How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's
ear. It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
and drives away his fear. It makes the wounded
spirit whole and calms the troubled breast. Tis
manner to the hungry soul and to the weary rest.
Father God, in this moment, that weary one needs
the touch of the Master. Give peace of mind.
Give peace of soul. Hear the prayer in that falling
pier. Hear the prayer in that sigh. Be real to
that one. Give peace and rest for Jesus' sake.
Amen. For a few minutes, you and I are going
to have one of those little heart -to -heart
talks together about something that concerns
practically all of us. And that is how to overcome
fear. Some little while ago, the New York Herald
Tribune published a number of articles in answer
to the question of how mentally fit Are We New
Yorkers? And in one of the most penetrating,
one of the most alarming of the series, the writer
pointed out that after an eight -year study by
a five -man team based at New York Hospital,
Cornell Medical Center, the conclusion was reached
that only one out of five is mentally well. Get
it? Just one person out of every five is mentally
well. Just one out of four is so psychologically
disturbed as to be impaired in his social relations.
The rest have some symptoms of psychological
illness, but they do not interfere with their
lives. And just in case this analysis might be
thought to relate only to New York City alone,
the researchers added, and I quote, the frequency
of symptoms does not appear to differ much from
other parts of the United States. So that includes
you and includes me, includes those living in
California, Washington, Pennsylvania. You know,
reading these reports make it clearly evident
that the basic problem in most instances was
that of fear. Fear of not achieving. the desired
social status, fear of failing in business, fear
of divorce, fear of advancing age, fear of an
atomic war. We're afraid of the dark. We're afraid
of disease. We're afraid we might have cancer.
We're afraid of what's going to happen. We're
afraid of the future. We're afraid of death.
And if we were only honest with ourselves, we
would have to confess that we're not only afraid
of our enemies, we're even afraid of our friends.
We're sometimes even afraid of ourselves. Fear
seems to be the climate in which we live today.
The very atmosphere is just filled with fear.
The very language that we speak is one of fear.
I have always appreciated this 91st Psalm. But
somehow today I appreciate the truth. I appreciate
the promise. I appreciate the power. of that
91st psalm as I have never appreciated it before.
How comforting. Let me just give you a few words
again. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror
by night nor for the arrow that flyeth by day.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder. The
young lion and the dragon shalt thou... Trample
under feet. Oh, beloved. Those are glorious.
Those are powerful words. And they come from
the highest authority in heaven and earth. And
pause a moment. Consider. The one who spoke those
words knew from experience how to face, how to
fight, how to forget his fears. He knew. You
can only give. to another, that which you have
actually experienced yourself. You cannot give
to anyone else more than you yourself have experienced.
That's the reason he could say, I know from experience.
He was a friend of God. He lived in God's presence.
He could face his generation. He could face his
tasks without a fear. He knew whereof he spoke.
Now, just for a minute or two, let us consider
how to face our fears. Let's get right down to
everyday living. Thou shalt tread upon the lion
and adder. The young lion and the dragon shalt
thou trample under feet. Perhaps you have never
really understood those words. Half the battle
in fighting an enemy is facing the enemy. That
is to say, recognizing him for what he is, you
have got to face the enemy. The verse before
us describes the instigator of human fears as
a lion, a serpent, a dragon. Ultimately, this
description spells out the one supreme enemy
of all mankind, the one who brought sin and suffering
in the world, and therefore spread the unwholesome
fears that we are thinking of today, and his
name is Satan. The fear in that life of yours
comes from Satan. He's the instigator. He's the
one who puts that fear in that mind of yours.
Now, in terms of fear, he comes to us in three
forms. First, the undisguised fear. Thou shalt
tread upon the lion. Now the lion is an animal
who can never disguise himself. Never. His form
is huge. It's big. His roar is loud. And his
destructive forces can never be mistaken. If
ever you go to a zoo, you'll always hear the
lion roar even before you get inside the gates.
He's there. Never mistaken. Never hidden. Sure.
That's the reason, in God's Word, he is used
as a figure of speech to illustrate the undisguised
fear. In this dramatic and figurative language,
we have a picture of the undisguised fears that
terrify people like you and like me. Anything
that spells death frightens young, frightens
old alike. Death, the king of terrors. It may
be the threat of war, the discovery of some disease,
the news of an accident, or 101 other things.
These are all undisguised fears. We know them
to be real. They're factual. We can hear their
roar. We see their form. We sense their danger.
They're not figments of our imagination. We know
we've got to face them. In the final analysis,
however, what we really fear is not death as
much as what happens after death. Unless we've
made our peace with God, the Bible tells us,
and our hearts confirm it, judgment awaits us.
It isn't that we fear death. All of us know that
the day is going to come when we're going to
have to face death. It is pointed out to man
once to die. The thought of death isn't so frightening.
The fear that is associated with death is that
which will happen to us after death. That's it.
So much then for undisguised fears. Let's go
to the second, the unexpected fear. Thou shalt
tread upon the adder. Now, the movements and
the haunts of the adder are generally unexpected.
Indeed, the serpent serves in the scriptures
and in natural life as the symbol of something
very subtle. and the unexpected attack. That's
the reason the serpent, the snake, is used here
as a figure of speech. The unexpected fear. The
snake rarely gives warning, usually strikes from
the place of hiding. Once again, in this figure
of language, this figure of speech, we have the
very real picture of the... unexpected fears
which confront us in our daily life. Oh, we start
the day careful, optimistic. The sun is shining.
We could just conquer the whole world. And then,
wham, something happens. The unexpected happens.
And we're thrown in the very depths of despair.
paralyzing our spirits with despair. And so we
have the lion and the adder. Let's go to the
third enemy, the unfounded fear. Thou shalt tread
upon the drag. Now this... Much described beast
is only a creature of the imagination. No one
has ever seen a dragon. That's right. Oh, sure.
In the children's storybooks, often the dragon
is spoken of. Every little youngster will talk
about the dragon. And yet, no one has ever seen
a dragon. The dragon doesn't exist. And that's
the reason the dragon is used as just a figure
of speech here. How many people have come time
and time again to me to share their fears of
what never happened. It's only things that they
are afraid might happen. It's therefore a good
thing to ask ourselves sometimes. Of what are
we really afraid? Do our fears actually exist?
Or is it that we have allowed our imaginations
to run riot? It's important to recognize that
fear is faith in reverse. Faith creates in the
realm of the positive. Faith blesses. Faith makes
us a blessing. Whereas fear creates in the realm
of the negative. Fear disturbs. Fear depresses.
And ultimately, fear will destroy. And you cannot
have faith and fear in the same heart. One or
the other will have to go. If there is fear,
there cannot be faith. your heart and mind is
filled with faith, it will crowd out the fear.
Right now, look yourself directly in the face
and say, what is it that I fear? Why do I fear
this thing? Let's be practical. You've got to
face your enemy. You'll never have victory until
you face the thing. It isn't something you can
just push aside. Send in a prayer request and
say, Oh, please, Ms. Kuhlman, pray because I'm
being mastered by fear. Instead, you, through
the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith
in him, can conquer, can be the master over every
fear in that life of yours. How to conquer your
fears. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder.
The young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample
under feet. Now, the person referred to in this
verse, as the conqueror of the lion, the arrow,
and the dragon is Jehovah God, the Lord Jesus
Christ of the New Testament. And no one can read
this psalm and be in any doubt about that whatsoever.
We cannot cope with these beasts and these reptiles,
but He can. The Son of the Living God can. The
mighty Jehovah God can. He met them once and
for all in the person of Satan when he died on
Calvary's tree. And you and I are not only conquerors,
we are more than conquerors over all of these
things through Christ Jesus, who was the mighty
conqueror when he died on Calvary. You don't
have to be defeated on a single score unless
you consent to be. You do not have to be mastered
for one minute by those fears. Know that. To
trust him as resurrection life is to conquer
the undisguised fears. Listen to his words. Fear
not. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold,
I am alive forevermore. He holds the keys of
hell and death. The significance of the gospel
is that when Christ died at Calvary, he overcame
these things that I'm talking to you about. Know
that. The person who really trusts Christ as
his resurrection life has nothing to fear when
he comes face to face with death. His language
is that of the psalmist who could exclaim triumphantly,
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil. That fear
has been conquered through resurrection life
in Christ Jesus. To trust him as redeeming love
is to conquer the unexpected fears. And the Bible
teaches us that there is no fear in love. But
perfect love casteth out fear. Therefore, to
trust the redeeming love of God in Christ Jesus
is never to be afraid of the unexpected. As long
as sins are forgiven and fellowship with God
is established, there is absolutely nothing to
fear. Nothing, I promise you that. To trust him
as revealing light is to conquer the unfounded
fears. Oh, listen to the words of David when
he cries. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of
my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? To follow
the Lord Jesus Christ is never to walk in darkness,
but to have the light of life. There is no fear
of the unknown. with god for he knows the end
from the beginning in him and with him there's
no darkness at all even in circumstances that
appear to be dark we need have no fear with the
lord by our side for his presence his very presence
guarantees that we shall break in the glorious
daylight before long. And so, beloved, the secret
of victory over fear is trusting Jesus. One of
the most frequent expressions on his lips throughout
his life was always, Fear not. Fear not, beloved.
Look up. You are not only a conqueror. You can
be more than a conqueror through him who loves
you.