Hayley Solich's sermon on Fear as preached at Living Grace Dianella on 9 March 2014.

1. Overcoming a
Spirit of Timidity
By Hayley Solich
As preached at Living
Grace Dianella
9 March 2014

2. 2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us the spirit of timidity
(fear or made us timid), but of love and of
power and of a sound mind (sound
judgment or self-discipline).

3. What is timid?
Timid means…
 Lacking in self-assurance
 Lacking in courage
 Lacking in bravery
 Easily alarmed

4. What is the origin of timidity or
fear?
We can see from 2 Tim 1:7 that God does not
give us a spirit of timidity/fear.
So therefore, it must have it’s origin in the enemy
or in a lack of understanding of God.
“Such love has no fear, because perfect love
expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of
punishment, and this shows that we have not
fully experienced his perfect love.” - 1 John 4:18

5. Father to Son Letter
CONTEXT of 2 Tim 1:7
 Paul was in prison.
 He was writing to Timothy, his son in the faith,
to encourage him and to impart wisdom.
 He recognised that Timothy may have been
feeling fearful because of his arrest and
imprisonment and he wanted to reassure him
and encourage him to continue in the faith.

6. Scripture immediately before
2 Tim 1:6
“Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in
you through the laying on of hands.”

7. Scripture immediately after
“So never be ashamed to tell others about
our Lord. And don't be ashamed of me,
either, even though I'm in prison for him. With
the strength God gives you, be ready to
suffer with me for the sake of the Good
News.”

8. So in context…
Paul is encouraging Timothy to stir up the
gifts within him and courageously, without
hesitation, continue in his faith, sharing his
testimony about Jesus Christ.
This was an exhortation to not allow fear to
take him off course and to not bury his gifts
through fear.

9. Oprah (worldly methodology)
“Do it afraid.”
I disagree because this implies that you can coexist with your fear and achieve the goal.
We must dispel fear through a better
understanding of God’s love and the power he
has given us and by applying self-discipline in
the area of our mind so we can courageously
move in the gifts of God and be a testimony for
Jesus Christ.

10. Nelson Mandella
“I learned that courage was not the
absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The
brave man is not he who does not feel
afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

11. Overcoming a spirit of
timidity/fear
Two parts:
1. Relaxing part
2. Action/faith application part

12. Relaxing Part
 Understand
God’s love better
 Trust that God will support you when you
step out in faith
 Receive God’s love and power
 Understand “Christ in you, the hope of
glory” and that it is all because of His
grace

13. Taking Action Part
 Respond
when there is an opportunity to
exercise your faith and courage
 Take risks by trusting that God will meet
you when you step out in faith
 Acknowledge your fear, it’s origins and
repent of it
 Stir up the gifts within you and expect to
see miracles

14. Examples
Praying for a lady
“I was praying for a lady. She was seeking to know
God’s will for her life. I immediately got the word
‘Fashion’ in my mind. I asked her what she did and it
was a career in Accounting. I immediately thought I
had misheard God. I was too afraid to just blurt out
what I thought God had said to me, so I fished a little.
I asked if she liked her job, she said she loved it. I felt I
had definitely missed it but decided to ask again. I
asked if she could do anything what would put a
smile on her face the moment she got out of bed.
She hesitated for a few moments, then said,
‘Fashion’. I was able to confirm that was what God
wanted her to do. How much more powerful had I
not been afraid to use the gift God had given me for
prophecy and word of knowledge?”

15. David and Goliath
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David was a teenager, a shepherd.
Goliath was a 9ft tall, trained from a child
killing machine.
Everything about the situation was
stacked in Goliath’s favour.
David immediately took action steps of
faith, rather than embracing the fear
around him.

16. David’s Process
 He
immediately acknowledged God’s
supremacy
 He demonstrates a willingness to go into
battle himself
 He defends his right to fight to the King,
declaring “God would give him the
victory”
 He rejects the king’s armour, as it is not
suitable.

17. David’s process cont’d
 He
marches out to face Goliath and
immediately declares God’s sovereignty
over the giant.
 He uses the weapons of warfare that he is
familiar with to do the job
 He finishes the job, causing a victory for all
of Israel

18. We can learn from David…

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Opportunities arise when you are in service – it
was as he was doing his father’s will that the
opportunity arose.
When faced with an intimidating situation,
remember your God and make declaration
about his supremacy and your eminent
victory
Be yourself in all circumstances
Boldly challenge opposing voices, within and
without.
Remember, ‘the battle belongs to the Lord.’

19. Pepsi Max Test Drive 2 Video

20. What changed?
What changed when the guy who was the
passenger and so full of fear found out who
was driving the vehicle?


He knew he could trust him because of
his reputation and his abilities.
So too can we trust God to help us
overcome our fears.

21. Visit us at Living Grace
Dianella, WA
Sermon preached by
68 Waverley Street
Hayley Solich
Dianella WA 6054
Worship Service 9:30am
All welcome
Enquiries: 08 9275 3773
church@dianellacoc.org.au
www.dianellacoc.org.au