”Principality of Fear” From “Biblical Foundations of Freedom Destroying Satan’s Lies With God’s Truth” - Introduction, Goal, & Part 2-1a

[Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

Introduction – Part 1

We are living in perilous time; we are in our last days of existence – believe it or not. Just look around and you will see 2 Timothy 3:1-13, playing out right before our eyes; men (and women) are lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection (homosexuality is running rampaged – even some born again believers accepting it), trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, and having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away (we are not to have anything to do with these type of people).

I wanted to encourage you all’s heart today; don’t be fearful of the things you see happening in the world – that is what the devil want. This teaching about fear is taken from Dr. Art Mathias’ book, “Biblical Foundations of Freedom Destroying Satan’s Lies With God’s... with his permission. The “Principality of Fear” is part of the complete series I adapted from Dr. Mathias’ book called “Biblical Foundations of Freedom” (BFOF) Program (Click here for complete BFOF Program teaching). At the end of this mini teaching about the principality of fear, I will include the link for the complete teaching on fear.

In these last days, there are so many things that the enemy is using to cause us to fear; he is working overtime, to get us bound up in fear. But we must remember, we live in the world but we are not of this world; it is not our home, as Christians (Hebrews 13:14; 1 Peter 2:11-12. It does not matter what the devil is doing, we must trust and love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our might, and all our strength (Mark 12:30-31; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37).

 

Goal – Part 2: to define and explain the principality of fear. To accomplish this goal, we will (although there are links under the Parts, the Parts in this section is linked to the complete document - they will not open individually here):

· Define Fear – Part 2-1a; 2-1b; 2-1c

· Explain How Fear Enters Our Lives – Part 2-2a; 2-2b; 2-2c

· Discuss Fears That Torment Us – Part 2-3a; 2-3b; 2-3c

· Answer The Question: “What Is Fear?” – Part 2-4

· Explain Why Fear and Faith Equal – Part 2-5a

· Give A Partial List of Fears – Part 2-5b

· Give “Prayer for Overcoming Fear” – Part 2-6

* Definition of Fear – Part 2-1-a

The dictionary defines "fear" as "the emotion of being afraid, of feeling danger, or that evil is near, an uneasy or anxious thought." Synonyms are dread, or alarm. Dread is defined as "a great fear."

Fear can warn us of danger so that we can protect ourselves. If we are standing next to a cliff, it warns us to be careful. In times of danger fear also creates a "flight-fight" response in our bodies. This flight-fight response causes the adrenal glands to secrete large amounts of adrenaline, which causes several different physiological responses in our bodies. The primary one is an increase in strength to protect us. But many live in a constant state of flight-fight (living in the Red Zone) as they think about the things that have happened to them.  The over-secretion of adrenaline and cortisol will destroy your immune system and the calcium in your bones.

God the Father is love. In Matthew 22:37 Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." We are to love God the Father, not be afraid of Him. God is the only one that loves each of us perfectly. The Greek word deilos, translated fear in the New Testament, means "to dread; timid,” i.e. (by implication) it means "faithless or fearful." Fear is equated with being faithless (Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:40, II Timothy 1:7, Revelation 21:8). Matthew 8:26 illustrates this meaning: "And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm." Mark 4:40 says, "And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"

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God bless you all and keep you all,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks