Freedom From Fear •

Freedom

From

Fear

_Everyone has a battle with some kind of fear in his or her life. In fact, it is difficult to see all the fears we have. Through the years, from the womb on, we are bombarded with traumas or unknowns of one degree or another. They infuse us with fear.

While counseling and praying with many people, we have discerned fear in their lives. Often times these souls are completely blind to a particular area of fear and can't see the effects it has had on their life.

Fear Has Torment

The Scriptures have much to say about fear. In fact, there are hundreds of references to fear. Note the following reference:

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." -1 John 4:17-18

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Fear is like no other experience because it embodies torment. Jesus told about the man who was forgiven in Matthew 18 but would not forgive those who owed him. This unforgiver was turned over to the torturers or tormentors because of his unforgiveness.

Who were these tormentors? It doesn't take much study to understand they were demons. The torment is ministered by demons. If you have torment, you have demons.

One aspect of torment is anxiety or troubled thoughts. If you feel:

apprehension foreboding suspense strain tension dread concern agitation malaise angst on edge worry harassed bound disturbed distress fretful troubled vexed plagued frazzled upset uneasy bothered haunted

then you have anxiety. Behind all this is fear.

Anxiety is not real. In most cases, it is future possibility but not in the present. It is brought on by belief in something negative. It is belief in the "nonword" of God—in something other than the Word of God. Torment is painful.

To feel and suffer:

agony anguish torture misery distress hurt wound burn sting pinch pierce prick stab cut lacerate irritate chaff gall grating gnawing grinding griping fester bite throbbing pounding tingling itch twinge wince writhing affliction cruelty harshness cramping hardness

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wracking soreness rawness smarting inflamation tenderness sensitiveness fire ...

is to know the torment of pain.

The Bodily Experience of Fear is Pain

Pain is the bodily experience of fear. Fear hurts, but we will pay to be scared at a movie or spook house. Why would we do this unless we didn't understand the ultimate consequences of allowing fear into our lives?

The Fruit of Fear is Bondage

The torments of fear eventually put us into bondage. Wherein Pain is the experience of fear in our flesh, bondage is the fruit of fear in our lives.

Bondage is:

subjection subjugation domination restraint control captivity slavery servitude serfdom vassalage peonage oppression intimidation henpecked tyrannized.

All of these speak of control.

The greatest bondage of all is fear of death. What torment! But look what Jesus has done;

"Inasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He (Jesus) might destroy him that had power of death, that is, the devil. And release those who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage." -Hebrews 2:14-15

Satan still threatens us with the lie that he has the power of death over us. Through the tormentors of anxiety and pain he puts us into bondage. He deceives us into thinking he can kill us, but he does not have the power of death over us unless we allow him that power through fear.

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Fear is Not an Emotion

I had always assumed that fear is an emotion because of its nature. This seems obvious because, when we fear, we feel afraid or anxious. Fear makes us feel like victims helplessly experiencing an uncomfortable emotion about which we can do little.

Contrary to the seemingly obvious, the Word of God shows us that fear is not an emotion, and we are not to be its helpless victim.

In the Scriptures, the phrase "fear not" is spoken almost two hundred times. Most surprisingly it is spoken often as a command by the Lord's.

We are commanded not to fear; therefore, fear is a choice of our will, not an emotion to_be subdued.

We Make a Choice to Fear

The Word shows us we make a choice to fear. Emotions are symptoms of the choice we make at a particular point in time. We are choosers not victims. The wrong choice makes us feel helpless. Satan comes to convince us that we can't help what we feel, but it is a lie—it is deception.

For example: suppose we have an instantaneous situation come upon us. Our response reveals what's in our heart.

"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." -Matthew 12:34

Whatever the situation is—at that moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we make a decision dependent upon our belief system. We either think something dreadful is going to happen or the Lord is going to deliver and keep us. Something goes through our mind at that moment. Then come the emotions. We are either gripped by the terror and torment of fear or peace wells up, and we know everything is okay. In either case, the emotions are the result of our choice, no matter how quickly we make it.

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How Fear Works

When fear comes into our life, it works this way:

1. It comes as a THOUGHT.

A thought comes to us and we begin to entertain it.

2. We SEE IT or visualize it.

We bring it into greater reality in our minds by seeing a picture of the thought or experience taking place in our life.

3. We SPEAK IT.

This is what brings it into reality! When God spoke, He created. He created the world with the spoken word, and we still do creative acts by speaking words. If we say: "I am afraid," we give fear reality in our life. We might say, "That scares me," or "Such and such is going to happen." We may claim ownership of some disease by saying: "I have ____." We actually speak it into existence and reality. (See Mark II: 23-24 and James 3:1-8)

4. We then get to EXPERIENCE IT.

Believe it or not, this is a powerful principle that affects our entire life!

Fear and Faith are the Same

All of these actions are the same as FAITH. Faith comes and begins with a thought. It did not come to the point of where we could see it. It is "evidence of things not seen."

So, in essence, faith and fear are identical. They are belief systems. Fear is the operation of a belief system.

God Delivers the Fearful

One of the classic "fearers" in the Bible is Gideon, Look at Judges 6:11, In the first part of this chapter, Israel was in

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great bondage and tremendous fear because of the Midianites.

"Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under an oak tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite; while his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine press, in order to hide it from the Midianites."

Gideon was hiding from the Midianites because he was afraid.

"And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said:`The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor'".

This is how God deals with us. Here is this fearful man with no boldness hiding from the enemy, and God makes a confession about him calling the things that are not as though they were.

In verse thirteen, hear the first words out of this man of God's mouth.

"Oh, My Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us and where are all of His miracles that our father's told us about saying: Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

Here we see the "abundance of the heart" of Gideon. He encounters the angel, a messenger from God, and since he is a fearful man, this is what bubbles up.

In the thirteenth verse we see that Gideon had a negative attitude toward God. He says: "Oh, Lord My God, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened?" His attitude causes him to blameGod.

This is where fear begins to take us and put us into bondage. We are somehow convinced that God is not going to keep His promise and take care of us.

Such an attitude caused Gideon to:

First: Question the Lord's help.

Second: Feel he was a victim of events.

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Third: Believe there were no more miracles. (He said it in verse thirteen: "And, where are all of His miracles?")

Fourth: Believe God had forsaken him.

Fifth: Say, "God has put us into the enemy's hands."

Fear Develops Unbelief

Gideon developed negative attitudes toward God because he was a fearful man. He questioned the Lord's help; he felt like he was a victim of circumstances and events; he felt that there were no more miracles (maybe for somebody else but not for him); he felt he had been forsaken by God and put into the enemy's hands by God.

"So he said to him, `0 my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."' -Judges 6:15

Gideon also had an attitude toward himself. Fear does this. It gave Gideon an attitude toward God and toward himself : "what can I do?"

Next, he says, "I am from the weakest of all families." In other words, "Who am I to be used of you?"

"I am just nothing," he says. Poor Gideon, he saw himself as a grasshopper the same as the spies of Israel.

"If this be so, show me a sign. Prove it to me. Let me see for myself."

We call this asking for a fleece (read Judges 6:36-40). Fearful, distrusting people need a "fleece." We cannot fully trust God because of fear.

The Greek word taraso is a derivation of the word fear. It means to be troubled; to cause inward commotion; to take away the calmness of the mind; to disquiet; to make restless; to stir up. Surely, Gideon is a classic example of taraso.

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Dealing with Fear

All fear can't be dealt with in one fell stroke. It will not all go in a moment of ministry. One's belief system must be established in the Word of God in Christ. Right choices must be made, no matter how painful or how much the emotions are stirred up with fear.

All demons fear. James says they fear and tremble at the Word of God. People who have fear have demonic activity in their life. Often we have people who come into a gathering and are afraid. They are feeling demons expressing their fear inside them. Because the person cannot divide between soul and spirit, they cannot distinguish that it is not really themselves feeling this. The more demons one has, the more fearful they are going to be. They are going to feel fear very much in their life.

When we cast out spirits of fear or fearful spirits, I believe we are dealing with demons in general and not so much spirits of fear. There are spirits of fear and there are fearful attitudes developed by the many pressing things going on in our life.

Jesus went to the cross without fear. His arrest and crucifixion came as no shock to Him. At any time He could have asked for deliverance from His Heavenly Father, but He did not because He wanted to do the will of His Father. He completely trusted the Father to see Him through the cross and to raise Him from the dead.

"Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame ... -Heb. 12:2

He wants to bring us into the same confidence, because we too will and must suffer for His sake. He died to show us the way, not to do it all so we wouldn't have to do anything.

Love is the Key to Overcoming Fear

Perfect love for Him enables me to go into a situation knowing it is going to be hurtful. Yet I can choose and endure it because perfect or complete love has cast out fear.

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We have nothing to fear. When we put our trust in Him, what can happen to us? We know His Word says, "I will keep you," so no matter what comes—no matter what circumstance erupts—we can know He will keep us. Fear cannot control our life anymore. It is a choice of our will and not an experience of a helpless emotion. The emotion and pain have been allowed to come in by a quick choice not to believe in the promise and not to trust in the Word of God.

The Point of Choice is the Key

Every time we feel fear we are at the point of making a choice. The next time fear comes and you feel what you understand to be fear, just remind yourself: "NO, I am at the point of making a choice. What am I going to choose? Am I going to believe God and His promises or am I going to receive something else?"

The emotion may not immediately go away, but as you continually make the choice, you will get stronger and stronger in The Lord and the symptoms of fear will begin to leave your life.

It does not matter what it is. If you have a phobia (there are many phobias), you are confronted with a choice to resist the symptoms of the belief system that cannot trust God for protection and safety. You must violently insist that no matter what, even if you're on an airplane that goes down, you will be all right because you believe so strongly in God's Word and His way.

How can one ever have this kind of trust?

STOP BELIEVING IN THE DREADED OUTCOME.

As a believer, either God is going to keep you and deliver you or He is not. Stop believing that He is not. The painful emotion comes from believing that God is not going to deliver you and there is going to be a dreadful outcome.

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BEGIN TO BELIEVE IN THE PROMISED OUTCOME.

Live in the promises of God: "I will keep you; I will never leave you; I will never forsake you; I will feed you; I will clothe you; I will shelter you." This is the promised outcome. Choose to believe it. Make a decision to believe it. At the point you want to believe the emotion of fear, do not!

Say, "I am going to believe The Word of God—the promised outcome of God!"

IGNORE THE THREATS THAT THE BLESSINGS OF VICTORY WILL NOT LAST.

The enemy cannot stop the blessings of God if you believe in them, so he comes and tells you they will not last. "It happened once or twice, but next time......"

This is a lie!

We let Satan tell us the blessings will not last and believe him! He is a liar! He cannot tell the truth (see John 9:44).

Do Not Allow God's Word to be Twisted

Satan came to Eve with just a little twist in God's Word to give her an edge of doubt. A little doubt is all he needs for a door of fear, and through the fear, he begins to control us. Perfect, complete love casts out fear. Perfect love casts out the possibility of distrusting The Word of our God and the provision of our Father.

Joshua was a man who took on an awesome task. Israel had been in the wilderness forty years under the leadership of Moses. They had some encounters with people who came against them. Now the leadership passed to Joshua, and he was faced with coming into a land full of Canaanites. He could see nothing ahead but conflicts, confrontations and war. It was almost impossible to not be anxious.

God began to speak to this man:

"Have I not commanded you to be strong and of good

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courage? Do not be afraid or be dismayed for your God is with you."

In verse seven God says two things to him:

"Only be strong and be very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant has commanded you and do not turn from it to the right hand or the left that you may prosper wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

This same word could be prophesied over you, but if you do not make the choices you need to make, it will never come to pass in your life. You cannot prosper if you have fear in your life, because that fear indicates you are making wrong choices. You are not choosing to stand on, live by and abide in The Word of God. If you do stand on, choose to live by and abide in the Word of God, fear will begin to diminish in your life, and you will have one single pure fear —the fear of God.

Be What God Wants You to be

Be strong, Joshua! Which means:

be powerful be potent

be mighty be forceful

be dynamic be stout

be sturdy be rugged

be robust be nervy

be impregnable be invulnerable

be invincible be unconquerable be staunch be stable be solid be sound be firm be tough be be vigorous be very be courageous be bold

be valiant be gallant

be hardy be stouthearted be lion-hearted be great-hearted bold-spirited be heroic

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be chivalrous be knightly

be soldier-like be manly

be unafraid be unfearing

be dauntless be unflinching be unshrinking be unblinking

be daring be audacious

be adventurous

Have the nerve my brother! Fear not!

This is the challenge of The Lord to you also.

The choice is yours, and you can do it in Chirst! With God's exhortation comes His impartation if we believe Him.

Stand on God's Word, No Matter What!

God's Word commands us to "FEAR NOT" again and again. Fear must be erased from your vocabulary. It must be demolished from your mind. It must be quenched in your emotions. You do this by making choices to stand on God's Word —no matter what!

Revelation 21:7 says:

"He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he will be my son."

One of the greatest evidences that you are God's is that you have no fear. What makes Him your God is that you trust Him.

Whatever He says, He will do—rely on that—stand on that. Do not be moved no matter what the circumstances. Though ten thousand fall at your right hand and though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, have an unbending confidence in your God. Make God God— your God.

Out of trust, move toward the very thing feared.

Have you feared flying? Then go flying.

Have you feared death? Then rebuke it and confess you do and will live.

Have you feared poverty? Then give something away.

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Have you feared confronting someone? Then go to them and settle the matter.

In Revelation 21:8, we read:

"But the cowardly (fearful), unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death."

Fearfulness puts one in bad company. God equates the sin of fear with murder, sexual sin and lying. We must not let fear keep us outside the Kingdom of God!

God says who He is. Do you believe Him?

The sooner you start making the choices to really believe what God says, the sooner you will find who He really is. We will overcome or be overwhelmed. We can warriors or wimps.

The Lord says:

We say:

"YES, LORD!"

[Now, go to the next page and pray]

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Model Prayer for Deliverance from Fear

Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus believing He is Your Son Who has redeemed me from sin through His death, I believe He now sits at Your right hand as my resurrected Lord.

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I repent of being fearful in anyway or about anything or anyone. I ask You to show me any hidden fear in my life. Father, forgive me for my tearfulness.

I confess to You the following fears:

(Wait on the Holy Spirit to help you here and quietly name any fear that comes to mind).

In the Name of Jesus, I rebuke the spirits of fear and command them to leave me now. God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. Fear, you must leave me now!

(Name any specific fears such as fear of death or fear of man and tell them to leave in the Name of Jesus).

Thank you, Jesus, for delivering me of fear. I ask you to fill the swept and garnished places of this house with courage, strength and wisdom that I may now walk in trust and confidence in Your Word and your protection.

Bless me now, in Jesus' Name!

Amen!

Stephen Bell