VICTORY OVER FEAR:

"The Effect Of Fear" Pt.2

The physical affect of fear.

Fear, just like anger, produces emotional stress, which some believe to account for two-thirds or more, (which is the last percentage that I received), of all physical illness today. One doctor, who is a medical director, stated that, "anxiety, (a form of fear), places more stress on the heart than, physical exercise and fatigue."

Example: The one who sits down to pay the bills, and is suddenly overcome with fear, because, he or she, does not have enough money, is a candidate for stress. Hour after hour, as long as they continue to worry, their adrenal gland is pumping adrenalin into the bloodstream, a process, that apparently, over a period of time, can create much physical damage. If nothing else, the continual worrying, will eventually bring about depression. The Bible, teaches that, anxiety in the heart causes depression, [Proverbs 12:25, N. K. J.].

A healthy mind at peace, is associated with a healthy body. Proverbs 14:30 (Amplified Bible), reads, "A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are life and health of the body."

Note: You will have many opportunities to worry, just don't take them. The key to not worrying and overcoming anxiety is to, pray.

Philippians 4:6-7, Paul said, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Note: Paul is teaching here, that, whenever we start to worry, become anxious or fearful, we're to pray, in faith, and the peace of God will protect our minds. The peace of God protects our mind from corrupting influences, such as fear, doubt, and unbelief, and helps us to keep our focus on God's truth.

"Stay encouraged in your love walk and you will be empowered in your faith walk" [Galatians 5:6]

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Remember, "GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE"

VICTORY OVER FEAR:

"The Effect Of Fear" Pt.1

The presence of fear in our lives, produces a negative thinking pattern, that brings about torment.

1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment."

Note: The word torment here, comes from a Greek word (Kolasis), that refers to punishment. One definition for torment in the dictionary is, anguish of mind or body. This definition indicates that a person can experience, physical and/or mental torment. Mental torment is a mind that is in expectation of punishment. So, fear produces a mind set, that is in expectation of punishment.

The Amplified Bible reads, (1 John 4:18), "For fear brings with it the thought of punishment"

Note: When we become preoccupied with ourselves, and our problems, we become anxious, tense, and irritable. Our mind becomes gripped by thoughts that are fear based, and our spiritual life is drained by self-preoccupation. Fear is a dark shadow that envelops us and ultimately imprisons us within ourselves. Even our physical well-being can deteriorate, through headaches, increased pulse rate, high blood pressure, ulcers, etc. Our social relationships with other people can also be seriously affected, as well as our emotions. Fear effects our entire life, emotionally, socially, physically, and spiritually.

The emotional affect of fear. Every year, countless thousands of individuals fall into mental and emotional collapse, because of fear. Many fearful people withdraw into a shell and let life pass them by never experiencing the rich things that God has in store for them, simply because, they are afraid. The tragedy of it, is that, most of the things they fear, never happens. One Pastor, gave an account of how he counselled a woman, who ten years earlier, drove her husband from her, because, she was emotionally upset, due to fear. The Pastor said, "This woman became obsesssed with the idea that another woman was going to take her husband away from her. Her emotionally upset mind, caused such erratic and abnormal behavior in the home, that, she drove her husband away from her, although, the other woman never existed." The majority of the things that cause our fear, either, does not take place, or they are not as severe as we think.

Thoughts, ideas, speculations, and reasonings, can cause us to barricade ourselves from God and His Word. Fear can cause us to imagine things that, do not exist, yet, appear to be real to us, so much so, that we act on them. To live victoriously over fear, we must bring every thought into submission to the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul said, "casting down arguments (imaginations, King James says), and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

Note: Paul is saying here, that, every thought that enters our mind, must be brought into submission to the Word of God. Before we act or even speak, we need to make sure that thought that is causing us to act or speak, is not contrary to the Word of God. Understand that, God is the Commander in Chief, therefore, even our thoughts must be submitted to His will, as we live for Him.

"Stay encouraged in your love walk and you will be empowered in your faith walk" [Galatians 5:6]

Check-out our myspace blog, www.myspace.com/livingbyfaithministries3

Check-out our extended youth ministry (Living By Faith Youngsters) Lakeland Fla. www.myspace.com/463594781

Check-out our home church (Faith International Christian Center), www.ficcwordchurch.org

Remember, "GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE"

VICTORY OVER FEAR:

"Recognizing, The Cause Of Your Fear" Pt.8

Lack of faith, continued.

The second area in which a person is prone to be fearful, because, of a lack of faith, concerns the future. If the enemy can't get us to worry about our past sins, he will attempt to get us to worry about God's provision in the future. Thus, we are unable to enjoy the riches of God's blessing today. People who enjoy life are not living in tomorrow, nor worrying about the past, they are living today.

Worrying, can have a severe affect on us. It can, damage our health, cause the object of our worry to consume our thoughts, disrupt our productivity, negatively affect the way we treat others, and, it can, reduce our ability to trust God. Because of the ill effects of worry, Jesus tells us not to worry about our needs, for God promised to supply them all.

Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus said, "Threrfore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sew nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more than they? "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat? or 'What shall we drink? or 'What shall we wear? "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for today is its own trouble"

Note: Jesus instructed us here, not worry, instead, we're to trust God. The difference between worry and genuine concern is that, worry immobolizes and concern moves into action. Planning for tomorrow is time well spent, while, worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between worrying and planning. Careful planning is thinking ahead about goals, steps, and schedules, and it is trusting in God's guidance. When done well, planning can help alleviate worry.

Worriers on the under-hand, are consumed by fear and they find it difficult to trust God. Worriers, allow their plans to interfere with their relationship with God. We must not let worries for tomorrow, affect our relationship with God today.

Anyone who thinks about the potential problems and difficulties that they might encounter tomorrow, will naturally become fearful, unless, they have a deep, abiding faith in God"s ability to supply all their needs.

"Stay encouraged in your love walk and you will be empowered in you faith walk" [Galatians 5:6]

Check out our myspace address, www.myspace.com/livingbyfaithministries

Check out our youth minstriey in Lakeland, Fla. myspace address, www.myspace.com/463594781

Check out our home church web address, www.ficcwordchurch.org

Remember, "GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE"

VICTORY OVER FEAR:

"Recognizing, The Cause Of Your Fear" Pt.7

Lack of faith.

Fear that is caused by a lack of faith is basically confined in two common areas. The first is, fear concerning the sins of the past. Because some Christians, may not know or understand what the Bible teaches in relationship to confessed sin, he or she may have not come to really believe that God has cleansed them from all sin.

Example: A Pastor gave an account of counselling a woman who was in such an extended period of fear, that, she had sunk into a deep depression. The Pastor said, "they found that one of her basic problems was, she was still haunted by a sin, committed eleven years before. All during this time she had been a Christian, but, she had gone through a complete emotional collapse, haunted by the fear of that past sin." He said, "when I asked if she had confessed that sin, in the name of Jesus Christ", she replied, "oh yes, many times." The Pastor said, "he then gave her a spiritual prescription to make a Bible study of all Scripture verses that, dealt with the forgiveness of sins." He said, "when she came back into his office, two weeks later, she was not the same woman." He said, "for the first time in her life she really understood how God regarded her past sin." He said, "when she began to agree with God, that, her sin was not remembered against her any more, she got over that fear."

Note: It is important to our faith walk, that, we understand that, when God forgives us of our sins, He totally forgets them.

Isaiah 43:25, God said, "I even I Am He Who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins."

Note: God does not remember our sins, so, we never have to fear that He will remind us of them later.

Now, this same Pastor told of another session with a man, who had a similar problem, but gave him (the Pastor) a slightly different answer, when asked, had he confessed that sin to Christ? The man replied, "over a thousand times." The Pastor said, "he told the man, that was 999 (nine hundred & ninety nine) times to many."

Note: The man should have confessed it once, and thanked God 999 (nine hundred & ninety nine) times, for forgiving him for that sin. We must remember, that when we ask God for forgiveness, He faithfully forgives us, right then.

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Note: When we confess our sin, we release it, and receive God's forgiveness. When we come to Christ, God forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit. The purpose however, of confessing our sin after we have come to Christ, is to release them, and at the same time, receive the forgiveness, provided through Christ's sacrifice, for that particular sin. Know this, you need not fear that God will reject you if you don't keep your slate perfectly clean, for Christ's sacrifice has provided for past, present and future sins.

"Stay encouraged in your love walk and you will be empowered in your faith walk" [Galatians 5:6]

Check out our myspace blog, www.myspace.com/livingbyfaithminitries3

Check out our kids, teens, and young adults ministry in Lakeland Fla. (Living By Faith Youngsters, Robert L. Goff Jr. Youth Pastor). www.myspace.com/463594781

Check out our home church (Faith International Christian Center) www.ficcwordchurch.org

Remember, "GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE"

VICTORY OVER FEAR:

"Recognizing, The Cause Of Your Fear" Pt.6

Sin.

Sin can cause us to become fearful. John said, "If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God" [1 John 3:21]

This a principle that cannot be violated without producing fear. An example is, Adam, when he was in the garden. After he and Eve sinned, they hid themselves from God, because, they were afraid.

Genesis 3:1-10, Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat nor shall you touch it, lest you die?"  The serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. "For God knows that the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his Wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees and the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him,, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself."

Note: Now, the scene here is sad. God appeared as He probably had done numerous times before, for an evening walk and cozy chat. But, Adam and Eve hid in the trees, trying to avoid being seen by God. This was not a reverential fear, but the terror of fear, of being discovered in the wrong.

Every time we sin our conscience reminds us of our relationship with God, and guilt sets in. Unresolved guilt, produces fear.

Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."

Note: The wicked flee when there is no cause, because of guilt, and the fear of getting caught that goes with it. A guilty conscience imagines accusers everywhere, while a clear conscience has boldness to face everyone.

"Stay encouraged in your love walk and you will be empowered in your faith walk" [Galatians 5:6]

Chck-out what we have going on:

Living By Faith Ministries Inc. myspace blog, www.myspace.com/livingbyfaithministries3

Living-By-Faith-kids-teens-young Adults, (Lakeland Fla.) www.myspace.com/463594781

Faith International Christian Center (Home Church) www.ficcwordchurch.org

Remember, "GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE"