1: Got Fear? Trust Your God

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1 1: Got Fear? Trust Your God When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? (Psalm 56:3-4, NIV) Learning to Trust in Our Ever-Faithful God 1 PETER 3:3-6 GENTLE does not mean passive, weak, or someone who cannot help herself. It means controlled strength from a humble heart that bows itself before God, recognizes God s dealings with us as good, and chooses not to be contentious or resistant against Him, fighting God for what I want. QUIET does not mean whisper, silent, or bland. It means tranquility arising from within and includes the idea of causing no disturbance to others. It is an inner peace and calmness in the midst of any circumstance. DO NOT GIVE WAY TO FEAR does not mean to never get afraid. It means, not being terrified by any terror. Count on 4 truths to sustain you in your faith walk Truth #1: God Loves Me Romans 5:5; 8:38-39 Truth #2: God Knows What Is Going on in My Life Matthew 6:31-32 Truth #3: God Can Do Something about It Genesis 18:14; Luke 1:37; Mark 10:27 Truth #4: I Can Trust His Goodness in Whatever He Chooses to Do Psalm 119:68 God is good even in the tough times. God is good in different ways for each of us. God is good in what He allows and doesn t allow into our lives. Practice Dependent Living on your walk from fear to faith Trusting as Jesus taught us to trust. We can t do this on our own. We can depend on His ability in us. Fear to Faith I can t to God can through me. I can t to God can in me. I don t to God does for me and through me.

2 2: Sarah God Is Bigger than Our Fears In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:26-28 NIV) Sarah s example: God is bigger than your circumstances GENESIS 11:27-12:6 Sarah s example: God is bigger than your mistakes GENESIS 16:1-7, 15 Sarah s example: God is bigger than your inadequacies GENESIS 10:1-13; 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Applying Faith to Fear 1. Confront it. What fears do you have right now? 2. Ask about each one: What is my worst-case scenario? 3. Consider: If the worst I can imagine happens, could I handle it through the presence and power of Jesus Christ? 4. Remember our four truths: God loves me. God knows what is going on in my life. God can do something about it. I can trust His goodness in whatever He chooses to do. 5. Pray: Prayer is simply talking to God about anything and everything. Thank the Lord for His presence and His goodness. Ask Him for the courage and peace to ride out the storm. 6. Live life securely in Him: Take common sense precautions. Be wise in the world. Trust God to show you what to do and give you strength when you are weak.

3 3: Miriam & Jochabed The Home Influence We can enjoy Jesus presence in our homes and so can our neighbors. Enjoying Jesus Presence at Home (Mrs. Peter s house) To enjoy Jesus presence in your home means to accept it as an absolute fact. To enjoy Jesus presence in your home means giving Him permission to make it His own. The Neighbors Enjoy Jesus Presence (Mrs. Levi s house) Jesus Lives Where I Live; My Neighbors Are His Neighbors HOMES WERE SIGNIFICANT TO JESUS MINISTRY ON EARTH. In homes, He taught and had discussions with His disciples. (Mark 7:17; 9:33; 10:10). In homes, He ate with those who loved Him as well as with those who were skeptical of Him. (Luke 7:36-47, 14:1) In homes, women, like you and I, sat at His feet, listening to Him teach and tearfully pouring out their hearts to Him. TO THINK LIKE JESUS Accept as fact that He lives where you live. Your neighborhood is His, also. Know who are your street neighbors and work neighbors. TO FEEL LIKE JESUS Long for them to enjoy His presence. Pray for them. Desire to get to know their needs. TO ACT LIKE JESUS Plan ways to interact with them. Pay attention to expressed needs. Pursue opportunities to build relationships. Relationships determine what we believe. We are talked into talking; we are loved into loving; we are related into believing. (Josh MacDowell) You can impress people at a distance; you can only impact them up close. The general principle is this, the closer the personal relationship, the greater the potential for impact. (Howard Hendricks)

4 4: Rahab God Is In the Waiting, Too You are in the waiting in that moment of my life, when my faith and hope collide. My heart s anticipating just how and when You ll move. Oh, that s when You prove You are in the waiting too ( In the Waiting by Shannon Wexelberg) God s Plan Using Fear to His Advantage JOSHUA 2:1-11 Rahab Resourceful Woman Who Chose Faith JOSHUA 2:12-21 God s in the Waiting, Too! JOSHUA 6:22-25 Remember the 4 truths to sustain you while you are waiting Truth #1: God Loves Me Truth #2: God Knows What Is Going on In My Life Truth #3: God Can Do Something About It Truth #4: I Can Trust His Goodness in Whatever He Chooses to Do Is there a problem right now in your life where you must make a choice to do right, but the possible consequences fill you with fear? Are you willing to trust God and live by faith in this area?

5 5: Deborah & Jael Courage When Life Hits We can learn to face life s realities with courage and peace, entrusting ourselves and our loved ones to a God who loves us dearly. Remember that God is Good Luke 8: Pagan View of Trouble 2. Biblical View of Trouble John 16:33 Truth #1: We live in a fallen, evil, cursed world. Truth #2: God has chosen from the beginning to give human beings the freedom to act Truth #3: God, who is great and powerful, will one day wrap up history and fix it. 3. We can entrust ourselves and our loved ones to a God who loves us dearly. Romans 8:37-39 Release Your Fear Luke 8:26-39 Fear can be real or imaginary. God doesn t want us to live in fear. Psalm 56:3 Receive Courage and Peace with Thanksgiving Luke 8:40-56 We have a compassionate God. Matthew 11:28-30 We have a creative God. Applying Faith to Fear 1. Confront it. What fears do you have right now? 2. Ask about each one: What is my worst-case scenario? 3. Consider: If the worst I can imagine happens, could I handle it through the presence and power of Jesus Christ? 4. Pray: Thank the Lord for His presence and His goodness. Ask Him for the courage and peace to ride out the storm. Where the Word of God is clear, you can claim God s promises by faith. Anytime, you can ask but you cannot hold God to promises He hasn t made such as immunity from natural calamities, illness, and troubles. 5. Live life securely in Him: Take common sense precautions. Trust God to show you what to do and give you strength when you are weak. God loves me; He knows what is going on; He can do something about it. But, even if he doesn t change the circumstance, I know I can trust His goodness.

6 6: Naomi & Ruth Women Mentoring Women The benefits of God's plan Addresses loneliness and weakness of aloneness Older women have marketable skills in God's economy Women can do it better! What does God want from the older women? To be reverent in the way she lives. To be trustworthy in her speech. To not be addicted to much wine or anything else that makes her ineffective. To be able to teach what is good. What are the older women to teach the younger women? Sophronizin = to restore one to her senses; to disciple; to hold one to her duty; to reprove firmly but kindly, to remind about something forgotten or disregarded. To love her husband (Phileo = be fond of, like and appreciate him) To love her children To be sensible To be pure To be a keeper at home (One who observes, guards, or preserves something valuable) To be kind To be subject to husband. Application FOR OLDER WOMEN: Make yourself available to younger women. Listen. Study the Word so you can apply it. Take over Christian education tasks. Look around and decide to love one of these younger gals. FOR YOUNGER WOMEN: Let God know your desire to be mentored. Interact with older women; befriend them; listen to them. Recognize your need and desire to be teachable. Lev. 19:31-32 Teach your children gratitude toward grandparents and other elders.

7 7: Hannah & Mrs. Manoah Raising Up the Next Generation Deuteronomy 6:4-9 You cannot impart what you do not possess. Pursue Him for Yourself Deuteronomy 6:4-6 Throw away what s fake; replace with pursuing Him. Develop personal convictions about life and family. Pursue Him with Them Deuteronomy 6:7-9 Single or married, determine your family purpose and priorities. Make decisions based on those. Example: Family unit Local church Christ-centered education Godly mentors and friends

8 8: Abigail & Bathsheba Wise Hearts for Educated Women Gleanings from the Women of Proverbs About Solomon, Wisdom & A Woman s Heart The Foolish Woman Proverbs 9:13-18 Proverbs 11:22 Proverbs 14:1 Proverbs 30:15 The Contentious Woman Proverbs 19:13 Proverbs 21:9, 19 Proverbs 27:15-16 The Immoral Woman Proverbs 7:5-23 Proverbs 30:20 Proverbs 2:16-19; 5:3-6; 6:24-29; 12:4; 20:16; 22:14; 23:27-28 The Wise Woman Proverbs 11:16 Proverbs 14:1 Proverbs 31:10-31, a practical application of 14:1 Application to you as a woman Determine for yourself what kind of heart you want to have. Plan how you will approach learning this craft of living wisely. Choose one thing to work on for a period of time. Anticipate what will be your biggest hindrance. Ask God to enable you to overcome it. Remember that you are not alone. Knowledge is proud that it has learned so much. Wisdom is humble that it knows no more. (W. Kay, Commentary on First Corinthians)

9 9: Two Widows God Is Bigger than Our Needs So, don t worry about these things, saying, What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT) 1 KINGS 17:1-16 ELIJAH & ZEE PREPARE BY INSTRUCTION, LEARN BY EXPERIENCE Lesson #1: God s provision is His to give and take away. Regard it. Everything we have comes from Him. 1 Corinthians 4:7 What we have is not a measure of our goodness or our faith. Philippians 4:12-13 He determines our provision the how, when, and why It belongs to Him. Hold onto it loosely. 2 KINGS 4:1-7 ELISHA & PW PREPARE BY INSTRUCTION, LEARN BY EXPERIENCE Lesson #2: God s provision is always enough. Receive it. Yikes! What s enough? Deut. 2:7; 8:7-9 The Creativity of God s Enough God s Goodness is Personal Lesson #3: God s provision is meant to be shared. Give it. 2 CORINTHIANS 8:1-7 overflowing joy and extreme poverty welling up in rich generosity Compassion is not feeling; it is doing. Compassion requires trusting God, not having plenty. 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 Compassion gives off the top, not leftovers. Lesson #4: God s provision brings Him glory. Praise Him.

10 10: Shunamite Woman Telling Your Story As light-bearers to people living in darkness, lead them to seek the treasure in Jesus Christ that is more powerful, valuable, and effective than anything they have been substituting for Him. Called Out of Darkness The misery of those living in darkness 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-12 Into His Wonderful Light We are light-bearers; live as children of the light Ephesians 5:8-9 Declare the Praises of Him Who Did This in Your Life Communicate what He has done in your life Romans 10:14; Revelation 12:11 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9) Evangelism is not about you involving Him in your outreach efforts. It is Him involving you in His Only the Holy Spirit can open the eyes of unbelievers to the truth of the gospel It is the job of believers to communicate the gospel. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convert the heart. (David Souther, EvanTell) Ideas to get you started: What did our creative God use to target your need and draw you closer to Him at some point in your life even here? What is it like to be dearly loved by your Father God? Describe a great need that God has met in your life or a remarkable thing you. Share an area of your life where you have committed to saying: Lord Jesus, I can t do on my own, but you can do in my life. I trust your Spirit to do this in me.

11 11: Esther Faithful Endurance We can faithfully endure hard times and have joy in the process. As Christians, when we encounter stress, pressure, pain and suffering, we are more susceptible to wiggle, run, compromise or sin to avoid the suffering. The Bible encourages suffering believers to persevere. Consider it joy whenever you face trials of many kinds Joy = a deep, inner gladness, regardless of circumstances. That comes only from a relationship with God. Face = to fall into the midst of something that surrounds you. Knowing the testing of your faith develops perseverance From the Greek word, hypomone, a strong word that means bearing under. Holding up a load with staying power, tenacity and stick-to-itiveness. The quality that enables a person to stand on his or her feet when facing a storm head on. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If you need wisdom, just ask What trials are you facing today? Persevere joyfully listening to His voice drowning out all the others even when it hurts when you re tired when you want to give up when you want to settle for less. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. James 1:2-6 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Believe it or not, faithfully enduring the hard times will lead to a joyful walk.