Fear Not
For this weeks blog, I would like us to focus on a topic I feel is desperately needful at this time. That topic is "fear". For quite some time now, I believe fear has held the church back from fulfilling it's mission.
Some of the myriad of fears we face are: fear of man, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of government, fear of reprisal, fear of persecution and today, fear of covid.
As believers living in the United States, a nation which was founded on Christian principles, we have not yet experienced severe persecution for proclaiming the truth and taking a stand against evil (those actions and beliefs which are in direct opposition to the truth of the Word of God). Although, I believe those days are passing away, as we see our Christian liberties being taken away daily.
As I see it, one big failure of the church comes from the fear of government. Sadly, we have allowed those in government and the media to convince us that "separation of church and state" means that the church cannot be allowed to influence the government. There was a time when we were told if we spoke about political issues from the pulpit, they (the authorities) could come in and arrest us. The truth is, our forefathers wanted to keep governmental control away from the church, not the other way around. With many in the church fearing reprisal from the authorities, we have not been involved in anything political. I believe the absence of Christians in governmental positions is what has led us to having many national leaders steeped in ungodly behavior and creating ungodly laws.Because of our errant belief that the church is to "separated" from the state, our pastors and church leaders have been careful to not cross the line on what the government says is "right" for fear of consequences. Our forefathers desired to have God involved in all their decision making and yet we as the church has allowed our voice to be silenced. Therefore, we as a nation allow abortion, same sex marriage, legalized drugs and the right of the perverse to rule in our society.
God has been excluded from our schools and the public eye and yet the occult persuasions are showing up in public places. We have allowed the devil's chief weapons of fear and deceit to win over faith and the fear of God.
Everyone wants to be accepted and to fit in. Thus, we don't want to "cause any waves" or take a stand that might cause us to be rejected. We fear rejection from our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and even those we work for. Big business is standing more and more on the side of evil. Often times, their dealings are shady, to say the least, and we fear that if we would speak up, we would lose our job. Many believers have even allowed the fear of rejection to control their willingness to witness for Christ.
Fear is keeping the church from doing the work of God's kingdom; from the pulpit to the man in the pew. God help us!
Proverbs 29:25, "The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe." So, here we see that fearing man is a snare or "noose" but with trusting God we are "safely protected" according to the Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon.
John 7:13, "However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews."
John 12:42, "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue"
Jesus was aware of the danger of the influence of fear when He instructed His disciples. He knew that they would be hated, persecuted, thrown into prison, beaten, thrown to the lions, burned as torches and slain. He also knew that they could not be ruled by a fear of the consequences of their faith. Luke 12:4 and 5, "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" Fearing God involves trust, not terror. Death for the Christian,, is not to be feared.
Psalm 118:6, "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
Daniel 3: 16 and 17, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king." Daniel's friends trusted God, even in the face of a possible terrifying death.
Daniel 6:10, "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days."
Daniel continued to pray openly in spite of the king's decree.
Acts 4:19 and 20, "But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
When Peter and John were being threatened by the religious leaders, they declared that they must obey God and not man.
Acts 4:29 and 30 "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."These scriptures show us that after the Jewish leader's threats, they did not let fear rule, but rather, they prayed for boldness to minister more and for the partnering of God to stretch out His hand to heal and show signs and wonders.
After the apostles were put in prison, and an angel set them free, they went right back to the temple and continued to teach the people.
Jesus taught the disciples what was required of them. Matthew 16:24-26, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Revelation 12:11, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."
2 Timothy 1:7 and 8, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God." As believers in Christ, we are not to be victims ruled by fear. We are to be those who are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Since He has given us a sound mind, we do not need to make decisions based on fear. Fear based decisions are not productive.
Romans 8:15 and 16, "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,"
1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
1 John 5:4 and 5," For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
We are victorious overcomers by our faith!
Fear knocked on the door, faith answered and there was no one there.
Isaiah 26:3 and 4, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength."
Where there is peace, there is the absence of fear!
Friends, we have a choice to make. Will we be ruled by the truth of God's Word, or fear?
Praying for you today, that you will choose to walk in faith and walk away from fear. It isn't always easy, believe me, I know. Remember, our strength comes from the Lord. I pray that He will help you increase your trust and faith to believe.