Faith Is The ONLY Antidote To Conquering the Vast Amount Of Fear That’s Currently In Our World!

Mark 4:40.       And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

And then it was Wednesday, our second wind day, but the weather is certainly strange. Earlier on, there was some sunshine with clouds in the background, then some small white pieces of stuff began falling, then that went away after a few minutes, then the sun came out, then the clouds took over. Right now, at midday, it’s a mixture of cloud and sun, with who knows what’s going to happen next. 

But that’s why we’re ever so glad to have Jesus! I say it every day, because whatever comes our way, whether it’s weatherwise or finances or sickness, or anything the evil and ungodly world throws at us, with Jesus at our helm, we will be able to navigate through it successfully, because He is the Navigator of All Navigators! Rocks and storms and strong winds or anything else are no problem for Him, because He is the One that created them all, and consequently can control them however He wants to. 

Remember that marvellous and miraculous moment when Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat as He crossed the Sea of Galilee with His disciples, when a big storm rose up and threatened to sink the boat, but Jesus remained calmly sleeping. The disciples in great fear, woke him up, asking ‘Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?’ (Mark 4:38-40) 

Now friends, that’s exactly what Jesus is asking of many of us in these tough and turbulent times because we are sorely afraid of what’s happening around us and what might happen to us. But if you are a true child of God, there’s no need to fear, for He’s promised to look after us, satisfy all of our needs, and to work everything out for our own good. And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these scriptures that promise divine aid and intervention. First off in Isaiah, the Lord Promises: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10) What more do we want eh my people? 

Then there’s this other promise: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 4:19) What’s in that that we don’t understand eh? Then we have the granddaddy of all promises: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) Now, He doesn’t say that we will never have any problems, but in the end, He will work out all those tough times and things for our good. We just have to be strong, faithful, patient and persevering despite what comes against us, knowing that our great and wonderful God is always with us, wherever we go. 

And that’s one of the oldest promises in the Bible, for Moses encouraged the Israelites thus before he gave up the leadership of the group to Joshua. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6) And the Lord also pounded it into the ears of Joshua when He made him the leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. You can read that very clearly in Joshua 1:7-9. So that’s nothing new, we should all be well aware, believe and expect the Lord to be with us at ALL TIMES! 

And would you believe that the words or idea of ‘do not fear,’ occur very often in the Bible, because we still have that latent fear of life, of the devil and all his accomplices, despite the many assurances of God to hold the opposite emotion of faith. That brings us to this most telling exhortation from Bruh Paul to Timothy, and rebuke to us, who should know better. He steadfastly proclaims: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’  (2 Tim. 1:7)

So why is there so much fear today amongst supposed believers eh, if we weren’t given a spirit of fear by our God but one of strong faith, etc. etc.? Who knows? I guess we all have to speak for ourselves, but to my mind, too many of us have not reached that level of spiritual maturity where we stop being afraid of what the world and all its cohorts can do to us. Oh yes, we are concerned and do our best to help ourselves, but in the long run our help all comes from the God who LOVED us so much back in olden times, and still LOVES us a whole lot today, despite our disobedience and rebellious ways, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) 

Now, that ought to tell us a lot about the wonderful nature and character of our God. But I guess it doesn’t, else we would not be behaving in the fearful and ungodly manner in which we’re currently behaving. For if we were not fearful and afraid, the devil would not be holding the world in as tight a stranglehold as he is right now. That alone shows how fearful and afraid we supposed believers are, otherwise we’d be out there fighting the devil and his evil doings mano a mano, step for step, and winning the battle, because we have the victory already assured by Jesus, we only have to keep it going. 

And there’s no better verse of scripture to encourage us than this one from Christ Himself. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Wow mih bredrin! What encouragement and reassurance it ought to be knowing that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus has already overcome the evil world of Satan, and there’s no need for us to live in fear, but in faith and in His peace. 

Now, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail to all sundry, letting them know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And if you truly believe, then it’s also been promised that if we endure to the end with Christ, that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So, let’s pledge to meet there at the very end and enjoy that more than glorious future together nuh! Much LOVE!

…when fear comes calling…send faith to answer…because faith is the only antidote for fear…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 August 2016 Psalm 50:15.

Psalm 50:15.    And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

And then it was Wednesday; a bright and shiny, but somewhat cloudy day! (smile) I know it sounds somewhat confusing, but the sun is shining and there are a few grey clouds hovering overhead. 

However, the important thing is that the Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is shining as brilliantly as He always does. There’s never an element of cloudiness in Him! Praise His holy name! 

And so, in honour of His constant faithfulness, I want us to begin today by singing this soulful ditty I heard the Hour of Power choir and congregation singing last night. I don’t know it personally, but the simplicity and practical nature of the song touched my heart and made me want to share it. 

So let’s get soulful and sing: ‘Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all; He is my strength from day to day, Without Him I would fall. When I’m sad to Him I go.No other one can cheer me so; When I am sad he makes me glad, He’s my friend. 

Jesus is all the world to me, I want no better friend. I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when Life’s fleeting days shall end. Beautiful life with such a friend, Beautiful life that has no end; Eternal life, Eternal joy, He’s my friend!’ 

Oh what wonderful sentiments my brethren. And as I said earlier, I just LOVE it’s simplicity and practicality. And besides, there’s truly no better friend than Jesus; He is able to satisfy all our needs, calm all our fears and comfort us in the deepest and darkest times of our lives! No human being can do all that for us. 

And to further honour and glorify Him, as well as lift our spirits, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail nuh with plenty enthusiasm, and sincerity. 

Wailing: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! 

I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Oh my people, my people, how beautiful it is to be alive on this glorious morn, feeling the breath of God coursing through my body as I look forward to the wonderful future that Jesus has planned for us, if we stick to the programme that He’s outlined! It doesn’t get any better than that friends! 

No wonder our Bit seems so appropriate. ‘And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’ Yes my fellow believers, it’s all about glorifying Jehovah God, our Creator and heavenly Provider! 

And we do that by living the life God has set before us, doing so in faith and sincerity, and in times of trouble, crying out to Him for succour so that He can uplift us and further glorify His holy name. Oh what a wonderful Deity we serve and worship my people! 

Now let’s turn to some scriptures that corroborate our Bit. And to begin, we’ll go all the way back to the days of the prophet Samuel, when he lead Israel to repentance. 

‘And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange (foreign) gods and Ashtaroth (images of Canaanite goddesses) from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines.’ (1 Sam.7:3) 

Oh friends, that is exactly what we need to do in this current evil and godless world. Like the Israelites back then, we’re worshipping all sorts of idols and false gods, thus our world is quickly going to hell in a hand basket. And the only thing that will save it is repentance and a sincere return to serving and worshipping the One and True Living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 

Yuh see how all the other societies that abandoned Him and worshipped other gods fared? There was never any true peace, just constant war, destruction and despair. Now why do you think our society would be any different, suffer a different fate eh? 

Yes, our God is a merciful and gracious, forgiving and LOVING God, but He’s no push over, He’s very serious about whatever He says. And He’s said several times in His word that if you don’t serve and worship Him, you’ll be destroyed. So I don’t know where we’ve gotten this foolish idea to abandon God, kick Him out of our society, and then expect to prosper. Steups! 

Ah friends, it’s up to us believers to bring about that repentance. It’s not going to be easy, but with God’s awesome help we can do it. Remember we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. 

And we’ll end with this appropriate passage from Job, where his buddy Zophar reproves him. ‘If he (God) cut off (passes by), and shut up (imprisons), or gather together, then who can hinder (restrain) him? For he knoweth vain (deceitful) men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? 

For vain (empty-headed) man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt (when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man). If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch forth thine hands toward him; If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles (tents). 

For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shall not fear. Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. And thine age (life) shall be clearer (brighter) than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.’ (Job 11:10-17) 

Yes my brethren, though Zophar was wrongly ragging on Job, believing that some hidden, serious sin caused his tribulations, his advice was right on. An omniscient God could clearly see man’s sin, and if he confesses and repents, the Lord will forgive Him and make his life better. 

Now that is what we need to do in this ungodly world; bring about confession and repentance, so that our beautiful world can be lifted up, be without spot and without fear. That’s the wisdom of the age! Much LOVE!

…only Christ’s LOVE Revolution can save our sinking world…