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1 Sam. 17:4-11 - Then…came …Goliath, from Gath,…. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, "Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. "If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us." Again the Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together." When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. NASU
He is remembered because he had hope, faith, and trust in the Lord God Almighty. He never doubted God could use him to defeat Goliath. He was not afraid of Goliath, like his brothers, King Saul and the rest of the Israelite Army. He was a boy guided by faith, not fear. Here is what he says in Psalm 25:1-2 - To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust,… David's faith, hope, and trust were in the Lord, but this was not the case for King Saul and the rest of the Israelite Army. They trusted in themselves and when you make that mistake you will be dismayed and greatly afraid anytime an enemy appears.
Look what David says about God in I Sam. 17:34-37 - But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." David trusted his God and was victorious. There are plenty of enemies in this world trying to get us to take our eyes off God and be filled with fear. If you want to overcome fear, there is a very simple way and that is to put your trust in God exactly like David did. Think About This: Feed your faith the Word of God and fear will starve to death. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Gen. 15:1 - After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great."
I can remember my first fight like it was yesterday. It was before school started and we were on the playground awaiting the bell to sound to be permitted to go inside the building. I was crossing the monkey bars when the school bully got on from the opposite side. You know the side that didn't have a long line of kids waiting to go across. Halfway across we met and he told me to, "Get out of his way". I said, "Go to the end of the line like the rest of us". He started to say something and I wrapped my legs around his waist and started to squeeze. He let go of the bars and now I had him swinging below me and I unwrapped my legs and he hit the ground with a thud. The bully started to cry and I finished going across the monkey bars. He slowly got up off the ground. He was crying and went home. He told his mom some story because once we were in our homerooms my name came across the loudspeaker to report to the office.
When I walked into the office, the school bully and his mom were sitting there and I remember her screaming at him, "This is the little s*** that beat you? Then she smacked him on the back of his head. I went in and told the Principal my side of the story and then went back to my class. I would like to say that it ended there and that was it, but the next morning before school started on the playground there was the bully. He told me, "His mom told him that he had to kick my a**." The next thing I knew he started swinging both of his arms like a windmill. I took one step to my left and hit him between the eyes with my right hand. He went down and started crying again, only this time there was blood all over his face. Yes, my name came over the loudspeaker again that morning and yes, I had to make the long walk to the Principal's office. I had to explain what happened on the playground again. I didn't get in trouble and was told to go back to my class. The principal then said something I could never understand, He said, "I don't want to see you back in here again. Do you understand?" I kept saying to myself, "I didn't want to be in there in the first place, but neither did I want to get beat up and pushed around by the school bully either."
If you are like most guys, we have grown up fighting and protecting ourselves and it becomes quite a challenge to allow God to be our Shield. God tells Abram that He will be his Shield. Abram had just been victorious over the kings that had kidnapped his nephew. One has to wonder did Abe believe God had helped him or that he accomplished this victory on his own. Melchizedek informs Abram that God is the One who delivered his enemies into his hands (Gen.14:20). God will be our Shield but we have to realize this fact. We have to let God be the Shield He has promised us that He will be. We must believe like Abram that God was his shield and protector. I can almost guarantee you that you will encounter something in life that even you will need to have God be your Shield. Why not grow accustomed to it now before that day arrives and you are unfamiliar with how to bow your knee to your King the one who has promised to be your Shield.
Think About This: How many times has God already been our shield and we didn't even realize it? Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
Psalm 34:1-7 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him And saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. NASU
I am not sure the best use of one's time is reading about it or watching TV news. I know it is out there and it has put a lot of fear in people's hearts and lives. What good is going to come from this type of fear?
Now I am not sure how knowledgeable you are about God's angels but believe me when I say, "They can handle any problem coming after God's children". You don't have to fear any virus if you are a Christian. What is it going to do to you? Kill you? What happens to a Christian who dies? His or her spirit is set free to go and spend eternity with God. How is that a bad thing or something we are to be afraid of?
Here are some words from Jesus: John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. Here are some words from John: 1 John 4:18 - There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. When you love the Lord God Almighty you have nothing to fear. He takes care of His children. Think About This: "When you fear God, you fear nothing else. If you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” – Oswald Chambers Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 5:5-6 - A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" NASU
Who doesn't want to get well?
I was counseling a person who didn't want to get well. You might be thinking how do you know that to be true? The person would not try any of the Biblical suggestions I was sharing with her. She would not apply the scriptures I gave her to believe and apply to her life. I knew the Biblical answers were correct. I had used them with people many times and they worked when they were applied and they had worked with me. If she would have done this she could have been well. She could have been free from the depression she was living in at the time. She was not willing to even try. It was then I realized she didn't want to be made well. She had grown accustomed to living this way and it wasn't really that bad for her. Jesus' question wasn't so dumb after all. This man had been that way for 38 years. Do you know how different his life was going to become? Did he really want this change to happen? Do you really want to be well? Now I realize this isn't such a dumb question. Some people have learned to live in their condition and to be made well would mean they would now have to learn how to live all over again. This is scary for some and a welcomed challenge for others.
What would your answer be? Living with certain fears can really handicap you. Your life can not be lived to its fullest when you are being controlled by fears. This is why a Christian must learn to trust Jesus for every aspect of their lives. Ps 9:10 - And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Heb 2:13 - And again, "I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM." These three passages assure us the right place to put our trust is in Jesus, God, the LORD. Whatever it is you're confronting today trust me it is better to place your trust in the LORD than in yourself, your friends or even your family. Let Him have first place in your life. Think About This: Isaiah 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation." Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word I Kings 19:2-4 - Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.
1. He is forgetting what God has done with him. 2. He believes Jezebel, a liar. Elijah had displayed great faith in God and defeated 450 false prophets of Baal. He challenged them to pray to their god and he would pray to his God. The God who sent down fire from heaven and consumed the sacrifice would be the true God to be worshipped. Baal failed to answer his 450 prophets, because Baal is not a real god. Yet, the God of heaven and earth did NOT fail to answer his one prophet Elijah. Yet, when it was really important Elijah forgets what God has done.
Elijah has just defeated these false prophets. Their god Baal was useless to them but Elijah's God was not useless. He was the true God. We don't worship Baal. He is useless. We worship and serve the only true God. How can we forget so quickly what He has done for us?
He could've said, "What happened to your 450 false prophets is now going to happen to you." What lie is the devil telling you now that you believe?
If your faith is being tested don't run because you are afraid as Elijah did. Stand your ground! God will reward your faith.
Romans 8:11 - But if the Spirit of Him (God) who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. We can not beat this promise from God. You die in Christ and you will come alive by God's Spirit. Think On This: Anyone in the world can give up; it is the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else in the world would understand if you quit, that is true courage. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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