Welcome to our Together on Mission podcast, when we seek to be with and like Jesus, as we begin a conversation with Jesus in the morning, the scripture, prayer and meditation, and then continue that conversation with him throughout your day. Your hopes to straddest find you, the pastor at the Inland Vineyard Church in Corona, California. Good morning everyone and welcome to the Together on Mission podcast and welcome to this season of the podcast where we are in the book of Psalms. And we are submitting to the power of the Spirit, we're allowing this unique incredible book called The Psalms, pull out of us the emotions that are in us, the things that we're feeling.
And sometimes we're feeling these things so deeply, we aren't even aware that we're feeling them or sometimes we're feeling these things so powerfully that we're incredibly aware that we're feeling them. And sometimes we're feeling these things so strongly that they're controlling our lives or consuming our minds. And God is the place where we get to offload these things. God's the one that wants to know where we're at, even if we don't know where we're at or why we're there.
He wants to be the one that is walking and talking with us and experiencing with us any emotion, anything that we're thinking or feeling. And that's where the Psalms come in. And it's just an incredibly unique book. And so anyway, happy Tuesday morning, although in some ways this is not going to be the happiest of mornings because we're going to talk about fear.
We could also call it anxiety. And most of us are so caught up in fear and anxiety that it's just a, it's a difficult thing to talk about and it almost seems unbeatable. So the title of the podcast this morning is fear and this is a big one. And we're going to be in Psalm 46 in just a moment, but fear and this is a big one.
It's a relevant one. And some of us are thinking, Oh man, fear, anxiety. Oh gosh, it's unrelenting. It's like in every area, every moment, every relationship, it's like fear and anxiety are always there.
And then there's going to be others of us. They're like, well, I'll skip to the next podcast because I'm not really afraid. Well, yes, you are afraid. I'm afraid.
You're afraid. We're afraid. And I've read that 365 times in the scripture, it says fear not. And obviously that's one fear not for every day.
And scripture doesn't simply say fear not when angels show up. You know, often in scripture, right? God opens our, you know, mortal eyes to see angels. And there's always a great deal of fear.
And so the angel always has to say fear not. It's going to be okay. You're not going to die. Get up off the ground.
In fact, don't kneel before me. I'm not God. Don't be afraid. But it's not just times where we see angels.
It's in the story of Gideon, the story of Joshua, the story of the call of many of the prophets. It's in story after story after story. And we need to hear it as well. Fear not.
You know, fear not. And I guess I just to be very blunt, if you're not afraid, then you're probably not trying in life. You're probably not seeking to grow in life, to follow God's call to risk, to become a different kind of person. Because if we're taking following Jesus seriously, we're going to be afraid.
So here's the question. What are you afraid of? That's the question. What are you afraid of?
And you may think about four or five or ten or twenty seven things, but just think of one right now. Just bring one into your heart. What you're afraid of is that you are afraid you're always going to be lonely or always going to be afraid. You know, is it that you're afraid you won't do it right or perfect?
Are you afraid that you won't be significant? Are you afraid that money's going to run out? Are you going to get sick or loved ones going to get sick or loved ones not going to do well? Or your child or your grandchild is going to continue down that path?
Are you afraid of not being valued or not accomplishing or not making your mark? Are you afraid of going into this situation, not being competent? Are you afraid of being trapped in pain or rage? Or are you afraid of seeing that person again?
Are you afraid of having to express your emotion in order to move forward in this relationship or the situation or whatever? Are you afraid that someone is going to find out that you're not being truthful or that you're being deceptive? And of course we could go on and on, but you think of yours. What are you afraid of?
And honestly, when we're afraid, it feels like the earth is giving way. We're going to see that language in just a moment. It's like a bottom is going to fall out from under us. Fear is intense.
It's a lonely feeling. It's an intense feeling. It's a confusing feeling. It's unrelenting and it is a feeling.
So let's just go there. Let's own that. And we go to verse or sorry, Psalm 46. God is our refuge and He is our strength and He is our ever present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear. Though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in their surging. Go down to verse 7. The Lord Almighty is with us.
The God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done. The desolations He has brought about on the earth, He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear.
He burns the shields with fire. And this is so good, verse 10. He says, we still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth. And finally, the Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Such a good soul.
Such a good soul. And notice at least two times in the Psalm, we get the word help. And that's a good place to start with God this morning. Help.
I am afraid. Help. Oh God. Help.
Oh God. My fear in that area is unrelenting. Maybe other people don't even know that I am afraid of that. But I am afraid of that all the time.
Help God. Help. And the mountains give way. The waters roar.
I mean fear is so tumultuous inside. And some of us are introverts. We don't share that we fear this and that. Some of us are extroverts.
And so we are a little bit better at it. But really none of us are very good at vulnerability. We are much better at anger, which we talked about a few days ago, than we are expressing fear. It's vulnerable.
And I love when the Psalmist says twice in the Psalm, God is our fortress. And see, that's the thing. God is our fortress. It's like God doesn't fix the fear.
And it's not like He makes us strong. You know, verse one in the song, God is our refuge and our strength. He's the fortress. He's the strong one.
It's not like, oh, let me just fix that fear. Let me make you strong. No. He introduces us to Himself, our fortress.
And that reminds me of Martin Luther, the great reformers, famous hymn. Mighty fortress is our God. Mighty fortress is our God. And honestly, when we get introduced to God, who is our fortress, that does break the back of our fear as we find our hiding place in God.
And then the Psalmist says, and this is so good. And think about the question earlier. What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of?
And in verse 10, be still and know that I am God. And of course, that's what we've been doing for the last 302 days with the podcast. We've been starting our day still, knowing that He is God. And that changes everything.
But this is more than that. This is a life posture. You know, because we are control for weeks, if I could just own our stuff. And the root of control is fear, right?
Because we try to control or swage our fear by controlling people and events. But that's not going to work. And as I said before, maybe hundreds of days ago, fear is not the result of something that's out there. We think it is.
We think fear is the result of something out there. But fear is not the result of something out there. Fear is actually the result of not knowing the one that is right here. Our strength, our help, our fortress, our strong tower.
So being still is the opposite of control. And that's so big. That's so big for me in the areas that I fear. That's so big for you.
So here's the question. Here's the question. I'm going to stop talking in a minute. We're going to ask this of God.
And here's the question. What does it practically look like to be still when it comes to what you fear most? That's the question. What does it look like to be still not control?
I know that he is God. That he is the strength. That he is the fortress. That he is the strong tower.
Even though the mountains give away and the water roars. What does it look like to be still in the area where we are most fearful? And that seems counterintuitive. It seems almost irresponsible.
It seems crazy. And it is a challenge. It's a letting go. It's a taking thoughts captive.
It's a trusting. It's a walk by faith and not by sight. It's a crucifying the flesh that wants to control our lives and the lives of other people. And where we start is right here, right now, spending a little bit of time with Jesus crying out for help, announcing that he's our strength and our strong tower.
And to say, okay, God, show me what it looks like to be still and know that you are God in the midst of that unrelenting, pressing fear. So let's begin that conversation with Jesus this morning and we will talk tomorrow. Thanks for listening to the Together on Mission podcast. We truly hope that you were blessed and encouraged by you today.
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