Overcome the spirit of
Fear
Was Chicken Little right and the sky is
falling? Has WW III come near us in the Middle East ? We
pray for the peace of Jerusalem
1. Jesus tasted death for everyman. Hebrews 2:9; 4:15.
“I have a
dogmatic certainty: God is in every person’s life. God is in everyone’s life.
Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by
vices, drugs or anything else — God is in this person’s life. You can, you must
try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land
full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can
grow. You have to trust God.” Rorate Caeli
“What we do
see is Jesus: How can the church
persevere when evil and death are still in the world? We look to Jesus both in
his human life in a position "a little lower than the angels"
and in his exaltation, now "crowned with glory and honor."
His suffering as a human being led to his exaltation”—NLT Study Bible
2. Real
people doing real things.
“I suppose therefore that this is good
because of the present distress--that it is good for a man to remain as he is:”
1 Cor 7:26
We are in John’s “Last hour” situation (1
John 2:18-20). The end is near. We are citizens of Heaven. The message of Revelation spoke to those
people in the time of John, and for us today.
The Lord Is Coming! Some will not
be able to repent. Some will be
righteous whatever happens. But Jesus
will test our works and our faith.
“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still;
he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be
righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward
is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End, the First and the Last."
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right
to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” Rev 22:11-14
3. Power, Love, Sound Mind.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim 1:7
“God doesn't want us to be shy with his
gifts, but bold and loving and sensible. So don't be embarrassed to speak
up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the
Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the
power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had
nothing to do with it. It was all his
idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it.” 2 Tim 1:7-9 (MSG)
Our faith will be tested. But we do not “quench the Spirit.” We walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, but we fear no evil. We have
authority from God to come boldly to His Throne of Grace. We hope for the City whose builder and maker
is God.
“Love has been perfected among us in this:
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we
in this world. 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. We love Him because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:17-19
“Herein is our love made perfect. When
love is perfected in us we will have no fear of the judgment day. Those who
love God supremely will not be terrified at his presence. Because as he is,
so are we, etc. The great ground of boldness is that we are as Christ;
purified like him, made sinless like him, filled with love like him and appear
at judgment in his likeness. This transformation begins when we are converted,
hence, in this world. There is no
fear in love. There may be reverential fear, but there is no terror. Fear
of God gives way to love. Fear hath torment. Because it fills us with
forebodings. We love him. His wonderful love in Christ fills every
redeemed soul with love.” — Johnson’s Notes.
With the eye of faith Christians look into
Eternity. God’s desire is that we
continually progress, that we reach higher heights and go to new levels in Him.
Oftentimes, as soon as we make the decision to step out in faith and obey God,
the devil brings in fear to try to stop us. He’ll bring thoughts like, “What if
you fail? What are other people going to think? You don’t have what it takes.”
He’ll do his best to use fear to try to convince us to shrink back and stay
where we are.
“Father, thank You for giving me power, love
and a sound mind. I open my heart to You and receive Your perfect love. Fill me
with Your confidence and assurance to embrace everything You have for me, in
Jesus’ name. Amen.”
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