Overview
This teaching examines “Freedom from Fear: How to Get Rid of Fear” through Proverbs 23, showing how fear, word, words shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Transcript
Understanding Freedom from Fear: How to Get Rid of Fear
God bless you guys. I’m gonna teach you a little bit about how to get free from fear one way, particularly from 2 Timothy chapter one. But have you ever had occasion to have stress or pressure in your life when you’re so exhausted, you can hardly think or even you don’t want to? We all have a little bit of that.
Perhaps you might have been tempted to say to yourself, dear God, what’s wrong with me? How come I’m in such a state? How can I get out of this? I feel like I’m losing my mind sometimes. I’m going crazy. Well, this could be the kind of situation that Timothy might have found himself in, in 2 Timothy, when the spirit of fear was pushing its way into his life.
As he might have been considering the threat of death since the insanity of Nero was taking place then and they were persecuting Christians at the time, but God met him where he was at and directed Paul to write this verse in a letter to Timothy, encouraging him. 2 Timothy chapter one, verse seven. It reads, for God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Fear is simply timidity or cowardice. It’s what sneaks into our lives to want to limit us in the movement of the word or in the action on the word. And the very next verse tells us why it was haunting Timothy, because it wanted to make him ashamed of the testimony of the gospel and ashamed of his leadership in some way or form so he wouldn’t speak up.
It wanted him to dishonor the word in his life and his leadership. Fear by implication means faithless, where one is agitated, anxious, worrisome in any category or confrontation in life. Fear produces a lack of peace.
It produces uncertainty. It produces a mind void of excitement, believing in peace. Fear produces negative results.
The Biblical Foundation
Like Proverbs 23, seven says, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Fear is not a gift from God. It is not a gift from God.
It is mental torture that affects the heart from which flow the issues of life. So fear in, fear out, fear in, fear out. In contrast to fear, God is calling or admonishing Timothy to moderation and self-control of his mind.
In the word, in the expression there, God has given us a sound mind. For him to think with purpose and on purpose. That was the encouragement.
That’s what the sound mind is. This word for sound mind has its root in a word meaning to restore to one’s senses, to discipline or correct. And verse 13 tells us how to do that.
Verse 13 says, hold fast the form of sound words. Hold fast. That means you keep it in your possession as an owner.
Examples and Spiritual Lessons
You own it. The form is the pattern or example of the word and sound means healthy and safe. So the words that you hold fast are an example from the word that is safe and healthy for you.
Here’s a practical method of doing this in the first Psalm. So if you’ll turn to Psalm one. Yob-tham, Psalm one.
We’re gonna look at the first three verses. Says blessed or happy is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law does he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season.
His leaves shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. There are choices to be made in life. And in verse one, here’s some choices that a blessed man does not make.
He does not take possession of them. In order to take possession, they first must be considered. And then you think them through and you make them your own and practice them.
This is to be understood in the words walketh, standeth, and sitteth. Walking suggests that they make it part of their lifestyle. We sometimes ask someone, what’s your walking like? Well, that is what your profession is.
Faith in Action
That’s generally what you do as a job, your walking like. A stand is your attitude. Here, towards sin, an attitude towards sin.
And that attitude will confirm your walk. Sit is a judgment. So those people that sit in the seat of the scornful are people that judge people by mocking them and scoffing them.
And since these are all choices, sit, walk, and stand, there is considerable thought time to the words associated with them. And as such, their owners delight in them. However, in contrast, verse two, the blessed or happy man chooses otherwise.
He chooses to meditate in the word day and night because his delight, his pleasure, his longing, his desire is the word of God in his life. And his meditation in the word is how he holds fast to the form of healthy words, the example of healthy words. And that brings about the freedom to appropriate the resources and abundance that freedom from fear provides.
A man will be blessed by meditating in the word daily. And this meditation is talking to oneself the word of God every day. Verse three gives some results.
It says he shall be planted like a tree. A tree is a sturdy object. It’s held in place by its roots.
Walking in Love and Confidence
It’s a healthy tree that is fruitful, that this blessed one is successful in the word that he meditates. That’s what makes him successful. Like for example, in Job.
Job had everything going for him. He was famous, he was wealthy, he was happy and prosperous. He had everything going for him, but he had a doubt in his mind whether his offspring were not enjoying their life the way they were supposed to enjoy it.
And so he did things that developed fear in his life, but he caught himself after horrendous occasion took place and he lost everything he had except his wife. Lost his health, lost his wealth, lost his children. He lost everything because he was afraid.
But he got back on track and in spite of the environment of the negative friends that he had, he kept in mind holding fast the form of healthy and safe words of what God thought about him. He held on to that. And eventually he came to the place of victory and abundance.
Joshua also was encouraged by God to have a sound mind by meditating in the word daily. His effort made his way successful and prosperous. Being strong and courageous is not an act of fear.
Applying the Teaching in Daily Life
It’s an act of boldness. It’s an act of believing. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, even while in captivity and being trained in service to the king of their city, their captivity, held fast to words making for a healthy mind from their youth, including the food they ate.
This practice of hanging on to the word of God that they knew prepared them for the confrontation of the fiery furnace. And without any anxiety, without any care, without any hesitation, when they were confronted by the king with the fiery furnace for standing against the evil of the day in spite of their position, they were without care or anxiety and they declared the words they held fast to, whether you throw us in the furnace or not, we will not worship you, O Nebuchadnezzar. And of course, God honored that believing.
God honored that peace in their life by sending an angel to bring a complete deliverance that just flabbergasted the king who promoted them in the kingdom as a result. And they were slaves. Anyway, let’s look at Philippians chapter four and see God’s encouragement for words that we speak, that we are to hold fast to this form of sound words.
Philippians chapter four, verse six, be careful or anxious for nothing unless you’re confronted by death or a fiery furnace or pestilence or disease or no, absolutely nothing. Nothing, not the little things, not the, you don’t get, you know, if God tugs on your arm and says, you walk by and eat in Walmart, you don’t get bent out of shape, you just turn around and go back there. Don’t fear that you messed up, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made unto God and the peace, the peace of God, peace is the opposite of fear.
You’re peaceful when you’re believing God, you’re peaceful when you’re holding fast to safe and healthy words. The peace of God, which passes all understanding shall keep or guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, verse nine, brethren.
All right, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things or think these things. These things that you’re to be thinking, that you have in mind, that you’re holding fast to these safe and healthy words that we’ve just read and seen examples of, these things, which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in Paul, particularly do, and the God of peace shall be with you, a life without fear, a life without anxiety, because happy is the man that meditates in the word, successful in the man that meditates in the word, prosperous in the man that meditates in the word, and he’s a man without fear. God bless you.
Key Takeaways
- So the words that you hold fast are an example from the word that is safe and healthy for you.
- And his meditation in the word is how he holds fast to the form of healthy words, the example of healthy words.
- You’re peaceful when you’re believing God, you’re peaceful when you’re holding fast to safe and healthy words.
- Fear by implication means faithless, where one is agitated, anxious, worrisome in any category or confrontation in life.
- In contrast to fear, God is calling or admonishing Timothy to moderation and self-control of his mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “Freedom from Fear: How to Get Rid of Fear”?
This teaching examines “Freedom from Fear: How to Get Rid of Fear” through Proverbs 23, showing how fear, word, words shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from Proverbs 23.
How can believers apply this teaching?
Fear by implication means faithless, where one is agitated, anxious, worrisome in any category or confrontation in life.
Scripture References
Proverbs 23
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
