Freedom From #4: Fear
In our series “freedom from” we have discovered
how we can get free from the dominion of Satan (1 John 5:19). The scripture reveals that the whole world is
the realm of the evil one. Jesus is the
liberator (1 John 3:8). Like the song we
sing “He’s a prison shaking Savior If you got chains, He’s a chain
breaker.” Your great escape is a request
away. Call on Jesus to save you, the
Holy Spirit will guide you out. Paul and
Silas were locked in jail, they sang and praised God, and an earthquake shook
open the doors and somehow all their chains came off (Acts 16:26). Your great escape from the darkness into
light is just a prayer away (Colossians 1:13-14). Ask God to deliver you out of bondage and
into His family (Romans 10:13). He will
reveal to you your steps to freedom.
Four words to know: Acknowledge,
Believe, Commit and Ask. If you seek to
know, God will show and lead you to freedom.
In part two we uncovered an inner saboteur
powerful enough to hijack our best intentions. We want to love God and we want to love
others, but our deeds don’t always match up to our desires and sometimes we
utterly fail (Romans 7:15-20). The inner
enemy is egoism (Galatians 5:17). Again
God offers a grace gift to break the power of egoism to makes a mockery of your
intent. Egoism will be with you,
tempting you to selfishness, but now you will have the power within to choose
to be a lover of God and lover of others (Ezekiel 36:26-28). Three words to know: Contrition, Confession,
Consecration. If you seek to know God
will show, and lead you into freedom
God’s one-two punch knocking down the enemy,
putting the enemy on the mat is Saving Grace, Sanctifying Grace. Deliverance and Transformation gifts are given
to those who seek not the gifts, but the One who bestows such gifts.
Jeremiah
29:13 (MSG)
When you
come looking for me, you'll find me.
If you decide you are going to go looking, let me
know, I might be able to guide you in the right direction.
In session 3 Pastor Dan taught us about the freedom that is
ours from the lesser voices. The voice
of God builds up, other voices tear down.
We overcome the lesser voices by remembering the goodness of God,
connecting with a healthy fellowship, cast out our idols, and cultivate
closeness to God.
Psalm 16:8
I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my
right hand, I will not be shaken.
In this final session, we are going to delve into how
fear keeps us from living life to the full.
A sense of fear beats you down, it is relentless in its attacks upon
your righteousness, your peace, and your joy.
The Apostle Paul was addressing religious rules when he wrote:
Romans 14:17-18 (MSG)
God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in
your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets
it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to
single-mindedly serve Christ.
The New International Translation reads: “For the kingdom of God is … a matter … of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy
Spirit…” (Romans 14:17 (NIV).
Righteousness is all about the quality of the
relationships you share with God, Others, and with your Self (2 Corinthians
5:18). Peace is that inner contentment
that no matter what happens God will see you through (Philippians 4:7). Joy is the sure knowledge that you are a
child of God, that you are glory bound, raised to be a servant of the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords (John 10:28 & Revelation 19:16). A sense of fear attacks
your righteousness, peace, and joy and prevents you from living your life to
the full.
Life to the full is the privilege made available
to every follower of Jesus.
John 10:10 (NIV)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Life to the full is how we thrive. It involves being loved unconditionally. Unconditionally love is what the Father
lavishes upon all His children. When you realize this, experience this, grow
comfortable in such love, that unconditional love helps us to love others. We know that love for God is demonstrated in
our obedience to His commands, and we know that our love for others is on
display by doing what is necessary to meet another’s need. As you live a life of love you discover
acceptance within the community of like-minded disciples, you know that you
have a new home in which you belong. You
become a member of a community in which each one encourages and supports the
other in mutually beneficial interdependent relationships. As you learn to use your spiritual gifts, you
start making a difference in the lives of others, you acquire a sense of
purpose for your life as it takes on new meaning reflected in the eyes of those
you are impacting. That creates a sense
of living a significant life.
Righteousness, peace, and joy are the foundation
for you to live your life to the full.
Righteousness, peace, and joy create the security of relationship
between you and God that we need to live our lives to the full. Fear attacks the foundation.
Fear grabs us when we sense that someone or
something is dangerous; that we are likely to encounter something that we might
not be able to overcome. Fear creates
pessimism. Apprehension and its cousin
worry is fear of what might happen. Fear
kicks in our fight or flight behaviors, it takes over the thinking logical part
of our brain and we react to a situation.
Fear in the right times is a good thing, but when fear invades your
spiritual life, fear is crippling.
The spiritual life is about the quality of the
relationships you share with God and others.
When it comes to your relationships trust is essential for building them
healthy, strong, and vital. Because his
trust was so great the Apostle Paul told Timothy “I know, therefore I am
Convinced, that God will guard” (2 Timothy 1:12). He wrote this in conjunction with what he was
communicating about his sufferings. I
trust all outcomes to God. “I know.”
Paul trusted the revelation of the scripture:
Psalms 103:2-10 (MSG)
O my soul, bless God, don't forget a single
blessing. He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise
crown. He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you're always young in his presence. God makes everything come out right; he puts
victims back on their feet. He showed
Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel. God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily
angered, he's rich in love. He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold
grudges forever. He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in
full for our wrongs.
Paul trusted in his experience with God
Philippians 4:12-13 (MSG)
I'm just as happy with little as with much, with
much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or
hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make
it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.
Trust overcomes the fear that someone you are
counting on is going to desert you.
Trust overcomes the fear that a situation is too much for you to deal
with. Trust overcomes the fear that bad
things will destroy you or your loved ones.
Trust overcomes the fear that there is no hope, no help coming, no deliverance
is in store. Trust overcomes the fear of death, Jesus said: “He who believes in
me will live, even though he dies…” (John 11:12).
Trust also keeps you keeping on. I’m still waiting for Grant to be healed, I
watched his mother die despite prayer after prayer. I was angry at God, I felt that He hadn’t
delivered on His promises, not only promises in scripture but personal ones
that He would take care of those I entrusted to Him. God hadn’t met my expectations, God didn’t do
what I wanted. Trust overcomes the fear
that what you believed isn’t how things are.
In the toughest of times the surest source of help is God, there is no
other place to go.
Fear attacks trust. That’s why multiple times in scripture we
read “Do not fear,” “Do not be afraid.”
Instead of fear, we are urged to be “strong and courageous.”
God never let's go.
Have you been thoroughly convinced that God loves
you? Do you trust in God’s love? I know it’s hard when your back is against
the wall when you are at the end of the rope when your life is now nothing but
ashes around your feet. Do you know God
still loves you? It’s that sure
knowledge that God loves you that overcomes fear.
1 John 4:18 (NIV)
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives
out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made
perfect in love.
“Well-formed love banishes fear” (1 John 4:18
MSG). To become well-formed is not a one-and-done
event. It takes the practice of the 7th
habit of a disciple, contemplation.
There are things to be considered deep in your heart, at the core of
your being: the sacrifice of Christ is a
great starting point, for God so loved the world, greater love has no one than
this that they lay their life down; consider how God has lavished His love upon
you, remember how he has gotten you through time and time again, count how many
times you know He has blessed you. In
your heart to heart with God ask the Holy Spirit to help you know that you are
loved. As you contemplate God’s
unconditional love you will grow in the truth and be able to say with full
confidence, quoting Hebrews 13:6—
“God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no
matter what. Who or what can get to me? (Hebrews 13:6 (MSG).
Chris Tomlin sings: “I know who goes before me, I know who stands
behind, the God of angel armies is always by my side. And nothing formed
against me shall stand.”
When you trust in who God is and ‘His love you
become free from fear. No fear.
No fear means you have confidence that whatever
comes your way, there will be empowerment to deal with it effectively. No fear means when God calls you to some
task, you are confident that He will provide you with everything you need to
succeed in it. No fear means timidity is
replaced with boldness, fortitude, determination, and with “can do.”
2 Tim 1:7 (NIV)
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a
spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.
You can be fearless. Trust God.
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