Overcoming Fear

Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Luke 12:11 -12

Some of us are just plain nervous when it comes to speaking in public. So when we think about sharing the Gospel of Jesus with total strangers we become pretty strange ourselves. I have a son whom the moment he gets close to being in the public eye of a medium to large size audience (for him that can range from 5 to 50 people), his knees start to shake, he gets nauseous, his vision blurs and his face begins to feel feverish and he becomes faint. Some people laugh when they’re nervous, others get louder, quieter, ramble, cry, etc.

Depending on the size of a group and the content of the conversation, my own voice will begin to shake and, to my consternation, I get emotional and start to cry. Fear has a way of incapacitating us and putting us out of commission, so to speak, preventing our voices from being heard. Jesus says,

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. II Timothy 1:7

I’ve learned a few things about fear over the years that I’d like to share with you.
1. Fear can only be as big as you allow it to be.
2. It only has a right to be where you invite or tolerate it.
3. Its goal is to take you out of the game.
4. It is not as big as the emotion it causes.
5. It is a spirit.
6. It can be beat.

I used to dream of being chased. The harder I tried to get away, the slower and heavier my feet became causing the fear in me to grow and further create an overwhelming sense of terror which would instantaneously wake me up. I’d had this dream every night for years. One day, in my heart, I heard this question, “What is chasing you?” The next night I went to sleep and true to the nature of these dreams, began to run from an unseen horror. In the dream I remembered the question and stopped running, gathered every last bit of strength and nerve I had left and turned to see what had been causing my torment. And there in front of me was the largest, most incredible view of nothing I had ever seen in my life. There was nothing there. From that moment on my eyes were opened to the true identity of every fear, phobia and anxiety I had ever had. They didn’t all go away instantly, some took longer to work out, but over time, through the word of God, I learned that I was an overcomer, victoriously equipped. I did not have to be afraid of anything. If I was willing to face an issue, even those I had created myself, Jesus was right there with me to see me through. I would never have to conquer these fears alone.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Now when I have to speak; my voice still shakes, sometimes I still cry, my stomach still gets queasy from time to time, but I push through. Because each time I do, I get a little bit stronger, a little bit braver, and a lot more confident. Because I have confidence in the ‘Message’ I have to tell. Nothing in my body, emotions, mind or this old world, will dissuade me from my goal and purpose. To preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to any audience that will sit still long enough to listen. I now have a holy boldness that overcomes this temporary world and its fears to be able tell of the hope that is in me. The hope of Jesus Christ, risen and waiting to finish the good work that's been started in me.

Our God is a consuming fire; once lit,

we should never allow ourselves to burn out.

Legalism vs. Lawlessness

Legalism defined is: Strict, literal adherence to the law.
Lawlessness defined is: the condition of without law, because ignorant of it, because of violating it, contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness

If I understand what I read, we are told that the law cannot save, but nowhere in scripture does it state that we are to stop keeping the 'Law' of God. The term 'legalism' is often used in regard to rigidly following the 'Law' assuming it has the ability to save or keeping it will somehow make us closer to God. There is only one 'Way' to the Father and that through Jesus Christ. There is some confusion about whether or not we are to continue in the law of Moses, i.e., the 'Law' of God; handed down and commanded to Israel to 'adhere to strictly' as well as remind the generations that follow to keep. Through Jesus, we are able to keep His 'Law' through the grace He has given us. Yet, how is it we have strayed so far from keeping the'Law' as Christians?
And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew 7:23 . We're still not allowed to break God's laws by committing murder, adultery, using God's name in vain, erecting idols, dishonoring our parents, lying against our neighbors, etc. So where do we get the idea that we can fudge on some and not on others. The word of God tells us that the letter of the law kills, but does that mean don't adhere to it? It also states that the spirit of the law brings life; what 'Law' is the above scripture referring to?

The reason; the motive for the 'Law' was to reveal that we were in sin because before the law we did not know it. "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20. "because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. "Romans 4:15. Before the 'Law' there was not a previous set standard to follow. We were breaking the 'Laws' of God thereby separating ourselves from Him, but before the 'Law" we were not aware of our condition which carried the requirement of death, shed blood, to correct. Therefore, out of God's mercy, and to prevent our unnecessary death, He made us aware of the condition of sin. Jesus, who qualified that condition, says that He did not come to do away with the 'Law', but to fulfill it. The 'Law' is not made obsolete, but does that mean we are no longer required to fulfill the 'Law" ourselves? Paul says, of being allowed to sin, "Heaven forbid!" or "By no means!" We still cannot commit murder or any of the other above listed laws. The confusion may come because we misunderstand statements like, "to do away with" and "to fulfill" in regards to the 'Law'. When Jesus came to fufill the 'Law', He met the requirements, not so that we wouldn't have to, but because 'we could not'. We could not, perpetually, for all time, end sacrifices for sin through blood sacrifice, but Jesus could. We could not offer a pure, undefiled sacrifice, that once slaughtered, could forever end the continual need to pay our sin debt, but Jesus could. And because He did, He made a way for us to go to the Father and fulfill the rest; confession, repentance and ongoing 'sanctification'. We each have a responsibility to 'walk out our own salvation' according to the "Word" of God; the "Law" of God. To say that we are not bound by the 'Law' is to deny the fulfillment of Christ. Because of His sacrifice we are now, as His disciples, bound by the 'Law' of Christ. The term 'lawlessness' in Matthew 7:23, 13:14, 23:28, 24:12, Romans 6:19, II Cor. 6:14, Heb. 1:9, and I John 3:4 , refers to being 'without the Law', being in sin; and God hates it. We are to live according to the 'Law' of grace. "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:14.

Depending on the ritual/letter of the 'Law' to save us when a better "Way' has been made available to us is to be ignorant of the fulfillment of Christ. It does not negate the purpose and responsibility of keeping the 'Law'. "What then, shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? Certainly not!" Romans 6:15. We are still bound to it because of our relationship to Christ. Now, instead of being under the 'Law' as a yoke which brings death we are now bound by love for God's 'law' which has brought us life through Christs' fulfillment of that 'Law' and because of that love we obey the law. We now understand why David said, "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." Psalm 119:105. David confesses that he loves God's 'Laws', statutes, commandments, ordinances, His word (Torah! Way! Truth! Life! Law!), the Way everlasting! He has dicided that God's ways are better than his own and because he saw and understood the promise that was to come. Jesus! He shows us that grace holds us at a higher standard of living than the law does:

Mt 5:21-22
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.
Mt 5:27-28
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Mt. 5:33-37
"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Mt 5:38- 42
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Mt 5:43-45

43"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Just rememer what Jesus said;

Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Let Your Light Shine

Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Like a moth to a flame, those lost in the stormy seas of life need a beacon to steer them home. As a child of the Most High God, we have been given the Light of Jesus Christ that draws all men unto God, because through His Son, The Father is lifted up.

"The Fishing Trip"

"Then after I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions." Joel 2:28

Here is a parable/dream for you to ponder:

The Dream: The Fishing Trip (113007)

I dreamed I was fishing in a shallow area with very little water. The line on my fishing pole had no hook. A Man began telling me to tie a string around the center of a worm, but not tight enough to cut into, allowing the worm to wiggle. Then the man leads me to a place to drop my line, I feel it’s too high and the water is still too shallow to fish in so I begin climbing down what looks like a dam area with lots of rocksand and I grab a hold of what appeared to be a tree. Climbing onto it I begin to slide down the tree and bump into a clear shield surrounding the tree. The shield had red wasps hidden behind it. When I bumped into the shield I stirred up the wasps. So I drop to the ground and start running down the edge of the the river which is very muddy. I keep looking back to see if the wasps are chasing me and come upon an area of the river where I see a very large, deep hole. There is a fishing pole bouncing around like there is a “big” fish on the end of it. I drop my line into the hole and start making my way down the edge of the hole to get hold of the other line that is bouncing around. My line falls into the water. I try to make it to save both lines.When I get to the edge, I see an American flag kind of rolled/wadded up, but like it is draped over a casket sort of floating on or above the water. A big brown hawk-like bird is attacking the flag and saying, “It is over! You have lost!”, and pushing the flag down into the water. The flag appears to have life in it (animated), sort of breathing and the flag acts like it doesn’t want to stay down. The big fish that was on the larger pole then jumps out of the water and pushes me away from the hawk and I wake up.
Please understand there are many more word in the interpretation of a dream than in the dream itself, just as you would find many words to define a single one in a dictionary or Strong’s concordance.
God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He uses simple life events that we understand to speak of things above our understanding and desires us to search it out.

Pr 25:2 - It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

Now this is the interpretation of the dream:

1. The Commission:

The dreamer is fishing in a shallow body of water-fishing is symbolic of ministry (fisher's of men, winning lost), the area doesn't have any depth (knowledge, understanding) yet, although there is stability (pole), nor does he have bait (the lure or wooing of the Holy Spirit) on his line (in his words). The “Man” (if not known to the dreamer, usually stands for the Lord; Jesus, angel of the Lord, the Holy Spirit) tells him how to bait his line without a hook (gimmick, barbed words that trap or snare). The line (word) won't kill the bait (won't quench the Spirit) and the movement (wind of the Spirit) will draw the catch (man). The Holy Spirit will then lead him to a place where he can use the word he has been given effectively.

Matthew 4:19 “And he (Jesus) saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Man’s will versus God’s Plan:
But the dreamer feels that his goal is not lofty enough, not does it have enough depth in this small place, so he begins to climb down a rocky area that looks like a dam (a place of major obstacles, lowering his standards), feeling ‘he’ must work to achieve his goals he climbs down from the original place where the Lord had led him, thinking he is going deeper in his relationship and ministry. We often believe we know better what we can handle than the Lord does and instead of going from glory to upward glory, as God intends, without being aware of it, we decline in our walk. Realizing his steps are precarious, he tries to find something more stable to help his descent so he reaches for what looks like a tree, which is not a tree, only the appearance of one (trees are considered to be stability, help, constancy, or a person, depending on the type of tree). He continues to climb down the hill, even down the tree (continuing to lower his standard) and bumps into a clear shield (a clearly marked barrier, offensive and defensive) and ends up stirring up a nest of red wasps (trouble with a lot of fire and a lot of sting).

Job 12:24 “He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.”

Amos 8:12 “They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, But shall not find it."

2. Redirection:

Running away and along-side the river, which is muddy(troubled, unclean), though still looking back, he comes to a very deep place in the river (now the way has become clear enough to 'see' there is a hole in the river). This is not the place he was originally sent, but it has become the place where he is driven. In this place he is still not satisfied with his position and feels he must get closer (dangerous mindset). He then sees a pole with a line with what appears to be a very large catch on the end, even though he cannot see the catch, nor is anyone else holding the pole. The dreamer lets go of his first responsibility, to lay hold of one he is not prepared for, and his first ministry falls. We cannot maintain two ministries at the same time, one will suffer and, out of God’s order, both will suffer. The man has come to the very edge of the water, “looks into” the deep place, a place of the stepping-off-the-edge kind of faith. This is a prophetic vision within the dream itself. There he “sees” the image of America, a larger sea or ministry than the shallow pond he started fishing in. She is crumpled, beaten down and hovering over a place of burial or death which is hovering over the water. There is life and breath still in her, but she is covering the very symbol of death, literally molding to something that has no life in it. She still has breath in her and she refuses go down. The enemy is attacking her with the talons of its words, taunting her that ‘it is over’ and ‘she has lost’. Trying to intimidate her into thinking she has no hope of survival, yet she refuses to die, to go down into the watery grave. And all of the sudden, the fish (fruit of a larger, future ministry) on a larger pole (with more stability than his original one), jumps out of the water (a spiritual place of cleansing) and pushes the dreamer away from the ongoing vision causing him awaken.

I Samuel 9:9 “(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: "Come, let us go to the seer"; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)"

John 21:11 “Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.”

Jonah 1:17 “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

The Purpose:

If you'll remember, the man was dissatisfied with the place the Lord had gently led him to start training for ministry and he wandered from the original plan. So now the Lord must drive him to a place where he will be able to see God's purpose. The man has been caught up in the circumstances, straying from the original plan, yet unknowingly being driven. We now we see the purpose for which the Lord has driven him. To gain the whole earth for Christ we must start with one. We must first work the smaller pond we are placed in and fish that pond till there are no more fish and till our training is done. To decide that we know better than God and go to a pond larger than we have equipping or bait for is to be inefficiently prepared, biting off more than we can chew and setting ourselves up to work in the strength of our flesh. But because God loves us and does allow us to run ahead knowing that there are snares the enemy has laid, He goes before us and sets the snare of the enemy. It is not preferable that man get off the path God has designed for us, but even when we stray God sees and is merciful and will guide us back to His original plan if we will listen. He will allow us to see a portion of our destiny. The enemy taunts and attacks us whenever and wherever he can. He does not want us to lay hold of the glory given to us by God alone. If the enemy can convince us that all is lost, to get ahead of ourselves or peacefully give up, even before we begin, then so much the better for his purposes. We must remember not to run ahead of the ministry God has chosen for us. The larger ministry protected the dreamer from the attacking enemy. That ministry has been well equipped to handle an attack. The dreamer has seen the direction of the ministry God initially placed him in, one he will be trained for, but he must go back to that field for training. He was only allowed a sneak peek. The dreamer cannot handle a fledgling ministry and a full-fledged ministry in the same season, it is like taking general math and calculus in the freshman year of high school; it is not practical, and God does not work that way.

God has a plan for your life, a plan to prosper you. His thoughts toward you are for good and not evil. His ways may be higher and thoughts too deep for your understanding, yet you can ask and He will show you great and mighty things which you do not understand. He tells you to 'come', and contend together with Him, to state your case before Him. He cares for you and loves you with and everlasting love and desires to give you good gifts for He is your loving Father.

The word says:
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand. For theses seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.” Zechariah 4:10

If you have any further insight, please feel free to post or send an e-mail us, we would love to hear from you.
Wayne & Lucretia