Branch Brothers

This transcription is about rejecting fear and embracing faith in God. It explains that fear is a spiritual force used by Satan to keep people down. The flesh feels afraid in the presence of God's holiness because it recognizes its own impurity. However, our spirits rejoice and long to be in God's presence. The hand of God both blesses and assists us. Job wanted to stay under God's hand but not be overcome by fear. We, as new creations in Christ, can boldly approach God and have Jesus as our mediator. Through Jesus, we have a better covenant with God and no condemnation. By focusing on the spirit side of our existence, we have abundant life in Jesus. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Job 13.20-21 Only don't do two things to me, then I will not hide myself from your face. Withdraw your hand far from me, and don't let your terror make me afraid. Job wanted to stay under the hand of Yahweh God, but he also didn't want the terror of the Lord to overcome him. What terror? Not fear, not scared. But God is far above us, Isaiah 55.8-9. He is totally, 100% righteous. He is pure in a way that we really don't understand. When we get around that level of holiness, we start to sweat. The flesh, which is very much not pure or righteous, starts to feel its condition. It starts to realize how much dirt it really is. How low, how it has indulged in sin, and what it deserves. You see, the flesh remembers the word of God from Genesis 2.16-17. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may eat freely of every tree from the garden, but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die. The flesh remembers that it did eat, and it remembers the penalty that was prescribed for that act, and it starts to sweat. Won't his majesty make you afraid and his dread fall on you? Job 13.11. We may not remember everything we've done, but the flesh does. Yahweh God is not mankind. He is not an image from our subconscious. He is not something we have made up for our own advantage. He is. And as such, He declares what is acceptable to Him and what is not. Now, if our flesh cakes up every time God is around, why do we want to get around God? Well, because we're spirit beings. We're not flesh. Our flesh may quaver, but our spirits rejoice. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul will be joyful in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61.10. We love to be with God and be around God and bask in His presence to worship Him and receive from Him. Even as our flesh fears, we are full of love. We're made in His image, Genesis 1.26-27. And we were made to fellowship with Him, Genesis 3.8. And because of what Jesus did for us at the cross, our spirits are eager to be with God again, full of reverential awe, free of all fear. Our spirits are looking to get in front of the Father and never leave. Now that duality, the flesh-spirit, is one side of Job's request. The other is really about what the Lord can do. God created man in His own image. In God's image, He created him. Male and female, He created them. God blessed them. God said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Genesis 1.27-28. God made us and then blessed us. It was the first thing He did. Before He talked about what we were to do, He blessed us. His blessing is not dependent on our action. Our first moments of consciousness were spent being blessed by Yahweh God. When it comes to blessing, the hand of God is open to us. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God. Ecclesiastes 2.24 You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Psalm 145.16 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand is power and might. It is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. 1 Chronicles 29.12 So the hand of God blesses us and it also assists us in what we are to do. Also the hand of God came on Judah to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by the Lord's word. 2 Chronicles 30.12 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Acts 11.21 Another thing about the hand is that the Lord keeps us in his hand. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. John 10.28-29 The problem is that while no one can snatch us away, we are able to walk off. We don't have to though. We can stay there if we stay focused, if we rely on him. We are enabled to succeed through the Holy Spirit if we keep ourselves in check. Humble yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5.67 This wasn't Job's worry though. Job felt that he was safe under God's hand. His life was safe. Job felt that he was innocent and blameless, and he wanted to justify himself before God for all that other stuff that had come on him. He was just scared because of God's majesty, because God was, well, God. He knew God was amazing and mighty and generous, and he did not want to lose out on the benefits of being under the hand of the Most High. But he also wanted to justify himself. So this was his plea. Let me stay under your hand of blessing and might, but don't let my flesh get the better of me, and leave me here quivering in fear. He wanted to be with God, but not fearful, reverend, but not terrified. The next verse tells us why. Then call, and I will answer, or let me speak, and you answer me. He wanted to justify himself. He wanted to place his case before the Lord God Almighty. Thank the Lord we don't have this problem. We don't need to be begging the Lord not to let our flesh get the best of us. First of all, we are new creations in Christ and can come boldly before the throne of our Father in heaven, Hebrews 4.16. We're warned in Hebrews 10.35, therefore, don't throw away your boldness, which has a great reward. This is a great privilege. This is a great honor. This is the benefit of being a son or daughter of Yahweh God. But if we did forget, if we did focus on us more than on God, if we did fall prey to sin, what then? Well, that's number two. But now he, Jesus, has obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law. Hebrews 8.6. That's right. We have Jesus. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1.5. In Jesus, we have the answer to Job's plea. Jesus redeems us so that we can boldly stand before the throne and speak to the Father. Jesus is also our mediator in times of trouble, reminding the Father of our redemption and making sure that no whisper of the enemy gets between us and our rightful place, which we have through Jesus. It is a much better covenant we have than any that have come before us. Hebrews 8.7-13. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who were in Christ Jesus who don't walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law couldn't do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin He condemned sin in the flesh, that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who don't walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it is not subject to God's law, neither indeed can it be. Those who are in the flesh can't please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you, but if any man doesn't have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. If we focus on the flesh side of our existence, not only are we going to have a lot of problems, but we are going to be in the exact self-same place as Job was, the same issue. He wanted to justify himself before God, but he couldn't. He wanted to stand before God, but he couldn't. He wanted to be restored to relationship with God, but he couldn't. He wanted to stay under God's blessing, but he was at the mercy of what he perceived to be the whim of the Lord. That doesn't sound like a very good deal. That sounds like a sinner's deal. In Jesus, we are sanctified and continue to be sanctified every day. 1 Corinthians 6.11 In Jesus, we are beloved children of God. 1 John 3.1-3 In Jesus, we are justified. Romans 5.1-2 In Jesus, we can stand before God without fear. Jude 1.24-25 We need to keep our focus on the spirit side of things. If we do, we have life in abundance. John 10.10 If we do not, we will wither, because the flesh is steeped in everything that separates us from God. The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Jesus told it, May no one ever eat fruit from you again. And his disciples heard it. Mark 11.12-14 Now this seems like Jesus is operating on a whim, but he wasn't. Fig trees don't have fruit all the year round. They don't have leaves all the year round either. When they have leaves, they have fruit. When they have fruit, they have bright leaves. So Jesus saw bright leaves, which signified that the tree had fruit. But the fruit had none. It had all the appearance of having fruit and being vibrant. It was a pleasant surprise, because it wasn't the season for figs. The tree was screaming loud and clear that it had fruit, that it was better than all the other fig trees, that it had what everyone both needed and wanted. But it was a false voice. And Jesus answered it the way he answers all false voices. He gave it what it was asking for. It was being unnatural. It paid the price. It was. And it is. A powerful lesson. I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. Every branch in me that doesn't bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You were already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. If a man doesn't remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burnt. John 15, 1-6 Job wanted to justify himself. He wanted to say, I am righteous in my actions, so I don't deserve this. As if this life is about deserving things. While Job did not sin against God, he failed to see that it was his heart attitude that had invited the enemy into his life. Job enabled the enemy to torment him in spite of God's desire to bless and protect him. It's ironic that Job cried out for God not to remove his hand when Job himself had crawled out from under that hand, which is what started this whole thing in the first place. The people in the temple in Jerusalem were no longer concerned with the Lord's hand, and they were being false in attitude and in service. Jesus drove them out. Mark 11, 15-17 The fig tree was being false. This was the only tree Jesus had issue with, and he was around trees a whole lot. We are also not to be false. That is the lesson of these verses. We are to abide in Jesus and produce. If not, we will receive what it is we are asking for. None of us want bad things to happen to us. All of us want blessing and positive experiences. None of us want to think of ourselves as false. All of us want to enjoy the presence of the Lord. None of us want to experience fear when it comes to the Lord. All of us want to feel the love of God toward us. But as with everything else, we have been given free will. Genesis 2, 16-17 So will we stay in God's hand or walk off of it? Will we abide in Jesus, staying connected to the source of our life and produce fruit? Will we be posturing believers, saying all the right things and doing all the right things, but producing no fruit of the kingdom because of a bad heart attitude? Will we grovel before God or will we let Jesus sanctify us day by day? Will we beg for a mediator because of the fruit that our heart has produced? Or will we let Jesus do a work in us? We can't do it alone. We can't go it alone. We can't produce anything alone. We can't stand alone. We can't pray alone. We can't accomplish anything alone. It needs to be Jesus in us. Jesus through us. We need to stay connected to him through the word, through prayer as conversation, through prayer as listening to his voice, through obedience to what he tells us. We need Jesus. We need to be in him and have him in us. When we focus on that, when Jesus is first, last, and everything in between, we are right where we should be. We're where we were created to be. We're the being we were always meant to be. The victory will be ours because Jesus has it. The blessing will be ours because Jesus has it. Our spirits will rejoice and start to transform the rest of us as we let Jesus sanctify and perfect us. Never forget, we are branches of Jesus himself. We are co-heirs and children of God through him. We get to stand before the throne, climb into God's lap, and enjoy the smiles of our father through Jesus. Jesus is the reason. Jesus is the season of harvest. Jesus is the redeemer of our souls. Jesus is the renewal of our mind. Jesus is the sanctification of our spirit. Praise him today as you seek his face. Thank him today as you listen to his voice. Rejoice today because Jesus is our Lord. He's our Lord, Savior, and brother. Amen. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Genesis 48, 15-16. This is the first reference of God as our shepherd in the Bible. Jacob called God his shepherd. One who led his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. One who fed him his whole life. One who redeemed him from all evil. One who blesses. That's a great list. God guides, feeds, saves, and blesses. Not for a period, not when he feels like it, but for our entire lives. God's shepherding of us is not the past. It is always present. It is always now. There is no sense in wondering if God loves us, if God wants good things for us, if God is with us. God has been doing everything he can to ensure our well-being from before there was a creation in which to place us. Because he loves us. He wants to care for us, bless us, save us, feed us, and lead us. He wants to bring us to the best rest, the best food, the best water, and the best everything. He operates as a shepherd. He loves like a father. We have the best of both worlds. Appreciate that he appreciates us. Jacob said, he is my shepherd who has fed me my whole life. Remember, Jacob missed it quite a few times. We miss it quite a few times. We're the same. God's blessing is not dependent on our behavior. His love is not dependent on our actions. This love is the basis of our fellowship with him. Real, honest, deep, and meaningful love. It is the connecting point. It is the first snap of all that we build with him. It is the center of our walk with him. God is love. And it will transform your life if you let it. If you let him. No matter where you are with your walk with the Lord, his love is always our rest. Through Jesus, it is always our salvation. Always our blessing. The love of God toward us has perfect peace. Fully satisfying relationship. Take a chance today. Let him love you. You won't regret it. As we close, remember that you have worth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love. And no end to the things about you that he loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you. Just because you're you. First John 4, 9 to 10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us. That God has sent his only born son into the world. That we might live through him. And this is love. Not that we love God. But that he loved us. And sent his son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin. And it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because he first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.