Faithing Down Your Fears

FAITHING DOWN YOUR FEARS Biblical Principles for Living Series

Dr. J.L. Williams

Copyright © 2021 by Feed the Hunger. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in mechanical or electronic form without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®.

Printed in the USA.

Table of Contents A Biblical Perspective of Fear

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Three Principles of Fear

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Three More Principles of Fear

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The Faces of Fear

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Wholehearted Fear 35 Faithing Down Your Fears

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The Fear of Sin 47 A Look in the New Testament

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Wickedness and Iniquity 59 The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Worth

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The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Wisdom

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The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Worship

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The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Work

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The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Witness

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The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Wealth

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The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Well-Being

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Reverential Fear 111

1 A Biblical Perspective of Fear Captive to Fear A number of years ago, one of the richest men in the world died of fear. He was a Texan named Howard Hughes. He was born into a family of high achievers who afforded him unlimited privilege and opportunity. His father was a noted industrialist and inventor whose creative DNA passed on to his son.

By nature and nurture, Howard was inquisitive and inventive from his boyhood and was especially good in math.

He became an engineer and was particularly drawn to aviation. He soon became a pioneer in the growing aerospace industry and founded the Hughes Aircraft Company. One of his most famous planes was the Hercules “Spruce Goose” eight-engine prototype, the largest seaplane ever built. It was one of a kind and was never duplicated.

Hughes set multiple world air speed records and broke the world record for a flight around the globe in one of his planes. In his young career, he survived a number of near-fatal plane crashes that left him in chronic pain, which he later self-medicated through injections of morphine.

As a business magnate, Hughes earned billions of dollars through his business genius and various entrepreneurial en-

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terprises. He became one of the most famous figures and faces in America.

Over time, Hughes developed an interest in Hollywood and filmmaking. He dated some of Hollywood’s most beautiful and famous women, marrying actress Jean Peters in 1947.

However, he became an incurable womanizer in the process and was never faithful to any of his three wives. He had everything money could buy. Everything, that is, but freedom from fear.

In spite of his many successes, great wealth, and fame, he became more fearful and paranoid as he grew older. He was especially fearful of germs, a phobia that seems to have originated with his mother when he was a little boy. She was deathly afraid that he would contract some fatal germ or virus, especially polio. So, she hovered over him like a mother hen trying to protect him from germs.

His fears caused him to increasingly pull away from people and embrace an eccentric and reclusive lifestyle. As a result of his growing paranoia, this once-famous figure purposefully disappeared from public view. Over time he developed an extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder that caused him to fixate on minutiae. In his obsession to have no contact with people and circumstances that might contaminate him, Hughes hid away in some of the most beautiful and famous hotel penthouses in the world, most of which he bought.

That way he could totally control everything and everyone— except fear!

He ultimately bought the Xanadu Princess Hotel in the Bahamas in 1972. It had become the most celebrated resort in the Caribbean since it served as a vacation hideaway for 6

the Hollywood jet set of the day. There in his opulent penthouse with a multi-million-dollar view, Hughes lived out his last days as a totally fearful recluse.

Aloof from the world, Hughes had no direct contact with people for the last several years of his life. He was fearful of everything and everyone. He would only pick up objects with tissues to avoid possible contamination by germs. Whenever he had to get out of bed, he used the empty tissue boxes as slippers to move around the room to avoid contamination.

Because of his obsessive-compulsive fears, Hughes lay naked in a darkened room on his bed with paper towels as his sheets. He did not bathe or cut his hair, beard, fingernails, or toenails. He ate little food and ultimately died like a malnourished person in the Third World, weighing around 90 pounds.

Public records reveal that Hughes died on April 5, 1976, on an emergency evacuation flight to the hospital from another of his penthouse hideaways in Acapulco, Mexico. His autopsy said he died at the age of 70 from kidney failure, with large amounts of codeine and valium in his bloodstream. But, he really died of fear!

For many years, I have ministered in Freeport, Bahamas, where the Xanadu Hotel is located on choice beachfront property. Every time I drive by it, I always think of the sad story of Howard Hughes—the billionaire who died of fear!

He had it all. Everything money could buy. But he did not have freedom from fear. It increasingly dominated and destroyed his life. To die of fear is a sad way to end one’s life, whether you are a billionaire or an average guy or gal.

While most people do not have the luxury to die of fear 7

like Hughes did, they still live with fear and ultimately die with fear in one form or another.

If fear can reduce an intelligent, educated, handsome, prosperous person like Howard Hughes to an empty shell of a man, it goes without saying that fear is a very complex spiritual, mental, and emotional enemy. Fear attacks both the head and heart. As an emotional enemy, fear invades the spirit and soul and ultimately manifests itself in the body, as the story of Howard Hughes reveals. It can hijack the mind, distort the emotions, cripple the will, and destroy the body of its victim, slowly or quickly. And while fear’s onset may be small, subtle, and slow, it tends to pick up momentum as the years go by. For a time, fear can be managed by alcohol, prescription pills, sedatives, tranquilizers, or workaholic behavior. But over time, nothing ultimately conquerors the demon of fear. It completely and totally possesses its victim.

A Biblical Perspective Fear is not a foreign subject to the Bible. Quite the contrary. Fear is a recurring theme from Genesis to Revelation.

Biblical history teaches us that fear is man’s oldest spiritual and emotional enemy.

Fear is also the first negative emotion recorded in the Bible.

Ever since the Garden of Eden, fear has relentlessly pursued every member of the human family. It is usually the first emotion experienced by a newly born infant and the last emotion experienced by a dying elderly person.

But where did fear originate? Basically, fear is a learned

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behavior. We are not born with innate fears. Newborn babies or young children do not naturally fear things. It would seem that the only natural fear they have is being separated from their parents, especially their mother. All other fears are learned as they grow. These fears are both taught and caught from their parents, siblings, environment, and growing experiences. As a child grows, they learn both good fears and bad fears, but bad fears tend to dominate their lives.

That being the case, we need to study fear more carefully.

Otherwise, it will be the cruel dictator that will drive and manipulate our lives: from birth to death, from childhood through old age, and from the cradle to the grave. Fear will be our constant companion in life and our undertaker in death.

Albert Camus, the French existential author who influenced a whole generation of people in the twentieth century, made this observation: “Ours is the century of fear.” He was right. And our fears have only increased in the twenty-first century. If that is the case, exactly what is fear?

Defining Fear Let’s begin with a basic definition: Fear is a feeling of uneasiness, disquiet, concern, dread, alarm, agitation, apprehension, fright, or terror. That’s a pretty comprehensive emotional umbrella under which many people live their lives.

Fear is also defined as the emotional reaction to an environmental threat. It is therefore a reaction that is caused by the presence or nearness of danger, evil, or pain. And fear can range from a mild uneasiness to terror to sheer panic.

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Jesus mentioned fear when He spoke about the last days of human civilization: “On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity . . . People will faint from terror [fear], apprehensive of what is coming on the world” (Luke 21:25–26).

Just as Jesus said, while the world contemplates that foreboding scenario, there will be more and more people who “faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world.”

The critical question is, How is it all impacting you? Are you, too, fainting from fear as a result of all these clashing political conflicts locally and globally?

It is my prayer that the principles in this book will help liberate you from whatever fears you live with. We all have them to one degree or another. Or rather, the fears have us!

So by the end of this study, I hope you will be well on your journey to liberation and freedom as you learn how to faith down your fears through the Word and Spirit.

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2 Three Principles of Fear In the next two chapters, I want us to look at a number of principles about the nature of fear in order to better understand it. In warfare, we cannot defeat our enemy until we understand who he is and how he operates. The same is true in our spiritual and emotional battle against fear. We cannot defeat it in our lives until we understand its nature and how it attacks us. So, let’s look at some principles of fear.

Principle #1: Fear is a feeling or emotion that is primarily mind-driven.

First of all, we must understand that fear is initially more of a matter of the head than the heart. As such, fear is born in the mind, not in the emotions. Until we take time to objectively examine our fears, they seem to have a rational origin and basis. But fear seldom originates in true facts that overflow into feelings. Instead, fear is most often based on false facts that appear to be real. And when we accept those false facts in our minds, our emotions soon become captivated by unrealistic fears.

To emphasize this point, here is the way I spell FEAR:

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F — False E — Evidence A — Appearing R — Real Why do I say false evidence? I say that because studies clearly prove that the vast majority of things that we are afraid of are in reality just that—false fears. That means they are not really based in objective facts. The evidence provoking our fear only has the appearance of reality.

Years ago, the University of Michigan did a study about our fears. They wanted to distinguish between our rational fears and our irrational fears. This is what their study revealed about our fears: • 60% are totally unwarranted • 20% are based on past experiences that we have absolutely no control over • 10% are so petty they made no real difference • 5% are real and justified, but we cannot do anything about them • 5% are real and we can do something about them Looking at this list, does it surprise you that the vast majority of our fears are not grounded in objective facts? As the study showed, only 5% of our fears are real and justified. But even though we can’t do anything much about them, we still worry about them with fearful anxiety.

It is only the remaining 5% of our fears that we can do something about if we choose. That means just 10% of our 12

fears have some objective basis and should be taken seriously with appropriate action whenever possible. Sadly, that small 10% dictates the other 90% of our lives!

Most of us, then, spend our lives running from fearful shadows that can never really hurt us.

Principle #2: Fear must have an object.

Another principle to remember is that fear is always focused on something or someone. That means fear almost always evokes the image of something tangible or a specific person in your mind’s eye. Fear is almost never vague, nebulous, ethereal, or abstract. As we will see, fear most often has someone’s name and face connected to it. Therefore, if the fear is not specific, tangible, and objective, then it is anxiety rather than fear.

Fear Object

(specific and tangible)

Anxiety

No Object (free-floating, nebulous, vague)

Also, for fear to be legitimate (based in reality), it must have at least two components: presence and power.

If there is no presence related to the fear, then it cannot harm you. You need not fear something that is far away. But when it is next door or at an arm’s length, there is real presence and, therefore, real fear. When the object of your fear is staring you in the face, it has a potent presence that can 13

cripple you!

However, if the object of fear does not have real power, then it also cannot harm you. As Ecclesiastes 9:4 says, “Even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!” In other words, even though a lion is a fearsome beast, a “dead lion” does not invoke fear because he is dead. While it has presence, it has no power. It is a dead carcass, an empty shell of a once-powerful predator. It cannot roar. Its claws and teeth have no ability to tear you apart and eat you up. Since the lion is lifeless, it evokes no fear and so you do not run away from it.

But a “live dog,” whether large or small, can provoke fear because it is alive. It has both presence and power. It has the power to back up its bark. Its snarling, growling presence has teeth in it! Therefore, it has the potential to invoke real fear, depending on whether it is known or unknown, wild or domesticated, large or small, chained or loose, or bristling in the attack mode or running away with its tail between its legs. So both presence and power are necessary for fear to be potentially real rather than false.

As we will see in more detail, only God is the perfect personification of both qualities. That is why we speak of His power as omnipotence and His presence as omnipresence.

No other human or being in the universe—including the devil—has those eternal qualities but God. Only God is eternally present and eternally powerful. Therefore, He alone is to be feared, but with a reverential fear as we will see later.

Since all authentic fears have an object, there are almost as many objects of fear as there are people. That’s because growing up, we humans have been victimized by fears that were personalized through people—usually people close to 14

us. As a result, all of us grow up with fears. These can include fears of insecurity, insignificance, relationships, failure, disease, sickness, suffering, pain, and death. And sadly, those fears often become our closest companions through life.

Tragically, many people become so fixated on their fears that they fear them into existence. Over time, a particular fear increasingly takes control of their lives and, knowingly or unknowingly, they give in to that fear to the degree that it possesses them. It begins to dictate their every decision and colors how they view life. They fear it into existence and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Job reflected this attitude when he lamented, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me” (Job 3:25). Apparently long before the tragedies recorded in the Bible assaulted his life, family, health, and business, Job greatly feared their possible attack. Most parents can relate to Job’s fearful struggles here, especially related to his family. Normal parents tend to have an abnormal fear about the welfare of their children.

While we know from the Scriptures that there was an objectively malevolent power called Satan who caused Job’s afflictions, he still feared them before they ever happened.

When he was emotionally assaulted by the evil one, it caused him to second-guess himself and wonder if he had feared them into existence. It was hard enough for Job to suffer so many afflictions, losses, injustices, and accusations by friend and foe alike, but these assaults were all intensified by fear.

However, as we know, Job was ultimately able to faith down his fears through his unshakable love and reverence for God, even when he did not fully understand the reason why. You 15

and I must also learn this principle of willfully choosing faith over fear.

Principle #3: Fear is spiritual by nature.

The Apostle Paul clearly identified the spiritual nature of fear: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 nkjv).

In writing this exhortation to a fearful young pastor named Timothy, Paul spoke of a “spirit of fear.” Therefore, fear is more than a thought or a feeling, it’s a spirit. And any spirit can torment or possess us. That’s why Paul warned young Timothy that this spirit of fear he was battling was not from God. That meant it must have had its origin somewhere else, something we will see later as we look at the many faces of fear.

Even though we touched on it briefly in chapter 1, I want us to remind ourselves again exactly when this spirit of fear invaded human history. We read about it in Genesis: Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:8–10).

We are all familiar with this biblical story of Adam and Eve. As we read through the first two chapters of Genesis, we clearly see that originally there was no spirit of fear in God’s 16

creation. There was nothing but love, trust, transparency, peace, and harmony. There was perfect fellowship between Adam and Eve and God and between each other. But once sin entered the man and woman through the suggestive negative thought from Satan, a fearful spirit came upon them, which mankind has lived with ever since.

We can also see in this story an example of how the basic spirit of fear produces either the response of fight or of flight. Adam obviously took flight and Eve fled with him. Because of Adam’s false fear of God, he went into hiding, and mankind has been hiding from God ever since.

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3 Three More Principles of Fear Principle #4: The loss of God-consciousness produces fear.

The greater our God-consciousness is, the lesser our fears are, but only if our fears are the right kind. If we have an accurate God-consciousness that is based on Scripture, our fears will be few. But if our concept of God is based upon false understanding, uninformed opinion, bad theology, heresy, bad experiences, etc., our fears will be many.

We learn from the story of Adam and Eve that self-consciousness produces fear. In the same manner, other-consciousness can also produce fear. In Genesis 3, we see Adam and Eve hiding in self-conscious fear from God behind the trees of the Garden. But we also see them fearfully hiding from each other through the fig leaves they used to cover their nakedness.

Before their sin and rebellion against God, Adam and Eve “were both naked, and they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25).

In their spiritual innocence, they felt no sense of shameful self-consciousness before God or each other. But sin stripped them of that innocence! As they turned away from God, they turned away from each other. As they tried to hide from God, they tried to hide from each other. That’s because their con-

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science was stricken with guilt. So the big cover-up of marriage began. And the naked truth of marriage is that these games of hide-and-seek continue to this day to some degree in every marriage. That’s because every son of Adam and every daughter of Eve still struggles with a negative self-consciousness rooted in fear. And it colors all of our relationships in life, whether we are married or single.

There is a fascinating illustration of fear in the life of Abraham Lincoln. Like many of us as children, he had the habit of tracing the words with his finger as he read. His personal Bible has this verse worn out: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

It is my prayer that by the end of this study, the Lord will do the same thing for you and that your God-consciousness will grow to overpower all other wrong, false beliefs about the true and living God. Remember, He passionately loves you unconditionally! Like He did for King David and Abraham Lincoln, He wants to “deliver you from all your fears.”

Principle #5: Believing Satan’s lies results in fear. Having faith in God’s truth results in peace.

Obviously, God is not the source of fear, as we noted earlier. Other than the normal fears He put within us through creation to protect us, the spirit of fear did not come from Him. If God is not the originator of this negative, phobic, crippling spirit of fear, then who or what is its source?

The answer is clear in the Bible. Satan is the source of all

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negative fear. Fear ultimately invades our minds when we begin to listen to the devil’s lies, just like Eve did in the Garden.

While fear comes from believing the devil’s lies, faith comes from believing God’s truth. When we listen to the wrong source, fear invades our minds and displaces faith. We cannot focus our minds on both fear and faith at the same time.

One always displaces and replaces the other.

That’s why there is a lifelong battle between God and Satan for your mind. While believing God results in being under the control of the spirit of faith, believing the devil results in the spirit of fear. One will always defeat the other, and the winner is always the one we give control to.

An example of this is found in the lives of the disciples.

Jesus had told them to get in their boat and cross the Sea of Galilee. En route, a furious storm arose and assaulted their boat. It was so furious that these seasoned sailors were gripped by fear, while Jesus was peacefully sleeping in their boat. They finally awakened Him in their panic with these words: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38).

In response, Jesus asked them, “Why are you so afraid?

Do you still have no faith?” (verse 40). Satan used their circumstances to cause them to lose confidence in Christ’s presence and power. He had commissioned them to go, and He was in the boat with them. Could any storm swamp the boat that Jesus was in? Could any wind blow off course the boat that Jesus was in with His disciples? Hardly! But the moment they stopped believing the words of Christ, they were gripped by a negative spirit of fear. They lost all confidence in His words. And Jesus lovingly rebuked them for their lack of faith. Therefore, when we allow fear to replace faith in 21

our hearts and minds, we lose the peace of Christ’s presence in our lives.

How can you know if you have allowed the spirit of fear to take over your thinking? You can know through the presence of peace in your life. Peace is your spiritual barometer.

Whenever the spirit of faith is in control of your thinking, there is spiritual, mental, and emotional peace. Isaiah stated God’s promise this way: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust [have faith] in you” (Isaiah 26:3). That’s why Paul wrote “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15).

Since repetition is the key to learning, let’s ask the question again: How can we know if Christ’s peace is ruling in our hearts and minds? We can know because we have peace in the midst of the storms of life. The Bible gives us God’s spiritual prescription for peace of mind: Do not be anxious [fearful] about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7).

There it is! That’s the secret of having both peace of heart and mind. It is through believing God’s Word rather than believing Satan’s lies, regardless of the circumstances. We see that in the contrast Paul used between the words “anything” and “everything.” We are not to let anything cause us to lose faith in God’s Word, but in everything give thanks to God for His presence and sufficiency. It is willfully focusing our minds 22

on faith rather than fear. It is believing in and looking for the best in everything. That’s why Paul goes on to exhort us: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8–9).

How many negative things are in that list? None! Does that mean, then, that we will never have negative, fear-provoking thoughts? Hardly. They are normal in our fallen state as members of Adam’s race. We all naturally have a negative mindset. That’s why Paul also exhorts us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). You either take the thought captive, or the thought will take you captive! It’s your choice.

To summarize: Believing the devil’s lies results in fear. Believing in God’s truth through faith results in peace of heart and mind. Therefore, fear and faith cannot simultaneously control your mind. They are mutually exclusive. Spiritual, mental, and emotional peace is proof positive as to which one is in control of your life.

Don’t listen to the devil’s lies, regardless of how reasonable and logical they might seem at the time. The lies that Satan told Eve in the Garden sounded so good to her. But they were still lies, even though they were disguised in halftruths! Keep your mind focused on faith, and God’s peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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Principle #6: The only lasting antidote for fear is faith.

Ever since the Garden of Eden, man’s fears have grown exponentially with the human population. Now the list of what strikes fear in humanity is almost endless. And it seems that each generation adds to the ever-growing list. Here are just some of the many fears or phobias that psychiatrists and psychologists have compiled: aloneness autophobia blood hemophobia change neophobia confinement claustrophobia death thanatophobia dirt mysophobia disease pathophobia everything panophobia fire pyrophobia injury traumatophobia night nyctophobia open spaces agoraphobia people anthrophobia snakes ophidiophobia spiders arachnophobia strangers xenophobia travel hodophobia 24

As believers, we know that the only lasting antidote for fear is faith. It is because of this cardinal principle that I have entitled this book Faithing Down Your Fears as opposed to Facing Down Your Fears. One is the Christian solution to fear; the other is the worldly solution to fear. One is a God-centered approach, while the other is a man-centered approach. That fact forces the question, Which approach is most characteristic of your life?

Worldly solutions are based on some form of gritting your teeth and facing down your fears—which is often a form of faking it. But, the biblical solution is to faith down your fears through the presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit. It is my prayer that through the exhortation and encouragement of this book you will choose faith and not fear.

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4 The Faces of Fear As we saw in the previous chapters, fear is man’s oldest spiritual and emotional enemy. It has dogged mankind since the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, fear has stalked their children and descendants to the very ends of the earth. That’s why there are no fearfree zones anywhere on planet Earth. Every country, climate, and culture is plagued by fear.

Freud, the Jewish messiah of psychoanalysis, said, “I have never met a man who was not thoroughly afraid!” As we saw earlier, Jesus, the true Jewish Messiah, the Master of spiritual analysis, said that one of the characteristics of the “last days” would be the growing universal phenomenon of people fainting from fear (Luke 21:26).

When a person faints, they lose consciousness and control.

They cease communicating. Life stops for them for a while.

They lose touch with reality. Jesus was saying, then, that people would be increasingly immobilized by fear on a global scale. Sadly, that is an apt description of millions of people on planet Earth today.

However, God does not want people, especially His children, to be immobilized by fear. He wants them to immobilize fear through their faith in Him. His desire is for each of us to faith down all of our fears through the authority of His Word and the power of His Holy Spirit. Only then will we 27

not be immobilized, benched from the game of life.

By way of review, then, let’s quickly remind ourselves of the six basic Principles of Fear that we looked at in the last chapter: Principle #1: Fear is a feeling or emotion that is

primarily mind-driven.

Principle #2: Fear (unlike anxiety) must have an object.

Principle #3: Fear is spiritual by nature.

Principle #4: The loss of God-consciousness produces

fear.

Principle #5: Believing Satan’s lies results in fear. Having

faith in God’s truth results in peace.

Principle #6: The only lasting antidote for fear is faith.

We can clearly see, then, that not all fears are equal. Some are positive and others are negative; some are healthy, while others are unhealthy; some are rational, but most are irrational. Therefore, the reality of our fears depends upon two things: the origin of our fears and the object of our fears.

With that understanding, let’s look at some of the many faces of our fears. Fear can come at us in a myriad of masquerades—almost as many and varied as we are. Our fears may have the face of a parent, a sibling, a relative, a teacher, an abuser, a demon, an experience, a memory, or of God. One of the faces of fear that I personally see is my fourth grade teacher. Math was so easy for her that she had little patience for any student who didn’t get it the first time around.

I fell into that category. I can still see where I was seated when she called me to the blackboard to solve the problem 28

she had just written there. Standing in front of all my classmates, I was paralyzed, sweat dripping down my back. “Let’s see how long J.L. has to stand there before he figures out the right answer,” she said sarcastically.

The snickering from my classmates seemed to echo like thunder in the room! After several hours (that may have been only minutes), my teacher tersely instructed me: “Sit down!”

I did so in defeat and humiliation, wounded to the core of my being as a young boy. To this day, I still tend to go numb whenever I have to add, subtract, multiply, or divide. (I’m so glad Patt likes to balance our checkbook!)

But for others of us, like my wife, Patt, the face of one of her elementary school teachers always brings fond memories—almost awe and reverence. Mrs. Holland was accepting and loving, and school was a safe place to be. Her reverential fear of Mrs. Holland was to please her and obey her rules so she wouldn’t be disciplined for her disobedience.

I am sure that each of you could share your own story of a particular face of fear that haunts and torments you! Patt’s and my personal examples bring us to this chapter where we will focus on the two different kinds of fear.

In his letter to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul put words to one of his fears, a fear that I can personally relate to as a preacher and teacher: When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive 29

words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:1–5).

Obviously, the fear that Paul talked about here was not at all a negative fear. It was not a phobic fear. It was a positive and healthy spiritual fear that motivated his life and ministry.

So, there are good fears and bad fears, rational fears and irrational fears, positive fears and negative fears, and fears that produce good motivations and fears that result in bad motivations. That being the case, let’s look more carefully at the various biblical words for fear that we find in the Bible.

Biblical Definitions of Fear There are several key words translated “fear” in the Bible.

In the Old Testament, a primary Hebrew root word for fear means to quake, to tremble, or to cringe; to fall back before superior powers or forces, whether in man, nature, or God. In light of that definition, most biblical scholars agree that fear is the decisive religious motivation in the Old Testament.

As a result, in the Old Testament the Jews stood before God in both fear and love. Thus, their fear is what I would call a loving fear and a fearful love.

Because of the prevalence of fear, the words “do not be afraid” (“fear not” in some translations) echo through the pages of the Old Testament—over 75 times in various forms (Genesis 15:1; Judges 6:23; Isaiah 44:2, etc.). At almost every theophany, or appearance of God in human form, there are the words “do not be afraid.”

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In the New Testament, fear is also a dominant theme.

There are many objects of fear listed in the New Testament: • • • • •

God (Acts 9:31; 1 Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7) Angels (Luke 1:12; 2:9) Jewish rulers (John 7:13; 20:19) End time events (Luke 21:26) Death (Matthew 10:28; Hebrews 2:15)

In the New Testament, there are three primary Greek words for fear. First, there is deilos, which comes from deos meaning “fright, dread, fearfulness, or cowardice.” It is never used in a positive sense in the Bible. Here are a few examples: • (Jesus to His fearful disciples in furious storm): “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:26).

• “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

• “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid [deilos], but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

• “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly [deilos], the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation 21:7–8).

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Second, there is the word phobos (noun); phobeomai (verb).

It means “fear, terror, fright, or reverence.” This is the more normative word for fear in the New Testament. The verb phobeomai is used 95 times, while the noun phobos is used 47 times, for a total of 158 times in the New Testament. This is probably the word that best describes my debilitating fear of math—minus the reverence part!

Third, there is the word eulabeia (noun). This word primarily signifies “reverence, godly fear, holy fear, or fear mingled with love.” This would be Patt’s word for the affection and awe she felt toward her primary school teacher.

Eulabeia denotes man’s perspective and piety toward God. As we saw in the Old Testament, the emphasis is on fear, while in the New Testament the emphasis is on love. So we might characterize the Old Testament saints as primarily motivated by fearful love, while the New Testament saints were more motivated by loving fear.

There are only two uses of this word in the New Testament: • “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” [eulabeia; “piety” nasb; “feared” kjv] (Hebrews 5:7).

• “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence [eulabeia] and awe, for ‘our God is a consuming fire’” (Hebrews 12:28).

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As we consider how to faith down our bad fears, let’s focus on what loving, reverential fear looks like. It is what I call felicitous fear. While it is not a common word in most of our vocabularies, felicitous is an accurate word to use here. The word felicity or felicitous means “happiness, well-being, or bliss.” Therefore, it is a fitting word to describe the faithing fear that we Christians are supposed to have. It is the spiritual fear that brings about total transformation. It is the fear that ultimately results in true happiness, in well-being, and in bliss.

If that is the case, what is this felicitous fear? Simply put, it is the fear of God! So let’s carefully examine this most important of all fears. There are many examples found in both the Old and New Testaments. Here are a few to read carefully and prayerfully.

• “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning” (Exodus 20:20).

• “The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today” (Deuteronomy 6:24).

• “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods” (1 Chronicles 16:25).

• “In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him” (Psalm 89:7).

• “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

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• “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name (Malachi 3:16).

• “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread” (Isaiah 8:13).

• “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

• “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened.

Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers” (Acts 9:31).

It is obvious from these verses that this reverential fear of God is the only solid, unshakable foundation to build our lives upon. In the last chapters of this book we will look at the wonderful fruit of this kind of reverential fear that can lead to a life of fearless living.

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5 Wholehearted Fear The best biblical word to describe the fruit of faithing fear (eulabeia) is wholeheartedness. Just as felicitous is one description of our faithing fear, so is wholeheartedness. This level of commitment is a very important concept in the Bible. In fact, it is the word that describes the “normal Christian life,” as Watchman Nee expressed it. This level of spiritual living is what Jesus called the “abundant life” (John 10:10). Anything and everything less is abnormal, sub-normal, a spiritual anomaly. But the abnormal has become the new normal. As a result, millions of believers who have experienced eternal life are not enjoying the abundant life that Jesus made available to them through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and bestowment of the Holy Spirit.

This level of total commitment is often expressed or implied in the Bible in opposition to half-heartedness. Sadly, it is a spiritual wilderness where so many of God’s people eke out their lives in miserable discontent, just like the children of Israel experienced for 40 years. According to the Bible, this kind of half-hearted commitment is an abnormal spiritual existence between the extremes of no commitment and total commitment. It kept a whole generation of Israelites from entering the Promised Land. It still does the same today, which is why most Christians half-heartedly live out their spiritual lives in the wilderness. It is a carnal halfway 35

point that always leads to spiritual half-stepping in our obedience to the Lord—one step forward, two steps backward!

Not much spiritual progress is ever made toward maturity in Christ.

Sadly, this half-heartedness causes us to live at the slowest pace and lowest place in our Christian lives. As a result, we neither glorify the Lord, satisfy ourselves, nor edify others.

We live a halfway Christian life that tries to simultaneously love God and love the world. As I said above, this is what the Bible calls carnal living or living a life dominated by the flesh rather than living a life controlled by the Spirit. We have just enough Christianity and spirituality to be miserable and to make others miserable! Obviously, that kind of half-hearted Christian living is a poor advertisement to the non-Christian world. And the root problem is this matter of the fear of God. In reality, half-hearted Christians neither fear God nor fear sin. Instead, they try to have a little love for both. But what happens is that they tend to love God less and love the world more.

By contrast, when a person really fears God, then he or she loves what God loves and hates what God hates. That’s true holiness of heart. But as A.W. Tozer rightly said, most of us pray this way: “Lord make me holy—but not entirely!” That means we want to keep a few favorite sins for ourselves that we feel are necessary for our happiness and fulfillment. Sadly, so many of us want to be happy far more than we want to be holy.

However, we need to realize that there is no true happiness apart from holiness. One is a by-product of the other. With 36

that spiritual principle in mind, let’s look at some biblical examples that clearly set forth this primary fruit of fear, which increases our love for God and decreases our love of sin.

Remember: There is no true happiness apart from holiness.

• “Job . . . feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1).

• “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding” (Job. 28:28).

• “Let those who love the Lord hate evil” (Psalm 97:10).

• “To fear the Lord is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13).

• “The wise fear the Lord and shun evil” (Proverbs 14:16).

• “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27).

• “Through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided” (Proverbs 16:6).

If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will have to admit that we have only a half-hearted commitment toward God. That’s why there is so much sin disobedience and discontent in the lives of professing Christians. They really do not fear God. That’s why so many of us need to hear and heed the words of King Jehoshaphat: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord . . . you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord” (2 Chronicles 19:9–10).

Likewise, through the prophet Jeremiah, God said, “I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will

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always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them” (Jeremiah 32:39).

The call is to fear and follow God wholeheartedly or singleheartedly rather than half-heartedly. This is a recurring theme in the Bible (Numbers 14:24; 32:11–12; Joshua 14:8– 9; 1 Kings 8:23; 2 Chronicles 15:15; 31:21; Psalm 119:80; Ephesians 6:7). That’s why Paul’s prayer and praise for the saints at Rome is so relevant for each of us: “Thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance” (Romans 6:17).

So, God wants us to fear Him with our whole hearts. Then we will increasingly and wholeheartedly hate sin. In the meantime, it is blatantly obvious that humanity increasingly has no fear of God, since they thumb their noses at His every decree. As the Bible says, they not only break His laws, they “invent ways of doing evil” (Romans 1:30).

Even more tragic, too many of us as Christians have only a half-hearted fear of God. As a result, we are half-hearted in our love, obedience, worship, giving, and serving. But God’s Word is clear about evil behavior: “There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil” (Romans 2:9).

When we do not have a proper fear of God, then we soon cease to respect authority, parents, government, life, marriage, sexuality, and nature. Both biblical and secular history painfully demonstrate that a loss of the fear of God always leads to moral indifference at best or moral rebellion at worst. Morality can only be built upon the foundational fear of God! So, our prayer must be: “Father, give me a loving fear and 38

fearful love of You that will cause me to love what You love and hate what You hate. Amen!”

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6 Faithing Down Your Fears In chapter 5 we looked at some of the many faces of fear.

We saw that fear may have the face of man, the face of a past experience, the face of a memory, the face of a besetting sin, the face of a demon, and even the face of God. However, when fear has the face of God, it is the face of an unbiblical God whose image has been distorted in our minds by bad parenting, bad church exposure, bad spiritual experiences, bad teaching, or bad theology. Those spiritual distortions do not result in a reverential fear but in a resentful fear. Resentful fear is the result of a distrust of God based on a distortion of who He really is. And it is spiritually and psychologically impossible to really love a God who you secretly resent because you distrust Him. No one in their right mind will commit themselves fully to a God they distrust! They will reluctantly and resentfully give to Him as little as they can.

But in spite of these many distortions of God, reverential fear is still the decisive religious motivation of the Bible. Recall that over 75 times the phrase “do not be afraid” echoes out of the pages of the Old Testament. We can summarize this motivation of the Old Testament saints as a fearful love of God. When it comes to parental authority, wise parents understand that they have to first create reverential fear in a child that will cause him or her to respect and obey their author41

ity. While parents might wish their children would obey because of reverential love, they quickly learn that is not the case. That’s because every child is born with a sinful, selfish, rebellious, stubborn, disobedient nature just like their parents were born with! Every child is born with a desire to please themselves, do their own thing, and have their own way when they want and how they want! And any appeal that says “if you love me you will obey me” falls on deaf ears.

Love never motivates a rebellious will that is bent on getting his or her own way.

So, wise parents must first instill a reverential fear in their children until their will is broken. It is only then that children have the possibility of obeying their parents out of reverential love. But it is not until those little ones are transformed by the love of Christ that they are really ready to be motivated by reverential love rather than resentful fear.

That, my friend, is a succinct summary of the message of the Old Testament. Because of the sinful, rebellious nature of His disobedient children, God had to motivate them first by law before he could motivate them by love. As Paul would write, the law was the schoolteacher, the tutor or guardian to bring them to Christ so they could then live by the law of love. Until that happened, there was at best only half-hearted obedience. Children may obey their parents on the outside, but on the inside, they are still rebellious. There hasn’t been a change of heart, or what the Bible calls repentance. We all know from experience that until the heart changes, nothing else changes. And law can never change the heart; only love can.

No mature parent wants to keep their children forever 42

under a resentful fear or even a reverential fear that only motivates them to obey the law of the home. God does not desire that either. He wants His children to obey and serve Him wholeheartedly through love and overflowing from a true reverential fear rather than a half-hearted, resentful fear.

That’s why in the New Testament fear is also a dominant theme, but with a change of emphasis from law to love. The New Testament saints have a loving fear rather than a fearful love of God, as we have already studied. However, these different motivations of fear and faith were not contradictory, but complementary. One prepared for the other. Each had their appointed role and season of training. That’s why the Apostle Paul reminded saints in the first century of the same spiritual truths we need to understand and live by in the twenty-first century: Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.

So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith . . . If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. . . . Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir (Galatians 3:23–4:7).

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Paul echoed very similar words to the Roman Christians that American Christians (and Christians in other places as well) need to remember: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:14–15).

Through those verses, we can clearly see again the principle of faithing down your fears. It is the only way we can move from living with a slave mentality to living with a son or daughter mentality. One is the service of duty while the other is the service of delight. Everything else is substandard Christian living, which is not the abundant life that Jesus came to give.

So, if our fear is to be a reverential fear of God rather than a resentful fear, what fruit of this reverential faithing fear should we expect to see in our lives?

The biblical summary is clear: “To fear the Lord is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). So, if a godly fear produces wholeheartedness, what does a lack of fear produce? The answer to that is the primary focal point of this part of our study.

No Fear of God Produces Wickedness If the reverential fear of God causes us to hate sin and shun evil, the opposite is also true. Where there is no love or fear of God, evil, rebellion, and wickedness abound. Note a few biblical examples: 44

• “I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes. In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong” (Psalm 36:1–4).

• “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. . . . There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10–11, 18).

• (Parable of the persistent widow) “[Jesus] said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought . . .’” (Luke 18:2).

• “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong’” (Luke 23:39–40; note: one thief died as he had lived, without a fear of God; the other died with a fear of God!).

Therefore, without this wholehearted love and reverential fear of God, sin, self and Satan dominate our lives personally and collectively. As a result, there is neither purity nor power 45

in our personal lives or in the church; there is little serious dedication, discipleship, or discipline. Wilderness Christianity is the norm—especially in the American church.

That being the reality, let’s now look at the direct relationship between the fear of God and the resulting fear of sin.

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7 The Fear of Sin It is safe to say that most people today do not connect the spiritual dots between sin and fear, even in the church. In most people’s minds, these are two unrelated subjects. But the Bible clearly teaches that there is a direct link between our reverential fear of God and our existential fear of sin.

That’s why the Bible summarizes man’s rebellious condition this way: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.

There is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:10–18).

The relationship Paul draws here between the root and fruit of fear is inescapable. The root problem in humanity is that there is “no fear of God before their eyes.” The fruit of the problem is a lack of righteousness, no one seeking God, no goodness, dishonest and perverse communication, bitterness, violence, misery, and a general lack of peace. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

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Therefore, it is all because we have lost our fear of God in America—and in much of the church—that we have also lost our fear of sinning. That’s why the carnal Corinthian church is the norm for much of American Christianity with all of her immaturity and immorality. Because of this general loss of a true heartfelt reverential fear of God, people increasingly sin with reckless abandon, even Christians and pastors. As a result, both individually and collectively we are having to “pay the piper” in every area of life for this flippant and flagrant attitude toward sin: martially, socially, economically, culturally, and politically.

Obviously, God has had no change of heart when it comes to the gravity of sin. God still hates sin with a holy hatred, but He also still passionately loves the sinner!

You see, God hates sin first of all because of His nature of holy love, which never changes. But He also hates sin because of what it does to relationships. That’s because God is a relational God who created us for a living relationship with Himself and with others. But sin always breaks relationships.

Divorce seeks to break the bond of the oneness that God said is indivisible. From His perspective, marriage is an eternal union that is inseparable. But when we neither fear God nor fear sin, we do not fear divorce. So in both the church and courtroom, we continue to violate the words of Jesus when He underscored the oneness and union of marriage by saying, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9). It is only when we truly fear God and fear sin that we can begin to build holy, healthy, and happy relationships with God and others, starting with marriage.

So first of all, we must remind ourselves why God hates 48

sin. He hates it in any and every form because of what it does to relationships, friendships, partnerships, and fellowship— with Himself and with others. Sin is a killer when it comes to relationships!

Second, it is important to understand that just as all fears are not equal, all sins are not equal. The Bible teaches that there are degrees of sin. And again, the worse sins are the ones that deface and destroy relationships.

But while there is a clear distinction in the Bible between the degrees of sin, all sin is still sin! But in our fallenness and moral rebellion against God, we tend to minimize sin to the degree that little sins are overlooked, trivialized, and rationalized. As a result, a little white lie is not considered a lie at all. It’s just not telling the whole truth. An adulterous affair is called an indiscretion, not a sexual sin. Homosexuality or bisexuality is renamed an alternative lifestyle instead of sexual perversion. Alcoholism or drug addiction is referred to as a sickness instead of sin. We could go on and on with examples of how we rationalize and justify sins in ourselves that we condemn in others.

It is clear, then, that because we have compromised the nature of God, we have correspondingly compromised the nature of sin. Having largely rejected the high moral standards of the Bible, we have reduced the absolutes of the Ten Commandments to ten suggestions that are personally determined by moral relativism. As a result, situational ethics, which is no ethics at all, has become the norm in every level of society from the courtroom to the locker room to the bedroom. Everyone is free to determine his or her ethical behavior on the basis of their own internal moral code. Prac49

tically, that means that what is right for me is not necessarily right for everyone else. Therefore, having lowered the bar of God’s moral code to the lowest common denominator, we are each free to do what is right in our own eyes, just like God’s ancient people in Israel. In their rebellion against Him and His authority, “everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6).

The Bible, however, teaches a very different perspective of sin. It reminds us that all sin is serious and offensive to the holy heart of God! And while we constantly lower our standard of sin, God never does. That’s because His holy character never changes. In unambiguous terms God said, “I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6; see also Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 7:21; James 1:17). He is eternally consistent in His judgment of sin. In other words: God is deathly serious about sin. The cross proves it.

By contrast, in America today we do not take any degree of sin seriously. As a result, our nation is rapidly losing any concept of the sinfulness of sin because we have lost a reverential fear of God and His Word. Our moral compass has no fixed point of reference.

But because the Bible is God’s revelation rather than a human moral code, it takes sin very seriously. And it also distinguishes and delineates between various kinds of sin. Here are some of the major types of sin that the Bible warns us about: • Sins of ignorance (Acts 17:30; Romans 2:12–15; 1 Peter 1:14) • Sins of omission or neglectful sins (Romans 14:23; James 4:17) 50

• • • •

Sins of transgression (1 John 3:4) Sins of iniquity and wickedness (Isaiah 59:2–8) Sin unto death (1 John 5:16–17) Sin of blasphemy against the Spirit (Matthew 12:31–32)

When it comes to this last sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, there is great fear and confusion among many Christians. Untold numbers of Christians live with the secret, haunting fear that they have committed the unpardonable sin. Suffice it to say at this point, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an act but rather an attitude. It is not some particular sin of the moment, but a lifelong hardening-of-theheart attitude that has solidified into cold indifference to the Spirit of God. When one loses their sensitivity to the convicting Spirit of God, then repentance and conversion are no longer possible.

It is not so much a sin that God will not forgive, but rather a sin that God cannot forgive because the person has passed the point of no return. As Paul says, their “consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). As a result, they are totally deadened to the convicting Spirit of God. If conviction cannot be felt, then repentance cannot be made and forgiveness cannot be received. The greatest assurance that you have not committed the sin of blasphemy is the very fear that you might have done so! The very presence of that spiritual fear in your heart proves that you are still spiritually sensitive to the Spirit of God, and therefore could not possibly have blasphemed His Spirit.

The Bible, then, gives a constant clarion call against any and every form of sin. And in the process, it clearly calls all 51

sin S-I-N. But it also clearly distinguishes between types or degrees of sin. However, that is often a distinction that only God clearly perceives because He alone fully understands the human heart with all of its motives.

But it is because there are degrees of sin that there will also be corresponding degrees of punishment in hell (Luke 12:47–48; see also Deuteronomy 25:2). Another sobering matter we have to leave in the hands of a perfectly loving, but righteous and just, God.

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8 A Look in the New Testament Even though all of us sin because we are sinners, some of the words related to sin in both the Old Testament and New Testament emphasize the attitude rather than the action.

Both are wrong before God. But as we saw earlier, one is the root and the other is the fruit. Therefore, the first two words in our list from the New Testament emphasize an attitude against God more than an action against man and focus on inward corruption or a perversion of character.

• Adikia—“unrighteousness; iniquity” (Acts 1:18; Romans 1:18; 6:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Timothy 2:19; 2 Peter 2:15, etc.)

• Poneria—“evil; degeneration; wickedness” (Matthew 12:39; 16:4; 18:32; Luke 6:35; 11:26; 19:22; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 3:2; 2 John 11, etc.)

In contrast, the following three definitions of sin imply a transgression of an objective moral standard revealed by God, either a standard we failed to reach or a line we deliberately crossed. Since we are created in His image (Genesis 1:27), these moral codes are written on our hearts (Romans 2:15).

Therefore, all mankind is “without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

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• Hamartia—“missing the mark; failure to attain the goal” (Romans 3:9; 5:12; 6:1–2; 7:7–8; 1 Corinthians 15:56; Hebrews 3:13; 11:25; James 1:15, etc.)

• Parabasis—“a trespass; stepping over a known boundary; transgression” (Romans 2:23; 5:13–14; 1 Timothy 2:14; Romans 4:15; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2; 9:15; etc.).

• Anomia—“disregard or willful violation of a known law; lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23; 13:41; 24:12; Romans 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 1:9; 10:17; 1 John 3:4) It is important to note that the first two words, adikia and poneria, seem to be the most serious because they focus on the inward corruption or character perversion more than the external action. These represent the heart attitude that results in sin against God (singular), rather than the sins against man (plural). But again, it is important to remember that each of these sin words clearly imply that all mankind has received a knowledge of God’s moral standard that he is rebelling against. So, these words teach us that man’s basic problem is not moral ignorance, but rather moral rebellion.

The New Testament, then, emphasizes the godless self-centeredness of sin. It is not a regrettable lapse from conventional standards. Sin is hostility toward God (Romans 8:7). It is active, overt, moral rebellion against Him. That’s why David rightly realized and confessed that every sin is first and foremost against God: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away 54

all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight (Psalm 51:1–4).

We have already seen in this study that a true godly, reverential fear of God produces a wholeheartedness in our commitment and obedience to Him. That wholeheartedness—rather than half-heartedness—means that we will increasingly love what God loves and hate what God hates. In other words, our heart and character will reflect God’s.

Conversely, when a person does not fear God, then his or her life will increasingly be characterized by what the Bible calls wickedness, which means that they love what God hates and hate what God loves.

FEAR OF GOD (wholeheartedness)

NO FEAR OF GOD

(wickedness)

Love what God loves, hate what God hates.

Love what God hates, hate what God loves.

Note again the summary of the Apostle Paul when he wrote about this spiritual problem among those who were “in the world” when he wrote his letter to the saints at Rome: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. . . . There is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:10–18).

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Whereas that is normal for sinful, rebellious people in a fallen world, those who are in Christ are to be radically different. When a person is in Christ and therefore in the Church but continues to live like they are still “of the world,” the Church is to practice church discipline. Note Paul’s words of instruction in one of his letters to young Timothy that those “who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning” (1 Timothy 5:20). This instruction of Paul to Timothy is clearly a reflection of the Lord’s teaching on church discipline. And because it is so widely misunderstood or ignored, it bears presenting in context: If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that “every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:15–20).

We see this principle of church discipline again in Paul’s rather strong letter of rebuke to the Corinthian church. As you read the following passage, you will hear a clear echo of the words of Christ we have just read from Matthew: 56

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:1–5).

As much as these verses may seem radical and unacceptable to our Western Church that increasingly worships at the altar of tolerance, they are still the words of Holy Scripture.

It is crucial to remember that when we compromise the purity of the church, we also compromise the power of the church. Simply put: No purity, no power!

Therefore, as foreign and difficult as these words seem to us, they are necessary for the Church of Jesus Christ. No one enjoys discipline, whether as physical children or spiritual children. That’s why the writer of Hebrews wrote: Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.

For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of 57

spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:7–11).

With these sobering scriptural truths in mind, let’s now continue our study of the fear of God.

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9 Wickedness and Iniquity The Bible clearly shows an inverse connection between a reverential fear of God, which produces as its fruit a “harvest of righteousness,” and wickedness. Both the Bible and history demonstrate that where there is little or no fear of God among a people (and a corresponding lack of righteousness), wickedness abounds. Note these verses: • “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5).

• “It is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you” (Deuteronomy 9:4–5).

• “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion” (Psalm 11:4–5).

• “You love righteousness and hate wickedness” (Psalm 45:7).

• (said of Satan) “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you” (Ezekiel 28:15).

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• (God to apostate Israel): “You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness” (Jeremiah 3:2); “None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Each pursues their own course” (Jeremiah 8:6).

• (God to Jonah): “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2).

• (Jesus to the hypocritical Pharisees): “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness” (Luke 11:39).

According to the Bible, wickedness is not primarily committed by people who are ignorant of God’s laws. Wickedness is the growing heart attitude of people who have received God’s revelation, but have chosen to repress it and have rebelled against it. It is not so much ignorant rebellion, but rather willful, intentional rebellion. Let’s take a moment to understand further the spiritual distinction between the two.

Ignorance versus Iniquity Ignorance is unknowingly breaking God’s revealed law.

This is largely what the “heathen” commit. They are guilty of breaking God’s law as revealed through nature and conscience (Acts 17:30; Romans 2:12–16; Ephesians 4:18; 1 Peter 1:14, etc.).

Iniquity is knowingly and willfully breaking God’s revealed law. This is the sin of the Jews and Christians who are guilty of breaking God’s law as revealed through His written word, 60

the Bible, and the Incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus (Romans 2:17–3:2).

Iniquity, then, is evil posing as righteousness, religious perversion of the truth, and a counterfeit morality. It is rebellion in religious clothing! So it is primarily sin committed by religious people who know better. King Saul in the Old Testament is a good example of this kind of presumptuous sin that still masqueraded in the robes of religious righteousness.

Pagan sinners, on the other hand, do not commit iniquity.

They still break God’s law either from ignorance or rebellion, but with no pretense of religion or righteousness.

There are a number of prominent examples in the Bible of the sin of iniquity: • • • • • • •

Satan (Ezekiel 28) Saul (1 Samuel 15) Israel (Ezekiel 18) Pharisees (Matthew 23:28) Judas (Acts 1:18) Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:23) Babylon the Prostitute (Revelation 17:1–5; 18:1–5)

The prophet Isaiah spoke to this heart condition when he said, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

Again, King David acknowledged this presumptuous sin in his own life and cried out to God for forgiveness: “For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great” (Psalm 25:11).

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However, the apostate apostle, Judas, is history’s greatest example of the sin of iniquity. Since he walked with the Lord for three years and was even the treasurer of the group, his was not the sin of ignorance. He was privileged to hear all of the teaching of the Lord Jesus and see all of His miracles, and yet he sinned and betrayed the Lord for money. And he did so to other religious leaders who were also guilty of iniquity. As Luke recorded, “With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field” (Acts 1:18–19).

The Apostle Paul also made it abundantly clear that man’s problem was not ignorance of the truth, but rather suppression of the truth. Listen to his words of warning: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18).

The Apostle Peter emphasized this same thing when he wrote to warn about pseudo-religious people. As you read and reflect on this passage, you will clearly see that their problem was not ignorance, but rather iniquity. Peter pointed out that these false religious leaders follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings . . . These people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. . . .

They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! . . .

These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, 62

boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity . . . If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning (2 Peter 2:10–22).

It is for this reason that we Christians are clearly warned

by Paul “not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

In His Olivet discourse about the signs of the last days, the Lord Jesus warned that iniquity and wickedness would increasingly become a worldwide spiritual condition: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).

It is because of this growing wickedness that our spiritual warfare is so intense as Christians. We are not just struggling and fighting against some vague abstract evil, but against the devil and his demonic realm, which are the animating forces for evil in our world. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

But the “Good News” for the believer is that Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14). Likewise, the writer of Hebrews reminds us of this precious promise: “For I will forgive 63

their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12). That’s why there is now no condemnation for the Christian (Romans 8:1)!

With this deeper understanding of iniquity, read anew these very familiar words from the prophet Isaiah: Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4–6).

Rejoice also over these great words of assurance spoken by the prophet Micah; words that he used by divine revelation to close his prophecy: Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18–19).

Therefore, it is only the fear of God that will drive us to Jesus, who alone can forgive us all our wickedness and iniquity.

Then, after receiving His unconditional forgiveness, it is only His Word and His Spirit that will keep us living in reverential fear, godly fear, holy fear, and loving fear for His honor and glory. Amen!

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10 The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Worth Once again, let’s begin this chapter with a little overview and review before our preview of some of the fruit of fearful faith. In our previous chapters, we saw that a true fear of God results in what the Bible calls wholeheartedness. And the evidence of that kind of wholehearted love and obedience is that we love what God loves and hate what God hates.

Conversely, we saw that a lack of a fear of God results in wickedness, or hating what God loves and loving what God hates. We also saw that just like there are degrees of fear, there are also degrees of sin. However, all sin is still sin!

There is never a time or circumstance when sin ceases to be sin. It is the same in every circumstance, country, and culture. Sin never evolves or morphs into non-sin. When God says something is sin, it is sin for all eternity.

If we could give degrees of sinfulness to sin, the greatest sin of all is wickedness or iniquity. This sin is a spiritual heart problem. It represents inward corruption, willful inversion, and character perversion. This describes the rebellious heart before God. However, wickedness or iniquity is not primarily a sin of the heathen committed out of ignorance. This is a sin of willful rebellion. It is a sin of religious perversion by people

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who should know better. They have received God’s law, but have perverted it, all the while remaining religious and pious.

Through Scripture, we saw that Satan and Judas were the greatest examples of the sin of iniquity—and neither could ever say their problem was ignorance. Lucifer had direct access to the eternal Godhead and Judas spent three years at Jesus’ side, and yet both rebelled.

We saw, then, that iniquity is a sin for which God often indicted His people, as He did through the prophet Isaiah: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

But the Good News for the Christian is that Jesus died to forgive and cleanse us of all our iniquities: “Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own” (Titus 2:14).

With those understandings fresh in our minds, let’s turn now to the positive side of fearful faith, which is the primary theme of this book. Let’s examine the fragrant fruit that a holy, loving, reverential fear of God produces in our lives.

Like the fruit of the Spirit that Paul writes about in Galatians 5:22–23, the fruit of fearful faith comes in a cluster. Rather than one single fruit, it is a spiritual basket of fruit. There are at least seven fruits of reverential fear, so let’s carefully examine each one.

Worth This is an especially important fruit, and we begin here because it is a key part of showing us how to faith down our bad 66

fears. Most of us grow up with a sense of worthlessness. Because of the Fall, virtually every human being grows up with some kind of inferiority complex, even though some try to mask it and overcompensate through a superiority complex.

But they still struggle with a sense of inferiority. And inferiority always produces insecurity over one’s sense of self-worth.

In our heart of hearts, most of us secretly feel that we are rather worthless as human beings—especially to God! We fear that He does not value us like He does other people whom we deem more important or more spiritual and therefore of more worth to God. This is a lie from the devil or a lie we have come to believe based on the negative things others have told us about ourselves. But to God, you and I are of infinite, eternal worth! This brings us to a transforming principle I never want you to forget.

Remember: You only know your true worth when you know your worth to God. Listen to what His Word says about our worth to Him as expressed by His everlasting, unconditional love for us: • “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him” (Psalm 103:11).

• “The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love” (Psalm 147:11).

• “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5).

• “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory” (Psalm 149:4).

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• “The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant” (Psalm 35:27).

In our culture today, advertisements often make women especially feel inferior and insecure in their femininity in order to sell whatever new clothes, new makeup, new makeover, new workout, new spa or gym, or new diet will make them eternally young, perpetually beautiful, and seductive! But all the while they live in the secret fear that their femininity is gradually fading. And as it fades, so does their sense of worth.

Here is a very timely word for women about the source of true beauty: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).

Solomon emphasized the inner beauty of the spirit that never fades, wrinkles, or grows old. This is an authentic femininity and a beauty that radiates from inside out. It does not come from lotions, potions, Botox, face-lifts or breast implants! As Peter wrote, Your beauty should not come from outward adornment . . . Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord.

You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear (1 Peter 3:3–6).

Because these holy women of the past had a reverential fear of God, they were submissive to their husbands by faith 68

and they did not let feminine fear control and manipulate their lives. However, if they go to God’s gym through the Word and have regular spiritual workouts directed by the Holy Spirit as their trainer, they will adorn themselves from the inside out! In doing so, they will find their true worth in God’s sight, which is their only source of feminine security.

Across the years, I have had the joy of watching this take place in Patt’s life. As her reverential fear of God has grown through her spiritual maturity, she is less fearful and far more secure as a woman. As a result, in our seventh decade of life, she is more feminine, beautiful, and alluring to me than ever!

So no man or woman, husband or wife, ever finds his or her true worth apart from God. When we find our true worth in His eyes, our sense of worth rises tremendously in our own eyes and in the eyes of others.

It is obvious from several of the teachings of the Lord Jesus that He discerned His own disciples struggling with this foreboding sense of worthlessness: • “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29–31).

• “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail” (Luke 12:32–33).

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What an incredible verse that is! It is truly transformational for our sense of self-worth. You see, we tend to place a value on a person and determine his or her worth by asking, “How much do you have?” or “How much did he leave?” God determines our spiritual worth not by how much we have but rather by how much we give. Our true, eternal worth is not determined by how much we have in the bank, but by how much we have banked in heaven. If God has graciously given us His Kingdom, we should not be so concerned and consumed by building our own little kingdom.

Before going to our next fruit, let me repeat our principle again: You only know your true worth when you know your worth to God. Peter reminded us of our worth to God when he reminded us of how much God paid for us: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1 Peter 1:18–19).

These incredible verses should confirm the basic principle that price determines worth. In other words, the more valuable something is, the higher the price. As incredible as it may seem, we were of such value to Him—we who were rebels and sinners—that He purchased us at the unbelievable price of the blood of His Son. That’s the value His love placed upon us! That’s our worth that grace placed upon us.

Remember: Price determines worth.

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11 The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Wisdom Wisdom is the second key component for learning to faith down our fears. As one of the dominant themes of the Bible, the word wisdom is found over 300 times in the Old Testament alone. For it to be mentioned that many times points out the obvious fact that the Lord knew that we were in desperate need of His wisdom as human beings. There is certainly a great lack of authentic wisdom in our world today. While knowledge abounds and increases in every area, wisdom is a rare commodity. It is a divine virtue that is sadly lacking in almost every area of life, especially education, economics, and politics.

The Bible is a revelation of the wisdom of God. One of the primary reasons God gave us His Word was so that we might perceive and understand His mind, which alone is the source of perfect wisdom. In other words, wisdom reveals the will of God for living. His wisdom is to inform, reform, and transform our behavior so that we will act like He would act in all our circumstances. If we want to know how God would act in any and every circumstance, all we have to do is look at the life of Jesus. He was the incarnation of God’s wisdom. Therefore, His life should dictate our behavior. As Peter said, Jesus has left us “an example, that you should fol-

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low in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

In the Bible, God’s wisdom is often presented in contrast to its opposite, man’s foolishness. That’s why the book of Proverbs exhorts parents to teach their children God’s wisdom.

Our children are either characterized by ignorant foolishness or willful foolishness. The former needs instruction while the latter requires discipline. Not to give both at the appropriate time and measure is to raise a foolish son or daughter, which is a shame and pain to their parents (Proverbs 1–5).

It does not take a discerning person to look around our world and see that the greatest missing virtue is wisdom. In every discipline, we have knowledge that is growing daily, even hourly. But we lack the wisdom to be able to use our growing knowledge in a positive way. As a result, man’s knowledge tends to be more of a curse than a blessing. That’s why most countries spend more money on their war machines than on social transformation.

But where do we find the practical wisdom we need in order to use our knowledge in a way that is beneficial rather than detrimental? The great contention of Scripture is that there is only one source of wisdom—and that is the fear of the Lord. Consider just a few representative verses: • “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding” (Psalm 111:10).

• “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

• “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich 72

store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure” (Isaiah 33:6).

When you look around our world today, you are forced to see the lack of true wisdom and to echo Paul’s words when he asked, “Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? . . . For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:20, 25). In these verses we see an incredible paradox: human wisdom is foolishness to God, while God’s wisdom is foolishness to mankind.

As we noted above, our problem today is not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of wisdom. The prophet Daniel said that one of the signs of the End of the Age would be people going “here and there to increase knowledge” (Daniel 12:4). But while we see knowledge increasing exponentially, we also see foolishness increasing even more. Technology is the god of our age. It teaches us that knowledge equals power. But sadly, in our technological world where we have expelled God from every corridor of society, wisdom is on the decrease as knowledge is on the increase. We have forgotten, or rejected, this basic biblical principle:

Remember: Man can have knowledge without the fear of God, but man can only have wisdom through the fear of God. As the Bible predicted, we are “always learning but never

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able to come to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).

Without wisdom, the blessings and benefits of knowledge always elude us. Both history and contemporary experience clearly show that knowledge in the hands of sinful and evil people becomes increasingly malevolent rather than benevolent. That simply means that our knowledge tends to be used more for evil than for good.

C.S. Lewis said that if you educate a thief, you only increase his capacity to steal. Likewise, if you educate a tyrant, you only increase his capacity for corruption, exploitation, and genocide. That’s why the history of mankind is dripping with blood. Our world is killing and dying for a lack of wisdom, not a lack of knowledge.

But a timely question is this: What is wisdom? If it is not knowledge, what is it? Once again, we must turn to the Bible for the answer, since it claims to be the source of wisdom.

While there is other so-called wisdom literature in the annals of history, the Bible has no rival as the primary source of wisdom. It is the essence, the quintessence of wisdom. So it must be our primary source—not our secondary source—of authentic wisdom.

In the book of Proverbs we find God’s wisdom for living successfully in every possible situation we will ever face in life. In chapter 8, we are told about the origin of wisdom: “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be” (verses 22–23). Then Proverbs describes some of the works of God’s creation, with wisdom being “constantly at his side . . . rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind” (verses 30–31).

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This wonderfully wise chapter begins with personified wisdom saying, “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind” (8:4). It is a timely and profound chapter to study because wisdom makes some incredible promises to anyone and everyone who would heed her call: With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity . . .

Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord (8:18, 34–35).

Conversely, wisdom warns, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil . . . But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death” (Proverbs 8:13, 36).

Who in their right mind would not want to enjoy the fruit of wisdom promised here?! Are not these the very things that most people long for and live for? Riches, honor, wealth, prosperity, blessing, life, and favor are descriptions of the American Dream. And yet the majority of people in the West miss them because they seek them apart from God’s wisdom. They opt for the foolishness of the world instead.

How incredibly foolish it is to try and live life without God’s wisdom. And yet, millions try to do so on a daily basis, but not very successfully! As Paul rightly observed: “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22)— all because they rejected the wisdom of God. The primary New Testament word for wisdom is sophia. It is a very rich word, meaning “insight into the true nature of things,” and gives us great insight into the nature of wisdom.

Sophia is seeing, understanding, and submitting to God; liv75

ing life from God’s perspective and through His principles and priorities.

But, first and foremost, wisdom is not some kind of abstract knowledge or philosophical body of information. The Bible clearly teaches that wisdom is in reality the mind of God, which was incarnated in Christ. As John wrote, “The Word [logos, or mind of God] became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

This “Word”—Jesus Christ—was the personal embodiment of all of the principles and precepts of God that had been revealed in the Old Testament. He alone was and is wisdom incarnate. When Jesus went back to His hometown of Nazareth, the people were “amazed” and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom?” (Matthew 13:54). Even His enemies acknowledged that “no one ever spoke the way this man does” (John 7:46).

Jesus’ life and teaching are totally unique in the annals of human history. That’s because Jesus was the very personification of wisdom walking around in human flesh. So, first and foremost, wisdom is a Person—Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul wrote that it is because of God that “Christ Jesus . . . has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Therefore, wisdom is not just abstract principles, but a historic Person. As a result, it is through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ that the wisdom of God is seen and heard through His preaching, parables, principles, and precepts. So if we want to see and hear wisdom incarnate, we must look at the life of Christ, who supremely demonstrated God’s wisdom, resulting in our “righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

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To quote Paul again, Jesus Christ is “God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began” (1 Corinthians 2:7). So, God’s wisdom is revealed in Jesus Christ. Once He came into the world, God’s wisdom was no longer hidden. It was no longer a mystery. God’s full and final wisdom has been fully revealed in and through the Lord Jesus. As a result, we can only bring glory to God by living according to His wisdom. All else is a sham or a cheap imitation.

How can we receive this spiritual wisdom that is the key for successful living? It only comes through a reverential fear of God. That’s why James, the brother of Jesus, exhorts us: If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do (James 1:5–8).

If that is how we receive God’s wisdom, how can we recognize it? Again, James gives us the signs: But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17).

I think any sane person can look at our world today—increasing in knowledge but decreasing in wisdom—and agree that we could use a benevolent invasion of God’s wisdom.

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But that wisdom can only be received by faith. Indeed, it is one of the much-needed fruit of fearful faith!

And again, the Good News is that God’s wisdom is not just for the intelligent, educated, or enlightened. In fact, they are often the very ones who never receive it or find it! Jesus acknowledged this in one of His prayers to His heavenly Father: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” (Luke 10:21).

We can only receive God’s wisdom when we humble ourselves and become like little children (Matthew 18:3), which is often very hard for the intellectuals and the educated. Wisdom warns in Proverbs 8:13: “I hate pride and arrogance.”

It is only the humble, teachable, submissive, and obedient who receive God’s wisdom. That’s why all of the colleges, universities, and graduate schools in the world cannot grant degrees in wisdom. That only comes from God’s mind to our mind through the Holy Spirit teaching us through the Holy Word. And that is something that the most lowly, uneducated person can receive—even the illiterate, as I have so often seen in Third World countries where I travel and minister. All it takes to receive wisdom is a true reverential fear of God! There is a third fruit of faithful fear on this cluster that will help us faith down our fears. Let’s now focus on this wonderful fruit.

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12 The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Worship I have always found it instructive to realize and emphasize that worship is nowhere specifically defined in the Bible. Nor do we ever find a divinely ordained outline of worship in the Bible. We certainly do not find anything like church bulletins or a printed order of worship in Holy Writ. However, the way many churches view their form of worship as untouchable, you would think it came down from heaven with the Ten Commandments!

In addition to this age-old tension in the church, we have the current debate and division over contemporary versus traditional worship. The younger people generally like informality and the more contemporary approach to worship.

The older people prefer the more formal and traditional style of worship that they grew up with. Sadly, many churches are divided and will eventually split because of this different perspective of what authentic worship really is.

But when you take time to read and study the Bible, you find a great latitude in worship. That’s also why you see and experience such a diverse expression of worship in the church worldwide. In church after church where I have the joy and privilege of worshiping in other countries, I experience everything from form to freedom. There are millions who wor-

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ship through liturgy and millions who worship through liberty. Some like their worship to be spontaneous, while others like their worship to be more staid and predictable. For some, worship must be couched in ritual, rote, and reverence. For others, that totally quenches their spirit.

For some Christians, tradition plays an important role in their worship, while others prefer non-traditional. Some genuflect and kneel, while others raise their hands and dance in the Spirit. Some Christians dress up for worship, while others dress down. Some enjoy robes and vestments, while others do not. Many prefer the hails, bells, and smells of ancient church history. Others prefer a more contemporary expression of worship that is supercharged with lights, amplifiers, and high-tech video.

It seems that worship means different things to different people. Thankfully, there is a dynamic in worship that allows it to adapt to different tastes and temperaments and to different cultures and contexts. No one form of worship can claim to be right for everyone else in the Body of Christ. No one expression of worship can lay claim to being totally spiritual, while all others are labeled as carnal.

Our first question and concern should be, What does the Bible reveal about the nature of worship? As always, we must look at words and definitions associated with worship in the Bible. They must be our guidelines and guard rails for worship. So let’s hit the pause button and do some word studies about worship.

Essentially, the Old Testament word for worship means “to bow down” or “to prostrate oneself out of respect.” This needs to be seen in the Middle Eastern culture and context 80

where position and protocol are deeply ingrained. In that part of the world where the Bible was first revealed, lines of authority were clearly defined and dictated social interaction.

It was and is a patriarchal and matriarchal world where authority is revered and respected. To bow down and prostrate oneself in the presence of a higher authority is the norm.

I have often experienced this as I travel and minister in Africa and Asia. In many countries in Africa, children approach adults very respectfully and quietly. They often bow their heads for the adults to lay on their hand for a blessing. In some African countries, the women only approach the men bowed down, or on their knees, something that was very hard for me to adjust to from my cultural background!

In India, people often bow down and touch the feet of a person of higher authority to show respect and humility before them. Reverence and respect are often expressed by some token gift like a garland of flowers or a shawl of honor.

This respect is not necessarily earned through achievement. It is a matter of birth and birthright. Whoever is born in the king’s family, chiefly line, or priestly line is automatically revered and respected. They are honored for who they are rather than for what they have done. This is the social glue that holds their societies together.

However, these traditions do not tend to be the social norms in the West where equality and egalitarianism is emphasized between classes, races, and sexes. Everyone is seen on a level playing field. None are higher or more important than others. Therefore, there is little or no bowing and scraping in the presence of authority, whether man or God. So, the Old Testament concept of worship based on an 81

ingrained respect and reverence for everyone in authority is often hard for Westerners to grasp and relate to. Perhaps that is why there is familiarity that breeds contempt in our part of the world when it comes to authority, whether that authority is spiritual, social, educational, or political. This is seen in our churches when we feel and express near-equality with God in our attitude and action. We want to bounce into God’s presence, give Him a high five, say “What’s up, bro?” and then sit beside Him on His throne. After that, we go home having supposedly worshiped God in our own minds and hearts! Not necessarily. Often, we have only expressed ourselves and worshiped ourselves under the guise of worshiping God. The primary New Testament word used for worship is proskuneo. It is used 60 times in the New Testament (24 times in the book of Revelation alone). But it needs to be read and interpreted through the lens of Old Testament worship. After all, all of the initial New Testament writers were Jews who were totally steeped in their Jewish religious tradition. They would have brought to their worship much of this Old Testament understanding of respect, reverence, and religious ritual. However, the newly converted Gentiles from pagan backgrounds would not have had these same understandings and religious conditioning. That’s why one of the early conflicts in the New Testament church was between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. Both worshiped the same Lord, but tended to do so from very different cultural backgrounds and traditions that often clashed with each other. For the Jewish Christian, being kosher, or clean, was of great importance in worship. But most Gentiles had no such kosher consciousness.

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The word proskuneo means “to make obeisance, do reverence, to bow down to.” Interestingly, it comes from two words: pros, or “toward”; and kuneo, meaning “to kiss”; literally, “to kiss toward.” Again, in Middle Eastern culture, kissing the cheek, hand, or foot of the person in authority is the norm when entering their presence or greeting them.

It is a way of showing love and respect. In one very real sense, then, worship is kissing God! It is lovemaking to God through our adoration and praise.

Therefore, whatever else may be involved in true biblical worship must arise out of a deep reverential fear, respectful love, humble awe, wonder, and adoration of the true and living God. So, even though worship is never clearly defined or outlined in the Bible, we can clearly see how it is related to the reverential fear of God as we read through Scripture, beginning with the book of Acts and the birth of the church.

This attitude goes through the entire New Testament, ending with the Revelation where the church is glorified with the risen and exalted Christ.

• (After Pentecost) “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe [phobos, or fear; “And fear came upon every soul” kjv] at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles” (Acts 2:42–43).

• (After judgment of Ananias and Sapphira) “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events” (Acts 5:11).

• “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Sa83

•

•

•

•

maria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened.

Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers” (Acts 9:31).

(After sons of Sceva exposed as frauds) “When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. . . . In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power” (Acts 19:17–20).

(John’s vision in Revelation) “Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water’” (Revelation 14:7).

(Angels singing God’s praise after seven final plagues) “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:3–4).

(Voice from the throne) “Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, both great and small!”

(Revelation 19:5).

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Above and beyond everything else, reverential fear, holy fear, godly fear, and loving fear are to characterize our worship. In worship, we are to come into God’s presence with a sense of loving fear and fearful love.

Our worship is not to be like the false worship of apostate Israel, which God condemned through the prophet Isaiah: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught” (Isaiah 29:13–14). Nor is it to be like the religiosity, formalism, and dead liturgy that will be characteristic in the last days when people will have “a form of godliness” but will deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5).

We are not to have a form of godliness, but rather a fearful godliness. Our worship is not to be just lip service but life service. It is not to be half-hearted, but rather wholehearted.

That kind of worship only comes from knowing, experiencing, fearing, and loving the true and living God. It is this kind of worshiper that the Lord is seeking, just as Jesus taught: “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:23–24).

There is no better verse to summarize this fruit of fearful faith than the exhortation of the Apostle Paul: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).

With that truth in mind, I often sing this familiar little cho85

rus as a reminder to myself to be a living sacrifice that worships the Father in spirit and truth 24/7: Lord prepare me To be a sanctuary Pure and holy Tried and true And with thanksgiving I’ll be a living Sanctuary for you Amen!

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13 The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Work When we continue to learn how to faith down our fears, there is a very special relationship between the preceding fruit of worship and this fourth fruit of work. Tragically, these two fruits of fear have been largely divorced in our world today when in reality they are very compatible. God never meant that there should be a division between worship and work, the sacred and secular, or the worship place and the marketplace.

To the Christian, all of life should be sacred. There are no longer any partitions between Sunday and the other six days of the week. All of life is an act of worship! For the mature Christian, everything we do is to be an offering of praise to God. From God’s perspective, work is a sacred assignment, regardless of what it is. It is not what we do that makes work become worship, but why we do what we do. The crucial question is, For whom we are working—ourselves or Christ?

Sadly, we often live and act as if work came after the Fall, as if God condemned man to work as a result of his sin. For Adam and Eve, their judgment was a life of hard labor from dawn till dust as a result of their sin.

But that false mentality reduces work to a curse rather than a blessing. The Bible is clear that God assigned man the dig-

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nity of work long before sin ever entered the world: God blessed them [the man and woman] and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28).

Those words, “subdue” and “rule over,” obviously imply work. And yet, when this commissioning was given, Adam and Eve had never sinned. They had not yet been tempted.

They had not rebelled against God or His plan for their lives as His creative coworkers. They had not yet been seduced and deceived by Satan’s lie about God. They had not been expelled from the Garden of Eden for their disobedience and rebellion.

Through Adam and Eve, God assigned work in a perfect environment devoid of sin, pollution, disease, or death. And as a careful study of Genesis will reveal, their work was without sweat, which came only after the Fall (Genesis 3:19).

However, even though work was not the punishment for sin, it was certainly adversely affected by sin. Therefore, like every other dimension of human existence, work is in desperate need of grace to redeem it and separate it from its bondage to sin.

Let’s look, then, at a few instructive verses about the relationship between work and the fear of God: • (Advice of Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, to Moses) “Select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and 88

appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied” (Exodus 18:17–22).

• (Restoration of the Temple under Jehoiada) “When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it they paid those who worked on the temple of the Lord—the carpenters and builders, the masons and stonecutters. They purchased timber and blocks of dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the Lord, and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple. . . . They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty” (2 Kings 12:11–15).

• “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it.

On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the 89

right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat’” (2 Thessalonians 3:6–10).

• “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence [phobos] for the Lord” (Colossians 3:22).

• “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17).

If our workforce in America were filled with this kind of reverential fear of the Lord, then there would be more excellence in work rather than mediocrity. The employees would work with “sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.”

Likewise, the CEOs would realize that they too must one day give account to God, who “judges each person’s work impartially.”

I believe that we Christians should be the ones who set the very highest standards of work in the marketplace. If we are worth our salt and worthy of our light, then we are not really working for a paycheck, benefits, perks, or retirement.

That’s what the people of the world work for. We are working for the Lord! The reverential fear of the Lord is what motivates us.

Every Christian should read often the words of the Apostle Paul that remind us that God will one day “test the quality of each person’s work” (1 Corinthians 3:13). Each of us as workers, whether we are the CEO or the custodian, should 90

have these Bible verses posted in some prominent location at our workplace: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Colossians 3:23–24).

And along with those verses should be the phrase: EXCELLENCE FOR CHRIST! If we would let that kind of reverential fear of the Lord motivate our work, whatever the nature of our job, then there would certainly be a more positive testimony for Christ in our workplace. The divisions between Sunday and Monday would be broken down. The distinction between church and our workplace would be gone. Our worship and our work would become one for God’s glory and the good of others.

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14 The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Witness I trust you can see the logical flow and relationship among this cluster of the fruit of fearful faith. As you apply them to your life, you will find that they will displace the dreadful fear that you may be experiencing with joy and reverential fear of the Lord.

As we have seen, our reverential fear of God must begin to produce within us a new sense of worth. Then, as we mature in the Spirit and the Word, we will increasingly see His wisdom manifest in our thinking and living. Correct knowledge of God will naturally overflow in a true spiritual worship that is “in spirit and in truth.” Then, our worship will naturally spill over into our work as our job becomes our ministry. As a result, we will work “as unto the Lord,” and therefore have a greater integrity and witness in the marketplace.

WORTH WISDOM WORSHIP WORK WITNESS Look with me now at several key verses that have to do with the relationship between our fear of the Lord and our witness for the Lord.

• “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others” (2 Corinthians 5:11).

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• “When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:1–5).

• “Because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear [phobos]” (Philippians 1:14).

• “Submit to one another out of reverence [phobos] for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).

• “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12–13).

• “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence [phobos] of your lives” (1 Peter 3:1–2).

• “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect [phobos], keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak 94

maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:15–17).

• “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’

Therefore, ‘come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ And, ‘I will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence [phobos] for God” (2 Corinthians 6:16–7:1).

It is obvious from these verses that there is a direct relationship between our reverential fear of the Lord and our witness of Him to others. Let me quote again the verses that reveal how this motivated Paul: So we make it our goal to please him . . . For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others . . . For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from the worldly point of view . . . Therefore, 95

if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation . . . We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:9–20).

Clearly, it was Paul’s reverential fear of the Lord that transformed his understanding of his calling as God’s minister of reconciliation and as Christ’s ambassador, motivated by the love of the Lord Jesus. It mattered not whether he was preaching, teaching, mentoring, or making tents, he was Christ’s ambassador. And, sometimes, he was an ambassador who was “in chains for Christ”—which only emboldened him and others in their witness. He came to see that even his jail time was for witnessing. That’s why he could say, “I am put here for the defense of the gospel” (Philippians 1:13, 16).

Paul saw his witness through word and deed as God “making His appeal through him.” It was no longer just Paul speaking and working. It was God witnessing to the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus through him. It was his reverential fear that motivated him to seize every opportunity to share the Good News of Christ. When it would become his time to stand before the “judgment seat of Christ,” he did not want to stand alone. He wanted to be standing with a host of others whom he had won through his witness for the Lord Jesus during his life. It is only the reverential fear of the Lord that will result in that kind of lifestyle of witness.

Now that we better understand the relationship between our fear of the Lord and our witness for the Lord, let’s turn to the sixth fruit of fearful faith.

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15 The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Wealth I believe that the Bible clearly teaches that God desires to prosper His people. In saying that, I am not espousing the heretical Health and Wealth Gospel, which I have written about elsewhere. I am simply stating the biblical truth that whenever and wherever God can find a trustworthy vessel, He often blesses them so that they can be a blessing to others, just like He did with Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3).

Also, history and contemporary experience prove that wherever the Gospel goes and takes root in individual lives and cultures, there is a gradual rise out of poverty into prosperity. I have seen it all over the world. Given one generation of Gospel transformation and you see people emerging from poverty. That’s because they become better stewards of the small or large resources God entrusts to them.

After almost a half century, I have traveled and ministered in some of the worst slums, townships, and ghettos in the world; real hell holes where people live worse than animals.

In all of those situations I have seen five robbers actively at work and prospering: alcohol, drugs, gambling, prostitution, and witchcraft. In the worst situations imaginable, these social thieves are robbing people blind. They are taking advantage of the desperation and depression under which people

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are trying to survive. They market their wares for mind and body as quick fixes and ways to escape hopelessness—at least for a few minutes or hours. They temporarily anesthetize the inescapable pain that people are living in 24/7 with little or no hope of ever breaking free.

But once people are liberated and transformed by the Gospel and power of the Holy Spirit, they begin to have radical changes of priority and lifestyle. Rather than visit the bars and brothels, parents spend their meager resources on their children. Rather than buy booze, they buy shoes. Rather than buying drugs to deaden their own pain, they buy medicine to bring health to their children. They buy and cook better food for themselves and their children to stave off malnutrition. Rather than living in fear of demons and evil spirits that cause them to run to witch doctors, they turn to the power of the Holy Spirit for deliverance and protection.

Many begin to sacrifice to send their kids to school so they can get an education that will give them a better chance of getting a job and escaping the slum.

So, the Gospel does indeed bring prosperity to people.

But not through naming it and claiming it, blabbing it and grabbing it, or confessing it and possessing it! They prosper through personal transformation that leads to honesty, hygiene, hard work, sacrifice, stewardship, and service to others.

If wealth is simply the ability to produce more than we need to survive, then certainly God often blesses His people with wealth, especially in the Western world where there is so much freedom and opportunity. Consider this verse from the wisdom of Proverbs: “The blessing of the Lord brings 98

wealth, without painful toil [“sorrow” kjv] for it” (10:22).

As we can see from this verse, wealth that comes from the Lord does not produce trouble or sorrow. On the other hand, worldly wealth almost always has trouble and sorrow connected to it! Just look at the lifestyles of the rich and famous and you can easily see the pain, suffering, heartache, destruction, and death that so many of them experience. Athletes, musicians, and movie stars earn millions and millions of dollars annually. And yet, the majority of them live and die in moral and financial bankruptcy. They became millionaires financially, but are spiritual paupers.

The news, talk shows, and tabloids show that most often worldly wealth brings nothing but temporary happiness at best, and in the long run destroys relationships through much trouble and sorrow. That is because God wants to first of all bring about righteousness in a person before riches. Carefully consider these words by the Apostle Paul as he writes about finances and giving (2 Corinthians 8 and 9 are perhaps the two most succinct chapters in the New Testament summarizing all that the Bible teaches on money, riches, and giving): Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:10–11).

Clearly, then, God wants to prosper His people with wealth, or give them more money and material goods than they have 99

personal need for, all for the purpose of blessing others who have less than what they need. That only takes place in and through a heart that has first of all been made rich in righteousness, which is another of the fruit of fearful faith.

With that understanding, let’s look at just a few of the Bible verses that clearly relate wealth and prosperity with the fear of God. • “These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you” (Deuteronomy 6:1–3).

• “The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today” (Deuteronomy 6:24).

In these two passages from Moses, it is very instructive to see the relationship between obedience to the “commands, decrees and laws of the Lord,” and the fear of the Lord.

God’s Word was to be taught to their children and grandchildren so that they would learn to “fear the Lord your God as long as you live.” That reverential fear was to be the source 100

of their righteousness. As they prospered and grew in righteousness, God would then add riches. He promised that He would also give them “long life” and it would “go well” and they would “be kept alive.” As a result, they would “always prosper” and “increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey.” So, in God’s economy, righteousness and riches always go together—and one flows naturally and supernaturally out of the other!

• “Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. . . . Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever” (Psalm 112:1, 3).

• “They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me” (Jeremiah 32:39–40).

• “Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. . . . those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:9–10).

• “Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life” (Proverbs 22:4).

• “Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great wealth with turmoil” (Proverbs 15:16).

Now, let us look at our last fruit of fearful faith.

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16 The Fruit of Fearful Faith: Well-Being I think it is crucial to see that we began this study of the fruit of fearful faith with the first fruit of worth, and we are concluding with the last fruit in the cluster: well-being. We saw at the beginning that most people live with an abiding sense of a lack of self-worth. Likewise, most of humanity lives with a lack of a sense of well-being. They seem to live under a foreboding dark cloud that overshadows their sense of happiness. As a result, they live their lives dominated by the wrong kind of fear.

Tragically, this negative fear and sense of a lack of well-being is often passed from one generation to the next. But, as we saw in some of the verses in the study of the fruit of wealth, God wants us to pass along to our children a positive fear, one that will result in a wholesome feeling of contentment.

Look with me at just a few verses that relate a reverential fear of God with a growing sense of family well-being.

• “Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed” (Psalm 112:1–2).

• “Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obe-

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dience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord” (Psalm 128:1–4).

• “Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge” (Proverbs 14:26).

• “All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace. In righteousness you will be established: tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. . . . And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail . . . This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord” (Isaiah 54:13–17).

There is another crucial component of this fruit of fearful faith, one that desperately needs to ripen in most people’s lives. It has to do with a sense of well-being concerning their own death. It is impossible to have an abiding sense of well-being when we have not squarely faced the subject of our own mortality. Unquestionably, most of the human family lives with the wrong kind of a fear of death. And as the old expression goes, “you are not really ready to live until you are ready to die.”

It would be impossible, then, for a person to have an abiding sense of well-being without a sense of victory over his fear of death. The words of the psalmist David echo the secret death fears in most people’s hearts:

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My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm” (Psalm 55:4–8).

But there is only one place where we can flee in this life and find shelter from our fear of death—to the Lord Jesus!

Among other things, He came to defeat our lifelong enemy, which is death. The writer of Hebrews reminded us of that in these words: Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Hebrews 2:14–15).

Once we realize that the Lord Jesus, through His death, burial, and resurrection, has removed the sinful stinger of death, then we can cry out with Paul, “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). And that victory only becomes ours through faith in His resurrection, which is proof positive of His victory over death and the grave.

Concerning Christ’s victory over death, I have these words from Isaac Watts written in the back of my Bible:

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Hosanna to the Prince of Light Who clothed Himself in clay, Entered the iron gates of death, And tore the bars away!

Death is no more the king of dread, Since our Immanuel rose; He took the tyrant’s sting away, And spoiled our hellish foes!

There’s only one adequate faith response to those resurrection truths: “Hallelujah!”

But unless we are a part of that terminal generation that lives until His Second Coming, we will each still have to face physical death. However, our Good Shepherd has already gone there before us and will likewise lead us victoriously through death by the power of His resurrection. David sings of this victory in what is perhaps the most familiar and favored verses of the Bible: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4 kjv).

Also, just like we still have to face physical death as part of living in a sinful and fallen world, we also have to face trials, testing, and tribulations. But whatever the nature of our times of trial and testing, our fear of the Lord and His unfailing love for us will see us through. Listen again to David as he sings for us songs of spiritual well-being: • “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. In 106

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the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues. . . . Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Psalm 31:19–24).

“No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you” (Psalm 33:16–22).

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:8–9).

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1–3).

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid.

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What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 56:3–4).

• “You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday” (Psalm 91:5–6).

• “Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever” (Psalm 112:6–9).

Likewise, the prophet Isaiah exhorts us to fear God and fear nothing else: • “This is what the Lord says . . . ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior’” (Isaiah 43:1–3).

• “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you’” (Isaiah 35:3–4).

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Therefore, whatever the trials and tribulations we may face in life, we need to learn to rest in God’s unfailing love for us.

The more we have a loving fear of Him, the more we are able to rest in His unfailing love for us. Then, like Moses facing the encroaching Egyptian army, we can let the Lord fight for us. As our fears cry out to us, we can echo the words of Moses when he answered the people, “Do not be afraid.

Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:13–14).

Let me conclude our study of this last fruit of fearful faith with a great exhortation from the wisdom of Solomon: “The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short” (Proverbs 10:27).

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17 Reverential Fear As we conclude this study on fear, it is my prayer that these promises and principles from God’s Word will bring a conclusion to your false fears. Therefore, I want to say at the ending of this book what I said at the beginning: “Fear is man’s oldest and most persistent emotional enemy.”

That means that until a person learns to faith down their fears, they are not really able to live the “abundant life” that Jesus promised His children (John 10:10). While they may experience eternal life through their faith in Christ, they will not really experience His abundant life until they faith down their fears through the power of His Spirit and authority of His Word.

It is a great spiritual tragedy that fear is usually one of the last emotional enemies we face and defeat, rather than the first. The Goliath that is fear stalks and intimidates them all of their lives. It is a spiritual and emotional giant that constantly threatens their very existence. As a result, far too many Christians live all of their lives dominated by that “spirit of fear” that Paul warned Timothy about. So, again, we need to meditate on the liberating words of Paul: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 nkjv).

That being the case, let me conclude our study with several more verses of assurance that I pray will echo around your 111

spirit until you have been freed from fear through the unconditional love of the Lord Jesus.

First, I want to remind you of the words that King Solomon used to conclude his study on living and the purpose of man’s life. After he has thoroughly experienced and examined all of the pursuits of life—pleasure, prosperity, power, and position—he cried out, “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Then he wisely and rightly concluded, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

From Solomon’s words, we can see that there is a direct link between a person fearing God and keeping His commands. If we do not obey one, then we have definitely not experienced the other. As we saw earlier, to truly fear God is to love what God loves and hate what God hates. As Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me” (John 14:21).

Contrary to what many Christians believe, obedience is not legalism. It is love! The only difference between legalism and love is that the emphasis has changed. One is the obedience of a slave who still lives in bondage to law and who obeys out of duty. The other is the obedience of a son, who is in the willful bondage of love. While the slave obeys out of duty, the son obeys out of devotion. One is living to appease, while the other is living to please. There is an eternal difference between the two.

Carefully and prayerfully read these words by the Apostle Paul wherein he clearly distinguishes the difference between a slave and a son: 112

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:14–16).

What makes the difference between the two? It is the loving fear and reverence that the son has for his father. Again, the son is motivated by the right kind of love while the slave is motivated by the wrong kind of fear. That’s why so many of us need to be liberated by love! John, the “beloved disciple,” appropriately gives us the principle of liberation: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

It is my sincere prayer that this study has indeed helped you faith down your fears, as you have focused your faith on the Lord Jesus and His unconditional love for you. I pray that these principles from His Word will indeed perfect you more and more in His love.

As John rightly observes, “fear has to do with punishment.”

The gloriously Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus already fully faced your punishment on the cross! All of your sin and my sin, and the sin of the whole world was poured out on Him. Because God is a just and righteous God, He cannot punish both Christ and you for sin. It is impossible for God to collect a spiritual death twice. That’s why the Bible assures us that “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

That is why the writer of Hebrews refers to what we have in Christ as our eternal salvation (5:9), our eternal redemp113

tion (9:12), our eternal inheritance (9:15), perfect forever (10:14), and our eternal covenant (13:20).

So my dear friend, if you have accepted the Lord Jesus, you are perfectly loved and fully forgiven forever! Your salvation is eternally secure.

Remember the verse that liberated President Abraham Lincoln from his besetting fears during the very stressful days of his presidency: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

Just as that verse was almost worn out by his finger passing over it as he read it in his Bible to faith down his fears, I pray that you too will let those words be indelibly impressed upon your spirit. Then you will also experience what both King David and President Lincoln experienced: “He delivered me from all my fears.”

Finally, remember that everything depends upon the object of your fear. As I stated earlier, fear, like faith, hope, and love, must have an object. The object of your faith and the object of your fear make all the difference in the world. Tragically, most of us go through life fearing the wrong object—usually man. The spiritual, emotional, and relational results of that are always disastrous. As Solomon reminded us, “fear of man will prove to be a snare” (Proverbs 29:25). Therefore,

Remember: If we fear God, we fear nothing else. If we do not fear God, we fear everything else.

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Father, help me to make You the object of my faith, hope, and love so that I will live with the spirit of one of Your sons or daughters— rather than the spirit of a slave! Help me not to be just a hearer of Your Word through this study, but a doer of Your Word. Thank you for the Lord Jesus who took all of the punishment I deserved when He died in my place on the cross. I praise you that I no longer have to live in fear of punishment in either time or eternity. Thank you for setting me free from the spirit of fear and giving me the spirit of power, love, and self-control. Help me from this moment on to live for the praise of Your glory through Your indwelling Holy Spirit.

In Christ’s Name I pray, Amen!

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