HINDRANCES TO FAITH : Fear

Anchor Scripture: Hebrews 11: 6

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." 

Focus Scripture: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, . . . and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7

Admonition

Greetings from the Throne of Grace!

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I will like to welcome you specially this morning to this topic in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, because it is a topic that addresses what most preachers today do for many reasons, best known to them, to "increase your faith or make you believe", or to increase your tempo of prayer,  to make more money from their preaching, and so many other reasons. 

I know ministries today whose only trade mark is to instill fear in people's hearts through their teachings. They have turned their congregation into nothing but subjects of and to fear. That's why they suspect almost everybody around them as being evil and agents of the devil. Such people hardly welcome anyone who is not a "fire brand" member of their congregation in their homes. And if they saw a cockroach or an ordinary ant, not to talk of wall gecko in their homes, the way they rush to carry anointing oil, holy water and other materials sold to them in the church is better left unsaid, and they will be shouting "Holy Ghost fire", "Holy Ghost fire", and so on. Their theatrical shows that connotes that they have been sold to fear are always 

fun to watch. Such people are referred to by the Bible as having received the spirit of bondage again to fear, they have not yet received the spirit of adoption  through Christ Jesus (Romans 8: 15).

But our Focus Scripture this morning gives us a fact: we are not given the spirit of fear. Fear is an enemy of faith because it prevents us from exercising our faith in God. What brings about doubts in our hearts is nothing but fear. Our feat shortens the hand of God and thereby limits our abilities to do exploits in and for God. When fear comes in through the door , faith flees through the window. Fear imprisons; that is why the Bible says in Romans 8: 15 that it is the spirit of bondage. What fear imprisons is our abilities to reason and exercise who we are. Fear blinds out our understanding of the Word of God and what and who the Word says we are. The Bible says in the book of Isaiah 40: 31, that we are to mount up as eagles,  but what fear does is to clip the wings of our faith such that we are not able to fly.

In Matthew 14: 25 - 30, Jesus Christ bade Peter to walk on the sea as He did because he so requested. The Bible makes us understand that Peter walked on the sea, but at some point, because he saw the boisterous wind, fear came upon him, imprisoned the faith with which he hitherto walked on the sea,  and he handed to sink. In Numbers 13, Moses sent twelve people out to go and spy the land of Canaan. Ten of them came back with a report that because the sons of Anak, the Nephilims, were there, they will never be able to capture and possess the land, even though God already said so. That was the reason that generation, except Joshua and Caleb, who gave a good report, never made it to the promised land.

As true children of God, our own promised land is heaven, and the vehicle that will take us there as rightly espoused by our Anchor Scripture is faith. But if for any reason we allow fear to set in, our vehicle's tyres may get deflated and that would be the end of our journey to the promised land.

People like Moses, who, at the Word of God went to confront Pharaoh, damning all consequences by matching on all fears of what could happen, FINISHED STRONGLY in God. That's why his soul was not released into the devil when the adversary so requested. Joshua gave a good report, he didn't fear the children of Anak but trusted in the Word and promises of God. He eventually FINISHED STRONG with God. David, too, never feared Goliath, rather, he trusted in the Power of God to deliver him and FINISHED STRONG. We can go on and on of people who conquered their fear, strengthened their faith and FINISHED STRONG with God.

As we round off this morning, let me tell us that fear is a great hindrance to faith and no matter who puts fear in you is not speaking the Word of God to you, but of the devil, their master. God has given us authority over everything that some preachers make you to be afraid of (Luke 10: 18). Ours is to exercise that authority in the name of Jesus Christ.

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Till tomorrow when we shall meet again on this beautiful journey of FINISHING STRONG together, please, keep keeping on in Him!

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N.B. Please, pray that God will, by His mercy, forgive your fears of the past and help you by the help of the Holy Spirit, strengthen your faith in Him, in Jesus Christ’s mighty name. Amen.

For inquiries and questions, please call: 07064694037 or send a mail to bwgospelministries@yahoo.com