6.
The love that
casts out fear

From the beginning of time God planned to mightily strengthen you in these last hours.
Before you were even conceived, He knew that He would be giving you a miraculous breakthrough over fear through a new dimension of relationship with His Son. This is a relationship that is founded and rooted in the power of love.., a love so powerful that it has overcome the entire world and every unclean spirit in it!

God tells us:

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18, AV)

This is a dynamic passage of truth. But before we go any further, let me explain this in today’s language:

"There is no fear in love – dread, fear, terror, anxiety, dismay, fright, horror, does not exist in your heart, in your soul, in your mind if Love reigns there - but full-grown (complete, perfect) love throws fear out of the door and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it thought that will torment you, thoughts of punishment, and (so) he who lives in fear has not reached the full maturity of love yet and is not yet grown into love's complete perfection"

Take a moment now to reread this verse. Allow it to penetrate deeply into you whole being. For this takes us right into the heart of the reason why some of us fail.

We have read the phrase, "perfect love casts out fear" so many times that we have assumed that it is always Jesus' love for us that is to do all the work. However, there is another way of looking at this. Remember that we are in a covenant relationship with our Lord and with each other. It is a covenant of love, and love is not a one-way lane, but a two-way street.
Therefore, not only is it Christ's powerful love for us that casts out fear; but our love for Him should cause us to stand up in union with Him, and literally kick that spirit of fear right out the door! Think about it.

When you truly love someone and become one with him, you love what he loves and hate what he hates. Our relationship with the Lord is no different. Through His Word we are told,

Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. (Psalms 97:10)

“You who love the LORD, hate evil!” And fear is evil, as we have seen that fear is demonic and eventually leads you away from the Lord. This being the case, all of you who truly love Him will fervently desire to no longer tolerate all those fears that are so offensive to Him. You will no longer put up with those vile, fearful thoughts which so brutally block your communion with Him.

From now on, you will rise up and refuse to let any fear pollute your heart and mind. As soon as you take this stand, something dramatic will begin to happen. You will come into an even deeper revelation of His love for you!

The cry of your heart will change. Instead of it being a constant plea for deliverance, it will be,

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death (Philippians 3:10, AV).

And know Him you will. You will come to know Him in a deeper way each time you choose to let your love for Him rise up and (with Him) expel those fears right out of your mind. He will then rush in to fill all those areas where fear once dwelt and you are one step closer to being totally restored.

6.2. GROW IN LOVE FOR HIM

By now you may be saying, "What can I do? I don't have that kind of love for the Lord yet. I want to... but I'm not quite there."
Let me help you.

Know that He is right there with you, knocking at the door of your heart, longing to come in (Revelation 3:20). The only problem is that you don't know how to come into the experience of His Presence. You don't know how to "open the door."
To help you discover where the block may be, sit down and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you through the following questions:

• Do I really crave and desire His Presence more than anything else in the world, no matter where I am or what the circumstances are?
• Do I take the time each day to meet with Him; to spend time with Him; time when I'm not begging for anything or dictating to Him, but just being still before Him in adoration and worship?
• Do I raise my voice to Him, singing to Him in my heart, praising and thanking Him continually? Or do I withhold it because I'm afraid?
• When He asks me to do something, what is my response and how quick is it?
• Am I totally willing to relinquish my fears (which I have become so accustomed to), so that I might dwell quietly in His peace?
• Do I get so caught up in the cares and "works" of this world that I postpone devoting myself to a relationship with Him?
• Does He mean more to me than my reputation, the opinions of others, my family, my possessions, or my ambitions (even my ambitions for Him)?
• How much docs obedience to Him mean to me? Have I completely given Him my will? What price am I willing to pay?
• Do I have any unpaid vows?
• Whatever that price is, please do not be afraid. Make up your mind now that you are willing to pay it.