The Right Kind

Ps. 16:³ “And these God-chosen lives all around—what splendid friends they make!” (MSG)

To defeat and overcome fears, the second thing is, I Need To Stop Listening To The Voices Of Fear. We need to stop listening to the voices of fear. Be careful about what you listen to and who you listen to so that you do not become paranoid. I am not saying deny reality in any way, but I am saying, you cannot afford to be listening to the voices of fear. You can have people in your life, but you do not listen to their fears. 2019 was an election year in Nigeria, and the voices of fear were everywhere. It just so happened that I was on a flight with a very senior person in ministry. He has been in ministry years before us, so he is like a big brother in ministry to me. And he came to my seat and began to speak about the election year, and I was listening. Then he asked me if I had bought my ticket? Ticket? He said he had bought tickets for himself and his family, and he had plans to ship them out of Nigeria until the coast is clear. Then he looked at me and said, ‘what are you going to do?’ I said, ‘I will pray.’ He said, ‘Then? Pray, but you need to buy your ticket.’ I love him, but I am not going to take his advice.

Whose voice are you listening to? God’s voice or the voices of fear? ‘Pastor, we have to be wise…’  Listen, if God says move then please move, but if God has not said so, then do not move. Shut off because everything that is not of faith, the Bible says, is a sin. Rom. 14:²³ “…for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (KJV). You cannot walk in fear and walk in faith at the same time. You have to be ready to face the ridicule. Back to Mary’s story, imagine Mary hanging out with her friends, ‘the girls’ and you know girls talk deeper than boys, probingly so. The girls say, ‘Mary, so you are pregnant?’ ‘Yes.’ Mary responds. ‘So you and Joseph are already…’ they probed. Mary said, ‘No. You would be shocked when you hear what happened. It is the Holy Spirit.’ ‘The Holy Spirit is the father of your baby? Really! Tell us how that happened.’ Mary says, ‘the Holy Spirit came over me, power of the Highest and I became pregnant.’

There is no way the natural girl would say a word of encouragement. If Mary had hung out with her friends long enough, she probably would have attempted abortion if there were anything like that then. What did Mary’s parents do? They did what parents do today when a teenage girl gets pregnant. They ship her to the village or some relative far away from their community. They took Mary to Elizabeth’s house. When Mary arrived, the six-month-old baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy. There was an intense connection between Mary and Elizabeth. You are pregnant with the destiny [physical baby, dream, idea, vision] God has put in you, so you need to surround yourself with people that when you come in contact with them, the baby in you will leap for joy, and there will be some real connection. Not with people that will talk down the baby you are carrying. You need people that will speak life to the baby you are carrying.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to stay focused on God’s voice alone, in Jesus Name. Amen!