Fear is an interesting emotion, depending on what and
where it comes from. Halloween is meant to be harmless
but we flock to haunted houses and spooky places as if to
dare ourselves of this feeling to evolve. Even though society
has this so called holiday wrapped up, as Christians we
really need to examine it further for the message it is
sending.
Is all this really make believe? Witches are for real, warlocks
are for real, fortune tellers are for real, psychics are for real,
all these things that call spirits out from the under world are
for real and we shouldn't take lightly of them. Everything they
do and believe in open doors for demonic spirits to come
forth. It seems to me, we already have enough of that as it
is. We are told specifically in God's Word not to seek them
out, not even in fun!
"Turn not to those (mediums) who have familiar spirits, or to
wizards, do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am
the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:31 (Amplified)
Why would God mention them if He didn't think they were not
wicked? He actually says that anyone who seeks after them
will be defiled. He knows of their craftiness and how this
kind of involvement can be detrimental to a person's soul
unless they are aware of the truth, which is His Son who
gave up His life to free us from demons, powers and
principalities. With out the Truth, we will never enter the
Kingdom of God. God also tells us that without faith we can
not please Him and anything not done in faith is a sin. Right
here in Lev. 19:31, He's telling us that this does not please
Him. We are treading on thin ice when we know this fact and
make light of it for any reason.
God gave us specific instructions to counter attack these
powers of the underworld. He wouldn't have told us unless it
were so. By being involved in any kind of medium is to
cause harm to oneself. Laugh if you want to...now, but
unless you see the seriousness of it, you won't be laughing
later.
"Put on God's whole armor (the armor of a heavy-armed
soldier which God supplies), that you may be able
successfully to stand up against (all) the strategies and
deceits of the devil." Eph.6:11 (Amplified)
This verse describes God's armor as heavy metal such as a
soldier going to battle would wear. He supplies it. He gives
us the best because He knows how deadly these attacks
can be. He wants us to be able to stand up against all
strategies and deciets of the devil. Satan is for real, his
tactics are just as real. We need to get a hold of this fact.
You might be asking why should we do this, what good will
come of it? In the next verse we are told this:
"For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood (contending
only with physical opponents) but against the despotisms,
against the powers, against (the master spirits who are) the
world rulers of the present darkness, against the spirit
forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural)
sphere." Eph. 6:12 (Amplified)
In other words, we aren't just playing around here with
people we can actually see. We are up against opponents
who are quite powerful in the supernatural sphere. When
Satan was cast out of heaven, he had quite some pull
behind him because he convinced 1/3 of heaven's angels to
come with him, that's an awful lot of demonic powers that
we are up against. These are "master spirits" in the present
darkness. And you thought all this was just make believe!
Does this scare you?
The Greek word for fear is phobeo, it's where our word
phobia comes from. When we say we have a phobia, it's not
a good thing. Phobeo means to frighten, to be alarmed, to
revere and have exceeding reverence.
"The Lord is my Light and my Salvation~whom shall I fear or
dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life~of
whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1 (Amplified)
The word fear in this verse is a Hebrew word - yare. It's
pronounced yaw-ray'. This kind of fear means to revere, be
had in reverence.
What God is telling us is that He wants us to know the wiles
and ways of the devil who is searching around for souls to
steal, but when we accept Christ as our Savior, we can
come to God and take refuge in Him. He will save our souls
from eternal destruction. God doesn't want us to be afraid of
Him in the sense that He frightens us like many Halloween
monsters do. No, God is so full of love and compassion that
He wants us to be in reverential awe of Him. We love Him,
but yet we know He told us all this truth ahead of time for our
own good and if we don't take heed, then our fear of Him is
real because His punishments are real. This is a fact for
everyone, not just for those who believe in Him.
"As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves
and pities those who fear Him (with reverence, worship, and
awe)." Psalm 102:13 (Amplified)
God loves those who fear (revere) Him and He takes pity on
those who fear Him by granting them His grace in times of
trouble. He knows His children and calls them all by name,
do you hear Him calling yours? Aren't you happy that He
does? If not, it's never too late to have His love and pity.
So, in all reality, what good is it to go around getting scared
over things that He promises can't hurt us if we know Him?
Phobias are real and people spend alot of time and money
trying to get rid of them. They aren't any fun and God wants
to free us from this kind of fear.
But there is one thing we should be afraid of and it's a
statement made by Christ Himself when He said:
"I tell you, My friends, do not dread and be afraid of those
who kill the body and after that have nothing more that they
can do. But, I will warn you whom you should fear: fear Him
Who, after killing, has power to hurl into hell (Gehenna); yes,
I say to you, fear Him!" Luke 12:4-5 (Amplified)
That is one statement that we should sit up and take notice
of. Christ was not telling us to be afraid of God because
He's got a bad temper. No, He is capable of casting those
who do not repent into hell for eternity. You may ask, how
can God do that if He loves everyone? The answer is
simple, how could He not do that when He sacrificed His
Son for us? The only thing He requires from us is our
redemtion. God has to judge the just and the unjust. Which
one do you prefer to be in when the time comes for you to
stand before Him?
Once you are saved, you don't ever have to be afraid
needlessly of what any man can do to you. Your eternal life
is what matters most.
I don't think we should give Satan any more credit in making
us needlessly afraid at this time of year, or any other. He
takes great pleasure in our fears, phobias. But, as for me, I
refuse to let him bother me. My only fear is of God and it
feels good to reverentialy fear Him.
If you don't know Christ on a personal level, cry out to God
and He will draw you in. Once you know that He has your
attention, confess with your mouth and mean it from your
heart that His Son Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior over your
life and that He died and rose again on the third day and
redeemed you as His own child. Tell Him you are a sinner
and that you have sinned but you would like to submit to
Him so that He can renew you and give you life ever lasting.
After that, continue to draw close to Him through His Word
and fellowship with others who can help you grow and
mature in the Word. You will never again have to be afraid of
anything or anyone, your life was bought with a price and
not even all the demons in hell can take it back!
If Jesus lives within us, fear need not overwhelm us.
Vivian Gordon is called to write and teach the Word of God. It is her privilige to teach others who may have fallen away or don't understand just how much God loves them. God is calling you right now.