I AM WITHOUT FEAR – PART 2

2 – YHVH Has Given Me… The Love To Motivate My Actions:

A lady answered the knock on her door to find a man with a sad expression. I am sorry to disturb you, he said, but I am collecting money for an unfortunate family in the neighbourhood. The husband is out of work, the kids are hungry, the utilities will soon be cut off and worse, they are going to be kicked out of their apartment if they don’t pay rent by this afternoon. I’ll be happy to help, said the woman with great concern. But who are you? I’m the landlord, he replied. I guess his motivation is clear. But what about us, why do we act upon the spiritual gift YHVH has given to us? I find it interesting that in Paul’s list of equipment for overcoming fear and timidity that he lists love between power and a sound mind. For YHVH hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of …love… -- 2 Timothy 1:7. Tina Turner made the phrase famous What’s love got to do with it? And indeed, what does love have to do with fanning into flame my spiritual gift and giving me the ability to overcome cowardice in using that gift? It is love that drives me, that consumes me and motivates me to do the things that YHVH wants me to do. Power enables me to accomplish what YHVH wants done, but if I do not have love for YHVH and for my neighbour, I am going to live in fear and timidity. As a human being I have been wired to need a reason for doing the things that I’m doing – if I don’t have that reason I will not be motivated to act. Of course, YHVH could just order us to do what He wants us to do but instead, He gives us the motivation to do it through the example of His Son. And walk in love, as Moshiach also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to YHVH for a sweet-smelling savour. -- Ephesians 5:2. I look at Yeshua’ willingness to come to earth as a human being and I see love. I think of Yeshua’ compassion for the hurting masses and I see love. I see Yeshua taking the nails in His hands and feet and dying on the Cross and I see love. I celebrate the rising of Yeshua from the dead as the firstborn of many yet to come and I see love. Everything about Yeshua exudes love for us and as His follower my motivation comes from both knowing I am loved and the need that YHVH has instilled within me to love others. No matter what spiritual gift YHVH has given to us, our motivation to act upon it with courage is motivated by our desire to love others. When I choose to cringe in fear when YHVH calls me to minister I am demonstrating my unwillingness to love as YHVH has loved me. When I choose to move out in the power of YHVH I am not only acting in faith, I am also acting with the compassion of Yeshua Moshiach Himself.

3 – YHVH Has Given Me… The Discipline To Follow Through:

For YHVH hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of… a sound mind -- 2 Timothy 1:7. A sound mind here means to have self-discipline. Dr. Evan O'Neill Kane was a chief surgeon and had practiced his specialty for 37 years. He was convinced that general anaesthesia was too risky, that people should be operated on with simply a well-administered local anaesthesia so the risks of general anaesthesia could be bypassed. He was anxious to prove his theory. The problem was finding a guinea pig willing to go under the knife while conscious. All those he talked to, it seemed, were fearful of their bodies waking up during the surgery and feeling the pain of the deep, probing scalpel. Finally, he found a subject. Kane had performed appendectomies thousands of times. So, it was once again, the same procedure. The patient was prepped and brought to the operating room. The local anaesthesia was carefully administered and the surgery began. As always, Kane cut across the right side of the abdomen and went in. He tied off the blood vessels, found the appendix, excised it and sutured the incision. Remarkably, the patient felt little discomfort. In fact, he was up and about the next afternoon, which is remarkable since this was 1921, when people who had appendectomies were typically kept in the hospital six, seven or even eight days. It was a milestone in the world of medicine. It was also a display of courage, because the patient and the doctor were one and the same. Dr. Kane had operated on himself! Dr. Kane had a passion for what he was called to do in life. He was also disciplined enough to carry out what had to be done even if he was the only one willing to do it. No matter what the cost, the possible risks involved or the ultimate outcome, Dr. Kane made up his mind that he would do whatever was necessary. In the ministry of Yeshua Moshiach, we would acquire the same self-discipline when it comes to exercising our spiritual gifts to minister to others. YHVH will give us the power to get the job done, YHVH will motivate us by demonstrating His love and showing us how to love others, but it is up to us as individuals to sign on the dotted line and say: [YHVH, whatever it takes, I am going to do it to get the job done.] Are you willing to do that? If so, get ready to rise out of the spiritual wasteland of fear and timidity and be used by YHVH in a mighty way. During the Gulf War of 1991, Iraq launched a series of Scud missile attacks against Israel. Many Israeli citizens died as a result of these attacks. After the war was over, Israeli scientists analyzed the official mortality statistics and found something remarkable. Although the death rate had jumped among Israeli citizens on the first day of the Iraqi attacks, the vast majority of them did not die from any direct physical effects of the missiles. They died from heart failure brought on by fear and stress associated with the bombardment. Psychological studies conducted on Israelis at the time showed that the most stressful time was the first few days leading up to the outbreak of war on January 17th and peaking on the first day of the Scud missile attacks. There was enormous and well-founded concern about possible Iraqi use of chemical and biological weapons. The government had issued to the entire Israeli population gas masks and automatic atropine syringes in case of chemical attack, and every household had been told to prepare a sealed room. After the first Iraqi strike turned out to be less cataclysmic than feared, levels of stress declined markedly. As in other wars, the people adapted to the situation with surprising speed. Then as the fear and anxiety subsided, the death rate also declined. There were 17 further Iraqi missile attacks over the following weeks, but Israeli mortality figures over this period were no higher than average. It was fear and the psychological impact of the missiles, not the physical impact that claimed the majority of victims. I think something similar happens among believers, we allow ourselves to be paralyzed by a fear that is completely unjustified. YHVH has given us the tools necessary to accomplish His will and to minister according to our spiritual giftedness, now it is time to act and to rebuke fear. Let us fan the flame that YHVH’s Spirit has placed within us and let us start, right now.