Title: Fear vs. Faith – 3
“The Tongue”
Text: II Timothy 1:5-7
Last week we started a series entitled, “Fear vs. Faith.” Over the next several weeks we have decided to declare war on fear. No fear here!
Fear is a very serious attack that the enemy uses against the human race. It is imperative that we learn how to defend ourselves against this attack of fear. Fear intends to destroy our faith. Fear comes in many shapes and sizes, but the final outcome is always the same and that is to steal, kill and destroy.
Keep in mind throughout this series; it is NEVER God’s plan for a child of God to live in fear, no matter what the circumstance is. I would like to use the Webster’s definition of fear.
Fear is: 1 an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger 2 anxious concern 3 reason for alarm: The synonyms for fear are: dread, fright, alarm, panic, terror, trepidation.
All of these definitions from Webster’s are accurate and true. No one can argue this definition because fear is all these things. However, from a Biblical standpoint, fear is more than a feeling. According to God’s Word, fear is a spirit. Some say, “Well I certainly don’t agree with that. You know, Pastor not everything is from the devil.” Well I agree, not everything is from the devil, but the Bible makes it very clear that fear is one thing that is straight from hell.
II Timothy 1:7; “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Jesus Christ wants each and every one of us to stay free from fear. One of the greatest tools that the devil has to get an open door in our lives is through fear. When you allow the presence of the spirit of fear in your life, it brings a negative, destructive power. Instead of giving you power as the Scripture says, fear paralyses you. Instead of giving you wisdom, fear causes you to make poor decisions. Instead of the blessing flowing in your life, the demonic presence of fear brings a curse.
There are two spiritual laws that are in effect today. Every one of us falls under one of these two laws. You are either under the law of life or the law of death.
Romans 8:1-2; ΒΆ “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
It is important to know that just because you are a born again Christian does not mean that you are automatically entered into the law of life. The force that activates the law of life is faith. The force that activates the law of death is the opposite of faith, which is fear. Each of these pairs represents a team, and no matter who you are, one of these teams is working for you right now.
I. THE POWER OF YOUR WORDS
The determining factor of which team is on your side is your choices. It is especially your choice of words that determine if you are going to be under the law of life or the law of death. Fear can even change your speaking.
Fear makes you fumble. When you are afraid, you have a tendency to not do well. The pressure is so great that it causes you to mess up. It’s like the guy who was out of money. He decided he was going to rob a bank because he couldn’t think of any other way to get the money. He didn’t know anything about robbing banks so he practiced what he would say over and over. He got a revolver and a sack for the money. Then he practiced sticking the sack over the counter and pointing the gun in someone’s face saying, “Don’t mess with me, this is a stick-up.” When it came time for the real thing, he was really nervous but he was confident he had it down pat. However, when he got in the bank, fear took over and he handed the lady the revolver, pointed the sack at her and said, “Don’t stick with me, this is a mess up.”
If this story were true, this man’s life would have been drastically altered by his words. The devil wants to paralyse you through fear. Your words determine whether you will be on the winning side or the losing side.
I just want to take a few minutes to share a few Scriptures with you to let you know how powerful your words are in your life. There is power in every word that Jesus spoke and we have been given the same power and authority that Jesus had while He was upon the earth, so that means that there is just as much power in the words that we speak. He said, “Greater things shall you do then me.” He has given us all the power that He ever possessed and more.
Mark 13:31; “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”
Hebrews 4:12; “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Luke 4:32-37; “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, 34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. 35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. 36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! For with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. 37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.
John 6:63; “It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
John 7:46; “The officers answered, Never a man spake like this man.”
I Timothy 6:3-4; “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”
Mark 7:13; “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have handed down from generation to generation: You do many things like this.”
We haven’t received the whole Word of God in the way that we should. Our tradition says that we need to find another way to meet our needs other than the Word of the Living God. It is much easier to stick to our traditions then get the Word out and meditate on it. The Word has no effect in the believer’s life because we don’t receive it for ourselves, we are no different then the unbelievers. That is why we go to the Doctor’s, we go to the therapist, and we go to the Pharmacist. We turn to the credit cards and to the banker. Surely there is another way to get an answer other then looking in the Word. Every promise in this book is mine. It is time that we start claiming it for ourselves. Now that we know how much power we have in the words that we speak, we also need to know that:
II. LIFE AND DEATH IS IN THE POWER OF THE TONGUE
Proverbs 18:21; “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
Do you notice the connection of this Scripture with the two laws that are in effect today? The two laws about which we have been talking are in the power of the tongue. That is what the Bible says, not me. In other words, what you say can activate either the one law or the other. You employ or put into action one or the other of these teams through your words. You either hire the fear and death team, or you hire the life and faith team. Once hired, they go to work to bring about the only fruit that they can.
Here is how this all works. When symptoms of sickness attack your body, you will be tempted to tell everyone how bad you feel. “Oh, I am sick. I am probably going to be in bed for days. I am afraid I may even lose my job. I don’t feel like going to work because I am just so sick. I think I have the flu coming on.” Haven’t you heard that one before? When we say things of that nature we have just hired on full time help to bring about the fruit of death and destruction in our lives. If you give in to that temptation to feel sorry for yourself and get sympathy from others, you will be hiring the fear and death team. The only fruit that team can produce is destruction, loss and pain.
On the other hand, if you resist that temptation and declare, “By the stripes of Jesus I was healed 2,000 years ago; therefore, I am healed,” you will be hiring the life and faith team. This team goes to work immediately to carry out what God’s Word has decreed. Some say, “I have an awful hard time believing that nonsense.” I am not giving you my opinion on this matter; I am giving you a promise in the Scripture. Either the Bible is all true or it’s not.
By speaking God’s word about your situation, you then activate the law of life in Christ Jesus. Faith then comes through hearing the Word of God. However, you should remember that a team can be fired as quickly as they were hired.
If you get impatient waiting for the manifestation of your healing and say, “This really isn’t working for me; I really am sick,” then you have just fired your faith team. Once you employ the team of life and faith on your behalf, do not get discouraged because it doesn’t seem like you are getting any results, do not fire them by speaking things that are contrary to what the Bible says about your circumstances. Apply the fruit of patience and just see how miraculously God works on your behalf. Remember, faith can move mountains, but fear will make those mountains bigger in your life then they really are. God wants to deliver you from this spirit of fear, but the only way that can happen is by the words that you speak. Which law will you activate on your behalf?
You have heard it before, but I am going to tell you again, “The Word always works if you are willing to work the Word.” But for most of us, it is easier to get the Doctor to work for us or get the pills to work for us instead of the Word.
