Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

so that now instead you should rather forgive and comfort him. This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair.
2 Corinthians 2:7 (emphasis added)

In the First Nations Version (FNVNT) this verse reads: “Instead, to keep him from losing heart and falling into deep sorrow and self-pity, you should forgive and speak words of healing over him.” This is how our Father in Heaven deals with us. Jesus’ blood is poured out on the Mercy Seat in the Heavenly Temple (Revelation 11:9; Hebrews 9:23–26). Because we have been washed clean and renewed in Jesus (Titus 3:4-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17), sin is no longer in us (Romans 6:18). We have our sins forgiven as a result of this. “But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our Father’s view of us is VERY different from our own.

“As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us” (Psalm 103:12). In the Law, the Jews were given instructions as to how to symbolically deal with the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:9-10). They were placed on a goat. The goat was led out of the camp and into the wilderness. It was taken to a specific mountain and walked all the way up. Then it was pushed off a cliff to its death so that it could never EVER come back (Leviticus 16:21-22). This was a picture of what Adonai would do in the spiritual realm when the Messiah came to suffer in place of the people. Imagine how far away that mountain is when it is Yahweh who is taking the sin out there. Imagine how tall the mountain would have to be. Imagine how far and long and away the sin would have to fall for it to never, ever, EVER return – from Yahweh’s point of view. That is total, utter, and complete separation. THAT is where our sins go when they are forgiven. They get sent to the same place the power of sin got pushed off. They are as gone as gone can be. It is THE great liberation.

“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!” (Galatians 5:1-2). “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”” (John 11:25-26). Set free. Not condemned. From death to life – eternally. Never die. These are all FREEDOM ideas. Ideas that our Father wants to share with us. Not intellectually, but experientially. These are promises we can walk in. When we read them in the Word and seriously think about them, thinking about what they mean to us, what effect they might have on us, and how we can adjust our behaviour so that our words, actions, and thoughts are in harmony with them; that is when they become real to us. That’s when they become something that we can wear. And when we are wearing HIS promises, we don’t have room to be wearing our old slavery. Why put on that ratty old coat when we can wear His robes? “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; I will be overjoyed because of my God. For he clothes me in garments of deliverance; he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would; I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry” (Isaiah 61:10).

Those garments are some of the words our Father speaks over us. They are part of our heritage of cooperation. They aren’t our only heritage. “I claim your rules as my permanent possession, for they give me joy” (Psalm 119:111). “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26-29). “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:14-16). These are a powerful inheritance. These are the clothes we get to wear. And if we’re wearing them, we NEED to be looking in a mirror. If we do THAT, we’ll start to get an idea of who exactly we are – from HIS point of view. That’s important, because we can get so easily overwhelmed by what WE see in the mirror. Our memories aren’t as good as our Father’s. He DOESN’T remember forgiven sin. We DO.

Discouragement. Shame. Embarrassment. Regret. Guilt. These are feelings that can rise inside us when we remember sin. But sin should NOT be remembered. When we truly repent – turning around and making Adonai’s thoughts on a given subject our own – He ELIMINATES the sin. It’s not held against us. We’re clean, clear, pristine, and whole. Nothing missing. Nothing broken. It’s just that WE don’t always see it that way. Which is why we were given the great I CAN. “And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). Ruach HaKodesh is there to remind us who we are. To remind us of what our Father sees. He convicts us of our lack of trust in who we are in Jesus. He convicts us of our lack of seeing ourselves as our Father sees us. When we look in the mirror and say, ‘I don’t see it’, Ruach HaKodesh is there to shout back, ‘I CAN’. He can always see who we really are. He stays centred in our Father and pulls at our elbow whenever it looks like we’re going to wander. He is the encouraging voice whispering to us of what we are in Jesus. Reminding us that we ARE in Jesus. Reminding us that although OUR vision can be cloudy (1 Corinthians 13:12), HIS is ALWAYS clear as the waters flowing from the Throne (Revelation 22:1).

We must listen to the voice of Ruach HaKodesh so that we don’t choose to give into the despair that the devil’s peddling. So that we choose NOT to emote excessive grief when our past is brought up. So that we can choose to laugh in the face of memory and embrace the body, soul, and spirit cleansing healing that Jesus’ Blood bought us (1 Peter 1:18-19). So that we can be everything that our Father says we can be. Whole, healthy, and always His.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Daniel 9:24

“Seventy weeks have been determined concerning your people and your holy city to put an end to rebellion, to bring sin to completion, to atone for iniquity, to bring in perpetual righteousness, to seal up the prophetic vision, and to anoint a Most Holy Place.” Messiah would make an end to sin. To fulfil the type and shadow that the sacrifices of the Old Covenant were. To remove sin from humanity with such finality that if they only accepted it and brought themselves into obedience to Him, they would be saved forever from the effects of sin and separation from Yahweh. “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5). Jesus was the atoning sacrifice sent from the Father to bring us freedom (John 3:16-18). Jesus’ death ended the hold of sin and death. Jesus was – and is – our Saviour. Jesus IS the Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b