We have been dealing with the 23rd Psalm. Today, let's look at a phrase in the 4th verse that says "I will fear no evil:" Fear is something that everyone has to deal with. Some people are absolutely captured by fear. Some people aren't bothered by it. If you don't have any fear right at this present moment, just turn on any of the news channels on TV and you'll get a good dose of it.
It has been used from the pulpit many times that the word fear is an an acronym for the phrase "False Evidence Appearing Real." Satan always uses false evidence to stir feelings of doubt and fear in all of us. A good strong dose of faith in the Word of God and a strong love walk with Jesus Christ will destroy any particle of fear we face.
But, how does fear get such a strong hold on everyone, even Christians. The answer is, we are trained to fear. Let me tell you a very amusing story on myself. Now, ladies and gentlemen, don't even start thinking that Bro. Henry sure is dumb. I am going to share with you how I LEARNED to fear. If you will think back on your life, you will be able to relate just how you LEARNED to fear. It probably won't be the same way I did, the the process is the same.
Back when I was about 10 or 11 years old, there was a program on TV called Shock Theater. It came on every Friday night at 11:30 after the news. I begged my parents to let me watch it. They agreed under the following conditions. I had to turn the volume low enough not to keep everyone else awake and I had to turn all of the other lights out to conserve electricity. I agreed and every Friday night found me sitting on the couch in the dark except for the TV, watching scary movies until the test pattern came on. All of us know that none of the junk on any horror movie is real. Vampires do not go around at night sucking blood from people and turning them into vampires. There are no 50' tall hairy-legged spiders destroying large cities. Nobody starts growing hair on the full moon and is compelled to kill people and things at midnight. We all know these things are FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. However, this false evidence not only came through my eyes into my brains, but the EMOTION of fear caused my thought processes to produce scenarios that were just as FALSE as what I saw on TV. I saw on TV bad stuff happening to people on TV, but the EMOTION OF FEAR began to play havoc with my imagination.
Get ready to be amused and at the same time see a picture of yourself.
Well, when the test pattern came on after the movie was over, the EMOTION OF FEAR kicked into high gear. Thoughts of "what if" began to take over my actions. "What if" something "gets" me when I turn the lights off. Here's the scenario that was played out EVERY time I watched those movies. I knew I had to go to bed which was down the hall and the second door on the right. Before I turned the TV off, I walked towards the kitchen to turn it's light on. By the way, the switch was around the corner IN THE DARK. I didn't want that hairy-legged spider which was always there to jump on my hand and bite me with it's poison, so I "swooshed" my hand quickly by the switch to turn it on. Then, I would walk over to the TV and turn it off. I would walk down the hall and turn the hall light on and walk back to the kitchen where I could bravely turn the light off because the hairy-legged spider was afraid of the light. I would open my bedroom door so the light from the hall could come in and scare away all of the boogers from the light switch in my bedroom. I would turn off the light in the hallway and take two steps to the light switch in my bedroom. Since I slept on the top bunk, I would put one foot on the end railing and grab the top railing with my right hand. With my left hand, I would turn out the light. Then it was over the end of the bunk and under the covers before the light faded because everyone knows that boogers can't get you when you are under the covers.
Now, that's funny. It is to me, at least. I had NO concrete evidence that any of that would happen. It was all in my head. It was my thoughts running amok about something my eyes had seen and deposited into my brain. If you think long enough, you will be able to come up with some by-gone experiences that caused you to allow fear to run rampant in your own mind. That's the job of the enemy. He presents us with FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. That's all he has to do. And, believe me, we--even us Christians--do the rest. We imagine ourselves right out of the love and providence of the Almighty Redeemer.
Did you notice that the hairy-legged spider was afraid of the light? Our enemy is the same way. If the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ gets turned on in our lives, satan does not stand a chance at defeating us. The Apostle Paul said it this way 2 Cor 10:5-Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; Paul faced more "fearful" situations than any of us will ever face. But, he had learned the secret of successful soul-winning. It was "casting down imaginations." Casting down---that sounds somewhat violent, doesn't it? That's exactly what a successful soul-winner will do. VIOLENTLY take that ungodly fear and contradiction of the Word of Almighty God and CAST it down and stomp it until it has no more rule over your thought processes. Then replace it with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and begin a new meditation process. One that is based on truth and love.
I'll deal more with these thoughts on the next blog. In the meantime, if you have enjoyed this one, please pass it on. You have no idea who needs it next.
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