"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "No Fear It ... If You Have The Spirit!"

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

(2 Timothy 1:7)

If anybody could have had fear, it would have been the Apostle Paul. Listen to his multitude of trials, ".. in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." (2 Corinthians 11:23-27) How did Paul do it? He did it the only way anyone does it, who know in whom they believe, who know the God who is with us through all terror and horror. It comes down to this: "No Fear It ... If You Have the Spirit."

Apostle Paul Arrested

"But none of these things move me, neither count I

my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course

with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord

Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."

(Acts 20:24)

How could Paul say, "None of these things move me?" He said it by the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost; the same way others all over the world, who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ, say it. The Holy Ghost gives us strength, power, love, a sound mind, and "unction." What is "unction?" you ask. It's the impetus of the Spirit of God to move, say, stand, go, expect, speak, not speak ... and to NOT fear, because the Spirit of the Lord is within us. The Holy Ghost is the "Spirit of a departed One," which is the Lord Jesus Christ; He said I will go away, but I will send back the comforter, or Spirit, to lead and guide you into all truth. The Spirit of God is an ever present help in times of trouble. When we are filled with God's Spirit and we speak with tongues as the Spirit gives us utterance, we can say with Paul, and the other precious people who suffer for Christ, "None of these things move me."

Paul's Escape from Damascus

Paul endured a lot of things, but he also escaped a lot of things, because God was with him. But, he lived life on the run, in prayer. In all of our trials and our temptations, the Lord gives us a way out also, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (I Corinthians 10:13)

You say, "Then, why did God let Paul end up in prison?" Glad you asked. Paul wrote most of the New Testament "in prison." Prisons, deserts, quivers, chains, caves, valleys, and places of solitary confinement are not necessarily bad places. We can use, and turn, any of our situations into a cause for Christ. The greatest songs were written in desperate situations; the greatest inventions were the results of dire necessity; the most profound poems that move the soul were penned in lonely exiled moments. David wrote the most incredible, powerful, and beautiful of all writings while he was alone guarding the sheep, strumming his harp, and staring at a sky full of stars. What do people need today? ... To get alone with God ... They need a place reserved for the ONE who holds the soul in His hand, the One in whom all fullness of the Godhead dwells, the Lover of our souls ... He's waiting ...

The Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ gives us love, peace, joy, longsuffering, gentleness, kindness, and a Bible full of other good attributes. It does not mean we are not tough and do not stand up for what is right in our mostly wrong world. Jesus Christ is love, but He was also tough; remember when He threw out the money changers from the temple?

Jesus, throwing out the money changers

There is a Holy righteousness in God, which detests evil and all wrongdoing. A Holy God cannot dwell with Sin. The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ, created the world, and He will judge the world. The earth is groaning now with the urgency of His coming; the Saints of God groan in their spirits, even as Jeremiah groaned and wept, for the fulfillment of all things; and this all stems from THE SPIRIT of Jesus Christ.

Who can live in this world today without the Spirit of Christ? Who can endure the torments of disasters, loss of income, disease, and fears of so many things, without His Spirit? People are NOT "enduring;" they're NOT coping; they're NOT living ... they are numbing it with alcohol, drugs, and anything else that they can get their hands on. But, it doesn't help, does it? The hangover comes in the morning and the hurt, failure, disease, poverty, fear, and heartache are still there ...

Will the Holy Ghost take away all those things, and put you in the Garden of Eden? Eventually! But, for right now, it will give you strength, joy, peace, and yes, many have been totally delivered immediately from drugs when they received the Holy Ghost, with no withdrawals. Call out to the Lord, repent of all sins with all of your heart, and be filled with His Spirit; then, be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and just watch the "fear" be replaced with a Holy phenomenal peace that you have never known. It is THE most powerful, incredible, beautiful thing experience in your entire life! Over 580 million people worldwide have received the Holy Ghost and spoken in tongues, and the number is growing minute by minute.

What is the greatest One thing in all the world today? Riches? Power? Fame? Beauty? No, all of those things fade, and there are no pockets in a shroud ... we can't take anything with us when we go, except One thing! The Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ! It will raise our bodies to meet Him in the air very soon!