We must overcome our fear of…
1. Failure. In Matthew 25:25, the one talent man hid his
talent because of his fear of failure. Don’t use the fear of failure as a
reason not to ask someone to study the Bible with you. If you don’t know the
answer to a question (and you won’t have answers to every question), just be
honest. Offer to look into that particular question and meet again to discuss
it.
2. Not fitting in. We all want to be loved and liked; it’s
human nature. We have a fear of not fitting in and being made fun of, but as
Christians, we are called to be different; to be a peculiar people (1 Peter
2:9). Jesus told us to expect persecution and to rejoice in it. He told us to
be the light and salt of the world. He told us that the world hated him. If we are
following His footsteps, why would they love us (John 15:18-19)?
3. Responsibility. “For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his
body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians
5:10).
4. Speaking to the lost. We are so guilty of using the
excuse, “What if they won’t listen to me?” Jesus commands us in Matthew
28:18-20, to go and teach all nations. If we do not reach out to them, who
will?
5. What others think or say about us. Peter was so afraid
of what others would think of him that he denied our Lord altogether (Matthew
26:69ff).
How do
we overcome these fears?
The more
we study God’s word, the stronger we become.
To
overcome fear we must stay in the word of God.
-adapted from a lesson
taught by Brother Matt Choate