Fear and Limits: A Solution

"Your Fears Determine Your Limits" ~ Erwin McManus ~

If we fear people, we will stay lonely.
If we fear going outside, we will stay inside.
If we fear heights, we will stay low.
If we fear of taking a shot, then we will never score.
etc, etc, etc

So what is Fear? Fear is phobia. A phobia is defined as an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something. And this irrational fear or extreme fear is perhaps the main thing that keeps us from living our lives to the fullest.

Christ died so that we could live. He has already won the victory for us...there is nothing to fear.
1 John 4.18 says "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." (emphasis added).

So the question comes down to this: do we love? For example, think of someone you love. You love them so much that no fear on the planet would stop you from taking care of them...your love drives out any fear that may exist...

If fear is keeping you from living or achieving, it could be that you do not actually love that which you are trying to obtain, care for, achieve, etc...

Take Home Message: Instead of trying to overcome your fear, start LOVING more!

Let's live the God-Ordained lives that Christ gave His life for...

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." ~ Joshua 1.9 ~

God-Ordained = GO!

But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must GO to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. ~ Jeremiah 1.7-8 ~ (Emphasis Added).

In the next post, we will talk about how we need to LOVE in order to get rid of all fear...but now we will see how what we LOVE will help us to "GO" and LIVE a God-Ordained life!

The word ordained, according to one source, is an order or decree prescribe; determine (something) such as "the path ordained by God."

...So when I say that LOVE can and will help us live a "GO" life, I'm not talking about a fuzzy-feel good cute and cuddly love...I'm talking about the kind of LOVE that moved Jesus to go the The Cross for you and for me...that is the kind of LOVE that drives out fear and allows us to live a God-Ordained Life!

Jesus lived a God-Ordained life...In John 17.15 we see how Jesus says the following:

I glorified you on earth By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.

Determining Our Assignment
There are many ways we can try and understand what our assignment to do is and how we can live a "God-Ordained Life...One way we can get a glimpse of it is by applying the "Philippians 4" Principle to our lives.

Philippians 4.8-9 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (emphasis added)

Notice how the "whatever" is mentioned 7 times in the above passage...So living a God-Ordained life is "whatever" you do that is Noble, Right, Pure, etc..the important thing is that we don't just think or meditate upon these areas, but we that we actually put into practice what God teaches, tells, and shows us.

Final Thought: Jesus received an assignment. Jeremiah received a command. They received them because they had a relationship with God. We must do the same. If we do not 'hear' from God, it is probably because we are not seeking Him.

But If we do 'hear' from God and do not act, it may not be that we don't know what God is wanting us to do, it could be that we are too afraid to do it...

So let's think and then act on whatever is noble, right, pure, etc, and those qualities, just like LOVE, will help us to overcome our fear and 'GO!'

What is your assignment? What command do you need to GO and take action upon?

God's Desires

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37.4

Isaiah 55. 8-9, 11 gives us a clue as to why we must first delight ourselves in The Lord, then we will be granted our heart's desires...take a look:

8"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I *desire *
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (emphasis added).

First, we delight ourselves in The Lord, then He will give us our hearts desire...When we delight ourselves in The Lord, we begin to desire what He desires...His thoughts...His ways. Our old desires are no longer sweet, instead, they become bitter...once we desire ourselves in The Lord, we crave new fruit!

Galatians 5.16 says, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

Once we are living by The Spirit and not in the flesh or in culture, etc, our sinful nature is gone.

...we need a paradigm shift, a new way of seeing... we need to take off the selfish lens and put on The Lens of Christ so we can see clearly, seeing what Christ sees...we all read the second part of Psalm 37.4 yet totally blow off the first part...we should focus on Delighting ourselves in the Lord first...then the desires will be granted because our desires become new...they become what God desires...our standards will be raised...the old has gone, the new has come...

Influence and Leadership

Great thoughts on Leadership and Influence. Apply them to your life and to those in your circle of Influence:

The Following From Erwin McManus
You Can Know Who You Are By What Others Become Through You

God wants us to be proof and evidence of His Life, that through our lives, God's story would be written on the hearts of others

You can know who you are by the people around you, by watching the progress of their life

You are writing a story in their hearts that will effect the story in your heart

Rick Warren
Leadership is Stewardship, Not ownership.

Mark Batterson
Leaders Create more than they consume.

Max Lucado
Leaders can & should make their plans, but they must never forget that it is God who controls the future.

Proverbs 21:1 (New International Version)
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Psalm 119.79-80 MSG
Let those who fear you turn to me
for evidence of your wise guidance.
And let me live whole and holy, soul and body,
so I can always walk with my head held high.

Edward Everett
"I am only one, but I am one; I cant do everything, but I can do something; what I can do, I ought to do, and by the grace of God, I will do."

Revealed

You're blessed when you stay on course,
walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
~ Psalm 119.1 ~

Wandering
Before I started seeking God, I wandered all over the place...I felt like the "blueprint" for Psalm 119.67 which says:

"Before I learned to answer you, I wandered all over the place,
but now I'm in step with your Word.

What I needed was to be in "step with His Word..." What I needed was a Revelation from God. I like how Third Day puts it in their hit song: "Revelation"

"Give me a revelation, Show me what to do, Cause I've been trying to find my way, I haven't got a clue... Tell me should I stay here, Or do I need to move, Give me a revelation I've got nothing without You...I've got nothing without You."

That was my problem...I did not know what to do or where to go because I got caught up following culture and the urgency of life. But once I started seeking God, everything started to flow. In fact, it was the "broken road" of seeking and searching for meaning and purpose that led me to dig into God's Word...another song to illustrate my point, from Jeremy Camp's, "Walk By Faith..."

"Because This Broken Road Prepares Your Will For Me..."

Bottom Line: Are you wandering? Are you traveling a broken road? It does not have to be that way. God wants you living in the Sweet Spot for your life. The reasons are not for selfish motives...you need to be in God's Sweet Spot for you life so that you can be a benefit to others...remember, from John 10.10, Jesus came to give you the abundant life, so if you are wandering, you must seek God...as you do, His Revelation becomes crystal clear...

You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.

~ From Psalm 119.1-8 ~

Signs:Keep Your Eyes Open

In the last post about signs, we discussed how to go ahead and "jump in" and then signs will follow...now of course we need to make educated decisions and take calculated risks, but we must also understand that we can not always wait to have a sign from God before we take action. As Mark Batterson says, We must embrace "circumstantial uncertainty"...this builds our faith...this builds our relationship and trust in God! Sometimes we will only be 80% sure of anything, maybe only 40-70% certain...but if we wait until 100% certainty, we may miss our opportunity...

I like how Success magazine captures it from an interview with Colin Powell. It reads, "We do not have the luxury of collecting information indefinitely. At some point, before we can have every possible fact in hand, we have to decide," Powell writes, saying that he goes with his gut feeling when he has acquired 40 to 70 percent of the information about a situation."

Great ways to receive God's Confirmation, According to Scripture, will come through the following 3 ways:
1. Take a step
Go forth and seize the day knowing that The Lord is with us, then signs will follow. See Mark 16.20 and Joshua 3.14-17.

2. Keep Our Eyes Open
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence. ~ Ps 105.1-6~ (emphasis added).

3. Record (post) The Signs We See
I choose the true road to Somewhere,
I post your road signs at every curve and corner. ~ Ps 119.30 ~

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”– Teddy Roosevelt

Signs

Awesome thought from Mark Batterson... The topic is about signs. We all want signs to help us take action and make decisions. But always having a sign probably means that our faith would not be very strong...there is a circumstantial uncertainty that strengthens our faith...That's what makes life so exciting...remember Hebrews 11:

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

So instead of waiting for a sign to help you make a decision, go ahead and jump in. Batterson mentions the importance of signs after we jump instead of waiting on signs before we take action. Take a look at this account from The Gospel of Mark:

"And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." ~ Mark 16.20 ~ (emphasis added).

Notice when God confirms...He confirms with "signs following."

After we get in the game, the signs will follow. It makes me think of the quote by Wayne Gretzky, which says, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." We must take the shot!

All we need, as Malcolm Gladwell says, is a "Tipping Point." One move in the right direction can make everything come together...small things make a HUGE difference. But we must take that step.

Joshua had to take the step in the water before the Jordan River would dry up (Joshua 3.14-17). But here is the cool thing...as Christian taught me, They had the Ark of The Covenant (Presence of God) with them...Joshua was not alone...God was with him...but God still wanted Joshua to take the step...once he did, the rest was history!

Take your step. Downlaod your application. Write your manuscript. Ace your test. Make the call. Send the letter. Take your step...

Once you do, then God will confirm your moves with Signs Following!