The Weapon of Perfect Love

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18a, NIV).

Perfect love drives out fear. It is a weapon God has given you to fight fear in your life. Perfect love can only be discovered in Jesus Christ. It is a love that loves you no matter what you have been. It is a love that always sees you beautiful and whole through the eyes of grace. It is a love that always seeks to heal and help you discover freedom. It is a love that desires nothing more than you to know who you are in Jesus Christ. It is a love that can only be found in an intimate relationship with the Lord. Seek Him. Lay all of yourself down on His altar. Hold nothing back. Study His Word until it transform you and renews you in the spirit (attitude) of your mind (Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 4:23). As you know Him more intimately, His perfect love will be more real to you instead of your fear. Faith will be your reality, and fear will be seen as the unrealistic lie of a defeated enemy.

“But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18b). God says that if you are tormented by fear, you have not experienced His perfect love. Fear is all about punishing you. Satan punishes you with condemnation. God loves you with conviction, and His conviction is meant to help change your attitude, and turn from that which destroys you. Fear punishes you. Faith builds a rock-solid belief in God's perfect love. When fear rises up, it is a reminder that you need to continue seeking God, and choose to believe in His faithfulness.

Your faith in the perfect and faithful love of God is what ultimately destroys fear and wipes it from your mind. You faith rises from hearing the Word and knowing the love of Christ (Romans 10:17).The spirit of fear will always rise up. But your shield of faith can become strong enough to stand against it (Ephesians 6:16).

No Fear in Love, Power, and Self-Control

Our pastor recently taught a series entitled “How to Handle Troublesome Emotions”. Emotions wreck havoc in the Christian's life. If they are not brought under the control of the Holy Spirit, they can render you helpless. One of the most difficult emotions to control is fear. It rares its ugly head when you least expect it. The moment fear grabs you, it has you.

Fear convinces you that God is not going to take care of the concerns of your heart. Fear states that your children will not return to God. Fear tells you that those you love are doomed. Fear informs you that your life is always going to be the same, and that God will not rescue you. Fear convinces you that you can't hear God. Fear fills your heart with dread that your financial loss will starve you. Fear makes you believe that your broken family will never be restored. The list can be endless, but it doesn't have to be. That list can be empty.

God has not given you a spirit of fear, but He has given you a spirit of power, love, and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7). Both faith and fear are an rock-solid beliefs in what is coming in the future. Faith and fear are not just emotional. They are beliefs controlled by totally opposite spiritual forces. Faith is controlled by God, and fear is controlled by the enemy. Faith believes that God will always do the best for His children. Fear believes He never will. But God has given you powerful weapons to fight your fear. He has given you love, power, and self-control. Without these alive, exercised, and applied in your life, you cannot defeat fear. But with His perfect love, His power, and self-control alive and well in your life, you can walk in faith free from the bondage of fear.

Your weapon of love.......“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18, NIV).

Your weapon of power..... “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to  stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world,  and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor  so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil” (Ephesians 6:10-13, NLT).

Your weapon of self-control....“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

His Love, His power, and self-control. Against these no weapon of fear can prosper.

Choose Faith or Fear

“Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]” (Hebrews 11:1, Amplified Bible).

Just as with fear, faith is the conviction in something that can't be seen. But there is a great difference between fear and faith. Faith believes that God will bring your hope into reality. Fear believes that He will never do it.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, NIV).

This verse says we must believe God exists. We have no problem with that part. It is the next part that presents a problem to so many. We must believe that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. This is a necessary aspect of faith. If we can't believe that God rewards us when we seek Him with our whole heart, then we don't please God.

If something rises up that causes fear, then we must ask ourselves an important question. Do we believe in God's faithfulness or so we believe in Satan's lies? Hebrews 11:6 states that God rewards those who seek Him with their whole being. Satan says that we are of no worth to God. He says God must punish us by allowing the very thing we fear to happen. When the enemy tells us the concerns of our lives are not important enough for the Lord‒when he tells us that we must take care of ourselves because God is not interested‒when He says that God will never reward our seeking Him‒when the lies keep on coming, they “feel” like they are true.

What we feel is often what is not true. If anything, Hebrews 11:1 reveals that feelings don't reveal reality. This verse tells us that we must believe God's Word over whatever we feel. If we don't, then Satan's lies of destruction will destroy our faith, and fear will gain control of our lives. When we choose faith or fear, we choose who we will believe.

No More Doublemindedness

The opposite to a spirit of faith is the spirit of fear. It is impossible for both to exist together. One will be prevalent over the other, and ultimately win. If you are fearful, your mind is not well-balanced. If you doubt God, then you am double-minded. But if you exercise the spirit of faith which God has given (2 Timothy 1:7), you can discover peace when faced with circumstances over which you have no control.

You must come to God “with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord. [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]” (James 1:6-8, Amplified).

The spirit of fear wishes to destroy your faith by making you “unstable, unreliable, and uncertain” about everything. It wreaks havoc on your thoughts, and weakens your faith in the promises of God. As a Christian you know you should believe that God's promises of love are true, and you do to a certain extent. However, your fears and doubts reveal that deeply-rooted within you are beliefs that are totally opposite to the promises of God. And the Word says that a double minded person should not expect to receive anything from Him.

This is God's truth, and promise. Study God's Word. As you start to face and realize the beliefs within you that are contrary to God's Word, you can apply His Word to your life. Faith begins to grow, and has greater strength to defeat the spirit of fear within you that you have been unable to control. You don't have to be double minded, unstable and uncertain. You can have God's peace and learn how to overcome your fears and your doubts. God's Word has the power to pull down these strongholds in your life. Learn it. Apply it. Pray and ask for God's help. He is always available. Don't ever give up. You can be free of the spirit of fear.

NO NORE FEAR

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7, AMP).

Do you have fear in your life? Does it wear you down? And sometimes when you are having a good day does it rise up suddenly to hit you in the face? Well, the Lord has good news for you. It is not from Him, and He can defeat it in your life. 

Fear is a spirit that comes from the enemy to torment you. "We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies,” Paul write, “but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places' (Ephesians 6:12 NLT). Satan's purpose is to “steal, kill, and destroy” you (John 10:10). Fear is a vicious attack from the enemy to destroy your faith. It is a spiritual attack entirely meant to rob you of your peace and joy, and ultimately destroy your promises in Jesus Christ.

The Word says that you are an over-comer, and you are victorious in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37). He is the strength that defeats that spirit of fear which rises to destroy you. Christ has given you tools to defeat fear. Where Satan hits you with a spirit of fear, Christ fights Satan through you with His spirit of discipline and self-control. If your life is undisciplined in prayer and Bible study, you will not overcome and be victorious. If you lack self-control in your daily life, you will not be able to defeat the lies of the enemy. God has given you a spirit of power. He has given you His spirit of love. He promises a calm and well-balanced mind. His spirit is in you, but He must be exercised in your life! If what He has given you is not exercised, you will not be able to defeat your spirit of fear.

The opposite of a spirit of fear is His spirit of faith. Exercise it. Exercise what He has given you to exercise. Not used it will become weak and ineffective. Exercised daily through discipline and self-control it will grow in its ability to stand against the enemy. As you exercise your faith, and choose to believe God instead of Satan, you will discover you are an over-comer. You will be victorious. Instead of the enemy's lies defeating you, you shall only be made stronger in Christ.

Renew My Heart

Does it sometimes feel like a wall has gone up between you and someone with whom you have shared your heart? Have you looked inside your own heart and asked the Lord to show you what you might have done? It breaks your heart to think you might have wounded another person, and broken their heart. Much worse is to know you have broken the Lord’s heart.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9). “Have mercy on me, O God,” David cried, “according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2). If I confess, He is faithful to forgive, and cleanse my heart. His love is unfailing, and I will know and experience His forgiveness once again. My heart will be pliable in His hands. If I fail Him in anyway, my heart will horribly ache. I will feel and know His pain as if it is my own.

If I have wounded and made another one stumble, then forgive me, Lord. If I have said words without thinking that have wounded, forgive me. If I have turned away from someone's painful cry because I might suffer too, then forgive me. If I have been cold and unfeeling to someone's need, forgive me. If I have run from my responsibility and longed to be hidden from its requirement, then, please, forgive me. Lord, I confess the sins that I know, and the ones that I do not know.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:10). Renew your spirit within me, Lord. Everyday renew it. Keep me soft and pliable on your altar so your steadfast spirit is secured within me. Guide me. Love me, and keep me safe from my own ability to fail you. I place my life in your hands today, and trust you will do whatever is necessary to mold me and renew my heart..

Give Myself

^“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap” (Luke 6:38a).

His love must direct all my actions. I find complete joy in following His will instead of my own. I surrender all of myself to Him....my time, my work, my priorities, my thoughts, my ideas, my preconceptions, my life, my all upon His altar. I give myself away instead of holding on to my own desires. I choose to believe Him only and not my thoughts. He is Truth. I am not. He is Life. I am not. He is Peace. I have none. He is Joy. I can't manufacture it. He is All, and I am just me. Each day I will lay myself upon His altar, and make an offering of me. It is in the giving away that I shall receive. I shall receive His overcoming All instead of the little that I am.

Waiting for Why

A toddler asks, “What's that?” Suddenly aware of the world, he wishes to put names to the wonder at his fingertips. Now his interest is basic, but as he grows, “why” will become his question of choice. Soon he will discover that every question doesn’t have an easy answer. Unanswered questions affect people in different ways. Some react with doubt; some with cynicism, and other, like the prophet, Habakkuk, refuse to let go until there is understanding. Habakkuk’s heart broke for a world disintegrating around him. He longed to understand why evil existed, and always appeared to win. Habakkuk boldly brought his complaint to God, and then waited for God’s answer.

We all have “why's”. We all face situations and circumstances that we don't understand. We can react with doubt or even become cynical or we, just as Habakkuk, can take our “why's” straight to God. God’s answer to Habakkuk and the comfort it offers are timeless. “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3). This timeless answer is also for us.

Habakkuk responds to God’s explanation with an incredible prayer of faith! “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18). Do we respond as Habakkuk did? Do we wait for our answers with such trusting faith? Do we trust God's will above our own enough to say no matter what “I will rejoice in the Lord?”

Not only our faith, but our praise should be as Habakkuk's. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and he enables me to go on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:18-19). No matter what we face or what lies ahead, we can be as Habakkuk, exercising our faith and praising God for His answer which comes in its time. God’s revelation, in response to our questioning “why”, can only comfort if we exercise faith.

Believing in the revelation is a decision; our hardship is the catalyst; faith is the result, and praise is the expression. Our feet become sure, and we are lifted above our suffering to trust in His faithfulness. We know without a doubt that instead of wrath, God has brought us mercy.

A Hard Morning Instruction

“Oh, my child! Why haven't you listened to me?” He speaks a hard, but necessary, word this morning to my you and to me. “What you do speaks louder than what you say. You say one thing and do another. You instruct another in my ways, but then, without conscience, do the very thing you warned against. My Word calls for honesty and integrity in all areas of your life. There is no slack in this truth. When your witness does not support what you say is true, then you make my sacrifice worthless. It breaks my heart just as my body was broken for you. My blood was shed so that you might walk in newness of life-not wallow in the dire filth of your past. You have rationalized your actions until you no longer hear my gentle leading. I wait for you to hear. I long for you to hear. Give up the past ways that have defined you. Give up the things in your life that bring death. Don't get to the place where you have made so many excuses that you no longer feel my conviction. I want you to see that what you do does not support the faith you speak of so casually. I am not casual. I am life, and I wait for you to return to me. You cannot correct or rebuke or encourage another with patience and careful instruction if what you say is not realized in your own life. Live your life filled with my Word, and allow that Word to accomplish what it was sent to accomplish-new life in me. I love you child, and I long for you to hear my heart.”

This is hard, but I need to hear it again and again. How about you? The moment that I believe I understand all the incredible depths of my Lord is the moment I no longer grow spiritually. The moment that He becomes casual to me is the moment that I have placed other things before Him. The moment that my life does not support what I say is the moment I speak death instead of life. The moment I believe I have arrived is the moment that I have failed.

Today I give Him my life again. I lay all on His altar. I long only to hear His heart.

Just Pray

 

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).

 

Just pray. No prayer goes unanswered.  Always remember that when things aren't right, or someone does something wrong, it is at that moment that you are to pray.  Don't run and set that person straight, but pray for things that are wrong to be made right, and for the heart of the person to be changed. And as you pray for another’s heart to be changed, you will discover that prayer actually changes you.

 

Don't hide from your responsibility to pray. What is wrong in the world, in your country, with its leadership, and with its people?  Make these concerns the cry of your heart. What is it you see in another person's life that is destroying him?  You hear of someone who is suffering and needs comfort. You hear of someone who is dying and needs the Lord. You hear of someone in acute distress that needs a divine touch. Make all these things which break your heart, the very things that drive you to your knees.

 

There in your prayer closest you shall find one-on-one spirit communion with the Lord that brings down walls, and changes the lives of those for whom you plead mercy. There on your knees you can discover the humble service of prayer that changes the world. You will see the hand of God touch lives, realize miracles happen, and know lives have been changed. Every time that you bow on your knees in prayer, heaven rejoices, and hell shakes. There is great power in the prayer of one who surrenders his heart to the Lord in prayer. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).