‘Victory Over Fear’ - Victory Series Pt.2

And if you're a first time guest today, you may be wondering, are they Baptist?

Are they are they Pentecostal? I thought their website said they were Wesleyan. No, we're the church man. That's all you need to know.

And we're one church where we desire to reflect heaven on earth. And so once you get to heaven, there won't be a Baptist section or a Pentecostal section or a Catholic section or Wesleyan section or Amy Zion section. They're just going to be God section. Amen. And so on. Thank you for all of our first time guests here today, and we're so grateful that you're here and on your way out.

Please see our connections team. We have a small gift to say thank you. We just want to kind of connect with you, pray with you. And just to let you know that we're so grateful that you spent some time with this this morning. And if you have your word with you, either electronically or digitally. Well, the same thing or in paper, we'll be lifting up Psalms chapter 13.

And this is just going to kind of give context to where we're going today. Psalms 13 And it reads as follows. This is David. David is asking some questions. I believe David is asking questions that many of us today have asked in the past or at some point in our life. David is asking, how long, Lord, will you forget me forever?

David is asking, How long will you hide your face from your God? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts day after day after day? Have sorrow in my heart. He says, How long, Lord, will my enemy triumph over me? These are some questions David is asking Our God. David says, Look at me. Got an answer. My question is, how long will you hide your face from me?

He says, Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in death. And my enemy will say, I have overcome him and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

David is in a crisis. You may be in a crisis right now. How do you deal with life when you have more questions than answers? Have you been in a place where you have more questions to God and answers that He provided for you? How long God, How long? David Questions to answer ratios off the chart. And he's asking God, our Lord, our Savior, our Creator.

How long God will you not answer me?

See, life places us in times where we don't. We don't have the answers to life questions. Maybe you received a report about your health, and maybe you're going in a relationship and you're thinking about plan B because plan is just not working any more. How long? God, how long would I be in this situation? How long I want to go from paycheck to paycheck?

How long? How would I go from person to person? How long were you not answer me.

Maybe the ground is shifting underneath your feet as we speak. Questions of who, where, when, and even why is pondering in your in your thoughts right now.

God, how long will you forsake me? God, I am in a crisis moment. See, David four times asked this question. How long David is tired?

Truth be told, many of us are tired. Many of us have grown weary. Many of us are facing a crisis of our life right now that we don't even have the answers to begin to think about it. And oftentimes, when crises besiege us, fear sets in. When we are at the door of a crisis. Fear sets in. And I'm reminded that there's just some things in the Bible that God reminds us that he repeated over and over and over again.

And one of those concepts is that God is with us. We see that. We see that all throughout Scripture. Rigor tells us that he is with. Right? He says, I am with you, that when you go through the waters, I am with you. When you are walking through the floods, I am with you. When you are walking through the fire of life, I am with you.

He tells us that even to the ends of the earth that he's with us, that he would never leave you nor forsake because God of our creation is with you. Today. Another concept that the Bible repeats itself over and over. It is that he commands us to love people. He said, Love those who are your enemy. He said, Love your neighbor.

He says, Prove that you have the Holy Spirit by loving others.

Love those who hate you. See, these are our customs. This all throughout the Bible. We can go from Genesis. Virginia Since the revelation that we begin to see how God is speaking to His children.

But there's one. There's one concept. There's one concept that is all throughout the Bible from Genesis one through Revelation. That's more repeated than anything else, and that is do not be afraid.

Abraham is leaving his father's house. God tells him, Don't be afraid. When God says Moses Taffaro, he tells Moses, Don't be afraid. When the going is your licenses, don't be afraid. Even when Nehemiah stands on the wall, he says, Don't be afraid.

The children of Israel enter into the promised land. He says, Don't be afraid. When Joshua succeeds Moses, Moses, of all people, he tells Joshua, Be strong and be courageous. But yet do not be afraid.

When the angel came from on high from Bethlehem, he tells Zachariah, Mary and Joseph, Don't be afraid with Jesus walks out on water in the middle to his disciples, the first thing he tells his disciples as he's walking out in the water, He tells his disciples, Do not be afraid afraid. The disciples see themselves in a storm of their life, but yet God, Jesus, The Imago day tells them not to be afraid.

When Mary is at the tomb of Jesus, the angels tell her, Don't be afraid. When Jesus meets the first eyewitnesses after his resurrection, he commands them to not be afraid.

Church guys sent me here to tell you, to remind you to Don't be afraid when the storms of life is crashing all around you. Don't be afraid when you have more questions than answers. Don't be afraid. When Paul tells his protege, Timothy he passes the mantle, he tells Timothy Young. Timothy, don't be afraid. Second, Timothy, Chapter one, verse seven says this For God has given us the spirit of fear, but of power in love and a sound mind.

Why does God repeatedly tell us not to be afraid? Why does God drives the point of not being afraid? More than anything else we see in the Scriptures, more than more than there is, He tells us not to be afraid. More than your purpose that you may have in his life. He tells us not to be afraid more than the gifts of despair.

He tells us not to be afraid more than he talks about discipleship. He tells us to not be afraid. Why? One of the greatest weapons the enemy places in a believer is fear.

Is that the reason why that God reminds us repeatedly from Genesis to Revelations? My children, whom I love, not to be afraid because he know the adversary. The enemy who is roaring around with like a roaring tiger enemy, wants to pounce. He tells you not to be afraid because he knows that the enemy will use that as a defense to take you off course.

Think about it. Fear starts at a young age. You all know what I'm talking about. You afraid of the dark, afraid of the boogeyman. Growing up in my house. So there used to be this belt that sat on the door that we was afraid of. Hey, man, we didn't touch it. We left it alone. Come on, Church. I know what I'm talking about.

That's that special belt. Raise a child. Oh, my mama back to saying yes. She came in and way back in the back. My God spared. Right? Come on, now. Fear starts at a young age. Some of us are afraid to go to the doctor. Some of us are fearful of the dentists. Some of us are afraid of shots.

Not the one with the lime in a lemon. A man talk about the shots. You know, we keep it real in his church. Come on now. We're afraid of a medical shot. Amen. Clean it up, Pastor. I do. Some of us are afraid of losing money or career or a marriage, thinking that I'm not good enough. Maybe your fear is in sickness.

There will always be a crisis.

So today, my message to give title to it, that is victory over fear. We've been in a victory series all month long. And so if you kind of hear the rhythm of our worship service today, victory in the name of Jesus right, spirit, flow, our whole Scripture today will be Second Chronicles Chapter 20 versus one through five. Second Chronicles.

Chapter 20 verses one through five is in the Old Testament. Second Chronicles is after first Chronicles. If not, it will be on the Second Chronicles. Chapter 20 verses one through five reads this following It happened after this that the people of Moab, with the people of Ammon and others with them besides the the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat this some came and told your hosts of that saying A great multitude is coming against you from Beyond the sea from Syria.

And they are in Hazen tomorrow and Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaim a fast through all of Judea of Judah. So due to gather together to ask help from the Lord and from all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord first by then, Jehoshaphat stood in the Assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the House of the Lord before the new court and said, Oh Lord God of our Fathers, are you not God in Heaven?

And do you not rule over all the kingdoms in the nations and in your hand? Is there not power in might so that no one were able to stand with against you? Jehoshaphat is not telling God who he is, but letting God know that He know who he is. Did you get that? Let me reread verse five Danger host that that stood in the Assembly of Judah, a place of praise in Jerusalem, in the House of the Lord before the new court, and said, Oh, Lord God of our Fathers, are you not God in heaven?

He's like, God, you are the God in Heaven. And do you not rule over the kingdoms of the nations and in your hand where you crafted everyone? Were you beat down and picked up the dust of the earth and blew life into it. The God of hand. He says this is your power and might so that no one is able to withstand you.

Which a host of that is saying is this I know who you are. I know who you are. We know that you are the creator, that that you are the God. If you did it, then you can do it again. He's the same guy yesterday, today, and forever more. The same God that brought victory back then can bring victory today.

Amen. Church Jehoshaphat as the saying, got to know your track record. Verse seven says, Are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people of Israel and gave it to the descendants of Abraham and your friend forever? And they would dwell in it and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying if disaster comes upon us is sword or judgment or pestilence or famine, we will stand before this temple, and in your presence, your name in this temple, and we will cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save us.

Jehoshaphat is saying Nothing will separate me from the love of our God. He's saying, Are we now more than conquerors? That we are persuaded that life nor death, nor angels, no principalities, no powers, no things present or things to come, nor height, nor death, nor created things shall separate us from the love of God. He is saying that even though that there may come sword or famine or pestilence, that nothing should separate me from my victory because we have victory in you, Josephus.

Reality matches his theology, and oftentimes our theology doesn't match our reality. Our theology sometimes doesn't match our reality because we know what the Scripture tells us that we are more than conquerors, but we don't act like we're more than conquerors. But see, Joseph's theology matches up with this reality. He knows that he's about to be about to actually be taken over by another another whole country.

He says, You know what? God, I know your history. You did it before. You can do it again. He's the same God back then, the same guy right now. Verse two says this. Then some came into Jehoshaphat saying A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea. Joseph is receiving some bad news. That crisis is coming your way.

People will come near and far to destroy what God wants to do in your life, but your host of fact is committed to seeing things through Jehoshaphat is committed to still worshiping Jehoshaphat is still committed to praying Jehoshaphat still committed to living his life, chasing after God. Jehoshaphat knew what crisis was not too long ago, about a couple of years ago, my family, I we were actually planning to take a trip with our parents.

We typically take a trip with our moms every 2 to 3 years and we all expense paid. And you know, we get to have fun and just hang out with them, with the kids and everything. And so we're taking a trip. And before then I was taking some medical exams and did some blood work because, um, my supervisor, who shall be renamed nameless, but is this finger right here?

She's always telling me, Make sure you take care of yourself. Did you get your blood work taken care of your agency like my sugar levels? Great. Until I start talking to her like my sugar level just went sky rocketed, and I went to the doctor, and the doctor started telling me some things, and the doctor said, Well, Ryan, we need to go get you checked out and do some other things.

And I went to this doctor and he's like, Go get your your lungs checked out because this kind of like post-COVID and everything, making sure everything is fine went from there and went to another doctor and they did a I guess, a MRI scan. My of much of my my lungs and my chest cavity. And I began to sit there and waiting to take the picture.

As I begin to leave, I kind of took a glance at the machine to see my lungs are like, It's my lungs. I got the right to see my lungs right because I pay my copay. That's what happens. And so I kind of looked at it and I thought by looking at it, then I'm like, That isn't it?

Is that my lungs or was I don't know what organs and just I didn't pay any money. So I was waiting for my doctor to give me a call back. And so we started to take our trip was a trip around the United States, the eastern part, right? So we left North Carolina and we went to New Jersey, to New York City, to Ohio, to Canada to go to Niagara Falls.

I mean, we did the whole thing. We went to go see Noah's Ark in the flood and we floated back down to North Carolina. And so the first leg of our trip, my wife and I were in our room like, this is the first night in a sit in amount sitting on the bed of the hotel and I get a phone call and the phone rings and I'm asking if I'm like, Hello?

Like, Hey, this is Ryan. And you know, we got the results back in the results. We got some concerns. And I'm like, What are you talking about? Like your your results of your your scan of your lungs came back abnormal. And it's possible that you may have cancer. So I'm sitting on the side of my bed and I'm, like, shocked.

I'm like, I'm healthy, I'm a Spartan running. I'm like, I run. I see my healthy. I'm like, you know, I do certain things. And he's telling me that you need to come in as soon as you get back into town. So that way we can start doing some test. It felt like 5 to 20 minutes sitting on that side of the bed.

I was speechless. My wife looks at me and says, What's going on? I saw my whole life pass right before me. It's like you're wearing me because you're not saying anything. And as she said, like, what's really going on? So I begin to tell her what the doctor has said. And so I started thinking like, Man, I can't see my kids grow up.

I can't walk my daughter down the aisle for when she gets married. You know, I can't see my son marry his wife, have grandkids like I'm and see my whole life go before me. And I begin to think about the crisis of the report that I received. And so I sat on that for the entire trip with a week and a half trip.

No one knew. Not even my kids, only Felicia. I didn't tell my my mom and my kids until we were in maybe 30 minutes coming back to my house. So the entire trip I held on to that, thinking about it, what's going to happen, A crisis moment. So we're 20 minutes from the house. I give the announcement and my mom looked at me, both my mama be my mama.

I thought I was about to just get knocked out. They're like, why in the world are you going to sit on something like that for the entire trip? Because I don't want that weighing on the everybody for the trip. And so I'm like, You know what? I'm not going to worry about it. You know, I preach about having faith all the time and, you know, God, you know, you're more than able to do that.

Oh, my God, If you're going to take me out, take me out. That's cool. I'm ready to go. I'm like, I know where I'm going. But the fact still remains that I'm thinking about all the other. And I'm like, I'm still young. I got 50 more years that I can live and be a part of my kids. My family lives and see things like we just started this church and other things going and I'm like, Oh, what are you going to do?

It's a long story short. Go back to the doctor and get to the doctor. And he sees and I see the specialist and he's like, Why are you in my office? It's like, you're too young. We have problems of what they're saying. It's a long story. Short praise God, God, I said. The doctor said I didn't have any type of cancer that, you know, you're good and just continue.

Maybe it's just some some mold in the air that you're just breathing in from other stuff, whatever the case may be. And like, you're fine. Don't worry about it. So praise God for that. But what I want to point out is this many of us have a crisis moment. Many of us may have received a report from someone about a crisis moment.

Is what you do in that moment that determines the word God world. How can you use your faith? And we see how jehoshaphat in his crisis moment, how God used his faith to mobilize what God has called him to do. We see in verse three that He sought God. He called for corporate fast and he prayed. And Scripture tells us that Jehoshaphat saw the Lord.

He call for a corporate fast. He called for the entire Judea Judah to fast. And then they prayed. But watch how God's response to Joseph, that's faithfulness in this moment. Turn to verse verse 14 and chapter 20. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jesus, the Son of Zachary, the Son of Benard, the son of Jill, the son of Matt and I and and Levi of the Sons of Aspa in the midst of the assembly.

So they're given a historical reference. They given lineage to what is about to take place. Verse 15 says this, and he said, Listen, all of you, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem and you, King Jehoshaphat, you see how you steer Set that down. He says, All of you, all of you living in Judah, all of you in Jerusalem, and then specifically you, the leader, priests of your home, Joseph, and thus says, the Lord, do not be afraid nor dismayed, because the great martyr, too, for the battle is not yours.

But God's. Come on, you honest. That's a shout moment right there. Church, He says, Do not be afraid or dismay for the battle is not yours. It is God. I got three points in 3 minutes in the worship team is going to come up here in a second. The first point is simple. Remember that the battle is God.

Remember that the battle is God. God is always working in the background. He's working on your behalf. Even now, whatever you may be going through, whatever situation that you that you've been trying to get over, whatever the ladder that you need to buy from low to get over to the other side, your God is working on your behalf.

The battle is not yours, it is God. God is still writing your story, so stop trying to steal the pen and trust the author. God is still writing your story. Stop trying to steal the pen and trust the author. Many of us are trying to take the pen out of God's hand and write your own story. Let's see how that's going to work out.

Amen. God is saying, Let me you finish writing your story because I've already seen the end. If you can be faithful to where you're at and continue just to trust me and lead not to your own understanding in all your ways acknowledging me. I am the author in the finish of your life. Stop trying to steal the pen.

Galatians six nine tells us not to grow weary well doing, but in a do season we shall reap in fame not worse. 15. Come on up. Point number one. Remember that the battle was God. Point number two is this Remember to re Joyce. Remember to re Joyce. Remember that the battle is not yours. But the second point I want to remind you today that you need to remember to rejoice even in your situation, because we see this in verse 18 with your host event.

And Joseph that bowed his head with his face to the ground in all of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bow before the Lord worshiping the Lord, you'll see that all of Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem bow before our God, our Lord and Savior. So let's jump down to verse 21. And when He had consulted with the people he appointed, those who seem to the Lord and who should praise the beauty of holiness.

And they went out before the army and they were saying, Praise the Lord for His mercy endures forever. Now, when they begin to sing and praise the Lord, set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seer, who had come against Judah, and they were defeated. You don't know when to shout. Let me read that one more time.

Verse 21. And when he had consulted with the people, he had appointed people to sing to Lord and praise the beauty of His Holiness and as they went out before the Army, so what happened is this they sent the praise and worship team out before the Army to begin to praise and worship the God. This says this Praise the Lord for His mercies and duel was forever.

So what do you say? That even in your mess, even in your trials and even in your struggles, that his mercy that he has upon you a divorce forever? Then he says this in verse 22. Now when they begin to sing with praises, the Lord set up an ambush. He has set an ambush for your enemies against the people.

Who is coming against them? Against the people that he was reported about were poor, about your enemies. God had already set an ambush place. I'm gonna sit there for one second. Let me make this plain. We bought the praise, the roof off the good. What I want you to understand is this. There's an undignified praise that I predestined.

Everybody. There's that ugly praise that God may want from you right now. And as I look out in the crowd today, we have cancer survivors. We have those who have survived hell and back. I know what you've been through, but what we just read is it's. Is that so? Praise is your breakthrough. So this may not be your cup of tea, but you can sit there.

That's fine. You can praise him any way that you want. You can praise him sitting down, you can praise him standing up. But I want you to do is this you may not be in a crisis right now, but at some point in your life you will be in a crisis. So what I want you to do is remember back to when Pastor Ryan said, this is what we're going to do.

We're going to praise our way through our crisis. We're going to praise our way through this cancer. We're going to praise our way through this financial situation. We're going to praise our way through our children acting crazy on Monday, crazy on Tuesday, crazy Wednesday. We're going to play our way through whatever trial a situation that you may be facing because, my God, you're gonna work out who's going to good folks, allow the rights to cry out on our behalf.

So what I want you to do is this. I want you to stand up on your and this is what we call a praise. Great. I want you to praise God. You can show you can turn around whatever you want to do. I want you to take a long break, for God's sake. Let me. Let me put it to you like this.

We want it work right now. It is real time to get out because, you know, killing them at gunpoint, right? You get on the plane because we are not in Israel. You may not have the bus.

Just wait. Just wait, wait. Prosecution hits your front door. Just wait. God, I thank God that. Thank you, God, for waking me up this morning. God, I thank you because you want your God to go. We know that somebody died last night. God, we thank you. Go. What you're going to do now, we're going to praise you got to the store, God, we're going to praise you.

Doing well now we're going to praise you are tribulation go We go Praise our marriage Go A change in our life God, we're going to praise you Go to our community, we go to friends. You got to feel a change in our state government. Praise You got you get you good God, You get to go. We don't need the music.

We don't need the instruments. Go. You just need our voice. God, you want us to look up our voice, God to give your praise. They got to praise you for my brothers and sister God who may not be God right now. Look What? I'm a crazy lady. How we don't deserve God. You know our thoughts. You. You know our desires.

And like you, the father, today we choose to worship versus are you God, God. We choose faith over fear. God, God. We choose miracles over Matt and his father, God to break through my addictions. God, I praise you through my my habits. God, you're worthy for that. Praise the Minister, Father. You're worthy, Father. We know that our victory is connected to your word.

So God will remember that the battle was yours. I was Will remember to rejoice. Now we'll remember that your word guides us and directness in God. We know that fear is not our future. We know that fear is not the future for your children. So, Father, who doesn't fear God? I pray God that we allow fear to be the beginning of our faith.

So, Heavenly Father, we say hello to peace.

We say hello to strength. We say hello to hope. We say hello to love Because we know that fear is now our future. But I pray today, God, that we walk in victory. Whatever our story may be, we trust you for we're going to praise you while we're in the store. We're going to praise you while we're out of the store.

One and they give it all to you today. Give Father, have your way today. I pray that this word will follow fertile ground, even when the enemy is encamped around us. The praise of you as a way of defeating that. Let us remember that the Holy Spirit have your way. Today. We glorify you and all that we do, say and desire.

We think we are. We say, amen.