2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”
Rev. Christopher Olalekan O. Alawode
Fear is the commonest enemy of man; every person has his or her fear no matter what age, position or the achievement that the person might have attained in life. Fear has its negative and positive type; fear that intimidates is the negative, fear that humbles man is the positive side. Negative fear has two sources; one type is fear which comes from the conscience; this fear that comes from conscience is judgemental (Genesis 3: 10). The other type of sin appears like a ‘traffic red-light’ in the mind warning against trespass (Proverbs 1:7). This message is concerned with the fear that intimidates, and undermines a man’s faith by hindering him from making progress in life. With this Bible message Paul is encouraging Timothy and all the children of the Lord to do away with fear, and consider it as progress blockade. It is an encouragement for all Believers to understand that fears do not come from the Lord any time you are pursuing a goal that will give glory to God in your life. Paul mentioned two other lovely and useful things which God has given us: ‘love and sound mind’. Therefore, anytime we encounter fear in our pursuits in life, we should first pray and examine if what we are pursuing has four things: (i) Will it injure anyone, or hinder any other person’s life? (ii) Make sure that your conscience is clear; and that you are pretty sure that you understand what you are pursuing. (iii) Is it what will it give glory to God and be of good benefit to you, and humanity? (iv) Are you sure that it is worth giving your time, and energy to pursue?
Fear emanates from mind-rambling, and it has to be controlled from its beginning, otherwise all its suggestions will appear real. Fear had debarred many people in life from achieving their visions, and had made many potential champions to become losers. Fear has stopped many children of God from claiming God’s promise for their lives. Fear made Barak to lose the glory meant for him by God, and made Deborah the owner of the glory. It is written in the Book of Judges that Deborah sent for Barak and reminded him of the assignment that God had given him: “Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kadesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Trebor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulum; and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand?” Despite the Lord’s promise but because of fear, Barak compromised his God-promised glory. The Bible writes; “And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go, but if you will not go with me I will not go”. The Bible writes, “So she said, I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be mo glory for you in the journey you are taking for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kadesh” – Judges 4: 1-23.
Most times fear is the consequence of a sinful mind. Fear that made Israel to lose the war at AI is one caused by their disobedience to God’s commandment. This story is in the Book of Joshua, it is written “But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmit, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel” Joshua 7:1. Israel had underrated the power of the soldiers of AI, assuring Joshua not to send more than three thousand men; they believed it wasn’t a war they could lose. Unknown to them that their past victories had not been by their own power; that it had been the Lord who had always given them victory – Zechariah 4: 6. The Bible writes, “And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water. Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads” Joshua 7:4-6. This defeat is unprecedented in the history of Israel that made Joshua ask the Lord, “O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies?” Joshua 7: 8. This fear that caused the defeat of Israel of Ai can be compared with “A phone that lost its signal”; once connection is gone you are on your own. Before you ignore your fear you need to ask for a solution from the Lord.
What makes fear so powerful is its ability to convince its victim with false evidence that will mislead any undetermined mind. Fear is what stopped the first generation of the children of Israel that were coming from Egypt from getting to the Land of Promise – Numbers 14: 1-24. Fear is also part of what made King Saul to forfeit his stool – he feared that the Philistine will come down on him before Samuel arrived, and contrary to the law of God fear made him to usurp the duty of the prophet – 1 Samuel 13: 1-14. Why is ‘fear’ so powerful? The real identity of fear: “False Evidence Appearing Real”; though it has power but it cannot withstand faith. The fear of Goliath withheld Israel from making progress for long until David appeared at the scene. David first gave an important advice that can make one to overcome fear. The first step is (i) Be mindful of what goes on in your mind. The Bible writes, “Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine” 1 Samuel 17: 32. Fear usually poses false evidence to a man’s mind, and its evidence would look as if it is real, but it is false. The second step (ii) Remember similar situations in the past that God has helped you to overcome. David remembered how God had been his help in the past; he said to King Saul, “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be one of them, seeing he has defiled the armies of the living God. Moreover David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” David’s testimonies of God’s miracle in his life in similar situations in the past convinced King Saul, he had no choice but to encourage him to go ahead.1 Samuel 17: 36-37.
Fear is like fire, if it is not put under control from the start it will continue to burn in a man’s heart until it is quenched. The third step to overcome fear one needs to tune off one’s ears to every intimidating and discouraging statement from the people around. The Bible writes in the Book of Romans 10: 17: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” For a Believer to develop in faith he or she needs to become addicted to Bible readings, and listen to Bible messages from genuine servants of God. One important thing to understand about faith is that you cannot be indecisive and equally be effective. The moment that David decided that he was going to face Goliath he did not dilly dally. He declared publicly that he had the backing of the Lord God, who had never deserted him before. Faith develops by walking constantly in the, Spirit, by praying and studying the Scriptures regularly. Faith needs to be stirred up before it can overcome fear. In essence having faith without demonstrating it makes it dormant. It is written in the book of James 2:18, 20, “But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works. But do you want to know that, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” For faith to be effective you must ignore all the threats coming from your memory; such as those that keep reminding you about your past failures, and about those who have tried and failed in doing similar things you want, or you are about to pursue. Put your trust in the Lord to give you success. The Bible writes in 1 Samuel 17: 45, “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled”.
Jesus tells us the importance of positioning ourselves in Him: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” John 15: 4-5. Abide means not deserting or backsliding from your faith in Christ. One notable thing about faith is that it does not tolerate distraction. In the Book of Matthew 14: 29-31 there is a story of how Peter was encouraged to walk on water, and he took some steps and fell into the river before Jesus quickly stretched His hand and brought him out. It happened because Peter took his eyes away from Jesus Christ; distraction is capable of overturning a man’s dream in life. Peter learnt steadfastness in Christ which later helped his Ministry to grow; it helped him to be able to perform miracles after the death of Christ. Some of the miracles are his encounter with a man named “Aeneas who had been bedridden eight years and was paralysed.” The Bible writes, “And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately” (Acts 9: 32-33). The news of this miracle spread from Lydia where Peter was to Joppa where he was later invited to bring a dead woman back to life. The dead woman is Dorcas, a Believer who was known for her charitable deeds in her community. When Peter arrived at the scene he first sent out the people who were around the dead woman before he knelt down and prayed. The Bible writes, “And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up”. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive” Acts 9: 36-41.
The Bible enlightens us about abiding in Christ with many stories; one of such stories is that of Daniel and the three Hebrews in the Book of Daniel. The three Hebrews and Daniel were slaves in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar who refused to compromise their faith for freedom. The three Hebrews preferred to be thrown into the fiery furnace to denying their faith in the Lord. They said to the king “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Their steadfastness in the Lord resulted into promotion for them, and it even led to the nation being surrendered to the God of the three Hebrews as it is written in the Book of Daniel 3: 1 Daniel also was thrown into the Lion’s Den because he refused to compromise his faith in the Lord for any position in the land. The king was surprised to find Daniel alive and healthy in the Lion’s Den. Daniel was bold and confident to tell the king about his faith in the Lord, he said, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him, and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” The enemies who conspired against Daniel were thrown into the den of the lions. The king also surrendered his kingdom to “the God of Daniel” – Daniel 6: 4-24. Among many things that helped Daniel and the three Hebrews were (i) their upbringing in the way of the Lord – the Bible writes, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6. (2) They all have the same vision for their life (compatible company) – “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits” 1 Corinthians 15:3 (3) Strive to maintain your vision for heaven – “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to it” Matthew 6:33.
Another Bible story that teaches us to combat our fear for us to achieve our dream is that of Jonathan, the son of King Saul. The story demonstrates how faith overcame fear to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Jonathan and his armorbearer sneaked out of King Saul’s camp to fight the enemies who had made the whole nation panicking for long. Jonathan, the son of King Saul accompanied by his armorbearer sneaked out; it was a dangerous act but it was what saved Israel from many years of humiliation. Jonathan emboldened his armorbearer with a word of faith, the Bible writes, “Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his arms, “Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. He said in 1 Samuel 14: 6-10 “For nothing restraints the Lord from saving or by many or by few.” He continued encouraging his armorbearer with words of faith; and he gave him a sign, which he said that if it happens accordingly it will spur them to go and defeat the enemies. And it happened as he had said; the Bible writes, “Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel” And so it happened that the enemies who had been a pin in the neck of Israel were defeated by Jonathan and his armorbearer only –1 Samuel 14:11- 23. Faith without doubting performs wonder that gives glory to God. A confused mind is not a sound mind, and as earlier mentioned it is fear, and doubt that cause confusion. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Thank you for giving your time to read this message. Please read your Bible for you to confirm that all the Bible verses quoted are relevant to the message. The Lord will reward you for embracing His word. Whatever or whoever may be standing between you and your dream will be phased out from your way in Jesus Christ name, Amen!
