S8.2 | Beholding: Overcoming Fear and Anxiety by Fixing Our Gaze on Christ
Carla probes into the escalating fear and anxiety engulfing society, highlighting the various triggers contributing to these emotions, such as global unrest, natural disasters, financial instability, and the inundation of conflicting information. Drawing from her expertise, Carla emphasizes the detrimental impact of anxiety, which can hinder individuals from living in the present moment due to apprehensions about the future.
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Key Takeaways
Scriptural Commandment:
Carla introduces the biblical commandment "do not be afraid," emphasizing that this directive is reiterated throughout the Old and New Testaments, signifying God's unwavering assurance amidst trials and tribulations.
Understanding Revelation and Beholding Christ
Carla sheds light on the Book of Revelation, demystifying its content as a revelation of Jesus Christ as the ultimate authority. By referencing Revelation 1:17-18, she emphasizes the significance of fixing our eyes on Jesus, who conquered death and holds the keys to Hades and death itself.
The Power of Beholding:
Carla underscores the transformative power of what we choose to behold, emphasizing that fixating on Jesus can alleviate fears and ignite faith, akin to Peter walking on water when he solely focused on Christ, thus performing the miraculous.
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TRANSCRIPT
Carla Arges [00:00:08]:
Hey friends, welcome to affirming truth. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode.
Carla Arges [00:00:27]:
And it would mean the world to.
Carla Arges [00:00:28]:
Me if you would leave a review. I am so glad you're here. Let's get started.
Carla Arges [00:00:36]:
Hello friends. Welcome to this episode of affirming truths. I am your host and your friend, Carla Arges. I don't know about you, but I feel like over the last few years, I am seeing more and more fear and anxiety take people over. And maybe you're feeling this in your own life, that the state of the world wars, natural disasters, with the financial situation, with such high inflation and food and gas prices going up, with differing information about what's good for you and what's not good for you in terms of what we eat or what we put on our body, there is a lot of people operating from a state of fear and anxiety. And here's the thing about anxiety. It robs us of our present over fear of the unknown, of the future. So we're giving up our here and now because we are afraid of the future.
Carla Arges [00:01:55]:
And did you know that in the Bible, one of the biggest commandments you see, and you see it in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, is to fear not. To fear not. God has commanded us to fear not. Knowing exactly the circumstances we're going to face, knowing exactly that we would come across trials and tribulations. God, in his allknowing omnipotence, has said, fear not that in him and through him, we can stand firm on the knowledge that God wins. And I want to take us to revelation 117 and 18. Guys, you don't have to be afraid of revelation. Revelation is actually not that confusing and that complicated as we make it out to be.
Carla Arges [00:03:02]:
You don't need to fear the book of Revelation. Revelation is really just revealing Christ, who he is, Lord of all, once and for all. It's a revelation of Jesus. And in revelation 117 to 18, we see John. And John is seeing this vision of seven lampstands and Jesus in the midst of it. And when he sees this vision and he understands clearly what this vision is because it made sense in the context that it was given, based on Old Testament scripture and what would have been understood of people of that time. Context is important. I teach about that in Bible study 101.
Carla Arges [00:03:58]:
So if you haven't taken that course, you're going to want to go to carlarges.com and get it. And it comes with a complete context document for every book of the Bible. But context is important, and John understood the context of his vision. And after he sees this vision, or while he's seeing this vision, we pick it up in 17. And it says, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the one who lives and was dead.
Carla Arges [00:04:36]:
And behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of hades and of death. God gives him John two commands in these verses. The first is, do not be afraid. And the second is to behold. You see, what calms our fears is what we behold. What ignites our fears is what we behold. You see, we become that which we behold.
Carla Arges [00:05:15]:
So what are you beholding? What are you keeping your eyes fixed on? You see, John didn't have to be afraid, because Jesus lives forevermore. He has conquered death and the grave. His victory is secure and it has already started. We are living in the now and not yet. Jesus already has the victory, and we are seeing that victory come to fruition while we wait for Jesus'second coming to bring an end, completion to that which was finished. And so we know how the story ends. We know the promises of God, don't we? We know that he's promised never to leave us or forsake us. We know that he has promised to work things all out for our good.
Carla Arges [00:06:15]:
We know that he has promised, yes, there'd be tribulation, but that we have the victory in Christ Jesus because he has already overcome it. He has promised us the most important thing, which is eternal life, reconciled with the father. So whom shall I fear? Of what should I be afraid? What are you beholding as you sit in fear and sit in anxiety? My question to you is, where are your eyes fixed? Is it fixed in doomsday? Scrolling. Reading all the news reports, scrolling social media? Is it fixed on the infighting that happens unfortunately in the church and picking sides? Is it fixed on the election that's coming up in the US? What are your eyes fixed on? Is it fixed on the wars and the disease and the destruction? Is it fixed on what feels like financial overwhelm? Because if you are beholding all of that, if your eyes are fixed on all of that, you will live in fear and you will be anxious. I want to encourage you today to fix your eyes on Jesus in a way you never have know. And I've used this example so often, Peter, he's a good guy to use as an example, as an illustration for what happens when we get our eyes off Jesus. When Peter was beholding Jesus, Peter was walking on the water. Peter was doing the miraculous.
Carla Arges [00:08:11]:
Peter was doing the impossible, not in his own power, but by beholding Christ and having his faith ignite. Peter, beholding Christ, had his faith ignited so much that in the midst of the storm, he climbed out of the boat. Like, really get your head around that. That's kind of crazy, isn't it? Like, Peter, you're going to step out of the boat. What if that's not really Jesus? What if we're hallucinating? What if it's not Jesus'will to hold you up? What if the storm is too great? Living the christian life here and now. If you are beholding Christ should look just as absurd to the rest of the world. We should look like we're getting out of the boat in the midst of a storm, because we are beholding our savior and we are trusting his words that when he says, come, we can come, and the impossible is possible with Christ. When he was beholding Jesus, when his eyes were fixed on Jesus, he was able to do that which seemed absurd to the rest of the world.
Carla Arges [00:09:35]:
But when he started to behold other things, when he started to fixate on other things, when he got his eyes off Jesus, that faith that was so ignited and even had evidence he was walking on the water, he had the very real and now evidence of God's provision, of God's safety, of God's power, of God's authority. And even with the here and now evidence, when he took his eyes off of Jesus and started to behold his circumstance, started to look at the wind, started to look at the storm, started to rationalize with the human brain. This is impossible. This shouldn't be happening. Look at the world around me. This is defying logic. He began to sink. He began to be overcome with fear and anxiety.
Carla Arges [00:10:38]:
That which you behold, you become. That which you behold, you become. You want to have that faith, to walk on water in a world that's telling you that's scientifically not possible. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. You want to have the confidence to go into this world with your children and believe in the goodness of God and the power of God and the sovereignty of God and the truth that God is still moving because he is. Behold your savior. Put down the phone. Turn off the news.
Carla Arges [00:11:26]:
And this isn't to say to be ignorant of what's happening in the world. But it is to say that our God should be getting much more of our attention than the world. You see, we've packaged up Jesus just for Sunday morning sermons and five minute morning devotions. In our day. Our beholding, our consumption of Jesus is minute. And we check it off the list and say, yes, I did my devotions for today. And then we go out and we behold the world. And we saturate ourselves in the world.
Carla Arges [00:12:05]:
And we look at fear in the world and we wonder why we are anxious. And we wonder why we are afraid. Friends, we are christians. We are born again. We are children of God. Whom shall we fear of? What should we be afraid? The answer is nothing. The only thing in life that we should fear is to have a healthy fear of God himself. And not in a scared cowarding in the corner, but in reverence and awe of his power and his glory and his might.
Carla Arges [00:12:49]:
You're giving Jesus five minutes of your day in the morning, and some of you aren't even doing that. And you're giving the world the rest of your day and attention. How much time do you spend in Netflix? How much time do you spend scrolling TikTok or Instagram? Let's be real with ourselves. Let's do an honest assessment. What are we beholding? Are we protecting that which we behold so that we can walk in ignited faith, faith that leads us to get out of the boat in the storm and walk on the water towards our savior. Your anxiety problem, your fear problem. While sometimes, yes, rooted in brain chemistry, and I'm the first to say, if you need medication to help, absolutely take medication. I take three for my bipolar and BPD with no shame.
Carla Arges [00:13:51]:
But it's more than the medication. The medication is not a cure. The medication is just there to help quiet your mind a bit so that you can master it in beholding your lord and savior. Do you understand? What are you beholding? What are you beholding? My affirming truth for you today is I will protect that which I behold. And I want to take you to psalm 1618. I keep my eyes always on the Lord with him at my right hand. I will not be shaken. I will not be shaken though the storms may come.
Carla Arges [00:14:44]:
I will not be shaken though the illness may come. I will not be shaken though the news may say whatever it says, I will not be shaken because my eyes are always on the Lord, and he is alive forevermore. And he has the keys to Hades and of death. And in him I escaped eternal death. And I escape eternal separation and I have reconciliation with Christ. I am whole. I am born again. I am new.
Carla Arges [00:15:18]:
I am redeemed. Whom shall I fear but God himself? No one. You become what you behold, friends. So protect what you behold.
Carla Arges [00:15:39]:
Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but for not come find me on Instagram, at Carla Arges or at affirming truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye.