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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780446559560 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | FaithWords |
| Publication date: | 05/30/2009 |
| Sold by: | Hachette Digital, Inc. |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 373 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Live Without Fear
Learn to Walk in God's Power and PeaceBy Creflo A. Dollar
Warner Faith
Dr. Creflo A. DollarAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0-446-69843-1
Chapter One
This Thing Called FearFEAR, SIMPLY DEFINED, is "a dread, uneasiness, or anxiousness." But from a biblical standpoint, fear is more than a feeling, it is a spirit.
Second Timothy 1:7 says:
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
When a believer is influenced by the Holy Spirit, we call it an anointing. This anointing of the Holy Spirit empowers and emboldens ("gives courage to," or "causes to be bold"). His empowerment enables a Christian to do things they could never do in their own strength and wisdom.
In a sense, the presence of a spirit of fear in your life also brings with it an "anointing"-a negative, destructive anointing.
Instead of empowering you, fear paralyzes you.
Instead of giving you wisdom, fear causes you to make poor decisions.
Instead of the blessing of the true anointing of the Holy Spirit, the demonic anointing of a spirit of fear brings a curse.
You may be thinking, "Pastor Dollar, do you really expect me to believe there is such a thing as a demonic anointing?"
Yes, child of God, I do expect you to believe that, because it is biblical. Test all things by the Word of God.
Look at Mark chapter 5 where we are told about the"madman of Gadara." Possessed by a legion of demons, this man was able to break chains and perform other superhuman feats. He was able to do this through the "empowerment" of the demons, or through a demonic anointing of supernatural power.
This satanic "anointing" also turned him into one of the most miserable, wretched creatures you can imagine. That is always the outcome of demonic "anointing." The "anointing" that comes with a spirit of fear will make you miserable and wretched.
This Thing Called Fear
Principles Governing Fear
According to Romans 8:1,2, there are two basic spiritual laws in operation in the earth today. One system is dominated by life, and the other system is dominated by death.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
In those two verses, we can see the two basic domains under which Christians can and must operate:
1. One is called the "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." 2. The other is called the "law of sin and death."
Every human being today is living his life under one or the other of these two "laws." All human beings ever born have lived under one of these two laws. There are no other choices. The sad part is that even being born again does not mean a Christian lives his life under the right law.
A law is an established principle that can be expected to function the same way every time. For example, the "law of gravity" applies to everyone in every situation and every place. A rock dropped from the top of a building will fall the same every time.
The same is true of the two spiritual laws. If you are living under the "law of sin and death," there is no way to avoid receiving sin-oriented and death-oriented results. Just like the falling rocks, this principle brings the same results for everyone who lives under it.
These two spiritual laws are very different from one another, but they are more than just different. They are "reciprocals," as 2/3 is the reciprocal of 3/2. Both are fractions, yet one is the upside-down version of the other. They are opposites.
The "law of sin and death" is the upside-down opposite of the "law of life in Christ Jesus."
For every spiritual force and substance in the realm of life, there is a reciprocal force or substance in the realm of death.
In the first, you will find the force of hope.
In the other, you will find its reciprocal-despair.
Under the "law of life," you will find agape love, the kind of love that gives and gives.
Under the "law of death," you will find the reciprocal of agape-total selfishness.
One of the most powerful forces in the realm of the law of life in Christ Jesus is the force of faith. According to God's Word, faith can move mountains and work miracles. The universe itself is the product of faith-filled words. (Heb. 11:3.)
Faith's Reciprocal
Faith has a reciprocal under the "law of sin and death." As you may have guessed already, it is called fear.
In fact, fear always rushes in when faith is not present. We get a clear picture of this very thing happening in one of the incidents in the ministry of Jesus. This is the familiar story of Jesus sleeping in a boat while the disciples were awake, weathering a storm on the Sea of Galilee.
And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
Matthew 8:25,26
Do you see the connection Jesus made?
"Why are you afraid? You have little faith."
He was attributing their fearfulness to a lack of faith. Mark and Luke related the same story in slightly different words.
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
Mark 4:40
And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
Luke 8:25
In all three reports, we can see Jesus declaring the reciprocal relationship between fear and faith. He could not declare it any plainer than this:
If you have faith, you will not have fear. If you have fear, it is because you have little faith.
This reciprocal relationship goes much deeper even than you might think. Perhaps you know that attention to God's Word brings faith onto the scene:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 But did you realize that attention to Satan's words brings faith's reciprocal, fear, into your circumstances?
For example, if you pay attention when the devil whispers into your ear that you are going to go broke, fear will soon grip your soul. Before long, you will be walking around wringing your hands and losing sleep, fearing that you are going to go bankrupt and lose everything.
Naturally, that kind of fear then opens the door for the devil to enter and begin really playing havoc with your finances. Soon your worst fears have been realized.
"I knew it all along," you will wail. "I knew this was going to happen!"
Fear gives place to the devil, thus allowing him to operate freely. That was precisely what took place with the disciples in the storm-tossed boat. Their fear in the beginning stages of the storm gave Satan room to really start tearing things up.
Fear allowed the storm to get to a point where it might have destroyed them. That is why Jesus exclaimed, "Where is your faith?" when He woke up.
In essence, He was saying, "Why is this happening? Why is there water in this boat? Why have you allowed your fear to generate this circumstance rather than taking authority over it by faith?"
There is no way for Satan to operate destructively in your life unless you give place to him.
You may ask, "How do you 'give place' to the devil?"
You give the devil place by paying attention to his words and thereby beginning to operate in fear.
If you were to receive a bad report from a doctor saying that you only have three months to live, the enemy is immediately going to be in your face, saying, "It's true! It's true! You've had it! You are going to die."
However, if you know what the Word of God says about Jesus, "... by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Pet. 2:24); and, if you know what God said about those who set their love on Him, "With long life will I satisfy him ..." (Ps. 91:16), then you will not listen to the enemy.
If you pay attention to the devil's words and the doctor's report rather than the Word of God, fear will immediately begin to wrap its icy fingers around your heart. Unchecked and unreversed, fear will open the door for the devil to come in and kill, steal, and destroy. All the praying and wailing in the world will not make a bit of difference, because your fear has given place to the devil to do his destructive work.
Fear comes by hearing, and hearing means "by words." (Rom. 10:17.) Fear may come through the devil's words whispered directly to your mind, or it may enter through the words of other people. For example, fear may enter through your paying attention not only to a doctor but to a friend or relative speaking negatively. Even the words of a newscast declaring that the economy is failing or that it is not safe to drive the streets at night can make a way for fear to enter.
Any message of doubt can bring fear. Guard the "gates" of your soul. Your eyes and ears are gateways to your mind and spirit. If you allow the unceasing torrent of disaster, calamity, and tragedy that flows out over the airwaves to enter your gates day in and day out, it will not be long before you are afraid to leave your home, much less do the things God has called you to do.
No matter where it comes from, if it does not line up with God's Word, what you hear and pay attention to is an open invitation to the destructive spirit of fear.
Declare War on Fear!
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
My prayer in the power of the Word ...
Study Questions
1. What do you most fear in this world?
2. What would you say is the source of your fear?
3. What does the Bible say conquers fear?
4. How does faith drive out fear? (Continues...)
Excerpted from Live Without Fear by Creflo A. Dollar Excerpted by permission.
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