Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
Matthew 6:30 (emphasis added)

We’ve looked at this teaching of the Lord before in another gospel. First of all, let me remind you that the Word is not saying that one person has less faith (amount) than another. The Word is talking of weak faith, shallow faith, faith that is not used, faith that is not deepened, strengthened, or developed. The Word says we all have the same gift of faith – amount and potential potency (Romans 12:3). It is God’s faith gifted to us by Him through Grace (Galatians 2:20, Mark 11:22). We strengthen it, develop it, deepen it, and learn to walk in its full potency by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). Whenever Jesus said “of little faith” it was a gentle razzing with a steel backbone reminding His disciples of what they should be doing with the faith they have been given.

The Word here IS talking about believing that God meets your needs (Philippians 4:19). But it is saying more than that – as it often does. God meets the needs of this material world. Here specified with the example of the grass. Elsewhere He talks about flowers and birds. The Lord MADE the world. It belongs to HIM, though He has given us the stewardship of it. He looks after it, even with the leeway He has given us with us. He can meet the needs of every living thing on this planet a thousand times over. He made a GOOD creation (Genesis 1:31). He likes it. He takes care of it, in spite of our meddling. Nothing can thwart His purpose (Isaiah 14:27, Job 42:2). We can choose to not pick up His calling of us. We can prevent Him from working in our own lives – He won’t force you to do something. But we cannot thwart His purpose. If one person won’t, the Lord will find another (Isaiah 6:8).

Another meaning of this verse is that the Lord does not leave us hanging. He doesn’t call us to life and leave us wandering around naked and alone. If He clothes the temporary grass of the field, the mortal physical world He created; why would He leave His eternal, spiritual children naked? The answer is of course that He wouldn’t and couldn’t because that would make Him a liar and an unjust God. The Lord will NEVER leave us – He said so from Deuteronomy 31:8 through Isaiah 41:10-13 to Hebrews 13:5-6 right up to Revelation 22:12-13. Yahweh is not going anywhere.

God is One who Clothes us. Garments of salvation (Isaiah 61:10). Clothes of gladness (Psalm 30:11). Clothes that are clean (Revelation 7:14). Clothes of honour and majesty (Job 40:10). Clothes that are imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:54). He clothes us. Why? So that we will not be found naked when we need to not be found naked (2 Corinthians 5:3). Sometimes though, clothing alone doesn’t cut it. There are times of trial, persecution, and attack. In those situations we need something more robust. God has us covered there too.

“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light. Let’s walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts” (Romans 13:8-14).

We have armour of light to help us. The enemy also has something for us to wear. Deeds of darkness. Fear and all its babies. Designed to weigh you down, smother your light, reduce your flavour to dirt, and chained to religious or worldly thinking – whichever gets you to give up faster. It’s what we get when we choose to keep depression and anxiety. It’s what we get when we choose to participate in the faith of feeling the world embraces. It’s what we get whenever we cheapen ourselves to the level of mere animals. It doesn’t make us bad people. It makes us badly dressed. And in battle, being properly attired can save your life.

God doesn’t want us ill prepared. If He did, He wouldn’t teach us anything. We wouldn’t need very many books of the bible. We certainly wouldn’t need faith that had any capabilities. But it is clear from even the most casual perusal of the Word that He DOES want us prepared. That He DOES want to teach us. That He DOES encourage us to strengthen our faith. That He DOES want us to have the mind of Christ, with the same morals and resolve. He wants us ready to embrace the victory that Jesus won on the cross.

James 4:7 has the key to the Christian walk about as plainly put as you can. It is a message that saturates the Word from Genesis to Revelation, but James 4:7 states it in clear, simple, plain language you cannot misunderstand unless you choose to: “Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Isn’t that simple? Submit to God’s commands. One of those is to get into the Word every day and keep it before you. When we are obedient in that and other commands, what happens? The enemy flees. He doesn’t fight. He doesn’t sneak around. He books it as far from us as he can. He cannot stand against the Word. It is how Jesus stood against temptation at the beginning of His ministry (Matthew 4:1-11). It’s how He went to the cross (Matthew 27:46). It’s how He came out of the tomb (Psalm 22:25-31). It’s how He beat the enemy.
Without Jesus, we are nothing. But IN Him? We are as He is. “In this, love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). AS HE IS, EVEN SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD. That isn’t one day when we’re in heaven. That is now. Here. This very day. As He IS, so ARE we. That is the PRESENT tense. That is NOW. That is TODAY and EVERY DAY of our lives. But since we are nothing without Jesus (John 15), the Father made provision for us. He gave us the right and the authority to wear Jesus’ clothes.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace, above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (or spoken word) of God; with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

1 John 4:19 tells us that we love, capable of it and doing it at all, because God first loved us. We know that God chose to love us before He created anything (1 Peter 1:18-20). He loved and so doing, enabled us to love. We do it without even thinking. Frivolous stuff, inanimate stuff, people, places, fabrics, feelings, foods, and sometimes fools. We confuse passion for love. Liking for love. And a dozen other missteps. But at the foundational levels of our minds and hearts, we can and do love. Clothing is the same thing.

Jesus wore the armour when He was indwelt by the Holy Spirit (John 3:34). He used it to keep temptation from tripping Him in the desert and to make Satan flee at the end of that experience (Luke 4:1-13, Hebrews 4:15). He used it again and again throughout His ministry. Always using His faith to wield the Word. Never with pettiness. Never selfishly. As directed by the Spirit under obedience to the Father. He spoke TRUTH. He held His FAITH tightly and fed it constantly (Luke 4:16-17, Matthew 9:35, Mark 6:46-47, John 6:15). We are told to do the same: be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, remember? This isn’t written as a suggestion. We are TOLD to do this because we MUST do this if we are going to live our christian life successfully. If you are NOT armoured, you are not going to succeed. Why? Because outside of Jesus we are NOTHING (John 15).

We armour up to stand firm. We armour up in order to clearly see what is before us (belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness). We can armour up because we are a new creation in Christ (helmet of salvation) and remind ourselves of that as we are renewed by the Spirit who raised up Jesus who dwells within us (Romans 8:11). We armour up to bring the message of peace everywhere we go (boots of peace), taking territory with every step we take. We armour up so that we can hold firm and fast to our FAITH (our shield). So we can BELIEVE it. Why do we need to believe it? Because the sword we carry is the WORD and the Word works by faith. Satan lobs a lie, we hold fast to our FAITH as we swing the Word at that lie and defeat it. That is what Jesus did when tempted. Lie, faith, word, satan fled. It was a four-step lesson the two of them enacted three times right at the beginning when Jesus was the physically weakest He would be before the cross. Jesus was armoured up, used it, walked in it, and came out victorious.

He did it on His own because He was sinless and unique (1 Peter 2:22). We can’t do that. But we are permitted and authorised to put on Jesus (Romans 13:14). In JESUS, we are empowered to wear His armour. Wearing His armour ON PURPOSE and by a CHOICE OF WILL, we can do as He did because He will be doing what He did through us. It is HOW WE SURVIVE temptations, trials, and persecutions. It isn’t willpower. It isn’t our righteous actions. It isn’t US at all. It is JESUS in us. JESUS through us. By JESUS’ power. By JESUS’ authority. By the WORD. We need to choose to have faith even as we chose to love. We have free will. We NEED to decide. Will you submit to God? Will you abide in Jesus? Will you wear the armour? Will you be guided by the Holy Spirit? These are decisions. These are the decisions that determine the quality of your Christian life. You need to answer them with yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes again. Admit you can do nothing without Him. You are nothing without Him. Submit to Him. Humbly receive what He gives you. A new creation. An authorised creation. A renewed creation. A creation full of abundant life and complete blessing – physical and spiritual.

The Lord cares for things that we take for granted. How much more does He care for us? How much more does He clothe us? How much more does He provide for us? How much more does He call us to walk where He says, how He says, and when He says? His plans are perfect. His purposes include us. Wear the armour He gives and submit to Him. When you do, you walk in such authority and power through and by Jesus that as you swing the Word at every attack the enemy will flee. The enemy CANNOT stand up to the Word. The Holy Spirit will bring to mind the exact verse to help you — as long as you have it in you (John 14:16). Get into the Word and armour up every day. Even a single verse is one more bullet the Holy Spirit can direct at the enemy through you. The more you have, the more effective you will be.

Don’t make it complicated. Don’t make it religious. Don’t make it super holier than anyone. Keep it as the Word has it. Simple. Not always easy, but always simple. Submit to the Lord God Almighty. Resist the devil with the Word. He WILL flee. He won’t even fire a parting shot. He’ll just run as far and as fast as he can while hoping you forget about the effectiveness of the Word. Don’t forget. Never forget. Dwell in Jesus and keep the Word before you. Every day. Wear the clothes your Father picked out just for you. He loves you too much to leave you naked.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: James 4:8

How often we let ourselves get split right down the middle. How often we choose to open the door and let in sin. It comes down to liking it. We all hate the consequences of sin, but there is something in us (the flesh) that likes the process of sin. It’s like eating a large helping of a food that’s bad for you. You know you’ll regret it. You know there will be pain. You know there will be tears. But as you do it? Pleasure. Satisfaction. We need to learn to repent properly. Repentance is turning around and going away from sin. Tossing it from us. But how do we turn? It isn’t in pique. It isn’t on a whim. In order to successfully turn (instead of masking it with a spiritual sir freshener), we need to decide to change our minds. If WE hated sin like our Father hates sin, we wouldn’t do it. Renewing our mind isn’t just about refreshing the little grey cells so that we understand what God is talking about. It isn’t just about renewing our minds and hearts so that we can understand the love God has for us. It is changing our mind — actively and purposefully — to decide to think as God thinks about the things that God says are good and bad. If God says it is good, embrace it. If God says it is bad, believe it and receive it and put it away from you. Don’t dabble. Don’t make excuses. Call things as God calls them and don’t stop doing that or putting the Word before your eyes and ears until you agree wholeheartedly with the Lord. THEN you will have repented. It’s a verb and a choice, not a ceremony and a prayer to get pats on the back and a slot on the prayer chain. Draw near to God so that He will draw near to you. Agree with Him. Walk in freedom from the tyranny of your flesh. Clean. Pure. With HIS mind. It’s the only way to be.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.