Saturday 9 November 2013

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 9/11/2013 - RESPONDING TO FEAR? BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE



RESPONDING TO FEAR?

MEMORY VERSE
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
Psalm 121:1

READ
2 Chronicles 20:1-4

2 Chronicles 20:1 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

2 Chronicles 20:2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.

2 Chronicles 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

2 Chronicles 20:4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

MESSAGE
When three powerful kings decided to invade Judah in 2 Chronicles 20:1-4, Jehoshaphat set his face to seek the Lord and immediately went into a fast. What a great way to handle fear! His fear did not push him away from God but more towards God. His fear did not make him to abandon God but to cling tightly to Him. We all get scared at some point in life, but the crucial question is: How do you handle your fear? Some people were threatened by some enemies like it happened to King Jehoshaphat but their fear led them to try ungodly alternatives. How are you responding to the threat that you will die young, or that you will never live to carry your own baby, or that you will die poor? Are such fears driving you from God who alone can tackle them?

When King Jehoshaphat was afraid, he 'lifted up his eyes to the hills from where his help comes' (Psalm 121:1-2). When men threatened David, he said he will fear no man because God is his light (Psalm 27:1). In fact, when he had a close shave with death, he said,

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4

In other words, because he is confident of God's ever-abiding presence, he is comforted right in the midst of danger. Nothing can give you confidence of safety or security in the midst of danger as much as the Lord. Are you sent as a missionary to one of the danger zones of the world, where your life means nothing to the people there? Do not be afraid of going! God can keep you from all evils, but if He will be glorified by your having to go through such evils, it is better for you. After all, whether we live or die, it is for Him. In any case, never allow the fear of Satan, his agents, men, or situations to separate you from the Lord God Almighty Himself.

KEY POINT
If you fear what others fear, you will fall where they fall. If you refuse to fear what others fear, what brings others down will be unable to bring you down.

9 comments:

  1. Thank you for ur word

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  2. Like David I say: the Lord is my refuge, the Lord is my light. He is also my shepherd.the Lord send me help from is Sanctuary. Thank you Pst for ds word.

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  3. I rebuke d spirit of fear in my life IJMN.

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  4. Father help me to overcome every kind of fear that besets me

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  5. I dispel every form of fear in my heart. I trust the more in the power of the Most High who has everything and everybody under his control. I refuse to fall to fear, I am unstoppable. In Jesus' Name

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  6. Bunmi Olatubosun.10 November 2013 at 06:59

    I bind and destroy every spirit of fear in my Life in jesus name. I am set free from any form of fear; be it death, poverty etc. I am an Overcomer IJN.

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  7. Today the and always the Lord shall be my strong tower where I run to for refuge

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  8. Help me lord to conquer the fear of unemployment in Jesus Name

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