Do Not Yield to Fear

“Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.” -Zig Ziglar

“It’s not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the string man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while doing greatly. So that his place will never be with those cold timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

John Ortberg, author of THE LIFE YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED shares the story of a birthday gift his wife arranged for him in a hot air balloon. As the balloon ascended over the Canejo Valley overlooking canyons and the Pacific Ocean, he experienced something that was unanticipated. FEAR!!! With no parachute or escape route other than to leap, he knew there was no way out but to trust the operator of this floating balloon. HE thought he should get to know the young lad piloting the balloon and asked him how long he had been flying. Much to his surprise, he knew he was in trouble when the first words out of his mouth was….dude. He then proceeded to comfort John and his wife by saying, “if things get a little choppy on the way down, don’t be surprised. I’ve never flown this particular balloon before, and I’m not sure how it’s going to handle the descent.” His wife looked at him and said, “You mean to tell me we are several thousand feet in the air with an unemployed surfer who started flying hot-air balloons because he got drunk, crashed a pickup, injured his brother, and never been in this balloon before and doesn’t know how to get it down?”

Sometimes we have to starve the fears that scream the loudest and we just go for it. One thing I know is once we get a revelation of Jesus, fear doesn’t have a stronghold anymore. Fear of the known and the unknown.

Isaiah 41:10 The Passion Translation
“10 Do not yield to fear, for I am always near. Never turn your gaze from me, for I am your faithful God. I will infuse you with my strength and help you in every situation.
I will hold you firmly with my victorious right hand.”
John 1:1-16 Joshua Installed as Leader
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”
How can God tell him not to fear when the people he is leading have only known the wilderness and not warfare. Just because you feel afraid doesn’t mean you have to be afraid. Just because you have fear doesn’t mean fear has to have you!
Fear, Anxiety, discouragement, uncertainty, misery, apprehension, worry, perturbation (mental uneasiness) has all permeated our brains in the last 16 months to the point that our faith in Christianity is being compromised because we put more faith in CNN than Christ!!

The larger the calling is, the greater the courage is required to complete it.
What is the main point today? Fight your fear not your foes! Your enemy is not what’s in front of you, those are just opportunities disguised as obstacles. Your real enemy is not what you see, it is what you can’t see. Your enemy is what is in you! FEAR! You need to fight your fear and feed your faith!
Clichés don’t comfort me. Correction doesn’t give me courage. What we need is a revelation of greater is he (the Conqueror) that is in me.
Christianity works best in a crisis! It is demonstrated the greatest when you are at a crossroads!
Speaking of crossroads, the church is at one right now. We are all in or all out. Mediocrity in the Bible is called lukewarm. I am preparing for the endtime global harvest. I don’t have time to feed into fear. I have a ferocious faith that I am feeding.

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties it of its strength.”  Corrie Ten Boom

Luke 12:32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
“Fear not or a version of it is found 365 x’s in the bible.  God placed one there for every day of the year!
CHAT: It is time to step up and step out!!

One of my most favorite stories in the Bible (Matthew 14: 22-33) addressing fear is when Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water. I want to address this question,

“What goes on in the mind of a water walker?”

What is it going to take for you to step out of the boat? What will it take for you to forfeit and forget fear?
What do you see from your boat?

The Bible says the boat was tormented by waves of hurricane strength. The disciples wished the sides were higher because I’m sure they all thought this boat was about to become the first convertible submarine of the day! Waves were crashing into the boat and then all of a sudden at 3:00 AM here comes Jesus walking on the water! My question is,” Uh..why was Jesus walking on the water in a storm at 3:00 AM, maybe he could not sleep?”

The disciples didn’t even recognize him and when your life is being tormented by the waves of circumstance it takes eyes of faith to look through the disappointment, doubt and despair.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

Peter yells out, “If it’s you Jesus then call me out to you” Granted Peter could have just jumped out, but this had everything to do with obedience. I have often said, “Obedience always paves the way for the miraculous”
You see water walkers discern between faith and fear. What will it take to have an impressionable impact on the city? A great deal of water walking!!!

The key to being a water walker is getting out of the boat!! To appreciate this story you must put yourself in the boat. The only thing preventing you from sinking like a rock is a few pieces of wood glued and nailed together. The wind, the rain, the darkness, the isolation and…fear were all around you. It would be one thing to do it when it was calm and sunny but not in these conditions.

If you are going to leave a legacy and have someone write a book about you and your exploits, you must leave the boat of your fears! It doesn’t matter what the gale force winds of life are doing. It doesn’t matter what the rain of debt is. It doesn’t matter how fearful you are. When someone is calling you out and offering you a hand, you must go… or drown in your fear and sink in your sorrow. I’m telling all of you that there is more to life than floating in a boat! You were created for something more than avoiding failure and just getting by. God put something inside all of you that makes you want to walk on water simply because few have ever done it and lived to tell about it.

Your boat is whatever represents safety and security. Your boat is whatever you are tempted to put your trust in. Do you want to know what your boat is?
YOUR FEAR WILL TELL YOU!!
Ask yourself, “what is it that produces fear in me-especially when I think of leaving it behind and stepping out in faith
Water Walkers Expect Problems and deal with them without looking back!!

Peter steps out of the boat, steps into the water and much to everyone’s surprise and amazement, starts walking! Suddenly for the first time ever a human being is walking on the water to Jesus. Then the unthinkable happens. Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and looks at the waves, the wind and the darkness. He begins to sink. He didn’t sink though because Jesus extended his hand to prevent that.

If you listen to your friends, relatives, comrads, and all the haters then you will begin to sink in a sea of faithless friends who all have done the same thing. No faith, no walk, no trust, no goal, no life and no determination. The bottom line is, there is no guarantee that life in a floating boat will be any better or more secure.

Eileen Guder wrote,

“You can live on bland food so as to avoid an ulcer, drink no tea, coke or caffeine in the name of health, go to bed early, stay away from the night life, avoid all controversial subjects, mind you own business, avoid people’s problems, spend money only on necessities and save all you can…and still break your neck in a bathtub!”
Live life-Take Risks that challenge your comfort. Dare to color outside the lines. Know your limits-then ignore them. GO for it.

Larry Laudan has spent the last 10 years studying Risk-Management. He says our society is so fear driven that we suffer from risk-lock. A condition like grid-lock which leaves us unable to do anything or go anywhere.

Water walkers accept fear as the place of growth and development.

The deep truth about water walkers is that even though you may conquer one fear, there will always be another. It’s about locking arms through thick and thin, embracing the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
It’s about rejoicing through the tears of sorrow and the tears of joy. It’s about forgiving the ones who hurt you, offend you or misinterpret you. It’s about bonding, loving and genuinely caring for those you call your friends.

Susan Jeffers writes, “ The fear will never go away, as long as I continue to grow.”

So I’m saying that Fear and Growth go and grow together.

John Ortberg says, “Failure doesn’t shape you; the way you respond to failure shapes you.” The point is, whether Peter sank or water-walked depended on if he focused on the storm or Jesus. If you’re sinking in life it’s because you focused on you not Jesus.

Sir Edmund Hillary made several attempts at climbing Mount Everest before he finally succeeded. After one attempt he stood at the base of the mountain and shook his fist at it. “I’ll defeat you yet! Because you are as big as you’re going to get-but I’m still growing!”
Every time he climbed , he failed. Every time he failed, he learned. And every time he learned he grew and tried again. And one day he didn’t fail again!!

In closing, my question to you is how much longer are you going to stay in your boat?

For some, how much longer are you going to cling to the side of your boat before you let go?

I am asking everyone who hears this message to make a pledge for 2021 and “Walk on the Water with me”. Do not yield to fear because Jesus is always near

I won’t spend time in the hypothetical and the hysterical at the expense of the supernatural.
Hard to be strategic when you’re scared. It is hard to move forward when you’re looking back. You can’t see the future when you’re looking down at your feet

FEAR is not from God!!! God did not give you a spirit of fear.
God never uses fear as a tool to shape, chisel or motivate people to engage His purpose. He is not the manipulator but the motivator.
Where is it from? The Devil

PK “Never make a life decision based on a crisis.” Never make the mistake of confusing fact with fear. Example: If I tell you that Covid will now kill 100% of the people. Well I instilled a misconception of fear that you now interpret as fact. Now you freak out and run for the hills and isolate yourself because you assumed the truth without evidence. The point is many people are making life altering decisions based on fear.

How do I know if it is a spirit of fear?  What is it rooted in? In both Joshua and Peter’s Story we see how the devil does 3 things.  Accusation, Deception, Temptation

1. Shame based fear:   Accusation (Accuser)
Genesis 3:9-10 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Who told you that? Sin will always accuse you while Jesus will acquit you.
Poor concept of God … enemies in your mind!    Punitive view instead of restorative
If you lack confidence before God, you are being pressured by a spirit of fear
Sin consciousness rather than grace consciousness .
If you have anything from your past that creeps up on you and accuses you and throws your past in your face, it is not God!
He is not your accuser, he is your advocate … Constantly standing in the gap for you before the Father. It’s not that he forgets but he chooses not to dangle them to make you obey
Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.”
How do I know that I do not have a fear-based theology that’s crippling my life? When you go to God in confidence.

2. Ignorance Based Fear:  (Deception) False Evidence Appearing Real
Deceived …
Wrong focus! listening to the wrong voices
Watch too many horror movies, demonic based movies … opened a door to fear!!!   Exposing yourself to wrong stuff.
Proverbs 29:25  “The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.”
Quit being an approval addict … God loves you … he approves you!!!
Quit being so insecure about yourself; Stop seeking others approval and acceptance
Some people are addicted to approval.

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,”
1 Corinthians 1:30 “For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. And now he is our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption.”

3. Fatigue Based Fear:   (Temptation … trial)
Worn out from seeming constant attack; trust the Lord, don’t give into fear.
Luke 4:13 “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” The devil will do everything he can to wear you down.

Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”    Small “s” spirit.   Not Holy Spirit. You haven’t been given a spirit of cowardice or one that’s timid. You’re born-again spirit is one full of power with a great revelation of love and a sound mind. Your spirit is in union with God … Strong Spirit.
Proverbs 18:14 (AMPC) “The strong spirit of a man sustains him in bodily pain or trouble, but a weak and broken spirit who can raise up or bear?”

Qualities Of God Given Spirit:
1. POWER — Dunamis Power … inherent mighty power.
2. LOVE — Agape … the God kind of self- sacrificial love.
1 John 4:18 “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
3. SOUND MIND —  compound word … “Sozo”  Saved whole peace  Full Understanding!
1 Corinthians 2:16  “But we have the mind of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 13:5 Love holds no record of wrong. The knowledge and revelation of Gods love eradicates Satans stronghold of fear over you.

TIMOTHY —  A God Given Spirit That Enables You To Do Two Things:
Help Stir Up, Fan into flame the gift that is in you!!!
There is a deposit of God in you that will empower you for success … something is in your hand  …. there is a passion a vision he has placed in your heart!!!
Proclaim the message … proclaim … guard this message!!!
Romans 1:16-17  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Don’t be afraid! God has given you a strong spirit, to use  His deposit in you, to proclaim the wonderful good news that God loves you and sent His son to deliver you form this broken world and bring you to himself … into His family!!!

There is a gift in you given by God that has been reserved for mankind to see. Don’t ever diminish yourself but demonstrate the goodness of God in the land of living!

Confession: As your pastor, I have preached over 112 new sermons since Mothers Day of 2019 . However, I have failed you miserably as a full time evangelist of 26 years, whose mandate was to train, equip and mobilize the church for the end time harvest. In order for us to change, I must change. Sometimes you must be reminded not just who you are but whose you are.
Some are gifted in getting people, others are gifted at caring for them. Some are gifted one on one. Don’t let the fear of anything rob you from your gift.