Pastor Reid Olson of Crossroads Church of Greeley teaches on the false spirit of fear.
Now the spirit of fear is real, but it’s false, in the sense that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God did not give us that spirit of fear, or timidity. Young Timothy was pastor of a church and needed encouragement to be bold in his faith. Where do you need to be more bold in your faith in God, rather than being defeated by a spirit of fear? Is your mind captured by fear of something, someone, some loss, or rejection? God hasn’t given you that fear. You can overcome fear by naming it, acknowledge it, take away its power by claiming it for God, and then trust God for the results. You live in a world where fear runs rampant around you, but fear is a liar. You can claim your life for God and give your fear to Jesus.
Labels in our lives, have a way of keeping us down, or projecting us forward. We can either believe the bad labels and live down to them, or live up to new good labels. How is it working out in your life? Do the labels of your past haunt you and keep you stuck, or can you believe the good labels you’ve been given in Christ and move forward? God used a woman in the Bible named Rahab, to show us that your life can change.
Have you ever thought of the 10 Commandments as a gift? God wanted the former 400 years of slavery in Egypt to be removed from His peoples’ thinking, so God gave them a Sabbath Principle. Remember the Sabbath day, and make it holy. How do you remember the Sabbath day in your life? And, how do you make it holy unto God? Do you have sabbath practices that break your chains of slavery? What are you enslaved to in your life? Cookies, caffeine, sugar, shopping, entertainment and even working can become a slave driver in our lives, I know that even ministry (heaven forbid) can become an idol for me. This week we want you to learn to rest, and trust that the God who made you doesn’t make mistakes, and He wants you to rest in Jesus and trust that the world will continue to spin without you holding the steering wheel. Learn to take a weekly sabbath to rest in God’s grace.
