Fear began in the garden and ended on the cross… Fear entered in by one man: Adam. Love was perfected and it cast out fear by one man: Jesus. Genesis tells us that Adam and Eve hid themselves in shame. It states that when God called for them in the garden of Eden, that they were, “naked and afraid.” Its the first time fear was mentioned in the Bible. However, 1 Corinthians shows us that was lost in creation, was restored through Jesus. Here’s what it says: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” In John 3:16-17 it tells us that God so loved us… and that He didn’t come to condemn us. I John 4:18 tells us that perfect love casts out all fear.
Fear is meant to keep you where you are. It’s designed to keep you from moving forward. Religion also uses fear to keep things the way they are. Religion deals in rules, fear and judgment. However, Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. Fear will keep you from moving forward. It will keep you from seeing things change, that need to change. Jesus came to empower us, and the Bible tells us many times, in numerous passages: “do not be afraid.”
Its my desire to see people set free from fear and to be empowered to live a victorious, peaceful, joyous life. I don’t want to see people be so bound by fear that it keeps them from experiencing all that God has for them. I don’t want you to be so gripped by fear that you never know the joy of surrender or obedience. I don’t want you to live another day, with fear robbing you of joy, hope or peace.
Fear is an illusion that can distort reality and keep you from knowing, seeing, or experiencing what’s on the other side of what you fear most. Don’t allow what you fear the most; to keep you from what you desire the most.
- Here’s how fear is defined in Webster’s: an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger or uncertainty. |a state marked by this emotion. |an anxious concern caused by emotion. | profound reverence and awe toward God.
- In the Bible, there are two words for “fear”: One is phobos, a fear that either keeps us bound up with terror or causes us to flee in face of the unknown. The Bible has hundreds of scriptures telling us not to have this kind of fear. The other word for fear is yirah, which is awe and respect. This type of fear keeps us safe from consequences. It’s a healthy fear.
*Genesis 3:9-13 – fear will cause you to doubt, hide, lie, and blame.
In the Bible the most general word in the New Testament for faith is ‘pistos’ which means: belief, confidence, or trust. Or, it could be said this way, “a trust that produces a confident belief.” Faith is trusting God even when it doesn’t make sense from our limited perspective.
*Hebrews 11 – faith will cause you to hope, believe, trust and have confidence.
“Without Faith it is impossible to please God.”
1. Faith is the beginning of all things.
2. Faith pleases God.
3. Faith allows us to receive salvation.
4. Faith gives us access to God.
5. Faith is required, to live the life God desires for you to live.
* We must have faith that God is who says He is!
* We must have faith that we are who God says we are!
* We must have faith that God will do what He said He will do!
You must remember: “Faith is not taking matters into your own hands; it’s putting ‘it’ in Gods hands and trusting Him for the outcome.” Someone said, “everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” Don’t let fear dictate your decisions. We all have fears, but pushing past your fears will determine your success and establish your peace. To counteract fear you will need the antidote of faith.
***An antidote is: a remedy to counteract the effects of something.
Another good antidote to fear is: “Fear the right thing!”
In other words: If you are going to be afraid, be afraid of never accomplishing your dream, be afraid of not walking in freedom, be afraid of not experiencing what you truly desire to experience. This fear of “the right thing”… should give you the courage and determination to do the right thing, that in turn, will grow your faith.
*When Fear Knocks; Answer With Faith.
> You can believe the lie or thought that will produce*(fear) or
> You can believe the fact or truth that will produce *(faith).
> Fear will create a stronghold that binds.
> Faith will create a strong-tower that liberates.
Common Fears That We All Face… the Stronghold That Fear Produces… and the Faith Answer for That Fear:
1. Fear of Not Being Good Enough. >Stronghold- UNWORTHINESS
> Faith Answer: “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”
2. Fear of Not Having Enough. >Stronghold- DESPERATION
> Faith Answer: “I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or His seed begging for bread.” – “my God shall supply all my needs, according to His riches in Glory!”
3. Fear of Missing “It”. >Stronghold- DISCOURAGEMENT
> Faith Answer: “He goes before me” – “He orders my steps” – He establishes my beginning from my end.” Believe your faith is not so fragile that if you get off track or miss it, God through His eternal GPS can get you back on track. – Bishop TM
4. Fear of The Future. >Stronghold- UNCERTAINTY
> Faith Answer: “I know the thoughts and plans you have for me, thoughts of peace and not evil. Plans to give me a future filled with hope!”
You can trust the ‘unknown’ to a God who knows the unknown, and who knows you.
I’ve had moments where I’ve experienced fear in my life and it’s caused me to react and respond in ways that other wise, I never would have. I’ve also had great moments of faith come over me where I’ve responded, reacted, and received in ways that other wise, I never would have. Fear and Faith both, will cause you to… see, say, do, think, and believe what you other wise, never would have! Let’s look at the comparisons…
1. Fear vs. Faith
> Fear Will Cause You to See What You Wouldn’t See <
| Fear will make you see things that don’t exist. You can be in the woods and get scared and think that a tree is a person. You can be in your room and become frightened and think the shirt you through over the chair is someone in the room. |
> Faith Will Cause You to See What You Wouldn’t See <
| Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We walk by faith, not by sight. Sometimes you have to see it by faith, before you actually see it in reality. When the prophet prayed for rain and sent his servant, he didn’t see anything. But, the seventh time he saw a cloud the size of a mans hand. I believe the prophet saw it raining before the servant ever saw the cloud. Sometimes you have to see it by faith… I see myself saved, healed, whole and prosperous! |
2. Fear vs. Faith
> Fear Will Cause You to Say What You Wouldn’t Say <
| Fear will make scream, stutter, and maybe even curse. It will make you make promises you can’t keep. It will make you say things you didn’t mean. |
> Faith Will Cause You to Say What You Wouldn’t Say <
| Sometimes, especially when it comes to faith, you may have to say it, until you see it. When you feel like you’ve lost the strength to carry on, say by faith: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” When you feel like you’re overwhelmed, say by faith: “I’m an overcomes through Christ who loved me and gave Himself for me.”|
3. Fear vs. Faith
> Fear Will Cause You to Do What You Wouldn’t Do <
| When you’re afraid it will cause you to do things you wouldn’t do normally. Fear will cause you to run in terror, trip in despair, and fall down while trying to get away quickly to somewhere safe. It will cause you to hit, claw, or scratch, anything, or anyone that’s close by. |
> Faith Will Cause You to Do What You Wouldn’t Do <
| Faith will cause you to do what you wouldn’t do as well. It will cause you to love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable. It will cause you to pray when you feel like giving up. It will challenge you to give, love, trust and believe in ways that you wouldn’t be able to in the natural. It’s only by a supernatural ability through faith by grace that will empower you to do what you do!
4. Fear vs. Faith
> Fear Will Cause You to Think What You Wouldn’t Think <
| Fear will make you think there’s someone outside, when it’s just a tree limb hitting against the house. Fear will make you think you’re going to die, when in reality, you’re going to live. It will make you think there is no way out, when in reality there is a way of escape and God will make a way where there seems to be no way. |
> Faith Will Cause You to Think What You Wouldn’t Think <
| This is the beginning of training your brain to think differently… say this: I am! I can! I will! And that’s because, I’m loved, I belong, and I am accepted. The Bible says, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. What you hear you remember, what your remember you rehearse, what you rehearse you remember. What you think about the most becomes ‘the story of your life’. Train your brain to live by faith and to think on things that produce life and hope, thoughts that bring joy and peace. |
5. Fear vs. Faith
> Fear Will Cause You to Believe What You Wouldn’t Believe <
Fear will cause you to believe you heard something you didn’t hear, see something you didn’t see, and believe something exists, that doesn’t.
> Faith Will Cause You to Believe What You Wouldn’t Believe <
Faith will cause you to believe that all things are possible. It will cause you to remember this: now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly above all I’m able to ask, think or imagine… according to the power at work in me!
Fear is an illusion that can distort reality and keep you from knowing, seeing, or experiencing what’s on the other side of what you fear most. Don’t allow what you fear the most; to keep you from what you desire the most.
“Let faith determine what you do… not fear!”
“Let faith dictate your decisions… not fear!”
“Let faith unlock your future… not fear!”
Trust God and allow your fear to diminish and your faith to be strengthened…
⁃ When Things are Unknown.
⁃ When Things are Uncertain.
⁃ When Things Get ‘Shaken Up’.
*Paul and Silas were thrown in prison after being falsely accused, beaten and chained in stocks, both hand and foot. However, at midnight they began to pray and sing. Midnight was a hinge moment. When things looked the darkest, Paul and Silas sang and prayed… they trusted, and they let faith dictate their response, not fear!
Paul said in Romans 8, that he is persuaded that nothing could separate us from the love of God. He said in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.” Remember we started this blog by saying the first time fear was mentioned in the Bible was in Genesis. It was in regards to Adam and Eve hiding in shame, clothed in fig leaves, in the garden God had created for them… after they had disobeyed Him. Nevertheless, God sent Jesus to become the second Adam and He became our second chance! as Mankind was born into sin and disobedience through the lineage of Adam. It was Gods love the saved us, and it is that love that perfects us. It also that love that casts out fear. What began in a garden in fear, ended on a cross in love! God loves you and He is for you. He’s not against you and He is not mad at you. Therefore, you have no reason to fear!
