Fear Bears Fruit
Every tree produces fruit.
With
this in mind, the article points to the various FRUIT that FEAR produces,
the fact that Faith and Fear or opposites, and how to
overcome fear with the Word of God.
I. Fear Bears Fruit.
1. Fear may cause us to make rash
decisions. (Peter rather than waiting
for instruction of Jesus, cut of the ear off the solder who came to
arrest Jesus.)
"Then
Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's
servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus"
(John 18:10).
2. Fear may cause us to run and hide.
(The is known as the flight or
fight response. King Saul and the men of Israel fled when Goliath
challenged them).
"And
all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were
sore afraid" (I Samuel 17:24).
3. Fear may cause us to seek help from
the wrong direction. (Asa looked
for help from Benhadad king of Syria rather than seeking God's help.)
"Then
Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of
the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria,
that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and
thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have
sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of
Israel, that he may depart from me" (II Chronicles
16:2-3).
4. Fear will often cause us to disobey
God's word. (When Eve believed
the the lies of the serpent, she feared that she was missing out on the
tree of knowledge of good and evil. This led her to disobey God)
"And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her; and he did eat" (Genesis 3:6).
5. Fear may cause us to seek the
approval of others more than God's
approval. (Eli, the priest, failed to sternly discipline his two
adult sons so that he could keep their approval. It was not until Eli
was quite old that he verbally rebuked them, but to no avail.)
"Wherefore
the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men
abhorred the offering of the LORD" (I Samuel 2:17). "Now Eli was very old, and heard all
that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that
assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he
said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings
by all this people" (I Samuel 2:22-23).
6. Fear may cause us to respond in
anger. (Moses responded in anger at
the people and struck the rock rather than speaking to it as God had
commanded).
"And
Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and
he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of
this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the
rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation
drank, and their beasts also." (Numbers 20:10-11)."Then
Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was
in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the
people the same time" (II Chronicles 16:10)
7. Fear may cause us run to fight the
enemy. (Saul offered a sacrifice so he could rush into battle
opposed to waiting for Samuel).
"And
Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the
people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days
appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at
Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now
upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I
forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering" (I
Samuel 13:11-12).
8. Fear may cause us to be confused.
(dismayed)
"And
the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a
man, that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard
those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid"
(I Samuel 17:10-11)
10. Fear may cause us to be weakened.
(Goliath challenged the men of
Israel for 40 days, knowing that each time they feared they would
become weaker.)
"And
the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself
forty days" (I Samuel 17:16). Nehemiah also said, "For they all made us afraid, saying,
Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now
therefore, O God, strengthen my hands" (Nehemiah 6:9).
11. Fear may cause us to focus on our
weakness, (Mephibosheth
simply saw himself as being lame and not the adopted son of the king.)
"And
he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant
said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the
king; because thy servant is lame" (II Samuel 19:26).
12. Fear may cause us to freeze in our
tracks. (When Gideon commanded
Jether to slay the enemy, he froze in his tracks).
"And
he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth
drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth"
(Judges 8:20).
13. Fear may cause us to jump from the
frying pan into the fire. (Here
is a prophecy of Isaiah).
"Fear,
and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the
fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of
the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are
open, and the foundations of the earth do shake" (Isaiah
24:17-18).
14. Fear may cause us to look for
someone to blame. (Aaron was afraid
of the scolding of Moes and blamed the people for wantimg the golden
calf.)
"And
Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the
people, that they are set on mischief" (Exodus 32:22).
15. Fear may cause us to violate a
pledge that we have made.
(Sampson feared of losing Delilah's approval which led to the breaking
of the Nazarite vow.)
"And
it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged
him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all
his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine
head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I
be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak,
and be like any other man" (Judges 16:16-17).
16. Fear may cause us to betray our
closest friends. (Peter denied
knowing Jesus when Jesus was arrested.)
"And
Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art
not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not"
(John 18:25).
17. Fear may lead us to fabricate a
lie. (Isaac lied about his wife
being his sister.)
"And
the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my
sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of
the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon"
(Genesis 26:7).
18. Fear may cause us to run from God.
(When God told Jonah to go to
preach to the people of Nineveh, he ran from the presence of the Lord.)
"But
Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and
went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid
the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish
from the presence of the LORD" (Jonah
1:3).
19. Fear may cause us to lie to dodge
facing our fault. (Gehazi followed after Naamanl to receive a reward,
but when Elisha later asked Gehazi where he went, he said that he went
no where.)
"But
he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him,
Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither"
(II Kings 5:25).
20. Fear often opens the door for what
we are afraid of to happen. (Job faced this issue.)
"For
the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was
afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest,
neither was I quiet; yet trouble came" (Job 3:25-26).
21. Fear may cause us to sacrifice
our own lives and also the lives of those who are close to us.
(For the fear of losing a years crop (produce), people sacrificed their
children upon the blazon altar of Molech.)
"And
thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech,
neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD"
(Leviticus 18:21).
22. Fear
may cause us to kept from fellowshipping with God. (Adam was
afraid of fellowshipping with God after he had sinned.)
"And he said, I heard thy voice in the
garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked; and I hid myself" (Genesis
3:10).
23. Fear may cause us to lie to God .
(Sarah to lied to God because she was afraid to tell the truth.)
"Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed
not; for she was afraid. And
he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh" (Genesis
18:15).
24. Fear may us to lose faith and sink in the middle of
the storm. (Peter began lose his faith and to sink
when he became afraid.)
"But when he saw the wind boisterous, he
was afraid; and beginning
to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me" (Matthew
14:30).
25. Fear may cause us hide the talents that God has given
to us. (Fear
kept the man in the parable from using the talent that his master had
intrusted
to him.)
"And I was afraid, and went and hid thy
talent in the earth:
lo, there thou hast that is thine" (Matthew
25:25).
26. Fear may simply hinder our faith. (Fear was a
hinderance to the disciples'
faith.)
"And he saith unto them, Why are ye
fearful, O ye of
little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and
there
was a great calm" (Matthew 8:26).
II.
FAITH IS THE OPPOSITE
OF FEAR.
1. "What
time I am afraid, I will trust in thee" (Psalms 56:3).
2. "But
when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only,
and she shall be made whole" (Luke 8:50).
3. "And
Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a
fast throughout all Judah" (II Chronicles 20:3).
4. "There
is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear
hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love"
(I John 4:18).
5. "For
ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father"
(Romans 8:15).
6. "For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7).
7. "Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me"
(Psalms 23:4).
III.
Overcoming Fear With the Word of God
ALL
of us are tempted to dwell on fear at times. However, if we continue to
entertain and meditate on that fear, then it becomes a very destructive
bondage in our lives. FEAR is a lie of the enemy and an enemy to our
faith! We need to replace the lie of fear with the Truth of God's Word
which enables us to overcome the bondage of fear. Jesus said, "And ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
Paul said, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry,
Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). Here are some basic truths:
1.The devil is the author of fear.
"They
that see thee shall narrowly
look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made
the earth totremble, that did shake kingdoms" (Isaiah 14:16).
2. Fear opens the
door for the enemy to work.
"For
the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was
afraid of is come unto me" (Job 3:25).
3. God is the author of peace.
"Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: becausehe
trusteth in thee" (Isaiah 26:3).
4. God is sovereign ruler of creation.
"Whatsoever
the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and
all deep places" (Psalm 135:6).
5. God's desire is to work everything together for our good.
"And
we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans
8:28)
6. If God is for us, no one can be against us.
"What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against
us?" (Romans 8:31).
7. If you are a Believer, the Spirit of God that is in you is greater
than the enemy in the world.
"Ye
are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is
hethat is in you, than he is in the world" (I John 4:4).
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