Bible Study

July 2008

"Facing Fear"
By
Dr. David Hernandez, DBS

Comments by,
Rev. Lila Jane Tibbitts

In serving Christ, you can rest assured it will stir up the powers of darkness like poking a stick in a hornets nest. There does not have to be any rhyme or reason for their attack other than your love for Christ and willingness to serve Him. Satan seeks to steal, kill and destroy! If that is, what you are experiencing today then let me say Praise the Lord! I rejoice with you and the other saints of God. It means you are doing something right and damaging his evil empire!

Many dear saints of God allow Satan to inflict a dark covering of fear over their lives. It is a fear that paralyzes and hinders them from experiencing victory and joy. Paul told Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Wow! Some of us could use that in this day and age. The Greek for sound mind is sophronismos (so-fron-is-moss) which means safe thinking. It is the ability to understand situations and make the right decisions pertaining to those situations with wisdom from God. The anointing of the Holy Spirit enables the believer to exercise power over fear with faith.

It is important to fill your head and your hearts with Gods Word and learn to overcome fearful thoughts. Remember Jesus said, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it abundantly. (John 10:10) This verse is pregnant with meaning. The word abundantly in the Greek is perissos (per-is-soss). It means superabundance, excessive, overflowing, surplus, over and above! Shall I continue? How about more than enough, profuse, above the ordinary, and more than sufficient! Whew! Talk about a mouthful! Therefore, we see that God desires that we enjoy a life free of fear and mental anguish and torment. He desires that we bask in His presence and rest in His love and peace.

Fear (phobos, fob-oss) means that which causes to flee. This is Satans best weapon but is powerless against the believer that knows who he or she is in Christ. 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 Jn. 4: 18). Gods love is perfect! Perfect (teleios, tel-eye-oss) has the idea of being whole, complete, perfect. That perfect love of God dwells in each and every one of you. We do not need to be bound by fear and the threats Satan hurls at us from day to day. We are strengthened by the Word of God and are overcomers as well. John the Revelator put it well when he wrote, And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (12:11)

Learn to face your fears with faith knowing God is on your side. So dont let fear destroy your faith but let your faith destroy your fears. Amen.

Comments:
Lila Jane

During the last World War, Winston Churchill made a statement that is every bit as true today as it was then. "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself!"

Once again, life is full of choices and this is one of those choices we must make on a daily basis. I will be leaving for the Philippines, Pakistan and India the end of September, and I cannot tell you the number of people who are attempting to minister fear into my ministry. I know that the Lord has directed me to make this trip, and I also know that thousands are going to come to Jesus Christ. I refuse to walk in fear, or submit to fear because "God hath not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind." II Timothy 1:7

Walk in God's peace my friends, encourage the brethren at every opportunity; and allow peace to infill you in all areas of your lives.