Published by Berea Goshen Church, Austin Texas
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Berea Goshen Report
October 2021
Horror-ween and the Spirit of Fear?
It is amazing, isn’t it, when you compare October to December! October has its darkness, cobwebs, haunted houses, goblins, witches and death as symbolized in skeletons and graveyards.
But December, O! December, with its wonderful Christmas music, colorful lights, gift exchanges, friends and family get-togethers and displays of manger scenes that celebrate life…the birth of baby Jesus! The difference and symbolism is so stark that all, but especially Christians, ought to participate only in one and shun the other.
It seems as though the world wants equal time for life and death, God and the devil, light and darkness, love and fear! What is wrong with Horror-ween, you say? The promotion of Fear!
The Bible calls Fear a Spirit. 2Tim 1:7 says
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
This is the reason people are often afraid even when there is nothing really in the circumstances to be afraid of.
Fear is not a feeling, primarily. “Fright” is the feeling, the feeling or sensation that sometimes, not always, accompanies the Spirit of Fear or is the result of the presence of the Spirit of Fear. But, the Spirit of Fear can be present when there is no “fright” at all. In fact, many, many more times than not, the Spirit of Fear is present although there is no “fright” in sight. Don’t be fooled!
The fact that “fright” does not always accompany the Spirit of Fear is part of the camouflage of the Spirit of Fear. Like its master the devil who is a thief, according to John 10:10, the Spirit of Fear “cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” but, it prefers to operate under cover…it prefers to do its work undetected. Like the thief that it is, the Spirit of Fear prefers to steal you blind and you not even know it.
What does it mean to say that Fear is a spirit? It means that Fear is a spiritual force! According to the dictionary, the word “force” means to compel, to make or cause, to impose, to press (put pressure on) or drive, to induce. So, for example, Gravity is a force and as such gravity causes, compels, puts pressure on and drives objects to fall to the earth. Likewise, the Spirit of Fear causes, compels, puts pressure on and drives people to yield to the devil and to do his bidding. Hence, we must shun any association with the Spirit of Fear such as Horror-ween.
Gravity is a powerful force but it is only a natural force and as such it is not nearly as powerful as the spiritual force of Fear! What gravity does in the natural arena, the Spirit of Fear can do in the spiritual arena, except thousands of times more powerfully, if allowed to.
The Spirit of Fear is the master evil spirit in the kingdom of darkness and spews out directly from the devil-the spiritual overlord of that kingdom. The Spirit of Fear is the chief death force in the devil’s kingdom. The Spirit of Fear makes the kingdom of darkness tick and without fear nothing works quite “right” in that kingdom! Hence the Bible says over and over again to “fear not!” “Fear not” and shut the devil out! “Fear,” and you will invite the devil in! And hence, we must shun any association with the Spirit of Fear such as Horror-ween.
Fear is every bit as powerful in the satanic kingdom as love is in God’s kingdom. Fear is the spiritual opposite of love. They are polar-opposite spiritual forces. “What about hate,” somebody said, “I thought hate was the opposite of love!” Nope! It is not.
Hate” is not a spiritual force… Hate is a natural force. Hate is governed by the 5 physical senses of touch, taste, sight, hear and smell. You hate something because of how it feels, tastes, looks, sounds or smells. These are exactly the same reasons why you would like something. “Like,” the opposite of Hate, is also not a spiritual but a natural force and it is based on the 5 physical senses.
Along these lines, please note that while “dislike” is a lesser form of “hate,” “like” is not a lesser form of “love” biblically speaking. Hence the Bible requires that you love everyone but does not require that you like everyone.
So, both fear and love are spiritual forces that dominate their respective spiritual kingdoms. But make no mistake about which of the two is superior! Naturally speaking, gravity is a powerful, natural force, but it can be overcome and superseded. Hence airplanes, birds and bugs can fly and rockets cantravel straight upwards at tremendous speeds.
What is wrong with Horror-ween, you say? The promotion of Fear! The Spirit of Fear is the chief death force in the devil’s kingdom.
The spiritual force of love will overcome and supersede the force of fear every time! The Bible clearly says that love casts out fear 1John 4:18:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
The Spirit of Fear is inferior to the Spirit of Love but that does not mean that the Spirit of Fear is powerless. Like we have said, it is a spiritual force! The Spirit of Fear works with its evil-companion and spiritual child “Doubt,” to wreak havoc like the love of God works with its blessed-companion and spiritual child “Faith” to do you blissful good!
Almighty God cannot do much for you except through His love and your faith in Him. Likewise, the devil can do very little harm to you without his fear and your doubt. Doubt is energized by the Spirit of Fear like faith is energized by the Spirit of the Love of God. In Galatians 5:6, the Bible says that faith works by love. That means, therefore, that “doubt” works by fear! It is the Spirit of Fear that causes you to doubt…doubt that God will do as He said. It is the Spirit of Fear that bombards you with the paralyzing case of the “yeah, but what ifs…”
The Spirit of Fear is your enemy #1. Hence you must shun anything that promotes fear. The Spirit of Fear is the reason why you did not obey God the last time He told you to do, say, go or be! The Spirit of Fear works to convince you of the lies of the devil.
The fact that “fright” does not always accompany the Spirit of Fear is part of the cover of the Spirit of Fear.
The Spirit of Fear told Adam and Eve that they were missing out on being just like God. It was a lie of course! They were already like God, having been made in the image of God! Adam and Eve gave in to the Spirit of Fear,
Then the same Spirit of Fear told Adam to hide from God…what a joke, right? As if he could actually do that! But that’s the Spirit of Fear and some of how it operates. The Spirit of Fear makes no sense at all except in the kingdom of darkness.
You may have heard that a little fear is good for you…Nope! Not so! Absolutely not! It may be the case that in the natural a little bit of polio, or what have you, is included in the vaccine against polio but it does not work that way in the spiritual arena.
In the spiritual realm, things of the kingdom of God, which is the kingdom of light, and those of the kingdom of the devil, which is the kingdom of darkness, never do or shall mix! They are mutually exclusive just like light and darkness are. The Bible says so repeatedly in the following verses to make sure that you and I get it! 2 Cor. 6:14-16.
There is really nothing good about the Spirit of Fear. Part of the strategy of the devil has been to muddy the waters, regarding what the Spirit of Fear is and what the Spirit of Fear does. Horror movies and festivals like Horror-ween are designed to desensitize us regarding the Spirit of Fear hence we must shun them.
Satan has also succeeded in making sure that the word “fear” is one of the most common words in the modern vernacular of all languages. The reason for that is that the devil is well aware of the power of words and knows too well that words create atmospheres that foster certain spiritual conditions. He knows that what Proverbs 18:21 says is truth:
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
So, the devil wants people to speak the word “fear” often, in order to help create the atmosphere for the Spirit of Fear to do its diabolical work undetected.
Thus, people use the word “fear” even when they really mean to convey “prudence.” So, for example, I do not pay my water bill every month because I am “afraid” that my water service will be cut off but because it is the responsible and prudent thing to do. But the devil prefers that I see that transaction in terms of fear and actually use the word “fear” in talking about it.
Many people say, “I am afraid so” or “I am afraid not” when they really mean “I think so” or “I don’t think so.” Scarcely do most of them know that they are, thusly, opening up their lives to the works of the devil, the father-spirit of fear. That’s exactly how the devil prefers it so that he can go on doing his work undetected.
…both fear and love are spiritual forces and dominate their respective spiritual kingdoms. But, make no mistake about which of the two is superior.
“Yeah but…doesn’t the Bible say to “fear” the Lord? Yes, but in those instances we are talking about reverential awe or respect. For example, everyone stands when the US president enters a room, not because they are afraid of him but out of respect for his high office. When it comes to the Lord, we are talking about holding Him in such high esteem that we are unwilling to offend Him. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:7.
“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”
Also Psalms 4:4 says:
“…Stand in awe (of the Lord), and sin not…”
Adam and Eve were, unfortunately, not the only ones who succumbed to the Spirit of Fear.
Job did too. Things were too honky dory (Texan for cool, calm and collected) for Job as far as the devil was concerned. Job had walked with God very closely, was “perfect and upright,” and by God’s grace, had become very wealthy. Job 1:1-3.
You may have heard that a little fear is good for you…Nope! Not so! Absolutely not!
Well, the devil could not let that situation remain lest anyone get the idea that godliness is profitable in this life… as well as in the life to come. 1Tim 4:8 says:
“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
So, the devil kept after Job with pesky suggestions that things were just too good to be true, and that something bad was not only bound to happen but was indeed about to happen.
Job failed to deal with the Spirit of Fear but instead let fear in by acting in fear when he made sacrifices for his children…just in case they had been up to no good, he thought. Well, how come Job thought that way? Because the Spirit of Fear bombarded him with that thought day and night, until Job succumbed, accepted the thought (the fear), and acted accordingly.
Job should have put his family in God’s hands and trusted God to keep them. When he acted out in fear, however, he opened the door to the Spirit of Fear. The devil then walked through the open door of fear and completely wiped Job out except for his life!
The Spirit of Fear then hid in the shadows and pointed the finger at God. Job believed that lie too and let bitterness toward God and blame of God set in. Fortunately, about 9 months later, after being rebuked by God for his errors, Job realized his mistake. Job admitted in Job 3:25
For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
Job then repented in Job 42: 1-6
“…Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not… Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
And when Job acted in love by praying for his friends, as instructed, the Lord restored to Job all that fear had stolen from him and then some!
Job 42:10 “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
In conclusion, the Spirit of Fear is a diabolical spiritual that we should not aid or abet in any way shape form or fashion! That means not associating with or participating in activities that invite it into our lives such as Horror-ween and horror movies.
