\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Audio\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tText: II Corinthians 7:4-7<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. What causes you to be afraid?<\/p>\n
A. Most of us face fears at different points of our lives.<\/p>\n B. Most of our fears come from things that we cannot control or things we cannot\nforesee. More fear is born of our imagination than is found in reality.\n
C. We usually see fear as a bad thing,yet we all experience it.<\/p>\n
D. Paul admitted to having fears – I Corinthians 2:3<\/p>\n
1. The contrast is interesting in the context – I Corinthians 2:1-5<\/p>\n
2. As a spokesman for God, he demonstrated the power of God<\/p>\n
3. But as a man, he felt weak and afraid<\/p>\n
E. Paul was a man who could face down a false sorcerer – Acts 13:6-12<\/p>\n F. He was a man who could call a court official a whitewashed wall, and calmly\napologize when he learned that the official was the high priest – Acts 23:1-5\n
G. Without a doubt, Paul had courage. But he also had fears.<\/p>\n
II. Fears of being disappointed<\/p>\n A. Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians strongly rebuking them for the various sins\nwith which they allowed themselves to be afflicted\n
1. It grieved him that he had to cause them pain – II Corinthians 7:8<\/p>\n 2. He had to do battle against sin, but at the same time there were fears as to\nthe outcome – II Corinthians 7:4-5\n
B. It is the duty of a preacher to rebuke with authority – Titus 2:15<\/p>\n
1. But it doesn’t stop the concerns regarding whether it will work this time.<\/p>\n 2. I’m sure many see such preachers as harden, tough veterans; not\nunderstanding that underneath they are still sensitive, caring men.\n C. Paul rejoiced that his fears were unnecessary in this case. He learned from Titus\nthat the letter was properly received – II Corinthians 7:6-7\n 1. We see a man who did not let his personal fears interfere with his duty to\nGod.\n 2. Paul was facing all sorts of problems, but he didn’t let them stop him – II\nCorinthians 4:8-9\n D. Still, he was nervous about seeing the Corinthians again in person – II Corinthians\n12:20-21\n 1. He remained concerned that while they responded well to his letter that\nthey didn’t actually change.\n 2. He was afraid that he would find more problems in the group and that old\nproblems would continue.\n 3. He was afraid that instead of a joyful meeting that he would have to be\nharsh – something that neither they nor he would enjoy.\n 4. Paul hoped to see progress and he was afraid that he might be disappointed\nwhen he came.\n
III. Fears of the deceptions of Satan – II Corinthians 11:1-4<\/p>\n A. Paul understood the power of Satan and the weakness of men – II Corinthians\n11:13-15\n 1. Paul knew how smooth words and flattery would work in the hearts of\npeople – Romans 16:17-18\n
2. He knew that false teachers would court the brethren – Galatians 4:17<\/p>\n
3. They would whisper sweet-nothings in their ears – II Peter 2:18-19<\/p>\n 4. And men would listen because the things they hear are exactly the things\nthey want to hear – II Timothy 4:3-4\n
B. Paul knew that people could be swayed by powerful personalities <\/p>\n
1. People tend to only look at the surface – II Corinthians 10:7<\/p>\n
2. Paul knew that in appearance he couldn’t compete – II Corinthians 10:10<\/p>\n a. Though he knew that it wasn’t appearance that mattered, but\ncontent – II Corinthians 11:6\n b. He refused to use the tactics of the false teachers – I Thessalonians\n2:5 \n
C. Paul would do those things that were necessary – II Corinthians 11:9-12<\/p>\n 1. His use of funds from other regions was a cause of complaint among the\nCorinthians.\n 2. But Paul knew the reason for this choice, as the Corinthians ought to have\nknown, but he wouldn’t let their disapproval stop him because his choice\nmade the false teacher’s “work” harder.\n
IV. Fears of corruption – II Corinthians 11:3-4<\/p>\n A. The “simplicity” in verse 3 doesn’t mean easy to understand, but singleness of\npurpose that is in Christ The opposite of the Greek word haplotes<\/i> is the idea of\nbeing divided or doubled.\n 1. Paul feared that the Corinthians would accept ideas blended with other\nconcepts\n
2. The same fear he had for the Galatians 1:6-10<\/p>\n
3. He wanted the Galatians to have no other mind – Galatians 5:10<\/p>\n 4. But he feared that they would blend Judaism or idolatry with Christianity –\nGalatians 4:8-11\n
B. No longer would it be one faith – Ephesians 4:4-6<\/p>\n
1. There can be no division or blending – I Corinthians 1:10<\/p>\n 2. The problem of a blended faith is that retains enough of the truth that the\nnaive imbibe without suspecting the traces of poison within.\n
3. And Paul could see the Corinthians putting up with such<\/p>\n C. Much of what passes for Christianity is actually a blending of truth with other\nphilosophies\n
D. Paul knew he would stand against such – II Corinthians 10:1-6<\/p>\n
1. Paul knew how to use the truth to destroy false teachings<\/p>\n 2. When he came, he wanted to come to teach and build up the faith of the\nCorinthians.\n 3. But if he had to tear down their false beliefs he would – II Corinthians\n10:8-11\n
V. It is amazing the destructive beliefs people will tolerate – II Corinthians 11:19-20<\/p>\n
A. If Paul came visiting here, what would he find? Would he have reason to fear?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: II Corinthians 7:4-7 I. What causes you to be afraid? A. Most of us face fears at different points of our lives. B. Most of our fears come from things that we cannot control or things we cannot foresee. More fear is born of our imagination than is found in…<\/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,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[478,352,118],"class_list":["post-63236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-false-teachers","tag-fear","tag-paul"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54857,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/o-for-a-faith-such-as-this\/","url_meta":{"origin":63236,"position":0},"title":"O for a Faith Such as This!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 56 \u00a0I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Read the song \u201cO for a Faith That Will Not Shrink\u201d by W. H. Bathhurst (#462) II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A faith without fear \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Most of our fears of our own imagination - Psalm 53:5 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When our dreads are elusive, we make things up, and what we\u2026","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":4851,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/overcoming-fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":63236,"position":1},"title":"Overcoming Fear","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Reading:\u00a0II Kings 6:8-23 It seems wherever we turn, there is something to fear. Some people are afraid of snakes or spiders. Others fear what will happen to the stock market. Instead of being debilitated by our fears, we need to learn how to continue to function\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30838,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-weapon-of-fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":63236,"position":2},"title":"The Weapon of Fear","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 49 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Have you ever wondered why cowardice is the first sin list in Revelation 21:8? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Being afraid is such a common thing that it seems it would be a minor concern \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But a major weapon in Satan\u2019s arsenal is fear II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fear of the\u2026","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":21407,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":63236,"position":3},"title":"Fear","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 6:8-23 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The prevalence of fear \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Watch a horror movie \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The scenes start out idyllic. But in the background there are hints that something isn\u2019t quite right. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The music builds with intensity. You know something is about to happen, but not what or\u2026","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":90105,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bravery\/","url_meta":{"origin":63236,"position":4},"title":"Bravery","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: I Samuel 14:6-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we were teenagers, my brother, after a history class, pointed out that wars are cyclic. They tend to break out once per generation. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If a war appeared glamorous and popular, the next war would come sooner \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If a\u2026","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":24032,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-my-insecurities\/","url_meta":{"origin":63236,"position":5},"title":"How do I deal with my insecurities?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How would I go about understanding my insecurities and work on eliminating them or coming to terms with them? I realize that my insecurities negatively affect every relationship that I am currently in and ones that I have lost because of my issues. I don't want to continue to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}