PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR AND TORMENT (1 JOHN 4:16)
After you have begun seeking more of the love of God, and applying forgiveness to your life and to the lives of others, there are still other things that can help with your sanctification process.
We need to understand fear (our enemy) as we get to know the Love of God. The Bible is very clear that a mature believer discerns both good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). I found that when people are in fear, it's because they have not been loved or unable to receive love. And it's usually because they don’t think anyone could love them because of all the things they've done in their life. We need to understand as believers, that when we are saved, ALL our sins are forgiven, yesterday's, today's and tomorrows. This is why Christians have guilt and condemnation, they don't really "believe" they've been forgiven, it's evidenced if they cannot forgive themselves. Refer back to the session on forgiveness if needed before going on. You ask what unforgiveness has to do with fear? It is the direct opposite of faith (love). Forgiveness is God's love. Jesus came so that we can receive forgiveness and have it to give! He came so we could receive God's love and walk in fellowship with Him and with others. Fear will prevent good things from taking place in your life! (Isaiah 35:4-6)
Whenever love is absent fear is always present. They cannot dwell at the exact same time, you will have one or the other at ALL times. We cannot have light and darkness at the same time. We cannot be up and down at the same time. Neither can we have fear and love at the same time. If you find yourself living in doubt and unbelief, and the next minute believe, then the next minute you have doubt again, it's because when you doubt you are in fear, and when you believe (have faith), you are in love.
Faith vs Fear:
Now Faith is substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. It's the evidence of something not real. You need to understand that the enemy counterfeits everything that is of God. You need to understand that fear (the devil's faith) is the direct opposite of God's love (faith). Pastor Henry Write quotes: "Fear and Faith are equal in this dimension. Both project into the future and both demand to be filled." Fear pushes, faith leads. We will live under one or the other at ALL times! Which will you choose?
I have found countless times that when a person has fear, they are not experiencing love. The Bible tells us that "Perfect Love casts out all fear and torment" (I John 4:16). In my life, when I begin to "feel" fear, I immediately recognize what is happening, that the spirit is trying to take me again which means I'm not at that moment of receiving God's love. So I would pray, "God I'm sorry for fearing, and I receive your love right now. Thank you for loving me right now." I take responsibility, confess my sin of fear, and begin to receive God's love. And within minutes the fear is completely gone! Every time, without failure! I may "feel" it while I'm saying this, but afterwards, the feeling leaves because God is the one who frees me… my job is to recognize and confess, His job is to line my feelings up with the truth.
Fear comes in all forms, not just fear of heights or closed in areas. It can be dreading something, worrying, frustrations, confusion, anger, depression, lying, discontentment, and so on. Fear is the devil's faith and it is apparent we operate in this faith than God's. Anything that is not of faith (love and truth) is sin. (Romans 14:23)
I remember when I started flying after 9/11. Not only did I have the regular fear that comes from flying but now added fear of terrorists. But my ministry calls for me to travel from time to time and I had to face this fear. I knew that I was delivered from the "spirit of fear" but now I had to go and walk it out. I remember being a little anxious in my mind several days before flying. I heard the Holy Spirit say, "I am going to give you faith when you need it, not before." So I realized I wasn't trusting God and wanted that faith now for tomorrow. It doesn't work that way. God is the great "I am." That means now. So the time came for me to board the plane. With each step, it was a struggle, but I kept saying, Lord you love me, with each step. The minute I put my foot on the plane a peace fell over me like never before. I received the "faith" to "do" at that moment in time. The trip was effortless and even a joy. Now when I travel, I know God will give me the peace I need, because I know He Loves me and I trust that.
When we have fear, many physical ailments can come from it. If you have stress, that is the politically correct way of saying, "I have fear." Stress comes from fear. Anxiety comes from fear. Phobias come from fear. Feeling rejected and abandoned comes from fear. Fear is at the bottom of almost every dis-ease out there. So is fear the root? Not necessarily. Because I found that behind fear is pride. Think about this for a minute. The reason we fear people is because we don't want to be rejected, feelings of rejection come from pride. You may not say this but pride says this, "How can they reject me, they don't know who I am." I heard a statement that I believe is true: A humble man doesn't get offended. If we don't have pride, what is left? Love
Ailments:
So what are the ailments I'm talking about? Auto-immune diseases, high blood pressure, nervous system problems, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, parasites, Depression, Insomnia, Ulcers, Acne, Diabetes Type A, Hay Fever, irregular heart, muscle function, back aches, muscle contraction and candita - to name a few. Look it up for yourself, it's in the medical journals. What is the stressor behind these things? Fear.
Long-term fear produces a cortisol drip that keeps your body in a state of high anxiety - a feeling of running all the time. I remember when I found out that what I had was anxiety, now I understood why I was very works oriented. Constantly having to do something, never could sit still. Never had peace, my mind racing all the time.
When you persistently fear the future, it affects your heart condition. Luke 21:26 says that men's hearts fail them because of fear. This isn’t saying you are never going to fear, it’s talking about someone who consistently stays in fear – for example “what if’s” of tomorrow.
Let's begin taking the Word more serious and cooperate with God. When we do the word, we will fulfill all the promises written. Again, if we keep this ONE commandment, we fulfill all, and blessings follow. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and strength, and love others as you love yourself, upon these hang all the law and the prophets. Fear comes when we aren't loving or experiencing love. People will fail you, but God never fails you. Stop trying to get from others what you can only get from God. His love is perfect and unconditional. Our love is not always so. When we receive Gods' love, all fear has to go, and then we can freely love others without fear.
Spirit of Fear
Now that we know that fear is sin, we also need to know that fear is a spirit. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind." So let me ask you which do you possess? Fear or power (peace), love (unconditional) and a sound mind (stability). I would suspect if you don't have power, love and a sound mind, you mainly dwell in fear. So it's not the question if we can be possessed by an evil spirit, but rather does an evil spirit have us? And we know by answering the question I just asked. Now don't go into fear about this. If you do then there is another fear - fear of the devil. We are not to be in fear of him at all. When we do that, we are making him more powerful than God! Time to repent for this.
I had to reconcile all this within my own heart because I was taught that when you receive Christ as your personal Savior, only the Holy Spirit is in there. Many stay in this mindset because they fear, fear - this is called agoraphobia. I discuss more in my book, A Matter of the Mind, and Revealing Truth, so be sure to take a look at those.
You may have heard the scripture that says if you are free from one spirit and don't fill up the place where the spirit left, then it can come back with 7 worse than himself and take up residence in you again. (Remember, these are "in" you, not "on" you. I used to say I was oppressed by the devil, but this is not accurate. If we experience fear, is it on our shoulder or in our bodies? You decide.) So, for those of you who fear being delivered, take heart. This is talking to people who don't have the Lord. When Jesus was healing people, remember, the Holy Spirit and salvation hadn't happened yet. Only when Jesus rose from the grave was this possible. So when they were delivered from a spirit, they were empty, they had to on purpose seek out God to fill them. But when we get rid of an evil spirit, the Holy Spirit living inside us fills up that space in our lives because he's already there. Because if you were anything like me, I had a lot of knowledge, but it was only head knowledge. So when a spirit leaves, we are making room for that head knowledge to become heart knowledge! Yes, we need to still seek God to be filled in those areas, but don't fall into fear because you have what you need to keep evil from returning. This is what it means to exercise your faith, believing you are loved, believing the Word you have read, this is how we fill ourselves up.
"We are to keep ourselves unspotted from the Word." We are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." We are to keep ourselves out of the snare of the devil. How? By being filled with the truth, His love, and His forgiveness. Fear keeps you unclean, and that's the enemy's M.O. (Method of Operation). The enemy can only produce fear, why? Because when he was cast out of heaven, not only was he stripped from being a favored angel with lots of responsibilities in Heaven, but he was stripped from ever receiving God's love again! When we are separated from love, we are in fear. Since Satan is separated from God's love, he wants to separate you too! Don't let him any longer. Deal with this area of fear by accepting and receiving God's perfect love for you.
I would like to lead you in a prayer of repentance. (If you want to be free from the spirit of fear.) Then I will pray for you after that.
"Dear Heavenly Father, I come before you recognizing that fear is sin, and also a spirit. For you have not given me the spirit of fear but power, love and a sound mind. I want that power, love and a sound mind Lord. I ask you to work this into my life. I give you permission Lord to do your will in my life. I fall out of agreement with fear and all it represents, and take responsibility now for entertaining him. I ask for your forgiveness and help me take my life back. I'm no longer going to be a puppet to be used of him any longer. I also stand in the gap for my generations and ask you to forgive my fathers of the fear they had that may have been passed down to me. Thank you for forgiving them and breaking the bloodline curse off my life. Thank you for teaching me this truth so you can make me free. In Jesus name, Amen."
My prayer for you:
"Father, you have given me power through the Holy Spirit to cast out evil spirits. This dear saint recognizes that they have a spirit of fear. So by the power of the Holy Spirit - Fear GO now, release this dear saint in the name of Jesus. You are no longer permitted to reside within this person's heart and mind. Let them GO in Jesus name. Father, I ask that the Holy Spirit within them stretch out and fill the area where the spirit of fear left so they are not empty. Help them to focus on your love, as it's your love that will cast out fear and keep it away. Help them to receive your love every day more and more. Flood them with your peace, joy, compassion, love, forgiveness, patience, and truth that comes by trusting you. Help them to trust you and know you even more. In Jesus Name."
We need to understand fear (our enemy) as we get to know the Love of God. The Bible is very clear that a mature believer discerns both good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). I found that when people are in fear, it's because they have not been loved or unable to receive love. And it's usually because they don’t think anyone could love them because of all the things they've done in their life. We need to understand as believers, that when we are saved, ALL our sins are forgiven, yesterday's, today's and tomorrows. This is why Christians have guilt and condemnation, they don't really "believe" they've been forgiven, it's evidenced if they cannot forgive themselves. Refer back to the session on forgiveness if needed before going on. You ask what unforgiveness has to do with fear? It is the direct opposite of faith (love). Forgiveness is God's love. Jesus came so that we can receive forgiveness and have it to give! He came so we could receive God's love and walk in fellowship with Him and with others. Fear will prevent good things from taking place in your life! (Isaiah 35:4-6)
Whenever love is absent fear is always present. They cannot dwell at the exact same time, you will have one or the other at ALL times. We cannot have light and darkness at the same time. We cannot be up and down at the same time. Neither can we have fear and love at the same time. If you find yourself living in doubt and unbelief, and the next minute believe, then the next minute you have doubt again, it's because when you doubt you are in fear, and when you believe (have faith), you are in love.
Faith vs Fear:
Now Faith is substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. It's the evidence of something not real. You need to understand that the enemy counterfeits everything that is of God. You need to understand that fear (the devil's faith) is the direct opposite of God's love (faith). Pastor Henry Write quotes: "Fear and Faith are equal in this dimension. Both project into the future and both demand to be filled." Fear pushes, faith leads. We will live under one or the other at ALL times! Which will you choose?
I have found countless times that when a person has fear, they are not experiencing love. The Bible tells us that "Perfect Love casts out all fear and torment" (I John 4:16). In my life, when I begin to "feel" fear, I immediately recognize what is happening, that the spirit is trying to take me again which means I'm not at that moment of receiving God's love. So I would pray, "God I'm sorry for fearing, and I receive your love right now. Thank you for loving me right now." I take responsibility, confess my sin of fear, and begin to receive God's love. And within minutes the fear is completely gone! Every time, without failure! I may "feel" it while I'm saying this, but afterwards, the feeling leaves because God is the one who frees me… my job is to recognize and confess, His job is to line my feelings up with the truth.
Fear comes in all forms, not just fear of heights or closed in areas. It can be dreading something, worrying, frustrations, confusion, anger, depression, lying, discontentment, and so on. Fear is the devil's faith and it is apparent we operate in this faith than God's. Anything that is not of faith (love and truth) is sin. (Romans 14:23)
I remember when I started flying after 9/11. Not only did I have the regular fear that comes from flying but now added fear of terrorists. But my ministry calls for me to travel from time to time and I had to face this fear. I knew that I was delivered from the "spirit of fear" but now I had to go and walk it out. I remember being a little anxious in my mind several days before flying. I heard the Holy Spirit say, "I am going to give you faith when you need it, not before." So I realized I wasn't trusting God and wanted that faith now for tomorrow. It doesn't work that way. God is the great "I am." That means now. So the time came for me to board the plane. With each step, it was a struggle, but I kept saying, Lord you love me, with each step. The minute I put my foot on the plane a peace fell over me like never before. I received the "faith" to "do" at that moment in time. The trip was effortless and even a joy. Now when I travel, I know God will give me the peace I need, because I know He Loves me and I trust that.
When we have fear, many physical ailments can come from it. If you have stress, that is the politically correct way of saying, "I have fear." Stress comes from fear. Anxiety comes from fear. Phobias come from fear. Feeling rejected and abandoned comes from fear. Fear is at the bottom of almost every dis-ease out there. So is fear the root? Not necessarily. Because I found that behind fear is pride. Think about this for a minute. The reason we fear people is because we don't want to be rejected, feelings of rejection come from pride. You may not say this but pride says this, "How can they reject me, they don't know who I am." I heard a statement that I believe is true: A humble man doesn't get offended. If we don't have pride, what is left? Love
Ailments:
So what are the ailments I'm talking about? Auto-immune diseases, high blood pressure, nervous system problems, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, parasites, Depression, Insomnia, Ulcers, Acne, Diabetes Type A, Hay Fever, irregular heart, muscle function, back aches, muscle contraction and candita - to name a few. Look it up for yourself, it's in the medical journals. What is the stressor behind these things? Fear.
Long-term fear produces a cortisol drip that keeps your body in a state of high anxiety - a feeling of running all the time. I remember when I found out that what I had was anxiety, now I understood why I was very works oriented. Constantly having to do something, never could sit still. Never had peace, my mind racing all the time.
When you persistently fear the future, it affects your heart condition. Luke 21:26 says that men's hearts fail them because of fear. This isn’t saying you are never going to fear, it’s talking about someone who consistently stays in fear – for example “what if’s” of tomorrow.
Let's begin taking the Word more serious and cooperate with God. When we do the word, we will fulfill all the promises written. Again, if we keep this ONE commandment, we fulfill all, and blessings follow. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and strength, and love others as you love yourself, upon these hang all the law and the prophets. Fear comes when we aren't loving or experiencing love. People will fail you, but God never fails you. Stop trying to get from others what you can only get from God. His love is perfect and unconditional. Our love is not always so. When we receive Gods' love, all fear has to go, and then we can freely love others without fear.
Spirit of Fear
Now that we know that fear is sin, we also need to know that fear is a spirit. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind." So let me ask you which do you possess? Fear or power (peace), love (unconditional) and a sound mind (stability). I would suspect if you don't have power, love and a sound mind, you mainly dwell in fear. So it's not the question if we can be possessed by an evil spirit, but rather does an evil spirit have us? And we know by answering the question I just asked. Now don't go into fear about this. If you do then there is another fear - fear of the devil. We are not to be in fear of him at all. When we do that, we are making him more powerful than God! Time to repent for this.
I had to reconcile all this within my own heart because I was taught that when you receive Christ as your personal Savior, only the Holy Spirit is in there. Many stay in this mindset because they fear, fear - this is called agoraphobia. I discuss more in my book, A Matter of the Mind, and Revealing Truth, so be sure to take a look at those.
You may have heard the scripture that says if you are free from one spirit and don't fill up the place where the spirit left, then it can come back with 7 worse than himself and take up residence in you again. (Remember, these are "in" you, not "on" you. I used to say I was oppressed by the devil, but this is not accurate. If we experience fear, is it on our shoulder or in our bodies? You decide.) So, for those of you who fear being delivered, take heart. This is talking to people who don't have the Lord. When Jesus was healing people, remember, the Holy Spirit and salvation hadn't happened yet. Only when Jesus rose from the grave was this possible. So when they were delivered from a spirit, they were empty, they had to on purpose seek out God to fill them. But when we get rid of an evil spirit, the Holy Spirit living inside us fills up that space in our lives because he's already there. Because if you were anything like me, I had a lot of knowledge, but it was only head knowledge. So when a spirit leaves, we are making room for that head knowledge to become heart knowledge! Yes, we need to still seek God to be filled in those areas, but don't fall into fear because you have what you need to keep evil from returning. This is what it means to exercise your faith, believing you are loved, believing the Word you have read, this is how we fill ourselves up.
"We are to keep ourselves unspotted from the Word." We are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." We are to keep ourselves out of the snare of the devil. How? By being filled with the truth, His love, and His forgiveness. Fear keeps you unclean, and that's the enemy's M.O. (Method of Operation). The enemy can only produce fear, why? Because when he was cast out of heaven, not only was he stripped from being a favored angel with lots of responsibilities in Heaven, but he was stripped from ever receiving God's love again! When we are separated from love, we are in fear. Since Satan is separated from God's love, he wants to separate you too! Don't let him any longer. Deal with this area of fear by accepting and receiving God's perfect love for you.
I would like to lead you in a prayer of repentance. (If you want to be free from the spirit of fear.) Then I will pray for you after that.
"Dear Heavenly Father, I come before you recognizing that fear is sin, and also a spirit. For you have not given me the spirit of fear but power, love and a sound mind. I want that power, love and a sound mind Lord. I ask you to work this into my life. I give you permission Lord to do your will in my life. I fall out of agreement with fear and all it represents, and take responsibility now for entertaining him. I ask for your forgiveness and help me take my life back. I'm no longer going to be a puppet to be used of him any longer. I also stand in the gap for my generations and ask you to forgive my fathers of the fear they had that may have been passed down to me. Thank you for forgiving them and breaking the bloodline curse off my life. Thank you for teaching me this truth so you can make me free. In Jesus name, Amen."
My prayer for you:
"Father, you have given me power through the Holy Spirit to cast out evil spirits. This dear saint recognizes that they have a spirit of fear. So by the power of the Holy Spirit - Fear GO now, release this dear saint in the name of Jesus. You are no longer permitted to reside within this person's heart and mind. Let them GO in Jesus name. Father, I ask that the Holy Spirit within them stretch out and fill the area where the spirit of fear left so they are not empty. Help them to focus on your love, as it's your love that will cast out fear and keep it away. Help them to receive your love every day more and more. Flood them with your peace, joy, compassion, love, forgiveness, patience, and truth that comes by trusting you. Help them to trust you and know you even more. In Jesus Name."