(Part 2 – continued from same day – continuing with notes/paraphrases/quotes from Paula White message)
Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.] John 14:27
“Jesus’ statement in John 14 shows that He willed His peace to us. As a believer we’re to inherit that peace of Jesus. Living in turmoil, fear, anxiety, worry, frustration should be abnormal to a believer. Even when the pressure and weight of the world was on Jesus and He sweated blood in the garden, He knew how to overcome – He submitted/surrendered His will to God – saying, “not my will but yours be done” – submission and dependency on God – saying, “I don’t like this process, but I trust you in it.” And that’s ultimately where faith kicks in. Whenever the enemy brings fear or anxiety – FACE IT and conquer it.” (This was confirmation of other words we’ve received about FACING and OVERCOMING fears. She told some of her own testimonies about this.)
“Anxiety is interesting – b/c you can’t always pin point it – you feel something is wrong, but don’t know what. If you stay in that state – you can’t walk in faith. Again the danger is that fear leads to doubt – doubt to unbelief – and even if you sit back and do nothing – you’re still making a decision – and that decision is a path of eventual rebellion against God. So the Bible says GUARD YOUR HEART … DO NOT LET your heart be troubled and do not be afraid. Don’t let the way you feel about things and perceive things cause you to fear b/c ultimately fear cancels faith – and the just live by faith – it’s to be our lifestyle. Without faith it’s impossible to please God. We want all the promises of God, but fear will cancel them if we don’t deal with it.”
She told how one of the ways she overcame fear was constantly listening to the Word of God – putting it inside her – just playing it over and over and over. (This went along with the other part of our confession from Joshua 1:7-9 –“I lay hold of God’s Words with ALL MY HEART. I do not let them out of my sight. I meditate on them DAY and NIGHT and never stop speaking them.”) She mentioned how in John 14:1, 27 – “Jesus gives a very clear command to us not to let the way we feel or think about things or perceive things be distressed or agitated. (see verse 27 above) We have to be settled knowing ‘God has me.’ Obedience is better than sacrifice; and partial obedience is disobedience.” In response, her co-host applied this to Jesus’ command not to let our hearts be troubled/afraid. “It’s not just a recommendation. Jesus is not saying it’s a good idea not to worry – He’s saying DO NOT LET YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED. The Bible says to be anxious for nothing. The Bible commands us to fear not – so how do we overcome fear?”
The antidote:
#1 – We have to trust in God – believe in, trust in, and rely on Jesus (quoting again from John 14)
“You have to make a DECISION. It’s not about how you feel – it’s a decision. In the face of fear, in the face of anxiety, in the face of the UNKNOWN (overcoming fear of the “Unknown” – being willing to venture into the “unknown” in obedience to the Lord has been a key theme in this season, as mentioned in part 11 – Choosing the “Glory Road” to the “Utmost Life”) – we decide – ‘I trust you God’ – that’s bottom line –either you do or you don’t. Again it goes back to GUARDING OUR HEARTS – the way we think about things, feel about things, perceive things. We can’t put God in a box and tell Him the way it’s going to be and command Him what to do. We have to say, ‘God I TRUST you – SHOW ME.” (confirmations from previous notes about Trusting God to be WITH US and SHOW US what to do). And He might show us a different perspective than what we could see before.” She again gave the example of Joseph in the pit/prison – and how God would have wanted to show him a different perspective – that things were not what they looked like – [it was all part of the process to get to the palace].
in God I have put my trust – I will not be afraid what man can do to me… Psalm 56:11
“Some trust in chariots and horses – or in modern language we could say ‘Some trust in bank accounts or in their connections or (fill in the blank)’ but God says – ‘Don’t trust in the things around you because they’re temporal – they’re subject to change – instead trust in God.'” (This ties back to the former messages about the invisible/unseen/eternal trumping and transforming the visible/seen/temporary if we stay in agreement with God’s Word).
#2 – Cast down imaginations (II Cor 10:3-5)
“Many fears are more imaginary than real – afraid you’re going to lose everything…– all the what ifs – and fear grips your heart. You have to cast down the imaginations. The enemy can’t necessarily bring it to you but he plants the seeds in your mind and the mind is the battlefield. Remember, God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Make a decision to Trust God. Cast your cares on the Lord. You may feel like – ‘How will I get past this?’ One step at a time – and the first step is trusting God – really really giving it over to Him. Let your requests be made known to God – with thanksgiving (Phil 4:6-7). Give anxieties and worries to God and don’t take them back.”
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to be continued…
