They Must be Giants - P5 - HATE

WELCOME

INTRODUCTION

Most of us are all familiar with the story of David & Goliath.

1 Samuel 17

We are continuing our series entitled “They Must be Giants!”

We have spoken on;

† David & Goliath

† Unforgiveness

† Fear

† Anger

Un-forgiveness can hold us captive to ourselves.

These Giants can literally make us a slave to it.

Fear can cause us to make irrational decisions, or even do nothing at all.

We have but two emotions. Love & fear, All of our behavior stems from one of those two emotions.

Remember these points from David & Goliath;

The battle between the Palestinians and the Israelites was a spiritual one.

† David had the Holy Spirit just as all of those who belong to God have access to.

† David recognized the battle was spiritual even though everyone around him could not. He was walking in the spirit, not by sight, but by faith.

† When David faced the giant, he knew the battle was not a man against a giant, but a giant against a man of God.

† The battle was the Lord’s!

We must remember these points in our lives as well when we face things.

1. It’s a spiritual battle
2. We have the Holy Spirit
3. The battle is the Lord’s

Today we are talking about Hate.

Hate usually comes from anger.

Anger usually comes from Unforgiveness.

And we discussed how every negative behavior comes from fear.

As with anger, you are going to see that there is righteous hate, and unrighteous hate.

And we will see the difference.

Also, when you have unrighteous hate, just as unrighteous anger, you are living in a state of unrighteousness.

When you live in unrighteousness, you are living in sin.

When you live in this state, you cut yourself off from relationship with the Lord.

You miss out on God’s blessings, protection and all other benefits of living in the Kingdom of God.

The scriptures say that God does not hear the prayers of the unrighteous.

WE cut ourselves off from relationship with the Lord.

Remember;

Galatians 5:19 – 21

“19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The act of our sinful nature, living in sin and unrighteousness, cuts us off from the Kingdom of God.

We are told we will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

How do you inherit the Kingdom of God?

You inherit the Kingdom of God through the adoption into the Body of Christ.

If you are living in sin, you can not be part of the Body of Christ.

Those who claim to be part of the Body of Christ and are living in unrighteousness or sin, are seriously mistaken and deceiving themselves.

When you live in sin, you are stepping out of the Kingdom of God and into darkness.

Unrighteous hate will cause you to step out of the Kingdom of God.

So what is righteous hate?

What does God hate?

Is it as the PowerPoint slide suggests?

Does God hate fags?

Some so called Christians like to say so.

We know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Those who live in sin.

But does God hate fags?

Some say that’s what the word of God says in Leviticus 20:13.

But listen closely to the original Hebrew.

This is the literal translation.

Leviticus 20:13

“And a man who lies down with a male, as one lies down with a woman, both of them have DONE an abomination…”

The word of God says that they both have DONE something God hates.

It does not say God hates them!

He hates what they have done!

And the punishment in the Old Testament for homosexual acts was execution because they had done something God hates.

This was because at this time, Israel was judged by God as a nation.

Their relationship with God was through the High Priest and they were looked at as a group instead of individuals because they did not have the Holy Spirit, which is the only way to have a personal relationship with God.

Remember we are told we must worship the Lord in SPIRIT and in TRUTH.

We must be in Jesus who is the Truth, and we must have the Holy Spirit.

But what so called loving Christians who cry out “God hates fags” forget, is that there is more to this scripture in Leviticus.

And homosexuality is not the only thing God hates.

But for some reason, it’s the only abomination that offends these people.

In Leviticus, there are other abominations.

In Leviticus 23:9 it says any man who curses his mother and father should be executed.

In verse 10, any man who commits adultery should be executed.

Why are they not standing out there holding signs about adultery?

Remember Jesus said if you even look at a woman with lust, you have already committed adultery in your heart.

And this act has the same punishment as homosexuality in the next verse!

But God supposedly hates fags.

And God finishes in Leviticus 20:22

“22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spew you not out.

23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.”

What did God abhor? The things they committed.

Some will say, Yeah well what about 1 Corinthians 6:9?

Let’s look at that.

1 Corinthians 6:9

“9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders”

Your right.

Homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Neither will the sexually immoral, or idolaters, or adulterers, or prostitutes.

And if you keep reading, you will see this.

10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

God does not hate homosexuals.

He Hates sin. This is righteous hate.

But He does not hate the sinner!

He died for the sinner!

And if you are going to say something about homosexuality, the you must say the same for the rest of that scripture.

Homosexuality is NO WORSE THAN EVERYTHING ELSE LISTED THERE!

If you are a drunk, or if you are greedy, or a thief.

Or even if you just speak poorly about someone!!!!!!!

We know from scripture that God is a righteous God, and judge’s unrighteousness. Therefore, if God hates something, that is righteous hate.

So what does God hate? Sin…all kinds.

Deuteronomy 16:21 – 22

“21 Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God, 22 and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the LORD your God hates.”

Some translations may say “plant trees”.

But this was not the planting of trees, this was erecting a wooden pole which was an idol that was usually placed next to altars of Baal.

It represented the Canaanite goddess Astarte, who was the female companion and revealer of Baal.

This is where the pagan worship of the woman (who is the mother and goddess) who reveals the son (who is god) comes from in some religions.

This began with King Nimrod who married his mother and actually began the worship of Baal.

Nimrod proclaimed to be the god Baal, and his mother/wife took on the role as revealer and goddess.

God hated this religion which was evil in too many ways to mention.

Everything from idol worship and orgies, to satanic rituals and child sacrifices.

So what God is saying in His word here is simple.

Do not worship me in any way that even resembles pagan worship.

Because God HATES THAT.

He hates being a second, or a replacement to anything evil.

So God hates being worshipped in any way that even resembles anything pagan.

Deuteronomy 12:31 & Deuteronomy 16:22 says the same thing.

Does the Lord hate anyone?

Psalm 11:5

“The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.”

The Lord hates violent people.

DEFINED: Violence is a general term to describe actions, usually deliberate, that cause or intend to cause injury to people, animals, or non-living objects. Violence is often associated with aggression. There are essentially two kinds of violence: random violence, which describes small-scale acts of random or targeted violence, and coordinated violence, which describes actions carried out by sanctioned or unsanctioned violent groups, such as war and terrorism.

The Lord hates violent people.

One of the most well known lists of what God hates is found in;

Proverbs 6:16 – 19

“16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:

17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

Again, we see the Lord hates the sin, not the sinner here.

Haughty eyes, means uplifted eyes. Head held up. Or pride.

Pride tops the list, as it always does.

Pride is what caused Satan to fall.

The Word of God says, “Satan said within his heart, “I will be like the most high…”

Anyone or any religion that says, you can become like God, or you are on a pathway to being gods, or you must be like God, is Satanic.

Mormons teach that you are in the process of becoming gods.

This is the pride that cause Satan to get kicked out of Heaven.

These are Satan’s very own recorded words in the Holy Bible, and anyone who repeats them in thought or deed is receiving them from the devil himself.

The Mormons, Scientology or Scientologists, the Japanese Cult Shinto, Opus Dei, the Nazi’s, and many more!

A lying tongue.

God hates a lying.

Hands that shed innocent blood…or a violent person.

A heart that thinks up wicked schemes.

Feet that are quick to rush into evil.

A false witness who pours out lies.

Didn’t He already say a liar?

A false witness is someone who lies about or against someone else.

This is a personal attack on another person.

Whether it be in word or on paper, or over the phone or in an interview or in court.

A man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Who are brothers?

Other Christians.

What is dissension?

Discord: disagreement among those expected to cooperate.

God HATES that.

We are to be one body of Christ.

Of course, not all who claim to be in the Body of Christ are.

They are liars.

1 John 4:20

“If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

Most every scripture we have mentioned so far is from the Old Testament.

You will not find a scripture that says “Jesus Hates” in the Bible.

So what else does God hate?

Now there are scripture which talk about abominations to the Lord or God.

An abomination is something that is disgusting or loathing.

Loathing means hated.

Scriptures about idols, and sacrifices with blemishes are hated by God.

Pagan worship is hated by God.

Deuteronomy 22:5

“5 A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.”

Now this doesn’t mean if a woman puts on a pair of jeans God hates her.

What it means is, if you are trying to dress to look like the opposite sex.

Cross-dressing.

God hates that.

Deuteronomy 23:18

“18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the LORD your God to pay any vow, because the LORD your God detests them both.”

If you are a prostitute, God doesn’t want your tithe coming from money you earned in sin.

He hates that.

Deuteronomy 25:16

“…all that do unrighteousness, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.”

And so on.

So we see that God hates unrighteousness, or sin.

But you do not read of God’s hate in the New Testament.

Only of God’s love.

The world and the people in it are full of unrighteousness and sin.

YET, while we were yet sinners, God sent His Son to die for us.

This is God’s love for sinners!

Do we run around telling people God hates them?

Is this serving the Lord?

Are we fulfilling the commands of Jesus by doing this?

How is this showing people how to be saved?

How is this making people want to know the Lord.

“Hey. God hates you! You better make Him your Lord and Savior!”

?

Jesus said, “I did not come into the world to condemn it, it is already condemned. I came to save it!

And we as the Body of Christ are supposed to be saving it!

We need to show Christ’s love for the sinner, the same way Christ showed His love to us when we were lost.

It is OK to hate sin, but it is not OK to hate the sinner!

That’s what the devil wants, so you never reach the lost!

CLOSING

They Must be Giants - P4 - Anger

WELCOME

INTRODUCTION

Most of us are all familiar with the story of David & Goliath.

1 Samuel 17

We are continuing our series entitled “They Must be Giants!”

We have spoken on;

† Unforgiveness

† Fear

Un-forgiveness can hold us captive to ourselves.

Un-forgiveness can literally make us a slave to it.

Fear can cause us to make irrational decisions, or even do nothing at all.

Remember these points from David & Goliath over the next few sermons;

The battle between the Palestinians and the Israelites was a spiritual one.

† David had the Holy Spirit just as all of those who belong to God have access to.

† David recognized the battle was spiritual even though everyone around him could not. He was walking in the spirit, not by sight, but by faith.

† When David faced the giant, he knew the battle was not a man against a giant, but a giant against a man of God.

† The battle was the Lord’s!

We must remember these points in our lives as well when we face things.

1. It’s a spiritual battle
2. We have the Holy Spirit
3. The battle is the Lord’s

Today we are talking about Anger.

There are two types of anger, righteous anger, and unrighteous or sinful anger.

The Giant we are speaking on today is obviously unrighteous or sinful anger.

Anger is NOT an emotion.

Anger IS a behavior.

And behaviors can be changed.

We can not control our emotions, but we can control our behaviors.

Anger is NOT an emotion.

Anger IS a behavior.

And behaviors can be changed.

Science has shown through extensive case studies over the years that there are only 2 root emotions, and everything else is a behavior that will arise from one of these two emotions.

The two emotions are LOVE and FEAR.

All of our behavior will arise from one of these two emotions.

Unrighteous or sinful anger is a behavior that arises from the emotion of fear.

In fact, all negative behavior arises from an unconscious, fear based state of stress.

When God has righteous anger, that behavior comes from what emotion? The answer is love.

Example

Psalm 7:11

God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day.

Wrath is another word for anger.

God is a righteous judge, and expresses His anger every day.

His anger towards what?

Well if He is righteous, then His anger is toward – unrighteousness.

And this behavior of anger towards unrighteousness arises from what emotion?

Love.

Why, because we know it is God’s will that ALL are saved and come to a knowledge of the truth which is Jesus Christ.

That is the beginning of our righteousness. Not that we are righteous, but because we submit to our Lord and belong to Him who is righteous.

So there are only two emotions, love and fear.

All behaviors such as anger will come from one of these emotions.

Unrighteous or sinful anger arises from fear, and righteous anger arises from love.

Unrighteous or sinful anger is one of the bigger giants many face today.

Anger, like most of the giants we face, wants to make us its slave.

It wants to control us and our lives.

When we have unrighteous anger, it keeps US in a state of unrighteousness, thus we are sinning.

And this is where the devil wants us to live.

In sin.

As long as we are living in sin, we are cut off from the Lord, and all of His blessings, protection and benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven.

If we have unrighteous anger, we are sinning.

We ourselves become unrighteous.

We read last week that in 1 Peter 3:12, God does not hear the prayers of the unrighteous.

When we sin, we close the door of communication to the Lord because of our unrighteousness.

Our sinful anger causes us to live in our sin, thus cutting us off from our inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Galatians 5:19 – 21

“19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The act of our sinful nature cuts us off from the Kingdom of God.

We are told we will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

What is the Kingdom of God?

It’s not heaven. That would be the Kingdom of Heaven.

What did Jesus say to the disciples before the Cross?

Remember when they asked Jesus how to pray, and He gave them the Lords prayer as a template?

That took place BEFORE Jesus died for our sins, before we were allowed to do anything in His name.

After the cross, we’re told to do everything in the name of Jesus, His might not ours.

That’s why we pray in the name of Jesus now, but they could not do that then, because He had not become the sacrifice yet.

So Jesus told them to pray,

“Our Father, who is in heaven. Holy be your name. Until your kingdom comes, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The kingdom had not yet come, but heaven existed!

They were praying for God’s will on earth, as it is in heaven.

They knew when the Kingdom of God came, (which was after the cross), that the Lord would reign on Earth as the Father does in heaven.

This is why they prayed fro God’s will on earth AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, because before Jesus paid the price for the sin of Adam, the earth was under the authority of Satan’s kingdom.

After Christ paid the price and purchased us with His blood, He made right the wrong, and gained authority over ALL.

And Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…”

And the Kingdom of heaven, the ultimate rule of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings began. And the kingdom of heaven is here, now, on earth.

So, if you are living in sin, as Galatians 5:19 – 21 speaks of; you can not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

How do you inherit the Kingdom of Heaven?

Through the adoption into the Body of Christ.

If you are living in sin, you can not be part of the Body of Christ.

Here on earth, right now.

When you live in sin, you are stepping out of the Kingdom of God and into darkness.

Unrighteous anger not only causes us to live in sin, cut off our relationship with the Lord, break our communication with the Lord through prayer, and boot us out of the Kingdom of God, but it does far more to us.

When you are angry;

• You may feel anxious
• You may perspire
• Your heart may pound
• You may feel overwhelmed
• You can't think straight or maybe can't remember things.
• You may have a knot in your stomach
• You may fear that something bad is about to happen
• You may use drugs, alcohol or other addictive behaviors, so you can escape, if even temporarily, from stressful feelings.
• You may feel depressed, guilty or shameful as a result of your anger.

It Doesn't Have to Be This Way!

Anger is not an emotion, it is a behavior.

Think of the last time you were angry with someone.

First you say, “This was righteous because…”

Immediately you try to justify your behavior of anger.

Step outside of the situation for a moment.

Look at the situation and say, “Why did I act in anger?”

Was it out of love? Or more than likely, was I afraid of something?

I remember specific instances in my life where I was acting out in anger.

As a child I often acted out in anger constantly against my parents and siblings.

I could take a situation and say, “I was angry with them because…”

But the truth was, I was afraid.

My anger was arising from my fear.

In my family as a child there was no security.

My parents were drug users and dealers.

My father was never around and left when I was 12.

My environment was not a safe one where I lived and I was in many fights in school, mostly defending myself.

I was afraid.

And from my fear arose my anger.

From my emotion of fear, my behavior of anger came forth.

My anger was not righteous anger, because it did not arise from love, but fear.

How many of us today are behaving in anger because of our fear?

We fight with our spouses, not because we are angry AT THEM, but because we are afraid of something.

Afraid of a situation that MAY happen.

Afraid that something that has hurt us in the past MAY hurt us again.

Afraid that we may lose them.

Afraid they may want to leave us.

Afraid of failure.

Afraid of rejection.

And from our fear, arises anger.

Anger we can not explain.

We don’t know why we are angry, we just know we are.

It’s time for us to stop.

Examine the situation.

Ask ourselves, “Is this anger coming from love, or is it because I am afraid?”

“Is this righteous anger, or am I sinning?”

EXAMPLE:

Genesis 4:3 – 7

“3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Cain, did not obey what God had commanded about offerings.

And when the Lord did not look with favor upon his offering the scripture says he became angry.

Was Cain’s anger righteous or unrighteous and sinful?

Was his anger arising from love or fear?

The Lord said to Cain, “If you do what is right, you will be accepted. But if you don’t do what is right, sin is waiting at your door, it desires to have you, but you must master it!”

Cain’s anger was unrighteous and sinful because it arose from the emotion of fear.

Cain was afraid of not being accepted by God.

This anger, which was unrighteous and sinful, caused Cain to sin further by killing his brother.

Cain probably felt that he was angry at his brother because God was pleased with him.

Cain probably thought that if he eliminated his brother, there would be nothing for God to compare Cain to, and make him look bad.

Remember last week when we talked about fear, and how fear causes us make irrational decisions?

Cain did not recognize he was afraid, and what he was afraid of, not having God’s approval.

And that fear turned to anger.

Anger that was sinful and unrighteous and misplaced.

His fear caused him to think and act irrationally.

And led to the murder of his brother.

EXAMPLE:

Luke 4:23 – 30

“23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' "

24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy^[f] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian."

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.”

The people in the synagogue were furious. Was their anger righteous or unrighteous and sinful?

Perhaps their fear was they were wrong in their beliefs, and the truth Jesus spoke revealed this.

Their pride would not allow them to admit they were wrong. This fear of being wrong drove them to anger.

It was unrighteous and sinful.

And it almost led them to cast Jesus off a cliff.

Just as unrighteous anger caused Cain to commit the sin of murder; it caused these people to sin as well. And unrighteous anger in your life will do the same thing to you.

Do not forget God’s warning to Cain, “Sin waits outside your door, it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

Ephesians 4:25 – 32

“25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

EXAMPLE:

Mark 3:5

“5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.”

Is this wrath righteous anger?

Is this anger arising from love?

Yes, because the Lord loves us so much and wants our hearts to turn to Him, but their hearts were stubborn and resisted the Lord’s love for them.

We too must do everything in love.

Today, right now, there is someone here who is angry.

And that anger is unrighteous and sinful because it arises from their fear.

And that unrighteous anger is causing you to live in sin, and outside of the Kingdom of God, apart from the Body of Christ.

In this state of living in sin, God can not give you the blessings and benefits of the Kingdom of God.

In this state of living in sin, God can not hear your prayers.

In this state, you are living in unrighteousness.

The scripture says, “Do not let your anger cause you to sin.”

More so, do not let your fear cause you to be angry.

Right now there is someone here who is afraid of what their spouse may do because of things that have hurt them in their own past. And act out in unrighteous anger towards that spouse.

Right now there is someone who is afraid of rejection from a parent, and is acting out in sinful anger towards their parent.

Right now there is someone who can not love others because of their fear of not being loved by others, and act in anger, or contempt towards people.

Right now there is someone who is angry with someone who has passed away, because they fear that they did not do everything they could have done to share the love of God with them.

If you have anger, ask yourself “What am I afraid of? What is my fear?”

Do not let that fear turn to anger.

Do not let your anger cause you to sin.

Examine yourself and your heart to ensure that you are doing everything in love.

If you have unrighteous anger, come forward for prayer.

If you know that you are fearful, and that fear is causing you to sin, come forward and let me pray for you.

Do not allow yourself to live in a state of unrighteousness.

A state of sin, which will cause you nothing but heartache.

Anger is a behavior and can be changed.

Fear is an emotion, and can be healed.

Come forward for healing if you are fearful.

They Must be Giants - P3 - Fear

WELCOME

INTRODUCTION

Most of us are all familiar with the story of David & Goliath.

1 Samuel 17

We are continuing our series entitled “They Must be Giants!”

Topics over the next few weeks;

† Loneliness

† Anger

† Addiction

Last week we spoke on Un-forgiveness.

Un-forgiveness can hold us captive to ourselves.

Un-forgiveness can literally make us a slave to it.

Remember these points from David & Goliath over the next few sermons;

The battle between the Palestinians and the Israelites was a spiritual one.

† David had the Holy Spirit just as all of those who belong to God have access to.

† David recognized the battle was spiritual even though everyone around him could not. He was walking in the spirit, not by sight, but by faith.

† When David faced the giant, he knew the battle was not a man against a giant, but a giant against a man of God.

† The battle was the Lord’s!

We must remember these points in our lives as well when we face things.

1. It’s a spiritual battle
2. We have the Holy Spirit
3. The battle is the Lord’s

Today we are talking about fear.

SCRIPTURE READING

Acts 10:34 – 36

“Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING

THE GIANTS NAME IS FEAR

Fear can cause us to;

† Make irrational decisions

† Forget who we are

† Not stand when we need to

† Act out in anger

Or worse, do nothing at all…

GOD DOES NOT SHOW FAVORITISM

In King James it says, “God is no respecter of persons.”

He loves me JUST as much as He loved Moses!

He loves me JUST as much as He loved Abraham!

He loves me JUST as much as He loved Peter!

And He loves me JUST as much as He loved Judas…

God’s love for us is NOT based on our behavior.

“For ALL have sinned and fall SHORT of the glory of God!”

If God’s love was based on us, He would love none of us.

He loves us ALL, and does not show favoritism.

What He does for one, He offers to all.

Why is that important?

Lots of reasons…

It’s easier to forgive others when you realize your not God’s favorite.

When you realize that you are no different than the one you need to forgive.

And that you will be judged by God in the same way everyone else will be judged on that day.

The scripture says “He accepts men from EVERY nation, who fear Him…”

Fear God?

The Greek word used for fear here is fob-eh'-o, this is where we get our Latin word Phobia.

Phobia means to have a fear of something.

Arachnophobia – Arachno (spider) Phobia (fear)

Claustrophobia – Claustro (to shut or close in) Phobia (fear)

Or what a lot of boys have;

Ablutophobia – Abluto (washing or bathing) phobia (fear)

So this word used in the scripture here means to fear Him…God.

This fear means to have respect, or reverence for.

For instance, if there is a bomb on your kitchen table, you have reverence for it.

Not because of what it did, because it’s done nothing. But for the power it does hold, and what it could do.

We have reverence for God, not because He has come down on us with His strength, but because He IS the creator of the universe.

He is the Almighty. The beginning and the end!

And although He has every right to destroy each one of us, He chose love.

The RIGHT fear we should always have, is the right fear of the Lord.

The respect and reverence for Him.

So He offers us each His love because He does not choose favorites.

And we are to have a right fear for Him.

But what happens when we worry or fear something other than God?

This is the WRONG fear.

The right fear is reverence for the Lord.

The wrong fear is fearing or worrying about anything.

When you fear something other than the Lord you are saying something.

You are saying “I have more reverence (respect) for the thing coming against me, than I do for the Lord.”

When the Israelites were facing the Palestinians, they feared them.

They mad irrational decisions, such as let’s do nothing for 40 days.

They could have sent for reinforcements.

They could have formulated an attack plan.

They could have done SOMETHING.

But instead, their fear of something other than God caused them to do nothing.

They forgot who they were. The children of the Living God!

They forgot who was with them…the LORD!

They forgot who the battle belonged to.

Their fear of something other than God caused them to forget.

Their fear caused them NOT to stand when the Lord their God was being mocked and blasphemed!

For 40 days the Lords name was dragged through the mud in the face of His children, and their fear, their reverence for the Palestinians, caused them to stand silent to the smear campaign.

They stood mute, and army of the Lord.

They had the wrong fear.

They feared something other than the Lord.

Their faith was misplaced.

That’s what fear and worry is, misplaced faith.

When you worry or fear something other than the Lord, you are saying “I have more faith in what MIGHT happen, than faith in what God CAN DO.”

The Israelites had MORE FAITH in the Palestinians destroying them, than in GOD PROTECTING THEM and making them victorious!

This is what we do.

We GIVE power to the devil!

The Devil has NO POWER OR AUTHORITY in our life!

WE GIVE IT TO HIM!

Every time we choose sin over righteousness.

Every time we choose hate over love.

Every time we choose flesh over spirit.

Every time we choose WRONG fear over RIGHT fear.

Every time we submit to our enemy instead of submitting to the Lord.

We hand authority over to the devil in our life, then whine…

Things are going bad, what am I to do?

Lord, why is this happening?

Lord please take it away…Lord answer my prayers…Lord are you listening?

And the Lord says, “EVERY TIME I TAKE IT AWAY, YOU TURN AROUND AND GIVE AUTHORITY IN YOUR LIFE BACK TO SATAN!” … “STOP!”

Remember the battle is spiritual.

Remember what Goliath, the Giant of Satan, said; “come and face me, and if I win, you will become my slave!”

Every time we submit to worry or fear of anything other than right fear of the Lord, we become the slave to it.

Like the Israelites, we are frozen, forgetting who we are, doing nothing as the Lord is mooched by one of His children handing authority in their life back over to Satan.

And the Devil laughs, as you give more and more authority to him.

The devil can not take anything!

He has no power or authority in your life.

You have to GIVE IT!

And we give it to him all the time.

We know to do right, but we choose wrong.

We know to love, but we hate.

We know to forgive, but we don’t.

And every time we sin, the devil has a little more authority in your life.

Fear of anything other than God is saying, “I have more faith in what could happen, than in what God CAN DO!”

1 John 4:3 – 4

“3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

God is in you, if you belong to Him. And He IS greater than he that is in the world.

Do not be fooled by the devils lies.

Do not fear the giant the devil places before you.

Do not forget who you are, a child of the Most High.

Stand against the devil, resist him and he WILL flee.

If you have fear facing you today, come and let me pray for you to stand against that giant, and release the power of God in your life, and return to a right fear of the Lord, and submission to the most high, giving Him the FULL authority in your life!