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Living Without Fear

by Dr. Henderson Ward  
6/03/2015 / Christian Living

When God gave Israel the law on Mount Sinai, the occasion bristled with utter menace; to the extent that not just the people, but even the venerable Moses, was terrified. The Bible, as ever true in all its reportage, puts it like this: "And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake." (Hebrews 12:21)

The most devout, spirit-filled believer will experience periodic fear; and that is to be expected. You would be inhuman if your child, or grandchild, went to school and later over the radio or television you heard that a madman had entered a school in the area and is killing school children. No matter how fearless you usually are, you would be excused if your heart did make a somersault or two, at such dreadful news.

Sometimes you are subject to a spooky kind of fear; like if you are at home alone and you hear the toilet flush, or someone walking in the corridor coming towards you. You think that is impossible, can't be, and a dread hits you.

And what happens if you step outside your home and suddenly come face to face with your worst nightmare a fierce, deadly animal or reptile. Instant fear will more than likely seize you.

But these kinds of fears are fleeting, do not consume you, and tie you down to helplessness and hand-ringing. These kinds of transient fears are quickly overcome, and can propel you to speedy action, and at times to super-human effort.

Beyond these transient, spasmodic fears, that in some ways are part of being human, there is another fear that can take hold of the soul and make it feeble and passive.

This fear, generally, does something to people, and nearly always in the negative. It has a debilitating effect, i.e. it hinders you from doing the right thing, it prevents you from acting in a prompt manner, it dries up your voice at the precise time when you should be vocal, etc.

It is because this kind of fear is a tool of Satan and his demons that the Bible says, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

Believers, if they truly love God and live a life of obedience, will not be intimidated. God has graciously provided for all believers their every need in order for them to combat the messengers of evil.

The Bible knows how deadly fear can be and tells us this, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

To combat fear successfully God has given believers a wonderful trilogy of spirits in a glorious combination. We should rejoice at such a trilogy and marvel at God's care and compassion for our well-being.

This magnificent trilogy is as follows:
1. The spirit of power
2. The spirit of love
3. The spirit of a sound mind

The spirit of power

People seem to forget how much power God has made available to believers.

A weak believer, a powerless believer is one living in enormous ignorance as to what God has given to him for his every-day use. It's like Moses having that mighty power in his rod (or staff by some versions) but failing to grasp its full measure.

God has given believers the spirit of power to enable them to live triumphantly, or as Adam Clarke so ably puts it in his Bible commentary, "...to work miracles, to confound enemies, to support us in trials, and enable us to do that which is lawful and right in his sight."

Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the early Christians exhibited such awesome power that even the devils were subject unto them; and their very presence, and shadow touching people, caused immediate healing.

Even the enormous power of prayer, a power that puts terror in the souls of demons, is not fully appreciated and utilised by all believers. Many of the illnesses and travails afflicting believers can be put to flight, dismissed from their life very swiftly, by effective, fervent prayers (James 5:16).

The spirit of love

The spirit of love is more than just loving in a godly way, it is when you love instinctively, consistently, and fully in a way that suggest loving is part of the nature of who you are.

A redeemed and sanctified soul is acquainted with this spirit of love. This love flows from the spirit of God into you, and through you in outreach as effortlessly and effusively as the sun shines from the heavens to all of humanity.

This love, so splendidly and accurately defined by Paul as, "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." (1 Corinthians 13:7), cannot be intimidated and driven to helplessness for it rests in and is part of God, "...for God is love." (1 John 4:8)

This spirit of love cements all the efforts of the other virtues, and lays the foundation on which all that is good and wholesome and true can spring forth and bear fruit.

The spirit of a sound mind

A lack of soundness of mind is one of the things causing the church, and believers, to come to such grief as regards social issues like same-sex marriage and the Lesbian-Gay-Bi-sexual-Transgender (LGBT) agenda.

A sound mind speaks to a clear understanding, an understanding devoid of political calculation, chicanery and opportunism.

A sound mind speaks and influences individuals to act in a right and proper manner especially in regards to moral and spiritual matters. It's the sound mind that can speak with impartiality and articulate justice on all the issues of our times and shed light in our benighted world.

The spirit of a sound mind is not an extra on the side, to be resorted to as expediency requires, but is a principle consuming one's whole life and soul, until it is as natural as birds singing or water running down hill.

The Apostle Paul tells us that God has given us the spirit of these three powers so that fear is banished from our life. Why then are some believers so fearful?

The answer lies in utilisation.

Imagine that you step through the door of your house and you see some ravenous beast that came from the adjacent jungle just feet away from mauling your baby playing in the front garden. You have bought a powerful rifle on the advice of the police, licence it and kept it in a locked cupboard for just such an occasion. But when you try to get in the cupboard for the rifle, behold the cupboard is locked, and your husband at work has the key.

Please tell me what use is that rifle?

Some believers are powerless like that because God has given them all the tools to ward off fear but they fail to access those tools to do the job required.

What is lacking is not the tools but the willingness to use them.

1. Have CONFIDENCE in God and REFUSE to be intimidated (Psalm 27:3)
2. Don't FEAR Satan; resist him and MAKE him flee (James 4:7)
3. Let Jesus HELP you and DISMISS fear of any man (Hebrews 13:6)
4. PERFECT (mature) your love and FREE yourself from fear (1 John 4: 18)

It is God's will that every believer lives without fear, and so he has given us the means to do so. We are therefore responsible for using all these mighty tools as best we can; for the spirit of power, the spirit of love, and the spirit of a sound mind are effective tools against fear, and can do the job but that is entirely up to us.

Enough said.

Books by this author (non-fiction except indicated otherwise)

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Dr. Henderson Ward received his Doctor of Divinity in theology, with distinction, from Masters International School of Divinity, USA, where he is currently a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Ward's career involved pastoring, evangelism, and teaching. Copyright 2017

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