← City Light Church Las Vegas | Jabin Chavez
City Light Church Las Vegas | Jabin Chavez
Good News For Fearful Heart | Jabin Chavez | City Light Church
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Good News For Fearful Heart | Jabin Chavez | City…
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Psalm 27 the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid. When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and seek him in his temple. Go down to verse now. 13 I remain confident of this. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Let's all say that phrase together, everybody. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. And I want to talk about good news for a fearful heart. Good news for a fearful heart. Just put your hand over your heart. Pray this with me. Say, my heart's open. Speak to me, Lord, in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Come on. If you're expecting a word from the Lord today, let's clap our hands to give God praise in the house. Scientists tell us that every human is born with the same two fears. We're born with the fear of loud noises. We're born with the fear of falling. We're born with these two fears. That's why whenever we have a child, we swaddle that child. Because if not, they will be asleep and they'll think they're falling and they'll wake themselves up. So we swaddle them to keep them secure. The fear of loud noises. We all have that fear. You can't hear a loud noise and be cool about it. You don't hear a loud noise and go, hey, I'm here to help. No, we all do that. It doesn't matter how awesome you are. You hear a loud noise, you go at a minimum. Yeah, I love watching scaring videos on TikTok and Instagram. I'm sorry. I have the personality and mature level of a 12 year old. I love to watch couples scare each other. It is my favorite thing in the world because we all do the same thing. We all freak out when we hear a loud noise. So we're born with those two fears. But now we know that we have thousands, thousands of phobias, probably millions. People are afraid. People are afraid. Of everything and anything. It is crazy. And so the most common command in scripture, the command that God gave to people more than any other command, it is not do not sin. Though I don't recommend sinning. I think it's really bad. It's really bad. It's not, do not smoke. That's probably not good for your health. It's not do not cuss. That's probably not great. The number one command in your Bible is do not fear. Fear not. 366 times in this book you find the command, do not fear. One preacher said God gave us a do not fear for every day of the year and even leap year. Why does God have to tell us that so much? Because life can be scary. Life can be overwhelming. Life can be jarring. So God has to remind us, do not fear. When God says, do not fear, he's not telling you to toughen up. He's not telling you to get over it. He's telling you I'm greater than the fear. God has not given us a spirit. So now we know fear is spiritual, a fear. But God has given us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Or we could say the Holy Spirit is not fear. The Holy Spirit is power, love, and a sound mind. Let me explain this to you. Fear is a spiritual attack that invades your life during natural circumstances. So something happens to you that's scary. But then fear jumps in and says, it will always be this way. Fear jumps in and says, this is what will always happen. Fear jumps in and says, if it happened once, it will continue to happen. So fear tries to sink its claws into you during a scary situation or a scary circumstance. So instead of looking back on it going, wow, that was scary, we now say, wow, I guess that's gonna be the rest of my life. That's what fear wants to do. Fear wants to. Wants to dig its claws into you and say, this is how it will always be. But I've come to declare today that fear can be broken over your life in the name of Jesus. Fear is faith in reverse. Worry is worship in reverse. Regret is hope in reverse. And that's where the devil wants to keep you. Fearful, worried, in regret. Constantly living, bound by what has happened once, telling you that every negative thing that's ever happened to you will continue to happen to you. But God's the God of hope. God's the God of faith. God's the God of the future. God has better days for you. I didn't say perfect days for you. I didn't Say things aren't going to happen that aren't going to be scary, but I don't have to fear. All right, so how do we get into this? Here's the good news to the fearful heart, number one, you get to choose your stronghold. You get to choose your stronghold. He says in verse 1, the Lord is my stronghold. The Lord is my stronghold. The stronghold. Another word would be fortress or safe place. It's the place you would hide during battle. It's the place you go to when life gets scary. It's the place you go to when life gets stressful. It's the place you go to when life feels bigger than you. You've got to go somewhere. David says, here's where I'm going to go. I'm going to go to a stronghold, and that stronghold is going to be the Lord. Let me just say this, you're living in a stronghold right now. We all run to a stronghold. You just have to decide what stronghold you're gonna choose. Second Corinthians, chapter 10 talks about a different kind of stronghold. He says there are thought patterns that set themselves up against the knowledge of God. So you're gonna run somewhere when you're stressed. I just need a stress free life. Keep waiting. You're gonna run somewhere when you're fearful. I'm just never gonna fear. All right, well, good for you. Well, you're going to run somewhere when life feels bigger than you. And David says, I'm going to choose that. The Lord is going to be the place I go to. See, this word fear means to run or to take flight. So when fear hits you, all you want to do is run away from it. But it matters where you run to. The question is not will. I never want to live a life that's scary. I never want to live a life where I deal with fear. No, that is not the goal. The goal is where do I go when the fear knocks on my door. Jehoshaphat dealt with fear. This is Second Chronicles, Chapter 20. Jehoshaphat is surrounded by his enemies. He wakes up to find three enemies that have surrounded him and his army. Jehoshaphat feared, but look how he responds. And he decided he set himself to seek the Lord. See, the feeling of fear is not wrong. The emotion of fear is not wrong. It's not bad, it's not sinful. It's normal. It's justifiable. If you wake up and there's three armies surrounding you, you're going to be fearful. It's what you do with the fear. Jehoshaphat decides, I'm going to seek the Lord. Feelings are not sinful. But what you do with feelings really matter. Notice that he feels fear. Jehoshaphat feared, comma, not period. I said that a few weeks ago, or maybe last week. I said, don't put a period where God's put a comma. Jehoshaphat feared. Here's what we do. We put a period there and go, oh, well, I guess it's over. No, no, no. Just because you feel something doesn't mean you have to give into it, y'. All. If we did everything we felt, we'd all be in jail. Come on. Or dead. If I did everything I felt, I mean, I would have driven someone off the road by now. I would have too real. I'd have punched somebody. I mean, my God, I'd have cussed somebody out. So just because I feel it. Just because you're tempted doesn't mean you have to give into it. See, we've made temptation something like, that's the end all. Oh, I feel this. And my feelings are real. So I guess that's real. No, just because your feelings are real doesn't mean that that thing has to win. Just because I feel the fear doesn't mean I have to give into it. I just have to feel it, recognize it, and then decide what to do with it. What you do with it matters. Jehoshaphat did not accept fear as the final authority. He decided to invite God into his situation. There is always a decision to be made when we are afraid. Fear is not the final deciding factor. We feel it and then we decide what to do with it. And I'm not saying live in denial of it. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about I'm afraid. And that is like a check engine light in my soul saying, I need more of God. You get to choose your stronghold number two. You get to choose your story. You get to choose your story. Proverbs 29:25. A person's fear sets a trap for him. But those who trust in the Lord are safe. This word trap here is also called snare. It's a big game trap that, that they would use to catch large animals. It didn't kill the animal, it just kept the animal stuck. And that's all fear does, just stuck. You're just stuck. You're not going forward, you're not going backward. You're just stuck. When I read that scripture that said God has not given us a spirit of fear. The best word for that would be timidity. Fear isn't always a panic attack. Fear isn't always a sleepless night. Fear isn't always. Isn't always this overwhelming thing. Sometimes fear is just. I just haven't moved. Fear a lot of times feels like depression. Fear a lot of times looks like I can't get out of bed. Fear a lot of times feels like I know the decision that I need to make, but I just. It's indecisiveness. Maybe you're not dealing with procrastination. Maybe you're not lazy. Maybe you're fighting a spirit that's keeping you snared. Oh, that should be good news for somebody in this room that I'm exposing that thing right now in the name of Jesus. Because a lot of you have just. You're beating yourself up. You're beating yourself up, but really, you just got to fight that thing in the spirit. Now your internal dialogue matters, because that's really what fear is. It is an internal dialogue that will trap you and stagnate you. So your internal dialogue matters. Now, I'm going to show you two dialogues in the Psalms. Here's Psalm 41:5. My enemies speak evil of me. So here's the conversation that's happening, and notice what they're trying to do. When will he die and his name perish. Notice it's two things. It's physical death and it's legacy. It's physical and spiritual. You're gonna die and no one's gonna care. So it's speaking of the natural side, and it's speaking of the significance, need that we all have. And what the devil's trying to tell every person in this room is, you're gonna die. Nobody's gonna care. I don't matter. And my enemy is speaking that. And that is evil. That is not humility. That is evil. That is. That is not you being humble. That is evil. That is. That is trying to get on the inside of you. And David was able to recognize this is not from God, and this ain't even from me. This is an enemy that is trying to keep me in something. Am I helping anybody? Okay, but. But here's another. But here's another internal dialogue. Psalm 27:3. My heart will not fear. That's a decision. That's a conversation that you're having with yourself that says, I am afraid. I'm in a fearful circumstance, but I'm refusing to let that thing get on the inside of me, you know, I can be in fear and not let fear in me. I can be in the midst of something that is terrifying, but I'm making the decision. I will not let fear on the inside of me. I'm refusing to let this. It's in the car, but I won't let it get in the driver's seat. It's mouthing off. I see it in the rearview mirror, but I'm refusing to let it get and start steering my life. You're actually going to have to learn to live with it. No, brother, I'm free. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Praise God. Okay, for the rest of us that aren't robots who are in touch with your emotions, you're going to have to learn how to deal with. I know what the enemy is saying, but I will not let it in my heart. I will not. I'm. I'm choosing the conversation. See, my life will ultimately go in the direction of the story. Watch this. I tell myself, your life is going in the direction you tell yourself. So let me say it like this. Not even the story. I tell you now. You can take what I give you on Sunday and you could start rehearsing it and you could start saying, but eventually you're gonna have to talk to yourself. David had to go. My heart will not fear. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. It was his decision, not the enemies, and not even God's. God's will happens when you surrender your will to his will. But his will doesn't just happen. It happens within agreement. Okay, notice this in Acts 18, we're talking about internal dialogue. One night. Notice when it's happening at night. Nighttime is supernatural. A lot happens at night. Some of you have learned to give your day to God, but you haven't learned to give your night to God. I'm not always preaching better than you're saying Amen. But today I'm preaching better than you're saying Amen. But it's all right. I'm here. I love you. It's one. I mean, I can tell you how this works for me, man. I can eat healthy all day. Come on, somebody. I'm out here eating chicken breasts and kale, protein bars, coconut water. About 10pm the devil comes knocking on my door. Come on, somebody order those crumbl cookies. Get them on Postmates. They're only Gonna cost you $900 on Postmates. Just do it at night. At night. Some of y' all watch trash at night. You Wonder why you can't sleep at night, Pastor. I think I've got spiritual warfare. No, you're watching darkness and then you turn it off. Like, ah, you probably gotta adjust that. Maybe you might. You didn't. You didn't think about that dude all day, ladies. But at night, wonder what he's up to. Oh, who did I get? Who did I get? Girl, the same for you. Don't worry, I'm not. No condemnation, but, hey, if the shoe fits. You know what I'm saying? So, like, dude, you did pretty good. All day you were working and you were, and you were. You were resisting lust and everything. But at night, see, a big part of winning spiritually is knowing when you're weak. Watch not just where you're weak. When you're weak, what part of the day are you weak? Invite people into that part of the day so that you don't screw up. I guarantee. I guarantee you who are addicted to pornography and there's a lot of you in the room because that's just what stats say. I guarantee you have a time of day, you do it. What if you invited the Holy Spirit into that part of the day? It got tight in here. You didn't think about alcohol all day until that part of the day. What if you invited the Holy Spirit not just into where you're weak, but when you're weak. Okay, okay, okay. One night. So now Paul's dealing at night. And God says, don't be afraid. Now, okay, maybe you're thinking, okay, how do I not be afraid? He tells you how. Speak out. Get your words involved. See, all this fear is happening on the inside. All this fear is happening in here. All this fear is happening in here. It's all. It's all boiling, boiling, boiling, boiling, boiling. Okay, what do I. God knew Paul was dealing with it. And God tells him, here's how you break it. You start talking. Don't be silent. Then he attaches his life to purpose. Verse 10. No one will attack you or harm you, for there's many people in this city who belong to me. In other words, you have a mission. There's something that I have for you to do. So now there's significance because a lot of fear goes back to a feeling of insignificance. Keep on speaking. I'm with you. Don't be silent. Keep on speaking. So speaking God's word is the antidote of fear? Speaking God's word is the antidote for fear. What does that mean? Practically, it means you read the Bible out loud. Okay, well, that feels awkward to me. Okay, that's cool. So you go to your YouVersion app. They're celebrating a billion downloads. Shout out Craig Groeschel, billion downloads. You, version app, and then. And you just go to. I got some 27. I like the NLT because I like this guy's voice, right? Isn't he great? And the Lord is my light. You even get cool music. So why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger. It kind of feels like 80s music. Like they're about to go do a drug bus. A cop's about to. They will stumble and fall Though a mighty army surrounds me. My heart will not be afraid even if I am attacked. What if you started going to bed to that? I was gonna name a show, but I'm so out. I'm so irrelevant. I wouldn't know a show to watch. But like, I was gonna say Game of thrones. It's like 20 years old. What if. What if. What if that became how you went to sleep? Bet you start sleeping better. What if you started talking to God about your fears? What if you invited the holy Spirit into your fears? What if you started talking to a friend, a trusted friend about your fears? And what you would be blown away by is the moment you start saying it, all of a sudden it's like, oh, my God. It's not even as bad as I thought it was, but it was so real on the inside. But then God gave me this thing called the voice. See, he didn't say, think yourself out of fear. He said, talk yourself out of fear. Praise your way out of fear. Pray your way out of fear. A silent church is a dying church. A silent Christian is a dying Christian. Don't let fear take your voice. You gotta keep talking, keep praying, keep praising. Keep using your voice and getting your voice in agreement with God. And watch how that fear begins to break over your life. Can we do that right now? Come on, let's make some noise in the house. Oh, come on, let's take a praise break right now. Just let shake that thing off of you. In the name of Jesus, fear not. Keep speaking. Come on, somebody shout Amen. Lastly, we have the team come. You choose your future. Choose your future. You have a say in your future. And see, and fear tells you you don't have a say in your future. Fear says life decides, but you actually have a say. I will remain confident of this. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That is self talk or that is self talk. I Will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Can we say that phrase together, everybody? I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Alright, thank you 30%. Let's get the other 70%. Are we ready, everybody? I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And you got to say that. You got to say that. You got some good confessions from this text today. My heart will not fear. That's something you can say when you're afraid. Here's something you could say when you're afraid. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land. That's something you can say. Okay. He didn't stop there. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart. And wait for the Lord. So what do I do while I'm waiting? I take heart. Choosing my future means taking heart while I'm waiting on the promise. Preachers love to say this, and I agree. I just don't think we give them, we give people enough context. People say, preachers say your waiting season doesn't have to be a wasted season. And that's true. But then they just, it's just a good preaching line and then they move on. Most waiting seasons are wasted by people. Most people waste their waiting season. Most people do. I'll tell you how they lose heart. As I'm waiting on God, I have a job to do. And that job is I have to take heart. To take heart means to be courageous or to take courage or let me say it like this, you don't always choose. When you lose heart, you just get gut punched. You get something happens in your life and it's painful and you, you lose heart. That's not your choice. But watch. Watch. But you do get to take it back. So to take heart is to take back your heart. Because when you, when you lose heart, somebody got it. Maybe an enemy got it. Maybe life got it. Maybe a circumstance got it. Maybe an ex has it. Maybe a painful memory has it. And your heart stuck there, trapped there in a snare. And you really, you really can't do anything about that part of it because it happens. But you do get to do something now. You. You get to take it back. Take heart. Because I'm waiting on the promise of the Lord. I know I will see God's goodness. But I'm waiting. But while I'm waiting, it will not be wasted because I'm taking control, the narrative. Keep moving in the direction of your desired future, even when it feels like your enemies are surrounding you. Because we got to go back to verse one. The Lord is your stronghold. The Lord is your stronghold, which means that even if you're surrounded by your enemy, your enemy is actually only surrounding your stronghold. And he ain't getting through the stronghold. You are seeing your enemy or feeling your enemy through the lens of. Through the window, of through the doorway of your stronghold. And that's the Lord, which means he's going to protect you and sustain you and. And keep you. May the Lord keep you. Good news for a fearful heart. This is good news for a fearful heart. And I've dealt with all the different manifestations of fear. I've dealt with panic attacks that I knew were panic attacks. I dealt with panic attacks that I didn't know were panic attacks. Three times I went to the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack. I wasn't. Seven panic attacks. Three times. Three times. Three. While I was the pastor. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Praise God. Y' all just saw me on Sunday. How many know the Lord is good? Hallelujah. You didn't see me on Monday at ER having a panic attack. So I've had panic attacks I didn't know about. I've had intimidation where I just stuck. I've dealt with all these things. I've dealt with all this. Me and David are homies. You know what I'm saying? We're a mess together. He's my guy. So everything I'm telling you is not like, just, you know, I didn't pull this off of the Internet. I'm telling you. I practice this. I practice this. I practice this. I practice this. I practice this over and over and over and over and over again. And now what's really cool is I get to. I can now recognize it, and I can feel that thing trying to take my heart, and I can take it back and keep going. And so what I would tell you now is like, I've had fear drive. I've had fear in the passenger seat. Then I've had fear in the back seat. Then I've had fear on the third row. And right now, I got fear in the trunk. Y' all know what I'm saying? And he's back there. I still hear the mumbles, but he ain't the boss. So I've had different levels of this. We got all kinds of stuff to do for this church. We got all kinds of vision that we got, man. I got fear with all that. It's scary, but all it does is remind me I need more of God. That's all it does. That's all it does. All right. So if I gave you good news today for a fearful heart. But you've been dealing with that fearful heart. And you want to say today you want to come into covenant with God and say, my heart will not fear. Just all over the room with hundreds and hundreds that stood last night and this morning at the 9. Would you just stand if that's you? And you would just say, my heart will not fear. I want to fight this fear today. In the name of Jesus, would you just stand? And some of you can't stand because you're afraid to stand. Go ahead and stand. Go ahead and do it. Good news for a fearful heart. Well, this was the right word. Today we're going to come into covenant with God. Give me some more of that piano. Would you put your hand over your heart in the house. Let me hear the piano. Play a little louder. Everybody say this. Say, father, in Jesus name, I make a covenant with you that you are my God and that you are my stronghold. I renounce all fear and all worry and I choose to seek the Lord. Holy Spirit, I invite you into my heart, into my imagination, into my body. Fill me, Holy Spirit. Fill me with your power, with your love, with your sound mind. Today I agree with your word and with your promise. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. In Jesus name.