New Season Church

OVERCOMER
Most of us battle with fear at some point
Kid afraid during storm—Teenager worried about parent’s marriage.
Agonizing losing job—Worried about health of someone you love.
LIFE’S MOST COMMON FEARS
_____ Loss (Spouse, Marriage, Child, Health, Job, Control)
_____ Failure (Inad, Measure up, Keep up financially, Spiritual failure)
_____ Rejection (Left out again, Never marry, Marriage doesn’t make it)
_____ Unknown (Health, Job, Stuck abuse, Good—bad)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a
sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7 NKJV
What does this mean for us?
If Fear is not from God—Then we are Not accepting what’s not from
God.
Some say fear is the opposite of faith…
Fear is faith—in wrong things.
If God is going to empower us to overcome fear—let’s start by defining it.
What is fear? We could say that…

• FEAR IS PLACING FAITH IN THE “WHAT IF’S?”
Repeat
This is exactly what Moses did when God called him and asked him to go
on God’s behalf…

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say,
‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Ex. 4:1
Instead of placing FAITH in GOD’s PROMISE,
Moses put FAITH in the WHAT IF?
What if they don’t listen to me?
He has an encounter with God , God speaks to Him, God gives Him direction
do first thing He does is run through some worst-case scenarios
Isn’t this what we often do?
What if…
I get sick? Lose job? We must wear masks for the rest of our lives
Kids get hurt?
WHY DO YOUR “WHAT IF’S” MATTER?
1) WHAT YOU FEAR THE MOST REVEALS WHAT YOU VALUE
THE MOST.

If you are afraid of losing your marriage—What do you value? Marriage.
If worried something happening to a child—Shows you love/value child.
Afraid can’t pay bills—might lose job—You value financial security.
What you fear the most reveals what you value the most.
And number 2…
2) WHAT YOU FEAR THE MOST REVEALS WHERE YOU TRUST
GOD THE LEAST.

Let that sink in for a minute.
Consider repeating both key statements.
Afraid of losing marriage—Don’t trust God with your marriage.
Something happening to a child—Not trusting God with your children
Terrified of not having enough—Not trusting God to be your provider.
I want to encourage you to be honest for a moment and truthfully
Acknowledge where fear in the “what if” is stronger than our faith in God.
Let’s give it a name…
• I’M NOT TRUSTING GOD WITH: ___________________

My children, Our future, My health, someone I love,
My aging parents. The future.
I want to give you a moment to name it
Why is this important?
You cannot defeat what you can’t define.
Think about it—Give it a name—Now write it down.
As you do—remind yourself of the truth…
God has not given you a Spirit of Fear—Power, Love and Sound Mind.
Let’s get practical. How will God empower us to overcome our fears.
OVERCOMING OUR DEEPEST FEARS

• ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FEAR AND CHOOSE TO TRUST GOD
ANYWAY.
Repeat
In other words, you aren’t going to close your eyes and put your fingers in
your ears and say over and over again—“This isn’t happening to me.”
You are going to tell the truth—I am nervous about this happens.
This is heavy on my heart. I’m worried about this…
But—I—am—choosing—to—trust—God.
This is what David did in the O.T.
2 Occasions:
1. With Goliath, before He was King
2. With Saul
Before David was King—Saul was jealous of all the attention David was
getting and tried to kill David.
David was terrified—But he chose to put his faith in God.
David said…
4 In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What
can mere mortals do to me? Ps 56:2-4

As you are reading you could highlight, “in God”—not in what I’m afraid
of… In God I trust and am not afraid.
Then David asked—What can mere mortals do to me?
If we are honest—they can kill him—Right?
David had shifted from an earthly perspective to an eternal one.
Sure they can do something now—But eternally speaking…
He was using a different perspective. From an earthly perspective, yes you
can kill but from an eternal perspective, you can pursue me but it won’t
change the fact that I am still a child of God and a citizen of and unshakable
kingdom, you can pursue me but cant change the fact that God still
has purpose on my life., you can pursue me but you cant change the fact
that...
MY GOD IS ON THE THRONE! HIS WILL SHALL BE DONE!
Personal Story of overcoming fear
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• SEEK GOD UNTIL HE TAKES AWAY YOUR FEARS.

And this is exactly what David did.
The man who truly had a lot to fear on earth—grew so close to God…
That God removed his fears…
This is what David wrote—Feel the power of his faith…

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my
fears. Ps 34:4

He delivered me from all my fears.
He delivered me from all my fears.
He delivered me from all my fears.
Because my God (or OUR God) has not given us a Spirit of Fear!

Acknowledge the fear and choose to trust God anyway—Then seek him.
Seek the Lord—Grow close to Him—Know him—And watch him deliver
you from you greatest fear!
I love what John Wesley, the famous circuit riding preacher (from 1700’s)
and founder of the Methodist Church said…
"I have never known more than fifteen minutes of anxiety or fear.
Whenever I feel fearful emotions overtaking me I just close my eyes and
thank God that He is still on the throne reigning over everything and I take
comfort in His control over all the affairs of my life.” John Wesley