“…without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved-and that by God. Philippians 1:28 (NIV) I have found a key that unlocks the cage of the Lion, who lives inside of us, as believers. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the
race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 (KJV) “Laying aside” is a powerful command that changes our perspective. When you lay something aside it is still there, but you don’t focus on it, for the next verse says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”
Now when intimidation attacks me, I have learned to lay it aside and do what God has called me to do. The devil works overtime to steal our confidence to do the work of the Lord. But, we are not alone. The Lord allows our insecurities and fears to be exposed to deal with the root of
them. So, be encouraged and don’t stop. When you feel insecure or fearful, lay it aside and get up and let the Lion roar. God is faithful. “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” I Thessalonians 5:24 (KJV) I received an email recently from a dear sister who plays piano for masses. She was fighting insecurity about performing
perfectly at a special upcoming ceremony. I sensed the Lord giving me this word for her, “Lay aside your fear. Jesus will play the piano.” Hours later, she sent me this response, “PRAISE REPORT! I just finished a run through the music and Jesus did indeed play the piano! I had to keep reminding myself that He was doing it and I didn’t need to stick my nose in. When I first saw my friend Rachel, she asked me if I was ready. Very unlike, me, I answered ‘Yes!’ Praise the
Lord!” Most of our insecurities and fears are surface symptoms with a deep root. The Lord deals with our weaknesses to make us
strong. I have battled insecurity and fear most of my life. It started the moment my head hit the road so hard that it caused a bone growth on my forehead. The bike wreck happened when I was five.
The trauma of what followed with surgery and doctor check-ups for most of my younger years, opened the door to a giant fear. A door that never
got shut until recently. I spoke at a conference recently in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I was checking out hotel prices. They were so high I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night. I kept looking around for a reasonably priced one. I found it; “The Cemetery Inn” near the battlefields. Arriving home after that weekend, greeting my wife, she said,
“So and so called and he wants you to call him about those two cemetery plots he offered you a long time ago.” I couldn’t help but think; I just came from The Cemetery Inn and now someone is offering me two cemetery plots at half price. The half price concerned me too. I said, “Lord, I don’t like the timing of this. I just came from ministering for You all weekend. What is going on?” Two days later I was to meet the brother at the cemetery memorial park to sign the transfer papers. After I
arrived, I got tired of waiting in the office for him, so I went outside. When I walked outside, all I could see were grave markers. As an eerie feeling came over me, the Lord spoke, “Son, this is the root of all your fears your whole life. Every doctor visit and the fear of every report of your physical exams have revealed - you are afraid to die.
You battled it since the moment your head hit the road when you were five years old. When you were seven with a brain tumor, death hounded you again. Then, fourteen years ago, with a blood clot in the artery of your heart, with a fifty-fifty chance of survival, it stampeded you.
Three days later with a heart catheterization, your heart stopped on that table and they jumped it back to beat again. Have you noticed by now I have never let you die? I still hold the keys to hell, death and the grave.” He continued, “What do you think about the scripture that says, ‘To be absent from the body is to be present with Me?’ No pain, no
doctors, no devil. Fully alive in My unspeakable presence forever and ever? What are your thoughts on this?”
For a moment, I was speechless. He was right. I just faced my worst fear that had made me vulnerable to an endless list of others. And, I failed to compare it to eternity. That day, I found peace in a cemetery. As I left those
grave markers, He spoke again, “By the way son, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave lives in you. Go live. Go live. Don’t be afraid of living. Enjoy every minute of it.” What’s your fear? Fear of losing a loved one, a job, or your reputation? Maybe you are afraid to die and afraid to live. Drag your fears to Jesus today. Let His peace
envelope you and His perfect love cast out all fear. Tell Him you are in this for the long haul no matter what. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
Blessings, Bill Yount P.S. Dear
Friends, I am so humbled that the Lord has chosen to use my life to touch so many believers. I know that my writing ministry touches many more lives than my speaking ministry. If you wish to make a tax-deductible gift to my ministry you can make your check out to Blowing The Shofar Ministry and send it to the address below. You will receive a receipt for a tax deduction. Thank you in advance for your
support!
Blowing The Shofar Ministry 132 East North Ave. Hagerstown, Maryland 21740
"As one of today’s most seasoned prophets, Bill Yount delivers a must-read message that encourages and stimulates us to grow in Christ. In his book, The Power of Real, Bill shares relevant accounts of how God used his soul-baring transparency and revelatory
promptings from the Lord to speak to the body of Christ. You will be fed with fresh, extremely real, uplifting, prophetic rhema words. Bill vulnerably lays his life and ministry out on the table in a stripped bare, down-to-the-studs message within these pages. This is the book that Prophet Bill Yount will be remembered by."
- Andy Sanders
"Bill Yount has the ability to bring the concepts and word of God out of the abstract and ethereal down to the 'real' world we live in. He hears God in the mundane and then conveys that truth in short easy-to-read sections with insight and humor. His folksy
style carries the message that being real can be life changing if we will put down our masks." - Carol Miller
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