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Hello. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Saved. Not Soft. What's going on, everybody? I hope you had a great, great week. We're gonna hop into things on, on this little episode right here because I am so, so excited. We're going to be talking about fear. We're going to be talking about when you're too scared to make a move and why you're actually operating in the disobedience of God when you're not going forth and doing the things of God. But before we go into the hot topic of what God wants us to dive into today, let me first introduce myself. My name is Emmy Moore. I'm the host of this podcast, Save Not Soft. What is Save Not Soft? Save Not Soft is a podcast cultivated to let others know that they are heard, seen, and loved by God. And this is not a soft journey. It's hard. This is why the Word says that. It's not a wide gate, it's a narrow path. And it's not something that's necessarily easy. You will never see, see Jesus anywhere in the Bible saying how this whole walk is easy. If anything is going to come with trials and tribulations, a lot of trial and error. But we praise the Lord because He is the One who perfects all of it. He's the One who gives us grace. He's the One who guides our footsteps. And today is a really exciting episode because I get to speak about something or the Lord's using me to speak about something that I believe is. Is incarcerating a lot of young people in. In Christianity today. And it's fear. And it's fear that steals opportunities, whether if God is calling you to a new height in business or a new height in theology and what it means to grow intimacy with the Lord, or if it's, you know, going into college or stepping into a career or a relationship, if you're stepping into marriage or if you are coming to a new church or a new city, whatever it may be, is that we're missing opportunities that God is us to take advantage of and. And plant and take root in because of the spirit of fear. And so I'm excited to speak about this today because fear is like one of those things to where we all kind of recognize we have it in some aspects, but I feel like we fail to understand and acknowledge how much it's actually throwing us in prison. And so it's a matter of telling fear whose boss it is, which is the Lord's, and allowing, not allowing fear to no longer overtake your life. And so we're gonna pray and we're gonna get in to it. Yep, that's it. Let's close our eyes. Dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you and praise you, God. God, we just ask that your holy Spirit fire comes through this episode, Father. God, I just ask that you use me as a vessel to correctly spread your gospel. Oh, Jesus, God, God, I ask that through your parables and through your stories that your word alone is what impacts our hearts and also your presence, God. First and foremost, God, we invite you, your presence into whoever we may be, whether if it's in a room or while we're getting ready to go to school or to work or if we're in the car or whether if we're at the gym, whatever it may be. God. Meet us where we're at right now, Father, and use this episode to speak directly to your children. God, God, I decree and declare that you, God, have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. Because that's what your word says in second Timothy 1:7. God, let us not operate in fear, God, we repent of any fear right now, God, and we just ask that you wash us away of all, of all fear and that you make us white as snow. Oh, God, God, I decree and declare in Jesus, mighty name, God, that you are going to use this podcast to start a fire and start a hunger in. In the people of God. And whether if people are having a really hard time making a decision or getting up out of bed in the morning, Father, that you are going to use this episode to spark something new inside of them, God, to let them know that you have called them, that they are capable because of your spirit, not because of our strength, God. And that you are calling them to do the things of you and that you have qualified them to so because of what you have done for us on the cross, Jesus. So let us embrace you, God. God, I even just ask for a deeper and a closer intimacy with you and God, for an opportunity for us to understand and empathize with you more. God. So God, let us die to all expectations and all, all deceptions of what fear has to offer, God. And let us put it to the side. Let us die of it. Let's carry our cross and pursue faith. So we thank you, God, for what you're doing. We thank you for your generosity in your compassion and that, God, you have not called us to live a life of fear. And God, we don't want to be apart from you, Jesus, use me as a Vessel. This is your podcast, not mine. This is your platform, not mine. All the glory is returned onto you, Jesus. It's all for you. It's for nobody else. It's just for you. You are the one we want to exalt. You are the one we love. Teach us so we could be a better bride to you, Father. So we thank you. In Jesus, mighty name, I seal this prayer. Amen. Amen. So I feel like fear is one of those things where it can kind of bleed into a lot of different aspects of life. And fear, just testimonial wise, has had a lot of experience of robbing some really good moments of my life. Fear and faith are super interesting because fear and faith are the only two things that demand for you to believe in something. And whenever you're fear, you can't simultaneously be faithful. When the Lord was teaching me about fear in early 2024, he was showing me that fear was actually rooted in a lot of disbelief. And I dealt with a lot of anxiety. I think that was something from the moment I got into high school. I mean, I think I've always had anxiety, but I remember the first time I experienced an anxiety attack whenever it was. Whenever I was in high school, I was 14 years old, and I thought I was going to die. That's what it felt like. And through that, that experience, I kept having more panic attacks and more episodes and more spirals of fear. But I look back on my life, and there was a lot of areas where fear has robbed my life, and it was almost embedded into my understanding. And so when I said yes to Jesus and when I started to walk correctly with God, I then had to confront this. This enemy, which was fear. And how fear has been holding back a lot of the faith that the Lord has been wanting me to encounter. And so whether if you know you have anxiety or if you're an anxious person or not, I think in every area, every person here on earth will deal with some sort of fear. And that could bleed into a language of not feeling enough. That could bleed into feeling as if everybody is going to get up and leave you. That could make you feel as if you're not confident and you could lose your identity in the midst of it. And fear, at the end of the day is one of the things that Satan will use to still kill and destroy the purposes and plans that God has orchestrated for his people. And when we talk about fear and faith, God has called us to live a life of faith. And I want to just kind of break down terms and definitions so we understand what fear is. And so we un. And so we also know what faith is. So we know that faith and fear are not friends, they do not hold hands, and they are not lovers, they are enemies. And fear is the opposite of faith. What is faith? Well, Scripture tells us that faith is confidence of what we hope for. It's not what we see, it's what we don't see. So a lot of people will ask for faith and they'll, and then they'll be put in a circumstance to where they have to trust in what God says and not off of their own perception of what they think is good and what they think is mighty. So faith isn't what you see, it's what you don't see. So I would even just encourage in this moment when you pray for faith, do not be surprised when God takes away tangible things that you could only experience in the natural. But he's going to give you a spiritual circumstance for you to trust and lean on him in. So then what is fear? Fear? Well, we know that God does not give us a spirit of fear according to 2nd Timothy 1:7. So the Spirit of fear is something that God does not give us, but God gives us instead power, love and a sound mind. That's what this verse says. So fear literally incarcerates you from experiencing power, love and a sound mind. So biblically the Bible supports that fear is the absence of power, the absence of love and an absence of a sound mind. Even other translations will say an absence of self control. So whenever you're in fear, you're not capable of loving properly. You're not able of being in full authoritative power in Jesus Christ because you're accepting and embracing the Holy Spirit that has ho that that you're hosting inside of you. And then you're also not experiencing a sound mind in Christ Jesus because fear has taken root and capacity of your mind. And so fear is a poor assumption of what is unto unseen. When we, when we see the terminology of, of faith, faith is confidence in what we hope for. So it's not something we just hope for, it's confidence. Right? So one way you could up your faith is not just oh yeah God, I'm just believing this because you said it, but it's like actually having a confidence of like no God, you said this and it will come into fruition. Because I'm confident that you are a God who does not lie, that you are not a God who will forsake me or leave me, but that you are actually a God who will get up and fight me? I love how Psalms 144 says that God has trained my hands for war, my fingers for battle, because God is Jehovah, Gabor. God is a God who wars for us. So we have to have a confidence that God has already won the battle through his warring power and his authoritative position, because he is God and because he's already done what he's supposed to do. And when we reconcile with the Father and when we accept the cross, we also accept a victory that has already been conquered by Christ Jesus. So the question is, if we have accepted the cross and if we accepted everything of who Jesus is, then why are we still entrapped by fear as children of God? And that's honestly the catalyst of what I'm wanting to address today. Because we could accept Jesus all day long and we could say that God is good and lift up a praise, oh God, I'm so grateful, oh God, you are so mighty. But yet we are entrapped by the thief of fear. And so the message of today, which is what we're going to dive into, it's the simple matter of the fact is that the fear of embarrassment is the thief of opportunity. And we're going to talk about fear, and we're also going to talk about how fear thieves and steals and plans to kill and destroy all the plans and purposes that God has for your life. And if you create an open door and if you crack the door for fear to creep and crawl in, it's going to come with the intention to slam that door open and to let in all these other things so we could pursue God by denying fear and. And embracing faith and believing in things that we hope for and have confidence in, and not just what we see, but what we don't see. Because there is a real heaven that is at work. There is a real spiritual, a real spiritual reality that is at hand. And we have to trust that God has it all figured out, because His Word proves that, and God has already proved it. I don't know about you, but I know about me. God has shown up in a lot of areas where I thought nobody was going to show up for me. And he showed up for me continuously, time after time after time after time, in an area where it looked impossible, in a time where naturally all odds were against me. God showed up because he is the ultimate redeemer and all things are possible through God. That's Philippians 4:13. That's like every athlete's favorite Bible verse, but it's True, because through Christ all things are possible because he holds the power, he holds the authority, he holds the victory. And so I'm kind of rambling, but the question I want to prompt going into this is, are you not gaining provision from God because there's no opportunities to your liking or because you're fearful of the opportunity that God is granting you, even though it may not be of your liking? And when I talk about the. Because fear of embarrassment is the thief of opportunity. So when we have a fear of being embarrassed and of disappointment and a failure, it robs us of us actually stepping out and pursuing the things of God in faith, because we're convinced by unbelief that what fear says has to be true because we're so focused and have accumulated this poor assumption of what is unseen, essentially. And so I could just go back to a lot of times where I didn't step forth in areas where God was calling me because there was a fear of failure and there was a fear of not being or feeling enough. And I think that stems from a lot of abandonment and neglection and betrayal that I've experienced in my life. And when you allow your trauma to be the dictator of your life, it opens the door to its friend fear to then to where it then alters your understanding, your experience of what power is, and of you cultivating love. And when God started to set me free from the fear of embarrassment, I started noticing that a lot of the opportunities that he was calling me to, there was a new confidence I was bringing to it because I trusted in what the Lord has said. And the thing about embarrassment is that you will truly, never ever be embarrassed if you just truly believe what God has told you. Like I said in the beginning of this episode, fear partners with unbelief. So when you're fearful, you're simultaneously saying, God, I don't believe you enough in this area. So I'm going to believe my own mind and my own brain in its poor assumption of what is unseen and unknown, instead of believing in your provision and your kindness and in your promises. Fear partners with unbelief. And I think sometimes we don't like to see that reality because it feels like we're far from God. But the more we're able to admit our condition and see where we're sick in the spirit of how. How fear is quite literally a disease in the body of Christ, our great physician, God will be able to be invited into our disease and heal it because he is the redeemer and he's Already conquered it on the cross. So it's a matter of emitting your condition of God. I am fearful in these areas and it is causing me to believe a reality that isn't true. Because fear also is deceptive. I'm going so off my notes, but I just feel so. Holy Spirit. So whenever we go to the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter three, it says now Satan was crafty than or the serpent it says now the serpent was crafty than any of the the animals the Lord God had made. So in Genesis chapter three, verse one, we get our first depiction and description of who Satan is and his attributes. It says that he is crafty. What does it mean to be crafty? It means to be intelligent in deception. So fear is intelligently designed to throw you into deception. You have to understand Satan is an ancient being who has been around since the beginning of time. Does this make him all powerful annoying? Absolutely not. But it does make him strong in essence compared to just the flesh and just and just human strength. Because Satan is a spiritual being, an ancient one who was intelligent in deception and in craftiness. And so we have to understand that when we fall into the disparities of fear, we're falling into an intelligent design of deception. And so what gets you out of that intelligent deception is what the Lord says, who the Son says. Free is free indeed. With the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. The truth will set you free. This is all embedded in scripture. And what is the truth is the promises, is the revelations and is the declaration, declarations of the Lord. So what conquers fear? It's faith. It's because faith is in opposition of fear and fear is in opposition to faith. So you could conquer the spirit of fear by by pursuing power, love and a sound mind, by receiving the truth of the Gospels and who Jesus Christ has claimed himself to be. Because God does not lie. And so when it comes to fear, we first have to die to our expectation into into what we think God has for us. Because his thoughts are not our thoughts, his ways are not our ways. That's why Proverbs 3:5 says trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but instead submit to him and he will make your path straight. So the first step to conquering fear is not leaning on your own understanding, is not trusting in what you think is going to come next. It's trusting in what the Lord has declared and promised you. Because one, it's written and two, he does not lie and three, he's sovereign and Four, he has compassion on you, and five, he will complete a good work in what she, in which what he has started. And so let's go into the teaching, because we're talking about fear, how it robs us from opportunity, it robs us from pursuing the things of God, and it robs us from having a sound mind, power in love. And I want to talk about this parable that Jesus gave. And I think you could take this in any light. When I, when I first learned this parable, I took it in the, in the light of finances, which we are going to talk about finances a little bit today, and trusting God with your finances, with your life, with provision and all those things. But God also showed me that through this story, fear absolutely robs this man of receiving the pleasure of the Lord. Like, forget the Providence, this man did not even receive pleasure in the presence of his master because he was operating in full fear that kept him bound. So let's read. We're going to go to Matthew, chapter 25, verse 14 through 30, which is the parable of the bags of gold. And know how sometimes, like you think you read stories and you're like, oh yeah, I know this story. This was one of those stories that really ministered to my spirit and just helped my understanding of how we could be better stewards of the opportunities and the things of God. And so it starts off, I'm going to read from my Bible Bible starting verse 14 again, it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. Keep in mind, this is a parable to one, he gave five bags of gold and another two bags into one other, one bag each according to his ability. So let's lay it out really quick so we can imagine. I'm a visual learner. So there is a master who's entrusting his servants with all of these riches. And each servant was given bags of gold according to their ability, right? So we see that one man got five bags of gold, the other one got two, and the other one got one. Okay, we see it. Let's continue. And so then it says the man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. Master, he said, you've entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I've gained five more. His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. The man with two bags of gold also came. Master, he said, you have entrusted me with two bags of gold. See, I have gained two more. His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come, share your master's happiness. Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. Master, he said, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what this. Wait here, wait. See, here is what belongs to you. His master replied, you wicked, lazy servant. So you knew that I'll harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. Well, then you should have put your money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest. So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has 10 bags. For whoever will be given more, they will be given in abundance. Whoever does not have even what they have will be taken from them. And throw what is what. Throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That's kind of a harsh parable towards the end, because he just hid his money. Okay, we're gonna talk about a multitude of things because y'all, this story is so good. And where do I want to start first? So let's just kind of rewrap the story. So this. This master has three servants, and each was entrusted with a bag of gold with. With according to their ability, right? So one guy granted five, one granted two, one granted one. And so the master got up and left. And he said, okay, I'm gonna see what y'all are gonna do with what I just gave you and hope that I get a return because I've entrusted you with these riches, right? So the master get ups, gets up and leaves. And then from that, what the servants were supposed to do were was to steward what the mast properly. So what does the first servant do? The one with the five bags of gold? He puts it to work immediately, not the next day, not a week after. He immediately gets the inheritance and the abundance and Starts to put it at work, and so he's starting to put it at work and then he gains five bags more. So this went to a five bagged, five bag deal, to a ten bagged outcome, ten bags of gold. So his portion was doubled because he steward into what his master have. Have. Has given him properly. Are you staying with me? And so then we see the second man who had the two bags of gold did the same exact thing. And so when the servant came back, excuse me, whenever the master came back, the master was pleased with the two servants because they invested in steward what the master had given the servants properly. And there was an investment and there was a return. And not only was there a return, but the master also states that while the master also states that just as much as they gave a return and they put their bags of gold to use and et cetera, that there was a pleasure that he took into their work because he was pleased that they put it to work and that they invested. And it also said what the master said. He said, because I've trusted you with these things, I will trust you with more. So it shows that when God trusts us with little things, they're not something that should just be pushed to the side. There should be things that are embraced and stewarded just as much if. As if God were to give you a crazy opportunity. Because God is going to use that opportunity to test you if you're worthy to be entrusted with the bigger thing. You may be praying for, for you to be a CEO, excuse me, a CEO of a business, but God's not going to grant that to you if you don't even learn how to be a good employee. So is God going to grant you more if he can't trust you with the little. And so the story kind of paints this picture of God giving to his children and giving onto his servants and them having the responsibility to carry out the riches and things that he has provided onto us. And he wants to see what we're going to do with it. Are we going to have a bigger return or are we going to be like the last man who was afraid and hid what he was called to double? So while we saw that these men who were entrusted with more got a better return because they put their work to use, we then come across this man who then hid the inheritance and the treasure and the abundance that his master has given him because of one thing. Fear. He says, master, because I was afraid, I hid what you have provided upon me. And here it is just the way that you Left it. And what is the master's response? You wicked and lazy servant. You have not brought me back interest. You have not stewarded the things that I have brought on to you. And so I want to talk about. For a moment. I talked about this. Oh, gosh, I feel like it was one of my first episodes, and it was called the addiction of hiding. And I want to talk about right now the reaping of hiding. Because while these men were putting their money to use, what this man had done is that he received the inheritance. But then what had happened was instead of putting it to work, he hid it. Like, he buried it. And it wasn't like. Like you would have thought he could have done anything with this money. Like the fact that he dug a hole in a ground and then put the money in it and then buried it. Like, he could have, like, kept it by his bedside or kept it to himself, or he could have invested it into somebody else, or he could have spent it, but, like, he hid it. He could have just kept it, but he buried the money and hid it instead. And what the Lord was revealing to me through this passage is that hiding partners with. With shame and fear. Is that when this man said, I was afraid and went out and hid your gold into the ground. See here. This is what belongs to you. It shows that shame and fear partnered with one another because this man was in shame. This man was in fear of embarrassment, was in fear of failure, was in fear of the. The. The missing of opportunity that instead of risking the chance to. It was almost as if this man risked the opportunity to please his master to. To. What's the word I'm looking for? To just hold on to his shame. Like he. He. Yeah, I'm just gonna leave it at that. He threw his. His ability to help and please his master at the expense of not being embarrassed. There it is. So how many of us in the Christian lifestyle are like that? You won't do the things of God, and you won't do the scary thing that he's telling you to do at the expense of failing or feeling embarrassed or feeling in shame. And so what God is showing us through the parable of the bags of gold is that nothing should get in the way of you doing the things of God. Why is it that this man was entrusted with five bags of gold and got back 10 more? Because this man put to work what the master had given him. And he knew that in order to receive bigger things, he had to invest with the little things that were already given to him. And so a lot of people are praying for big things. They're praying for a house, they're praying for a family, they're praying for a business startup. They're praying for God to provide in new ways. But God is giving you avenues and opportunities for him to trust you with the little. But you won't even take them because you're fearful of being embarrassed or failing. And then you wonder why you're not getting blessed. It's because you're not taking the opportunities that God has given you because you're deeply incarcerated by fear. And so this is the dangers of fear is that ultimately it still steals, kills and destroys every single opportunity that God wants to give you. Because there's unbelief stored up in the depths of your heart. You have to know that if God has called you, he has called you. God does not lie. And God wants you to be like one of these servants who, who was entrusted with little so he could trust you with more. So the question for you is, is how are you going to move forward in these opportunities in the fruitfulness of God and with the expectation of fulfilling his will. Even if it looks scary obeying, even when it don't look right, when it doesn't meet your expectation, and even if it doesn't mean what you're seeing right now. Like are you going to press forward knowing that God said what he said and he called you? Because you want to know what also happens in this story? It says that the man who h his treasure, that he, he had the same amount whenever, whenever the master came back, he left with one bag of gold. And he came back with one back of gold, one bag of gold. And he said, you know what? I hid it because I was scared of you. And I just know that, that you're a harsh man. So here is the same amount that you left me with. And you want to know what the master did? He said, I'm actually going to take away what I gave you and give it to somebody else who knows how to steward it better. My God. What does that show us? If you're disobedient to the things of God and if you're not taking God given opportunities, there's going to be a point in time where God is going to release you from that God given opportunity and give it to somebody else. We see this all throughout the Bible. Moses for an example, he was so filled with his disobedience, he disobeyed once by the things of God. And God from that experience of disobedience told him, bro, you're not going to lead these, these Israelites into the promised land no more because you didn't take me seriously. So God could easily give up your position for somebody else because you know better and won't do better. So there is a partnership we're supposed to have with God and you have to, yes, there's a grace. It's not saying oh dang, if I miss this opportunity once, it's never going to come back. It's more so of like if you know God has called you and if you know better and you're not doing better, God's not going to honor that. God wants you to steward what he has given you properly. Even if it is finances, if it's job, if it's ministry, if it's a relationship or marriage or a new house or whatever it may be. Like God is giving you little because he wants to know if he could trust you with the more. And so we have to be obedient and willing enough to partner with the things of God right now so we can fulfill his destiny. Not just for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of the kingdom. Amen. And so I want to to talk about again like the reaping of hiding because what, what the man was experiencing was. He was experiencing hiding because of shame, guilt, fear. And I would even say that hiding like partners with this feeling like of unworthiness. I wonder if this man was experiencing an unworthiness and a deep shame that didn't give himself permission to go seek and pursue the things of God. And he hid what God gave him because he was afraid. That's what it says in scripture. And the, the opportunity God has granted you should not be hidden but instead invested. And I kind of capitalize off of this fact is fear stole his opportunity to please his master. And when I think of fear and how it stole this man from an opportunity to please his master, it just reminds me of what John 10:10 says. And it's the devil's purpose and plan if you don't know it. The devil's purp plan for your life is to kill, steal and destroy everything that God has for you. So we know that the enemy is a thief. He is an absolute thief. He wants to kill, steal and destroy. And so you're how I want to, I want to bleed into this because the Lord was giving me a great vision as I was writing this episode. We in order to do the things of God and to take God given opportunities, we have to enforce a very strict Spiritual security system. And that spiritual security system is violated whenever you keep inviting the thief of fear to come in and steal everything inside of your home. Because you have to think about like this. You are a home and a host to the Holy Spirit. And there was a real criminal thief named Fear, and he's on the loose and he's trying to kill, kill, steal and destroy everything that's up inside of your household. So to ensure a spiritual security system, there's a few things that need to happen. First thing is to trust the system, right? So if you're looking to be secure in the things of God and to trust that God has given you this opportunity not to fail, not to be embarrassed, but instead for the advancement and for the provisions of God, you have to trust what God has given you. And so a lot of people will operate in fear and they will operate the fear of embarrassment or the fear of failure, the fear of abandonment, the fear of neglect, the fear of mockery, whatever it may be, be people will operate in fear because there's a real part of them that does not trust or believe God. And so when we think of enforcing a spiritual security system, like my question is, is why would you have a security system for your physical home and not trust it in the first place? Like, I have an alarm system in my house because. Well, the real story is that I saw one day somebody was in my backyard and I made eye contact with them and it was really scary. And then I just freshly moved in, like, anyway, okay, that's a different story. But anyways, what I'm trying to share is that I got a security system in the first place with the hopes that if someone were to try to bust a window or come through the front door, it would alert me because it's keeping me safe, right? So why would you buy a security system for your home if you're just going to be sleeping with one eye open all night? It makes no sense that would defeat the whole purpose of a security system for your home. Because you're supposed to trust the security system. And so it's the same thing with God. It's, it's when you don't trust God with, with the opportunities that he's telling you to take when he's trying to push you down a certain career path, a relationship, whatever it may be. It's like, what's the point of like, of, of. Of accepting if you don't even trust it? And so we could mirror this to the relationship that the servant had with his master. Because the man didn't steward his opportunity, opportunity properly, not just because of fear, but because of his perception of who his master was. So in the story of the ten bags of gold, this servant was entrusted with one bag of gold. And in Scripture it said, says, master, I knew that you are a hard man. So that shows us the perception that the servant had of his master. The servant hid his money. He didn't invest it. He had no return back. Instead, he hid it because he was afraid and ashamed. So whenever his master came back and he said, what have you done for me? He said, I've done nothing. Instead, I hid the abundance that you've provided for me. There's no return, there's no investment here. It is exactly like how you left it, he said, because you, you are a harsh man. So what does this tell us? You get poor results when you have a poor perception of who your father is. You get poor result. You get poor results when you have a poor perception of who your master is. And because this man had a poor perception of his master, he got a poor result because he thought poorly of his master. And so it shows that he didn't have of trust where there. There was like a lack of confidence that he had in his master because the problem wasn't, you know, he's fallen and he's failed or discipline or punishment, all these things. It was just the truth of the matter, the fact that he just had a false perception. Oh, what does that mean? Fear? It's fear because fear is what? Fear is a poor assumption of what is unseen. And this man believed his poor assumption of what was yet to come. And so I think even if you're in a financial state of. I just feel led to talk about this. I feel like. Which I feel like anytime a Christian talks about finances, they make it really weird. But I just want to. God's not calling for that. I feel like a lot of people have a poverty mindset. And I'm not saying be proud of money because the Bible says that money is the root of all evil. But people will have a poverty mindset and almost like deny financial provision because they have a poor view of who God is and how much God will actually provide for them. And so what it shows us through the story is that when you have a great perception of God and when you know that he has given you something and he's giving you the resources and the opportunities to double it, he wants you to take it and not project this false humility that's actually gaining you nothing to where you're actually selling, selling your inheritance and robbing yourself because you believe you're not worthy and you believe God is not going to give you something of which he promised. And sure you may have situations or you may have been like in tragedies or had trauma in your life where you've actually been neglected or you've been abandoned or betrayed or belittled and whatever it may be. And I think those are really real attributes as to why it's easy for us to slip into fear. And I don't want to negate those whatsoever. I just think simultaneous, as much as we acknowledge that this is why fear holds us to such a close bondage, we have to understand that releasing those things is simultaneously what's going to free us from the bondage and the spirit of fear. And it's a matter of trusting God and seeing him as good and as worthy and as providing. Because God, when God says he's a provider, but yet you have a poor view of God and you wonder why the bills aren't being paid. Is it because you're not doing that hard of a job and you're not working enough? Or is it because you believe God wants you to be poor? Poor like do you believe God wants you to be poor? We look through all the scripture and we even look through this story. God has given these people little so he could trust them with much. I'm not saying to idolize money and you know, money's going to fix everything, but there's people who really think that God wants them poor forever and for them to not have provision or help in any areas. But God doesn't say that. You say that. And I've even fallen into this mentality so many times, which is why the Lord had to snatch me up and out of there so I could get the things of God and not believe the spirit of fear and what the enemy was trying to tell me. Because of course the enemy wants to rob me from the providence of God. Of course he wants that. And so how do you make rich decisions that cultivate God given opportunities? You place your security in God. That's. That's it. You see him as good, you see him as providing and you believe it. If you have a poor vision of who God is, you're going to get poor results. That's what the story teaches us. And fear exists when you don't trust God, right? Why do you have a security system if you don't need to trust the system? Make it make sense. So part two of entrusting and ensuring your spiritual security system is arming the system so you could believe all day. But the Bible says faith without works is dead. So what does that mean? It means that works is evidence of your faith. So you arm the system and you arm that security and you remain in the trust of God. By what? Prayer, fasting, Studying the word of God, by meditating on the Word day and night, by being in community, plugging into a church, serving whatever it may be. That's how you ensure the security that God has placed on your life. Amen. And so the other two men were entrusted because they were good stewards. So like, are you a good steward of what God is calling you to do? And each person would given bags of gold according to their ability. So God wants to increase your ability. You just have to be willing to take every opportunity that God is giving you. And I love how in Scripture, when these men did invest properly and they were doing the things of God, he, the master says to the servants, he says, you have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. When you invest properly, when you take those opportunities, even when you obey, even when it's scary, you share a joy and a happiness with God. This is great news. I know you may be scared to take the opportunity. I know you may be scared to take the leap of faith, to move across the country, to pursue the relationship, to take the job and leave the old one. And I know you may be scared about even coming to Christ. But God takes pleasure and he takes happiness in you doing so. And not only does he experience happiness, but he wants to experience and empathize that happiness with you. Like he wants to share the joy which he's experiencing with you and not just keep it to himself. So whenever you are obedient to the things of God, whenever you do the thing, even when it looks scary, there's a joy and there's a pleasure that not only God takes, but a joy that God is wanting to have in partnership with you. And what I love about God is that he shares and after he tests you, and even though he put you through the ringer, like God is going to give you and restore onto you a joy that is going to surpass every trial that you just went through. And I want to just encourage that. If you are put in a position to receive more from God, then it's because he's already entrusted you with the little of what he's given. So what's like the practicalities of that. Like, what does it mean for God to trust you with the little. That's like I gave this example earlier. If you want to be a CEO of a business, this and you know, God has called you to entrepreneurship one day and to start something really great. Why would he grant you the position of a CEO if you're not a good employee? Being a good employee is stewarding the little things. It's being obedient even when it's small and trusting that God is going to raise you up higher, higher, higher and higher. Like for an example, like, like each I, I just think about school like kindergarten, first grade, second grade, grade, all the way to middle school is necessary for you to go into high school. So you just can't come out the womb and go straight into high school because you have no fundamental principles. God is wanting to trust you with the little because he's wanting to give you a foundation. And so that is the, the ultimate like urge is dwell and be pleased with the little of what God is trusting you with. Because those are tiny little steps that God is going to, to use to open up your future and the big thing that he's really called you to do. And it's just a matter of not procrastinating of what God has called you to do right now, even though it looks small. And just because it looks small doesn't mean that it's not important because it glorifies. God is not about you, honey boo boo. It is about God. It is not about you. It's not about your purpose, your life. Sure, God's using your life and you as a vessel to do the things that God but it's ultimately for the advancement of his kingdom. And so God of course is going to show compassion and care and love for you in the midst of it. But we have to partner with God and take joy in the small things because those are the very things he's going to use for prosperity and providence. So yeah, I, I think I, I kind of dove into what those things mean of like what it looks like to trust and invest into opportunities and to leave the spirit of fear. And ultimately it's very simple. It's like in order, in order to fall away from the spirit of fear, you ultimately just have to trust. I think when we talk about trust, that's a little bit of a sticky situation. It's a hard conversation for a lot of people because I think a lot of people think that they're trusting God, but then they look at their lives and they see that, that you know, God has or hasn't been showing up in certain ways and I think or you're still entrapped by fear and you, you eliminate the spirit of fear by trusting God. And I think people think that they trust God. But what it means to trust God is not just to oh hey God, I trust you and just kind of say a statement that's like that, but it's truly submitting and acknowledging him as Lord. Proverbs 3, 5 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways, submit to him and he will make your path straight. When we think of submission and it's basically saying, say if you're going through a hard time with like your job and you don't know where you're going to get employed next, what submission looks like and what it means to surrender is God, I'm now releasing the responsibility of the provision of my job onto you because I trust you and I'm not going to lay my hands on it until you say so. That's what surrender looks like. But then we see this word submit in Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 and what the word submit means in the Hebrew language it literally means yah, which means to acknowledge God as Lord. And so I think when we think submit, we think surrender. But if God meant surrender in this verse, he would have said surrender. But what it means to submit in order to trust, you have to acknowledge Christ as Lord. And so the reason as to why we're thrown into cycles of fear is because ultimately we don't trust. And we don't trust because we don't see Jesus Christ as Lord. And so how do you see Jesus Christ as Lord? It's by developing a deep intimacy with Him. It's a receiving a revelation of the cross and what he's done on the behalf of you that God has sent his one and only Son when He did not have to for the sake of you being a perfect harmonious relationship with God. And so when you fail to see Christ as Lord and, and, and God on, on the throne of which he is called and exalted to be at, that's not going to make it easy for you to trust Him. It's going to make it easy for you to fall into fear. And so seeing God as Lord bleeds in into seeing him as the, the highest authority in priority of your life. And trust also comes with a self crucifixion and self denial. And so in order to trust God, you have to Stop trusting yourself. It's a matter of. If you feel fear creeping and crawling, like, take a moment to step back, examine your fear and try and test it by the word of God. I believe. Believe it's Hebrews 4, 7 or 12 talks about it and it says like the word of God penetrates, dividing the soul and the spirit and the mind. Like it judges the thoughts of, of your spirit, soul, mind, body. Like the word of God judges everything. So if you're having a hard time not believing your fear, testify the word of God and see what God has to say about it. Because this is ultimately truth and it's. It's cultivating an intimate relationship with him through prayer, through fasting, through, through community, whatever it may be to acknowledge God for who he is and not just saying, oh, I trust you because I trust you, but God, I trust you because I recognize you as Lord, because I see you as sovereign and I see you on the highest throne. And I will not put you below anything in my entire life. Instead, I will keep you in the center and on top, reigning over everything thing. And then the second thing is to invest, make spiritual deposits into yourself. That looks like prayer, fasting, scriptural studying, involving in community, plugging into mentorship, worship, consecration, serving investments in dis. In obedience is fueled by the fire of faith. So you, you do the things of God and you cultivate your own faith. When you stop believing what, what you think is good, but actually believe in what God has said for your life, don't lean on your own understanding. Instead, instead lean on his faith. Is confidence what we hope for? So there was like an unseen matter that is good. Like you have to understand, like if you're in a room, you don't know what's on the other side of the door. And what if I told you it was good? You have to know that what God has for you on the other side of the door is good. You just have to die to your expectation of what you think that thing on the outside of the door is because you're so focused on what's happening on the inside. Like just seeing the Spirit open up your mind and just know that God has something better. And last encouragement is that you just have a divine opportunity to partner with God when he's calling you to do something, even when it looks scary. God wants to use these moments to show you how faithful he is that he is working, even when it doesn't even look like it. I think sometimes we miss the opportunity to strengthen our faith. Faith because we don't trust him. And let me tell you something. God is worthy of being trusted. If you want to know for yourself, just meditate of what he's done for you already in your life. If you want to see how God's been trusted, like, read the Scriptures, see how God has helped and provided for his people. Like, I was even just telling one of my best friends this morning. I. I told her, I said. I said, if God. Because I was reading the story of Gideon, I said, if. If God redeemed a people who was literally prostituting their bodies for false gods, how much more is God going to redeem you through this? Like, your problem is cake to God. Like, what you're going through right now is easy for him. You just have to trust that it's easy for him. It may be difficult for you, but it's so easy for God. God delights in your weakness because it makes his power perfectly strong. Believe that. And I would even encourage that if you want to advance in your faith. And if you're looking to experience the full presence of God, don't leave your prayer closet until he releases you. Sometimes we'll just pray and we'll seek the things of God and we'll be like, well, well, I'm hungry and I'm gonna go get something to eat. Or, I wanna go on TikTok and I wanna do these things. But God hasn't released you. Like, sit and dwell on the presence of God. God. Like, we want all this head knowledge and we want to know it all, but nobody wants to sit down and embrace the presence and. And just really meditate on what Jesus has done. It's like, really, Jesus and even everything he's doing through us. I could even say on the behalf of, like, this podcast, this isn't an Emmy thing. This is a God thing. And none of this would happen at the lengths and the extremities that it would be happening at if I just didn't trust God. God. And sure, I may not see it, but I know God has seen it for me. This is why the Bible says in Hebrews 12, God is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Like, he's already been in areas where we haven't seen it. And so it's believing that. And so I'm gonna leave y'all with that, and I'm just gonna trust that God did his thing, y'all, because, man, does God love you? And God's not giving these you these opportunities for no reason because he wants to help you. He wants to see you Win. God is your biggest cheerleader. Amen. So embrace that. Embrace that. God wants to see you win. And let me just encourage somebody at home right now. It is not too late. It is not too late. You are not too far gone. God is just asking for you to turn back around. You could have taken a million steps away, but it's one step back to God. I don't care how far off you are. I don't even care if you in a jail cell listening to this. There was one step that brings you back into harmony with God. God. And it's pursuing him. It's repentance. And God is going to give you what he has for you when you just trust in him. Amen. So know that you're capable and worthy because God has called you to it. Amen. Amen. So few nails. Miss. Let me finna go. You already know the drill. If you've been saved through this podcast, or if you need prayer requests, there's a link down below. Number two if you want to, or if you feel led to tithe towards this ministry or also towards future plans regarding Malik and I, there's also another link down below. There's no pressure whatsoever. This is literally just an announcement. We appreciate prayers more than anything. When I tell you I will always dwell in a spiritual covering more than a physical one because I know the Lord is faithful. But for those who would like to, it's just there. And the last thing, if you are wanting to shop, the merchandise is at save, not soft shop dot com. If any of you guys have any questions, leave them down. Down below. And yeah, that's that, you guys, I love you guys so much. And God loves you and let him reveal his kindness to you this week. Love you guys. And I'll see you a week from today. Love you guys. Bye.