Title: No Fear
Scripture Reading; Proverbs 1:20-33
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:
30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a rise in fear, anxiety, stress, and depression among the population
It is discovered that these University undergraduates are some of the most vulnerable as they face strict lockdown measures and had fewer resources to cope with it.
On the other hand fears are mounting that the Ukraine war will spill across borders leading to World War 3. The United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization warned that food prices could rise by up to 20% as a result of the Ukraine War, raising the risk of increased malnutrition across the world.
So how do we handle fear?
At one level, fear is healthy. ‘Fear’ is an emotion induced by a perceived threat. It is a natural human emotion. It is God-given. It is a basic survival mechanism. It keeps us alive. It protects us from danger.
However, there is also such a thing as unhealthy fear. I call it the debilitating fear or paralyzing fear.
The Greek word commonly used in the New Testament is phobos – from which we get the word ‘phobia’.
The Acronym Fear – ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’.
Common phobias include fears in relation to health, finances, failure, growing old, death, loneliness, rejection, messing up, public speaking, flying, heights, snakes, spiders and cockroaches .
They also include things such as FOMO – the Fear Of Missing Out, the fear of not being special.
On the other hand there is such a thing as a healthy fear – the fear of God.
It is an understanding of who God is in relation to us. It means respect, reverence, awe, honor, adoration and worship; it could even be translated as love for God. It recognizes the power, majesty and holiness of God Almighty. It leads to a healthy respect of God and is the antidote to all other fears and phobias we experience in life. Fear God and you need not fear anything else or anyone else.
Four of the occurrences are in our passages for today.
- No Fear of Harm
Proverbs 1:33 says, ‘But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.’
One meaning for fear no evil is having no fear of harm.
If you are wise, you will ‘choose to fear the Lord’ (v.29) and ‘listen’ to him. He promises that you ‘will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm’ (v.33
This is repeated in Psalms 91:10 concerning Fear no Harm. It says, ‘No harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
- No Fear of People
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:
Many times in the book of Proverbs, we are told ‘not to be afraid’. And more often than not it has reference to people. We have to understand that Jesus is sending us out as disciples to preach the Gospel and to heal the sick.
Even as we are living our lives as Christians, involving in the works of God, we may be opposed by individuals, face hatred, be persecuted and be called demonic.
Proverbs 1:24-29 is a reference to what kind of people we will face. And we are to fear no people. You do not need to be afraid of other people, however powerful they may be (for example local councils, governors and kings): ‘Without knowing it, they’ve done you – and me – a favour, giving you a platform for preaching the kingdom news!
Who is God referring to when He challenges us to fear no people?They are the people who refuses God and regards not God. They turn away their eyes, closes their eyes from God and ‘set at nought’ anything that is of God. They will not have God to rule over them, and hates and deliberately rejects God. They have a common enemy: the child of God.
- No fear of non-human
Proverbs 1:33 ‘But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.’
Evil here is not just referring to human but also evil spirit. It is common that because of fear, stress, anxiety and especially depression, it can lead to demonic oppression and even demonic possession.
I totally believe in spirit oppression and even spirit possession because I myself experienced it literally. But I learn one important truth. Yes, demonic oppression happens, but God is so much stronger. And know that God loves you. Let God ground you to love, not fear.
‘God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.’
- No fear of death
Proverbs 1:33 ‘But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.’
This phrase from ‘fear of evil’ also means they have no reason to fear the eternal disaster.
The typical family of Isaac.
I said just now that if you fear God, you have no fear of anything or anyone. How so? THE ONE WHO IS GREATLY TO BE FEARED,JESUS CHRIST – WENT THROUGH ALL THE FEARS THAT BESET US AT THE CROSS.
Talk about the FEAR OF HARM, Jesus was harmed so badly that he was sentenced to the highest penalty for criminal of which he was innocent of; he was harmed so badly to the point that he died. Think about it – would you like to be sentenced to execution by hanging for a crime you didn’t do? I am afraid many would say so. Please imagine the fear Jesus underwent for us – the greatest harm Tanta mounting to death and yet he faced his fear and died for us so that today if you are fearful of harms in any form, you will have HIS PROTECTION.
Talk about the FEAR OF PEOPLE. The bible says in Proverbs that the fear of man lays a snare but he who trusts in the Lord is safe. Jesus stood fearlessly in the praetorium to answer to the high priest. He stood fearlessly before Pilate. And for all his fearlessness of man and authority, he incensed them greatly to the point they shouted, “Crucify him, crucify him!” They wanted the Barabbas, the murderer to be freed and Jesus be crucified in his place. Imagine the intense wrath of the Jews and the religious leaders against Jesus. Yet Jesus braved through their opposition so that today, if you are faced with the fear of man, you can have his courage to stand strongly on your conviction and for God and you dare say along with Peter in Acts, “We choose to obey God rather than man.”
Talk about the FEAR OF NON-HUMAN, WHICH IS EVIL SPIRIT. Jesus did not resist the sinister plan of Satan to crucify Him on the cross. Jesus knew He had to be our Substitute by atoning for our sins and our alienation from God by being our Paschal Lamb. He died so that God could resurrect Him in victory. Satan never expected Jesus to be resurrected but God did resurrect Him after the third day so that He could subdue all things – including evil spirit on earth, in hell or in the heavenly realm under Him. The death and resurrection derailed and outpowered Satan and all his fallen angels so that today we as His redeemed and His children can have authority over any evil forces. “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will CAST OUT DEMONS; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; and they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18). Indeed, the serpent shall bruise the heel of the Seed of the woman but the Seed of the woman shall crush the head of the serpent, through the resurrection of Jesus. Brothers and sister, you may be bruised on the heel by the serpentine spirit but today, Jesus is challenging you and commanding you to use His name, His complete victory on the cross to pick up that serpentine spirit and cast it out.
Talk about the FEAR OF DEATH -which is mortal human’s greatest fear. Yet the empty tomb is a testament that death does not have the last say for those in Christ because Jesus is no more in the tomb but He is raised and is alive today so that no matter what we go through that looks like death – be it death of a dream, death of finance, death of a relationship, death of youth; death of loved ones, we can expect and hope for resurrection by the Holy Spirit because our Christ, 2000 years ago has died for us so that we do not have to die ultimately. And even if we are experiencing some earthly death in any forms, it is only a while because resurrection is always waiting at the end of our dark tunnel.
THE ONE WHO IS ULTIMATELY TO BE FEARED HAS ALREADY GONE AND SUFFERED FOR ALL OUR FEARS SO THAT TODAY WE CAN HAVE NO FEAR IN HARM, PEOPLE, EVIL SPIRIT AND DEATH. WHO IS YOUR FEAR? GOD OR THE DEVIL? GOD OR LIFE? GOD OR DEATH? FEAR GOD AND YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE AND NO ELSE TO FEAR.
