Fear-what are you afraid of? #4

Have you ever been asked to lead something in service to Jesus? The fears set in if you are able to handle it or if you know your bible well enough or a million other excuses. What does God say about being a leader for Him and the fears we have? Well let's check it out:


Deuteronomy 31:8

8 And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

This verse is coming from the point where Moses is handing leadership over to Joshua to lead them into the promise land. When God leads you into a leading position He will be with you. Remember another name for Jesus is Immanuel which means "God with us".

If you recall in the bible there was a man who tired to come up with some excuses not to lead. He used excuses like...I don't have good speech, and what Am I to say, and what if they don't listen to me!!! This man was Moses! God answered all his pitiful excuses and Moses had faith and went to the Pharaoh of Egypt! May we have the faith of Moses and go where God says Go!

Moses complaint of speech is much like us...I don't know what to say...here is God's response to that:

Matthew 10:19

19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

God will gives you the Words you need to speak in all situations, now let me caution you here. You have a responsibility to know your bible by learning in Bible study, meditation, and prayer. There is no substitute for that and you are commanded in scripture to know the Word. God will provide and has already by giving us His Holy Word so do not neglect your studies!

So when we are are set in positions to lead on behalf of God...do not fear! God is with us and will provide! So whats stopping you???? Lead for Jesus!

Tom

Fear-what are you afraid of? #3

Today many seem to shrink back at those who are enemies of God. We run into folks who don't believe daily. They want to put us down or take our rights ways and in some places even hurt us for what we stand for! God has a Word for us about fearing our enemies:





Numbers 21:34



34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.”



Here we see Moses and Israel facing one of their many enemies. God says "Do not fear him"! Folks God is in control. Many, Many times in scripture God tells His followers not to fear the enemies of God! We are in the Hand of God. When we stand for God, no matter the outcome, you can be assured it is a demonstration of our faith and God honors the faithful! He always has and always will. Stephen comes to mind...check this out:



Acts 7:51-60



51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.



Stephen took a stand against the enemies of Jesus and was killed for his faith! Did God honor Stephen? Absolutely! Did you notice Jesus in heaven? He is usually sitting at the right hand of God but here He is standing in honor of His faithful servant Stephen's boldness and faithfulness for Him! Praise God!



When taking a stand against the enemies of God the outcome is left to the Lord, our job is not to fear and do what God has called us to do. Be a witness for Jesus!



Stand with boldness and have no fear brothers and sisters for we serve King Jesus!



Tom

Fear-what are you afraid of? #2

Moving on as we think about what we fear but more importantly what God says about what not to fear! Today we look what we are to do in times of testing:





Exodus 20:20

20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”



So what we are looking at here is Moses had just delivered the law to Israel and Moses is telling them they are being tested to be faithful to God by obeying Him and the law He has set before them. The same goes for us....we are not to be afraid as we are tested by the world to flee God's Word and live for self. It is a daily test that God allows us to go through. Testing comes from the devil in many forms usually where we are weakest so be prepared. Remember Job? He was tested to the fullest! Lost everything...family, fortune, friends! He was even accused of sin that was not in his life by his friends!



So when you are being tested by the devil or being tested to stay faithful to God's Word don not fear! You have the power of the Holy Spirit to over come! God is with you!



Galatians 5:16



16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.





Galatians 5:24-25

24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.



One other note: you see in the Exodus verse "His fear". That is (the fear of God) the only healthy fear for the believe and we will cover that later in our study.



Testing will come...do not fear!



Tom

Fear-what are you afraid of?

Fear...it seems we all have something we are afraid of. We are going to start a series on fear and what the bible says about fear. So sit back and let's see what God says about fear.



I googled the top 10 fears...while this list varied a little depending on which site you looked at here is what I found. See if any of these are on your list:



1. Flying

2. Public Speaking

3. Heights

4. The dark

5. Fear of intimacy

6. Death

7. Failure

8. Rejection

9. Spiders

10. Commitment



The order of some of these surprised me. I thought death would be at the top of the list! What exactly is fear? Here is how it is defined:



Fear: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, ect., whether the threat is real or imagined.



It has been said that the phrase "fear not" or "do not be afraid" is said 365 times in the bible, although this is not true it is said over 100 times in the KJV version of the bible. Said enough times to get the point!



We need to ask ourselves a critical question...why does a follower of Jesus fear?



Could it be it says much about our faith or trust in Jesus? Or could it be the devil just knows how to push our buttons to keep our focus off of God? Or maybe something else?



Well let's go to our guide book for life, the bible, and see what God says about fear!



1. When serving God what are we to fear?





Isaiah 41:8-10



8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,

Jacob whom I have chosen,

The descendants of Abraham My friend.

9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,

And called from its farthest regions,

And said to you,

‘You are My servant,

I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

10 Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’



God says when serving Him we are not to fear anything! This same kind of message from God is said many times to the servants of God. Abraham, David, Soloman, Daniel, and more are all told...fear not! God is with You! We have that same promise...God is with us! Hmmm where have I heard that before?



Matthew 1:23

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”



We have nothing to fear in this life! Jesus is with us and sent the helper (Holy Spirit) to be with us after He ascended back to heaven.



So think about this...if you have given your life to Jesus, then we are his servants and should be serving Him on a daily basis. God says to His servants not to fear because He is with us, will strengthen us, help us, and uphold us with His righteous right hand which is representing His power! I don't know about you but that's all I need to know! I am in God's hand!



So are you a follower of Jesus? Are you in service to your King? Then you having nothing to fear...God is in control!



Tom

Happy Birthday America! Let's turn back to God!

Psalm 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.





Oh what a blessing it is to live in the United States. As we celebrate another another birthday of this great nation let us take time to think about where we are at with God. If we are honest with ourselves we must say as nation we have turned our back on Him and are now reaping the consequences which will not get better until we repent and turn back to Him. When we purposely make sin ok, God will not stand back and smile upon us. Things like marriage, homosexuality, abortion, adultery, and the list goes on and on, as a nation theses sins and more are being accepted as ok. Not in God's eyes. His Word is clear on these issues. The only one who can change these things are you and I. We must stand and let our voices be heard. This nation was built on God's Word and for us to be the nation we once were, we have to get back to those principles!



2 Chronicles 7:14

14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.



So as we celebrate the birthday of the greatest country in the world, let's do some thinking and then act upon what we know is right!



God bless and have a great 4th!



Tom

Source of Salvation

Answer to the question of life is below, "How do I become right with God?"



Hebrews 5:9

9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,



Who was made perfect, died for our sins, and defeated death? Why Jesus of course! The only way for eternal salvation. The verse doesn't end there though. Jesus said we must put out faith and trust in Him for what He has done, give Him our life, follow Him, and obey His commandments. Is this you? It takes more than empty words, and a life lived for self. That's not what Tom says but what the bible says.



Too many want to walk the fence...say the believe in Jesus but their life says different. Jesus wants a relationship with us not an occasional visit. When we truly surrender our life to Him it is obvious. For those who have, you have the abundant life Jesus promised! For those who have not sadly these words are in your future if you don't surrender your life to Jesus....





Matthew 7:21-23

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’



Jesus is our source of eternal salvation.....give Him your life and obey His Word! It truly is the abundant life both here and in heaven!



Tom

What are you striving for?

That may be a tough question to honestly answer. Most would jump right in and say serving God or something like that, at least those who claim to be followers of Jesus. Perhaps we can just look at a few things in our lives and get a pretty good picture of what we are striving after. Look at their facebook page, look at what they spend their time doing, what do they talk about most, where do they spend most of their time??? When we look at these things do they add up to striving after God or striving after things of this world? Look at these verses:



Hebrews 4:11-13

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.



Hmmmm, God says strive to enter His rest, or heaven. Now we know our faith rests in Jesus Christ alone, He is the only way to heaven. When we truly follow Jesus though our life will shout I AM LIVING FOR AND SERVING JESUS TIL I DIE! That is striving to enter His rest. If we are failing to do that we are disobedient.



The next part of the verse (12) is letting us know if we are in the Word it will let us know if we are following Jesus as He desires because the Word will convict (pierce) us deeply when are lives are not in line with what God expects from His followers. I am so glad for the Word, when I am in right relationship to God, life is being lived to the fullest and there is no greater joy or happiness than that! Nothing in this world can even come close to comparison!



Then verse 13 reminds us of our all-knowing, all-seeing God. We can't hid our disobedience. One day we will all stand before Him, to be judged. Are you ready? Are you covered by the blood of Jesus? Are you striving to enter His rest, heaven?



Let's think about what God has said today! May it burn within our hearts.



Tom