Not of Fear, but of Power, Love and a Sound Mind

There's a legend of an old dictator. He knew that he was soon to die, and he started looking for some successors for his dictatorship. So he had too many in mind, and he brought them into him, and he brought two little birds as well. And then he told them, the following, and I called you, the act to see which one of you is worthy to be the heir to the throne. In order to prove yourselves, you must take one of these birds and make it remain in the palm of your hand for five minutes without killing it. So the first man came, and he was terrified because he wanted to keep the job, and in the process he held the bird so tightly that he suffocated, and he died. So the second man came, and they were thinking, oh, I bet on my holders were too tight. So he had a little bit loose, and the bird flew away, and up the window and, God! So the dictator turned to these men and said, I'll show you how to do it properly. He said, bring me a bird. So he ordered his servant to bring a bird, and he took the bird, and he plucked all the feathers out of the bird. And then he held the bird in his hand. Shivering the bird of cold, he felt warmth in the hand and saving that hand.

Terrified, the bird did not fly away.

Then he said to the men, do you see it? This bird is now helpless. It is terrified. It's freezing. It's vulnerable. I have stripped it of everything, and now the bird is thankful for the warmth I'm giving it in my hands.

That's how the dictator showed the way to control the people. Control people through fear. By taking everything away from them, and then making them thankful for the security you're giving them. Brethren, you obviously are saying that's evil. That is shocking. And of course it is shocking. It's the wrong type of fear. It's terror. It's a tank.

Today, brethren, I want to show what is meant by the fact that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power. Because brethren, we need to be aware that we live in a world, a world of sight. He's our adversary. He's our enemy. It's not flesh and blood that is our enemy. As he reads in Ephesians 6-12, we don't have to turn there. It's a fact. It's what it says there. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. It is a spiritual battle against Satan.

And he's got the same sort of tactics in this world and around to us. And if you and I are not careful, that attitude, number one, can affect us, but two can rub upon us. And therefore, we need to be careful that we don't react or we don't have certain roots of that sort of approach when dealing with other people. Now, when did this first start? When did this first start? Believe it or not, in Adam and Eve, Genesis chapter 3. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3. We see the situation there of Satan talking to Adam and Eve.

And it says in verse 1, now the serpent... Now think about it.

Satan came across as a serpent. Now a serpent by itself is intermilit. I mean, it was not an asshole, a sow, cuticle, teddy bear, kind of, you know. It was an intimidating serpent with something in her eyes that you don't know what's behind it, that had instilled a certain degree of fear. And then he says, it was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord had made, and we heard, for instance, in the sermon, a cunning story how certain people plucked it. You know, and just an example how people and Satan are sometimes very wise, very clever in how they do certain things. And he says, the serpent was more cunning than all of the other beasts in the field that God had made. And Satan said to the woman, as God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the woman said to the serpent, oh God said, we can eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree, which is in midst of the garden, we are not to eat, lest we die. Nor shall you touch it, lest you die.

Now, it just looks like a sweet little story of the section, because it's not sweet, it's actually the section, but it just looks like a story of the section. But there is more to it. There is more to it. And the serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die. For God knows. So he brings the element of trust and breaking the trust, you know, and breaking God's word, like we heard in the sermon. God does not break his word, but yeah, he says, oh well. And so, his liver nut, it's instilling into Adam and Eve a sense of fear. Very sadly, but it's actually a sense of fear. Why do I say that? Because each and Adam's not feeling intimidated. They began in fear. They felt disadvantaged that God was not giving them fairly. Remember, before that, Adam and Eve talked to God in a garden in a loving relationship of mutual respect, of care for one another. And now, after this, what happened? After this, what happened? You read in verse 8. In verse 8 it says, and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And what would it have done? They were going to talk to God. And what they do now? And Adam and his wife Eve hid themselves from the presence of God. Why do you hide? Because of fear. You see, sighted, roaring in a very subtle way, the spirit of fear. That's his tactic. Well, he's got many tactics, but that's one of his tactics, fear, a spirit of fear. Can you think about religion today? Religion today, one of their tactics to get people is to bring them a fear of a burning hell forever. That's fear, rather than a loving God that doesn't want you to die. In fact, if you're an unrepentant and you refuse to repent, you will let you die forever. But that's a lot more merciful than having suffered eternity forever in a burning hell. I was once in one of my troops to another country. I met a man, and this man was telling me with the most piercing eyes, like you could see there's something wrong. And he was saying, there has to be a hell even when we are in the kingdom. And his reason was that when you're in the kingdom, you will be able to look at these people suffering and burning in hell, and therefore you'll always be afraid of sinning, and before you'll stay on the line.

And I say to myself, that's the wrong spirit. Because God is not a God of fear and control, through fear, is a God of love. Of He wants the best for this job. That's not God's very good. Look at Satan's control, where he has over us, in Hebrews 2, verse 14 and 15. Hebrews 2, verse 14 and 15. When I say over us, I mean over society, in general, over mankind. That's what I'm referring to. In Hebrews 2, verse 14 and 15.

It says, "...in so much then as the children and or titan of flesh and blood." It was just us, my children and your children and my grandchildren, are all physical human beings of flesh and blood. Just like our children are physical human beings of flesh and blood. He, that is Jesus Christ, Himself likewise shared in the same. He, Christ, also shared by being a human being, humbling Himself from the position that He was, being in the form of God, as we're reading Philateines 2, humbled Himself to be flesh and blood. He likewise shared in the same. That through death, He might destroy Him who had the power of death that is available. Through death, through the second fast that Christ did, He destroyed, and we know ultimately that will be the end result, it's full, not full full yet, but He destroyed the power of death. Why? Because He's given us the possibility to resurrect it. That's how He destroyed it. That's how He destroyed it. Because there is life after death, not the way mankind thinks, but there is life after death. Christ destroyed Him who has the power of the devil, which is the devil, and release those who through fear of death, the fear of dying, with all their lifetime subject to bondage. You see, Christ has released us from that fear of death. You and I do not have to fear death because there is life after death. There is the hope of a resurrection.

Sure, when a beloved one dies, we are sorry, we feel because it's us that lose a friend for a while, but we'll see Him or her in the future. And so we sorrow, and obviously there are regional pressures and things that people go through, so we sorrow for that. But we don't have that terror, that fear that tips people in subjection because it says, the hour and Christ released us, those that through the fear of death, with all their lifetime subject to bondage. So, Britain, people have to confess. Fear of death is probably my being, the ultimate, but there are many fears. There are attitudes. Fears, think about it, the economy going wrong, and if you're losing a job and not being able to support your family tomorrow, that's a fear. And when you get back to that legend that I was saying about taking the papers of the bird, you take all these things and suddenly you are vulnerable, we can control you. Second can control you because He is the one that is inspiring all these things that are happening. It's His world. He's the God of the world.

And when we are under those pressures of different fears, what happens? We could make wrong decisions. In a panic, we could make wrong decisions. Now, Paul had gone through some serious trials, as you know, but now he was in a situation right at the end of his life when he knew that he had to pass the baton. He had to pass the responsibility to the next person, which was Timothy. And he wrote to him the last epistle that he wrote before he died from prison. That's in 2 Timothy. So let's turn to 2 Timothy and see what he's saying to Timothy to encourage Timothy. Because he knew, Paul knew, because later on he says in this letter, I've run the race, now it's for me to that's the end, that's the end of my race, but you've got to keep going on. You've got to go on reaching the word. The job's now upon you. And therefore, he's saying to them, and imagine Timothy. Timothy must have realized this is the case, and what was his initial feeling? What were the initial feeling of the bread and the cup? Well, the apostles were doing the work. We wrote all these miracles. We know they crossed in a cup. Things are happening. The church was growing by leaps and bounds in the early apostolic years. Things were just, and they knew, well, it's crossing the cup soon, and they were expecting Christ in their own lifetime. In the book of Revelation, it wasn't written yet. That was written 90 AD, many years. I mean, this is the time of about 60 odd AD that Paul was writing this, so it's still 30 years before the book of Revelation was written. So they were, like, 30 years gone. Christ had died. The apostles, everything had kind of grown, and then suddenly things were not going. They were never expecting. The apostles were being imprisoned. The apostles were being killed. People being killed. Satan was putting his pressure, and God was allowing it. And the church was not growing anymore like they were expecting it, and they're saying, what's going on? And you can imagine the trepidation in Timothy saying, what's going on? So, so Paul says, writes to Timothy, says, therefore I remind you, in chapter 1 verse 6, therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God.

See, Timothy was having some reservations, having some doubts, some concerns, some fears, and Paul is saying, listen, Timothy, I want to encourage you positively. I remind you to stir up the gift of God, to stir up the Holy Spirit, to wake it up, to actually become more zealous, which is in you through the lightening of my hands, which you receive. God, for that reason, when I light my hands on you, as it's according to the Scriptures. And then he said, because God, verse 7, has not given us a spirit of fear. That is the spirit of sanctum. It's a spirit of fear. But the spirit of God is a spirit of power. Of power. In other words, you are entitled, you are motivated to actually do things based on love. And the result is that you think clearly your mind is clear and you have a sound mind. A sober mind. So he was encouraging Timothy about these basic things.

Look at some of the things that then Paul went on to tell Timothy. Just lost some of the things. For instance, in verse 8, he says, don't be ashamed of the truth. In other words, don't be afraid. Don't be ashamed. Go out and speak boldly. Don't be ashamed of the truth. But share with me the sufferings. Yes, there's going to be difficulties. There's going to be problems because we have a enemy. But don't be ashamed. He says, do not be ashamed or testing you of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor of me, He is prisoner. But share with me the sufferings but share with me the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God.

The gospel can only be preached according to the power of God. In other words, I can do all things. Obviously, we cannot do anything as Christ says, but I mean, I can try and do all things. I can do everything with my own efforts. But if God is not behind it, as far as preaching the gospel, that will not do the job. The gospel can only go out according to the power of God. It's not by strength, not by might, but by my spirit. That's how God's work will be done. It's not in the ritual things that we do. It's only by the power of God.

The world is our style to the gospel, as we know. Look in verse 13. He says, hold fast the pattern of sound words. Hold fast the sound words. Don't change. Don't change the gospel. Stick to what you've learned. Christ gathers the teachings, which are expanding, as we are doing sermon, expanding the basic truth of the law and of the apostles, of the law and the prophets. The apostles then expand that and stick to that. That's what it is. And then I read, for instance, in chapter 2, verse 1 and 2. You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in the Lord Jesus. In other words, He's encouraging you. Don't be afraid. Be strong. Have courage. Go forwards. And in the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to frightful men. In other words, pass on. Teach trying other men, which are vital. And we heard today in the sermon it as well. Are we faithful to the end? Commit to those that are faithful. How we know people are faithful. One of the things is, faithful to their words, but faithful to the end. Who will be able to teach others also?

Rhetorical men, to teach the gospel, needs to be taught. It has to be taught. Then look at it a bit further more in verse 16, what Paul was telling to Timothy. It says, but shine, profile, and idle pebbles, for they'll increase to more and more on Godness. In other words, be careful of some men that have their own ideas, and on the words, and they poke through their elbows, type of thing. Be careful of that. He says, and their message will spread like cancer. Cancer is a terrible thing. It sprays. It sprays. Human owls and philettos are of the sort, who stray concerning the truth. They do not stick to that pattern of the truth. They stray. They went away. They deviated. They're impostors, saying that whatever stories they were saying at that time, people today may say different things. In that time, the intersection already passed, and they overthrow the fight of some, take some people to lose their fight. So we see, we've got to be careful, but Paul is here encouraging Timothy to be strong, to preach the word, and to go ahead. Don't allow to be deviated. So, what we find is, we must not be afraid, because if we're afraid, we may withdraw. We may avoid from doing the work. We may pull back. And there's no back door breaking. There's no back door. God is giving us an opportunity to go forwards. There's no back door. We've got to go forwards.

And that's what he's saying to Timothy. You've got to go forwards, and you've got to do what needs to be done. How? In a right way. In a laughing way. Because it's the spirit of power and of love. In a laughing way. In a caring way. And look how he says that in verse 24 and 26 of the same chapter. He says, and the servant of the Lord must not be of the United, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient. When he sometimes you see people and entire time again, they're just holding back. He says, be patient, able to teach and patient, in the ability to correct those who are in opposition, in opposition to the truth. That's maybe their opposition to themselves. They know in their minds, they fight in the truth, they know better. And they're in opposition to it. If God perhaps will grant independence, that they may know the truth, and that they may count to their senses, to a sound mind, to their senses, and escape the snip of the devil. The snip of the devil. And he puts people and having been taken captive by him to do his work. Why? Because they're afraid of something else. And so they're captured by the truth of Satan. And one of them is fear, as we saw in Hebrews 2. And for us also, and then he goes on in chapter 3, saying, you know, there's an end time. Things are going to get really tough. And for us, we live in the end time, and things are tough. The world is our style. To those that are true Christians.

And it comes out with different things, different stories. But you and I have to say the course and preach the word. Look at it in chapter 4. In chapter 4 verse 2, he says, preach the word. Be ready in season, and out of sun, season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all of suffering and teaching. And look in verse 5, but be watchful in all things, endure afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist for the Holy Communister. Don't be afraid. Don't pull back. Keep going forwards. And in verse 6, he says, listen, that's the end of the road for me. I'm already being poured out as a drink offering. And then he says, and it's laid out for me, the crown of righteousness, but now you must keep going on. So Timothy was being encouraged to go forwards, to not be afraid, because he's a great a power, he's God, and he's the God of the spiritual power. So don't be afraid with fear. Go forwards. And there's going to be a lot of pressures of people which are very smart, very smart with different ideas, but we have to be equally smart. Look across one people in Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, read in verse 16. Matthew 10 16. We all are send your sheep in a bunch of wolves, before be wise as a serpent, and obelisk as ducks. In other words, you also be wise. Don't be foolish, be wise. But don't lie, don't break the laws, don't do anything wrong, be righteous.

And then he goes on in verse 17. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to castles, and escort you in their synagogues. In that time, in that era, the church, I see me, quote unquote, the Jewish church, basically was seen as where people would meet. It's a synagogue, so it's in the sense, analogous today, is that people will persecute you in their churches. They will give you a hard time, and things like that. And then, and it says, verse 18, you'll be brought before governments and kings from our land side, there's a testimony to them, and to the Gentiles. And when they deliver you up, do not worry. Don't fear. Don't be worried. Don't fear about how or what you should speak. For to be given to you in that hour, what you should speak. So don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your father who speaks in you. And so he's saying, hey, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Keep going on.

And then he goes on in verse 26, just one or two verses down, says, therefore do not fear. Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and even there will not be none. In other words, if they are lying, they'll come out in your time. But meantime, don't fear. Don't fear. Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear in the year, preach on how to stop. Speak the truth. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Keep going. And then look at it. Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Do not fear death. Do not fear this physical death, because there's life after it. Because they can't kill your potential to live. Because you have the potential to live again, because you'll be resurrected, and they can't kill you. But rather fear him, that is Christ, at the second death, who is able to destroy both soul and body in the game of fire. Destroy in the second death. He's able to destroy your physical body and your life potential to live your actual life. So you're saying, don't be afraid. Do not fear. But fear him. So there is a couple fear, which is Godly. There is a different fear, which is Godly. You see, in verse 31, he says, do not fear, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. So he's saying, you know, you are of more value than these little birds and whatever. Don't fear, but fear God. You see, there's two types of fear. One is terror, and the other one is the Godly respect for God. It's a very different thing. It's a Godly respect, because God tells us to do certain things in love for our own good. While Satan wants us to fear, Satan controls.

It's very different. Let's look at the Godly fear, how different it is. One interesting scripture that I like to read often during the Feast of Tabernacles is in Deuteronomy 14, verse 23. Deuteronomy 14, verse 23.

And it says, and you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place where he chooses. So, as we read in context and read the rest of the Bible, and you start understanding what is, he's talking about here, the place that he chooses, where in this case he's the feast, the Feast of Tabernacles. And he says, you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place that he chooses for the Feast of Tabernacles to make his name abide the tithe of your brain. So, you're to take the tithe of your income and save it, and then at the end of the year at the Feast of Tabernacles, you use that tithe to celebrate the feast. Now, obviously, he's not talking about the tithe which you give to God, because it says the tithe that you give to God belongs to God. So, he's actually talking about another tithe which is basically, think about it, a saving program for yourself to keep in the city. And the church will call back the second tithe. There's the first tithe which you give to God, and the second tithe which is for yourself. It's basically your saving program to keep the feast. And it says the tithe of your brain, and of your wine, and of your oil, and of your earth, and of your flocks. Why? Why? Why? Some that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. We give the feast, we tithe, so we give the feast. Why? So that we have learned through the feast to fear God always.

And so, this fear of God is a positive fear. Let's just turn a few pages back. In Deuteronomy 6 verse 24, just a few pages back, Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 24.

And it says, And the Lord commanded us to observe all his statutes. In other words, God commanded us to observe all his laws. Why? To fear the Lord your God. Now, why am I saying this? It's because it's not the terror fear, but it is a deep respect for God. This is to fear the Lord your God for our good always.

You see, the fear of Satan, that Satan is stills, is a terror. It's not for our good. But the fear that God wants us to have for you, which is a deep Godly respect, is for our good always. And it says, that he might preserve us alive. That he might preserve us alive, as it is to say.

Brethren, Godly fear is for our good. It's the fear that Jesus Christ had.

You know Jesus Christ had that fear. A Godly fear.

Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 5 verse 7. Hebrews chapter 5 verse 7.

Hebrews 5 verse 7.

He says, Who in the days of his flesh, that is, Christ's flesh, when he had offered up breads and supplications with women, cries, and tears to him, to go, the Father, was able to save him from death, and was heard because of his Godly fear. He had, Christ had, his Godly fear.

So, when we read in 2 Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, it's talking about a spirit of terror, but God has given us a spirit of power.

In other words, not a spirit of authority, of putting people down on authority and dictatorship, but God has given us a spirit of power. In fact, he's given us a lot of things. For one, he's given us a church.

Because a church is a community where you and I can get together, and we can get help for one another, encourage one another. That is a gift. That is a blessing.

And the Bible does say the Sabbath is not only a diabrase, but it is a command assembly, which means it's a command to be together on the Sabbath. It's a command of the Sabbath. So, the church is a blessing, but another blessing is given us. It's given us a comforter. Jesus Christ said, I need to go. So, I send you the comforter, the helper. And Jesus Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, which is the spirit of power.

Which is the spirit of power. And the question is, can you and I succeed without Christ? No. We cannot. You can read in John 15 when it talks about the vine and the vineyard, and we are portions of that vine, and if he breaks us out of the vine, we end it up. You're going to be back eating the vine. You can't separate yourself from the vine, which is part of the church, which is part of the learning that we have. We can't separate ourselves. And he says, without Christ, you can do nothing. You've got to be attached to the vine.

And obviously, we can do a lot of little things. I mean, I can drive a car. I can do things. I can do, you know, we can set up the hall. We can do little things. But we need to, we need to seek to Christ. We need to be 100% seeking to Christ.

He is the vine. You and I can do nothing without Christ. Here's an example in Africa of various African animals. For instance, like the African crested porcupine. When it's attacked, it raises and rattles its quilt, so it becomes bigger so that its predators don't attack it. So it's a form of defense to make itself bigger.

Brethren, it's in a while, this thing about animals, far off, and they make themselves bigger to frighten others that would attack them. But brethren, spiritually speaking, there's no distinct. Christ is bigger, and God is bigger than Satan.

Turn with me to 1 John chapter 4 verse 1. 1 John chapter 4 verse 1.

There he's talking about do not believe there is spirit, and then in verse 4, in the words, God and Christ in us is far greater than Satan out there in the world. And therefore, he says, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Christ gives us a lot of power. Look at a little bit more about this power in Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 3 verse 7. He says, He's talking about himself, Paul, and he says, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power. He is able to speak as a minister, not because of his own physical strength, but it is God's power. God's ministers only do that. They only do their job because God gives them the courage and the strength to do it. It's God's power. They receive. Look also in the same chapter in verse 16. It says, he's talking about that the whole family in heaven and earth is named after God. And he says that, verse 16, that he would grant you, according to the reaches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the internet, for us to be strengthened, to have a resolve, to have strength, to have that power through God's only spirit, to actually keep going and go ahead. Verse 17, that Christ made well in your hearts through faith, and faith is a belief which breaks away fear. Faith brings away fear that you being rooted and grounded in love. God's power, motivation in love, is really genuine concern for others. For instance, like you and your children, or your grandchildren, you just want everything to go well for them. You love them, you care so much for them, you just want the best for them. Isn't it so? I mean, that's where we are. Moms and dads, that's where we want for our children, for our grandchildren. We want the best for them.

How much more God, our Father, wants that for us? How much more he wants that for us? So, it's rooted in love. So, Ephesians 3, verse 17, we'll read it, we'll continue reading verse 18. May be able to comprehend with all the signs what is the width and length and depth and height, to melt a love of Christ which passes knowledge. I mean, we don't begin to comprehend the love that the care that God the Father and Jesus Christ has for us. We don't begin to, we can get a subtle hint of what it is by being a parent and loving our children.

But you know what? That is a subtle hint of, as it calls, the depth and the breadth and height and the width. We just don't even begin to comprehend that. The care that He has for us. Because it's got a spirit of power to us based on a motivation of love which is for your own good. It's for our good. That you may be filled with all the fullness of God. In the end, He wants us to have all the fullness of God. Ultimately, to be in His kingdom, He wants you and I to be in His family, as we saw in verse 13. The whole family in heaven and earth, we have to be God's family. And we are the family of God to be named after His name. That's why it's the Church of God, it's after His name. And He says, so that ultimately we may be filled, we may have that sanctity, that divinity. Obviously, about that, lower than God, He is supreme, but He wants us to be of the same kind, of the same form. And what a blessing! You give it, He wants to give us. Now, to Him, who is able to do it, secretly abundant above all that we ask Him. He is able to do it. He has the power. He is not saying, I can do this, and He's going to go back on His word, like we heard on Semine. God is not like that. He is going to do it. That's His word, and He's not going back on it. We can have faith on it. And He says, He was able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask to think, according to the power that works in us. That's also the spiritual healing. To Him will draw it in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. You see, God has a tremendous power. It's a spirit of power, not of feeling, not of terror, of power, motivated in love, so that we have a sound mind, so that we have a sound mind. You see, a detector strips one of everything.

Why? Could it be economically? Could it be food-wise? Could it be job-wise? It strips so that you and I are afraid, and therefore it can control His subjects. But God's not like that. God wants to bless us.

His fear is not based on that control. His fear is based on the motivation of love. And out of that, the outcome of that, He wants us to have a sound mind, a sound mind to be sober.

Learn how Paul wrote to Titus. This was the second lost epistle that Paul wrote, so it was just before 2 Timothy, Peter wrote, Titus. And let's look at how he told Titus to have certain attitudes or balanced sound-minded approaches in his life. We start in chapter 2, verse 1. He says, Whereas for you, speak to things which are proper for sound doctrine. Sound doctrine, sound mind, sound doctrine, it's just, it's clear sound.

And he says, that to all the man be sober. Sobriety, that means the characteristic of being sound-minded, you're sober. You're not kind of all mixed up. It's a sound mind, you're sober. Reverend, temperate, sounding faith. So it continues in that sound doctrine, sobriety, sounding faith in life, in patience. Though all the women likewise, they may be reverent in the avic. Yeah, they say reverent, they say respect, that fear, but it is a proper estate, reverent in the avic.

Not slanderous, not giving too much wine, but teaches a good things. They're not being, going around and speaking bad or this and that and oh, you've heard sounds of this and no, but rather teaches a good things. That day, all the women admonished the young woman. That's interesting. The word admonished means, in looking green, that word means teach to be sober. Teach to be sound-minded.

Admonished, that word, the young woman to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, almighty and so on. Look at verse 6, likewise, exhort the young man to be sober-minded. A clear, well-thinking, sober-minded, sound-minded in all things, showing yourself to be a pattern of good works, in doctrine, showing integrity, reverence, incorruptible, sound speech. They cannot be condemned. Their one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bondservants to be obedient today, masters, without pleasing all things, not answering back, not faltering, not, but showing good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of our God and certain objects.

So there it is. It's teaching there all along. It says, be sound-minded. And we continue reading, for the grace of God, a great salvation, the pure God then, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, which should look soberly, sound-minded, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and saving Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might read demons from every lord's teen and purity for himself, his own special people, zealous for good works, zealous for good works, all in the sound mind.

As you can see, continuously he was emphasizing for them to be sound-minded. So, brethren, a dictator wants fear, wants to control, but that's not God's spirit. God's spirit is a spirit of power. It's not a fear, but a power. Yes, there is a godly fear. There is a reference, but that's based on life, and that leads to a sound mind, a sound, clear mind. Brethren, God's power is one of love for the best of other people to have a sound mind. That is what has to motivate us. We've got to think of that. When things go wrong around us in our world, in me living, things are surely going to get a lot worse.

A lot worse. Brethren, things are going to get pretty bad, but we must not fear because Christ is stronger. It says, beware, watch, and pray that you may be accounted worthy to escape. There is a time of escape. There is sound in the world. We have to be doing our part. We're doing our praying, God, and doing the things that are pleasing in this sight so that we can escape.

But all along, we must seek that attitude of love towards others. Motivated in life, motivated in a sound mind, motivated in always speaking the truth and being loyal to our words. Why? So that we can see a permanent change in our life because it says, seek the kingdom and His righteousness. This is part of His righteousness. As God can kill, let us therefore, brethren, seek the kingdom and His righteousness and seek for real, solid, permanent changes in our lives because we need to be positive because God is with us and He will back you up. He will help you. He will give you strength when times are done.