Exposing the Spirit of Fear New years greetings! We have enjoyed hearing from so many of you at Christmas. But from many of your letters we are again made aware of the perilous and fearful times we are living in. Great difficulties have come upon God's people and we feel God would have us share some of what He has been teaching us about fear so we may all be built up in the Lord and not be ignorant of Satan's schemes. It is important to realize that there is a spirit of fear a very real intelligent and crafty enemy. It's target is the mind where it will use both lies about our circumstances (imaginations, worst case scenarios, what ifs, etc.) as well as the truth according to men's natural knowledge apart from God (the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil psychology, medical reports, etc.) Therefore it is imperative to have our minds renewed by the indwelling Holy Spirit Who imparts Truth according to God's Word and knowledge. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind." From this we see that fear's intent is to displace the Holy Spirit in our lives and thus become our master. Then we will think and act according to its voice and enter an even deeper level dread which is fear of fear. Proverbs 1:7 tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The proper fear of the Lord involves the knowledge of His supremacy and power which motivates us to serve and worship Him alone. Likewise, the fear of fear motivates us to serve it which is actually a form of worship Satan's ultimate desire. At this point, fear will cut us off from God by creating a guilty conscience, to keep us from calling on His name and receiving His help. So, what do we do when fear assails? From experience I have seen that we have four choices. 1. Try to escape run away and not face it I have lived most of my life in fear of one kind or another. With this illness, I felt healing would bring deliverance from fear. But I am discovering that removal of circumstances is not the same as deliverance from fear. Facing fear as a enemy has been a new experience for me. For so long I escaped into entertainment or coexisted with fear, rationalizing my "right" to be afraid. I knew I was no match for it but found I was not right before God and could receive nothing from Him. As we confessed and got prayer, God did a marvelous thing. First, He set me "free to be afraid". Sound ridiculous? Not really because fear's biggest tactic is to cut us off from God. But Romans 8:38 says even my fears about today and worries about tomorrow cannot separate me from His love. And in Psalm 139:7 10 I am told no matter where I am; on the highest mountain or in the depths, I can never be lost to His Spirit. These and other truths that came to me powerfully made me realize I am safe and loved in Him even when I'm afraid. This then freed me to turn to God having my heart sprinkled from an evil conscience by His Blood (Hebrews 10:22). Oh how precious the Blood became as I saw Its power and my utter need for It. No longer did I have to struggle and fight. God began to fight for me! Until I accepted His way and provision I was overcome, but thank God who causes us to triumph, thank God for the Blood of the Lamb, thank God He is a refuge and a fortress to all who flee to Him. No wonder Satan will do anything to keep us from Him. We can never win in ourselves apart from Him we can do nothing. And his requirements for coming are not as difficult as we get deceived into making them. He has opened wide a fountain that shall never run dry. This was so awesome to me I cannot even express it. But after God's wonderful deliverance came, somehow I began to think it was up to me to maintain it. I thought His standards had changed so instead of continuing to draw on His Life, I fought to keep my deliverance and failed miserably. For it was not God's standards that had changed but mine. There is and always will be only one way to God through the Blood. Thank God! As my mind has been renewed, I have found I have to make conscious choices continually as His Word divides the soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). This enables me to take action not based on fear, past experiences, or wrong expectations but on faith in God's Words to me no matter what it feels and seems like. I appreciate your prayers for me in this walk as I continue to suffer attacks and darts during this seemingly contrary circumstance. I had a serious test come a while back. It seemed termites had been found in our building which is one of three buildings on the compound. One building had already been tented and now we were next. We had no idea how we'd get me out of here or be able to manage. I was so afraid. But as I turned to God He spoke peace to me and told me to stand still and see His preparation for me. I began to sense almost an adventure and was amazed when I didn't keep worrying about what we needed to do. The day the man came, we were absolutely amazed. The third building was infested but our building was termite free! Beloved, are you in deep waters? Don't try to escape. Don't deny your weakness. Don't fight in your own strength. God is ready to receive you and help you no matter how badly you've messed it up. Flee to Him now without delay. The way isn't easy. He never promised that but He who knows our thoughts and numbers our days waits to help us His way. For I believe the Spirit of the Lord is saying, "The Lord of hosts, regard Him as holy and honor His holy name [by regarding Him as your only hope of safety], and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread [lest you offend Him by your fear of man and distrust of Him]. And He shall be for a sanctuary a sacred and indestructible asylum [to those who reverently fear and trust in Him]. (Isaiah 8:13,14a Amp.) It is our prayer that in 1995 you and we will enter His rest and see the salvation of the Lord in a way the darkening world is longing for. May we go forth in His Name, bearing His message for His glory. Amen and Amen. We love you!
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