April 10, 2020 Show with Joe Jacowitz on “The Coronavirus Pandemic & Fear”

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Live from the historic parsonage of the 19th century gospel minister George Norcross in downtown

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Carlisle, Pennsylvania, it's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors,

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Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.

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Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us, Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

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Matthew Henry said that in this passage, we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to have in view in conversation, to make one another wiser and better.

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It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener, with your own questions, and now here's your host,

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Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon,

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Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet

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Earth who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensirneradio .com.

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This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Friday, on this 10th day of April, 2020, and of course, this is the day that is observed by millions of Christians throughout the globe as Good Friday, and the reason,

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I'm sure Pastor Jackowitz will echo, the reason why such an absolutely horrifying and grotesque event, such a brutal and such a satanic event, and I'm speaking of the murder, the murder of the only truly innocent human that has ever walked the face of the

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Earth, Jesus Christ, who is fully man and fully God, the reason why we call that Good Friday is because that was the way, the only way, that his people could be purchased from this world and forgiven of their sins and spend an eternity with him.

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That is why it is so very, very good, but dare

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I say a phrase that sounds like an oxymoron, but Happy Good Friday. Yes indeed,

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Happy Good Friday to you too, Chris, it is a wonderful reminder of our

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Lord's death on the cross three days before his resurrection, his wonderful, wonderful atoning death on that bloody, cruel cross, but the atonement definitely needed to precede the resurrection, and so it is a time for great reflection and for us to offer up praise to God.

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And today we have, I didn't even come to the point where I fully introduced my guest today, he is

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Pastor Joe Jackowitz of Christ Bible Church in Pleasanton, California, founder of First Love Radio, First Love Missions, and First Love Publications, and this is our current edition of the coronavirus updates that we have been airing every

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Friday with Pastor Joe, this is part five, and the specific theme of today's coronavirus update is the coronavirus pandemic and fear, and if you would like to send in a question about the coronavirus, especially from a

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Christian and Biblical standpoint, but also Joe does have actual statistics and updates that he gathers every day, which obviously change rapidly, but he gathers them very shortly before the program, so they're as fresh as possible, but our email address is

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ChrisArnzen at gmail .com, C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com,

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and give us your first name at least, your city and state, and your country of residence if you live outside the USA.

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And Pastor Joe, before we move into the topic, as always, if you could either tell our new listeners for the first time or refresh the memories of those who have heard you on the show about who the brethren and the sistren at Christ Bible Church in Pleasanton, California are.

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Are you trying to coin a new phrase? Yes, I figured in this politically correct age we live in,

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I better throw in a sistren. I've been at Christ Bible Church for just over 30 years.

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We are about 30 to 40 miles east of San Francisco in one of the most liberal areas of the

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United States and the world, and it's a great mission field here. And we are a group of believers, we're

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Reformed and Baptistic in our theology and practice. And First Love Publications is a publications ministry in which we distribute books, booklets, and tracts, over about 300 ,000 of them since 2006, free of charge all around the world during our mission trips and our

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Bible conferences and pastors' conferences overseas and in the domestic United States.

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First Love Missions works hand -in -hand with First Love Publications in which the publications side supplies the

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Word of God in printed form for the missions part. We have over 50 volunteers who go on mission trips with us and help us.

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Many of them are preachers and teachers who speak at our conferences, and brothers and sisters who help in evangelism and in literature distribution.

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And First Love Radio, which your show is on, has been around for several years now.

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We're constantly seeking to improve our broadcasting quality and our schedule.

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We're in the middle of a revamping of our entire playlist, for lack of a better term, our scheduling, programming schedule, and if you go to firstloveradio .org,

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if you're listening via Chris's website, live -streaming website to this program, you can also find this program live -streamed at firstloveradio .org,

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as well as many other programs that run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at firstloveradio .org.

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For more information about our missions ministry and our publications ministry, you can go to firstlovepublications .org,

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firstlovepublications .org, and all three of our ministries will be on that one website, explained and expanded upon our purpose, our mission statement, our beliefs, and so you could also contact us and send us emails.

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That's firstloveradio .org, firstlovepublications .org.

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I'll just leave it at those two. And our church website is christbiblechurch .org,

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christbiblechurch .org if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Once we resume our worship services, if you're looking for a church home, feel free to stop by and visit us.

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And again, the website is christbiblechurch .org. Great.

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And before we enter into the most important aspect of our discussion, which is the biblical response, the truly

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Christian response to this pandemic that we are experiencing, why don't you give us some of the updates that you provide every week?

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Well, the latest stats is that just, oh, I'd say about a half hour ago, the confirmed infected amount of folks in the

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United States are at 486 ,000 and change, with just over 18 ,000 deaths, 18 ,011 deaths to be exact.

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And worldwide, confirmed infected are at 1 ,673 ,167, and the deaths worldwide are 101 ,526.

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And so that's the statistics that's growing by the day. The reports we're getting from the news, both on cable television and online at different news sites, is that some of the places in the

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United States have the curve flattening out, like New York and Washington and Oregon, but other places have the curve still going up.

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And we're right in the middle of kind of the worst part of the coronavirus, from what

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Doctors Birx and Fauci are saying, and some of the other physicians that are constantly on the news.

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So we're right in the middle of it, and it seems like financially, economically, emotionally, people are starting to really suffer more and more.

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We're getting more into the pain and deprivation part of the impact of the pandemic, not just in the

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United States, but throughout the world. And there's a lot of information every day on Fox News that the president and his team give out.

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And so I'm sure most of our listeners, if they're interested in what's going on with the up -to -date statistics, already know most of what

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I'm telling them. So that's what's happening. The world is still in shock and reeling to and fro from the effects of the virus in every way, both health -wise and economically.

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I'm hearing that the world will not be the same in many ways. And I know one thing.

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This is a great opportunity, an open door for Christians to share their faith and to share

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Christ and the gospel at this time. I personally have my hands full, and there's an enormous amount of interest in the gospel right now, just like it was after 9 -11, 2001, when the

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World Trade Center was destroyed and 3 ,000 or so people, fellow citizens, were killed by the terrorists.

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The churches were stormed, were taken by storm and filled for several months, but then emptied out after things went back to normal.

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I think the coronavirus pandemic is certainly more significant in its impact upon the church and the world.

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And so I think in some categories the effects of it will not go away for years.

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In other categories it will diminish quickly and spread throughout from quick to long -term effects over time will diminish.

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But I think that if there's a person who professes to be a

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Christian who's not listening very carefully to what God is saying to the church,

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I would be concerned about that person. As a matter of fact, I started a three -part series of messages on Sunday at 1 o 'clock on our—we live -stream our worship services like most other churches do.

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And if you're interested, we'll be at—I'll give you the information at the end of the program, but I started a three -part series last

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Lord's Day. We talked about indifference from the perspective of unsaved people, and spiritual indifference, and the pandemic, and how most of the world, even a large part of the church, sleeps in spiritual indifference to the weightier matters of the law, to the major issues which concern the soul and the destiny of unsaved people as well as saved people.

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The coronavirus has awakened parts of the church to reconsider their complacency and, to be frank, apostasy from the gospel and—or from practical

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Christian living. And it's been a wake -up call for us, so I felt I would address unsaved people from the perspective of, why are you indifferent to the gospel call?

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And then, secondly, to address the local church—believers in general, but the local church.

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What are the implications and the applications of the coronavirus pandemic to the church concerning indifference?

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Look at Revelation chapters 2 and 3, and you see that at least five, possibly six of those seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 were indifferent and complacent to our first love, maintaining our first love.

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And so indifference is a huge problem, and we are called as a church to be in a constant state of reformation, to reform itself.

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And the third group of people that I want to address, which are actually part of the church, but I want to address church leaders.

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And so for the next—not this Lord's Day, because we'll be talking about the resurrection of our

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Lord and weaving the gospel, but the successive two Sundays, we'll be talking about the indifference of the church and then the indifference of pastors.

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There's always been a significant amount of church leaders, both in the

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Old Testament, among the Jewish leaders, the scribes, the priests, the Levites, the prophets.

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And in the New Testament, pastors, church leaders, who have been indifferent to God and the priorities of God, spiritually speaking.

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And so we want to address pastors and talk about that. It's not a popular thing to talk about, but it's really necessary if we hope to be faithful to God.

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Now, there is a very encouraging passage of Scripture, one of the most encouraging passages, that is in 2

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Timothy 1, verse 7, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

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And if you could apply that to the theme today, coronavirus, pandemic, and fear.

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Well, there are many things that we can discuss regarding fear, but three things stand out to me.

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First, sickness and fear, second, money and fear, and thirdly, the future and fear.

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Everyone is concerned about their health and making a living and the future more than most other things.

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But these three things in particular cause more fear and worry and stress, Chris, than anything else in my opinion.

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So the verse you quoted is the key verse I'd like to focus on,

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For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. It's probably the most famous verse about fear in the

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Bible, and it's the Holy Spirit who enables us to overcome the emotional, mental, and spiritual weaknesses or spiritual weakness that we have and fear.

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The word fear in 2 Timothy 1, verse 7 means timidity and cowardice.

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During times of fear, the Holy Spirit gives us power to turn away from fear and look to Jesus Christ, to trust in Him and to wait on Him without panicking or making hasty decisions.

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The Holy Spirit not only empowers us, but He also gives us love, as the verse says.

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The contrast is powerful, For God has not given us the spirit of fear.

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That's the negative side, and fear does not come from God. But, and here's the other side of the coin, of power and of love and of a sound mind.

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Three remedies to fear given in the verse, power, love, and a sound mind.

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And during times, well, it is the Holy Spirit, like I said, who enables us to overcome spiritual weakness and emotional and mental weakness and fear.

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During times of fear, the Holy Spirit gives us power to turn away from fear and to look to Jesus Christ and to trust in Him and wait on Him without panicking or making hasty decisions.

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The Holy Spirit not only empowers us, but He also gives us love. He gives us power.

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He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and secondly, of love. Love for God enables us to penetrate through fear, which tries to restrict our minds to focus on the what -ifs.

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You know, what if this happens? What if that happens? What if this goes wrong? What if that, this, and the other thing?

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Selfishness and wrong motives lead to fear, because if we are selfish, we're interested only in what we will get from God, which will cause fear if our expectations aren't met, even when basic needs aren't met, like health and money and a job and security about the future.

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You see, fear is a terrible thing. It drives us to take our eyes off of God and look at our circumstances.

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Fear opens the door to worry and think unbiblical thoughts, like, if I get sick, will

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I recover? Will I die? Who will take care of me? Will the hospital bills be paid?

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Will I be healthy enough to go back to work? How will the bills get paid? What about my future and its needs and my family, the needs of my family?

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This kind of thinking opens a Pandora's box of worldly and selfish thoughts to flood in, as well as gives the devil an opportunity to send fiery darts of unbelief and doubts about the promises of God.

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And the world is shaking right now. God is shaking and awakening the world through the pandemic and is getting the attention of everybody, including atheists, and some are reacting well, some are seeking the

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Lord, some are trusting in Him, but others, I fear, mostly others are reacting with fear.

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And once fear triggers worry and unbiblical thoughts take control of our minds and a stronghold becomes established, it becomes a gateway to something much worse.

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And this thing that's worse is mentioned in 1 John 4, verses 17 and 18.

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I'll read that. Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world.

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There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.

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But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. And so this greater problem that starts with fear and leads to worry and then all these sinful thoughts take control of our minds and establishes a stronghold, they all lead to torment, and that's the greater trap and the deeper stronghold.

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Fear prompts worry and worry leads to torment. And torment produces pain and it gives us stress and agitates our spirit.

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Torment also brings pain in our emotions, our minds, and brings great stress on our bodies.

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Now one thing I just want to say to interject quickly, sorry if I interrupted you there on a roll, but this is one of those areas where scoffers, liberals, anti -Christians, those who, some of whom, many of whom profess to be

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Christian but denounce the Bible as not being inerrant, as being a book filled with some moral lessons that we can learn from and many other things that we should ignore.

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So for those folks who will point out an apparent, and I stress the word apparent, contradiction, because it's not a real contradiction, but there is a fear that we are commanded to have, a fear first and foremost of God and a fear of hell.

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Obviously those who are born again need not any longer walk around with a constant fear of hell before them, but fear is the beginning, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and so this is a different kind of fear than the scriptures are denouncing.

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Yes, it's a sinful fear. The fear you're describing is a reverential, reverent, godly fear.

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The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. And so there are different kinds of fear.

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The fear of God doesn't mean you tremble before Him and your service to Him and your worship of Him is based on some kind of negative, overwhelming fear.

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We're not to be in terror of Him if we are born again. Those who are not born again should be in terror of Him.

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Correct. It's not a dreadful fear which shakes us to our core and causes the opposite of love.

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No, it's a reverential fear. It's the highest form of respect and submission that you could have for someone.

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And it's the fear of God. There are healthy aspects of the fear of hell and the fear of punishment, the fear of judgment, the fear of the lake of fire and eternal damnation, which

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God often would use to bring a person who is seeking God to the next step in the process of being saved, leading to repentance and saving faith in the

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Lord Jesus Christ. The fear of hell very often is the beginning of that process. And that's a good thing.

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But that's not an end unto itself. But our text provides three solutions where it says

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God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind. We've already discussed two of them, the power of the

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Holy Spirit and the love of God. And now let's look at the idea of a sound mind.

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God has not given us a spirit of fear but a sound mind. Basically a sound mind means self -control.

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The word for self -control is related to the words sober and sobriety that we often read in the pastoral letters of 1st

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Timothy and Titus. The phrase self -discipline is a better translation of the phrase sound mind.

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And so it's this idea of disciplining the mind, self -discipline of the mind and the thoughts.

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So this describes a person whose mind and spirit are under control, that are disciplined.

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It means that the Holy Spirit provides power of mind and heart to control fear and keep it from overwhelming our minds and hearts.

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And so self -control when you look at the Bible, especially the New Testament, is a fruit of the

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Holy Spirit as we read in Galatians 5 .22. But the fruit of the

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Spirit is self -control. And then in verse 24 it says, and those who are

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Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. So the power of the

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Holy Spirit, the love of God and spiritual discipline controlling the mind enables the believer to mortify or crucify the sinful traits of the mind and heart.

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And the trait of fear, sinful fear with its passions and desires.

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And so when we look back at 1st John chapter 4 verse 17 and 18 which we already quoted, we see that fear and love cannot exist at the same time.

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It says there's no fear in love but perfect love casts out for a fear rather.

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Verse 18. And so fear and love cannot exist at the same time. The love of God cannot cohabitate with sinful fear in our hearts.

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Remember that fear is a huge issue today. Not only with the unsaved but even for Christians and the church.

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Why? Because we're told that generally speaking, first of all fear will grow exponentially in the last days as Jesus said in Luke 21, 26.

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Men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

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Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. So as the end of the world nears and that end times generation becomes more mired in fear as they see that things are coming on the horizon that they can't explain, that mystifies them, their hearts will grow greater in fear.

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Secondly, love which is the main remedy to fear will be greatly diminished in the end times as Matthew 24, 12 says and because lawlessness or iniquity will abound the love of many will grow cold and then in 2nd

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Thessalonians 2 it says let no one deceive you by any means for that day that is the day of the

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Lord will not come unless the falling away comes first. And of course the falling away is the removal of the

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Holy Spirit's restraining grace on certain aspects of the world before the

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Lord Jesus Christ comes. And one of those aspects is sin. His restraining power against sin and will be lifted.

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Well, this is a perfect time for us to go to our first commercial break. And again, if you'd like to join us for the question of your own, our email address is chrisarnson at gmail dot com.

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chrisarnson at gmail dot com. As always, please remember to give us at least your first name, your city and state, and your country of residence if you live outside the

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USA. Only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

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Don't go away. We're going to be right back with Pastor Joe Jakowicz and more of our coronavirus update right after these messages from our sponsor.

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The coronavirus pandemic has rapidly changed our way of life, bringing so many uncertainties.

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And even before that, they were sponsoring all of my activities in regard to the public live moderated debates that I organized going back to 1995, the first one with Dr.

41:33

James R. White of Alpha and Omega Ministries. And those debates with Roman Catholic apologists that Dr.

41:39

White had lasted a decade on Long Island. And of course there were others with Muslims and liberals and homosexuals and cult members and so on.

41:50

And the publishers of the NASB have been behind me, supporting me the whole time.

41:56

So please, it's a fine, trustworthy translation. Even if there's nothing wrong physically with the

42:04

Bibles in your pews, why not update to a better translation by replacing them with the

42:11

NASB and go to nasbible .com, nasbible .com. Always remember to tell them that you heard about them from Chris Aronson on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

42:19

We are now back with Joe Jakowitz with the fifth installment of our coronavirus updates.

42:26

And today we are focusing on the subject of fear. If you could pick up where you left off, Pastor Joe. Well, we were talking about generally the sin of fear, describing it and how it builds up and how it leads to other problems.

42:40

It opens doors to a lot of unscriptural and worldly thoughts to come in and take control and establish strongholds.

42:48

But let's talk about the first thing about fear, and that's sickness.

42:56

And sickness generates a lot of fears that we normally would not have if we were healthy.

43:05

Our minds become weaker when we get sick, and mental weakness often leads to spiritual weakness.

43:13

How many of us feel like reading the Bible and praying when we're sick? I know I don't. I don't know about you,

43:18

Chris. But your mind can't focus like it can when you're healthy in communing with God, for most people.

43:27

So when we get sick, we frequently let our guard down, and that brings in fears and stirs up other sinful behavior.

43:37

Like worry, worrying about your health. And you begin to worry, and it builds up momentum, and you begin to think about,

43:45

Will I ever get better? When will I get better? Will I be okay? And the enemy battles against your thoughts and inserts insinuations about God that are unscriptural.

43:57

He likes to lie and deceive about God, trying to persuade you that God doesn't care.

44:06

And so this all leads to unbelief, and unbelief is terrible, because then you begin to block

44:14

God out of your life. And when we're sick, another problem that happens is that we begin to question

44:22

God's wisdom and plan for our life. Some people who don't have much Christian experience or do not understand the doctrine of sickness and why

44:32

God brings sickness into our life, and the purpose of sickness in a believer's life, will instantly question

44:41

God and His wisdom, saying things like, Oh, this can't be your will for my life.

44:47

Or, Why is this happening to me? Why am I sick? Why did I get cancer? Why is this going on?

44:54

And their whole life is destroyed, because anything negative like sickness or some other crisis that comes in, they question because they've heard bad teaching, believing that God wants you always to be perfectly healthy, have a lot of money, and pretty much to be able to do what you want to do.

45:17

And that's not what the Bible teaches. That's a lie from the pit of hell. And so, the fear of whether you will become sick or not, or if you are sick, whether you will recover quickly, or have a long -term illness, is another thing that will often bring torment and worry.

45:41

And another one is fearing whether you'll be able to go back to work soon, or losing your position produces fear and worry among those that are sick.

45:52

The fear that sickness will hinder you providing for your family, and the fear that you will lose dignity or credibility in the eyes of others because of the loss that you suffered due to your sickness.

46:07

So, there's all kinds of points of fear and worry that are stirred up when a person is sick, and that individual is challenged to trust in God, or take their eyes off of God, and look at their circumstances, and have their circumstances cause worry and fear upon worry and fear.

46:29

And so, there's much fear and worry that's generated when a person is sick.

46:36

And we see that the coronavirus has caused a lot of fear due to people being sick. And the world through the media and others are reaching out to try to find professionals to encourage people, because there's very, very few who can offer positive advice as to why they're suffering so much in the flesh with the sickness, with the virus, and with the financial loss, and the loss of jobs that go along with it, that are a result of the pandemic.

47:08

And it's interesting to listen to the psychologists and the doctors and the professionals who can only give you a very weak pep talk at best, saying things like, well, you know, don't think negative thoughts.

47:25

Wait a minute. I can't help but think negative thoughts, somebody says. It's not going to go away by you telling me don't think negative thoughts.

47:34

The advice that you listen to is very often so lame, unscriptural, and doesn't fill the void in people's hearts.

47:42

It doesn't take away the worry and the fear. And so, sickness is a very real problem, and it brings in fear and unbelief.

47:56

And today we're seeing a tremendous wave of fear and unbelief due to the sickness going across the world.

48:05

The other thing, secondly, is money and fear.

48:11

We talked about this, I think, a couple of weeks ago. I want to just add a few more things. Money causes a lot of people to sin, and I think it's in the top three stumbling blocks leading to sin, as the

48:24

Scripture describes. For example, in 1 Timothy 6 .10, it says, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

48:34

Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

48:41

And then in Matthew 6, it says, No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one or love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.

48:52

You cannot serve God and mammon or money. And so money is on the minds of many, many people, especially right now with the loss of 17 million jobs or 17 million people filing for unemployment over the last three weeks.

49:08

It's a very relevant issue. How am I going to get money? I lost my job because of COVID -19.

49:16

What do I do now? How can I provide for my family and pay my rent or make my mortgage payment if my income has been drastically reduced?

49:25

How long can the government keep voting in $2 trillion, $3 trillion to support people during this time that they've lost their job?

49:38

There's talk of the coronavirus effects continuing for the long term. What financial security can

49:43

I count on for the future? Will the funds in my savings, annuities, and retirement accounts run out because I lost my job and I won't be able to retire on the date of my retirement plan?

49:57

People are thinking about having to work into their late 60s and early 70s because they can't afford to retire or they can't live on Social Security.

50:08

So money is driving people to drink, to abuse substances, to have domestic violence, the problem of their income coming in consistently because of the loss of jobs and the lack of funds and the loss of businesses.

50:28

Money is driving people to the edge and to be filled with fear on a daily basis.

50:34

And that's why it's so important. If you're a Christian, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you have the equivalent if you've been going to church and hearing sermons for 5, 10, 15, 20 years, you have the equivalent of a bachelor's or master's degree in theology or at least in the knowledge of the gospel.

50:52

And don't keep that secret. Don't hold it in. Share it. Get online and social media if you don't have a problem with a computer.

51:02

Get online and start sharing the gospel. Get on the telephone. Use these devices to reach out with the good news to other people.

51:12

And so money and fear is a real, real problem. Right now as we speak, there are those who are just sitting in their homes, millions, millions of people, perhaps billions, if you include

51:24

Europe and Asia and South America and Africa. They are shut in.

51:31

They are locked down. They are sheltered in place by mandate and order of their governments.

51:37

Look at us, many of you listening right now to this program. You are sheltered in place like me.

51:43

And I don't know, are you sheltered in place, Chris? Well, I mean, I do go outside to order coffee and I order food and so on.

51:52

Don't worry, I won't tell on you. Well, that's all legal, by the way. I know,

51:57

I know. But my point is that when you think that these kinds of problems cannot touch you, lo and behold, something will happen, like a worldwide crisis or a pandemic, that will change our lives drastically.

52:13

And so we need to grapple and wrestle with the way in which we relate to the essentials and basic needs of our life.

52:22

If these were taken away, if the rug of provision were swept out from under our feet, if we didn't have any guarantee for tomorrow, next week, next month, of a job, of good health, of money, or peace in the future, how would you respond to that?

52:42

How do you respond to that? Is your whole life and your whole world bound up in money, material possessions, your retirement account?

52:53

Is your trust, is your hope upon all of the hard work that you've done all these years to show something monetarily and materially for your efforts and your benefits that you've earned at work?

53:14

God could take all that away in a second. And he has done that. He has done that. Look around, my friend.

53:22

He has done that. He's taken jobs away. He's taken health away. And he's taken certainty in the future away.

53:30

The very three things that people fear and worry about the most have now become a reality in their lives.

53:40

And it's a challenge, not only for unsaved people who don't know the Lord, but also for the church.

53:48

It's a rude awakening. It's a scary realization when we look back that so much of our confidence was based on the assumption and taking for granted that that paycheck will be there next week, that that good health will continue, and that our future is bright and cheery because it rests on the

54:11

American dream and the financial leadership and security of the United States of America.

54:17

My friends, we have no hope, we have no help, we have no good thing except as is bound up in the

54:26

Lord Jesus Christ. Every good gift comes from above. And so when we talk about the future and fear, which is the third thing, the future and fear, we learn that God promises to meet our future needs.

54:43

He talks about our needs, not our wants. A lot of people want a home, a

54:48

Cadillac, a Mercedes, this, that, and the other thing, jewelry, fine clothes, but God just provides.

54:54

That was Janice Joplin specifically that wanted a Mercedes -Benz, right? Yeah. But God promises to meet our needs, not our wants.

55:03

Millions are consumed with fear of the pandemic and are asking, what about the future?

55:09

What if I get the coronavirus? Seventeen million workers, like I said, have lost their job in the last three weeks.

55:17

Millions are worried about their future income and the ability to pay their bills.

55:22

They're asking, will the economy recover quickly? Will I be able to go back to work at the job where I work?

55:28

Will I have to get a different job? What about two, three years from now? Will I have to struggle just barely to make ends meet for the next couple of years until I can find a good -paying job?

55:41

The world is in shock and unstable, and the future is uncertain, and many people are seeking security and answers.

55:50

But for the believer, our past, our present, and our future is totally secure.

55:58

Praise God. It is not only secure. We are guaranteed the security and safety of our eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

56:10

And we have the promises of God that nothing shall separate us from the love of God.

56:18

And so, by the way, we have to stop right there. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God because I didn't even realize that we have to go to our midway break.

56:26

This is the longer than normal break, folks, so please be patient with us. This is where Grace Life Radio, 90 .1

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FM in Lake City, Florida, has to air their public service announcements in the middle of our show so that they can localize

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Iron Trip and Zion Radio to Lake City, Florida. While they do that, we air our own globally heard commercials.

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So please use this time wisely. Write down the information provided by our advertisers and send in questions to joejackowitz at chrisarnson at gmail .com.

56:58

chrisarnson at gmail .com. Don't go away. We're going to be right back right after these messages from our sponsors.

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I'm Dr. Tony Costa, professor of apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary. I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where I've been invited to speak and have grown to love,

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Hope Reform Baptist Church in Coram, Long Island, New York, pastored by Rich Jensen and Christopher McDowell.

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It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of God like the dear saints at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Coram who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of Christ in His Holy Word and to enthusiastically proclaim

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I hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation and receive the blessing of being showered by their love as I have.

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That's hopereformedli .net Or call 631 -696 -5711

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That's 631 -696 -5711 Tell the folks at Hope Reform Baptist Church of Coram, Long Island, New York that you heard about them from Tony Costa on Iron Sharpens Iron.

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Chris Sorensen, host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio here. I want to tell you about a man I have personally known for many years.

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His name is Dan Buttafuoco. Dan is a personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer but not the type that typically comes to mind.

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Dan cares about people and is a theologian himself. Recently he wrote a book titled Consider the

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Evidence for the Bible. Ravi Zacharias wrote the foreword. Dan also has a master's degree in theology.

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Dan handles serious injury and medical malpractice cases in all 50 states. He represents many

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Christians in serious injury matters all over the country. Dan is an exceptional trial lawyer.

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He wrote the test for the National Board of Trial Advocacy. And currently his firm has over 100 cases that have settled for $1 million or more and in approximately 10 different states.

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In Illinois, his lawyers had the fourth largest settlement in the state's history.

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In New York, his case involving a paralyzed police officer made the front page of the Law Journal. If you have a serious personal injury or medical malpractice claim in any state,

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I recommend that you call Dan. Consultations are free. There is no fee unless you win.

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Dan Bonifuco's number is 1 -800 -669 -4878. 1 -800 -669 -4878.

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Or email me for Dan's contact information at chrisarnson at gmail .com.

01:00:09

That's chrisarnson at gmail .com. Hi, this is

01:00:19

John Sampson, pastor of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona. Taking a moment of your day to talk about Chris Arnson and the

01:00:27

Iron Sharpens Iron podcast. I consider Chris a true friend and a man of high integrity. He's a skilled interviewer who's not afraid to ask the big penetrating questions while always defending the key doctrines of the

01:00:38

Christian faith. I've always been happy to point people to this podcast knowing it's one of the very few safe places on the internet where folk won't be led astray.

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I believe this podcast needs to be heard far and wide. This is a day of great spiritual compromise and yet God has raised

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Chris up for just such a time. And knowing this, it's up to us as members of the body of Christ to stand with such a ministry in prayer and in finances.

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I'm pleased to do so and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining me in supporting

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Iron Sharpens Iron financially. Would you consider sending either a one -time gift or even becoming a regular monthly partner with this ministry?

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I know it would be a huge encouragement to Chris if you would. All the details can be found at ironsharpensironradio .com

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where you can click support. That's ironsharpensironradio .com. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said,

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Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read. He who never quotes will never be quoted.

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He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves that he has no brains of his own.

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Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the

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New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the

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The coronavirus pandemic has rapidly changed our way of life, bringing so many uncertainties.

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When will it end? Why do disasters like this happen? How do we deal with anxiety, fear, and the like?

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Well, join us each Friday on the program Iron Sharpens Iron with your host Chris Arnzen and Pastor Joe Jackiewicz as they explore

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God's Word for answers to this and other of life's related issues. Tune in at firstloveradio .org.

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That's firstloveradio .org. Each Friday at 1 p .m.

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Pacific, 4 p .m. Eastern. That's Iron Sharpens Iron on firstloveradio .org.

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Fridays, 1 p .m. Pacific, 4 p .m. Eastern. To hear what the Bible has to say about pandemics and how we should respond.

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Or visit LindbrookBaptist .org. That's LindbrookBaptist .org. Hi, I'm Buzz Taylor, frequent co -host with Chris Ironson on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

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from Chris Armsen on Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio. Before I return to our guest, Joe Jakiewicz, with our fifth installment of our coronavirus updates and biblical applications to this crisis,

01:09:19

I just wanted to remind you of a couple of important things. First of all, we are still intending to have our next free spring

01:09:29

Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio pastors' luncheon, unless we hear otherwise that the bans on public gatherings have been continued.

01:09:39

So we have not heard that it will extend that far into the future. It's not that far in the future, but it's farther than they expected to have bans on public gatherings.

01:09:48

It's Friday, May 29th, 11 a .m. to 2 p .m., right here in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the

01:09:54

Bongiorno Conference Center in Carlisle. This is the first time we are having the privilege of using the facilities of the

01:10:02

Bongiorno Conference Center. And not only will you be fed a fantastic, sumptuous lunch for free at the

01:10:09

Bongiorno Conference Center, and not only will you be able to hear our guest speaker, who is the most powerful preacher alive on the planet

01:10:18

Earth, as far as I'm concerned, Dr. Conrad Mbewe, of Kibwata Baptist Church of Lusaka, Zambia, Africa, but you'll also be getting a heavy sack of books for free that have been donated by major Christian publishers all over the

01:10:34

United States and the United Kingdom that I have personally selected. And that is all for free.

01:10:42

And this is a tradition that started with my late wife, Julie, in the 1990s.

01:10:48

And we have continued this tradition all the way up through the time that she sadly passed away, but now joyfully is in eternity with Christ.

01:11:03

And then after I relocated to Pennsylvania from New York, I relaunched those luncheons in her honor and tribute and memory in 2015 and have been running them now twice a year, in the winter and the spring.

01:11:21

So I hope that you can come. It's Thursday. I'm sorry, it's Thursday. Friday, May 29th, 11 a .m.

01:11:29

to 2 p .m. I said Thursday because we usually have them on Thursdays, but Dr. Conrad M. Bayway can only make it on Friday as the speaker, so we switched the day for this special occasion.

01:11:42

So send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com and put luncheon in the subject line and you'll be registered for free, even if you are very pessimistic that there will be public gatherings by May 29th.

01:11:59

We urge you to send in an email registration anyway because this way you'll be on the list if indeed we are forced to change the date.

01:12:08

So send me that email to chrisarnson at gmail .com and put luncheon or pastor's luncheon in the subject line.

01:12:14

This is for men and ministry leadership only, pastors, elders, deacons, parachurch leaders, etc.,

01:12:21

men in ministry leadership. We look forward to hearing from you via email and we look forward to seeing you. Friday, May 29th, 11 a .m.

01:12:28

to 2 p .m. at the Bon Giorno Conference Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. And now is that uncomfortable time when

01:12:35

I have to begin begging you for money. I hate to do it. I especially hate to do it because there are so many charlatans out there, false preachers and teachers that do it on a regular basis.

01:12:47

Unlike them, or unlike many of them, I am not going to promise anything miraculous to occur in your life.

01:12:54

I'm not going to promise that you will become richer or healthier or anything else for that matter, other than a blessing from God that only

01:13:05

He can determine. But He does reward those who are faithful to Him and who are benevolent to others.

01:13:12

So I'm asking you, if you love this show, please go to www .ironsharpensironradio .com,

01:13:18

click support. Then click, click to donate now. You can donate instantly with a debit or credit card in that fashion.

01:13:25

If you prefer a snail mail, you can also send in a check to the address that appears on the screen at www .ironsharpensironradio

01:13:31

.com when you click support. Also, we never want you to siphon money away from your regular giving to your local church in order to become, or in order to donate,

01:13:42

I should say, to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. Never do that, and never put your family in financial jeopardy by giving to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

01:13:50

Those two things are commands of God providing for your family and your church. While providing for this show, supporting this show, is not a command of God, obviously, if you are blessed financially above and beyond your ability to obey those two commands

01:14:07

I mentioned, you love this show, you don't want it to go away, you take advantage of the fact that you can download free

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MP3s and share them with family, friends, and loved ones every day, you love the fact that we have guests and topics that very often are never heard anywhere else, you just love this show.

01:14:27

Well, if you love it, please help it to exist by providing for us financially with a donation, and especially since we are living in a time where you cannot go to sporting events, you cannot go out fine dining, you can't go to the movies, you can't go to theatrical performances, you can't go to concerts.

01:14:48

There are many things that you used to do recreationally and for entertainment purposes that you can't do now.

01:14:57

So could you please use some of that money, I'm sure God isn't going to mind you using some of that money, or all of that money, to help

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Iron Sharpens Iron Radio remain on the air. So please send us a check or go to www .IronSharpensIronRadio

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.com, click support, and then click click to donate now. If you want to advertise with us, send me an email to chrisarnsen at gmail .com,

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and put advertising in the subject line. I am so happy that I just received very recently requests for advertising rates and so on from folks who are listening, one is a financial advisor, one is a church, and I'm just so thrilled about this, and I hope that they follow through by God's grace and become regular supporters of the show.

01:15:45

I also want to thank my dear friends at Berean Beacon, which is a ministry that was founded by the late

01:15:52

Richard Bennett, the Roman Catholic priest, who was saved by the mercy and grace of Christ and became a

01:15:58

Reformed Baptist evangelist and founded Berean Beacon and wrote a number of books. He was a dear friend of mine and supported this program financially himself, and now that he is in glory,

01:16:10

Berean Beacon Ministries has informed me that they would like to help us as well, and they sent in a very generous check today, and I just am so thrilled about it and so grateful.

01:16:21

And I thank all of you who have helped me during a very scary time. You have made the fear, as we have been speaking about fear today,

01:16:30

I know I am not supposed to fear about these things, and I'm not supposed to be anxious for anything, but because of the fact that we did temporarily at least lose two of my, or my two biggest advertisers,

01:16:43

I should say, who have told me that until further notice they'd have to cease advertising because the coronavirus scare has really damaged their businesses.

01:16:57

But because of that, you know that I have been in a very perilous time financially, and I just am so grateful for those of you who have answered my

01:17:06

SOSs for help and have sent in checks, no matter how small they may be, they are appreciated greatly because if everybody sent in a small donation,

01:17:20

I wouldn't have to worry for a long time about finances. So, thank you very much.

01:17:26

Also, folks, if you are not a member of a local Bible -believing church, and you're not even prayerfully looking for one, you are living in rebellion against God.

01:17:34

You have to rectify that. You have to seek help where you can find it to locate a

01:17:42

Bible -believing church within reasonable distance from you. And if you need that help, I can help you,

01:17:47

God willing. I have lists of biblically faithful churches all over the globe, and one of them being

01:17:54

Christ Bible Church in Pleasanton, California. And once again, the website is ChristBibleChurch .org,

01:18:01

ChristBibleChurch .org. But I have lists of biblically faithful churches all over the planet, and I have helped people all over the world already find churches, some of which these folks have joined, some of them they have visited while on vacation, and some of them they have referred to family, friends, and loved ones who don't have churches of their own.

01:18:21

So please, if you need help, send me that email to ChrisArnzen at gmail .com and put

01:18:28

I need a church in the subject line. That's also the email address where you can send in a question to Pastor Joe Jackowitz on the coronavirus and on a biblical response to this.

01:18:37

Specifically today, we are addressing fear, and the email address is ChrisArnzen at gmail .com.

01:18:43

ChrisArnzen at gmail .com. I'm sorry I had to cut you off in the middle, Joe, but we actually went even beyond where we were supposed to.

01:18:50

I lost track of time, but if you could pick up where you left off. No problem.

01:18:56

We're talking about 2 Timothy 1 -7, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

01:19:05

And we were remarking about how fear has saturated and swept over the entire world because of the coronavirus, and people are seeking answers, they're searching for truth, and many people are getting stir -crazy because they're shut in, they're sheltered in place, and fear is growing.

01:19:27

People are wanting to get back to work. They're wanting to have assurance about where their income would come from, and very, very seldom would they have any kind of assurance now about those former things that they took for granted.

01:19:42

So we were talking about three of the most important aspects of fear.

01:19:47

People who get sick, people who love money, and people who are concerned about the future.

01:19:53

And these are three of the most important aspects of fear that people are concerned about.

01:20:00

They worry about their health, their money, and their future. And the Bible is full of answers concerning this.

01:20:07

So we've talked about those three aspects of fear. We've explored them.

01:20:13

And now I'd like to share, until you get some questions in from your listeners,

01:20:18

I'd like to share some remedies with you for if you're sick, or you know someone is sick, or you get sick, or if you are going to struggle financially because you lost your job, or you have money problems in general, or you're concerned about the future,

01:20:35

I would encourage you, first of all, by way of solution, to give Christ your fear.

01:20:41

We read in 1 Peter 5, 7, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.

01:20:51

The scripture is very clear. You are not to bottle up these concerns, your fears.

01:20:57

You're not to worry about them. Yes, it's okay to identify your needs, but don't let them turn into fear that just feeds on itself and turns into unbelief and doubting

01:21:11

God's promises and all kinds of other problems and sins of thought and sins that are against God.

01:21:20

He says, take whatever care you have, whatever your needs and necessities are, even your future, and cast them upon him.

01:21:30

Give them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to him in prayer. Get those burdens that are building up by way of fear off your back.

01:21:39

Put them on Christ and leave those needs and leave the future with the

01:21:45

Lord Jesus Christ. You can't do those things unless you have faith in him.

01:21:51

You are to trust in him. You need to believe that he exists. Maybe you're listening to this program today, and you're not a believer.

01:22:00

Or maybe you profess to be a Christian, but you've really struggled with fear all your life and worry, and it has consumed you.

01:22:08

It has caused you to stumble. And fear, ungodly fear, sinful fear is a real problem with you.

01:22:15

Well, the Scripture is very clear. The Lord Jesus Christ is on his throne of grace, his throne of mercy.

01:22:21

He's there listening to anyone who calls upon him in truth and in sincerity.

01:22:27

And he wants you to take your needs and your struggles and your problems and your sins, and he wants you to bring them to him.

01:22:33

He says, cast all your care upon him. He wants you to tell him about it.

01:22:39

He already knows anyway all about it. He knows all of our needs before we even ask. And he wants you to trust them into his capable, generous hands.

01:22:51

And so give Christ your needs. Give him your fear. Don't worry about it.

01:22:58

The second thing is God promises to meet your needs. He doesn't say you'll meet your wants.

01:23:07

We want things, but we don't need them. But he does promise to meet your needs, as we read in Philippians 4, 19, and my

01:23:15

God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

01:23:23

As I said, the Lord knows your need. He knows you need food and clothing and shelter.

01:23:29

Whatever your needs are, money, enough health to get by, God promises to supply them.

01:23:37

And don't make money and material possessions, even the necessities of daily life, don't make them your focus.

01:23:45

Once we become Christians, you'll remember that our life is all about Christ.

01:23:51

It's about God. It's about serving him, knowing him, fellowshipping with him, walking with him.

01:23:58

This is the greatest gift he could give us. What is our life in this world? It is but a vapor that passes away in a moment compared to eternity.

01:24:08

And we will eventually stand before God. And so don't put your affection, your trust, your hopes, and anything of this world as we read in Scripture.

01:24:23

And seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

01:24:30

That's another promise. Seek first his kingdom. Make his kingdom. Make his relationship with you, your joy, your delight.

01:24:41

Make your walk with God and your eternal relationship with him your priority.

01:24:47

And he'll take care of everything else. All these things that you need, food, clothing, and so forth, he'll take care of them.

01:24:54

Well, you say, I have a big family. It doesn't matter. God makes up for inflation, and he makes up for additional children added to your family.

01:25:02

I have five children, my wife and I, and God has always made up for each child we have had in terms of the greater bills, greater expenses.

01:25:11

I remember one time we were standing in line at the grocery store, and this well -meaning older lady turned around.

01:25:20

We were with our five children in line waiting to check out, and she said,

01:25:26

How can you afford all of those children? And I said,

01:25:31

Well, madam, God makes up for inflation. So God has always provided for us, and if you're a believer,

01:25:39

I think apart from some of the major financial mistakes and decisions thereof that you have made, you can say that God has always provided for you as well.

01:25:51

And he has a way of getting us out of trouble financially as well. He's an expert at that.

01:25:57

God is a God of a thousand chances. Is he not, Chris? Amen. And by the way, we do have a listener if you want to take a pause, unless you want to finish your statement.

01:26:06

No, I have a few more things down here by way of remedies and applications to our subject, but go ahead.

01:26:13

We have an anonymous listener who says a very good segue, since you were just mentioning your children.

01:26:20

The anonymous listener says, How do we hide our fear from our children during this time of great anxiety and fear over the unknown?

01:26:31

I know that I am not supposed to fear, as does my spouse, but we still do.

01:26:37

We are sinners after all. And when I say hide our fear from our children, I am not speaking about lying to them and telling them that we're not afraid, but I'm just talking about in the way that we behave and our demeanor.

01:26:50

Sometimes it is uncontrollable to visually express my fear.

01:26:56

And also, what other ways do you counsel we reach out to our children to put them at ease when it comes to the panic and the crisis that they see daily, nearly all day long in the media?

01:27:09

Well, I would say, first of all, do everything you can to keep your concerns and your fears that you would normally pray about with your wife or that you would discuss with your wife.

01:27:23

Your young children don't need to know those things. At their young age, and I don't know how old they are, you didn't mention it, but I would say in general, you don't need to bring unnecessary worry and concern upon the minds of children who very often don't understand the issues involved with your concerns and your wife and you.

01:27:46

So I would say just block them off from that. But, yes, I understand that sometimes we will speak to our spouse in an unguarded moment where our children will hear and it will provoke questions in them from us, and we will have to answer them.

01:28:01

But in general, don't talk about those serious issues that might provoke unnecessary concern in their minds when very often, not all the time, very often they won't understand what we're talking about and it will just cause them confusion and unnecessary worry.

01:28:19

The second thing I would say is make sure that you and your wife are praying through this issue, this concern, in your own individual walk, and also together.

01:28:32

There's a way when we cast our care upon the Lord, when we unburden ourselves before God, that God lifts that burden from our heart and He replaces it with inner strength to be able to restrain ourselves from even talking about it.

01:28:51

You know, a merry heart produces a cheerful countenance, the Scripture says. Whatever you're thinking about, that's what you're going to be talking about.

01:29:00

And so if you're constantly dwelling upon your needs and worrying about it and having fear, that's going to build up in your heart until out comes your fears from your mouth.

01:29:13

So you need to dissolve and dilute those worries as soon as they start on your heart.

01:29:22

And the best way to do that is when you begin your day. Make sure that every concern, every burden, every need is completely unburdened from your heart as you give that over to Jesus Christ in prayer.

01:29:34

He says He will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because He trusts in thee.

01:29:42

And God's Spirit will bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. He will lift that burden, but you need to make sure you pray through it, and that is through the discipline of prayer with the assistance of the

01:29:56

Holy Spirit that you pray through that concern until you feel that burden lifted from your heart.

01:30:04

And the third thing that that will produce is the wisdom, the wisdom that you need when you talk with your children.

01:30:13

If you're giving your burden over to the Lord and He gives you His peace to keep you, then you will be less likely to share your concerns in an unscripted or spontaneous way before your children.

01:30:30

You'll have the wisdom and the strength to restrain yourself from talking about those problems, not only connected with the coronavirus, but in general in front of your children.

01:30:45

You mentioned a verse which has become very near and dear to me,

01:30:51

Isaiah 26, verse 3. You, meaning God, will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you, meaning

01:31:04

God. And the reason why that verse is etched in my mind is

01:31:11

I have two very dear friends, Jerry and Fern Hill, who many years ago founded the

01:31:17

Timothy Hill Children's Ranch, named after their young son Timothy, who in the either late 60s or early 70s,

01:31:26

I can't remember right now, was killed tragically when he was riding his bicycle to school.

01:31:32

He was hit by a truck. And Timothy, a bit of a prodigy, wanted to one day start a home for homeless children that was based on farmland, a ranch, where the children could work with farm animals and ride horses and so on.

01:31:54

And after Timothy was killed, Jerry and Fern Hill made that dream of Timothy's a reality, and it still exists today, the

01:32:00

Timothy Hill Children's Ranch. But that was what specifically Fern Hill, that was the verse, the primary verse, that kept her from losing her heart, losing sanity and losing faith after the tragic death of her son.

01:32:19

We have another listener who is also anonymous. During this time of isolation,

01:32:27

I understand that domestic violence is on the rise. Should not churches be more prepared to provide housing for one of those spouses, either the guilty party who is an abuser or the victim, where this person can stay until things are worked out through biblical counsel?

01:32:49

Oh, the answer is yes. I think it would be wise. The Bible says a wise man sees evil coming and prepares for it.

01:32:57

So given the other considerations concerning the coronavirus that we need to keep in mind in such a situation as providing housing for someone, we need to make sure that they don't have the virus or they don't have even mild symptoms of it.

01:33:14

But if it works out where everyone involved is healthy and free of the virus,

01:33:20

I would say, yeah, it's a good idea, especially for churches that are medium -sized and larger, to identify a place to stay with someone who temporarily could house an abused spouse.

01:33:37

Absolutely, it's a great idea. And I think church leaders, it's incumbent upon them to take the initiative to do that.

01:33:44

Yes, good idea. Well, thank you, and we're going to go to our final break right now.

01:33:49

If you would like to ask a question of Pastor Joe, I would suggest strongly that you do so very quickly, because we are rapidly running out of time.

01:33:58

Our email address is chrisarnson at gmail dot com. chrisarnson at gmail dot com.

01:34:04

Please give us your first name at least, your city and state, and your country of residence. If you live outside the USA, only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

01:34:13

Don't go away. We'll be right back with Joe Jakowicz right after these messages from our sponsors. O hail the power of Jesus' name.

01:34:25

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Our email address if you have a question is chrisarnson at gmail .com chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:48:22

And we have Christopher from Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. And Christopher says,

01:48:31

Do you think it's inappropriate even during this day and age when we constantly hear politicians and others urging us not to gather to have at least 10 or less people in our homes for regular

01:48:46

Bible study? I don't see a problem as long as it conforms to the law.

01:48:54

If it's mandated that you cannot gather in groups of more than 10, then you're fine if you're 10 and under and no one has the symptoms of the virus.

01:49:10

And it is yet to be really established whether that could possibly be a constitutional law forbidding that to begin with.

01:49:20

Right. That's still in question. And some have no question about it at all. They say it is unconstitutional.

01:49:26

Yeah. And they make a good point of that. But if you could continue.

01:49:31

We have 10 minutes left, and I want to make sure you have everything that you want to say spelled out today.

01:49:38

Well, sure. When we talk about three of the most tempting things to cause fear, like sickness and money and the future and its needs, many people worry about those things instead of following the biblical principle of trusting in the

01:49:56

Lord Jesus Christ. And a couple of remedies that I mentioned already is, number one, give

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Christ your fear. Number two, God promises to meet your needs.

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So you need to trust Him. You need to actually pray and trust Him with those needs.

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Number three, never give in to the sin of worry. As we read in Matthew 6, 25, where Jesus says,

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Therefore I say to you, Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.

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Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns.

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Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you, by worrying, can add one cubit to his stature?

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So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin.

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And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

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Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will

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He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying,

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What shall we eat and what shall we drink or what shall we wear? For after all these things the

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Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

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And so our Lord reminds us that He provides all these things for us, our daily needs, our food, our clothing.

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Don't worry about it. The sin of worry will jump on you sometimes when you least expect it, like a monkey on your back.

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But you must constantly fight against it. If it's a besetting sin of yours where worry comes up all the time more than being tempted by other sins, you need to particularly guard against it developing into a stronghold.

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You need to pray every day that the Lord Jesus Christ will give you strength to resist that sin.

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You need to memorize verses particularly that encourage you to trust in God alone and to look to God alone so that worry won't be stirred up in your mind.

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Because many are being tempted to worry and they haven't had a problem with worry for a long time, but now that they've lost their jobs and their health is bad or they're concerned about the future due to the pandemic, worry is taking center stage now in the minds and lives of many people as a sin that is tempting them, even tormenting them.

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The fourth solution to fear is take one day at a time. At the end of the text

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I just read, we read in verse 34 of Matthew chapter 6, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.

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Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. This is a theology of tomorrow. And God tells us, look, take one day at a time.

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You are to forget those things that are behind concerning the past.

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You are to leave the past in the past and you're to press forward. So with regard to the past, you're to forget the past.

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As far as the future, God says don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of its own needs.

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He says focus on today. Focus on now. Take one day at a time and bring your daily needs to the

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Lord. He tells you to pray. Give us this day our daily bread. So we're to pray for today's needs.

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Tomorrow will take care of itself. And number five, trust in the Lord for each day's need.

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Leave the future in God's hands. It's kind of another way of saying what I just said, but from a different perspective.

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Many of you can quote Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.

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That's when we get into trouble, when we begin to rely on our own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

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That's Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. And then Jeremiah 17, 7, and 8 says,

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Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters which spreads out its roots by the river and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

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What a wonderful promise of provision for the future if you trust in the

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Lord for today. And lastly, trust in Christ alone. Look alone to Jesus for your temporal needs to be met.

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We read in Hebrews 12, 1 and 2, verse 2 says, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.

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He who commanded you to pray, my friend, give us this day our daily bread, will he not meet your needs?

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You trusted in him with your salvation, you could trust him to provide you with the health you need and with the money you need and with your future because he already, if you're a believer, has given you that future in stone, as it were.

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So when we talk about the coronavirus and fear, fear is a big issue. We're going to have to be proactive and battling against it, trusting in Jesus alone for the grace.

01:55:52

And before we close, Chris, I just wanted to add a couple of points. I wanted to say amen to what you were saying before in encouraging our listeners, but I want to add a new twist to it.

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I want to encourage you to invite others to listen to Iron Sharpens Iron here on First Love Radio.

01:56:15

We want to grow our audience, especially during this time when the coronavirus and the pandemic is wreaking havoc in people's emotions and their hearts, especially unsafe people.

01:56:26

Invite them to join in on Friday as we will deal with various aspects of the coronavirus from 1, 2, 3,

01:56:34

West Coast time, from 4 to 6, East Coast time. Invite your Christian friends, even unsafe people, to listen on Friday.

01:56:43

If you think that they would benefit by dealing with the issues connected with the coronavirus, of course, listen to Iron Sharpens Iron every day.

01:56:52

But on Friday we will deal with the issues related to the pandemic, and there is a wide variety of those issues.

01:57:00

And remember the financial needs of Iron Sharpens Iron. Pray about what your place would be in helping this needy ministry.

01:57:08

This is one of the highest quality ministries, radio programs, and in both content and the guests that are on the show, and it is a worthy ministry for your donations.

01:57:23

And also coming up this Sunday I'll be speaking on First Love Radio at 1 p .m.

01:57:30

on the topic of indifference, part two. Last Sunday we dealt with the pandemic of indifference when it comes to unsafe people.

01:57:40

This Sunday we'll talk about indifference of churches and believers during crises.

01:57:45

It's one of the worst places to be in as a Christian when God is shaking the whole world to be indifferent about it, and we'll address it.

01:57:54

And then God willing, no, that's not this Sunday. That's next Sunday. This Sunday will be on the resurrection.

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The topic will be on the resurrection of Christ because it's Resurrection Day, and we will address that.

01:58:07

And then next Wednesday at 7 p .m. Pacific time on the Bible Talk program on First Love Radio we'll be talking about endurance in serving

01:58:17

God, why we must endure in serving God, what we must endure in serving

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God, and how we endure in serving God. And I'm assuming that 1 p .m.

01:58:28

time for your worship services on Sunday is Pacific time, so it would be 4 p .m.

01:58:33

Eastern. Yes. Okay. Yes, and we'll also be on Wednesday and Sunday we're heard on FirstLoveRadio .org,

01:58:44

BibleTalk .online, which is a new website devoted for that program alone. That's BibleTalk .online.

01:58:51

And then we're heard and seen on Facebook .com and YouTube .com

01:58:57

Live. On Facebook and YouTube you can find us, and you can always send me a message on Facebook.

01:59:05

You can email me directly from FirstLoveRadio's website.

01:59:10

That's FirstLoveRadio .org. And by the way, you can look up in our archive a recent interview that I had with Pastor Christopher McDowell at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram, Long Island, New York, on the issue of fear.

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And just go to the archive at Past Programs Podcast, or Past Shows Podcast, it says on the website, and type in McDowell, M -A -C -D -O -W -E -L -L, and that will come up.

01:59:39

I want to thank you so much, Joe, for being a great guest as always. I want to thank our listeners today, and I want you all to have a safe and blessed and happy weekend.

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And I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives, Jesus Christ is a far greater Savior than you are a sinner.