Afraid? Part 1

Hey, this is Jim Graham from the Masculine Journey Podcast, where we explore relationship instead of religion every week. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Man Talk, brought to you by TAWCMN, talking and walking Christian men's ministry, where they're devoted to breaking down the walls of race and denomination and challenging men to take their God-assigned role.

Here's our hosts, Will Hardy and Roy Jones Jr., a black guy and a white guy. You know, I don't care how many times I hear that, Will, it still brings a smile to my face when we think back when we first started. You know, it's been two years since we started our program. God has been good.

He has, he has. And folks, just if you wonder how we're doing, God has opened up a lot of different doors, and we just encourage you to share the show with your friends and your colleagues. And we try to just talk about real issues and just give you a perspective from Will and mine's life and how God is using us in different areas and what he's put on our hearts to share with you. But on tonight, today's show, we want to talk about fear being afraid. Will, you and I have talked about this in the past, and this takes on a lot of different looks, right?

And so in the past, being more of a personal conversation than as much on here, and you got that look. No, I was just thinking, you know, I've been watching the Olympics, the Olympics going on, and it's, and I see fear on the faces of some of the contestants who know that they cannot out swim or out run or throw a hammer or javelin further than like the Olympic champion. So it's like when they see this person come up, there's an element that they have to psych themselves up, you know, in order to try and outdo them. And of course, in every instance so far in the events that I've seen, that they have failed. So, you know, I look at that and carry that over to the supernatural. And I say, even though we can't see into the spirit realm, we can see the results of what the spirit realm is doing to the body of Christ. And those results that we see as a result of this spiritual influence, I think have gotten a lot of people off the track or off of the road.

Yeah, because they're just not aligning themselves up with the truth. Well, you know, if they listen to all the distractions, it's an easy thing to get into, right? Well, person listens to the news, they listen to their feeds or read their feeds on their phone. And if, you know, and we will talk about that social dilemma, documentary, which tells you that if you, your trends or whatever your patterns are, they'll start sending that stuff to you. But you know, that's, it's no accident that ads pop up that you've been looking at or talking about or, and there's a particular topic you're getting honed in on research wise, and this continues to feed into it. So then people get distracted, rather than putting that kind of time into the word, you're putting that extra time sitting there in front of their phones, getting just looped in looped in, you know, it just goes and goes and goes. Subliminal advertising. That's, that's what they call it. Yeah, it's, it's, it's even though you may not want something to purchase something, if you look at it enough, that thought will just kind of go to your subconscious.

And next thing you know, you know, you're on Amazon, where can I get one cheek? Exactly. And the other piece of that is that the the philosophy or the ideals that are coming at you, you, I think, equally start to migrate towards those things, if that's all you're seeing, and all you're reading. And this was one of the things we want to talk about. Are you afraid today? With all that's going on? Are you fearful? And you know, God tells us not to be fearful. But let's talk about that, Will. So if I'm sitting here, I'm watching all the things that are going on in the news.

And now the pandemic is rising up again with this Delta variant. And there's some concern there. We're hearing various conversations from companies about maybe going back on their reentry plans, travels getting interrupted once again. I'm sitting out there and I know that God's got it. But I'm distracted by all the noise. How do you address that, Will? What do we tell our listeners that says, hey, let's just pause for a moment. Let's take a step back. What would be your first advice to that person sitting there listening, you know, just feel like they've been inside doing working from home, I've been listening to all the news, it seems like doom and gloom, which it can appear that way, right?

There's so much going on. What would you say to that person that's fearful, sitting there just don't know what's happening? Well, my advice would be, you know, you, you have to displace fear, fear has to be displaced.

And it has to be displaced with something that obviously can take its place. So you don't want other fearful things or thoughts to take the place of fearful thoughts. So what what God has, I think, done, and we've addressed this on other shows, is that he has given us an opportunity to evaluate ourselves as an individual in the body of Christ and as the church in particular. And so we have time to do exactly what the time that God has given us to do exactly that.

Examine yourself to find out where you are in the body of Christ with respect to what you should be doing versus what you are doing, places that you're not going, and places that you shouldn't go. So I think when we when we look at it in terms of a person having this amount of time, then we should take advantage of it and displace that fear with with things that are positive because, because fear of God, Roy is healthy. That's a healthy fear. Oh, yes, the exact fear we should have. And see, and we were talking about that before the show began, is that a healthy fear of God is good and there is actually benefits from having a healthy fear that we're going to get into later.

Yeah, you would lead an obedient life, which we will talk about just a little bit later. We were talking about some of the scripture we want to talk about tonight, part of the show starting in John 16 towards the end when Jesus was talking to the disciples about them being scattered and the peace. And in verse 17, it says, I'm sorry, verse 33, 1633, I've told you these things so that in them, in me, you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world. And King James says, be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. You will suffer tribulation. So troubles are going to come in the form, well, they're going to come whether or not you're born again or not. That's number one.

That's right. So now the question is, is when we start acting on the troubles that we are experiencing, where are we going to turn? Are we going to turn to the world? Are we going to turn to psychology? Are we going to turn to sociology?

Or are we going to turn to God to say, God, I'm going through this. Again, looking at the Olympics, I saw where the American champion gymnast Simone Biles, you know, she dropped out. All of a sudden, she just dropped out of the competition.

Now, here's the number one gymnast in the world, and she dropped out. And so everybody want to know what's going on, what's going on. And it comes to find out that she said, this is a mental thing with me. And I just have to deal with it in attempt to overcome it. Things like there's no fans in the stands, and there's amount of pressure for you to do well, because you're number one, and USA is going to meddle within, you know, these type of things. So all of this pressure on them is causing them to fear, you know, fear that if they don't do good, maybe everybody on social media is going to bombard them with, you're not number one, and all these negative things.

Right, right. You know, it's interesting, I saw, I think it was maybe the first day that she was competing, and she made a misstep, I think, on her landing, and she came off the cushion, you know. And when they zoomed in on her facial expression, you could tell she just didn't have the eye of the tiger, if you will.

It was like there was just a, I don't want to call it deer in the headlights look, but there was just, she wasn't razor focused like she always has been. If you think about it, the gym, when there's nobody in there, that's their practice environment. And all of a sudden, they're in a world class competition, world competition.

There's nobody in the gym. So subconsciously, even you wonder, well, this is my practice environment, so therefore I'm not as focused as I normally would be, as when there's 15,000 people sitting in the arena. And of course, and of course, you know, four years you train for this in the gym, and you only get one shot. Yeah, and then you're back, it's just like an everyday event.

Exactly, exactly. And you were talking about some of the trials, Will, you know, we always talk about James and James one, two, it says, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lack wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt because one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind, that person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Such a person is double minded and unstable in all they do. So, folks, if you're going through trials right now, and there's probably not a one of us that can't say there's some level of trial or tribulation in their life, some got a little bit easier than others. But there's always Will, and I've talked about this, if you'll look in front of me, somebody's always got it better. If you look behind you, somebody's always got it worse. But the point being that you're going to face it.

And how do you go into those trials? You've got to take that joy and adapt to an attitude of joy and know that your Heavenly Father has got you wrapped up and undergirded through this journey. Exactly, Roy, because God, you know, he wants the best for his children. And in Hebrews chapter 4, and I think it's verse 16, he says, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and obtain help in a time of need.

So when you're going through trouble, you have a need. And God promises that if you come boldly because the verse right prior to that, he says that, you know, Jesus understands the trials and tribulations that we have gone through. And as a result of that, Jesus understanding and he went through all manners of temptation, but he did not sin. That's the difference.

Right, right. So he being the example of what we should be doing when we come under trials, then God would deliver us every time. It's great that you said the word bold in the scripture you referenced. Well, one of the next scriptures I was going to share was Acts 4 31. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. And that's the day of Pentecost, when the day of Pentecost came, you know, and they were all up in the upper room, you know, and then the sound of a rushing mighty wind came in there. And then all of a sudden they start speaking.

And, you know, these, you know, the people who were standing around were asking, telling themselves, hey, wait a minute, aren't these individuals, this sec or this sec, and they're speaking our language, what's going on here? And again, that was just the testimony that the Holy Spirit had came and was dwelling in them. So, Will, we've got the break coming up here momentarily or just in a few seconds. As we come back with the second half, we're going to talk about this thing about being afraid and fearful and continue to be encouraged that God understands all this.

He's gone ahead of us, and He already knows every journey you're in the middle of, and He's carried it for you, carried it to the cross, in fact. So don't be troubled, folks. We're here to reassure you. We want you to be encouraged and know that we've been there and we're walking it out with you. We'll be right back after the break. Thank you for joining us. Dr. Jeff Fricke has been caring for patients in High Point for 34 years, physical therapy such as ultrasound and spinal decompression for disc conditions such as herniation, comprehensive care for auto accident injury patients with no out of pocket expense. Remember, affordable chiropractic on West Lexington Avenue in High Point.

Call 336-885-1987. Welcome back to ManTalk Radio. Will, right before break, we were just sharing this whole thing about being afraid. So if you just joined us, we're talking about being fearful and being afraid and how to overcome that. The fact that God's walked ahead of us, Jesus has walked ahead of us, carrying all these burdens.

Amen. And the the burdens that he carried for us, you know, we don't have to carry ourselves and but we do when we fail to recognize that we have been freed in Jesus and we no longer have to submit to sin and or fear and neither do we have to submit to troubles. Troubles simply, it's a means to us to get to the end where God wants to bless us. So we're going to be tried and tested, but when the trials and tests come, if we stand firm, if we stand fast in Jesus, then God will overcome these things because he's already said we're an overcomer. And if we keep that promise in our hearts, right, that we will tear you through, right?

Absolutely, absolutely. And the will is that we were looking up scriptures for today's discussion. First Corinthians 16 13.

Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, do everything in love. When Paul was writing, you know, and love, I think is, of course, one of the fruits of the spirits in Galatians 5 22 and 23. You know, all of what we should be doing should be done in love.

And I think when the world see what we as God's children have to offer, because we have been changed and we understand what love is. See, the world don't understand what love is, you know? And as a result, when they think of love, they think of loving physically. And, you know, you do for me, I'll do for you.

You pat me on the back, I'll pat you on the back, that type of thing. You know, but love, when we're talking about the agape love, we're talking about the kind of love that doesn't look for anything in return. You know, you love because of that's what Jesus have placed within us, you know, as his representatives.

Wow. Think about that love. And we have so diluted what that means just between all the pornography that's out there, the divorce rate. We've really lost what it means to love unconditionally and without expecting something in return because it's the with them concept, right?

What's in it for me, the with them concept, what's in it for me? Exactly. And, you know, as long as we continue to look for what's in it for me, then it becomes all about you. And it doesn't become about Jesus Christ who suffered, died, shed his blood for us. So I think that's where we fall short and we don't understand what it means to come boldly because, again, we're stuck in this fearful mindset that has pulled us and drawn us away from God. It's just like in James 1, 14, 15, if any man sins, you know, that individual, you know, he has tried, he sins because Satan knows what your appetite is. See, we've been out in the world. And as a result of being out in the world, Satan knows what you desire.

That's right. And so what he does is he doesn't come and wrap the package up in the same rate in which you were out in the world. He goes, now this individual is saved, so now I got to rewrap it and present it, you know, in a different package, although the contents inside are the same. That's well put. Well put. The packaging has just changed, folks, but the sin inside is still the same. Absolutely.

He's gone from blue to red or green to blue. Will, in Ephesians 6, 19, pray also for me that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fiercely make known the mystery of the gospel. And on 20, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fiercely as I should. And Paul was writing. And of course, you know, what he's saying is when I do pray, pray for me that when I do speak, that I'm under the Holy Spirit control, not my control, but the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit control. And that needs to be every all of our prayers. Right.

Absolutely. You know, and we talk about that quite often with our men when we're having our Friday morning meetings, meetings and other meetings that men that we should be praying before we go to the word so that God can unveil the word and the way he wants it to be unveiled in our hearts and our minds and our speech. Because without the word, Roy, we can't survive in this life because we have nothing to war against the enemy with. And of course, Ephesians 6, when he talks about putting on the whole armor of God, you know, and the helmet and breastplate and belt and shoes and all those things, and all those things are defensive weapon. But again, we only have one offensive weapon, and that's the sword of the Spirit. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God is the only thing that you have to fight with. And so I'm reminded again in Hebrews 4, I believe it's 4 and 12, where it says the word of God is quick, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing the sunder of the bone and marrow. So when it cuts, when it cuts you, it's cutting down through the bone. This is how deep the word of God goes.

And I think that illustration is so picturesque in the sense that when we go to a butcher shop and we see meat being cut, how a skilled butcher just know what to trim off, trim the fat off because you don't want the fat. But see, we're carrying around the fat, Roy. And we need the Holy Spirit of God. No, don't go there.

I know where you're going. But we need the Holy Spirit of God to trim that fat because we're allowing ourselves to just be unhealthy, not in the natural sense, but unhealthy in the spiritual sense, using the fat as an example. Darrell Bock Yeah, just how God works. The next scripture I had to read was Hebrews 4, 16, which says, Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Roy Austin And that's the one we quoted earlier. Let us come boldly before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find help in a time of need. That's the King James Version. So when we understand what Jesus did, that's the only time, Roy, based on this scripture that we can come boldly. So we think about what Jesus did for us. And we say, you know, He has suffered in all manner, just like all of us has suffered, but He didn't sin. And so when I think about that, and I say, wow, you know, and this what I'm going through is nothing compared to what Christ went through for me. And now all of a sudden, my perspective on my troubles should change.

Darrell Bock It should, and then your tolerance should be increased, right? Because you think about how God or how Jesus went through and suffered for us, and that level of suffering. So our mediocrity should not be a big issue.

Especially if we were supposed to die to self once we accepted Jesus Christ and take up our cross, then that means we're toting our burdens to show our love for Him and our servanthood and our servant leadership through that process. Darrell Bock That's right, because we're not our own anymore. Darrell Bock No, we're not. Darrell Bock We've been bought with a price, and that price is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Darrell Bock We should stop and focus right there for just a moment. You know, I think too often when we talk with men and we see some of the actions of quote, unquote, we'll call them the sidelines, if you will, right? The guys that are sitting on the sidelines and the whole purpose of the ministry is to get them off the sidelines. They've got what we jokingly say, and God knows in our heart, but fire protection. They've made a commitment. They recognize that Jesus died for them. They've asked them into their heart, but they've not transitioned from that sideline role to true disciple, disciple maker. And I think what ends up happening is that they fail to realize that they're no longer their own.

And I think that's part of that training up. And if you're listening, remember, He died for you, and then the Scripture tells us, die to self, right, and take up your cross. And if you're not dying to self, what's happening, Will? Darrell Bock Well, if you're not dying to self, then you're trusting in self. Yeah, you are.

You are. You're trusting in self. Darrell Bock So a person's not totally surrendering to God when they're trusting in self.

Fair statement? Darrell Bock That's exactly right. Darrell Bock So what would be the consequences of a person not fully investing and not fully unloading and carrying over to God and they're trusting in self?

So what are going to be the consequences? If I'm a listener and I'm in this journey, what should I be looking for to happen in my life? Darrell Bock Well, let me ask you this, Roy. How much time do you have? Darrell Bock Well, Keith hasn't given us a signal.

I think we're probably about two and a half minutes. Darrell Bock Yeah, because see, you're going to have headaches. You're going to have heartaches. You're going to have home division. You're going to have conflict within the church, within the neighborhood, within the community at large. You know, some individuals, depending on how bad it is, they'll go into depression.

You know, so you'll start to experience all these things, marital issues, issues with the children. You know, if you quote, unquote, look at what children are doing and children will look at you and say, well, you're asking me to do this, but you're not doing it. So they're always watching you.

So how can you tell me to change or to put away my phone when you're on my phone as much or if not longer than I am? So there's a litany of things, Roy, that could happen, I think, as a result of that. But, you know. Darrell Bock So the person's listening, they know they haven't died to self. So it could be that they could be afraid, right, if they haven't died to self because they're not truly trusting God. Darrell Bock Well, and if they haven't died to self, then that person will never realize that they should be letting the Holy Spirit control them instead of your conscience or your self-control. Darrell Bock Okay. So as we mirror back from this show, if you are afraid, stand boldly on the Word, arm yourself with the Word, regular prayer time. Know that Jesus has already carried all this for you.

Trust in Him in total heart and soul and love Him with your complete self and died to self again, as we've just illustrated. And we're closing remarks. Darrell Bock Exactly, Roy. And see, we're going to pick this up again next week.

And so we're going to go into a little bit more detail about how to do that. Darrell Bock Well, folks, we just appreciate you being a part of things. Pass on the ManTalk Radio podcast and be sure and give them the full title because if they get on ManTalk at search, we would send them down a rabbit hole and it's a secular rabbit hole. But hey, ManTalk Radio podcast, thank you for joining us. And we hope you have a blessed week and God bless you all. Darrell Bock Because without ManTalk, then you're talking woman talk. Announcer This is the Truth Network.