Foundation scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7 (King James Version) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind
Going deeper in Christ is not a slogan; it’s a declaration of purpose. My first question is, What does Going deeper in Christ look like?
I can say that the result of Going deeper in Christ is to live a life of holiness, sanctification (which means separation from the sinful habits and practices of the general society). It is also a life righteousness and humility through the leading of the Holy Spirit. In other words, my life must continue to be transformed to look more and more like Christ. It is not a one-time event, it’s a steady, constant, continuous change. Simply put, my life must show the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, faith, patient endurance, goodness, meekness, kindness, and self-control. I believe that 2 Corinthians 7:1 summarizes the concept of Going deeper in Christ. “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”
When You and I decide to Go deeper in Christ, it means that we have declared war against satan, the kingdom of darkness, and people who he influences. So don’t be shocked that your walk with Christ will be challenged, hindered, and maybe obstructed.
But do not fear, do not tremble, do not lose heart, because Jesus is always with you. Remember, you and Jesus are a majority regardless of how many enemies come against you in your quest to go deeper in Christ.
By the way, do you realize that you must already be a Christian before you can go deeper in Christ? It’s like swimming vs scuba diving. You do not scuba dive under the water to see fishes, and other underwater creatures, unless you know how to swim. So, you must be a Christian first, to get the benefits of going deeper in Christ. So let me make an appeal to anyone who have not accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life – Get saved, please respond to the call of the Holy Spirt now, He is always calling. The signs are all around us that we are in the last days. So Call on Jesus
Now as I said before, we will have opposition in our walk to Go deeper in Christ.
Going deeper in Christ is cleansing of the heart, cleansing of the soul and spirit. Many things hinder our decision to go deeper in Christ. Our Main enemy is sin and its effects on our flesh, our soul, and our spirit. These things hinder our Christian Walk to Go deeper in Christ. Sins of the flesh include fornication, envy, and drunkenness. Those that affect the soul or mind include hatred, pride, unforgiveness, fear, bitterness, and past hurts that still fester. Those that affect our spirit include witchcraft, idolatry (which includes the worship things like your money, titles, house, education. In other words, your stuff becomes the center of your life rather than God) That is idolatry. All these things hinder our decision to Go deeper in Christ. The Apostle Paul identified many of them in Galatians 5:19-21.
Today, I want to look briefly at FEAR, and how it hinders our walk with Christ.
2 Timothy 1:7 (King James version) “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. Please note that fear is a spirit.
The acronym FEAR can mean false evidence appearing real. I am convinced that the spirit of fear can hinder our Christian Walk, can frustrate our Christian Walk, derail our Christian Walk, sabotage our Christian Walk, or even defeat our Christian Walk. In other words, fear can have a detrimental impact on our purpose to Go deeper in Christ
So, we must know the origin of the spirit of fear, how it impacts our personality and how to defeat it whenever it raises its ugly head.
#1 Reverential fear. Proverbs 9:10 KJV The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome, all knowing, all powerful and omnipresent. That’s adoration, that’s reverential fear
#2 Protection fear or self-preservation (protection from fire, heights, water) self-preservation.
#3 Spirit of fear
Where did fear come from? What is the origin of fear? Let’s go to the book of origins Genesis. In chapter 3 we know the event of how Eve was deceived by the serpent (Revelation 12 calls him, that serpent of old, satan and the devil). Eve was deceived, disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But Adam walked right into sin, eyes wide open
Genesis 3:9-10 But the LORD God called to Adam, and said to him, “Adam, Where are you?” And Adam said, “I heard the sound of You [walking]
in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
THERE IT IS!! FEAR. and I was afraid because I was naked. Clearly fear comes from the devil and he has been using it to defeat Christians. The spirit of fear came because of the sin of rebellion against God. A separation from God emits fear and shame. So, Fear comes from satan and the Kingdom of darkness
Here are some Basics about the spirit of fear
Fear is the opposite of faith and works by spiritual laws.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. How do you think fear comes?
Fear comes by hearing the word that contradicts and oppose the Word of God, hearing a negative word, hearing the word of the devil.
Now how does fear affect us?
The spirit of Fear affects our minds. I have an acronym to identify where fear attacks.
The acronym is WEMII. This represents your Will, Emotions, Memory, Intellect, and Imagination
1. Our Will or decision making. This Affects our confidence, paralyzes us, We Ignore problems, act like the problems will just go away. This result in Poor decision making. God may show you what to do about a situation - but you are afraid of what would my family think, or what would my friends think. When God gives you an idea, listen to God not to people, not to your distractors who promote fear, doubt, and worry that you would not succeed in following what God says to do. Seeking wise counsel is good but not if it is in contradiction to what you know God showed you, that lines op with God’s Word. The spirit of fear wants to paralyze your decision making. You have to decide to go deeper in Christ and not let fear paralyze your decisions to follow Jesus.
2. Our Emotions. This reflects how we feel about a situation. Negative emotions affect our confidence because of fear. Fear causes our emotions to go up and down. This negatively affects our Christian Walk. We cannot let fear dominate our emotions. Fear is poison to our emotions and can destabilize going deeper in Christ.
3. Our Memory.
past experiences impact how we deal with new problems, task or challenges. A Godly testimony can defeat bad memories, the fact that you are here alive is a testimony that you defeated that past memory. Bringing up the negatives of the past, will frustrate your present and contaminate your future. I failed, but I failed yesterday. I messed up, but I messed up yesterday. Today I'm not looking at my negative past, I'm going to look at what God has for my future. I will not fear what the past has done. I set my mind on God and his word as I March confidently towards my future, and my success because God is with me. Don't let the negatives of your past contaminate your decision to go deeper in Christ.
4. Our Intellect, Mind (how you think), The Book of Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”. Your thoughts determine who you become. Negative thinking eventually makes you a negative person. Your mind, your thought life can become a playground for the spirit of fear. The spirit of fear causes worry, negative thoughts and negative ideas which drains your energy and distract you from your purpose to serve, to go deeper in Christ. Colossians 3:1-2 says Set your mind and keep it focused on the things above not on things that are on the earth. In other words, set your mind and keep it set on the fruit of the Spirit. Protect your thought life from the spirit of fear. Negative thinking is a distraction to derail your faith and trust in Christ.
5. Our Imagination The spirit of fear can cause your imagination to run wild. If we are not vigilant, fear of present conditions of our life will take our imagination beyond reality into fantasy. Fear causes every negative thing or situation in your life to look bigger or seem bigger in the imagination. One of the reasons Fear is rampant in our society today, is because of all the negative news. We hear the news and imagine the worst. Fear. When we decide to go deeper in Christ, we must imagine success, winning and victory. Don’t let your imagination be stopped by the spirit of fear.
So remember the acronym WEMII – which is your will, emotions, memory, intellect, and imagination
Finally, how do we defeating the spirit of fear so we can be successful in going deeper in Christ?
#1 Be in the Word of God, – Read God’s Word, Study God’s Word, Meditate on God’s Word and Act on the Word of God. It will defeat the spirit of fear in your walk in Christ. The key is Consistency
#3 A lifestyle of Praise and Thanksgiving. Praise defeats fear and deepens your walk with Christ. Develop the habit of praising God throughout the day and thanking Him for His grace and protection.
#4 Walking in Love – This is a sign that we are going deeper in Christ, Walking in the fruit of the spirit.
So going deeper in Christ means a character change to be more Christlike. This means a constant battle to defeat sin and its effects on our lives. Defeating the spirit of fear helps us go deeper in Christ. So, I pray for our victory in going deeper in Christ. Amen
