Perspective:
Gen. 1:26-28
; Ps. 111:10
; Gen. 3:10
-Mankind was created to know
God, the Almighty, infinitely wise, all-knowing, and unconditionally
loving One, and man was to live all of his life in the consciousness
of His presence. Man was to be in awe of the magnificence of the
Lord and to be the container and revealor of God on earth. In
our everyday lives, we were to be constantly a visible manifestation
of the invisible God, the purpose for our existence on the planet,
the meaning of life.
After man decided to be his own god, the center and the source
of his own life, sin entered and fear followed and becomes the
driving energy of man' s life:anxiety, worry, fret, dread and
panic become part of man's vocabulary.
| Man who was created to fear One who unconditionally loves him, now potentially fears all persons, spirits, and created things-except the God who alone gjves him life. |
Hope:
Matt. 22:37-39
; John 14:21
, 27
; l John 4:18
-To return from a
self-loving-self to self-loving-others, one must resume the dependent
attitude, to 'stand under' God in obedient faith, to again actually
partake of Him , to be a participator in His love, His very life.
Man was created capable of receiving and becoming the dwelling
place of divine love, and revealing that love in his behaviour
within creation which leaves no room for fear.
Isa. 42:7 ;61:1 ; Lu. 2:10 ; l Jn. 4:18 ; Rom. 8:15 , 16 -The Gospel is the message of what God has done in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, His death, His resurrection, the Conqueror of death, and the power of the lie; and in His exaltation He sends the Holy Spirit to come and dwell within us, returning us to the original design, by which He wills to bring us all out of the dungeon of fear where we are tormented by worry and anxiety.
Change:
Phil. 4:6
; John 14:1
, 27
; Isa. 8:12-14
;26:3
-Worry centers on
present and future problems as if there is no God; it gives honor
, respect and reverence to the power of evil, standing in terror
and awe of them.
However, the fear of God centers on the character of God, His unchanging presence within us, and His promises. Deliberately taking and acting on His promises by obedient faith, we demonstrate His love and express His peace. In this mode, we confront, work through, and rise above all of life's adversities. Thus, fear is primarily in the mind and behaviour which we can change. You cannot command your emotions.
| Regardless of your feelings, you act by the word in your mind, and your behaviour will follow suit, and victory awaits. |
Eph. 4:18 ; 2 Cor. 4:4 -Fear and worry describes us totally absorbed in ourselves , in self-preservation, self-interest, and self-pity, so that we see neither God nor man except as they can be used to further 'our' meaning of life. We either fear God as He designed us to do, resulting in our living in His love, OR we fear the forces that we perceive as hostile to us, taking away the illusion of our meaning of life.
Matt. 6:32-33 ; John 16:33 ; 2 Tim. 1:7 -We must accept responsibility for our fears. God command us to 'Fear Not"366 times in Scriptures. Jesus commands us to 'Be anxious for nothing', and He placed the responsibility in our hands when He said, 'Let not your heart be troubled'.
| Christians feel fear, but they make it the springboard for faith to fear God. The answer to fear is the greater fear of God. Believers feel fear but know it is a lie , and replaces it with the truth of his relationship to God and the presence of God within him. |