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Today we are going to take a posture of peace by recognizing that being afraid is actually

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an opportunity to learn how to not live afraid. Posture is a short audible fist bump to remind

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you God is with you in everything. Together we're going to be emboldened to take a daily

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posture of perfect peace. In Psalm 56 verse 3 David writes this to the Lord. He says,

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when I am afraid I put my trust in you. Now David wrote Psalm 56 when he was captured at

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Gath by the Philistines and you can read all about the wild and crazy situation that David

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was in during this time by reading 1 Samuel chapter 21. David is basically running scared

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here. The place that he was once welcomed and celebrated, King Saul's household,

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has become a death trap due to Saul's jealousy of him and is totally unjust and definitely not fair

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but it's what David finds himself in and he actually runs to enemy territory. Gath was the

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hometown of the giant Goliath that David had killed so he's definitely recognized when he's

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there and he totally panics and you really should go read more of the story today but here's what I

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want to focus on from this psalm. David was afraid. This is the giant slayer. This is the same kid who

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killed a lion and a bear. He had been anointed king. He had experienced the power and the presence

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of God in his life and yet he's afraid because he finds himself in a situation that quite frankly

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does not add up. It doesn't match the promises of God over his life. It's totally unjust, completely

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unfair. It's definitely confusing because he goes from hero to zero all of a sudden and it's shaken

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David up a bit. You know when you think about what fear is, it's this awe-like state. It's this sense

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of being totally overwhelmed. I'm pretty sure that David was feeling this not just mentally but

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emotionally and physically. I'm sure his cortisol levels were through the roof, his mind was probably

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racing, his emotions I'm sure were all over the place and it's in that state of total crisis and

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chaos David says, you know what Lord I am not going to be in more awe of this situation than I am of

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you. I'm going to put my trust in you. When I read Psalm 56, I see the transfer of David's overwhelm

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taking place. It's like he's saying, God I am not going to be overwhelmed by the injustice, I'm going

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to be overwhelmed by your mercy. God I'm not going to be overwhelmed by people's violence towards me,

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I'm going to be overwhelmed by your kindness towards me. God I'm not going to be overwhelmed

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by what has been said about me or what has been said to me, I'm going to be overwhelmed by your

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word over my life. God, I'm not going to be overwhelmed by the fear that I'm currently

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feeling right now, I'm going to be overwhelmed by your faithfulness. God, I don't know why

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this is happening but I know you and I know that's enough. David had been anointed king,

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he was a warrior and he still had to deal with fear even after many victories. You know I used

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to feel such shame for being afraid, like something must be wrong with me or my connection

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with God must be broken somehow. And if you felt this way too, I have such good news for you today.

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Fear doesn't change your identity. Fear does not change whose you are. Your being afraid

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doesn't change who God is and who he has empowered you to be. Your circumstance, good,

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bad or ugly, doesn't change your stance with God. You are in Christ and he is in you.

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First John 4.4 says, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. So being afraid

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isn't a failure and it's not the final word over your life, it's an opportunity, it's training

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for reigning. In crisis, in chaos, in confusion, you have an opportunity to make the transfer,

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to turn your awe towards God and be totally overwhelmed by him. In verses 10 and 11 in Psalm

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56, David writes this, he says, in God whose word I praise, in the Lord whose word I praise,

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in God I trust, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? You know David's saying here,

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I may be afraid right now but I don't have to stay afraid.

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I don't have to live afraid. This isn't my destiny. Who is with me is greater

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than what's coming against me right now. And just like David, you are called to

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rule and reign. It's your kingdom identity. If you keep reading David's

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story after he leaves Gath, you'll see there is a lot of life before he

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actually becomes the king he was anointed to be. There's gonna be some

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cave dwelling, more betrayal, loss, and more being afraid. But each fear inducing

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circumstance that David faces is really just another opportunity for him to

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transfer his awe away from the circumstance back over to God until he

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becomes so overwhelmed by the majesty of God that he cannot be overwhelmed by

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anything else. And that is the life of being more than a conqueror, and it's the

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life you've been empowered by Jesus Christ to live. So I want to encourage

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you to put your trust in God today. And here's something to remember, trust is

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not a feeling, it's a decision. So make the decision right now and then move

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forward in that decision at every opportunity. And you can do this by

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thanking God, by worshiping God, by reading his word, by talking with him in

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prayer. You may feel afraid right now, but you don't have to stay afraid. And you

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definitely don't have to live afraid because the one who loves you most has

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set you free from fear and has made you more than a conqueror.