THE SPIRIT CALLED FEAR
2 Timothy 1:7. (NKJV)
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind."
Isaiah 41:10-13.
"10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.
12 You shall seek them and not find them— Those who contended with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing.
13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you."
2 Kings 6:15-17.
"15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."
The prophet Elisha and his servant are in the town of Dothan. They've spent the night in this town. When morning came, Elisha's servant wakes up and looks out over the city walls. He is shocked when he sees that during the night, the Syrian army had surrounded Dothan and were demanding that Elisha be handed over to them.
Naturally the servant of Elisha was overwhelmed with fear because all he could see was the visible enemy army surrounding the city. But, what he could not see was the invisible army of God's angels that had gathered to protect God's people. It was at this point Elisha prayed to God to open his servant's eyes and let him see what his human eyes couldn't see. Immediately, he could see the mountains roundabout them were full of horses and chariots of fire. Elijah was under God's protective custody. No wonder the Scriptures says in Psalm 34:7, "The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear HIM."
Just like Elisha's servant, you and I may not physically see an army of angels surrounding us in our daily struggles, but we can rest on the comforting promises in God's Word, that we're under His constant protection. We have nothing to be afraid of. We're not alone, God's with us.
Psalm 23:4.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
'The valley of the shadow of death' describes a place of gloom, depression, danger and affliction. It is a dark place to be. The valley of the shadow of death is talking about the darkest nights of trials and troubles. It is a place of confusion. King David is going through bad time here but his faith in God is unshaken. Even in the most dire situations he will not be afraid because God is with him.
You may be walking in your own valley of the shadow of death right now––perhaps a doctor gave you a bad report? Maybe your spouse has left you? Perhaps you lost your job, a business failure, disappointments in ministry, or your children are causing you pains.
Beloved, no matter what you are going through today, you are not alone! God is with you, and His presence gives strength and hope. Don't be afraid! He's working out your testimonies. This season shall pass! The rain of affliction will stop, and the sun of your glory will shine again.
I pray for everyone, reading this and already in the pit of depression, for everyone who is walking in the valley of the shadow of death, for everyone with a depressing medical report, for everyone who is lonely and hopeless, let the Holy Spirit of God, strengthens and comforts you now, in the name of Jesus! I prophesy, you will not die in this valley of death!
It's time to come out of the pit of depression! It is time to walk out of the valley of the shadow of death! God has a new beginning for you. It is not yet over!
INTRODUCTION:
The dictionary defines fear as "a distressing emotion aroused by an impending pain, danger, evil, etc. or by the illusion of such."
Fear exists in two forms; the fear of the Lord (which is to reverence God) and the spirit of fear.
We are told in the Bible to fear God. The fear of God is godly, positive, beneficial and productive (1 Samuel 12:14, Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 19:23 and Proverbs 14:26-27). In fact, the sure sign that a person is on the way to ruin is when he or she do not fear God.
When Jethro advised Moses to place judges in the land to help him with order and decisions, he told Moses to choose men who "fear God." (Exodus 18:21).
While the spirit of fear is evil, negative, detrimental and unproductive. It has kept many in captivity. Many who ought to be doing exploits for God and in life, are merely existing instead of living, thanks to the spirit of fear which they have yielded themselves to. Many people stil fear things that research and experience has over the years proven to be needless.
Satan the enemy of our soul has used fear effectively as a weapon over the ages, to stop those who should be champions, he has made lame those who should be leaping, he has used fear to break the wings of many eagles, he has made sick those who should be strong and healthy and he has used fear to localised or restrict to one location those who should be world changers. Fear is a serious matter, it has crippling, paralyzing, and tormenting power (1 John 4:18), hence, you must strive to overcome every kind of fear in your life in order to be victorious. Until you confront your fears, you remain a slave to it. Until you conquer your fear, you remain a failure.
POINTS TO NOTE ABOUT FEAR:
1. Fear is a basic human emotion.
It respects no one! Fear does not care who you are or where you are. Fear attacks people of all colors, all economic levels and all backgrounds. The mighty, fire breathing prophet Elijah experienced the power of fear after his great victory against the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel. Fear made him to run. It invited the spirit of depression and suicidal thought.
2. It holds up a magnifying glass to make things appear larger than they may actually be. Fear causes us to reduce the size of God and elevate the size of our challenges.
3. Fear can steal your muscle (Matthew 14: 25-31).
4. Satan uses the spirit of fear to steal ,to kill and to destroy (John 10:10)
5. Fear is a tormentor (1 John 4:18). It also enslaves.
6. It is a spiritual attack to steal peace and even destiny. It hinders progress and development.
7. Fear is a spirit but it is not given to man by God (2 Timothy 1:7). It is sinful and harmful.
8. God has given us the spirits of power, love and sound mind to counter the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).
9. Fear dictates our everyday actions.
Actions motivated by fear fall into four types—freeze, fight, flight, or fright.
10. To overcomer a powerful enemy, you need a powerful ally and Jesus is that ally (Proverbs 18:24. John 15:1415).
11. Faith activates God, fear activates the enemy.
Fear is the greatest enemy of faith. God wants to deliver everyone who struggles with fear. When we learn to live by faith and not let fear control us, we begin to live a fulfilling, satisfying, peaceful, joyful and victorious life.
12. When God's people are free from fear, they can walk in power, authority, and victory!
Fear will prevent one from doing the will of God.
13. A key to overcoming fear is ?nding the root of where it began!
What you cannot identity you cannot confront. If you are tormented by the spirit of fear, ask the Holy Spirit to show you the root reason. When He shows you a root cause of a fear, take that to Him in prayer.
14. For children, fear could be due to traumatic experiences they may have gone through or because of horror movies they may have watched.
A large part of fear is a response to the horror of painful experiences in life. Watching horror movies can affect a child deeply, leaving wounds that can only be healed by praying for God to heal those memories. We have seen many cases of parents asking for prayers because of children that are having nightmares and trouble sleeping as a result of watching late night horror movies.
15. Some fears have generational roots.
16. Fear can become a stronghold in our lives when we experience trauma.
Being in an accident, witnessing violence, or having other traumatic experiences can make one vulnerable to a spirit of fear. I know a caring mother, who lost her first child to the cold hands of death through an auto accident. Years after, whenever her other children are about to board a vehicle from one place to the other, she experiences fear.
Today, you must conquer your fears, in the mighty name of Jesus!
You can be free. We serve a God who can heal us today from what happened yesterday. Read Hebrews 13:8. God is the same yesterday, today and forever! He can heal and free us so that we no longer live in the present in response to something that happened in the past.
17. As humans, when we do something wrong, we feel guilty. We fear exposure and punishment. We fear disappointing people or public humiliation. So, we lie to cover up our sin. Still we're afraid that our lies will be discovered one day.
Today, Jesus Christ is calling you! Come to Him with your fears, guilt and burdens. Let the Light of God bring it into the open. The Light of God is our pathway to freedom.
18. People who live with fear are prone to broken relationships, missed opportunities, illness, guilt, depression, loneliness and suicide.
Satan uses fear to stop great destinies. Is he using fear to stop you? What are you afraid of?
I. Fear of death
2. Fear of failure
3.Fear of ridicule or misery
4.Fear of poverty or Misery
5. Fear of pain
6. Fear of loneliness
7. Fear of disappointment
8. Fear of rejection
9. Fear of loss of freedom/liberty
10. Fear of the Unknown
CAUSES OF FEAR:
1. Conflict
2. Health Problems
3. Attacks through dreams
4. Dangerous Situation
4. Death
5. Unmet needs
6. Fear can also result from demonic attacks.
7. False beliefs
8. Prayerlessness
10. Oppression
11. Depression
12. Trauma
TO OVERCOME YOUR FEAR
1. Know God and be known of God, because He is the final answer to all human fears (Job 22: 21).
2. Invite Jesus into your life so that He can give you another Spirit: The comforter. (John14:16,26Acts 1:8a).
3. Embrace the love of God (1 John 4:18).
4. Grow your faith by exercising of your spiritual muscles (1 Samuel 17:32-37).
5. Confront your fears.
Confronting a fear means exposing yourself to the thing, person or situation that is causing the fear. Exposure can be sudden or gradual, in large or small doses. The key is experiencing the object of your fear until you no longer fear it. Confronting it means exposing yourself to the things, person or situation that makes you afraid.
Make a list of the things that cause you to be fearful. Rank them in order of severity. Take the least troublesome one and begin working on that, exposing yourself to it until it is gone. Build on this success and attack the next one on the list in the same manner.
6. Focus on God, not your problems or challenges.
7. Trust in God’s timing, not your own timing.
8. Believe God irrespective of your situations and circumstances.
9. Learn to obey God one step at a time.
10. Be in the atmosphere of praise and worship.
A mind that's focused on praising God becomes a stronghold that fear cannot invade. A life of daily praise and worship creates an unfriendly atmosphere for demons that would try to tempt you to fear. Make it a habit to spend time praising and worshipping God daily.
11. Meditate on God's Word daily.
Try memorizing verses that speak to your heart. Here are some worth considering: Jeremiah 29:11, Hebrew 13:5; Isaiah 43:1,2; Psalm 34:4; Romans 8:15,16; Proverbs 1:33; 1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:13,19; Romans 8:28. Meditation takes information and turns it into revelation.
12. Pray about your fears.
Prayer gives access to the peace of God which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6,7). Ask God to help you overcome fear.
God encourages us not to fear, in fact the phrase FEAR NOT is used over 370 times in the Bible. But the fact is, we all have some fears to wrestle with at one time or the other, but like David, we must reject the spirit of fear and take up the spirit that confronts to conquer.
Take a stand against the demon of fear today.
DELIVERANCE FROM THE SPIRIT OF FEAR:
Confession:
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. (Psalm 27:1-3).
1. O God my Father, forgive me for not trusting in You always, in Jesus name.
2. Spirit and power of fear, lose your grip upon my life now, in Jesus’ name.
3. Powers that says I will not go far, I bind you, release me now, in Jesus name.
4. Holy Spirit, carry me beyond every limitation, in Jesus name.
5. Any rope, dragging me backward and holding me from going far, break now, in Jesus name.
6. Any power attacking me, with the weapon of failures at the edge of my breakthroughs, enough is enough, release me and die, in Jesus name.
7. Spirit of fear and terror, come out of my life, in Jesus’ name.
8. I refuse to fear, because God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, in Jesus name.
9. I break every curses and evil covenant that has brought fear into my life, in the name of Jesus.
10. Terror of the night that has brought fear into my life, release me and die, in Jesus name.
11. Every bondage that am being subjected to by the spirit of fear, break and release me, in Jesus name.
12. I recover hundredfold, every good thing I have lost as a result of fear, in Jesus name.
13. Thank God for answering your prayers.
