Brave Men S1E6: Overcoming Fear

I'm sitting at El Tracidaro Cafe, watching the fog just come off of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The place de Tracidaro is a circle with about five streets coming off of it and two large museums. Just on the near side on the river Sain, overlooking the Eiffel Tower behind me. A couple of French men at this cafe, letting up cigars early in the morning, having a discussion, I'm sure, about politics. It's Paris, a city of light. It's a fascinating place. Judy and I love this area, but this area, it's not called the city of light because of lights. It's called the city of light because of the Age of Enlightenment, in the 1700s. The Age of Enlightenment up to the French Revolution, the overthrow of kings, the questioning of moral absolutes. Of course, there was Rousseau in Voltaire. Then the Scottish man Adam Smith, the wealth of nations in the UK, John Wesley. John Wesley began a renewal that happened not only at the same time in the UK, but at the same time is what happened with Zinsendorf in Germany, renewal. So at the Age of Enlightenment, which is basically the overthrow of moral absolutes, the God brought about a renewal at the same time. And of course the birth of the United States. You know, you and I live today as a result of yesterday's thinking. So I want to put something into your thinking right now for all of your tomorrows because today the city of light, Paris, has also become a city of fear. Terrorists, attacks have kept a million tourists from visiting this beautiful city. And fear will stop you from visiting your dreams. It's Brave Men with Paul Lewis Cole, wisdom and courage for the journey. Brave Men starts now. Just got served a beautiful cappuccino here in Marciboco. And thank you in French. You know, it's about the one thing I know. So this beautiful cappin. And so there's one thing I want to share right now with you and I. And that is one phrase to put into our thinking. And that is, I am right now. If you're listening and you've got the ability to write it down, just write this down, I am right now. You know, you have all sorts of memories and things and phrases that come up on our mind every single day. This one I pray will come up in your mind a week from now, two weeks from now, three months from now, I am right now. I want to put something into our self-talk because see, here's the issue, the real issue is this. Your identity is the story you tell yourself about yourself. Your identity, my identity is the story I tell myself about myself. And so I make decisions based on that identity. So my self-talk directs my life. It comes from your definition. Your self-talk, here it is. I'm talking about 150, 160 words a minute. You can read maybe 200 words a minute. But your self-talk is screaming along at 400 to 500 words per minute. So even though you take in some information, it gets filtered through your self-talk. I want to put something, I'm going to get stuck in your self-talk. And that is I am right now. I am right now. Here's the scene. It's John chapter 11. If you have the ability to look it up, do it. John chapter 11 is this awesome story. But Jesus and his best friend. And I believe Lazarus, the man who's in this grave, when this all takes place, when this phrase I am right now gets said, he's in his graves. And he's been in this thing for four days. He's the best friend of Jesus. He is Lazarus from Lazarus' house, where Jesus took the horse, donkey, into Jerusalem. And from Lazarus' house, many other things happened there in Bethany. Six miles outside of Jerusalem. I think Jesus had a best friend like Lazarus, so that he could talk about the disciples. So he could say, hey, you would believe what James and John's mom said the other day. And somebody he could just download with, and that was Lazarus. They were best friends. Friends are life's shock absorber. But here's the scene. Lazarus has died. The word has been sent to Jesus, who's just about a half day walk away. And so, hey, Lazarus, your friend is sick. He says, okay. And he continues his ministry. And then they send back word again. No, no, no, no, no. He's actually really sick. This guy could die. Yeah, okay, got it. No, he's really sick. He said, okay, he waits four days. By then, Lazarus dies. He's dead. Three days in the grave. Four days after Jesus found out. And Martha, the sister of Lazarus, is not happy. Lazarus has two sisters, Martha and Mary. Mary, we know as the one who always spent time with Jesus. Martha's one that worked. Martha gets a bad rap, I think, because if you wanted to start a business or plant a church, who do you want? Mary or Martha? You want Martha. You want somebody who's going to do the work. But Martha is a proactive person. And as Jesus comes walking up. To where Lazarus is grave is. And all the friends are gathered. And they're like, you know. And so Martha can't help, but she runs out. And she says, Master, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Even now, and she gets past aggressive. Even now, I know that whatever you ask God, he will do. Jesus said, your brother will be raised up. Martha says, well, I know he'll be raised up at the end of time. Great. That doesn't help me now. And I want to insert something right there. Following Jesus Christ is not about some day later on, something will happen, end by and by in heaven. It is about following Christ today. His presence today. It is about right now. I am right now. So it says, Martha says, okay, I know who he raised up the resurrection. And then Jesus said, and this is the message translation. Jesus said, you don't have to wait for the end. I am right now, resurrection and life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. Now, there's a lot of translations. I am the resurrection and the life. Don't worry, Martha. But the beautiful beauty of the message translation when he says, I am right now, is that's the only place it says I am right now. Now, not later on, I am the resurrection of the life someday. It's I am right now. The power that created the universe and the stars, the mountains and the oceans, is telling us, I am right now. The God of Abraham is right now. These men, I'm looking at the Eiffel Tower, just about to see about halfway up. Now is the fog begins to lift. This restaurant's little cafe is beginning to be people starting to show up, grab their coffees, and the two men behind me are still discussing politics, smoking cigars. So it is a fascinating place here in this outdoor sidewalk cafe, and the place they'll trust a derro in Paris. But the age of enlightened, those men that lived hundreds of years ago into 1700s, they gave us a lot of the thinking we have today. But they're gone. They're gone. Jesus is right now. Right now, Jesus is, He says, I am right now, the resurrection of life. Not someday later, not sometimes soon. Not just how I want you to have a nice thought. So let's put this thought into our minds, I am right now. You see, hope is alive. Hope is alive. His name is Jesus. Our faith is not in a democratic party. It's not in a Republican party. Our faith is in God. And where is God? He says, I am right now. Where's hope? I am right now. Where's peace? I am right now. To a world in chaos? I am right now. Do you personally, to me personally? I am right now. See, that's why we get up every day. Filled with hope as followers of Christ, because today is going to be a better day. I love what my wife's, the day she's doing with the women. The beauty of that day, she's doing with the women at Lion's Roar. Her theme is, the future will be different. The future will be different. I love that. I think they're doing shirts. I'm going to get my own shirt with that. I've got a men's shirt. I've got my own shirt. The future will be different. Why? Because I am right now. Negative thinking, fear, disappointment. I am right now. See, enlightenment where the overthrow of moral absolutes actually puts us into place where our only trust in faith is in us. And so what easily happens to you and I when we're trying to trust in us is fear. Fear. The reason a million tourists are not showing up here in Paris this year is because of fear. It's terrorism. It's called asymmetrical fear or asymmetrical warfare. That means it's random. You don't know where it's coming from. I just learned this term in early 2006. I was in southern Lebanon with the Israeli defense forces doing a story that ended up on Fox News, funded by our dear friend Mike Evans. And in southern Lebanon, I saw the effects of, and in northern Israel, I saw the effects of fear. Terrorist warfare in which Kutusha rockets were shot. Where they would land, they would land. So the death of a few people which is tragicant of itself actually caused the clamping down or the hypha was empty when we got there. Hypha was empty. It was an empty city. And a million people gone. A million people. Because some rockets were sent up that killed a few people and put a lot of people in bondage. It's fear. You don't know where it's coming from. It's random. I remember one evening my crew and I arrived at a home that had just been hit by a Kutusha rocket. It was a Christian Arab family and they had just sat down for dinner. The 15 year old daughter was in her room. She said I'll be there in just a moment. That exact moment, a rocket hit next to her room in that house. Randomly killing the 15 year old daughter. The family survived. In fact, they were not even injured. She was killed. We arrived just as it happened. Just after it happened. They had just taken her body away. The brother of the father was about to arrive. He was arriving. I was standing there. All I could do was hug the man. He was covered in blood. He had carried his daughter out to the paramedics. I hugged him. His brother arrived. Family was devastated. The region being hit by the asymmetrical warfare in the Kutusha rockets was devastated. And I saw the effects of asymmetrical fear and the enemy. John 1010 says the enemy desires to kill and destroy. Not just, it says the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. But I've come to give you abundant life. He's talking about it. It says the thief comes to stop you from going after your dreams. To stop you from going after what God desires in your life. The enemy at any point in time is trying to take you out. So fear comes up. Here's what it says in Luke 21. There will be signs in the sun, moon, stars and on earth, distress of nations. Talking about the end days. Which I'm sure we're in. However long that lasts, we don't know. But this is it. It says there will be perplexity of nations as seeing the waves roaring. And it says men's hearts will fail them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming. Fear is the expectation of those things will come to pass. Faith is believing that those things will come to pass, will come from God. Fear is believing those things that are coming to pass will come from the enemy. Fear is believing the enemy is going to bring something and I can't do anything about fear. Expectation. Fear. Faith. Expectation. What is it? Different basis. The basis of faith is trusting God. The basis of fear is not trusting God. I am right now is the basis of our faith. I am, Jesus said, I am right now. Here's Romans 8. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage to fear. But you have received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. Here's the power of love from our heavenly Father. It defeats fear. What defeats fear is I am right now. And here's more from Romans 8. We know all things work together for good to those who love God. To those who are called according to his purpose. What shall we say to all these things? What's all these things? It's what I'm looking at right now. It's this traffic circle with chaotic traffic. It's people not coming here out of fear. It's the men behind me with the cigars. Discussing politics, wondering what's going to happen and how it'll take place. What shall we say to all these things? If God's for us who can be against the Romans 8? He who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall? How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution? Famine, peril, sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors. For I am persuaded, neither death nor life, nor angels, principalities, power, things, present, things to come. No matter where there is our expectation. Heith or death or any other created thing can separate us from the love of God. So in the midst of the chaos of our normal lives, what can you and I say? Here's what we can say to fear because fear easily tries to give us. And that is, I am right now. I am right now. Jesus said, I am right now. And then Jesus spoke. Lazarus comfort and Lazarus came out of the grave. He came out of the grave. He was alive. In fact, he was so alive that people began to gather in his house. And when the chief priest said, hey, we've got to kill this Jesus. They said, we also have to kill Lazarus because so many people listening to his story are coming to be followers of Jesus Christ. So you can argue a man's philosophy. You can argue the age of enlightenment. You can argue the different things that different people said, whether it's Adam Smith or Voltaire. But you can't argue with a man who's had an experience with Jesus Christ. I am right now resurrection in life. I believe you're going to have a great year, great month as you meditate on this. Thank you for being here with me. I am a blessed man because you and I are walking through the world together in the power of God. I love you. God bless you. And I thank God that I have an amazing wife. You've just experienced Brave Men with Paul Lewis Cole. Paul is president of the Global Fatherhood Initiative. Connect with Paul like Brave Men. That's Brave Men.