https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Weapon-of-Fear.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Psalms 49<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Have you ever wondered why cowardice is the first sin list in Revelation 21:8?<\/p>\n
A. Being afraid is such a common thing that it seems it would be a minor concern<\/p>\n
B. But a major weapon in Satan’s arsenal is fear<\/p>\n
II. Fear of the wrong thing can lead to sin<\/p>\n
A. Saul’s infamous sin that cost him the kingship was due to fear – I Samuel 15:24<\/p>\n
B. People make rushed choices when they are afraid. <\/p>\n
1. Thus fear becomes a trap – Proverbs 29:25<\/p>\n 2. People think they have to do something – anything – instead of waiting for\nGod\n
C. When Sanballat wanted to stop Nehemiah, he tried to use fear – Nehemiah 4:7-14<\/p>\n
D. Fear can also be used to intimidate others and force compliance – Isaiah 51:7-8<\/p>\n
1. Do not fear, no matter how hard life becomes – Ezekiel 2:6<\/p>\n
2. Or as Jesus told his disciples – Matthew 10:24-31<\/p>\n
3. Do not fear their intimidation – I Peter 3:14<\/p>\n
III. The wicked often live in fear<\/p>\n
A. Proverbs 28:1 – They are jumpy because of their guilt<\/p>\n
1. Do what is right and there is no fear – Romans 13:3<\/p>\n
B. Political leaders often live in fear<\/p>\n
1. Politics depends on people willing to follow<\/p>\n
2. Matthew 14:5 – Herod feared the crowd<\/p>\n
3. Matthew 21:26,46 – The Pharisees feared the people’s reaction<\/p>\n
C. The things they fear often happen to them – Proverbs 10:24<\/p>\n
1. As God told the evil rulers of Judah – Ezekiel 11:8-10<\/p>\n
D. The one the wicked should fear, they have no fear of – Psalms 36:1-4<\/p>\n
E. But God will bring the wicked down – Psalms 52, 64<\/p>\n
F. The righteous have no need to fear with God on their side Psalms 112:7-10<\/p>\n
1. Thus David told Solomon not to fear or be dismayed – I Chronicles 22:13<\/p>\n 2. Jehoshaphat won a battle with song by not being afraid or dismayed – II\nChronicles 20:1-4, 15-17, 20-23\n 3. Hezekiah told the people the same thing when faced with Assyria’s army –\nII Chronicles 32:4-8\n
G. I will not live in fear – Psalms 27:1-3, 14<\/p>\n
1. Don’t be afraid when things suddenly go bad – Proverbs 3:25-26<\/p>\n
2. God will take care – Psalms 55:22-23<\/p>\n
IV. The fear of death<\/p>\n
A. People are sometimes manipulated by the evil because of a fear of dying<\/p>\n
B. But David realized that having God means we need not fear death – Psalms 23:4<\/p>\n C. Solomon pointed out that a healthy fear of God frees us from the trap of death –\nProverbs 14:27\n D. An important reason for Jesus’ coming was that he conquer one of men’s greatest\nfears: the fear of death – Hebrews 2:15\n
E. As sons of God we don’t want to return to the slavery of fear again – Romans 8:15<\/p>\n
V. It is the one truly in control that we should fear<\/p>\n
A. Fear the one who has the power over our eternal fate – Ecclesiastes 8:12-13<\/p>\n
B. You can’t play both sides because that isn’t truly fearing God – II Kings 17:24-41<\/p>\n
C. The fear of God is clean, enduring forever – Psalms 19:9<\/p>\n
D. Don’t get caught up the fears of the world – Isaiah 8:11-13<\/p>\n
E. When we seek God, we are delivered from fears – Psalms 34:4-7<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 49 I. Have you ever wondered why cowardice is the first sin list in Revelation 21:8? A. Being afraid is such a common thing that it seems it would be a minor concern B. But a major weapon in Satan’s arsenal is fear II. Fear of the wrong thing can lead to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[109,352,238,987],"class_list":["post-30838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-death","tag-fear","tag-righteousness","tag-wickedness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":92720,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-not-fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":30838,"position":0},"title":"Do Not Fear","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel Download Audio","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47363,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-have-said-something-to-the-gang-robbing-my-store\/","url_meta":{"origin":30838,"position":1},"title":"Should I have said something to the gang robbing my store?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning, Can you please help clarify the meaning of what Solomon meant by what he wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:16? 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