Dealing with Fear (16 of 21)
Series: The Promise of a Sound Mind
Eddie Snipes
John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. "
Let not your heart be troubled. How many times did Jesus say this and make other similar statements? How can we not fear? Does telling someone not to fear make the fear go away? Of course not. The command to keep our heart from fear and anxiety is not to ignore our emotions or to pretend they don't exist. It's to overcome fear with something greater than fear. Look at Hebrews 13:6
So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
Overcoming fear is found through confidence in God. It isn't that fear doesn't exist, but that it loses its grip on our hearts. Fear is not a sin. Fear is not the absence of faith. Fear is of our flesh, but faith is of the Spirit.
As we have already read in scripture, this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Faith in what? Faith in the Lord and His word. And what does the word say? "I give you my peace," therefore, "Do not let your heart be troubled." His peace overcomes our trouble, and the command is to not allow our hearts to displace the peace of God and replace it with the fear that comes through the flesh.
Many great people have been afraid, but faith overcame their fear. When Nehemiah was brokenhearted over the disarray of his homeland, he began to pray for an opportunity to do something. He was a captive from the days when Babylon defeated Israel and was appointed as the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. He was a slave with no rights. Yet God answered his prayer and the king asked why Nehemiah's expression was sad. In the ancient world, people could be imprisoned or executed for offending the king. Having a bad attitude or a sad expression was considered offensive. That was problem one. Problem two is that he had to give an ans ...
Series: The Promise of a Sound Mind
Eddie Snipes
John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. "
Let not your heart be troubled. How many times did Jesus say this and make other similar statements? How can we not fear? Does telling someone not to fear make the fear go away? Of course not. The command to keep our heart from fear and anxiety is not to ignore our emotions or to pretend they don't exist. It's to overcome fear with something greater than fear. Look at Hebrews 13:6
So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
Overcoming fear is found through confidence in God. It isn't that fear doesn't exist, but that it loses its grip on our hearts. Fear is not a sin. Fear is not the absence of faith. Fear is of our flesh, but faith is of the Spirit.
As we have already read in scripture, this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Faith in what? Faith in the Lord and His word. And what does the word say? "I give you my peace," therefore, "Do not let your heart be troubled." His peace overcomes our trouble, and the command is to not allow our hearts to displace the peace of God and replace it with the fear that comes through the flesh.
Many great people have been afraid, but faith overcame their fear. When Nehemiah was brokenhearted over the disarray of his homeland, he began to pray for an opportunity to do something. He was a captive from the days when Babylon defeated Israel and was appointed as the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. He was a slave with no rights. Yet God answered his prayer and the king asked why Nehemiah's expression was sad. In the ancient world, people could be imprisoned or executed for offending the king. Having a bad attitude or a sad expression was considered offensive. That was problem one. Problem two is that he had to give an ans ...
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