Speak It Out

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that rejects fear and embraces faith in God. It discusses the duality of God's power and love, and how He desires to restore us to His original plan. It emphasizes the importance of the church in preaching salvation, discipleship, and being pillars in the community. It highlights God's care and protection for us, and encourages us to trust in Him and proclaim His goodness. The passage also emphasizes the unity and growth of the body of Christ, and the overflowing blessings that come from walking with God. The daily affirmation is Psalm 23, reminding us that God is our shepherd and provides for our needs. 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 Isaiah 40.9-11 You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up. Don't be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God. Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young. What a great picture! And yes, get up on a high mountain. A rooftop isn't high enough for this news. Can you see him? Can you see Jesus coming in this picture? There's a duality to the Lord that is sometimes hard to reconcile. On the one hand, he's full of might and power and glory that makes nations crumble and continents tremble. And on the other hand, he's full of love and compassion and a gentle touch, enabling us to rest and sleep in his arms. Here, we see both sides. We also see another side of the Lord. And face it, he's got more sides than we can count. He always will, Isaiah 6, 1-3. We get to see a side of growth, justice, and recompense or restoration. God wants you to be whole, inside and out, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The whole picture. Healing is good, but it isn't good enough. Emotional health is good, but it isn't good enough. Spiritual health is good, but it isn't good enough. It says right here that he brings his restitution with him. Recompense is returning in kind, giving something by way of compensation or to pay for. That's not only the restoration of something lost or stolen. It's also recompense for injury and loss. More than both of those, however, is that restitution, by definition, is the restoration of something to its original state. The Lord comes wanting to restore us to the original plan. His original plan. The one where we are perfect. Able to walk and talk with him face to face. To inhabit the place that he has for us to inhabit. The Lord is merciful, and his mercy endures forever. What grace he extends to us. And this really is the project of the church. Church services have a purpose to teach us how to operate and walk in the kingdom of God. They're meant to be an agency of the kingdom. The kingdom is our inheritance. We were also assigned an inheritance in him, Jesus, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will, to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ. Ephesians 1, 11-12. Kingdom is the governing influence that a king has over his territory, impacting it with his personal will, purpose, and intent, producing a culture that's values, morals, and lifestyle that reflects the king's desires and nature for his citizens. When the principles of God's kingdom are taught to us, discipled in us, we gain dominion. Dominion is the spiritual system for enthroning Christ above systems and structures. So who are you? Who are you in Christ? What are your rights in Christ? Do you have the ability to operate in his cosmos, in his atmosphere? Having dominion is not about having domination. It's an atmosphere where we operate in the kingdom of God. Not on Sunday mornings or at Wednesday Bible study. Christ needs to be revealed and enthroned in all of our life and by all of our life. Everything. We coordinate all the resources we are given to ensure Christ gets revealed and enthroned. This is being an agent of the kingdom. This is the project of the church as a corporate body, 1 Corinthians 12-28. Beyond denomination, beyond theological points and pickiness, this is what we are to do. Number one, preach salvation and try to ensure the saving of souls. Number two, disciple by teaching, pastoring, mentoring and by example in the community. We can and should be pillars of our community. No government of any level should regret our presence. They should be thankful that we are and that we operate in our communities. That we have position, opinion, influence and a message. That we glorify Christ in all that we do from laundry to litigation to leading. That we set him above all things, all systems and all structures. To lift up voices loud and proud proclaiming this is your God. And as those around us, individually and whole communities, come to the knowledge and revelation of who Jesus is. He is there to shepherd us with might, with reward, with recompense. To feed us, carry us, be with us. He doesn't just throw health and restoration at us either. He stays beside us, James 4.8. To guide us and care for us, John 16.13. To direct our steps, Isaiah 30.21. To lead us to where we need to go as well as taking care of our every need, Psalm 23. He protects us, gathers us into his arms and keeps us close, 2 Thessalonians 3.3. Psalm 3.3 and Deuteronomy 31.6. He takes e-special care with those who are mothers and nursing their young, Psalm 22.9. And Isaiah 66.10-13. He doesn't just protect us, but he also protects those we are protecting. That is mind-boggling when you really think about it. I mean, this is God and he's right there with us in the dirt, on the grass, and by the stream. The world has no problem imagining a vengeful God. But an omnipotent, mighty being who also cares for each and every one of us here in the vastness of the universe? They mock that idea. They discount it. And they try their hardest to disprove it. But the Bible can't be mocked or explained away, Galatians 6.7. It is a living record of God's journey to both give us the capacity for freely loving and worshiping him and rescuing us from our own folly and spite. The number of chances that he gives his chosen people, the lengths that he went for all of us. It is staggering. Honestly, it is beyond our comprehension. Which is why we get these beautiful word pictures in Scripture. So that we can breathe easy, put away fear, and worship him. So that we can not worry about finances or what we're going to do for food or where we're going to live. There's no fear in that. We're aware of those situations. And we're aware that he has us and we worship him. And while we're doing that, he carries us safely and surely to where we need to be. So that we can rise up and proclaim his goodness to the world. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news. Who publishes peace. Who brings good news. Who proclaims salvation. Who says to Zion, your God reigns. Isaiah 52.7 and Romans 10.14-15. So that we can take those who answer his call. That receive the revelation of the mercy of the Lord providing us salvation and help them grow. He gave some to be apostles. And some prophets. And some evangelists. And some shepherds and teachers. For the perfecting of the saints. To the work of serving. To the building up of the body of Christ. Until we all attain to the unity of the faith. And the knowledge of the son of God. To a full grown man. To the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we may no longer be children. Tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine. By the trickery of men. In craftiness. After the wiles of error. But speaking truth. In love. We may grow up in all things. Into him who is the head. Christ. From whom all the body. Being fitted and knit together. Through that which every joint supplies. According to the working in measure of each individual part. Makes the body increase. To the building up of itself. In love. Ephesians 4. 11-16. Our God. Reigns. In mercy. Love. Power. Joy. Faith. Goodness. Thankfulness. Glory. And honor. And we get to proclaim it. We get to live it. We get to walk. Hand in hand. With him. We get our spirits renewed. And filled. Filled and overflowed. Filled and overflowed so much. That the fruits of the spirit. And health. And prosperity. And every single promise of the covenant. From our covenant keeping God. Spills out from our spirits. Into our souls. And into our bodies. And into our homes. And into our neighborhoods. And into our communities. And into our cities. And into our countries. And into our world. Do not fear. Lift Jesus. The anointed one. Up. Enthrone him. And give him the glory for every good thing that is in your life. Give him the glory for every single thing that makes you, you. And just see what can happen. See the care and the love that will be showered on you. As you abide in Jesus. As you step into who you are in him. As he shows you who you are in him. See the God of glory move. And move mightily. Bring the praise. Experience the glory. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Psalm 23. Yahweh is my shepherd. John 10. I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. John 6. Verse 10. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. John 10 again. Isn't that a beautiful picture? Jesus said, my sheep follow me. And we're following him. Even when we're in bad circumstances. We're following him to all good places. God loves us so much and seeks real fellowship with us. Every moment of the day. Everything we say and do. He wants to be a part of it. Is there something so big, thoughts of it make it hard to breathe? He wants to know and help. Is there something so small and inconsequential you'd feel silly talking to even your partner about it? He wants to know and help. If it's on your mind, it's important to Jesus. If you're a believer, you know his voice. You know he's talking to you. You know he's asking you about everything. Just to hear your thoughts. Why? He loves us. Simple as that. As we close, remember that you have earth. 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. 1 John 4, 9-10 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.