I want to speak a message today, the 2nd part in a series, entitled "Overcoming Intimidation". We're going to be dealing with the issue of fear this month. Fear is one of those things that the enemy uses very powerfully in the life of many people, especially in the life of believers.
I am so convinced as we study this that there are going to be people set free and lives that are healed. I'm not just talking about phobias. All of us have different phobias in life. Some of us don't like to get into certain cars, some don't like to fly, some don't like heights. All those things are natural things and I believe we can overcome those too but there are issues that are very deep, personal and spiritual that the enemy will attack us on.
Last week we dealt with the issue of worry. I want to begin now talking about the idea of intimidation. Over the next couple weeks we're going to be doing a series entitled, "Overcoming intimidation".
2nd Timothy 1:7 is a very familiar verse and I do not want you to just glance over this. It says this, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind".
Heavenly Father we thank you for your presence in this place. Holy Spirit we thank you that the enemy has no place here. Lord I pray right now if he's working in anyone's life that God, you would send an angel to take that spirit that would torture ad pick on people and stir them up. I pray right now that every bit of that would be removed from this building. I pray Jesus, around this room, that all that would be known is your word and your voice and your presence. Lord may we decrease and may you increase, Amen.
This is one of those messages that I strongly believe is going to change people's lives and the course of the life of this church. There's a lot to cover in this. As God began to pour this out in my heart, what I thought was going to be maybe a one or two week message turned into something that we're going to look at throughout this month. I want you to get ready for the Lord to touch your life. How many of you could use a touch from the Lord today? This series is going to encourage you and challenge you. It will challenge us to look at our hearts. I believe that some will shout for joy. I believe that others are going to weep in relief because the presence of God brings relief.
All of us have ideas what intimidation can or could be. Intimidation is simply fear. That's all it is. It's a powerful tool that the enemy uses and the fear effects everyone, from all different walks of life. Fear is seen in our worries, it's revealed in our insecurities. Fear can weaken the strongest man and it can shatter the confidence of the most capable person. Fear causes grown men to cry. It will cause a grown man who really isn't afraid of almost anything in the dark on a quiet night to run from his car to his house because something doesn't feel right. It causes timid people to tolerate insults, to surrender their dignity, to hide in embarrassment when they have absolutely no reason to be ashamed.
The truth is that in our culture much of what is done today is driven by fear:
fear that we won't have enough; fear that somehow we're not measuring up; fear that we're not working hard enough or becoming all that we should be. Intimidation is the tactic of a bully. When I was growing up I used to get picked on all the time. Finally in High School I decided I was tired of being picked on. I began to lift weights, I got a little bit stronger, I gained more confidence and I began to find out that really bullies were actually cowards and the moment you stood up to them they were going to back down. The truth is If you whoop one of them just once they'll stop pushing you around.
When I was growing up, my dad died when I was five. How many of you men know that you are a big influence in the lives of your children? When I was getting picked on all the time my mom would tell me "Marvin, just walk away, say something kind, go to a teacher and tell them something is going on". Everyday was a living nightmare. How many know It's ok to be a man? I remember finally my mom said to me, "Listen, nothing's happening so the next time he picks on you, you need to turn around and slug him good and knock him down. If you do a good job then when you get home I'll give you some ice cream". Later when I got off the bus and he came to beat me up I slugged him really, really good. The bus driver called the principal, the principal called my mother. My mother said, "You all wouldn't do something about it so my son did".
Listen, the devil had been picking on a lot of people for a long time. No one could do anything about it but God's son did. Someone say a good amen. I want to tell you that it's time we stop being pushed around by the enemy.
One of the greatest tactics that he uses is fear. Political correctness, the desire to keep everything "PC" is driven by intimidation. It is one of Satan's subtle and not so subtle tools. Intimidation deals with confrontation or your lack of wanting to or the fear of confrontation.
Intimidation deals with boldness, our insecurities and our weaknesses. Intimidation by the enemy is meant to make you feel insignificant even when God gave his everything for you. It is meant to make you feel small and helpless even when you have the resources of all of heaven behind you. It works to make cowards of victors and to wilt the resolve of the most determined person in the world.
There are 3 types of persons in this world. There are the intimidators, the intimidated and the fearless. The fearless are those who refuse to be intimidated and to live in fear whether it's from man or whether it's from the enemy. The fearless will always have a healthy fear of their creator. How many know that we don't have to be afraid of God but we sure better reverance Him, respect Him and honor Him. The intimidator and the intimidated are both driven by fear. The difference is that one is aggressive and the other one is subjective.
I believe today that many Christians are dealing with the issue and battling with intimidation everyday. They live with a sense of fear of one fear or another. I want you to listen to this, fear is a bondage and you can be set free. I know that there is a lot of that self help garbage going on. As a matter of fact we have so praised this next generation that they are actually showing things on the news; these kids are so insecure because if they're not praised they don't know what to do with themselves and if they don't do a job right and someone corrects them they want to give up. How many know we need to pour something into our next generation?
You may be insecure, you may not like yourself, the enemy has lied to you and beat on you, you may be doing the finest job that anyone could ever do but it still is never good enough to you. That is the lie of the enemy, it is a bondage that you can be set free from. You may be living in fear over your finances that you're not going to make it. If you have Jesus as your savior you have it made because he made everything. He is yours.
Listen, many people are intimidated and they live depressed, discouraged and defeated. Many have believed the lie that life will never be better than what it is right now and it's your fault. When I was writing this message the enemy even began to intimidate me a little bit. He said "Don't use that key verse that God has not given us a spirit of fear. That's so basic, as soon as you begin to read that everyone in the room is going to tune you out because they're going to think it's a rehash of something they've heard before". How many know the devil is a liar? So just to spite him that's the verse I used. "God has not given us a spirit of fear".
Psalms 56:11 says, "In God I have put my trust, I will not be afraid". It is a decision and a choice to put your trust in the Lord and then to live unafraid.
Fearlessness is not the attainment of a spiritual level. It is a choice that we make and it is a promise that we receive. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, of power and a sound mind". I believe that God desires his Christians, his children, his people to be fearless. Let me ask you, "What scares you"? What is it that keeps you up at night that is just driving you? What is it that is holding you back? What are you afraid of doing? What are you afraid of not doing? What are you putting up with because you think that you don't have any other choice? What are people saying about you that isn't true and you're believing the lie? Are you afraid of making a mistake? Are you allowing the enemy to hold you back because he's saying your life is a mess and you deserve it because you did it to yourself? Let me ask you, "How many of you have ever made a mistake"? How many of you have ever made a mess out of something you shouldn't have made a mess out of"? You know what that makes you? Human.
The truth is there are times we will reap what we sow but I want to tell you that we've got a God who is there in the midst of our mistakes who wants to help us. Are you afraid of what other people think about you? Are you scared of looking foolish? Do you settle because you're afraid to take risks? Do you live with constant anxiety? I want to say it again, God desires us to be a people who live a fearless and peaceful life. Peaceful does not mean uneventful. Some people think, "If I live in the peace of God everything is going to smooth right along". How many have found that not to be true? Maybe you think if you're going to live the peaceful life you're going to wake up everyday laughing with a joy in your step and a smile on your face. Some people preach things like that and when they do I just want to start slapping them because I know how some of those people are living and I know how I'm living and I know that they've got to have a real life. How many know what I'm talking about?
The peaceful life does mean that you're protected. It does mean that you can be whole and that you can live satisfied and it does mean that you can be free. A fearless Christian is one who is steadfast and constant throughout all the situations of life no matter what they are. You may not be the bravest person but a fearless Christian clings to the assurance that they serve a powerful, caring God who is in control. He's in control. He loves you, he loves me and as long as he's in control we don't have to be afraid.
Psalms 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Listen, He is light in dark places. How many of you have ever been through something in life and you can't see what's going on, you don't know what's going on and you don't know what to do? He is the light, he is our salvation. You may have made the biggest mess of all your life but how many of you know that God sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross and because of his salvation he came to clean up our messes, to help us in the midst of them. He is the strength of my life. When I am weak and tired I can still stand fast in confidence knowing that God is faithful. This verse is not only a declaration, it is a genuine question that sometimes we need to ask ourselves.
How many have ever been in the midst of something and you've just been all stirred up? You know, the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? How many have ever asked yourself that question? Scripture isn't just something you declare, it's something to help you think in the midst of your stuff. That's why the Bible says to hide his word in your heart. Not only so that you won't sin against God but so that you can live for God. Ask those questions.
Those who belong to God walk in the humble position of authority. The Bible says we are kings and priests to the Lord most high. That gives us a position of authority in Christ. Intimidation is used to steal that authority, to take it from you. Intimidation is used to steal joy, promotion, your Godly position and your future. The truth is it shouldn't surprise us that the enemy does that because Satan tried to take God's position and God's authority and how many know he failed in that attempt. If he failed in that attempt from God, he will fail in his attempt for you unless you allow it.
The enemy intimidates us from speaking and receiving God's word. This word is useful for everything that we do and as we're dealing with this issue of fear, did you notice that when Jesus was in the wilderness and was being tempted by the enemy, what did he do? He spoke the word. This word is so important. This is why every believer must know it. I want to tell you the first key to living a fearless life for God is to know his word.
"Pastor, that is so basic, could you just give me something a little deeper, tell me something I don't know". I'll tell you what, I'll tell you something you don't know when you start using the things that you know. The truth is if you know this word I can't tell you anything new.
This word is so necessary. The enemy will challenge you when you speak a word from God or when you have a word from God. He did it from the very beginning, he started with Adam and Eve. The issue in the garden wasn't so much temptation as it was intimidation from the very beginning. He shows up as a snake and he looks at Adam and Eve and says, "Did God really say? Are you sure that God's word is what he meant? Are you sure that if you believe that you can trust it? How many know that's intimidation?
Intimidation starts simply with unbelief, "Did God really say?" Intimidation begins to sow doubt. I remember when those bullies started picking on me. The reason that I let them is because I doubted I could take them. I doubted that if I began to stand up to them that I was going to walk away in one piece. So the enemy comes to people and asks, "Does God's word really mean that to you? What if you believe that and it doesn't come to pass? What if you trust that you're saved and you're really not? What if you're a child of God and he said he'd provide for you but he really doesn't? He did it for them but he may not for you. Are you sure that God commanded you not to do that? because you know you're missing out".
That's what happened with Adam and Eve. God said "everything here is for you but this, don't touch it". So what did the enemy go after? That one thing. How many have had the enemy come to you and you've been thinking you could mess around with that thing? "Did God really say? You know if you do that you're going to be alright. Just think of the things you're missing out on"? Well you know, Pastor, that's something you should be teaching to junior high and high school students really. How many of you have had a temptation come your way recently? What does God's word say?
Intimidation will appeal to our pride, our vanity. What are you missing, what if you're wrong? I want to encourage you to refuse to be sucked into that kind of manipulation. God's word is true, God's word is sure, his instructions are trustworthy. Doubt produces uncertainty, uncertainty produces confusion and confusion produces fear. How many know if you've got a sure word from the Lord you can skip doubt and you can skip confusion and you can stand uncertainty and fear won't have to come.
Intimidation is given to keep us from proclaiming God's word. In today's world, in a "correct culture" we are not to correct because we might offend people. Intimidation says that if we declare that Jesus is Lord and that he's the only way to heaven, people are going to be mad. If in the midst of your trouble you declare that you're going to trust the Lord and you declare that to people that he is faithful and true, people are going to look at you like you're foolish and stupid. How many know I'd rather be stupid and trust God. The truth is this, if I trust the Lord I'm going to prove I'm not stupid.
Intimidation says that people are going to be mad because you're a Christian. People aren't going to like you. If you tell them about God they're going to tune you out and turn you off. The enemy will come and say, "If you declare the word of God you're going to be misunderstood and it's going to hurt your reputation". I want to tell you, "Speak the Word of God anyway".
2nd Timothy 4:2 says, "Preach the Word". Anytime you declare the faithfulness of God or you speak this word, you become a preacher. How many know God called you to become a preacher? He may not have called you to be a pastor but he did call you to be a preacher. Preach means to declare, to say. "Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and with teaching".
This week I was flipping through the news stations. I'm one of those news junkies, I'll admit it, I like to watch it. As I was flipping through I saw Ann Coulter. I don't care what you think about it, I'm not here to be political. People say all kinds of brass and brazen things. This week she was on a talk show and Ann Coulter declared that she was a Christian and she was being interviewed by a Jewish man. I don't know if you saw that but in there she began to talk about her Christianity and her faith. He began to say something about the Jews and she said, "Listen, Christians are just perfected Jews, we just believe that Jews need to become saved and they can become perfected in Christ". That man took offense to it and began to yell at the camera and cut to a break, he turned her off. How many know I was praying for my sister in Christ? I may not agree with everything she says and I may not like the way she says everything but she's still my sister in the Lord and she was gutsy enough to get on camera and declare the word of God. She went on to say, "We believe the old testament as Christians but as Jews you don't believe the new testament. As Christians we believe that Jesus died and that if we will accept Christ as our Lord and Savior then we become perfected in Him. We were not perfect but Christ makes us pefect and the Jews need that too".
I want to speak to you, we live in Palm Beach County, we have a lot of Jewish people in this community. I am Jewish, I come from a Jewish background. My dad who had a yamaka on his head and went to the Rabbi and the Synagogue and went through those classes and began to learn everything and speak in Hebrew. One day he realized that everything that was written in the old testament pointed to the messiah, Jesus Christ, and he gave his life to Jesus and he became a perfected Jew. He gave his life to Jesus.
We as a church live in a great community. The Jews are precious to the Lord. I was so proud of Ann Coulter. She said, "Listen, I know you don't believe this but here's what the Bible says and this is what we believe and we're not saying this as an affront to you". The man was all offended. If you declare the Word of the Lord you're going to be misunderstood. You might offend people but preach the Word of God anyway. People need the Lord.
Titus 2:15 says, "Speak these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no one despise you". But intimidation would say, "Well, they don't like me so maybe I need to be quiet, maybe I need to fit in a little better". Listen, If you do, people are not going to have Heaven as their reward. We must not be silent.
A couple of years ago, as I was serving a church over at Okeechobee, my associate pastor got into some serious trouble. He had gotten involved in some things and he wound up in jail. When he was involved there was such demonicness all over him. How many know there are certain communities where the enemy has strongholds. I remember seeing him in jail and there were a lot of things he was going through. I've never been real afraid of saying what needs to be said and doing what needs to be done. I hope I've become alot more tactful since my 20's. As I was sitting in that jail cell something happened that I'll never forget. I was praying for him and asking the Lord to set him free and we were confronting some issues that were not just an issue in his life but were an issue throughout that community. As I was speaking to him this happened to me and you may think I'm a freak and that's ok, I really don't care what you think. How many know I care what Jesus thinks? I love you though. As I was sitting in that jail cell I felt the enemy actually turn. There are principalities and strongholds over communities. I felt that demon turn to me in that jail cell and say, "If you keep going and you keep doing what you're doing I am going to kill you". He said, "The pastor before you served the Lord, I struck him with diabetes and he died".
I got struck with diabetes and I'm still living. I heard him say, "I'll kill you". The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I was in a godless facility, sitting with a man who had served the Lord and really wasn't interested in serving the Lord anymore, just barely listening to what I had to say, still kind of in an arrogant mood.
The enemy said, "You're never going to be effective, you're never going to touch people's lives and I will kill you if you keep going". You know what the Lord said to me? He said, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper and all those who rise up against you shall fall". Somehow in that jail cell as the hair was standing up on the back of my neck and I looked over at my associate pastor who was not my associate pastor anymore, and as his face had that contorted look of rebellion I looked at him and I told him what I had felt and he said to me, "Yeah, I felt that too". I told him he's a liar and he can't have me and he can't have you".
Fear is something the enemy will use to quiet the people of God. "No weapon formed against you will prosper". Parents are afraid of losing a child's love and affection so they give up their place of authority in the home. Every time their child throws a temper tantrum and a little bit of a fit they give in. That's intimidation. Listen parents, speak into their life, you're the adult, you know the word of God, if they say they're not going to love you, they'll get over it. Bosses lose their authority if they don't expect competence from those who work for them. Wives lose authority and I want to tell you that the position of a wife has great benefit in the house. If you don't believe me, husbands, you are sorely mistaken. A wife loses her authority when she gives into her husband's ungodly wants. He may say to you, "If you don't do what I want you to do I'll go some place else". Listen, you look at him and say, "Go". Don't give into that. Husband's lose their authority when they stop being the head of the home and they allow a wife who is ungodly to dictate a home instead of partnering together. How many know it goes both ways? People say, "Preacher, you shouldn't preach that, it's not politically correct". We need to quit living in fear.
Pastor's lose authority when they're worried about offerings and numbers
and counts and we're seeing it all over America. Troy will tell you over the last couple weeks the Lord has been dealing with my heart, not that I have ever been giving into that stuff but how many of you have been watching what's going on? I've been becoming more and more intolerant of what I see happening in the body of Christ. It's time that we stand up and stop being afraid of the enemy, intimidation. The enemy is afraid of the word of God but if we speak it, preach it, believe it, proclaim it then the enemy is defeated. Let that word be alive in you.
Intimidation or fear is used by the enemy to render us useless. We will never win the battle against fear if we are not pure. Our purity, listen to me, is the virtue and credibility behind the power of God in their life. I heard the story of a man. One day after a service a lady had come to a church and she was demon posessed. They had given an altar call and people were being gloriously saved but as this lady came to the altar, she began to manifest those demons that were in her life. Her face began to contort, her voice changed to that of a man, a very wicked man. She began to claw and scratch and yell and of course the pastor did the right job that he should and removed this lady from the sanctuary and they went to a prayer room.
A couple of the men of God began to pray and for a long time this lady dealt with this demon and fought and fought. One of the associate pastors began to get a little irritated that it was taking so long so he began to step up and lay his hands on the lady and started to say, "In the name of Jesus I command you to come out of her now". But as soon as he started to say it, "In the name of Jesus I command" and before he could get "Command" out , that ladies face changed and contorted and went right to him and said, "you have no authority over me, there is sin in your life". How many know that will cause you to examine your life? The devil is not playing games.
So many times we take the things of God so lightly and we keep secret sin. Some Christians will travel a long way to go to a miracle service. They'll go to hear a prophet and they want to be anointed by a specific person but they become so unwilling to deal with anger or unforgiveness or bitterness or a secret sin that they've got. When we give the enemy an open access, he doesn't even need to lie to us because our lack of purity begins to limit our effectiveness against the devil and that leads many to deception.
I believe that many people in the body of Christ are hungry for the power of God but they neglect their own purity. Watch this, Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed (or happy) are the pure in heart for they will see God". The goal of a Christian is not to be used by God, to work great miracles and to walk in gifts, but the great goal of every Christian is to know the Lord and to be known by Him. When you know Him and you are known by Him you will become fearless in Him. Overcoming intimidation, that's what we're talking about over the next couple weeks, becoming fearless for the Lord. To live without the enemy having his way in our life, living in the power of God, living in the purity of the Lord. The truth is we are able to live fearless because we are not in willful rebellion against God. When we are accused by the enemy the rest of the time we know that the mistakes we make are covered in the grace of God because we are striving to live pure for God.
Listen, I want to encourage you, Christian, how many of you want to live in that victory of the Lord? The key to living the overcoming life. We're going to get into a few things over the next couple weeks but I want to encourage you to be the church that we want to be in this community, to be the Christian that you've always wanted to be, to live the life of power that you've always wanted to live, to live the life of freedom that we've always wanted to live. To walk in the security and protection and freedom of God, we must be pure through the blood of Jesus Christ. If you believe what I'm saying say a good amen.
