Fears
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Welcome to Insights. This is Pastor John
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and today we're going to talk about
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fears
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and spec specifically we're going to
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talk about overcoming fear through faith
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in God. Um let's pray. Heavenly Father,
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we thank you for today. We thank you for
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your word. Lord, we thank you for giving
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us
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for giving us faith and not a spirit of
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fear. and help us Lord to remember that
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with you all things are possible. In
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Jesus name we pray. Amen. So Isaiah
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41:10 it says, "Fear thou not, for I am
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with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
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God. I will strengthen thee. Yay, I will
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help thee. Yay, I will uphold thee with
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the right hand of my righteousness."
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Everyone faces fear. We face the fear of
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unknown, the fear of failure, fear of
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sickness, losing control.
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And what I I want you to think about a
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moment when fear gripped your heart so
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tightly that it's hard to breathe. We
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call that anxiety today. And we've all
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been there. Yet,
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while fear is universal,
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God offers a universal cure,
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his presence. And we're going to look at
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that today. We're going to look at how
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being in the presence of God
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is the antidote of fear. And it's not by
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the courage of human strength, but faith
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in a God who never leaves us. You know,
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Jesus said, "I'll never leave you or
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forsake you." And we have to keep that
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in mind. If God can get you to it, he
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can get you through it. And
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if we believe that, then we can overcome
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fear.
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At the writing of this,
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um Isaiah spoke to Israel and they were
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in a national crisis. They were uh they
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were facing exile uncertainty wondering
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if God had abandoned them and their
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enemies were powerful. The Assyrians had
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come and they were going to destroy
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them. Yet in that moment when the future
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looked so bleak, God speaks through
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Isaiah words of comfort and strength.
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The first thing he says, "Fear thou not,
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for I am with thee." This is not a
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shallow encouragement.
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It's a divine promise.
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God reminded his people that his
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covenant love would sustain them even
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through judgment and restoration.
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Just as Israel stood trembling before an
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uncertain fi future, many of us face
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modern exiles
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uh seasons of loss, illness, or fear of
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the unknown. But the same God who spoke
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through Isaiah still whispers today, "I
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am with you. I've faced these types of
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things in the past. I know I know what
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it's like to lose everything you have.
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And you know there's uh there is a
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bright and shining light or as we would
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call it a silver lining around that
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cloud
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which is this that even when things were
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so
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stressful and I was in a situation that
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I had never been in before in my life, I
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found out in the middle of that that God
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was right there with me. And it gave me
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courage. It gave me hope that if I kept
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going forward, if I trusted God more
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than what I could see
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that I would get through it and I did.
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So fear is it's a powerful emotion and
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it can paralyze you. Fear causes us to
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have a fight orflight reaction. And it's
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important that we understand that that
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fight is spiritual. It's not a physical
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battle. It's a spiritual battle. It's
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the enemy trying to convince you that
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you have no hope. And uh it's one of his
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greatest weapons. And if we look to the
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word of where it says not to be afraid,
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then we begin to understand that fear
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doesn't have power over us. Um, I was
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looking this up and in the King James
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version, the word fear appears over 500
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times
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and the phrases fear not and be not
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afraid occurred about a hund over a
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hundred times.
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And what is it that God's trying to tell
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us is that every single
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thing that we do,
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God is with us. He will never leave us.
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He'll never forsake us. It reminds me of
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when Jesus is asleep in the front of the
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boat. He tells the disciples to go to
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the other side. He lays down the front
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of the boat and he goes to sleep and a
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storm comes up and what is and the
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disciples are full of fear. They're
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afraid that the that this storm is going
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to sink the boat they're on. And they're
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afraid and they wake Jesus up and said,
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"Master, aren't you concerned about us?
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are, don't you care about us? And he
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gets up and he rebukes the wind and then
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he chides them. In other words, he he
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gets onto them for their lack of faith.
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The God of the universe is asleep in the
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front of the boat and they're afraid
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that they're going to drown and they're
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with God. And that that's
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a fear we all face. God is with us. Um
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Paul said he that is within you is
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greater than he that is in the world. He
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also said that the same spirit that
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raised Christ from the dead resides in
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you. So we have to look to what God's
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word says to be able to overcome the
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fear that can conquer us and cause us to
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to to go into places uh caused by fear.
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Isaiah 41:10
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it says when God says fear thou not for
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I am with thee he anchors his command in
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his presence. Fear thrives in isolation
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but fades in the light of divine
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companionship. The assurance that God is
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with us not distant not indifferent. It
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changes everything. The presence of God
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transforms
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dark valleys into places of peace.
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Um, think about a child walking through
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a dark hallway holding their parents
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hand. The darkness remains, but the fear
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disappears because of who is holding
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their hand. And God is holding our hand.
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When fear whispers that you're alone,
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uh, respond with faith that says, "God
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is with me." Practice awareness of his
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presence daily in prayer, worship, and
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scripture. The presence of God is the
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greatest antidote to fear. If we reach
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out and we remember that God is with us.
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If God is for us, who could be against
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us?
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And then he says, "I will strengthen
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thee. Yay, I will help thee. Yay, I will
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uphold thee with the right hand of my
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righteousness."
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Fear often reminds us of our weaknesses.
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But God reminds us of his strength. His
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right hand of righteousness symbolizes
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authority, victory, and support.
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When we feel overwhelmed, God becomes
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our strength.
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Just think about this. David is facing
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Goliath, and he didn't rely on his own
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might, but on God's power. Though
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physically small, David's faith in God's
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strength enabled him to triumph. When
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you fa when you're facing overwhelming
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challenges, lean on God's power. Pray,
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"Lord, I am weak, but you are strong."
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Let scripture inspire you and in and
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sustain you. Faith transfers our focus
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from our inability to God's unlimited
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ability.
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Uh when David was facing the Goliath,
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what he said to Goliath was an absolute
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statement of faith. He says, "You come
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to me um in the name of your armies, but
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I come to you in the name of the Lord."
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And he didn't run away. He got his
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stones and he ran towards Goliath.
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So we have to run towards fear with our
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confidence in God that we're going to
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overcome because he made us overcomers.
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God promises to give us peace even in
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the middle of in uncertainty. It says uh
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2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not
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given us the spirit of fear, but of
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power and of love and of a sound mind."
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the the power of fear is to make you
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doubt.
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And it's goes all the way back. It's the
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very thing that Satan used against Adam
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and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He got
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Eve to doubt what God said and sin came
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into the world through Adam.
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Fear often comes up when we forget God's
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promises.
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Paul reminds Timothy that the spirit God
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gives us did not bring fear but power,
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love, and a sound mind. God promises
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build confidence that he is in control.
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When Peter stepped out of the boat and
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he walked on water while he focused on
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Jesus, the moment he looked at the
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storm, he sank because fear entered into
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his mind
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and his focus shifted from Jesus to the
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storm.
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So to overcome fear, we need to fix our
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eyes on God's promises, not our
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problems. Speak them out loud. Write
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them down. Meditate upon them. That's
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why it says meditate upon the word day
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and night that you should have good
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success.
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Why? Because when you replace your
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thoughts with God's thoughts, you begin
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to think the way God thinks. Peace comes
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when our hearts rest in the promises of
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God rather than the pressures around us.
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So, and I'm just going to give you a few
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references where he talks about
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overcoming fear through faith. Uh,
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Psalms 23 and4, Joshua 1-9, John 14:27,
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Romans 8 and 15, Psalms 27-1, Matthew
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14:27, and Philippians 4:6 and 7. So,
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fear loses its grip when faith takes its
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place. So whatever you're facing,
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sickness, uncertainty, financial
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pressures, or emotional battles,
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remember this. God is with you. God is
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for you, and God is able. And the
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presence of fear does not mean the
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absence of faith, but faith must speak
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louder. Choose to trust in his presence.
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Rely on his strength, and rest in his
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promises, and let your heart be clear. I
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will not fear for my God is with me. You
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know, it's important that we keep our
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our our
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mental focus
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on what God's word says, not what we can
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see. We walk by faith and not by sight.
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So we and Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith
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is the substance of things hoped for and
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the evidence of things not seen." We
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have to trust God more than what we can
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see.
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So I I want the peace of God which
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passes all understanding to guard your
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heart and mind through Christ Jesus. I
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want his presence to go before you and
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his power to sustain you and his
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promises to calm every fear within you.
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Walk in faith, live in courage, and know
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that wherever you go, God is with you.
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And it's important that your trust of
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what God's word says
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is greater than what you can see. And if
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you can learn to do that, you can begin
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to walk in faith and walk in places that
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you never thought were possible.
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Um, I've been in situations where I had
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no idea how I was going to change uh the
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situation I was in, how I was going to
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get out of that situation, how I was
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going to be able to overcome the
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situation, which seemed completely and
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totally uh unchangeable.
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And yet through faith, it changed. I
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found out just how great God was.
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So I want to encourage you that no
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matter what you're feeling, no matter
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what you're facing, no matter how
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difficult it may seem, that God's power,
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his hand is not short, he still has the
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power to overcome anything you're
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facing. And uh I want you to take
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comfort in the thought and the process
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that with God all things are possible
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and you don't have to fear the situation
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you're in if by faith you can trust that
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God will get you to the other side. So
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Father, thank you for being our strength
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when we are afraid. Teach us to walk by
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faith and not by sight. When fear tries
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to overwhelm us, remind us of your
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constant presence and unfailing love.
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Fill our hearts with your peace and
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courage through the Holy Spirit in Jesus
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mighty name. Amen. So remember, you're
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more than conquerors through Christ
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Jesus. Fear has no power over you unless
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you give it power. It's up to you. It's
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your choice. Um
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remember, you're not walking this alone.
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You're not by yourself. God has a plan.
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We may not be able to see it right now,
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but trust him. Romans 8 and 28 says,
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"For all things work together for good
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to them that love the Lord and are the
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called according to his purposes." Trust
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him. Trust in that. Trust that God will
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never leave you or forsake you. And you
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will find yourself changing your
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situation.
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We'll see you next week. You guys have a
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blessed

