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GOD'S
WORD
on
the
SPIRIT
OF FEAR
by Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
"For
I the LORD thy God will hold thy
right hand, saying unto thee, Fear
not; I will help thee."
(Isaiah 41:13)
 My
Peace I give to you - Let not your
heart be troubled
Jesus
said, "Peace I leave with
you, My peace I give to you;
not as
the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid."
(John 14:27)
Since
God does not give anyone the spirit
of fear, it is evident that fear
comes from Satan, Satan who is the
ENEMY of God. Satan is the enemy of
man.
When
Jesus' powerful blood sweeps
over our souls, fear must leave
immediately! There
is no room for Satanic bondage of
any kind in the life of a Christian!
The
Word of God states: "Fear
thou
not; for I am
with thee."
"Fear
thou not; for I am with thee: be not
dismayed; for I am thy God: I
will strengthen thee; yea, I will
help thee; yea, I will uphold thee
with the right hand of my
righteousness." (Isaiah
41:10)
A
marvelous story of faith has come to
us from the Second World War:
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In
the Battle of Britain, the German
Luftwaffe rained down about
thirty-five thousand bombs upon
London during nightly air raids,
causing terrifying fear and
tremendous destruction and mayhem in
large parts of the city!
For
months, as sirens wailed out
warnings of approaching German
bombers, the general population
automatically hurried toward the
nearest Air
Raid Shelter! People learned to look
after one another during the nightly
raids and the ’morning after’
walk abouts and clean-ups!
After
a terrible night of bombardment, an
elderly woman was not seen in a
certain neighborhood for several
days. Her neighbors assumed that she
had either been killed by the
falling bombs or that she had gone
to the countryside to escape the
danger, disruption of life and
incessant noise!
Some
time later, a neighbor spotted the
elderly woman walking down the
street and articulated his happiness
that she was alive and well!
"It’s
nice
to
see you back", he said.
"I have not been away",
she replied.
"Where have you
been?" he asked.
"I’ve been at home",
said the woman!
"What have you been doing at
home during the air raids?”
inquired the neighbor.
"Sleeping", she answered!
"How could you sleep with all
the noise and explosions?"
he asked.
"Oh",
she replied, "I was reading my
Bible and found in Psalms 121: 4
where it declares that God doesn’t
slumber nor sleep, so I thought
there was no point in both of us
staying awake.”
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The
Bible says: ”Fear thou not; for I
am with thee: be not dismayed; for I
am thy God; I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea. I will
uphold thee
with with the right hand of My
righteousness.” (Isaiah 41: 10)
What
is fear and what does
fear do ?
Fear
is a corrupting, constricting and
crippling agent! Fear corrupts
us. Fear consumes the thoughts
and controls the mind.
Fear
is divisive, demeaning and
destructive! It creates a divided
heart which brings only condemnation
and confusion!
When
we allow fear in our minds and in
our hearts, we are not allowing the
Lord to give us the peace that he
promises us in the scriptures.
The
Holy Scriptures declare: ”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.” (1 John 4:
17-18)
The
Bible states, "Trust in the
Lord with all thine heart, and lean
not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and He shall direct
thy paths."
Fear
destroys the perfect love that God
gives us
Fear
destroys the perfect love that God
gives us by
the unbelief it breeds in our
hearts! When we put our full
trust in the Lord, we give him our
troubles and our fears. We are
released from fear through the Lord
Jesus Christ, and as we walk with
Him, read the Word of God and pray,
he gives us perfect peace.
The
Bible says, "Say to them that
are of a fearful heart, Be strong,
fear not: behold, your God
will come with vengeance, even God
with a recompence: he will come and
save you." (Isaiah 35:4)
It
constricts the flow of the Holy
Spirit and reduces the fruit that
faith produces! Its crippling effect
erodes the peace and joy that
results from receiving Jesus Christ
as Lord and Saviour!
Why?
Fear hampers the normal functions of
the Gifts of the Spirit, making
victims and spiritual cripples of
servants and emissaries of our Lord!
The
Bible states: ”But let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering. For
he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and
tossed. For let not that man think
that he shall receive any thing of
the Lord. A double minded man is
unstable in all his ways.” (James
1: 7-8)
Fear
is a Universal Enemy
Fear
is demeaning because it makes you
think, say and do things that makes
you look foolish, puts you outside
the will of God and is out of
character with Christian living! It
is destructive because it destroys
your confidence in God and His Word
and therefore your fellowship with
Him!
The
Bible confirms: ”For if our heart
condemn us, God is greater than our
heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us
not, then have we confidence toward
God. And whatsoever we ask, we
receive of Him, because we keep His
commandments, and do those things
that are pleasing in His sight.”
(1 John 3: 20-22)
What
is the underlying cause of
condemnation? Plain and simple: Sin!
And
what is the antidote or solution for
the serious problem of sin? The
answer in a nutshell, is the Blood
of Jesus!
What
can wash away my sin ?
The
Bible says: ”If we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another and the
blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanseth us from all sins. If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us and cleanse us
from all sins.” (1 John 1: 7,9)
When
the sin is cleansed away,
condemnation leaves and faith leaps
to the forefront! Then, miracles
occur as God answers prayer in
response to sincere faith-filled
petitions coming from a clean
heart!`
Fear
brings trepidation, torment and
terror! It is an enemy, but fear can
be neutralized, beaten and
vanquished!
The
Bible states: ”God hath not given
us the spirit of fear, but of love
and power and a sound mind.” (2
Tim.1: 7)
Since
God does not give anyone the spirit
of fear, it is evident that fear
comes from Satan, Satan who is the
ENEMY of God. Satan is the enemy of
man.
The
Holy Scriptures declare: ”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.” (1 John 4:
17-18)
Jesus
said: ”The thief (Satan) cometh
not but for to steal, and to kill
and to destroy. I am come that ye
may have life, and that ye might
have it more abundantly.” (John
10: 10)
Former
alcoholic and drug addict, James
Payne, wrote a Gospel song titled
John 3: 16. Here are the lyrics: ”
Alone
one night at the end of my rope
In a hotel in Nashville praying for
hope
In
my hand was a Bible I had read as a
child
On the table was the bottle that was
driving me wild
I
poured the whiskey into the glass
Praying that somehow I could forget
my past
Then I remembered how Jesus had died
on the tree
I poured out the whiskey and fell
down on my knees
The night Ol’ Jack Daniels met
John 3: 16
God’s
Word broke the chains that he had
over me
I traded Tennesee whiskey for
Calvary’s tree
The night Ol’ Jack Daniels met
John 3: 16
That
is the exact reaction of the spirit
of fear meeting the blood of Jesus!
When
Jesus' powerful blood sweeps
over our souls, fear must leave
immediately! There
is no room for Satanic bondage of
any kind in the life of a Christian!
The
Blessed Holy Spirit makes us free
from sin, free from guilt and free
from fear. And He keeps us free for
God’s glory!
US
President Roosevelt stated:
"The only
thing to fear is
fear itself."
U.S.
President Roosevelt stated: ”The
only thing to fear is fear
itself.” In many cases that is
true. Because fear is a spirit, when
it digs its deceptive tentacles into
a victim, raw fear often proves to
be far worse than the object of the
fear!
In
Middle East folk lore there is story
of a great warrior who meets a
mythical rider called Death,
carrying a gigantic scythe! .
Addressing him, the warrior says:
” I have just come from a battle
where I left 5,000 men dead.
Where
have you been and where are
going?” Replying, the mystical
rider says: ”I have just left the
area to which you are heading.”
Inquiringly,
the warrior
asks: ”How many dead will I find
there?” Death answers: ”The
plague killed 5,000.”
The
next week, the great warrior again
meets the mythical rider on the
windswept desert. He hails the
scythe - carrier with a shout:
”You lied to me. The plague left
50,000 dead . You told me that you
had killed only
5,000!” Death replies: ”I told
you the truth. 5,000 perished from
the plague. The rest died of
fear!”
An
old adage says: ”Cowards die a
thousand times before their death.
The
valiant tastes of death but once!’
Without doubt, fear is a real enemy
and robber. The Bible character Job,
after having been attacked by Satan,
confessed: ”The thing which I
greatly feared is come upon me.”
(Job 3: 25)
DO
NOT BE AFRAID - CALL UPON GOD IN
TIMES OF TROUBLE
When
things go wrong and it appears that
the bottom has dropped out of
everything, that is not the time to
become afraid or to panic!
God’s
Word says: ”And call upon Me in
the day of trouble: I will deliver
thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.”
(Psalms 50: 15)
Jesus
said: ”Come unto me all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you life.” (Matthew 11:
28)
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helpful links, medical facts,
medical information for phobias and
anxiety
PHOBIAS
& ANXIETY
American
Psychiatric Association
Let's
Talk Facts About . . . Phobias.
"My heart starts beating so
fast . . . it feels like it's
going to explode. My throat closes
and I can't breathe. I start to
choke. My hands start sweating.
... Phobias affect people
of all ages, from all walks of
life, and in every part of the
country ... reported that
5.1%–12.5% of Americans have phobias.
They are the most ...
www.psych.org/public_info/
phobias.cfm
NMHA
MHIC Factsheet: Anxiety Disorders -
Phobias
...
Anxiety Disorders. Phobias.
Everyone feels anxious or uneasy
from time to time ... a panic
attack or severe anxiety. Specific
phobias strike more than 1
in 10 people ..
www.nmha.org/infoctr/factsheets/
35.cfm
Useful
Information On Phobias And Panic
Internet
and CD-ROM Publisher on Health and
the Environment. ... Useful
Information On Phobias And
Panic. (posted by Hopkins
Technology) ... The Varieties of
Fear. Phobias take many
forms. Some people are terrified
of dogs, even tiny ...
www.hoptechno.com/book48.htm
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