THE FEAR FACTOR: FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
I. The Fear of the Unknown Is Filled with the UNKNOWN
Genesis 22:2 – Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
1. Not Enough Information – The unknown or lack of information ignites the IMAGINATION.
Genesis 22:2b – “Go to the land of Moriah…on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Proverbs 28:1 – The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
2. No Precedent – Life rarely asks for something familiar.
Genesis 22:2c – “and offer him there as a burnt offering”
3. No Control – The future is the one place over which you have no hands-on control.
Genesis 22:2a – Then He said, “Take now your son,”
Genesis 16:2 – So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
4. No Replacement – There is no spare.
Genesis 22:2b – “your ONLY son Isaac, whom you love,”
Hebrews 11:17 – By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
II. Calculate the Cost of Giving in to Your Fear of the Unknown
Luke 14:28 – “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and Count The Cost, whether he has enough to finish it.”
• It costs you your Peace.
Psalm 127:2 – It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.
• It costs you your Presence.
Luke 10:41-42 – 41And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
• It costs you your Future.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 – He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
• It costs you your Decisions.
Proverbs 4:23 – Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
Genesis 16:2 – So Sarai said to Abram, ‘See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
• It costs you the life you were supposed to Live.
Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
III. Take Back Your Life by Trusting the One Who Knows the Future
• Settle This First: Do you know Him?
John 15:5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 – 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast.
John 14:15 – “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
• Quit pretending to know what only God knows; Nobody knows the future.
Proverbs 27:1 – Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Isaiah 46:9-10 – 9Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’
• Take back your PEACE. Keep your mind stayed on Him. Peace is not manufactured by thinking harder. IT IS KEPT.
Isaiah 26:3 – You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
• Take back your PRESENCE. Learn how to handle TIME.
1) LEARN from the PAST
Romans 15:4 – Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
2) PLAN for the FUTURE
Proverbs 6:6-8 – 6Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, 7Which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, 8provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.
3) LIVE in the PRESENT
Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
• Take back your Movement, one step at a time.
Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
• Take back your Decisions.
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Matthew 7:24-25 – 24“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
• Take back your Life. Your life is not determined by one event or failure.
Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.