Fear Not 6/17/2021

Greetings beloved of the Lord, i hope that you are doing well and resting in the goodness and faithfulness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. i would like to share something with you that the Lord gave to me on my last trip to Uganda that i shared with our staff and a few pastors and leaders. It is on the subject of Fear. Though Fear is the subject of this letter i think it would be more appropriate to focus on what the Lord tells us about Fear, He tells His followers to Fear Not! We all know from this past year and half events that Fear can be a very strong motivator and controlling factor. Governments, politicians, leaders, businesses, teachers, et al know the power that can be exerted over people when they are fearful. Fear stymies people in many ways, it paralyzes people, it shortens one's span and quality of life, and many other negative effects. Solomon wrote about the effects of fear, Proverbs 29:25 "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe." What does a snare/trap do? It captures; ensnares; brings into captivity, losing one's freedom; enslaves. This is what Fear does to the person who is taken captive to it. This is not the way God ever intended His people to live life. Jesus said in John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." When you are gripped with Fear you are ensnared to it and will never know the abundant life that Jesus speaks of. There are no shortage of events in life that can cause us to Fear, to be Fearful. The Children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land after wandering in the Wilderness for 40 years watching their parents and grandparents die because of their unbelief. Upon entering this wonderful land which God had promised them, a land flowing with milk and honey, they would encounter many difficulties like GIANTS, fortified cities, people greater in number and ability to fight better than they, along with many other challenges and difficulties. Yet listen to what God said to them: Deuteronomy 3:22 "Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you." Deuteronomy 31:6 " Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." Do you see that dear ones? After God tells them not to fear nor be afraid He gives the reason why they are not to fear. He says: I will be with you, I will not forsake you, I will not fail you, I will fight for you. God is not a man that He should lie, there is no variance or shifting of shadow in Him. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is because of Who God IS and what He has said that i do not need to ever fear or be fearful. Listen to what Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 10 before sending them out, two by two to preach the Gospel, pray for the sick, and cast out demons from those that were possessed of them. Matthew 10:26-33 "Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. And whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." It should be noted what Jesus had said to these same disciples prior to admonishing them not to Fear. Matthew 10:16-25 "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you (not if) in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?" Of these things are many of our brothers and sisters experiencing around the world right now as you read this. And if you believe the Bible like i know many of you do, you realize that God has promised these things to everyone that follows Jesus with all of their heart. 2Timothy 3:12-13 "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." As we get closer to what the Bible calls the Last Days, persecution of Christians, hatred of what is good and right; evil being called good and good being called evil will be worldwide. No one who is truly following Jesus will be exempt or escape. As we experience these promises we also have the same promises that the Children of Israel had and the disciples of Jesus' day, He will be with us in the midst of the suffering and trials, He will never leave us or forsake us, He will be with us always, even to the end of the age. Romans 8:15-18 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." 1John 4:17-18 "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." The greatest deterrent to being fearful, snared by fear is to know the GREAT GREAT Love of God. Knowing His Love, i mean really knowing His Love will make you fearless, not knowing it will make you fearful. This is why i am praying this for you which the Apostle Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus. As i pray this for you, i encourage you to pray this for yourself as well. Ephesians 3:14-21 "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Please listen carefully dear ones, there is nothing more important for you than to really get to know Jesus. This is the only way that you will be able to live a life not gripped, ensnared, controlled by, FEAR. Spend more time with Him and His Word the Bible than you have ever spent before. God promises, all those who diligently seek Me will find Me. your fellow servant in Christ, drew