Weekly Bread

As I lay in bed early Sunday morning May 1, 2005, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. This has happened to me many times as I lay quietly listening for His voice. On this particular morning, He said to me, "Fear is being used for protection, people are hiding behind its walls. They are running into it like a strong tower, abiding in it like a fortress and a refuge. Expecting it to be a place of peace and safety, instead they discover it to be a dungeon of torment."

When Adam and Eve fell in the garden, fear came in along with sin and death. Their response to the presence of God, which once had been a delightful, enjoyable event, was now fear and hiding. Fear was now on planet earth creating an environment that conditioned everything it came in contact with. The Prince of the power of the air (Satan) had an inroad into the lives of the human race.

People have been taught and trained to respond to life’s adversities out of fear. The outcome of fear's response is always less than desirable and many times destructive and hurtful. This vicious learned behavior can be broken by an aggressive effort of renewing the mind and not tolerating fear's influence.

When fear presents itself, this is an opportunity to exercise faith by acting on the Word instead of feelings. Fear needs the cooperation of our feelings to be effective. When we do not yield our feelings to fear, it deprives it of its potential. Most people respond to situations out of their feelings and are not able to make an effective decision. When a person yields to fear, it will take the emotions of that person to an extreme level that’s out of control.

One of the characteristics of fear is panic, which is defined as: Highly excited with strong emotion or frustration; frenzied frantic with worry. This condition, left alone, will run a course that will cause havoc. According to the definition, panic winds up being a state of violent mental agitation; temporary madness or delirium accompanied with mental confusion and clouded consciousness. From this definition we can see that fear's operation is something that should not be taken lightly. Fear has the potential to paralyze a person’s ability to respond to life’s circumstances correctly. You do not have to live your life being controlled by fear, it’s not of God, and He will help you break free.

King David has left us with a solution concerning deliverance from fear. In Psalms 34:4, David says, "I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears". The word sought means to seek with care. David was very specific, precise, attentive and diligent in his pursuit of God. David did not ignore the fear or try to deal with it on his own; instead he depended on God and followed His leading. God does not want people tormented by the enemy of fear. Please understand you can be free; you don’t have to live with panic attacks, dread, worry or any other symptoms of fear. If you’re presently taking medicine because of fear, please don’t allow it to become your means of dealing with fear. Cry out today with all your heart letting God know that you are unwilling to remain a victim of fear. Decide today that you are determined about this issue, and no longer will you be controlled by fear. God wants you to be forever free.

“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me.”

The word 'deny' means “refuse to recognize”. In our society today, everyone is wanting to be recognized because self is always getting in the way; self is selfish. Self wants to be glorified, it wants to take credit. In James 4:7 we read:

“Submit yourselves, therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Daily we must surrender self to God. When we do this, God becomes glorified in our lives. In I Peter 5:6 we read:

“Humble yourselves, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

I want you to notice something here. God says that when you humble your self, He will exalt you. God is wanting to do something great in you, but He can’t until you deny self.

Now I want to explain who you is. In II Corinthians 5:17 we read:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away: behold all things are become new.”

If you are a Christian, you are a new creation; and you are a spirit and live in a body (flesh). The new you wants to glorify God, but self is always trying to get in the way. That is why we must deny, submit, and humble self on a daily basis.

We must realize that God lives and dwells in you, and He is wanting to be glorified in you. He wants His light to shine brightly in us to a world full of darkness; but when self gets in the way, it doesn’t happen.

As Christians, we must always remember that Jesus is to be our example. We need to follow after Him. In Philippians 2:7-9 we read:

“But made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name.”

Jesus denied self and humbled Himself so that God would be glorified. Jesus said, “I haven’t come to do my will, but the will of the Father who sent me.” Jesus also said in John 8:29, “I do nothing of myself.”

If you take the word “self” and spell it backwards it spells fles. Your flesh is self, and that is why we must die to self. Self will compromise, it will lie, it will cheat, it will get angry, it will backbite, and it will get in strife; but you is a new creation, and you wants to glorify God. You is full of love, peace, joy, meekness, gentleness, goodness, patience, faith, and long suffering.

This is what the Word of God says about you...
Philippians 1:6:
“Being confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Philippians 2:5:
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Jeremiah 29:11:
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Isn’t that awesome?! God has a plan for you. God made you an overcomer, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you; and you are a new creation.

In Acts the 16th chapter, Paul and Silas were given a test when they were beaten and thrown in jail. They could have given into self and murmured and complained, but they didn’t. They let “you” rise up, the born-again, new created spirit; and they began to deny self and praise God. By humbling self, they were exalted above their circumstance; they were set free, God was glorified, and the jailer and his family were saved.

Be encouraged, you serve an awesome God, who has begun a good work in you; so continue to deny self. Don’t let self rise up when circumstances come, and God will be glorified in you.