In today’s episode, embark on a journey of faith with Rabbi Schneider as he explores the roots of fear and how to conquer it using biblical truths. From Adam’s first encounter with fear to Jeremiah’s vision of unwavering faith, learn how to overcome the anxieties of tomorrow by embracing God’s promises. This episode provides actionable steps to use faith as a shield against the uncertainties of life.
Welcome to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider. I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and today we’re continuing to learn how to overcome fear through faith. Are you battling fears that seem overwhelming? Whether you’re worried about tomorrow’s provision, health concerns, maybe family issues, or growing older, God’s Word, it holds the key to breaking fear’s grip over your life. And Rabbi Schneider, today’s here to unpack God’s command to Joshua, be strong and courageous. He’ll be drawing from Adam’s first encounter with fear in the Garden of Eden, all the way to Jeremiah’s image of an unshakable tree by living waters. Let’s get started with Rabbi’s message, why fear is a training ground.
SPEAKER 03 :
We’re in the midst of a series now taken from Joshua 1.9. The Lord said to Joshua, which by the way is the name that Yeshua comes from, the Lord said there, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. And that command that God gave Joshua, beloved, is very important because it’s at the root of walking with God. You see, the first thing that Adam did when he sinned was he said to the Lord, I was afraid. When Adam sinned, fear God in. And beloved, it needs to be rooted out. you and I need to make up our mind that whatever it is that we’re fearing in our life, it needs to be overcome. Hear the word of God, Psalm 91, verse 5. You will not be afraid of the terror by night. Or of the arrow that flies by day. So the Lord’s covered so far the day and the night. He continues on. Or of the pestilence that stalks in the darkness. Or of destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand. All these things you’re dreading and seeing around you. All these situations that would cause fear in the natural man. The Lord said, you’re not to be made afraid of them. Because I am with you because you’re trusting in me. And we need to develop, beloved, a strong confidence in the Word of God. How do we overcome fear? By faith in the Word of God, because the Word of God reveals the reality of who God is. How do we know who God is? We know Him through His Word. You see, the word of God is the expression of the mind and the heart of God. And so when the Lord speaks to us in his word, it is God himself. That’s what the Bible says. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. You see, the word of God is God. And so when God speaks to us through his word, we need to seize it. We need to lay a hold of it. We need to fasten ourself to it. We need to strengthen ourself in it and by it. And in so doing, Break fear off because God said you shall not be afraid. We need to, beloved, crush it under our feet. Now, what we’re going to do today is we’re going to look at some of the specific fears that some of you may be dealing with, and we’re going to respond to those fears with the Word of God. In the book of Genesis, chapter number 15, verse 1, the Lord said to Abram, Abram, Do not be afraid. He said, fear not, Abram. I am a shield to you. God is going before, beloved, his children as a shield. And we need to start meditating on this. We don’t just read it, but we say, oh, Father God, Help me to know that you’re a shield for me. Give me confidence, Father God, that you’re a shield for me, that you’re going before me as a shield, just like you did with Abraham, with Abram. Show me, God, that you’re doing the same thing, Father, for me. You see, we need to turn the word of God, beloved, into prayer dialogue. Sometimes we’re not profiting the way we should be by the words of God, by the words of Yeshua. Sometimes we’re not receiving the full profit from them because we’re just reading them and we’re moving on rather than letting them sink in, rather than letting them saturate, rather than taking a hold of them by turning scripture in, beloved, to a prayer dialogue with the Lord. So the Lord said, I’m a shield to you. We may not be fully convinced of that. So what do we do? We pray. Father, help me to know that you’re a shield to me. Father, I believe, but help me with my unbelief. Show me and help me to trust you, God, that you’re a shield to me. The Lord commanded the same thing to Isaac. In Genesis 26, 24, the Lord said to Isaac, do not fear Isaac. for I am with you. So why was Isaac not to be afraid? Because the Lord, beloved, was with him. So that was the encouragement that Isaac needed. That was the assurance that he needed. That was the confidence that he gained to not be afraid, knowing that God was with him. And what does it mean when God’s with you? He’s going to be reigning in your circumstances. He’s going to be paying attention to the details of your life. He’s not going to leave you alone. He’s a shield. He’s with you. And to Jacob, the Lord also revealed himself. And to Jacob, the Lord showed Jacob that God was with him on earth. You see, Jacob had the dream. And in the dream that he had at Bethel, Jacob learned that God wasn’t just a God that was far away, high above, that wasn’t involved in the very circumstances of his life. But God showed Jacob a dream, right, of a ladder that went from earth to heaven, right where Jacob was laying his head on the rock there. And on this ladder that went from where Jacob was laying his head all the way up to heaven, Jacob saw the ladders going up and down from earth back to heaven. And Jacob awoke, and what did he say? He said, surely God is in this place. What place does he mean? It means the place where he was laying his head, that God was with him right there in his life, in his circumstances, on that sand, right there at that rock. Jacob learned, surely God is with me. And I didn’t realize it. In other words, Jacob gained the confidence to know he wasn’t alone. Jacob had lost his family. Remember, he fleed from his old family because he was afraid for his life because Esau was going to murder him. And so he’s all alone, leaving everything that he had known in life, walking through the desert with no one. But God comes and says to him, Jacob, I’m with you. Jacob says, you’re with me, God. And I didn’t realize it. And God is with you, too. And so you don’t have to be afraid. And beloved, some of the things that you see, you see with Christian people, and you think they’re in terrifying situations, we cannot be deceived, beloved, with what we see with our eyes. We must make up our mind, beloved, to trust God and to trust His Word. Now, I want to continue on and I want to talk about some of the specific things that people tend to get afraid of in their life and how we need to use the Word of God to come against these things. Well, probably the greatest fear that can be associated with most of our fears is something that has to do with what’s going to happen tomorrow. We fear what will happen tomorrow. Will we run out of money? Will we get sick? Will we get old? Will we wind up in a nursing home? We’re gonna talk about some of those individually, but I want you to first of all understand, beloved, that fearing like this And using your imagination to project all types of disasters that could happen to you tomorrow, that’s using your imagination in a foul way. It’s using your imagination in a way that God did not create it to function. It’s giving your imagination over to darkness and lies. Our imagination wasn’t given us. to have all types of foul thoughts of doom and destruction and chaos about what’s going to happen to us tomorrow. Our imagination, beloved, was designed to meditate on the Lord. What did Psalm 23 say? Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. So when we start seeing that our imagination is going into a projection of tomorrow that causes fear and anxiety and doom, we need to recognize, beloved, that we’re having at that point a foul imagination, and we need to bring our imagination back, realizing that our imagination is captivated in that moment in wickedness and in darkness, and that it’s not of God but it’s of demons. We need to reject it and bring it back to the Word of God. You see, beloved, we need to be warriors in this. This is not something that we can overcome passively. Seven times in the first two chapters of Revelation, Yeshua said, he that overcomes will inherit these things. Overcoming takes effort. We need to come against fear, beloved, aggressively, And as a warrior, we need to pull our imagination back from fearing about what’s going to happen tomorrow. And instead, we need to focus on what God says and we need to war to take a hold of what God says. We need to grip God’s word, beloved, and keep crying out to him to strengthen us in it. Yes, you might believe it for a few moments and then find yourself worrying again. What do you do? You bring your heart back. And again, you begin to warfare with the word of God. This may not be a battle that you’ll be able to overcome in a day or a night. It may take weeks. For some, it may take years. But you will and can and you must win this battle. And you will if you give your heart to it and focus, beloved, on what God says to do rather than giving your mind over to the enemy that will take it captive with fears and destruction.
SPEAKER 01 :
You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider. He’s going to be right back. But first, I want to let you know that you can watch full episodes of Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku television. We have episodes that are filmed in the Holy Land and outreach events from Nigeria and Gulu, Uganda, all sorts of places. Every episode is available to help deepen your understanding of Scripture and the Jewish roots of your faith. So search for Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku today. Did you know that this ministry is all about preparing the way for the inevitable return of King Jesus? Well, it’s true. And we’d love for you to partner with us in this life-changing mission today. Together, we will change lives, not just locally, but all over the world. To support this team, call 800-777-7835. That’s 800-777-7835. Or you can visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here’s Rabbi Schneider.
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Let’s look in the book of Matthew, chapter number 6, verse number 34, as we think about fears that are associated with things that may happen tomorrow. I may lose my job. I may lose my house. Again, we’ll talk about these individually, but I’m speaking now just about this phenomenon of fearing tomorrow. In Matthew, chapter 6, verse 34, Yeshua said, do not be anxious. You could substitute the word fear there. Do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. And so what do we do? We recognize that when we’re fearing about what’s going to happen tomorrow, it’s a sin, that we’re giving our mind over to evil, that we’re saying to God, God, you’re not real. I can’t trust you. That’s what we’re doing. We’re saying, God, I might believe you’re in heaven up there. And, you know, I hope that when I die that I’ll go to heaven. But I can’t really trust you for what’s going on in my life down here. We need to say that’s a lie. That must grieve God. It grieves me that I’m grieving God. Satan, I reject you. I cancel your fear. I’m going to bring myself back to you, Lord. Jesus, you told me not to be afraid of tomorrow. It’s going to take care of itself. You’re going to be with me tomorrow, even as you were today. You’re going to be a shield to me tomorrow, just like you were to Abraham. You’re going to go before me and fight for me tomorrow, just like you did the Israelites. I’m going to trust you, Father, that all my needs will be met abundantly for tomorrow. Now, in the economy that we’re living in, many I know are living in difficult situations, and you’re wondering. how you’re gonna live economically. You’re afraid of running out of money. I understand, beloved, that that may feel like a real danger to you. There may be real reasons for you to be in the natural. If you didn’t have God’s help, why you would have that fear? For some of you, it can be overwhelming. But I want you to know, beloved, David said he never saw the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread. Listen to what Jesus said about fearing about running out of money in Matthew chapter 6, verse number 25, first of all. Then we’re going to go to the book of Jeremiah. We need to come against these fears, beloved, with the word of God. And God can do a mighty and powerful work in your life. If you’ll take this opportunity that you’re fearing about running out of money, if you’ll take that as an opportunity from him to overcome fear, he can bless you. You can crush Satan and his fears. under your feet. It can be a great training ground for you, and you can arise out of the dust from this thing as a real warrior, trained to use the Word of God in your hand like a sword, destroying the works of the enemy. It can give you great strength, great courage, and bring great freedom and victory into your life, and put you in a position to be used in a mighty way to help others. But today is the day we need to make up our minds to break this thing off our life and to stop fearing, not when the money comes in, and say, oh, we’re not afraid anymore. No, that’s not what we want to do. We want to defeat fear now. We want to look it in the face, just like those disciples were on the boat and they saw the winds and the waves. Jesus looked right at those winds and waves and rebuked it. Then he rebuked his disciples and said, why were you afraid? Believe and you’ll be made whole. Hear the word of God, Matthew chapter 6, verse 25. For this reason, Yeshua said, I say to you, do not be anxious for your life. Do not be afraid or worried. as to what you shall eat or what you shall drink or for your body, as to what you shall put on? Is life worth more than food and clothing? And then Yeshua gives all the examples of how the Lord takes care of the lilies and the birds and they don’t work, they don’t toil or reap, and yet God provides. And Yeshua says, don’t worry about running out of money. Your father knows you need money and he’ll prepare. He will go before you. And He’ll bring a solution to you. He’ll give you the needs that you have. He’ll provide the money that you need for your food. He’ll provide a roof over your head. He’ll provide clothes on your body. Yeshua said, don’t worry about that. Just seek God first and His righteousness. I love a scripture in the book of Jeremiah. That speaks about the same thing that has to do with financial worries in the economy that we’re living in right now. So many people are concerned with how it’s going to affect them. And some of you have already been very significantly effective. But hear the word of God to Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 7 and 8. I want you to understand, beloved, we need to believe that the words that I’m reading to you from Scripture are living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. They’re able to bring deliverance and salvation. Yeshua said, the words that I speak to you are spirit and are life. The Lord said in Isaiah 62, To this one will I look, he that trembles at my word. The word of God is our lifeline. These are not just pleasantries. These are not just pretty sentences and poems. These are real. This is the heart and mind of God. We need to take a hold of it. God says, seize my word and stop letting fear and worry in. Hear the word of God, Jeremiah, beloved, chapter number 17, verse number 7 and 8. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is in the Lord, for he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes, but its leaves will be green and will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. Listen again. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, for he’ll be like a tree planted by water. There’s always a supply. When you trust in the Lord, the Lord is saying there’s always going to be a supply for you. If you look to me as your source, rather than the world as your source, there’s always going to be a supply. If you’re looking to the world as your source, when the drought comes in the world, your source is going to dry up and you’ll have a problem. But if you’re looking to me as your source, the Lord is about to tell us, even if there’s a drought in the world, even if the world dries up, the Lord says, your leaves will still be green because I’m going to be your source and I’m going to provide. Listen again. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord. For he will be, and that word trust, it has the idea of clinging. We’re clinging to the Lord. We’re holding on to God as our source. For he will be like a tree planted by water. That’s a good thing. That’s a fruitful thing. You’ll be like a tree planted by water. that extends its roots by a stream. You’re going to receive and receive and will not fear when the heat comes. In other words, things around are falling apart. You’re going to still have life because you’re planted in the Lord. You’re watered. And you’ll not fear when the heat comes, but its leaves will be green and it will not be anxious or afraid in a year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit. God can prosper us, beloved, even when the economy is bad. What’s the answer? Clinging, hallelujah, to God. Clinging to God. Our needs will be met. We’ll have more than enough, even, beloved, when the economy is bad in the world. We must make up our mind that God will provide. I know that many of you are afraid right now. You’re like those disciples on the boat. They saw the winds. They saw the waves. Yeshua rebuked them, and he said, why are you afraid? Only believe, he said. The remedy, beloved, for fearing is faith. So, Father, we ask you to strengthen us by your spirit. We ask you, Father God, to strengthen us with the divine energy, the divine life. Father, the eish, the fire. of the Holy Spirit. Strengthen us, Father God, that we would take a hold in our inner man of your word and believe it, applying it to our lives, staying in your word and abiding in it and not allowing what we see or what the world tells us to cause us to tremble. Father, we want to be strong and courageous like Joshua. So we ask you to harden our hearts against fear. Amen. God wants you to win against fear. God is on your side. Now, some of you, You’re afraid of getting sick. Some of you are getting older, and you’re seeing some of your friends getting sick, and you’re seeing some of your friends ending up in the hospital, in nursing homes. And you know what, beloved? This is the natural part of getting old, in the natural. But I want you to know God has a word for you. The Bible tells us that if the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, He’s going to give life to our mortal body. Listen, I’ve got news for you. It is not God’s will for you to be afraid of getting sick. God does not want you living in fear. It’s been said that a coward dies a thousand deaths, but a brave man only dies once. Do not be afraid of death. Do not be afraid of getting sick. God does not want you to be afraid. In the book of Galatians, chapter 6, verse 9, we read this, Grow not weary in doing good, for in due time you’re going to reap a harvest or reap a reward. Now, I want you to think about this. When the Holy Spirit gave us that Word, He wants to apply it to every area of our lives. Sometimes we apply that word to some area of our lives, but sometimes we don’t apply that word to our finances. I want to speak to you that are listening right now. Let’s continue to put God first and honor him with our finances. Let’s continue to sow our financial resources into the kingdom so that God’s word can be spread to the ends of the earth. Beloved, I want to ask you, will you continue to do good with your finances? Would you make a financial contribution to the Lord through discovering the Jewish Jesus right now?
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen, and you can give a financial gift of any amount to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Just visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. If it’s easier for you, you can also call us. Our phone number is 800-777-7835. That’s 800-777-7835. And as a token of our appreciation for your generosity, we want to send you our latest newsletter in the mail. And it offers more teaching moments straight from Rabbi, along with details about our upcoming ministry news and outreaches. And for those of you who choose to go above and beyond to become monthly partners with us, you’ll get an additional thank you gift. We’ll send you a handcrafted shofar that’s made in Israel. Rabbi has one in his office right here in the studio. And I think it’s a great reminder to spread the gospel, to prepare for the end times. So please join us in this mission before the shofar announces Jesus’s return. call us at 800-777-7835. Or you can also go online and give when you visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And something that you may not know, you can text in your donation as well. It’s probably the easiest. Just type the keyword rabbi to the phone number 45777. That’s the keyword rabbi to the number 45777. And then we’ll send you a link where you can directly give. And right now let’s turn things back over to Rabbi Schneider. He’s here to send us off with God’s sacred and special blessing. And I hope that these words leave you feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. Blessings to you and your family. Now here’s Rabbi Schneider.
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What I love about the Aaronic blessing is that it did not originate with man. The words actually proceeded from the very essence of God himself. The blessing comes from the book of Numbers, chapter six. So listen to these words and receive the blessing of the Lord into your life today.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I’m your host, Dustin Roberts. Join us again tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider continues to help us confront the fears we face. That’s Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
