Sent in by: kralls July 31st, 1999

Pastor Francis Frangipane’s Saturday message, edited and in brief http://www.inchristsimage.org

WE NEED LEARN HOW TO FIGHT A WAR--THE WAR IS FEAR!

God’s heart is to deliver us from fear so that we can once again walk together with Him. Fear originated when man was separated from God by sin (Genesis 3:7-10). Sin and its consequences, including fear, was not God’s perfect will, but He allowed fear to remain until Christ to motivate mankind to seek Him anew.

Fear settles into the areas of our souls occupied by both unrepented sin and repented sin for which we haven’t forgiven ourselves. Fear also abides in the hollows where the knowledge of God’s love, though Christ is lacking, and where past failures have eroded the hope of triumph.

When Jesus said that He came to set the captives free, He was referring to the captives of sin and of fear. Imagine yourself in that place of perfect freedom from fear. What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Fear controls so much of what we do in our lives, that it stymies God’s destiny for us.

Adam said to God, "I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." (See Gen 3:10) Many Christians hide themselves under past failure, guilt and insecurity. We don’t grasp how really free we can be through Jesus who set the example by conquering His many human and spiritual enemies while never separating Himself from His Father’s presence. He feared neither man nor the devil.

Now Jesus wants to conquer the devil through us: by our prayers, our worship, and our speaking His name to terrorize the enemy. We need to wake up and accept what God has given us in Christ. Then, we will be the most wonderfully dangerous creatures on the face of the earth.

Judges 3:1-2 says: Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars...only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly).

We too must learn how to fight a war, the war against fear.