The Spirit of fear has been one of my
greatest obstacles since God began dealing with me about the
apostolic restoration three years ago. That’s because religious
spirits use fear to control and paralyze the Body of Christ and
these same demons are opposing the apostolic reformation. It is
often our own religious experiences and training that open the door
for fear to attack us.
Before God called me into apostolic ministry I accepted “church” the
way it was handed to me. And since I had no other reference for
Church structure to consider, I embraced what I was taught as God’s
structure for His Church. When the Holy Ghost began to show me the
Biblical structure of the New Testament Church, I quickly discovered
that I was taught some right things along with a whole lot of wrong
things. I had to compare every aspect of the accepted model for
Church structure with the New Testament model and allow the Holy
Ghost to teach me and expose the error.
Only then could I accept what the Holy Ghost was revealing to me.
Now that I know what I know for myself I would not compromise the
truth of the Gospel no matter the consequences. I have chosen to
rely on God, not men, but I had to gain victory over the spirit of
fear to get here.
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Since then I have watched and prayed as fear spirits neutralized
five-fold ministers, churches, para-church organizations, and entire
denominations. Fear of controversy and error. Fear of rejection and
loss of finances. Fear of failure and criticism. Fear of pride and
exaltation. Fear of excess and fanaticism. The spirit of fear
continues to war against revelational truth from all sides. One of
fear’s goals is to keep us locked in the safety of religious
traditions and bound in the false security of man’s programs and
approval. We are not the first ones to face fear. The early New
Testament Church faced the same enemy. Since the pattern for the New
Testament Church is in the New Testament, the obstacles to the
success of the New Testament Church must also be in the New
Testament.
We see a move of God beginning among the Gentiles in Acts Chapter
11. God first used Peter to bring the salvation message to the
Gentiles. Later, Barnabas is sent to Antioch to report on what was
happening with the Gentile believers there. Both men had witnessed
God’s grace upon the Gentile believers, but in Galatians 2:11-13,
Scripture reveals that these apostles gladly ate with the Gentile
believers when the Jews were not around, but separated themselves
from them when the Jews were present. What hypocrisy! Why did Peter
and Barnabus suddenly change their attitudes toward the Gentile
brethren? The Bible reveals that the apostles fell victim to the
spirit of fear. Peter and Barnabas were scared of what the Jews
would think of them eating with the Gentile believers. Barnabas and
Peter had witnessed a mighty move of God among the Gentiles, yet
they allowed “fear of them that were of the circumcision” to send
them back to their religious traditions.
Religious spirits are intimidating spirits that will cause fear to
grip your heart in order to stop a move of God in your life. This is
exactly what happened to Peter and Barnabas. Thank God for the
Apostle Paul. Paul boldly confronted their error and withstood Peter
to his face. He corrected them openly and sternly because they were
reacting out of fear. Paul knew that it wouldn’t matter what Peter
preached if Peter didn’t live it out. You don’t reproduce what you
preach, but what you are. That’s why when something happens
publicly, it must be dealt with publicly. Paul uses wisdom in this
situation. Did that mean that Peter and Barnabas were failures?
No! They received the correction, changed their ways, and went on
walking out their destinies.
But if Peter and Barnabas allowed fear to lead them into hypocrisy,
do we think we are immune? Certainly not. We will deal with fear by
walking with courage. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the
grace to move forward in God in spite of the fear. We must remain
vigilant or we will wind up like Peter and Barnabas did that day,
withdrawing from a fresh move of God because intimidating religious
spirits bring fear. None of us are exempt from the enemy of fear but
by the grace of God we can move forward and breakthrough the
strongholds of religious tradition despite fear’s efforts to bind
us. We need to be alert to six “chains” that fear uses to bind the
hearts of people who hear the apostolic message.
The Fear of Being in Error
Fear of falling into error is one of the greatest
fears we must face. I agree that there has been much error
taught regarding the apostolic and many false apostles have
hurt the Body of Christ. At the same time, many true, but immature apostles have
not waited for their commission, instead choosing to launch out
prematurely on their own only to bring reproach to this
message. Nevertheless, we cannot throw out the baby with the bath
water just because we are afraid of getting into error. Many are
afraid to let other preachers into their pulpits for the same
reason. There are some who agree with the Apostolic Movement,
however, they spend 45 minutes of their preaching warning of the
potential for error and only 15 minutes presenting the
revelation. This leaves the listeners with fear. How do we get past
this fear of error? The Bible teaches us in I John Chapter 2 that we
have an unction or anointing from the Holy One and we know truth
from error. Therefore, the fear of error should have no place in
us.
The Fear of Rejection
Fear of rejection is the next chain we must break
free from. William Seymour, Oral Roberts, Martin Luther, John
Wesley, Kenneth Hagin, and Kenneth Copeland were all rejected
because they brought restorational truth to the Body of Christ.
Every truth is accompanied by rejection. Many times people are
afraid to step out in new revelation because their denomination or
camp never preached it. To ministers, rejection translates into loss
of people, members, followers, finances and sometimes even
denominational ordination or position. Although we do not want to
admit it, these factors greatly influence much of today’s
preaching. The truth is that Jesus was the greatest revolutionary of
all times and he was despised and rejected of men. We must follow
Him despite the personal cost.
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The Fear of Fear Failure
Fear of failure Asks questions like what if this is wrong? What if I am missing it? Am I making a mistake?” Anytime
you step out to try something new you take the chance that you could
utterly, completely and totally fail. When we begin walking in
restorational truth, we must deal with the fear of failure. Yes,
there will be some mistakes made, but that does not mean that we are
justified in rejecting God’s truth. We must not stay with the
familiar comfort of the past when God in calling us to change. It is
fear that causes us to become stuck in a rut. We must grow and move
forward with God. We can not allow fear of failure to cripple us. By
submitting ourselves completely to God’s authority in our lives, we
can break free from the bondage of the fear of failure.
The Fear of Criticism
Fear of criticism must not be allowed to paralyze
Christ’s Church. We must not cower to others’ expectations. It is
sad that many times the very ones who brought in the last move of
God will be the ones to criticize the new. Every move has been
criticized. Many are afraid to use terms such as prophet or apostle
because of fear of family and friends. We must remember that someone
criticized each of us when we were born again, when we were baptized
with the Holy Ghost, and when we accepted the message of faith.
Embracing the Apostolic Movement will be no different. Breaking
tradition is hard, but the rewards of walking in the fullness of
God’s truth are beyond comparison with the price.
The Fear of Exaltation and Pride
Fears of exaltation and pride must also be broken.
Many fear that being called an apostle (or apostolic people) will
bring an element of pride. Does that mean that God can’t give the
world any further revelation because somebody may get exalted? No!
It sounds very spiritual and humble, but it is not. It is a
religious spirit casting fear upon an individual. We need to
recognize that this movement is not about titles. If a person can be
exalted by a title or if one needs a title, then that person is
certainly not ready for an office of ministry. No one in the New
Testament had a title other than “brother.” But tell me, what is the
difference in using the titles pastor or evangelist rather than
apostle or prophet? The answer can only be that we have exalted the
first two titles and given them reverential status. There are five
gifts identified in the fourth chapter of Ephesians – not three. So
why do two – the apostle and prophet – supposedly bring exaltation?
Being recognized as a pastor, teacher or evangelist causes many to
fall into pride. So why is it okay to be called Pastor So-And-So but
not Apostle So-And-So? Pride and exaltation is a condition of the
heart, but religious spirits minister fear of exaltation and pride
as a weapon to keep God’s people from entering into fresh
revelation.
The Fear of Excess and Fanatacism
Fear of excess and fanatacism often paralyze the
Church. Many are afraid that if they preach on the apostolic, called
ones will get into excess and fanaticism. Excess and fanaticism have
accompanied every movement and this movement will be no different.
Out of the Faith Movement came the idea that Christians should not
go to the doctor. From the Pentecostal Move came the theology that
you cannot be saved if you do not speak in tongues. And from
justification by faith came the idea that you can live any way you
want because you do not need good works to get to heaven. Each of
these statements is an example of excess and fanaticism yet each
came from major moves that restored much truth and revelation to the
Body of Christ. Yes, in this move there will be those that get in
excess and fanaticism. Many will think that they are apostles when
they are not. Others will misuse the office for their own
benefit. This cannot keep us from preaching the truth. The false
apostles are arising whether or not the true ones are received.
The spirit of an anti-Christ is anti-anointing (1 John). All
ministry gifts have an anointing that goes with them. If anyone is
against the ministry of the apostle, then they are operating in the
spirit of anti-Christ. Often, it is fear that deceives believers
into operating in this spirit. We must close the door to this
deception by resisting and overcoming the spirit of fear so that
godly structure will be restored to His Church. Stepping into the
apostolic requires stepping into new things. The early Church was
fearful of Paul after he was converted, but because Barnabas had the
guts to step out we now have two thirds of the New Testament that
Paul wrote.
Like the early Church, we are in mostly uncharted waters for we have
never been this way before. Because of this, fear rises up to stop
us. When you step out and do what God has for you, people will call
you arrogant, flaky, crazy, and even a cult. The devil will try to
convince you that you are cocky and prideful. But be assured that
the next generation will appreciate those that are fighting the good
fight of faith to restore apostles and prophets to the Church. There
are many apostles and prophets sitting on pews now that are
frustrated because they do not fit the mold of the current Church
world. There is no place made for them in the Church, therefore,
they must go out to find ministry. Some go so far as to leave the
ministry because of this frustration. We must be ready to fight and
overcome these fears that will come to attack us. We must for the
sake of the Church win this battle. We must for the sake of the
apostles and prophets teach our people the truth about this
restorational move of God. God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but rather a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. We have the
tools, the calling, and the anointing to break free from the chains
of fear.
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