Topic: Overcoming the spirit of Fear part 1

MESSAGES FOR JANUARY 2016: OUR MONTH OF FREEDOM FROM FEAR

Theme: Understanding Our Dominion over Fear

Message for Sunday the 10^th of January, 2016

Topic: Overcoming the spirit of Fear part 1- 2Tim.1:7; Rm.8:15

Introduction: Last week we saw what fear is, some types of fear, and some consequences of entertaining them and antidotes from the word of God against them. Today, we shall begin to look at how we can exercise our God given dominion over fear. We learn from 2Tim.1:7 that fear is a spirit. We also understand that that spirit is given. However, it is not given by God. On the contrary, God has given us another spirit that counters this evil spirit of fear: the spirit of Love, the spirit of Power and the spirit of a sound mind. This truth is also emphasized in Romans 8:15 where we are told that we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but the spirit of adoption that enables us to call God our father.

Foundational steps to overcoming fear: To overcome fear, we must first understand it’s origin and God’s provision to defeat it. Therefore, below, we shall be itemizing some foundational truths we need to understand to overcome fear. When we understand these truths and begin to walk in them, building up on them would enable us grow in grace to the point where we can begin to eliminate fear completely with the faith of God.

1.     Fear is a spirit given to man by the devil: No man is really created by God to fear. Fear is not part of our original DNA from God. Man received fear through the corrupted sin nature of Adam which he received after he sinned against God in the Garden of Eden. See Gen.3:8-14. .  Since that day man sinned, the damage caused to most of mankind is traceable to fear as we can see in our world today because fear has been attracting the will of Satan to man to ruin him. People are far from oppression when they do not fear; otherwise they come under satanic oppression and terror. This is good news for the time in which we live because as we learn to overcome fear, we will walk in God’s promise to free us completely from fear. See Isaiah 54:14 and Acts 10:38.

2.     After this sad origin of fear God had to begin the work of redemption from His promise in Gen.3:15 to send the seed of the woman who we now know to be Jesus Christ to bruise the head of the serpent. Zechariah the father of John the Baptist, while prophesying about the mission of John as the prophet who would announce the Messiah; said among other things that when we are delivered from our enemies, we would serve God without fear. See Luke 1:74.

3.     When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, we become new creations and receive a new spirit. This spirit is described as follows:

The spirit of adoption as opposed to a spirit of bondage to fear

The spirit of Power

The Spirit of Love

The Spirit of a sound mind  

See 2Tim.1:7; Rom.8:15 and Hebrews 2:14-15.

4.     Having the understanding of the spirit we have received, is the beginning of our ability to exercise dominion over fear. The reason this is sometimes not automatic is that it has taken a long time to live in that fearful state. Therefore, we must build the faith that comes through renewing our minds with the word of God to the point of exercising faith by taking courageous steps to prove we believe God’s word while growing in the grace of God. This means you must do what God reveals to you in spite of your fears. So that fear would be transferred from the fear of failure to the fear of God which is a good fear. See Prov.9:10; Romans 8:15; 12:2 and Jas.1:21. The salvation of our soul is the salvation from fear because the spirit of fear afflicts the souls of men. Remember we are spirit, soul and body. It is the spirit that is saved at new birth. The salvation of the soul and body are actualized by doing the word of God revealed to us. This is what results in casting out the devil that afflicts those parts of our being and we are thus set free from fear. See 1Thess.5:23; Jas.1:21.

5.     We must understand that through His death on the Cross and taking our place in Hell, Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death and therefore fear. Fear of death is the reason people are in bondage to Satan and sin. When we realize that the one who had the power of death has been destroyed, we can exercise faith to walk out on him and tell him to get lost. To destroy means to damage without remedy; so Jesus damaged the devil without remedy. When you understand this, he would not be able to hold you in fear anymore. See Isaiah 25:7-8; Heb.2:14-15.

We shall continue next week to look at how this works so that we can bring this light to bear on the real issues of life confronting us on a daily basis. However, like we have seen earlier, the entire process of overcoming fear in its totality begins with the first step which is taking advantage of God’s solution to fear which is the new birth experience. Should you desire to do so, you can do it right away by saying the following prayer out loud and you will begin your journey from fear to faith:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.   

Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!