Free My Soul: From Insecurities
Pastor Cole Parleir
Focus: We can be free from insecurity when we build our lives on Christ the Rock.
Insecurity defined:
Instability in the soul (mind, will, emotions)
James 1:2-8 says it this way:
Double minded
Faithless
Unstable
True insecurity comes down to lacking the wisdom of heaven that is only obtained through faith in Jesus.
A Few Biblical examples of insecurity:
Peter calling down curses on himself though Jesus declared him an Apostle.
Judas commuting suicide though Jesus had called him friend.
Abraham and Isaac almost lost their wives due to lying because of insecurity.
Saul forfeited the kingship and almost destroyed the next generation due to insecurity.
Cain murdering Able though God told him, if he does the right thing he would be pleasing to him.
Don’t Be Deceived
Come Into The Light
Build Your Life On The Rock
Don’t Be Deceived (Genesis 4:1-26)
The insecurities that drain you are not random.
Genesis 4:1-26
'Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord .” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord , “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.” And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord .'
Parents and mentors can leave a spiritual inheritance for the next generation, but each generation must choose to live it by faith.
We were made to worship God. Like Able, God will affirm us when we bring his prescribed wholehearted worship to him.
Anything less than wholehearted devotion to God leaves room for insecurity.
Do not be deceived, your soul has a real enemy whose goal is to steal from you, kill you, and destroy you. (John 10:10)
Insecurity can cause violent anger, withdrawal, and pervert the Word of God (false narratives). (v 14)
Insecurities cause us to forfeit our secured inheritance. This is due to neglect brought on as we pursue things that are not ours. (Fantasies)
God’s mercy will see us through insecurity, just as God’s mark on Cain protected him.
Many times insecurity is masked by an unholy reliance on or in things that can not bear the weight of our souls...though they may promise to.
When we place the God given needs of our souls in persons, material things, ideas or philosophies we will be let down. This is what the Bible calls idolatry.
Cain’s idolatry was in his hard work. He placed his faith in it rather than God’s instruction and example, which Able had done.
Sometimes insecurity that is rooted in idolatry is overt worship of false gods that promise to gratify our flesh. These idols produce insecurity because they always require a greater sacrifice than they can return to the worshipper. They can not deliver on what they promise. They promise a great ROI and then can’t deliver. This breeds insecurity and erodes faith.
Ultimately, we must find our security in believing what God has said about us and to us. This belief must work its way out in obedience to produce true security.
Cain settled in the land of Nod. Nod means ‘wandering’. Cain made his insecurity a part of his identity by settling in it.
Q: What insecurity have you ‘settled’ into, making it a part of your identity?
The good news is that even if we are deceived by our own sin or have fallen prey to the enemy of our souls, Jesus came to seek and to save (heal) that which is lost (broken).
Come Into The Light (Mark 3:1-6)
What God reveals, he will heal.
Mark 3:1-6
' Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. '
God is not done healing you! Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, and is Himself the Sabbath rest for our souls. We are complete before God when found in Christ.
When God wants to bring healing to your or someone else's life, don’t remain silent. Agree with God!
When we choose accusation and religious duty over mercy and compassion, God is angry and his heart is grieved. By this our hearts are proven as hard and out of sync with God’s heart.
We must bring our insecurities into the light of God’s Word risking exposure and ridicule.
By faith we can come to Christ with our insecurities because He promises to never put us to shame. (Psalm 25:1-3)
Psalm 25:1-3
'To you, O Lord , I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. '
Build On The Rock (Matthew 7:21-29)
When we hear AND do the words of Jesus, we will be freed from all our insecurities because God is faithful.
Matthew 7:21-29
' “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.'
Knowing God’s ways is not enough to free us from insecurity. We must, by faith, DO what he says.
When we live a life of intellectual ascent yet void of heart devotion, we deceive ourselves and do not love God.
We were made to be loved by God, and return that love back to him. We show we have received God’s love when we trust him and obey him.
The ultimate reason for humanities insecurity is that without Christ we truly do have reason for insecurity.
Our sins, our unloving disobedience to our Maker, have separated us from Him thereby leaving a true and eternal insecurity that only God can heal.
Our souls sense this separation and the coming judgement for our disobedience.
The good news is…
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ' - John 3:16-18
Confirm your calling and security in Christ Jesus.
2 Peter 1:1-11
' May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. '
A secure life
Christ is cornerstone
Apostles and prophets (Bible) are the foundation
Christ’s body, the Church, is the buttress
Picture: A life built on Christ and the Bible but not the church is like a Jenga tower straight up with no support on the sides. It won’t sink, but it will sway and possibly fall.
Second City Church - Pastor Cole Parleir 2021
