REALLIFE STUDY GROUP
"The Truth About Fear &
Love!"
ICEBREAKER: What is the scariest TV show or
movie you have ever seen? If you have never seen a program that you thought was
scary, describe an event that caused you to have anxiety or fear.
INTRODUCTION:
The truth is
that the lack of love in our society is impacting our world with all kinds of
fear, anxiety, panic and fear related issues. It is costing us economically
literally billions of dollars in health care bills every year in the United
States alone.
Today we will
explore the differences between fear verses love. We will attempt to define
some of the attributes of fear based living. There are many accounts in the
Bible where people had to deal with fear on some level. One account involves
twelve Hebrew spies that were sent by Moses to spy out the promise land. Ten
spies came back with a negative fearful report due to the giants they saw in
the land. Two came back, because of their strong belief in their God, saying,
we are well able to take the land. The choice is ours! Will we:
Forget
Everything
And
Run
or
Face
Everything
And
Rise?
CONFESSION:
I am totally
accepted and completely loved by my God.
I refuse to
fear because my God is my redeemer.
I can do all
things through Christ which strengthens me.
I refuse to
fear because my God is the equivalent to the requirement.
I am more
than a conqueror
I refuse to
fear because my God is the Mighty Warrior, The Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
I am an
overcomer.
I refuse to
fear because my God has never lost a battle!
DEFINITION:
Fear Based Living: A principle style of living that encompasses one's approach to
life relationally, emotionally, economically, domestically and in every way
driven by fear and anxiety.
STATISTICS: Facts & Statistics: copied from
http://www.adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
Did You Know?
·
Anxiety
disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million
adults in the United States age 18 and older (18% of U.S. population).
·
Anxiety
disorders are highly treatable, yet only about one-third of those suffering
receive treatment.
·
Anxiety
disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the
country's $148 billion total mental health bill, according to "The
Economic Burden of Anxiety Disorders," a study commissioned by ADAA (The
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60(7), July 1999).
·
More
than $22.84 billion of those costs are associated with the repeated use of
health care services; people with anxiety disorders seek relief for symptoms
that mimic physical illnesses.
·
People
with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the
doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders
than those who do not suffer from anxiety disorders.
·
Anxiety
disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain
chemistry, personality, and life events.
Anxiety and Depression
·
It's
not uncommon for someone with an anxiety disorder to also suffer from
depression or vice versa. Nearly one-half of those diagnosed with depression
are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Facts: Anxiety and Stress-Related Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
·
GAD
affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population.
·
Women
are twice as likely to be affected as men.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
·
2.2
million, 1.0%
·
Equally
common among men and women.
·
The
median age of onset is 19, with 25 percent of cases occurring by age 14.
One-third of affected adults first experienced symptoms in childhood.
·
Hoarding
is the compulsive purchasing, acquiring, searching, and saving of items that
have little or no value.
Panic Disorder
·
6
million, 2.7%
·
Women
are twice as likely to be affected as men.
·
Very
high comorbidity rate with major depression.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
·
7.7
million, 3.5%
·
Women
are more likely to be affected than men.
·
Rape
is the most likely trigger of PTSD: 65% of men and 45.9% of women who are raped
will develop the disorder.
·
Childhood
sexual abuse is a strong predictor of lifetime likelihood for developing PTSD.
Social Anxiety Disorder
·
15
million, 6.8%
·
Equally
common among men and women, typically beginning around age 13.
·
According
to a 2007 ADAA survey, 36% of people with social anxiety disorder report
experiencing symptoms for 10 or more years before seeking help.
Specific Phobias
·
19
million, 8.7%
·
Women
are twice as likely to be affected as men.
Major Depressive Disorder
·
The
leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.3
·
Affects
approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S.
population age 18 and older in a given year.
·
While
major depressive disorder can develop at any age, the median age at onset is
32.5
·
More
prevalent in women than in men.
Dysthymic Disorder (chronic, mild depression)
·
Symptoms
must persist for at least two years in adults (one year in children) to meet
criteria for the diagnosis.
·
Affects
approximately 1.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given
year. (about 3.3 million American adults).
·
The
median age of onset is 31.1
Related Illnesses
·
Many
people with an anxiety disorder also have a co-occurring disorder or physical
illness, which can make their symptoms worse and recovery more difficult. Its
essential to be treated for both disorders.
OUTLINE: CHARACTERISTICS OF FEAR
VERSUS LOVE
1. FEAR COMES TO CAPITALIZE ON YOUR
WEAKNESSES, LOVE COMES TO OPTIMIZE YOUR STRENGTHS
2. FEAR COMES TO TERRORIZE, LOVE
COMES TO ENERGIZE
3. FEAR COMES TO SCANDALIZE, LOVE
COMES TO "COMFORTIZE"
4. FEAR COMES TO EXPOSE LOVE COMES TO
COVER
5. FEAR COMES TO PARALYZE, LOVE COMES TO MOBILIZE
6. FEAR COMES TO MINIMIZE, LOVE COMES
TO MAXIMIZE
7. FEAR COMES TO POLARIZE, LOVE COMES
TO HARMONIZE
8. FEAR COMES TO NEUTRALIZE, LOVE COMES
TO DEPUTIZE, AUTHORIZE
9. FEAR COMES TO ANTAGONIZE (struggle
against) LOVE COMES TO SYMPATHIZE (suffer with)
FEAR BASED LIVING (This is the spirit that operated in Jezebel)
Effects of having a love deficit.
FEAR...
1. Seeks to Control everything and
everyone
Love protects while fear controls
Love frees while setting healthy boundaries. Fear just retrains
and restricts
2. Hoards anything and everything
Loves accumulates resources to distribute them while fear
amasses and hides assets
3. Destroys what it doesn't understand
4. Denies what it cannot control
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were
troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. (Matthew 14:26
KJV)
5. Slanders in an attempt to build
itself up
6. Alienates those who refuse to be
controlled
7. Defiles others to create
alignments
8. Responds by collapsing, hiding,
fleeing or unfair fighting
TEXT:
1John 4; Hebrews 13
STUDY GROUP QUESTIONS:
1. Why would God have to tell
believers (Church People) to love one another? What is a practical way that
Christian could show the world that we love one another and show that same love
to the world for which Christ died?
2. Pick a verse in 1 John 4 that
jumps out at you and make a comment about it regarding fear or love.
3. Describe one way that fear affects
us physically.
4. Identify someone in the Bible that
had to face off with fear.
5. Tell us a fear you have had to
overcome in your life.
6. Which of the characteristics of
fear versus love listed above have you had to deal with?
PRAISE REPORTS & PRAYER
REQUESTS:
ACTION POINT: This week I will make faith
declarations activated by love every day to counteract every fear in my life.