Hello Dear Listeners, welcome to overcoming temptations. My name is Oyisi Okatahi. Today our topic is titled: Fear Not. Our Bible reading is taken from Isaiah 41:10 and it says: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Now let us look at the first book of the Bible Genesis. In Genesis 15:1 “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Now let us look at the last book of the Revelations. In Revelations . Revelation 1:17 “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.”
The word Fear not appears 365 times in the Bible, one for each day of the year. This is God’s assurance to you that you need not to be afraid about anything. Is it sickness like Cancer, Diabetes, HIV. God says fear not. Is it financial problems, poverty, unemployment, is your land lord about to throw you out, have you been cheated or duped? God says fear not. Are you over 30 or 40 or 50 and not married and wondering if you can ever get married? God says fear not. Have you lost a love one or a major pillar in your life. God says fear not. Are your enemies after you to ensure they destroy you and bring you down. God says fear not. Have you been given a responsibility that is bigger than you and you do not know how to cope or what to do. God says fear not. Whatever the problem, challenge or difficulty God’s word concerning you is FEAR NOT.
Let me tell you. The opposite of Faith is fear, and as Faith is of God, Fear is of the devil. Let us look at Revelations 21:8 the Bible says – But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. So you see before the Bible talks about those who will face Gods punishment, then number one on the list was not fornicators or murderers. The number one on the list was the fearful. Fear is ungodly because when you are afraid you are showing that you do not trust or believe in Gods ability to help or save you.
Let me explain to you in a simple way, say for instance you have a child. Let us assume your child is afraid of mosquitoes. So your child saw one mosquito in the house and ran away from the house. You told the child that you can buy insecticide to kill the mosquitoes or provide a mosquito net or simply kill the mosquito with your hands. But the child does not believe you and decides not to enter the house. The same way you will be angry and irritated that your child does not believe you can kill a mosquito or provide a solution. So also God is upset when you do not believe He can solve all your problems. Let us look at Luke 1:30 and 37. The bible says- And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. For with God nothing shall be impossible. Wow!, so if you know that nothing is impossible with God why should you be afraid.
So relax, be calm, be cool. God is in control. No need to panic. In my own opinion one of the worst thing anybody can do to another person is to kill the person. See what Jesus in response to this in Mathew 10:28. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. So if the worst a man can do is to kill the body, you do not need to be afraid of him, Jesus said fear not because that same man will also die and be judged by God for innocent bloodshed. However you only need to fear God who has the power to kill not only the body but also the soul.
If you have been diagnosed with a terminal disease let us say cancer. Fear not. Fear has no advantage, it only accelerates death. Be confident, make the most of your life. Thank God for the opportunity to live and have faith in Him for healing. Remember we shall all die one day, life is only for a while.
So I will leave you with our bible passage for the day- Isaiah 41:10 and it says: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Have a blessed day.
