Freedom From Fear of Man

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Thanks for watching!

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tuned into the Authentic Podcast, where we

explore the transformative power of

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embracing the reality of Jesus Christ.

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As we embark on this journey together, we

will navigate the depths of faith and

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discover the profound impact that Jesus

has on our spiritual walk.

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In this space, you will find real and

inspiring conversations about faith and

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how as a believer we should navigate the

Kingdom reality.

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We are excited that you are part of an

adventure where authenticity and faith

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intersect.

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Welcome to the Authentic Podcast.

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me go live on the radio with Toledo's one

and only Yes FM.

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I was blessed with the opportunity to be

on the morning munch with Chris Shannon,

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and I got to share a devotional on the

fear of man.

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I hope you enjoy be blessed by it and

stick around.

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There's a prayer at the end.

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Yeah, excited to find out what we're gonna

find out more about you here in a minute

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and what you do our devotional front the

morning.

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excited to see what you bring.

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You're a new voice to us so it's great

meeting you.

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Nice meeting you as well.

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I'm very excited to share with what the

Lord has downloaded.

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Excited, excited.

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All right, over to you, sir.

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Awesome.

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Yeah, so the Lord has given me four words

for this week.

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I get to be with you guys every day

throughout the week, Tuesday to Friday.

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And what greater topic to discuss this

week, none other than the topic of

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freedom.

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Each day we'll focus on that new word, but

the underlying theme is going to be

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freedom.

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So the first of the four words that I

present to you is fear of man.

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The Bible references fear of man in

Proverbs 29, 25 saying, Fear of man will

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prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in

the Lord is kept safe.

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A snare isn't something I want to be

caught in, and neither do you.

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So what specifically is fear of man?

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Fear man is defined as an epidemic of the

soul that can be characterized by peer

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pressure, worry and codependency.

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Simply put, it is the act of placing

others before God in your life.

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Some because you depend on them and vice

versa.

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Or maybe because you are afraid of what

they may think.

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You're afraid that if you go against the

grain they may say you're weird, they may

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not be your friends anymore, they may even

condemn you.

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Jesus said, a servant is not greater than

his master.

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If they persecuted me, they will also

persecute you.

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Jesus is telling us that persecution will

come to those who believe in him.

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We should already have some level of

expectancy that we will receive opposition

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in our Christian walks.

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But why is it that we are so taken back

when it happens?

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Why are we so protective of our walk that

we never allow the chance for opposition

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to come?

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It's fear of man.

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So Jesus does an incredible job tackling

fear of man in Luke 12, 4 and 5.

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I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid

of those who kill the body and after they

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have nothing more that they can do.

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Jesus says hello guys, don't fear man,

you're eternal remember?

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But he does tell us who we should fear in

verse 5.

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Fear the one who after he has killed has

authority and power to hurl you into hell.

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Yes, I say to you, stand and great all of

God and fear Him.

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God is love, but He is also a judge and

just.

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Yes, He is our Father and He is our

Creator.

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He is our sustainer.

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But above all else, He wants us to obey,

respect, and worship Him.

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I personally, I grew up in a Methodist

church and in that church raising your

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hands and praising Jesus was unheard of.

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So when I started to find

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the real Jesus, not just a picture on the

wall Jesus, he started calling me to

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worship him.

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I was now attending assemblies of God

church where raising your hands and

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worshiping Jesus was acceptable but I

couldn't bring myself to do it.

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I believed the lie people would think I'm

a freak, that I would be embarrassed, it

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would draw attention to me, I wasn't

worthy enough, blah blah.

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I remember the first Sunday service that

the Holy Spirit told me to raise my hand

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to worship the Father.

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I told him no with the battle of all of

those lies on continual repeat in my head.

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The following Sunday the Lord spoke to me

again, raise your hand, worship me.

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No, what will people think?

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I can't and I didn't.

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Afraid of others opinions about my life,

afraid that in a place of brotherhood,

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fellowship, and love, I would be judged.

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Ridiculous, right?

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So the third Sunday came and the Lord said

to me again, raise your hand and worship

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me.

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By now, I'm sure you can guess my

response.

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I said no, but he said, fine.

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If you won't raise it, I'll raise it for

you.

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And at that moment, my right arm felt like

a negative 15 pounds.

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I assure you and most solemnly I tell you,

there was helium in my arm.

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Up in the air, my hand went.

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and I started worshipping God.

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I said, if my right hand is up, I might as

well put up my left hand too.

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This was such a valuable lesson to me

about the Father's heart for his children

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and Satan's lies to prevent that.

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God wants us to worship him, however we

are led, without worrying or caring what

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others think, in spirit and in truth.

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The fact is, fear of man is a spiritual

immobilizer, a paralyzer, a destiny

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stealer.

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When you have fear of man, you are not

completely surrendered to Jesus.

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Satan knows if there is a part of you that

isn't surrendered to the Lord, there's a

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part of you he can manipulate.

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This is a lot to think about and there

could be so much more said on this topic.

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But let me leave you with this last

statement to meditate on before we segue

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into a moment of discussion and prayer.

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My pastor told me this before and it took

me several months to allow it to go from

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head knowledge to heart knowledge.

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He said, Christian,

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There's only one opinion that matters.

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That is the father's.

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Is he pleased with you?

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Does he approve of your decisions?

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There's only one opinion that matters

folks and it's not your sisters, your

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parents, your followers on Instagram or

even your friends on Facebook.

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Ultimately, you answer to the father.

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It is his opinion of you that matters.

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It is who he says that he is and who he

says that you are.

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So let's just.

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Go into some prayer right now and we'll

bless this.

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Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit

searches the hearts of all of those

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listening, bringing to the remembrance

areas they haven't yielded to you.

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I pray that you would spring forth courage

and faith in them to give those unyielded

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areas over to the King that is greater

than any force, any power, or any ruler.

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In Jesus' name I

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sever snares laid from fear of man that

are wrapped around the lives of those

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listening, and I cancel all assignments on

their lives designed to destroy their

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calling.

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Reveal to us and allow us to recognize

that you are God, that you are good, that

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your mercy and loving kindness last

forever.

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It is only your opinion that matters,

Father, so set us free from fear of man

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and bind us to your identity that is only

found in you.

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In Jesus' mighty name, amen.

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Amen, amen.

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Onward Christian Sear from 85 Frames

Ministry.

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Now he's a new voice for many of us.

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And Christian, it was great about

introducing.