did we choose this title?

 

B.   The answer is twofold.

1.    This question was asked by Jesus to His disciples when they experienced the storm on the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 8:26; Mark 4:40).

 

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful?...

 

2.    The Bible exhorts us not to fear, but we do.

a.    Luke 12:32

 

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

 

b.    2 Timothy 1:7

 

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

 

c.    Hebrews 13:6

 

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

 

II.           EXPERIENCES

 

A.   Nature’s fury

1.    Many of us have experienced the wrath of nature:  thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, fires, droughts, locust, etc.

2.    When nature raises its hand against us, we realize just how weak and frail we are.

3.    The disciples (Matt. 8:24)

 

And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with water…

 

B.   Unexpected, surprising phenomenon

1.    In the opening two chapters of Luke’s gospel, angels appear three times:  Zachariah, Mary, and the shepherds in the field.

a.    Angels are invisible spirit beings unless they manifest themselves to individuals. 

b.    When these heavenly messengers appeared to the individuals mentioned, their first words were “Fear not.” 

2.    In the first chapter of the Revelation, John sees a remarkable image of the Christ. 

a.    John’s reaction is recorded in Revelation 1:17.

 

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead…

 

b.    In that same verse, the Bible tells us that Jesus laid his right hand on John, and said:  “Fear not; I am the first and the last.”

 

C.   Uncertainties of life

1.    Most individuals are deeply concerned about the basic necessities of life:  food, clothing, and shelter.  This is especially true if you are a parent with children.

2.    Sometimes we fear that will not have enough to provide the essentials of life.

3.    In the context of Luke 12:32 that we read in the previous section of this lesson, Jesus is talking about the necessities of life (Luke 12:22).

 

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

 

D.   Men who can harm us

1.    Three times in John’s gospel we read the phrase, “for fear of the Jews.”

a.    No man spake openly about him for fear of the Jews (John 7:13).

b.    Joseph of Arimathaea was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews (John 19:38).

c.    After the crucifixion of Jesus, the apostles assembled, but shut the doors for fear of the Jews (John 20:19).

2.    Jesus knew that we could have such fear and exhorted against it in Matthew 10:28.

 

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul..

 

E.   Perceived threats (1 Cor. 2:3)

 

And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

 

F.    Death

1.    In Hebrews 2:15, we read about those who have a fear of death.

2.    In Luke 8:49, Jairus who had come to Jesus asking him to heal his daughter was told that his daughter had died.  “But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, “Fear not…” (Luke 8:50).

3.    Death just has that eerie feeling that tortures the hearts of men when it is mentioned and especially when it is experienced.

 

III.         ELIXIRS

 

A.   Faith

1.    When the disciples were fearful of the storm, Jesus asked:  “Why are ye fearful?”  However, He did not stop there.  He also said:  “O ye of little faith” (Matt. 8:26).

a.    Prior to this event, they had witnessed several miracles of Jesus (Matt. 8:1-17).  Thus, His power had been on full display before them.

b.    If Jesus could heal the lepers, cleanse the woman with an issue of blood, raise the dead, cure one of a fever, and cast out demons, surely He could calm a storm.

c.    If they had had absolute trust and confidence in the Christ, they would not have feared.

2.    When Jairus learned of his daughter’s death, Jesus said:  “Fear not:  believe only…” (Luke 8:50).

 

B.   Knowledge

1.    Paul began his ministry in Corinth in fear.

2.    Through a vision, the Lord communicated with Paul (Acts 18:9-10).

 

…Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:  for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee:  for I have much people in this city.

 

3.    Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and six months, “teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:11).

 

C.   Strength

1.    Part of our defense against fear is “power” (2 Tim. 1:7).

 

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

 

2.    There are several forms of strength that will diminish fear:  physical power, mental power, emotional power, and the power of God.

 

D.   Experience

1.    Experience gives us the ability to overcome fear.

2.    Paul had experience dealing with the Jews and Judaizing teachers of his day. 

a.    He had dealt with them in the Gentile churches (Acts 14:2, 19).

b.    He dealt with them at Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-29).

c.    Thus, when Peter succumbed to the temptation to withdraw from the Gentiles, Paul was not afraid to withstand him to the face (Gal. 2:11).

 

E.   Courage

1.    Courage is defined as “having heart.”

2.    The heart is the mind of man.

a.    We should fill it with the Word of God (Col. 3:16).

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly in all wisdom…

 

b.    This Word is extremely powerful (Heb. 4:12).

 

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…

 

F.    Support

1.    Alone we are often very weak, even if we are faithful and knowledgeable servants of Christ.

2.    We need support.  That support makes us strong.

a.    Jesus sent the disciples two by two on the Limited Commission (Mark 6:7).

b.    Paul had much support:

1)    His mission teams always had men with him:  1^st journey, Barnabas; 2^nd journey, Silas and Timothy.

2)    Paul had fellowsoldiers who helped him (Phil. 2:25).

3)    He had helper in Christ Jesus (Rom. 2:4).

4)    He had fellowlabourers (Phil. 1:24).

3.    NOTE:  Much of that support will come to us from the local congregation.  If we withdraw from the church that support is no longer with us.

4.    If we have no support from others, we always know that we have the support of our Lord (Heb. 13:5).

 

..for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   We did not include this point, but we could have.  There are EVILS of fear.

1.    It paralyzes our efforts.

2.    It causes us to run from our station of duty.

3.    It strengthens the enemy.

4.    It makes the church weak before the world.

5.    It causes us to lose important battles.

 

B.   There is only one we truly need to fear, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ.

1.    “…but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).

2.    “…let us have grace, whereby we may serve God with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28).

3.    “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?...” (Rev. 15:4).