Fight Fear With Fear

Andrew Dyck

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Intro

*Open with story of Malachi catching a fish*

*Show picture*

There’s Always a Bigger Fish

“There is always a bigger fish” Star Wars quote

*Show video clip*

Our fears are prioritized; bigger fears drive away smaller fears

Fear of water < fear of child drowning; fear of inflation < fear of losing your job; fear of heights < fear of peer pressure

*Talk about covid-related fears dropping away at Mom’s terminal diagnosis*

You will know your greatest fear; it pushes others away

The fear of God is the biggest fish; it is bigger than any other fear

Cf. Luke 12:4-7.

What can flesh do to you? What can the world do to you? Only things that affect the “here and now”

But God is powerful to affect not only this life, but the life to come!

He is the one who will judge you… uncomfortable warning

Jesus acknowledges God’s power and authority, but gives us a comforting reminder using “how much more”:

You are of more value than many sparrows; you are valued by God, so FEAR NOT

Proper fear of God delivers us from the grip of all other fear

Fear vs. Fear

We do not fear God in the same way we fear other things

Greek word in Luke 12 is “phobeo,” where we get “phobia” from

Common usage refers to feelings of fear and terror

Like being afraid of the dark; heights; public speaking, etc.

It can also be used to describe awe and reverence towards God

Where you are reminded of how big He is and how small you are in comparison… wow!

In order to fight the grip of fear in our life, we need to recapture the fear (awe, reverence) of God

*Talk about hesitancy with “Jesus is my boyfriend” worship songs*

“How He Loves Us” - “When heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest”

“Draw Me Close To You” - “You are my desire and no one else will do, ‘cause nothing elase can take Your place to feel the warmth of Your embrace”

“You’re Beautiful” - “I see your face in every sunrise, the colours of the morning are inside your eyes”

Are these songs wrong? No! Are they bad? No! But they may echo a church culture where we begin to value intimacy with God AT THE EXPENSE OF fear of God

God did not become smaller in order to personally abide with you

Our worship needs to remind us that God is far beyond our comprehension

He is the Creator of the Universe; spoke it into existence.

His name Yahweh means “I AM.” God was, and is and is to come; never changing and eternal

God is so incredibly powerful that we can’t see His face and live… when Moses would meet in God’s presence his face would shine like the sun

The presence of God is a whirlwind in Job, a pillar of flame and cloud in Exodus, and none could stand it

One day Christ will return with a robe dipped in blood, riding a white horse, to judge all humankind

Cf. Hebrews 12:28 - 29.

Our God is a consuming fire! His kingdom cannot be shaken! Let us fear Him and Him alone.

Fear the Holy God

We can sum this all up by saying that God is holy

To be holy is to be set apart; there is nothing and no one like God; He is completely other

There are so many ways to describe God’s holiness, but here are 2 ways that we need to keep in balance to overcome fear:

God is holy in His justice and sternness

Because God is holy, He cannot abide sin

Not only can He not sin, but He cannot be around sin; He HATES sin

Do we sometimes fall into the tempation to abuse grace? To downplay the severity of our sin? This shows a lack of fear of a holy God

But our sin is not just a breaking of rules; it is personal

Read Welch, p. 196

Our sin causes God to greive; why he chose for Hosea to marry an unfaithful wife (explain how He feels)

Obedience becomes of vital importance to recapturing our fear of the Lord

This is how we show we love Him, trust Him, and fear Him

A life lived in persistent disobedience to God is a life lived in the grip of fear

I have seen this pattern! Simply obeying God’s commands in Scripture is essential to overcome your fear, because it cultivates our fear (awe, reverence) of God

God is holy in His love and forgiveness

Because God is holy, His forgiveness is holy

It is not the same type of forgiveness we can offer and receive

To the point: There is NO sin to big that God cannot forgive

Read Welch, p. 195

God’s holy forgiveness is:

Premptive - Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

You don’t have to get your act together before God will forgive you!

Self-sacrificial = John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Forgiveness cost God something; His one and only Son

Unconditional = 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

ALL unrighteousness… nothing is too great for God to forgive

1 John 1:9 also gives us a practical step to take to remind ourselves of holiness of God’s love and forgiveness: confession

No, I don’t have a booth… though sometimes I wish I did

Confess your sins to God (He is the forgiver)

Confess your sins to another brother or sister in Christ

This helps immensly in recapturing your fear of God

The good news of Jesus perfectly displays this holiness

In Jesus, God poured out His wrath towards the sin of the world

Justice was done… it is finished

In Jesus, God bore the punishment we all deserve so that He could freely offer us forgiveness

The wages of sin is death, but we are offered life

In Jesus, we see a Holy God, worthy of our awe, reverence, worship… and fear

Conclusion

There is always a bigger fish… until there isn’t

The fear and reverence of God is the strongest fear in the universe

Our goal to cast out fear becomes recapturing our fear of the Lord and His holiness

Pracitcal ways to increase our fear of God are obedience to His commands (holy in justice) and confession of our sins (holy in forgiveness)

Jesus perfectly displays God’s holiness in His life, His death and His resurrection

Now is a wonderful time to accept the forgiveness found in Jesus

Premptime, self-sacrificing and unconditional

Now is a wonderful time for all of us to worship a Holy God, and fear Him alone

Pray

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