Fear, Failure, Focus

Our theme this year is “Each Person Passionately Pursuing Spiritual Growth in Christ.” It has been my personal experience and observation of others that as we spiritually grow in Christ, our desire to serve Him grows as well. The part of us that loves Jesus yearns to fulfill His purposes for our lives. As Jesus becomes more and more the center of our lives, we deeply desire Him to perform great miracles in us and through us for His glory--miracles such as walking on water or changing our hearts so that we are much more like Him.

But for miracles to occur, we must deal with Fear, Failure and Focus. We need to learn to confront all three of these and overcome them as we walk toward Jesus. Both fear and failure cause paralysis and disobedience in our lives. Jesus tells us to come; we stay in the boat. Jesus begins to perform a miracle; we run scared. Jesus asks us to trust him; we lose sight of Him looking elsewhere for power and answers.

• So which of these three would you say are currently preventing you from walking with Jesus?
• Which of these is causing paralysis of faith in your life?
• If Jesus is a secondary figure in your life, if you are not in love with Jesus, if taking a faith risk is foreign to you, why?
• Which of these is the main culprit that is preventing you from pursuing Jesus?

Pastor Charlie

Matthew 14:25-31

The Principles of Fear:

• Fear Causes a Loss of Confidence.
• Fear Causes a Loss of Fulfillment of God’s Potential in You.
• Fear Causes a Loss of Joy.
• Fear Causes a Loss of Authentic Relationships.
• Fear Causes a Loss of Availability To God.

The Principle of Failure:

• You Must Be Willing To Fail.

The Principles of Focus:

• You Are What You Think.
• Your Mind Will Think Most About What You Are Most Exposed To