Transforming Fear Through God's Presence and Submission

Devotional

Day 1: Living in God's Presence Dispels Fear

In a world where fear often dominates our thoughts, living with God fully before us can transform our daily lives. Fear typically arises from concerns about health, the economy, and social acceptance. However, when we consciously place ourselves in God's presence, these worries begin to dissipate. This requires a deliberate effort to situate ourselves in His presence each day, allowing His peace to replace our anxieties. By focusing on God, we can live without fear, trusting that His presence will guide and protect us. [14:32]

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7, ESV)

Reflection: What specific fear are you holding onto today? How can you intentionally place yourself in God's presence to let go of this fear?

Day 2: Submission as a Path to Peace

Submission is often misunderstood as a form of subjugation, but in God's order, it is about recognizing our place and role. Jesus exemplified this by submitting to death on the cross, which led to the power of the resurrection. Submission is mutual and reflects a deeper understanding of our role in God's plan, leading to a life of purpose and peace. By embracing submission, we align ourselves with God's will and experience the peace that comes from living according to His design. [16:09]

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7, ESV)

Reflection: In what area of your life do you struggle with submission? How can you begin to embrace submission as a path to peace today?

Day 3: Embracing Our Place in God's Plan

Recognizing and accepting our place, whether as sinners or in our unique life circumstances, is crucial to finding God. This acceptance allows us to experience His forgiveness and presence in our lives. By acknowledging our place, we open ourselves to the transformative power of God's love and grace. It is through this acceptance that we can truly know God and live in harmony with His plan for us. [18:35]

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

Reflection: What aspect of your life are you struggling to accept? How can embracing your place in God's plan lead to a deeper experience of His presence?

Day 4: Transforming Our Minds Towards God

The key to transformation lies in turning our minds towards God and allowing His word to dwell in us. This shift in focus brings harmony to our lives and aligns us with His will. By immersing ourselves in God's word, we can transform our actions and presence in the world, reflecting His culture rather than the world's. This transformation begins with a conscious decision to focus our thoughts on God and His teachings. [24:00]

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: What is one thought pattern you need to change to align more closely with God's will? How can you begin to renew your mind today?

Day 5: The Power of Silence in God's Presence

Spending time in silence before God allows His presence to permeate our being, transforming us from the inside out. This transformation is evident in our demeanor and the culture we carry, which reflects God's presence rather than the world's. By turning our minds to God and keeping them there, we align ourselves with His will and experience the fullness of life in His presence. Silence before God is a powerful tool for spiritual growth and transformation. [26:25]

"But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." (Psalm 131:2, ESV)

Reflection: How can you incorporate moments of silence into your daily routine to allow God's presence to transform you? What changes do you notice when you spend time in silence before God?

Sermon Summary

In a world filled with fear, the call is to live with God fully before us, allowing His presence to transform our daily lives. Fear often stems from concerns about health, the economy, and social acceptance, but when we situate ourselves solidly before God, these worries dissipate. The concept of submission is crucial here, not as a form of subjugation, but as a recognition of our place in God's order. Submission is mutual and reflects the life of Jesus, who accepted His place and submitted to death on the cross to experience the power of the resurrection. This acceptance of our place, whether as a sinner at the foot of the cross or in our unique life circumstances, is essential to finding God and living without fear.

Understanding our place involves recognizing the dimensions of our being: spirit, mind, body, and soul. Our soul, the deepest part of us, integrates all these aspects and connects us to the vast spiritual environment where God resides. However, our natural inclination is to run away from God, trying to control our lives without His guidance. This leads to disorder and dissatisfaction. The solution is to turn our minds towards God, allowing His word to dwell in us and bring us back into harmony with Him. This shift in focus transforms our actions and presence in the world, as we begin to reflect God's culture rather than the world's.

The transformation begins with silence before God, allowing His presence to permeate our being. As we spend time in His presence, our entire being, including our body, is transformed. This transformation is evident in our demeanor and the culture we carry with us, which is not of this world. By turning our minds to God and keeping them there, we align ourselves with His will and experience the fullness of life in His presence.

Key Takeaways

1. Living Without Fear: By keeping God fully before us, we can live without fear, as His presence dispels worries about health, economy, and social acceptance. This requires a conscious effort to situate ourselves in His presence daily. [14:32]
2. The Importance of Submission: Submission is about recognizing our place in God's order, as exemplified by Jesus. It is mutual and reflects a deeper understanding of our role in God's plan, leading to a life of purpose and peace. [16:09]
3. Recognizing Our Place: Accepting our place, whether as sinners or in our unique life circumstances, is crucial to finding God. This acceptance allows us to experience His forgiveness and presence in our lives. [18:35]
4. Turning Our Minds to God: The key to transformation is turning our minds towards God and allowing His word to dwell in us. This shift brings harmony to our lives and aligns us with His will. [24:00]
5. Transformation Through Silence: Spending time in silence before God transforms our entire being, including our body. This transformation is evident in our demeanor and the culture we carry, reflecting God's presence. [26:25]
** [26:25]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[14:18] - Overcoming Fear
[14:32] - Living with God Before Us
[15:13] - Dispelling Worries
[15:27] - Understanding Submission
[16:09] - Recognition of Place
[16:24] - Submission in Scripture
[17:10] - Jesus' Example of Submission
[18:19] - Accepting Our Place
[19:20] - Knowing God in Our Place
[20:34] - The Law of Love
[21:07] - Dimensions of Self
[22:19] - The Role of the Soul
[23:46] - Turning Mind to God
[25:25] - Transformation Through Presence
[26:25] - Silence and Transformation

Sermon Clips

In order to not be afraid, what we have to do is to live where that first song that we sang was talking about, learn to live with God fully before us all the time. We learn to do that, then doing what is right, living without fear become just a part of our daily life. [00:14:27]

Submission is important because submission is nothing but a recognition of place, the recognition of place. And I need to talk to you a little bit about this because this is really crucial. See, we're all placed, replaced by our birth. We are placed by the kinds of bodies we have, female, male, and so on. [00:15:27]

Jesus himself accepted his place. That's what it means when he says that he came among human beings, took on mortal forms, submitted himself to death, even the death of the cross. I say to you again, he didn't have to do that. It would have taken the flip of his finger to have avoided that. [00:17:00]

You have to accept your place as a sinner at the foot of the cross to find God in forgiveness. But if you don't accept your place as a woman as the kind of woman you are with the kind of family you've had or and the kind of family you have now, the events that have happened to you. [00:18:22]

My body, my family, the events that make up my life and I can take them from his hand. And when I do that, then that wonderful verse six, if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear, that becomes a reality and we now can live with God in our place. [00:19:13]

Remember that the law of God says that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that's the total system. And really these are dimensions of yourself. You have a spirit, a will, and that's what you choose with, that's your chooser if you wish. [00:21:07]

Your soul is that part of you which makes all the rest of it work together to form one life. Beyond that is a great vast spiritual environment about which we don't know very much. God is there, the hosts of heaven are there, and a lot of things are there that will do us harm. [00:22:19]

The very quick solution to this is to bring it back to God. It is to turn first the mind towards God. The word of Christ comes in and we turn, we choose to let our mind dwell on God. And now if you forget everything else I say today, that's the most crucial thing. [00:23:46]

We bring ourselves back into harmony with God by turning our mind to God and keeping it there. If you remember Romans 1, that's the turn away from God when they knew God, they refused to keep him or retain him in their thoughts as, and they turned away to themselves. [00:24:23]

Once we shift back to God, then everything begins to fall into place. We look differently, we act differently because we're coming from a different presence. Oscar Wilde somewhere has this clever statement, you know, he was given the clever statements that by the age of 40 everyone gets the face they deserve. [00:24:47]

As we learn to turn our mind back to God and let it rest there, then when we come into the ordinary world, our faces look different, our body language is different, we bring a presence with us. See, everyone has a culture that they bring with them, each of us in this room have one. [00:25:25]

The question that we face when we think about transforming the self through being silent before God is receiving a different culture, a culture that is not of this world. And when we spend time before God, long periods of time, doing what we sing about when we come to church. [00:26:25]

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