Facing Fear

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info visit us at thrive-fl.org. Well friends we are on a journey and as you heard in our opening worship songs, God has not only invaded our lives but he's invited us. He's invited us and encouraged us on this journey through life. This is from Romans chapter 4 various verses. What then shall we say was gained by Abraham our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by the things that he did and the things that he didn't do by his works, he would have something to boast about but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, their wages are not counted as a gift but as what they are due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies, declares not guilty the ungodly, their faith is counted as what is righteousness. For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be an heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness that comes by faith. That is why it depends on faith. In order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all of Abraham's offspring, that includes us by the way, not only to the adherents of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham who is truly the father of us all. Well my dear friends in Jesus who was, who is, who always will be the only Savior of the world. You know there's an area I think in in all of our lives where it seems like the odds are long and because of that there can be this kind of developing element or feeling of fear. It might be that we're being challenged by the Holy Spirit to start maybe some new adventure of serving or some new adventure of giving or even teaching like we've never done before whether that's using more of our time or our energy and maybe there's a growing concern about what might happen to us if we follow that leading if we do that or maybe it's that we're aware of the fact that we've been too busy in our lives that we haven't been able to pray the way that God invites us to pray or love the way that our Savior wants us to love because you know I mean our schedules are just out of control and yet underneath the busyness there is often this temptation this thought that if we don't keep juggling all of those plates up in the air all of those commitments then people might stop asking and we might end up on some backburner whatever backburner we happen to end up or maybe God is calling you to share your faith with somebody or to talk to a trusted friend about something that that you're struggling with but brothers and sisters whatever that might be we all come to these points I believe these critical moments if you will in our journey in our pilgrimage in our walk of life and faith where fear pops up and the question is the feeling to retreat and not move forward and so the question is what do you do what do we do as people of God in those critical crossroads well again we've been looking at the life of Abraham the father of faith and if you've been here the last couple of weekends you might remember that we look back write the reference down you can take a look at it later Genesis chapter 12 when God first comes to Abraham calls him to leave everything that was familiar to him and to follow God to a place that he had never seen or been and God promised to blast Abraham and then through Abraham especially this promise of a Messiah the Savior that would come through Abraham's descendants that God would bless the entire world through Jesus who was to come jump ahead to Genesis 15 it says this quote after this the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision do not be afraid Abraham now some of you may know that there are 365 of those statements from God to us in the Bible stop being afraid but this is the first time this is the very first time that God says it to somebody and it is the person that God has actually made a commitment to a covenant with choosing Abraham by grace to be his new community people whose relationship with God puts them beyond terror puts them beyond their fears says this the word of Lord came to Abraham in a vision do not be afraid of him I am your shield I am your very great reward and Abraham says this sovereign Lord what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus Abraham saying hey Lord you've given me no kids and so now a servant born in my household is going to be my heir is this what you intended now remember that God's promise to Abraham was that he would be the father of the people of God and then through the people of God a blessing was going to come to many nations but the odds of that to Abraham were starting to look a little slim since Abraham doesn't have any kids verse 4 of that chapter 15 then the word of Lord came to Abraham this man namely Eliezer will ...