The Two Sides Of Fear - Pastor Joel Urshan

[Music] um [Music] good evening tree of life church welcome and thank you for joining us here tonight online we had every hope and expectation that we would be joining together in person that's what we love to do and we thank god for this technology that we're able to join together online when need be but it's certainly not our primary preference we much would rather be together worshiping the lord together and so i wish that we were all able to do that tonight and uh and i don't want to cause any alarm but throughout this last year and a half we have had to you know take precautions here and there and that's that's what we've had to do tonight just take some precaution uh we're aware of some potential exposure some potential infection and some folks that are uh battling uh covert right now and the cases that we're aware of the people are doing well we give god the praise for that we give god the glory for that but we just felt when weighing the situation that it would be prudent and that it would be responsible for us to take tonight and just let everybody kind of catch their breath enjoy the beautiful weather outside hopefully you're able to do that wait till bible study is over but unless you could take your mobile device and so forth but uh we just felt that tonight it would be good uh and we pray about these things we don't ever respond with a knee-jerk reaction we don't want to overreact nor do we want to under react but we want to do what's right and what is responsible and so tonight we felt that it would be good for us to just let folks worship from home and watch online and then we'll pick back up i do want to give you an update on the status of bishop buller many have asked and we we do want to provide you with an update uh we're thankful that god has kept his hand upon him uh last week bishop went into the hospital for some tests and to undergo some tests and in so doing they were going to be releasing him early this week and when they went to release him to a different facility where he could regain his strength from his hospital stay just as a formality they did a a coveted test and learned that he he tested positive for kovic and so this was a surprise to the family and to us but it it was the case and we are very glad to announce that he is symptom-free so praise god for that he's asymptomatic and we hope and pray that that remains to be the case and for everyone that you may know who is perhaps who has come down with this virus we're praying in jesus name that he will deliver them and give them the victory that they need in fact before we go into the word of the lord we're going to pray to that end right now wherever you are if you could just join with me in faith believing and pray this prayer of faith we know the power of prayer and we know the power of faith and we know the power of the prayer of faith so if you will bow your heads with me we're going to pray together in jesus name mighty god we love you and thank you for your goodness we thank you that you are the great i am that you have all power in heaven and in earth and we ask in the name of jesus that you will minister right now to those who are struggling those who are sick those who need a touch of god in their body their mind their soul beyond covet other challenges they may be facing family challenges financial challenges lord god emotional challenges we pray that you will break the chains that may bind the people that sit under the sound of my voice those that are their loved ones who may be facing these adverse difficulties i pray in jesus name that the anointing of god will destroy the yoke that you will be glorified exalted and we give you the praise for it in the mighty and the matchless name of jesus we pray amen and amen we're going to go into the word of the lord and i want to talk to you tonight about fear and i want to speak specifically about the two sides of fear the two sides of fear because fear is something that we have seen a lot of in the last year and a half we've dealt with it in our society even in our faith walk at times we've dealt with fear and so i want to talk to you about what does the bible say about fear and and particularly the two sides of fear that i'm going to be talking to you about tonight because one of the things that came to our attention throughout this year and a half where we have faced originally covet and then a variety of spiritual struggles that that unfolded uh following that one of the verses that really came to the forefront it was a beautiful verse of scripture and it simply was pinned by the apostle paul to his protege the young minister timothy he said that god has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and a sound mind that's second timothy chapter 1 verse 7. now you may have heard me teach on that scripture and of course one of the great truths of it is that that god has not given us the spirit of fear but he has given us power that's the power of god he has given us love that's the love of god and he's given us a sound mind when you understand the power of god and you understand the love of god then god provides soundness to your mind it takes the anxiety away it takes the worry away it takes the fear away but that fear that paul is talking about in second timothy chapter one and verse seven is a fear that has to do with timidity it has to do with with fear of taking action a lack of boldness and a cowering and so god has not given us that spirit a fear where we cower from things and we are timid about the things of the lord but god has given us power love and a sound mind when you talk about fear in the scriptures it's it's important to note that not only does the bible condemn that spirit of fear that i've just described but it also exalts the fear of the lord and so we have this this interesting dichotomy when it comes to the matter of fear on one hand we are told to fear not neither be afraid on the other hand we are told to fear the lord the wise man solomon said in the book of ecclesiastes that to fear god is the whole duty of man and that this is the conclusion of the whole matter and so fearing god is very important fearing god is is vital to the believer's walk with the lord and yet we are not to fear so what we've done with that many times is we have we have tried to somehow separate that fear say well this is a different kind of fear and it is it is true that that spirit of fear that the apostle paul was talking about has to do with a timidity and that is a different kind of fear but the fear that we are admonished not to participate in not to give way to that that is a a phobia kind of fear and that actually is similar to the fear that we are to engage in when fearing the lord that we are to fear god and that word means exactly what we think it means it means to fear god then the old testament the word for fear is a moral reverence a moral reverence of god and of the things of god and so when we look to the word of the lord for this that's going to be our guide not our clever handling of it not our cunning craftiness and well it must mean this and it must mean that no we're going to let the word of god tell us what this means how do we synchronize this need to fear god this admonishment to fear god and not just admonishment but the beautiful fear of the lord and then how do we refrain from fearing and and being afraid when actually ladies and gentlemen it's the same thing it depends on where you direct that fear so i want to tell you this fear of things other than god is a form of idolatry in the same way that love for things other than god is a form of idolatry in the same sense that worship of other things besides god is a form of idolatry in that same context fear of anything that is not of god or that is not god is a form of idolatry fear when placed in the lord is a beautiful thing we approach it from a very negative perspective we come at it from the perspective of fear is bad fear is awful fear is terrible and paul talked about the spirit of fear that god did not give us but again he's talking about a timidity god did not give us timidity but he did give us a moral reverence for him and that moral reverence and it's a real fear it's not it's not a play on words it's a real moral reverence you know in the same sense that right here on this property we have large construction vehicles that are at work during the day praise god for that getting this building built in jesus name but those large construction vehicles are are great vehicles they do a lot of good but you don't want to stand in front of one of them while it's moving forward you need to have a healthy reverence for the power of that machinery and so that's what we do when we talk about god having a moral reverence not to misuse not to mishandle not to get crossways with not to be on the opposite side of there needs to be a healthy fear of the lord and when we place fear in anything that's not of god then we are committing a form of idolatry we are exalting that thing to the position of deserving our moral reverence and those things do not deserve our moral reverence things such as as unpredictable unpredictable possibilities things such as sickness and disease things such as what could happen could have would have been should of things from the past fearing of failure fearing of rejection don't exalt those things to the level of earning and being deserving of our moral reverence do not be afraid of those things fear the lord don't fear anything else so let's let's look to the word of the lord and understand what is fear and how should it be understood how should it be practiced psalm 19 verse 7. let's talk about some powerful uh passages of scripture here brother brian duvall in his message a few weeks ago described this as the the the six-pack of the of the believer the one that the christian armor that we put on that if we'll have these six powerful traits in place we have a fortification and it's so true listen to this the law of the lord is perfect converting the soul the testimony of the lord is sure making wise the simple those are two great things the law of the lord and the testimony of the lord verse eight the statutes of the lord are right rejoicing the heart the commandment of the lord is pure enlightening the eyes the fear of the lord is clean enduring forever the judgments of the lord are true and righteous altogether more to be desired are they than gold yay than much fine gold sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb now the fear of the lord is in that list of six very valuable qualities that belong to god the law of the lord the commandment of the lord the statutes of the lord the judgments of the lord the testimony of the lord and the fear of the lord the fear of the lord sits within the context of those great things that are more to be desired than gold that are more to be desired than honey and more to be desired not just gold but fine gold and not just honey but honeycomb the source of the honey more to be desired are the law of the lord the commandments of the lord the judgment of the lord the statutes of the lord the commandment of the lord and the fear of the lord not only that but the fear of the lord is contained within the context of the seven spirits of god the seven fold manifestation or expression of god's spirit the spirit of the lord wisdom counsel might understanding knowledge and yes the fear of the lord it's a beautiful thing it's not a it's not a bad thing and it's not something that needs to be explained away the only time it becomes a problematic thing is when you put it in anything other than god when you put it in anything other than god it has torment when you put it in anything other than god it has a foreboding when you put the fear of god in anything other than god then all of a sudden it it has this jagged unnatural edge to it that that that sets you on on edge and causes you to feel anxious causes you to feel paranoid causes you to feel at a disadvantage and vulnerable and afraid but when you put the fear of god the fear in the lord notice what the bible says in psalm 19 9 the fear of the lord is clean it's clean it's free of all the taint of the paranoia the fear of the lord is clean it's free of all the taint of the anxiety and the worry and the depression that comes from fear placed in anything else don't put your fear in anything else put it in the lord in fact the bible says do not fear him who is able to destroy your body in other words don't be afraid of the person who can do you harm in fact he said fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell and the only one that can do that is the judgment of almighty god so we don't put our fear in anything else because when we do when we put our fear in anything else we exalt it to a level it does not belong on and so we want to look to the word of the lord let me give an example of something we should not fear just like we should not love things that are not of god things that are not god we should not fear things that are not god psalm 23 verse 1 the lord is my shepherd quote it with me at home if you can the lord is my shepherd i shall not want he maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters he restoreth my soul he leadeth me in the patterns of righteousness for his name's sake yea though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil it's the same moral reverence that we just heard about when it's the fear of the lord it's clean but here in the valley he said i will fear no evil why because evil is not god evil doesn't deserve your moral reverence cancer doesn't deserve your moral reverence kovid doesn't deserve your moral reverence nothing in this world deserves your moral reverence god alone deserves yours and my moral reverence i will fear no evil i will not give evil the pedestal of my moral reverence 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 anointed my head with oil my cup runeth over surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever so here i am sitting before an audience online and when we did not hold service in person tonight because we're being cautious an abundance of caution and we do that periodically when we feel we need to when we think that there's a cause for that not out of fear not out of fear in fact uh just the opposite when jesus was taken to the wil to the wilderness by the spirit of the lord and he was tempted by the devil the bible says that the devil took him to the pinnacle of the religion of the temple pinnacle of religious temptation pinnacle of the temple and he said cast yourself down for the scriptures declare that the angels will bear you up if the if you're the son of god the angels will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone so what are you afraid that was the temptation of the devil are you afraid to cast yourself down and jesus said something so powerful and it wasn't it wasn't just some random arbitrary little word of advice it was the written word of god he said it is written thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god so when we take precautions we do so in an effort to not tempt the lord not out of fear for of a disease but out of a fear of the lord we we receive the promises and the protections of god and and those promises and protections have with them the the the constitution of common sense that we are to practice and wisdom and understanding and knowledge that we are to practice so when he said you shall take up any deadly thing and it shall not harm you he didn't mean go grab a rattlesnake and dance around with it that's not what he meant but he did mean if you happen to come in contact with something while you're going about doing good then god's protection is going to be with you and you can lean upon the lord for his protection trust in the lord with all thine heart lean not unto thine own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths it is important that the people of god have a healthy fear of the lord and that the people of god reject the spirit of fear timidity reject the spirit of lacking boldness no we are the people of god we belong to him he is our lord he is our savior he is the mighty god in whom we trust so when we practice wisdom that wisdom is a fear of god not a fear of anything else when we practice common sense it's a fear of god not of anything else it's an acknowledgement of the laws he has put in to our world it's not a fear of the enemy it's not a fear of the adversary our fear belongs in the one who has all power and so let's erase the idea that fear is a bad thing it only becomes a bad thing when you put it in the wrong thing but when you put fear in the lord just as when you put love in the lord just as when you put worship in the lord just as when you put faith in the lord it becomes a beautiful thing that will protect you that will keep you that will lead you that will guide you that will help your family that will help your marriage that will help your mind to be stayed upon the lord it's the fear of god that comes on you when you open up your mouth and you feel like you might want to say something against someone and all of a sudden you feel a check like maybe i shouldn't say that about them that's the fear god came on you and that's a good thing because you don't want to raise up your mouth against your brother you want to call any man a fool don't don't let your mouth be guilty of spewing death let the fear of god prevent you from doing that sort of thing amen that's the fear of the lord and it's clean and it endures forever look at these promises that come with fearing the lord psalm 34 and i want to i want to take a few moments to look at these scriptures and i'll just point out we're reading from the psalms the psalms they are filled with praise right it's a book of praise and yet so many references to the fear of the lord i tell you a nice little homework piece you could do is is get on your concordance and look for all the references to the fear of the lord look at the promises that rest in fearing god and so many people struggle with that that concept oh but i i don't i shouldn't fear god because god is love and god is great and god is good and all of that is true except that you are to fear the lord fear's not a bad thing when you're putting your fear in the lord you have fear right you have fear okay put it in god and it becomes clean don't put it in a horror movie don't put it in some new strain of disease don't put it in some kind of a a fear of the future or a fear of the past or a fear of failure no don't put it in those things put your fear just as you would your faith just as you would your worship and love put your fear in the lord notice what psalm 34 says verse number 7 the angel of the lord encampeth round about them that fear him and he delivereth them verse number 8 oh taste and see that the lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him oh fear the lord ye his saints for there is no want to them that fear him so in verse 7 we learn that when you fear god the angel of the lord encamps round about you in camps round about doesn't visit you on the weekends has a tent and is set up shop and follows you when you leave the house and when you leave the workplace he goes with you the angel of the lord well everybody's got a guardian angel people might say that's not what the bible says the bible says the angel of the lord is reserved for them that fear the lord and you go to verse 9 and the scripture says oh fear the lord ye his saints for there is no want there's no poverty there is there is no lack to them that fear the lord the young lions do lack verse 10 of psalm 34 the young lions do lack and they suffer hunger but they that seek the lord shall not want any good thing come ye children hearken unto me i will teach you the fear of the lord if you've had somebody in your life that has taught you the fear of the lord you are among people most blessed somebody who would say don't do that don't do that you're dabbling with something you don't want to dabble with they're teaching you the fear of the lord don't go there i thank god i had parents like that i thank god i had mentors and teachers and and counselors around me all my years of growing up that man if i was about to cross a line we used to say it this way they'd put the fear of god in us amen how many ever had somebody put the fear of god in you that's what the psalmist is saying i will teach you the fear of the lord you better thank god every day you had somebody that put the fear of god in you i i i clearly don't mean that they were using a fleshly application of fear to do that because that's not the fear we're talking about and that's not the side of fear we're talking about we're talking about the fear placed in the lord not the fear placed in things that are not the lord two different applications of that moral reverence one causes happiness and joy the angel of the lord encampeth round about them that fear him no want to them that fear him in the proverbs it says that the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge and and so this is what you get when you put your fear in the lord when you put your fear in things that are not the lord you get the worry the paranoia the anxiety the worry the the compulsive thinking that that drives you to a point of of total nervousness and anxiousness and you don't have peace because because you don't fear the lord you fear everything else fear the lord don't don't fear other things psalm 40 6 and verse 1. god is our refuge god is our strength god is a very present help and trouble remember that with whatever you're facing god is our refuge god is our strength and god is our very present help in trouble i'm telling you what if we'll just remember that that helps with so much that takes care of so many things that when we just truly understand and believe and know that god is in fact our refuge that god is our strength that god is a very present help in trouble hallelujah and notice this verse 2 i love the first word therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed you know if the earth was removed you'd think that because for fear if the earth was removed you'd think that'd be cause for alarm but the psalmist said it's already settled in my heart my mind my spirit that god is our refuge and our strength and our very present help in trouble so because i know that even if the earth were removed now can you come up with something more cataclysmic than that something more catastrophic than that that kind of covers the spectrum of things to be afraid of and the psalmist said i'm not afraid of that because my fear is in the lord it's a sanctified fear it's a clean fear it endures forever so i'm not going to be afraid i mean you take it from whatever your fear is spiders whatever your fear is heights whatever your fear is i mean everybody's got a different kind of fear or phobia that their flesh struggles with whatever that is you take it from there all the way up and past and through all the other fears till you arrive at the earth being removed oh my goodness that's that's something that the flesh would most likely fear but not the psalmist not the soul that has settled god is my refuge god is my strength god is a very present help in trouble because i know that i will not fear though the earth be removed 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 and then he gives this other great word sila amen think about that for a moment is what he's telling you think about the fact that god is your refuge think about the fact that god is your strength think about the fact that god is your very present help in trouble and that you should not be afraid though the earth is removed though the mountains are carried into the sea though the waves thereof roar and though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof you should not be afraid verse number four there is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of god the holy place of the tabernacles of the most high god is in the midst of her she shall not be moved god shall help her and i love this line and that right early hallelujah the heathen raged we've seen that before the heathen raged the kingdoms were moved we've seen that before the kingdom's moving he uttered his voice and the earth melted but the lord of hosts is with us the god of jacob is our refuge see la think about that for just a little while the lord of hosts is with us come behold the works of the lord in verse 8 what desolations he hath made in the earth he maketh the wars to cease and to the end of the earth he breaketh the bow cut at the spear and sunder he burneth the chariot in the fire be still and know that i am god i will be exalted among the heathen i will be exalted in the earth the lord of hosts is with us the god of jacob is our refuge sila think about those things that's what the apostle paul told us to do whatsoever things are good whatsoever things are true what sort of things are pure whatsoever things are honest if there be any virtue if there be any praise whatsoever things are of a good report think on these things you know the bible says in isaiah 26 thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee when our mind is stayed upon the lord then we will have peace perfect peace peace that passes understanding peace while the heathen is raging peace while the kingdoms are moving peace while the mountains are swelling with the shaking of the earth peace peace like a river that may glad the city of god hallelujah if you're having trouble keeping your mind stayed on the lord ask him to help you lord help me to keep my mind stayed on you help me to keep my mind focused on you there's a hundred different things right now i've got a i've got a plate full of problems where do i start this is going wrong and that's going wrong and this could go wrong and that could go wrong and before long you're afraid to go to bed you're afraid to wake up you're afraid to leave the house you're afraid to go to work you're afraid you're afraid you're afraid because your mind has not stayed on him and you're putting your fear in everything except the lord we're not going to do that we put everything in him everything all of our love all of our devotion all of our worship all of our fear everything i've mentioned this many times i want to say it again here you know the bible does not speak of entertainment in a positive connotation there is no place in the scriptures where we find that people entertaining themselves with the amusements of this world was something god ordained or something that god sanctioned never of course we are a world that is consumed with entertainment and so all of our emotions are engaged when we are being entertained the very root of that word enter the very the very concept of it is we're allowing things to enter that that obtain that attain that maintain us and and and we are ascertained by that that entertains us and so when we when we do we we are consumed our whole being is is engaged with something that is not god if you were to look through the categories of what hollywood would offer as entertainment you would arrive at things like comedy things like drama things like romance things like horror these are the emotions of humanity love romance and and anxiety and suspense and and drama and horror fear comedy laughter and joy and happiness and mirth oh the devil would love to capture all those emotions that you have and lead them and guide them and manipulate them and tell you where they belong and how they should be applied and how they should be how they should be consumed but none of those things belong in the hands of your adversary don't give those to him nor his agents his workers of iniquity don't give those emotions to him give those emotions to god give god your laughter give god your fear give god your your drama amen give him your praise and give him your drama give him your love give him your devotion everything you got inside the psalmist said this bless the lord all my soul and all that is within me all that is within me you got some drama give it to him bless the lord with your drama you've got some stuff going on at work and home and and and you're trying to make it all happen and make it all work and you're getting stressed and you're getting anxious and you're becoming afraid put it in the lord give it to god it'll become clean he'll give you direction he'll give you peace and it'll satisfy your soul oh taste and see that the lord is good praise his holy name we're going to come to a close here but i wonder if you could at home right where you sit or stand or wherever you are i wonder if you could make up in your mind today i'm going to put my faith in god and i'm going to put my fear in god and i'm going to put my love in god and i'm going to put my worship in god when you do those things you are allowing yourself to be in christ amen we're in christ by baptism in jesus name but that's a that's a one-time moment that's a one time experience but you you can't just come up out of the water and then act like it never happened you've got to stay immersed in jesus christ and this is how you stay immersed in jesus christ you you give him everything you pour it all into him you immerse yourself body soul and spirit into the love the name the power of almighty god hallelujah we're going to have church on sunday in jesus name and uh we felt again that tonight it was good and responsible for us to take a moment let everybody catch their breath and and kind of let this this that we're facing as a city kind of go by but we're not afraid we're not afraid we trust in god we believe in the lord we hold to his word hallelujah hallelujah i rebuke fear off of you tonight in the name of jesus christ i command it in the name of jesus to loose its grip off of you to loose its hold i command it to flee in jesus name agree with me right now in the name of the lord agree with me in faith believing that you are free from fear that your fear belongs to god your fear belongs to god [Music] see that's when fear becomes healthy that's when you're able to make a responsible decision and say i shouldn't do that not because you're afraid of that but because your fear belongs to god and god is teaching you how to walk where to go hearken unto me children come unto me the psalmist said and i will teach you the fear of the lord and if you'll have a healthy fear of god then you'll know what to watch what not to watch where to go where not to go who to be with who not to be with you'll know what to abstain from what to engage in not because you're fearful of those things but because your fear belongs to the lord and the fear has become clean and sanctified by his good spirit praise god could you lift your hands with me right now in the name of jesus let's pray together lord i thank you for your people your precious people hallelujah lord i thank you for the boldness that rests upon your people we are not a timid people but we are meek by your spirit but even that meekness is strength even the humility that you give us is strong lord i pray that a healthy fear of god would well up in our spirit lord i feel your presence and i believe every person watching this can feel your presence hallelujah we've got work to do lord hallelujah we've got work to do and you've empowered us and enabled us to do that work but let us have a healthy fear of the lord that balances us in our spirit that balances the way we conduct our lives and causes us to walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise trusting in you and leaning upon your holy word you are god and we praise your holy name hallelujah we thank you precious jesus love each and every one of you thank you for tuning in tonight go ahead and continue there in the presence of the lord as we discontinue this broadcast tonight may the lord be with you and the peace of god surround you in jesus name we pray god bless you in the name of the lord [Music] you

Channel: Tree Of Life Church Cincinnati Ohio

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Length: 44min 34sec (2674 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 01 2021