From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, we'll learn to face down the giant of fear.

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Are you here and you have lots of fear in your life? You're not alone. You're not the only person. People don't want to tell you that they struggle with fear, and they do. So if you're here and you struggle with fear, you're not alone.

But how do you defeat fear? Because God doesn't want you living in fear, and he doesn't want me living in fear. Fear is defeated by faith.

Well, what exactly is faith? Faith is simply believing God, believing what God says. And faith knows that God is always with you. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, he's always with you. He's bigger than any giant of fear.

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He can heal every scar with real truth, real love, real hope. From his heart.

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This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for being with us today. You know, every day in the news and on talk shows, from newspapers to magazines, we are inundated with a barrage of warnings on everything from what to eat, what to breathe, what to watch, who to hate, and who to love. And coffee is bad for you. No, wait, got that wrong. It's changed. Coffee is good for you now.

But listen, beer is packaged and sold to the most gullible. How do we avoid the fear and know what turmoil is worth our attention? God doesn't want his children to live in fear. So what's the remedy? If you find yourself giving in to the giant of Fear today, he's going to help us understand God's plan for defeating fear with your faith.

But it needs to be a faith that is a faith in something worth having faith in. And that kind of faith will move mountains. Have your Bible handy. As Pastor Jeff continues with part two of the lesson we began last time called the Giant of Fear.

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Now, it came about after this that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among the descendants of the giant. Just a short little one-verse story about a guy named Sibekai who defeated a giant named Saph. Well, what in the world can we learn about fear from this story? Three truths.

Truth number one, fear is a thief. Now, this is the third giant that David and his kingdom, his men have had to face. One of David's mighty men, Sibekai, is fighting this giant. And this giant's name is interesting. His name is Saph, not Staph, like an infection, but Saph, and the word Saph means to snatch away or to wait at the threshold. And that's what fear does. Fear is one of those things that waits at the threshold to snatch away from us, to steal from us. Fear is a thief.

But truth number two, not only is fear a thief, fear is a liar. Fear lies to us. I think it was Zig Ziglar that said this: fear is false evidence appearing real. F E A R. False evidence appearing real. That is fear. Listen, if you ever are faced with a decision and fear is entering into the picture, don't do what fear says to do, because fear's a liar and it will cause you to make bad decisions.

Case in point, a man named Jeroboam. If you remember your Bible history, Israel's first king was a man named Saul. Saul was king of Israel for 40 years. And then after Saul came David, the great king, the man after God's own heart. God compared every king after David to David. David was the standard bearer for good kings. And after David came his son Solomon. Solomon had the great kingdom filled with gold and silver and good times. And then when Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king.

Well, Rehoboam was a big idiot. Rehoboam was a jerk. And under Rehoboam, the kingdom split. It was 12 tribes made up one nation. All of a sudden the kingdom split. Ten of the tribes said, forget it, Rehoboam. We're not going to follow you. Two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, stayed with Rehoboam, but the ten said, forget it. And they made Jeroboam their king. And God had ordained that. God had sent a prophet to Jeroboam before he became king and said, listen, buddy, if you will follow after me, if you will do what I say, I will bless your kingdom like I blessed David. What a great promise from God.

But what did Jeroboam do? Jeroboam began to look at the evidence. He began to calculate and see. When we fear, fear always does this. You look at the evidence and you forget to look and factor in God. You look at this piece and this piece and this piece. You look in this direction, this direction, this direction, this direction. You never look up. And Jeroboam did that. He didn't factor in God.

He said this in 1st Kings 12:27: "If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem," now Rehoboam is king in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem's where the temple is. And the people have to go to Jerusalem three times a year to offer sacrifices. He says, "If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their Lord, even to Rehoboam, King of Judah. And they will kill me and return to Rehoboam, King of Judah."

And so you know what he did? He built two golden calves, one at the southern part of his kingdom and one at the northern part of the kingdom. And he told those ten tribes, "Listen, it's too much for you to go all the way down to Jerusalem to worship. You just come and worship at the golden calf." The thing that he did was evil in the sight of the Lord. And Jeroboam, who had a promise from God, who could have been a great king with a great legacy like David, ended up being such a bust. He became the standard bearer for bad kings. You read in the Book of Kings all the time, when there's a bad king, they would say, "And he followed in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat." He's the standard bearer for bad kings. He blew it. He made such a bad decision. Why? Because of fear. Because of fear.

Now I was thinking about fear being that thief and fear lying to you and to me. You know, there are so many people that come to church Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, and they don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They know about God in their head, but they don't really know God in their heart. And when we give the invitation for people to make a decision, for people to step out and receive Christ, the fear just rises up and the fear says, "No, don't do it. What will people think of you? Boy, you've been singing in the choir for all these years. What will people think of you if you come to be saved? You've been a deacon. You've been a Sunday school teacher. What will people think of you?"

And the fear just rises up. Because of fear, you stay in your seat. Because of fear, you don't give your heart to the Lord. Because of fear, you don't obey the Lord. You don't come and surrender yourself to the Lord. Fear's gonna send you all the way to hell. And that's gonna be true for many people. Fear will take them to hell. It'll steal heaven from them because they weren't willing to face that giant and step through that giant of fear. Saph, that big old giant, represents fear. Fear's a thief. Fear's a liar.

And truth number three, fear is defeated by faith. Fear is defeated by faith. Hey, are you here? And you have lots of fear in your life. You're not alone. You're not like the only person. Because lots of people don't want to tell you that they struggle with fear, and they do. So if you're here and you struggle with fear, you're not alone. But how do you defeat fear? Because God doesn't want you living in fear, and he doesn't want me living in fear. Fear is defeated by faith. By faith.

Well, what exactly is faith? Faith is simply believing God. It's believing God, believing what God says. God says something. You say, "Lord, I believe that even if I can't see it. Lord, I believe it because you said it's true." And I've told you before, I tell you again, it's so important. Truth is not what you think. Truth is not what you feel. Truth is not what you say. See, truth is what God says. What God says. And faith just says, "God, I believe what you have said."

Hebrews 11:1, the great verse on faith, says this: "Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." The assurance. I'm assured of what is hoped for, what God has promised me in his Word. And I have assurance. I have conviction of that which is not seen. God has us operate on faith, not by sight. That's why the Bible says we don't walk by sight; we walk by faith. And when I walk by faith, I am assured and convicted of things that I don't yet see. I'm just believing God for something that my eyes can't see.

Now, I was thinking as I was preparing this message, the biggest thing that our eyes cannot see is God. I mean, we don't see God. No man, the Bible says in John, no man has at any time beheld God, the only begotten Son who's in the bosom of the Father. He's explained him to us. Well, you haven't seen God. I haven't seen God with my physical eyes. When I was 17 years old, I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life and save me. I repented of my sins, and the Lord Jesus came into my life and saved me. But I didn't see him come in. It was by faith. It was the conviction of things not seen.

And if you have prayed and asked Christ to come in your life and you really meant it, he came in, but you didn't see it. Wouldn't it have been cool if you could have seen it? But the Lord doesn't have us operate that way. He says, "You believe me, you'll see it later. Did I not say to you, if you believe, you'll see the glory of God?" So it's the conviction of things not seen.

Now when the Lord comes in, he comes in forever. He is always going to be with you and me. So faith believes what God says. And faith knows that God is always with you. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, he's always with you. Jesus said, "I'll never leave you. Or lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." That's what he told the disciples.

Now a great verse is Hebrews 13:5-6, which says this: "For he himself has said, I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you." That's what he has said so that we may confidently say, "The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" I'll never leave you, I'll never desert you. And in the Greek construction of that verse, there are five negatives in that verse. This is how the amplified translates Hebrews 13:5: "I will not in any way fail you, nor give you up, nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not. I will not in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake you, nor let you down, nor relax my hold on you. Assuredly not."

God tells us that over and over. Why all the negatives? Why does he say, "I will not? I will not, I will not?" Because at the very heart of fear is the feeling of being alone. That's what we get afraid of. The question is not, are you afraid of the dark? The question is, are you afraid of being alone in the dark? And all of us are afraid of being alone. That's why when a little kid comes to his parent's bedside when that little child has been having nightmares, when my daughters would have nightmares and they'd come to my bedside. I told you before, Debbie and I had a great deal: when they were sick, they came to Debbie's side. When they were scared, they came to my side. I loved that much. I'd rather deal with fear than vomit. I just loved it.

But when they would come to my side, "Daddy, I'm scared." And I'd pull back the covers, "Come in bed with me," and I put my arms around my daughters when they were afraid like that. And the fear went away. Now what happened? What was different? They weren't alone. It was still dark. They still had the bad dream. But now Dad was there, and they weren't alone. And see, the Lord is with you always.

And what does God say to us when we're afraid? As you read in the Scripture, the Lord always says, "Do not fear. I'm with you. I'm with you." That's what he told Joshua. Joshua was getting ready to fill some pretty big shoes because the leader, Moses, was now dead. The Lord said to him in Joshua chapter one and verse nine, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go."

In Judges chapter six, God speaks to Gideon as he's threshing wheat in the winepress, hoping that the Midianites don't see him. He's scared that he might be found out. And the Lord comes to him and says, "Hail, mighty man of valor, you mighty warrior, the Lord is with you." The Lord says, "I will be with you," Paul, in Acts chapter 19. He got scared. And the Lord came to him and says, "Paul, don't be afraid any longer. I am with you." That's God's answer to us when we get afraid. "I'm with you."

And see, like a little child that comes to Daddy's arms and ceases to fear as soon as Daddy's arms are around that little child, that's the way God is with us. And he says, "Don't fear because I'm with you. I'll be with you always." That's what faith knows. It's the conviction of things not seen. God is not seen. But I know he's with me always. Why? Because he promised. He promised.

And then faith knows something else. Faith knows that God is always protecting me. He's always protecting me. Now, Saph was killed by a man named Sibbechai. Interesting name, Sibekai. The name Sibbechai literally means to interweave. It's a picture of trees that surround a prairie, that interlock their roots and surround a prairie to protect a prairie. God is your Sibekai. He's my Sibekai. He's the one that surrounds us. He's the one that protects us. He's the one that enables us to kill the giant.

David knew that God was with him. He knew that God was his strength. He knew that God was his protection. And David went through a lot of hard times in life. A lot of hard times in life. Can I share with you one really hard time in David's life? It was when his own son, Absalom, turned against his dad, turned against David, stole the kingdom away from David, and then sought to kill David. David had to hightail it out of the palace because Absalom was coming, and he had turned the hearts of the people of Israel against David.

And David now was on the run, and people were mocking David. People were making fun of David. And David wrote these words in that experience. In Psalm chapter three, he said, "O Lord, how my adversaries have increased. Many are saying are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, 'There's no deliverance for him in God.' His goose is cooked, his number's up." But David by faith said this: "But you, O Lord, O Jehovah, are a shield about me, my glory, and the one who lifts my head."

"Lord, I don't need to be afraid because you're my shield. You surround me and shield me and protect me. You're my Sibekai, and I can trust you." And he goes on to say in that psalm, "I won't be afraid of ten thousands of people who have gathered themselves against me roundabout." God is that to you and to me. He's with you. And faith says, "Lord, you've promised to be with me. You've promised you would never leave me. You promised to protect me."

And you know what? Sometimes God's protection, his definition of protection and our definition of protection are different definitions. God's protection doesn't mean that nothing bad will ever happen to you or to me. It doesn't mean that bad things do happen to us. Our loved ones do die, we do get sick. At times you can be the most radiant, dynamic Christian in all the world, and you can still get cancer. But you know that God is still protecting you. And anytime God lets down the hedge, as he did in the book of Job, he does it for a reason. He does it for a purpose.

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As we've learned today in this message, the giant of fear, God's protection doesn't mean bad things will not happen. But we must ultimately put our complete trust in the goodness of God who never leaves his children in their need.

Pastor Jeff Shreve returns on From His Heart in just a moment with a final powerful story of a dying saint who conquered his fear because he knew that God was protecting him even in the midst of his battle with a deadly disease. So stay with us now.

If you're new to listening to From His Heart, this is the media outreach of Dr. Jeff Shreve, who pastors a dynamic and growing church in Texarkana, Texas. From His Heart is a separate nonprofit organization that is listener-supported.

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Now, let's conclude the lesson on the Giant of Fear with a powerful story of faith.

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I still remember what Bill Bright said when he got that terrible disease in his lungs that took his life, that disease that makes your lungs turn into concrete. He said, "I know that God has given me this because he wants to use me to show to the world how a Christian is to die. You can trust God. He's a good God."

And when the fearful things come, when the saph, the giant of fear, comes into your life and looks to snatch away and steal from you your peace, your joy, your contentment, your potential, you remember what Jeremiah said? Jeremiah, who had people all the time against him, Jeremiah, who dealt with fear, he said this in Jeremiah 20, verse 11: "But the Lord is with me like a dread champion." Can you see in your mind's eye the dread champion? He's with you. If you're a believer in Jesus, he's with you. He's bigger than any giant.

Now the basis of fear is being alone, and the dread champion has taken that out of the way. See, because when Jesus Christ, the dread champion, went to the cross, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, his hands and his feet, and they hoisted him up, suspended between heaven and earth. And as Jesus was suffering in agony and blood, dying on the cross for your sins and for mine, he said, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

The song says he could have called 10,000 angels, but he died alone on Calvary. He died alone so that you would never have to be alone. He was forsaken so that you would never have to be forgiven. Forsaken. What is God's answer to your fears? He says, "Open arms. He says, come to me and I'll protect you and I'll save you and I'll deliver you and I'll be with you always. Come to me."

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Of all the things we could be afraid of in this world, the worst would have to be separation from God. And this is exactly what Jesus suffered for us on the cross. But he did it so that we might be delivered from it. What a powerful and uplifting, hopeful message today from Pastor Jeff.

For more information about how you can turn your life over to Christ, go to fromhisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" icon. Well, thanks for joining us today, and we trust this final word from God's Word will ease your fear.

Psalm chapter 27, verse 1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Thank you for being with us today. We trust you'll join us next time as we tackle the giant of evil desires right here on From His Heart.

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There is treasure, there is less, There is hope that you always dream of. He can hear every scar.

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From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more@fromisheart.org.