Freedom from Fear

From the book: Seed Truths-From Genesis to Revelation

By: Mike Harding

Living in dominion also means living in victory over fear. Let’s look at a few verses - another seed-truth - that runs from Genesis to Revelation:

 ¹⁰ So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”  Genesis 3:10

 Did you know that Adam never felt or experienced fear until after he sinned? Fear was never part of his nature or his relationship with God. God never intended for man to feel fear or experience fear or be controlled by fear.

 But after the fall, Adam immediately felt fear. This means that fear had become part of his nature. It had infected his spirit. From his spirit, it would also infect his mind and his body. His emotions and thoughts would soon be habitually controlled by fear - all because of the fall. Adam had fallen under Satan’s authority. Fear would infect and control the whole human race. Fear comes from Satan. Love comes from God. Lies come from Satan. Truth comes from God.

 ¹³ All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. ¹⁴ In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.  Isaiah 54:13-14

 Through the prophet Isaiah, God promised a deliverance from fear. In Isaiah 54:14, God said that we would be established in righteousness. That means that He would redeem us from Satan’s control. He would forgive us and give us the gift of righteous standing before God. And He would establish us in righteousness. This means that we would be so filled with the reality of our righteous standing before God, through Jesus Christ, that we would not fear anymore. When you know that God loves you and accepts you and backs you up, then fear loses its grip on you. When you are born again and you have a new spirit, a new righteous nature, you no longer have a fear nature. You no longer have a spirit of fear.

 God also said in verse 14 that “you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear…” This does not make sense to the natural mind. It would make sense if God had said, “I will protect you from oppression, and then you will not have to fear.” But that’s not what God said. He said, “You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear…” This really means that God will change your nature from fear to faith. You will be established in righteousness, and you will not fear. “The righteous are bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1) God is saying that, because you will not fear, it will keep oppression far from you! Fear allows the enemy to come after you. If you do not fear, your faith brings God’s protection and the enemy has no power over you!

 Zacharias also prophesied of our deliverance from fear, after the birth of his son John the Baptist:

⁶⁷ Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: ⁶⁸ “ Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, ⁶⁹ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, ⁷⁰ As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, ⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, ⁷³ The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴ To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, ⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.  Luke 1:67-75

 Zacharias said in verse 74 that we would be delivered from the hand of our enemies. By God’s redemption and forgiveness, Satan has no authority over us. Why did God do this? So that we “might serve Him without fear all the days of our life”. How can we serve Him without fear? It’s because, according to verse 75, we are made righteous and holy before God by the finished work of Christ.

 ⁶ Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:6-7

 What does this verse mean? God has not given you a spirit of fear. You no longer have a fear nature. You are no longer a slave of sin or Satan. You are a child of God. Unsaved people, by nature, are slaves of fear. They may cover it up, but it is at the core of their being. They cannot escape it. They cannot change it.

 But you are born again. Your spirit is new. Your spirit now has the nature of God. You live by love and truth. Because you have a righteous nature, you are becoming as bold as a lion. Your new spiritual nature, as a child of God, is one of power and love and a healthy, sane mind.

 As you learn God’s word, as you renew your mind, you will overcome fear in your thoughts and in your emotions. Even your body will be healed from the effects of fear, worry and anxiety. Fear, which is an evil enemy of God, will no longer control you. You will be more than a conqueror and an overcomer through Jesus Christ.

 ¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.  1 John 4:17-19

 Fear is from Satan. Love is from God. The closer you are to Satan, the more you are controlled by fear. The closer you are to God, the more you are influenced by Love. As you are transformed into God’s image, you will be “perfected in love”. This means that your heart and your motives will all be filled with God’s love. Your mind and your thoughts will all be filled with God’s love. Your character and nature will all manifest God’s love.

 As you are “perfected” in God’s love, all your fears will fade away. Even the fear of final judgment will disappear. You will have confidence that God loves you and that you stand righteous and clean before God because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You will also realize that “as He is, so are you in this world”. You are a son or daughter of God. You are an ambassador of Heaven. You are part of the body of Christ. You represent Jesus to the world. You will not face judgment. Jesus already took your judgment on the cross. There is no judgment left for you. You are completely forgiven, completely justified, completely accepted, and completely righteous before God. You are not trying to get to Heaven. You are already a citizen of Heaven and an ambassador of Heaven. You are bringing Heaven to earth, just as Jesus did. You are already living in resurrection life. The cross is behind you.

 You recognize that fear and love are from two different kingdoms. One is light and one is darkness. There is no fear in love. They do not mix. God uses love. Satan uses fear. As you get closer to God, fear is pushed out of your life. As you are filled with God’s love, fear loses its power over you. You are not motivated by fear, and you do not use fear to motivate others. You minister to people and motivate people with God’s love and truth.

 You do not fear punishment, because Jesus already took all your punishment. You do not motivate other people with fear of punishment. You speak the truth in love.

 You love God now because He first loved you. You do not love God because you are commanded to. You recognize that commanded love was part of the Old Covenant, the covenant of law. It was a covenant designed to reveal our need, not to save us. In the New Covenant, you freely receive God’s love with an open heart. As God fills your heart with His love, you come to love Him in return. You also begin to love yourself in a healthy way. You also begin to genuinely love your family and your friends and your neighbors with the overflow of God’s love in you.

 You no longer live in fear. Fear may try to attack you from time to time, but you overcome it. You see it as a defeated enemy spirit. You live in dominion with Jesus Christ, and you are motivated by His love.

 ⁸ But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”  Revelation 21:8

 In the end, God’s people have been completely redeemed from fear and have overcome fear through God’s love and His restored dominion. Those who died with a fallen nature, with a fear nature, as slaves of sin and Satan, have lost it all. Those who are in Christ have won it all.