DEFEATING FEAR
LIVING FREE — LIVING UNAFRAID
1 Samuel 17
WELCOME:
Good morning. As always, it is so good to see you here this morning. I hope you had a great week and are having a wonderful start to your weekend.
Let’s be clear — we live in a world filled with evil and pain and many scary things. It doesn’t take much effort to find monsters living among us. But what’s worse than monsters living among us — are the monsters living inside us. Those things that lurk just below the surface of our lives. We all have them.
Things like: FEAR, and ENVY, and LUST, and APATHY. And when these things are left unchecked — they have the potential to derail us from God’s best and lead us into dark and destructive places. But through this series — I hope you are able to discover just how the gospel of Christ empowers you to confront and conquer the monsters that haunt us.
INTRODUCTION:
And today I want us to discover how to defeat the monster of FEAR and learn to live unafraid!
As I’ve discovered through my years of ministry, there are many people who live their lives paralyzed by the monster of fear. For some it’s the fear of failure. For others its the fear of rejection. Often its the fear of inadequacy. And at times its the fear of harm or poverty.
During the dark days of the Great Depression, it was the then, sitting U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who made that famous statement which has often been recalled during frightful times. As he said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
“Fear activates the enemy’s work in our lives — in the same way faith activates God’s work in our lives.”
Fear is one of satan’s favorite tools in seeking to destroy our lives and cause us to distrust Christ.
Even so, the Word of God reminds us,“‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear.’”(Hebrews 13:6).
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
“The Lord is my light and my salvation – so why should I be afraid? The Lord protects me from danger – so why should I tremble?”
Psalm 27:1 (NLT)
This morning I want us to discover this truth — when we are afraid, when FEAR creeps up — we can put our trust in the Lord.
MESSAGE:
So with that as sort of the foundation for today’s message — let’s look at a very familiar story to discover the path to defeating fear.
It’s found in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel.
In chapter 17, we find the story of David and Goliath. Now, I know this is a story that you’re very familiar with — even our culture knows this story. But it’s an important story, and it gives us the path to defeating the MONSTER we call FEAR!
Now, the backdrop of this 3000 year old story is that its about conflict and intimidation. This story begins in a place called the Valley of Elah. It was a deep and arid valley filled with rocks and dust and thorns.
One one side of the valley encamped the army of Israel. And on the other side encamped their greatest enemy — the Philistine army.
This ancient army was notorious for their vile practices. In honor of their false god Dagon, they conquered nations and enslaved their peoples. Believing their god was the god of fertility, they viewed sexuality in a pevereted way and used it as a tool to gain his favor. History tells us that they practiced religious prostitution and even human sacrifice to this pagan god.
And so, the Philistines weren’t only standing against Israel, they were standing against everything that Israel held dear. They were awful people — vile and revulsive.
But what you really need to know is that they were massive and intimidating. They were like the big kid on the block. They were the bully in the neighborhood — and their army was massive. And their primary goal was to humiliate and enslave the nation of Israel.
Even their warriors were large. One in particular. A man named Goliath of Gath. He was a beast of a man. And he stood over 9 feet tall. Daily he would step out of the Philistine ranks to taunt and defy the army of Israel. He brashly mocked God and made fun of the people.
For forty days, he continued to belittle them. Every morning he would step out onto the battlefield, raise his voice and shame them publicly. And each morning the soldiers in Israel’s army would cower in fear!
As so, with that we come to 1 Samuel 17. Beginning in verse 8 we read these words:
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
1 Samuel 17:4-11 (NIV)
Now, skip down to verse 16 with me. It says:
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
1 Samuel 17:16 (NIV)
It’s at this point that David arrives on the scene. He’s not the biggest, nor the broadest. In fact, he wasn’t there to fight. He had come to bring his brothers (the real warriors) some food. And when he arrives, he speaks with his brothers to see how they are doing. It’s at this point that Goliath steps out.
Look at verse 23. Here we’re told:
23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
1 Samuel 17:23-24 (NIV)
Now, I want to pause here and acknowledge that the real MONSTER in this story wasn’t GOLIATH! The real MONSTER that was haunting Israel every day on that battlefield was FEAR!
In a very real way, the people of God were being stalked and scared by the monster of FEAR. It was FEAR that was haunting them.
And so, make no mistake about it:
1. FEAR IS A RUTHLESS MONSTER!
Fear is a monster that everyone deals with on some level or another. Even the greatest of believers can be paralyzed by FEAR. In fact, some of the greatest men I’ve ever known have had to face their own battles with this monster..
Fear, by its very nature will hold you back. When it strikes, FEAR can and paralyze and immobilize the best of men.
Maybe that’s why Solomon warned us to avoid the temptation to give in to our FEARS. In Proverbs 12:25, he says:
“Worry weighs a person down…” (NLT)
“Worry is a heavy load…” (NCV)
Fear’s best weapon is to immobilize you and hold you back!
That’s what was happening in the Valley of Elah on this day. All of Israel’s army was frozen in their tracks. They were terrified and unable to move.
That’s what fear does to us if it is not addressed.
Fear will take away our options.
It makes us believe that there is no other way, no other option, no way out.
It robs us of hope.
It causes us to give up — and to doubt that things can get better.
It causes us to think irrationally.
It keeps us from thinking through our challenges thoroughly. It leads us to act spontaneously and to unwise things. It leads us to poor choices that cripple us and keep us from moving forward. That’s what fear does.
You know, as a young man — I had a reoccurring nightmare. It began in my high school days — but continued into adulthood. It was an awful dream that always involved some sort of chase. Usually the scene played out at night. I was usually alone. And there was often a wild dog or some beast that was chasing me. (Listen, I was attacked by a pitfall as a boy — and still have the scars to show for it — so the fact that my nightmare was often large vicious dogs is no surprise). But in this nightmare, I always found myself stumbling through the dark, trying to run, and just unable to stay on my feet. I would keep falling down. Weak. Nervous. Frightened. Slow.
And even when I was able to stand — I could never move fast enough . . . it was as if I had lead in my shoes. And I just couldn’t escape the moment.
Now, I don’t know why I had that horrible dream. But I did — quite often. I would usually awake in a cold sweat with my heart pounding.
But here’s what I know. It was always FEAR which held me back and caused me to stumble in that nightmare. And while that was just a dream—it is the same in this life.
Fear’s best weapon is to immobilize you and hold you back! And FEAR is completely contrary to the spirit and nature of God.
So what are we to do in the face of fear? Is this story teaching us that we are to rise up in our own power and strike our monster down? No! That’s what the world’s interpretation of this story is — but that’s not God’s purpose in telling us this story.
Because, David may have slayed Goliath — but He didn’t do it in his own strength and power. And let’s be honest, DAVID ISN’T THE HERO of this story.
Which brings me to my next point. And that is that . . .
2. JESUS IS A MIGHTY HERO!
While David was willing — it was God who was able!
After hearing the way this giant was mocking God and His people, David felt compelled to respond. He wasn’t brave — but His trust was in the Lord! And we know this because Samuel tells us as much in verse 32. Look at it with me. Here it says:
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
1 Samuel 17:32-37 NIV
David understood that it was always God who had defeated the MONSTERS in his life. He had done so in the past — and He’d do so again!
David understood that the LORD is always the hero in our story!
And so — on that day, David (empowered by the Lord) stepped out onto the battlefield to face the giant and to slay the monster of fear!
Look at verse 40, it says:
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.
1 Samuel 17:40-46 (NIV)
Notice again, the HERO in this story was the Lord Almighty.
Everything David did, he did under the power of the Lord Almighty. And what was true for David is also true for you and me. The only way we defeat the MONSTER OF FEAR is to come at it in the Name of the Lord Almighty.
Listen, don’t buy into that psycho-babble that would say: YOU CAN DO IT! FACE YOUR GIANT! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Just think positive thoughts and envision yourself as an overcomer.
Don’t listen to that! Just because you convince yourself that your able won’t defeat your enemies. God wants you to learn to become solely DEPENDENT upon Him.
Some of you have probably grown up with hearing that “CHRISTIAN CLICHE” that says, “God won’t put more on your than you can handle.”
That comes from a misinterpretation of scripture. It refers to a passage where the Bible does say that God won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your limits. It’s found in 1 Corinthians 10:13. And it says,
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
But when it comes to life — it’s always more than we can bear. But the beauty is that God is more than able to BEAR our sorrows and our trouble — and even our FEAR.
And when life gets hard, and unbearable, it should drive us back to Jesus! Because in Him we can overcome all things. For greater is He that is in me than He that is in this world.
God wants you to learn to become solely DEPENDENT upon Him. And so, He invites you (like David) to find your purpose and your power and your divine destiny in Him.
And when you look to Him as the author and finisher of your faith, when you look to Him as your strength, and your help in time of need, and your hope in a desperate hour, and your redeemer, and your defender, and your deliverer — you can rest in the confidence that HE WILL BE WITH YOU!
And do you know why? Because, He is the HERO of your story!
Which leads us to the answer to DEFEATING FEAR — and it’s not done in our own power, but in the power of Jesus. And the way we experience His power is through faith!
Which leads me to my last point.
3. DEFEAT YOUR FEAR WITH FAITH IN GOD!
Let me give you three action steps that you can do to help you defeat fear and live unafraid in life:
The first is:
— See things from a different perspective.
When FEAR is haunting us, we tend to lose sight of everything but that MONSTER. We focus on it and dwell on it, and think about it. We see the mountain and not the horizon. We see the worst case scenario but lose sight of reality.
In a very real way — we allow FEAR to consume our thoughts and our attention.
But God’s word challenges us to change our perspective. Perspective is all about seeing something from a larger frame of reference. We need to see beyond the MONSTER of FEAR. We need to see around it, and above it.
The apostle Paul urges us to change our perspective by changing our thinking. He said in Romans 12:2.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
In this verse, we are told that we should not be thinking like the world thinks, but instead, we should be transformed by renewing our minds.
So we must take our eyes off our problems and put them on Jesus! This was the struggle for Israel’s Army. All they saw was their enemy. But David saw the Lord.
Verse 4 tells us that Israel viewed their enemy as “A champion.” It says, they saw him as bigger than they were. —“His height was six cubits and a span.”
And they saw him as better than they were — better prepared. —
“He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor . . . 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back.”
And they saw him as stronger than they were. — His “…coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels . . . his spear . . . and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.”
All they saw was their FEAR. But David saw his circumstance through the eyes of faith!In verse 46 we’re told that when David looked at this giant of may before him — he saw the giants demise. He viewed him as a defeated foe. In verse 46 he said,
46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
Change your perspective — take your eyes off of FEAR and put them on Jesus!
— Ask for the Lord’s help.
This is an act of FAITH. Simply call upon the Lord.
You know, It’s one thing to see things through the lens of faith — but it’s another to ACT UPON THAT FAITH. When you call upon God, you are acting in faith!
And God always responds to your faith in Him.
So, go to God with your fears
Some time later in life, David was again confronted by the MONSTER OF FEAR. It happened to be due to this same pagan people (the Philistines). His response was to ASK FOR THE LORD’S HELP AGAIN. And after God protected him and he escaped, he wrote these words in Psalm 34.4. He said,
“I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears”
Psalm 34:4 (NIV)
The apostle Paul, no stranger to fears himself (2 Corinthians 7:5), gave us this directive. He said,
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ”
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
If you want to be free of FEAR — then ASK FOR THE LORD’S HELP! (PRAY)
Don’t underestimate the power of prayer. What you can’t do — God can! So ask Him. Step out in faith and ask!
And lastly, I challenge you again to (as I’ve reminded you before) . . . do go at this alone.
— Face your fears with others.
DON’T SUFFER IN SILENCE — OR IN SOLITUDE!
Solomon wrote these words in Ecclesiastes 4. He said,
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him ump. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)
You know, the book of Ecclesiastes has been called the sad sequel to the book of PROVERBS. Primarily because Solomon, it’s writer failed in many ways to heed his own counsel.
Let’s not be like Solomon. Let’s welcome the support and help of others. Don’t do life alone!
Our common enemy – the devil – and all of his satanic forces are working together against you. Hoping to overthrow your trust in Jesus.
Just as much as they are working together against you — God’s word says you should work with others against them. Because, mark it down.
• There are some attacks you cannot face on your own.
• There are some battles you cannot fight on your own.
• There are some enemies you cannot defeat on your own.
• There are some attitudes you cannot change on your own.
• There are some habits you cannot break on your own.
- There are some problems you cannot solve on your own.
And one of those is FEAR! So, welcome the support and help from others to overcome it!
Let others stand strong beside you. As David came alongside his brothers on the battlefield, so also you and I must allow our brothers and sisters in the faith to stand alongside us.
Turn to them and welcome their support. Pray together. Allow them to pray for you.
CONCLUSION
I know I’ve just told you that “two is better than one.” But, there is one occasion when one is better than two. And it’s when it comes to the matter of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I read this past week that Elvis Presley supposedly wore a cross, a Star of David, and other religious medals around his neck.
Somebody once asked him, Elvis, “why do you wear all of those?” What is your religious belief?” He replied, “Well, I don’t want to miss getting into heaven on a technicality.”
Covering all the bases with religious syncretism is not the answer to your greatest need — nor your greatest fear!
In John 14:6, Jesus says,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is the answer. And if you haven’t settled your faith in Him alone, then FEAR will only be the beginning of your problems.
The only way to be truly saved from ALL FEAR is to run to the cross and put your faith in Jesus — the one who died for our sins and defeated death, hell, and the grave.
When it came to David’s battle (and the MONSTER OF FEAR facing his people), he trusted in the name of THE LORD, and on that day — David watched his enemy fall.
Verse 48 says,
“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.” 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
I submit to you that David’s victory came solely because of the work of God in his circumstance. And the same can be true for you as well.
CLOSING PRAYER
Fear tells you YOU ARE NOT ENOUGH. YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH. YOU CAN’T GET ENOUGH. YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH. And on and on the lies go.
But to each of these, Jesus reminds us that HE IS ENOUGH. HE HAS ENOUGH. HE IS GOOD ENOUGH. AND HE WILL BE ENOUGH! So whatever you need — LOOK TO JESUS!