Knowing God – fear not
ILLUS – fear factor
Notes : ( below ) real life fears from across the world….
Survey of passages in Bible
Real People???
”FEAR NOT”
Genesis 15 After this, the word of the Lord came to ABRAM in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,[a]
your very great reward.[b]”
Genesis 21: What is the matter, HAGGAR? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
Genesis 26:24 That night the Lord appeared to him (ISAAC) and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Donot be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
Genesis 46:3 ( to JACOB)
“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
MOSES SPEAKING ….
Exodus 14:13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
Exodus 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
Numbers 14 ( said by Joshua and Caleb )
9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
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Deuteronomy
Moses’ recap ….. Gods reiteration
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Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
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Jeremiah 1:8
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Daniel 10:12
Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
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Matthew 1:20-22
Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 10:28
(Jesus to the disciples )
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 28:5
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
Matthew 28:9
( previously angels said do not be afraid )
9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
Luke 1:30
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
Luke 2:10
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
Acts18:9
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.
Acts 27:24
and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’
Revelation 1:17
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not beafraid. I am the First and the Last.
Revelation 2:10
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
SO WHAT .
Why does God say to so many “ do not be afraid ? “
What does God want us to know?
– about fear
Normal
Unnecessary
– about ourselve
In good company
– about Him
Look what He has done with so many fearful people……
Knowing God – He’s got this!
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Job 1:9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied
Job 31
He defends himself. Motivated- fear of God
Could have been silent like Jesus was…..
Because God knew!
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Notes :
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-your-greatest-fear-life-65-brave-answers-from-18-stenvinkel
- “My greatest fear is that I will die alone.” – Anne, Bengaluru (India)
- “Losing my social structure. I.e. Work, job, and thusly many acquaintances.” – Dan, Stockholm (Sweden)
- “My deepest fear is being alone without family or friends. I can’t understand how people can love me.” – Saray, Spain
- “My greatest fear is to look back and regret not having done something because I was afraid.” – Mary, Nagoya (Japan)
- “I fear being negatively scrutinized by others.” – Charvie, Philippines
- “Not being successful financially.” – Steve, Sydney
- “My biggest fear is being left out/abandoned/ignored.” – Sara, USA
- “Fear of sudden/loud sounds.” – Parin, Rajkot (India)
- “Death, that I or someone in my family will die (to lose control over the most important thing we have – life).” – Lena, Dalarna (Sweden)
- “I fear that I’ll always be a laughingstock.” – Jessica, Boston
- “Lack of intimacy with life and people. And lack of effective and valuable contribution to society.” – Katie, London
- “Not being able to find a job.” —Judi, Tampa (USA)
- “My greatest fear is to have no more fear.” – Anne, Biesles (France)
- “My biggest fear is not being good enough.” – Sara, USA
- “Not to be good enough (others are much better).” – Tanja, Zurich (Switzerland)
- “My biggest fear is that I won’t be able to have children or my children will be born with a serious medical condition.” – Eva, Dublin (Ireland)
- “My greatest fear is that I’ll one day realize that I lived my life not doing what makes me happy.” – Sofia, Hedemora (Sweden)
- “Success. (I’ve just discovered this. And, I need to get over it!)” – Jodi, Columbus (USA)
- “My greatest fear is regretting all that I didn’t do, as I lay in my hospital bed as an elderly man.” – Ralph, North Brunswick (USA)
- “My current greatest fear is that I will be declared to be a bad mother and not be able to see my two amazing children.” – Crystal, Delta (USA)
- “My biggest fear is never taking a risk in an effort to find my true calling.” – Anthony, New York City
- “My greatest fear is being unable to realise the dream I’ve worked towards for 30 years because of the UK’s exit from the EU.” – Rhona, Yorkshire (UK)
- “My greatest fear and sorrow is not being accepted for who I am.” – Alan, Texas (USA)
- “My greatest fear is that I will never find what makes my heart sing and eventually paid to do it.” – Saraya, London
- “My biggest fear is not believing in myself.” – Leila, New York
- “My greatest fear would be missing out on my purpose here on earth. Whether it’s because I wasn’t motivated enough to pursue dreams, or distracted with life in general, I know I have a purpose that I am not yet serving.” – Danielle, Sacramento (USA)
- “My greatest fear is to go through life living small but not realizing it until it’s too late.” – Rebekka, Stuttgart
- “My greatest fear is discovering that I am a deeply flawed person who will never be able to connect fully with others and be a functioning part of this world.” – Erica, Burlington (USA)
- “My greatest fear is the loneliness.” – Bruna, Brazil
- “My biggest fear is anything happening to my Son. He is on his own in college and I miss him dearly. It scares me that something could happen with him being far from home.” – Jennifer, Petaluma (USA)
- “Changing my profession and having to go back to school at age 51 and not knowing if I can find the confidence to just let go and enjoy the ride!” – Michele, Okotoks (Canada)
- “My greatest fear is walking in the community with suspicious and weird looking people. How do I overcome this fear? to feel safe and protected at all times.” – Mary, Toronto (Canada)
- “…But when you go deeper, it all goes back to my main childhood fear, which is to be abandoned/left alone and as a result I feared of not being worthy to be loved…“ – Bernd, Germany
- “Being a failure and disappointment.. to both others and myself.” – Kate, Yeppoon, (Australia)
- “Raising my daughter alone after my husband passes away.” – Rena, Wyoming (USA)
- “My greatest fear is never finding happiness.” – Robin, Torrance (USA)
- “My greatest fear is that I will never be enough.” – Jo, Salisbury (UK)
- “I dread the call from my high school that there was a clerical error and I need to take finals again.” – Rayne, Petaluma (USA)
- “My greatest fear is that more people that I love will die.” – Josephine, Stockholm (Sweden)
- “My greatest fear is that I will never be able to create a harmonious life for myself which I will thoroughly enjoy and that I will lose freedom to choose at some point in life.” – Egle, Hastings (UK)
- “My greatest fear is living an unfulfilling life lacking in genuine, loving connections with people and nature.” – Sharon, Los Angeles
- “I fear looking back and seeing that fear guided my decisions.” – Sophie, Hobart (Australia)
- “I’m scared I will make the wrong decisions in life. If I make the wrong choices, it will set me back from my true path.” – Reka, Sydney
- “The return of cancer.” – Annie, Fort Wayne (USA)
- “My greatest fear is being broke after quitting my corporate job and pursuing my dreams (which I’m still trying to figure out).” – Carmen, Seoul (South Korea)
- “Fear at failing at something like learning to fly an airplane, fear of not having anything of interest to say to people I don’t know very well, and as a healthcare professional failing to provide appropriate treatment to a patient.” – Peter, York (UK)
- “My biggest fear is making a mistake and looking stupid.” – Destiny, Tucson
- “Fear of failure – particularly paralyzing is the fear of not taking the perfect next action step.” – Mike, Plano (USA)
- “Not being able to see or be near to my family before death.” – Marilyn, Singapore
- “My greatest fear is letting my family friends and employees down.” – Pam ,Bangalore (India)
- “I think my greatest fear is a classic, the fear of failure.” – Samuel, Malmö (Sweden)
- “Can I reach the goals that I am aspiring in my life, will my dreams come true, can I really live my dreams, if I have to live a very mediocre life in future what should I do??” – Vinaya, Kochi (India)
- “My greatest fear is that I will never feel fulfilled or at peace with my career decision.” – Emily, Baton Rouge (USA)
- “My greatest fear is that the severe abuse I suffered in childhood has left me irrevocably broken, that there is no chance that I will ever be happy or successful because of how emotionally depleted I am from dealing with my trauma.” – GB, Portland, Oregon (USA)
- “There are many but big ones right now: 1. Being rejected when it comes to love. Fear stops me from even taking the first step to ask someone out on a date. 2. Starting my own business. I fear that I will not have what it takes to do it, that I will be a failure.” – Susanne, Uppsala (Sweden)
- “The fear of not being good enough.” – Barbara, Wetaskiwin (Canada)
- “My deepest fear is failing to be a good person, so I find I let others take advantage of me and I don’t stand strong for me.” – Vivien, London, UK
- “My greatest fear is to be “found out” – that people around me will discover that I’ve only been pretending to be smart, strong and confident but really am not any of those things.” – Nora, New Jersey (USA)
- “Death.” – Brenna, Brockville (Canada)
- “I fear that I am wasting my life – missing out on enjoyable experiences and not contributing to the world as much as I am capable of doing.” – Barry, Adelaide (Australia)
- “To go through life without leaving a positive mark.” – Luciana, Sintra (Portugal)
- “My greatest fear is that I won’t have enough money to support myself (and retire eventually).” – Laura, Florence (Italy)
- “My biggest fear is that although I do things with a lot of dedication and love, people think and say I want to take their money or take advantage of them and be criticized for that.” – Eme, New York
- “Being not good enough to be loved, to be successful, to be chosen, to get responsibility, to be seen, to be appreciated… (whatever).” – Elisabeth, Vienna
- “Not being liked/loved by anyone.” – Anna, Munich (Germany)