Dear Passion and Fire Family,
What a turn of events we’re watching in history right now. Nothing quite like it. As I’ve pondered about what’s going on behind it all, I am continually reminded by God to keep my focus on Him and all that is good.
Phil. 4:8 “So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God. Follow the example of all that we (the apostles) have imparted to you and the God of peace will be with you in all things.”
Of course, we can’t turn a blind eye to all that’s taking place in this hour, nor should we do nothing, but as we consider what wisdom is, our focus must remain on what is good. Only then are we able to be a part of what will advance the narrative toward a positive resolution and God’s will be done on the earth. We need to carry the Father’s heart now more than ever!
In the meantime, we must address the spirit of fear that’s running rampant! A few days ago, the Lord gave me six dreams on the subject. In one of the dreams, the Lord spoke to me and Holy Spirit said, “Did you know that the antidote for the spirit of fear is the fear of the Lord?”
The Spirit of Fear vs. The Fear of The Lord
The suicides and deaths from Coronavirus, the loss of life and ruined businesses from riots, etc. have only helped to promote the spirit of fear and death that was already in the world. It’s time to change the narrative. And it starts with us. The Lord wants to bring down that age-old stronghold. It’s time to put fear behind us by exchanging it for the fear of Lord!
What is the fear of the Lord?
Exodus 20:20 “And Moses said unto the people, ‘Do not fear; for God has come to test you to see if the fear of the Lord is in you.’”
So, here, we see that Moses uses the word fear twice in one sentence, but the two words have extremely different meanings. It’s made obvious just by the pure ridiculousness of saying on the one hand, ‘do not fear’ and in the same breath ‘fear’.
So, then, what is Moses saying and why contradict himself that way? The key is found in the translation of the word ‘fear’.
The first fear means ‘torment’ or ‘terrified’, but the second fear, in the phrase ‘the fear of the Lord’ has a totally different meaning. For Father God has no intention of bringing us back into bondage after He has paid so much to bring us out.
Yes, there is a portion of ‘fear’ in the ‘fear of the Lord’ that can cause us to tremble, but it’s only because of His holiness. And in that instance, we become like the cherubim before His throne, covering our eyes because of the greatness of His glory and the grandeur and majesty we find in His presence. And we find ourselves crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty!” So, yes, there is a place in fearing God where we tremble. We tremble in awe at His presence.
Normally, when we think of the word ‘fear’, it’s associated with ‘the spirit of fear’ which makes us think of torment or dread. But judgment for the believer has been taken far from us. Our judgment was paid for by the life-blood of Jesus, our Savior. So then, what is the fear of the Lord all about, if we are ones that abide in His love, for God is love? And:
1 Jo. 4:18 “Love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love’s perfection drives the fear of punishment far from our hearts. Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love’s perfection.”
To fear the Lord is not to fear punishment, but to have an intimate knowledge of who He is and His attributes. It’s to live in holy intimacy with Him, to know Him, yield our hearts to Him, worship Him, and to bow down before Him because of His utter goodness and greatness.
If you’re like me the first scripture that comes to mind concerning the fear of the Lord is Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (or godly knowledge).” This is not the wisdom of the world, for this knowledge or wisdom comes by knowing God and knowing who He is. It’s time to take hold of God!
In the Passion Translation, Proverbs 1:7 reads, “How then does a man gain the essence of wisdom? We cross the threshold of true knowledge when we live in obedient devotion to God!”
The fear of the Lord is equal to living in obedient devotion to God. When we embrace this, we are the inheritors of the abundant life we hear about. And when we do this, life will begin to permeate everything we think, do and say. It’s esteeming all that He esteems and recognizing as evil all that He calls evil. Fearing God is yielding our lives to love Him in all of His facets.
And not only do we live in obedient devotion, but we do it with delight! Ps. 40:8 “I delight to fulfill your will, my God, for your living words are written upon the pages of my heart.”
Here’s the footnote for that verse in the Passion Translation:
There is much more to the ‘fear of the Lord’ than the English concept. It also implies submission, awe, worship, and reverence. The Hebrew word used here for ‘fear’ is found fourteen times in Proverbs. And the number fourteen represents spiritual perfection. It’s also the number for Passover. It’s a passing from darkness to wisdom’s light by the ‘fear of the Lord’.
Prov. 19:23 “When you live a life of abandoned love, surrendered before the awe of God, here’s what you’ll experience: Abundant life. Continual protection. And complete satisfaction.”
The fear of the Lord as an antidote for all other fears
Fearing God is not another requirement. It’s what you do when you understand who He is and how much He loves you. It’s then that you begin to understand His amazing greatness and His overwhelming grace & mercy begin to overshadow anything the enemy would try to intimidate you with. So, “fear not!”
Did you know that the phrase “fear not” is the most repeated command in the Bible? In fact, they say that there are 365 “fear nots” in the Word. That’s one “fear not” for every day of the year!
Isaiah 41:10 “Never yield to fear, for I am always near. Never turn your gaze from me, for I am your faithful God. I will infuse you with my strength and help you in every situation. I will hold you firmly with my victorious right hand.”
The Five Pillars of Fearlessness/
Five Reasons You Should Not Fear:
(I’ve changed the pronouns to make it more personal)
- “He is with you.”
“Do not fear, for I am with you.” - “He is YOUR God.”
“Do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God.” - “He will strengthen you.”
Ps. 73:26 “When you trust in Him, you will have a strong and glorious presence protecting and anointing you. Forever He’s all you need!” - “He will help you.”
Ps. 46:1 “He’s a proven help in time of trouble – more than enough and always available whenever you need Him, so you will never have to fear!” - “He will uphold you with His righteous right hand.”
Ps. 89:21 “His hand will sustain you; His arm will surely strengthen you.”
And finally here are the five dreams I mentioned at the beginning:
- The devil was trying to frighten someone, but I knew that there was no reason for them to fear, because He has already been defeated! This is my reason for giving you this prophetic word at this time.
Psalm 23:4 “Fear will never conquer you for the Lord already has!” I declare it over you right now! Now, you speak it over yourself!1 John 4:4 “Little children, you can be certain that you belong to God and have conquered them (the flesh, the world and the devil), for the One who is living in you (the triune God) is far greater than the one who is in the world.”
- I was in the middle of a battle and I heard the Lord cry out, “Have no fear!”
We have definitely been thrown into a battle that we never asked for. It’s time to decide which mountains are worth dying for. Choose your battles wisely and refuse to be drawn into something that’s not something the Lord is calling you to. And, if it is something the Lord, Our wisdom, is calling you to, then remember that there’s no reason to fear for He is with you!
- I saw someone who was sinking into depression and, if I hadn’t rescued them, they would have given up and given into depression or suicide.Genesis 4:9 “Am I my brother’s keeper?”Yes, you are! Ask God, our wisdom what you can do to help someone.
- I saw a car whose brakes went out going down a steep hill. And the person in the car was terrified as they didn’t know how to stop it. And all of a sudden, I was transported into the car with the driver. I began throwing out baggage to make the car lighter, so that it would be able to stop. (In reality, we know that throwing bags out of a car to make it lighter would normally not make any difference in getting a car stopped, though it might help to keep a boat from sinking. But, this was the dream and anything can happen in a dream.)
There are some of you that have family members, friends, or co-workers in your life who are feeling like they’ve messed up their lives beyond the point of return. And you will be Jesus to them, taking their heavy burdens (their baggage) and throwing it out for them in prayer, lightening their load and leading them to the Savior. Right now, more than ever, people need the Good News!
- I was remembering God’s goodness and ordered fear to be canceled. And this was when the Holy Spirit said, “Did you know that the antidote for the spirit of fear is the fear of the Lord!”
I declare over you once again:
Psalm 23:4 “Fear will never conquer you, for He already has!”
Psalm 25:14 “The Lord is a friend to those who fear Him!”
It’s time for the struggle to end. It’s time to embrace the confidence and joy found in knowing and getting to know God better! This is true wisdom. Trade in your fear for the fear of the Lord and take shelter in His love!
God’s whisper:
I know about your hard times and I’m moved deeply by that which troubles you – in your home, at your work, with your family, with your health. I am moved by the feelings of your heart. And I will never fail you. It’s time for you to run into me. I have a place here at my fellowship table waiting for you. And even though your enemies may be raging around you, I have a feast waiting right here for you. Come into me and enjoy! I am inviting you to step into my presence, the place of peace, the place of victory.
Fear cannot overtake you here. Instead, you will dine on the luscious fruits of victory that I have purchased for you. And the fruit of satisfying grace and mercy will be your portion. Mercy that sustains you even when you stumble, for I will uphold you every step of your journey. Fear not, for I know the path forward. I will never abandon you or leave you, but I will support you and hold you up with my righteous right hand! For I am yours and you are Mine!
CALENDAR
July 10-12: Franklin, TN – Generations Church
July 16-19: Metairie, LA – Victory Church
July 24-26: Vancouver, WA – Bethesda
August 1-2: Minneapolis, MN – Meeting Broadstreet
August 3-4: Minneapolis, MN – Josiah’s House
August 7-9: Chambersburg, PA – World Harvest Outreach
August 16: Wichita, KS – New Life Covenant Church
August 21-23: Delaware, OH – Northgate
(All dates are subject to change, especially during the pandemic. To get more info and updates about our schedule, go to our calendar at passionandfire.com/calendar.
TPT ONLINE BIBLE COURSES
Our online Bible courses are Revelation: Part 1 & 2, Song of Songs, Ephesians, and Philippians are available at https://tptbibleschool.com/online-courses/. For more information and updates on the school, please check us out on our website.
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ISRAEL TRIP
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TPT Update
Brian is almost finished with Jeremiah. This season we’ve had at home has given him the time needed to work on the translation. We really didn’t expect to finish Jeremiah until the end of the year, but here we are and just about to finish in half the time! You can see why we need to stay home more. And I’ve been keeping up with the editing as well. I’ve also finished The Dreamer, including writing the forward. Now, it’s time for me to get the notes on Joshua to put together a book.
We’re very thankful for our good health and our ability to have this extra time to write. We’re also being inundated with requests to do webinars. Brian has done several radio spots as well. It’s fun connecting with people all over the globe this way. Thank you for your prayers!
Of course, you can find the Passion Translation and some of our books on audio. And look for other information at our https://PassionandFire.com website. If you’re one of our Aussie friends, you can purchase the translation and all the books from Korong and amazon.com.au. Our Canadians friends can purchase them at amazon.com.ca.
A special thank you to all our Passion & Fire Partners for your monthly donations, for all of you for your incredible prayers, and for following us daily on our websites and social media. You have no idea how much we appreciate your sacrifices of love for us!
If you’re a partner (at $99/mo or more), we’ll automatically send you each new book of the translation as it comes out. (This does not include the other books, only the translation.) You will also receive the webinars, notes and the archive of the webinar and you will have the opportunity to meet us personally during one of our conferences when we’re in your area. It’s just another way of saying thanks and of getting to know you.
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If you would like to become one of our Passion & Fire Partners, you can do so by making a monthly donation of $99 or more. Or you can make a one-time, tax-deductible gift by credit card at our web site www.passionandfire.com or through our PayPal account (click the link below for easy access) or you can mail your offering to Passion and Fire Ministries, PO Box 4068, Madison, CT, 06443.
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, feel free to contact our administrator, Tiffany. She can be reached at Tiffany@passionandfire.com or you can call 877-566-4289.
PRAYER REQUESTS
- New partners to make up the financial loss of canceled meetings
- Good health for us and our family
- Wisdom and revelation for the translation and our other projects
