1. Heb 6:12
“That you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

3. I Think Someone Is Out to Get Me
Church Paranoia
I Think Someone Is Out to Get Me

4. Paranoia in the Bible? Balaam When He Talked to His Donkey.
“Restrained the Madness of the Prophet” (2 Pet. 2:16).
Joseph’s Brothers Became Paranoid That Joseph Was Going to Retaliate (Gen. 50).
“My Reason Returned to Me”
Jacob Saw That Laban Was Not Friendly to Him Anymore (Gen. 31:2).

5. Paranoia in the Bible
John the Baptist, Paul, and Jesus Were All Falsely Accused of Madness Because of Their Words or Their Lives (They Were Different From Everyone Else)
KING SAUL – 1 Sam. 18:9-12
Saul Made Himself Paranoid and Mad When it Came to David.

6. Causes of Church Paranoia
Suspicion Arises From Those Who Have Caused Us Pain in the Past – Real or Perceived.
Sometimes the Pain We Experience Is So Deep We Refuse to Trust Them or Anyone.
Paranoia Leads Us to “Read People” (Non- verbal Comm., Interpretive Comm., Etc.)
The Dirty Look Across the Room
We Withdraw Refusing to Speak to the Very Ones We Are to Love

7. Church Paranoia More Common Than You Might Think.
Christians Pull Back From Involvement As They Fear How Others View Them.
Perhaps, They Tried Getting Involved, But Felt That People Judged Them Harshly (Real or Imagined).
The Paranoid Preacher – “Someone Is Out to Get Me.”
“Don’t Trust Anyone.”

8. The Dangers of Church Paranoia
Paranoia Often Is Not Real.
King Saul Is the Perfect Example of This (1 Sam. 18:8-9)
Paranoia Often Is Not Based on Facts. We Can Become So Suspicious That We Actually Imagine An Entire Series of Steps Someone Has Taken to Hurt Us.

9. The Dangers of Church Paranoia
Paranoia Causes Us to Assume the Worst
King Saul Is the Perfect Example of This (1 Sam. 21:1-6; 22:9-13)
“Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me” (1 Sam 22:13).
Saul’s Paranoia Led Him to Kill 85 Priests, Women, Children, and Animals (22:18-19).

10. The Dangers of Church Paranoia
Paranoia Destroys Joy, Hope, Relationships Etc.
King Saul Is the Perfect Example of This (1 Sam. 20:30-34)
Jacob Became Paranoid When Bad Things Happened in Egypt (Gen. 42:36).
Paranoia Can Destroy a Church!

11. 1 Tim 6:4