Between August 19, 1969 and August 21, 1969 while serving in the United States Air Force stationed at Kadena Air Force Base one the Island of Okinawa, I was called upon to help secure the airfield for a very dangerous typhoon that was approaching. Due to the impending danger of this particular storm, all the aircraft that were on flight status were flown off the island to airfields in Guam and airfields in the Philippine Islands. With nearly all the aircraft removed from the air base, we began to secure the flight line areas. All the while, Typhoon Cora was approaching the island with winds exceeding 120 mph.
Now for those of you that may not be aware of what a typhoon is a typhoon is a tropical cyclone. It's the same as a hurricane; only a typhoon is located in the Pacific Ocean west of the International Date Line.
One of the duties required during an impending danger, such as this, is that four to six men are assigned stations within the aircraft hangars until the storm subsides. The purpose of these men being placed in these hangars is to guard against damage to the hangar.
Now I pose this question or this statement:
It took me forty-one years, I guess, to really come to understand this. After some forty-one years, please, please would someone, would someone please help me to understand how a handful of GI's could guard against the ravages of nature and the impending wrath of sustained 120 mph winds?
But nonetheless, nonetheless I found myself standing fire watch in an empty hangar with four other GI's while outside the winds began to blow. The winds began to blow. And the winds began to blow. And those winds would ravage Okinawa for three straight days! I can literally say that I have experienced firsthand horizontal monsoon rains!
Now don't get me wrong! Uncle Sam prepared us for this. We were well supplied as we began this particular assignment.
You see we had sleeping bags. Of course, the sleeping bags were not accompanied with cots. We were to use them on the cement floors. But again, with the ravages of this particular storm—we'll hear more about it in a moment—let's just state that the sleeping bags became pretty damp as the floor became very, very wet.
We had plenty to eat, plenty to eat. Uncle Sam made sure of that. We had K rations.
I don't know how many of you may be familiar with K rations. K rations, they're the precursor to what's known today as MRE's—meals ready to eat. And K rations, they were ready to eat, I guess. I know Mr. Aho is probably aware of K rations having served in Germany and Korea.
We had all the coffee a GI could ask for—if you drank coffee!
They provided us with all the cigarettes a GI could smoke for those that smoked. But here's the kicker: Every officer and every enlisted man or woman on base knew that if you got caught smoking on the flight line or in a hangar, it was an automatic court martial.
And, of course, of course, camping out in an empty hangar with four other GI's for three days would not be complete, would not be complete without a couple decks of playing cards.
We had for the most part I guess you'd say, we'd had all the comforts of home.
Oh, did I mention that the electricity had been turned off purposely. So just imagine drinking cold GI coffee. And you're probably asking yourself, "Is that anything like Starbucks—Seattle's best?" Well, no. It's not.
Let me describe GI coffee:
It's that really strong, really strong, pores like syrup, black tarry stuff, laced with coffee grounds, but smells like a good beverage coffee.
Now I can understand why today I don't drink coffee at all. Can't handle it! But can you imagine drinking for three straight days cold, tarry syrup? But the fellows I was with in that hangar, they did exactly that.
Anyway the electricity was turned off. No lighting. No air conditioning. And the conditions in the particular hangar were something like—I don't know—90-95 temperature, 90% humidity. Doors and windows were closed. There was absolutely no ventilation.
So you're probably asking yourself now, "Why was the electricity turned off?" Well, Uncle Sam, through his wisdom, felt they should turn the power off because of the fear of fire. But wait a second! Wasn't I assigned this duty as fire watch in an empty hangar where there's no fire source and there's no fuel to burn? Then why was I on fire watch in the first place? (I'm starting to get off on a tangent. I should get back to the typhoon, I guess.)
So, five of us are secure in our hangar. The wind is howling, raining as I've never seen it rain before.
And instead of exaggerating on what I remembered forty-one years ago, I went ahead on the internet and did some research on Typhoon Cora as it crossed the Island of Okinawa. This is what I found last evening researching this particular typhoon:
Typhoon Cora dumped 18.65 inches of rain in a twenty-four hour period while passing over the Island of Okinawa.
Cora was the second wettest tropical cyclone in Okinawan history.
So more than eighteen and a half inches of rain in twenty-four hours. That's a lot of rain!
Anyway, water's seeping in through every crack in the walls. It's coming in under the hangar doors.
And somewhere around—if my memory serves me—the tenth or eleventh hour of this storm, the hangar begins to breathe. Literally the hangar began to breathe! By that I mean we began to feel the air pressure changing within the hangar itself. We could see the roof actually began to expand and contract. Expand and contract!
In our minds the fun and games were over. A little fear began to fill each one of us.
In a matters of seconds—it seemed like—once we felt this air pressure change and noticed the hangar ceiling expanding and contracting, in a matter of seconds we heard this huge groaning—this huge groaning sound and explosion. And all of a sudden we could see daylight out of a huge section of the roof where just moments ago, it was enclosed.
Well, I can state that fear was no longer settling in—at least to me! Fear was well established. At this point, we used a two-way radio to call the air police to alert them as to our circumstances. And, of course, the air police were certainly there for us with these comforting words:
"What are you calling us for?"
"There's damage everywhere. They'll get to you as soon as they can!"
Well, the first thing that came to my mind was, "Who's they? Who's going to go out in a 120 mph tropical storm to see how I'm doing?" Well, we were instructed to keep them informed as to the situation.
By this point, I can remember each of us—I think we retreated to a corner in the hangar and we just stood there! Kind of mesmerized to be quite honest with you! But we thought that was the most secure parts of the building were the corners. And we just simply watched.
While watching with trepidation and fear, the roof continuing to be torn asunder, water pouring in the hangar as though someone had taken a finger out of the dike, when all of a sudden the main crossbeam, the main crossbeam of the hanger—it began to move! And this crossbeam—and truly I don't want to exaggerate—but it seemed like this crossbeam must have been 3' x 3' and some 60' in length. All of a sudden this crossbeam on the east side of the building literally begins to lift up and slam down. Lift up and slam down!
Well, at this particular point, I think we were all beyond fear. We were more like the phobia-stage of fear. Fear such as: ancraophobia. Well, ancraophobia's the fear of wind, of course! Hydrophobia! That was settling into us. Hydrophobia: the fear of water. And I'm sure this particular phobia finally set into us as well: lilapsophobia, the fear of tornadoes, the fear of hurricanes, the fear of typhoons.
Well, thus far we've had a few laughs with this true to life experience, this ordeal that lasted three days, an ordeal which turned out fine for each one of us that were involved, but an ordeal which brought heightened fear into the lives of those who experienced that particular typhoon.
Fear, Brethren, fear is a powerful emotion! Each of us has experienced fear at some time in our lives, some due to various dangerous situations such what we just heard in this particular story of the typhoon. Possibly some have experienced fear because of a perceived situation. Yet perceived or not, fear has been present in each of our lives at one time or another.
Today in this sermon titled:
Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled
Today we will see how to overcome fear in our lives by establishing or by implementing fear in our lives! Yes, you heard me correctly. I'm going to repeat that. Today we will come to see how we can overcome fear in our lives by implementing or by establishing fear into our lives.
What then is fear? This four-letter word: fear. Well, Webster's Dictionary defines fear as: "a distressing emotion aroused by impending pain or evil, whether real or imagined." I'm going to repeat that: "a distressing emotion aroused by impending pain or evil."
The Dictionary continues to define fear as: "the feeling or condition of being afraid." An example would be the fear of a typhoon, the fear of the roof being ripped apart.
The Dictionary definition also states: "anxiety, or that which one is afraid of."
A synonym for fear is phobia. From the same reference material, Webster's Dictionary, we find phobia defined as: "a fear or anxiety that exceeds normal proportions"—"a fear or anxiety that exceeds normal proportions."
Well, I went to the internet in preparation for this message to research phobias. And I found that humans suffer—believe it or not—from 522 different phobias! Now I don't want to offend anyone struggling with phobias as they can be very debilitating, but there are some phobias listed in this particular list that I just simply wasn't aware of. I'm going to go over a few of these phobias. And again, a phobia is "a fear or anxiety that exceeds normal proportions."
From the list of 522, we find this first particular phobia. It's kind of addressed, I guess, to those of us here in Moses Lake because I know all or us here—or at least most of here—travel somewhere between one and a half and two hours to get to services. Well, I hope we don't suffer from this particular fear, this particular phobia: amaxophobia. Amaxophobia—it's the fear of riding in a car.
Then there's Bibliophobia—the fear of the Bible or the fear of books. Well, I hope none of you here in Moses Lake or those viewing this DVD or listening on the phone line. I hope that none of you are suffering from this particular phobia today.
Cathisophobia. I know you're probably, "I wonder what cathisophobia is." I see people's minds here in Moses Lake just turning. It's the fear of sitting. The fear of sitting!
Now I've been told by my wife and other women—I'm going to use the word most; I won't use many—that most men struggle with this particular phobia: chorophobia. Guys, can you think what that might be? Chorophobia: the fear of dancing!
Each of you are attending services today whether you're with a group or by yourselves at home, or in a smaller group, or for up here in Moses Lake. So I know you're not suffering from this particular phobia: ecclesiaphobia. Ecclesiaphobia: the fear of church.
I found this one interesting. I can't believe it was actually listed in this particular listing of phobias: enissophobia. Have any idea what that might be? Enissophobia: It's the fear of committing the unpardonable sin.
I know that we're all students of the Bible so this doesn't apply to us, this particular fear, this particular phobia: epistemophobia. Epistemophobia: the fear of knowledge.
And for those of us that you know we're up in our fifties, pushing towards our sixties, maybe in our seventies, we might have this particular phobia: geniophobia. Any guesses? It's the fear of having a double chin! Geniophobia!
Now we picked on the men earlier, as far as dancing. We're going to pick on the ladies. I won't say that this affects every woman. (I'll probably hear about this one later!) Glossophobia! See this doesn't affect most women. It's the fear of speaking or the fear of trying to speak.
We should all, we should all be keyed in on this particular phobia. Harmatophobia: the fear of sinning.
And here's a phobia that I'm just going to spell. This will crack you up! Write this down on a large sheet of paper. I'm going to spell this phobia. Then we'll define it.
H-i-p-p-o-p-o-t-o-m-o-n-s-t-r-o-s-e-s-c-u-i-p-p-e-d-a-l-i-o-p-h-o-b-i-a
I'm not—there's no way I'm going to try pronounce that phobia! You know what it's the fear of? It's the fear of long words! The fear of long words!
Well, today I hope none of you are suffering from this particular phobia: homilophobia. Homilophobia: It's the fear of sermons!
Last week here in Moses Lake we talked about the possibility of having a church picnic this summer. Well, this particular phobia would certainly ruin a church picnic: myrmecophobia. Myrmecophobia, come on! We're talking about picnics here. Myrmecophobia, the fear of ants! Very good! The fear of ants.
And then I told my friend Neil that I was going to bring up his name in this particular message and this is applicable to Neil. And I'll explain why in a moment. But I'm glad Neil does not have this phobia: nosocomephobia. Nosocomephobia, I'm glad he doesn't have this phobia—fear of hospitals.
Now for those of you out there behind the camera, I want you to realize that we've had some fun with this with Neil over the past several years. There's kind of a loose saying at the Central Washington Hospital that they should petition the hospital staff to actually name a wing after Neil since he's been there so often and the nurses know him by first name. Or do they only know him by sight? I'm not sure.
Some may have this particular phobia. I do not. Some of you may have this particular phobia. I do not. Some of you may have this particular phobia. I do not. Pentheraphobia. It's the fear of your mother–in-law! (Laughter.) And again for those of you behind the camera, I have to state that I had to bring that up because my mother-in-law's sitting in Church services here today.
Now this one applies to Mr. Gaetzman. It applies to me. I think it possibly applies to Dale Roecks, possibly a few others. And this phobia is phalacrophobia. Phalacrophobia, this applies to Mr. Aho also. Phalacrophobia: the fear of becoming bald! Well, you see we don't have that fear because we're already bald.
And then there's this one. I just chuckled when I heard this one: phobophobia. Phobophobia, you all know what that is. It's the fear of phobias! Phobophobia!
Anyone here this time of year probably have a vegetable garden going? I see some norths and souths out there, vegetable gardens, flower gardens, orchards, vineyards. Well, I hope you don't suffer from this particular phobia. It's rupophobia. Rupophobia: it's the fear of dirt. Can you imagine having a vegetable garden or your livelihood in an orchard and you have the fear of dirt.
I'm certainly glad that I don't suffer from this particular phobia, at least attending here at Moses Lake. This particular phobia is sitophobia. Sitophobia: it's the fear of food, the fear of eating! And I bring that up because here in Moses Lake we have absolutely wonderful potlucks after each Sabbath.
This does apply to Shelly and I. We've admitted this before. For those who struggle with programming their home entertainment remotes, which Shelly and I struggle with—in fact, I think it was Alyssa Hall that was visiting us one day and had to show us how to program it. It's the fear of—well, it's technophobia and it's the fear of technology.
I'm glad we don't struggle with this particular fear, Theophobia. It's the fear of religion.
And the last one that we'll reference here today is Zeusophobia. Zeusophobia: the fear of God, unless, of course, that particular fear is proper fear of God. The awe, if you will, the reference that we need to have towards God and what God stands for. And we're going to cover more on that as we get further on in this particular message.
So we've had some fun with this particular subject of phobias. But as I stated moments ago, phobias can be very debilitating. They can be extremely devastating due to the persistent fear of a specific object or a specific situation. Often the fear is so bad that a person can't live a normal life.
In one instance there was a woman who had a bad case of agoraphobia. It's the fear of open spaces or the fear of being in crowds. And this particular woman developed a cyst that grew in size. Her fear of going outside in the public was so bad that she left this cyst grow until it became three hundred and three pounds! Now that's the cyst itself! Three hundred and three pounds before she finally sought medical attention! Amazingly the doctors were able to remove it successfully.
So thus far, we've defined fear and listed some of the phobias of fear. What then are some examples—ah, I don't know if we want to use the causes; I think we could—some of the examples or causes of fear, specifically examples of fear identified in God's word? Well, we're going to review a few of these.
Let's turn first to the first recorded case of fear in the Bible and see what this particular cause of this fear was. Let's turn to Genesis chapter 2, if you would please. This is the first recorded case of fear as recorded in Scripture. Genesis chapter 2, we'll read verses 15, 16, and 17. Genesis chapter 2 verse 15:
Genesis 2:15. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (NKJ)
This is verse 16 of Genesis chapter 2.
Genesis 2:16. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17) "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that [day] you eat of it you shall surely die." (NKJ)
Now hold that thought and drop down to Genesis chapter 3. We'll read the first eight verses. Genesis chapter 3 verse 1:
Genesis 3:1. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [the serpent] said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
2) And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3) "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
4) Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
5) "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, (NKJ)
Isn't that interesting, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes?
Genesis 3:6b. and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8) And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (NKJ)
We're all very familiar with this particular story. But have you ever asked yourself, "Why did Adam and his wife hide themselves from God?" Why did they hide themselves from God? Probably because their anxiety levels were high—extremely high! They knew that that had let God down. They knew that they had disobeyed God's commands. They were fearful because they were now naked.
Continuing in verse 9 and 10, Genesis chapter 3 verse 9:
Genesis 3:9. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
10) So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." (NKJ)
Adam was afraid, trembled with fear because his disobedience caused him to understand his nakedness, something he had not experienced before! Thus, Adam knew something had changed. Something had changed because he had disobeyed God's command.
Let's look at another example. Turn over to Deuteronomy, if you would please. To the Book of Deuteronomy chapter 9 and we'll read verses 19 and 20. Deuteronomy chapter 9, we're breaking into a thought here, into the context. You're all very familiar with these particular events found here in Deuteronomy chapter 9. Deuteronomy chapter 9 verse 19:
Deuteronomy 9:19. "For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was angry with you, to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me at that time also.
20) "And the Lord was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. (NKJ)
Here we find the example of Moses showing fear—fear because of the disobedience of Aaron and all of Israel. Moses was fearful for their lives, the life of Aaron as well as the life of all the Israelites.
So from these two examples, the one found here in Deuteronomy and the one in Genesis, we find that the First Cause of Fear is that of Disobedience.
Another Cause of Fear is Pending Persecution. Turn to the Gospel of John, if you would please, to John chapter 20. And we're going to review Scripture that once again we are all very, very familiar with. John chapter 20, we'll begin reading in verse 11. John chapter 20 verse 11, we find the following:
John 20:11. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. (NKJ)
Drop down to verse 15, if you would please. John chapter 20 verse 15:
John 20:15a. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" (NKJ)
John 20:16. Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). (NKJ)
Verse 18:
John 20:18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
19) Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." (NKJ)
"Peace be with you."
The Jewish New Testament translates verse 19 as follows:
John 20:19. In the evening that same day, the first day of the week, when the talmidim (the disciples) were gathered together behind locked doors out of fear of the Judeans… (JNT)
The Jewish New Testament Commentary states:
The talmidim were hiding behind locked doors out of fear, out of fear of the Judeans concerned that the Judeans would not be satisfied with the death of their leader [with the death of Christ], but would pursue the followers of Christ as well.
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary states regarding John chapter 20 verse 19:
For fear of the Jews, this was natural in view of their flight from the garden, the high priest's inquiry about them [You'll find that in John chapter 18 verse 19.], and Peter's denial [found in Matthew 20], and the expectation created by Jesus' teaching that if He suffered, they should expect to do so also [which is found in Matthew chapter 16 verse 24, as well as John chapter 15 verse 20].
Let's just reference John 15 verse 20, if you would please. Turn over to John chapter 15 verse 20. Christ states here, John chapter 15 verse 20:
John 15:20. "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. (NKJ)
Persecution or the Sense of Persecution is a Biblically based Cause of Fear, an Example of Fear.
A Third Example of Fear as referenced in Scripture is that of Natural Disasters.
Turn over to Acts chapter 27, if you would please to Acts chapter 27. Here in Acts chapter 27 we read of Paul's journey to Rome. And we'll pick up the story flow in verse 14. I'll be reading verses 14 through 20 from the Phillip's translation. Acts chapter 27 beginning in verse 14 from the Phillip's:
Acts 27:14: But before long a terrible gale, which they called a nor'easter, swept down upon us from the land.
15) The ship was caught by it and since she could not be brought up into the wind, we had to let her fall off and run before it.
16) Then running under the lee of a small island called Clauda we managed with some difficulty to secure the ship's boat.
17) After hoisting it aboard, they used cables to brace the ship. To add to the difficulties, they were afraid [fearful] all at times of drifting into Syrtis banks. So they shortened sail and laid to drifting.
18) The next day, as we were still at the mercy of the violent storm, they began to throw cargo overboard.
19) On the third day, with their own hands, they threw the ship's tackle over the side.
20) Then for many days there was no glimpse of sun, no glimpse of stars and we were still in the grip of a gale. All hope of our being saved was given up.
The fear of this gale—some translations refer to this as a typhoon—the fear of this gale is so compelling of drifting into the Syrtis banks that in the minds of the crew members each of them became very discouraged, distraught. Their spirits were broken. (We'll speak to that in a moment.) Each of them began to give up any hope of surviving, surviving this particular event of nature.
Well, we can pose a series of questions at this point. Why was the crew of the ship so fearful of drifting into the Syrtis banks? Would they not have found shelter in these particular banks? Why such fear of these specific banks? Another question is: Where are the Syrtis banks? Why such fear over these particular set of banks?
Well, for those who enjoy research, your homework for this particular message is to look up, to research, to see what you can find regarding the Syrtis banks. Syrtis is spelled S-y-r-t-i-s. Research, if you will, and see what you can find regarding the Syrtis banks and why such fear for "maritimers" over this particular set of banks, the Syrtis banks.
Events of nature, such as the storm or the typhoon referenced in Acts chapter 27, cause some to become very fearful. Each of us have probably experienced a natural disaster in our lives of some sort. I've been in earthquakes. I've referenced Typhoon Cora. Some of you have been in tornadoes, experienced hurricanes. I know those of you living in eastern Washington in 1980, you experienced the eruption of Mount St. Helens, turning day into night as parts of eastern Washington became inundated with ash.
In times, Brethren, in times such as these, don't our anxiety levels elevate? Doesn't one become fearful—at least on the onset of this type of experience? Sure they do!
Let's turn over to the Gospel of Mark, if you would. To the Gospel of Mark chapter 4, I'm going to read verses 35 through 41. The Gospel of Mark chapter 4 beginning in verse 35:
Mark 4:35. On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."
36) Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.
37) And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
38) But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" (NKJ)
Understand, Brethren, the anxiety. Understand the fear in that particular statement. "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
Verse 39:
Mark 4:39. Then He [Jesus] arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
40) But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"
41) And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" (NKJ)
Natural disasters, Brethren, natural disasters cause fear.
A Fourth Cause of Fear referenced in Scripture or Example of Fear is that of Uncertainty.
Let's go back to the Old Testament. Let's turn to Genesis chapter 32. Genesis chapter 32, we'll be breaking into the story of Jacob returning to his homeland and the fear that he had over the uncertainty of how his twin brother Esau would greet him. And if you remember from your study that in Genesis chapter 27 verses 41 through 42, we read that Esau desired to kill Jacob because had received their father Isaac's blessing due to the intervention of their mother Rebekah. So we'll pick up the story flow now in Genesis chapter 32 beginning in verse 6. I'll read verses 6 through 11. Genesis 32 verse 6:
Genesis 32:6. Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."
7) So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; (NKJ)
So, Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. You see what fear can do? Anxiety levels elevating!
Genesis 32:7b. and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.
8) And he said, "If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape."
9) Then Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you':
10) "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.
11) "Deliver me, I pray, (NKJ)
There was fear his voice!
Genesis 32:7. "Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother [of my] children. (NKJ)
We read here that Jacob feared Esau because of the uncertainty of how Esau would welcome or not welcome him based on their past experiences. Those past experiences are events which are found in Genesis chapter 27. Uncertainty, uncertainly can raise our anxiety levels. Uncertainty can cause fear in our lives.
A Fifth Cause of Fear as identified in Scripture or a Fifth Example of Fear as identified in Scripture are Events Yet Future, Events Yet Future—future events that will pale into insignificance the 522 types of phobias known to mankind today! Events that the Wycliffe Bible Commentary refers to as "Men's hearts failing them for fear." The Electronic Version of the same Commentary states:
The political and social crisis, together with the physical disturbances of the world will be more than man can endure.
Keep those thoughts and let's turn to Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter 21, I'll read verses 25 and 26. We're looking at examples of fears identified in Scripture, events yet future. Luke chapter 21 verse 25, Christ states:
Luke 21:25. "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
26) "men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. (NKJ)
The following is taken from Matthew Henry's Commentary New Modern Edition which states:
Christ describes the great fears that people will generally be in. Many frightful sights shall be in the sun, the moon, and the stars, prodigies in the heavens. And here in this lower world, the sea and the waves roaring with terrible storms and tempests such as not been known to mankind and above the ordinary working of natural causes.
Far greater than what we just covered in Acts chapter 27! Far greater than the eruption of Mount St. Helens! Far greater than any F-5 hurricane!
The Commentary goes on to state:
The effect of this shall be universal confusion and consternation upon the earth, distress of nations with perplexity. Men's hearts shall fail them from fear. Men being dispirited, unsoiled, dying away for fear. It shall be as if the world were falling to pieces. Thus, shall the present policies, religions, laws, and governments be all entirely dissolved by a series of unparalleled calamities attended to with the utmost confusion.
You know the ancient eruption of Mount Vesuvius or the recent disaster in Haiti? Well, these disasters will pale into insignificance when compared to the events that we find here in Luke chapter 21.
Just how fearful will mankind be? How devastating will these end time events be? Let's turn to Joel, to the Book of Joel. Joel chapter 2, I'm going to read verses 10 and 11 and then we'll drop down and read verses 30 and 31. Just how devastating are these events going to be to mankind. How fearful will mankind become? Joel chapter 2 verse 10.
Joel 2:10. The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. (NKJ)
Verse 11 of Joel chapter 2:
Joel 2:11. The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it? (NKJ)
Drop down to verses 30 and 31. Verse 30:
Joel 2:30. "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (NKJ)
Keep those thoughts of these end time events and the conditions that mankind is going to be exposed to, keep this in mind and turn to Zephaniah chapter 1. Zephaniah chapter 1, we'll read verses 14 through 17. Zephaniah chapter 1 verse 14:
Zephaniah 1:14. The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out.
15) That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16) A day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. (NKJ)
Verse 17:
Zephaniah 1:17. "I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse." (NKJ)
Devastation is going occur in mankind in the not too distant future. And no matter how high any human being's anxiety level has been, no matter how fearful any human being has ever been, if he or she is to experience these particular events, think what that's going to do to their psyche! Think what that's going to do to them physically, mentally, emotionally!
All of the fears and all of the phobias known to the medical community today will be trivial compared to the fears, distresses, devastations and desolation of mankind in the not too distant future.
Well, Brethren, there are other biblical examples or causes of fears, examples such as—and here's yet another homework assignment for those who like that sort of thing. Study these examples of fear in your own time. You will find impending judgment brings fear. In your Bible study, research what suspicion does regarding fear. You will also find the example of death itself brings fear on humanity.
So to this point in this particular message:
We've defined fear.
We've referenced phobias, the types of phobias of fears.
We touched base on a few.
We've referenced Five Biblically Based Examples or Causes of Fear.
At this point, we're going to take a moment and we're going to look at Two Effects of Fear, one of which can be devastating to us from a spiritual perspective. So we're going to look at two effects of fear, one of which can be devastating to each and every one of us from a spiritual perspective.
So the First Effect, Number One:
Fear can cause one to become demoralized, discouraged, have a broken spirit.
And by that I mean: cause one to feel down and out, if you will, lack motivation. Just let me restate that. The First Effect of Fear:
Fear can cause one to become demoralized, discouraged, have a broken spirit.
And again, by that I mean: cause one to feel down and out or just not motivated.
Turn to another example that we're all very, very familiar with to 1 Samuel 17. 1 Samuel chapter 17, we're going to read verses 2 through 11. Again, we're somewhat breaking into the context, the story flow, but everybody's very familiar with this particular portion of Scripture. 1 Samuel chapter 17 beginning in verse 2:
1 Samuel 17:2. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.
3) The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4) And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5) He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
6) And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders.
7) Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; (NKJ)
That's another wonderful study if you'd like to do it at some point, is to research a weaver's beam and come to understand the size of that particular beam.
Verse 8:
1 Samuel 17:8. Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, "Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
9) "If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us."
10) And the Philistine said, "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together." (NKJ)
And verse 11 is the key.
1 Samuel 17:11. When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. (NKJ)
It's interesting now this phrase "they were dismayed and greatly afraid." They were dismayed is Strong's #2865. It's transliterated as chathath (khaw-thath'). And it means "to break down … by confusion [or] fear" as in to be demoralized. It can mean discouraged, to beat down. It can mean to terrify.
So we find here in 1 Samuel chapter 17 that Saul and all of Israel, they weren't just afraid, they were demoralized. They were discouraged. Fear and anxiety can do that to the human psyche, Brethren. The words of Goliath broke their spirit. They weren't motivated any longer.
The effects of fear on the human being can be devastating. Fear unchecked can break one's spirit. And again by that I mean losing all motivation, and you can lose that motivation either physically, or you can lose that motivation spiritually, or you can lose both!
A Second Effect of Fear, Number Two is that:
Fear can literally cause paralysis to a human being.
Turn to Matthew chapter 28 verse 1. We'll read verses 1 through 4. This is a parallel story of what we just read moments ago in John chapter 20. Matthew chapter 28 verse 1:
Matthew 28:1. Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
2) And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
3) His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. (NKJ)
And now verse 4, Matthew chapter 28 verse 4:
Matthew 28:4. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. (NKJ)
They became like dead men!
The word like (as - King James Version) is Strong's #5613. And it can be translated in the manner of. It can be translated even as or it can be translated like.
The word dead found here is Strong's #3498, transliterated as nekros (nek-ros'). And it can be used figuratively and can mean inanimate, inactive, or inoperative.
We pose a question regarding this: Have you ever been so frightened that you just freeze? I think as kids, as children, as young adults, maybe as teenagers, we've come up behind someone and scared them and they just freeze in their steps.
I'm going to read an article published on July 16, 2002. I'm not quite sure what publication this was published in. It's a short article titled: Drummer on the Mend after Paralysis Fear. And I quote from this article:
Drummer Neil Primrose is recovering well after his pool diving accident after he initially feared that he had paralyzed himself. The Scottish star, who injured himself earlier this month after mistakenly jumping into the shallow end of the pool in Belmont France Hotel where his band was staying while on tour, was scared he had caused himself permanent damage as he lay prone in the water. He says, "I couldn't move my arms or anything else out of fear that I had damaged myself. I kept thinking I couldn't get to the edge of the pool that I was paralyzed and scared even though there was no paralysis." Fortunately band members Andy Dunlop and Dougie Payne were on hand to drag him out of the water.
You see, Brethren, he was so fearful immediately after diving into the pool that his fear caused a momentary paralysis. And that's how devastating fear can be! Fear can affect the mind in such a way that it transmits messages throughout the body indicating that paralysis has set in even though there is no medical indication of such.
So where are we thus far in this particular message?
Well, we've defined fear. We've referenced phobias of fears. We've referenced Five Biblically Based Examples of Fear. And we've seen a couple of the Effects of Fear that fear has on individuals and what fear can do to the human mind.
How then does one overcome fear? How then does one overcome fear? Well, a statement was made earlier in this message that we can overcome fear by implementing or establishing fear in our lives. Well, just how can this be? How can this be?
Well, there are two types of fear. There's worldly fear. And there's godly fear.
One we've already reviewed up to this point in today's message, the fear defined as "a distressing emotion aroused by impending pain, whether real and imagined; a feeling or condition of being afraid; anxiety; or that which one is afraid of." We also found that another definition of fear or synonym of fear is phobia—a fear or anxiety that exceeds normal proportions. So that the worldly fear that we've discussed thus far in this particular message.
The other type of fear—if it's proper to refer to it as a type—the other type of fear is that of the fear of God, the reverential, if you will, the reverential, the awe of God. In Part II of this sermon titled Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled, we will answer the question using the awe of God in that answer. We will answer the question:
How then does one overcome fear?
Transcribed by kb July 16, 2010