Faith and Fear

Copyright © 2019 Dr. Norris D. Hall.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4624-1279-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4624-1285-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4624-1280-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019911636

Inspiring Voices rev. date: 10/8/2019

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my husband, Alfonza, who has given me many years of love, companionship, and support. Thank you for being by my side throughout my trials and triumphs.

I also dedicate this book to the memory of my father, the late Mr. Willie D. Davis, and to my mother, the late Mrs. Alice Davis. I dedicate this book to my sisters, Eva D. Ferguson, and Linda A Wallace, to my four brothers, Pastor Bobby Davis, Melvin Davis, Willie Davis, and Carl Davis. I will always appreciate your love and support.

Introduction

The disciples were terrified after being caught in a storm. [Matthew 14:26] Jesus came to them walking on the sea. They were troubled, saying, It is a Spirit, and they cried out for fear. They thought they were seeing a ghost. But if they had thought about all they had already seen through Jesus, they could have accepted this miracle. They were frightened, they didn’t expect Jesus to come, and they weren’t prepared for his help. Many times Jesus has brought us through the storms in our lives. But we still have that fear. Every time we go through the storm of life, there is fear. Faith is a mindset in which we expect God to move on our behalf. When we work upon this expectation, we can overcome our fear. No matter how adverse the conditions in your life or your mind may be, do not give up! You must remember, Jesus did not give up on you. So do not give up on Him. Trials and tribulations develop patience (Romans 5:3).

The Bible did not say we would not face trials, but when we do encounter them, the word of God will equip us to endure in all circumstances. God desires to make us complete. He will not keep us from pain, pain helps complete us, it is part of the journey. Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? The disciples lived with Jesus as a man. They did not know of Jesus as our Lord and savior. He had not died for us yet. We cannot make the same excuse. We must walk by faith and not be hindered by fear.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1     Faith for the Journey

Chapter 2     It’s Time to Recapture Your Dreams

Chapter 3     Patient

Chapter 4     Faith and Fear

Chapter 5     Never Give Up

Chapter 6     When I Fall, I Shall Arise

Chapter 7     Check Your Armor

Chapter 8     I’M Never along

Chapter 9     STILL Away Just You Jesus

Chapter 10   Amazing Grace

Chapter 11   Speak to Your Mountain

Chapter 12   Run the Race with Patience

Chapter 13   Ride out your Storm

Chapter 14   No Cross No Crown

Chapter 15   Them Praying Saints

Chapter 16   The Power Twins

Chapter 17   The Lamb of God

Chapter 18   There is Power In Prayer

CHAPTER 1

Faith for the Journey

"B ehold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; neither be discouraged [Deuteronomy 1:22]."

God gave the land to His people and told them to take possession of it. By remaining outside the land, the Israelites were disobeying God. When God offers a gift, He provides it in good faith. However, when He opens opportunities, we have doubts and are afraid of failure. Seize your opportunities to grow, to share your faith, and to live in a manner pleasing to God. He will lead the way and give you strength.

FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen [Hebrews 11:1] two words describes our faith: confidence and certainty. These two qualities need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is the belief in God’s character He is who He says He is. The point is the belief in God’s promises. He will do what He says He will do. We believe that God will fulfill his obligations even though we don’t see those promises materializing. This is when we demonstrate true faith.

The disciples were given the authority to do the healing, but they had not yet learned how to appropriate the power of God. Jesus’ frustration is with the unbelieving and unresponsive generation. His disciples were merely a reflection of that attitude, in this instance. Jesus’s purpose was not to criticize the disciples but to encourage them to greater faith. The disciples had been unable to cast out this Devil, and they asked Jesus why? He pointed to their lack of confidence. It is the power of God, plus our faith, that moves mountains. The mustard seed was the smallest particle. Jesus said that even faith as small or undeveloped as a mustard seed would have been sufficient. Some we try to move on our power, with our own ability rather than God’s. There is excellent potential in even a little faith when we trust in God’s power to act. If we feel weak or powerless as Christians. We should examine our faith, making sure we are trusting God’s power, not our abilities to produce results. And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say the mountain, move hence to yonder place, and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matthew 17:20, Jesus wasn’t condemning the disciples for substandard faith; he was trying to show how important principle would be in their future ministry. If you are facing a problem that seems as big and immovable as a mountain, turn your eyes from the mountain and look to Christ for deeper faith. Only then will you be able to overcome the obstacles that stand in your way. What Jesus is teaching is that some work for God is more complicated and requires more than the usual dependence on God. This verse does not mean that prayer and fasting alone would have accomplished the miracle. Prayer and fasting indicate faith, discipline, and humility before God, without which there can be no hope of success. Those who Seek God believe in His goodness, obey His commands, regulate their life on the promises of God. They refuse the pleasures of sin, endure persecution, perform mighty acts of righteousness, and suffer for God. Faith is being obedient to your God whom you have never seen.

Without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Jesus Christ) for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a reward for them that diligently seek Him [Hebrews 11:6]. Understanding that God exists is only the beginning; even the demons believe that much. God wants your faith to lead to a dynamic personal relationship.

For example, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a foreign land. It was his faith that made Abraham want to obey. He left his own country without knowing where he was going. With faith, he lived as a foreigner in that country as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God. That they would inherit it. [Hebrew 11:9].

If God commands you to do something out of the ordinary, by faith do it. [Matthew 17:20] because of your unbelief, for verily, I say unto you. If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Jesus was not condemning the disciples for substandard faith. He was trying to show how important the principle would be in their ministry. If you are facing a problem that seems big and immovable as a mountain, turn your eyes from the mountain and look to Christ for deeper faith.

FEAR wants you to feel like you are in danger all the time, it wants you to feel pain, and trouble is surrounding you. Fear is being worried. It will make you uneasy, and the devil will bring fear to you if you listen.

Paul said to Timothy in [2 Timothy 1:17] For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind. I urged you to be bold. Do not let people intimidate you.

The power of the Holy Spirit can help you overcome your fear.

It would be wonderful if God just laid out the whole picture of our life and said, here is where you are going, here is everything that is going to happen before you get there. Here is each day of your life for the next 20 years, and here is how it is going to turn out. That is destiny. If He did that, our lives would not require faith. God is not going to lay everything out for you; He will give you one piece of the puzzle at a time. Each piece connected to the other part will create a perfect picture of God’s plan for life, but those pieces must be held together by faith in His word. Every step you take must be a step of faith.

[Psalm 37:23] says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. God, right now, is building something in your life. Refuse to fear anything that would stand in your way; there is no failure in God.

The Bible teaches that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Let your dreams be fulfilled by faith. The thing many people fear in life is a failure. They fear that if they step out in their goals, everything will fall apart. This is fear.

Jesus said, if you draw nigh unto me, I will draw nigh unto you. We cannot set there waiting for Jesus to do it all for us. [Revelation 3:20] behold, I stand at the door and knock if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

The Laodicean church was complacent and wealthy. They felt self-satisfied, but they did not have Christ’s presence among them. He knocked at the door of their hearts, but they were so busy enjoying worldly pleasures that they did not notice that He was trying to enter. The pleasures of this world. Money, security, and material possessions are dangerous. Their temporary satisfaction makes us indifferent to God’s offer of lasting happiness. If you find yourself feeling indifferent to church, to God, or to the Bible, you may have begun