On a daily basis, every child of God makes a very important decision/choice - will I live in faith or in fear?
These message is intended to help you understand the major significance of this one decision and give you the tools you need to choose wisely.
Fear is something that does not discriminate. Man, woman, child or adult. At some point in our lives, we all have to come face to face with it. And Chritians are no exceptions.
Franklin D Roosevelt once said, ''the only thing we have to fear is fear itself'' But why should we fear fear? We must fear fear, because fear is a thief.
It starts out by stealing God's peace from our hearts. And if we allow it to paralyse us from action, it will rob of the grace of God and consequently rob us our destinies in Christ. As a christian, fear should be your enemy.
One of the amazing things about Jesus coming to earth is that He reveals the exact will of God for us. If we are able to look at how He responded to His disciples in their times of great tribulations, example in Mark 4:37-40, we will be able to understand how He wil be able to understand how God probably reacts to us in similar situations. Christ spoke to the storm and lt became calm. He then asked a big question that all christians must answer today, "why are you afraid? Do you Still have no faith?
Many times we find ourselves, our spouse, our family & friends asking God, "Don't you see what is going on don't you care"? Many times Satan brings these type of questions to our minds as believers. But we know that when a person serves God, our heavenly father busies Himself with his every step. Psalm 37:23.
God said that "the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid. Mathew 10:30-31 When we go to God in fear, we sin against God. Whatsoever is not in faith is sin. "Romans14:23 (but the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his is not from faith, and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
last Sunday was a Holy communion service in our Church. Some parishioners were afraid to be part of the communion. They refused to communicate out of fear of ebola virus. One of them told my wife Chinyere Eunice, that it is dangerous at this time that the ebola virus is all over the place. She asked my wife this question, "is it not bread and wine"? My wife was quick to answer her in this words, "Well, if it is bread and wine, then do not communicate, but for me, I am going to eat the flesh and blood of my Lord and savour Jesus Christ, ebola or no ebola virus. I thank God for His grace and wisdom upon my wife Chinyere.
The next day, my Lord Bishop of Diocese of Lagos West, Anglican Communion, Bishop James O. Odedeji said and I quote, "I know that the devil cannot attack me. Ebola cannot infect me. Before the devil can be able to attack me, the devil will first have b attack my God. But if the devil cannot attack my God, then he cannot be able to attack me. For I am under the covering of the blood of Jesus christ. I am immune to ebola virus.
Those are faith at work against the fear of ebola virus. That is the prevention and protection we need , our God is able.
we often hear the word faith discussed and tossed around. So what is faith? We shall use several version of the Bible to define faith:
Hebrew 11:1
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see". (NIV STEWARDSHIP STUDY BIBLE).
It is the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality ( faith perceiving as real fact wbhat is not revealed to the sense). (AMP)
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (KING JAMES VERSION).
faith is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us., even though we cannot see it up ahead." (The living Bible, PARAPHRASED).
Just like fear, faith is our conviction, or our belief in a reality that we can't see. Most fears are unseen, they are imaginary, yet we believe that they will eventually happen. Contrary to that, faith even though involves things we do not have or cannot see are not imaginary. Faith is real because it is a true believe. Fear is not real because it is no a true believe. It does not come from God but from our enemy the devil. "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave to fear, bu you received the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry Abba Father". Romans 8:15.
We only make fear real in the figment of our imagination. A major difference between the two is that faith assumes God will always come to our rescure and fear assumes that He will not. As Christians, once we realise that we are afraid, we mudt stop and ask ourselves an import question. At this point in time, are we believing God, or are we believing satan?
God says He will reward you for your desire to seek and obey Him. He said He has counted and numbered the hairs on your head. God alone is your provider and your protector. He will protect you from ebola virus and provide cure for all that are already infectef.
Believe God's word over your feelings and emotions. God bless yo
