Pastor Larry Gatlin, So Oregon
Fear is one of the favorite weapons Satan
uses in this warfare that we face. In fact I would say that it is his weapon of
choice. Fear is an emotion used to paralyze an enemy. It will cause one to
second-guess decisions, to make wrong choices, and to allow yourself to be
shifted into neutral and never accomplish what God has for you to do.
In the animal kingdom we can see a picture
of how this works. The female lion almost always does the hunting and killing
of prey. But male is her primary source of surprise. She will hunt and when it
is time to chase her victim the male lion will roar loud and for just a moment
the prey is paralyzed with fear. She is then able to get the jump on her prey
and take it down.
In 1 Peter 5:8-11 NKJV we read, Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing
that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish,
strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
The key to understanding this verse is to
note that it says that he is like a roaring lion, the male lion who tries to
paralyze with fear and defeat you. But he is not the roaring lion Jesus is the
Lion of the Tribe of Judah. When He roars the whole world is called to Worship,
praise, adoration and attention. Knowing that when He roars the enemy of our
soul will be defeated.
In James 4:7 NIV we are given the key to
putting the enemy in his place. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you.
By
submitting ourselves to the authority of Christ we automatically lock ourselves
into Gods plan for victory over fear.
After all Jesus did tell us in Mathew 28:18
that all authority in Heaven and in earth has been given to Him. If He has all
authority Satan only has whatever authority we allow him to have in our lives.
The key is to use the NIKE commercial and just say NO to fear.
There are three types of fear. 2Timothy
refers to an inordinate type of fear. But there are two other types of fear
that are not fear as we know it at all.
The first one refers to how we reverence
and adore Father God. God is not some old man setting in heaven waiting for us
to make a mistake so that He can beat us down. He is a loving heavenly Father
that takes delight in His children. We should note at this point however that
if He so desired He could take us out. He doesn’t desire to that. His desire is
that we will serve Him in Love and obedience.
The second is the type of fear that says.
“There’s an open flame, if I put my hand in the flame I’ll get burnt. This
again is not fear as we would normally define it. I would choose to define it
instead as, “Horse Sense” or better known as “Common sense.”
Too many Christians walk around in fear of
an enemy that roars like a Lion. Rather than trust the Lion of the Tribe of
Judah who is the real Lion. I’ve always loved the line from C.S. Lewis’ “The
Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” speaking of Aslan.
It goes like this, He’s not a tame Lion you know”.
It’s true!
So why walk in fear of the enemy when we
have the true Lion on our side?
Besides the rest of 2Timothy 2:7 tells that
we do have “Power, Love, and a Sound
Mind”. When Jesus said that all power in Heaven and in Earth was
His, we became heirs to that power.
Rom 8:16-17 NKJV The Spirit Himself bears
witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then
heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,
that we may also be glorified together.
The Apostle John reminds us that, 1 John 4:4 KJV Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Why fear when I have
access to the same authority and power that Jesus has?
We also have Love. What a love Father has for us that He would send His Son to die for our sins. John 3:16 KJV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John also tells us that
fear has to do with punishment. 1 John 4:17-18 NIV There is no fear in love.
But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The
one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Another version uses the
word torment. When we walk in His perfect Love we will never have to worry
about fear, but we will be free from any form of torment that the enemy might
try to use against us.
We have also been given a “Sound Mind”. A
mind that is full of understanding and good judgment. Fear will always keep you
from follow the path of understanding and good judgment, But
in Christ we have full access to all of the above. 1Cor. 2:16 tells us that we
have the “Mind of Christ”. Then in Eph. 4:23-24 our mind is renewed in Christ.
So live full of Power, Love, and a Sound
Mind. Never give into the one who roars like a lion, but always submit to the
one who is the true Roaring Lion.
