I Need Not Fear - a Sermon

I've been going through my computer trying to organize what I need to keep so I can wipe it clean and start over fresh. In this process I found this document. It was my first (and only, so far) sermon from 2013. It's a long read (even after I abridged it for you!), but I still think it's pertinent today.

I Need Not Fear                                October 2005

I woke up last night with tears running down my cheeks
My sleep disturbed by the fantasy of my mind
Being too afraid to shut my eyes
Sometimes I question why I've been cursed with these dreams
Whether there's a true reason for my fear,
or if it's just part of my nature
What do my dreams mean?
Will my nightmares come true?
Will I see my friends die right in front of my eyes?
Will I hear Satan standing next to me?
Will this curse ever break?
How many times have I been told that with Jesus I need not fear?
But sometimes it's so hard to have that kind of faith
And other times I know without doubt that this promise is true.
I want to be full of hope!
Help me to remember your promise that you'll never leave me or forsake me.
I do know that with You, I Need Not Fear.

I was 15 years old when I wrote this. I remember it plainly. I was away from home and woke up in the middle of the night being absolutely terrified and barely able to move. For years, this has been my battle: Fear. It has been a daily struggle of mine to cope with my fear and live normally. And you know what, I have grown oddly comfortable in my fear. You see, I know what fear feels like. I know how to live in fear. And so I have allowed myself to remain in this bondage my entire life, because I haven’t been willing to fight against it! I have become apathetic about my battle with fear.

While I have remained apathetic about my personal struggles, I have become quite passionate about the struggles of others, specifically the physical, emotional, spiritual struggles of women in prostitution. I recently re-read Francine Rivers’ book: Redeeming Love. It is a story similar to Hosea’s in the Bible. The main male character feels God calling him to marry a prostitute and though she is given a way out and a husband with Godly love, she keeps running back to the life she knew. It was easier for her to rely on herself and subject herself to that slavery than it was for her to choose freedom with Christ.

As I was reading this book I was just heartbroken for the women that I have personally met who are lost in this captivity. After I finished the book, late one night, I woke up at 3:30am with one phrase repeating in my head.

“Everyone is enslaved to something.”

 

God got me thinking on that and He was showing me that my passion for women in prostitution is not wrong, but I am losing so much if I keep losing sight of the things that I personally am captive to. He awoke a passion in me for the everyday battlefield. I realized that each one of us is in slavery to something, whether that be fear/anxiety, low self-worth, a job, a marriage, hurts from the past or anger. Anything that we allow to be the top priority in our lives and consume us is our Master. Romans 6:16 in the New Living Testament puts it this way.

¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

 In that way, God Himself will be our master if we give Him our highest priority, but sometimes it is just plain easier to run back to the strongholds in our life than to seek freedom in Christ, it’s just what we know and are comfortable with. 

There is someone else who is striving to be master in our lives as we see in 1 Peter. 

 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

- 1 Peter 5:8

And a lot of times, we just let him. But I think it is time to stand up and fight against our Captor and our captivity so we can live free in Christ!  Here’s the amazing thing. While we keep getting sucked back in, or even running back to the captivity that is holding us down, God still loves us and is drawing us near to Him. In Redeeming Love, the girl keeps running away, but that didn’t stop God from working in and around her. He was still there drawing her to Himself.

Let’s take a look at Hosea Chapter 2. 

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. 16 “And it shall be, in that day,” Says the Lord, “That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’and no longer call Me ‘My Master,’----- 19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me, In righteousness and justice, In loving kindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord. -----23b Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’” (emphasis added)

I especially love verse 16 where God shows us the relationship He wants with us; that of a loving husband, not a domineering master over our lives. He brings us to a breaking point sometimes, but what he has in store for us more than makes up for it. It truly makes it worth going through those hard times to come out of the other side with Christ nearer and dearer than ever. If we allow Christ to be our Master, He will become so dear that He becomes our loving Husband. What an amazing relationship that would be, right? Why settle for captivity when we can have this kind of relationship with our Heavenly Father?

Isaiah 61:1-3 is important to read at this point. 

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (emphasis added)

 Christ came so that we could be freed from the captivity that is preventing us from experiencing the five benefits of a full relationship with Christ that we saw earlier. The question is, how do we work towards that freedom in Christ?  

The first thing we need to do is realize what has been keeping us in captivity. For example, one of my biggest areas of captivity is fear. I can tell you from personal experience that it isn’t always easy to admit to ourselves what we are enslaved to, but God wants to show you so that He can draw you nearer and give you freedom! 

Then our mindset needs to change to Christ’s perspective and we have to come to a point of agreement with Christ, which is called repentance. I have learned that allowing myself to live in bondage to fear is dishonoring to God because I am not trusting Him with my well-being. I would like you to think about this, how has Satan tempted you and enticed you into your captivity? Satan is the ever-present source of temptation and captivity, and when we allow ourselves to fall into it, we truly are sinning and need to repent to the Living God who will forgive us and continue to grow us into who He has called us to be.

Then we need to recognize and get rid of the lies in our lives. Satan is the father of lies, so is it any wonder that we have lies circling our heads when it comes to our captivity? We should be examining our thoughts and comparing it to God’s word. If it is not something God can confirm with scripture, it is probably not a thought from God. Satan is always trying to use lies to make us doubt the goodness of God. He has used lies to make me feel like I cannot be safe in my own home, and that I shouldn’t sleep so I won’t have to deal with nightmares. A really good resource for discerning the God thoughts in your life is the book “Telling Yourself the Truth”. 

 We can’t just get rid of the lies in our life, we have to replace them with the truth, God’s truth! So if you are struggling with self worth, find the Bible passages that speak to how precious you are in God’s eyes. If you struggle with fear like I do, find the verses where God tells us we don’t need to fear like 2 Timothy 1:7. Search out His truth in His word. And no matter what your captivity is, find verses that encourage you, not just verses that feel condemning. Write the scriptures down and carry them with you or I strongly recommend memorizing them.

 When that stronghold seems to be getting back into your life, you can pull out the scriptures and see exactly how God feels about your situation. Rebuke the thoughts of captivity and replace them (as often as needed) with God’s word.

  

 It is amazing, truly incredible the power that Christ has given us through His name. Your captivity may seem hopeless and you’ll never get out, but God has made a way for you to come running into His arms and experience a full relationship with Him. We are on the battlefield daily, even if we don’t realize it, and we need to be prepared!  

I have been thinking about this a lot and I really think each one of us needs an encourager. We need someone we can confide in and express to them what our captivity is so they can help us in overcoming it. Meeting one-on-one with someone you trust, or being that someone for them to trust.  I strongly believe that we are not called to be in this battle on our own. I can’t count how many times I have had people pray for me in my battle with fear and it has helped so much to know that I am not alone! Satan tries to isolate and make us feel like we are the only one going through this struggle but maybe the person you choose to confide in has struggled in the same way and you didn’t know it. What a blessing to be able to use our struggles for God’s glory in encouraging someone else through that same struggle.

Another thing I have noticed is how when I am overcome with fear or really any of my other areas of captivity, that playing music and worshiping the Lord breaks any power that was held over me. Your thing may not be music, maybe God has given you the ability to paint or fix cars and you draw closer to God whenever you do that activity. Do it strategically! When Satan is attacking, purposefully turn your heart and mind to Christ, PRAY, seek Christ, Seek freedom! Seek freedom with me.

 Fear is still my battlefield, but I know I’m not in it alone, and I know that God is faithful to see us through and to break every chain that is holding us in captivity. Allow Him to break the chains with you!