Hello and welcome
to 3ABN's Worship Hour.
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I'm Jill Morikone,
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and we're so delighted
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that you have
taken time from your day
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to open up the Word of
God as we study His Word
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and learn what
He has for us today.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt,
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this would have been
his first inaugural address,
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March 1933.
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Our country, the
United States of America
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was struggling with
The Great Depression.
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People were afraid,
people were probably terrified.
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He said,
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"The only thing we have
to fear is fear itself."
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The Prophet Isaiah,
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talking to the
people who were oppressed,
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the people who were terrified,
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the people who were
struggling with enemy nations
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coming against them.
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This is, of course,
the nation of Judah.
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He delivered to them
an incredible message
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in Isaiah 8 which
we will look at later.
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He said,
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"We have nothing to fear
when we fear God Himself."
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Oswald Chambers put
it a little different.
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He said, "When you fear
God, you fear nothing else.
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Whereas if you do not fear
God, you fear everything else."
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How do you walk without fear?
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How do we live as Christians
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in a world today
that's oppressed,
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a world that has violence,
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a world that has
a global pandemic?
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How do we live without fear?
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How do we handle
fear about our health
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or fear about the future?
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Or are we really saved?
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How do we deal with
fear about family members
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or uncertainties?
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How do we deal with that?
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How do we walk without fear?
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Today I want to talk to you
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about seven keys
to overcome fear.
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Our opening
scripture is John 14:27.
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John 14:27.
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You know the scripture
so quote it at home with me.
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"Peace I leave with
you, My peace I give to you,
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not as the world
gives do I give unto you.
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Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid."
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You see, we have nothing to fear
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when we fear God Himself.
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Let's pray.
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Holy Father, we come
before You in the name of Jesus
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and I ask right now
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for the anointing
of Your Holy Spirit.
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This is Your time.
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This is Your Word.
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We are Your children.
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Would you speak just now?
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And we want to hear
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what You have for
us in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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We were in the garage.
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And my mom was
sitting on the top step.
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My mom and dad don't have
the opportunity to come to 3ABN
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as much as Greg
and I would like,
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but I love it
when they can come.
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And we were enjoying
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one of those
mother daughter talks,
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just having a wonderful time
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and my mom looked out
over the yard and she said,
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"Jill, your
place is so peaceful.
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I love it here."
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And she's right.
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Greg and I live in
just a little yellow house
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on a little patch of
land that we call home.
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The deer walk through
our yard every single day,
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and they also dig
up my tulips and eat,
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which I don't appreciate.
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The fawns come and
they cavort and go around.
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We have opossums
come through and raccoons.
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We have a bobcat
who visits on occasion.
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There are coyotes,
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but they don't come in our yard.
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They stay a
little distance away.
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And we've had a family of
wild turkeys walk through.
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It's beautiful.
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It's in the
country and I love it.
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For years, we would
live, no fear, great neighbors,
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wonderful place to live.
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And when I would
go on a walk down
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our little gravel
road opened up the door,
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walk down the road,
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leave my house unlocked
because there's no fear.
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That same day,
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when my mom was
talking and said,
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"Your place is so peaceful."
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That night we went to bed.
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Now when we go to bed,
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we always put our little
cat Pebbles in the garage,
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because we have
bobcats and owls and coyotes.
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We don't want her
to get eaten at night.
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So we put her in the garage.
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Next morning Greg gets up
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and he always goes out
to feed her in the morning.
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It's about 6
o'clock in the morning.
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He goes out and
she's not in the garage.
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And he said,
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"Wait a minute. She
should be in the garage.
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I put her in the
garage last night.
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Why is she not in the garage?"
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So he came back in,
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"Jilly, did you
let Pebbles out?"
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And I said, "No, I didn't.
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She should be in the garage."
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But she was not in the garage.
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All the doors were
locked in the garage.
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So he started looking around.
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Okay, am I missing any tools?
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Are we missing anything
and all of a sudden he looked,
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and sure enough,
our pressure washer,
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you know you cleaned
the siding of the house
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or pressure washer other things,
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our pressure washer was missing.
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Somebody had
broken into our garage,
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stolen our pressure washer,
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locked the door very kindly
on their way out and left.
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So we called the police.
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They came,
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they do their
little report that they do.
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And we saw the tracks
from the pressure washer
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being pushed out from the garage
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into whatever vehicle
they had used to take it.
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And so I still didn't
really feel too much fear.
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We went that day excited,
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mom and dad are
there having a great day,
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that night went to bed.
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And about an hour
after I went to sleep,
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all of a sudden a car
drove by on our gravel road
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and I could hear the
tires crunching on the gravel.
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And I woke up
instantly my heart pounding.
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Why am I afraid?
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Were they coming back?
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What if they came
in the house this time?
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God, I really
need You right now.
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The next night
went to bed, we prayed,
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I felt really confident
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and all of a sudden a
car drove by real slow.
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And the same thing, I
woke up heart pounding,
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laid awake eye
staring at the ceiling.
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The next night, the
same thing happened.
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I know that the Word
of God says in 1 John 4,
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there is no fear in love.
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Then why was I afraid?
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You know, on this
journey that we have with Jesus,
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I've made a discovery.
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Every trial,
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every experience we have in life
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to me serves two purposes.
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First, it shows
me just a little more
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about the
beauty of the character
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of my Father in heaven.
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But second,
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it shows me a new
edge as it were in my heart
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that needs a
little more polishing,
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that needs a
little more refining.
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And what was this edge?
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This edge is called fear.
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God wants me to learn
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to trust Him
completely with my life,
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without reserve
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and in return to know that
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He can give me
His perfect peace.
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They say that fear is an emotion
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that is experienced
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in anticipation
of pain or danger.
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The key word is anticipation,
meaning it hasn't happened yet.
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Fear can look like anxiety.
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Are you anxious today?
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It can look like worry
or apprehension or concern.
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But it's all
rooted in that fear.
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We're going to talk today about
the seven keys to break free,
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the seven keys to overcome fear.
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But before we do that,
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I want to talk
to you just a moment
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about some
phobias and some fears
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that we have today.
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Now if you were to Google,
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what are the top 20
phobias in the world,
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which I did and I'm going
to read to you in a moment.
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It's interesting,
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because if you
read different websites,
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there's different rankings.
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Some say the fear
of public speaking
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is phobia number one,
that's fear number one.
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Some put something
else as number one.
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So this list clearly
could be differentiated
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based on what you're looking at.
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But the one I looked at
says that phobia number 20.
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Now remember, phobia
is more serious in nature
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than a standard fear.
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Phobia is
persistent, it is excessive,
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and it is unrealistic.
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Fear or phobia.
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Number 20 is monophobia.
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That is the fear of being alone.
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It's the reason why people
stay in an abusive relationship
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because they're
afraid to be alone.
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It's the reason why
people resist living alone,
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or obsessively use social
media just to cover that fear
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of being by themselves.
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Number 19, xenophobia,
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the fear of
something foreign or strange.
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It can be used for racism,
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but it's much broader than that,
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and encompasses many
more things than that.
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Now this word,
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I cannot pronounce
and I'm not even sure
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if I should
attempt to pronounce it.
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Hippopotomonstrosesquippedalio
phobia.
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That's the best
I can do with that.
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And ironically, it is
the fear of long words,
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which is kind of funny
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because it's a
long word in itself,
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or the fear of other
people making fun of you
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because you can't
pronounce the word properly.
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Hemophobia, of course,
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is the fear of seeing blood
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and I think I
have a bit of that.
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I do not like to see blood.
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Trypanophobia is
the fear of needles.
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Necrophobia, the fear
of dead or dying things.
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This would be the fear
of maybe seeing a dead body
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or even going in a graveyard.
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Some people are
afraid to be in a graveyard.
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Tropophobia, this is number 14.
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The fear of holes
which is an interesting fear.
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Small bumps
clusters that can be holes,
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it can be irregularities
in the skin or in nature.
00:10:01.86\00:10:06.77
Ophidiophobia,
the fear of snakes.
00:10:06.80\00:10:09.87
Cynophobia, fear of dogs.
00:10:09.90\00:10:12.94
Mysophobia, fear of germs
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or of being
contaminated by germs.
00:10:15.11\00:10:18.31
Now Greg and I,
00:10:18.35\00:10:19.68
we might be a little
mysophobic I would say.
00:10:19.71\00:10:21.98
When we went to Russia
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with the 3ABN
family some time ago,
00:10:23.39\00:10:25.59
several years ago actually.
00:10:25.62\00:10:27.32
We always bring
our hand sanitizer
00:10:27.36\00:10:29.26
when we fly in the plane.
00:10:29.29\00:10:31.23
And the minute
we get in the plane,
00:10:31.26\00:10:32.59
we whip out those little,
00:10:32.63\00:10:33.96
you know, those
little wet packs,
00:10:34.00\00:10:35.33
you have hand sanitizer,
00:10:35.36\00:10:37.07
and I start to
wipe down the seat
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and the tray
table in front of me
00:10:39.20\00:10:40.97
because who knows how long
it's been since I cleaned that.
00:10:41.00\00:10:43.64
So the ironic thing
is we went to Russia,
00:10:43.67\00:10:45.97
Greg and I are the only ones
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who are mysophobic
or a little germophobic
00:10:47.38\00:10:49.94
and careful with all that.
00:10:49.98\00:10:51.58
We were the ones who got sick,
00:10:51.61\00:10:53.15
and we were the
ones who came back sick.
00:10:53.18\00:10:56.45
Fear number 10, astraphobia
is the fear of storms.
00:10:56.48\00:11:00.66
This can be
thunder or lightning.
00:11:00.69\00:11:03.99
My great,
grandfather in his house
00:11:04.03\00:11:07.73
one time they were in a storm,
00:11:07.76\00:11:09.30
one of those thunder
and lightning storms,
00:11:09.33\00:11:10.77
Greg loves thunder
and lightning storms.
00:11:10.80\00:11:13.00
He could be outside in the wind
00:11:13.03\00:11:14.90
watching the
lightning and the thunder
00:11:14.94\00:11:16.91
he just relishes that.
00:11:16.94\00:11:19.44
My great grandfather,
they were inside the house,
00:11:19.47\00:11:22.31
they had the front
door open and a window.
00:11:22.34\00:11:25.38
And this was in the middle
00:11:25.41\00:11:26.75
of a thunder and lightning storm
00:11:26.78\00:11:28.22
and the
lightning came in the door.
00:11:28.25\00:11:30.09
And it went out the window,
00:11:30.12\00:11:31.45
it went straight
through the house.
00:11:31.49\00:11:32.82
Praise the Lord.
00:11:32.85\00:11:34.19
Everybody lived in that,
00:11:34.22\00:11:35.56
but my family had a
little bit of this fear,
00:11:35.59\00:11:37.46
astraphobia,
that fear of storms.
00:11:37.49\00:11:40.56
Then there's agoraphobia,
the fear of open spaces.
00:11:40.60\00:11:44.47
Now this can be,
00:11:44.50\00:11:46.43
if you feel the
environment is unsafe,
00:11:46.47\00:11:49.24
maybe a fear of large crowds.
00:11:49.27\00:11:50.71
Some people their fear is,
00:11:50.74\00:11:53.27
their phobia is so strong
00:11:53.31\00:11:54.74
that they don't
want to leave the house
00:11:54.78\00:11:56.11
because they're
afraid to go outside.
00:11:56.14\00:11:59.58
Then there is sociophobia.
00:11:59.61\00:12:01.42
Now if you look
at some websites,
00:12:01.45\00:12:02.78
this is actually number one.
00:12:02.82\00:12:04.72
It's the fear of
being judged or rejected,
00:12:04.75\00:12:07.66
or dismissed by other people.
00:12:07.69\00:12:10.66
Timothy Keller says this,
00:12:10.69\00:12:12.49
"To be loved, but not known
00:12:12.53\00:12:16.10
is comforting but
it's very superficial
00:12:16.13\00:12:18.30
because you think,
00:12:18.33\00:12:19.67
well, they don't
even really know me.
00:12:19.70\00:12:21.04
How can they
even really love me."
00:12:21.07\00:12:23.47
To be known but not loved.
00:12:23.51\00:12:27.21
That is our greatest fear.
00:12:27.24\00:12:30.05
If someone truly knew me inside,
00:12:30.08\00:12:33.45
would they still love me?
00:12:33.48\00:12:35.75
But to be fully known
00:12:35.78\00:12:37.42
and truly loved is a
lot like being loved by God.
00:12:37.45\00:12:42.82
It is what we need
more than anything.
00:12:42.86\00:12:45.89
It liberates us from pretense,
00:12:45.93\00:12:47.70
humbles us out of
our self-righteousness
00:12:47.73\00:12:51.17
and fortifies us
for any difficulty
00:12:51.20\00:12:53.60
that life can throw at us.
00:12:53.64\00:12:57.01
Phobia number
seven, nyctophobia,
00:12:57.04\00:12:59.01
fear of the dark as well
as what the dark conceals.
00:12:59.04\00:13:02.68
A lot of kids
would have this fear
00:13:02.71\00:13:04.08
but some adults as they grew
up would have this fear as well.
00:13:04.11\00:13:08.12
Arachnophobia,
the fear of spiders.
00:13:08.15\00:13:11.25
Aerophobia, the fear of flying.
00:13:11.29\00:13:14.92
Claustrophobia, fear
of small crowded spaces.
00:13:14.96\00:13:19.33
Acrophobia, fear of heights.
00:13:19.36\00:13:22.50
Thanatophobia is
the fear of death.
00:13:22.53\00:13:25.00
Now remember,
before we had necrophobia,
00:13:25.03\00:13:26.77
that's the fear of dead things.
00:13:26.80\00:13:28.67
But this is the
fear of yourself dying,
00:13:28.70\00:13:31.01
what what's going to happen?
00:13:31.04\00:13:32.61
Am I going to die?
00:13:32.64\00:13:34.68
Fear number one, glossophobia,
the fear of public speaking.
00:13:34.71\00:13:39.48
You know, if you
look at the Word of God,
00:13:39.51\00:13:41.18
we are getting to our seven keys
00:13:41.22\00:13:42.82
to overcoming
fear in just a moment.
00:13:42.85\00:13:44.45
But if you look
at the Word of God,
00:13:44.49\00:13:45.82
turn with me to Isaiah 51.
00:13:45.85\00:13:47.59
The Book of Isaiah says
00:13:47.62\00:13:48.96
more about not being afraid
00:13:48.99\00:13:52.19
than almost any other
book in the Word of God.
00:13:52.23\00:13:55.36
Isaiah 51.
00:13:55.40\00:13:57.20
Let's look at verse 12.
00:13:57.23\00:13:59.03
As we look at this sociophobia,
or fear of other people,
00:13:59.07\00:14:02.87
or fear of what
other people think of us.
00:14:02.90\00:14:06.27
Let's look at Isaiah 51:12-13.
00:14:06.31\00:14:09.74
When I study the Word of God,
00:14:09.78\00:14:12.28
if something
specifically speaks to me
00:14:12.31\00:14:15.48
at a certain time,
00:14:15.52\00:14:16.99
I often put the
date or the experience
00:14:17.02\00:14:19.89
or what happened in the margin,
00:14:19.92\00:14:21.32
because you can look
back in my Bible and say,
00:14:21.36\00:14:23.39
there's this date, oh,
this happened on this date,
00:14:23.43\00:14:25.63
because it shows
what God showed me
00:14:25.66\00:14:27.93
at that specific time.
00:14:27.96\00:14:30.17
And this one, I
have a certain date
00:14:30.20\00:14:32.00
written in the margin
00:14:32.03\00:14:33.37
because I know exactly
the person I was afraid of.
00:14:33.40\00:14:36.91
And I know exactly the
situation I was afraid of.
00:14:36.94\00:14:40.38
When God gave me this
verse, Isaiah 51:12-13.
00:14:40.41\00:14:46.18
"I, even I, am
He who comforts you.
00:14:46.21\00:14:50.55
Who are you that
you should be afraid
00:14:50.59\00:14:53.05
of a man who will die."
00:14:53.09\00:14:55.59
How many times
do we live our life
00:14:55.62\00:14:58.49
in fear of other people,
00:14:58.53\00:15:00.96
fear of what they think of us.
00:15:01.00\00:15:04.30
Who are you that you're
afraid of a man who will die?
00:15:04.33\00:15:07.84
And of the son of a man
who will be made like grass?
00:15:07.87\00:15:12.47
And you forget
the Lord your maker,
00:15:12.51\00:15:16.41
Who stretched out the heavens
00:15:16.44\00:15:17.81
and laid the
foundations of the earth,
00:15:17.85\00:15:19.91
You have feared
continually every day
00:15:19.95\00:15:22.42
because of the
fury of the oppressor,
00:15:22.45\00:15:26.19
when he has prepared to destroy.
00:15:26.22\00:15:28.72
And where is the
fury of the oppressor?"
00:15:28.76\00:15:34.23
Some are afraid of others.
00:15:34.26\00:15:35.80
Why is that?
00:15:35.83\00:15:37.17
It says, because you
forget the Lord your maker.
00:15:37.20\00:15:39.90
No, I don't think it
means we actually forget God.
00:15:39.93\00:15:42.70
But maybe he seems far off
00:15:42.74\00:15:44.91
and this other person
00:15:44.94\00:15:46.81
is more present in
our lives right now.
00:15:46.84\00:15:48.88
So we place more
importance to this person here
00:15:48.91\00:15:52.98
and we're more
afraid of this person
00:15:53.01\00:15:55.95
because God seems far off.
00:15:55.98\00:15:57.65
Other people
have greater influence
00:15:57.69\00:16:00.99
over our lives than God does.
00:16:01.02\00:16:04.23
Or we care more about
what other people think
00:16:04.26\00:16:07.60
than we care about
what God thinks of us.
00:16:07.63\00:16:11.83
Jump over with me
to Matthew Chapter 14.
00:16:11.87\00:16:14.44
Matthew 14:8-9.
00:16:14.47\00:16:16.71
Now this is, of
course, a little context here.
00:16:16.74\00:16:20.68
Herod, of course, we
know was a king there.
00:16:20.71\00:16:23.41
And he was
involved in a relationship
00:16:23.45\00:16:26.55
that was not biblical.
00:16:26.58\00:16:29.52
His wife, not really his wife,
00:16:29.55\00:16:32.02
but it was his
half-brother Philip's wife
00:16:32.05\00:16:35.02
that he took a liking to
and she moved in with him.
00:16:35.06\00:16:38.59
Her name was Herodias.
00:16:38.63\00:16:41.00
Now, in addition,
she was his niece.
00:16:41.03\00:16:43.87
So there's
something really strange
00:16:43.90\00:16:46.94
about that relationship,
00:16:46.97\00:16:48.37
not just that it was
his half-brother's wife,
00:16:48.40\00:16:50.57
but she was actually his niece.
00:16:50.61\00:16:52.27
Now her daughter was Salome,
00:16:52.31\00:16:53.78
and Salome came in and danced
before the king and the men
00:16:53.81\00:16:57.11
and the King Herod was
so excited and he said,
00:16:57.15\00:16:59.81
"I'll give you
anything you want."
00:16:59.85\00:17:02.08
So she went to
her mama and said,
00:17:02.12\00:17:03.65
"What should I ask for?"
00:17:03.69\00:17:05.55
Now her mother Herodias
00:17:05.59\00:17:07.62
did not like the
Prophet John the Baptist.
00:17:07.66\00:17:10.53
Why didn't he like,
00:17:10.56\00:17:11.89
why didn't she
like John the Baptist?
00:17:11.93\00:17:13.66
Well, because John the Baptist
had condemned the relationship
00:17:13.70\00:17:18.00
between Herod and Herodias.
00:17:18.03\00:17:19.37
And had said,
00:17:19.40\00:17:20.74
"Herod, you
shouldn't be married to her,
00:17:20.77\00:17:22.10
you shouldn't be with her.
00:17:22.14\00:17:23.47
This is wrong, and this is sin."
00:17:23.51\00:17:26.01
And so Herodias did not
like John the Baptist very well.
00:17:26.04\00:17:29.04
So we pick up the
story in Matthew 14:8-9,
00:17:29.08\00:17:32.61
she Salome,
this is the daughter,
00:17:32.65\00:17:34.55
having been
prompted by her mother said,
00:17:34.58\00:17:38.42
"Give me the head of John
the Baptist on a platter."
00:17:38.45\00:17:40.89
In other words,
they wanted him dead.
00:17:40.92\00:17:44.03
Verse 9 is the
important verse here,
00:17:44.06\00:17:45.59
"And the king, "
00:17:45.63\00:17:46.96
that would be Herod,
00:17:47.00\00:17:48.33
"was sorry, nevertheless,
because of the oath,
00:17:48.36\00:17:51.37
and because of
those who sat with him,
00:17:51.40\00:17:54.87
he commanded it
to be given to her."
00:17:54.90\00:17:58.04
Now, you could do
00:17:58.07\00:17:59.51
an entire sermon
on that one phrase,
00:17:59.54\00:18:02.41
because of those
who sat with him.
00:18:02.44\00:18:07.38
So because of peer pressure,
00:18:07.42\00:18:09.15
because of him being
afraid of losing his reputation,
00:18:09.18\00:18:13.66
him being afraid of what
other people thought about him,
00:18:13.69\00:18:19.29
because of those who sat
00:18:19.33\00:18:21.76
the influence of
friends or associates,
00:18:21.80\00:18:24.17
in his case,
they'd be subordinates
00:18:24.20\00:18:25.93
because he was the king.
00:18:25.97\00:18:28.44
He caved into the
pressure, and he said,
00:18:28.47\00:18:31.31
"Okay, we'll have the
Prophet John beheaded."
00:18:31.34\00:18:33.54
He didn't want John beheaded.
00:18:33.58\00:18:35.04
He didn't think it
was the right thing to do.
00:18:35.08\00:18:37.21
But because of those
who've sat, why is that?
00:18:37.25\00:18:40.95
He had never developed
in his heart fear for God.
00:18:40.98\00:18:45.52
And we'll get to
that in just a moment.
00:18:45.55\00:18:48.32
What about loneliness?
00:18:48.36\00:18:51.29
I love Hebrews 13:5.
00:18:51.33\00:18:54.50
"He Himself,"
00:18:54.53\00:18:55.86
that's God Himself has said,
00:18:55.90\00:18:57.97
"I will never leave
you nor forsake you."
00:18:58.00\00:19:01.70
So we may boldly say,
the Lord is my helper,
00:19:01.74\00:19:05.24
I will not fear.
00:19:05.27\00:19:06.61
What can man do to me?
00:19:06.64\00:19:10.41
If we're afraid of being alone,
00:19:10.45\00:19:12.05
we have the promise
that God will never leave us.
00:19:12.08\00:19:17.09
God will never forsake
us and He is always with us.
00:19:17.12\00:19:22.62
What about the fear of change?
00:19:22.66\00:19:24.23
I don't know about you,
00:19:24.26\00:19:25.59
but I'm not real
fond of change myself.
00:19:25.63\00:19:27.80
Malachi 3:6 says,
00:19:27.83\00:19:31.07
"I am the Lord.
I do not change."
00:19:31.10\00:19:34.90
We're afraid of change or
uncertainty for the future.
00:19:34.94\00:19:38.24
What's unknown,
not sure what's coming.
00:19:38.27\00:19:40.61
God never changes.
00:19:40.64\00:19:41.98
He said,
00:19:42.01\00:19:43.35
"I'm the same
yesterday, today and forever."
00:19:43.38\00:19:45.95
He is constant,
someone we hold on to,
00:19:45.98\00:19:49.95
in the midst of
our uncertainties.
00:19:49.98\00:19:53.25
What happens in the
future, I clearly don't know.
00:19:53.29\00:19:56.06
But my God does.
00:19:56.09\00:19:58.83
One more scripture
00:19:58.86\00:20:00.20
and then we're going to
jump into our seven keys.
00:20:00.23\00:20:02.86
This is Hebrews 2.
00:20:02.90\00:20:04.27
Hebrews 2:14-15.
00:20:04.30\00:20:05.73
This is specifically
dealing with that fear of death.
00:20:05.77\00:20:10.01
"And as much then
00:20:10.04\00:20:11.37
as the children have
partaken of flesh and blood,
00:20:11.41\00:20:13.84
He himself likewise
shared in the same, "
00:20:13.88\00:20:17.48
meaning Jesus
shared in the same,
00:20:17.51\00:20:20.15
"that through death,
00:20:20.18\00:20:22.22
He might destroy him who
had the power of death, "
00:20:22.25\00:20:25.12
that is the devil,
00:20:25.15\00:20:26.49
" and release those
who through fear of death
00:20:26.52\00:20:29.52
were all their
lifetime subject to bondage."
00:20:29.56\00:20:33.23
Are you in bondage
to that fear of death?
00:20:33.26\00:20:35.80
Do you have
someone in your family,
00:20:35.83\00:20:37.60
someone that you know
00:20:37.63\00:20:39.13
who is in bondage
to that fear of death.
00:20:39.17\00:20:44.21
Through death,
00:20:44.24\00:20:45.57
Jesus destroyed
that power of death,
00:20:45.61\00:20:47.81
and He destroyed the devil,
00:20:47.84\00:20:49.58
so that he could
release you and I
00:20:49.61\00:20:52.68
from that fear.
00:20:52.71\00:20:55.95
You know, when Greg
and I were first married,
00:20:55.98\00:20:58.62
I'd say the first year
or two of our marriage,
00:20:58.65\00:21:00.46
neither one of
us had cell phones.
00:21:00.49\00:21:02.82
And I remember many
times in the evening,
00:21:02.86\00:21:06.59
he would call me
from work and say,
00:21:06.63\00:21:08.53
I'm just getting
ready to come home.
00:21:08.56\00:21:11.30
And it's, we live
about 10 minutes from work,
00:21:11.33\00:21:13.50
maybe six minutes,
00:21:13.54\00:21:14.87
it does not take
long to get home.
00:21:14.90\00:21:16.54
And I would think, okay,
so I, dinner's almost ready,
00:21:16.57\00:21:19.87
I would just get the
finishing touches on it
00:21:19.91\00:21:21.71
and get the food on the table.
00:21:21.74\00:21:23.08
So the minute his
pickup pulled in the yard,
00:21:23.11\00:21:25.91
dinner would be
ready, and we would sit down,
00:21:25.95\00:21:27.62
and we would eat.
00:21:27.65\00:21:28.98
And so he would call and
say, Jill, I'm coming home.
00:21:29.02\00:21:31.25
And I'd get all excited.
00:21:31.29\00:21:32.62
Okay, I'm going to
get everything ready.
00:21:32.65\00:21:33.99
Well, 10 minutes would
pass, he should be home.
00:21:34.02\00:21:35.66
Clearly, it does not take long
to get to our house from 3ABN.
00:21:35.69\00:21:39.69
Fifteen minutes would
pass, 20 minutes would pass.
00:21:39.73\00:21:43.57
Now we don't have a cell phone.
00:21:43.60\00:21:44.93
So I can't call and say,
00:21:44.97\00:21:46.30
"Hey, did you get hung up?
00:21:46.33\00:21:47.67
Or he could text and say
I got stopped in a meeting
00:21:47.70\00:21:49.80
or something happened?
00:21:49.84\00:21:51.61
Twenty five.
00:21:51.64\00:21:52.97
Now this didn't
happen often but when it did,
00:21:53.01\00:21:55.44
my heart would
begin to be afraid.
00:21:55.48\00:21:58.55
Sometimes I
remember calling 3ABN.
00:21:58.58\00:22:02.48
Is Greg still there?
00:22:02.52\00:22:03.85
But I couldn't get him.
00:22:03.89\00:22:05.22
No extension, no one's
there after hours anyway.
00:22:05.25\00:22:07.26
But I would call his extension.
00:22:07.29\00:22:08.92
And I wouldn't get him.
00:22:08.96\00:22:10.63
And then I would become afraid.
00:22:10.66\00:22:14.00
I can remember thinking,
what would I do if he died?
00:22:14.03\00:22:17.00
And how would I handle that?
00:22:17.03\00:22:19.80
I can remember thinking now,
what would we do for funeral?
00:22:19.83\00:22:24.74
This is pretty bad.
00:22:24.77\00:22:26.11
What would we do for a
funeral and who would do music
00:22:26.14\00:22:29.18
and who would speak?
00:22:29.21\00:22:31.48
Your mind begins to
spiral in a downward spiral.
00:22:31.51\00:22:35.88
And then pretty soon his,
00:22:35.92\00:22:37.32
the lights of his pickup
would swing across the yard
00:22:37.35\00:22:39.49
and he would come home and say,
00:22:39.52\00:22:40.86
"Oh, I'm so sorry.
00:22:40.89\00:22:42.22
So and so stopped
me in the parking lot.
00:22:42.26\00:22:43.76
And we got busy
talking and whatever happened."
00:22:43.79\00:22:47.10
And that fear of death or
someone that you love dying.
00:22:47.13\00:22:53.50
Philippians 4:6-7,
I love this passage.
00:22:53.54\00:22:57.24
This is Paul,
writing from prison.
00:22:57.27\00:22:59.14
Now Paul had
something to be afraid about.
00:22:59.17\00:23:01.48
If anybody had
something to be afraid about,
00:23:01.51\00:23:03.24
it would definitely be Paul.
00:23:03.28\00:23:04.61
He is in prison and
getting ready to be killed.
00:23:04.65\00:23:08.42
He's writing this epistle,
Philippians from prison.
00:23:08.45\00:23:11.39
And yet he says
in Philippians 4:6-7.
00:23:11.42\00:23:14.76
"Be anxious for nothing,
00:23:14.79\00:23:16.42
but in everything by
prayer and supplication,
00:23:16.46\00:23:19.79
with thanksgiving,
00:23:19.83\00:23:21.70
let your requests
be made known to God,
00:23:21.73\00:23:24.83
and the peace of God,
00:23:24.87\00:23:26.33
which surpasses
all understanding,
00:23:26.37\00:23:29.67
will keep or will
guard your hearts and minds
00:23:29.70\00:23:34.34
through Christ Jesus."
00:23:34.38\00:23:36.08
You know the Greek
word for everything
00:23:36.11\00:23:37.68
it says be anxious for nothing
00:23:37.71\00:23:39.05
but in everything with
prayer and supplication.
00:23:39.08\00:23:42.82
That word everything is pos.
00:23:42.85\00:23:44.99
And it means
each and every thing.
00:23:45.02\00:23:49.09
So Paul isn't saying
00:23:49.12\00:23:50.46
with certain things
00:23:50.49\00:23:51.83
you don't have
to be anxious about.
00:23:51.86\00:23:53.19
But there's
other things clearly,
00:23:53.23\00:23:54.83
God knows they're really huge.
00:23:54.86\00:23:57.13
You could be
anxious about these.
00:23:57.17\00:23:58.93
Each and every thing.
00:23:58.97\00:24:02.00
Everything by
prayer and supplication
00:24:02.04\00:24:03.91
with thanksgiving
00:24:03.94\00:24:05.27
we can bring before the
father because He hears,
00:24:05.31\00:24:08.18
'cause He knows,
00:24:08.21\00:24:10.01
'cause He wants to
answer and give us His peace
00:24:10.05\00:24:14.62
that guards our hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.
00:24:14.65\00:24:20.66
So how do we handle fear?
00:24:20.69\00:24:22.19
What are those
keys to overcoming fear?
00:24:22.22\00:24:26.43
I don't say this
as if I have arrived.
00:24:26.46\00:24:28.43
But these are seven keys
00:24:28.46\00:24:30.20
that the Lord has
used in my own life,
00:24:30.23\00:24:34.34
in my own journey
00:24:34.37\00:24:35.84
with those fears in my own life.
00:24:35.87\00:24:38.41
I'm going to give you all seven
00:24:38.44\00:24:40.41
and we'll go back and
unpack each one of them.
00:24:40.44\00:24:42.91
Number one, focus on Jesus.
00:24:42.94\00:24:46.11
Number two,
focus on other people.
00:24:46.15\00:24:50.79
Number three, focus
on who you belong to.
00:24:50.82\00:24:55.72
Number four,
focus on fearing God.
00:24:55.76\00:25:00.83
Number five,
focus on being chosen.
00:25:00.86\00:25:05.63
Number six, focus
on God's presence.
00:25:05.67\00:25:10.54
And number seven,
focus on God's love.
00:25:10.57\00:25:14.64
So let's look at number one.
00:25:14.68\00:25:16.01
First key to
overcoming fear, focus on Jesus.
00:25:16.04\00:25:19.41
Let's look at Isaiah.
00:25:19.45\00:25:20.85
I told you there's
a great many verses
00:25:20.88\00:25:22.75
in the Book of Isaiah,
00:25:22.78\00:25:24.12
dealing specifically with fear.
00:25:24.15\00:25:27.22
So Isaiah 26:3.
00:25:27.26\00:25:31.83
I love this passage.
00:25:31.86\00:25:33.43
"You will keep
him in perfect peace,
00:25:33.46\00:25:36.93
whose mind is stayed on You,"
00:25:36.97\00:25:39.30
why?
00:25:39.33\00:25:40.67
"Because he trusts in You."
00:25:40.70\00:25:42.94
Now, this is
just my personality.
00:25:42.97\00:25:45.04
When I used to read that
verse, it would stress me out.
00:25:45.07\00:25:49.41
You will keep
him in perfect peace
00:25:49.44\00:25:51.11
whose mind is stayed on me.
00:25:51.15\00:25:52.71
God, I got to
work, I got to focus.
00:25:52.75\00:25:56.18
If my mind I got to
bring it back to you.
00:25:56.22\00:25:58.15
I need to focus again on you.
00:25:58.19\00:25:59.52
If my mind is not
focused on you enough, somehow,
00:25:59.55\00:26:02.56
I'm going to lack the peace
that you want to freely give.
00:26:02.59\00:26:08.46
There's sometimes a difficulty.
00:26:08.50\00:26:09.83
I don't know if
you've ever experienced this,
00:26:09.86\00:26:11.20
but a difficulty in keeping
your mind focused on Jesus.
00:26:11.23\00:26:16.84
I can get up in the morning,
00:26:16.87\00:26:18.57
have my time with God
open up the Word of God
00:26:18.61\00:26:21.51
and begin to study and
instantly my mind goes,
00:26:21.54\00:26:24.08
"Oh, you need to do
this in the office."
00:26:24.11\00:26:25.81
"No, God, I'm
having worship right now."
00:26:25.85\00:26:27.45
So let me not know
God, but no, Satan,
00:26:27.48\00:26:30.09
I'm having worship
right now with God.
00:26:30.12\00:26:31.62
So you bring your
mind back, focus again.
00:26:31.65\00:26:34.56
And then you just begin to pray
00:26:34.59\00:26:36.02
and something
else intrudes into that
00:26:36.06\00:26:38.03
sacred space with me and God.
00:26:38.06\00:26:41.06
Sometimes my mind wanders,
00:26:41.10\00:26:43.83
or it's
difficult to bring it back.
00:26:43.87\00:26:46.90
So when I read the scripture,
00:26:46.94\00:26:48.44
"You keep him in perfect peace,
00:26:48.47\00:26:50.27
whose mind is stayed on
you because he trusts in you."
00:26:50.31\00:26:54.78
I would feel stressed.
00:26:54.81\00:26:57.91
God, how am I supposed to
focus and keep my mind on you?
00:26:57.95\00:27:03.39
The breakthrough occurred
when I discovered what the word
00:27:03.42\00:27:05.59
stayed meant in Hebrew.
00:27:05.62\00:27:07.76
You will keep
him in perfect peace
00:27:07.79\00:27:09.32
whose mind is stayed on you.
00:27:09.36\00:27:10.99
I always thought
it meant focus as in,
00:27:11.03\00:27:13.19
I need to work harder.
00:27:13.23\00:27:14.56
I need to keep my mind on God.
00:27:14.60\00:27:15.93
Come on, Jill, back to God.
00:27:15.96\00:27:17.30
Come on, Jill, back to God.
00:27:17.33\00:27:18.67
Come on, Jill,
don't focus on your fear,
00:27:18.70\00:27:20.34
or those anxieties,
bring it back to God.
00:27:20.37\00:27:23.41
But the word stayed
in Hebrew means to lean,
00:27:23.44\00:27:29.11
to rest upon, to lay down.
00:27:29.14\00:27:33.62
That's what it means
00:27:33.65\00:27:34.98
to lean, to lay, to rest upon.
00:27:35.02\00:27:41.52
So that completely changes
00:27:41.56\00:27:44.99
the context of that verse.
00:27:45.03\00:27:48.60
You will keep
him in perfect peace
00:27:48.63\00:27:51.17
whose mind is stayed on you.
00:27:51.20\00:27:52.57
What does that mean?
00:27:52.60\00:27:53.94
I put my head in God's lap.
00:27:53.97\00:27:56.67
You ever see a kid do that,
00:27:56.71\00:27:58.04
just lay their
head on their mama
00:27:58.07\00:27:59.67
or their daddy's lap.
00:27:59.71\00:28:01.11
I put my head in His
lap knowing He's got me.
00:28:01.14\00:28:08.55
You see, we don't have God.
00:28:08.58\00:28:10.65
He has us.
00:28:10.69\00:28:14.82
Lay on Him.
00:28:14.86\00:28:16.19
Put your head in His lap.
00:28:16.22\00:28:17.73
Trust in Him.
00:28:17.76\00:28:19.16
Know that it's not about
how hard you focus on Jesus
00:28:19.19\00:28:22.16
or bring your
mind back to Jesus.
00:28:22.20\00:28:24.20
It's just about resting
in His arms as His child,
00:28:24.23\00:28:30.47
knowing that He's got you.
00:28:30.51\00:28:33.41
And He's got whatever situation
00:28:33.44\00:28:35.84
you are going through right now.
00:28:35.88\00:28:38.71
And He's going to
hold you through that.
00:28:38.75\00:28:42.12
The book Education, page 253.
00:28:42.15\00:28:45.79
This is one of
my favorite quotes
00:28:45.82\00:28:48.36
from Ellen White about faith.
00:28:48.39\00:28:50.99
The book Education, page 253,
00:28:51.03\00:28:55.40
"Faith is trusting God,
00:28:55.43\00:28:57.93
believing that He loves us
00:28:57.97\00:29:00.20
and knows best
what is for our good.
00:29:00.24\00:29:04.51
Thus, instead of our own,
it leads us to choose His way.
00:29:04.54\00:29:08.08
In place of our
ignorance, we accept His wisdom,
00:29:08.11\00:29:11.35
in place of our
weakness, His strength,
00:29:11.38\00:29:13.98
in place of our
sinfulness, His righteousness."
00:29:14.02\00:29:18.02
Faith is trusting God,
00:29:18.05\00:29:20.39
believing that He loves us
00:29:20.42\00:29:22.82
and knows best
what is for our good.
00:29:22.86\00:29:25.89
Faith is simply
putting my head down
00:29:25.93\00:29:28.60
on the lap of My Father God
00:29:28.63\00:29:31.13
and knowing that
I can trust my life,
00:29:31.17\00:29:34.70
my circumstances,
00:29:34.74\00:29:36.54
my situation to
His everlasting arms,
00:29:36.57\00:29:40.68
because we don't
have God, He has us.
00:29:40.71\00:29:44.41
So key number one
to overcoming fear
00:29:44.45\00:29:45.88
is to focus on Jesus
00:29:45.91\00:29:47.25
and when I say that,
00:29:47.28\00:29:48.62
not in a
stressful sense of focusing
00:29:48.65\00:29:51.35
but in the sense
of laying on His lap.
00:29:51.39\00:29:54.69
Leaning, resting upon Jesus,
00:29:54.72\00:29:58.76
in the midst of
your circumstance.
00:29:58.79\00:30:02.00
Number two, focus on others.
00:30:02.03\00:30:06.47
Turn with me to
the Book of Hebrews.
00:30:06.50\00:30:07.84
Of course, we know
00:30:07.87\00:30:09.20
Hebrews 11 is that
incredible faith chapter.
00:30:09.24\00:30:13.21
But we get to Hebrews 12:1,
00:30:13.24\00:30:17.38
"We also,
00:30:17.41\00:30:18.75
since we're surrounded by
so great a cloud of witnesses,
00:30:18.78\00:30:22.35
let us lay aside every weight,
00:30:22.38\00:30:24.45
and the sin which
so easily besets us,
00:30:24.49\00:30:28.12
and let us run with endurance,
00:30:28.16\00:30:31.93
the race that
is sent before us."
00:30:31.96\00:30:35.60
The key is verse
2, looking to Jesus,
00:30:35.63\00:30:39.67
the author and
finisher of our faith,
00:30:39.70\00:30:42.70
who for the joy
that was set before Him,
00:30:42.74\00:30:45.17
endured the cross,
despising the shame,
00:30:45.21\00:30:47.94
and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of God.
00:30:47.98\00:30:53.92
Looking unto Jesus,
00:30:53.95\00:30:55.68
the author and
finisher of our faith.
00:30:55.72\00:30:57.69
Now author, of course,
00:30:57.72\00:30:59.05
means the
beginning of our faith.
00:30:59.09\00:31:01.42
Finisher in Greek
means perfecter, completer.
00:31:01.46\00:31:06.63
So He began our faith
and He perfects our faith,
00:31:06.66\00:31:10.00
He completes our faith,
00:31:10.03\00:31:12.23
who for the joy
that was set before Him,
00:31:12.27\00:31:14.67
endured the cross,
despising the shame.
00:31:14.70\00:31:17.17
Now, do you think He
wanted to go to the cross?
00:31:17.21\00:31:20.48
Absolutely not.
00:31:20.51\00:31:21.84
You read in the gospels
00:31:21.88\00:31:23.55
about His
experiences in Gethsemane.
00:31:23.58\00:31:25.15
This is the
experience before the cross,
00:31:25.18\00:31:27.05
God's sweating drops of blood.
00:31:27.08\00:31:29.22
God, please if it's possible,
I can't go through with this.
00:31:29.25\00:31:34.09
Please, I don't want
to go through with this.
00:31:34.12\00:31:37.33
He endured
humiliation, He endured shame,
00:31:37.36\00:31:40.56
He endured tremendous
pain and spiritual anguish,
00:31:40.60\00:31:46.00
because He was
separated from His Father.
00:31:46.03\00:31:49.80
He had never been
separated from His Father again
00:31:49.84\00:31:52.41
because they were one.
00:31:52.44\00:31:54.58
And yet there was the separation
00:31:54.61\00:31:57.08
from His father
00:31:57.11\00:31:58.45
because of the sins
that were placed on Him,
00:31:58.48\00:32:00.92
our sins on the cross.
00:32:00.95\00:32:04.25
So how did He endure that,
00:32:04.29\00:32:05.82
the pain and
humiliation and all of that?
00:32:05.85\00:32:08.19
How did He endure that?
00:32:08.22\00:32:11.39
It's a joy that
was set before Him
00:32:11.43\00:32:14.30
because of the joy
that was set before Him,
00:32:14.33\00:32:16.67
He could endure the
cross and what was that joy?
00:32:16.70\00:32:19.83
That is you and I.
00:32:19.87\00:32:22.17
He looked down
the stream of time
00:32:22.20\00:32:23.57
and saw you and I able to
spend an eternity with Him.
00:32:23.61\00:32:28.51
And because of that
joy, because of others,
00:32:28.54\00:32:32.75
He endured the present trial,
00:32:32.78\00:32:34.98
the present circumstance
that He was involved in.
00:32:35.02\00:32:39.52
Have you ever noticed that
when you have a difficult day,
00:32:39.55\00:32:44.63
you can get
drowned in your own stuff,
00:32:44.66\00:32:47.50
but if you choose to
encourage someone else,
00:32:47.53\00:32:50.70
if you choose to
focus on someone else,
00:32:50.73\00:32:53.87
if you choose to reach
out of yourself, what happens?
00:32:53.90\00:32:57.21
Your attitude and your
heart and your life changes.
00:32:57.24\00:33:00.74
So the first key
is to focus on Jesus.
00:33:00.78\00:33:02.91
The second is
to focus on others.
00:33:02.94\00:33:07.12
Third key, focus
on who you belong to.
00:33:07.15\00:33:11.59
Going back to Isaiah.
00:33:11.62\00:33:13.22
Isaiah 43.
00:33:13.25\00:33:15.52
This is one of my
favorite new books, Isaiah,
00:33:15.56\00:33:18.29
not that it's new, but
it's one of my favorites.
00:33:18.33\00:33:21.16
Isaiah 43 begins
with the words but now.
00:33:21.20\00:33:26.07
Now that means
something obviously happened
00:33:26.10\00:33:27.60
before in Isaiah Chapter 42.
00:33:27.64\00:33:29.50
And if you read it,
00:33:29.54\00:33:30.91
you see that God's
people had been deaf and blind,
00:33:30.94\00:33:35.14
God's people had
turned their back on Him.
00:33:35.18\00:33:39.21
God's people had
worshipped other idols,
00:33:39.25\00:33:42.08
God's people had
done their own thing.
00:33:42.12\00:33:46.72
And it begins with,
00:33:46.76\00:33:48.59
but now,
00:33:48.62\00:33:49.99
in spite of their
unfaithfulness to the covenant
00:33:50.03\00:33:52.83
that God had with
them as His people,
00:33:52.86\00:33:55.16
in spite of
everything that they had done,
00:33:55.20\00:33:59.30
he says,
00:33:59.33\00:34:00.67
"But now, thus says
the Lord who created you."
00:34:00.70\00:34:04.21
That word in Hebrew
means to form or shape."
00:34:04.24\00:34:08.18
And He who formed
you, O Israel, fear not,
00:34:08.21\00:34:11.81
for I have redeemed you."
00:34:11.85\00:34:15.68
That word God means
the kinsman redeemer,
00:34:15.72\00:34:19.99
that symbolism in
the Old Testament,
00:34:20.02\00:34:22.56
especially with Ruth and Boaz.
00:34:22.59\00:34:24.59
And you see, God
not only made us,
00:34:24.63\00:34:27.73
you and I,
00:34:27.76\00:34:29.10
He bought us back by His blood
from the land of the enemy.
00:34:29.13\00:34:34.84
"Fear not, for
I've redeemed you.
00:34:34.87\00:34:37.37
I have called you by your name.
00:34:37.41\00:34:39.61
You are mine."
00:34:39.64\00:34:42.74
We don't have to
be afraid because why?
00:34:42.78\00:34:45.75
We belong to Him.
00:34:45.78\00:34:48.12
We're first His by creation,
second His by redemption.
00:34:48.15\00:34:52.65
We're not afraid
because we belong to Him.
00:34:52.69\00:34:56.83
Remember, Herod,
00:34:56.86\00:34:58.36
we read that
before in Matthew 14.
00:34:58.39\00:35:00.80
He was afraid of those who sat.
00:35:00.83\00:35:04.93
Remember the people around
00:35:04.97\00:35:06.47
him, his
associates, his subordinates.
00:35:06.50\00:35:09.17
He was concerned about that.
00:35:09.20\00:35:12.11
And because of
the people around him,
00:35:12.14\00:35:15.31
he made certain decisions.
00:35:15.34\00:35:17.65
But if you and I belong
to the Lord Jesus Christ,
00:35:17.68\00:35:21.38
if we get who we are from
Him, and not from other people,
00:35:21.42\00:35:26.05
if we focus on who
we actually belong to,
00:35:26.09\00:35:30.49
and that's the
Lord Jesus Christ.
00:35:30.53\00:35:32.79
That makes all the difference.
00:35:32.83\00:35:35.13
Henry Nouwen says this,
00:35:35.16\00:35:36.93
"At issue here is the question:
00:35:36.97\00:35:39.17
'To whom do I belong?
To God or to the world?'
00:35:39.20\00:35:43.71
Many of my daily
preoccupations suggest that
00:35:43.74\00:35:47.24
I belong more to
the world than to God.
00:35:47.28\00:35:50.41
A little
criticism, it makes me angry,
00:35:50.45\00:35:52.78
a little rejection,
that makes me depressed.
00:35:52.81\00:35:55.32
A little praise,
that raises my spirits,
00:35:55.35\00:35:58.55
and a little
success, that excites me.
00:35:58.59\00:36:02.29
I'm like a small
boat on the ocean,
00:36:02.32\00:36:05.29
tossed completely at
the mercy of the waves."
00:36:05.33\00:36:09.80
What is he saying?
00:36:09.83\00:36:11.17
The issue is,
who do we belong to?
00:36:11.20\00:36:12.93
Do we put more importance
on the people around us?
00:36:12.97\00:36:17.01
Or do we put our importance
00:36:17.04\00:36:19.24
because we are sons
and daughters of the King?
00:36:19.27\00:36:22.54
Who do you belong to?
00:36:22.58\00:36:25.01
Number four, key number
four is focus on fearing God.
00:36:25.05\00:36:29.92
We have nothing to fear
when we fear God Himself.
00:36:29.95\00:36:34.66
Let's look at Isaiah 8.
00:36:34.69\00:36:36.02
This is a scripture
00:36:36.06\00:36:37.39
that we referenced at the
very beginning of the message.
00:36:37.43\00:36:38.76
Isaiah 8.
00:36:38.79\00:36:40.23
Now, Isaiah the
Prophet, incredible man of God,
00:36:40.26\00:36:44.73
prophesied for years
to the children of Judah,
00:36:44.77\00:36:48.70
for kings, some
good, some horrible.
00:36:48.74\00:36:54.64
He was with the people.
00:36:54.68\00:36:57.01
There were two
major national crises
00:36:57.05\00:37:00.12
that took place during that time
00:37:00.15\00:37:01.78
during his years
of his prophetic call.
00:37:01.82\00:37:03.55
When I think of Isaiah,
00:37:06.82\00:37:08.19
we're going to
Isaiah in just a moment,
00:37:08.22\00:37:09.86
but when I think of
Isaiah, I think of Isaiah 6,
00:37:09.89\00:37:12.79
the call of Isaiah,
00:37:12.83\00:37:14.16
remember he saw the
Lord high and lifted up
00:37:14.20\00:37:15.96
and His glory filled the temple
and this is sanctuary language.
00:37:16.00\00:37:21.07
Isaiah is there and
realizes his uncleanness
00:37:21.10\00:37:25.01
and his unworthiness
00:37:25.04\00:37:26.68
and the angel came with
a coal from off the altar
00:37:26.71\00:37:29.28
and touched his
lips and cleanse him,
00:37:29.31\00:37:32.78
and then called him
into that prophetic ministry.
00:37:32.81\00:37:36.65
And what did Isaiah answer?
00:37:36.69\00:37:38.15
Here am I send me.
00:37:38.19\00:37:40.29
Now what's
interesting to me in this whole,
00:37:40.32\00:37:42.06
this is just a side note,
but in this whole context,
00:37:42.09\00:37:44.96
is that Isaiah 6
begins with what?
00:37:44.99\00:37:46.73
It says in the year
that King Uzziah died.
00:37:46.76\00:37:49.86
That's when he saw the Lord high
00:37:49.90\00:37:51.63
and lifted up in the temple.
00:37:51.67\00:37:53.00
Now what's interesting,
00:37:53.03\00:37:54.37
because King Uzziah
had been a good king,
00:37:54.40\00:37:56.64
but if you read about
it in the Word of God,
00:37:56.67\00:37:58.27
it says he was good
until he became strong.
00:37:58.31\00:38:04.05
And then his
heart became lifted up.
00:38:04.08\00:38:07.22
In other words,
he was a good king,
00:38:07.25\00:38:10.75
life was going well.
00:38:10.79\00:38:12.12
And then all of a sudden,
00:38:12.15\00:38:14.46
when he became prideful
and egotistical and realized,
00:38:14.49\00:38:18.63
"Man, I'm really
something here as Judah's king,
00:38:18.66\00:38:20.60
and I'm doing a great job."
00:38:20.63\00:38:22.13
He became lifted
up in his own pride.
00:38:22.16\00:38:26.03
And at that time,
00:38:26.07\00:38:27.40
he went into the temple
00:38:27.44\00:38:28.77
and he sought to take
a coal from the altar,
00:38:28.80\00:38:32.37
and to put it in
and to burn incense
00:38:32.41\00:38:34.51
before the Lord.
00:38:34.54\00:38:35.88
Now, he was not
supposed to do that as the king,
00:38:35.91\00:38:37.88
only the priests were
involved in that work.
00:38:37.91\00:38:40.42
And he was struck with leprosy
00:38:40.45\00:38:41.78
and he was a leper
until the day that he died.
00:38:41.82\00:38:44.89
Now, it's interesting that
Isaiah mentions in the year
00:38:44.92\00:38:47.12
that King Uzziah died
is when this happened.
00:38:47.16\00:38:49.82
And Isaiah saw this
whole prophetic vision.
00:38:49.86\00:38:52.79
Because King Uzziah
00:38:52.83\00:38:55.40
in a prideful manner
went into the sanctuary,
00:38:55.43\00:38:58.50
took a coal from the altar,
00:38:58.53\00:38:59.87
and he sought to burn incense.
00:38:59.90\00:39:02.40
On this side, Isaiah
was in the sanctuary,
00:39:02.44\00:39:06.24
the angel took a
coal from the altar,
00:39:06.27\00:39:09.51
and the angel turned Isaiah
as it were into the incense.
00:39:09.54\00:39:13.92
So if you jump
over, that's Isaiah 6,
00:39:13.95\00:39:15.65
but if you jump
over to Isaiah Chapter 8,
00:39:15.68\00:39:18.62
we see there's great terror
among the children of Judah,
00:39:18.65\00:39:23.22
the northern
kingdom, Israel and Syria,
00:39:23.26\00:39:27.10
both of those kings
had formed a coalition
00:39:27.13\00:39:30.47
and they were engaged in warfare
00:39:30.50\00:39:32.80
against the nation of Judah.
00:39:32.83\00:39:35.10
And the king, King
Ahaz was terrified.
00:39:35.14\00:39:37.81
He was a bad king,
00:39:37.84\00:39:39.17
he made his children be
burned before heathen gods.
00:39:39.21\00:39:43.58
He tore down and
closed up the temple
00:39:43.61\00:39:46.18
and built altars
to other foreign gods
00:39:46.21\00:39:49.62
and he did not lead the
people in the way of the Lord.
00:39:49.65\00:39:51.79
And so the Prophet
Isaiah came to him and said,
00:39:51.82\00:39:54.16
trust in the Lord,
but he refused to do that.
00:39:54.19\00:39:57.86
And so he
instead turned to Assyria
00:39:57.89\00:40:00.46
and sought help from Assyria.
00:40:00.50\00:40:02.96
So we're in Isaiah 8:11.
00:40:03.00\00:40:05.57
"For the Lord thus spoke
to me with a strong hand,
00:40:05.60\00:40:08.70
and instructed me
00:40:08.74\00:40:10.07
that I should not walk
in the way of the people."
00:40:10.11\00:40:11.94
Why?
00:40:11.97\00:40:13.31
Because they were
seeking to turn to Assyria
00:40:13.34\00:40:15.14
or Egypt or Babylon, a
neighboring nation for help.
00:40:15.18\00:40:18.61
And God said,
00:40:18.65\00:40:19.98
"I got this, I got you."
00:40:20.02\00:40:21.78
He said, "Take a stand."
00:40:21.82\00:40:25.45
Verse 12,
00:40:25.49\00:40:26.82
"Do not say, 'A conspiracy, '
00:40:26.86\00:40:28.19
concerning all that this
people call a conspiracy,
00:40:28.22\00:40:30.76
nor be afraid of their
threats, nor be troubled.
00:40:30.79\00:40:34.23
The Lord of hosts,
Him you shall hallow.
00:40:34.26\00:40:37.07
Let Him be your fear
and let Him be your dread.
00:40:37.10\00:40:41.37
He will be as a sanctuary
00:40:41.40\00:40:42.87
but a stone of
stumbling and a rock of offense
00:40:42.90\00:40:45.61
to both the houses of Israel
00:40:45.64\00:40:47.31
as a trap and a snare
00:40:47.34\00:40:48.84
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
00:40:48.88\00:40:51.18
And many among
them shall stumble,
00:40:51.21\00:40:53.31
they shall fall and be
broken, be snared, and taken.
00:40:53.35\00:40:58.49
Now you see some incredible
contrast in that passage.
00:40:58.52\00:41:02.76
You notice that it said,
00:41:02.79\00:41:04.13
"Do not be afraid
of their threats."
00:41:04.16\00:41:05.49
I love that passage.
00:41:05.53\00:41:07.06
Do not be afraid
of their threats.
00:41:07.10\00:41:09.36
Why?
00:41:09.40\00:41:10.73
Because the Lord of
hosts, Him you shall fear.
00:41:10.77\00:41:14.97
If you fear God,
00:41:15.00\00:41:16.34
you don't have to
be afraid of others.
00:41:16.37\00:41:20.18
On the flip side,
00:41:20.21\00:41:21.54
if you're
afraid of other people,
00:41:21.58\00:41:23.48
and what they think of you,
00:41:23.51\00:41:25.95
probably, we
don't fear God enough.
00:41:25.98\00:41:30.69
The next section says, He
will be to you a sanctuary,
00:41:30.72\00:41:34.16
but to others
00:41:34.19\00:41:35.52
He's a stone of
stumbling and a rock of offense.
00:41:35.56\00:41:38.23
If God is a sanctuary to you,
00:41:38.26\00:41:41.06
He won't be a stone of stumbling
00:41:41.10\00:41:42.63
or a rock of offense.
00:41:42.66\00:41:44.63
But on the flip side,
00:41:44.67\00:41:46.13
if God is a stone of stumbling
or a rock of offense to you,
00:41:46.17\00:41:50.11
that means that
00:41:50.14\00:41:51.47
He has not
become your sanctuary.
00:41:51.51\00:41:53.14
He has not tabernacled with you.
00:41:53.17\00:41:56.18
He told the
people in Exodus 25:8,
00:41:56.21\00:41:58.88
let them make me a sanctuary
that I may dwell among them.
00:41:58.91\00:42:03.55
God wants to dwell with
us and tabernacle with us.
00:42:03.59\00:42:07.76
So if we don't have to
be afraid of the threats,
00:42:07.79\00:42:09.82
or we don't have to fear
00:42:09.86\00:42:12.16
because God is our fear.
00:42:12.19\00:42:15.06
What in the world
does that mean to fear God?
00:42:15.10\00:42:19.53
The Lord of hosts,
Him you shall hallow.
00:42:19.57\00:42:22.07
It literally means Him
you shall regard as holy.
00:42:22.10\00:42:28.34
Let Him be your fear.
00:42:28.38\00:42:30.11
Let Him be your dread.
00:42:30.15\00:42:31.91
Let Him be your fear,
00:42:31.95\00:42:33.28
let Him be your
object of reference.
00:42:33.31\00:42:35.78
So in this context,
00:42:35.82\00:42:37.95
the fear of the
Lord simply means
00:42:37.99\00:42:39.99
we consider the Lord as holy.
00:42:40.02\00:42:44.16
Proverbs 1:7,
00:42:44.19\00:42:45.53
one more piece I
want to put into this.
00:42:45.56\00:42:47.66
Proverbs 1:7 says,
00:42:47.70\00:42:49.73
"The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom
00:42:49.76\00:42:52.63
or knowledge,
00:42:52.67\00:42:54.00
but fools, they despise
wisdom and instruction."
00:42:54.04\00:42:58.37
In this case,
00:42:58.41\00:42:59.74
the fear of the Lord is
admiration or reverence,
00:42:59.77\00:43:03.48
but it is
expressed in obedience.
00:43:03.51\00:43:06.35
So there's
really two pieces here
00:43:06.38\00:43:08.05
to the fear of the Lord.
00:43:08.08\00:43:09.42
The first piece here is
that we regard God as holy,
00:43:09.45\00:43:13.42
we understand that He is holy.
00:43:13.46\00:43:15.42
This piece over
here is your in my piece,
00:43:15.46\00:43:18.06
meaning we're to
walk in obedience to Him.
00:43:18.09\00:43:23.47
We saw that in Isaiah Chapter 6,
00:43:23.50\00:43:25.17
remember when he saw that vision
00:43:25.20\00:43:26.53
and the Lord was
high and lifted up.
00:43:26.57\00:43:28.50
Isaiah recognized
the holiness of God.
00:43:28.54\00:43:31.81
Because He said,
00:43:31.84\00:43:33.17
"Woe is me, and I am undone."
00:43:33.21\00:43:34.81
He recognized his sin,
in contrast to a holy God.
00:43:34.84\00:43:38.95
But then he walked in obedience,
00:43:38.98\00:43:42.48
because when
the call went forth,
00:43:42.52\00:43:43.85
who will go for me?
00:43:43.89\00:43:45.22
He said,
00:43:45.25\00:43:46.59
"Here am I, send me."
00:43:46.62\00:43:50.29
The fear of the
Lord is that recognition,
00:43:50.33\00:43:52.59
the first piece of
the holiness of the Lord
00:43:52.63\00:43:55.20
combined with you and I
walking in obedience to Him.
00:43:55.23\00:44:01.57
You know, this
happened quite recently.
00:44:01.60\00:44:03.67
Greg said, we're
talking at night,
00:44:03.71\00:44:07.41
someone came to me that day,
00:44:07.44\00:44:10.31
and I was telling
Greg about it that night,
00:44:10.35\00:44:11.95
and I said, Oh,
I said, you know,
00:44:11.98\00:44:14.42
someone told me such and such,
00:44:14.45\00:44:15.85
and I think it's
a really good idea.
00:44:15.88\00:44:17.92
And I think that, you know,
00:44:17.95\00:44:19.29
I really think
we should do this.
00:44:19.32\00:44:20.92
And Greg looked at me,
and he just kind of smiled.
00:44:20.96\00:44:24.06
And I said,
00:44:24.09\00:44:25.43
"Well, what's so
funny about that?"
00:44:25.46\00:44:26.83
And he said,
00:44:26.86\00:44:28.20
"Well, you know,
several months ago,
00:44:28.23\00:44:31.93
maybe four or five,
even six months ago,
00:44:31.97\00:44:34.90
a different person gave
you the same suggestion.
00:44:34.94\00:44:37.81
But you didn't think
00:44:37.84\00:44:39.17
it was such a
great suggestion then."
00:44:39.21\00:44:41.21
And I thought,
00:44:41.24\00:44:42.58
"Oh, really? Did I do that?"
00:44:42.61\00:44:43.95
And I thought back and
I really had done that.
00:44:43.98\00:44:47.52
You see,
00:44:47.55\00:44:48.88
the person who just gave
me the suggestion recently.
00:44:48.92\00:44:51.12
Why did I accept it so readily?
00:44:51.15\00:44:53.05
Because I like that person.
00:44:53.09\00:44:54.79
Because we get along
00:44:54.82\00:44:57.23
because we're
whatever you want to call it,
00:44:57.26\00:45:01.03
but I accepted the suggestion.
00:45:01.06\00:45:02.40
Over here, I had an
issue with the person.
00:45:02.43\00:45:05.67
So when they made a suggestion,
00:45:05.70\00:45:07.04
which was the
very same suggestion,
00:45:07.07\00:45:08.40
as this person over here gave,
00:45:08.44\00:45:09.97
I kind of bristled
at that suggestion.
00:45:10.01\00:45:12.57
Why is that?
00:45:12.61\00:45:13.94
Because I respect
the person over here,
00:45:13.98\00:45:15.88
but I did not
respect the person over here.
00:45:15.91\00:45:19.95
If we fear God, we
recognize who He is as holy,
00:45:19.98\00:45:24.75
but we also respect
Him, we also reverence Him,
00:45:24.79\00:45:29.02
we honor Him,
00:45:29.06\00:45:30.46
and we choose to live our
lives in obedience to Him.
00:45:30.49\00:45:34.66
So we focus on
Jesus, we focus on others,
00:45:34.70\00:45:38.73
we focus on who we belong to.
00:45:38.77\00:45:41.47
That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:45:41.50\00:45:43.04
We focus on fearing God
or recognizing His holiness
00:45:43.07\00:45:47.01
and choosing to
respect and honor Him.
00:45:47.04\00:45:50.68
Number five, we
focus on being chosen.
00:45:50.71\00:45:54.58
Isaiah 44:1-2,
we're still in Isaiah,
00:45:54.62\00:45:58.62
just jump over from Isaiah 8.
00:45:58.65\00:46:00.56
Isaiah 44:1-2,
00:46:00.59\00:46:03.66
"Yet hear now, O
Jacob My servant,
00:46:03.69\00:46:06.03
and Israel whom I have chosen.
00:46:06.06\00:46:09.03
Thus says the Lord who made you
and formed you from the womb,
00:46:09.06\00:46:13.70
who will help you,
00:46:13.74\00:46:15.07
'Fear not,
00:46:15.10\00:46:16.44
O Jacob My servant,
00:46:16.47\00:46:17.87
and you, Jeshurun,
whom I have chosen."
00:46:17.91\00:46:23.61
We don't have to be
afraid because He has chosen us.
00:46:23.65\00:46:29.12
I don't know if you remember
when you were kids growing up,
00:46:29.15\00:46:32.45
or maybe you're still
young and involved in this.
00:46:32.49\00:46:36.79
You're in school,
or maybe a church,
00:46:36.83\00:46:39.19
softball leader or something,
and they start choosing sides.
00:46:39.23\00:46:42.16
Okay, you're going
to be on this side,
00:46:42.20\00:46:43.70
and you just kind of
stand on the sidelines.
00:46:43.73\00:46:45.37
So people are in this side,
00:46:45.40\00:46:46.74
oh, yeah, I want
so and so for my team.
00:46:46.77\00:46:48.10
And then on this side,
00:46:48.14\00:46:49.47
oh, yeah, I want
this person on my team.
00:46:49.50\00:46:51.84
We want to be chosen, do we not?
00:46:51.87\00:46:54.58
We want to be wanted.
00:46:54.61\00:46:57.65
We want to belong.
00:46:57.68\00:47:00.65
I remember as a little
girl, probably four years old,
00:47:00.68\00:47:04.02
it's one of my
first memories actually.
00:47:04.05\00:47:05.59
We were in a circle
playing a game called Wink 'em.
00:47:05.62\00:47:08.16
Meaning you winked
at a certain person.
00:47:08.19\00:47:10.46
And then they jump up and
they try to run to the sea.
00:47:10.49\00:47:13.86
And I remember,
nobody winked at me.
00:47:13.90\00:47:16.30
And I'm sitting there,
00:47:16.33\00:47:17.67
just my legs swinging
00:47:17.70\00:47:19.03
and they winked at
everybody else in the circle,
00:47:19.07\00:47:20.60
and they didn't wink at me
and I remember starting to cry.
00:47:20.64\00:47:22.60
Why?
00:47:22.64\00:47:23.97
Because I felt I was not chosen.
00:47:24.01\00:47:30.21
John 15:16.
00:47:30.25\00:47:32.85
Jesus speaking to His disciples,
00:47:32.88\00:47:34.38
and to you and I,
through the stream of time,
00:47:34.42\00:47:36.52
you did not choose me,
00:47:36.55\00:47:38.12
but I chose you,
00:47:38.15\00:47:39.92
and ordained you that
you should go and bear fruit.
00:47:39.95\00:47:44.19
We focus on the
fact that God chose us
00:47:44.23\00:47:47.86
from the foundation of the world
00:47:47.90\00:47:49.90
to be His sons and daughters.
00:47:49.93\00:47:52.47
Number six, focus
on God's presence.
00:47:52.50\00:47:56.50
Isaiah 41,
00:47:56.54\00:47:57.87
jump back just
a couple chapters.
00:47:57.91\00:47:59.24
Isaiah 41:10,
00:47:59.27\00:48:02.21
"Fear not, for I am
with you, be not dismayed,
00:48:02.24\00:48:05.58
for I am your God.
00:48:05.61\00:48:07.92
I will help you,
00:48:07.95\00:48:09.28
I will uphold you with
My righteous right hand."
00:48:09.32\00:48:14.22
Story is told of a little boy
00:48:14.26\00:48:15.96
who went with his father
to visit his grandmother,
00:48:15.99\00:48:18.13
it was three miles away,
00:48:18.16\00:48:19.93
and they walked
to grandma's house,
00:48:19.96\00:48:22.13
and they visited
at grandma's house,
00:48:22.16\00:48:24.50
and he loved his
grandma and had a great time.
00:48:24.53\00:48:26.50
And then it was time to go home.
00:48:26.53\00:48:28.17
But they'd stay too long.
00:48:28.20\00:48:29.54
And it began to get dark.
00:48:29.57\00:48:30.91
And the little boy was afraid.
00:48:30.94\00:48:32.27
And he asked his father,
00:48:32.31\00:48:33.64
"Will anything catch us?"
00:48:33.68\00:48:35.01
And the father said,
00:48:35.04\00:48:36.38
"There is no danger."
00:48:36.41\00:48:37.75
And the little boy asked again,
00:48:37.78\00:48:39.11
"Daddy will anything catch us?"
00:48:39.15\00:48:40.98
And the father said,
00:48:41.02\00:48:42.35
"There is no danger."
00:48:42.38\00:48:43.95
And the little boy
asked the third time,
00:48:43.99\00:48:45.72
"Daddy, will anything catch us?"
00:48:45.75\00:48:48.82
He was still afraid.
00:48:48.86\00:48:50.73
And the father took
him by the hand and said,
00:48:50.76\00:48:54.06
"I will not allow
anything to harm you."
00:48:54.10\00:48:56.93
You see, fear is not
the absence of trouble
00:48:56.97\00:48:58.90
because we clearly have issues
00:48:58.93\00:49:00.27
and we clearly have trouble
00:49:00.30\00:49:01.64
and we clearly encounter
circumstances that are fearful.
00:49:01.67\00:49:06.24
But fear is not
the absence of trouble,
00:49:06.27\00:49:12.71
but when we focus
on the presence of God,
00:49:12.75\00:49:17.52
and we focus on His presence,
that takes away that fear,
00:49:17.55\00:49:23.93
because God can walk
with us through anything.
00:49:23.96\00:49:28.26
Finally, key number
seven, focus on God's love.
00:49:28.30\00:49:33.34
1 John 4:18.
00:49:33.37\00:49:35.00
There is no fear in
love, because perfect love,
00:49:35.04\00:49:38.71
it casts out fear.
00:49:38.74\00:49:40.38
It throws out fear,
it gets rid of fear.
00:49:40.41\00:49:45.78
There was a workman
00:49:45.81\00:49:47.15
who was employed
on a building project
00:49:47.18\00:49:50.02
working late at night.
00:49:50.05\00:49:52.42
Now the other workers
had worked during the day,
00:49:52.45\00:49:54.29
but he worked late at night
00:49:54.32\00:49:56.36
and he was busy on
the edge of the wall
00:49:56.39\00:49:59.23
several stories
up in a big city.
00:49:59.26\00:50:02.86
And he lost his
balance and he fell,
00:50:02.90\00:50:05.07
and he grasps
the edge of the fall
00:50:05.10\00:50:06.94
with his fingers.
00:50:06.97\00:50:08.64
Now he cried out,
00:50:08.67\00:50:10.01
but nobody could hear him
00:50:10.04\00:50:11.51
because the
street was busy below
00:50:11.54\00:50:13.78
and there was
honks and noises and cars
00:50:13.81\00:50:17.55
and all kinds of stuff.
00:50:17.58\00:50:19.45
People were busy.
00:50:19.48\00:50:20.82
Nobody looked up in the dark.
00:50:20.85\00:50:22.32
Nobody saw the man
desperately clinging
00:50:22.35\00:50:24.99
from the edge of
the building stories up.
00:50:25.02\00:50:28.32
He cried out to God and said,
00:50:28.36\00:50:30.06
"God, please would You save me?
00:50:30.09\00:50:32.36
I'm about ready to die
when my fingers let go,
00:50:32.39\00:50:35.33
I'm about ready to die."
00:50:35.36\00:50:38.30
And he cried out,
00:50:38.33\00:50:39.67
"Please, God,"
00:50:39.70\00:50:41.04
but no miracle happened.
00:50:41.07\00:50:42.60
And nothing came to
save him or to help him.
00:50:42.64\00:50:45.77
And his fingers got numb,
and they started to relax.
00:50:45.81\00:50:48.61
And he held on with every piece
and ounce of strength he had.
00:50:48.64\00:50:52.91
And in spite of everything,
he couldn't hold anymore.
00:50:52.95\00:50:56.45
And so his fingers let go,
and he cried out with a scream.
00:50:56.48\00:51:01.22
And he fell.
00:51:01.26\00:51:02.79
But he fell just
a couple of inches,
00:51:02.82\00:51:05.89
because they're in the dark.
00:51:05.93\00:51:07.53
He didn't know but
there was a scaffold set up
00:51:07.56\00:51:10.57
by the side of the building.
00:51:10.60\00:51:12.93
You see, he was terrified,
00:51:12.97\00:51:14.40
thinking he was
going to fall to his death,
00:51:14.44\00:51:17.84
not knowing that the
whole time he was afraid,
00:51:17.87\00:51:20.18
the whole time
00:51:20.21\00:51:21.54
he was clinging desperately
to the edge of the building,
00:51:21.58\00:51:25.48
not knowing that
there was safety,
00:51:25.51\00:51:28.38
and there was
security right there.
00:51:28.42\00:51:29.75
All he had to do is
drop a couple inches
00:51:29.78\00:51:33.15
and he had been safe.
00:51:33.19\00:51:35.16
You see, as Christians,
00:51:35.19\00:51:36.52
we believe that our salvation
depends on our endurance.
00:51:36.56\00:51:39.63
We struggle, God, I'm afraid.
00:51:42.93\00:51:47.10
Somehow I can't get
out of what I am in,
00:51:47.14\00:51:50.37
my circumstances
feel overwhelming,
00:51:50.41\00:51:53.54
conscious of our own weakness,
for fearful or anxious,
00:51:53.58\00:51:58.68
we're unhappy,
00:51:58.71\00:52:00.48
when underneath are
the everlasting arms
00:52:00.52\00:52:04.99
of our faithful,
all powerful Savior.
00:52:05.02\00:52:09.59
The eternal God is your refuge
00:52:09.62\00:52:11.29
and underneath are
His everlasting arms.
00:52:11.33\00:52:14.63
He would thrust out
the enemy from before you
00:52:14.66\00:52:16.87
and say destroy.
00:52:16.90\00:52:18.93
What are you afraid of today?
00:52:18.97\00:52:21.07
Is it a long-standing
fear or deep-seated phobia?
00:52:21.10\00:52:24.01
Is fear of death or
of losing a loved one,
00:52:24.04\00:52:26.07
fear of health
or the lack of it,
00:52:26.11\00:52:28.14
fear of what other people
say or think or do to you,
00:52:28.18\00:52:31.48
fear of losing your salvation
00:52:31.51\00:52:32.98
or not having it
in the first place,
00:52:33.01\00:52:35.58
fear of the unknown, the future?
00:52:35.62\00:52:37.92
I just call them
the what ifs of life.
00:52:37.95\00:52:41.72
How do we handle that?
00:52:41.76\00:52:43.29
The Lord is our
light and our salvation.
00:52:43.32\00:52:50.07
We do not have to be afraid.
00:52:50.10\00:52:52.23
Listen as Tim ministers.
00:52:52.27\00:52:54.10
The Lord is my light
00:52:59.97\00:53:04.28
and my salvation
00:53:04.31\00:53:09.85
Whom shall I fear,
00:53:09.88\00:53:15.12
whom shall I fear?
00:53:15.16\00:53:20.83
The Lord is my light
00:53:20.86\00:53:25.33
and my salvation
00:53:25.37\00:53:31.51
Whom shall I fear,
00:53:31.54\00:53:36.28
whom shall I fear?
00:53:36.31\00:53:41.55
If God before us,
00:53:41.58\00:53:45.85
then who can be against us?
00:53:45.89\00:53:51.59
Who can be against us?
00:53:51.63\00:53:55.23
For He the Lord is with us
00:54:00.70\00:54:04.11
The Lord is my strength
00:54:21.06\00:54:25.83
and my redeemer
00:54:25.86\00:54:31.80
Whom shall I fear,
00:54:31.83\00:54:36.54
whom shall I fear?
00:54:36.57\00:54:40.98
Although I know
00:54:41.01\00:54:45.11
I'll walk through the valley
00:54:45.15\00:54:49.25
Oh I will fear no evil
00:54:49.28\00:54:52.65
For He the Lord is with me
00:54:58.86\00:55:04.53
We're grateful today
that the Lord is our light.
00:55:27.46\00:55:31.73
The Lord is our salvation.
00:55:31.76\00:55:34.36
How do we handle fear?
00:55:34.40\00:55:35.73
How do we deal
00:55:35.76\00:55:37.10
with those
circumstances in our lives
00:55:37.13\00:55:39.43
that we can't control
00:55:39.47\00:55:41.94
that we don't know
00:55:41.97\00:55:43.30
what is going to
happen in the future?
00:55:43.34\00:55:45.47
We focus on Jesus,
00:55:45.51\00:55:47.08
not a rigid focus,
not a difficult focus,
00:55:47.11\00:55:51.58
but we lean upon Him,
00:55:51.61\00:55:54.38
we lay as it were
our head in His lap,
00:55:54.42\00:55:57.99
knowing that He is our
daddy, and that He will help us.
00:55:58.02\00:56:02.96
We focus on others,
00:56:02.99\00:56:05.23
instead of focusing
on our own situation.
00:56:05.26\00:56:09.03
But we put our mind
and focus on someone else.
00:56:09.06\00:56:12.67
We focus on who we belong to.
00:56:12.70\00:56:16.71
The Lord created us
and He redeemed us and you,
00:56:16.74\00:56:21.41
you belong to Him.
00:56:21.44\00:56:23.04
We focus on fearing God
and recognizing who He is.
00:56:23.08\00:56:28.15
If we...
00:56:28.18\00:56:30.39
We don't have to be afraid
of other people if we fear God.
00:56:30.42\00:56:35.86
We focus on being chosen.
00:56:35.89\00:56:38.69
And knowing that
00:56:38.73\00:56:40.23
He's the one who has chosen us.
00:56:40.26\00:56:42.93
We focus on His presence
00:56:42.96\00:56:44.70
and knowing that
00:56:44.73\00:56:46.07
He walks with us
through anything.
00:56:46.10\00:56:50.01
We focus on His love,
00:56:50.04\00:56:52.71
knowing that His love
will cast out that fear.
00:56:52.74\00:56:58.08
The children of Israel
00:56:58.11\00:56:59.45
when they were
facing the Red Sea,
00:56:59.48\00:57:01.98
the army of the
Egyptians behind them
00:57:02.02\00:57:04.69
and the Red Sea
in front of them.
00:57:04.72\00:57:06.35
They're terrified,
not knowing what to do.
00:57:06.39\00:57:09.12
And Moses said to the
people, do not be afraid.
00:57:09.16\00:57:12.19
Stand still and see
the salvation of the Lord.
00:57:12.23\00:57:16.77
Do you want to see
the salvation of the Lord
00:57:16.80\00:57:18.43
in your life and in your heart?
00:57:18.47\00:57:20.84
God, we come before
You as Your children,
00:57:20.87\00:57:23.64
asking that
00:57:23.67\00:57:25.01
You would
deliver us from all fear,
00:57:25.04\00:57:27.08
and we thank You
in Jesus' name, amen.
00:57:27.11\00:57:30.11