• Isaiah 54:4 Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed.
• Exactly 365 times in the Bible, we are told to not be afraid. Fear is a powerful force used by the enemy to rob us of our passion, joy, peace, and the pursuit of our best lives with God. Every day, we must face and overcome the influence of fear, self-doubt, worry and anxiety with the truth of who God is and what He has done for us. Remember, God has not given you a spirit of fear, and if God did not give you something, you don’t have to accept it. Fear is not going to hold you back in 2023!
• Prayer- Heavenly Father, I thank you that I am victorious through Jesus Christ. I will not be defeated by fear, rather I will overcome it through faith. I will not be held back by insecurities, by shame, by my past or anything else satan would try to use against me. Lord, with You on my side, I am going to reach my highest level of development this year, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

• 2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
• Yet, so many people are tormented.
• Tormented- inflicted with great bodily or mental suffering;a life thrown into commotion.

• 1 Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
• John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

• Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
• We are in a war with fear. If we desire to fully experience God’s promised life to us, we must learn to overcome fear.

• 2 Tim 1:9 Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
• God has called you to become what He made you to be.
• Fear comes to stop you from answering the call of God on your life.

• In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt made the famous statement, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.
• Highlighting that fear is a choice, fear is the real enemy, fear exists to make your life worse.

• When you are afraid:
• You don’t function at your highest (or even close to) level.
• You don’t focus clearly.
• You can’t truly help others.
• You can’t love purely or trust completely.

• Yes, the world and life is scary at times.
• BUT YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO LIVE AFRAID!

• Zech 9:12 Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.
• FEAR- False Evidence Appearing Real

We must train ourselves to counteract those impulses with the truth.

• The truth forces you to look for what is really there, not what the enemy hopes you see.

• Prov 29:25 The fear of a man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.
• FACT- Much of what we love & enjoy was once objected to by the very people who now love & enjoy those very things.
• FACT- No one has ever done something great or that made a difference that didn’t include overcoming fear or facing resistance from others.

• Almost every change is doubted & almost every improvement has been predicted to fail.
• Why do we fear other people’s opinions more than we trust God & our own judgment?

• Whose opinion are you over-estimating or over-valuing? Have you exalted someone else’s fear over God’s promise for your life?