Participants: Jill Morikone
Series Code: HLFT
Program Code: HLFT000006A
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00:27 Hello, and welcome to Heart Lift.
00:29 I'm Jill Morikone, and I'm so glad that you 00:32 have joined us today. 00:34 We're in the midst of a journey toward hope, 00:37 toward healing, toward the transformation that the Lord 00:41 Jesus wants to work in my heart and in yours as women, 00:45 as daughters of God. 00:47 If you're just joining us, we spent the last several programs 00:51 talking about the concept of forgiveness; 00:54 how the Lord Jesus wants to forgive us. 00:57 He wants to forgive you. 01:00 He says in 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, 01:03 He's faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us 01:07 from all unrighteousness. 01:09 We also talked about the forgiveness He wants to pour 01:12 into our hearts so that we can in turn extend that to others. 01:18 Today we begin a section on fear. 01:21 Today's program is Identifying the Fears In Our Lives. 01:25 Our Scripture is 1 John 4:18. 01:29 If you have your Bibles I invite you to turn there with me. 01:33 1 John 4:18. If you don't, grab a paper and a pen 01:37 and jot it down, and you can look it up later. 01:40 The Bible says, There is no fear in love, 01:44 but perfect love casts out fear. 01:48 He who fears has not been made perfect in love. 01:52 The first part of the verse is what we really 01:54 want to focus on here. 01:55 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. 02:01 Let's pray. Father we come before You in the name of Jesus. 02:06 Thank You that with You we don't have to be afraid. 02:10 With You there is no fear. 02:13 And I just pray right now that You would hide me behind You, 02:18 behind the cross, that You could speak, and that we could hear 02:22 what You have for us from Your Word. 02:26 And we thank You in Jesus' name, Amen. 02:30 It was a Sabbath evening, and Greg and I were sitting on the 02:34 couch having sundown worship. 02:36 And all of a sudden I heard, meowrrrrrrrrrrrr! 02:40 I can't make the sound very well, but it was the sound 02:42 of two cats fighting. 02:44 And I jumped up, and then I said, Ah, I'm going outside, 02:49 and I'm going to see if it's our little kitty cat, Pebbles. 02:52 And I ran outside, and sure enough, it was Pebbles. 02:55 She had treed a white cat. 02:58 She was way up in the tree, and then higher even 03:02 than her was the white cat. 03:03 And they were kind of going at it. 03:05 Greg came out. We kind of investigated. 03:08 We thought, Well, they'll be okay. 03:10 A little bit later Pebbles still wasn't coming down. 03:14 They weren't having a fight anymore, 03:16 but she was still stuck in the tree. 03:18 And I began to think, Maybe she's getting afraid. 03:22 So what we did is we went to the tree, 03:26 and I tried to coax her down. 03:27 Come on Pebbles, come down, come on. 03:30 You know what she did? 03:31 She went, Meow, meow, from her very high height 03:36 at the top of the tree. 03:38 She was afraid; she was afraid. 03:41 And so we thought, She'll come down; she's a cat after all. 03:45 Surely she can come down. 03:47 We waited. It got dark. 03:49 She didn't come down. 03:50 Greg got the ladder. 03:53 Maybe by this time, if you've watched some of the programs 03:55 you might think our cat's a little spoiled, 03:57 and she probably is. 03:59 He got the ladder. 04:01 He brought it to the tree. 04:02 He climbed up the ladder and he said, Here, come on Pebbles. 04:06 I'm right here. He was within reach. 04:09 All he had to do was pick her up and carry her down. 04:12 You know what she did? 04:13 She dug her little claws into the tree, and she pulled back 04:17 cause she was afraid. 04:20 She thought, Greg can't carry me down. 04:23 I can't trust myself with him. 04:25 Now of course she's a cat. 04:27 She probably doesn't go through all of that thinking process, 04:29 but she was afraid. 04:30 Finally he reached up, even in spite of her scratching, 04:35 and pulled her, and brought her down. 04:37 And he said when he brought her down her heart 04:41 was thumping a lot. 04:42 He knew she was terrified. 04:44 In contrast to our kitty cat, Pebbles, and how scared she was 04:48 coming down that tree, I think of, we could call her Sarah. 04:52 It would work for any little girl, any little boy. 04:55 It doesn't matter. 04:56 They will climb up the tree house. 04:58 They're at the top. 04:59 And what do they say? 05:01 Daddy, Daddy, catch me, catch me. 05:02 Little chubby arms are held out. 05:05 Little legs take the great plunge. 05:08 And if Daddy doesn't pay attention, he'd better catch, 05:10 because she jumps even without noticing 05:11 if Daddy's paying attention. 05:13 She knows that there's safety, that there is a Daddy down there 05:19 who loves her, who, she thinks, Daddy can do anything. 05:23 Of course Daddy can catch me! 05:25 I don't have to be afraid. 05:28 When I grew up, I grew up in a good home. 05:32 My parents, incredible parents, and I felt very safe. 05:35 But in spite of that, as I grew into my teens Satan began to 05:41 feed me lies about myself, lies about my Father in heaven, 05:46 until by the time I was twenty fear ruled my life. 05:52 It dictated what I did, who I talked to, how I acted. 05:56 I was afraid. Now maybe you say, Jill, 06:00 I didn't grow up in a safe home. 06:02 I didn't grow up in a good home like you did. 06:04 I was afraid from the time, as far back as I can remember. 06:08 I remember my Dad beating my Mom. 06:11 I remember alcohol in our home. 06:14 I remember fighting. 06:15 I remember being afraid of my family. 06:17 Whatever it is, fear has a stronghold 06:20 in a lot of our lives. 06:22 Let's do a self-evaluation. 06:24 We always like to do a self-evaluation 06:27 for each program. If I honestly look into my heart, 06:31 how much does fear control me? 06:34 Now as always, I encourage you to be honest. 06:37 Don't feel like you have to please the minister, 06:40 or your spouse, or anybody else. 06:42 Just be honest. How much does fear control me? 06:55 Maybe that's where you are right now today. 06:57 Maybe you're at number two. 07:08 Maybe you're at number three. 07:21 And the last one: 07:31 I don't know today where you feel like you are. 07:34 You might say, Jill, I'm at number one. 07:36 I'm terrified. I'm afraid to live. 07:39 I'm terrified to die. 07:40 I have no assurance of salvation. 07:42 Fear consumes my existence. 07:45 Or you might be all the way over at the other 07:48 end of the spectrum. 07:49 And you might say, I walk in complete peace, 07:52 and joy, and assurance. 07:54 Where ever you are, God wants to bring deliverance to our 07:58 hearts so that we can, in turn, share with others. 08:00 We want to look today at six categories of fears. 08:04 There's probably more, but these are 08:06 general basic categories. 08:08 And I think as humans, as women, a lot of times our fears fall 08:13 into one of these six categories. 08:15 The first one is fears about faith; 08:19 fears dealing with our faith. 08:21 And the first one under that is probably salvation. 08:26 I was teaching a Sabbath School class, and I asked the class 08:30 members, I said, If you were to give one thing that you worry 08:33 about, one thing that you're afraid of, what would that be? 08:37 One of my dear friends, she's a woman of God, she's a powerful 08:43 speaker for Jesus. 08:44 She said, Sometimes I'm worried about the end time. 08:48 Sometimes I'm worried about my own walk with Jesus, 08:52 and my assurance of salvation. 08:55 Now my friend is a dedicated Christian. 08:58 But fear about our salvation is sometimes a big fear. 09:03 I think in my own experience, I have found that many of the 09:07 fears that we hold, that we hang onto as women, 09:10 they have their basis in lies. 09:13 And they come straight from Satan, the father of lies. 09:17 Maybe you've heard his lie dealing with salvation. 09:19 God can't save you. 09:21 You've gone too far. 09:22 You've made too many mistakes. 09:25 You've asked too late. 09:27 God can't save you. 09:30 You know, the Word of God is the best place to defeat 09:34 those lies of the enemy. 09:37 God says in 2 Peter 3:9, God is not willing that any should 09:41 perish, but that all should come to repentance. 09:45 God says, I love you. 09:47 I want to save you. 09:49 You don't have to feel like you've gone too far, 09:51 you've made too many mistakes. 09:53 I want to save you. 09:55 Also in John 6:37 He says, Whoever comes to me 09:59 I will never cast aside; I'm never going to cast away. 10:06 What about coming to God? 10:08 I think about Adam and Eve. 10:10 Remember, in the Garden of Eden, when they were created? 10:13 They loved to commune with their Father in heaven. 10:16 Every day, in the cool of the evening, 10:18 God walked, and talked with them. 10:21 What an incredible experience! 10:23 Then in Genesis 3 we see sin, the sin that entered this earth. 10:29 We see Eve reaching out and taking of the forbidden fruit. 10:34 Then she took it and she gave it to her 10:37 husband Adam and he ate. 10:40 And remember what happened after that experience. 10:43 Adam and Eve, the Bible says, sewed these little fig leaves 10:47 together; they realized they were naked. 10:49 They tried to cover themselves. 10:50 And then when God came that evening in the cool of the day, 10:54 and He said, Adam, Eve, I'm here to talk with you. 10:58 What did they say? 10:59 They ran and they hid, because they were afraid to come to God. 11:05 The truth is sin brings fear and guilt. 11:10 Sin brings separation from our Father in heaven. 11:14 Remember Adam blamed Eve; he blamed the woman. 11:19 And then the woman blamed the serpent. 11:21 Now when we think about fears about our faith, 11:25 there's fears about our salvation. 11:27 Are we going to be saved? 11:29 Or other people's salvation. 11:31 Sometimes we're afraid to come to God, as Adam and Eve were 11:36 that first night after they had sinned. 11:38 Sometimes our fear centers around God Himself. 11:43 Maybe Satan has fed you one of these lies: 11:47 God is a stern, unforgiving ruler. 11:52 God can't love you. 11:54 Jeremiah 31:3. He says, I've loved you 11:58 with an everlasting love; therefore with 12:01 loving-kindness I have drawn you. 12:05 God is not stern or unforgiving. 12:07 He says, I love you. 12:09 I want to bring you to Myself. 12:11 What about John 3:16? 12:14 As Christians this is probably the most famous Scripture 12:18 in the whole Bible. 12:19 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 12:24 Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, 12:29 but have everlasting life. 12:32 God the Father loved us so much He gave His only Son. 12:39 That does not sound stern or unforgiving to me. 12:43 What about Romans 5:8? 12:45 While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 12:51 Even while I'm stuck way back here in the mire of sin, 12:55 in my own junk, God said, I loved you, Jill. 13:00 I looked at you, and I want to save you. 13:04 1 Corinthians 14:33, God is not the author of 13:07 confusion, but of peace. 13:10 The lie that Satan feeds us, that God is a stern, 13:15 unforgiving ruler, is not the only lie he tells us about God. 13:18 He also says, God causes evil and suffering. 13:24 Perhaps, interestingly enough, if you have a tornado come 13:30 through your area; perhaps you have a flood, 13:34 or a hurricane. What does the insurance company say? 13:37 If you go to the insurance company what do they say? 13:40 They say it's an act of God. 13:44 Is that really true? 13:46 Is it an act of God? 13:48 John 10:10. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. 13:53 Jesus says, I have come that you would have life, 13:57 and have it more abundantly. 14:01 God doesn't cause evil and suffering. 14:04 Satan is the originator of all that evil 14:07 and suffering in the world. 14:09 God is the One who comes to bring life, 14:12 and to bring it more abundantly. 14:15 What about this lie? 14:17 If God is all powerful, why didn't He stop that little girl 14:22 from being abused? 14:23 Does that mean He caused it? 14:27 Do you see how insidious Satan is with the lies he tells us 14:31 about God the Father? 14:32 God says, Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans I have for you, 14:38 says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 14:42 plans to give you a future and hope. 14:46 The last fear that we have dealing with faith might 14:52 be about forgiveness. 14:54 You might say, God can't forgive me. 14:57 I've done too much. 14:58 I've gone too far. 15:00 God can't forgive me. 15:01 He says, 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, 15:05 he's faithful and just to forgive us, 15:08 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 15:13 Satan wants to make us fear God. 15:16 Do you notice that he puts his attributes on God? 15:20 Have you noticed that? 15:21 Satan puts his evil attributes on God to make us be afraid of 15:25 God, to make us fear God. 15:28 Now fears about God is not the only fears that we might have. 15:32 That's the first category. 15:34 Fear is about faith. 15:35 And what about fears? about family. 15:40 Maybe you're in the midst of a marriage right now, 15:43 and you're afraid that your spouse is going to leave God. 15:46 Maybe you're afraid right now that your spouse is in the midst 15:51 of an affair, or that he's going to walk out and cheat on you. 15:55 Maybe you're afraid of betrayal, or afraid of abandonment. 16:01 Maybe, right now you're going through a divorce, 16:04 and you think, If only I'd tried harder. 16:07 If only I had been a better Christian. 16:11 If only I had prayed more. 16:15 If only I had criticized him less, 16:19 maybe he wouldn't have left me. 16:22 God says, Philippians 3:13, 14, Forgetting those things which 16:29 are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. 16:34 Maybe your fear is not centered around your marriage. 16:38 Maybe you're not married, and you say, Why aren't I married? 16:43 And Satan feeds you lies about that. 16:47 He says, You're not pretty enough to get married. 16:50 You're not smart enough to get married. 16:53 You're not good enough, or he might say, You're being punished 16:58 for something you did in the past. 17:00 That's why you're not married. 17:03 Or you're not listening closely enough to God's voice. 17:07 God says, Jeremiah 29:11... 17:10 I love this Scripture and I keep referring to it, 17:12 because it's one of my favorites. 17:14 I know the plans I have for you, God says, 17:17 plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, 17:20 plans to give you a future and a hope. 17:25 What about Genesis 2:18? 17:27 God says, It's not good for man to be alone, 17:30 and I think we could say it's not good for woman to be alone. 17:33 God's desire is to put us in families; to put us together. 17:39 Maybe your fear has to do with your kids, and you think, 17:42 what if they leave God? 17:43 What if they walk away from church? 17:46 What if they make bad choices? 17:48 What if they drift away from me? 17:50 What if they die? Our first fear deals with faith. 17:56 Second fear deals with family. 17:59 Third fear deals with health. 18:03 We were quiet, the three of us, in a sort of breathless silence. 18:09 All the words had already been said. 18:12 There remained nothing more but the doctor's verdict. 18:16 My Mom took her stance on one side... 18:21 I'm sorry, my Dad took his stance on one side of the room, 18:24 my Mom sat on the doctor's table in the middle. 18:28 I took up my stance on the other side, and desperately I tried 18:34 to remember the Bible verse that I had been memorizing. 18:41 It's Psalm 112:7. It says, He will not be afraid of evil 18:47 tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 18:52 And I tried desperately to remember that verse. 18:57 And I said, Okay, God, I want a good verdict for my Mom, 19:01 so I have to remain fixed; I have to trust in God. 19:05 The door opened and the doctor came in. 19:09 And I tried to read his face, but it was very impassive. 19:12 He sat on the stool, stethoscope draped around his neck. 19:16 He turned to the phone to get the report. 19:21 He turned around, he hung up the phone, he turned to my Mom, 19:25 and he said, I'm so sorry. 19:27 But I'm here to tell you that you do have multiple sclerosis. 19:32 You have MS. And even though it's been years since my Mom was 19:37 diagnosed with MS, I can still, over the beating of my own 19:41 heart, I can remember the whole situation: my Dad folding his 19:45 arms, bowing his head, my Mom began to cry, 19:48 and I was mad at God. 19:51 Because I said, I claimed Psalm 112:7. 19:55 I did not have to be afraid of evil tidings. 19:58 His heart is fixed. 19:59 Trust in the Lord. 20:00 God, didn't I trust in You? 20:02 Why did You allow this to happen? 20:04 Didn't I trust in You? 20:06 Weeks later I went back to that passage again, 20:11 and I discovered that I had misinterpreted it. 20:14 God wasn't saying that trouble wouldn't come, 20:18 just that I did not have to be afraid of it. 20:22 If I kept my mind and heart focused on Jesus, 20:26 when sickness and disease did come, 20:29 God could keep me from being afraid. 20:32 He could hold my heart, and give me His peace. 20:37 You know, Satan tells us lies about health. 20:41 Have you ever heard any of them? 20:43 There must have been some sin in their life; 20:46 that's why they're dealing with cancer. 20:48 I always knew that they should have had a better diet. 20:51 You see how insidious he is? 20:54 Jesus says in John 10:10, Satan came to steal, kill and destroy. 21:00 He came that we would have life, and have it more abundantly. 21:05 Remember John 9? Jesus was talking with the disciples, 21:11 and the Pharisees came, and they said, 21:13 Okay, this man was born blind. 21:15 Whose fault is it? 21:16 Is it the man's or the parents? 21:19 In John 9:3, Jesus said, It's neither this man's fault, 21:24 and neither is it the parents fault, but that the works of God 21:29 should be revealed in him. 21:33 What about this lie? 21:35 If only they had enough faith, they would be healed. 21:39 That's a lie from the enemy as well. 21:43 We have fears about health, fears about faith, 21:49 fears about family. 21:50 Number four is fears about relationships. 21:53 Often I fear people: what they say, what they think, 21:58 or what they're going to do. 21:59 Maybe you feel betrayed by a friend, 22:02 or your spouse is threatening divorce. 22:04 Maybe your kids are talking back, or acting out, 22:08 and you're afraid they might leave the church, or even worse, 22:12 they might leave God. 22:14 Maybe you're afraid to step out and speak for God; 22:17 afraid of what other people are going to think of you. 22:20 Maybe you're afraid to leave the abusive relationship you're in, 22:23 or afraid to tell other people about the abusive relationship 22:27 you have left behind. 22:29 Maybe you're afraid to reach out and make a new friend, 22:33 because you've been hurt so many times in the past. 22:37 Psalm 27, Psalm 27:1. 22:43 The Bible says, The Lord is my light and my salvation; 22:46 whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; 22:51 of whom shall I be afraid? 22:54 Fear number five is about the future. 22:56 Often we fear what's going to happen in the future. 22:59 We don't know. Number six, the final one, is finances. 23:05 Maybe you're afraid and you say, I can't even 23:07 put food on my table. 23:08 God says, Isaiah 33:16, Bread shall be given you; 23:14 your water shall be sure. 23:16 Also in Matthew 6, the Sermon On the Mount, Matthew 6:28, 29, 23:22 Jesus said, Consider the lilies of the field... they don't toil, 23:27 neither do they spin: yet my father in heaven cares for them, 23:31 and they're arrayed even better than Solomon. 23:34 Maybe it's a fear about housing, or your job. 23:37 You think, I'm going to lose my job. 23:38 I might be laid off. 23:40 What am I going to do? 23:41 Whatever the fear is, we want to take it to God: 23:46 Fear's about faith, fears about family, fears about health, 23:51 fears about relationships, fears about the future, 23:55 and fears about finances. 23:57 Our next program we're going to unpackage how God can break 24:03 us free from the bondage of fear. 24:06 But first we need to take a break right now, and then we'll 24:10 be back with some practical application 24:12 that you can do this week. |
Revised 2016-03-28