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Tag Archives: fear

Becoming Bigger on the Inside

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke

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Tags

anxiety, becoming bigger on the inside, dad daughter at the carnival, drowning, E Stanley Jones quote, faith is my native land, fear, Luke 12:31-32, opposite direction the world takes, overcoming, putting our own needs first, snare, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God is always available, worry, worry is really fear

 

drowning2

 

I have been blogging on how to overcome worry and anxiety. The last point I want to make about this issue is God desires to give you exceedingly and abundantly more than those issues which cause worry in your life. Listen to the words of Jesus:

But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:31-32

 

If we allow the wrong things to be “number one” in our lives, they will create an enormous amount of stress, pressure, and anxiety. Our lives will revolve around attaining them. But when we seek the Kingdom of God first…then the Lord Himself is responsible for providing all of our material needs, wants, and desires.

The picture the Lord provides here is that when we seek to put our own needs first we fall into a trap which most of the world and most believers make. Worry and anxiety are born in this snare. The believer’s life is often the very opposite of the direction the world takes and from the direction our basic instincts tell us to take. According to Jesus… we gain our life by loosing it, we lead by serving, and we have our material needs met by not worrying about them, but by seeking the kingdom as a priority. How can this be possible?

A man took his daughter to the carnival. Upon entering, she immediately ran over to a booth and asked for cotton candy. As the attendant handed her a huge ball of it, the father asked, “Sweetheart, are you sure you can eat all of that candy?” 
“Don’t worry, Dad,” she answered. “I’m a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside.”

When the Kingdom of God comes in fullness and we make it first in our lives… we are a whole lot bigger on the inside. Praise God… the Kingdom is always coming and is always available. When we allow the Kingdom of God to grow within us, the bigger we will become on the inside. Our testimony will become the same as the little girl. “I can handle it because I am a lot bigger on the inside.“

In verse thirty-two Jesus really gets to the bottom line, WORRY IS REALLY FEAR! When we fear, we are afraid that the Kingdom is NOT COMING as Jesus promised. God is not going to fulfill His word.

Jesus communicates to His followers that they are to stop being afraid. It is this type of fear that manifests itself in our lives as worry. Worry then is a symptom of fear!

The antidote to fear is faith. Dr. E Stanley Jones explained this many years ago when he said:

I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath—these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely—these are my native air.

 

Blessings,

Pastor

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Storms: Our Date With Destiny

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Times of Testing

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dates with destiny, Edmund Fitzgerald, faith was paralyzed by fear, fear, fear maximizes the problem, fear minimizes God's provision, following Jesus took them into the storm, God doesn't care, God promises resources for the storm, Gordon Lightfoot, Jesus is asleep, Jesus likes to Captain sinking ships, Luke 8:22-25, marks in time, possums, prayer grip session, remembering Jesus' original word, storms, taking a leap of faith, there is a word for your storm, true faith, we need difficulties, what your taught is tested in real life, where the love of God goes, worry doesn't activate God

 

True Faith

 

I have been blogging about God’s purposes for storms. Unfortunately, many falsely believe any storm we find ourselves in is a result of some sort of sin. This is an Old Testament belief which has found its way into people’s theology today. Yes, bad choices produce a multitude of problems and storms. No doubt. But not all problems in life are related to sin.

When we find ourselves swamped by a storm, the first question we need to ask is… “How did I get here? What did I do?” Let me quote again the text I posted yesterday.

 22 Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. 23 But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. 24 They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.25 And He said to them, “Where is your faith?”  Luke 8:22-25

 

Why did the disciples get into that boat and sail across the sea? This is very important. There is an answer. What great wrong or sin did they commit? They were simply following and obeying Jesus. My mother would say, “If so-in-so jumped off a bridge, would you?” My smart answer would always be…”Yes!” The truth is following Jesus’ instruction took them directly into the eye of the storm.

Here is the point…When we are in a storm, we may wrongly conclude we are out of God’s will. Some process God’s will like this…. “With Jesus in the boat there will not be storms, there will be no unmanageable waves and no fear.” This is simply not true! If you have lived very long as a believer, you know based on your own experience Jesus likes to captain sinking ships. I have said before that Jesus hardly ever got into a boat that didn’t sink at some point. Let me give you some advice… don’t get into boats with Jesus unless you are ready for a test. Jesus keeps a drill in His back pocket.

Fear became more an issue for the disciples because they did not trust or remember Jesus’ original word. If they had just thought for a moment, they would have remembered that He had said just a few hours earlier, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” Luke 8:23 He didn’t say, “Let us go to the middle of the lake and be drowned.”

When you are in the ministry, this type of occurrence happens all the time. I call them “marks in time” or “dates with destiny.” It is when what you have been taught is tested in real life. Even though the disciples had no way of knowing it… this storm was a divinely appointed vehicle to teach them about God and His power in their lives. Suddenly that little word about “crossing to the other side of the lake” became a very big word. When you are facing death any word you have is big. Amen, if you have been there!

Without difficulties, without trials, without stresses, and even failures, we would never grow to be what the Lord wants us to become. Without adversity, we would be insufferably self-centered, proud, one-dimensional, and empty people. Faith must be tested before it can be trusted.  (These are all preacher quotes, which happen to be true!)

 

Difficulties

 

To make matters worse, Jesus is fast asleep. What a picture. Mark’s account tells us Jesus found Himself a pillow to capture a little shut-eye. Bottom-line, the disciples interpret Jesus’ napping as Him being apathetic to their plight. When we are in a storm, we may wrongly conclude God doesn’t give-a-rip about our situation.

Learn this lesson… worry doesn’t activate God into action. If fact worrying, fretting, and complaining deactivates heaven. It shuts it up tight! It is even worse if you put your worries into prayer form. I have seen and heard a lot of prayer which was nothing more than a gripe session. If worried prayers moved God, then all the world’s problems would have been solved long ago. It doesn’t. Faith pleases Him.

Gordon Lightfoot offers a great theological summary on this point in his song The Ballad of the Edmund Fitzgerald, “Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes into hours.” I have turned a few minutes into days worrying and wondering why God wasn’t responding. If you want to put heaven on stand-by, commence worrying, fretting, and complaining. Time will stand still!

Here is the big question… Was Jesus being detached, unconcerned, apathetic, or unavailable? Did He care? It is tough hearing God snore when you are panicking on the other end of a sinking ship. Have you ever been there? Yet how will God ever get us to act upon faith if He quickly takes charge, calms our fears, and moves presumptuously?

God has never promised our lives would be empty of pain, disappointment, or storms. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not teaching the truth of the Bible. What God does promise are the resources we need to journey through the raging waters. In fact, Jesus was right there with them in the ship, facing the same storm.

Listen up…there is a “WORD” in that storm you are going through or will go through! There is always a word. We may have forgotten it, not paid attention or lost it… But rest assured, the word was spoken before you reach your date with destiny.

Faith is commonly spoken of as “taking a leap.” The disciples didn’t need to take a leap of faith… they had a word. Jesus said they were “going to the other side.” So, if Jesus spoke it… then it was going to happen. No need here to react in fear, unless the word was forgotten or you simply didn’t trust the One who spoke it.

Soaked and no doubt shivering, terrified to the core, the men had strained to keep the boat headed into the wind. I can hear the Gilligan’s Island theme song playing the background. They just knew the next wave would take them to the bottom. In a near state of panic the disciples approached the sleeping Jesus in the stern of the boat, shouting to be heard above the wind.

As to what they said, their words differ slightly from one gospel account to another. Matthew records that the disciples cried out, “Lord, save us we are perishing” (8:25) which seems to be a cry for help.

In our text from Luke they are recorded as having said, “Master, Master, we are perishing,” (v. 24) seems to be a statement of eminent doom.

In Mark the disciples are recorded as having questioned, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (4:38), which seems to be a rebuke of Jesus’ lack of action. I believe all of those things were said and probably more. Each writer may have quoted exactly what he heard from some disciple on board that day. I am sure they said more than what was recorded. I have accused the Lord of not caring.

Faith was paralyzed by fear. Fear is like an anchor; it stops us dead in the water. This is why Gordon Lightfoot said, “the minutes turned into hours.” They were afraid all of them would die, including Jesus. There were all wrong of course, but so are we when we panic during difficult times. In reality, their problem was not the storm around them, but the unbelief within them. Their fear or lack of faith made too much of the problem and too little of God’s provision. Fear does this… it maximizes the problem and minimizes God’s provision and presence.

In the South, we know a lot about possums. I have always heard that possums were smart animals. You wouldn’t think so because you hardly ever see one except when it’s dead by the road. There’s an old joke which goes, “Why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the possum that it could be done!”

But possums, it turns out, are smart. They won’t enter a hole if there’s just one set of tracks going into it. They know there’s something in there. But if there are two sets of tracks…one going in and one coming out… the possum will enter and not be afraid.

The question is.. “Can we be just as smart as possums?” If Jesus’ tracks go into the boat, we can rest assured we will be alright, because His tracks are not coming out. If He does come out, we can come out as well. If Jesus leads you to it, He will lead you through and out of it. We need to get a grip on the Lord’s process.

Blessings,

Pastor

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Surviving a Spiritual Heart-Attack

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Living In Uncertain Times

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

2 Chronicles 32:6-8, be strong and courageous, crisis, divide and conquer, Eleanor Roosevelt Quote, False Evidence Appearing Real, fear, forgotten or lost our words and truth, heart problems, King Hezekiah, open the gates, Sennachrib, spiritual attack, swine flu

 

 

I have been blogging about what Hezekiah did to prepare his nation for invasion.  So far, I have dealt with the physical issues.  More important than the physical issues are the spiritual concerns of life.  Many have survived a physical attack only to discover subsequently, their spiritual life was in shambles.  In wisdom, Hezekiah prepared the people’s hearts for the onslaught of Sennacherib’s verbal assaults about God, the King, and the nation.  The King didn’t want his people having a spiritual heart attack in the middle of a crisis.

 

He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said. 2 Chron. 32:6-8

 

The number one crippling emotion in crisis is fear.  Fear rules the day. Fear is not reality. It is our emotional response to what we think we know… real or imagined. Fear is an acrostic for False Evidence Appearing Real.  There are 365 “fear not’s” in the Bible.  There is one for each day of the week. Why?  Fear is an enormous problem for God’s people. I am sure you have heard all this.

It is interesting.  If I hear the Lord tell me, “I love you,” it is a sure guarantee I am going to be attacked in the near future….. to the point I question myself, “Does God really love me?”  If I hear the Lord say something like, “Get ready!” rest assured, I am about to navigate some troubling waters, which will make me feel exhausted and not quite up to the challenges.  If I hear the Lord reassure me about life, my family, or ministry, it is a sure bet I am going to be assaulted in these same areas.  If you pay close attention to the Lord’s words to you, it will tip-you-off to the enemy’s attacks against you.  In ignorance, I used to tell the Lord, “Lord, no need in telling me these types of encouraging words… I am good in those areas.”  (Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve had a few pride issues.) Now I receive and  believe these words from the Lord wholeheartedly.  If He is encouraging me in whatever area, I need it or I am going to need it! The order and condition of our hearts is always of importance, but during a crisis, it is of extreme importance.  A crisis is a bad time to begin having heart problems.

Hezekiah encourages his people with “be strong and courageous…”  The enemy will soon be at the gate with an all-out, frontal assault on their belief system.  As a whole, they will stand together or separately be torn apart.  The invading army didn’t want to endure a long siege.  They wanted this battle to be relatively quick. The easiest way for Sennacherib to conquer God’s people was for them to simply open the gates themselves and let give up without a fuss. Fear causes people to submit to the enemy. Hezekiah’s words bolstered the people’s resolve, quelled their fears, and helped them to stay the course.

A few years ago America almost shut down in places because of the Swine Flu.  There wasn’t an epidemic.  No, it shut down in certain places because of the perception the flu was going to bad.  This message kept going out in the media.  Do you remember this?  For instance, in some areas like Texas, they cancelled athletics for the remainder of the year. Other schools closed for over a week because they feared their students might contract the disease. The Swine Flu was contagious, but the story was even more contagious.

One pastor told the story of having to go to the emergency room for a real emergency only to find the emergency room filled with over 200 people, all concerned they had contracted the Swine Flu. You might guess how many actually had the flu.  Absolutely Nobody. Fear keeps people captive….whether real or imagined.  The problem for him was that fear was occupying all the medical resources.

The media played a big part in all this.  They are in business to inform the public. They also have another mission…to sell.  In order to sell, they must keep their audience interested and ratings up.  Fear sells.  This is why news organizations thrive in bad circumstances like a flu outbreak or serial killer on the loose.

Sennacherib attempted to do the same thing in Hezekiah’s day. He sent a letter to the people inside the walls of Jerusalem communicating how feeble and weak Judah was compared to his vast army. He reminded them that all the other nations, along with their gods, were unable to stand against him. Sennacherib even had his soldiers yell over the wall in Hebrew to scare the people. His plan, divide and conquer.  He used psychological warfare!  Fear sells.  He did what EVIL did in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  They chopped off the heads of warriors and catapulted them over the wall to create fear.

What wise people do in times of uncertainty is limit the voices of influence. They decide who they will and will not listen to before a crisis.  Wise people stick to what they do know, not speculate about what they don’t know.

I am amazed at what people STOP doing in times of difficulty or trials.

Many stop reading God’s word.  They stop ingesting the very words of God that brought them to the present.  Why?  If you needed God’s word last year, then you need it this year.  If you needed God’s word last month, you need it this month.  Many start listening to foreign voices…even bad voices during difficult circumstances.  If a voice was bad for you 3 years ago, then it is bad for you now.  In addition, others stop praying and seeking God’s face when problems arise.  No encouragement there!  If you needed prayer 10 years ago, then you need it all the more now.

 

 

Fear can only reach us when we have forgotten or lost our truths and words from the Lord.  There will always be Sennacheribs who yell and scream the polar opposite of God’s word.   If you don’t know your sources and voices, you will be prompted to follow the wrong influences. If your heart is not in order, then you will probably be one of those people who actually vote to open the gates, let the enemy into your kingdom, and hope against hope he will treat you fairly. When the Northern Kingdom was taken away into bondage, the Persians put grappling hooks in some of them and carried them away into exile.  The threat was real….but so were the Words from the Lord.  We all have a choice today.  We can order our hearts and listen to the Lord or we can continue to allow the disinformation to create dysfunction in our hearts and guarantee a spiritual heart attack.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor

 

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Frances Chan Quotes

10 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Quotes

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

change, Christian quotes, Chritian, church, Crazy Love, fear, God of the universe, Holy Spirit, inspirational quotes, manure, obsessed, succeding, temptation, worry

 

Have a Blessed Weekend,

Pastor

 

 

 

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Ten Inspirational Faith and Life Quotes

26 Saturday Nov 2011

Posted by eisakouo in Quotes

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

caregie, Christian quotes, extraordinary, faith, fear, Hellen Keller, i i will overcome, inspirational quotes, Love, never too old, psalms 24:1

I thought I would pass along some quotes to help you recover from the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Pastor

…. If you like these quotes you also might like these other posts on “faith”

http://wp.me/p1GmG0-6o

http://wp.me/p1GmG0-dR

https://eisakouo.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/journey-of-faith-picture-quotes/

 

Blessings,

Pastor

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Twelve Inspirational Quotes (Part I)

28 Friday Oct 2011

Posted by eisakouo in Illustrations/Cartoons/Etc.

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bonhoeffer, bowing v standing, cs lewis, dancing in the rain, Dr Suess, fear, holding a grudge, inspirational life quotes, mind wanders, Oscar Wilde

Here are twelve inspirational quotes to lift your spirits this weekend.  I will post another twelve tomorrow.   The link is http://wp.me/1GmG0

Blessings,

Pastor

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What Jesus Wants You to Know about the End Times

24 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by eisakouo in The Lord's Return

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Tags

conduct and character, deception, distractions, end time events, fear, look up, Luke 21, the Temple

 7 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. 9 When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”  Luke 21:7-9

The background of Jesus’ teaching on end time events surrounds the temple.  When Jesus forecasted the imminent destruction of the temple, the disciple’s ears were pricked.  They wanted to know more.  Most people want to know more about futuristic events.  I would assume you are no different. But Jesus, in His wisdom, didn’t tell the disciples what they wanted to hear.  He related information they needed to know.

The disciples, like many of us today, were concerned about the wrong things. They wanted to hear information that would be of no real value to them, other than to satisfy their own curiosity.  Jesus was more interested in affecting their conduct and character rather than satisfying their curiosity.

Jesus, however, knew that if the disciples looked for signs they would be susceptible to deception. He virtually avoided their question and focused instead on character issues.

In the midst of all these tumultuous end times events Jesus specifically warns the believer about three very real dangers in Luke 21.

  • Deception  (8) – With all the information we have been given about end-time events by Jesus, the apostles, and others… you would think deception would not be an issue.  Jesus specifically warned us that there will be an increase in deception and the tremendous potential for people to be deceived.  If Jesus says deception will be our number one problem, then most assuredly it will.  Unfortunately, the group who will mislead the greatest number of people will be Christians.  They are the ones who love making predictions about the date and time of Jesus’ return.
  • Fear (9) – How many times did Jesus tell His disciples not to be afraid?  Evidently fear will run rampant in the end times.  It is a mistake to take any one prophecy of Jesus or those in Revelation as infallible proof that the end of the age is immediately at hand.  As troubles do intensify and increase, the true believer is told to “look up” for their redemption.  They are not encouraged to “look at” troubles, hardships, and difficulties.
  • Distractions (34-38) – This point is difficult to make because every generation since the time of Christ has been distracted to some degree.  But evidently the distractions will be greater as we head toward the end of days.  To combat this very issue Jesus told several parables in a row to communicate the need for everyone to be watching, waiting, and ready for His return.

Let me tell you a modern story that mimics Jesus’ parables.

Have you ever heard the story of Jeff and Janell’s first date?

Janell was expecting Jeff to show up. She was dressed up and waiting patiently. However, by the time he was an hour late, she figured she had been stood up. So, she took off her makeup, put on her pajamas, gathered all the junk food in the pantry, and sat down to watch tv with the dog. Just as her favorite show was coming on, the doorbell rang. It was her Jeff. He stared at her wide-eyed: “I’m two hours late and you’re still not ready?” 

       As someone once said, “God may not be early, but He is never late.”  Put your wedding clothes back on and be ready!

Blessings,

Pastor

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