A couple of days ago, my friend Matt came over to my house. I have a roof leak. And we went up on my roof to figure out what was happening. My roof is high up there. It’s steep. Parts are slippery. It can be scary. When we were up there, just him being there with me and listening to what he said gave me confidence that we would solve this roof leak problem. No doubt. Similarly, in life, if we can practice the presence of God in every situation in life, and listen to, read, remember, and apply the truth, then we can solve any problem in life and have no doubts, worries, or fear.
Fear is an emotion. It can stop us in our tracks. Stop us from living the more than abundant life that is available to us. However, by applying the Word in practical ways, we can overcome fear and live in peace and with power and confidence.
Please turn to 2 Timothy. Aristotle said, "He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.” Let’s check out some biblical principles (promises, truths) and practical steps to live without fear and to be free.
Fear does not come from God. Fear is a spiritual attack that seeks to disrupt our fellowship with God. Fear tries to cover or remove the presence of God in your life. Fear wants to break the connection between you and your belief in God’s promises. Let’s read 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
There’s an article in the Way’s library titled “Living Without Fear” (www.thewayinternational.com/living-without-fear). I encourage you to read it.
In that article, we learn that we can live without fear because God gave us POWER like we read. When we are born again, we receive a gift. And the gift is holy spirit. Along with that gift, comes many things, including power.
Let’s turn to and read Acts 1:8. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost [holy spirit] is come upon you…” When that gift of holy spirit (referred to here as the Holy Ghost) is come upon you (when you are born again), you receive also POWER.
Let’s turn to and read Ephesians 1:19. Ephesians 1:19 says, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”
When you believe, BELIEVE in what is written, you’re powerful, and you don’t fear anything. (Born Again, Gift, Power, Believe, No Fear). A born-again believer has the gift of holy spirit, that potential power, residing (sitting, living) within them. Ready to go. This power from God is manifested when we hear the Word, and then carry it out, by believing that the Word is true. I believe that the Word has promises from God that I can claim, take for myself, and make those promises into a reality. And that’s powerful.
For example, in Ephesians, we’re in Ephesians, let’s turn to and read Ephesians 3:20. This is a promise from God, that we can see, read, believe, and apply, so that we become powerful, and we can live without fear.
Someone read Ephesians 3:20: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
There’s a power that works within us, and God is able to do and exceed anything that we can ask or think of.
Really? Yeah. So, prove it.
The word says to prove what you believe. Let’s turn to and read 1 Thessalonians 5:21, which says, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." Prove it. “Prove Ephesians 3:20, Ben!” Okay. Take a look around. You’re sitting in my proof, my evidence, that I have received something above that I couldn’t have ever asked for or thought of. That’s pretty powerful.
That’s one tip. God gave us POWER.
Here’s a second tip to living without fear. LOVE. Please turn to 1 John.
We can live without fear because God gave us LOVE. What is love? We’re in 1 John…
Let’s turn to and read 1 John 4:8: God is love.
Let’s turn to and read I John 4:18: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.” So God is love. There’s no fear in love. There’s no fear in God. The perfect love of God casts out fear. What is the love of God?
Let’s turn to and read I John 5:3: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
God is love. There’s no fear in love, so there’s no fear in God. Perfect love of God casts out fear. What’s the perfect love of God? We keep his commandments–we learn the Word and apply it to our lives. That casts our fear.
Love is the antidote for fear. Fear is like a poison. It’s that which tries to break the connection between you and your belief in God’s promises. Love has the power to neutralize and overcome fear, just as an antidote neutralizes poison. So, God provided everything we need to live an abundant life without fear by giving us His Word. In II Peter 1, it says that knowing God’s Word gives us everything about life.
Let’s turn to and read II Peter 1:3. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." We have access to everything that pertains to life and godliness.
When we energize the power within us, focus on living God’s love, and keeping His commandments (which can be applied to everything in life), we’ll find that we’re filled with, surrounded by, LOVE. And where there is love, there is no room for fear.
Power, Love. A third tip for living without fear. A SOUND MIND.
We can live without fear because God gave us a SOUND MIND. A sound mind means that you have good thoughts, and good judgment. You are disciplined in your thinking. Your thoughts are rooted and grounded in something solid.
For a home inspector, something “sound” is that which is built well, like a house on a strong foundation, with a strong support structure, that which can be relied on. It’s sound.
A sound mind is NOT something that runs wild. Fear is an emotion that can run wild. Out of control. I read that a wild mind is like trying to ride on a blind horse in the dark. The horse can’t see, and neither can you. Imagine that. In contrast, in John 8:12 (don’t turn there), Jesus says: "I am the LIGHT of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." That sounds so good, right?
We eliminate darkness and fear when we focus our minds on light. We take control of any situation when we focus our thoughts, on God and His Word. We constantly check with the Word. A mental check. Always asking ourselves and each other, in every situation, “Hey, what does the Word say?” NOT, “What does the “world” say.” But rather, what does the “Word” say?
What does the Word say? Well, II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Please turn to Romans 12.
We have the right, as sons and daughters in God’s family, to rely on God’s POWER every day. We can LOVE, which is the antidote for fear. And because fear happens in the MIND, we can overcome fear by learning how to control our thoughts.
How do we do that? We simply choose to renew our minds to the light of God’s Word.
Let’s turn to and read Romans 12:2. It says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Rather than being conformed and affected by the fears of this world, we can be “transformed.” We can literally change the form of our minds. Like the change of a caterpillar to a butterfly, the mind can be transformed. We can put the Word in our minds and decide to think and act according to the truth of that Word.
In John 6:63, Jesus Christ said, “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” To renew, or change, the mind, we must feed the mind with the best stuff. The words you speak to your mind, they are life. Look… you can eat in two ways, you can eat with your stomach, and you can eat with your mind. Be careful what you feed your body AND your mind. Renewing your mind involves replacing negative thoughts with positive ones from God’s Word.
Try it. Prove it.
Prove to yourself that the Word works. Read the Word, the spiritual truths, the promises of God, those things that people thousands of years ago, inspired by God to write, they wanted you to know the Word, so that today, you can feed your mind, and live a life more than abundant. Let’s try it. We will see ourselves transformed from fear to freedom, by learning and applying God’s word.
God is not the source of fear. God is the source of power, and of love, and of a sound mind, and we can claim those verses, take those spiritual truths, and apply those promises from the Word. We can feed our minds, and be filled with love, which casts out all fear. As we learn more Word and renew our minds to the Word, we will know that – we can live without fear.
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