Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Fear

Fear God

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Why do you fear God? Perhaps a better first question to ask is, do you fear God? Scripture commands us many times to live in the fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:13; 1 Samuel 12:24; Proverbs 9:10; 2 Corinthians 5:11; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7). So, it’s not a question of whether we should, but imperative that we must. With all the sermons teaching God is love these days, it may seem a bit out of step to be talking about fearing God. Humans do not typically fear those we love.

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But God is not just someone else we love. He is the holy, righteous, and glorious Creator of the Universe, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings. God is indeed the highest expression of love. John told us this plainly in his epistle to the Church (1 John 4:8). However, we do not serve a one-dimensional God. Every emotion is magnified and perfected in Him. Thus, jealous, zealous, and righteous anger are also part of who He is. To quote Jonathan Edwards, “… it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.

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Spiritual Maturity

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What does it take to rob you of your joy? Are you joyful when things are going well but less so when troubles come? You can know joy every day of your life, no matter what you are going through. It is possible to live in joy in every circumstance. John MacArthur once wrote, “One of the surest measures of our spiritual maturity is what it takes to rob us of our spirit-bestowed joy”. A spiritually immature person will find their joy in a constant ebb and flow, coming over them in waves, but drifting away just as easily.

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So, if we want a joy that does not leave us, we need to become more spiritually mature. This works because the more we spend time with God, the more joyful we become. And the more we learn about His unchanging character and love, the more we come to believe in His unfailing promises, the more confident we will become in our joy. We will develop such joy that nothing can shake it.

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Worship

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When did worship become synonymous with music? God created each of us to worship Him with our lives. It is the purpose of our being. When we gather at a church, it is true we go there to worship God corporately. But that worship is the entire service, not just the portion with musicians leading everyone in song. The very act of coming together in unity is worshipping God because we are obeying what He tells us to do.

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When we listen to a sermon, we are worshipping God by meditating on His Word. Welcoming visitors to our gathering is worship because it brings glory to God. We worship God by contributing a portion of what He has entrusted to us into the offering. Every part of the service should be a form of worship to our great King.

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Anxiety

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It seems anxiety is inescapable in our modern culture. Even the most stoic cannot avoid the onslaught of fear, despair, and uncertainty being directed at us from every direction. I struggle to comprehend how anyone can survive these times without having faith in Christ. I would expect those who reject Christ to struggle to deal with their anxiety. They have no anchor. They have no hope.

Anxiety,focus,fear,despair,depression

But for those of us who have accepted and choose to follow Jesus as Lord, He has not left us defenseless against this vicious attack on our mental stability. We not only have the power within us to defeat anxiety, but we also have the great hope of eternal peace and deliverance. God’s Word provides us with all we need to know, and His Holy Spirit gives us the power to put that knowledge into action.

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Prepared for Persecution

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My heart broke when I read about a recent occurrence in North Korea. That country is second only to Afghanistan in being the most dangerous place for Christians to live (see Open Doors’ “World Watch List”). Government officials raided a secret church meeting of believers. Everyone in attendance was arrested and then summarily executed.

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Without warning and without having had the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, these dear brothers and sisters were removed from the face of the earth. From the moment they gave their lives to Christ, they knew they were living on borrowed time. They knew the risk of meeting together. They prepared for persecution the best they could and found Jesus worth the cost. But the story gets worse.

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