When our human nature says RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, what does it take for us to overcome the intimidation and fear, and run TOWARD, instead of away from, "THE ROAR"? The most important thing is knowing the tactics of our enemy and seeking after the vigilance and wisdom of God! Let's get right into "OVERCOMING INTIMIDATION"...
Message from chapter 7 of our book entitled, "OVERCOMING INTIMIDATION."
Intimidation is one of the greatest hindrances to accomplishing anything significant in this life. If you have ever contended with peer pressure from classmates, approached your employer for a raise, walked into a gathering and just "knew" that everybody was talking about you, had to walk any distance in total darkness, tried to tell someone for the first time that you love them, or stepped out to share your faith, you know exactly what I am talking about. Fear shows up, that giant among emotions, often in the form of an anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach. Much like swimming upstream, the longer you stay in the situation, the stronger this unseen force seems to grow. You may even begin hearing things in your head, words that condemn you or put you down. Yes, even your own thoughts turn against you! Fear has gripped your heart, and you find yourself contemplating whether or not you are going to turn and run away.
Sound familiar? In fact, it is all too familiar, and for some it is a way of life, although it is not accurate to describe this as "living." So, if you are ever going to enter into the Abundant Life, you are going to have to learn not only to stand up in the face of intimidation, but also to fight your way through it. If you do, what awaits you on the other side will far exceed your greatest expectations. Always remember this crucial scriptural principle: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion." (Proverbs 28:1)
Likewise, our old natures will flee when no one pursues us, but our new natures are bold as a lion. To illustrate this, I will relate an amazing story I once heard documenting the way some lions pursue and trap their prey. I find the lions' method quite intriguing since intimidation plays such a prominent role in the way they hunt for food.
As male lions grow old, not only do they slow down considerably, but their teeth also become brittle and painfully sensitive, making it very difficult for them to chase down and kill prey. In order for the big male lions to be able to eat on a regular basis, they recruit the female and young male lions of the pride to accomplish the difficult task of chasing down and killing their meals for them. With both the females and young males in tow, the ferocious-looking male lion sets off on his quest for something to eat. Once he has spotted a herd of animals feeding in the distance, he approaches them very stealthily. The big male, once in position, keeps as low as possible while the females and young males quietly position themselves on the opposite side of the intended prey. Once they are close enough to them, the old male lion rises up and lets out a tremendously loud and intimidating roar. At that fearsome sound, the herd begins running away from the old male in the direction of the waiting lions, not realizing that the big male lion is relatively toothless. Consequently, the female and young male lions are able to chase down and kill members of the herd with much greater ease; the intimidating sound of the old lion's roar literally drives the prey right into the jaws of death. The moral of the story is this: whenever you are confronted with an intimidating situation, head straight towards it. Therein lies your freedom! If the unsuspecting animals had only run into the intimidating roar of the old lion, more of them would have been around to graze another day.
This same principle is demonstrated in the account of the war between the Israelites and the Philistines in which David killed the champion of the Philistines, the giant Goliath. The situation that confronted God's people appeared to be quite dire. Goliath dominated
the scene, demanding that the Israelites put forth a champion to face Goliath in one-on-one combat, winner take all. If Goliath won, as looked probable, the Israelites would become the slaves of the Philistines. Conversely, if Goliath lost, the Israelites would be the masters. The challenge was summarized by Goliath thus: "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together." (1 Samuel 17:11) The reaction of God's people to the roar of the giant was to flee, though no one was pursuing them; the giant was simply offering the challenge. "And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid." (1 Samuel 17:24)
Such was the situation on the day when David came into the camp of the Israelites at the instruction of his father. David was bringing supplies to his brothers and presents for their captain. In return, his father wanted David to find out how his brothers were doing. The occasion, however, was of the Lord, for David heard the words of Goliath and observed the terror amongst his own people.
Upon learning that no Israelite had volunteered to be the champion of his people, David offered his services to Saul their king, though David was but a youth. The king was reluctant, but eventually he acquiesced, and David went out upon the field of battle to face the giant: "And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:40) The giant, looking with disdain upon the youth who stood before him, uttered words intended to quail the heart of the young warrior. "And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field." (1 Samuel 17:44)
David did not back down, neither was he dismayed or filled with fear. David was bold as a lion. "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands." (1 Samuel 17:45-47)
Thus the battle was joined: "And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell
upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the
Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled." (1 Samuel 17:48-51)
Note the significant phrase: "David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine." David ran to the roar! He refused to be intimidated by the giant, and God wrought a great victory that day.
We pray that this testimony and brief exhortation fans into flames your passion for loving, trusting, believing, and following God whole-heartedly. If you allow those flames to burn and increase in your life with Christ, your life will be ever better... guaranteed!
Keep PRESSIN' IN!
"Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14)
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sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc. Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products. The complete collection of original podcasts, music, blogs, books, CDs, and other resources of Toward The Mark, Inc. has been made possible by the faithful prayer and financial support of the TTM Sponsorship Family. We'd like to invite you to come on-board, to become a part of the TTM Family as well! Join TODAY!
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Day SEVENTEEN,
Paragraph SEVENTEEN:
Saul of Tarsus (later to be known as the Apostle Paul) was dramatically confronted with an important truth prior to his conversion. Acts 9:1-5 brings this truth to light saying, "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." (Acts 9:1-5)
Question to ponder:
In Acts 9:5, what does Jesus mean by "...it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks"? _________________________________________
Keith's "Comments from the Author":
"If you read yesterday's message about the bully who picked on my brother at the school bus stop, you see a modern day bully who compares to a bully in the Bible who was consumed with finding, imprisoning, and destroying the followers of Jesus Christ. His name was Saul of Tarsus. Not only was he consumed with these evil tasks, but he had been given the money, written permission, and troop support to pull it off. Although the High Priest and his ruling party had been able to manipulate Rome into doing their dirty work for them, having Christ crucified, they made a monumental mistake! They underestimated how deeply Jesus Christ had impacted the people of the region! And, now, the Person of the Holy Spirit had come to continue carrying the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people near and far, all over the world. It would be Saul's lack of knowing and understanding this fact that, ultimately, led him to the life-altering encounter he had with the One Who confronted him, face to face, similar to how I stuck up for my brother at the bus stop. Now, concerning what Jesus meant by saying to Saul, '...it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks', there's a definite image that I received the first time I studied this Scripture passage. When I was a young boy, I used to camp out with a few of my friends in my neighborhood. One evening, just as the sun was starting to set, the guys and I launched out on one of our deep-woods adventures, exploring some new terrain. Before we realized it, we had gotten ourselves trapped in a thick briar patch that we were standing in waist-deep. Of course, having left our hunting knives back at the campsite, we were forced to kick our way through those thick briars until we could reach a clearing. So, now, sporting jeans with thorns and holes all in them, and drops of blood running down our legs, we all came to the conclusion that we would never again go somewhere without making sure to carry along our hunting knives. When you find yourself in a painful, no-escape, 'prickly' situation, confronted by a commanding force that leaves you basically powerless, you begin to get the picture of what it means to 'kick against', as Jesus said, 'the pricks'. In essence, what Jesus was saying to Saul was, 'Because you have chosen to persecute Me, by choosing to fight against My children, now you have to deal with me!' If you find yourself trapped, in any way, by sin, you will know just how painful a life can be that runs contrary to the life-giving ways of Jesus Christ. We encourage you to seek to find wisdom and understanding from the Word of God to be sure you will not be one who is, 'destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge...' as Hosea 4:6 clearly explains. What are you waiting for? There's no better time than n-o-w. Selah. Amen (so be it)!"
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
." (Matthew 28:18-20)
*We look forward to joining with you again tomorrow, and please take a few minutes to invite for your friends who are lost, or who just need encouragement! God bless and keep you!*
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Your friends & servants in Christ,
To Show GOD BIG in a World that Sees Him small…
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc. Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products. The complete collection of original podcasts, music, blogs, books, CDs, and other resources of Toward The Mark, Inc. are made possible by the prayer and financial contributions of the TTM Support Family. We'd like to welcome you onboard TODAY!
We INVITE You ... to follow and share these resources that are available as well, for helping build your faith in God, His Will, and His Ways:
This blog message, along with the rest of our inventory of Bible-based resources, is made possible by the support of our faithful monthly partners. Would you consider helping us expand our outreach capabilities by becoming a monthly financial partner? Your support will go toward fulfilling our God-given calling to help provide effective, contemporary outreach tools, available to everyone, the churched and un-churched alike, for getting to know the love, truth, and salvation of Jesus Christ. We invite you to partner with us as we "press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)
CLICK HERE to make a tax-deductible contribution securely by PayPal.
Every gift is tax-deductible and helps, and we thank you for it!
Mail tax-deductible contributions by check to the order of:
Toward The Mark, Inc., P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152.
Thank you in advance for sowing your financial seed into the fertile soil of this ministry! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!
This collection of twelve teachings,
