Casting Down Fear
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
When sin comes, he waits on the spirit of fear to come, the spirit of fear is a door opener spirit. Before cancer comes, fear comes to open the door. Fear spares no one; fear will come, and we must respond to fear. How do we respond? When fear comes do you pray, or do you run? Fear will kill prayer lives; it will destroy marriages. If I get help, he will leave, she will leave. If I tell anyone about my son, they will reject me, and fear makes you reject those who could help you.
There is a way to fight fear. We see from the text Paul told Timothy the power of God will stop fear. A question should be flagging from your heart right now: what kind of power am I talking about? The power of prayer, the power of the word to you, the power of prophecy.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Luke 10:19 says
“…I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy…”
Ephesians 6:16
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
The power of Prophecy isn’t preached very much, it is a heavy anointing. This is why the church is so drawn to prophesying or even rejecting it altogether. When a church rejects prophesying, fear has kicked in the door and a host of demons flood the house of prayer and render it useless.
The power of Prophecy is in a realm of its own, In Exodus 14:21 Moses raised his hands with the staff in his hands and the red sea parted. In verse 27 he raised his hands again and the waters retreated killing the entire Egyptian Army. Can you see the power of God in a man? Look at Moses’ Prophecy.
Acts 1:8 says that you shall receive Power when the Holy Ghost comes upon you.
The Power of the Prophetic is understated in the western Church.
Praying in the Spirit: Unlocking the Power of Prophecy
To cast down fear we must have Power.
The second thing to cast down fear is love. I’m talking about the love of God, for God so loved the world (John 3:16) that he gave his only son. Anyone with half their sense knows a parent will give their lives for a child; before that child dies, we would die. Well God isn’t like man, his Love is pure love! He didn’t just ask Abraham to lay down his Isaac. Don’t tell me you love God until you lay your Isaac down. God told us how much he loved us. He gave his son for our sin debt. Show you love. Lay down your Isaac.
Pure love will defeat the spirit of fear.
The third thing the word of God tells us that will defeat fear is a sound mind.
That mind that was in Christ. The concept of “The Mind of Christ” is found within the New Testament. It refers to the mindset, attitude, and perspective that believers are called to adopt, modeled after Jesus Christ Himself.
Having a heart to obey God, committed to prayer, committed to the word of God, a mind trained by the Holy Spirit.
Having a sound mind will break the Power of fear, casting down every imagination the spirit of fear brings.
The devil can’t stand a man of God who has self-control, self-discipline. Discipline bring courage to life! “Good judgment” and “Sound judgment”!
Tonight, I want to break the spirit of fear off your life by the Power of the Holy Spirit. When I lay my hands upon you, release the anointing God. He is going to do a powerful work in you.
Jesus’s most common practice in healing is touch, often described as “laying his hands on” the one to be healed (Matthew 9:18; Mark 5:23; 6:5; 7:32; 8:22–25; Luke 13:13). Jesus also “lays his hands” on the little children who come to him, to bless them (Matthew 19:13–15; Mark 10:16).
In Acts, once Jesus has ascended into heaven, his apostles (in effect) become his hands. Now they, like their Lord, heal with touch. Ananias “lays his hands” on Paul, three days after the Damascus road encounter, to restore his sight (Acts 9:12, 17). And Paul’s hands, in turn, become channels of extraordinary miracles (Acts 14:3; 19:11), including the laying of his hands on a sick man on Malta to heal him (Acts 28:8).