How to Overcome Fear: As much as I like Storm Clouds Gatherings videos, I do not agree with their contention that the root of all fear is fear of Death. The link follows: https://youtube/watch?v=9pnqWGBYP7Q&feature=em-subs_digest While it is a key tenet of mental health to come to grips with our own mortality (See Dr. M. Scott Pecks Further Along the Road Less Traveled), the only thing we truly fear is the unknown. Certainly, none of us know - outside of Scripture, which is Gods Holy Word - what happens after we die. That is what we fear, not death itself. So what do the Scriptures actually say about fear, and what happens upon our death? Actually, quite a bit. From one of the best known Psalms, the 23rd: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. By establishing a Law, and a Standard of moral behavior, signified by His Rod, and His Staff, we know that obedience to that Law will remove all fear. But to go further, from Proverbs: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Prov. 1:7 AKJV (All scriptures courtesy of BibleGateway) So, there is a place for fear in service to God? You bet. Actually that word means respect and awe of the Lord, in the original Hebrew. But, it also means fear as the translators put it. A little known king of the Southern Kingdom of Israel, Judah, and also a prophet, Jehoshaphat, allays the fear of his people by giving them the necessary facts beforehand of an upcoming battle: Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 2 Chron. 20:16-18 What if we were led by men and women like this? That spoke with the fear and knowledge of the Lord? What if, before we made a sales call on a brand new prospect, we consulted the Lord first? We can do that, cant we? Cant we pray, and He will give us an answer - most surely before we walk in the door, or the make the phone call? What if, before we entered into negotiations for the buyout of a new company, or plowed into a room full of crying babies needing their diapers changed or to be fed a bottle, or added a new group of recruits to our work force, or laid some of them off, we asked the Lords blessing? Is that so hard? Maybe, no, surely He never fails to give us the right information to complete our task - whatever it is. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still - stand still! Thats all you have to do. As to Death, by the time the Apostle Paul was writing, it simply wasnt called death or dying, but sleep, and here is what he said about it: Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.I Corinthians 15:51-52 That is such a deep and profound chapter that I wish I could quote the whole thing. But Paul was a preacher of the Resurrection, as all Pharisees were. He did not say, Were all going to get raptured and join the Lord up in the sky somewhere. He did not say, therell be streets of gold and well sit around drinking lemonade. You just read what he wrote. We are waiting on the last trumpet - a clear sound heard by everyone when our loved ones who are ASLEEP will be raised incorruptible. Any other doctrine is false, and not supported by Scripture. I hope this helps you overcome your fear of death. I get sick, so do you. I very rarely have accidents, but I still have them. I dont have nearly the hair I did when I was younger, and Im no where near as good looking. And I get into some very dangerous, potentially violent situations with very violent people. Its part of my job, for some reason. Lets call it salesmanship. I dont accept that I am necessarily going to die. Men in the Bible didnt die - why cant I live forever? But I dont fear death. Ive faced death every day of my life, for as Paul said, I die daily. And neither should you fear death, or anything whatsoever (for all things are known to God), if you accept the Salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Period. Yours in Christ, Who Overcame Death at Calvary, Dan Matheny soundclick/player/single_player.cfm?songid=7080343&q=hi&newref=1
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 03:27:06 +0000