I Changed My Mind About Fear | Jimmy Evans

this last message that I have this weekend is called I changed my mind about fear if you have your Bibles there you can turn to Luke chapter 22 and we're going to learn from Jesus about how to deal with fear literally about how to think differently about fear in our lives because we all experience it let me say the commandment do not fear or fear not is the number one commandment in the Bible God did not create us to live in fear it's the opposite of the way that he created us God created us to live in peace when God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden it was a place of peace it was a paradise and Jesus is the Prince of Peace but the devil brings fear into our lives for different reasons that I'll talk about in just a minute but Luke 22 this is talking about before Jesus died on the cross he went to the Garden of Gethsemane and here's what it says in Luke 22 coming out he went to the Mount of Olives as he was a custom and his disciples also followed him when he came to the place he said to them pray that you may not enter into temptation and he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw and he knelt down and prayed saying father if it is your will take this cup away from me nevertheless not my will but yours be done then an angel appeared to him from heaven strengthening him and being in agony and that's an important word their agony he prayed more earnestly than his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground when he rose from prayer and had come to the disciples he found them sleeping from sorrow and then he said to them why do you sleep rise and pray lest you enter into temptation and while he was still speaking behold a multitude and he who is called Judas one of the twelve went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss him the word we see that Jesus was in agony and that word is word agnya in the Greek and it means great fear or distress Jesus felt more fear in that moment than any human being has ever felt and I'll tell you why in just a minute but it says remember Luke was a doctor when you're lead reading the Gospel of Luke you're reading the writings of a physician and Luke describes something here very important he's Jesus was in agony and his sweat became like great drops of blood it's called Hamato hydrosis it is a medical condition that when a human being comes under a certain level of stress our blood vessels rupture into our sweat glands and literally our sweat includes our blood so when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane he was in agony he knew he was about to die he knew what was happening to him in his blood vessels rupture and he begins to have sweat like great drops of blood that Luke records here and we need to understand that Jesus experienced fear but he defeated it and because Jesus defeated it we can also defeat it and literally he shows us how to do it let me say one other thing before I get into the body of the message and that is there were many other times that Jesus could have feared but he didn't and the question really becomes why did Jesus feel fear here when he really had never felt it before and I want to answer that in several different ways the first reason that Jesus felt fear was so he could identify with us as a human being remember Jesus is fully God but he's fully man our God has a human mother named Mary we have to remember that Jesus was born a real human being he was laid in an animal feeding trough he grew up in a village named Nazareth he had a dysfunctional family Jesus Jesus was a fellow human and as a fellow human he can identify with us and here's what Hebrews 4 says about Jesus as our high priest we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with all of our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need for every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sin he can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray since he himself is also subject to weakness well see it says that Jesus was tempted in all manner as we are yet without sin well what was Jesus temptation in the Garden of Eden to head south to run Satan puts fear on us so we won't do God's will that's why Satan but every time you make a fear-based decision it will never be in compliance to God's will and I'll say this I'll promise you you'll regret every fear-based decision they'll ever make in life and Satan puts fear on a seat it was God's will for Jesus to go the cross and Jesus prays three times and says father I don't want to do this I don't want to do this not my will your will be done and the answer is God says you're going to do this and so Jesus was dealing with the temptation not to do it because of the fear that he was feeling but thank God that we have a Savior because he acted above his fears and he'll have disciples if we act above ours but fear is always present always there in our lives to some degree to try to keep us from doing God's will and understand our concept of God is huge you cannot get closer to God than your concept of him will allow if you believe that God is a loving sweet generous daddy when you have a problem you will run toward that God if you believe that God is a mean austere distant troubled God you will not run toward that God when you're in trouble God's throne is a throne of grace and our high priest who is on that throne understands every single thing we go through when you need God the most you deserving the lease the reason we need him is we're a mess and the only way to get fixed up is jump in his lap but you're not going to run toward him in other words if you're feeling fear if you're feeling weakness if you're feeling insecurity those kinds of things and you fear here's here's what the devil wants you to believe God's already kind of ticked that you just don't get too close to him and he'll swatch it he sees all the dumb stuff you do and he just doesn't want you hanging around him too much he'll take you in the family but stay at the back of the line the devil wants you to believe that God's always kind of mad at you and he really doesn't like you that's the concept of God the devil wants you to have your high priest is madly in love with you and when you go to Jesus and you say Jesus I'm tempted I'm feeling sexual tempt I'm feeling financial temptation I'm feeling tempted to do something bad and I'm feeling fearful Jesus says this I experienced that I know exactly what you're feeling let me help you overcome it it says that when when we go to the throne of grace we'll find mercy and grace in our time of need here's what mercy means mercy and grace are different mercy means you don't get what you deserve we all deserve death and hell we only get heaven because of the grace of God grace means you get what you don't deserve all the riches of God freely when you go to the throne of grace if your concept of God is correct but misses if if you could see God how he really is you would run toward him and you'd never feel fear again he is madly in love with you he understands not just your issues but why you have those issues and he wants you to come to him and let him mercifully and graciously help you jesus said I'm humble and gentle and you'll find rest for your souls in my presence our God is a fabulous God and our God understands everything we've gone through every fear every temptation and that's one of the reasons why Jesus felt fear here is so he could identify with us the second reason that Jesus felt fear would be he had the full knowledge of everything he was about to go through remember he was also fully God he and everything see a lot of us feel fear because of what we do not know it's the fear of the unknown what's going to happen tomorrow what's going to happen financially what's going to happen in the stock market what's gonna happen to my job what's gonna happen to my health or my children we don't know Jesus knew every single thing that they were about to do to him Jesus Christ died the most grisly death that any human being has ever died and he knew every single detail about what was about to happen to him so much so that he was sweating drops like blood and he went to the Father Jesus raised a dead man with two words Lazarus arrives Jesus was the son of God he didn't have to pray twice about anything and all of a sudden he is going before God three times begging him and saying father if there's any way father if there's any way take me out of this I don't want to drink this cup if there's any way but not my will your will be done I want to say something now because this is a very important point here there are people today teaching universalism universalism teaches that all religions lead to the same path basically all lifestyles have the same result in other words everybody gets to heaven there is no right religion there is no wrong religion in other words if you really believe that then Adolf Hitler is sitting with Abraham in heaven right now and you could go on and on about that jesus said to God the Father if there's any other way that mankind can be redeemed I don't want to do this and God the Father said no God's answer were the torches of his betrayers coming to get him father if there's any way he was begging God three times if there's any way God the Father says no well I won't you listen to me if universalism is true and if all religions lead to the same path I have no respect for God the Father I have no respect for any parent that would torture their child just for theater and drama because that's all it was if Hinduism can get us there if Islam can get us there if being a good person can get us there God the Father was cruel but let me say this I have the ultimate respect for my God because there's only one way to heaven Jesus Christ our Savior he is the only way and it was proven right there Jesus knew everything he was about to go through but he went through it for our sake number another reason that Jesus was so fearful was that he was under full-scale assault by Satan the spirit of fear here isn't some thing if someone it says in Luke 4:13 you need to you need to understand this related to the nature of the devil remember when Jesus was fasting for forty days and at the end of that fast Satan attacked him and here's what it says at the end of that attack in the wilderness Luke 4:13 when the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him until an opportune time here's what you need to understand about the nature of the devil he's an opportunist when you're the weakest he's the most evil you know when you're a gentleman or a gentlewoman you're a kind gracious person when someone's hurting you let up he's the opposite when you're hurting he presses in and at the end remember at the end of 40 days of fasting when Jesus was weak that's when he pounced on him and now in the Garden of Gethsemane Satan understands that Jesus is weak that he's troubled that this is that this is an opportune time and so Satan comes with his spirit of fear and attacks Jesus this is what 2nd Timothy 1:7 says to us about fear God has not given us a spirit of fear fear is a spirit but of power and love and of a sound mind the devil doesn't control our thoughts but he influences our thoughts he wants to whisper thoughts of fear to us who will accept them and he can control our lives God God won't ever use fear to control your lives and when you read in the Bible it says the fear of the Lord that means a reverence of God that does not mean a negative emotion it means a positive emotion a reverence for God God will never never bring fear into your life to cause you to do anything but the devil uses fear to control us this is hebrews chapter 2 it says in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood Jesus himself likewise shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death that is the devil and release those who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage and see all fears ultimately are the fear of death you say well I have a fear of bugs no you don't you have a fear of getting bitten and dying of a bug a critter okay you say well I have the fear of snakes you do not have the fear of snakes you have the fear of dying by snakebite you have a therapy say I have a fear of heights you do not have a fear of heights you have a fear of splattering okay so if you think through all your fears they ultimately come to the fear of death but let me let me say something to you about this you'll never die but that's the lie of the fear of death it says that Satan holds people in bondage because of the fear of death you'll never die jesus said to Mary and Martha I'm the resurrection the life he who believes in Me will never die well let me say this to you do you understand that you will never in all of eternity experience a moment of death you'll never be in a casket in the ground you never will be your body will be and one day your body will be reunited with your spirit but do you understand the instant that your eyes closed on Earth they open in heaven Jesus turned to the thief on the cross next to him and said today you'll be with me in paradise and that what he said the minute that you go numb here your senses come alive there the instant you take your last breath here you take your first breath there somebody say Amen you'll never die you'll never die so when the devil comes and tries to put the fear of death on you or some fear on you see fear is a prophet spirit from Hell to give us a negative view of the future to cause us to make a fear-based decision that God will not honor faith is from the Spirit of God to give us a positive view of the future so we'll make a faith based decision that God will honor Satan is always dogging you through fear he's always showing you a movie of the future of your husband of your wife of your children of your health of your finances to get you upset so you will find a reason not to do what God is saying but faith gives you courage thank God that we have a Savior because he acted above his fear you Jesus felt fear but he didn't let it control him he acted above it here here's why the the Nate the devil uses fear and kind of the nature of fear now there's some good fear I mean like for example someone swerves into your lane when you're driving and you feel instantly that fear that's a good kind of a fear but the fear I'm talking about is a demonic kind of a paralyzing fear and here's the difference between good fear and bad fear and I can tell the difference good fear is circumstantial only I only feel that fear someone swerves into my lane because there's somebody in my lane when they pass I'm over it bad fear is perpetual it just it just hangs over you just that sense that the next shoes gonna drop anybody ever had that before you just you had so much hurt you had so much pain has so many bad things happen there's just that perpetual fear that the next shoes about drop let's listen fear is expecting the devil to move faith is expecting God to move huh and we choose you can put your eyes on the devil or guys on God good fear is protective bad fear is paralyzing someone swerves in your lane you swerve out good fear is instructive bad fear is confusing and fatally fatalistic when you're under the influence of good fear you do the right thing and this is the last one good fear is empowering bad fear is enslaving there was a story in the news about a month ago of two like twenty-year-old young ladies who lifted a truck off their father he was pinned under a truck I don't know if you saw that story but these two young girls come over and grab this truck and lift it off their father their father crawls out and they came up these girls and said how do you do that they said we don't know you can do superhuman things when you're under the adrenaline of good fear but bad fear is just enslaving your distance life did I was on an airplane and I love to fly flying is the safest way to get anywhere unless you're walking or something like that but I get on the airplane I sleep I just I go to sleep not what I'm playing piloting the plane I am a pilot but I no one will fly with me anyway so I'm as well wouldn't admit it put on autopilot and taken out but I get on this plane and I'm going somewhere I'm sitting on the aisle and this young lady is sitting across the aisle from me and God God love her she was terrified and I've never flown before all her friends are over there trying to comfort her and she's using the air sac SiC bag while we're parked at the gate and she's just you know over that airsick bag you know yeah the whole way she was just erect and I just thought isn't it terrible is it just awful you know to have that kind of fear in in other areas I've had that kind of fear you need to understand this about you can only give away what you have the devil only has fear the Bible says in Isaiah 48 22 there is no peace says the Lord for the wicked one of the things that happens when you reject God is he takes away peace listen God owns peace it's his property devil doesn't have any peace that's why people who are in rebellion to God they have to try to buy it in a bottle or something like that they can't get it the devil has no peace he's full of fear it's how he thinks is how he feels as much as you know the presence of God by peace you know the presence of the devil by fear you need to change your mind about fear when fear shows up it doesn't mean you're demon-possessed that's what I'm saying I'm saying the devil is trying to influence you to get you to do the wrong thing so that you won't follow God that you won't be the person that God wants you to be that's why he comes Jesus rules by peace because he's full of it the devil rules by fears because he's full of it that's the way he influences us in our lives and here's how to overcome fear like Jesus the number-one thing to do is to admit your fear without shame don't be ashamed of it we all feel it though we sometimes want to act like we don't we do God is a God of light and the devil is a devil of darkness see when the devil is working he always put shame and fear on something so we won't admit it we don't want to talk about it but it won't be well until you bring it into the light and here's here's what Jesus says daddy I'm afraid the son of God went before his father and said Abba Father daddy I don't want to do this I'm afraid the truth literally will make you free and the the end of fear is when we expose it as an entity not as something that is natural within us but something that is supernatural and from the devil this is a spirit of fear daddy I'm afraid and I know that this doesn't come from you because the Bible says that you would not give me a spirit of fear the second thing that you do to overcome fear is that you submit your fears to God you have to submit it to God jesus said not my will but your will be done you go to God and you say you say Lord I feel fear right now much listen to me is that more I love what Mark Twain said he said courage is not the absence of fear it's the mastery of it people who've died for our nation they felt fear but they acted above their fears to be a mature Christian you have to act above your emotions and there'll be many many times in life when you're feeling anger and you have to act above it you feel the desire for revenge you feel a temptation for sexual immorality you feel fear and because of that fear you don't want to do what God is saying and to become a man and woman of God you have to act above that and here's what it means you go to God and say I'm feeling an emotion and it's real but doesn't mean it's right and Jesus went to God the Father and said father I'm afraid but I don't want my will to be done I want your will to be done now listen good doctors don't operate on their children for a reason and that's because emotion makes you less capable of making a good decision right the worst time to be making a decision is when you're feeling fear that's when you need outside counsel that's when you need somebody else telling you what to do and the best person is God telling you what to do the perspective that we have is so isolated we I have a perspective of right here right now in my past experiences but I can't say everything else God can see the entire world everyone in it and all of eternity and I think he has the best perspective to help us make a good decision and for that to happen we have to separate how we feel from what's right and wrong my emotions may be very real but that does not mean that they're right and it does not mean acting upon them will bring a good response my greatest regret in life is every decision I made by fear I'm so thankful though for the times I made a right decision in spite of fear the colonial golf tournaments going on this weekend and it's of the Lord you need to watch it when you go home Ben Hogan one of those famous golfers of all times was from Fort Worth and I believe this was Johnny Miller had an interview with Ben Hogan and Ben Hogan was called the wee Iseman by the Scottish because he was so calm on the golf course and he was just this wonderful golfer but he was so calm and Johnny Miller asked him said oh how do you stay so calm on the golf course he said I'm not calm I'm terrified he said I'm constantly terrified on the golf course Byron Nelson also here from this area they asked him about how he stayed calm on the golf course he said I'm not calm he said the reason I gave up golf is because I got started getting sick every time I would call from that came out he said I was constantly feeling fear great people feel fear but great people act above it to become the person that God wants you to be you have to act above your fears no let me say one more thing I'm gonna keep him on here when God took the children of Israel to the promised land there were giants there in fact let me start this next point it's focused on God's presence and love is the third way that you deal with fear the children of Israel came to the promised land there were giants there nine-foot tall people and the spies went into the land and they came out in ten of the spies said we're like grasshoppers in there side these people are huge they will destroy us if we go in there but Joshua and Caleb came out and said their protection has been lifted from them and there'll be our prey let's go in and take the land let me say this the devil will always put a giant where God gives you the promise and that Giants gonna try to terrify you and keep you out of God's promised land but once God gave you that land that giant was pronounced dead right then all you have to do is fight it they could have shot a peashooter those giants Mabel to die because God had lifted their protection from them let me say this what a blessing to move in after Giants big houses big beds big closets big barns you know what a blessing and so it's just the way you see things and 10 spies came out and terrified the nation of Israel with a bad report and two spies came out and said we see a big God in a little devil let's go in and take our land how big is your God how big is your devil understand the devil is not omnipresent but our God is the universe cannot contain our God but the devil is a creature he is not omnipresent how big is your God and here's what David says in Psalm 23 yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil you're with me your rod and your staff they comfort me though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death that's not the valley of the shadow of a hangnail that's not the valley of the shadow of a headache that's the valley of the shadow of death and he says I don't fear because you're with me here's the confession of Jesus on his way to the cross when the devil was trying to terrify Jesus this is his confession in Psalm 16 I have set the Lord always before me because he has hid my right hand I shall not be moved therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices my flesh also will rest in hope for you will not leave my soul in show nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption you will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore on the way the cross the devil was telling Jesus you have disappointed your father you're a huge failure you're gonna rot in hell and God will not come get you and Jesus said he will not allow his Holy One to see corruption he's not gonna leave me in show in his presence there is fullness of joy he will show me the path of life and he is confessing against the devil I have set the Lord always before me let me say this the Lord is always before you you might as well set your attention on it and we sang that song earlier that says let us be more aware of you let us be more aware of you listen fear is reality - God faith is reality plus God if your eyes could be open right now to see the supernatural realm you would never fear again when I first started preaching about half a dozen times little kids would sit out will listen to me preach and I draw pictures of me and after the service the mothers would come up and give you the pictures they were not flattering I had to forgive those kids and I remember all their names of this day anyway but this is what happened about half a dozen times which was so interesting different children at different times drew me preaching with two Hewett huge angels next to me and the mothers the first mother came and hand me that picture I select this this week and then six months later another mother a year later another mother two years later another mother and these little kids I guess in the spirit could see something we can't see do you know that there are angels in here hebrews 1 says that angels were ministering spirits sent to render aid to God's elect there they're angels in this place and not only that God is here if our eyes could be open we would never feel feel fear again but we have the choice to have spiritual eyes that we don't walk by sight we walk by faith even though I can't see him I set the Lord always before me therefore I will not be moved the devil wants to overwhelm us with negative circumstances so we'll run the other way but we can choose by faith to set God before us I want you to change your mind about fear I want you to stop accepting it is a part of you or a normal part of life it's of the devil to attack us and to keep us from God's promised land but our Savior is able to lead us into that promised land as we put our eyes on him how your heads with me if you would lord thank you for the gift of peace thank you that you overcame the devil and all of his fears and right now we bind fear in Jesus name every demonic fear in our lives we come against you as an enemy of God and an enemy of our lives we bind you in God right now I'd lose peace healing life revelation Comfort peace that passes understanding heal our minds heal our hearts from the things that have happened to us that the devil uses heal those right now God supernaturally and give us a peace that passes understanding God that we might have courage to go forward and to take the promised land for you I bless these people God with supernatural peace today in Jesus name Amen I was 19 years old when I gave my life to the Lord and everything changed I didn't have any desire to go back to that old life I wanted to walk with the Lord and learn more about him and some people helped me to learn the Bible and to learn how to pray and to learn about my new life in Christ and that's what we want to do for you I am so excited that you've given your life to the Lord he's forgiven all of your sins and you're on your way to heaven but we need to learn some things now about the Bible about prayer about some basics of the Christian life so that you can be victorious and live for the Lord like I know you want to so we've designed the class called fresh start and I want to encourage you to sign up for this class because we want to help you grow in your walk with the Lord now I love you and I'm so proud of you

Channel: gatewaychurchtv

Views: 136,125

Rating: 4.8327594 out of 5

Keywords: Gateway Church, gatewaypeople, Robert Morris, Pastor Robert, DFW, Southlake, Texas, New Sermon, Jesus, God, Jimmy Evans, Marriage Today, Trinity Fellowship Church, I Changed My Mind, Pastor Jimmy, Pastor Evans, Pastor Jimmy Evans, Insecurity, Fear

Id: W6NdsLPjYK8

Length: 30min 48sec (1848 seconds)

Published: Wed May 29 2013