Life

Facing Your Fears

Life, Message / By /

Think back on what was your earliest fear in life. I remember being afraid to let my leg hang off my bed at night, because I wasn’t sure what might lurk underneath. If I had to get out of my bed at night, I leaped off, so whatever was underneath couldn’t get a hold of me.

As we grow our fears change. Young people have fears about not doing well in school or sports. They may fear not being popular or having the right friends. As adults, we could take most of this morning listing the various kinds of things that we may be afraid of. Take a look at the news and all kinds of fearful questions are raised in our minds.

Is the recession over or will it get worse? Is my job secure? Are my savings safe? Will my taxes go up soon? What about our national debt? Will I be able to put my children through college? What will happen if Iran gets nuclear weapons? Are we safe from terrorism? What about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Will my family get the swine flu? What is going to happen with health insurance in this country? And we could go on and on.

God wants you to face your fears and move from being fearful to being fearless. Fearless is the opposite of fearful. Being fearful comes naturally. Being fearless comes from God. As we’ll see today, Jesus was fearless, he was never afraid. So it makes sense that the most common command of Jesus in the Gospels was to not fear or not be afraid.

Matthew 10:28 (NIV) Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

God wants to deliver you from fear of man and the things on this earth. As believers, we are to fear God alone. When you fear God you won’t fear anything else. If you don’t fear God, you will fear everything else. Fear and it’s smaller cousin worry, are very detrimental to our lives. Fear is the major component to stress, which can wreak havoc on your health. Fear tends to paralyze people into inaction, they’re not able to accomplish the things God has for them to do. Fear makes it hard for you to think and make decisions. God wants you to be fearless and courageous.

Joshua 1:9 (NIV) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Courage and strength and the opposite of being terrified and discouraged. As we look at a story from the life of Jesus and His disciples, I pray that God will help each one of us move from fearful to fearless.

Listen to my November 1, 2009 message “Facing Your Fears” (message notes).

The Joy of Generosity

Bible, Life, Message / By /

Times are tough right now for many people. Why? Because in a nutshell, our country as a whole has not been following biblical principles of finance. Now is a very good time for every one of us to understand how God desires us to handle our money. So that, we can be blessed and be a blessing to others.

With respect to money, the Bible speaks of two kinds of people. The first kind of person I want to talk about today is a stingy person. A stingy person is someone who could be said to be a penny-pincher. A stingy person wants to keep as much money as he can and spend or give away as little as possible. Some people think that being stingy is a virtue. Let’s see what God’s Word says.

Proverbs 28:22 (NIV) A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him.

God’s Word tells us that the root of stinginess is the desire to get rich. A stingy person depends on money for his security. Therefore a stingy person never has enough money. A stingy person is self-centered and only thinks about his own needs. God’s Word also tells us that the result of stinginess is not riches, but poverty. In other words, the stingy person gets the exact opposite of what he wants. He wants riches and he receives his worst fear, poverty.

What the opposite of a stingy person? The opposite is a generous person. A generous person thinks about other people and gives freely to others.

Proverbs 11:24-25 (NIV) One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

In these verses, God’s Word contrasts a stingy and a generous person. The stingy person again comes to poverty, but the generous person gains even as he gives and ends in prosperity.

Listen to my September 20, 2009 message “The Joy of Generosity” (message notes).

A Practical Plan for Generous Giving

Bible, Life, Message / By /

God’s Word, the Bible, is our guide book for life. God’s Word is the key that unlocks the secret of a great life.

Joshua 1:8 (NIV) Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

This was a promise that God made to Joshua and applies to each one of us as well. Prosperity and success in God’s eyes does not happen automatically. God lists three conditions for success in life.

  1. Discuss the Word of God – talk about it with your family, at your Life Group, with your friends.
  2. Meditate on God’s Word day and night – to meditate is to think over the meaning and application of the Bible to your life.
  3. Why should you discuss and think about God’s Word? So that you are careful to do everything written it.

Following God’s plan for life leads to prosperity and success in your life.

2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV) You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

What you think “rich” means and what the Bible means by “rich” may well be different. To be made rich in every way is to have enough resources of all kinds to meet your own needs and have enough to be a generous giver. Generous givers produce the result of thanksgiving to God from those who are blessed through their giving.

Listen to my September 13, 2009 message “A Practical Plan for Generous Giving” (message notes).

How To Get Your Life Back On Track

God, Life, Message / By /

The Bible tells us that God has marked out a path or track that each person should follow in life. Following God’s path for your life is the best possible way that you can life your life. Unfortunately, a lot of people have never found God’s path for their life or they have left God’s path. The writer of Hebrews, likens our journey through life as a race.

Hebrews 12:1 (NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

According to this verse, there are things that can hinder you in the race of life. There is sin than can entangle you and get your life totally off track. God has given each person a sense of whether their life is on track with Him or not. However, if you are off God’s track long enough, your sense of right and wrong may be permanently warped. God’s Word provides the standard to determine whether you are on track with God or not.

How can you get your life back on track? The answer is through confession and commitment. When God convicts you of sin in your life, it is a good thing. The proper response is to confess that sin to God and make a commitment with God’s help to stay on track. Biblical repentance involves a turning away from sin through confession and a turning toward God through commitment. God is in the life change business, but you’ve got to cooperate with Him in order to see your life get back on track.

All too often, people pray and ask for God to change their dire circumstances, when those very circumstances are the direct result of sin in their lives. God won’t answer those prayers until there is confession and commitment. That’s what it takes to get your life back on track.

Listen to my July 26, 2009 message “Confession and Commitment” based on Nehemiah 9-10 (message notes).

How To Face Adversity

Life, Message / By /

A believer will face all kinds of adversity as they seek to follow Jesus Christ. For some, this comes as a rude shock. They thought that God was going to solve all their problems and give them the easy life. Believers who do not develop deep roots in God do not last through the difficulties that God allows into their lives.

Mark 4:17 (NIV) But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

The adversity that comes may be external trouble or persecution. This type of adversity can discourage you and cause you to turn your back on God. Other types of adversity may be more deceptive in luring you away from God.

Mark 4:19 (NIV) but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

The types of adversity that Jesus mentions in this verse are basically distractions from God’s plan for your life. Worry is a distraction. Money and any other kind of desire for things that are wrong will lead you away from God’s purpose for your life. The end result is that you do not produce any fruit for God, which proves your belief was not real in the first place. All temptation begins with a distraction away from God’s plan for your life.

What is the answer to facing adversity and it’s distractions? The answer is to keep your eyes on Jesus and His plan for your life. A believer is fundamentally a follower of Jesus Christ. The phrase “follower of Jesus” has become a cliche with little meaning for many. However, a follower of Jesus Christ is someone who doesn’t let themselves become distracted by adversity. Whether the adversity is external trouble or internal temptations, a true believer will keep their eyes on Jesus and refuse to be distracted.

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus faced adversity by keeping His eyes fixed on God’s plan for His life and fulfilled that plan completely. As you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, He will strengthen you to accomplish the purpose you were created for.

Listen to my July 12, 2009 message “Facing Intimidation” based on Nehemiah 6, to learn how to face adversity in your life (message notes).

Overcoming Opposition When Following Jesus

God, Life, Message / By /

Whenever anyone makes a decision to follow Jesus and God’s plan for their life, there will be opposition. A lot of people are surprised and dismayed when following God turns out not to be the easy road they thought it was going to be. In fact, the Bible promises that when you follow Jesus, there is going to be opposition.

2 Timothy 3:12 (NIV) In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Notice that persecution or opposition happens to those who strive to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. Opposition is not the consequences of wrong things that you have done. If you run a red light and get a ticket, that is not persecution, it is simply reaping what you have sown. Most of the negative circumstances in believers lives in America are caused simply by failing to follow biblical principles. However, even if you are living a godly life, there will be opposition.

Who is behind the opposition? The being behind the opposition to believers carrying out God’s plan for their lives is Satan. Now, I realize that many people do not believe that Satan is a real being, but simply a symbol of evil. Nevertheless, the Bible clearly teaches that Satan is alive and well and out to destroy you and your family. Those who ignore or don’t believe in Satan’s reality or power are the ones who are most easily overtaken by him.

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

So, if you’re a believer, you’ve got a prowling enemy looking to destroy you and your family. In fact, Satan is looking to destroy everyone, not just believers.  However, believers are his special target, since not only are you not going to join him in hell, but as a believer you are committed to rescuing others from his clutches.

So, how to overcome Satan’s opposition in your life? Be self-controlled. To be self-controlled is to basically keep your life under God’s control. One essential part of self-control is seeking God’s protection in prayer. Secondly, you need to be alert to what Satan is trying to do to destroy you and your family. Don’t compromise in any area of your life. Stay away from bad influences, whether people or various media. Pour yourself in living 100% for Jesus Christ, not just on Sunday, but everyday of your life.

Listen to my June 28, 2009 message “Overcoming Opposition” based on Nehemiah 4, to learn principles on overcoming Satan’s attacks in your own life (message notes).

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