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Mar 05, 2023

Fearless

Fearless

Speaker: Dennis Gallaher

Category: Sunday Morning

How do we stop anxiety?

Anxiety tops the list of stressors and it especially paralyzes young adults today. Anxiety is defined as a feeling of worry and apprehension that leads to avoidance of relationships and productivity in life. It paralyzes the future. Ask yourself... are you being controlled by anxious thoughts? Wondering about the future? Paralyzed for fear of failure? Thoughts of impending failure? Afraid of being abandoned?

The opposite of the above fear and anxiety is hope in Jesus Christ. Are you in need of hope? Do you want to be free from fear that cripples? Hope is the antidote for fear, anxiety, and depression. Jesus promises a life of abundance. Jesus was abundant in His giving... in His healing. John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. We can begin to walk out of the "steal - kill - destroy" of Satan and have life abundantly with Jesus. Jesus wants us to know that the thief wants to steal, kill, and destroy our lives. Satan wants to make us believe that we are worth nothing. Jesus is the opposite - giving life abundantly! Colossians 1:27 To whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... This hope is alive through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death. Those who believe in Jesus have hope no matter the circumstances and difficulties - a living hope reflecting the glory of Jesus. 

How do we get this living hope? Ask the Lord to open our eyes to His Word. Ephesians 1:18-19 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. Hope is not wishful thinking but is a knowing that Jesus is within us. Have you lost hope? Trust in Jesus to give hope, to restore hope, and to rebuild hope. 

To solve a problem, you need to know the root of it. This root of fear is found in Genesis. Fear was a part of creation deposited in Adam - the fear of the Lord. Godly fear is full of grace. Godly fear keeps us from trouble. Godly fear is the final boundary between faith and sin. Genesis 2:15-17 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.” This was God giving mercy and putting godly wisdom into Adam; it was the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This was the first fear that told Adam that God was kind, merciful, and loving. 

The next time fear is in the Bible is after sin had corrupted earth. Genesis 3:8-10 Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you? He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” The fear changed from godly fear to a devil's fear. This is the birth of anxiety - of godless fear; it is corruption of godly fear. 

Jesus came to set us free from it all. So many times Jesus said, "Be not afraid." Jesus came to return abundant life to us. Jesus came to set us free. Luke 12:32 Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom. Embrace this truth in our hearts... no matter...

  • no matter what we are anxious about
  • no matter what you are fearful about
  • no matter what you are afraid of
  • no matter what you've been through
  • no matter where you are in career, marriage, schooling, parenting, personal life...

Jesus Christ has come to set us free and release the bondage of fear that we have. Open our eyes and thank Jesus that He has come to set us free from this bondage of fear and anxiety. Embrace Jesus' promise to give new hope. He will gladly give the kingdom of God - righteousness, peace, joy.

How do we conquer godless fear? Godless fear is not knowing or believing who the Father is. Hope is the antidote to crippling fear and anxiety. Hope comes from simply knowing God.

Moses wanted to know God for himself without rumors or hearsay. And God answered... Exodus 34:6-7a Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin...We can know this God too... compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.

Then the statement that follows tells of the holiness of God. Exodus 34:7b ...Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations. Do we really want to break the power of fear and anxiety in our lives? 

  • Recognize that fear of the future is from Satan.
  • Recognize that hope is from a compassionate, loving God.
  • God wants to give us that kind of hope as He comes alongside of us and will never leave us.
  • Therefore, we have hope - the antidote for fear, anxiety, and depression.
  • This hope will have enemy attacks that try to keep us from the abundant life in Jesus Christ.

Fear paralyzes. Hope energizes. Fear lies and deceives. Hope sets us free with the truth about God. Fear isolates us. Hope is the constant companion of the believer. Fear judges and condemns. Hope forgives and is compassionate.

If we don't know Jesus, then we will fear God for all the wrong reasons. Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. This is hope. Accept the free gift of Jesus and become a child of God as you pray... God, You are right and I am wrong. Come into my life and forgive me of my sin, take away my guilt and make me Your child. Amen.

Notice the disciples became fearless after the Holy Spirit came and indwelt them. Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Are you living with fear? with anxiety?
How do you want hope restored in your life?
How would you speak to a friend about being crippled with fear?