How Do I Face My Fears - Part 2

Christian as a Christian you will not exempt from having to place you please but you are exempt from having to place them along going on 7.0 margin to the city for some to bring peace of mind and encouragement to Billy was struggling with from God. I need some answers.

Is David with the conclusion of his message. How do I price my feelings were friends. I'm not sure noticed unusual nature of this day as we talk about fear of Mrs. 9/11 and I don't know that there was a time in the history of our country. When fear rained as it did for those few days, but it hasn't gone away, and especially in these recent days: 19 economic upheaval and bring down buildings and all kinds of riots are communities. Fear is one of the top concerns that people have you talk to the average counselor. They will tell you. People are afraid while I can't promise you that I can make your fears go away but I can tell you about someone who can help you in the midst of them, and were going to do that as we conclude our discussion of Psalm 34 if you have a copy of the Bible. That's all you need. Just get that in turn to the 34th Psalm and will show you some things in that Psalm that will encourage you and will begin to mitigate the fears in your life. Don't forget that during this month were making available our special resource.

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Ask for the calendar will send you this beautiful calendar that will grace the walls of your office, your kitchen or were everyplace it can remind you of God's creative work. What we've spent this week answering questions and were going to finish the week with a final attempt to answer this question, how do I face my fear is Satan wants the problem to become everything God wants yourself to be everything. And the problem in perspective to the creator. When I pray and worship God, sometimes even with tears coming down my face because there's a heart I can't deal with it is a wonderful thing to see the transformation that takes place within my spirit as I worship and praise God. My problem doesn't go away, but all of a sudden I see it in perspective to the one who was in charge of everything. Last I heard in perspective to Almighty God, I want to take just a moment and think with you about that last little phrase that David wrote he said I will boast of his kindness to me and I wrote down in my journal this week that it's interesting what we boast about when you were at the last dinner party with your friends. What was it that occupied the attention of the group and what did you talk about and what did you boast about someone has written that if you boast in your conversation about the great things you have done, then you are simply reflecting your own insecurity only by putting the spotlight on the Lord and focusing on him. You really understand what it's like, you know, I would like to start a new club boasting in the Lord club when we get together just brag on Jesus you so many good things are happening in our lives as individuals and in this church is a congregation when we get together as God's people. We got a post on the Lord. We got a brag on God instead of trying to lift ourselves up or worse put somebody else down.

David says one of the great therapies for fear and discouragement is to have gay God parties every time you get an opportunity. The next thing that he talks about in this Psalm is very difficult for some of us I think most of us because were spiritually intelligent know the importance of acknowledging the reliability of God.

We know that that's in the Scripture, and we don't have a hard time dealing with that. We may not always be obedient to it but we know it's there, but the second thing David points out in the beginning of this Psalm is that when you have to deal with the fear in your life. Number two, you have to admit the reality of it, you have to admit the reality of your fear read verses four and five with me. I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. They look to him and were radiant and their faces were not ashamed. Please watch your Bibles carefully and let me tell you what is going on in these verses, because it isn't clear just reading it from the English version. The original language actually says so. Their faces shall never be ashamed at what the psalmist is doing in this poetic style is personifying his fears and this is what the verse really says he delivered me from all my fears and looking to him. My fears were enlightened, and their faces will never be ashamed or literally.

I will never put a veil over the face of my fears. I will never try to hide them. What the psalmist is saying is that part of the process of dealing with fear is the willingness to acknowledge and admit that it's there.

I don't like to acknowledge my weaknesses. I mean I really struggle with that I don't like to acknowledge them to Donna not to my children and I even don't you know it's kind of stupid when you get right down to it on the mic to tell God and then I think good night Jeremiah he knows everything and only knows already, but I know that and I understand that appear, but I just have a hard time saying God, I'm afraid, or God I'm weak in our fantasies.

You watch this in our fantasies. We are always the ones who do the right thing. We're always the one who walks into a fearful situation and were the strong ones. Isn't that the way you fantasize.

There's a whole group.

Everybody's coming unglued, and hear you, boy. I'm telling you Mr. rock and you walk in and you got it all together and you give a little speech in a few minutes.

Everybody's calm down and the whole things in control and you did it again right, but he very seldom is. That way, and while it might be true in our fantasies. It's not true. In reality, the bottom line friends is that all of us have moments where we are very much afraid, strange things produce fear in us, but the fear is real and the psalmist says we ought to acknowledge our fear before God. Now let me tell you why I think that's important.

I believe it's important because only the fearful and the week and the helpless ever get the power of God in their lives. Did you know that look down in the next verse or so. David Connor grabs hold of this thing. Verse six he says this poor man cried out in the Lord here even say this strong man cried out this man is got it all together cried out this spiritual man cried out. David said this poor man cried out and Paul gives us in the New Testament the incredible illustration of that you know the story of how Paul came to the Lord and he said Lord I got this thorn in the flesh, and I don't know how to get rid of it but I don't feel like I can really minister and serve the Lord if you don't remove it and the Bible says in second Corinthians that three times in Paul's career he came to the Lord and he pled with God.

He said God please take away this thorn and you know it doesn't tell us what the thorn is I think that's probably good because then we have the Paul's thorn club in every church.

I mean, you know it's true didn't tell us what it is we don't notice a lot of people think it was his eyesight. There's a couple of comments in his writings about his eyes and about the writing. A large hand.

We don't know what is thorn was but we know it was significant. It was a fearful thing for Paul. Three times he said Lord, would you please take us away in second Corinthians were told that the Lord came to him. Listen to the words of second Corinthians 12 eight through 10. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me but he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, Paul, for my power is made perfect in weakness. I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, said Paul that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses and insults and hardships and persecutions, and calamities for here's the principle when I am weak, then I am strong now that sounds like doubletalk but I want you to say it out loud with me when I am weak, then I am strong you say pastor Jeremiah. That doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Well inmates absolute sense.

What God is teaching us through the words of Paul and in this Old Testament Psalm is this that when we are filled with the realization of our own ability and our own strength and our own prowess. We go forward in the strength of the human psyche to do the will of God and we ultimately fail. And if we don't fail we fall very short of God's purpose was.

I read in the book that when we operate in the flesh. Three things are always true. We will always lack the power of the spirit and so will suffer from fatigue. We will always lack the vision of the spirit, so will suffer from frustration and we will always lack the sustaining ministry, the spirit, so we will suffer from failure and my friends. There are Christian people who are well-meaning all over the universe whose lives could be marked by those three characteristics and they are the characteristics that come when we try to do things in our own strength.

Now watch when something happens when you have an illness in your family or you have a child who goes South Anya anybody have a child go South on I mean everything's in line. All of a sudden one day you wake up and you wonder who is this person and you don't have any way of understanding it and in that moment of time, you feel so helpless and so incapable and so weak the spirit of God descends into your weakness and gives you strength and all of a sudden, you begin to realize there's something dynamic going on in your life that you never experienced before. It's not your power.

It's God's power and what Paul is saying is this, if it takes weakness to get God's power in your life. You are better off weak than you ever would be strong because when you are weak. Then what you are strong, so you have to admit you have to admit you fear I am afraid everyone of you is afraid of something, and it's not weak to say I'm afraid third thing. After you acknowledge the reliability of God and admit the reality of your fear number three you have to appropriate the resources of your father knows what the psalmist says in verse six this poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. CS Lewis once wrote, he said down through the ages. Whenever men had a need of courage. They would cry out Billy Bob to help me and nothing ever happened. But for 1900 years whenever men have needed courage in the cried out, Lord Jesus, help me.

Somethings always happened. Metro you know in years past before you know the Lord, you may have had somebody you called out to Billy butter Sally Jane or someone when you call out to God you can count on it.

You will help you and that's what the psalmist is this poor man cried. God heard and I love the definition of the word trouble here. You know the word trouble in the Hebrew language what it means. We could translated our vernacular today hangups. It literally means to be limited, inhibited, tied up restricted. I cried out onto the Lord, and he delivered me from all my hangups from all my fears when we lay hold of Christ we are freed from our inhibitions. In fact, the psalmist reviews this principle later on.

Look at verse 15 the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their cry verse 17 the righteous cry out in the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. You say this is so simplistic and it is. And yet I could count numerous occasions when I counseled with people who are in deep trouble in their lives and their Christian people, and they've not been afraid to admit they've got a problem and then I've asked them in the office.

Have you talked to the Lord about this and they look at me with a blank stare as if I just entered into another language or something. Oh, oh, you mean to tell him yes, tell him when you acknowledge the reliability of the ones in charge of your life and then you admit the fear that you have. You have to appropriate the power that he's promised to give you have to tell it to Jesus and then fourthly, when you tell it to Jesus you have to accept the reinforcement of his power in your life is a wonderful phrase in this next verse demands almost an entire morning of explanation, but let me read verse seven the angel of the Lord in camps all around those who fear him, and delivers them all focus on that for just a moment, let me tell you. First of all, that the word angel of the Lord only appears in the Psalms. Three times, once here in Psalm 34 and interestingly enough, twice in Psalm 35 and you will look in the New Testament. You will never find the angel of the Lord in the New Testament. You know why because the angel of the Lord. Now watch carefully is an Old Testament theophany that's a theological word which means the awesome God on that old manifestation and Old Testament manifestation of God. A theophany is the Old Testament picture of Christ. In other words, the angel of the Lord is the Christ of the New Testament operating in the Old Testament.

You don't need the angel of the Lord in the New Testament because you got Christ but watch carefully read back in your Bibles now notice what the psalmist says. He says Christ the Lord Jehovah in camps all around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

You know who is close to you when you're at the most fearful moment in your life. The Lord God, Jesus Christ.

Remember when the three Hebrew children were in the midst of the fire in the most awesome moment of testing and fear, and they looked into the fire and there was 1/4 member who was like unto the son of God.

Watch this.

God didn't take them out of the fire. He sent Jesus into the fire to be with them and when you go through your times of fear.

What it says here is this the angel of the Lord, meaning Jesus Christ will come and literally encamp around you. The word, and can't means the fortify you to build a hedge around you and protect you in the midst of the fearful experience that you may be undergoing while that's why so many of us when we've gone through times of difficulty. We say to our Christian brothers, you know, I don't understand what was going on I shared an escort.

I didn't get to vote on it but I'll tell you what I never ever felt the presence of God like I did during those moments within their nobody wants to go back but you don't have a choice. It comes periodical, you lose a loved one, you go through difficult and it's the mortification of Jehovah God in your circumstance and I want you to read with me verse 18 for verse 18 says the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and he saves such as had a contrite spirit. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.

You have a broken heart.

Are you filled with fear. Let me do some about the Lord is near you. He encamps himself around you to protect you and to encourage you in the article that was in leadership magazine Jim symbol told the story of a fearful time in his life and as I read the story again this week. I realize that in the story are all the principles of Psalm 34 every one of them. So listen as I tell you the story of a fearful moment in the life of a pastor and many of you will identify with him. He writes up until age 16. My oldest daughter was a model child, but then she got away from the Lord and got involved with a godless young man. She eventually moved out of our house and she later became pregnant. We went through a dark tunnel for 2 1/2 years and while wonderful things were happening at our church and we were renting radio city music Hall for large outreaches and starting other churches in my life in our Brooklyn Tabernacle choir were making albums and many were coming to Christ. No one knew that I was hanging on by a thread. I often cried from the minute I left my house till I got to the church door thinking God. How can I get through three meetings today.

My daughter my daughter and want to make my need focus people are coming to the church because of their needs.

Many live in ghettos and in violent non-Christian homes and somehow talking about my problems didn't seem right after Chrissy had been away for two years.

I again spent some time away in Florida and while I was there said similar. I said to God. God, I've been babbling and crying and screaming and arguing and maneuvering with Chrissy, but no more arguing no more talking. It's you and me. I am just going to intercede for my daughter in prayer. I told Carol to stay in touch with our daughter because I was no longer going to talk with her. I was only going to pray. I stayed in Florida till I prayed through. God brought me to a new realm of faith, so that when I return to New York.

I stopped reacting as before to the discouraging things that Chrissy was doing. I found a place in God where I could praise him. Watch this where I could praise him even though the news from her was getting worse hard thing to describe wasn't positive thinking it was faith. Four months later in February we win our Tuesday night prayer meeting in the choir and the church leadership now knew about Chrissy. We didn't spread it any further in the church, just the choir and the leadership I have not talked to my daughter since November and I surpassed a note to me from a young woman in the church whom I felt was a spiritual person and the note said pastor similar. I feel deeply impressed that we are to stop the meeting and pray for your daughter. Lord, is this really you. I thought I prayed within myself.

I don't want to make myself the focus at that moment Chrissy was at a friends house somewhere in Brooklyn with her baby. I interrupted the meeting and had everyone stand and I said and I'll never forget the words he wrote my daughter thinks up is down white is black and black is white.

Someone you sent me a note saying she feels impressed that we are to pray for her and I take this as being from the Lord than some of the leaders of the church to join me in the church begin to pray in the room soon felt like the labor room in a hospital, the people called out to God with incredible intensity.

When I got home that night, said pastor similar. I said to my wife Carol, who wasn't at the prayer meeting honey it's over. She said what's over it's over with Chrissy. I replied you had to be there tonight. I just know that when we went to the throne of grace.

Something happened in the heavenly places.

Honey, I know it's over 36 hours later I was standing in the bathroom, shaving and my wife burst into the room. Chrissy Searcy said you better go downstairs. I don't know. I said, having intentionally kept my distance from Chrissy for four months.

Trust me, said Carol go downstairs. I wiped off the shaving cream and went to the kitchen and there was my daughter 19 years old on her knees, weeping. She grabbed my leg and she said daddy have sinned against God, sinned against you have sinned against myself daddy who was playing on Tuesday night what you mean. I said what happened.

She said I was sleeping and God woke me up in the middle the night, and he showed me I was heading toward this this chasm in daddy I got so afraid and I saw myself for what I am. But then God showed me he had given up on me and I looked at my daughter and saw the face of the daughter we had raised not to harden face of the last few years and Jim said during those years when Chrissy was away this verse was the only thing I hung on to my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness, and it is most of us have a story like that one.

I know we do and we know the reality of that promise that we have just recited what would come to an end of this particular message and at the end of the week I'd like to take a moment and remind you of the importance of you getting the church. The best way you can.

I'm not sure where you may be in getting back to church where heaven church outdoors here in Southern California at night when it's cool and then we found it to be very rewarding and very very wonderful churches when people get together and that I hope you're able to do that. If not many of you are watching services online and you can watch our service live from shadow Mountain by just going to the shadow Mountain website. There you will find a place to click on and you can watch what we do as were doing here in Southern California.

Don't forget also on television everywhere you can find this in your community's look and will be there to minister to you from going we can plan join us back here on Monday.

Today's message originated from shadow Mountain immunity, church, and senior pastor Jeremiah would love to hear how to impact your life like and tell us it is a 38 San Diego, CA 92163 or visit our website at davidjeremiah.org/radio copy of their 14 month 2021 calendar colors of creation, the breathtaking handy gift of any amount you can also download the free Turning Point in my life devised was that you sending point ministries instant exit program and visit Jeremiah.old/radios 50 join us Monday as we continue.

God I need some point here taking time to listen to the Friendly's and Christian