The Spirit Of Fear

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Holy God, we thank you this this evening that you have spared our lives, Lord. We honor you. We magnify you, Lord, and we we lift up your holy name. You are God, and there is no other God but you. We are your people, Lord, and we're here to serve you for your purpose, Lord. We're here, Lord, for you to use us according to your own will. We have long, Lord, since realized that you have paid the price, Lord, and we belong to you. But it's so much we need to know, Lord. And we come together this evening, Lord, to learn more about your word, to seek out your truth, to seek out your word, that we may apply it to our lives, and that we may prepare ourselves for your return. We ask you humbly ask your forgiveness over our lives, Lord. If there be anything that has been a hindrance to our relationship with you, if there's anything, Lord, that we have done against your kingdom, we ask your forgiveness of our sins and our transgressions, Lord, and our iniquities. We ask you to wash us in the blood of Jesus, Lord, and set us, Lord, continuously on the path of righteousness and the path, Lord, of holiness. Let your will be done in our lives, Lord. Help us, Lord, to be led by only your spirit, Lord, because we don't know how to lead ourselves. We don't know the way that we should go, but you know. And Lord, we surrender ourselves to you, our hearts, our minds to you. Lord, for you to guide us and show us the way. Oh God, that leadest, Lord, to you and only you. Touch each and every one, Lord, that join us this evening. Oh God, in the study of your word. Oh God, and that we may learn. Oh God, that our eyes be open. And Lord, we continue, Lord, to come into your truth of your spirit. Thank you for all you've done. Thank you for all you're going to do in our lives and among your people. Oh Lord, continue to watch over us and protect us. Oh God, from the plagues of the land, from the things, Lord, that are going on in this generation. You are yet our God, and we will yet serve you no matter what. Thank you for all that you have done, Lord, and what you shall do the rest of this week. We will live for you. We will serve you. And Lord, we will constantly be led by you so that you, Lord, will help us to become what you will have us to be for your glory. We pray this in Jesus' name. Thank God. Amen. Amen. Amen. We give on to God up this evening and to his Lord, our King, Jesus Christ, to the Holy Ghost, to you that are God's people. One thing that that continues to intrigue my mind is the way that when I keep reading, every time I read the 17th chapter of St. John, how Jesus was praying to the Father and said, and that part of them, when He kept saying, Lord, make them one as we are. That's just so amazing to me that in Jesus' prayer to his Father. And being that I know that God hears every time Jesus prayed and grants him whatever he says. But what intrigued me and amazed me is that the fact that Jesus was telling him that to make us one with them. Just like the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are one, Jesus wanted us to be in that prayer. He's wanting the Father to include us in that oneness. And I just think that's so beautiful and amazing that how close God really wants us to be to Him. But that is the Word of God. And if we understand the truth of it, one day, well, by faith, I know we are one with them right now. But the ultimate completion of it, when that day has been fulfilled, when we shall ever be before the face of the Lord, we shall be come totally and completely one with Him. That's just the beauty of God's word. I'm just thanking God this evening. Another Tuesday night Bible study conference call with our brothers and our sisters all over in the unity with the Father and the Son of the Holy Ghost. We pray that tonight God would also, through the Holy Ghost, reveal to us more about His Word. Because tonight I want to talk about something that I hope will be a blessing to the hearers, all that will hear and receive what the Spirit is saying to the church. So tonight, if you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, prepare your hearts and minds to learn more about the word this evening. Tonight, to I don't want to talk about something tonight, but it I want us, I'll be I've been trying to, I said, Lord, I've been I was trying to understand, Lord, have I ever heard anybody just preach or teach on this particular subject? I just I just don't know. I don't if I if they have, I don't remember. But we're gonna attempt to do it tonight. Uh hopefully we get it covered tonight, but if not, we uh we have, if the Lord will, another Tuesday or so to do it. Deal with it. I want to deal tonight, y'all, with a spirit that plagues a lot of people's lives. And instead of defeating it or fighting it through Christ Jesus, a lot of us have allowed this spirit to overtake us. This spirit to become a hindrance to our lives, even our service or servitude that we have toward God. Another thing is this spirit I want to talk about tonight is a spirit that God does not want us to have. And in order for us to serve Him properly, this is a spirit we're gonna have to totally eradicate out of our lives, our minds, our hearts, and wherever else it may try to abide in us. And that spirit tonight is tonight's text. I want to talk about the spirit of fear. I want to talk about the spirit of fear. Because as God's people, He does not want us to fear anything. We also I want to cover tonight is where the Word of God is gonna tell us that God has not given us that spirit. But we're in a time now, in a generation where fear is beginning to take have a foothold on a lot of people's hearts and minds. And I see a lot of people, I'm talking about people that are sons and daughters of God, and we need to resist this spirit at all costs. Because I want to show you in the Word of God tonight where this spirit, if allowed to take root or to have a place in your lives, it will bring with it torment and have you afraid and scared of everything. And that is not what our father I know a lot of people might not want to hear this time, but a lot of people don't want to admit to themselves that or try to justify when they have fear, but fear of any kind, based on what the word of God teaches, is something God does not want us to have. And we're gonna go to the word of God tonight. We're gonna go to the word of God tonight. So I'm gonna lay a foundation. Let me lay a foundation about fear and show you just how much God frowns upon it and show you just how much God will not tolerate from the word of God. I'm gonna let's let me take you all the way to the book of Revelation. Let's go to the book, you have your Bibles, let's go to the book of Revelation, and I want to lay this foundation with you tonight. In the book of Revelation, chapter 21. If you have your Bibles, turn to that with me, please. I'm gonna read just four verses to lay this foundation as we talk tonight about the spirit of fear. In the book of Revelation, hallelujah, 21. I'm gonna start at verse 5. We need to be set free. We need to let the night, the spirit of God, the word of God, set us free from this spirit, and not let this spirit dominate us in times of trouble, in times of what they're saying on the news, and times of any well, in any time, there's not a time that God wants us to fear. In the book of Revelation, chapter 21. I'm gonna start reading at verse 5 and go all the way to verse 8. This is a foundation for our text tonight. And he, this is talking about God, and he that sat up on the throne said, This is what God said. Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, he talked about this John who wrote the book of Revelation. He said unto me, Write, get the writing, John, because I'm finna tell you something that needs to be written for the people to know. He said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. Verse 6. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. This is what God said. He that overcometh, there's some things we got to overcome. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Also references to my daughters, too, sons and daughters.

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Verse 8.

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But here's a conjunction to this whole thing. But the fearful, it amazed me how that's the first thing on this list. But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And our focus tonight, that's a whole list of stuff there. That's a whole series right there, just dealing with that list. But just for the sake of tonight, for the subject that we're dealing with, the spirit of fear, we're dealing with the first part. This would be the foundation of our text tonight, the fearful. If you allow yourself to be overtaken with fear and become a part of the group that the word of God tonight is calling the fearful, God is saying, This is what God is saying. He told John, right, get the right. He is saying, what God is saying, those who choose to allow fear or the spirit of fear to take over their lives will have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is how serious it is. How God does not want us to fear anything. And I'll tell you why. But I'm also let the word tell you too. Because God Himself is not afraid of nothing. And those who will be his sons and daughters, he is not going to tolerate us being afraid of anything. Because if I'm your God and if I'm in your life, what in the world do you have to fear? Because can nothing defeat God? Can nothing fight against God and win? And if God considers you to be a part of Him, you should stand on that. But His thing is what we're going to have to understand is what our part is, we're going to have to stand on the truth of God's word by faith. Otherwise, none of this is what we read tonight, none of this that we're studying. If you don't believe it, no, you're not going to see where it's possible. When we read the word of God, we have to see by faith that it is possible for us to apply the word of God to our lives by faith. In other words, if the word says this for us, and if the word proclaims this for us, our job is to, by faith, believe it. And if the word is telling us not to fear, and if the word is telling us what the result of the end result is going to be for those who are fearful, we need to be trying to avoid that. Because I don't think nobody wants to have no part of the fire of the lake that's burning with fire and brimstone. I don't want to have no part of the lake just because I'm because here's the thing about it, what God wants us to understand, there is a there is there are certain ingredients included in fear. If you are fearful, there's an element or an ingredient of doubt in there. Because if you're serving God and you choose to fear, there's some doubt in there. Which means there's no there's no faith in fear. And if you doubt in God, He considers that to be an abomination. How can you doubt me when I have proved myself to you? What in the world do you have to be afraid of? So why are you fearful? Why did why why are you allowing the spirit of fear to come over your life? This is the foundation I want to take tonight. This, these four scriptures in the book of Revelation, but the fearful and also the unbelieving. Did I tell you some doubting there? Them that choose not to believe the word of God. What we hear tonight and what we hear whenever we are in the setting of hearing the word of God, if we choose not to believe it, that is a total disrespect and dishonor before God. I just told you my word. You remember how, you remember how God got ready for John the Baptist to be born? And he sent Gabriel, the angel, to appeal to Zechariah? And while the angel of the Lord, Gabriel was talking to Zechariah, he sensed that Zechariah wasn't even really believing that he said, and Gabriel got upset as though Zachariah, you think I'm coming here wasting my time telling you what thus says the Lord, and you send up and choosing not to believe it? And in his and in his and in his anger against Zechariah, he struck him with dumbness. What your doubt ain't gonna stop what's coming to pass, what God has promised for you and Elizabeth. But as a result of your unbelief and you thinking I'm sitting here wasting my time and you doubted, got doubt in your spirit, I'm gonna let you stay dumb till that child born. And we all know the story, it should happen. What I'm trying to, my point is I'm trying to tell you, when you hear the word of God, but yet still we choose when we choose to sit up and still doubt and disbelieve what the word of God has said, I truly believe this. That the reason a lot of stuff don't happen to us is because Jesus is on the right hand of God, interceding for us, asking God not to not to do nothing to us. We have no reason whatsoever to doubt the word of God. The word of God is truth. And if he says, even though a lot of things in the Bible are hard to swallow, if he says for us to not have fear, he means for us to do it. Now, God, God is just. Nothing we know somebody, he just. The word of God is gonna show us what to do. If you got fear in your life, the word of God tonight, I'm gonna show you what how you can get rid of fear out of your life once and for all. I'm gonna show you how to get rid of it. Through the word of God, not me, but I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna point you in the word of the area of the word of God and show you how to get rid of fear. If you choose to believe the word of God. In the book of Second Timothy, another verse I want to I want to use tonight. In your Bible, 2 Timothy, chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7. Just this one verse. While you find that, let me just read this here to you. What I just according to what we just laid the foundation. The word of God mentions several classes of people whose place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. That's what brimstone kind of smells like. You don't want to smell it, you don't want to be around, you don't want to, you don't want no fine brimstone to touch you at all. The fearful are those who fear the disapproval and threat of people more than they value loyalty to Christ and the truth of his word. You got a lot of people fear what people gonna do more than they fear God. And I'm gonna show you in the word of God tonight. You ain't got to worry about fearing man. We need to stop that. He said their personal safety and status on earth means more to them than faithfulness to God. The fearful include the compromisers among God's people who give up the fight to and not to conquer. You got to be you got to be fearless to walk this wall, especially out in this day and time we living in, you got to be fearless to face a lot of these situations that we have to face today. Not arrogantly, but in the realm of the Spirit of God. We got to too many places in the Bible where the God, where the word of God tells us, we got to be bold. We can't fear. But I'm gonna show you why we fear so much in our lives today, based on the lifestyle that we are surrounded with in society. 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7 said, For God, there's God is again, for God has not given us the spirit of fear. But this is where conjunction, but means instead of God didn't give us the fear fruit, but this is what he has given us. But a power. And of a sound mind. See, people that are fearful don't have no sound mind. Because everything is scam. That's not a sound mind to be fearful of everything. A sound mind is a mind ain't moved by fear. Ain't moved by what the world is doing. Ain't moved by what's going on in the world. It's not going to move you out of what God has given us, which is power and love. And I'm going to show you tonight is the key to overcoming fear is you're going to, I'm going to show you, it's going to be found in just, you're going to find it in the love that you have for God. And the more you love God, the more you love God, the less you're going to fear. I'm going to show you that. You're going to find the key is going to be found in the I see. I wish, I wish we would understand when it caught when it comes to talking about the love that God has given us, the kind of love he's given us, it goes way y'all beyond loving one another. There is power in love. The very nature of God. The very nature of the very divine nature of God is consistent with love because the Bible tells us God is love. So there's something more in love than just you showing love to your brothers and your sisters. That's good. But love goes way more deeper than that. It's way more stronger than that. I'm talking about the love you have for God has the power to even remove fear out of your life. To remove doubt out of your life. Because the more you love God, the more your spirit stands on faith because of the relationship and the connection that you have with God. So we're going to have to ask ourselves and we're going to have to examine ourselves and say, Lord, do I love you enough? Because if I truly loved you enough, would I be running around here scared and afraid of everything, whatever noise I hear? Jump. Everything I hear on the news, it brings a spirit on me, fear on me. For God has not given us the spirit of fear. He can't give you the spirit of fear because he don't have it. God cannot give you something that he don't have. And one thing God does not have is the spirit of fear. Now he ain't never had it. And never gonna have it. And when we allow him to come into our lives, we must understand when his spirit comes to make his abode with us, he don't bring no spirit of fear at all. He only brings those spirits which are consistent with his divine nature. And fear is not one of them. Okay, well, if well, that's this. If he didn't give me the spirit of fear, where did I get it? You got it from your previous master. Because the enemy wants us to fear everything, because he knows the spirit of fear, along with other spirits, are designed to attack our faith, are designed to attack our relationship with God. They are designed to attack our belief. And to keep us at a place we got y'all, we got to know that even though where we are in God right now, that there is higher heights in God and deeper depths, what else I'm saying, no matter where you think you are in God right now, you can go further. But here's a lot of here's a lot of the reasons why we cannot go further, is because we have allowed certain spirits, other spirits, to be a hindrance to our growth, to our development, and to our reaching a certain area or a certain level in God. And fear is one of those spirits that will hold you back from becoming what your father and my father want us to be. He has not given us the spirit of fear, and if he has not given us the spirit of fear, he doesn't want us to have the spirit of fear. Because it will hinder the spirit of fear. If if that spirit comes upon you hard enough and has been in your life long enough, it will hinder even ministry that God wants you to do.

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It will hinder your witness in what God wants you to do.

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It will hinder even your very relationship that God wants us to have with his sons and daughters. So we got to get rid of this thing. God has therefore armed us against the spirit of fear. Fear not the face of man. Fear not the dangers you may meet with in the way of your your even your holy duties, your godly duties toward God. God has delivered us from the spirit of fear and has given us the spirit of power. See, you got to have power to overcome spirit of fear. Lovers don't know that. You got to have power. See, fear is when the spirit just ain't gonna go away on his own. You're gonna have to have power against it. He has given us the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. Because those things are needed for ministry, those things are needed for us to do the will of God as his witnesses, as his ambassadors on the earth. You got to have a sound mind. A fearful mind is not a sound mind. A fearful mind is not a mind or a life with power. And it also indicates that you don't have the love of God in you as you should. But God is telling us through his word, and Paul expressed this to young Timothy. You're gonna not, you're gonna have to understand you cannot operate with the spirit of fear the way God wants you to do. But you need to stand on power and love in a sound mind. Let me share with you how to get rid of it, or how you can begin to eradicate it or to cast it out of your life. The only thing we need to understand about fear is fear will keep you in bondage, fear will keep you in bondage. Well, you're not, you got so many, you got so many people that are so have lives have been so absorbed in fear that they can't even go about their daily life without being bound by the spirit of fear and do them things that they need to do and take care of. Because they're worried about this, they're worried about that. This might happen, that might happen. You hear what they said on the news, you heard they said, Lord, have mercy. Listen, are we gonna believe the report of God? Or are we gonna believe the report of man? Whose report you gonna believe? Whose word you're gonna believe? The word of man or the word of God? You can't have them both. We cannot have them both. But trust me on this tonight, y'all. I'm telling you tonight, choose the word of God. Let it be uh what you choose, and all of us, let me let me let me let me slow down a minute. All of us in this life, if you've been on this earth for any length of time, you have faced fear. All of us have had fear, all of us have been scared, all of us have worried and fretted, all of us, none is guilt is innocent. About the only time on this earth we have not really truly had fear is when we first came on this world in this world. Babies don't fear nothing, they have to be taught what to fear by us. And I know we do it to protect them, and I ain't saying that's a bad thing, but I'm saying left to his own. Y'all remember in the earliest days, if you have any children, how they weren't scared of nothing. Because the spirit of fear hasn't had not taken over our lives yet as infants, as in our innocency. So many times you I've seen people, if they're in the kitchen cooking, have to tear to it. When they open the oven, the child walks straight to the oven. They got dad left know that's hot. No, don't touch that. Don't have no fear of. They know it was hot, they know it was the oven. They just see something. How many times have we cherry? They feel they feel up anything, put it in their mouth. No fear of nothing yet. And don't get me wrong, there are certain things we need to be cautious of. There's nothing wrong to be cautious about things in life, but what I'm saying is you can't let the spirit of fear of that thing come over your life. And that is what God wants us to understand. And I, Lord, there is a level, see, there's so many levels in God. Let me show you something. Let me just I ain't gonna let me just speak something to you. So many places in the Bible where men of God, women of God had gotten so deep and close to God in their relationship. I ain't got time to go to all this, but let me just point out some things. I don't care, I can show you in the Bible where a snake jumped out of a wood pile and bit Paul on the hand, and all he did was shake him off. Shook him off a hand and back in, and went on by no fear. I said, This is a whole nother level. Now, what I'm about to tell you now isn't it's it's not the level I'm saying we are. I'm just showing you that we can go high in God, and the love that we have for God and the trust that we have for God can take us to many levels where the things on this earth cannot even affect us unless God allows it. You don't read nowhere in the Bible where them three Hebrew boss will scatter even a fiery furnace that were turned up hotter than normal. You don't read nowhere in the Bible where Daniel was afraid of man, one of them lion. I ain't saying we're gonna have to face stuff like that. I'm trying to show you this spirit and this level of love we have for God can be applied to any situation in our lives. It ain't got to be snakes and fire. It can be just worried about your bill getting paid. It can be just worrying about if they're gonna lay off and fight you today. You don't let fear take over you in the situation. Whether your wife or husband threatened that I'm finna leave you. You don't let that fear take over you. You remain, see here's the thing about it. Whatever, there's a whole lot of spirits out there. We've only really been taught about, uh really ain't been taught really about all the spirits of God. But there are other spirits out there that are designed to attack our lives, our minds and hearts. But what I'm trying to tell us tonight, along with the spirit of fear and all those other spirits that are not of God, you can get to a place in God where then they just bounce off you spiritually like water off a dustback. You, in other words, you don't let it affect who you are, who you know you are in God. Because you have gotten so close to God and you have such a love for God is no matter what happened to my life, my life is in God's hands. He is my father, and I don't even think twice about letting that something like this cause fear to come into my life, cause me to be afraid. Then the Bible said, fret not thyself. How many times in the Bible we read stuff like that? Fret not thyself because of evil doers. Yes, a lot of people out there want to do you evil. You see them doing other people evil. But the Bible, what God said, you know why he said, fret not yourself? He ain't saying to you to fret not that yourself because uh you think you're badder than them, or you can beat them up, or you can flip the thing on them. No, he's telling you not to fret yourself because of evil doers, because I am your God. And you ain't got to worry about them, him, her, and nobody else. You ain't got to fret yourself, even when it comes to the devil. God has not given us the spirit of fear, and we need to get rid of it. Let me show you how to get rid of it. Go to 1 John and your Bibles. Go to 1 John and your Bible. Let me show you something else. I'm gonna show you through the love of God. Your love, and that's really the area that we really need to be focused on. Do I love God like I ought to love God? Well, I was talking about Sunday, and my middle Sunday. We gotta stop thinking that our mouth and our lips define us. See, so many people are defined by what they let come out of their mouth. They try to convince everybody that they this they're super sanct. They try to convince everybody that they're on this certain level. You gotta stop. It's not your mouth that defines you, it's not what you let come out of your mouth define you, because your mouth can say anything. But your actions, how you live, how you walk by faith, that is what you should let define you. How you live before God, not your mouth, your big lips, don't let that don't define you. Because when the rebel meet the road and when push come to shove, you're gonna have to live this life and not talk about it. First John chapter four. That's what I want. First John. Just two verses I want. Um 1 John chapter 4, verses 17 and 18. This is what the word of God is saying. This is John talking again. He said, herein, I'm finna show you something. He's gonna show us something, and it's deep. Herein is our love made perfect. This is how to make your love perfect. When I say perfect, this is how to make your love become more spiritually mature toward God. This is how love is gonna be made perfect toward God. Because when you get round down to it, to this level of love that that John is talking about and that God is telling us about, this love, this spiritual, mature level of loving God, is gonna produce a certain level of power in your life that is gonna have the power to cast out when it comes into your life, all spirits that has nothing to do with God got to go, and the spirit of fear got to be one of them. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as I read this, and y'all had to forgive me. The Holy Ghost hit me when I read certain things. Because as he is, oh, Paul said there's a comment right there. So, Paul, also just give me a pause for a minute. Listen to what he just said.

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This is how your love is gonna become spiritually mature, spiritually developed.

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He says, because, because this is the because many, because this is the reason as he is. That's that right. That's them three words right there. As he is, the same way Jesus is. See, this must this level of mature love in God gets you to a level as he is, as Jesus is. That's amazing to me if y'all can see that from a spiritual perspective. What God is trying to get us to a level on the level that Jesus was on. And as he is, now look how beautiful he included us, and no, and we ain't there yet. As he is, so are we in this world. The same way Jesus was in the world, without fear, but also he had a perfect, mature level of love in his heart for God. That's why he was able to be bold and stand against a lot of things he had to stand against in his ministry. Because he had a complete spiritual developed maturity of love in his life. And the same way he was, or the same way he is, it's the same way we are to be in this world. Let me show you something why. Go to verse 18. Why? Because there is no fear in love. Holy right there. Lord, he's telling us something. Come on now. If you got fear, you better ask yourself, oh Lord, the Bible just said ain't no fear in love. But I I be, I'm scared of everything I hear I know. Do I really have then the love of God in me that the way it's supposed to be? If I have any fear in my life? Scared somebody's gonna rob me. Scared somebody's gonna break in. Lord, the book just said there is no fear in love. Now I ain't talking about no regular love. This is talking about the love of God, the love that you have for God. And there's no fear when you have allowed that love to be put in your spirit by God, it does not include no fear at all. There is no, and we just might as well admit the truth. Lord, I ain't got the love of you and me like I ought to because I I was scared, I was just scared yesterday. Yeah, but you have to admit the truth. Because you you can't say the word wrong, you can't say the Bible wrong. He said there is no fear in love. Here it is, it is now this is the key to get it rid of. I'm gonna show you how to get rid of it. But perfect love, this mature love in God, perfect love castes out fear. This is how you get rid of it right here. Get the love in God more each and every day. Get the love in God more in your relationship with him. Get the love in God more through his word, get the love in God more based on because of what he has done for you. So that the love that he put in your life can cast out every element, every speck of, every ingredient of fear. It's got to go. Because you ain't this, you can't you can't serve God with fear in your heart because he might say, I need you to go here. Or you might be like Anani. You know how Anani was when Jesus told him to go down there and lay hands on Paul? Did you see the fear in him? Read the story again. But Jesus had to he had to make make love me and do what I say do. You just go. And Ananias had to step out not only on his faith for Christ, but his love for him. And he obeyed. Had he not loved God or loved Jesus the way he loved him, because Jesus. Already knew that because he made choice of him to be the one to go let him. He knew. But he allowed his love to overtake him more than the fear that of what he had heard about Paul. And we too, when it comes to ministry, we too, when it comes to witnessing, if God tells us in our spirit to do a certain thing, we cannot be reluctant or allow ourselves to be reluctant or hold back based on what we think we do about the situation. Because I'm here to tell you this evening, if the Spirit of God leads you to do something, whether be ministering, whether be witnessing, you got to know in your spirit. And it will help you to know in your spirit that if God is sending you, He has already fixed the situation where you don't have to be afraid to do what He said do. God ain't really leads you in. God don't set people up like that. That ain't the kind of God I serve. He don't set you up. If He's sending you just like He said, Ananias, what Ananias didn't know that Jesus had all I talked to Paul before I talked to you. I already done got the situation ready. I just need you to go lay hands on him. I talked to him on the Damascus road before I reveal myself to you. So I that it's ready. I got it set up for my glory. You don't have to be afraid of the rumors you heard about this man. You don't have to be afraid of what he might do to you. I done took care of him. You can just step out on faith and step out on your love for me and just obey me. And we must understand that about our lives. Don't focus on what the task is. Don't focus on what the situation is. Focus on what God has said and what his word has said for us to do and what his word has said for us to be when it comes to our obedience and our love for him. Perfect love. And the only way you're gonna find perfect love is in God. You ain't gonna find perfect love in this earth. You ain't gonna find perfect love in this love the world say they got, society love. That ain't never been perfect. Because people will love you today and hate you tomorrow. But perfect love only comes from God. That spiritually mature love only comes from God. That heavenly love, that divine love, that holy love, that only comes from God. That love that makes you obey God no matter what. That love that makes you live on no matter what. That love that causes you not to fear nothing and nobody. Because my love for God is stronger than any fear that this world can bring over me. He said, but perfect love cast it out. When something is cast out, that means it throws it out. When the perfect love of God comes in your life, it's gonna throw. If anything in you, it's gonna throw it out. Because you're gonna get to the point where you're gonna be what ain't worried about what nobody says. Ain't worried about what nobody does. I'm gonna show y'all, I'm gonna show y'all some strong words in a minute. You don't be, don't don't get my. I'm not saying you're not cautious about life, but I'm saying it's one thing to be cautious, but it's a whole nother other thing for you to let the spirit of fear take over your life. Yeah, you're cautious. You better be cautious. But cautious is being cautious and not being fearful. Driving on the highway up down there, I'm cautious because I'm watching other drivers. Some people drive crazy. I'm cautious. That's not being fearful. To be cautious. There is no fear in love. But perfect love castes out fear. It's see, love, the love of God got to get fear out of your life. Why? Read the next part. Because fear has torment. Uh-oh, here it is right here. Here it is right here. When we allow fear to set up and fester in our hearts and minds, it adds to itself the spirit of torment. Well, you can hear you can hear a bump in the wall, you think somebody's trying to break in your house. Torment your mind, and ain't nobody even dying, and it ain't nobody. You just could be living in an old house and it just have all of them old creaking sounds, and you think it's somebody in the house. Tormenting your mind. Scared to go out the house. Somebody might make the other day try to rob me. Tormenting yourself. People who got fear in their life, people who got the spirit of fear in their lives, will will live a life of worrying about stuff that ain't even happening. Worrying about stuff that might not even happen. Well, you know what they said? They said. But what the word said. Fear thy not. Isaiah forty, fear thy not. I will be with you. I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Well, but you know, they had a shooting out there. Lord. They've been shooting since they invented guns. People been shooting. Ever since they developed. When that go back to the 1800s, when they first they've been shooting for shooting for years. Centuries. But if if if God will is not for him bullet to hit you, it ain't gonna hit you. You cannot live your life in such a way where it it hinders you from living life. Fear will cause you or hinder you from even living life, y'all. And that's that's bondage. That's torment.

SPEAKER_00 50:48

All because of fear.

SPEAKER_01 50:52

Worried about the worst. And the worst ain't gonna listen. That's why our love for God got to be perfected. That's why we gotta let love come into life in such a way that it will cast out the very fears that we may have in our lives. How can you do for God what He needs you to do for Him, for His glory, for His ministry, for the body of Christ, for the church, for this world, being a light? How can you do any of that when your life has been plagued with the spirit of fear? Fear will cause you to hold back from God. I'm gonna show you something. If you let spirit, if you let the spirit of fear really dominate your life, it will cause you to disobey God rather than obey him. Because that fear is gonna tell you, no, don't do that. Then you're gonna let it come out of your mouth. No, I ain't gonna do that. Which will say, be an outright openly. When God has told you to do something of his word, that'll be a totally disobedience to God when you should be obedient to what his words say do. And God does not tolerate disobedience. And there's no excuse you can give him. You think you can stand before God and say, Lord, I had this, I had fear, I was scared. And well, let me let me let me you remember how let me just tell you a little story here with the Bible. You remember when they when when when God, the people pressed God so much, and and Samuel so give us a cane, give us a cane. All the other nations, they got kings. We all have a cane. And what Samuel trying to tell you, God has been our king all this time. Israel didn't need no cane, God is our king. But anyway, long story short, God told him you're gonna send, give them what they asked for. They ain't doing what they're doing against you, they doing it against me. And God flipped that thing on. Anyway, long story short, Samuel one day came to Saul, King Saul, and told him what thus said to Lord about the Amalekite. Told him to total, totally destroy all of them. He said, even the children. You read the story, he's gonna say, destroy the children, the boy and girl, and even the cattle, livestock, get out and kill them, totally wipe them off there. Long story short, you had to go back in history, the biblical history in the old testament, find out why God was so adamant about destroying the Malachi, is because something they did when the children of Israel were, when they came out of Egypt, and God set them free while they was while while they were journeying from Egypt, uh Moses had a run-in with the Malachi, and God said, Oh, I'm gonna get them later, I'm gonna get them. But it's gonna blade on. But it was later on when Israel had a king and they had a status of army that God decided now that they got an army, and they want a king so bad, I'm gonna let this arm material so tell King Saul to come against. And he did. King Saul did, and they won the battle. But he did not totally obey the total instructions of what God told him to do. He was spared the king of the Malachi, the best of the sheets, the best of the ghosts and the ox. Anyway, long story short, let me read a part of it that that ties in with our lesson tonight. In 1 Samuel chapter 15, is the whole story. If you have time in your Bible study time, read the story about King Saul when he disobeyed God. Just one verse I want to bring out off the pages to tie in with what we're talking about tonight, the spirit of fear. 1 Samuel 15 and verse 24. Just verse 24 is all I want. And he says this. And Saul said this after Samuel came and rebuked him and got on him for disobeying God and told him, You ain't done what God told you to do. He said, And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned. Okay, let me let me let me open up a door for you. Understand something. If you truly let the spirit of fear come over you, what you are doing is sinning against God. To have fear is a sin. Now I know that's strong talk, and a lot of people don't believe that. But trust me, to allow fear, anytime the word of God says not to do something or not to have something, and you do it and still have it, you have gone against the word of God. And to go against the word of God is a sin. So I want that to soak in. The reason when we just read what John was saying, why we've got to let the love of God, the love we have for God, cast out that fear, because that's that sin that comes along with that fear, it's got to be cast out. You cannot serve God with sin in your life, which lets you know you cannot serve God with fear in your life. Now that's strong talk, but you got to swallow that one. To have fear in your life when the word of God teaches against it, and also just told us that God didn't give it to you, let us know that to let fear fester in our lives after we have just read the word of God is to sin before God, to have fear. This is what King Saul said. For I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandments of the Lord. Anytime you transgress or go against the commandments of the Lord, and the commandments of the Lord is as simply formula, the word of God is what God done said do. This whole Bible that we read consists of the commandments of God, because it is the word of God. And whatever we read in the word of God that says, for us not to do a thing, but yet we do it, which is disobedient, we have stepped over into sin. I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord. In other words, he said, I have not done what the Lord told me to do. And you can't say it like King Saul, if you go back and read the story. At first, I have done what the Lord told me to do, but it was after Samuel broke it down to him, he saw himself. You cannot let yourself believe just because you did the word of God in one area, but disobeyed in another area. You cannot let the devil trick you into justifying that you have done the will of God and you think you're fine. Because to not keep the word of God in one area, you're guilty of the whole thing. God's word has to be completely obeyed, not partially obeyed, as King Saul is showing us in the word tonight. He said, I have sinned, for I have trans, and see, let you know he saw his self, he's using those personal mouths. He's saying, I have sinned, I have transgressed. When you see yourself, you gotta you gotta point the finger at you. You gotta point the finger at you and say, Lord, it's me. I don't want to settle that fear come into my life. When I shouldn't be afraid of nothing if I say you my God. If I don't settle that fear come into my heart and my heart and mine, that's an hour indication that I must don't trust you like I say I trust you. Because if I truly trusted you, I wouldn't be worried about nothing. Not the stuff that the devil and the world try to call me. I wouldn't be afraid of nothing if I truly trusted you. If I truly loved you, I wouldn't feel nothing. If I truly believe that you are God, remember, remember uh when we laid the foundation in the book of Revelation? Remember now what I just read, what John said? You remember what John said? This is, he said, and he that sat upon the throne. Let me read the left read you. And he that sat upon the throne said, that's talking about God. If I truly love the one and believe that he up there sitting on the throne, and he sees everything, I wouldn't have no worry. I wouldn't have no fear if I trusted him that sat upon the throne. He that's sitting up on the throne right now is watching over us right now, y'all. What do we have to fear? If we serve God, there's a level of God if you allow your love for him to even develop like it ought to. Y'all, I know this to be, and we might not be there yet, but I'm telling you, there is a place in God that his your love for him will get you to a place that you are not even afraid of death. I know that's strong right there, too. A lot of people don't like to talk, they're strong talk. But it'll get you to a place you ain't even afraid of, death itself. Because you know death is a spirit. Y'all do know death is a spirit. Any spirit that's not given to you to be afraid by God, you don't have to let the even the knowledge of those spirit, other spirits, dominate your mind and your heart. Reason why I say you there's a place in God that you won't even fear death because the Bible teaches us. Lord help me. Jesus tried to tell us one day when he was up there in Lazarus, how after Lazarus had died. He tried to tell us, he was trying to tell us in his word that we don't even have to be afraid of death. I don't care how many days Lazarus has been dead. He said, I am the resurrection and the life. I don't care, man, he said a man could be dead. But if he died believing in me, yet shall he live. And if you alive right now and choose to believe in Jesus, he said, that man or that person shall never die. In the sense that we think we dying. He said in you, it can't happen if you believe in me. And if you believe in me and on the level of perfect love, like the scripture just told us, you will have no fear of even death itself. When you know who the resurrection is, and if you lose your life, this life that we so desperately trying to treasure and hold on to, if you lose it for the Lord's sake, y'all, the book done already told us you're gonna find it again. What else Jesus got to say for us not to be fearful, not to let the spirit of fear just take over our lives. King Saul said, I have sinned, I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy servant. No, I'm sorry, and thy words. I have transgressed the commandments of the Lord and thy words. See, when you allow yourself to possess the spirit of fear and sin against God, you also go against his word. You also go against his word. And to go, listen at this now, y'all. Hear me on this. Don't you realize when you go against God's word, you go against him? Why you say that, Pastor? Because God and his word are one. And if you go against one, you go against the other. Because they are one. I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and thy words. This is not, this is his weak excuse. Keep reading. Because I feared the people. Lord have mercy. And obeyed their voice. You mean to tell me that you went against the word of God, you went against the commandments of God, you went against the instruction that God gave you to do as king. You went against that because you fear people. When you should have fear, now if anything you're gonna fear in this word, in this in this in this world, the Bible tells us to have a fear of God, and that's a reverential fear. That's not a scared shaking in your boost fear. But if you're gonna fear anything, fear God. But he said, I fear the people. This ain't fear of God. He said, I fear the fear. And some of us, that's our testimony. We do stuff because we fear the people. Because we're worried about how people are gonna accept us. They might not like what I do, they might not like uh uh how I did it. So I better do this so I won't have to, because I don't want nobody talking about it. I don't want nobody, because I I want people to like me. Lord have mercy. I want to be accepted. But my thing is this if you're not accepted by God, to be accepted by man ain't nothing. Man ain't got no heaven and hell to put you in. Woman ain't got no heaven and hell to put you in. Because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. The problem with this, when it came to his fear and his obedience, he gave it or put it in the wrong place. He should have feared God, and it should have been God's voice he obeyed. And I'm telling you this evening, it should be God you fear, and God's voice you should obey. When it comes to his word, God's word and God's way is what we should.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:45

Listen.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:55

I want to read something to you, Isaiah said. So I might as well, I might as well just go and hit the nail on the head. Listen what Isaiah said. He said, Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion. An everlasting joy shall be upon their head. See, when you when you free from all fear and all mess, you have a joy that's everlasting. Because you ain't even under bondage. Listen to what he said. An everlasting joy shall be upon their head. They shall obtain gladness and joy. And sorrow and mourning shall flee from them. Let me read this next verse to you, is what got me. This is God talking to his people. Listen what God said. God said, I, even I am he. Woo! God said, I, even I, I'm he. I'm the one. I am he that comfort is you. I'm the one taking care of you. Who art thou that thou shouldest be afraid of man? Woo! Listen as he said, Who are you to be afraid when you should? I'm the one that comforts you. Ah, even I am he. I'm he.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:36

I'm the one that comforts you, take care of you, provide for you, spare your life.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:46

Who art thou? That thou shouldest be afraid of man, a man that shall die. Man can die, but I can't die. You you feel right here being afraid of somebody to be dead tomorrow, if I allow it.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:04

Why are you afraid of something that can die? When I'm the one, I'm he, I'm the God.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:18

Who art thou that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and the son of man which shall be made as grand? And if I can either make him die or his life could be as grand. It could be one him one day and mold down the next. But what you should be focused on was Isaiah was trying to tell us, is I even I am he. I'm the one that's been comforting you. What you got to be afraid of a man for? What do you got to be afraid of this world for? What you gotta be afraid of the devil for? Who art thou that got the nerve to be afraid of a man or a woman or people? Soon as the king saw it just said, I feared the people. But God just told Isaiah done spoke, God done spoke to Isaiah and said, Who art thou that you should be afraid of man that can die? I, even I, I am he. I am he, I'm the one that have brought you from a mighty long way. I'm the one that has never left you nor forsaken you. How many men and people done forsaken you in this life? Done went off and left you, done used you, done talked about you, done mistreated you, done betrayed you, done lied on you. But has your God ever done that? But yet it's still you're afraid of them instead of fearing your God. The one who's been there. I know a lot of us understand God been with us since day one. When we came into this world, earth. But let me take you a little deeper with God. Let me take you a little further with God.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:16

Because I remember God telling a man in the Bible, he said, Woo, hallelujah.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:26

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He said, Even before you was in your mother's womb, I knew you. God go further back than the existence that we just know about. God knows where we was even before we was placed into our mother's womb. He said, I knew you before you was even in your mother's womb. And what that said, don't none of us know where that is. But we were somewhere, and wherever we were, God knew us even there. But yet we have the audacity to stand before him and allow fear to overtake our lives, and allow the spirit of fear to doom us from doing the work and the duty that he's required of us. Because we won't love him like we ought to love him. We won't let that love that he's trying to develop in us, we won't let it mature. We won't let it develop to the point where that love, see, the love of God is some of us should have already cast out fear. Some of us should have already been on that level. Well, the fear and other things are not going to already should have been cast out of us. Some been thrown out of us. Should have already been gone. But yet it's still. We're lying and should still maintain a halt in our lives. That it shouldn't be holding us back. Fear should not be holding us back from obeying God.