Fear and Worry – Your Enemies

“And He laid His right hand upon me, saying to me, Do not fear, I am the First and the Last, (Revelation 1:17)

Fear and Worry are paralyzing emotions that restricts normal feelings of love, confidence, and well-being.  People in the Bible have been instructed over and over again not to fear and not to worry. Jesus speaks to you today through His precious words: “Therefore I say to you, Do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25). Paul instructs Christians by telling us: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

About nine million Americans are receiving some type of medical treatment as a result of excessive worry and fear.  It has been reported that one out of every twenty Americans will be confined to a hospital because worry and fear have developed into some type of emotional illness.  The words “fear not” and similar exhortations are repeated over and over again in both the Old and New Testaments.

These reminders from God are not condemnation of you.  There are many reasons people have been captured by fear and worry.  God wants you to give Him an opportunity to help you get free of these two enemies.  

There are real reasons people are controlled by fear and worry.  Part of it is a predisposition or a inherited temperament.  Some people have had childhood experiences which may have induced fear.  This would include overprotection, domination by others, disapproval, a traumatic experience, a negative thinking pattern, and a lack of faith.  I am not talking about the normal fear or apprehension we feel when we are doing something for the first time. 

 But if your fear keeps you from doing what you should, or if the fear absorbs your thoughts for a long period of time, it is not healthy and it is something you need to begin to change.

Christians, especially, can get fear and worry under control.  First of all, you have to believe that you can. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  “Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

Don’t justify your fears and say “I can’t help it!”  Fear and worry are sins because they are the opposite of faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).  Confess your worries and fears to God as sin and remember this verse: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Ask God to take away the habits of fear and worry.  It is the power of the Holy Spirit that will deliver you from these enemies.  “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13).  

If you ask anything of Him that is in His will He will answer it, if you will turn them over to Him.

“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).  “Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there”.  “Therefore be humbled under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety onto Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Thank God verbally as an act of faith that he is going to take care of all your worries and fears.  “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Finally Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!  the steps you have just read and heard.  The habits of fear and worrying will not vanish immediately.  But with God’s help, you can have the victory over these enemies.  Each time you become fearful or find yourself worrying, face it as sin and a lack of faith, ask forgiveness, ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, and thank Him by faith that you will overcome.

“BEING A SUCCESSFUL CHRISTIAN”

by Pastor Mark Taylor

(Matthew 11:29)

In any area of our lives there are certain principles that can make us successful and happy.  Success is not just something we hope for or that is randomly given to us.  We have to move toward a goal to become better if we do become better.  Below are just a few things we can do in our Christian life to make us successful.

 Learning more about our Lord will help us to live a successful Christian life.  Jesus said: “Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls” (Matthew 11:29).  Our minds are very important to God.  He wants you and I to develop them to be used for His service. “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).  God wants you to be wise and to make good decisions.  One of the first things in studying is to make sure you can use the knowledge that God gives you to make right decisions.  That is called wisdom.  You can get that wisdom from God as you study.  “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).  Your knowledge and wisdom are given to you to help others. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). When you make decisions ask God to give you the mind of Christ in your decision. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).  If you think like the Lord, you will be successful.

 “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.  Jesus gave us this advice: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34).  You can only live today.  You cannot change what has happen in the past, and you cannot know what is going to happen tomorrow.

“Redeeming the Time”.  The Bible tells us: “See then that you conduct your life by considering all the consequences and possible outcomes (circumspectly), not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).  We have more modern “time saving” inventions like the computer, but we still seem to have less time to accomplish the things we want to do.  Much of our time is wasted watching TV, DVDs, and playing computer games.  We still have as much time as other people.  We have 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

“Doing Your Best”.   No matter how big or small the task is, we should seek to do it with our best ability: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).  If we are going to be a successful Christian, we need to learn how to go the extra mile.  This includes doing our best at our place of employment, in our relationships with others, and using our gifts in service to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Rest”.  Jesus said: “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  Jesus values both spiritual and physical rest.  “And He said to them, Come aside into a deserted place and rest a little. For there were many coming and going, and they had no opportunity even to eat” (Mark 6:31).  Even God rested: “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He had rested from all His work which God created to make” (Genesis 2:2-3).  We are made in God’s image and you need times of rest.  You cannot be successful if you are physically and mentally tired.

Today, I would encourage all of us to be successful Christians.  We do not have to be discouraged and live in defeat.  We have the power of the Holy Spirit to lift us above the world and all its problems.  The Bible says: “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

The greatest step toward success is to first of all know that you are a Christian.  Make sure you have more than just a “head knowledge” of the Lord Jesus Christ.  "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.  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?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (Matthew 7:21-23).  Make sure you faith is real. “Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23).