Title: From Fear to Faith in the Face of Christ Meta: One aspect of mortifying sin is killing our fears. Fear is a drug that makes us think wrongly and it's the beginning of defeat in any situation that we face. Fear will either rob us and make us passive, or we will learn to be proactive and kill it with the promises of God. We can either choose to yield to our fears and sink into depression or we can ask the Lord to help us. Tags: fear,faith,anxiety,Mack Tomlinson,doubt,afraid 1 00:00:05,629 --> 00:00:07,995 I want to speak to you 2 00:00:07,995 --> 00:00:09,523 in this last session on: 3 00:00:09,523 --> 00:00:15,487 From Fear to Faith in the Face of Christ. 4 00:00:15,487 --> 00:00:20,917 From Fear to Faith in the Face of Christ. 5 00:00:20,917 --> 00:00:25,648 Or if you wanted a simpler title: 6 00:00:25,648 --> 00:00:27,571 Faith up. 7 00:00:27,571 --> 00:00:30,459 Fears down. 8 00:00:30,459 --> 00:00:36,837 One thing of mortifying sin is killing our fears. 9 00:00:36,837 --> 00:00:39,448 I want to speak on fear 10 00:00:39,448 --> 00:00:43,354 and replacing it with faith today. 11 00:00:43,354 --> 00:00:48,652 Let's read from two Psalms. 12 00:00:48,652 --> 00:00:51,227 Psalm 34. 13 00:00:51,227 --> 00:00:55,084 We read it earlier this morning - the whole psalm. 14 00:00:55,084 --> 00:00:56,779 But I want to read three verses. 15 00:00:56,779 --> 00:01:06,005 Psalm 34:4-6 16 00:01:06,005 --> 00:01:09,553 "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, 17 00:01:09,553 --> 00:01:13,941 and delivered me from all my fears. 18 00:01:13,941 --> 00:01:16,439 They looked to Him and were lightened. 19 00:01:16,439 --> 00:01:18,129 Their faces were not ashamed. 20 00:01:18,129 --> 00:01:19,762 This poor man cried, 21 00:01:19,762 --> 00:01:22,467 and the Lord heard him and saved him 22 00:01:22,467 --> 00:01:27,626 out of all his troubles." 23 00:01:27,626 --> 00:01:41,869 And then, Psalm 56:3. 24 00:01:41,869 --> 00:01:44,314 "What time I am afraid, 25 00:01:44,314 --> 00:01:48,669 I will trust in Thee." 26 00:01:48,669 --> 00:01:53,948 Fear or the choice of faith. 27 00:01:53,948 --> 00:01:56,261 About four years ago, 28 00:01:56,261 --> 00:02:00,166 I got the news that in six weeks, 29 00:02:00,166 --> 00:02:04,206 I would have a second open heart surgery. 30 00:02:04,206 --> 00:02:09,761 I had one ten years earlier. 31 00:02:09,761 --> 00:02:17,396 And fear came. 32 00:02:17,396 --> 00:02:20,669 When fear comes, it's like a cloud, right? 33 00:02:20,669 --> 00:02:23,029 It's like a fog. 34 00:02:23,029 --> 00:02:25,172 It comes over you. 35 00:02:25,172 --> 00:02:29,665 You can't just swat it away like a fly. 36 00:02:29,665 --> 00:02:32,401 So, I had to face this. 37 00:02:32,401 --> 00:02:35,757 And I just prayed one day, 38 00:02:35,757 --> 00:02:39,171 "Lord, this is scary again. 39 00:02:39,171 --> 00:02:43,144 This is going to hurt again. 40 00:02:43,144 --> 00:02:44,679 I'm insufficient. 41 00:02:44,679 --> 00:02:45,797 I'm inadequate. 42 00:02:45,797 --> 00:02:49,730 I can't get through this in victory 43 00:02:49,730 --> 00:02:52,662 without You helping me. 44 00:02:52,662 --> 00:02:56,090 So speak to me and give me 45 00:02:56,090 --> 00:02:59,111 something from Your Word 46 00:02:59,111 --> 00:03:01,710 that will take me through." 47 00:03:01,710 --> 00:03:05,597 See, we can either choose to yield to our fears 48 00:03:05,597 --> 00:03:08,565 and sink in discouragement 49 00:03:08,565 --> 00:03:12,278 or depression or anxiety. 50 00:03:12,278 --> 00:03:14,213 Or, we can choose another path. 51 00:03:14,213 --> 00:03:19,880 Lord, please help me. 52 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:23,425 What I'm saying applies to every one of you - 53 00:03:23,425 --> 00:03:28,105 universally. 54 00:03:28,105 --> 00:03:30,686 So God gave me two Scriptures that came alive 55 00:03:30,686 --> 00:03:33,206 just in my normal course of Bible reading. 56 00:03:33,206 --> 00:03:37,548 I didn't run to another book. 57 00:03:37,548 --> 00:03:40,782 I didn't go searching for something. 58 00:03:40,782 --> 00:03:44,152 My morning readings - as I read, 59 00:03:44,152 --> 00:03:47,766 two Scriptures came alive. 60 00:03:47,766 --> 00:03:53,685 And the main one was Psalm 56:3. 61 00:03:53,685 --> 00:03:56,995 I came one morning a few days after the news 62 00:03:56,995 --> 00:03:58,220 to Psalm 56. 63 00:03:58,220 --> 00:04:02,281 And as I read verse 3: boom! 64 00:04:02,281 --> 00:04:04,965 It was a rhema to my heart. 65 00:04:04,965 --> 00:04:06,773 There it is. 66 00:04:06,773 --> 00:04:08,482 What time I am afraid... 67 00:04:08,482 --> 00:04:10,768 well, there's going to be opportunity. 68 00:04:10,768 --> 00:04:12,271 The night before the surgery, 69 00:04:12,271 --> 00:04:13,805 I didn't sleep much. 70 00:04:13,805 --> 00:04:18,308 I had to be up there at 5 a.m. getting prepped. 71 00:04:18,308 --> 00:04:19,282 Fear. 72 00:04:19,282 --> 00:04:21,937 Fear rises. 73 00:04:21,937 --> 00:04:24,168 Going under the anesthesia... 74 00:04:24,168 --> 00:04:27,940 still conscious - fear rises. 75 00:04:27,940 --> 00:04:30,532 Coming out at 12 hours 76 00:04:30,532 --> 00:04:32,065 when you're kind of groggy 77 00:04:32,065 --> 00:04:34,120 and you're hurting and you can't breathe, 78 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,259 you have claustrophobia, 79 00:04:36,259 --> 00:04:38,297 fear rises. 80 00:04:38,297 --> 00:04:42,000 Every single fear that week that came, 81 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,361 that verse came to my mind. 82 00:04:44,361 --> 00:04:45,866 I couldn't pray it out loud. 83 00:04:45,866 --> 00:04:49,323 I had tubes, but in my mind and heart, 84 00:04:49,323 --> 00:04:50,263 I prayed it. 85 00:04:50,263 --> 00:04:53,367 Every time, peace came. 86 00:04:53,367 --> 00:04:56,342 Every time. 87 00:04:56,342 --> 00:04:59,561 So, I want to talk to you about your fear. 88 00:04:59,561 --> 00:05:02,158 If you were to list five things 89 00:05:02,158 --> 00:05:04,800 you fear the most, 90 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:10,957 what would be on your list? 91 00:05:10,957 --> 00:05:13,332 Make the list in your mind. 92 00:05:13,332 --> 00:05:17,265 Make it later on paper. 93 00:05:17,265 --> 00:05:20,164 What would be on your list? 94 00:05:20,164 --> 00:05:24,458 Every one of you has got a list. 95 00:05:24,458 --> 00:05:25,867 Edmund Burke said, 96 00:05:25,867 --> 00:05:31,121 "No human passion so much robs our mind 97 00:05:31,121 --> 00:05:36,462 of acting and thinking rightly as fear." 98 00:05:36,462 --> 00:05:37,704 Fear is a thief. 99 00:05:37,704 --> 00:05:39,002 It's an enemy. 100 00:05:39,002 --> 00:05:40,801 It's a confuser. 101 00:05:40,801 --> 00:05:42,014 Confusion. 102 00:05:42,014 --> 00:05:44,909 It is a drug that suddenly 103 00:05:44,909 --> 00:05:47,898 makes us not even be thinking right. 104 00:05:47,898 --> 00:05:50,957 It makes us think wrong things. 105 00:05:50,957 --> 00:05:55,188 And fear is the beginning of defeat 106 00:05:55,188 --> 00:05:59,161 in any situation we face. 107 00:05:59,161 --> 00:06:00,802 Now, brethren, your fears, 108 00:06:00,802 --> 00:06:02,605 as you journey in the Christian life, 109 00:06:02,605 --> 00:06:06,792 will either rob you because you stay passive about them, 110 00:06:06,792 --> 00:06:09,209 or you'll learn to become proactive 111 00:06:09,209 --> 00:06:13,339 and kill them with the promises of God. 112 00:06:13,339 --> 00:06:15,999 And faith will rise. 113 00:06:15,999 --> 00:06:21,768 Fear is the offspring and the fruit of unbelief. 114 00:06:21,768 --> 00:06:26,377 And nothing can cure us of fear, 115 00:06:26,377 --> 00:06:29,255 until faith - or God through faith - 116 00:06:29,255 --> 00:06:32,709 cures our unbelief. 117 00:06:32,709 --> 00:06:37,879 Now, I want you to think of the reality of fear. 118 00:06:37,879 --> 00:06:42,396 How historically universal fear is. 119 00:06:42,396 --> 00:06:46,184 Every person in history, except Christ, 120 00:06:46,184 --> 00:06:50,795 has had the problem, the disease, the sin of fear. 121 00:06:50,795 --> 00:06:53,046 And even the Lord Jesus 122 00:06:53,046 --> 00:06:56,197 humanly, had a holy, pure - not sinful - 123 00:06:56,197 --> 00:07:00,868 dread and fear of the cross in the Garden, didn't He? 124 00:07:00,868 --> 00:07:02,519 He didn't want to experience it. 125 00:07:02,519 --> 00:07:04,049 He didn't want to drink the cup. 126 00:07:04,049 --> 00:07:07,153 So the horror of it came over Him 127 00:07:07,153 --> 00:07:09,249 and He experienced it, 128 00:07:09,249 --> 00:07:12,454 but He didn't yield to sin in that. 129 00:07:12,454 --> 00:07:15,486 But universally, every person who's ever been born 130 00:07:15,486 --> 00:07:18,068 has fears. 131 00:07:18,068 --> 00:07:20,505 John Flavel the Puritan said, 132 00:07:20,505 --> 00:07:23,577 "It cannot be said of anyone 133 00:07:23,577 --> 00:07:26,960 that he or she is without fear." 134 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,884 You think of the preachers you love the most 135 00:07:29,884 --> 00:07:33,130 or you respect the most. 136 00:07:33,130 --> 00:07:35,157 They're human beings that 137 00:07:35,157 --> 00:07:36,755 week in and week out 138 00:07:36,755 --> 00:07:38,850 will struggle with fear about something. 139 00:07:38,850 --> 00:07:41,618 Fear will come on them. 140 00:07:41,618 --> 00:07:42,584 Flavel said, 141 00:07:42,584 --> 00:07:47,122 "Even the most courageous have fear at times." 142 00:07:47,122 --> 00:07:49,048 Now think about it. 143 00:07:49,048 --> 00:07:50,864 What all kind of things do we fear? 144 00:07:50,864 --> 00:07:53,821 We fear things. 145 00:07:53,821 --> 00:07:57,177 We fear people. 146 00:07:57,177 --> 00:07:59,749 The fear of man's a snare, the Bible says. 147 00:07:59,749 --> 00:08:04,494 We fear speaking up in public around others. 148 00:08:04,494 --> 00:08:06,957 We fear praying in a prayer meeting 149 00:08:06,957 --> 00:08:08,090 when we ought to pray, 150 00:08:08,090 --> 00:08:09,635 even though we're a Christian. 151 00:08:09,635 --> 00:08:10,804 We don't pray out loud, 152 00:08:10,804 --> 00:08:12,255 because we fear being judged. 153 00:08:12,255 --> 00:08:14,125 We fear being unspiritual. 154 00:08:14,125 --> 00:08:15,730 So we give in to the fear. 155 00:08:15,730 --> 00:08:20,099 We feel people dressed like clowns. 156 00:08:20,099 --> 00:08:24,171 Any of you have that fear? 157 00:08:24,171 --> 00:08:26,560 See, there's weird fears. 158 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:28,628 Some people fear dolls. 159 00:08:28,628 --> 00:08:30,533 They couldn't sleep in a room 160 00:08:30,533 --> 00:08:35,346 with a bunch of dolls up on the shelves. 161 00:08:35,346 --> 00:08:39,778 They're staring at me. 162 00:08:39,778 --> 00:08:42,524 Fearing dolls? Really? 163 00:08:42,524 --> 00:08:44,014 Yeah, we fear a lot of things. 164 00:08:44,014 --> 00:08:47,180 Snakes. 165 00:08:47,180 --> 00:08:49,246 Storms and lightning. 166 00:08:49,246 --> 00:08:51,146 I read one time that Jonathan Edwards 167 00:08:51,146 --> 00:08:54,748 would take prayer walks during lightning storms. 168 00:08:54,748 --> 00:08:56,104 I tried it once. 169 00:08:56,104 --> 00:08:58,818 It didn't work. 170 00:08:58,818 --> 00:09:00,903 I ran in the house real fast. 171 00:09:00,903 --> 00:09:04,344 I said maybe I can just stay out here like Edwards. 172 00:09:04,344 --> 00:09:05,474 I couldn't. 173 00:09:05,474 --> 00:09:07,952 I couldn't handle it. 174 00:09:07,952 --> 00:09:11,465 In May of 2015, James White the apologist 175 00:09:11,465 --> 00:09:14,016 came to our church for one weekend. 176 00:09:14,016 --> 00:09:18,335 In the springtime, Texas is tornado alley. 177 00:09:18,335 --> 00:09:19,160 Right? 178 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:20,591 Now, that alley is widening. 179 00:09:20,591 --> 00:09:21,810 Alabama gets them. 180 00:09:21,810 --> 00:09:23,021 Mississippi gets them. 181 00:09:23,021 --> 00:09:23,762 All over. 182 00:09:23,762 --> 00:09:26,267 So here we are, 183 00:09:26,267 --> 00:09:28,635 and he finished the ministry on Sunday 184 00:09:28,635 --> 00:09:30,937 and he's at our house for lunch. 185 00:09:30,937 --> 00:09:33,778 And the tornado siren goes off. 186 00:09:33,778 --> 00:09:35,581 Do you remember this? 187 00:09:35,581 --> 00:09:40,145 Jesse wasn't there at our house for lunch 188 00:09:40,145 --> 00:09:44,479 but the siren goes off. 189 00:09:44,479 --> 00:09:47,290 So we find out that a tornado 190 00:09:47,290 --> 00:09:50,078 on the southwest corner of Denton 191 00:09:50,078 --> 00:09:54,496 is moving across Denton, low to the ground, 192 00:09:54,496 --> 00:09:57,002 and it's going from the Southwest 193 00:09:57,002 --> 00:10:01,459 to where we live, the Northeast corner of Denton. 194 00:10:01,459 --> 00:10:06,002 So, you know James is cool, calm, and collected. 195 00:10:06,002 --> 00:10:12,357 He said, in his manner, "what do we do?" 196 00:10:12,357 --> 00:10:14,406 He was wanting to run to a basement, 197 00:10:14,406 --> 00:10:15,643 and Linda said, well, 198 00:10:15,643 --> 00:10:18,426 the only thing to do is get in the hall 199 00:10:18,426 --> 00:10:20,330 and cover yourself up with a mattress. 200 00:10:20,330 --> 00:10:23,874 He said, "Is that all?" 201 00:10:23,874 --> 00:10:25,796 So the tornado passed, 202 00:10:25,796 --> 00:10:28,659 we sit down and have lunch. 203 00:10:28,659 --> 00:10:31,679 But the reality is, 204 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,900 whether it's a tornado warning 205 00:10:34,900 --> 00:10:37,544 or something in your mind you can't get rid of, 206 00:10:37,544 --> 00:10:43,994 we battle so many fears we can't control. 207 00:10:43,994 --> 00:10:47,180 But we can learn, by God's grace, 208 00:10:47,180 --> 00:10:49,137 and getting our mind renewed 209 00:10:49,137 --> 00:10:51,200 to respond rightly to fear. 210 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:57,609 And we can conquer fear conquering us. 211 00:10:57,609 --> 00:11:01,337 Because fear - we can't control it, 212 00:11:01,337 --> 00:11:04,343 but we can and we are to control 213 00:11:04,343 --> 00:11:05,849 our responses to it. 214 00:11:05,849 --> 00:11:09,590 Fears like: 215 00:11:09,590 --> 00:11:14,120 Divorce has happened in my family. 216 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,393 Could it ever happen to us? 217 00:11:17,393 --> 00:11:24,430 I'm divorced and my mate was the one in sin, 218 00:11:24,430 --> 00:11:27,954 when I was faithful - can I ever be married again? 219 00:11:27,954 --> 00:11:33,111 Fear of walking alone the rest of your life. 220 00:11:33,111 --> 00:11:34,930 Job security. 221 00:11:34,930 --> 00:11:37,453 How are we going to provide for all these children? 222 00:11:37,453 --> 00:11:41,377 I don't make enough on paper. 223 00:11:41,377 --> 00:11:46,591 Everything in life aims to produce 224 00:11:46,591 --> 00:11:48,863 unbelief and fear in us. 225 00:11:48,863 --> 00:11:51,322 Everything breeds it. 226 00:11:51,322 --> 00:11:55,544 Like John Piper said, 227 00:11:55,544 --> 00:11:59,548 Godlessness is in the air we breathe in America. 228 00:11:59,548 --> 00:12:01,914 Everything in America - the air we breathe 229 00:12:01,914 --> 00:12:03,636 and the society we live in 230 00:12:03,636 --> 00:12:06,469 and the whole culture 231 00:12:06,469 --> 00:12:11,024 will breed fear in us if we let it. 232 00:12:11,024 --> 00:12:15,725 Our hearts, our unrenewed minds, 233 00:12:15,725 --> 00:12:18,278 things within us in our hearts, 234 00:12:18,278 --> 00:12:20,565 like gravity pull us towards fear. 235 00:12:20,565 --> 00:12:23,219 Things without - outside of us 236 00:12:23,219 --> 00:12:25,204 try to pull us to fear. 237 00:12:25,204 --> 00:12:29,722 People can try to make you afraid, 238 00:12:29,722 --> 00:12:32,953 either on purpose or unconsciously. 239 00:12:32,953 --> 00:12:34,477 Trials and circumstances. 240 00:12:34,477 --> 00:12:37,004 Demonic assaults. 241 00:12:37,004 --> 00:12:38,934 Discouragement and depression. 242 00:12:38,934 --> 00:12:41,477 Stress and pressure. 243 00:12:41,477 --> 00:12:44,552 All kinds of things attack you 244 00:12:44,552 --> 00:12:48,402 with an end goal to make you fear. 245 00:12:48,402 --> 00:12:50,220 To push you into fear. 246 00:12:50,220 --> 00:12:52,475 And if you're passive, 247 00:12:52,475 --> 00:12:56,886 and you're just kind of defensive but passive, 248 00:12:56,886 --> 00:12:59,397 you're a sitting duck. 249 00:12:59,397 --> 00:13:01,976 And we have to learn to respond differently. 250 00:13:01,976 --> 00:13:06,164 The simplest things can deceive our mind 251 00:13:06,164 --> 00:13:09,734 into thinking wrong and believing lies. 252 00:13:09,734 --> 00:13:13,353 In the 1970's, I was in Fort Worth, Texas 253 00:13:13,353 --> 00:13:15,754 where I went to graduate school. 254 00:13:15,754 --> 00:13:19,573 And later in the 70's, I stayed at a friend's house 255 00:13:19,573 --> 00:13:20,896 they were selling, 256 00:13:20,896 --> 00:13:23,781 and they weren't there. 257 00:13:23,781 --> 00:13:25,587 I went to bed. 258 00:13:25,587 --> 00:13:28,866 And in the night, at 2 a.m., 259 00:13:28,866 --> 00:13:32,688 I hear noise in the house. 260 00:13:32,688 --> 00:13:34,963 Fear comes over me. 261 00:13:34,963 --> 00:13:37,757 Somebody's in the house. 262 00:13:37,757 --> 00:13:39,274 I didn't know what to do. 263 00:13:39,274 --> 00:13:40,520 I didn't know the house. 264 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,620 I didn't know where the rooms were really. 265 00:13:42,620 --> 00:13:44,682 In the dark, I didn't know the layout. 266 00:13:44,682 --> 00:13:47,939 I laid there fearful. 267 00:13:47,939 --> 00:13:49,620 I tried to go back to sleep. 268 00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:51,928 In a little while, two hours later, 269 00:13:51,928 --> 00:13:54,579 same noise I heard. 270 00:13:54,579 --> 00:13:56,858 And you know when you're sleepy or groggy, 271 00:13:56,858 --> 00:13:58,125 you don't know. 272 00:13:58,125 --> 00:14:01,914 Things sound louder than they are. 273 00:14:01,914 --> 00:14:05,038 I was robbed by fear all night. 274 00:14:05,038 --> 00:14:07,687 The next morning, I'm in the kitchen. 275 00:14:07,687 --> 00:14:09,502 Suddenly there's the same sound. 276 00:14:09,502 --> 00:14:12,666 It was the ice maker producing ice. 277 00:14:12,666 --> 00:14:14,441 That's the enemy that robbed me 278 00:14:14,441 --> 00:14:16,853 through fear all night. 279 00:14:16,853 --> 00:14:22,149 What a lie! What a pansy I was! 280 00:14:22,149 --> 00:14:26,052 The simplest things can produce fear in us, can't they? 281 00:14:26,052 --> 00:14:27,898 Right? 282 00:14:27,898 --> 00:14:34,527 Well, faith is the antidote. 283 00:14:34,527 --> 00:14:36,464 It always it. It's the only antidote. 284 00:14:36,464 --> 00:14:39,676 Because faith is at the heart of Christianity. 285 00:14:39,676 --> 00:14:42,000 Scripture says this, 286 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,398 God raised Christ from the dead 287 00:14:44,398 --> 00:14:48,045 that our faith and hope might be in God. 288 00:14:48,045 --> 00:14:50,391 It says we're justified by faith. 289 00:14:50,391 --> 00:14:53,479 We're saved by faith. 290 00:14:53,479 --> 00:14:56,736 By faith, we have peace with God. 291 00:14:56,736 --> 00:14:59,873 We are to live by faith, the Bible says, 292 00:14:59,873 --> 00:15:02,012 and we're to walk by faith. 293 00:15:02,012 --> 00:15:05,021 Now what is faith? 294 00:15:05,021 --> 00:15:07,904 In the early years of my Christian life, 295 00:15:07,904 --> 00:15:09,955 this was such a confusing topic. 296 00:15:09,955 --> 00:15:13,360 I would hear men preach about faith. 297 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:15,422 I would read it in the Bible. 298 00:15:15,422 --> 00:15:18,946 And I honestly could not come to terms 299 00:15:18,946 --> 00:15:21,642 with what is faith? 300 00:15:21,642 --> 00:15:24,066 Is it something I'm just to produce? 301 00:15:24,066 --> 00:15:25,595 Is it an action on my part? 302 00:15:25,595 --> 00:15:27,719 Is it just mental assent? 303 00:15:27,719 --> 00:15:30,033 Is it something God has to do? 304 00:15:30,033 --> 00:15:31,825 Do I need to be zapped with faith? 305 00:15:31,825 --> 00:15:35,617 I couldn't figure out how to understand faith. 306 00:15:35,617 --> 00:15:36,474 I really couldn't. 307 00:15:36,474 --> 00:15:41,337 It was a long battle for me. 308 00:15:41,337 --> 00:15:45,620 Until God began to sort it out 309 00:15:45,620 --> 00:15:48,449 and put the pieces in the puzzle. 310 00:15:48,449 --> 00:15:50,578 Here a little, there a little. 311 00:15:50,578 --> 00:15:51,849 Line upon line. 312 00:15:51,849 --> 00:15:55,445 And I finally began to have my fog cleared 313 00:15:55,445 --> 00:15:58,805 that faith is not mental assent. 314 00:15:58,805 --> 00:16:03,630 It's not intellectual agreement with facts. 315 00:16:03,630 --> 00:16:13,171 It is personal trust and dependence on Christ. 316 00:16:13,171 --> 00:16:16,842 It is personal casting myself, 317 00:16:16,842 --> 00:16:20,313 personal dependence and trust, 318 00:16:20,313 --> 00:16:24,366 from the heart on what God has said to me. 319 00:16:24,366 --> 00:16:25,741 Faith. 320 00:16:25,741 --> 00:16:31,902 Without faith, it is impossible to please God. 321 00:16:31,902 --> 00:16:34,193 Faith is at the heart of Christianity. 322 00:16:34,193 --> 00:16:38,193 Christ is the object of our faith. 323 00:16:38,193 --> 00:16:39,975 He's the object of all faith. 324 00:16:39,975 --> 00:16:42,637 We don't put faith in our faith. 325 00:16:42,637 --> 00:16:45,826 We don't put faith in our repentance. 326 00:16:45,826 --> 00:16:48,303 Christ is the object of our faith. 327 00:16:48,303 --> 00:16:50,529 But the only way to Christ, 328 00:16:50,529 --> 00:16:52,878 the only means of getting to Him, 329 00:16:52,878 --> 00:16:55,961 is faith. 330 00:16:55,961 --> 00:16:59,179 It's faith that unites us to Christ. 331 00:16:59,179 --> 00:17:03,804 It's faith that is the means to justify us. 332 00:17:03,804 --> 00:17:08,092 And it's by faith that we lay hold of Christ. 333 00:17:08,092 --> 00:17:13,452 In living by faith and conquering fear, 334 00:17:13,452 --> 00:17:16,653 what characterizes faith? 335 00:17:16,653 --> 00:17:18,842 Let's think for a few minutes here 336 00:17:18,842 --> 00:17:20,836 about what is the nature of 337 00:17:20,836 --> 00:17:24,287 a believer's trust in the Lord. 338 00:17:24,287 --> 00:17:26,668 Because it's good to be clear on some things 339 00:17:26,668 --> 00:17:31,354 about what faith is and what it's not. 340 00:17:31,354 --> 00:17:33,711 Let me say first, 341 00:17:33,711 --> 00:17:36,663 faith is a difficult thing. 342 00:17:36,663 --> 00:17:39,669 It's not an easy thing to trust God. 343 00:17:39,669 --> 00:17:41,072 It can be a real battle. 344 00:17:41,072 --> 00:17:42,814 It's difficult. 345 00:17:42,814 --> 00:17:44,328 If it weren't difficult, 346 00:17:44,328 --> 00:17:47,251 why don't we all do it well? 347 00:17:47,251 --> 00:17:51,817 Why do we gravitate so much 348 00:17:51,817 --> 00:17:57,142 to struggle in trusting the Lord? 349 00:17:57,142 --> 00:17:59,284 William Jay said this, 350 00:17:59,284 --> 00:18:02,027 "It is no easy thing for a person 351 00:18:02,027 --> 00:18:05,216 whose conscience is truly awakened 352 00:18:05,216 --> 00:18:09,665 to trust one he cannot see 353 00:18:09,665 --> 00:18:12,979 Who he has sinned against, 354 00:18:12,979 --> 00:18:16,691 and especially to trust Him, 355 00:18:16,691 --> 00:18:19,167 not only for pardon, but for acceptance, 356 00:18:19,167 --> 00:18:20,335 for salvation, 357 00:18:20,335 --> 00:18:22,246 for daily provision, 358 00:18:22,246 --> 00:18:24,720 for your future, 359 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,715 for taking care of you, 360 00:18:26,715 --> 00:18:30,172 and for getting you all the way to heaven." 361 00:18:30,172 --> 00:18:35,580 It is no easy thing to trust One Who is invisible. 362 00:18:35,580 --> 00:18:39,878 Who you are to love and believe and follow 363 00:18:39,878 --> 00:18:41,122 all the days of your life. 364 00:18:41,122 --> 00:18:42,769 But you can't see Him. 365 00:18:42,769 --> 00:18:47,902 We walk by faith and not by sight. 366 00:18:47,902 --> 00:18:49,596 Faith is a difficult thing. 367 00:18:49,596 --> 00:18:53,706 Because, we battle fear, 368 00:18:53,706 --> 00:18:56,760 and we tend in those moments 369 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:58,244 to trust in ourselves 370 00:18:58,244 --> 00:18:59,923 or what we can see, 371 00:18:59,923 --> 00:19:02,283 instead of, as Abraham, 372 00:19:02,283 --> 00:19:08,882 enduring by seeing Him Who's invisible. 373 00:19:08,882 --> 00:19:10,799 Well, faith is not only difficult, 374 00:19:10,799 --> 00:19:14,080 it's also practical and it's daily. 375 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,860 Practical and daily. 376 00:19:16,860 --> 00:19:20,518 We can tempt God in a thousand ways, can't we? 377 00:19:20,518 --> 00:19:25,603 But, we can only trust God in one way daily: 378 00:19:25,603 --> 00:19:29,076 obedience, trust, and dependence. 379 00:19:29,076 --> 00:19:31,284 The life of faith is a narrow path. 380 00:19:31,284 --> 00:19:33,245 And it's not complicated. 381 00:19:33,245 --> 00:19:34,531 But it's not easy. 382 00:19:34,531 --> 00:19:38,013 We can tempt God in a thousand ways. 383 00:19:38,013 --> 00:19:40,598 But there's only one way to live a life of faith. 384 00:19:40,598 --> 00:19:46,304 Daily obedience and trust and dependence. 385 00:19:46,304 --> 00:19:50,622 Our head - that is, our brain, our mind - 386 00:19:50,622 --> 00:19:55,244 is not the thing, ultimately, 387 00:19:55,244 --> 00:19:57,470 that exercises faith. 388 00:19:57,470 --> 00:20:00,198 Faith comes by hearing, 389 00:20:00,198 --> 00:20:02,996 and hearing when God speaks to us. 390 00:20:02,996 --> 00:20:06,974 But from the heart man believes, 391 00:20:06,974 --> 00:20:09,278 Romans 10 says. 392 00:20:09,278 --> 00:20:11,050 We believe Christ. 393 00:20:11,050 --> 00:20:14,362 We believe God when our hearts 394 00:20:14,362 --> 00:20:18,003 believe and trust in what God has said to us. 395 00:20:18,003 --> 00:20:20,611 Also, faith is perpetual. 396 00:20:20,611 --> 00:20:23,822 That is, it never is to end. 397 00:20:23,822 --> 00:20:25,291 It's continual. 398 00:20:25,291 --> 00:20:26,715 That's why the Bible says, 399 00:20:26,715 --> 00:20:31,954 Trust in Him at all times, ye people. 400 00:20:31,954 --> 00:20:34,158 Pour out your hearts before Him 401 00:20:34,158 --> 00:20:37,366 (Incomplete thought) 402 00:20:37,366 --> 00:20:39,425 You can probably even ask God 403 00:20:39,425 --> 00:20:41,411 to let you trust Him in your dreams 404 00:20:41,411 --> 00:20:43,070 and in your sleep. 405 00:20:43,070 --> 00:20:45,147 Do you ever pray for good dreams? 406 00:20:45,147 --> 00:20:46,878 My granddaughter often says, 407 00:20:46,878 --> 00:20:48,382 Papa, would you pray for me 408 00:20:48,382 --> 00:20:50,107 that my dreams would be good? 409 00:20:50,107 --> 00:20:51,781 Do you ever commit your sleep 410 00:20:51,781 --> 00:20:56,156 and your dreams to the Lord? 411 00:20:56,156 --> 00:20:58,142 There's not a moment, 412 00:20:58,142 --> 00:20:59,597 whether waking or sleeping, 413 00:20:59,597 --> 00:21:01,822 but certainly whether waking 414 00:21:01,822 --> 00:21:06,264 that we're not called to abide in Christ and trust Him, 415 00:21:06,264 --> 00:21:09,739 living a life of faith. 416 00:21:09,739 --> 00:21:17,573 Because fear flees when faith acts. 417 00:21:17,573 --> 00:21:21,869 Fear goes down as your conscious trust 418 00:21:21,869 --> 00:21:24,751 and dependence goes up to the Lord. 419 00:21:24,751 --> 00:21:28,411 Now, faith is also extensive. 420 00:21:28,411 --> 00:21:31,977 That is, we're to trust the Lord in all things. 421 00:21:31,977 --> 00:21:34,154 You can't trust God with your marriage 422 00:21:34,154 --> 00:21:37,025 and not with your job and career. 423 00:21:37,025 --> 00:21:39,706 You can't trust Him in spiritual things 424 00:21:39,706 --> 00:21:43,553 and not trust Him in the secular. 425 00:21:43,553 --> 00:21:46,355 There's no divorce between the sacred and the secular. 426 00:21:46,355 --> 00:21:48,553 All of life is the Lord's. 427 00:21:48,553 --> 00:21:50,748 All of life is to be lived for His glory. 428 00:21:50,748 --> 00:21:54,765 You can't categorize or compartmentalize, 429 00:21:54,765 --> 00:21:58,245 faith here to trust God and walk with Him in this area 430 00:21:58,245 --> 00:21:59,474 and not over here. 431 00:21:59,474 --> 00:22:01,903 No. All of life, we're called to 432 00:22:01,903 --> 00:22:04,929 walk by faith and live by faith. 433 00:22:04,929 --> 00:22:06,731 Daily in all things, 434 00:22:06,731 --> 00:22:08,467 in all circumstances, 435 00:22:08,467 --> 00:22:09,830 for every need, 436 00:22:09,830 --> 00:22:11,487 in every opportunity. 437 00:22:11,487 --> 00:22:15,021 For all things past, present, and future. 438 00:22:15,021 --> 00:22:18,808 Now beloved, that's a big challenge 439 00:22:18,808 --> 00:22:22,926 to learn that because before your conversion, 440 00:22:22,926 --> 00:22:26,845 all you did was depend on the world 441 00:22:26,845 --> 00:22:30,133 and others and yourself, 442 00:22:30,133 --> 00:22:35,119 and now, you talk about re-routing. 443 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:39,791 You talk about your GPS being messed up. 444 00:22:39,791 --> 00:22:41,865 You've got to re-route your whole life 445 00:22:41,865 --> 00:22:45,978 and shift from trusting man or yourself 446 00:22:45,978 --> 00:22:49,392 to trusting One you can't see. 447 00:22:49,392 --> 00:22:50,423 This is a big deal. 448 00:22:50,423 --> 00:22:54,077 This is extensive. 449 00:22:54,077 --> 00:22:56,168 This is not tuning the engine; 450 00:22:56,168 --> 00:22:59,262 it's getting a whole new engine. 451 00:22:59,262 --> 00:23:03,066 So, think about the disciples on the sea. 452 00:23:03,066 --> 00:23:06,450 The Lord Jesus was always calling them to trust Him; 453 00:23:06,450 --> 00:23:08,409 to believe Him. 454 00:23:08,409 --> 00:23:11,004 And the two things the New Testament says 455 00:23:11,004 --> 00:23:13,509 Jesus was amazed by 456 00:23:13,509 --> 00:23:15,237 were what? 457 00:23:15,237 --> 00:23:18,298 Unbelief and great faith. 458 00:23:18,298 --> 00:23:21,242 Those were the two things that always amazed Him. 459 00:23:21,242 --> 00:23:24,359 Can you imagine what Jesus felt and thought 460 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:26,700 when He was amazed suddenly? 461 00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:29,252 He suddenly experiences amazement. 462 00:23:29,252 --> 00:23:31,110 I wonder if He rolled His eyes. 463 00:23:31,110 --> 00:23:33,754 I wonder if He (shook His head). 464 00:23:33,754 --> 00:23:36,375 I wonder if He just was in wonder and awe. 465 00:23:36,375 --> 00:23:39,321 I wonder if He uttered a prayer to His Father. 466 00:23:39,321 --> 00:23:42,134 Father, I just can't believe this. 467 00:23:42,134 --> 00:23:44,562 Father, what do I do? What do I say? 468 00:23:44,562 --> 00:23:47,447 He was always dependent on His Father. 469 00:23:47,447 --> 00:23:49,978 But He was amazed by unbelief. 470 00:23:49,978 --> 00:23:53,130 And He was amazed by great faith. 471 00:23:53,130 --> 00:23:55,290 So, here the disciples are on the sea, 472 00:23:55,290 --> 00:23:56,653 experienced fishermen, 473 00:23:56,653 --> 00:23:58,554 the storm is raging. 474 00:23:58,554 --> 00:24:00,587 They're very afraid. 475 00:24:00,587 --> 00:24:04,161 And one time, Jesus asleep in the boat, 476 00:24:04,161 --> 00:24:06,625 rises, stops the storm, 477 00:24:06,625 --> 00:24:09,008 and He asks them a question that 478 00:24:09,008 --> 00:24:12,240 if I were answering the question, 479 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,194 it would be like, man, I'm glad 480 00:24:14,194 --> 00:24:16,020 I didn't say what I'm thinking 481 00:24:16,020 --> 00:24:18,784 because I'd probably show myself to be a fool. 482 00:24:18,784 --> 00:24:21,880 What did He say to them? 483 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:27,050 Why are you afraid? 484 00:24:27,050 --> 00:24:29,201 Didn't they have a right to be afraid? 485 00:24:29,201 --> 00:24:31,927 Didn't they have an excuse to be afraid? 486 00:24:31,927 --> 00:24:36,248 Isn't it justifiable to be afraid? 487 00:24:36,248 --> 00:24:38,526 But Jesus goes right to the heart of it. 488 00:24:38,526 --> 00:24:41,015 He's in the boat. 489 00:24:41,015 --> 00:24:42,665 Why are you afraid? 490 00:24:42,665 --> 00:24:44,415 Now, every storm you face, 491 00:24:44,415 --> 00:24:49,013 everything that wants to rip your comfort zone, 492 00:24:49,013 --> 00:24:50,402 and make you afraid, 493 00:24:50,402 --> 00:24:53,775 the Lord is probably asking you, 494 00:24:53,775 --> 00:24:56,283 "Why are you afraid?" 495 00:24:56,283 --> 00:24:57,699 Why? 496 00:24:57,699 --> 00:25:00,406 Oh ye of little faith. 497 00:25:00,406 --> 00:25:02,363 That's what He said oftentimes. 498 00:25:02,363 --> 00:25:04,470 After the resurrection, 499 00:25:04,470 --> 00:25:06,462 He says to Thomas, 500 00:25:06,462 --> 00:25:10,623 Be not faithless, but believing. 501 00:25:10,623 --> 00:25:13,062 Most of our struggles are rooted in, 502 00:25:13,062 --> 00:25:16,404 that my eyes are not on Christ, 503 00:25:16,404 --> 00:25:18,539 but they're on the waves, 504 00:25:18,539 --> 00:25:25,257 and I'm choosing fear instead of trust. 505 00:25:25,257 --> 00:25:28,354 Think of even a few promises God has said to you. 506 00:25:28,354 --> 00:25:30,329 He's already said these to you 507 00:25:30,329 --> 00:25:32,192 because they're in your Bible. 508 00:25:32,192 --> 00:25:34,276 They've already been given to you. 509 00:25:34,276 --> 00:25:35,892 Learn them. 510 00:25:35,892 --> 00:25:37,524 Milk them. 511 00:25:37,524 --> 00:25:38,966 Pray them. 512 00:25:38,966 --> 00:25:41,261 Use them. 513 00:25:41,261 --> 00:25:43,276 Meditate on them. 514 00:25:43,276 --> 00:25:45,289 Because they're the only antidote. 515 00:25:45,289 --> 00:25:48,208 They're the only antibiotic. 516 00:25:48,208 --> 00:25:53,927 They're the only medicine to apply to fear. 517 00:25:53,927 --> 00:25:56,392 I am with you to the end of the age. 518 00:25:56,392 --> 00:26:01,146 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 519 00:26:01,146 --> 00:26:03,002 The Lord is my light and my salvation. 520 00:26:03,002 --> 00:26:05,123 Whom shall I fear? 521 00:26:05,123 --> 00:26:06,868 The Lord is the strength of my life. 522 00:26:06,868 --> 00:26:10,697 Of whom shall I be afraid? 523 00:26:10,697 --> 00:26:14,728 Fear not. I am the One Who helps you, 524 00:26:14,728 --> 00:26:17,361 Isaiah wrote. 525 00:26:17,361 --> 00:26:18,839 Fear not, little flock, 526 00:26:18,839 --> 00:26:20,538 it's your Father's good pleasure 527 00:26:20,538 --> 00:26:22,289 to give you the Kingdom. 528 00:26:22,289 --> 00:26:23,584 What all's in the Kingdom? 529 00:26:23,584 --> 00:26:26,765 Full inheritance, salvation, 530 00:26:26,765 --> 00:26:29,465 righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 531 00:26:29,465 --> 00:26:31,458 Shall I continue? 532 00:26:31,458 --> 00:26:33,619 The Kingdom of God is yours. 533 00:26:33,619 --> 00:26:35,404 Fear not, little flock, 534 00:26:35,404 --> 00:26:37,207 it's your Father's good pleasure 535 00:26:37,207 --> 00:26:39,017 to give you the Kingdom. 536 00:26:39,017 --> 00:26:40,392 You don't have to earn it. 537 00:26:40,392 --> 00:26:41,986 You don't have to work for it. 538 00:26:41,986 --> 00:26:43,984 You don't have to be good enough for it. 539 00:26:43,984 --> 00:26:45,172 Fear not. 540 00:26:45,172 --> 00:26:47,759 Fear not, little flock, 541 00:26:47,759 --> 00:26:50,050 it is your Father's good pleasure 542 00:26:50,050 --> 00:26:53,284 to give you the Kingdom. 543 00:26:53,284 --> 00:26:55,999 Paul said, God has not given us a spirit of fear, 544 00:26:55,999 --> 00:26:57,059 but what? 545 00:26:57,059 --> 00:26:59,544 But of power, love, and a sound mind. 546 00:26:59,544 --> 00:27:02,264 God has not given any believer 547 00:27:02,264 --> 00:27:04,667 a carnal spirit of fear. 548 00:27:04,667 --> 00:27:07,032 There's a godly fear - you know that. 549 00:27:07,032 --> 00:27:09,633 I'm not talking about that today. 550 00:27:09,633 --> 00:27:13,063 There's a clean, reverential awe 551 00:27:13,063 --> 00:27:14,997 and fear of God that's healthy 552 00:27:14,997 --> 00:27:16,349 and that makes you love Him 553 00:27:16,349 --> 00:27:17,673 and draw near to Him 554 00:27:17,673 --> 00:27:19,500 and be reverential. 555 00:27:19,500 --> 00:27:25,540 But God never gives you a spirit of carnal fear 556 00:27:25,540 --> 00:27:27,315 that leads to bondage. 557 00:27:27,315 --> 00:27:29,769 Ever. 558 00:27:29,769 --> 00:27:31,681 Now that might be one you just pray 559 00:27:31,681 --> 00:27:33,718 when you feel fear come on. 560 00:27:33,718 --> 00:27:36,791 Just stomp that little devil of fear out 561 00:27:36,791 --> 00:27:41,038 by saying out loud to yourself, 562 00:27:41,038 --> 00:27:44,085 "God hasn't given me a spirit of fear. 563 00:27:44,085 --> 00:27:46,110 He has given me in Christ, 564 00:27:46,110 --> 00:27:48,308 power, love, and a sound mind. 565 00:27:48,308 --> 00:27:53,454 So I'm not going to give in to that." 566 00:27:53,454 --> 00:27:55,113 One place Jesus said, 567 00:27:55,113 --> 00:27:57,748 Do not fear. Only believe. 568 00:27:57,748 --> 00:27:59,445 You see the contrast? 569 00:27:59,445 --> 00:28:00,445 There it is. 570 00:28:00,445 --> 00:28:03,252 Do not fear. Only believe. 571 00:28:03,252 --> 00:28:06,732 That's not a shallow, simple, easy believism. 572 00:28:06,732 --> 00:28:08,763 That is, don't give in to fear, 573 00:28:08,763 --> 00:28:13,956 you instead trust Me in this. 574 00:28:13,956 --> 00:28:18,260 Faith, which is active trust, 575 00:28:18,260 --> 00:28:23,015 must replace fear. 576 00:28:23,015 --> 00:28:25,368 Turning to the truth and the promises of God 577 00:28:25,368 --> 00:28:31,565 when you fear, when you feel fearful, 578 00:28:31,565 --> 00:28:33,709 faith must be our response 579 00:28:33,709 --> 00:28:36,585 instead of giving in to fear, right? 580 00:28:36,585 --> 00:28:38,587 And there's always a crossroads. 581 00:28:38,587 --> 00:28:40,223 There's always a moment. 582 00:28:40,223 --> 00:28:44,341 You will either yield to fear, 583 00:28:44,341 --> 00:28:47,357 or you'll choose to turn to the Lord and trust Him. 584 00:28:47,357 --> 00:28:51,395 And that will determine everything about that battle. 585 00:28:51,395 --> 00:28:52,948 Think about Philippians 4:6. 586 00:28:52,948 --> 00:28:55,011 What does it say? 587 00:28:55,011 --> 00:28:56,446 Be anxious for nothing, 588 00:28:56,446 --> 00:29:01,300 but, in everything, by prayer and supplication 589 00:29:01,300 --> 00:29:03,944 with thanksgiving, let your requests 590 00:29:03,944 --> 00:29:05,734 be made known to God, 591 00:29:05,734 --> 00:29:07,069 and the peace of God 592 00:29:07,069 --> 00:29:08,539 that passes all understanding 593 00:29:08,539 --> 00:29:10,769 will guard, will keep, your hearts and minds 594 00:29:10,769 --> 00:29:11,945 in Christ Jesus. 595 00:29:11,945 --> 00:29:15,282 Two choices there, Paul says. 596 00:29:15,282 --> 00:29:17,969 Anxiety... 597 00:29:17,969 --> 00:29:20,137 or praying in faith. 598 00:29:20,137 --> 00:29:21,442 Be anxious for nothing, 599 00:29:21,442 --> 00:29:23,679 but in everything, by prayer and supplication, 600 00:29:23,679 --> 00:29:24,760 let your requests... 601 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,081 Two choices. 602 00:29:26,081 --> 00:29:29,057 Now, analyze this with me. 603 00:29:29,057 --> 00:29:34,551 If you choose to give in to anxiety, 604 00:29:34,551 --> 00:29:38,465 does it help you? 605 00:29:38,465 --> 00:29:40,394 What good's it going to do you? 606 00:29:40,394 --> 00:29:42,378 It's wasted energy. 607 00:29:42,378 --> 00:29:44,224 It's wasted. 608 00:29:44,224 --> 00:29:46,865 Everything's wasted in it. 609 00:29:46,865 --> 00:29:52,229 If you give into anxiety, you will reap fear, 610 00:29:52,229 --> 00:29:55,405 condemnation, discouragement... 611 00:29:55,405 --> 00:29:57,792 I could name probably twenty other things 612 00:29:57,792 --> 00:30:01,324 anxiety will bring. 613 00:30:01,324 --> 00:30:06,215 So, anxiety is a wasted choice 614 00:30:06,215 --> 00:30:08,835 that dishonors your Savior. 615 00:30:08,835 --> 00:30:12,778 So if we learn to say I am not yielding to anxiety. 616 00:30:12,778 --> 00:30:16,991 My Lord has told me in Philippians 4:6 617 00:30:16,991 --> 00:30:20,878 the response is prayer. 618 00:30:20,878 --> 00:30:26,267 Father, You know what I feel right now. 619 00:30:26,267 --> 00:30:29,487 Faith is not denying the presence of fear. 620 00:30:29,487 --> 00:30:31,105 It's facing it. 621 00:30:31,105 --> 00:30:33,510 And it's turning to the Lord and addressing it. 622 00:30:33,510 --> 00:30:35,622 Father, You know I'm afraid right now. 623 00:30:35,622 --> 00:30:37,984 That's what I did about that surgery. 624 00:30:37,984 --> 00:30:40,160 Father, You know I'm afraid right now. 625 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:41,569 Help me right now. 626 00:30:41,569 --> 00:30:43,779 And I would use God's truth 627 00:30:43,779 --> 00:30:46,081 and the fear would dissolve. 628 00:30:46,081 --> 00:30:48,799 Peace would come. 629 00:30:48,799 --> 00:30:51,177 So, be anxious for nothing, 630 00:30:51,177 --> 00:30:52,274 but in everything... 631 00:30:52,274 --> 00:30:55,290 it's a learned habit. 632 00:30:55,290 --> 00:30:57,713 It's a spiritual discipline. 633 00:30:57,713 --> 00:31:00,891 You replace and you defeat fear 634 00:31:00,891 --> 00:31:03,383 with a response of trust. 635 00:31:03,383 --> 00:31:05,591 Father, here's what I'm fearing, 636 00:31:05,591 --> 00:31:07,095 but I'm giving this to You. 637 00:31:07,095 --> 00:31:09,055 I thank You - with thanksgiving - 638 00:31:09,055 --> 00:31:10,982 I thank You that You're sovereign, 639 00:31:10,982 --> 00:31:12,246 You rule over this. 640 00:31:12,246 --> 00:31:13,391 Take care of this. 641 00:31:13,391 --> 00:31:17,030 I'm asking You for this. 642 00:31:17,030 --> 00:31:18,653 And then, Paul said, 643 00:31:18,653 --> 00:31:21,965 the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds 644 00:31:21,965 --> 00:31:24,873 in Christ Jesus. 645 00:31:24,873 --> 00:31:27,379 Turning to the truth and promises 646 00:31:27,379 --> 00:31:30,766 must be our response. 647 00:31:30,766 --> 00:31:33,224 Because what will fear accomplish? 648 00:31:33,224 --> 00:31:34,145 Nothing. 649 00:31:34,145 --> 00:31:35,577 What will faith accomplish? 650 00:31:35,577 --> 00:31:37,293 You know what it will accomplish? 651 00:31:37,293 --> 00:31:41,748 It will kill and extinguish fear. 652 00:31:41,748 --> 00:31:43,638 You remember what Ephesians 6 says? 653 00:31:43,638 --> 00:31:44,800 This is amazing. 654 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:48,100 Think about this Scripture in the context of this. 655 00:31:48,100 --> 00:31:54,678 Paul said, taking up the shield of what? 656 00:31:54,678 --> 00:31:55,818 Faith. 657 00:31:55,818 --> 00:31:58,507 Taking up the shield of faith, 658 00:31:58,507 --> 00:32:01,809 that you may be able to quench 659 00:32:01,809 --> 00:32:04,859 all the fiery darts of the evil one. 660 00:32:04,859 --> 00:32:07,692 Faith quenches fiery darts. 661 00:32:07,692 --> 00:32:09,786 It stops them. 662 00:32:09,786 --> 00:32:11,824 You've seen those commercials - 663 00:32:11,824 --> 00:32:13,897 those little ugly bugs running around 664 00:32:13,897 --> 00:32:17,534 and here comes the pest control guy 665 00:32:17,534 --> 00:32:20,219 or the housewife with a can of Raid. 666 00:32:20,219 --> 00:32:24,503 (sprays) 667 00:32:24,503 --> 00:32:26,465 It's over. 668 00:32:26,465 --> 00:32:32,981 Faith applied, trust applied, 669 00:32:32,981 --> 00:32:35,302 Paul says, taking up the shield of faith. 670 00:32:35,302 --> 00:32:38,177 Faith will defend you. 671 00:32:38,177 --> 00:32:40,091 Taking up the shield of faith 672 00:32:40,091 --> 00:32:45,009 that it will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 673 00:32:45,009 --> 00:32:47,917 Now, brethren, you either believe the Bible 674 00:32:47,917 --> 00:32:50,295 or you don't. 675 00:32:50,295 --> 00:32:53,212 How about this one? 676 00:32:53,212 --> 00:32:55,147 Leonard Ravenhill used to say all the time, 677 00:32:55,147 --> 00:32:57,793 one day, a believer's going to come along 678 00:32:57,793 --> 00:32:59,133 and really believe the Bible 679 00:32:59,133 --> 00:33:02,494 and we'll all be embarrassed. 680 00:33:02,494 --> 00:33:06,047 So, this issue of faith 681 00:33:06,047 --> 00:33:07,473 in quenching fear, 682 00:33:07,473 --> 00:33:09,667 or any other fiery dart of the enemy, 683 00:33:09,667 --> 00:33:12,582 is a monumental issue. 684 00:33:12,582 --> 00:33:16,028 And there is no greater or more constant 685 00:33:16,028 --> 00:33:19,454 fiery dart than fear. 686 00:33:19,454 --> 00:33:22,544 You can win the battle once, 687 00:33:22,544 --> 00:33:28,170 and a week later, here comes another one. 688 00:33:28,170 --> 00:33:29,756 Faith stops fear. 689 00:33:29,756 --> 00:33:34,506 Faith, active trust, and fleeing to Christ 690 00:33:34,506 --> 00:33:37,621 and using Word of God as a shield of faith - 691 00:33:37,621 --> 00:33:40,340 I'm not talking about positive confession. 692 00:33:40,340 --> 00:33:42,444 You know what I'm saying. 693 00:33:42,444 --> 00:33:44,516 Faith conquers fear. 694 00:33:44,516 --> 00:33:45,547 It dissolves fear. 695 00:33:45,547 --> 00:33:47,235 It drives it away. 696 00:33:47,235 --> 00:33:49,623 I cried to the Lord, 697 00:33:49,623 --> 00:33:51,455 and He heard me, 698 00:33:51,455 --> 00:33:55,127 and He delivered me from all my fears. 699 00:33:55,127 --> 00:33:59,358 Fear springing up from unbelief 700 00:33:59,358 --> 00:34:02,412 is idolatry. 701 00:34:02,412 --> 00:34:03,659 Why? 702 00:34:03,659 --> 00:34:06,559 Because fear directly denies 703 00:34:06,559 --> 00:34:09,322 that God is Who He is 704 00:34:09,322 --> 00:34:11,682 and what He's promised. 705 00:34:11,682 --> 00:34:14,168 When you are fearing something, 706 00:34:14,168 --> 00:34:17,005 you're believing a lie 707 00:34:17,005 --> 00:34:20,433 and you're acting like an atheist. 708 00:34:20,433 --> 00:34:23,324 Because you're not believing 709 00:34:23,324 --> 00:34:24,492 that God is Who He is 710 00:34:24,492 --> 00:34:26,940 and you're not believing what He's promised. 711 00:34:26,940 --> 00:34:30,481 We fear things down here so much 712 00:34:30,481 --> 00:34:37,625 because we fear and believe God so little. 713 00:34:37,625 --> 00:34:39,323 The moment of fear is the time 714 00:34:39,323 --> 00:34:40,985 to flee and trust. 715 00:34:40,985 --> 00:34:42,216 The moment of fear 716 00:34:42,216 --> 00:34:45,054 is the time to flee and trust. 717 00:34:45,054 --> 00:34:47,273 What time I am afraid, 718 00:34:47,273 --> 00:34:49,576 I will trust in You. 719 00:34:49,576 --> 00:34:53,305 The moment of fear is the time to trust. 720 00:34:53,305 --> 00:34:57,301 The Scottish pastor Maurice Roberts said this, 721 00:34:57,301 --> 00:35:00,017 this is wonderful - listen to this: 722 00:35:00,017 --> 00:35:05,036 "Fear or panic is the sinful failure 723 00:35:05,036 --> 00:35:07,479 to apply our knowledge of God 724 00:35:07,479 --> 00:35:10,312 to particular problems." 725 00:35:10,312 --> 00:35:13,162 "Fear or panic is the sinful failure 726 00:35:13,162 --> 00:35:16,232 to apply our knowledge of God 727 00:35:16,232 --> 00:35:19,059 to particular problems." 728 00:35:19,059 --> 00:35:22,258 Or as the hymn writer Anne Steele said, 729 00:35:22,258 --> 00:35:27,655 "This only can my fears control, 730 00:35:27,655 --> 00:35:30,327 and bid my sorrows fly, 731 00:35:30,327 --> 00:35:33,242 what harm can ever reach my soul 732 00:35:33,242 --> 00:35:37,147 beneath My Father's eye?" 733 00:35:37,147 --> 00:35:42,137 Now, sister or bother, 734 00:35:42,137 --> 00:35:48,492 what harm that your Father doesn't want in your life 735 00:35:48,492 --> 00:35:54,543 can ever reach you? 736 00:35:54,543 --> 00:35:58,315 Car wreck? 737 00:35:58,315 --> 00:36:01,181 Plane crash? Cancer? 738 00:36:01,181 --> 00:36:03,648 Child dying? 739 00:36:03,648 --> 00:36:07,819 What harm that your Father doesn't want for you 740 00:36:07,819 --> 00:36:09,479 can ever reach you? 741 00:36:09,479 --> 00:36:13,312 Leonard Ravenhill also said, 742 00:36:13,312 --> 00:36:16,707 "By the time a situation gets to you, 743 00:36:16,707 --> 00:36:19,690 it's God's will for you." 744 00:36:19,690 --> 00:36:21,684 Meaning, God has allowed it. 745 00:36:21,684 --> 00:36:24,484 There's no accidents. 746 00:36:24,484 --> 00:36:27,033 God's in control of what gets through 747 00:36:27,033 --> 00:36:35,575 His sifting process; His screening. 748 00:36:35,575 --> 00:36:37,975 Nothing's going to come to the Christian 749 00:36:37,975 --> 00:36:41,747 that God is not going to allow to work for good. 750 00:36:41,747 --> 00:36:45,549 Paul asks and answers in Romans 8. 751 00:36:45,549 --> 00:36:46,978 Can tribulation? 752 00:36:46,978 --> 00:36:48,290 Can distress? 753 00:36:48,290 --> 00:36:49,349 Can persecution? 754 00:36:49,349 --> 00:36:50,439 Can famine? 755 00:36:50,439 --> 00:36:52,790 Nakedness, danger, death, life, 756 00:36:52,790 --> 00:36:54,410 things present, things to come? 757 00:36:54,410 --> 00:36:55,705 Nothing. 758 00:36:55,705 --> 00:36:59,928 Nothing can separate you from the love of God. 759 00:36:59,928 --> 00:37:02,541 Now let me apply this to us 760 00:37:02,541 --> 00:37:07,402 as I begin to wind toward my close. 761 00:37:07,402 --> 00:37:12,985 Fear is an ongoing battle for most of us. 762 00:37:12,985 --> 00:37:15,644 For some, it's a stronghold. 763 00:37:15,644 --> 00:37:17,914 For some of you, this is your biggest battle. 764 00:37:17,914 --> 00:37:20,575 Others, it's just an annoying, 765 00:37:20,575 --> 00:37:26,141 continuing area of sin 766 00:37:26,141 --> 00:37:28,919 and battling to trust God. 767 00:37:28,919 --> 00:37:32,797 But beloved, whatever level it is for you, 768 00:37:32,797 --> 00:37:35,492 we must face the issue of fear 769 00:37:35,492 --> 00:37:36,975 if we're going to conquer it. 770 00:37:36,975 --> 00:37:40,350 We must learn to face every fear 771 00:37:40,350 --> 00:37:43,080 and not be passive. 772 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:48,823 We must learn to conquer fear 773 00:37:48,823 --> 00:37:50,577 with trust and dependence. 774 00:37:50,577 --> 00:37:55,567 Are you afraid of your fears? 775 00:37:55,567 --> 00:37:59,864 What do you fear? 776 00:37:59,864 --> 00:38:03,065 We must realize this and go to war 777 00:38:03,065 --> 00:38:07,434 in our sanctification with this enemy fear. 778 00:38:07,434 --> 00:38:09,122 Because I promise you this, 779 00:38:09,122 --> 00:38:12,536 the Word of God and the Gospel 780 00:38:12,536 --> 00:38:14,316 and the Spirit of God 781 00:38:14,316 --> 00:38:17,553 and all our inheritance in Christ, 782 00:38:17,553 --> 00:38:20,965 and all the resources we have, 783 00:38:20,965 --> 00:38:24,741 God wants to set us free progressively 784 00:38:24,741 --> 00:38:28,022 from fear robbing us or defeating us. 785 00:38:28,022 --> 00:38:31,410 Our text said, I sought the Lord, 786 00:38:31,410 --> 00:38:33,049 and He heard me and delivered me 787 00:38:33,049 --> 00:38:34,196 from all my fears. 788 00:38:34,196 --> 00:38:39,819 Christ wants you free from fears that rob you. 789 00:38:39,819 --> 00:38:42,189 He really does. 790 00:38:42,189 --> 00:38:45,848 He can, He will set you free. 791 00:38:45,848 --> 00:38:52,544 Only grace through you believing the promises of God, 792 00:38:52,544 --> 00:38:56,169 and the power and dependence on the Holy Spirit, 793 00:38:56,169 --> 00:39:03,095 only that reality can deliver us from fear. 794 00:39:03,095 --> 00:39:05,438 Right in the middle of the Bible 795 00:39:05,438 --> 00:39:09,884 it says it is better to put your trust in the Lord 796 00:39:09,884 --> 00:39:10,962 than in men. 797 00:39:10,962 --> 00:39:12,565 It's better to trust in the Lord 798 00:39:12,565 --> 00:39:13,722 than in princes. 799 00:39:13,722 --> 00:39:19,174 That's right in the heart of the Bible. 800 00:39:19,174 --> 00:39:22,524 You know what one of my greatest fears is? 801 00:39:22,524 --> 00:39:27,309 I've said this to my wife before. 802 00:39:27,309 --> 00:39:29,165 I don't express it often. 803 00:39:29,165 --> 00:39:32,554 I probably need to say it more. 804 00:39:32,554 --> 00:39:35,615 One of my greatest fears 805 00:39:35,615 --> 00:39:39,859 is soon, whether that's five or ten years, 806 00:39:39,859 --> 00:39:41,395 I don't know... 807 00:39:41,395 --> 00:39:43,729 leaving my children and my grandchildren 808 00:39:43,729 --> 00:39:52,662 in this world without us being here. 809 00:39:52,662 --> 00:39:54,478 I must be convinced somehow 810 00:39:54,478 --> 00:40:00,752 that I can handle them a lot better than God can. 811 00:40:00,752 --> 00:40:05,262 When I'm gone, it's all over. 812 00:40:05,262 --> 00:40:08,601 You know, my parents died by the time I was eight. 813 00:40:08,601 --> 00:40:10,796 And he had a cousin who was a school teacher 814 00:40:10,796 --> 00:40:11,839 take me in. 815 00:40:11,839 --> 00:40:13,231 I was in church all my life. 816 00:40:13,231 --> 00:40:14,611 God saved me when I was 19. 817 00:40:14,611 --> 00:40:18,946 He did an ok job just preserving me. 818 00:40:18,946 --> 00:40:24,234 Look, God is able to deliver us 819 00:40:24,234 --> 00:40:25,991 through the most real fears 820 00:40:25,991 --> 00:40:29,182 if we'll face them and be transparent about them. 821 00:40:29,182 --> 00:40:34,929 We must let our fears drown in God's promises. 822 00:40:34,929 --> 00:40:38,022 You must let your fears dissolve 823 00:40:38,022 --> 00:40:39,880 in light of God's truthfulness 824 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:41,332 and His faithfulness. 825 00:40:41,332 --> 00:40:45,481 He is perfectly, infinitely true 826 00:40:45,481 --> 00:40:48,639 and faithful and loving and dependable. 827 00:40:48,639 --> 00:40:50,106 He cannot lie. 828 00:40:50,106 --> 00:40:51,583 He cannot fail. 829 00:40:51,583 --> 00:40:57,038 Not one word from Him can fall to the ground 830 00:40:57,038 --> 00:41:01,182 or not come to pass. 831 00:41:01,182 --> 00:41:05,052 We must kill fear regularly, 832 00:41:05,052 --> 00:41:06,908 like a spider; like a fly, 833 00:41:06,908 --> 00:41:09,184 with the flyswatter of faith. 834 00:41:09,184 --> 00:41:10,736 I don't mean to sound trivial, 835 00:41:10,736 --> 00:41:18,333 but you use faith to overcome 836 00:41:18,333 --> 00:41:21,237 every attack of the enemy with your fear. 837 00:41:21,237 --> 00:41:22,515 The hymn writer said, 838 00:41:22,515 --> 00:41:24,936 Be gone, unbelief! 839 00:41:24,936 --> 00:41:26,207 Get out of here. 840 00:41:26,207 --> 00:41:27,585 Be gone, unbelief, 841 00:41:27,585 --> 00:41:29,211 my Savior is near. 842 00:41:29,211 --> 00:41:33,881 And for my relief shall surely appear. 843 00:41:33,881 --> 00:41:35,655 And then it says at the end of it, 844 00:41:35,655 --> 00:41:38,458 with Christ in the vessel, 845 00:41:38,458 --> 00:41:40,994 I smile at the storm. 846 00:41:40,994 --> 00:41:45,260 I smile at the storm. 847 00:41:45,260 --> 00:41:48,019 I promise you, beloved, 848 00:41:48,019 --> 00:41:50,228 you feed on the promises of God, 849 00:41:50,228 --> 00:41:53,338 you face fears and you attack them in prayer, 850 00:41:53,338 --> 00:41:55,648 applying the truth. 851 00:41:55,648 --> 00:41:57,974 When you feel fear, 852 00:41:57,974 --> 00:42:00,262 Lord, what time I am afraid, that's now - 853 00:42:00,262 --> 00:42:02,950 I trust in You instead of giving in to that. 854 00:42:02,950 --> 00:42:05,619 You feed on the promises of God. 855 00:42:05,619 --> 00:42:13,969 And your soul is strengthened by grace. 856 00:42:13,969 --> 00:42:15,977 You're killing fear. 857 00:42:15,977 --> 00:42:18,687 And fears will fall off. 858 00:42:18,687 --> 00:42:23,670 And the peace of God will rule in your hearts and minds 859 00:42:23,670 --> 00:42:27,483 more and more by Christ Jesus. 860 00:42:27,483 --> 00:42:30,293 What do you have to fear 861 00:42:30,293 --> 00:42:34,694 if Christ is with you and in you 862 00:42:34,694 --> 00:42:36,721 and ruling over everything about you? 863 00:42:36,721 --> 00:42:42,669 Not one hair of your head can fall to the ground. 864 00:42:42,669 --> 00:42:45,190 I've had a few fall to the ground. 865 00:42:45,190 --> 00:42:47,538 Not one of them without my heavenly Father. 866 00:42:47,538 --> 00:42:49,764 Not one sparrow can fall to the ground 867 00:42:49,764 --> 00:42:51,655 without Him being right there. 868 00:42:51,655 --> 00:42:54,458 Or have you not much more value 869 00:42:54,458 --> 00:42:56,544 than the birds of the air. 870 00:42:56,544 --> 00:43:00,930 Fear not, little flock. 871 00:43:00,930 --> 00:43:02,871 It's your Father's good pleasure 872 00:43:02,871 --> 00:43:04,552 to give you the Kingdom. 873 00:43:04,552 --> 00:43:08,661 Let's pray. 874 00:43:08,661 --> 00:43:13,875 Father, seal this word in our hearts, 875 00:43:13,875 --> 00:43:16,050 by Your Spirit in Jesus' name, 876 00:43:16,050 --> 00:43:17,182 Amen. 877 00:43:17,182 --> 00:43:18,878 Let me give you one more thing. 878 00:43:18,878 --> 00:43:20,286 This is so good. 879 00:43:20,286 --> 00:43:22,216 John Flavel - I quoted him earlier. 880 00:43:22,216 --> 00:43:26,460 Just listen to this. 881 00:43:26,460 --> 00:43:29,397 "When the church is in the storm of persecution, 882 00:43:29,397 --> 00:43:31,737 and almost covered with waves, 883 00:43:31,737 --> 00:43:35,083 the stoutest passengers in the storm 884 00:43:35,083 --> 00:43:38,393 can suffer from fear 885 00:43:38,393 --> 00:43:42,370 all through a lack of believing 886 00:43:42,370 --> 00:43:44,848 and remembering that the Lord, 887 00:43:44,848 --> 00:43:48,261 High Admiral of the ocean, 888 00:43:48,261 --> 00:43:49,918 and Commander of the winds 889 00:43:49,918 --> 00:43:51,476 is on board the ship 890 00:43:51,476 --> 00:43:54,172 to steer and preserve her in the storm. 891 00:43:54,172 --> 00:43:55,826 The Lord of Hosts governs 892 00:43:55,826 --> 00:43:57,872 all creatures and their actions. 893 00:43:57,872 --> 00:43:59,867 All the armies of heaven and earth 894 00:43:59,867 --> 00:44:01,678 are at His command. 895 00:44:01,678 --> 00:44:05,505 We can rely upon His care and love 896 00:44:05,505 --> 00:44:08,674 if we look to Him in the day of trouble. 897 00:44:08,674 --> 00:44:10,585 We can trust Him in danger 898 00:44:10,585 --> 00:44:13,414 as a child trusts in the care and protection 899 00:44:13,414 --> 00:44:14,847 of his father. 900 00:44:14,847 --> 00:44:17,381 Who would be afraid to pass through 901 00:44:17,381 --> 00:44:19,821 a large army of troops 902 00:44:19,821 --> 00:44:23,457 when they know the General is their own father? 903 00:44:23,457 --> 00:44:26,064 If we sanctify the Lord of Hosts 904 00:44:26,064 --> 00:44:27,339 as our heavenly Father, 905 00:44:27,339 --> 00:44:31,365 He will be a sanctuary to us 906 00:44:31,365 --> 00:44:32,923 in times of danger. 907 00:44:32,923 --> 00:44:36,103 He will surely protect, defend, 908 00:44:36,103 --> 00:44:39,728 and provide for us in the worst of times. 909 00:44:39,728 --> 00:44:42,764 We can follow Him as a cloud by day 910 00:44:42,764 --> 00:44:45,126 and a flame of fire by night. 911 00:44:45,126 --> 00:44:48,755 His glory will be our defense and place of refuge. 912 00:44:48,755 --> 00:44:50,666 Let the winds roar. 913 00:44:50,666 --> 00:44:52,003 Let the rain beat. 914 00:44:52,003 --> 00:44:54,148 Let the lightning flash. 915 00:44:54,148 --> 00:44:58,765 You are in safety." 916 00:44:58,765 --> 00:45:00,861 Glory to God! 917 00:45:00,861 --> 00:45:02,985 I would dance in the aisles, 918 00:45:02,985 --> 00:45:04,297 but I'd scare some of you. 919 00:45:04,297 --> 00:45:06,158 So I'll sit down. 920 00:45:06,158 --> 00:45:09,445 Praise the Lord.