12/06/2005 Facing Fear

12/06/2005
"Facing Fear"
Peter Nash
CityLife Church Sunday 9am

Gen 3:8-10
Fear was the first negative feeling humanity experienced after the Fall.
Fear has no basis of truth.

3 types of fear:

1. Reverential Godly fear (Job 28:28, Acts 9:31)

• it is not destructive, but leads to wisdom
• it is linked with the Holy Spirit

2. Healthy fear

• not mentioned in the Bible, but also leads to wisdom
• it is there to protect us (eg the fear of pain or getting burnt can prevent one from touching a hot stove)

3. Unhealthy fear (Prov 29:25)

• many types of destructive fear are linked with the fear of man

2 Tim 1:7 - Fear doesn't come from God. He's here to rescue us from the bondage of fear.

Types of unhealthy fear:

1. Simple phobias

• some fears (like arachnophobia) have varying impact on different people, but generally don't destroy lives

2. Social fears or social anxiety

• fears related to interactions with another person or with a group of people
• left untreated, these fears can have the potential to mentally incapacitate

3. Anxiety disorders

• these grip/cripple life (eg panic attacks, obsessive-compulsiveness)

Fear can masquerade as other things such as anger.

Unhealthy ways to deal with fear:

1. Denial
   

• it is the absence of truth (Ps 51:6, Jn 8:32 - acknowledge the truth. It can set you free.)

2. Suppression
3. Self-Condemnation

• John 3:17 - God wants us to be free from condemnation

Steps to overcoming fear:

1. Recognise fear is common to all

• don't let fear rob you of the potential God has given to you
• "Courage isn't the absence of fear but the ability to face it"
• "Without fear there is no bravery"

2. Be honest

• Jas 5:16 - confess your fears to each other.
  

3. Understand the root (cause of the fear) if possible
4. Weigh up the validity of the fear

• what's the worst-case scenario? Is it worth the fear?
• "Fear makes the wolf bigger than it is" - German proverb

5. Renew our mind with God's Word

• challenge fear with the truth of God's Word

6. Get help

• God has placed people around to support you

7. Face the fears God asks you to face

• where fear may be an obstacle to fulfilling the destiny God has called, He'll ask you to face it.
• He'll always be with us and help us grow as we challenge each fear.

8. Pray and meditate (Phil 4:6-8)

• give God our worries, and meditate on things that are wholesome.