Freedom From Fear

We’re learning these days from God’s Word how to live this new year without fear. And what a challenge that is considering that Doctors have identified over 700 kinds of phobias or fears.

For example: Acrophobia: the fear of high places. Claustrophobia: the fear of enclosed areas. Ergophobia: the fear of work. Demophobia: the fear of crowds. Gamophobia: the fear of marriage. Phobophobia: the fear of fear.

And according to The People’s Almanac .. the number one fear in the US is Glossophobia: the fear of speaking before a group. And don’t think that Fear is restricted to age. Children fear being alone. Adolescents fear rejection. Young Adults fear failure. Older adults fear death or life without meaning. And rather than living the victorious life through faith, we end up living the defeated life with fears.

In fact, in Romans 8.15 Paul refers to those unhealthy fears as bondage. “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.’”

So, with all of the fears we face in this life .. is it possible to live this new year without fear? I mean, can we really be set free from the bondage of fear?

Let me let you in on the secret to living a fear-free year: Psalm 34.4, “I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Now there’s a Bible verse to put to memory this year! “I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Well, that is the key to freedom from fear.

Now take your Bible and join me in the Old Testament book of Psalms. If you’ll take your Bible and open it close to the middle .. you ought to land in the book of Psalms. And once there, turn with me Psalm 91. It’s is here in this 91st Psalm that we find how to live free from those unhealthy, unholy fears that rob us from living in victory.

Freedom from Fear

“1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, And from the perilous pestilence.

4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”

So, how was David able to experience Freedom from Fear? And more importantly .. how do we live this new year without fear? Well .. I want you to notice that Freedom from Fear comes when you ..

(1) Experience the Secret Place.

Verse 1, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High ....” Verse 5, “.. shall not be afraid.” How wonderful to know that when you get into trouble, when life starts caving in, when the pressures of life begin building and when problems come and you don’t know what to do .. that there is a secret place to go!

Where is this secret place? We read in Matthew 6 where Jesus invites us to come into the secret place. Matthew 6.6-8, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many works. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

This year your greatest privilege is prayer. To go into the secret place with your heavenly Father is your greatest privilege! You say, “Pastor, I’m not very good at praying.” All the more reason to enter into the secret place. The secret to praying is praying in secret. Learn this: you are what you are in the secret place with God. No more, no less.

It’s in the secret place that our faith is deepened. You show me somebody who has a deep faith in God, I’ll show you somebody who has spent time in the secret place. You’ll never have a deep faith in God without spending time in the secret place.

It’s in the secret place that out trust is developed. That’s where you develop a trust in God, in the secret place. You can put it down: The amount of trust you have in God during the difficulties of life is in direct proportion to the amount of time you have spent with God in the secret place.

Let me put that another way: No time, no trust. A little time, a little trust. Some time, some trust. Much time, much trust.

That’s why when life starts caving in and you’re not sure what to do next, experience the secret place. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall not be afraid.”

So what is the purpose of getting alone with God in the secret place? Is it to Impress Him? Matthew 6.7, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard from their many words.” I’ve got news for you: you’re not going to impress God in your praying. Have you ever heard somebody try to impress God through their praying? It’s really quit silly when you think about it .. isn’t it?

No, the purpose of getting alone with God in the secret place is not to impress Him .. nor is it to inform Him. You’re not going to tell God anything He doesn’t already know when you pray. It’s not that He doesn’t know and you need to tell Him. You don’t pray to inform God. He already knows!
You say, “Well, if God already knows then why do I need to tell Him?” Here’s why: prayer is God’s way of binding you to Him and bonding Him to you. That’s the purpose of the secret place! Not to impress God. Not to inform God. But to join God in what’s He’s doing.

And when you experience the Secret Place .. it’s then you shall not be afraid and experience the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. That’s how to have a year without fear! That’s how to live free from fear in ’09.

(1) Experience the Secret Place .. when you

(2) Enter into the Sacred Place.

Verse 1, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” First you experience the secret place so that you can enter into the sacred place.

Now what is he talking about here when he refers to the “shadow of the Almighty?” He’s talking about the holy of holies in the temple. You will remember that there was the Outer Court … Inner Court and the Intermost Court called “the holy of holies.

And in the holy of holies was the Ark of the Covenant. And on top of the Ark was a slab of gold called the “mercy seat.”

On either side of the Mercy Seat were angels. Cherubim that had their wings stretched out across the Mercy Seat. Right there between the wings of those two angels was the Shekinah glory of God. The shekinah glory was their name for the presence of God.

That’s what the Psalmist is talking about here in Psalm 91 when he says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Right there where those wings were stretched out .. that’s where you’ll be. What a peace and security knowing that to experience the secret place is to enter into the sacred place.

Let’s suppose for a moment that you were at the Tabernacle in the wilderness when the children of Israel were coming out of Egypt into Canaan. They had a tent .. a place of worship .. and that tent had the outer court .. inner court and the holy of holies. In the holy of holies was the ark of the covenant and that shekinah glory of God.

Let’s suppose you were from Moab: the people who had the curse of God upon them. You were a Moabite. Suppose you came to the Tent and saw it. There was an Israelite there and you asked him, “What’s in there?” He says, “That’s where we worship God .. that’s where we commune with God.”

And you said, “Well, I would like to go in there.” He would say, “You cannot go in because you’re a Moabite and not an Israelite, the curse of God is on you.’

And you asked him, “What would I have to do in order to go in there?” The Israelite would say, “Well, you would have to be born again .. you’d have to be born an Israelite and then you could go in there.”

“Well,” you say as you look through the gate and see those people making sacrifices, “if I did go in there I would want to serve.” He would say, “Well, even if you were an Israelite you wouldn’t be able to serve unless you were a Levite.”

You say, “If I was of the tribe of Levi, I’d tell you what I’d like to do: I’d like to be the one making those sacrifices.” “Oh”, he would say, “You couldn’t do that unless you were of the house of Aaron.”

“Well,” you ask, “What’s behind the veil?” He would say, “That’s the holy of holies.” You ask, “What’s in there?” He would say, “The glory of God is in there.” You say, “If I could, I’d like to go back there.”

He would say, “You couldn’t go back there even if you were of the tribe of Levi and of the house of Aaron. You would have to be elected and anointed as the High Priest before you could go in there.” You say, “Is that so .. well .. if I were the High Priest, I’d tell you what I’d like to do. I would go in there 3 times a day.” He would say, “You couldn’t go in there 3 times a day even if you were the High Priest. You could only go in once a year.”

Now keeping that conversation in your mind a moment longer .. listen to Hebrews 10.19-21, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having as High Priest over the house of God.” Now what does that mean to us? It means that those of us who have been born again into the household of faith have been made priest of Almighty God and we can go right into the sacred place every day by the blood of Jesus because the Bible says that He’s made a way “through the veil.”

Do you know what that veil was? It was a picture of the flesh of Jesus Christ. That veil was made of blue, scarlet and purple. The scarlet was a picture of His blood. The blue speaks of Heaven. And when you mix scarlet and blue .. you get purple .. the color of royalty.

When you look at the color purple, you cannot see where the scarlet ends and the blue begins. That’s the way it is with the nature of Jesus: fully God and fully man, the God-man.

We’ve come through the veil, through His flesh, by the blood of Christ into the Holy of Holies. Oh, to experience the secret place and then to enter into the sacred place. That’s how to live a fear-free year in ’09! Freedom from Fear begins when you ..

(1) Experience the Secret Place.

(2) Enter into the Sacred Place.

(3) Enjoy the Securest Place.

Verse 2, “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Verses 9-11, “Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Verses 15-16, “He all call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”

Do you see it? The Secret Place which is the Sacred Place is the Securest Place. When you get into trouble, there is a fortress, there is a refuge, and that fortress, that refuge is the securest place. And more than a place, it’s a person. And God becomes your refuge and your fortress.

Now suppose the enemy was coming and you have to build a fortress. How would you build it? Well .. you would want it perfectly situated. You would want to build it on high ground. You would want it to be sufficient, that is, have food, clothing and plenty of ammunition.

Next you would want it to be stable. You would want it to withstand an attack. And finally, you would want it to be secure.

Now let’s put that all together. You would want it perfectly situated, sufficient, stable and secure.

Now look again to verse 1 and notice the names of God mentioned here: Verse 1, “the Most High," it means situated on high ground.

Verse 1, “the Almighty” .. speaks of being sufficient. Shaddai .. speaks of the God who nurtures His children .. who cares for His children.

Verse 2, “the LORD” .. speaks of stability. It’s the name Jehovah which means He never had a beginning .. never an ending .. always was and always will be. What stability our fortress has.

Verse 2, “My God” .. speaks of security. It’s the name Elohim .. the God who created everything.

That’s the security of our fortress. It’s situated perfectly (the Most High) … it is sufficient (the Almighty) … it is stable (the LORD) .. and it is secure (My God).

When you’re inside that fortress .. nothing can get to you except that which comes through God. Psalm 91.14-16, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”

That’s where Freedom from Fear begins! First .. you experience the Secret Place by entering the Sacred Place. And when you enter the sacred place .. it’s then you can enjoy the securest place.