Finding Freedom From FEAR
OKAY…
MGCC – let’s do this, let’s kick off our brand new series,
UNDERSTAND – there are ‘many’ things in this world seeks to bind, control, enslave and imprison us, Things like…
Guilt, shame, anxiety, religion, the opinions of other people, fear, anger, bitterness, greed, hatred, racism, materialism, hurt, the pursuit of pleasure…etc.
AND SO - this new message series is about finding freedom from all of those things.
NOW BEFORE – we dive into our topic for today, I want to share a few God-breathed words about freedom…
IN LUKE 4 – Jesus walks into a synagogue in His hometown and begins His pubic ministry with these words..
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. - Luke 4:18,19
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Why did Christ set us free?
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1
Whoever looks intently into the perfect law That would be into God’s Word that gives freedom,
God’s word gives what? Freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. – James 1:25
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
– John 8:31,32, 36
MGCC – it is November 1, 2020… and this morning we are going to talk about finding freedom from FEAR.
QUESTION – are you afraid of anything right now?
Prayer
At 8:17 pm on the evening of March 3, 1943, air raid sirens begin to scream in London, England.
Taxi drivers immediately pulled their vehicles over to the side of the road, and buses emptied their passengers.
Motorists slammed their brakes, and people began looking into the sky and running down the boulevard.
Some fell face first on the sidewalk; others covered their heads.
Still others cried out, "They're beginning to drop them!"
Gunfire could be heard in the distance, and nearby antiaircraft forces began launching a steady stream of rockets. People continued to search the sky for sights of Nazi airplanes, and the fact that they saw none did nothing to dampen their hysteria.
Many people raced toward the Bethnal Green Underground Station, where more than 500 citizens had already taken refuge, and where more than 15 hundred would join them in the next 10 minutes.
AND - trouble began when these safety seekers all reached the entryway to the underground station at the same time. One young mother, carrying a baby, began hurrying down the 19 uneven steps, and she lost her balance.
AND - her stumble interrupted the flow of the crowd, causing a domino of people to tumble down on top of her.
AND - matters only worsened when the late arrivers thought they were being deliberately blocked from the entryway.
They were not, but nevertheless they began to push.
NOW - the chaos lasted for only few minutes, but the disentangling of the bodies lasted four hours.
IN THE END - 173 men, women, and children had died, and not a single bomb had been dropped.
YOU SEE - it turns out that Nazi bombs didn't kill the people, fear did.
YOU KNOW - fear loves a good stampede.
AND UNDERSTAND - fear's payday is…
blind panic, sleepless nights, and disquieted hearts.
AND MGCC – there is no doubt whatsoever, that fear has been making an extremely good living lately.
YEAH – in the year 2020 fear has pretty occupied center in our world, a Fear fuel by such things as…
• COVID 19, The Corona Virus
• Shutdown, lockdowns, Layoffs
• The downturn in the economy
• Huge upticks in – violence, riots, looting, racism, division
• The Election happening in just 2 days
NOT TO MENTION – all the fears out there before 2020, FEARS ABOUT…
• Terrorism
• Conflicts in the Middle East
• Climate change
• Unstable dictators collecting nuclear missiles like a kid collecting baseball cards
YES - we fear so much…
• We fear going broke.
• We fear finishing last.
• We fear for our kids
• We fear for our aging parents
• We fear about not having
• We fear the mole on the back, and
• the tick of the clock as it inches us closer and closer to the grave.
AND LISTEN – because of our fear, we create elaborate investment systems, security systems, defense and military systems to keep us safe and make us feel secure…
YET WE - indulge in narcotic drugs more than any other generation in history.
One psychologist recently wrote that the average child today experiences and lives with the same level of fear as a psychiatric patient in the 1950s.
YES - we are a fear-filled people.
AND FEAR - it seems, has taken a hundred-year lease on the building next door to us and set up shop.
AND LISTEN - for all the energy that fear demands, fear does not do us any good… I MEAN - how many of us would say,
"My life is better because of fear?"
UNDERSTAND…
FEAR - never wrote a poem.
FEAR - never negotiated a peace treaty.
FEAR - never pulled a person out of racism, or a country out of poverty.
Hope did. Courage did. Faith did.
BUT FEAR - fear does nothing but take.
FEAR - does nothing but hurt.
FEAR - does nothing but compress and reduce the life that was once a life-giving source into a vacant, rundown barn where life lives no longer.
FEAR - herds us into a prison and locks the door.
QUESTION
Wouldn't it be great to walk out?
Wouldn't it be great to walk out?
LIKE - can you imagine your life lived untouched by fear?
I MEAN - what if faith, and not fear, was your default reaction to every threat?
SERIOUSLY - imagine your life without fear.
IMAGINE - if I could take a fear magnet and hover it over your heart and extract every last shred of fear about…
what tomorrow may bring, or people may think, or fear of failure, or fear of death, or fear of not mattering,
IF - I could extract every last shred of fear from your life…
How would your day be different?
Would you be a better parent?
Would you be a better neighbor, a better spouse?
Would you be a better person, a better Jesus follower?
Can you imagine a life with no fear?
AND LISTEN…. Here’s the deal….
God does not want us to fear, to be afraid.
IN FACT – one of the most spoken commands of God in ll of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation is the command to not be afraid (it is in there hundreds of times)
NOW - God first spoke those 4 words in Genesis 15:1 to a guy named Abraham who still had not yet had a child with His wife Sarah and he who was afraid that God’s promise would never come to pass.
The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” – Genesis 15:1
AND – those 4 words were last spoken by God the Son, by Jesus to the believers who were living in Smyrna,
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. – Revelation 2:10
AND MGCC – in between Genesis 15 and Revelation 2 those 4 words were spoken to people like…
Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Elijah, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, the disciples and Paul to name a few. Which tells us 2 things…
#1 – At times God’s people will feel afraid
#2 – God does not want His people to be afraid, so he says “do not be afraid”
BUT REALLY – how helpful is it to have someone tell you to not be afraid.
OKAY SO – God does not want us to be afraid.
BUT – just how do you and I make that command a reality.
AND YOU KNOW – if there is one command that I am pretty sure that everyone of us, really want to obey and learn how to live out – it is this one… AMEN.
NOW – I gotta tell you, that I am totally pumped up about today’s conversation. Why?
YOU SEE - I know FEAR (personally, intimately)…
AND - I know without a doubt, that fear has been one of the major obstacles and barriers that has kept me from becoming all that God has created, called and intended me to be.
AND SO TODAY – November 1, 2020…
I stand before you as one who knows fear, who is tired of being limited and held back by fear…
AND WHO – is 100% confident that our God is going to help some of us, those with ears to hear, finally find freedom from FEAR.
AND THIS MORNING – I want to unpack four truths that will us find freedom from fear… and in order to help us remember I have built them on an acrostic of the word fear.
F - Fear God Above All
NOW IN – Matthew chapter 10 Jesus gives us a pretty powerful teaching about fear that is kind of sandwiched between 2 field trips on the Sea of Galilee that He takes His disciples on. One in Matthew 8 and the other in Matthew 14.
OKAY SO IN – Matthew 8 Jesus takes His disciples on their first little field trip… AND LISTEN – this field trip the purpose of this field trip is to teach His guys about fear, and to set up the follow up teaching He will give, just 2 chapters later.
NOW – when Matthew 8 opens up Jesus ministry is really heating up, He heals…
• a man with leprosy,
• the paralyzed servant of a centurion,
• Peter’s mother in-law,
• a bunch of other sick people
AND – casts out a bunch of evil spirits
Matthew 8:18
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.
He has had enough of the crowds… and He is ready to get away from them.
Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
NOW UNDERSTAND – this guy was not really serious about following Jesus. He just wanted to be a part of this new and exciting thing. SO – Jesus lets him know that following Him comes only with a great cost.’
AND SO - the implication is, He walked away.
Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
(Now this does not mean, that his father had just died and he need to attend his funeral, but that he would follow Jesus after his father had died)
But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
AGAIN – this guy walked away.
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
Jesus gets in the boat, so they get on the boat (that’s what followers do) and the row out into the middle of the sea of Galilee.
Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.
Now, Matthew the tax collector, remembers that day well,
SO - he's very careful in his selection of terms.
YOU SEE - not just any noun will do to describe what he experienced on the Galilean Sea.
LIKE - he pulls his Greek thesaurus down off the shelf and he opens it up, and he takes his finger and he runs down the column of synonyms for the word "storm."
He bypasses the words in Greek that mean "squall," "thundershower," "spring shower."
He keeps looking until he finds the one that works.
He reaches over, and he takes his highlighter and he takes it right across the top of the word, the Greek word, "seismos." S-E-I-S-M-O-S.
NOW - this word still occupies a spot in the our language, today doesn't it? A seismologist studies? A seismograph measures? Seismology is the study of?
YOU SEE - what Matthew remembered was not just a casual storm, but an earth-shaking storm, one that bounced the boat and shook the horizon. A seismos.
AND LISTEN - Matthew only used that word in his gospel on two other occasions:
ONCE - to describe the shaking of the Hill of Calvary when Christ was crucified,
AND ONCE - to describe the shaking of the cemetery when Jesus rose from the dead.
Apparently, the defeat of sin on the cross, death in the tomb, now has a partner: the defeat of fear on the Sea of Galilee.
The storm came. And this was a sudden storm (ever have one hit your life).
AND SO – waves are crashing over the boat.
The boat is filling up with water.
It’s dark, it’s loud, they are soaking wet and terrified.
Doing everything they can to keep their boar afloat.
But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying,
(no doubt shouting over the howling wind)
“Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
Mark (who was not on the boat, but most Biblical scholars believe He wrote down the words for Peter) added, Teacher don’t you care if we drown.
OKAY – so they are in great danger, they are terrified, a sudden storm came crashing over them, and Jesus is sleeping.
Now, if you’re a Christian, this is one of your greatest fears right here, isn’t it? In fact, some of you feel like,
No, this my life. I’m in trouble, Jesus is sleeping.
I’m in trouble. God is sleeping. There’s a storm.
It’s a physical storm, It’s a health storm. It’s a job storm. It’s a relationship storm. It’s a financial storm.
It’s something-going-on-with-my-extended-family storm. You feel like… There’s a storm. And I’m praying like crazy, and Jesus is sleeping.
AND LISTEN - this is so important, okay? And if you don’t hear anything else I say, hear this.
When you feel that way, the good news is you’re not the first person to experience that.
LIKE - the people Jesus knew the best and loved the most experienced that very thing. It wasn’t just the theoretical, “I’ve been praying, and I haven’t heard anything.”
No. They are six feet away, and they are gonna literally drown. And he is actually sleeping.
Which means when you feel that sense of distance from God and the Where’s God, and what’s God up to?
IT’S AS IF - Jesus left us this story to say,
“It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re not alone. It’s not as bad as you think. You are not the first to feel this, to fear this, or to experience this.”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Why are we afraid, “permission to speak freely Jesus.
Why are we afraid?
Jesus didn’t you read verse 24?
A furious storm suddenly came upon us
We are taking on water, the boat is about to sink and we are about drown, and when you are about to drown you are afraid. Jesus, what a silly question, that is why we are afraid.
AND AGAIN – this is not a miracle to show that Jesus has power over nature, instead it is a miracle to teach His followers about fear.
YOU SEE – when He finally got up (which means that He had asked the question while propped up on one elbow) He did not panic.
MGCC – God doesn’t panic. Your Savior doesn’t panic.
NOW – isn’t that good to know?
We panic, but God does not panic.
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” - Matthew 8:26,27
NOW – what is interesting in Mark (which remember were the words of Peter) is that it concludes this way in the original Greek (He takes the word for fear and use both the verb and the noun form of it. And says after all is clam and the storm is over.
And we feared a great fear and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” - Mark 4:41
YOU SEE – they start to put 2 and 2 together, they are beginning to connect the dots… and they see that there really is something to be afraid of… And we feared a great fear….
UNDERSTAND – now their fear of whose presence they were in was much greater than their fear of the storm.
YOU KNOW – as a kid I remember my mom or dad at times telling me “don’t be afraid Steven, there’s no nothing to be afraid of.’ WELL – on that boat Jesus guys figured out on that there really was something to be afraid of, and that perhaps they had been afraid of the wrong thing.
UNDERSTAND – for a fleeting moment they got it and their fear, their confidence in Jesus overwhelmed their fear of the storm.
AND LISTEN – the lesson that Jesus was trying to teach them was this…
THAT YOU – don’t have to allow fear to overwhelm you BECAUSE - there is something, there is someone more overwhelming than fear.
OKAY – so here is how I would put into words what I believe that Jesus is saying to His disciples…
You don’t have to be afraid, even when there is something to be afraid of, because I Am greater than what you fear.
First field trip over…
AND THEN – a few days later, while their experience on the boat was still fresh in their minds, Jesus gathers up His guys.
“Okay, let’s talk about this, we a field trip awhile back and it did not go well. Like, everybody failed.
However, you did learn a very important lesson, you still remember it, right?
You don’t have to be afraid, even when there is something to be afraid of, because I Am greater than what you fear.
AND – then Jesus tells them how very soon he will be sending them out into the world, to do some awesome things (drive out demons, heal the sick, proclaim the message of the kingdom)… and I am sure they are like… on the edge of their seats excited, smiling… “YES!” AND THEN – very quickly things start to take, a very dark turn, Jesus says…
• I am sending you out like sheep among wolves (If you were a sheep and you received a dinner invitation from a bunch of wolves would you go?)
• I am sending you out like sheep among wolves
• You will be arrested, They will flog you in the synagogue
• You will handed over to governors and kings
• People you love and care about will betray you
• You will be persecuted and hated by everyone on account of me
AND THEN – in verse 26, Jesus says…
Don’t be afraid… - Matthew 10:26
QUESTION…
WHAT would you be thinking, if you were them?
LIKE WHAT – would you be feeling, as you pictured in your mind… actually enduring all of those things?
NOW FORTUNATEY – Jesus does not give their minds too long to dwell on their troubled future, before He pulls them into His great teaching about fear.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body
Okay, the body is like all of me. “hey, are you okay?” “Yeah, I am fine, they just killed my body”
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
IN OTHER WORDS – Jesus is saying…
IF YOU - are going to fear something, you should fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.
IF YOU - are going to fear someone or something, you should fear the one who controls not just your body but your soul.
HEY – do you remember our little boat ride?
When you were afraid of the wrong thing, when you were afraid of the storm…
When you discovered that there was someone you should have been more afraid…. When you feared a great fear.
AND THEN – Jesus says…
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
(Yeah, I think that’s the price the are pretty cheap and worthless… I wouldn’t pay and more than a ½ a penny each)
Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
– Matthew 10:28-31
Don’t be afraid, you are extremely valuable to God.
God knows your name.
God numbers you hair.
God knows when you fall to the ground.
God knows you circumstances.
He’s concerned about your personal life.
He knows what’s going on and He cares.
AND LISTEN…
WHEN – we find ourselves in a fierce storm, where the winds and the waves are both crashing and unrelenting…
WHEN - fear is overwhelming and flooding our live…
TO KNOW – with confidence that God knows what we are going through is exactly what we need to hear.
Jesus says, ‘Rest assured God knows and God cares even when bad things are happening, even when prayers seem to go unanswered… you can trust Him.
AND SO – His guys are starting to get it. And Jesus is like, “let’s take another field trip. Matthew 14:22
Immediately
(Now, this is right after Jesus had feed the 5000+ people with 5 loaves and 2 fish… with 12 baskets leftover)
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat
(made them – yeah, these guys had not forgotten how things went down oN their last boat ride)
and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
Now I kind of picture Jesus guiding them into the boat… come on guys let’s go, and then pushing the boat out into the lake and much to their surprise not getting in with them
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,
and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
I MEAN – for hours all through the night they are trying to obey what Jesus had told them to do (go to the other side of the lake) but they are getting nowhere. Because a strong wind was blowing against them.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” - Matthew 10:22-27
AND – it’s here that Jesus adds His final touches on His lesson about fear for them and for us…
You don’t have to be afraid, even when there is something to be afraid of, because I Am greater than what you fear, and because I am with You.
MGCC – to find freedom from fear…
Fear God Above All, Fear God Above…
• The storm
• The disease
• The hardship
• The difficulty
• COVID 19
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. – Matthew 10:28
AND LISTEN – there are tremendous benefits to fearing God above all..
NOW - I don’t have time to read the scriptures, but I did put some of the references in your notes for you to look up later…
Psalms 34:7, 34:9, 85:9, 103:11, 103:13, 115:11, 145:19
Pr 9:10, Pr 14:26, Pr 19:23, Pr 22:4
Luke 1:50
BUT MGCC…
Here are just some of the benefits that come upon those who fear the Lord…
• The angel of the Lord encamps around them – protecting them
• They lack nothing
• His Salvation is near them
• He pours out His love and compassion on them in abundance
• He gives them wisdom on how to live life to the fullest
• He fulfills the desires of their heart
• He protects… And is secure fortress and refuge for both them and their children
• They are led into a new life, a better life
• He gives them wealth and honor and life
• He continually extends his mercy to them
AND – besides all those consider some of the terms that God uses to describe the relationship that He has with those who fear Him… God calls them - His child - His bride - His friends
E – Evaluate You Fear
Why are you afraid? – Matthew 8:26
UNDERSTAND – you need to evaluate your fear to discern if it is a warning from God or just a threat from the enemy.
UNDERSTAND – God does not make threats.
INSTEAD – He gives warnings.
IN – the OT prophets (would speak to the people (often times to their leaders) on behalf of God warning them about how they were living and what they needed to do in order to get right with God.
AND SO – all through the Bible we see God giving his people warning – and warnings are a good thing.
BUT LISTEN – to overcome fear we must learn to discern the difference between a warning from God and a threat from the enemy. AND – this is tough because they can feel the same on the surface.
LIKE – is the sense of fear and dread a warning from God that I am about to do something stupid, something wrong? OR IS IT - a threat from the enemy trying to keep me from doing something God wants me to do…?
#1
A warning from God – is rooted in truth
A threat from the enemy – is embedded with lies
(does it line up with the word of God)
#2
A warning from God – revolves around what ‘will’ happen
(If you disobey this will happen)
A threat from the enemy – revolves around what ‘might’ happen (you know the ‘what if’ thing)
#3
A warning from God – motivates
Gives us a push in the right direction
A threat from the enemy paralyzes
#4
A warning from God – instructs specifically
A threat from the enemy – condemns vaguely
#5
A warning from God – is designed to keep you in the game
A threat from the enemy – is designed to take you out of the game
BOTTOM LINE – if we heed God’s warning we will not have to fear the threats of the enemy…
To Find Freedom from fear…
• Fear Gid above all
• Evaluate your fear, and
A – Attack Your Fear With God’s Truth
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free… - John 8:31,32
Let me give a few examples of what I mean…
Attack the Fear of not mattering with...
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10
Attack the Fear of sinning beyond God’s reach and grace with...
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus – Romans 8:1
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
- 1 John 1:9
Attack the Fear of being helpless with...
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9
Attack the Fear of suffering with...
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
– Romans 8;18
Attack the Fear about your future with...
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11
Attack the Fear about how difficult times will turn out with...
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called.
– Romans 8:28
Attack the Fear of death with...
When our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
To be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 5:8
MGCC
LISTEN – I guarantee that whatever you are afraid of there is a truth of God that you can attack with.
AMEN…
To Find Freedom from fear…
• Fear Gid above all
• Evaluate your fear,
• Attack your fear with God’s truth, and
AND – final key to finding freedom from fear, comes from one of my favorite stories about fear and overcoming it, in the entire bible…
IT’S - found in 2 Kings chapter 6. And that key is…
R – Remember Always That Whatever Fear Is Surrounding You, God Is Surrounding It
LET ME – briefly set up the text for you…
The King of Aram (and enemy of God’s people) has sent an army to capture the prophet Elisha.
Because Elisha, keeps warning the King of Israel every time he plans to ambush him.
So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.
When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.
QUESTION… have you ever been there?
ONE MORNING - you woke up and went outside and found that your city, our life - was surrounded by an that enemy had come during the night, and now you are surrounded you. I MEAN – you did not see this one coming…
BUT – all of a sudden you trapped, afraid and you don’t know what to do...
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
(the servant looks around… I am not the best at Math, but all I see is one, two… that’s it)
And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.”
AND – do you know what?
I’m pretty sure that Elisha prayed that prayer out loud.
Why?
Because if Elisha had prayed silently to himself when the servant saw the chariots of fire he would probably think that they showed up as a result of Elisha’s prayer…
BUT LISTEN – the break-through in this story IS NOT when God does something ‘for’ His people, no the break-through…
IS WHEN - His people see something that God has already done
IS WHEN – His people see who he already and always is, an ever present help.
IS WHEN – they see that He was already there with them
Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. - 2 Kings 6:14-17
MGCC
Remember Always That Whatever Fear Is Surrounding You, God Is Surrounding It
The Psalmist writes….
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore. – Psalm 125:1,2
The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. – 1 John 4:4
QUESTION - is so fear surrounding you?
Our God is greater!
UNDERSTAND - we don’t have to fear what we face when we know who we are trusting in… “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. – John 14:1
God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” – Hebrews 12:5,6
To Find Freedom from fear…
• Fear God above all
You don’t have to be afraid, even when there is something to be afraid of, because Jesus is greater than what you fear, and because Jesus with You.
• Evaluate your fear,
• Attack your fear with God’s truth, and
• Remember Always That Whatever Fear Is Surrounding You, God Is Surrounding It
Let's Pray
