1. Fear prevents us from obeying God.
2. Belief in the sovereignty of God shatters all fear.
3. Fear causes doubt in the character of God.
4. Nothing enters our lives without God’s approval.
5. An unprepared mind promotes fear.
6. RSP 24/7
- Mat 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. (12) Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
- Php 1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
- 2Ti 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
We have seen there is a healthy fear for the believer – the reverent fear of obeying God.
Then there is an unhealthy fear, fear that prevents us from experiencing the blessings of God; fear that prevents us from obeying His will or the principles taught in the Scriptures. These are the giants in our spiritual landscape.
There are two reactions to fear which is anything we perceive, whether real or imagined, that poses a threat to our well-being: flee or fight. Or another way of saying it is retreat or advance, turning away from God’s will for fear of difficulty, pain, danger, et cetera or advancing or obeying God’s will despite the circumstances.
There is a third possible reaction which I call freezing. This is the procrastination, vacillation, doing nothing, not going forward or backwards, in neutral, lukewarm, paralyzed, and indecisive. A non-decision is still a decision. Let’s call fleeing or freezing what it really is – sin, which is a rebellion against God. Isn’t this what Joshua and Caleb passionately pleaded with the children of Israel to avoid in Numbers 14:9, Do not rebel against the LORD.
We mentioned last week that unhealthy fear is spiritual cowardice; faithlessness makes cowards of us all. In our spiritual landscape, we do not step on landmines accidentally but willing. There are no victims of fear, only volunteers.
Let’s examine the process of stepping on the landmine of fear.
1. There is disappointment or frustration of the circumstances. Things did not go the way we expected. We were let down. The children of Israel expected to waltz right into the Promise Land and expected that God would do all the butt-kicking just like He did with the Egyptians. It would be a piece of cake. They found out quickly that faith cost something. People will always take advantage of that which cost them nothing.This is why we must guard our hearts with all diligence. Our disappointments are God’s appointments because nothing enters our lives without God’s approval. We need to keep our disappointments in perspective. Left unchecked, it can be the beginning of our explosive trip to the landmine of fear. Left to our own devices we wind up getting our bang for the unbelief that Yahweh is sovereign.
2. Disappointment leads to doubt. There is doubt that the will of God can be done in a particular situation.
3. Then discouragement sets in. When the Latin prefix dis is attached to the word courage it adds a “privative, negative, or reversing force to the word” (Dictionary.com). We view courage as one who is brave in the face of difficulty, danger, pain, or whatever without fear. Courage is acting in accordance of one’s belief regardless of the circumstances. Dis separates courage from behavior and replaces it with fear because of the circumstances. Instead of going forward in obedience to God, we are retreating like the children of Israel at Kadesh Barnea.
Remember Deuteronomy chapter one from last week. The people of the land are greater and taller, the walls of the cities reach unto the heavens, and giants live in the land. Eyes are focused on the circumstances and not God. Doubt creeps in. The giants are preventing us from obeying God and experiencing the blessings of obedience. We are discouraged. There is a privative, negative, and reversal in our attitude and obedience to God. This is an unhealthy fear.
4. Then there is despair and dismay. All hope is lost or gone. Unbelief sets in like cement. There is this prevailing sense that nothing will turn out right. Demoralized, wrong thoughts of God are surfacing – God hates us and intends to destroy us (Deut 1:27). Let us return to Egypt (Num 14:4, Egypt is a type of the world) was the despondent cry of the children of Israel after hearing the spies’ hyperbolic report at Kadesh Barnea.
Dr. Charles Stanley nailed it when he said, Every fear is shattered on a single truth: God is sovereign [emphasis, mine], and He will not leave us in what appears to be a helpless situation (MasterWork, Summer, p. 150).
Remember when the spies were giving their negative report, they claimed, we are not able to go up (Num 13:31). What this really meant was that God was not able to overcome these obstacles. Caleb, on the other hand, said, We are well able to overcome it (Num 13:30). God is able, in other words. He promised us the land; He promised to be with us; He promised to fight for us; we can do this thing.
What made Caleb different than the ten faithless spies was that he had a different or another spirit and followed God fully (Num14:24). The LORD said of Caleb, he wholly followed Me (Num 32:11). Caleb followed God with his whole heart and not half-heartedly. Half-heartedness is fear prone and circumstance driven; whole heartedness is faith prone and Spirit driven.
Fear causes doubt in the character of God. Unhealthy fear promotes a wrong view of God – we are not able to go up. Fear attacks the character of God. There are at least five attributes that are brought into question when the landmine of fear is set off.
- God is not omnipotent (all powerful) – He doesn’t have the ability to alter the circumstances. God can be circumvented (Gen 1:1; Rev 1:8; 19:6).
- God is not omniscient (all knowing) – He doesn’t know my situation and unable to address it. Everybody thinks their situation is unique – nobody knows what I am going through. God does (Prov 15:3; Heb 4:13; Rom 11:33)!
- God is not omnipresent (all present, everywhere present) – God is not there for me. He has abandoned me and because He is not present He doesn’t care. He left us to face the circumstances alone. That doesn’t sound like David’s God in Psalm 23:4, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me (Psa 139:7; Heb 13:5).
- God is not omnisapient (all wise) – How could God allow this to happen. For what purpose? What wisdom is this (Rom 11:33; Col 2:3)?
- God is not a God of love. How could a God of love allow this to happen? God hates us and intends to destroy us (Deut 1:27; cf. Jer 9:11; Rom 5:8). There is no greater demonstration of God’s love than at the cross at Calvary. Whenever you question God’s love go back to the cross. The devil or his emissaries will attempt to draw your attention to the circumstances, but look to the cross instead.
Here are a couple of verses showing we are in the Father’s care.
· Joh 10:29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.All this challenging of God’s attributes is coming from where? Ignorance and demonic influence. Remember when we talked about unhealthy fear opening the door to demonic influence? Fear only gives demons ammunition to use against us.
· Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. This verse would be meaningless if God was not sovereign.
· Rom 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written: "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER." (37) Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (38) For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Faith acknowledges the circumstances but never capitulates to it. In other words faith surrenders only to the will of God regardless of the circumstances. Let me give two examples, Job and Jesus.
· Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.So, how do we avoid stepping on the landmine of fear?
· Mat 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (cf. vv. 42, 44).
As we said earlier unhealthy fear promotes an incorrect view of God. A pre-existing view of God that is contrary to the Scriptures will more than likely lead to disobedience when trials and tribulations occur.
Fear results from an unprepared mind.
To avoid the landmine of fear we need to see the LORD’s instructions to Joshua prior to crossing over the river Jordan. It is approximately 38 years later since the spy report and the giants were still in the land; the walls of the cities were still high, and the people were still greater and taller. What has changed with the Israeli invaders? Attitude, forty years in the desert, watching all the men 20 or older die in the wilderness and those who sided with the spies created a change of heart. We need to move forward; I am weary of going in circles. Disobedience simply does not pay. I don’t want my carcass winding up in the wilderness due to disobedience; if I die I want my body to be found in the will of God.
What we must do to avoid the landmine of fear is really basic or fundamental. You may be looking for something out of this series on fear that you don’t know or haven’t heard, but I assure you; you all know the answer already. I was teaching a class on biblical success years ago, and I had this businessman, an influential deacon in our church, who attended the first session.
My premise for biblical success was “knowing and doing the will of God for your life” based on Joshua 1:8 (On a side note in the KJV the English word success is only found once here in this verse; five times it is found in the NKJV). Anyway, he never attended the rest of the sessions. I think he was disappointed in the proper definition of biblical success. He failed to realize that sometimes the profundity of God’s truth gets lost in its simplicity.
Avoiding the landmine of fear is similar in that it is stuff you already know and may be doing. I gave you the acronym of RSP which stands for read, study, and pray. That’s it! That’s how you can avoid the landmine of fear! But let me add one other thing: RSP 24/7.
The reason landmines are detonating in the lives of many believers is that they are getting away from the fundamentals. When we get our eyes off Christ all we are going to see are the circumstances sending a message back to us – “God’s will can’t be done in this situation.” “Abandon ship! Abandon ship!” As I stated earlier, unhealthy fear results from an unprepared mind. Remember these words of David found in Psa 119:11, Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. This speaks of how important David’s relationship to God was to him.
Charles Stanley said this about RSP,
The single most important activity you can do each day is to pray. Reading and studying God’s Word are just as important, but it is in prayer that you learn to worship God and hear His voice speaking to you through His Word and the presence of the Holy Spirit (MasterWork, Summer, p. 151). Keep in mind God can’t speak to us through His Word while we are praying if we haven’t got anything in the tank!
Stanley went on to say,
People who do not read and study God’s Word are like ships without rudders. They may be floating, but there is no real sense of direction in their lives (MasterWork, Summer, p. 151).
Reading alone is not going to cut it; studying alone is not going to cut it; and praying alone is not going to cut it! All three must be done.
Let’s take a look at Joshua 1:5-9.
Jos 1:5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
Jos 1:6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Jos 1:7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
Jos 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Jos 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
- Three times Josh is told by Yahweh to be strong (or determined) and of good courage. In fact the LORD was emphatic in verse 7 – be very courageous. Just as peace does not mean the absence of conflict; courage does not mean the absence of fear. To do God’s will despite the circumstances takes determination and courage. This is why God placed emphasis on this. Faith requires determination and courage. This sounds like words you would hear on the battlefield. The Christian life is a spiritual battle – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12). We need to harness our fear or it will harass us. How do we harness our fear? Belief in God’s sovereign presence – twice God promised to be with Joshua (vv. 5, 9).
- Whatever Joshua speaks is not to be contrary to the Word of God – Josh 1:8, This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth. Why is this so important? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Leadership must set the example.
- Why is Joshua to meditate (lit, chew the cud) on the Word of God all the time?
- So that he can observe to do according to all that is written in it (the Book of the Law, the Word of God, the Torah) Joshua 1:8. We can’t observe to do what we don’t know as we make our way in the world if we don’t RSP all the time during our busy schedule. Bear in mind that Joshua had an army to lead, a war to fight, and the logistical challenges of two to three million people. But God still demanded that His Word occupied his mind 24/7. Where did Joshua find the time? What this teaches us is that God expects this from us regardless of our schedules – RSP 24/7 from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation.
- Meditating is important because we have a tendency to forget the good things that God has already done for us and only focus on the present negative circumstances. Let me give an example of this. Let’s pretend I am your boss. I show you a white piece of paper and comment that the white represents all the good things I have said about you in your work performance. I now put a dot on the lower right corner of the paper. I show you the paper and ask, “What do you see?” You see the dot don’t you! Let’s suppose that this small black dot represents a negative thing I have to say about your performance. Your mind is only focused on the dot that symbolizes a negative performance. In fact that is all you can see. You don’t even thing about the rest of the page which is flooded with good stuff about and for you. Now your boss is not so cool because a negative circumstance entered into your work performance. A "blemish" on our life. This is exactly what we do to God. We can have a whole page of white circumstances in our lives then the dark circumstance arrives that doesn’t meet with our approval or expectation, and all we can think about is that one particular present circumstance and completely forget all the white circumstances that God has done for us. God is not so cool now…. Biblical meditation helps us to recall God’s blessings in our lives (those white areas) as well as teach us obedience to the principles of Scripture (the dark areas). Oh, so often we fail to see the goodness of God because of some nebulous circumstance enters our lives. God loves us so much, beloved, how could we ever doubt the goodness of God? Sadly, we do because our focus shifts from Christ and refocuses on the circumstances. We get disappointed which leads to doubt, discouragement, and despair. Kaboom!
Deu 30:19-20 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; (20) that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
This is the only way we can defeat the giants and experience the blessings of God - a personal relationship with God that leads to obedience. You catch all that in the last passage quoted? If we step on a landmine it's our choice.
We cannot afford to wait until we step on a landmine to seek the Lord, to learn of Him and His ways. It cannot be stressed enough that fear results from an unprepared mind. In cases like this it is very difficult recovery for landmine volunteers for several reasons:
1. They don’t love the Lord; RSP is virtually non-existent. They don’t foster any desire for a relationship with God. These are the prime candidates for detonation! You can’t observe what you don’t know. Because we have the complete revelation of God from Genesis to Revelation (66 books); we are without excuse.The result of RSP 24/7 is – For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Josh 1:8). The English word success could not have been more well place than in Joshua 1:8, KJV.
2. They don’t fear the Lord. Stanley says, Each one of us needs to maintain a godly sense of fear. It is a reverent fear for God that reflects our desire to worship, honor, and obey Him. We recognize that He is holy and worthy of all our praise (MasterWork, Summer 2010, p.151). He quotes Psa 34:9; Prov 9:10.
3. They hold to a wrong view of God usually before the explosion (cf. Deut 1:29-33).
4. They go Humpty Dumpty – they never get it back together and live our their lives until they drop dead in the wilderness....
We are not going to always understand the whys and the wherefores of the circumstances that takes us by storm or calm. But having a right view of God that He is the sovereign Lord destroys fear for only a sovereign Lord could bring about Romans 8:28. The circumstances may not be good but the outcome always will be. We need to keep our focus in the midst of trials and tribulations on Christ and not the circumstances that He allowed to enter our lives.
Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [Witnesses refer to those mentioned in Hebrews 11 that obtained a good testimony through faith. ], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Let me quote Paul again from 2 Tim 3:12, Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
Jesus said, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me (Mt 16:24).
Faith acknowledges the circumstances but never capitulates to it. In other words faith only surrenders to the will of God.
The simple truth of God’s sovereignty shatters all fear.
· Fear prevents us from obeying God.
· Belief in the sovereignty of God shatters all fear.
· Fear causes doubt in the character of God.
· Nothing enters our lives without God’s approval.
· An unprepared mind promotes fear.
· RSP 24/7
Defuse or detonate?
