FEAR EPOSIDE 1 Hello and welcome to the Folly’s End podcast. I’m Jessi Markee and today we’re going to be talking about fear. Since March 2020 the UK and the world has been gripped with fear unlike any time before – certainly in my lifetime. At the time of this recording Covid-19 is starting to feel more like an unwanted house guest rather than the mass deadly pandemic it was almost two years ago. Two years ago it kept us (rightly or wrongly) locked in our homes removed from our family and friends. I remember well the daily battle I personally faced to keep fear away from me and my family. You would hope that as Covid-19 fades into the background that peace and normality will begin to resurface. But it appears something else will always been in the wings waiting to fill the news headlines and gain our attention. A potential war. It’s easy to let the waves of panic hit you; especially as I don’t think many of us have gotten over the panic the last crisis bought us. In the last few years the world has become a much darker place. Even driving around town people are more aggressive, less compassionate and less caring. And it is any wonder when you see what is happening in the world. In John 17 v 14 Jesus is praying out loud in front of his disciples before his life is ended. He knows what is about to happen to him but his disciples do not. In his prayer Jesus says this to God “I have given them your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one”. If you’re a Christian you are already separated from the world. And make no mistake in thinking that life will be easy for you because Jesus says that his followers are hated by the world because they are not of it. In fact Jesus tells us “that in this world we will have trouble, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world” John 16 v 33. So if we’re not ‘of the world’ but rather in it then how do we separate ourselves from fear? The first time fear is mentioned in the bible is way back in the beginning in Genesis 3:10 Adam has eaten fruit that God told him not to. Now separated from God, God asks Adam where is he. Adam answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” When we are separated from God we are afraid. And when we are afraid we want to hide. Often in our lives when we feel afraid it is because we are separated from God. Don’t underestimate this separation in your own life. When I think of my own experience I know what when I listen to what the world has to say instead of what God has to say I can often become afraid. I do believe that the Satan uses fear to make us back off; From our destiny, from a relationship with God and from doing what God called us to. Fear makes us we feel like we want to hide; even from God sometimes. Even the world recognizes that fear can make people want to hide. They call it flight or fight response. Becoming separate from God, either physically or mentally allows fear to attack us. But in God’s presence we have the gift of peace and joy. Psalm 16 v 11 says “you have shown me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” In Isaiah 26:3 the bible says: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.’ 1 John 4 v 18 says “there is no fear in love’ but perfect love casts out fear”. No one can love you perfectly – only God can. I wish I had something more complicated or profound to offer you but the fact of the matter is that there is no fear in the presence of God and sadly most of us live separated from God; even as Christians. But there’s a very simple way around it and that’s to abide in him. What does abide mean? Websters dictionary defines Abide as “to wait, to pause or to delay. To Stay, to continue in a place or to dwell”. John 15 v 4 Jesus says this: 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[a] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” Without God we can do nothing. When you have nothing this is a very easy thing to get your head around. But when you’ve had a measure of success you can feel like either you don’t need God or the pressure is on you to get it right. You need to be connected to the vine – to God. There’s loads I could say about this verse but on the topic of fear dwelling with God will cast out fear. This is how we bear fruit. What does bearing fruit mean? I guess in a worldly way it means success and that blessing draws people back to God because it’s for his glory rather than our own. This is another topic entirely but Christians have been lead to believe that they shouldn’t succeed because it’s not Godly. It’s kept many Christians in poverty who didn’t need to be and worse than that it’s pulled many Christian organizations, businesses or individuals down to almost nothing. It’s a lie sent from the enemy. Religion says that it’s better to be meek and mild, and poor than it is to run a hugely success business or be blessed individually. We are blessed to be a blessing. Ok so we now know that we have to abide in God because it brings peace, joy and fruit but how do we do that? How do we abide in God? The world has started to talk about something the bible has been telling us to do for thousands of years. It’s a word that most Churches have banned through the years – it’s call mediation. In Psalms 46 v 10 God says “Be still, and know that I am God.” This is the very definition of mediation. The world will tell us to empty our minds but Godly mediation is fixing our eyes on God and being still. Again this is something Satan has tried to claim as his own. Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Emptying your mind is not a great thing but mediating on God’s word is. Our entire world now is set up to ensure we are never still. Every second of every day we are interrupted by others, on Twitter, Instagram, TickTock, Facebook; news alerts to our phones or emails from our colleagues or bosses. In the car we have the radio, podcasts or music to listen to. If someone thinks they need to ask you something they just pick up the phone and send a message or call. Rarely do we wait until we’re seeing that person to discuss something. Our entire lives now are a series of interruptions in a very busy world. Rarely do I give anything my full attention – let alone God. I recently stood in a queue for a while and without my phone. I physically couldn’t check anything so I just stood and waited. Everyone around me had their heads down looking at their phones or had their headphones in. We live in a world now where it’s almost deemed as unacceptable to still, to be quiet. Even for a moment. I challenge you to sit in a public place and watch people. Most people even when they are alone are plugged into some device. I believe this is part of Satan’s strategy to separate us from God. To make us so busy, so seemingly connected to the world that we become disconnected from the God of peace. But he has peace available to you; he gave it to you thousands of years ago. John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Psalm 77:12 I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds. It’s great tool to sit still and mediate on God and his words. Medically mediation has proven to help with all sorts of mental struggles. God knew what he was talking about when he suggested we mediate on him. If you need some help there’s an excellent album on Spotify by Don Potter and Daniel Kolenda called Heaven. I’d highly recommend it. If we sliced up our day into hours spent I guarantee you that almost all of us would have spent more hours looking at social media, the news or TV than we have spent reading our bibles or mediating on God. I’m not saying this to condemn you because I’m the same! I work, I have little children to look after, a home to run; I’m just the same but is it any wonder we feel so at odds with ourselves when we are living separated from time with God. And honestly there are probably thousands of Christians who can go weeks, months or year never picking up their bible for themselves and that’s such a shame because it such an important part of our defense. The bible calls the word of God The Sword of The Spirit. Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We need to know the word of God. It has to be our defense and our weapon. Don’t be condemned I’m not saying you need to know it quote it, I can’t without a quick google search but knowing what you’re looking for will help you defend yourself against fear and all attacks. There is really no shortcut to this. There are plenty of reading plans if you search online. It doesn’t matter where you start, if you read an entire book or jump about. God gave us his word to arm us against the evil in this world. When Jesus was tempted in the dessert he knew how to make Satan shut up; by quoting scripture at him. You can read about it in Matthew 4v1. I use this technic myself combat fearful thoughts: A fear thought will often but not always start with “what if…” “What if I can’t pay that bill? What if I don’t have enough money or work” “what if I can’t do it” “What happens if I fail?” My mum used to say that you always knew it was Satan talking to you if it started with what if. We fight these kinds of thoughts by battling them with the word of God. So a thought like “What if I can’t pay the bills?” is combatted with “And my God shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 “What if I can’t do it?” 13 I can do all things through [Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 That’s what I mean but using the bible as a sword. It cuts those fears down and stops them in their tracks. And yes I’ll sound like totally weirdo but I’ll speak the verses out loud. There’s power in the spoken word: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18v 21. As well as knowing your bible there are some very practical things you can do to avoid fear from having a field day. Please don’t underestimate Satan’s attack when you’re about to do something God has called you to. He created you for a purpose and if you’re on your way to do that purpose then fear or anxiety is going to come knocking. Satan needs something or someone to bring fear to you. If we all lived way up in the mountains with no contact with the outside world we’d only have ourselves to contend with. But he needs others and he can get to us either: 1. Through others 2. Through the media like TV or Radio 3. Through social media 1. Through other people. Other people can pass their fear onto you without you even being aware. A simple “hi how are you?” can turn into a conversation you wish you’d never had. It’s amazing how quickly your peace can leave you. It can be very hard to stop people telling you about how frightened they are, and unless you’re feeling very brave it’s super hard to shut them down mid flow.. But it’s important to guard your heart. Spending time being grounded God will help you shift your focus for your day. I think that’s why a lot of people start their day spending time with God because it sets them up. My go to scripture in the middle of fear and panic is Psalms 91. Writing it out and keeping near you can help you focus. It’s a long scripture but here’s a quick snippet: For you have taken refuge in the Lord, my shelter, the Most High. 10 No harm will overtake[n] you; no illness[o] will come near your home.[p] 11 For he will order his angels[q] to protect you in all you do.[r] 2. Through the media My husband calls our TV the black box fear. And really is amazing that we spend hundreds of pounds pumping ungodly stuff into our homes. During the height of the pandemic my husband would shouts ‘fear” in the middle of a broadcast. At first I thought he was crazy but I’ve actually found it very useful. It reminded me what we’re dealing with. We made the decision to turn the media off! If something major was happening then someone would tell us. It’s almost impossible to be fully connected and stay in peace. If you feel you have to be in touch with the world events than perhaps pick your most trusted source and skim read the front page. Be careful when you do this though; not just before bed. Someone said to me recently that the news used to be about telling you what’s happened. Now they are mostly predicting what will happen. And not everything will. I’m reading a fantastic book at the moment called Stolen Focus it’s not a Christian book but the author has decided to get his news from a Newspaper on a Sunday. Firstly there’s scientific evidence that reading from a paper or book helps you absorb the information better than a screen as we read differently and secondly you get the news that matters and not all the silly passing news that’s used to fill in the silence. 3. Through social media This can honestly be worse than watching the TV or listening to the radio because you get a barrage of mixed opinions and aren’t founded on anything other somebodies opinion. It’s a habit to be scrolling through and not really pay attention. A couple of things you can do to help. Un-follow anyone who is on the fear soapbox. I’m very quick with my un-follow button. Follow or subscribe to people or organizations you know are trusting God; a few good names to follow are Andrew Wommack, Joyce Meyer, Jesse Duplantis, Creflo Dollar or Rick Godwin. It’s much nicer to have a newsfeed full of Godly thing rather than fear. Better yet stop scrolling altogether and find something else for your idle thumbs to do. Paul said in Philippians 4:6-8 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Paul says that we’re not to be worried about anything. And this is a man who was spent time in prison for telling people about God. He tells us that nothing deserves our worry! He tells us that in everything by prayer with thanksgiving let God know what you need. It’s pretty hard to stay anxious if you’re thanking God. Thank him whenever you’re worried. Thank him for your job, or any money you have, thank him for family, kids or partner, thank him for you pet, your home, your food, even that you have the ability to listen to this podcast. In the middle of the night if I wake up upset and worried I start my thank you list. I always fall back asleep. Paul says that the peace of God, which goes beyond even your own understanding, will guard your hearts and minds, through Jesus. When you’re focused on Jesus it’s pretty hard to feel afraid. In Psalm 23 v 4 King David says “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” There are going to be times when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Couple of things to note from this passage: you walk through it. You don’t stand still by doing nothing. It’s a shadow; Jesus ended deaths power over you when he went to the cross. Even when we die, we’re not separated from him. Any fear you experience on this earth is a shadow. It’s not the real thing. If you’ve given your self to God then it’s a shadow because Jesus told us he had won over death: In John 3:16 Jesus said “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. In Isaiah 26:3 the bible says: You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. It’s so important that you keep your mind on God and according to that bible verse it’s the only way to keep in perfect peace. Keeping your mind on him is an active choice. I honestly believe that it’s a strategy of the enemy, the devil, to keep drip-feeding us ungodly worldly thoughts. You might need to make some changes to your daily routines. There is so much amazing Christian music, podcasts and teachings out there, you never have to fill your minds with the worlds point of view again. Remember that you have to seek God; which takes effort. It’s effortless to switch on the TV but it can be an open window to fear. You can fill that time with healthy content; like a happy movie, or a youtube preach or uplifting music. Or pick up a hobby you love; go for walk or bike ride. Fill your time wisely; God loves to walk, take him with you. And I know this because he walked with Adam in the cool of the day. With a bit of effort you can change the way you’re feeling and see some real victories in your life. Remember that no one can serve two masters. You are either serving the god of this World or your Abba Father. Even if you’re being passive in your outlook you’re still serving a master: Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. Life sadly is a series of choices; fear may knock but we have the choice to open the door or even let it hang out in our home. Be aware of who is guest in your home. Until we speak again, God bless, be kind to each other and yourself.