11.7.2021

Immunity From “All Our Diseases”

(Audio)

David Eells - 11/7/21

 God's Vaccine 7

Anxiety and Fear, Part 1

Psa. 103:3  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases.

Folks, there are some mighty shakings of God coming (Hebrews 12:26-29). You’re going to see things that you never thought you would see in this world, but the Lord doesn’t want us to be troubled about it. It’s all part of His plan. He is a sovereign God and He works all things after the counsel of His Own Will. (Eph.1:11) In whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will. And, as the Bible also says, (Joh.3:27) … A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. God is the only One Who “doeth according to his will.” (Dan.4:35) And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? He reigns in the heavens and upon the earth. (1Ch.16:31) Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, the Lord reigneth. So we can trust in Him. 

These shakings are coming in order to bring many people into the Kingdom, and yet, we don’t want to be anxious or fearful concerning these things. We want to be at peace. We want to be able to be used of God when these things happen, but we are totally useless to God if we have anxiety or fear, and the devil knows that. Yes, the devil is about to make great war on the saints but those who walk by faith, those who draw close to the Lord, those who depend upon Him even for their faith and their grace, have nothing to worry about. Through these great shakings, God is going to weed out the apostates from among His true people. Only those who have received the gift from God to want to walk with Him will remain.  

You know, when Jesus sent the disciples and the seventy out, it was on-the-job training for them. The Lord showed me that this was a foretaste, a foreshadowing, of what’s going to happen in our day in the beginning of the tribulation period. That’s because history repeats. (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. We are coming into a great time of grace, and the Lord is going to appear. He is going to be manifested in His people. (Col.1:26) [Even] the mystery which hath been hid for ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints, (27) to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (28) whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ. He is going to be manifested as “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” and His First-fruits are going to be able to do the same things that Jesus did in raising-up disciples, the sending forth two-by-two, and so on; all this will be repeated. Great and wondrous things are going to happen. Oh, praise the Lord!

(Luk.10:17) And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name. Some of you know this already, but the overwhelming majority of Christianity does not. As a matter of fact, even the overwhelming majority of God’s elect don’t yet know this, but they will. They will come out (Isaiah 52:11; John 10:3; 2 Corinthians 6:17), they will be led, they will be disciples, and then they will shake the world (Haggai 2:6; Acts 17:6; Hebrews 12:26-27). So the seventy were overjoyed to find out that the demons were subject to them. Jesus told His disciples, (Mar.16:17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons… We have been given authority over demon powers, saints, and it is a joyous thing to see people set free, but how do we defend ourselves against these demons? The attacks are coming. The warfare is about to go forth against the saints, yet God’s people, those who walk by faith, will have nothing to worry about. I’d like to share with you from Luke about fear and anxiety. Of course, once the Lord has put His Word in your heart and you have some experience walking in that Word, it is very hard for fear and anxiety to come into your heart. This is what God wants to do; He wants to prepare us for the things to come. I know that some people won’t be prepared. They will be shocked and they will be fearful, however, because of that fear, they will run to the Lord for refuge and then God will teach them how to walk in peace and rest.

(Luk.10:18) And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven. (19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. (20) Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. We see they came back rejoicing that the demons were subject to them, and then Jesus mentions that He has given them authority to tread upon “serpents” and “scorpions.” “Serpents” and “scorpions” here represent two different kinds of the spirits over which they were exercising their authority. I want to explain that to you because it has a lot of bearing on anxiety and fear and how to deal with it.

First I need to point out to you that there are “serpent” spirits, but I am not going to go deep into this. I have taught on this before and I want to talk more about anxiety and fear. (Act.16:16) And it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, that a certain maid having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. (17) The same following after Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of salvation. (18) And this she did for many days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour. A “spirit of divination” is a spirit of false prophecy, and if we look at the original Greek words there, we find that they mean a “spirit of python.” In other words, a spirit of divination is a serpent spirit, and a big one. As you know, serpents that are poisonous carry their poison in their heads. One of the reasons the Lord pointed this out to me is because serpent spirits are deceiving spirits, and so they war with your mind. False prophecy does that, along with all the other serpent spirits. They bring deception to mankind. 

However, it is the second group, the “scorpions,” that I want to deal with here. Jesus said, “I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions.” “Tread” means to “put them under your feet, under your authority, under your dominion.” The word “scorpions” in the Greek, is skorpios and it’s where we get our English word “scorpion.” As Jesus was making war against the demon powers, He was teaching His disciples how to make war against the demon powers. (Luk.11:17) … Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house [divided] against a house falleth. (18) And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. (19) And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. (20) But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. Obviously, Satan does not cast out Satan; it is only the Kingdom of God that gives deliverance from Satan and his demons. (21) When the strong [man] fully armed guardeth his own court, his goods are at peace: (22) but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him his whole armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. And we know that Jesus was stronger than the “strong man.” He conquered the devil, and when He passed His authority on to His disciples, He was giving us authority over all the power of the enemy. He was dividing the spoils. 

We are plundering the devil’s kingdom when we preach the Gospel to someone and they believe it. When that happens, they are delivered out of the devil’s kingdom and into the Kingdom of God. The same thing happens when we heal the sick, and when we cast out demons, and so on. That’s our job, folks; we all have a job to do in plundering the devil’s kingdom. (Luk.11:23)  He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. We need to be on the Lord’s side. He ordained us, He raised us up, and He wants us all to have a part in this. No matter where we are or what we are doing, we work for the Kingdom of God and we represent the King. We are ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). We speak for Him in this world. We go forth to do His works in this world. Jesus said, (Mar.16:17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. These things “shall accompany them that believe.” If you are a believer, you have a right to all the gifts of the Spirit. If you are a believer, you have a right to be doing the work of God by healing the sick, casting out devils, speaking in tongues, and so on and so forth. 

“He that gathereth not with me scattereth.” I have pointed out before that the word “scattereth” here is the Greek word skorpizo, and it means “to penetrate and put to flight.” There are some small creatures that sometimes frighten people more than big creatures, and a scorpion is a very small creature, but it is frightening because people know the pain, the trouble, and the poison that can come from it. When the Israelites were going into their Promised Land, God spoke to them, saying, (Exo.23:28) And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. A hornet is another very small creature, but it has a sting in its tail, just like the scorpion. The poison is in its tail, not in its head, and when it goes forth, it can put a lot of people to flight. Of course, God was using the hornet as a type and a shadow, in the same way He was using it here for the scorpion to penetrate and put to flight. Your defense against this is to take up (Eph.6:16) … the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]. You need the shield of faith whenever you’re attacked by these scorpion spirits because their job is to cause you to run, and they do a very good job of it. The Lord has taught me that certain of these scorpion spirits cause God’s people to run from the battle, to give-up in the face of the enemy. Two of the big ones are spirits of anxiety and fear, but others are spirits of guilt, spirits of rejection, spirits of shame, and spirits of unbelief. They cause God’s people not to take up their sword of the spirit, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and so on and so forth to conquer the enemy (Ephesians 6:10-17). Knowledge of the Word of God and understanding who we are in Christ, understanding that He has delivered us, gives us power over them. If we are not with Jesus, we are against Him. If we are not gathering with Him, then we are scattered.  

Of course, if you are not plundering Satan’s kingdom, that means Satan is plundering you. You can’t have it both ways; it is one way or the other. The Lord has given us the victory in Jesus Christ, we know that. We know because of the Sacrifice that He gave, that we have been given victory. He said, (Joh.16:33) These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Jesus conquered the devil, the evil one, He conquered sin, He conquered the curse, He conquered sickness; He conquered it all at the Cross. We have already studied the real Good News that gives us authority and power over the devil. [Editor’s Note: Our book, The Real Good News, is available without charge from ubm1.org as a PDF.] We should be able to defend ourselves against the fear and anxiety that is going to attack many people when they see the judgments that are coming upon this world. It is quite normal and natural for the wicked to run and to be fearful and to be moved by what they see and what they hear, but not for us. (Pro.28:1) The wicked flee when no man pursueth; But the righteous are bold as a lion. We need to hold fast that bold faith that the Lord has given to us (Romans 3:22; Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 10:35; etc.) 

You should know that there are some things that will totally take away your defense against these demon spirits, and one of the major ones that I have seen is unforgiveness. Having unforgiveness, or one of its relatives such as bitterness or judgment toward anybody, is what delivers many of God’s people over to the power of these demons. [Editor’s Note: Our book, The Curse of Unforgiveness, is available without charge from ubm1.org as a PDF.] Jesus warned us, (Mat.18:34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. (35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. If we don’t forgive our brother from the heart, the Father will turn us over to the tormentors until we pay our own debt. It’s sad but many of God’s people don’t realize that they’re laboring under these tormenting demons. They can’t get victory, they can’t overcome, they have no confidence, they have no gift of faith, yet they don’t understand that it’s because they’re holding on to unforgiveness, bitterness, and judgment against their brothers. Jesus is not a liar. He said the Father will turn you over to the tormentors.

If we want to have boldness before God, one thing that we have to do, folks, is to make sure that we have a clean conscience. (1Jn.3:21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; (22) and whatsoever we ask we receive of him (Now that’s a place of safety! We don’t have to worry about a thing; we just ask, and God answers.), because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. In other words, we have a clean conscience. This should put the fear of the Lord in you, not the fear of anybody else. The only One we have to please is the Lord Himself. If you want to be ready for the things that are coming at you down the road, then you need to have a clean conscience because the devil is going to send in his big guns of fear and anxiety to lead the pack. Usually what happens is people see or hear something and all of a sudden, the devil is there to penetrate and to put to flight. He is there to attack. That is when we need to be full of the boldness of the Lord and realize we are dealing with the enemy. This is not our mind; this is the devil attacking our mind, trying to bring us down so that we will be totally useless in this battle. 

One important thing that we have to understand is that fear is sin. Many times people think fear is a weakness in them. They think they just don’t have the faith that they need, but the Bible calls this “an evil heart of unbelief.” (Heb.3:12) Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God. And we are told, (Rev.21:8) But for the fearful, and unbelieving (So it is a sin that’s thrown in there with all of the other sins.), and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. When you are tempted with fear and anxiety, you should deal with that as sin. Many people just give in to fear, but the Bible says, (2Ti.1:7) For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline. When that spirit of fear comes, it is of the devil. When that spirit comes, it is in order to manipulate us and to move us to react to the situation, instead of acting according to what the Word of God says. The devil wants to put us to flight before him so that he can continue to plunder us.

 (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority (That includes dominion over anxiety and fear.) to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. We need to be bold in our faith because we have been given authority over the devil in everything and “nothing shall in any wise hurt” us. Does that verse actually mean that? Of course it does! It means that nothing shall in any wise hurt us, but that promise is only effectual when you mix it with faith (Hebrews chapters 3 and 4). (Heb.4:1) Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. (2) For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. 

We know from God’s word that these shakings are going to come. (Heb.12:26) Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven. (27) And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. (28) Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: (29) for our God is a consuming fire. God is going to bring down this world through these great shakings and He is going to bring shakings in the lives of His people. Events will occur that you and I have never seen on this earth. In fact, things that have never happened before are going to happen and they’re going to put the fear of God in His elect. However, they’re going to put the fear of the devil, the fear of the curse, and the fear of the things that are coming upon the world in the hearts of the wicked. There will be (Luk.21:26KJV) Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Only God’s elect are going to have His patience and His peace in the midst of this. I am not saying they are going to have it all of a sudden and at the beginning, but they are all going to grow into it. They’re all going to understand what it is to serve the Lord. They’re all going to be highly motivated because of the things that are coming upon the world. 

Yes, these shakings are coming but we need to call fear and anxiety what God calls them, we need to call them “sin.” God has given us a deliverance from this, (Heb.10:14) For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. We can count on it because God has delivered us from all sin. (Joh.1:29) … Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! Jesus took away our sin. Jesus took away fear and anxiety. We don’t have to put up with it because He did that, therefore we can partake of the peace of God in the midst of great destructions upon this world. (Isa.26:3) Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed on [thee]; because he trusteth in thee. Those destructions are coming and they are coming fast and so we need to be prepared. It is a trick of the devil to immediately show up with fear and anxiety whenever something like this happens, and you need to cast it down. We are children of the King and we are here for His purpose, not for the purpose of the world. What the world is going to go through and take a penalty for, we don’t have to take the penalty for because our Lord Jesus already took it. (2Co.5:21) Him who knew no sin he made [to be] sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him. He became cursed for us, He bore the penalty on the Cross. What should we fear? (Psa.27:1) 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?

(Php.4:6) In nothing be anxious (Some versions say “careful,” however the Greek word there, merimnaó, specifically means “anxious.”); but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Since we have such authority with God, such promises from God, what is “anxiety”? It is unbelief, that’s what it is. You and I do not believe that the Word of God is true whenever we give in to this temptation. It is sin, we need to look at it as sin, and we need to cast it down just like we would any other kind of sin. (Rev.21:8) But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. You would never think of doing some of those things that are mentioned there, but would you consider fear and anxiety to be in the same category? Would you consider them to be sin before God? Would you consider unbelief to be sin before the King? If someone is unbelieving, then they are not justified because they are not letting God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4). And, if they are not justified, that means their sins are not covered.

So God says, “In nothing be anxious,” because He is absolutely sovereign. We truly have nothing to worry about since He has everything under control. Let’s go back to the beginning of this chapter for a closer look because the Lord showed me, many years ago, a neat revelation here that He hid in the Word just for us. You know, He wants us to stand steadfast and unmovable in Him (Colossians 1:23). He doesn’t want us to be moved by what we see or what we hear. You are about to hear of horrendous things in this world. You are about to see horrendous things in this world. He doesn’t want us to be moved by those things at all. Just remember, we are the ones to whom God is giving a demonstration. We are the ones He wants to teach. He doesn’t want to destroy us; He has good plans for us. Keep that in mind. All these promises concerning you are true, and they are true for you. 

(Php.4:1) Wherefore, my brethren beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my beloved. (2) I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, to be of the same mind in the Lord. The Lord spoke to me one day when I read this. He spoke to me to go look these names up, and I did. “Euodia” means “to be successful in reaching a goal; to succeed in reaching.” “Syntyche” is just the opposite. It means “to meet with an accident.” They are opposite names here, with opposite meanings. In other words, sometimes you just walk in the success of the Lord and sometimes you meet with an accident, but the Lord is saying to be of the same mind, no matter which one you are going through. As a matter of fact, He also tells us that we should be content in either case. (Php.4:11) Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content. He says that because everything that comes to you, saints, comes to you from the Hand of God (John 3:27). He wants you to trust in Him. 

(Php.4:2) I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, to be of the same mind in the Lord. (3) Yea, I beseech thee also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Yes, they do; they labor with all of us in the Gospel, and they labor with us in our own life, and in bearing fruit and so on and so forth. Saints, God wants us to be stable and not moved up and down by our emotions, not moved by every wind of doctrine, not moved by anything that happens in the world. He wants us to be steadfast, standing on His Word like standing on a rock. In one of the first visions we received, I was shown standing on a rock with leg braces on. The interpretation is that God’s external power was helping me to stand upon the Rock. I was able to stand only by His grace and power, not by any power of my own. 

He said, “these women … labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also.” “Clement” means “merciful.” Jesus said, (Mat.5:7) Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. With those who will have mercy towards others, and be forgiving towards others, God will show Himself the same way. Sometimes we do much harm to ourselves in the way that we relate to others, as in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. (Mat.18:34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. (35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. He turns you over to the tormentors, so we need to be merciful and we need to not be moved by success or failure. (Php.4:4) Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. (5) Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. (So much the more today!) (6) In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. In other words, don’t worry about a thing; just lay your request before God. Remember that Jesus said, (Mar.11:24) … All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them. 

Are we going to be anxious, or are we going to believe? As we’ve seen, anxiety is totally against faith and it is a sin against God (Revelation 21:8), but if you know that, you know that you can cast it down. You can put up your shield of faith, and quench that fiery dart. You don’t have to let the skorpizo spirit penetrate you and put you to flight. Many people are not acting on the Word, instead, they are reacting to what the devil is doing around them. Guess what they are ruled by? If you are not ruled by faith, you are going to be ruled by fear. (Luk.11:23) He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. If you want to be moved and ruled by the Lord, then remember anxiety and fear is sin. When anxiety and fear comes to people’s hearts immediately after some disaster, this is the devil seeking to bring them into bondage and it must be cast down immediately.  

(Php.4:7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. We need the peace of God in the midst of turmoil. (Isa.26:3) Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee]; because he trusteth in thee. Oh, glory to God! Keep your mind on what God has said, on what He has taught you, and cast down everything else the devil fires your way. God will keep you in perfect peace while other people are falling apart. They will be going this way while you will be going that way. You know, when you react to the devil, he’s herding you in the direction he wants you to go and you’re proving that you are one of his pack. If you follow him, you are one of his. You’re proving who you follow by how you handle these trials that you are going through, these things that are really not “accidents,” because nothing can come into your life by accident. They are trials from the Lord that He has absolute control over, otherwise, how could He say “in nothing be anxious”? And how could He say that He works all things together for your good (Romans 8:28)? He can say that because He is in absolute control and you can trust Him. You can rest in His promises, therefore, don’t let anxiety or fear affect you. Cast them down. 

(Php.4:8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true (Who is the Truth? Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is Truth, and He promises to keep you in perfect peace if your mind is stayed on Him {Isaiah 26;3}.), whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report… We want to believe and remember the “good report.” It doesn’t make any difference what happens in the world around us. We have to hold fast to the good report. When the Israelites were moved by fear and anxiety, they cried out to God, claiming He had brought them to that wilderness to die (Numbers 21:5), which was so foolish, but you think that way when you are under the dominion of fear and anxiety. The Lord has not brought us anywhere to fail, but to teach us to be sons of God, if we will only keep our mind upon Him, upon the Word of God, upon the good report. Remember, the Israelites listened to the bad report from the spies who did not have any faith in God (Numbers 13:31-33). Their faith was in the bad report. They believed that they could not conquer that land or those giants, which in type represented the old man of the flesh (Numbers 14:2-4). (Php.4:8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Refuse to think on the things that are going to destroy you, or cause you to be manipulated, or cause you to be herded before the demons of the devil so that you partake of their curse.

(Php.4:9) The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Paul was telling them, (1Co.11:1) Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ. Or, in other words, “Follow me, as I follow the Lord.” Even today, folks, when you see people who are following the Lord and being a good example, pay attention to their witness and their testimony. There are many people out there speaking only from their theology, but with no experience whatsoever. They haven’t walked with God by faith and they’re leading God’s people into Babylon. “The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” This is what we want, folks. We want to walk in the peace of God. (Isa.26:3) Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee]; because he trusteth in thee. 

If we permit the devil to penetrate our defense, which is faith in the Word of God, then the fiery dart of the “stinger” will come through. If you are not (Eph.6:16) … taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one], then you’ll be overcome by emotions. You’ll do what the world does and so you’ll fall under the judgment of the world. As we’ve seen, this is exactly what the Israelites did in the wilderness, when they fell under the judgment of the world and under the curse of Deuteronomy 28. Except for Joshua and Caleb, they died in the wilderness instead of overcoming and entering into the Promised Land. “But I am persuaded of better things of you,” Paul said. “I am persuaded that the Lord is able to keep you and to bring you through these troubling times in boldness and in courage” (Hebrews 6:9-12,18-19). Make sure, saints, that there is nothing in your heart that will hinder, nothing in your heart that will separate you from that boldness that God gives to those who are obedient, because (1Jn.3:21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God… And that boldness will bring you peace. (Php.4:9) The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

There is one passage in the Bible where Jesus spoke about anxiety; it’s in Matthew chapter 6 and He mentioned it six times. He did not do that anywhere else. We’re going to look at that because it’s where an awful lot of Christians struggle. We are heading toward a wilderness trial, folks, and one thing we find in a wilderness trial is that the Lord suffers His people to see lack. He suffers them to be tried in order to see what they will do. In all the places where the Lord led His people Israel in the wilderness, it was from one trial to the next. They were always seeing lack ahead of them, lack of water, lack of food, lack of protection from enemies, and so on and so forth. Of course, they had many opportunities to be penetrated by fear and anxiety. They had many opportunities to run in the opposite direction, to cry out in unbelief, and even to accuse God of things that He had no mind to do. (Num.14:2) And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness! (3) And wherefore doth the Lord bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? … You know, they finally convinced Him and it was exactly what they needed. It was their own fault, too, because God told Moses, (Num.14:28) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: (29) your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me, (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. That’s what they had faith for and so He gave it to them, because (Mat.9:29) … According to your faith be it done unto you. Anxiety and fear is faith; it is just negative faith, faith in the curse and in the devil, and God will let you have the curse if you believe in it.

I know there are some of you who don’t believe there is anything to come but peace and prosperity to God’s people because of how special they are. Folks, you are missing history. Please read the Bible again because God’s people went through fiery trials. They were hated of the nations, and Jesus said it’s going to be the same for us. (Mat.24:9) Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake. (10) And then shall many stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. (11) And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. (12) And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. (13) But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. Most of us have never gone through any of that, but none of us have gone through the hatred of the whole world against Christianity. The Lord is raising-up a very big enemy against His small group of elect, exactly the way it was with Israel. And He’s going to take a lot of worldly provision away from His people in the days to come, so that their provision will come from heaven. The Lord is going to provide for His people. He’s going to show Himself strong on behalf of them that have put their faith and trust in Him.

Now I would like to read what Jesus had to say concerning His provision for you in the times to come. Notice that in this passage where Jesus mentions the word “anxious” six times, it is always the same Greek word merimnaó, which we just read in Philippians. (Php.4:6) In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Well, here in Matthew we see He is teaching the people, and it seems their anxiety was always about their provision, the things that they needed in order to be able to live in the wilderness. He tells them, (Mat.6:19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal (Many of God’s people have their confidence in what they can store-up, not in what God promised He would do.): (21) for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. Of course, your treasure is something that you stored up as a provision for your future, so that is where your heart, your trust, will be. (22) The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. In other words, an “eye” that is “single” is not an eye that is set upon its own provisions; it’s not set upon things that it has stored-up to save self in the days to come. (23) But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness! An “eye” that is “dark” is an eye that has its confidence in the things of this world, and I am going to prove that to you as we read on. (24) No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Those “two masters” He’s talking about are God and mammon. Mamónas is the Aramaic word for “riches, money, possessions, property,” and it comes from an Old Testament Hebrew word matmon, which means “hidden treasures,” while mammōnás means “the treasure a person trusts (has confidence) in.” 

So “mammon” here represents trusting in worldly treasures that are stored-up or hidden, trusting in the things of the world to provide salvation. As you know, when the Israelites came out of Egypt, God permitted them to have something they trusted in, gold and silver, that was given into their hands by the Egyptians, by the world (Exodus 3:22). And, again, they made an idol out of this, meaning they trusted in it. God wanted them to be tried in this way because He was the one that permitted them to go out there with this gold. However, His plan was to try them to see if they would be faithful, and they weren’t. They made an idol out of that gold (Exodus 32:4), the thing that they had stored-up to preserve them through their wilderness trials. God wanted to meet their needs out of heaven; that was His plan from the beginning but first He had to get the gold out of the way. (Exo.32:20) And he (That is Moses.) took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. In other words, “I hope you remember this lesson.” 

People who are trusting in the things that they are storing-up for the times to come, are doing it because they do not believe the Word of God. They do not believe that (Php.4:19) … my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. They are anxious, troubled, and fearful. Their trust and confidence is in mammon. They have the eye that is evil. Their eye is not single. Let’s read on and see if Jesus confirms this. (Mat.6:25) Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious (There is the first one of six mentions, and again, it’s the same word, merimnaó, that we read in Philippians 4:6.) for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. We don’t have to worry about these things. We don’t have to worry about preparing in our own strength to preserve ourselves through the days to come. Many people claim they have received words from the “Lord” about preparing for themselves. I tell you, folks, we are coming to a time when God wants to prove His power to save you by signs and wonders and miracles, not by your own worldly methods. God’s provision came out of heaven to God’s people in the wilderness. He did not want them to be anxious; He did not want them to be fearful. He wanted them to trust in His provision alone, so He ran them out of everything that they provided for themselves when they came out of Egypt and then He provided for them. They received water out of the rock (Numbers 20:11) and manna out of heaven (Exodus 16:4) and quail out of the sky (Exodus 16:12). We are coming to the exact same repetition of history today, except this time it is for the Church. Once again God is going to provide for those who believe.

(Mat.6:25) Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? (26) Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Have you ever thought that if you could not provide for yourself or if the economy went down, which it will, and you could not work, that God would provide for you? Well, I guarantee you He will provide if you walk by faith, but where He says “they sow not,” is God teaching that you don’t need to work for a living? Obviously not, because Paul told us, (2Th.3:10) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat. (11) For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies. (12) Now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. I’ll tell you what I believe is going to happen. I believe there is going to be a great exchange in these days, God’s people are finally going to wake up and take the Great Commission seriously. (Mat.28:19) Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said (Luk.11:23) … he that gathereth not with me, scattereth. He wants us gathering and He raises up disciples to do His work of the Great Commission and if you are not working for the world, you can work for Him. Even the birds and the flowers work for Him, but they don’t toil in the world and God still feeds the birds and clothes the flowers. 

(Mat.6:26) Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns (They’re not storing up their treasures, their food, for the days to come.); and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? (27) And which of you by being anxious (There’s the second mention.) can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? We know that anxiety does nothing but destroy you, physically, mentally, emotionally. It brings sickness because it tears down your immunity. Faith can beat anything, but anxiety can do nothing except bring you more harm. (Mat.6:28) And why are ye anxious (There’s the third mention.) concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: (29) yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Wow!) (30) But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith? The Lord is going to take care of you; don’t worry about a thing. Some of you are going to lose your jobs, which you so prize, and maybe your high standard of living. However, you are going to exchange your attitude towards the world and the things of the world, for one that is like those of the disciples in Jesus’ day. Folks, Christians were plundered in Jesus’ day. When those Jews became Christians, they were plundered. Nobody would do business with them. Basically, they were in a wilderness, yet the Lord provided for them because they put their trust in Him. 

(Mat.6:31) Be not therefore anxious (There’s the fourth mention.), saying, what shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Why did He keep mentioning the same thing? It’s because He knew the carnal nature and He knew the trials that were coming for the Jewish Christians in these days. When Jesus spoke this back then, they were in the beginning of the first 3-1/2 years of their tribulation. He knew what they were going through, and He knew what we are going to go through in our day, which is the same thing, folks. There is a great economic collapse coming, but God has made this promise that He is going to provide for His people. Don’t give in to any anxiety and fear. Know that God has said He is your Jehovah-Jireh. (Gen.22:14) And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. He is going to provide for you in everything. He wants to show you His Glory. He wants to show you His Power.  

(Mat.6:31) Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (32) For after all these things do the Gentiles (These were the unsaved heathen at that time.) seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Yes, He already knows this. You don’t have to worry, you don’t have to beg, and you don’t have to spend hours and hours on your knees. All you have to do is, (Php.4:6) In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. You are not going to be heard for your “much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). Don’t be fearful or anxious because of what you see, or because it appears as if you’re coming to the end of your own provision. God is bringing you there because you need to be at the end of your own provision before you can receive God’s provision. He wants to show you a miracle; He wants to show you many miracles. 

(Mat.6:33) But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. God is going to make sure that you are provided for as you seek first His Kingdom, as you seek to build His Kingdom both in your life and in the lives of the people around you. Seek first His Kingdom and He is going to make sure that you are going to have everything that you need. Of course, if you are seeking His Kingdom, you are not going to have a love of the world. (1Jn.2:15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The love of the world is sin; the love of the Father is not. I would say the overwhelming number of Christians have a problem with a love of the world, and they are even taught to love the world in their prosperity-minded churches. They have to have the things of the world, but the Bible doesn’t call that “prosperity.” (3Jn.1:2) Beloved, I pray that in all things thou mayest prosper (The Greek word there is euodoó meaning “to have a successful journey.” It’s the same root for the name “Euodia” that means “successful in reaching a goal” in Philippians 4:2.) and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. That’s euodoó again so it’s not talking about having material riches.

(Mat.6:34) Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. (These are the fifth and sixth mentions of “anxious” by Jesus. He said not to be anxious about our provisions, about our needs being met, because God would take care of it.) Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Jesus is commanding us, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. The Lord is going to take care of it for you. You don’t have to be fearful.” He reminds us, (Luk.12:32) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Oh, glory to God! It certainly is. Now I would like to show you what He says is important. (Luk.10:38) Now as they went on their way, he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. (39) And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet, and heard his word. (40) But Martha was cumbered about much serving; and she came up to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister did leave me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. (41) But the Lord answered and said unto her, “Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things: (42) but one thing is needful: for Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Folks, don’t be worried and anxious about how to serve God or what to do in this world. There is just one thing that is important: we need to sit at His feet and listen to Him.

 God's Vaccine 8

Anxiety and Fear, Part 2

As we’re learning, there are some great shakings, some great judgments, coming across the world in these days, and the devil always uses things that we see and things that we hear to try to bring fear upon God’s people. Whenever something happens, immediately the devil or his demons pounce and you feel the spirit of fear come over you like a blanket. Well, we’re obviously meant to make war against that, so don’t accept any fear as if it’s just a personal weakness and allow it to stay. Remember, we spoke about the skorpizo spirits, whose job it is “to penetrate and put to flight.” They cause a person to be fearful or anxious. They cause a person to flee from the devil and, of course, then they’re no threat against his kingdom. 
Fear is one of the devil’s “big guns,” but the Bible says, (2Ti.1:7) For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline. The word there translated “discipline” comes from the Greek sóphronizó and literally means “sober-mindedness; control.” If you’re not walking in willful disobedience when a spirit of fear comes upon you, you know that it’s not from God. It’s from the devil and you shouldn’t receive it or give-in to it or think about it, because if you do, it’s going to conquer you. It comes for the purpose of penetrating your armor (Ephesians 6:10-17) and putting you to flight. We know the only fear that we should have is the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7,9:10; etc.) If we fear the Lord, we will depart from unrighteousness, as the Bible says (2 Timothy 2:19). Any other fear, such as the fear of man, brings a snare. God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but if you’re walking in willful disobedience, you’re proving that you don’t fear the Lord. If you don’t fear the Lord, you will have fear of the devil, which is foolishness because it is giving faith to the devil. Fear is faith, but it’s negative faith; it’s faith in the curse, faith in the devil, faith in failure. It’s as our Lord Jesus told us, (Mat.9:29) … According to your faith be it done unto you. And that’s one reason why Job said, (Job.3:25) For the thing which I fear cometh upon me, And that which I am afraid of cometh unto me. It’s important for us to understand that our fears come to pass, just like our faiths do. They’re opposite reactions, but both of them are faith. Saints, we are supposed to be overcomers. 
 

(Rev.21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit these things… Of course, the Lord is implying that if you don’t overcome, you’re not going to inherit the new heaven and new earth and all the great things that God has provided for His people (Revelation 21:1-4). There are those who don’t think we have anything to overcome. They think that Jesus overcame it all, which is true, but Jesus overcame so that we could overcome. We learn to abide in Him and see those works manifest. The Bible says, (Jas.2:17) Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. Overcomers are sons of God and they will inherit the Kingdom.

(Rev.21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Now the next verse puts “fear” and “unbelief” together, because if you are fearful, then you are unbelieving, and if you are unbelieving, then you will be fearful. Notice “He that overcometh,” is not an overcomer unless these things are overcome. (Rev.21:8) But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. “Fearful” and “unbelieving” are grouped right in there with these really abominable sins. So fear is more than a weakness, it’s a sin, and it’s unbelief. The Bible calls it “an evil heart of unbelief.” (Heb.3:12) Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God. Fear is something we need to make war against whenever we feel its presence, whenever we have fearful thoughts. Fear can manifest in even worse ways but most of all, it causes us to run from the devil and give up the fight. It causes us to lose ground. 

Just as the fearful and the unbelieving are among the wicked, obviously, there’s a part of every one of us that is wicked, and it’s that old man that we want to overcome. (Gal.5:17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. There’s a war going on in every one of us, yet we can overcome through faith in the victory that Jesus had at the Cross. (1Co.15:22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. When Christ was resurrected, we were resurrected, too. We received His resurrection life. When He overcame, we also overcame. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. We were crucified with Christ and the old man was put to death with Christ, but we need to hold on to our faith to see it manifested in the physical realm. The gift that has been given to us, we can overcome to receive. 

There’s an awesome revelation I want to share with you where God calls the fearful “wicked,” which is another confirmation that we need to fight against this spirit. (Job.15:20) The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, Even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor. (21) A sound of terrors is in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. Isn’t that amazing? Some of the words we hear most these days are “terror” and “terrorist” and “terrorism”! You know, I believe we are coming to the end of the “seven years of plenty” that was prophesied by Joseph and we’re coming to the beginning of the “seven years of famine” (Genesis 41). We can look around us and see that this is coming upon the prosperous. 

(Job.15:22) He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness… The wicked are in terror and they don’t believe that they will return out of darkness, but that’s not believing the Gospel. That’s not believing the Good News. (Col.1:12) Giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; (13) who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; (14) in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. That’s the Good News we are to believe, but the wicked don’t believe and so they live in terror. (Job.15:22) He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, And he is waited for of the sword. (23) He wandereth abroad for bread, [saying], Where is it? He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. (24) Distress and anguish make him afraid; They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. The devil conquers and rules the wicked by fear. If you are ruled by fear, if you act according to your fear, then you’re submitting to the devil’s kingdom instead of God, because He hasn’t given us a spirit of fearfulness. If you’re ruled by fear, you’re not ruled by God and you’re in idolatry because you’re having faith in the devil.

(Job.15:25) Because he hath stretched out his hand against God, And behaveth himself proudly against the Almighty. Fear is part of the judgment that comes upon the wicked because they’re acting against God. God turns over to the devil those who walk in sin. This is true even of the Kingdom people. Jesus said, (Mat.18:34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. He had them turned over to the tormentors, but the wicked of the world are already turned over to the tormentors. They live in torment, but the righteous are believing God and they’re coming out of the kingdom of darkness. The wicked do not believe God, so they live under the tormentors, which include fear and anxiety. Since they have stretched out their hand against God, He has delivered them over to this fear. We’re told, (1Jn.3:21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; (22) and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. If we have a clear conscience, we have boldness and not fear. When God does allow fear to come upon a person who has a clear conscience, God is allowing it to come as a trial unto them, and their boldness is the very thing that will vanquish it.

(Pro.28:1) The wicked flee when no man pursueth; But the righteous are bold as a lion. Fear is natural and normal to the wicked. Who are the “wicked”? The wicked are those who sin. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Christian or not, if you’re walking in willful sin, you’re wicked. You don’t have boldness toward God and His benefits in that case because your conscience condemns you. You want a defense against fear in the days to come, because you’re going to see and hear things that are fearful, and that’s when the devil pounces upon you. That’s when he tries to overcome you so that you’re full of fear and are just running from him. Jesus told us, (Mat.12:30) He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. If we’re not plundering the devil’s kingdom, we are going to be running from him. Without a clear conscience, we have guilt. Demons use this to condemn you so that you have no faith toward God and His Word. When you don’t know the Gospel, when you don’t know that your failures and ignorances are covered by the Blood (James 4:17), you can have false guilt, which Satan can use to deliver you over to fear. 

As a matter of fact, that’s what happened to Adam. Adam had only one commandment to obey, (Gen.2:17) … of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. But Adam broke that commandment. (Gen.3:7) And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked… “Nakedness” here is a representation of the guilt of sin. They didn’t know they were naked until they partook of the fruit “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Now they were made sinners because now they knew they had broken God’s law, and so guilt is the first thing they received. (Gen.3:7) And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Obviously, they were attempting to cover their guilt. Men do try to cover their guilt in various ways through self-works. 

As we know, (Gen.3:21) And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them. God slew animals, and without the shedding of blood, there is no covering for our sins (Hebrews 9:22). He didn’t accept their self-works to alleviate their guilt. (Gen.3:8) And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. Many people, including Christians, are hiding themselves because of their guilt. They don’t want to face God and they don’t like to read the Word because it condemns them. They don’t know the great Sacrifice that the Lord has made for them to be given grace to overcome. Guilt makes them feel bad when they face themselves, when they read the Word, and so forth. (Gen.3:9) And the Lord God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? (10) And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Guilt brings fear. If you don’t want to be overcome by fear, you need to confess your sins because, (1Jn.1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We need to repent, confess our sins, and have faith that Jesus has given us authority over this old flesh. 

The real Good News is that the Lord wants to live the Christian life in us; He wants to be (Col.1:27) … Christ in you, the hope of glory. Many people are living under the bondage of guilt and there is no reason to be doing that when the real Good News is that He’s already set us free. (Rom.8:2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. If you have guilt, the devil can use that to conquer you with fear because then you don’t have boldness towards God. You know, folks, sometimes we get so far down that we’re willing to look up, and sometimes the Lord lets the devil take advantage of us until we’re willing to get our eyes on Him and to have faith in what He’s accomplished at the Cross. Faith that brings obedience gives us victory over fear. (Lev.26:13) I am the Lord your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt… As Christians, we, too, have been delivered out of the “land of Egypt.” Spiritually speaking, “Egypt” represents the world, and we’ve been delivered from bondage to the world, delivered from bondage to the old man, who is the “Egyptian.” (Lev.26:13) I am the Lord your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you go upright. This is basically the Gospel, isn’t it? You’ve been delivered: He made you free from sin. You’re no longer in bondage to the old man. 

(Lev.26:14) But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments (Notice how many times He says the same thing over and over here.); (15) and if ye shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhor mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all my commandments (He’s making sure that we get the point.), but break my covenant; (16) I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you (God delivers people who are rebellious against His Word over to fear.), even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. Yes, many people are constantly plundered by the devil. They’re delivered over to fear because they’re rebellious against His Word. They have no boldness to come against the devil and they don’t understand why they’re being devoured by the devourer (Malachi 3:11). (Lev.26:17) And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies: they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. This is exactly what we read earlier: (Pro.28:1) The wicked flee when no man pursueth; But the righteous are bold as a lion. So we see that God appoints terror over rebellious people, whether they are God’s rebellious people or the people of the world. Terror in these days, I believe, is something that God has loosed through the devil to motivate people to run to Him, to run to repentance and faith and boldness, so that we may be delivered of these things. Fear gives control to the devil, who will bring us right back into bondage in Egypt. 

(Deu.28:64) And the Lord will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth… A lot of people don’t realize that everything that happened to Israel in the Old Testament, happens to the Church in a spiritual way. The Church was said by Peter to be just one holy nation (1 Peter 2:9), and Paul said that we were grafted into the olive tree called “all Israel” (Romans 11:17-26). We are one people, but we’ve been divided and scattered. The Bible talks about the shepherds that scatter the flock (Jeremiah 10:21; Ezekiel 34:6; Matthew 26:31; etc.) We’ve been divided and scattered and brought into bondage to the nations of the world. Now God is calling us out of those nations to our one Holy Nation, which is spiritual Israel (2 Corinthians 6:17; Revelation 18:4). We’ve been called out from among them, but when we rebel against God, He brings us under the spirit of fear and we go back into bondage. (Deu.28:64) And the Lord will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone. The Hebrew word “gods” there is also translated as “mighty ones.” If you want to know who are the church’s mighty ones, just ask, “What kind of gods is the church serving?” Much of what we call the “church,” by their own actions, prove that they have trust in their government, trust in their military, trust in their doctors, trust in their bank accounts, trust in their insurance policies, and on and on. These are the “mighty ones” that the church is trusting in because they’re in bondage to the nations of the world, instead of being part of the nation of spiritual Israel, but the Lord has called us out. He has called us out of Egypt that we might be His holy nation.

(Deu.28:65) And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but the Lord will give thee there a trembling heart (When you’re living in the world, God says over and over that He’s going to give you fear, and of course, we should be afraid to live in the world because there’s no eternal life there. There’s nothing but the curse.), and failing of eyes, and pining of soul; (66) and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear night and day (Wow! It’s obvious this is coming to pass in these days.), and shalt have no assurance of thy life. There’s nothing except fear, just fear! (67) In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (68) And the Lord will bring thee into Egypt again… Well, let’s look at what brought God’s people into Egypt the first time. Jacob’s twelve sons were the patriarchs, however, they were not obedient to their father, and when Joseph brought the report of them to Jacob, they were offended. (Gen.37:26) And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? (27) Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him. (28) And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt. They persecuted the righteous, they persecuted Joseph, and God sent them into 400 years of bondage in Egypt.

(Deu.28:68) And the Lord will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again (God commands that we never go back into Egypt, never go back into bondage to the old man. That’s what this is talking about.): and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you. So the Lord gives fear and men go back into bondage to the old man. You know, people do strange things when they fear. One thing they do is that they take control of themselves, instead of trusting in God. Who is “self”? “Self” is the “old man,” meaning that you’re going back into bondage and the old man is ruling once again. The “Egyptian,” who once ruled over the “Israelite” is now ruling over him again because of fear, one of the devil’s big guns. When a person is in fear, even a Christian can be brought to killing their fellow man. They have a fear of death so they will run to the arm of the flesh and do what is totally contrary to the Word of God.

We’ve seen the Word tells us to rest in God, trust in Him, believe that He has already provided whatever the deliverance is that you need because fear causes people to go back into bondage. Fear causes them to have no strength before the enemy. It causes them to run from their enemies, but God delivered us from this and we’re not in bondage anymore if we believe the Gospel. We need to believe in order to come out of darkness, as we just read (Job 15:22; Colossians 1:13), but when you have fear, you don’t believe that you can come out of darkness, you don’t believe the Gospel. When you have fear, you believe the devil and you believe the curse, you don’t believe that God has separated you unto Himself to protect, heal, deliver, and provide for you, contrary to the rest of the whole world. What is it that you fear that is not covered by the promises of these things? You need to know that the devil is going to attempt, in these days, to make war on the people of God through the things that they see and the things that they hear in order to bring them into bondage. Our greatest strength, folks, is going to be walking by faith in obedience, because the devil cannot get a foothold if we do that. 

The Lord says, (Pro.1:22) How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? (The Hebrew word there for “simplicity” means “lack of knowledge.” He’s talking about being “simple” in the knowledge of God, in the knowledge of the Word.) And scoffers delight them in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge? This is the “simplicity” part, that they hate knowledge. (23) Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make known my words unto you. The two things that we desperately need are to have the Word of God sown in our heart, which brings forth the fruit of Christ, and the power of God’s Spirit. He’s offering us tremendous gifts here, and yet, sometimes, we are not interested, but you can wait until it’s too late. (Pro.1:24) Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded; (25) But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: (26) I also will laugh in [the day of] your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh (Notice He didn’t say, “if your fear cometh,” He said, “when your fear cometh.” If you continue to reject, beyond the time of God’s patience, His Word and His Spirit, He says this fear will come upon you.); (27) When your fear cometh as a storm (Folks, we’re going to see that in days to come. Multitudes of people of the earth are going to be swayed this way and that way because of fear and be moved to do terrible things because of fear.), And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you. (28) Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me: (29) For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord. Now, obviously, if you have the fear of the Lord, you can’t have the fear of the devil. The Bible says, (Pro.16:6) … by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. You cannot have both at the same time. If you fear the Lord, that’s a good fear, because if we fear the Lord, we will serve Him. If we fear the devil, we can’t serve the Lord because we’re too busy either serving the devil or running from the devil, and that’s his plan. 

 

All that God asks us to do is something that’s already been paid for by the Lord. He’s already delivered us out of the power of darkness and delivered us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13). He wants us to walk by faith, and if we will walk by faith in Him, we will be able to cast down fear. We’ll be able to “walk the walk” because faith gives us the power to do that. (Heb.2:14) Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil (The Lord came to deliver us from the power of death.); (15) and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. It’s obvious that because of the fear of death, the worldly do the things that they do. They’re in bondage, but Christians are not supposed to be in that bondage. Jesus came to deliver us from the fear of death so that we wouldn’t, all of our life, be subject to bondage and He accomplished that. He bore our sins upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21), and one of the sins, as we’ve seen from Revelation 21, is fear. He bore the sin of fear. You don’t have to put up with fear because He delivered you from that darkness. He bore upon Himself that curse and so we don’t have to live in fear. We have authority over fear because of what Jesus did at the Cross. We don’t have to serve fear. We can say “No!” to fear. We can just rebuke fear, deny fear, refuse to listen to fear. We have total authority over fear.  

The fear of death, many times, causes us to do things that we wouldn’t normally do. I remember when my oldest son was being born at home, and we discovered that he was breach. I tell you, it was like the devil was waiting for me to see that little toe come out first to just jump on me with the spirit of fear. Of course, the devil tells you everything that’s going to happen unless you go back to trusting in man, unless you go back to doing it the way of the world, but the Lord had led me to do this. He wanted me to have a lesson of trusting in Him. So I saw that little toe and I felt that spirit of fear come in that room. The first thing I did was say, “We’re going to stop right here. We’re going to pray and make war against this spirit.” And we did; we commanded that demon to “Go, in the Name of Jesus Christ,” and he did. And then we were no longer in bondage because of this fear of death. 

The fear of death could be more than just fear of physical death. Many people fear death-to-self. They fear giving up their old life. In that case, the devil is able to keep us in bondage, keep us running to the world and the ways and methods of the world, but we know Jesus came to set us free from that. Jesus gave us authority over fear. Now if you’re walking in willful sin, you’ll have no boldness (1 John 3:21) and you won’t be able to deny fear; it will overcome you. However, if you’re not walking in willful sin, you’re walking by faith in God and you have authority over fear. You can cast fear down and it will have to submit to you because of what Jesus said. (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. One thing we can do to conquer fear is we just refuse to listen. And so our son was born a footling breach, one foot up and one foot down, and of course, the doctors always do a Caesarean when that happens; they never birth a baby that way. Some people don’t think it’s even possible to do that, but after we ran the spirit of fear off, I told that baby to “Come out in the Name of Jesus!” and he was born a footling breach. You see, God can do anything, folks! Glory be to God! 

His power is absolutely, totally, awesome, but we have to have our wits about us to be able to manifest it and if you have fear, you don’t have boldness. If you have fear, you have faith in the devil and faith in the curse. As I just mentioned, one thing we should never do is listen to the voice of the devil. (Psa.55:3) Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they cast iniquity upon me, And in anger they persecute me. (4) My heart is sore pained within me: And the terrors of death are fallen upon me. “Because of the voice of the enemy” all these other things are true, including “the terrors of death.” (5) Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, And horror hath overwhelmed me. This is because of listening to the voice of the enemy instead of casting down these thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5), these fiery darts, he shoots at us (Ephesians 6:16). We need to pray that God will always bring to our remembrance the things that He has said unto us (John 14:26), and then He will keep us in perfect peace. (Isa.26:3) Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee;] because he trusteth in thee. 

We’ve been delivered from fear and the Bible tells us that we should fill ourselves with (Php.4:8) … whatsoever things are true (We know that when the spirit of fear comes, he’s telling us a lie, something that’s contrary to the Scriptures, and we’re not supposed to listen to it.), whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report… Remember that it was the ten spies’ bad report that caused the people’s hearts to melt (Numbers 13:31-33,14:1-2; Joshua 14:8). They feared because of the bad report. Well-meaning people can bring us a “bad report,” too, but if it’s contrary to God’s Word, we need to cast it out and cast it down. Be careful whenever you’re making some man or medicine or doctors your god and they bring you the bad report. How can you be sick when by the stripes of Jesus you were healed (1 Peter 2:24)? You can’t be sick because you were healed. Cast it down! Cast that bad report down because if fear causes you to accept that, then you have it. Jesus said, (Mat.9:29) … According to your faith be it done unto you.  

What happens when somebody brings you that bad report? If you accept it, fear jumps on you because the devil knows that you’re going to have a testimony if you continue in your faith. He attacks you to keep you from being delivered from this curse, delivered out of this darkness. He attacks you to keep you from walking by faith in the Lord, and what does the Lord tell us to do? (Php.4:8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

(Php.4:9) The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you. 

Yes, you will have the God of peace with you, but we have a warfare to fight, folks. We are to be (2Cor.10:5) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. If you learn to bring “every thought into captivity to Christ,” fear will never have a foothold and you will conquer it. God is omnipotent to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). We don’t have to give-in to the thoughts from the devil. We can cast them down. He said, “Because of the voice of the enemy … the terrors of death are fallen upon me.” Remember, that is the voice of the enemy, that is the devil, and you don’t have to put up with it when he comes to you bringing the bad report and trying to put those thoughts of fear into your mind. 

Some of you have not only listened to, but have read, things that are bringing fear into your life. Well, just as we are not to listen to the voice of the devil, we are not to read the voice of the devil, because these things can put fear in your heart. Some of you are studying things that are putting fear in you instead of building faith in you for the days to come. (Isa.8:9) Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces. A great tumult is coming over the world in these days, folks. (10) Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. “Emmanu-el” is with us. It is not our power, it’s His power in us. It’s Christ in us Who is the only hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). (11) For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, (12) Say ye not, A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people shall say, A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread [thereof]. I know Christians who study conspiracies all the time, and all it’s doing is just filling their heart with fear. They don’t have any faith towards God; they don’t have any boldness towards God. They’re afraid of the things that are coming upon the world because they’re being disobedient. 

 

 

 

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