After confronting several members of a "Family Rights Group" members on a social website regarding their cowardice in their unwillingness to follow the US Constitution out of fear, I felt in my spirit to re post this article below regarding-the emotion of "Fear" itself, and how it has seeped into every community and family, even the Church today. Fear has taken over many lives and has prevented good to flourish. This should not be. Especially the Christian should be the bold, courageous, and the one to stand up to all evil. Sadly this is not happening.
The following article addressing "Fear" is not my own. It was written by a friend of mine, a Nigerian Christian Minister. It is an excellently written article and is quite timely so is why I am re posting it. His words were written to Christians, but even those who live according to the world can understand and glean some of what he is stating as fact. We do have a choice on how we react to "Fear." There are seemingly many cowards especially in America, and if God is for us, who can stand against us? Let brother Emma's words soak into your spirit to encourage you to stop being fearful. Please read on...
" Deliverance From Evil", By bro, Emma Okorie
'Fear has done a lot of damage to man. It has been the enemy of humanity from
creation. 1John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love
casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made
perfect in love.' We are commanded rather to fear the Lord and not the
devil. Ecclesiastes 12:13: 'Let
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.' Whoever is oppressed
by fear is devoid of faith and has become an enemy of God even if he is born
again and a member of a church. This is because without faith it is impossible
to please God. One possessed by fear cannot
expect to excel in business, occupation, home and general life. God operates
with the principle of faith just as the devil thrives with fear and anyone
possessed thereby is negative in all he does.
One under the clutches of fear is full of the devil and his works
whether he indulges in sin or not and such cannot expect to receive any good
thing from the Lord.
Job was a good man, a righteous man approved of
God. He was like any good Christian you
may find in the modern day but a monster was resident within his system called
fear – fear of the devil, of failure, disappointment, sudden death and many
other things. He lamented in Job 3:25 'For
the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid
of is come unto me' What was unwholesome
in all the sacrifice Job was giving was that it was all coloured by fear of the
devil. A number of us are in the same
position even though we may look confident and wonderful externally. We clap hands in church and look like faith-filled
believers but deep down many are contending with an ailment called fear. It is a subtle and mysterious situation but
it is right in there whether well masked or not. Until this monster is conquered, there is no
way one can experience a release. If we
are truthful, most of us will own up that fear is a giant we are battling. We have taken time to speak on faith,
covenant, vows, and those other issues given to us to succeed as believers but
the reason we are not getting desired results is because right at the
foundation of our lives rests fear and, to overcome this enemy, it must be
uprooted.
There are two kinds of fear - the fear of God, and the fear of the
devil. The fear of God is reverential
fear which invariably leads to obedience because of the realization of God’s
power as well as His love for man. This
fear is for the good of man and is bound to lead him to worship God
faithfully. The fear of the devil can be
best understood as the fear induced by intimidation and threat from
adversaries. This fear is a spirit which
easily displaces faith in the heart of a child of God. When man develops faith, God comes to his
help but when overcome by fear, the devil sends his demons to visit and
possibly destroy him. This is the fear
from which the servants of God need deliverance.
A man who is full of fear of the devil is never
satisfied no matter how much prayers he has said or have been said for
him. The prayers are not effective
because they rest on ingrained fear.
Once fear is removed, God has full access to the person’s life. Everyone must thus determine to conquer fear
because it is a spirit. Unless it is
cast out, healing will not occur, progress will not be experienced and every
good thing one is looking for will be farfetched. What is required to deal with it is to come
on the same page with God through faith.
Fear is no respecter of persons whether young or
old. It is the greatest weapon of the
devil which he wields over the young and old, big and small. No matter how much exploits one has done as a
minister in times past when fear takes root, progress is stalled. Fear and faith cannot live under the same
roof –they are sworn enemies. One must
give way for the other to thrive. King Saul
was a gallant man of God who once prophesied in the midst of prophets. When Israel was threatened, he killed his ox
and sent a piece to every tribe saying to them “same thing will happen to the
cattle of everyone who does not come to battle.” The people rallied around him and defeated
Philistia. No one can say that Saul was
not a man of faith but a soon as God left him he was overtaken by the spirit of
fear. Through fear he opened a doer to
the devil and his end was only a matter of time.
1 Samuel 28:4-8 (TLB) report: 'The
Philistines set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul and the armies of Israel were
at Gilboa. When Saul saw the vast army
of the Philistines, he was frantic with fear and asked the Lord what he should
do. But the Lord refused to answer him
either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Saul then instructed his aides to
try to find a medium so that he could ask her what to do, and they found one at
Endor. Saul disguised himself by wearing
ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes.
He went to the woman’s home at night, accompanied by two of his men.
‘I’ve got to talk to a dead man,' he pleaded. 'will you bring his spirit up?' Out of naked fear Saul went to consort with a
witch whom he had earlier disdained and expelled in the days when he served God.
The sight of the vast armies of Philistia had left
Saul cringing with fear. Many today do
unbelievable things in this same state, many known believers have consorted
with witches, entered churches with dubious doctrines and foundations and
tolerated things they would never have put up with in the past. Saul died with Jonathan his son in the
ensuing battle. This is what happens
when we open doors to the devil through fear.
When Peter walked on water to meet Jesus, he
stayed afloat until fear engulfed him.
Matthew 14:29-31, 'And he said, Come. And when Peter was come
down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw
the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying,
Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus
stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?'
This happens all the time. Jesus says 'come' and we ride on faith until
fear sets in and we sink. Fear is at the
head of every sin. Revelation 21:8 says. 'But
the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second
death.' The question is, where is the position of these sins and
atrocities enumerated here? Fear is
number one. Fear produces all of them
yet when some worship God with outstretched arms shouting, jumping and shedding
tears, one thinks they are right in heaven with Christ. This is until Satan presents a deeply
challenging situation.
I have once been a victim of fear. Right at the middle of exploits in
evangelistic and preaching ministry, crisscrossing lands and seas advocating
the gospel and winning souls for our Lord Jesus Christ, healing all manner of
diseases and casting out demons, raising the dead, the scourge of fear stole
into me unannounced and unnoticed. I had
enjoyed divine health all my evangelistic life, never sick or hospitalized but
at 58, I was struck with a sickness which engulfed me with fear. It was so bad that my heart told me that
death was at hand. One day, Dr Jude
Ehiemere, Medical Director of Living Word Mission hospital as well as my close
friend and personal doctor, looked me straight in the face in my home and said,
“Bro Emma, you have been captured by fear.” That was a stunning accusation, but
a realization, that at the height I had attained in ministry and life, I had been
permeated and ceased by fear, dawned on me.
My blood pressure rose to the sky and crashed to the valley at will like
a yo-yo, Dr Jude’s statement was simple and straightforward, the language that
delivered me. It had never occurred to
me that what was holding me down after all manner of prayers was that I was
under the captivity of fear. As soon as
I heard this truth, I jumped up from the sick bed and shouted, 'God forbid, how
can fear capture a man of God of my standing?
I will not allow it!'
Even though initially I was shocked to be spoken
to that way because it looked strange considering the theology I had held that
a child of God could not be possibly possessed by demons. Then I realized that fear is a demon that can
take hold of anybody no matter his size or age, a fact that cannot be
theologized away. I am someone who comes
to a quick realization when told the truth no matter how bitter. I am quick to repent and apologize when I
realize that I have blown it. I am humble
enough to own up my short comings and make amends. There was no point arguing the obvious out of
foolish pride. I had become agitated and
afraid and could no longer sleep. On
account of that my BP had spiraled out of control and this aroused in me a
horror feeling with the devil whispering over and over 'you are going to die
any moment from now.' My wife was away
abroad and I was alone in the house surrounded by security men who couldn’t
help me in any case. Frequently I got up
and made sure the door was open so that they wouldn’t need to break the door to
get my body. In the bathtub, sitting on
the toilet, I wondered whether I would end up like some of the people I heard that
simply passed on in their bath or while relieving themselves. It is indeed a fearful thing to be captivated
by fear!
At the time I agonized about my health, the
leader of the body of Christ had not as much as consulted the bible to consider
God’s opinion about the issue. I was at
the point where many try all kinds of herbs and self medication. Truly, fear can turn a wise man into a
foolish person ready to believe even a lie.
It is a time when all manner of thoughts assail the mind: 'I have not built a house, I don’t even have
a son to sustain the family name, and to die at this age?' Pray never to become a slave of fear! But the words of a friend jolted me back and
I resolved to redeem myself. Great as
Paul was at the height of his ministry, he came to the point he prayed, 'O
wretched man that I am! Who shall
deliver me from the body of this death?' (Romans 7:24). There and then, I resolved to separate fear
from sickness, a potentially dangerous combination. It was a shock really to realize that an old
preacher like me could be so possessed.
I had never doubted my destination but fear had captivated me and
thwarted my mind.
CONSEQUENCE
OF FEAR
Fear
obviously produces anxiety – a state where even medication does not work, conception
is impossible and even the Holy Spirit is kept at bay. In this state one cannot even hear God. All one hears is the voice of flesh and any
decisions arrived in this state are carnal and bound to lead to failure. Fear hinders all from being the people God
purposed them to be.
Fear
engenders cowardice.
That was why the Israelite spies were unable to take the lands assigned to them
by God. They claimed in Numbers 13:33: 'there
we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in
our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.' Ten out
of twelve spies undertook a national mission in morbid fear and the result of failure
was predictable. Fear will never see any
issue from the eyes of God but through the eyes of the world. Fear made the ten spies suffer from very poor
self evaluation: they felt like grasshoppers before the very people God sent
them to displace!
When Gideon went to fight the armies of Median
with a troupe of 22,000 soldiers, the Lord told him that the people with him
were too many, 'lest Israel vaunt
themselves against me, saying, mine own hand hath saved me.' He instructed Gideon in Judges 7:3: 'Now
therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is
fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And
there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten
thousand.' At the end of this
exercise, there remained only 300 valiant men who easily defeated the
Medianites. God is looking for fearless
men and women to put to work, men and women who have no fear of the devil.
During the advent of Goliath, the Philistine giant, it was despicable how grown
men, soldiers of Israel, scurried away to hide under rocks and shrubs because
of fear. David, a mere youth, appeared
and defeated the giant. From thence, he
became famous in Israel and God chose him to be king over the nation.
SOLUTION
You must determine to do what I did and take
back your life from the domain of fear.
Why should high blood pressure and diabetes hold you captive? Why should you constantly fail in
business? Why are things going out of
hand the way they are? Why is your body
not responding to prayer? It is all
because fear is at the foundation of your life.
Except you deal with it, your prayers are in vain for no foundation laid
in fear can succeed.
When Dr Ehiemere accosted me with the naked
truth, I resolved to deliver myself. This I did with the word of God. I took hold of 2 Corinthians 10:5 and brought
it to bear upon myself. 'Casting
down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ;' I had tried many hospitals and doctors. In this situation, your doctors become your
god. As soon as the blood pressure began
acting up I would get on the phone and call doctors all over the world. I had transferred my faith to doctors and my
discussion had become, 'this is the opinion of Doctor so and so in USA or
India.' I couldn’t drive or sustain one
straight message in a day but I am a man who sometimes preaches four messages
in a day. I took hold of the imaginations coming from my mind and from the
institution of knowledge and wisdom, as well as negative utterances of others
and brought them into captivity and obedience of Christ.
Have they told you that your sickness, even HIV
and cancer cannot be healed? Spiritual
warfare is a battle of words and the ammunitions we have are greater than the
devil’s. The solution is to cast down
every imagination. This was what David
did to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45-47 when he screamed at him '…, Thou comest to me with a
sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of
the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46
This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and
take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the
Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the
earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the
LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will
give you into our hands.'
The word of God is the only weapon to wage the
devil, and destroy the destroyer. I
consciously reminded myself that the word of God works, the Spirit of God
works. We have not believed in vain. I will have stripped myself of flesh for
nothing. Christ rose from the dead and this is the hope of all believers. The word of God is alive, it works! The name
and blood of Jesus works. I kept at
myself until I got out of the lion’s den. I was healed! And I stay healed and vibrant eight years
after, building kingdoms for God.
Fear stems from the imagination but the word of
God is above every imagination. 2
Timothy 1:7 says, 'For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind.' Put yourself together whenever negative
thoughts pose a threat. Cast it out by
listening to the word of God. Have
nothing to do with unfruitful works of Satan.
Walk by faith, not by sight. Let
your confidence rest on Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not; for I am with you: Do not be
dismayed. I am your God. I will
strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right
hand”
God bless you"
Rev.
Paul P. Waldmiller~Black Robe Regiment Pastor
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Saviour ? Find Out Here....
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