This is “Choosing Faith Over Fear.” Faith is not denial. Faith is facing the problem, but focusing on God. The most important thing you can do right now is choose to have faith over fear. This is unprecedented times we are facing, but God is unchanging. The commandment given most often in the Bible is “Fear not,” and it’s coupled with the promise, “For I am with you.” In this message with Jentezen Franklin, find the courage you need to face tomorrow with faith and keep your eyes on God.
the following program is sponsored by
friends and partners of Kingdom
connection we’ve never seen before and
I’m standing today in our auditorium in
Gainesville Georgia it’s just a bunch of
empty seats and like thousands and
thousands of places of worship
synagogues and churches and and all
kinds of places where people are
worshiping they’re not there the people
are not there all that’s here are empty
seats because the building and the seats
are not the church the people are the
church in the Old Testament God had a
temple for his people but in the New
Testament God has a people for his
temple and he said I’ll live in you and
your body will be my temple and today
there’s no need for panic but we must
make a choice you have to choose faith
over fear
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
praise the mighty name of Jesus I feel
the presence of God and that’s what
heals and that’s what helps and that’s
what lives and that’s what encourages
and I want to talk to you for a few
moments today from the book of Mark
chapter 5 it’s an amazing story there
that I speak that I think speaks to the
times that we’re in I want to get a
little phrase in your spirit and in your
heart so that when you feel worried when
you feel fear when you feel panicked
when you feel the the anxiety of the
times that this would rise up in your
spirit what I’m going to teach you would
rise up in your mind and your attitude
in your heart as a defense against the
attack of fear in Mark chapter 5 there
was a girl who had died it was a tragedy
she was 12 years of age and Jesus walked
into that house where death had come we
don’t know what killed her but it was
some disease and he had taken her life
and then Jesus says something so strange
and I like the King James Version of
this particular verse it says in verse
38 when he came into the house they were
weeping and they were wailing loudly
crying and understandably so and when he
came in he said to them why do you make
this ado and we that’s a strange
terminology why do you make this big ado
about this situation what Jesus was
really saying was what Shakespeare got
ahold of he heard that verse where Jesus
said one translation says why are you
making much ado about nothing and
Shakespeare took that phrase and he
wrote a whole
play and it became one of his famous
plays and of course it was called much
ado about nothing he took it from that
verse where Jesus said why are you
making so much ado about this situation
now let me underscore something very
important what Jesus was saying was he
was not under playing the danger he was
not under playing the tragedy he was not
playing down as though it
he was unaffected by the sorrow and the
weeping and the tragedy that the people
were going through in that house but
what he was saying was even in the
darkest moments even in the darkest days
choose faith over fear what he was
saying was I am here I’m in your house
and he said don’t make much ado about
nothing certainly I’m not preaching that
the plague is nothing that the
coronavirus is nothing it’s deadly it’s
dangerous
God gave us common sense to deal with in
every way that we can but when you
compare it to the God who is on your
side when you compare it because Jesus
was standing in the same house where the
plague had come and and when you compare
it to our God it’s much ado about
nothing because he doesn’t fail and he
is with us and he is for us we believe
today that the spirit of fear is loose
in our nation and around the world and
he wants to do everything that it can to
get us to worry to feel anxious to feel
stressed out to feel as though
everything’s over and we’re coming to an
end we’re not coming to an end
God’s not through blessing this nation
it’s not too late for America it’s not
too late for you it’s not too late for
your marriage for your home or your
family you’ve got to learn to take the
Word of God and when you feel the fear
and the worry and the anxiety and the
stress that word
comes up in you like a defense when I
read it this week it’s like the Lord
just seemed to whisper to me not in an
audible voice but just in my mind in my
heart I kept hearing those words don’t
make much ado about nothing
don’t let worry make you go into just
panic Jesus said I am with you in your
home I am where you are I know your
address I know all about you I have not
forgotten about you I am with you no
matter what comes our way our first
reaction should be faith that overcomes
the fear choose faith over fear choose
faith over panic and over being
petrified and crying it’s much ado about
nothing when you stack it up and compare
it to the healing miraculous powerful
God that we serve well what about this
virus we will survive we’re more than
conquerors through Christ no weapon
formed against us will prosper and then
he said that nothing can separate us
from the love of God we’re being
dominated right now in our culture in
our culture by fear we need to go from
fear-based living to faith-based living
listen to me carefully over the last few
decades the life expectancy has more
than doubled the capacity of life
expectancy over the last few decades has
increased tremendously let’s not make
much ado about nothing as though that
everybody is going to die we’re actually
living longer and healthier than any
time in human history choose faith over
fear we have more health than any other
generation we have more long life than
any other generation we have more cures
more medicine more technology more
science than we’ve ever had and yet many
people are living in fear even
we’re living twice as long and more
healthy than we ever have in human
history in our lifetime and in our
generations and yet the generation that
is more healthier than ever is more
worried and more fearful I’m not saying
we shouldn’t be afraid but I should I’m
saying that we shouldn’t make much ado
about nothing when we remember that our
times are in God’s hands that that the
power of life and death he holds the
keys the devil is so defeated death is
so defeated it doesn’t even have the
keys to its own house because jesus said
I have the keys it’s amazing that we’re
living longer and healthier than we’ve
ever lived before you see every time you
turn the TV on you’re gonna have to
choose faith over fear and I want that
word to come up in your spirit much ado
about nothing God is with me God is for
me God is in me God is blessing my
family keeping my family he can be
trusted I can trust him choose faith
over fear don’t let the fear flew get
you you know the 10 spies in the Book of
Numbers they call the fear flew and only
two of them said we’re well able to take
it 10 of them said oh no the Giants are
great the problems are great
everything’s gonna overtake us but two
of them who didn’t catch the fear flew
came back and they said we’re well label
you know what happened to them they got
vaccinated with faith that’s what needs
to happen to America today you need to
get vaccinated with faith that gives you
the power to choose faith over fear
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ faith in
the name above every name faith in the
power of the cross and the blood of the
Lamb faith that the blood of the Lamb on
your household on your doorpost
spiritually on your heart and your
family can cause death to pass over and
that God can heal by His stripes the
diseases and the afflictions of man
people who study genes and genetics
scientists they have identified a
certain gene recently it’s called gene
SLG 6 8 4 and you know what they labeled
it is called the worry gene it’s a
medical fact now what you listen to me
carefully
and the people who have the short
version of s the gene SL g 6 8 4 are pre
position they say and more prone to
worry than people who have the long
version of this particular gene and what
I read that I felt to myself oh god do I
have the short version or the you know
you’re just just reading that I just
immediately went to worry and I I
remembered this text much ado about
nothing I’m with you I’ll never forsake
you I’ll never leave you I’ll never
abandon you I’m telling you today that
God does not want us to live in chronic
fear fear is usually the result of
increased vulnerability and that’s what
we’re feeling in our nation and around
the world we feel vulnerable we don’t
have any way to protect ourselves but we
have the protection of Psalms 91 and if
you don’t even read the Bible by the way
I was notified today that many of the
rabbi’s and synagogues are reading the
protection Psalms out of the Book of
Psalms over their people and they’re
asking them to take those Psalms they
believe that there is supernatural power
in Psalms like Psalms 91 that when you
speak those words that he’ll give his
angels charge over you that he’ll
protect you that that he will keep you
and it you abide under the shadow of the
almighty read Psalms 91 when you’re
afraid choose faith over fear read the
Word of God if you’ll read the Bible the
Bible to read you and it’ll detect that
fear and then it will feed your faith
Isaiah 43 and two needs to be spoken
over our nation today when you pass the
the water I will be with you when you go
through the rivers they will not
overflow you when you walk through the
fire it will not burn you neither shall
the flame be kindled against you and
then he goes on to say later that you
are precious in my sight and I love you
and I will give people for your life and
the person that he gave for my life was
Jesus Christ he carried my sorrow he
carried my sickness he carried my death
in his body on the cross and he did you
don’t allow faith to cause you to go
into denial when people become dominated
by fear they begin to move into denial
and and this is so important because
they don’t want to deal with the issue
so if during this crisis that we’re
facing something comes up if you begin
to get the symptoms don’t go into denial
faith is not denial faith is not
pretending like you know that you have
faith so great that that you don’t have
any issues everybody has problems
everybody gets sick everybody goes
through issues here’s what I tell people
everything is better with Jesus in crew
including trouble so fear wants to cause
us to go into denial to not deal with
the issues listen to this face the
problem but focus on God choose faith
over fear that’s why a lot of folks
don’t get checkups they don’t go to
doctors they don’t they haven’t had a
physical and so long because they’re
afraid they’re dominated with fear and
the truth is this is no time to be
dominated with fear and this is a time
when we don’t need to be living in
denial secondly fear causes us to become
people a procrastination you see fear
makes you begin to procrastinate and you
should confront something you should
confront someone but because of fear you
just you just put it off and you put it
off and you put it off and you put it
off and lastly fear causes us to enter
into a place of indecision somebody said
when you’re when you’re caught between a
yes sir and a no sir you got to make a
big decision you don’t know if you
should go with yes sir or no sir
you get an ulcer and a lot of people are
in the valley of decision God told
Elijah he said tell the people why do
you honk between two opinions why are
you why are you not making a decision
because fear causes us to move into into
a place of indecision when God tells us
to not fear he’s saying you don’t he’s
not saying you don’t have to ever have
the emotion of fear what he’s saying is
trust me even though you are afraid
trust me and choose faith over fear
compared to our God who is on our side
listen let it get in your spirit it’s
much ado about nothing get faith first
not fear first face it and fight it God
said and I’ll be with you that’s what
we’re doing as a nation that’s why we’re
not a symbol today we’re facing the fact
that we’re dealing with the problem
we’re facing the problem but we’re
focusing on God the president has called
the nation to prayer and to praise and
the most often given commandment is fear
not for I am with you and I want to
conclude as they’re coming back to the
music that God delights listen and
courageous people and people who are
strong and courageous who when they face
challenges they don’t buckle and they
don’t fear and they don’t fall many are
afraid now of the fear of failure of
their business and their finances I
believe this fear is very real to many
of you you know in our ministry here
across all of our campuses we have
decided to this next week to ask our
employees to just all of them that can
and and of course if they have any
symptoms of sickness not to come to work
but beyond that
any corporations and many people are
doing this across the nation and we
decided to do it just to stay home
because children are out of school and
so on and so we want families together
and we said just do work from your
computer do work at home but the fear of
failure of business in the stock market
and finances in the economy can cause
people to tremble in fear and oh no
but Jesus said I’ll take care of you
it’s much ado about nothing if I feed
the sparrows I’m gonna feed you if I
take care of all of nature I’m gonna
take care of you but what if this
happens what if that happens when you’re
down to nothing God’s up to something
God’s up to something in America you
would have stayed right where you were
but maybe this this divine shutdown is
is it’s what God is wanting to do it’s
what he did with your hose the fat in
the Old Testament they reached a problem
where they were outnumbered out
resourced and out of options and he
lifted up his eyes to heaven and he said
God we don’t know what to do
second chronicles 20 we don’t know what
to do but our eyes are upon you and God
is saying I brought America to a divine
shutdown so that you will look up and
say God our eyes are upon you this is
the moment of divine destiny and don’t
you know that our God is bigger than the
shutdown
our God is bigger than the coronavirus
our God is bigger than the financial
needs and the stock market issues and
all of the things we will see
restoration and a resurrection in
America but it must begin on our knees
it must begin with my people which are
called by my name humbling themselves
and calling on God and pray and I’m
going to pray for you in conclusion
today but I want you to get it into your
spirit that when you watch the news when
you see this and you see that not that
we don’t take these times serious and
these issues and heed all of the health
warnings that we’re hearing constantly
absolutely but I pray that this little
word will get in your spirit much ado
about nothing you know there’s been so
many times in this ministry where I
worried I worried about this I’m worried
about that I worried and I’d have the
Lord come along and give me this little
phrase much ado about nothing trust me
trust me God is teaching us in the
middle of this shutdown in the middle of
this crisis to depend on him faith is
dependency on God it’s time right there
in your home right where you are
in that office wherever you are I want
to ask you to receive the peace the
forgiveness the healing the comfort
replace panic with praise replace worry
with worship there are some problems
that are so severe if you don’t attack
them with worship they’ll attack you
with worry pray with me right where you
are everybody repeat these words behind
me just me and the worship team but just
say Lord Jesus I give you my life my
family my future I believe what you did
on the cross was your love manifests for
me receive salvation forgiveness
cleansing and protection by the blood of
Jesus Christ I am forgiven and I choose
faith over fear in the mighty name of
Jesus oh praise God we would love to
hear from you go online dial the number
on the screen if they’ve got one we
would love to hear from you we want to
help you and your new walk with God
in our closing moments I want to share
with you one of the unprecedented
opportunities that God has opened up for
this ministry over the last several
years the work that we’re doing in
Israel is absolutely critical
the Eshkol region borders the Gaza Strip
and it’s plagued by near-constant
rockets and chaos and here we’re
building the ESCO region trauma center
we broken ground on it and it’s under
construction as I speak I believe that
we are fulfilling the Biblical prophecy
of Isaiah that he spoke about in the
fortieth chapter when he said comfort me
comfort me my people I’m only going to
ask you to seek the Lord and see what he
would have you do with your help we will
finish this in just a few months and
have a grand dedication there in the
Holy Land and you’ll have a memorial for
your family in the Holy Land that says
to God I have loved the nation of Israel
I believe God will pour out blessings on
you like you’ve never seen before
please do your very best we need your
help on this project here’s my announcer
to tell you how you can be apart from
the imaginary shapes the clouds form to
the mysterious blue hue for most
children the sky is a place of wonder
and beauty but there’s a place where
that is not the case in Nashville Israel
the sky is a place of terror and trauma
for children that live in this war-torn
territory terrorists rockets kites and
helium-filled and Cindy Airy balloons
fill the sky with fear but thanks to
your support we are more than halfway to
our 1 million dollar commitment to build
the Asheville region playschool kingdom
here children will be able to play in a
safe environment without fear of attack
they will also be able to receive
counseling services to assist them in
coping with ongoing trauma caused by
these terrorist attacks from the Gaza
Strip as a thank you for your support in
our initiative to comfort God’s people
we would like to send you the Holy Week
collection for your gift of one
dollars or more this month you’ll have
your name inscribed on the comfort my
people wall of recognition in Israel
pure gift of 300 dollars or more this
month you may request the Holy Week gift
set with a beautifully crafted communion
set with your gift of $50 or more we
will send you the Holy Week bundle
including Jenson Franklin’s just
released book acres of diamonds and with
your gift of any amount we’ll send you a
copy of the devotion 8 days to change
the world your gift and prayers are
making a difference and bringing comfort
to God’s people in Israel visit us
online today
well Charisse and I are so excited about
the 2020 trip to Israel the Holy Land
tour this is going to be the most
special trip that we’ve ever had when
you go on trips like this it’s a form of
blessing Israel it’s a form of saying
I’m blessing you God and I’m blessing
your land and I’m blessing the people
and when you do that there’s a blessing
that comes back spiritually and in every
other way can’t wait to see you get on
the bus let’s go this program has been
sponsored by friends and partners of
Kingdom Connection we hope you’ve
enjoyed this teaching by Jensen Franklin
and thank you for your continued support
of this ministry your prayers and
financial support make these programs
possible for more information about this
message and other ministry resources
visit us online at Jensen franklin TV
you