The Spirit of Fear - and how you can overcome it

[0:00] The spirit of fear. The spirit of fear. People talk about having the courage to face your fears.

[0:10] and that's what I'd like to exhort you to today.! In September 2021, a study by the University of Bath of 10,000 young people across 10 countries found that 56% believe humanity is doomed.

[0:30] Fully 75% of these 10,000 young people found the future frightening. In fact, nearly 4 in 10 said they are hesitant to have children, they're so worried about the future.

[0:46] Now bear with me, I'm going to be giving you some dismal setting the scene pictures here of the world as it is. But I trust later you'll see, as I've set that scene of fear, the wonderful contradiction we have to the fear that the world has.

[1:05] So bear with me, it will be a bit morbid for a time. Climate change seems to be their biggest fear. But only one of many.

[1:16] This is a fear you could call climate anxiety. Fact is, many people are fearful and struggling these days. It's no light matter really. It's like there's a spirit of fear gripping people.

[1:29] And there's so many storms going on of various kinds. Certainly, we live in a world of confusion and stress, turbulent times. It seems like there's a sickness in our culture.

[1:40] There's always something to stress about. People are worried about so many things. So much chaos, destruction, confusion, global instability, gender confusion. Honestly, the Bible foretells of such a time.

[1:55] We see the Word of God says this in Luke 21 verse 26. It's hells of a time to come when men's hearts are going to be failing them for fear and for looking for those things which are coming on the earth.

[2:08] For the powers of heaven shall be shaken. There's some shaking going on. People's hearts literally failing them. Here's how someone has described the times that we live in.

[2:20] I'm quoting here. We live in fear. We're being assaulted by a demonic spirit of fear. Here are some of the things we're terrorised with on a daily basis. Financial collapse, bank runs, nuclear war, fake pandemics, deadly vaccines, gender denialism, supply chain disruptions, storms and tornadoes, exploding food plants and farms, the climate change hoax, train derailments and toxic spills.

[2:49] It's like we're living in the midst of this terror campaign. A campaign of fear that's being waged on humanity. And this panic, this stress, this fear is actually driving, I put to you, I believe, the New World Order Plan.

[3:03] Basically it's a psychological conditioning to extract obedience and compliance. Here's how one commentator describes the way things are. Quote again. This is why billions of people are in the world.

[3:14] Chaos and confusion everywhere you look. That's the new norm. That's the new norm. AI is taking over the internet, creating photos and videos of things that don't actually exist, but look quite real.

[3:25] The weather is out of control. The signs in the sun, signs in the stars, men's hearts failing them, literally for fear. We seem to be living in the beginning of sorrows.

[3:36] I don't think we're quite there yet myself, but I'd say we're getting there. We're getting there. And quote again, this is why billions of dollars are spent every year on marketing and advertising to get you out of church and to the ball game.

[3:50] Whatever that ball might be. You know much more about your favourite players than you know about events in the Bible. And it's sad to see really, end of quote, it's sad to see the lives of so many people filled with despair and desperation and hopelessness leads to darkness.

[4:08] So bear with me while I'm going to unpack this theme of fear, different kinds of fears I put to you that this world is subject to at the moment. Look at what we're going through.

[4:19] Government overreach with the pandemic, for example. There's much that has happened lately and especially in these recent times to subvert control and suppress freedom.

[4:31] And we can expect this hysteria, this crisis and series of crisis to be more and more so I put to you.

[4:42] And the Bible tells us this will be so. It tells us of such a thing. It's interesting in WA the stop and search powers of the police have been increased. It's like, what are they going to be stopping us and searching us for?

[4:55] And they're setting the scene for this control, this ever increasing control, this trampling of individual freedoms, of liberties, harsh restrictions demanding compliance to draconian measures.

[5:08] We've seen it. The church has shut down. Our services have been shut down. You know, mass compliance and all kinds of restrictions. We've gone through that. Thankfully we're over that. I have to honestly say that I believe that chances are things are going to get markedly worse.

[5:23] There's many news stories we could picture and I'll put some of them to you just as examples of what I see as this escalating tyranny. Potential tyranny and enslavement.

[5:36] I put to you there's yet more serious storms ahead. And we should get ready. We should be prepared for such things to happen. We should be preparing for a period of divine judgment. It's all the more reason for preparedness.

[5:49] Are we ready for God's judgment? Now I believe that we as believers won't face the wrath of God. But I can see the judgment on planet Earth and I can see that escalating and the threatening prospect of coming storms.

[6:01] The Bible tells us this. And it tells us too that we that believe have a true source of peace and hope. Even in the midst of such times. Bible verses like these.

[6:12] For example, it reads in Proverbs 1.33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil. There is an antidote for fear.

[6:24] There is a safety. It tells us how God has not given to us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. What a contrast that is.

[6:36] We'll talk more of that after. Let's consider some of these fears that I'm seeing and what we can do. Some of the storms that we have seen and we may see more of.

[6:50] One is pestilences. Pestilences. As I've said, there's been much talk about pandemic, supposed pandemics. And we could, I put to you, see the Bible word pestilence.

[7:04] Pestilences. The Bible tells us of such signs as we approach the end times. Our Lord says, of course, it's the Olivet Discourse addressing the disciples. He says, for nation shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.

[7:18] There shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. There shall be pestilences. So we could think, well, the COVID was, I suppose, of sorts, a pandemic, a pestilence.

[7:34] Lately, we've had some two years of fear and compliance. Think of what we've been through in Australia, in our very city here. All of the COVID hysteria, the fear narrative.

[7:47] I believe it's largely based on lies, propaganda and ignorance and scaremongering. People have observed how the fear of the virus has led to control.

[7:58] It's been said that isolation is the beginning of terror. Think how people have been locked down in their homes and locked out of churches and life in general.

[8:09] And much damage has been done, I put to you, by a lot of this that has gone on. Much mental health damage from the lockdowns, that environment of fear. And just yesterday, we met a lady very distressed.

[8:22] She was weeping on a doorstep because of what happened to her father in the nursing home. And the restrictions placed on her ageing father. This is very real.

[8:33] This is gut level stuff. Some people were under virtual house arrest for months in Australia with the lockdowns. People told to stay in what is effectively their home prison.

[8:45] And for some, it meant the interaction of human living was stopped. People in nursing homes have been denied human contact. We've witnessed police brutality in the government response to the pandemic, especially over in Victoria.

[9:01] It wasn't long ago that the Victorian police fired upon crowds of protesters rubber bullets. And they used high pressure liquid pepper sprays attacking and slamming people to the ground.

[9:14] They are telling us that nothing will return to normal now. That's what the politicians are telling us. So we see there's much fear out there. Many oppressive rules forced on people. And of course, Australia has wasted billions of dollars on lockdowns.

[9:27] The economy has suffered, self-destructed. We've seen small businesses go to the wall. Are some of these coercive measures going to come back again? They're talking about new variants.

[9:38] New scariants. Is some of this maybe a precursor to the mark of the beast? I think that at least it is a precursor. I believe there's a hidden agenda behind these COVID restrictions and what's going on.

[9:51] And the ultimate object is not the health and safety or protection of citizens. It's about control. It's about global authoritarianism and the coordination of the World Health Organization, the World Economic Forum to enslave the entire planet in an anti-cry system, ultimately based on digital currency.

[10:12] And we're being constantly told, trust the science. Trust the science, they say. They've said that before. Trust the tobacco industry scientists. Trust the Coca-Cola scientists.

[10:23] Trust the animal factory farming scientists. Trust the coal industry scientists. Trust the big oil scientists. There's a lot of talk about trust the science, but we know we've got to be using a bit of questioning power there.

[10:37] And lockdowns and mask wearing have created this massive psychological and personal stress to tens of thousands of people. And the government has scared people into taking vaccinations.

[10:49] Now, of course, there's different views amongst us. It's a choice matter. It's a choice of personal conscience, of personal conviction. I'm not saying this or that. The findings are coming out that a lot of people have been hurt.

[11:02] It seems like the people are sicker now, potentially because their immune systems are damaged. These are real fears out there, people. Another big fear, as we've talked about briefly, is climate alarmism.

[11:15] There's much preoccupation on saving the planet. Saving the planet. And we have the climate lie. There's people that are saying, actually, it's not true what they're telling us about the climate.

[11:27] Again, amongst us, we might have different views that some argue with me that they believe in climate change. Personally, I don't believe in it. But there is a lot of paranoia and hysteria about all this.

[11:40] And the propaganda is everywhere. You go down the shop and it says, net zero. Hundreds of climatologists actually deny there is such a thing. The point I'm making is there's all these fears out there.

[11:51] And the fear narrative continues. For example, there's talk of a food apocalypse. That's what they're calling it. Again, the Bible tells us about famines. We're told that there will be famines.

[12:02] What we're being told now by the change agents is that we have to stop eating meat to combat climate change. And as a result, there's this wholesale transformation of the global food system.

[12:16] There's farms that are shutting down. Dutch farmers, apparently, they're cutting livestock numbers by 30%. Food prices are continuing to rise. There's all these threats to the world's food supply.

[12:28] Talk of famine. The basic commodity of life is our food, isn't it? There's talk of digital rationing. So they'll tell you how much you're able to shop and buy and eat.

[12:40] And digital rationing. Another fear is what's happening with our money. Here's another fear. They're calling it digital currency. Central bank digital currency. And digital wallets, they're saying.

[12:53] So that basically, they'll control all your money. And we're seeing these moves this way. So here's another reason for fear. Sorry to burden you today. But I'm telling you what is happening and what is real, what we can expect.

[13:07] But in the light of that, we can have hope, which I'll come to. Think about money. There's talk of an economic collapse. The world teetering on the brink of recession. We've seen some banking collapse in the US lately.

[13:21] An Aussie bank boss says this. There's a looming financial crisis. Many bank branches are closing or they're stopping issuing cash. The ANZ will end cash withdrawals at their branches.

[13:33] And there's this prospect of the end of paper notes. So there's global depression. The threats of that. Changing the whole financial system and introducing digital money.

[13:48] And we're seeing a worsening crisis. Digital money. It's unlike the money in your bank account or cash in your pocket. This new money can be programmed by the state. So it's a whole new concept.

[14:01] But let me kind of unpack it just a little. What does it mean, this digital money? It means that the authorities could create rules as to how and when it is spent. Based on your carbon footprint.

[14:13] So they'll decide what of your stuff you can buy that is bad for you. Or bad for the environment. And you're not going to be able to get it anymore. So really anything is possible theoretically.

[14:25] So the state could effectively have the power to approve or deny everything you do with your money. And in America there's what they're calling Executive Order 14067.

[14:39] And it threatens to end the dollar as we know it in the US. I quote, To end the dollar, it's replaceable with a trackable dollar that is controlled by the government. So that's a US law that is about to come into play.

[14:53] I quote, So say you donate to a political candidate or a faith based charity, one the party in power doesn't like. Because your money is now trackable and controllable, they'll know about it instantly.

[15:06] That could land you on their watch list. So, or say the government decides you shouldn't drive that big gas hungry car. They can reprogram your money. So every time you pull up to the gas station, you pay $10 or $20 a gallon.

[15:19] This is US quote here. While everyone else is paying $4 a gallon. They can reprogram your money so it's worth less. And here's another quote about how they're designing cars now.

[15:30] Now, it says, Big Brother can take the wheel of your car. So, Ford are putting in the new models this facility whereby they can shut down your car.

[15:45] For example, if you miss a car payment, they'll shut down your air conditioning. As the example here. They could disable car features by remote control. So, your car can be controlled remotely by the powers that be.

[15:58] Maybe you protest about something. The government could confiscate your money. Now, you might say this is just laughable stuff that the preacher is talking about today.

[16:09] It's actually happening in Canada. I've seen some recent quotes. It sounds unbelievable but it's already happening in Canada. So, there's some truckers that had a protest in Canada. And they're actually freezing their bank accounts and even stopping them transacting money transactions.

[16:28] So, central bank currency. Central bank digital currency as a prospect of ending human freedom. And it's coming out globally. They're rolling it out globally.

[16:39] I'm quoting here. Central bank digital currency is the most comprehensive, far-reaching, authoritarian social control mechanism ever devised. It's basically a surveillance and control system.

[16:52] The global governance of humanity is going to be placed in the hands of bankers. I quote again. CBDC, central bank digital currency, is unlike any kind of money with which we are familiar.

[17:03] It's programmable and smart contracts can be written into its code to control the terms and conditions of the transaction. It's interesting. I saw a video clip of what happens in China.

[17:17] In the smart cities model that is in China. And I'll screen some of this. And they've got people queuing up. And they've got to present their face to these monitors to get through various checkpoints.

[17:30] They're cordoned off. They're restricted with their movement. And they've got to cross these various borders within their own country if they want to leave the limits of their city.

[17:42] To have their face recognition passed to get to the other side. It's sinister stuff. And of course in China there's a social credit system where it's all based on whether the state thinks you're worthy or not.

[17:56] Or whether you're a risk or not. Whether you're a Christian or not. Yeah. So this is real. This is real people. And there's a lot of unrest around the world. In France at the moment there's a lot of unrest about some things.

[18:09] Protesters will be marked people. And we're seeing this digital surveillance. And it's unrolling. It's rolling out all the time around us.

[18:20] Australia apparently has spent $450 million on a national digital identification system. And that was according to reports a year ago. The Great Reset plans are being pushed on Australia.

[18:34] We can expect increasing such things of global governance in a digital surveillance age. It's called the Internet of Things. Which will allow a 24 by 7 surveillance of everybody, everywhere, all the time.

[18:49] Including your biometric data. Such as blood pressure, body temperature, facial expressions, bodily functions. They'll know everything. Of course I know Julie wore a Fitbit for a while while we were checking these things.

[19:02] And they're like, oh it's a nice thing to wear. Who knows, where's that data going? Smart city innovations could lead to hacking, release of your personal and confidential data.

[19:13] Shared, sold, tracked, without your knowledge or consent. And there'll be no option to opt out. You see the recent innovations with AI. Artificial intelligence.

[19:24] It's like you can punch into the chat GPT. And it's all very accessible isn't it? You can put it at the touch of a button within seconds. And they can capture all the data.

[19:37] And the AI, the artificial intelligence can decide whether you're a threat to the system. Or whether you're just a compliant one. Another fear is depopulation.

[19:48] Evil agendas are being played out. I'm quoting here Dr Vernon Coleman. If you are over 50, your government wants you dead. Here's a quote.

[19:59] I shouldn't laugh. Sorry, I've got a nervous laugh and I laugh at inappropriate times. Because it's not funny at all. In Britain it's now official government policy. I'm quoting here this doctor to ignore the needs of the elderly.

[20:13] Doctors and nurses are told to let old people die and to withhold treatment which might save their lives. Hospital staff are told to deprive the elderly of food and water so that they die rather than take up hospital beds.

[20:26] Nursing home staff have even been given the right to sedate elderly patients without their knowledge. Now I'm quoting a source, is it true? I think it's a reputable source.

[20:37] I think some of this stuff is happening. People are dying in nursing homes. Or they're being held. I know cases where people are being held against their will in nursing homes.

[20:48] Because of the government decision making. They don't want to be there. They want to go back to their family home. I know particular individuals. This is happening right now. The state takes control.

[21:00] They get locked up. And they can't go back to their own home. Even though they want to. They're like prisoners in these places. Another fear is pharmakia. Pharmakia, the Bible tells about sorcery in the end days in Revelation 18 verse 23.

[21:16] The word is for sorcery. The underlying word that translates to sorcery is pharmakia. It's where we get our English word pharmacy. It's talking about drugs. Of course there's legal drugs and there's illegal drugs.

[21:29] In fact there's a desperate drug emergency right now in the USA. And here's one example of a highly addictive drug with the street name Trank. T-R-A-N-Q.

[21:40] It's a brutal addiction. It rots human flesh. Basically it eats people alive. And these drug addicts don't even know it's added to their heroin or whatever they're taking. This is very sad stuff.

[21:51] People so desperate, so sad to see such a thing. You know we know people with significant drug addictions and it's a horrible thing. It's the devil. It's pharmakia.

[22:02] That's what it is. And at the heart of all of this chaos and catastrophe is deception. We're witnessing the mindless delusion of the masses. And the elites are playing mind control games.

[22:13] They're using what's called behaviour modification which is essentially brainwashing. And there's been so much indoctrination it's like we're not even conscious of it anymore. We're not more.

[22:24] The mass media is in control of much that is going on. I was reading something lately how there's this control of mass media and it's powerful players that are running these things.

[22:36] There's just a few select number of people running the banks, a select number of people that are running the media. And there's this fear narrative all the time.

[22:48] What am I saying? Why am I saying all this? When the media is controlled they can exert censorship over everything that we ingest. Some of these things I'm saying to you you don't hear about.

[22:59] It's hidden. It's not out there. Some of the news sources that I'm quoting some of the information we'll be sharing tonight and Monday night. It's censored. It's stopped from going out there to people.

[23:12] And people who might listen to it or act upon it are seen as rebels. and they're stigmatised and demonised, especially Christians and churches and pastors, as I'm going to reveal more tonight.

[23:25] What's happening in Canada? It's shocking stuff. We've got a video on that to talk about tonight. And the mainstream media are suppressing all of this truth. They're suppressing the voice of dissent.

[23:36] They want to silence it. And the state-sanctioned propaganda, the social media, mainstream media are whipping up the masses into this frenzy. Another technical term about what's actually happening is called mass formation psychosis.

[23:50] That's the technical word. Basically, it means a mass delusion is happening, a mass delusion. And it's like there's this steady conditioning. Accept the state-sanctioned narrative.

[24:03] So, friends, there's many fears. I hope you can see that tonight, today. You can see there's many fears. And no wonder researchers have found that people under this controlled stress become more infantiles.

[24:14] They become childish. And they give up strongly held beliefs because of the group pressure to conform to popular opinion. That's why the mass media insists on so much sex violence and fear-inducing messages, to turn the populace into a scared, submissive bunch.

[24:30] And we can anticipate, friends, biblically speaking, as a believer now, speaking from what the Bible warns us of, we can see one day there will be a total political power, a total economic control, and a religious authority.

[24:46] Technology is already making this happen. And conditioning is making people accept it. As far as deception, I believe we're even seeing the syncretisation of Christianity.

[24:59] So, no wonder the Bible says judgment begins at the house of God. Basically, it's a rebuke of the Laodicean-style church that's compromising. We see a deception where some churches have been taken over, lock, stock and barrel, whole churches.

[25:12] And it's happening on a spiritual level. This is not just because people are deciding that way. It's because there's a spirit happening. It's a spiritual move that's happening. Of course, the Bible tells us of all of this.

[25:25] It says we're not wrestling against flesh and blood. It's not the politicians. There's something bigger and higher than all of these politicians and world rulers. It talks about principalities against powers, against the spiritual darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

[25:42] And so, Paul says to the Ephesians, take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. So, I know this morning I've painted a bit of a bleak picture of hopelessness and despair that prevails.

[25:59] This is the domain and the destiny of all outside of Christ. It's fear. They're living in fear, and fear will take them to their grave and take them to hell. What is the answer to fear?

[26:11] Fear. For we that believe, there is an answer to fear. There is a hope. There is a reason to not succumb to despair. We have hope today. We've got the hope of Christ today. And the word hope, biblically, it speaks of that confident expectation, of that assurance, of that glad hope, that sure hope, that joyful hope.

[26:30] I believe we're seeing some darkening days, because really, the darkness comes before the light comes, isn't it? The darker the night, the more need of the light. And as we see these darkening days, as we're seeing men's hearts failing them for fear, it ought to cause us to find the answer to all of this, find the one who can help us with that innate need of assurance, of hope, of joy.

[26:54] We're talking about some of these storms, these fears that I've covered, pandemic, climate alarmism, famines, this talk of taking over currency, that we won't have control.

[27:07] There'll be surveillance, depopulation, pharmakia, deception. Some of this stuff is terrifying. We haven't talked about a world war breaking out.

[27:18] Save that for another time. It's real. It's real. Russia's just declared it's got a unique weapon capable of destroying the United States.

[27:29] So what are we to do in turbulent times? What are we to do in times of fear such as this? It's all the more reason to turn to God's book. It's all the more reason to turn to the source of hope, of peace, of joy, of eternal life.

[27:48] It's all the more reason to get answers for our soul. We see in Luke 21 verse 9 again the account of our Lord addressing the throng on the Olivet Mount.

[28:00] But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified, for these things must first come to pass, but the end is not by and by. It's not yet. So in the other Gospels, our Lord says likewise, he says of such a time of wars, rumours of wars and such, he says, be not troubled.

[28:22] In Luke he says, be not terrified. There's terror, there's trouble, but for us that know him, for us that have that assurance of our saving, of his grace to save us, we have a peace deep down and forever.

[28:37] All of these things are setting the stage, I put to you, for the coming of our Lord. The Bible message is clear and repeated, be not troubled. The message is, fear not.

[28:49] It's interesting how our Lord tells us in the context of such times that we actually are to be looking for hope. We see the words telling us of the blessed hope, Titus 2, Paul writes, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

[29:31] So, in such a time, in such a present world, we should live soberly, righteously and godly, looking for the coming of our Saviour.

[29:43] There's reason for hope. It's called the blessed hope. Notice that, verse 13, looking for the blessed hope. In other words, that joyful, glad expectation, our Saviour's coming, even in a world that's despairing and fearful, men's hearts failing them for fear.

[29:59] Our heart doesn't fail us for fear. Our heart's filled with hope. Our heart's filled with joy. Our heart's filled with salvation, with his spirit. Our mind, our heart, our whole composure is in his hands.

[30:10] We're in his control. What are people putting their hope in? If you're putting your hope in your bank account, the digital wallet will take that away from you.

[30:22] They're saying, even your property, you're going to own nothing and you're going to be happy because they're going to control and own everything. So, so don't think your hope is found in any of that stuff that you amess to yourself, in the things of this world, of this earth.

[30:39] All of that will fail us. Our faith and hope and trust in him will not fail. He's the never failing God. He's the unfailing God. And he's the only real hope and solution for planet earth.

[30:51] His faith in Christ, his saving, the spirit of truth is the answer to all this spirit of error and depression and deception. So, in closing, what are we to do in such a time, in such a time as this?

[31:06] Have faith. Trust in God. I'm talking real trust. Trust in God. Make it real and trust your life to him and to his hands. Know that he is the saviour and that your faith and trust is entirely in him.

[31:23] We know ultimately, as we've talked this backdrop, of all these fears, really, ultimately, the climate change will be done by God. He's going to renew this planet.

[31:34] It's going to be a whole climate change then at his coming. And the great reset, really, is done by God. And the wonderful truth is he can do a great reset inside of you.

[31:47] Amen? He can do a great reset inside of your heart. Amen? That's what our hope is. That's what our joy is. I know I've laboured some of these morbid subjects and I've been kind of looking into it.

[31:57] It's like I'm starting to get a bit obsessed with it and I don't mean to overtake this message time with all of that doom and destruction and misery, but honestly, in such a setting, it's all and more reason why we have a glad hope.

[32:10] It's all and more reason why we should be declaring that hope that we have. We've got a reason for hope that is within us. It's all and more reason in a world that's despairing and fearful and beset by fears and men's hearts failing them for fear about what's going on and what's ahead.

[32:25] We have the hope, the true hope, the sure hope, the glad hope of his saving grace. And friends, that's the trust that we can know today and that makes life worth living. That makes sense of all of this.

[32:36] I love this quote, a scared world needs a fearless church. That's what they need. Of course, they need God, but we as the church, as his representatives here on this planet, we should be without fear.

[32:50] We should be fearless. We should be bold. We should be courageous. We, the church, are not to be fearful. The whole world can be full of fear and the spirit of fear, but we are not to lose our heads and panic like the world.

[33:04] We're called to be salt and light to point these panicked people to Christ. Many times, the Bible says, fear not. It's over and over again. We see, for example, Deuteronomy 31, verse 6, it says, be strong.

[33:20] And of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee. He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

[33:33] And we would do well to hide verses like that in our heart. Amen. It'd be good for you to get some of these kind of verses and I can send you a list. Send me an email, I'll send you a list or go looking for a list of verses that say, fear not and hide that in your heart.

[33:49] You don't have to be amongst those whose hearts are failing them for fear. I don't think we'll be here in that context of that verse anyway. But there's that sense where there's this fear mongering, there's this fearfulness, this spirit of fear.

[34:03] We're not of that. We're of the Lord. We've got his peace deep down as we face future times of crisis and confusion. Let no man deceive you by any means, says Paul.

[34:14] We need to stir up ourselves in such a context, stir up ourselves in faith, trusting God knows the future for us and we're in his hands no matter how dark things become.

[34:27] A famous quote says, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. We can just hear all this stuff and do nothing. We can just be blasé and maybe just live the casual, easy breezy Christian life and ride the glory train to heaven and essentially we don't have to do anything to be saved other than trust him.

[34:49] But let's not be an armchair Christian. Let's not be laid back. I know there's pictures of the church as pictured as it's like either a pleasure ship, you know, like going on a cruise or it's a battleship.

[35:04] We're meant to be in the battleship people. We're meant to be men and women of God rising up in such a time as this. Not being afraid to share our faith even though they might clamp down on us and attack us which I'm going to talk more about tonight so just whetting your appetite for that but stir up ourselves.

[35:21] We should stir up ourselves to take hold of God. It's interesting how even some quite secular thinking people are waking up with all of this fear going on and look, this fellow is a bit of a radical kind of dude.

[35:34] People might have heard of him. JPC is a satirist and he has some quite irreverent stuff I've got to say but he's made a comment. He's come out publicly just lately and says I've changed my mind about God.

[35:50] He's seeing all of this rubbish. He's seeing all of this woke stuff. He's seeing all of this misery and mayhem and confusion and chaos and he's saying I have changed my mind about God and he's saying this is not satire.

[36:04] I'm actually telling you the truth. So I'm praying for this man that he would be saved whether he is or not. Well certainly he's got a heart that's been opened unto God and I think that's true.

[36:15] As I say people might think I've gone a bit nutty lately with this smart city stuff but there's a lot of people that are searching with all of this that's going on all of this misery and fearfulness that's going on to do with the smart cities and surveillance and the big brother government's taking over the planet and we're all doomed like those young people were saying we're doomed and we're frightened about the future.

[36:42] It's all the more reason in such a context in such a setting in such a world where people are despairing and they're in hopelessness it's all the more reason why the glad hope that we have we should want to share with them.

[36:54] So I'm hoping as I say Monday night it's essentially on the smart cities it's mainly secular in its orientation but I'm going to put in some obviously some Bible context to it too for myself when I get a chance to speak to present the hope that we have in Christ because that's the ultimate answer he is the answer to all of this and so we can hope others will change their mind about God such as this man has and so I urge you today to step out of the comfort zone stand for Christ God helping us stand for him don't be afraid let's face our fears with faith I know for a time for decades I was working in government I was probably a bit of a quieter Christian at times I probably was cautious about it could impact my job speaking out and some of this stuff certainly some of the things I've been saying lately I know sometimes they've been monitoring when I was working in the government people were saying oh you're when they saw some of my videos they called me a homophobe and this and that they started to call me names and attack me and so I had to be kind of tactful what I said but I'm pulling out all the stops now there's no reservation here it's time to tell the truth people as someone has put it it seems like the four horsemen are out of the stables and starting to enter the world arena

[38:16] I'm not saying the four horsemen are coming but you can see the symbolism of that is starting to show I put and we've seen this increasing resistance to the gospel people hate the gospel there's this venom there's this vitriol against Christians or even those that might say something that's quasi Christian or biblical like Mark Latham said lately for example what he said was actually true it was a bit coarse the language that he used was coarse it was vulgar he used words that I wouldn't say but what Mark Latham said was what Sodomites do to each other and how he was he found it disgusting and what he said was actually true it was true but the media will say oh Latham he's a homophobe they paint people that way I don't think Latham is a Christian I'm not endorsing him I'm not endorsing the language that he used I wouldn't use such crude words myself but the point I'm making is what he actually said was true and the media will attack him now he's set himself up for attack but more so on a spiritual level there's this rising resistance to the gospel there's this increase and escalation of false prophets there's such mayhem out there even in churches in churches there's such confused doctrines

[39:40] Paul's saying don't be soon shaken in your mind or troubled he says don't be shaken don't be troubled friends we can have an absolute assurance of this truth that we know of Christ of the life changing power of his word in our hearts we can know his saving and we can know the one who rules the world rules in our hearts by faith in his hands are the destinies of nations in his hands is the future whatever be tied he has it in his hands and we are in his hands that trust him David sang in Psalm 96 verse 10 the Lord reigneth the Lord reigneth and we see in Revelation 19 at the back of the book verse 6 it says hallelujah for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth he's almighty and he's reigning he is king of kings and he's lord of lords and most of all you can know him as king in your heart you can know that he rules and reigns in your hearts by faith that he takes up residence there on the throne of your heart as you trust him

[40:46] I urge you to that today each one and the Bible says that all of his promises are yay and amen it's guaranteed it's rock solid 100% his ways are righteous and true and the Bible tells you cast all thy care upon him because he cares for you so no matter what trouble that we face be still and know that I am God we can have even in that turmoil and I hope you're not staying there in that sense of fearfulness or the spirit of fear or these fearful things that are about to come or are already starting to come that we're not in that domain of fear we can be in the domain of stillness be still and know that I am God you can know that he is your God by faith in Christ I urge you to that end and know that in Christ all things are going to be to his glory we can have a perfect peace that settles our hearts and minds though we face all manner of troubles we can know a joyful expectation of our

[41:51] Saviour coming to a close here we can take to heart verses like this one God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea and all this trouble that goes on about the shaking that's going to go on let me close with a quote here here's a great quote that it's maybe about 200 years old some preacher put it this way be not dismayed at the troubles of earth tremble not at the convulsions of empires only fear God only believe in his promises only love and serve him and all things work together for good for thy good as they assuredly will for his glory the quote goes on life is hastening quickly away eternity is at the door live then for eternity and leave with God the concerns of time leave in his hands the safety of his church and the security of his cause cleave to him with childlike simplicity seek his glory friends it says praise ye the

[43:15] Lord blessed is the man that feareth the Lord that delighted greatly in his commandments you can know him whom to know is life eternal the one who says to you fear not and it's characteristic of the wicked that they don't have that fear it says of them there is no fear of God before his eyes but rather for us that trust him we can serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear that's a fear we want to have amen not this fear men's hearts failing them for fear but this fear serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear friends we look back and we see his care as the familiar song goes through many dangers toils and snares I have already come amen you can look back and think wow I don't even stop to contemplate that sometimes the power of those words

[44:16] I've come through so many dangers toils and snares if there's toils and dangers and snares and fears ahead of me he's going to be with me as he was then and he'll show me through he'll take me through to the other side we can look back and see his care we can look forward and know in faith his continuing care and what's more the bright glad hope the blessed hope the joyful glad hope of his coming again so what are we to do what are we to do we must stand fast be bold be strong be resolute determine determine to trust him today and I love this just one last quote it's better to die standing than to live on your knees it's interesting like with all the compliance regime that we've gone through some churches have just caved in they've folded they're not meeting anymore the people haven't met so much they're not meeting anymore they've stopped going to church

[45:19] I know loved ones that this COVID thing has scared them from going to church or they think somehow strangely that coming to church they're going to infect people no that's the spirit of fear we're not there we're not there people be bold be strong instead of embracing fear giving into fear be at peace be that fearless church God helping you now I'm not meaning to dismiss real concerns some might have about dangers of this or that but aside from that our confidence is in him our confidence isn't in some jab or in some compliance regime our confidence is in Christ and he says be still and know that I'm God let's pray Lord we thank you that the great grace of God teaches us how to live righteously soberly godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope the great and glorious appearing of you our Lord and Saviour we thank you for each one each heart each home

[46:21] Lord for your enabling Lord for these ones getting baptised as we'll head there in a half an hour or so Lord for our fellowship further tonight if we can come Lord for you're working in every heart every family Lord as we see the fears that beset this world we're not there we've got a faith that overcomes the world even our faith that victory that overcomes the world even our faith we pray that each one might have that heart's trust this morning to know you as Saviour as Lord if people are not sure they'll get it sorted they'll speak to someone they'll get counsel so they can settle it they can do business with you our God today and get things sorted for eternity Lord by your grace work in every heart help us to be that fearless church that you want us to be in Jesus name we pray Amen