How To Face and Conquer fear

How to Face and Conquer Fear
By Pastor Joe Bennett Edited by Lynne Cole
July 2009


Discovering and Identifying the problem of Fear and how it attempts to take control of our life and mind.

It is obvious that the times we live in are very uncertain. In too many areas that we normally seek to find security, there is no longer any. Things have changed rapidly over the past two years and continue to keep changing daily. The broad range of issues that many of us face today have left many of us confused, depressed and full of anxiety and fear.

Fear is not to be a controlling force in the life of the Christian person that believes in God. Yet, it is in many believers lives.

I would like to tell you a few things that will encourage and strengthen you that have had or now experiencing fear. These things will help you to understand how you can have peace - even when you see unsettling things going on all around you and in the world. These things seem so impossible that fear attempts to take over our mind.

First of all, I want to set you believers free from any self criticism or doubt because of you experiencing fear. I simply want to help you understand the reality of fear. My goal is to show you those things, in all our lives, that become ways for fear to come into our minds and steal our peace and joy.

If you read the first chapter of 2 Timothy you will discover that the reason why Paul is talking about the issue of fear is because Timothy was evidently having problems with fear himself. You are not alone! The fear of persecution was real and Timothy was facing certain difficulties because he was a Christian. He was a person that freely told any one that would listen the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m impressed and glad that Paul did not condemn Timothy. Instead he encouraged him and corrected his wrong thinking that had allowed fear to come in.

In this passage of Scripture, (2 Tim 1:7: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.) Paul identifies where fear “does not” come from. It does not seem to matter where fear comes from, for fear can come from many different things. The term spirit here is from the Greek word “pneuma”. There are a wide variety of uses for this word. It describes the breath / life force of man and or God. It is used to describe spirits in general, good or evil. It is also used in relation to the soul.

Regardless of where the fear came from, Paul said that the spirit of fear was not produced by and did NOT come from God. He goes on to say that God produces power, love and a sound mind in us. Therefore this means, if God has not given us the spirit of fear, then we do not have to give in to it.

When I identify and understand that fear is trying to take control of my mind and life; and I understand that fear does not come from God. Then what can I do to keep fear from taking control of my life and mind when situations become overwhelming and/or beyond my understanding and comprehension?

Discovering, Identifying and closing the entry points of fear.

In this passage of Scripture we discover answers as to how fear finds a way to enter and try to take control of our mind.

I John 4:13-21
13) By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
14) And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
15) Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16) And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
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.
20) If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
21) And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

1. Fear finds a way to enter in when we are not sure of Gods love for us. We must be confident of Gods love. We must be convinced and grounded in our belief of what Jesus’ death on the cross did to bring us back to God. This is the starting point of our identity and security in our relationship with God

2. Fear finds a place when we choose to not love. As we abide in His love we must choose to love one another. As we abide in His Love we begin to understand and experience Gods love for us we must choose to love one another. So many people including Christians, are not loving one another! Remember, it is a choice.

John establishes the fact that if we confess (believe in our hearts and speak with our mouths) that Jesus is the Son of God, then God ABIDES (lives and takes up residence) in us. (God actually comes into us as the Holy Spirit and lives in us.) John goes on to say that we have known the LOVE that God has for US and that as we make up our minds (purpose) to live the same way, by loving others, that we are actually living in God. As we bide in Love we abide in God. Therefore OUR love is becoming just like Gods love when we choose to love others and is being perfected as we Abide in God for God is love. God in us is Love.
He then tells us that “there is NO fear in LOVE” and that perfect love (God’s love in us) casts out fear because fear brings torment of the mind and soul. God’s love brings peace, fear brings torment. God’s love will get rid of fear.

As John writes to the church these passages of scripture, we begin to see the entrance points of fear. Fear finds a way to get in when we are not confident in Gods love for us and when we have chosen to NOT love one another. In other words, ignorance or unbelief of Gods Love for us and hatred towards and thus not loving a fellow believer produces an entrance and a welcome place for fear to stay and control you. Making you feel hopeless in your attempt to have God’s love in place of the fear you have.

I encourage you today to be convinced and confidently established in Gods love for you. Stay in the mindset that God loves you and wants you to love other people.
This is how God expresses Himself through us. Abide in His love, for in so doing He abides in you. The purpose of doing this is to walk in the forgiveness you have in Jesus, by His death on the cross for you, and allow His love to control every choice you make every day. You will then find that fear has no place to control you regardless of the uncertain and frightening circumstances of life.

If fear has been dominating your life then I want to encourage you to remember Gods love for you and that He wants you to love others. He wants you to return to that place of first Love. He is calling you to stop doing those things that have gotten in the way and caused you to feel down and thus have hindered you from thinking and having God’s peace. Shut the door on fear by thinking about how much He loves and cares for you. His Love will get rid of ALL fear and replace it with His peace.

What God's Teaching Me 8/16/2009

It's fun how God starts revealing something to you and you begin to understand what He's trying to get across.

I'm impatient. If God says He's going to do something. I expect it to happen, now. As you have probably learned when God saying He's going to do something and when He actually does it are sometimes instantaneous but in most cases there is a period of time between His letting you know of something and it's actually happening.

In some cases He has done what He promised right away. In other cases I've waited 30 years for something to happen. God's timing is perfect. My timing is self centered.

Recently when I was going over some of the things God has been revealing and I asked Him why aren't these things happening yet. He said, "Die to self". My thoughts were: Huh? What?

Yesterday on 8/15/2009 God revealed to me what He was saying.

In the following I have written down some notes I took at our home group church meeting in Oakland, Florida.

Gene and Sherry May were visiting and Sherry shared some thoughts she had from Exodus 14:13.

The Israelites were murmuring and complaining to Moses when they were at the edge of the Red sea. They were asking, "Did you bring us here to die". In vs 13: But moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever." I imagine you know the rest of the story. If not read the rest of Chapter 14.

Sherry then shared the 3 things she got out of this.

1) DO NOT BE AFRAID. Never be afraid, no matter what is going on. No matter what you are going through.

2) STAND STILL. When God speaks to us we start, doing. We need to stand still. Be still and wait for God to move or listen for God to speak.

3) GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISE. God doesn't change His mind. He wants us to go forward believing He will keep His promise. All promises of God are FOREVER.

Then Gene asked, "Why do we do what we do or why did we do what we did?

In Deuteronomy 28:1-14 read the blessings and curses.

Gene then asked:

Are we doing what we are doing for the Lord from the heart? Or are we doing it from the Law? We are to DO because we are RIGHT WITH GOD; out of APPRECIATION, and JOY, because our GREATEST DESIRE IS TO SERVE GOD.

Gene continues with his version of the KISS principle: Keep It Simple Saints.

Faith is just acting like God is telling the truth. (In His Word - in His Promises).

Grace is a power that works ON OUR BEHALF.

Everything we do with God should be done with an attitude of gratitude and doing it in appreciation.

Do it because HE LOVES ME.

It is not ME striving to do for God, in my strength. But God working through me.

Gene then turned to Hebrews 2: 3 & 4.

God wants to bring us to a PLACE OF REST.

Hebrews 3:19 says: "And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief."

Gene says, they thought it was too good to be true.

Lynne explaining: (In verse 16 you read the Israelites provoked God when Moses led them out of Egypt. God was angry with them for not believing (TRUSTING) Him. Thus they wandered in the desert for 40 years. Those who did not believe did not get to enter into His rest because of unbelief. His desire was to take them directly to the promised land so they could enter into His rest. But vs 19: "And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.")

Back to Gene: GOD wants us to be listening to His voice.

We are all products of our upbringing. We have been raised with the attitude that we can't really trust. As with the Israelites there will be obstacles as God leads us into our "land / promise". BUT GOD SAID..... There should be no debating what the Lord says.... "Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it." You see, the Promised land was to be a place of rest. It took 40 years because of unbelief.

We are to mix faith with what we have heard and REST in God.

Hebrews 4:11: "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience."

Let's face it, Resting in God doesn't make sense to our natural mind. We want to make it happen. We need to realize we can't make it happen..... BUT, we can TRUST (GOD) and LET IT HAPPEN. Cease from our own labors and enter into what God has promised us.

Our natural minds want to control what God is doing. God wants us to rest in Him. Lay back and watch all His promises come to pass. Watch everything come to pass. When Jesus said on the cross "It is finished" He was meaning THE PLAN OF GOD IS FINISHED.

AMEN means: I agree with God.

Trust God that His promises are real. There is no area that is not covered by His promises.

So what was God saying to me? "I have promised you specific things shall happen. Die to self by TRUSTING ME, I always keep my promises. Do not try to make things happen. Rest in Me, sit back and watch ME as I DO those things I have promised you."

I can't die to self by what I do. I die to self by RESTING in God as He fulfills His promises to me. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS TRUST HIM AND REST. Let go and watch Him work!

When He revealed this to me His peace came over me in such a way that I didn't want to get back to what was happening in the room. I wanted to stay with God soaking up His presence and peace.

Why do we try to do. All He wants is for us to BELIEVE, TRUST and WAIT!!!

Yes! AMEN! Thank you Father!!

God, What are you up to??

By Lynne Cole

Every Saturday at 6pm a group of people descend upon Joe and Melody Bennett and family. It’s been over a year now since God told Joe and Melody to move to Oakland, FL. I for one can say I am very thankful God told them to come. At first Bob and I wanted nothing to do with anyone wanting to start a new church. But God told Joe and William Castro to come visit Bob and I. We love and respect William so we politely listened as Joe explained what God had said to him. (I need Joe’s permission to put his article in the blog.)

Bob and I were looking for a church but didn’t have any idea where God wanted us to worship. We decided to visit the group in Oakland and see if that is what God wanted us to get involved in.

Surprise!!

1. My first surprise was how small the group was. Just 6 people.

2. Next surprise all the children in the house. LOL

3. The peace and presence of God in our midst!!

4. How relaxed and unplanned the meeting was.

5. No one was “dressed” for church.

6. How powerful Joe’s messages are.

7. The Prophetic being natural and a part of the service.

8. God runs the service and often changes “the plans” of Joe and Curtis Sutterfield.

9. They love it when He does!

10. How late the gathering lasted!! (Our first week we left at 9:30 thinking it strange that no one was leaving but us. Next week we learned what “Normal” is for this group.)

11. How excited I became to be at every service.

12. To sit at the feet of Jesus and soak in everything He was saying to me and doing in me.

13. Seeing my very quiet husband, Bob, become more open and being used by God to speak out loud what He was saying!

14. I’m STILL being fed!

15. The peace I now experience nearly all the time.

16. What God is saying to me.

17. The boldness He is giving me!

Do you get the picture? It’s been life changing for me.

The group has grown by 3 since then. Bob and I bring it up to 8 and our good friend Jeanette Taylor, makes 9. We have become family. We arrive around 6pm and leave around 11 to 11:30pm. We leave by then only because some of us have a long drive home. At times they threaten to spend the night. lol

Lately we’ve been asking each other and God:

1. Why are we here meeting in Oakland?

2. What is Your purpose?

3. Where are You going with this group?

God must have had the ear of Joe because Joe started speaking on just that. He gave us an assignment to pray and ask God:

1. What’s His Vision, Purpose and Strategy for us?

2. How do we fit into this group?

3. Where is this group going?

4. What is God saying?

5. What is His vision?

6. What is His purpose and how do I fit into it?

7. What is His strategy, how do we get there?

Well, I was so excited. I prayed for a few days and listened to what God was saying. I sat down one day and wrote 3 medium size pages on my Vision and objective and where I was going. About ½ way thru my writing I wrote: “Why is this not happening now?” When I finished writing this section God said. “DIE TO SELF”

Huh, I’m so wordy. He gets His point across in 3 words. So I did what I do, I did a study on scriptures that have Die to self in them. But not until I finished the assignment with the next one, Purpose, How do I fit. Which caused more questions than answers. Then I tackled Strategy and started out with a lot of questions. Then I wrote another page of things I felt God was telling me.

I’m planning to do a more in-depth look at what God wants me to get out of His “Die to Self” – I know it is something I have to do continually. I also know He uses a few words so we will study His word and pray and learn from Him. It’s not a few moments of study. He feeds us in doses that we are able to handle. He’s not through teaching / feeding me on dying to self.

A Trucker's Prayer by Ned Barr

The following is a post a friend of mine, Ned Barr, painter and Geocacher made on his Facebook "notes" section. He originally wrote it on a geocache (www.geocaching.com). It is of an experience he had on a busy highway where he lives in Colorado. He asked me to read it as he thought I might find something in it for my self. You probably will for yourself, also.

The cache is called, "A Trucker's Prayer" You can find it on the above link. A truck driver wrote it and people who stop and sign the log at this cache, as I did, will have read the prayer on line under the cache title. Okay?

Beginning of the article written by Ned Barr.

So I stopped, as many others had done, to sign the log at the cache. Here is what I wrote.

"I also am a trucker (not driving big rigs now), so I love this prayer. I have stopped on cold, miserable nights, right at this spot, more than once, waiting for a snow plow to follow over Monarch Pass headed west for Gunnison, Delta, Grand Junction or some place in a more-western state. Many lives have been lost and many have been seriously injured on this very dangerous hill over the years. People in trucks and cars and on motorcycles and what-have-you.

"While retrieving this little cache with its log, I very nearly witnessed what would have been a fatal head-on between a large propane tanker and an RV. The RV was simply (for whatever reason) in the wrong lane (over the yellow line) going up hill. The tanker coming down, These two vehicles and several following the RV would have all crashed and burned just a few feet away from where I stood, holding my breath. Would I have survived?

"So what did the tanker-driver do? The right thing! He locked his brakes and skidded right, onto the break-down lane on the down-hill side. Very dangerous. While the truck tires screeched and smoked, the RV somehow managed to regain part of its proper lane and all went quiet within a few seconds as the up-hill vehicles went on as if nothing had happened. A close call, to say the least! The RV and cars were gone, the truck was stopped on the side in its tracks. The driver got out to check his tires and take a deep breath, no doubt. Rubber on the pavement still smoked.

"I walked quickly across the road and offered my hand in congratulations to this (fellow) truck driver for avoiding this awful catastrophe. He saved the day, by the grace of God. I tried to think of something encouraging to say, but he was grinning in relief! We exchanged a few brotherly, truck-driver, words. His truck was empty, which is why it skidded easily, but full of explosive fumes, from the propane. No jack-knife this time. No carnage on the highway just then. Whew! Thank You, Lord.

"Everyone should know that when a citation is issued following a big truck vs. car accident, the driver of the car gets the ticket 75 per cent of the time. What does that tell you? No one is perfect, but this truck driver deserves a medal. A hero.

"God bless ALL the people who survived this one, on this day.

"Again thanks for the trucker's prayer, thanks for the cache. I signed the log with a grateful heart and was on my way up the hill to find another one (cache). Hallelujah."

Final note on FB: If you know a truck driver you might want to thank him personally for getting that food on your table delivered.... or that propane you burn in your furnace or stove. Thanks for reading!

Ned Barr

Changed Name Already!

When trying to find my blog I kept getting all kinds of LJC blogs and decided to narrow down the search by adding my name and a longer name at that.

I'm learning as I go.

I'm sitting on Ron's porch again with a nice strong fan blowing on me. Marley is fine as long as I'm out here with her.

I'm going to try and figure out Labels for this post. Well I put down, Life, Experiences, Change, and God so far. Ah yes, add thoughts. Maybe someone will want to read it now. lol

Why am I not in church you ask? I go to a Home Church on Saturday nights!

We're having a gathering of all home church groups we are a part of in the Central Florida area and around the country, the last weekend in August. The meeting will be in Lithia, Florida - it is located down in the Tampa area. Meetings are Friday at 7 pm, Saturday and 6 pm and Sunday at 6 pm. I've heard people are coming from several parts of the country. There will be 3 or 4 prophets at the meeting. Two each night along with Joseph Bennett who will moderate the meetings. Also speaking will be Eugene May, Mark Van Deman and Robbie Mayfield. For more information email me at ljc444@yahoo.com. If you would like to subscribe to the email newsletter I put together email me at the email address I just mentioned and ask to be put on the email list.

Will be doing some serious posting Tue and/or Wed.

Until then.....

God bless and keep you!

Lynne

August 8, 2009

Here goes my first blog.

Lately I've had a strong desire to write about my past experiences and what I have learned from them.

I also want to write about what God is doing in my life and the lives of people I know.

We have become a part of a "Home Church" meeting in Oakland, Florida with connections to other towns in Florida and a few across the country.

This home church has been life changing to me.

I am putting together a newsletter for them and started writing about what the group means to me in the August issue and how my life has changed as a result of attending the group.

That newsletter article is on another computer. As soon as I return home I plan to post it and the 2nd part of the article that I have also written but not published yet.

But tonight I'm sitting on my sons porch overlooking a lake. It is great being able to enjoy the home of my son Ron and his lovely wife Carrie. We are dog sitting. But it is like being on vacation. They are meeting their newest Grand baby (our great-grand-baby).

We now have 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Well, I'm going to get ready for bed. I love to write and could go on and on but it'll wait till another day!