Fear runs in us all. Fear says we are in a . For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15 …for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 1 Timothy 1:7 The Promise: . Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD. Jeremiah 23:23-24 The Implication: I will not because God is always with me. A. Is God really with everyone? 1) God is not with the . Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar. Psalm 138:6 2) God is not with the . You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4 3) God is not with the . Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. Isaiah 1:5 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Isaiah 1:5 B. How do I know God is really for me? 1) . What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:3-32 2) . Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:33-34 3) . … because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8