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FEarlEss90 d E Fe f y u l fe

JoE PilEggi


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Copyright 2013Joe Pileggi

All rights reserved. Tis book is protected by the copyright laws o the United States

o America. Tis book may not be copied or reprinted or commercial gain or pro t.Te use o short quotations or occasional page copying or personal or group study ispermitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwiseidenti ed, Scripture quotations are taken rom the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Tomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripturequotations marked KJV are taken rom the King James Version. Scripture quotationsmarked NASB are taken rom the NEW AMERICAN S ANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by Te Lockman Foundation.Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken rom Te Message .Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission o NavPressPublishing Group. Scripture quotations marked NL are taken rom the Holy Bible,New Living ranslation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission o yndaleHouse Publishers., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotationsmarked NIV are taken rom the HOLY BIBLE, NEW IN ERNA IONAL VERSION,Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 International Bible Society. Used by permissiono Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken romthe Ampli ed Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by Te LockmanFoundation. Used by permission. All emphasis within Scripture quotations is theauthors own. Please note that Destiny Images publishing style capitalizes certainpronouns in Scripture that re er to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may di errom some publishers styles. ake note that the name satan and related names arenot capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point o violatinggrammatical rules.

DES INY IMAGE PUBLISHERS, INC.P.O. Box 310, Shippensburg, PA 17257-0310Promoting Inspired Lives.

Tis book and all other Destiny Image, Revival Press, MercyPlace, Fresh Bread,

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dEdication

T here are precious ew people in ones li e who truly inspire to excellenceand the pursuit o ones dream. For me, that one person is my bride andbest riend, Lori. Relentless in pursuing her own God-given destiny, she has

always been and continues to be my greatest encourager, inspiration, andcheerleader. Tis work would have died in the dust had she not believed inme and kept the vision alive.

I I could add a verse to the aith hall o ame chapter (see Heb. 11), hername would appear there. She is as ruthless as Deborah in battle with theenemy while possessing the grace and boldness o Esther in protecting heramily. Yet she still makes time to sit at the eet o Jesus (next to Mary!) andexchange intimacies with the One who is her li e.

Sweetheart, you are all He says you are: His princess and the beat o Hisheart. For Him to share you with me as my bride is the greatest o joys, thehighest o privileges, and the most solemn o responsibilities. Te level atwhich I have ailed to ul ll all o this lays out be ore me the challenge ormy li e: Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones li e or his

riends (John 15:13).

Tis, by Gods grace, I will do. You deserve no less!


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acknowlEdgmEnts

T o my wi e, Lori, who tirelessly typed the manuscript and kept the visiono the nished product alive and tangiblethank you. Tis work doesnot exist without your tenacity and encouragement.

Sometimes a li e is trans ormed by someone without their ever beingaware o it. For me, this person is Bill Johnson. Since he came to Mobile,Alabama in 2007, I have been ruined in pursuit o God encounters anda supernatural existence. Starting with his audio CDs, then his books, Billhas exploded an insatiable hunger in me or more o God, which has thrustme into o ering the Bethel School o Supernatural Ministry curriculum onDVD to others with similar hunger here in the Mobile area.

D.L. Moody said, Te world has yet to see what God can do throughone man who is totally sold out to Him. Bill, I believe the world is beginningto see the ul llment o that statement through your li e. Tank you.

Tanks to Destiny Image Publishers or believing in me and this work.You not only hold high literary standards or excellence, but seek an anoint-ing rom the Holy Spirit to rest on each work you publish. I am honoredand humbled to have been considered to join your hall o ame o godly authors.


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i u

FEar? not! Mens hearts ailing them rom ear (Luke 21:26).

It certainly seems like i ever we were living out these prophetic words o Jesus it is today: Banks and businesses either ailing or being taken over (bailed

out) by government

Unemployment increasing by more than 370,000 per month

Rogue nations developing and/or testing nuclear capabilities andthreatening the U.S. and Israel with destruction

Multiple murder/suicide incidents increase in scope and

requency as amilies and individuals buckle under immensestress o nancial and personal ailure

Wow! Is there any hope, anything that is not being shaken that we cancling to? Yes there is, but the question is, will we embrace it or will we con-tinue to hold onto the alse security o the world system?

God, speaking to His people (Israel), said, In returning and rest shall

ye be saved; in quietness and in con dence shall be your strength: and yewould not (Isa. 30:15 KJV). We have the same choice today as they did inIsaiahs day. Israel chose to nd their security in Egypt (see Isa. 30:16) rather


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than in the rest, quietness, and con dence that their God was o ering themi they would only return.

In todays tumultuous world, we can nd that same rest, quietness, andcon dence in Fathers o en-repeated Fear not. My prayer is that you willembrace each o them daily as you hear His heart or you.

When my children were in school, a popular phrase o sarcasm emergedthat expressed the idea that a statement they had just made was not true.Tey would make the statement, and then, a er a slight pause, would say loudly, Not! For example, my son might say, Boy, I aced that test! Not! Iguess that means we try again next week!

In the same way, I want to express that even in these uncertain times wedo not need to ear. Davids words ring so true to us today: God is our re ugeand strength, always ready to help in times o trouble (Ps. 46:1 NL ). Teword re uge literally means a shelter; hope, (place o ) re uge, shelter, trust(Strongs, H4268). One o the literal meanings o strength is security. Is God

our place o shelter and trust? Is our security in our relationship with Him? Ibelieve that God is shaking everything that can be shaken so that only thosethings which cannot be shaken will remain (see Heb. 12:26-27; Hag. 2:6).Whaddaya think, gang (a little more youth lingo there)? Ya think we mightbe in the times o trouble David was re erring to? Te Hebrew word ortrouble in this verse means, tightness ( rom a root meaning narrow, atight place; an opponent), rival, adversary, adversity, a iction, anguish,distress. Gee, I wonderhave you elt like some unseen adversary has youin a tight place lately? Sure describes me! But this is not a verse o trouble;it is a verse o praise! He, God, is my place o shelter and security in thesetimes. So, shall I ear? Not!

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d 1

thE FEar oF changE A er these things the word o the Lord came unto Abram in

a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1 KJV).

Aer these things. A whole bunch o things had happened toAbram: erah, his ather, had moved the amily rom their home-

town and headed or Canaan. Be ore they le , erahs other son, Haran, died.On their way to Canaan, they came to a city called Haran. What a coinci-dence! rying to move on rom a tragic loss, erah comes to a city with thesame name as his dead son. Te Bible says that they went as ar as Haran,and settled there (Gen. 11:31 NASB). It makes no urther comment. We areonly le to speculate as to why, with a goal o Canaan, they settled in Haran.Could it be that the citys name was too much o a reminder to erah o hislost son? Overcome by grie , he could not go on and settled there to live outthe remainder o his li e there, in the city o grie , never reaching the goal o the promise God had put in his hearta new land on which he could makea new start.

What about you? Has God given you a promise, a dream, a destiny toward

which you were headed? But then, tragedythe dreaded knock on the doorrom uni ormed military o cers with the news that a son, daughter, spouse,or grandchild would not be coming home rom Iraq or A ghanistan. Or


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served with a noticethe marriage is over; the notice rom the CEOweredownsizing and cutting out your department; the phone call rom the doc-

tors o ceyes, the growth is malignant. You have bravely tried to move ononly to come to the city named a er the tragedy and you just couldnt goon. So youve settled there to grieve the rest o your li e away. Te real tragedy is stated in the next verse: and erah died in Haran (Gen. 11:32 NASB).

Ill never orget the Sunday a er Mothers Day. I was dressing, gettingready or church, going over the message I was to preach in a couple o hours. Te phone rang and a hysterical voice I could not at rst identi y wassobbing, Hes gone! Hes gone, Joe. Dad is gone!

It was my sister. Dad had passed in his sleep to join Mom who had movedin with Jesus our months (to the day) earlier. I dont remember preachingor doing much else that day; my wi e had to make arrangements or us to fy home or Dads coronation (li e celebration) service. All the while, the nag-ging statement, Why didnt you make it right between you while you had

the chance? screamed through my brain. I could have settled in Haranthat day, but God graciously walked me through that valley o the shadow o death (Ps. 23:4).

You see, we all have that choice, because sooner or later, we all will losea Haran. Te choice is, will we grieve and then re ocus on Canaan, thepromise and destiny God has or us, or will we settle in Haran and lose the

destiny o His blessing? May I encourage you? Chapter 12 o Genesis beginswith the Almighty Creator having a conversation with Abram, Haransbrother. Abram now had lost his ather and a brother. He had watched hisdad waste away in grie , never to recover. God knew and understood Abramsloss, so He makes a house call! How cool is that? Gods not too busy to cometo your living room or bedroom today to be the Com orter to you that Hepromised to be. Paul calls Him:

God o all com ort, who com orts us in all our a iction sothat we may be able to com ort those who are in any a iction

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with the com ort with which we ourselves are com orted by God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NASB).

I had no intention to go in this direction when I began writing this, butI believe there are those who are terri ed o the change they aceli e with-out that loved one, li e without that job or career, li e without that marriage.Te ear o change can paralyze us i we let it. But, we need not ear changeo any kind i we remember and lay claim to Gods promise o His presenceand guidance: Te eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are theeverlasting arms (Deut. 33:27 NASB). Te journeys not over. You may just need to lean back and rest awhile in the everlasting arms o our GoodShepherd (see Matt. 11:28-30). So why dont you take today and do that?Well continue our journey tomorrow.

t e Fe f c e


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d 2

thE FEar oFUnFUlFillEd PromisEs, Part 1

A er these things the word o the Lord came to Abram ina vision, saying, Do not ear, Abram, I am a shield to you;

your reward shall be very great (Genesis 15:1 NASB).

F or a guy who just wanted to get married, stay at home, and raise a amily,Abrams li e sure was ull o activity! A er the Lord told him to completethe journey to Canaan, Abram received a promise rom God: all the land hecould see would be given to him and his descendants orever (see Gen. 12:7).Tere was just one little problem: Abram was 75 years old when the promisewas made, a little old to be starting a amily. Oh well. A minor detail.

Ten came a amine in the land, necessitating another moveto Egypt.He was then deported rom Egypt or lying to Egypts president about hisrelationship with Sarai. Upon his return to Canaan, stri e arose between hisnephew Lots employees and Abrams. So they split up.

It wasnt long until Lot got himsel into trouble, captured by our kingsin a war against his new hometownSodom. Abram heard that his nephew

was a P.O.W. and took his 318 men and rescued Lot, his amily, and his pos-sessions. On the way home, Abram paid tithes o all he had to the high priest,Melchizedek (another study or another time, see Gen. 14:19). Tats where


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Genesis 15 picks up the story: A er these things. Tese things hap-pened over a span o years, and there was no urther word rom God a er

His initial promise to Abram in chapter 12.How many years has it been since God made that promise to use you in

ministry, bless you nancially, restore that relationship, heal that condition,etc.? Since then, all these things have happened and the promise has goneun ul lled. Te encouraging word today is there is a time a er these thingswhen the word o the Lord will come again to reassure and rea rm thepromise. He will speak again. He has not orgotten!

Te Hebrew or word in Genesis 15:1 means a speci c matter previously spoken o . Te promise was given to Abram years earlier (see Gen. 12:1-3,7).In the meantime, stu happenednecessary stu but distracting stu .But a er all the stu , God spoke to encourage Abram that He hadnt orgot-ten His promise and that it was still on time.

It was the Lord who spoke, Yehovah, the Sel -Existent or Eternal One.

As He spoke to Abram, so He speaks to us by His Spirit, just as directly and just as personally.

Do not ear the delay. Delay is not denial! Re erring to this story, Paulsays o Abraham:

With respect to the promise o God, he did not waver in unbe-lie but grew strong in aith, giving glory to God, and being

ully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to per orm (Romans 4:20-21 NASB).

Should I ear the ul llment o what He has promised or my li e becauseit hasnt happened yet? Fear? Not!

t e Fe f U fu f e P e , P 1


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thE FEar oFUnFUlFillEd PromisEs, Part 2

Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, Do not be a raid, Abram, or I will protect you,

and your reward will be great (Genesis 15:1 NL ).

G od knows our heart. When He has made a promise and then time passesand nothing happens, time and His silence can bring discouragement.He is the God o encouragement.

wice God showed Abram the land that God was going to give him andhis descendants (see Gen. 12:7; 13:14-17). Wow! What a promise! Can youimagine looking at all that beauti ul land and hearing God say, Im giving

it all to you? But there were a couple problems. Te land was lled withhostile, violent, anti-God tribes who werent about to just give up their land,and the second problem was Abram had no descendants, mainly because hehad no children!

Well, years passed while all the stu was going on and Abram probably began to wonder, Is it ever going to happen? Im not getting any younger, andneither is Sarai. Did I really hear rom God, or was it just wish ul thinking?

Have you ever been there? You knew God spoke to youat the time.Now youre not so sure. Nothing has happened; oh, yes, lots o stu has


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Finally, God says to Abram, I am your shield, your exceedingly greatreward. Sometimes, its di cult to imagine God as being emotional. But

imagine a parent running to the rescue o his or her child who is in trouble.Having grown up on a dairy arm, I was always around machinery and

the dangers that go with it. One day, we were out in the hay eld baling hay.My grand ather was driving the tractor and my dad and I were on the wagonstacking the bales. We were baling down a steep hill so Grandpa attemptedto downshi the tractor into rst gear. As he pushed in the clutch, the tractorbegan to careen down the hill as Grandpa struggled to get it into rst. In thepanic o the moment, my Dad turned to me and yelled, Joey, come here!He grabbed me and held me up against his chest to protect me rom theimpending impact.

Te impact never came because Grandpa wisely turned the tractor tothe right, and it harmlessly coasted to a stop. But the picture o my Dad vehemently running to me to protect me has stayed in my mind. Tat is the

picture here with God. Exceeding means to vehemently and speedily makesomething happen. Its the picture o a poker stoking the embers o a reto rekindle what has been going out. Maybe the hope o Gods promise wasgoing out in Abrams li e a er all the years o delay, and he needed the rerekindled.

Is the re o your hope going out because what God has promised isyet un ul lled? God knows the cry o your heart and He is vehemently run-ning to stoke that re again. And how is He stoking it? By telling you (andme) that He is our great reward. Tat phrase literally means, to increasepayment o a contract, salary, or compensation. God has voluntarily placedHimsel under contract, not only to ul ll His promise to us, but to increasethe payment o that promise! Ful lled, with interest! Te apostle Paul re ersto Abrams response to this statement: (Abram) being ully convinced thatwhat He had promised He was also able to per orm (Romans 4:21).

As the world seems to spiral out o control with skyrocketing unemploy-ment, infation, and ever-increasing government control, Father God wants

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us to rememberHe has everything under His control and He is still our Jehovah-jireh, our provider, and He is vehemently running to our rescue to

stoke the res o our aith so we, too, along with Abram, can be ully per-suaded that what He has promised He is able also to per orm.

t e Fe f U fu f e P e , P 2


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d 4

FEar oF aBandonmEntGod heard the lad crying; and the angel o God called to

Hagar rom heaven and said to her, What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not ear, or God has heard the voice o the

lad where he is (Genesis 21:17 NASB).

A lone in the wilderness. A single mom and her son. No place to go. Outo provision. I it were just Hagar by hersel , she could have enduredit. But to see her son die with her and to be completely helpless to do any-thingshe couldnt handle it. So she sat him under a shade tree and wentabout 100 yards away so she wouldnt see him die. How is that or a hopelesssituation?

Add to that, it was her mistress (Sarah) who demanded Abraham kick her out. Te same Sarah who gave her to Abraham to produce a son or themin the rst place! And it had happened. She bore them Ishmael. So what i she mocked Sarah a er becoming pregnant with Ishmael? So what i sheand her son made un o Isaac years later? Oh, yeah, I guess sometimes ouroolish moments can come back to haunt us. (Tey sure have in my li e!) ButI digress. Te second incident so in uriated Sarah that she ordered Abrahamto send them both away into the desert. o keep peace in the house, Abra-ham prepared bread and water or them and sadly sent them away.


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It is here, in the depths o rejection and abandonment, that their crieswere heard.

Okay. So your 15 minutes o stupidity have succeeded in getting yourejected by everyone, especially the ones you love the most. Te one nightstand (or discovered a air), the meltdown with the amily member or boss,the gossip about your best riend gets back to them. And suddenly yourealoneall alone. Rejected and abandoned. Depression sets in. Motivationto go ongoes on without you. Te house is now emptya er 20 years o marriage. You really are alone!

Notice it is in this setting that the lad cries out, and God hearseventhough their circumstances were at least in part sel -created. We need toremember this picture: God doesnt abandon those who cry out to Him, eveni their own sin was what got them there in the rst place. He hears us whenwe cry out to Him: Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell yougreat and mighty things, which you do not know (Jer. 33:3 NASB). David

echoed, Out o the depths I have cried to You, O Lord (Ps. 130:1 NASB).Four times, God reminds His people, I will never desert you, nor will I everorsake you (Heb. 13:5; see also Deut. 31:6,8; Josh. 1:5 NASB).

God heard the cry o Hagar and Ishmael. Look at the two di erentresponses to the crisis. Hagar ran away (her name means fight). Ishmaelcried out to God (his name means God hears). Could the boy have had adeeper insight into Gods caring hand than his mother? I can remember thetime, some 25 years ago, when I had to resign my church because o moralailure and everyone we loved abandoned us. I was without a job, in nancialcrisis, my marriage hanging by a thread. In the midst o the spiraling depres-sion, sel -hatred, and eelings o abandonment, my then ve-year-old soncame to me and said, Its okay, Daddy. Jesus will take care o us.

David reminds us that, Te eyes o the Lord are toward the righteous,

and His ears are open to their cry (Ps. 34:15 NASB). Yes, the Lord heard thelads cry. Te word heard here means to hear intelligently and pay attentionto. Te King James says, And God heard the voice o the lad (Gen. 21:17).

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Te literal meaning o voice here is to call out aloud. You see, our heav-enly Father will hear us, but we have to give Him something to hear. We

must pour out our desperation o loneliness, abandonment, and rejection.Its okay. He wants us to come to him. Say it: Father, I eel so alone right now.My whole world is crashing down around me. Some o it is my ault, but itstill hurts so much. I eel like I have nobody. I need Your presence; I need toknow that You still love me, and You havent abandoned me, too.

When we call out to Him aloud, He hears intelligently and pays attentionto what we are saying. Tat means He cuts out all background noise andtells Heaven, Shhh! Be still. My child is calling Me. I want to hear what he orshe is saying. Yeah, thats right. It doesnt matter what the context o your cry is, He listens attentively. I its important to you, its important to Him. Why?Because you are His child. He doesnt need another reason.

As parents, our childrens needs are important to us. Do you think it isany di erent with Abba (Daddy) Father? Again David says, Just as a ather

has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those whoear Him (Ps. 103:13 NASB).

In the ear o abandonment, Father wants us to call out to Him aloudand pour out our heart and hurts to Him. Its time. Youve carried it aroundwith you long enough. He is listening and paying attention, hanging on yourevery word.

Oooo! Did you hear that? I think He just called you:

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me.Get away with me and youll recover your li e. Ill show youhow to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with mewatch how I do it. Learn the un orced rhythms o grace. I wont lay anything heavy or ill- tting on you. Keep company with meand youll learn to live reely and lightly (Matthew 11:28-30

MSG).

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d 5

FEar oF stolEn BlEssings And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, I am

the God o your ather Abraham; do not ear, or I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants or My servant Abrahams sake (Genesis 26:24).

Isaac grew up watching God bless his ather, Abraham, because, Abrahambelieved God, and it was counted unto him or righteousness (Rom. 4:3KJV). He saw Dad quietly and permanently trust (the meaning o believe)whatever God promised, do whatever God asked, and reap tremendousblessings as a result. Te word counted gives the idea o being woven into,and included in the meaning or righteousness is justice and prosperity.o paraphrase, we could say that because Abrahams relationship with Godwas one o a permanent, settled, quiet trust, God wove into Abrahams li e justice ( avor in all his personal and business dealings) and material prosper-ity beyond anyones wildest dreams. In addition, Isaac knew he was to inheritthose blessings. And that is exactly what happened: A er Abrahams death,God blessed his son Isaac (Gen. 25:11 NL ).

Tose were the blessings promised to Isaac through Gods promise to

Abraham. But Isaac also ollowed in Dads ootsteps and earned his ownblessings through his obedience. You see, Gods blessings are generational,but He also requires obedience rom us, too. Abraham had told his son that


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God had promised to extend the blessings through Isaac and uture genera-tions. Now Isaac was experiencing them, a lesson in Gods aith ulness and

integrity.

In a time o amine similar to the one Abraham experienced, God toldIsaac to stay in the promised land and not go to Egypt as He had instructedAbraham. Why? Because God wanted Isaac to learn to trust Him withoutany intervention rom man (Egypt). So He told Isaac to plant his crops there,in the midst o the amine. And what happened? Listen:

When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hun-dred times more grain than he planted, or the Lord blessed him. He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. He acquired so many focks o sheep and goats, herds o cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous o him(Genesis 26:12-14 NL ).

But then something happenedopposition. Tere, at the height o enjoying Gods blessing, Isaac was con ronted by jealousy:

So the Philistines lled up all o Isaacs wells with dirt. Tesewere the wells that had been dug by the servants o his ather, Abraham (Genesis 26:15 NL ).

Isnt it just like the enemy? You are seeing Gods aith ulness in ul ll-ing His promise made to your parents or grandparents. Ten, suddenly, theenemy comes and lls the wells o blessing with dirt. You dig another one, hells that one, and on and on. What is going on?

Almost sounds like my li e story. I had godly parents who prayed thatGod would use me in ministry. He did call me into pastoral ministry. Andthe cycle began. Enthusiastically embrace the pastorate. Pray and work hard(dig the well); see growth and Gods presence. Ten oppositiondisagree-ment within leadership, amilies leave or almost any reason, etc. Te enemy

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lls up the well with dirt, so we pull up stakes, move on, and dig anotherwell only to have the same thing happen.

What about you? What wells o blessing has the enemy lled up with dirtin your li e? Dream career? Te per ect godly spouse? Te call to ministry?You look back and every well youve dug and experienced Gods blessingrom is lled with the dirt o disappointment, disillusionment, and heart-break. What went wrong? You begin to eel like Job when he lamented, Tething which I greatly eared is come upon me (Job 3:25 KJV). Te enemy has stolen your blessing. You examine yoursel . Is it because o sin? (Isaaclied about Rebekah being his wi e; like ather like son!) You need a wordrom God. So did I.

It is there, at the lowest valley o disappointment with no apparent expla-nation, that God shows up. Isaac goes up to Beersheba, which means thewell o the oath. Ah, thats where God takes us. Back to the place where Herst made the promisethe place o the oath. Where or when did God make

His promise o blessing to you and your amily? Did you write it down anddate it? I not, think back and call to mind the promise and roughly whenGod spoke it. Find the verse, the prophetic word, and let God remind you o it. Tats what He did with Isaac.

Te same God (the Sel -Existent One) who appeared to Abrahamappeared to Isaac the same night he arrived at Beersheba. One o the mean-ings o the word night here is adversity. Yeah, thats just like God. He takesus back to the place where He rst called us and promised to bless us andshows up, not in the brightness o its ul llment, but in the night o adversity.He reminded Isaac that his athers name was changed rom Abram ( high ather a title only) to Abraham ( ather o a multitude a reality). Ten Godrestated His promise in even more emphatic terms than He did with Abra-ham. He said that He will multiply (bring increase in abundance) to Isaacsdescendants because o the promise He made to Abraham.

Remember, God is not a man, that He should lie (Num. 23:19 KJV).Let me encourage you with a ew more o His promises to you:

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Faith ul is He that calleth you, who also will do it (1 Tess.5:24 KJV).

And [Abraham] being ully assured that what God had prom-ised, He was able also to per orm (Rom. 4:21 NASB).

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always pro-duces ruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it (Isa. 55:11 NL ).

Te Lord will work out His plans or my li e or Your aith ul love, O Lord, endures orever (Ps. 138:8 NL ).

Te thie s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purposeis to give them a rich and satis ying li e (John 10:10 NL ).

Has the enemy lied to you by lling your wells o promised blessing withthe dirt o disappointment? Be encouraged and rest in His reminder to Isaac:Fear? Not!

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d 6

FEar oF astillBorn drEam, Part 1

And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that themidwi e said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also

(Genesis 35:17 KJV).

R achel named her rst son Joseph, which means he shall add. A erbeing barren her whole li e, God nally heard her prayer and blessedher with a son. But Rachel was not satis ed with one. Her sister Leah hadgiven Jacob six sons and a daughter. Rachel knew God had more or her. Shehad a dreamone more son.

Ten she ound out: she was pregnant again. Her dream would cometrue! She would have a second son. Nine months o planning and prepara-tion. Rachel was willing to do whatever it would take; she couldnt wait to seewhat the ul llment o her dream would look like.

For all the years she had been married to Jacob, she wanted to be ruit uland give him children. Watching her sister produce like a baby actory whileshe was barren broke her heart. Was God punishing her? I so, or what? She

was the one Jacob ell in love with and worked 14 years to win her hand inmarriage. Why could she not bless him with a son? Not only did she blesshim with Joseph, now there would be a second son.


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Te time was at hand or her to deliver; but something was terribly wrong. Te labor became intense. Te word hard in the King James means

tough or severe. Rachel pushed with all the strength she had. Tis childmust not be stillborn. Her dream must live, even i she must die to deliverit. And that is exactly what happened. Te dream lived; Rachel died givingbirth to it. Te midwi e, in the midst o the labor, spoke prophetically toRachel: Dont be a raidyou will have this son also! Your dream will not bestillborn. It will live.

Te word son here means builder o the amily name. Your amily name is Christ -ian. You have been bought with a price; you are not yourown (see 1 Cor. 6:20). Te dream inside o you was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Your heart is or this dream to add (Joseph) to and be a builder o the amily namein other words, to glori y God. But it seems every obsta-cle in the universe has come against the birthing o this dream until youeel as though it will be stillborn or you will die giving birth to it. Why theheartbreak, struggle, disappointment, and pain in bringing orth what GodHimsel placed there?

Te obvious answer is enemy opposition: Te thie s purpose is tosteal and kill and destroy (John 10:10 NL ). And it is true. We do not ghtagainst fesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, againstthe rulers o the darkness o this world, against spiritual wickedness (Eph.6:12 KJV).

But there is another reason or the struggle in birthing the dream. Racheldied giving birth to it. So must we! Our fesh must die! Te desire or great-ness in the eyes o others, the desire or recognition, credit, reward. Jesustaught His disciples that whoever wants to be greatest in His kingdom mustbecome servant to all (see Matt. 20:26). Paul said:

I am cruci ed with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but

Christ liveth in me: and the li e which I now live in the feshI live by the aith o the Son o God, who loved me, and gaveHimsel or me (Galatians 2:20 KJV).

FEar lEss


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Ah, cruci xion, dying in childbirth. Isnt that something to look orwardto? Yet that is the only way to experience the ul llment o the dream o

Gods purpose or our li edying to being recognized as the birthing agentand letting the dream live on its own merits, giving glory to the One whoathered it! As Jesus cousin put it, He must increase, but I must decrease(John 3:30 KJV).

So what are you pregnant with? Tat book thats inside you? Tat homeor troubled teenage girls? Tat Christian adoption agency? Starting thatwild and crazy community youth center? Whatever it is, Fear not, you will have that child that will add on and be a builder o the amily name! But areyou willing to die giving birth to it? Te very birth o your dream dependson it!

Fe f s b d e , P 1


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d 7

FEar oF astillBorn drEam, Part 2

And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that themidwi e said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also

(Genesis 35:17 KJV).

A s most women will admit, the highlight o their li e is to give birth toa child. With Rachel being barren or so many years, the joy o givingbirth to a child was beyond belie . And, when she became pregnant with hersecond child, I think the joy was more than she could have ever imagined.

As a woman, I can identi y with Rachel. I have gone through a long and

pain ul 23-hour labor. During that long night and the ollowing day, waitingand praying or the birth o the child, my ear was, God, dont let my baby die. Tere is nothing more devastating than to see your newborn die, or givebirth to a child who died in the womb. Tis was Rachels ear. She was given apromise, You shall have this son also. In other words, the dream (o havinganother child) would be ul lled.

Just as in the natural birth, watching a dream die can be overwhelming.Are you a raid that you will never marry, or have children, or go to college orthe mission eld? What dream are you a raid o losing?


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Rachel was told to ear not. She would give birth to the childthe dream.And she did. But she would give up her li e so that the dream in her would

live.God asks us to give up our lives to Him. When we do that, God will see

to it that our dream your dreamwill live.

Raise your hands to Heaven, surrender your li e to God, and be amazedat what God will do with the dream that is in your heart.

Lori Pileggi

Fe f s b d e , P 2


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