~ Fear ~

[timothy10]

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? ( Mark 4:40 )

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ( Luke 12:32 )

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. ( Matthew 10:28 )

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
( Hebrews 13:6 )

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
( 2 Timothy 1:7 )

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; ( 1 Peter 3:12-14 )

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. ( Romans 8:15 )

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ( Romans 8:37-39 )

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ( John 14:27 )

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ( Isaiah 41:10 )

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
( Isaiah 41:13 )

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. ( Isaiah 43:1-2 )

I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? ( Isaiah 51:12-13 )

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. ( Isaiah 54:4 )

In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. ( Isaiah 54:14 )

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. ( Proverbs 1:33 )

When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
( Proverbs 3:24 )

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. ( Proverbs 3:25-26 )

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
( Proverbs 29:25 )

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ( Psalm 23:4-5 )

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. ( Psalm 27:1-3 )

I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. ( Psalm 34:4 )

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. ( Psalm 46:1-3 )

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. ( Psalm 55:22 )

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
( Psalm 91:4-6 )

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
( Psalm 91:7-10 )

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. ( 1 John 4:18 )

[Crossfire]

A simple rule that I live by:

A person who has nothing to hide is a person who has nothing to fear.

If you have secret sin in your life then you have plenty to fear. The fear of being exposed, the fear of living a lie to cover up your sin, the fear of losing something precious to you when you are exposed, the fear of missing our on God's best for your life seeing as what you sow you will most certainly reap, the fear of becoming spiritually cold - complacent and religious... I could go on.

What every believer needs to understand is that while God is in the business of justifying sinners, nowhere in scripture will you find that God justifies sin. In fact, the Bible states the complete opposite. The grace of God is the most powerful force in this universe. I am absolutely convinced that you can't experience God's divine grace without it changing you in some capacity.

2 Cor 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Ezekiel 36:26 "And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart."

After salvation, if there is no desire in your heart to become a different person than you were before you got saved, then seriously doubt that what you have experienced is God's divine grace. But here's the thing... you and I are absolutely powerless to change anything about ourselves. If we could could, we wouldn't have needed a Saviour in the first place. We are completely dependent on his grace to transform us and we can't experience His grace if we do not have a personal relationship with him.

Matthew 7:8 "For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

Don't your secret sin turn you into a religious pharisee. Seek God's face today!