Take your Bibles and turn with me to 2nd Timothy 1:7. I'm going to finish the series this morning on overcoming intimidation with this last message entitled, "Becoming Fearless".
2 Tim 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, of love and of a sound mind".
Holy Spirit, I thank you this morning that you are in this place. I thank you Lord that you have caused us to live a life of trust and a life of hope. Holy Spirit, this morning I thank you God that this stronghold of intimidation in people's lives is being broken. I thank you Father that there is a new freedom that is rising up, a desire and an ability to live that life that is wholly unhindered by the enemy and completely surrendered to you. Spirit of God I pray that we would decrease and that you would increase and have your way, in Jesus name. Amen
The amplified version says, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, of cowardice, of craven cringing and fawning fear but has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a calm and well balanced mind and of discipline and self control".
We've been dealing with this issue of overcoming intimidation, of living a life that is unafraid not only of the things that God has for you but living unhindered from the attacks the enemy would put on our life. Throughout God's word, one of the key things that he says to his people especially those are going to live for him is "Do not fear, do not be afraid". Every great person throughout the word of God and throughout history that has ever said, "I'm going to live for God and I'm going to do His work" has at some point in their life faced the fear and the attack of the enemy. How many of you have ever felt that in your own life?
The truth is this, God calls us to become fearless. Moses experienced it. Joseph, the Father of Jesus needed angels to come who said, "Fear not".
Mary had angels who came to her saying, "Fear not". God spoke to Joshua as the children of God were about to enter into his promise. How many of you have ever found that when you believed God for things and you've trusted the Lord for things and when you're about to receive the promise that he has for your life then the enemy tries to hit you with fear? God said to Joshua as the children of Israel were about to enter into the promise, "Don't be afraid, be bold and courageous".
God calls his people to be fearless. The word fearless means to be free from fear. I want to say this again, it's not the absence of fear. Those who are fearless do not have the absence of fear in their life. How many know those who are brave have to have a reason to be brave? But it is peace and a joy and contentment in the Lord even in the midst of difficult things.
It involves being steadfast and constant, stable and level headed. It's not about the absence of concern but in the knowledge that even in the midst of concern, you've got the answer who is there with you and loves you and cares for you. Fearless speaks of the assurance and the certainty that a believer knows that their God knows what they are going through because he is there with them in the midst of it.
There are several things that I want you to understand about bcoming fearless today. First of all understand this, fear is a spirit. The word says that God has not given us a spirit of fear and fear is more than an attitude or a disposition or a way that you think about things. It's not simply just thinking right and being positive. Intimidation is a spirit of the enemy that comes to attack you and I and because it is a spirit, it cannot be fought on the level of our intellect or our willpower. There are some who have tried to overcome the attacks of the enemy in their own mind and in their own ways. How many have ever tried to fight the enemy and come up completely empty? The truth is this, You can fight in the realm of the spirit.
Someone once said that spiritual resistance requires spiritual assistance. I believe that's true but there are good people, intelligent people, lovers of God who face fear on many different angles. That may be you today and you are not facing a natural weakness that you have tried to overcome. You are not just facing something about yourself that if you would just will it you would change. It is a battle that the enemy has put into your life that you are trying to fight and win.
Intimidation is a spirit that will give expression through any person who will yield to it. Ephesians 4:27 says, "Do not give place to the devil". I want to say that this is different from resisting and has everyting to do with the idea of permission. There are times when you will resist the devil as the Bible says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you". How many have found that to be true? When you resist him standing firm in the faith, standing on the word of God, believing it and trusting him with everything that is within you. The Bible says, "Do not give place to the devil". I want to speak this to us, this is a command. He says, "Do not do it". If we're going to find victory in the spiritual it's not an issue of mind over matter.
We're going to find that victory in the Lord is not just an issue of being an overcomer because we are able to will it through ourselves. Being an overcomer in Christ is simply a matter of believers becoming proficient at one thing: Obedience.
There are so many things in the world that tell us if you will just do this and do that but how many understand that the word of God makes life very simple, just obey. Because intimidation is a spirit it is not a spirit that is just going to go away if it's ignored. How many of you have ever felt yourself in a place of fear and thought, "If I just ignore it, it will go away". How many are parents here this morning? How many have had a child ask you something over and over and you thought if you just ignore them they'll go away. How many have found that doesn't work?
Sometimes it's interesting tht in the spiritual realm if we would just ignore the enemy he will go away. I've found that the enemy is very persistent. How many have ever faced a sin that you've struggled with? How many have ever faced a certain area in life that you just knew the enemy was working and tried to ignore it? What we do not deal with will not change. To do nothing is the same as giving consent to it. That's why I'm saying that what we must do is be obedient to the word of God. God says, "Do not give place to the devil". If evil is ignored it becomes stronger and we need to make no room for fear in our life. Don't give place to it. Shut the door on it when it begins to come in, refuse to accept it. How many know today that if you are a child of God , the enemy can only come into your life and have influence over your life totally if you give him permission to have his way. But we can say "No" and follow.
Listen, Boldness and strength are a key component to being fearless. The Bible says that God hasn't given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Power, Love and a sound mind speaks of strength both emotionally and spiritually, not so much physically but it speaks of that strength and boldness on a character level within each and every one of us. The truth is, without power, love and a sound mind our boldness in life is little more than an act of confidence. I want to speak this to you, some people will say this in the church, "Fake it till you make it". How many know that with the Lord you don't have to fake anything? He'll always be the source of strength and hope and help. The enemy knows a phony and he knows the real thing. How many of you know the difference between the real and the phony? It's so important.
Many people's bold faces in life even within Christianity are simply a mask that covers either ignorance or arrogance. Being fearless is not an issue of being arrogant, that I'm better and I've arrived. Remember, it's an issue of a surrendered life of obedience to the Lord that says the reason I can be an overcomer is because of the confidence that I have in Christ because I have been obedient to you. It is easy to do and say and live the right things when we are faced with little opposition in life but it is when the winds of adversity blow that we know how deeply we are actually rooted in Christ or not.
Psalms 27:1 says, "The Lord is the strength of my life". How many of you can say that with me this morning? The Lord is the strength of my life. He is the hope of our life. He is the salvation of our life. He is everything.
Something happens in the life of the believer, the way that we can become fearless in our life is by allowing the Lord to be that strength. There's so many other things that we rely on and depend on and think about but strength comes from God. Boldness and courage is our action in life based on the work of God that has been done inside of us not because of something we had to achieve ourself. Fearlessness comes with the confidence that God has given you the strength you need to be an overcomer. One of the things that I have found within the body of Christ is thst truly many Christians are walking without that confidence in the Lord.
If the enemy can steal your confidence in Christ then he can take your hope and you'll have reason to be afraid. Fearlessness comes with confidence.
I want to tell you this, God will never ask you to do something or ask us to be obedient to something or to obey a command that he has never equipped us with the ability to do.
In Joshua 1:9 God said, "Have I not commanded you, be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go".
I want to tell you that if you've got the confidence of the Lord being there with you then you can become fearless.
Obedience to God helps us to be fearless because we know that we will have what He said we can have. If you lack courage, I want to encourage you, If you're going through something in your life and you are finding yourself becoming despondent and fearful. Listen, how many know that at some point everyone of us are going to face some tough things? If you're not you're doing good but if you haven't yet, you're going to. How many know that's not doomsday prophecy that's just living life?
The truth is this, this morning I believe that one of the things the Lord has wanted to speak into the life of this church and into the life of every believer is that you can be fearless with God. Obedience to the Lord gives us great courage and if you lack it, all we need to do is cry out to the Lord. I want to tell you when you go the Lord for a need there is no fear. How many have ever found yourself afraid to be going through something in life and then afraid that if you go to God with it He'll look down on you because you went to Him for His help? The Bible says that in our time of need we should cry out to the Lord.
Psalms 138:3 says, "In the day when I cried out you answered me and made me bold with strength in my soul".
Our soul is our inner man, it's not our spirit. Listen to me, our spirit is what cries out to God, "Lord I need help" and the soul is that part of us that thinks and activates within us that says, "God I need you to do something deep inside of me". We can always be in contact with God. The spirit can always cry out to the Lord. So many people can do things on the outside but on the inside just be trembling. But it's another thing when you cry out to the Lord and He strengthens you in the inner man.
The Bible says, "I cried out to the Lord and he strengthened me in my soul".
Watch, it is out of this boldness that the people of God face their biggest fears and accomplish great things. It is out of the boldness that God does inside of you that the people of God are able to accomplish a great deal in their life. The number one reason that people don't attempt anything big in their life or achieve anything they've ever hoped for is because of fear.
Daniel 11:32 says, "The people who know their God shall be strong and do great exploits".
If you don't believe that I want you to take that verse, find that in scripture and write it on a card, stick it on your mirror and put it on your refrigerator. Not so you can say it to yourself and be a positive thinker and it will happen. I want you to know that the Word of the Lord is truth and if we will simply believe it we can live it. The Bible says that the people who know their God shall be strong and do great exploits. The greatest reasons that you'll hear me preach on knowing God in this church, one of the greatest you see on our bulletin "To know Him and make Him known" is because if we would just know Him amazing things begin to take place. People who know the Lord do great things with their life whether they're small town or big town, whether they're doing little things or big things, it's amazing how those things impact others lives.
All of us know the story of David and Goliath. We know it's a story of strength and courage and of becoming fearless in the face of intimidation.
Many times we talk about the story of David we think about the intimidation David faced only when he was facing Goliath but there were 3 times in that story when David showed up to battle the enemy of God. How many know that if Goliath came and stood in here today he'd be as tall as the ceiling, he'd be carrying a spear that would weigh more than some of us sitting in here and we would be intimidated to see him whether he was saved or not.
This week we had the privilege of having one of the biker guys, a missionary that was coming through and if you look at him he has this big bushy beard and wears a black shirt and jeans, always was into the greasy stuff. When I first met him I asked him, "I know you've been pulled over before" and he said "Yeah". He said mostly people will be afraid just because of the way I look but once they get to know me....". I want to tell you this guy is as gentle as a teddy bear.
Many times when we think of the story of David and Goliath we just think of him facing Goliath but there were 3 things that he had to face before he even got to the main battle. There are 3 areas of fear that you and I will face.
1) David showed up as a little squirt and there were his brothers sitting around in their tent. The giant would come out and challenge the enemies of Israel and when David showed up he said, "Hey, who is this uncircumcised Philistine"? Basically what he's saying is, "What right does this guy have challenging the people of God"? Sometimes it just takes childlike faith to face some of the biggest problems in life and asking "What in the world am I putting up with"?
But David's brothers who had been sitting across the battle line from Goliath had done nothing for several months just facing the army and allowing the enemy to intimidate and challenge. When David spoke that, instead of getting a rallying cry from the people saying, "You know he's right" His brothers looked at him and said, "Hey, Who do you think you are, you're nobody, you're just a shepherd boy, you're just a little squirt. If we can't do anything about it how do you think you can"? How many know that the enemy will intimidate you sometimes because he's done nothing. Sometimes we have to face those people that will say, "Listen, you can't do it, who do you think you are"? His brothers began to attack his character saying, "You're just prideful, you don't know what you're doing, you're so immature, you don't have any idea". How many know David just quickly walked away from that.
I want to challenge you, don't let other people intimidate you because they have been ones that have stood on the sidelines all their life letting things go by because they've been afraid. How many know it just takes one person to say, "I'm not going to be afraid and I'm going to deal with the thing". In Proverbs 28:1 it says, "The righteous are as bold as a lion". There is something about the purity of God in your life that when everyone else may be afraid of what's going on around them, the Bible says that those who are righteous are as bold as a lion. Lions are confident. They're not necessarily arrogant, they're just very confident in the strength that is inside of them. How many know that will intimidate alot of people around you? But I want to encourage you, don't stop being bold for the Lord. Those who are weak will usually accuse others of the same weakness that they're dealing with to shift the balance. Those who have strong personalities will try to intimidate others to make them look a little better.
2) David had to go before a King. His brothers said, "David, so you think you're hot stuff, go before King Saul and let him see what you can do". How many know a little person going before a big person can really feel kind of small? King Saul looked at David and began to intimidate him saying, "Listen, I know what you've got is pretty special but you need to become a little bit more like me. I want you to walk the way I walk, I want you to wear the things I wear, I want you to do the things that I do. Once these things kind of fit you, you're going to do a whole lot better". One of the greatest fears that we have is the enemy coming in and saying, "You don't fit in, you're not matching up". How many know that God has created you to be who you are so you can face the battles that God has called you to face and you don't have to become like anybody else? Some one say a good amen.
It's interesting because in the body of Christ where we should be the greatest individuals in all the world, it's amazing how sometimes even within the church there's this issue that we should all fit in and kind of look the same, act the same and dress the same and sound the same. How many know that's just not true? The truth is that we will become more like Jesus and we will walk like him and act like Him and in that way we'll all look alike. We don't have to be fearful trying to be like anybody else.
David had to face that kind of intimidation as soon as he walked through those 2 things then he got to face the giant. I want to tell you some of you in this room are facing those very things. You say, "Pastor, those are things we teach our kids in Sunday School and in Junior High and High School so that when they become adults they don't have to face that anymore". How many know as adults many are facing those same problems? The greatest fear sometimes is that the enemy will tell us that if we preach too simple that people won't get it. The truth is that life really is pretty simple. It's us who complicate it. The answers of God are still the same and those simple principles are so very powerful yet very deep. Those who are fearless have let God mold them and not other people. I want to encourage you to let the Lord mold you and cause you to become more like Him and everything that you were called to be.
3) The last battle that David had to face was that giant and that giant taunted him, laughed at him and said "you're small". But David chose to listen to God instead of the enemy. Listen, God is simply looking for someone who will just believe Him and trust Him. I want to tell you that the enemy will look at you when you are facing things in your life and say, "you know you're not good enough, you're not praying enough, you're not reading the word enough, you don't know God enough, you're just too small in your faith, who do you think you are? You're coming against me.
God says, "if you would just understand that it's not by might, not by power but by my spirit sayeth the Lord" then we would stop being afraid.
David looked at that Giant and listen, I didn't actually come to preach to you about David and Goliath, this was just like a sidenote but something is welling up inside me. Some of you need to understand that if you would just have faith as small as a mustard seed to trust him. I want to tell you that David was a little boy and Goliath was a big old giant and that little stone that David put in the sling was probably just like a mustard seed. God said, "All I'm going to ask you to do is swing that thing around, you come against the enemy and stop being afraid". You let that strength from me rise up inside of you". Listen, I have found sometimes that when I face the enemy head on there are things in my mind. I'm going full speed and I should probably be afraid but right now I'm really not. This is pretty cool, God is inside of me and strength is there.
The choice to just trust the Lord and to become fearless. The Bible says that those who know their God shall be strong. It's not all of a sudden what you'll find yourself in is walking in the strength of the Lord, it's not like all of a sudden you're going to be sitting there pumping weights and God is going to say, "Ok, now you can come out of the spiritual weight room". There is something that you and I cannot earn by the grace of God that the Lord said, "Those who know their Lord shall be strong and do great things". I want to tell you I expect everyone in this room, when I look at you I don't know what other people think, but I see God doing powerful things.
I watched you Friday night as you ministered to kids. They crawled through mazes, cut some candy, but do you realize the seed of God that you planted in their life as you loved on them and spoke into their hearts? Do you realize the things that this church will do as a community as we reach this city for Jesus? The lives that will be saved, the people that will be influenced into the Kingdom of God. Watch this, I want to speak this so strongly, fearlessness comes from dying to ourselves. One of the greatest things we fear is becoming less than what we already are. God says, "if you want to become more of me, become less of you". We are intimidated and we become afraid when we begin to think about the things that we might lose or the ways that the enemies attacks might effect our lives but the Bible tells us that we are to lose our lives for the sake of Christ. The truth is that dying to myself, pride in my way, actually helps me to gain everything that I ever needed from the Lord.
In Mark 8:35 it says, "For whoever dies or desires to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's sake will save it".
Listen to me, if we're knowing God and we're living for the Lord we're actually living dead men. If we live for Christ, dead men are afraid of nothing. The only people afraid going though a grave yard at night are the people who are alive. Dead people aren't scared. Dead people are quite comfortable.
1st Peter 4:1-2 says, "Since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of man but for the will of God".
Those who have died to ourselves are living for the will of God anyway. Listen, dead men aren't afraid to suffer. Why? Because they've already given it up. Dead men aren't afraid of embarrassment, they're not afraid of financial insecurity or difficulty. They're not afraid of death, they're not afraid to change, they're not afraid of being uncomfortable. Dead men aren't afraid of their own weaknesses, insecurities or shortcomings. They are fearless for the Lord. Listen to me, God will allow us to face what we are afraid of repeatedly until we are victorious. Some of you in this room, you've been thinking that the reason you've been going through some stuff is the work of the devil but I want to tell you that there are some things God allows us to go through in our lives so that we can become victorious and move on and become confident and strong in Him.
Dead men are selfless, they're not living for themselves anymore. They can live when they're insulted, when they're belittled, when they're neglected or misunderstood. The truth is you can't hurt me if I live for Jesus because it's no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me. I want to tell you when the church gets a hold of this truth, when the people of God get a hold of this that it's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, we become fearless because dead men aren't afraid of what other people think or what other people are going to do. I want to ask you, who do you serve? God or man? Because you will serve what you fear. There are some people who are so afraid of being broke they work 3 jobs. There are some people who are so afraid of being sick they keep GNC in business because they take every pill that's on the shelf. If you'd just trust the Lord God, how many know it will save you some money? There are some people so afraid of what other people will say they become a chameleon everywhere that they go and become something to everybody until they don't even know who they are anymore. You will serve who you fear.
Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man brings a snare". But dead men do what God says. Fear of man shows itself in insecurity, in low self esteem, it's a snare. Fear of man leaves us afraid of being rejected or afraid of being ridiculed or even afraid of messing up. Soe of you are going to mess up today, some of you are going to be in the dog house before you get out of the car with your husband or your wife, that's the way it's going to be.
But dead men have died to themselves. "To live is Christ but to die is gain". I messed up but you know what, I can be humble when I'm wronged because I've died to myself anyway.
I want to tell you when the church gets a hold of this truth, the stuff that we mess up on so many occasions in so many ways. We're afraid of our kids falling away and not coming back to Jesus. Listen, I'm a dead man. I've already given my kids to the Lord anyway. They're not mine anymore, they belong to Jesus so they're going to come. What is it that you're afraid of?
Fearing man means that we live to please everyone else. If you live to please man you're going to live exhausted because at some point you're not going to be able to make everybody happy.
This is one of the reasons I can stand in the pulpit and preach the word of God. Someone said to me, "You can't grow a big church and preach the word of God. You have to be positive all the time and be able to reach alot of people. Listen, I've died to myself anyway, I'm going to preach what the Lord says. Our security is not built on just one person or the things that we accomplish, it's built on the obedience that we have to the Lord. What is it that you need to be doing? What is it you've been called for?
At some point if you fear what other people think it will bring you into conflict with God. If you're always trying to please someone else, at some point God is going to call you to do something that is not pleasing to somebody but if you've died to yourself and you live for Christ then it's easy to please him. I want to tell you, it is far easier to obey just one person, the Lord, than it is everybody else. I found this, If I obey the Lord I'll be a good daddy. If I obey the Lord I'll be a good husband. If I obey the Lord I'll be a good pastor, if I obey the Lord I can excel in anything the Lord puts in my place because those who know their God shall do great exploits. There are very few things I'm afraid to do. I don't want to jump out of a plane. I don't believe in jumping out of perfectly good planes. If for whatever reason I had to jump out of the plane, how many know the Lord is there? It doesn't mean I'm going to test the Lord or test a good parachute.
Listen, a sound mind overcomes intimidation. "The Lord has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, of love and a sound mind". You need to understand, fear messes with your mind. For sme of you the enemy has been messing with you and messing with your mind. You haven't been able to find peace, you can't sleep at night. The Bible says, "I will fear no evil". Unsoundness comes from uncertainty and confusion. The Bible says God will give us supernatural understanding and he's promised to help so that we can become fearless. I want to speak this, of power and a sound mind, that God has already given us a spirit to love. The one greatest thing that I've found you can have in great capacity in the strength of the Lord to overcome all fear is to love people, to love God and to love others. Fear will cause us to resent people and hate them, to be suspicious of them all the time. People say, "If I love people unconditionally then I'm going to be taken advantage of". I'm a dead man, how can you take advantage of me? I'm dead, I can just be free to love you. We could go ahead and talk about other things but how many know there are boundaries even with graves. That's a whole other sermon though.
Listen, becoming fearless for the Lord, overcoming intimidation that you've faced in your life. A couple months ago when the Lord said this is what I want you to speak and i told you that usually I plan a year ahead. As a matter of fact just a couple weeks ago I have already planned in 2008 the things the Lord wants me to preach. Get ready, you're going to be blessed.
There have been things over the past couple months, we need to be open to the Lord, he just messed up a whole schedule for about 2 or 3 months. I through it out because of all new things. The Lord said, "This is what I want to speak". This is one of them, overcoming intimidation. I want to tell you it's been so strong in my heart. Some of you have been bound up by a stronghold. How many felt last week in this place there is a battle going on here? We felt it. You say, "Well there's something wrong in the church". No, the enemy is being defeated in lives and he hates it with a passion. I want to tell you church, get ready, the things you've been asking God for, the spiritual battles are worth facing.
That's why prayer is so important, 1st Friday prayer. You don't think last week there was part of me that just wanted to close the service out and just be done with this thing because I could feel the battle. The Lord says, you be strong and of good courage". How many know you need to pray for your preacher? You need to pray for your brothers and sisters. You need to pray for Troy and his worship that God would anoint and use and break through those things. I'm hitting something head on. It's easy in churches, it's easy in lives to ignore things and hope they go away but they do not go away unless they're confronted. Fear has been one of the greatest things I felt the Lord say is the intimidation factor over people's lives and the life of this church, even over it corporately in some manner though i don't know that I understand all that but what i do know is this, that stronghold is broken from this point on in the name of Jesus bcause God is the God of this church and not the enemy. The enemy is not the God of your life, Jesus is the Lord of your life. Jehovah Gyra is your provider. He is your strength, he is your hope, he is your health and healing. He is your Godm he is your life. It is no longer us who lives but Christ who lives in us. He is the one that if we will obey everything will be ok.
