SERMON: Responding Appropriately to FEAR + Holding Fast (Virtually Live at Jubilee)

On November 22, 2020, I shared a sermon with our Jubilee Ministries church family on the topic ‘Responding Appropriately to FEAR + Holding Fast’

NOTES:

Fear in and of itself is not sin. “Fear is a normal response to the threat. Like pain, it is a gift of God intended to keep us safe. Feeling guilty for feeling fear in a situation of threat is like feeling guilty for feeling hungry when you haven’t eaten. It’s something your body does, not your will. The challenge is to respond appropriately.”

I’m going to make a bold but I believe a true statement which is; I believe we were never designed to function from a palace of fear. Rather we were designed to function from a place of faith, Hope & Love.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE RESPOND FROM A PLACE OF FEAR?

1. We get paralyze
2. Fear keeps us stuck. We get stuck in seasons way longer than God intends for us to overcome. (Children of Israelites)
3. We can make the wrong decisions. (Abraham lied about wife b/c of fear, Children of Israelites didn’t cross over into promise land b/c they listen & responding to the voice of fear rather than the voice of truth from Joshua & Caleb)
4. Fear affects our eyes causing us to sink. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and sank
5. Fear keeps us from stepping out in faith and into the supernatural realm. (Peter again, and every battle won in the old testament)

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO FEAR? As I mentioned earlier, fear is an indicator of…

• Become perfected in love or in other words… crank up the Love… That goes both ways… receiving God’s love: In 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” and Give God our love… Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

MAIN SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 17

VALLEY??? One word from God will change everything

TIME OF WAR: I believe we are in a time of spiritual warfare.

DAVID WAS HIDDEN: At any given time, there is a nationwide battle and a personal private battle taking place simultaneously.

There’s time when you’re on the front line and you need to step back for various reasons; and vice versa; Time we are doing our regular daily private routine; then we are called out to engage on the battlefield. Regardless of where you are at, how we prepare will determine the outcome.

We are 11 months… What did we do with this time? How was our preparation? I believe God gave us daily, weekly, even monthly mana to help us navigate this year. And it was all preparation. (The wilderness was preparation for the promised land… In business we know that if we can survive and better yet prosper in a time of hardship, we will soar when things gets easier)

What does Hold Fast mean? “Holding fast” in the Bible literally means to hold your position, or fix your gaze and not lose sight of. So this means that our attention -and therefore our actions- are fixed on God.

EIGHT (8) SCRIPTURE ON HOLDING FAST

1. Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
2. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
3. Deuteronomy 10:20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
4. Hebrews 3:6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
5. Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
6. Revelation 3:3 So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
7. Job 2:9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
8. Hebrews 3:14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,

WHAT ARE YOU HOLDING FAST TO?

1. The promises of God
2. The word of God
3. The Kingdom values passed on to us

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HOLD FAST?

1. Confidence in battle. (Uncircumcised philistine)
2. Secure our Identity
3. Compass in time of fear

CLOSING

We know the areas we are getting hit in. I want to encourage you to strengthen the weak hands, knees… WHAT ARE YOU SPEAKING… THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS VOICE ACTIVATED