Posted: 04/29/2009 at 1:08pm | IP Logged

I wrote an article a couple years ago titled "A Call To Be Fearless." This prophetic message contains some elements of that proclamation as I sense an anointing or empowerment of prophetic fearlessness. Spiritual bravery and fearlessness are a by-product of assured confidence in knowing and resting in the truth...And yes, the truth shall set you free! 

The "Fear Of Man" in these days are spreading like a cancer within the body of Christ and is spiritually crippling multitudes. This disease must be addressed as the days ahead unfold. This is the true "health reform" that is needed in this hour for the sake of truth and the well-being of our spiritual geographic areas. 

Many within the church body are in the grip of this paralyzing mindset of fear. Those called and commissioned within the prophetic umbrella cannot properly function as God's messenger and mouthpiece and yet, fear man. It becomes increasingly more frustrating to move in obedience to the Lord's voice if there is a tendency to withdraw out of anxiety or a fear of another's opinion or response.

I am sure that many (like me) have prayed for the Lord to "use me, write through me, and speak through me." If you have prayed this prayer, then be certain that the Lord will begin dealing with elements of the fear of man in your life. It is essential that we understand the impact of this work in our lives as a prophetic people to fulfill the mandate in our time of destiny. Many out of pride may already be rejecting this word in their lives as non-applicable. Don't be fooled! We are all guilty in one degree or another and this refining work will enable the fullness of prophetic ministry to flow in and through our lives to others in a practical --everyday way of life in producing fruit that remains.

I have read that we are afraid or fear others because we are too much in love with ourselves. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement and many times we don't even realize it. When the Lord deals with the love of ourselves -- He simultaneously addresses the fear of man. Simply put, the fear of man is but a symptom of self(ish) love. Overcoming our love and protection of self is certainly an important key to our prophetic destiny.

Our "love" for affirmation and the acceptance of others can also become a hindrance of our prophetic impact. The longing for others to "understand our heart" and to comprehend our words and actions can be a bondage to our kingdom liberty. Far to many Christians are stagnated in the mire of the fear of being misunderstood or misinterpreted. Our love and desire that others embrace our words can easily taint and water down the truth that may change the lives of others. The anointing upon a message is not graded on a curve and there must be greater accuracy beginning to arise upon our voices. The words of the kingdom today must be shared with the purity of fearlessness and the confident assurance of the word being from the Lord.

If we choose to speak or write a word that we declare to be from the Lord but are eaten up with man's approval -- the word will certainly be tainted with wordy additions of the flesh and emotion rather than Holy Spirit. We must be content with the approval of the Lord in obedience to His voice and the exercising of wisdom of when and when not to speak (or write). The learning of this "wisdom" has been very painful at many seasons in my own life! On the other hand, Jesus was many times misunderstood and His words were rejected. However, He never justified Himself for the sake of approval and the admonishment of others. We can be content that if the words we speak or write are from the Lord -- Those who reject it, do not reject us, but the Lord.

To overcome our fear of man, we must be willing and expect to be misunderstood and unappreciated. Only then, will we have the kingdom liberty and anointing to partner with Christ in changing the world around us. Not only that, but without recognizing the necessity of dealing with rejection...We will not prophetically mature. It's time that the church grow up and stop pouting like spoiled children in its propensity to be continually offended. Let's get over it! We all "choose" to be offended. Again, overcoming rejection with grace and humility will exponentially increase our spiritual and prophetic maturity.

The fear of acceptance and the longing for a spiritual title of validation will likewise render our words in a polluted state. The conflict of interest is obvious in that those who are the giver titles must not be offended or challenged by those who seek the title of validation from their hand. (Simply put, many have been conditioned not to bite the hand that feeds their desires and needs.) This mindset has produced slaves to the system in their hunger for affirmation rather than bondservants of Christ.

Friendships, organized church meetings and yes, even forums, may find the fear of man hindering our genuine spiritual growth. We must admit that the tone and intensity of many words we speak and write are predicated on the desire of another's feelings about us. We need to speak and write soft when the Lord directs and we need to speak and write firmly when the Lord directs. Again, we must be obedient to the Lord within our calling and not a slave to the feelings and fear of man.

Certainly, it is the love of self and our desire to protect the sacred cows of our pride and presentations that stunt our spiritual growth. I have stated in the past that pastors will continually have a difficult time in bringing a clear, lasting, and life-changing ministry to fruition if they "rely" entirely upon the finances and recognition of those whom they minister to. Again, a definite conflict of interest arises that creates a religious line that must not be crossed without offending the sheep and thus, cutting off the money and support of one's ministry. Do many of today's "leaders" fear man more than God? This seems to be case! In overcoming the fear of man, we must not look to man for our ministerial support and approval...But to the One who graced us with it. Certainly, the rest will come!

Abraham rejected the gifts of the King of Sodom, and afterwards the Lord said to him, "Fear not, for I AM your exceeding great reward." Since the Lord is our Provider as well as our Provision, we must look to Him alone. We do not look to gain "seed" supporters, "seed" partners, "seed" pledges, weekly tithes, and weekly offerings. We look to the Lord to anoint and empower our prophetic commission through a life of the giving of ourselves. This does not mean that other people will not bless us. Yes, the Lord will use others to richly bless us and He delights in this! However, I fail to see genuine trust in Lord from many if not most of today's most visible representatives of the faith. Most are living in fear and reliant upon man and mammon to uphold their personal kingdoms.

The point is the position and understanding of what the fear of man and its effect has had upon the church. It has crippled our supernatural ability and made us a laughing stock to the discerning folks in much of everyday life. We have become a caricature of the church that Christ left us because we have created a system built upon the fear of man for both spiritual validation and promotion.

It's time for the system of fear to crumble by the actions of those who are called to be spiritual "BRAVES!"

Posted: 04/29/2009 at 6:59pm | IP Logged

Amen Danny, Not time for holding back in fear of man.

Ron