Fear-what are you afraid of?

Fear...it seems we all have something we are afraid of. We are going to start a series on fear and what the bible says about fear. So sit back and let's see what God says about fear.



I googled the top 10 fears...while this list varied a little depending on which site you looked at here is what I found. See if any of these are on your list:



1. Flying

2. Public Speaking

3. Heights

4. The dark

5. Fear of intimacy

6. Death

7. Failure

8. Rejection

9. Spiders

10. Commitment



The order of some of these surprised me. I thought death would be at the top of the list! What exactly is fear? Here is how it is defined:



Fear: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, ect., whether the threat is real or imagined.



It has been said that the phrase "fear not" or "do not be afraid" is said 365 times in the bible, although this is not true it is said over 100 times in the KJV version of the bible. Said enough times to get the point!



We need to ask ourselves a critical question...why does a follower of Jesus fear?



Could it be it says much about our faith or trust in Jesus? Or could it be the devil just knows how to push our buttons to keep our focus off of God? Or maybe something else?



Well let's go to our guide book for life, the bible, and see what God says about fear!



1. When serving God what are we to fear?





Isaiah 41:8-10



8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,

Jacob whom I have chosen,

The descendants of Abraham My friend.

9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,

And called from its farthest regions,

And said to you,

‘You are My servant,

I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

10 Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’



God says when serving Him we are not to fear anything! This same kind of message from God is said many times to the servants of God. Abraham, David, Soloman, Daniel, and more are all told...fear not! God is with You! We have that same promise...God is with us! Hmmm where have I heard that before?



Matthew 1:23

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”



We have nothing to fear in this life! Jesus is with us and sent the helper (Holy Spirit) to be with us after He ascended back to heaven.



So think about this...if you have given your life to Jesus, then we are his servants and should be serving Him on a daily basis. God says to His servants not to fear because He is with us, will strengthen us, help us, and uphold us with His righteous right hand which is representing His power! I don't know about you but that's all I need to know! I am in God's hand!



So are you a follower of Jesus? Are you in service to your King? Then you having nothing to fear...God is in control!



Tom