Overcoming the Fear of Man – Paul M. Williams
Proverbs 29:25
There are over 500 recognised phobias in our world today For the most part, the fears that we experience as we walk through life are not good. Rather than serving to be of benefit to us, they serve to be a hindrance. Of all the fears I could list that are common to man, there is one fear in particular that has proved to be his downfall repeatedly. You say, Brother Paul, what is this fear? It is the fear of man!!! King Solomon writing some 3000 years ago put it like this; “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe” (Prov. 29:25).
In this sermon, we look at how to overcome the fear of man.
Genesis 12:1-4
It would seem on paper that man has more time on his hands than ever he had since time began. Please don’t misunderstand me, there are no more hours in a day — the same 24 that have always been are the same 24 available today — yet the sheer amount of what can be accomplished in a single hour is breathtaking!! One study concluded that modern technology is saving the average man, two weeks each year!! Despite all the innovations and successes in technological breakthroughs, give a man an extra hour you can guarantee, he’ll find something to do with it and thus what you find is rather than becoming less busy, society becomes more busy.
On every hand, I find myself having to fight to preserve what matters most in life. There are ONLY 24 hours in a day and if you have not got a priority for what matters most in your life you will be swallowed up by the system and spat out ruined!
Genesis 12:1-4
As I look back over the 23 years that I’ve had the privilege of walking with the Lord, every major turn in the road of my life, has been marked by the call of God. Before ever I knew the Lord and at every junction since coming to saving faith in Him He hath called and faith’s obedience has met that call!!!
In this sermon, Paul shares his testimony of God’s call and faith’s obedience.
Shared at Lifeboat Fellowship (10/12/23) - Sunday (pm)
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Being raised in 21st-century Britain, I’ve never had the painful displeasure of attending a slave market. Yet in the days of the Roman Empire in the first century AD, it would have been commonplace. Under Roman law, slaves were regarded as the personal property of their masters, to be bought, sold, and mistreated at will. They had no rights of their own, no privileges to their name, they could not so much as own a piece of property, nor enter into a contract with their fellow man; they could not legally marry should they see a bride. If the truth be told, slaves were the lowest class of society, and even freed criminals had more rights than them.
Having painted this despairing picture, I want to invite you to come with me for a moment in the imagination of your mind, to the slave market where once you stood on the blocks for sale. Maimed and stained by the vice of sin, bound by the shackles of iniquity — a thoroughbred reprobate of whom the placard which hangs about your necks reads “NOT WORTHY OF PURCHASE”. The punters press in around as the bidding begins. “Who will give me 50 denarii” (bear in mind, the average price of an unskilled slave in those days was around 500 denarii). Silence… “Who will give me 40?” Silence… “Okay, someone start me at 20, surely he is worth 20 denarii” As the punters draw away and the crowds thin out, suddenly a man appears of royal descent. “I’ll have him!!”, the man exclaims. As he draws near to the blocks I notice, he has no coins with which to make His purchase, but in His hands instead, two bleeding wounds. “With what means will you make payment for the slave?” With outstretched hands, the answer comes, “WITH ROYAL BLOOD!!” “I have given my life a ransom that this slave might go FREE!!!”.
Shared at Lifeboat Fellowship (10/12/23) - Sunday (am)
John 10:22-23
The Intertestamental period dated from the prophet Malachi’s time (about 400 BC) to the preaching of John the Baptist (about AD 25) has been called the silent years. God is never silent! A lot happened in these 400 years. In this teaching, we are going to explore one amazing event – The Feast of Dedication – in which we will discover who the Shammash of God is and where you and I fit in.
Isaiah 66:1-2
If I were to ask you to tell of the kind of man/woman who wins favour with God, I wonder what you’d say? I know full well of the kind that wins favour with the world — give a man a bit of money and prestige and see how rapidly his circle of friends increases. But can I say; that which catches the eye of the world and that which turns the head of God are not the same — they’re poles apart. Is not the answer in the text that is before us? “...to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (Is.66:2).