Sermon Title: “Do it Scared”

October 28, 2018

Forward

When we talk about fear we describe it as something that happens to us. We think of fear as something that came upon us without our permission and consumes us. And part of that is true. Our fears dictate the actions that we take. If you don’t learn how to overcome your fear you’ll find yourself sitting on the sidelines of your own life, benched because your brain is caught in the anxiety of its own imagination. While fear can consume us, what we miss is we still have a choice. Fear is a feeling inspired by a thought that might happen in the future. Change your feelings by changing your thinking. Change your thinking, and you’ll overcome your fears.

Title: “Do it Scared”

Ezra 3:1-3

Woman who doesn’t feel fear: Click for story

Our lives aren’t primarily limited by the boundaries of our health and imagination, but are constrained by the shackles of our fear.

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Galatians 2:11-12

It is moving forward in the presence of fear that makes people truly great.

The challenges you face will only rise in proportion to the character you’re willing to develop.

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The narrative of your life will be explained by either fear or faith.

Do it scared.


What would you do if you weren’t afraid? It’s a common question that gets thrown around, but it’s laced with an unrealistic view of reality. We may think that eliminating fear is healthy, or desirable, but the reality is we cannot and should not seek to fully eliminate fear from our lives. Fear can serve an important purpose, alerting us of possible dangers and revealing what we most value. But that doesn’t mean that we should allow fear to take over and control us. A better question would be what would you do if you weren’t motivated by fear?

It’s a subtle but important distinction – we can allow fear to be the source of our action, or inaction, or we can allow fear to shape our character as we choose to act, or not to act, despite the fear that exists. We see this in the story of the Israelites rebuilding the altar in Ezra 3:1-3. They could have acted from a place of fear, allowing it to paralyze them, but instead, they looked firmly in the face of their fears and they chose to act anyway, following the direction they knew God was calling them to. Surely there was a moment between the release of the security of their fear and the realization of their calling, an uncertain time when they weren’t sure how things would turn out, but in this in between time they were open to being shaped and transformed.

Questions for Reflection:

  • Can you identify a time in your life when you acted out of fear?

  • Can you identify a time in your life when you acted despite your fear?

  • How were those experiences different?

  • How would you describe your current relationship to fear?

  • Do you sense that fear might be trying to excavate something in you? Perhaps a personal value or conviction, or a next step you could take towards your calling?

  • What might happen if you acted despite the fear that you feel?

  • What one step can you take this week to be shaped regardless of the fear you feel?

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