When Fear Takes the Wheel

And I'm exhorting you in Jesus' name. Do not let fear drive anything in your life. Fear does not have the voice of God. It has another voice that competes with the voice of God. What is fear?

Fear is expecting something negative and being alarmed because of it. Hello and welcome to this Thursday edition of Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd, who is Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. You know, it's not always easy to live by faith.

Obstacles stand in their way. Problems come at us out of nowhere. And instead of having confidence in what God has said, we focus on what we see. Today Pastor Paul reminds us that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, of power, and of a sound mind. Stay with us here or stop by pastorpaul.net anytime to hear today's message or any recent Destined for Victory message on demand. That's pastorpaul.net.

You can also subscribe to the podcast at Google Podcasts, at Spotify, or wherever you get yours. But let's join Pastor Paul now as he shares today's message, When Fear Takes the Wheel. Genesis 21 verse 17. And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, said to her, What ails you, Hagar? Fear not.

Let's pause right there for the moment. I want to talk to you about living fearlessly. This is the first of many scriptures where a person or a group of people are told fear not or do not fear or don't be afraid. Genesis 21 is the first time you'll see that. But if you're a Bible reader, you'll know that you see it constantly throughout the scriptures. Fear not, do not fear, or don't be afraid, something like that.

Why? Because God really wants us to live fearlessly. He's not interested in us spending our time here on earth in fear. Now there are a lot of scary things that go on in our world. There are a lot of scary things that happen in your personal life, in your family life, in where you live, all of that.

And then we live in a world that has all kinds of stuff going on, terrorism and wars and rumors of wars and criminals and vicious people and all kinds of things. That if you allowed yourself, you could be gripped by fear every day of your life. But my brothers, my sisters, that is not the will of God for us. He wants us to live free from fear. That's why it's constantly said in the word of God, fear not.

God's not giving us an impractical suggestion when he says that. He means it, do not live in fear. He's not talking about fright, anything that happens and you're unaware, anything can frighten you in a moment. Fright is inevitable, but fear is when the fright turns into a constant sense of something negative is or is going to happen and you have dread of it.

You respond to it in a very negative and unhelpful way. And that's what I want to spend some time in this series talking you through. I want to look at how the Bible tells us not to fear in various contexts and we'll look at those contexts to see what practical lessons we can learn about living fearlessly. So I want you to stay here with me in Genesis, but I want to begin before we look at why Hagar is told to fear not here in Genesis 21.

I want to back up and go back to the context. If you want to understand what's going on in Genesis 21, you really need to go all the way back to Genesis 12. So let me just take you there for just a moment. Genesis chapter 12 where God calls Abram and gives him an extraordinary promise. A man named Abram is given an extraordinary promise by God in Genesis 12. The Lord says to him, I have called you, I'm going to bless you, make you the father of many nations. And so I want you to get up and move to where I tell you and I'm going to bless you in these ways.

And so look at what is said here in Genesis 12, 1. Get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to the land I'll show you. I'll make you a great nation. I'll bless you and make your name great. You shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse him who curses you.

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Let's skip down to verse 10 in the interest of time. Now there was a famine in the land and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there. For the famine was severe in the land and it came to pass when he was close to entering Egypt that he said to Sarai his wife, indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.

Pause for a moment. Abram's 75 when God's telling him this. His wife is 65. And Abram says, girl, you so fine. 65.

And he's saying, you are too fine for me to just leave this thing. How many over 65 sisters do I have in here right now? Hallelujah.

I'm over 60, but don't play me now. Indeed, you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore, it will happen when the Egyptians see you that they will say this is his wife and they will kill me.

But they will let you live. I want to read this not only to give you the context before we get back to Hagar, but I want to show you that fear creates something that is not reality, but fear responds as though it were. God has spoken. God said, I'm going to make you the father.

You just read it. The father of many nations. If God don't make you a father, the Egyptians can't kill you for you have a kid.

Right. But having heard from God, he now has a new voice. The new voice is not the voice of God. It is the voice of fear. And the voice of fear is saying, look, you know how fine your wife is. And if we go down here in the Egypt and they see her, now he's made up a reality in his mind. Fear has said, they're going to kill you.

They're going to take her. And you are out of the picture. How does another voice compete with God's voice? It can happen.

Not only did it happen to Abram, it can happen to you. Where God will tell you one thing, God will give you one assurance. And your fear will speak and try to sound as important and as definite as the voice of God himself. That's why, brothers and sisters, we are told fear not. Whatever you do, don't let fear grip your mind, grip your heart. Do not let fear have a place that decides what goes on in your life because fear has torment. And it will mess up your life.

So look at what he says. He says, they're going to kill me. They're going to let you live, verse 13.

Please say you are my sister. So now this man of God who's being told he's going to be the father of nations. This man of God said, baby, I need you to lie.

Tell them you're my sister that it may be well with me. Fear will make you look out for yourself rather than the Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not to your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him and he'll direct your path. That's what he should have done. Of course Proverbs wasn't written yet, but that truth was still alive in Abram's day.

But Abram didn't think about trusting in the Lord. He's worried about those Egyptians killing him because his wife is fine. And the result is he says, I need you to lie.

Tell them you're my sister that it will go well with me for your sake that I may live because of you. See, that made sense to him in his fear-driven mind. And if you and I aren't careful, we will try to make sense out of unbelief.

And I'm exhorting you in Jesus' name. Do not let fear drive anything in your life. Fear does not have the voice of God.

It has another voice that competes with the voice of God. What is fear? Fear is expecting something negative and being alarmed because of it. Or fear is anticipating something bad and dreading it. It is expecting something negative and being alarmed by it or because of it. Or it's anticipating something bad and dreading it.

In other words, some people refer to fear as faith in reverse. Stay with us. The second half of Pastor Paul Shepherd's message is coming right up. We want to thank all of you who support Destined for Victory with your prayers and financial support, gifts that help Pastor Paul share the joy of the Gospel message with a growing audience. Destined for Victory is supported entirely by friends like you, so please prayerfully consider making a generous gift to Destined for Victory today. You can give online safely and securely from our website, pastorpaul.net, or give us a call at 855-339-5500.

Once again, the phone number 855-339-5500. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Fear is the assurance of things you dread.

Here's Pastor Paul with the second half of today's message when fear takes the wheel. Fear is faith in reverse. Faith is being sure of what you hope for, confident of what you do not see according to Hebrews 11-1, because it's based on what God says.

I'm sure of what I hope for and certain of what I cannot see because it is the voice of the Lord that drives faith. But fear is faith in reverse. Fear will take something that hasn't happened that is negative, that is dreadful, and fear will believe that. And fear will act like that is true and it hasn't even happened. It's faith in reverse. Have you ever been fearful? Think about the times when something hadn't happened, but in your mind, in your heart, something builds up, very negative, and it seems like it is sure and certain.

That's faith in reverse. It's going to be bad. It's going to be horrible.

Oh, they're going to get us. We're going to die. I'm going to lose all my money.

I'm going to lose my house. Oh, my Lord, my life is going in the wrong direction. And if you put fear in the place of deciding things are true that are not true, you have learned to operate in faith in reverse, and it is to your own detriment. So that's why the Lord tells us here, and we're going to see throughout the Scriptures, fear not. He is saying don't expect the negative, and even if the negative happens, don't allow yourself to be alarmed by it. See, because it's not only expecting something negative, it's then being alarmed by it. Because you can know something negative is going to happen, that doesn't mean you have to be alarmed.

I need to be very practical with you, because the Word of God is practical. When it says fear not, it's not suggesting negative things don't happen. We all who have been on the planet any amount of time know negative stuff happens in our lives. So when the Bible says fear not, it's saying nothing negative is going to happen. Don't worry. Be happy.

That's not what the Bible says. It says even though the negative happens, you don't have to dread it. You don't have to fear it. You don't have to be worried about it.

You don't have to be alarmed by it. Negative things happen, but I will not fear. I will put my trust in the Lord even when negative things happen. Though the earth be removed, I will not stand in a place of fear. I will maintain my trust in the Lord. So look at what happens to this man just freshly called by God to be a man who will be known.

His name is going to be made great. God tells him that. What's he worrying about dying for?

How your name going to be great and you dead in an Egyptian grave? But he's not thinking. He's emoting. Brothers and sisters, do not let your emotions drive the vehicle of your life. Emotions aren't supposed to be in the driver's seat. Emotions are supposed to be in the passenger seat. You are to have emotions, but they don't have a license.

And even if they have a license, don't give them the keys. You know your emotions if you let them things drive. You're going to go all kind of crazy places. Because sometimes they're happy, sometimes they're wonderful, but you can't let them drive even when things are good. Because only a matter of time, fear tries to set in and your emotions will take a horrible turn.

You're going the wrong direction. And so you and I have to learn the Bible is serious when it says fear not. Do not allow fear to grip you. Well, don't bad things happen?

Yes. But I don't have to be afraid. I can choose to trust God even when I'm facing fearsome things. It is not the negativity that is outside of you that's the problem.

It's only when the negativity gets inside of you. See, negative things happen all around us, but the Bible's going to teach us, but we don't have to fear. We don't even have to like it, but we have to put our trust in the Lord.

He's the one who called me. He's the one that's going to get me through this. I will trust in the Lord. So instead of walking in fear, I'm going to walk in faith.

That's what I want you to tell yourself here at the beginning of this series. And by the time I'm ending the series, I want you to be certain I will live fearlessly. Yes, I'll be frightened. Sometimes I'll be startled. Sometimes I'll even have a quick moment of panic sometimes, but then I'll pull myself back.

So what's the matter with you? We don't walk out in panic. We don't walk this way. We trust God, and we move forward depending that He who began a good work in us is going to bring it to completion, and I will not be afraid. I'm going to walk in faith. I'm going to walk in confidence. See, I got saved in those early days when Andre Crouch and the Disciples were first coming out singing one of those early songs.

I'm talking back in the early days, probably 1970, somewhere back there. Andre, one of his early albums had a song on it called I've Got Confidence. Here's some of the lyrics. When trouble is in my way, I can't tell my night from day. I'm tossed from side to side like a ship out on a raging tide. I don't worry. I don't fret. My God will never fail me yet. Troubles come from time to time, but that's all right.

I'm not the worrying kind. The Course said, because I've got confidence, God is going to see me through. No matter what the case may be, I know He's going to fix it for me.

Andre had a second verse. Said, Job was sick so long till the flesh fell from his bones. His wife, cattle, and children, everything he had was gone. But Job, in his despair, he knew God still cared.

Sleepless days and sleepless nights. But Job said, that's all right. I've got confidence. God is going to see me through.

No matter what the case may be, I know He's going to fix it for me. You've got to decide to live with that kind of confidence. Because you set the stage for what's going to happen in your life. The outward circumstances don't set that stage.

You have to determine where you're going in your life. Negativity is not the problem until it gets in you. You understand that? You understand that just from swimming. Water doesn't kill people. Drowning kills people.

Come on, somebody. You never met water in your life. Oh, Lord, that water going to kill me. Well, it could, but it doesn't have to. Why? Because if you learn how to swim, the water can carry you through.

Oh, I need somebody to hear me. The water can propel you to another place. The water doesn't have to kill you.

What kills folk? Not when they get in water, it's when water gets in them. And only a certain type, because you're supposed to have water in you, that's called drinking. You drink a glass because it goes to a certain place and it's a very positive thing. I don't fear water.

If I drink it right, it'll go down to the right place and it'll nourish my body. If I swim, I don't have to worry whether we're talking about a little pool or whether we're talking about a lake. You could be out in the ocean and not fear dying. Why?

Because I can let the water take me somewhere rather than let it inside of me and kill me. That's what you've got to see fear. Fright is going to happen, but fright doesn't have to dictate what happens in your life. Oh, that scared me.

I didn't see that coming. Now that I see it's there, I'm going to get in faith. I'm going to get in confidence. I'm not worried about that. I'm not concerned about that because God's going to see me through.

And that's what you've got to make up in your mind. I'm going to live my life in confidence that God is my light and my salvation. Whom or what shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life. Whom or of what shall I be afraid? So I just wanted to point out before I get to Hagar that the problem with Abram was he hears from God, but then he lets fear take the wheel. And when he gets down to Egypt and he said, baby, there's going to be a problem down here. If you were ugly, we'd be all right.

You know it's bad when a man wish his wife was ugly and then, oh, Lord, she's so fine. Going to be a problem. Some of your sisters saying, yeah, my husband has that problem all the time. Going to be a problem.

So tell you what fear is in the driver's seat. Tell him you're my sister. That doesn't glorify God.

Tell him you're my sister. That way they won't kill me. So we can both stay alive. Fear is irrational.

It makes no sense. Faith is confidence in what God has said to you. Fear is confidence in the things you often say to yourself. If you need prayer today, if fear has taken the wheel in your life for one reason or another, the Destined for Victory ministry team would like to join you in prayer. Visit pastorpaul.net and use the contact feature to share your prayer request with us. While you're there, be sure to sign up for Pastor Paul's monthly letter of encouragement.

It comes at no cost or obligation. Well, sometimes life can get scary. If you've let fear get in the way of your faith, Pastor Paul has a great new resource to share with you today, his booklet, Trusting God in Scary Times. If you find yourself focusing on what you see instead of what God says, and you're alarmed by the obstacles that stand in the way of living out your destiny in Christ, this booklet from Pastor Paul will be of great benefit to you. It's called Trusting God in Scary Times, and it's our gift to you this month by request for your generous gift to Destined for Victory. Call 855-339-5500 or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538.

Again, that address is Destined for Victory, Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. Well, Abraham and Sarah face their fair share of obstacles. Here's Pastor Paul with a preview of tomorrow's broadcast. And you know what happened? Sarah said, well, baby, the Lord clearly hasn't allowed me to have a child. What she should have said is he hasn't allowed me to have a child yet. Yet. Some of y'all got to get a yet in your vocabulary. Just because God hasn't done it doesn't mean he's not going to do it. That's next time in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, When Fear Takes the Wheel. Until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.