FREE YOURSELF FROM FEAR AND DEVASTATING THOUGHTS!
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according
to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely
powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against
the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience
of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience
is complete.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 NAS
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to
the pulling down of strongholds; ) Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to
revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 KJV
For although we do live in the
world, we do not wage war in a worldly way; because the weapons we use to wage
war are not worldly. On the contrary, they have God's power for demolishing
strongholds. We demolish arguments and every arrogance that raises itself up
against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the
Messiah. And when you have become
completely obedient, then we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 CJB
Please read the above three verses (each from a different translation) and
meditate on them in order to fully understand and grasp this concept.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While living in this world, walking in our flesh (without the Holy Spirit’s
guidance), or according to our own desires (selfish desires), can sometimes be
exasperating, confusing, and unnerving.
Yet, many times our constant attempts to walk in the Spirit, obey the Word of
God and yield to His will, seem to fail us and we end up walking according to our flesh (our own desires).
When we move from the spirit realm into the fleshly, carnal one, it
affects us in three primary ways:
First, it affects our spiritual
walk with HaShem, the Lord.
Second, it affects our mental or attitudinal walk with HaShem and others.
Third, it affects our physical
bodies—the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh.
How can we know we
are not in the “spirit” but are actually walking in the “flesh?”
Our behavior, attitudes, deeds and thoughts will reveal this to us.
Walking in the Spirit allows the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, to direct and
teach us. As we yield to Him, we
become more like Him. We exemplify
the fruit of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:22-24 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self-control. Nothing in
the Torah stands against such things. Moreover, those who belong to the
Messiah Yeshua have put their old nature [carnal, flesh] to death on the stake
[cross], along with its passions and desires.
However, if we do not “yield” or give over our will and desires to the
Spirit of God, we will manifest the evil, rotten fruit
of the flesh:
Galatians 5:19-21 And
it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; idol-worship
and misuse of drugs in connection with the occult [add pharmaceutical drugs]; in
feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition,
factionalism, intrigue and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those
who do such things will have no share in the
Kingdom
of
God
!
What
is meant by the “desires of your heart”?
Psalms 37:4 Delight
yourself also in the LORD; and He will give you the desires
of your heart.
When the desires of our hearts reflect those of HaShem’s, then we are
yielding to the Spirit. By our
obedience, we will receive those desires. God
even knows our righteous secret desires. You
might be pleasantly surprised at the desires He grants.
Proverbs 10:24 The
fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire
of the righteous will be granted.
How
do we become righteous?
There are “two witnesses” in Scripture that point us to the meaning of
righteousness.
Genesis 15:4-6 And,
look, the word of the LORD came to him [Abram/Abraham], saying, This shall not
be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels shall be your
heir. And he brought him forth
abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you are able to
number them: and He said unto him, So shall your seed be.
And he believed in
the LORD; and He
counted it to him for righteousness.
Psalms 106:30-31 Then
Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him for righteousness to all
generations for evermore.
By these verses, we can see that righteousness comes by believing the
One True God. Therefore, it is
understood that the person believing “personally knows” the Messiah.
We are righteous by trusting in the shed blood of the Messiah Yeshua, which He
accomplished on the cross/stake for all. It
is only by His blood that there is remission/removal of sin.
It is by our believing in what HaShem says through His Word that we
become righteous.
Therefore, HaShem tells us that those who are wicked will fear and what they
fear will come upon them. This is
not so with the righteous. They have
no need to fear. Their “fear”
should be placed in HaShem. We are
to fear Him alone.
Therefore, if you fear anything besides HaShem, turn that fear into faith,
trusting in what HaShem says in His Word. Confess
the sin of fear and change that fear into faith.
Here is an example:
I might fear that during a very serious storm our home will be struck by
a tornado. At that very moment, I
should stop the thought; confess my sin of fear and a lack of faith. I
am now able to turn this thought into a “desire” in my heart.
I should state to the HaShem that I desire our home and family be kept
safe as we are His righteous children and our home is being used for Him.
I would ask that protection be over our home and include the properties
of others who are righteous as well. I
have personally seen the desires of my heart granted on numerous occasions.
Proverbs 11:23 The righteous desire only good, but what the wicked hope for
brings wrath.
2 Chronicles 15:15 And all
Judah
rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all
their heart, and sought
Him with their whole desire; and He was found of them: and the
LORD gave them rest round about.
Psalms 10:17 LORD,
You have heard the desire of the humble: You
will prepare their heart, You will cause Your ear to hear:
Psalms 112:8 His
heart is set firm, he
will not be afraid, till finally he looks in triumph [see his desire] at his enemies.
Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick: but when the
desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
Therefore, we can see what vain imaginations are.
They are things we think about that cause us to fear, turn from our faith
in the Holy One and worry over. He
has told us to fear not 365 times in His Word.
Do we cling to something He says do not do?
He also tells us not to worry.
Philippians 4:6-7 Don't worry about anything; on the contrary, make
your requests known to God by prayer and petition [desires], with thanksgiving.
Then God's shalom [peace], passing all understanding, will keep your hearts
and minds safe in union with the Messiah Yeshua.
If you truly desire to have a life filled with the shalom [peace] of the
Almighty, then we must begin to practice these things.
We must take back our mental thoughts.
We cannot allow ourselves to mentally wander around thinking things that
exasperate us and cause sin in our lives.
By studying through these verses, you have all the power and ammunition you need
to take control of fear, your thought life, casting out those vain thoughts, and
enjoying the desires of your heart.
I truly understand this, as I was a “slave” to my thoughts and fears for
years. This problem is especially
prevalent in women as they tend toward worry and fear for their families.
Remember to be grateful and thank HaShem for your blessing of abundant life!
Kathie Palladino
www.kitchen2.com
January 24, 2012