Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Purpose of Fear 2

'When my ANXIOUS THOUGHTS multiply within me, your consolations delight my soul. Can a THRONE OF DESTRUCTION be allied with You, one which DEVISES MISCHIEF BY DECREE? They band themselves together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
But the LORD has been my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. He has brought back their wickedness upon them and will destroy them in their evil; the LORD our God will destroy them.' [Psalms 94:19-23]
This wonderful passage shows us what's really going on in the spiritual realm.
Anxious, tormenting thoughts come from without, not from within! Evil spirits have pirated thrones of authority that were made by and for Jesus—consider Colossians 1:16...
'For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.'
We've seen, in Job 4, how the spirit of fear comes and whispers lies and deceptions. Now we understand that these spirits are devising mischief BY DECREE! They are decreeing destruction against us from these positions of stolen authority, and these decrees cause anxiety, or fear.
Why? Because Satan knows how things really work! He knows that what we believe and speak will come to pass...faith in God brings His Word to pass in our lives, and conversely, what we fear befalls us!
So these spirits of fear, of death and destruction, are banding themselves together against us.
The Good News
But the good news is really great! Jesus has stripped them of their power!
'When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He MADE YOU ALIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had DISARMED the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having TRIUMPHED over them through Him.' [Colossians 2:13-15]
And we know that it is His will that we walk in this triumph, because 2 Corinthians 2:14 tells us...
'But thanks be to God, who ALWAYS leads us in TRIUMPH in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.'
Hallelujah! It is His will that we reign in life through the One, Christ Jesus! [Romans 5:17, Revelation 5:10]
And we know that His will is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and that He has rested from His works! [Hebrews 4:3,10]
Plus, we know that we are surrounded by songs or shouts of deliverance [Psalm 32:7] AND that the Blood of Jesus is speaking for us in the heavenly Holy of Holies! [Hebrew 12:23] Psalm 34:7 says 'The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear—revere, godly fear or awe—Him, and rescues them.'
I guess there's a lot going on around us...
Why Do We Need To Know This?
Why is it important to know these things?
First, the Word tells us that the truth will make us free. [John 8:32]
The Word is our only rock...it is the only place where we can discern what is of God and what are lies and deceptions of the enemy.
The enemy knows that fear will draw its object to us, so he knows if he can get us to fear he can bring his will upon us...and using doctrinal error and heresies, he can get us to blame God at the same time! Evil will befall us, we'll blame God, and we'll tell everyone we know about it, destroying not only our faith but the faith of all who hear it.
I don't care if the lies come straight from the pulpit—anyone who hears that God has 'taken' a child has, from that point forward, less faith for the protection of their own loved ones.
We will have faith in something, because we are faith creations, made in the likeness of a faith God. He created the universe by faith, and He gave us power in the earth to create our lives through faith. And we know from the story of the Tower of Babel that this is true of all men and women, not just the re-born.
God's way of doing everything is by faith, and we, like all mankind, are created in His image. Then, when we are born again, we are born of the imperishable seed, which is the living and enduring word of God! [1 Peter 1:23]
The Deceiver
Satan is called a thief [John 10:10] and the deceiver [2 John 7]. If he can get you to take the fear, and believe that it is from within your soul, he's home free!
The truth is that God has NOT given us a spirit of fear [2 Timothy] and we know that the spirit of fear comes from outside of us to torment us with anxious thoughts. Its purpose is clear...what we fear befalls us [Job 3:25].
Jesus told us plainly that "The thief comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly—have abundance." [John 10:10, NASB reference]
But praise God...1 John 3:8 says 'The Son of God appeared for this purpose, TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.'
Hallelujah!
Try To Remember
So try to remember, when fear or anxiety comes upon you, these things:
1. Fear is a spirit, coming from outside of you. It does not belong to you and is not from God.
2. We have been RESCUED from the domain—the authority—of DARKNESS, and TRANSFERRED to the KINGDOM OF HIS BELOVED SON. You've had a supernatural transfer, and you don't answer to your old boss anymore!
3. Satan has been defeated—disarmed—and made a public display of!
4. We have been given authority over ALL HIS POWER! [Luke 10:19]
5. Psalm 91:10,13 says 'NO EVIL WILL BEFALL YOU...' and 'You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent YOU WILL TRAMPLE DOWN.'
6. Angels have been assigned to protect you and render service for your sake, according to Psalm 91 and Hebrews 1. How do you activate this protection? By saying!
'I WILL SAY to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in Whom I trust!"
'For YOU HAVE MADE the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.
"He will CALL upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation."' [Psalm 91:2,9,15-16]
Say what God says! Defeat the tormenter the same way Jesus did, when He was tempted...IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN!
And don't believe the lies.