ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: DEALING WITH FEAR, Part 2

Another Coffee Break:

Dealing With Fear, Part 2

July 11, 2014

We have a lot of ground to cover today, so without any preliminaries, let's get underway again today with the verse from II Timothy 1:7, amplified from the Greek text: "For God has not endowed, or committed to our being and existence the spirit (the very breath and speaking forth) of fear, timidity and faithlessness; but of miraculous power, might and strength, and of agape love, and of a disciplined mind (under control and not subject to "flights of fancy")."  (RAC Translation and Amplification)

As noted in our last Coffee Break, the door to three families of fear opened up in human genesis when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Return with me to the Garden and watch what unfolds.  This will be a bit lengthy so bear with me as we go through Genesis 3.  The tactics and responses we see are revelatory of the way fear gains a foothold.

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

"And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?  And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

^"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

^"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

"And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.  Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

You see how things unfolded, right?  The serpent, Satan, uses the same kind of craftiness with Eve that he uses today on folks.  His M.O. hasn't changed one bit!  He worms his way into Eve's confidence with subtlety.  As anyone knows, "subtle" isn't an overnight proposition.  The serpent obviously had engaged in numerous conversations with Eve prior to the day in question and had gained at least a conversational confidence with her.

For some folks the question arises, "Wouldn't Eve be surprised at the serpent carrying on a conversation with her?"  Let's not forget that Adam and Eve's entire existence was supernatural -- at least by comparison to what we know today.  If a serpent began talking to us today, we'd just KNOW that there was something really weird going on!  We would definitely be on alert.  Not so in the Garden -- but that's another discussion for another day.

The serpent begins this day's discussion with the same tactic he uses today, "Hath God said?"  This is where the Fear of Evil begins.  Once you begin to question whether God has said something or not -- even when it is abundantly clear that He HAS said it -- you open the door for doubt and uncertainty; and with that uncertainty comes fear.

The serpent's questioning, however, goes way beyond that simple piece of doubt.  I will paraphrase what he said: "You mean that God restricts you from eating from one tree in the Garden?"  Eve, of course, answers back and says, "Of course we can eat of all the trees in the Garden, but that one tree we can't eat, or else we will die."

Now Satan opens the door wide with his lie: "You're not going to die!  That's stupid!  The only reason God says "Don't touch" is because He knows that if you do, you will become just like Him.  In fact, you will become gods with the ability to see just like He does, knowing good and evil."

So now God's integrity has been questioned.  Now it's OK to question God.  It's OK to doubt God's motives.  God is just trying to keep you from seeing and knowing what He knows.

Tell you what, folks!  The moment God's integrity is questioned, the moment His motives are questioned, you've thrown the door wide open for the Fear of Evil.  And THAT'S exactly what takes place!  Disobedience follows and Eve eats of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil despite the fact that the Lord has clearly warned that to ingest the fruit of that tree will induce death into the human frame.

God designed us and molded us into His image and likeness.  That's an eternal likeness!  We were designed for revelation -- NOT humanly acquired or academically-learned knowledge.  Knowledge which is acquired through human endeavor WITHOUT the revelation that flows by, through and from Holy Spirit poisons our spiritual DNA.  It becomes the HIV of the human spirit.

So.....instead of giving the fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil just a passing glance, Eve gazes at it now with longing and consideration.  "Wow!  That fruit REALLY looks good!  It looks luscious and yummy!  If I eat that, it will make me intelligent!"

And, sure enough, Eve picks a piece of ripe fruit from the tree and takes a bite.  "Mmmm...Mmmm...Mmmm, THAT tastes goooooooddd!!!"  Adam comes onto the scene just as Eve is taking the fruit off the tree and horror rips his being as he realizes what is just taking place.  You can almost feel the shaking inside as his mind races, "NOOOOOOO!!  Eve!  You can't!"  In a flash, his mind takes over and a human reasoning process unfolds.

A sinking feeling fills the pit of Adam's stomach.  The words spoken by their best friend, God, ring in his ears.  "In the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die."  Oh, Eve!  What have you done?  If you are separated from God, you will be separated from me.  If you are separated from me, you will have no one to protect and watch over you.  I will be lonely and incomplete again.  You will be lonely and incomplete in the same measure that I once knew.  I will not -- I cannot permit you to know that kind of agony.

And Adam reaches to take the fruit from his beloved, Eve, to the utter horror and surprise of the serpent.  He will partake of it, and in so doing, redeem her from the separation from him which would otherwise surely come.  Though Eve will know death, it will not be the kind of death which would have come had she been ripped from his fellowship, companionship and protection.  Adam will gladly take the death to himself, and in so doing, prevent the serpent from having her to his exclusive domain.  At the same time, in the moment Adam ate of that fruit, he brought the human race under submission to that old serpent, Satan.

OK, so I've somewhat dramatized this picture, but I wanted you to see and experience what I saw and experienced personally when I was transported in the Spirit to the Garden and watched this event unfold.  Even before I got to share this event with Della, the Lord showed her the exact sequence of these events and what Adam did.  (But that's another story that will have to wait for a different time.)

You've seen the sequence of events as they unfolded thus far, but we've yet to touch the consequences of what Adam and Eve did.

No sooner had they partaken of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil when fear set in.  Suddenly the Glory of the Lord, which had clothed them from the moment He had breathed His life into them, vanished and they realized that they were seeing each other for the first time stripped of God's presence.  That was a scary proposition.  They had never known each other except with the Glory covering them.  The Glory of God brought a peace and love and a sense of protection they'd never been without.

So Adam and Eve tried to "fix" the situation using their own un-anointed imagination.  They took a bunch of fig leaves and stitched them together (Imagine that!  Brother, that took some doing!) to make loin coverings to protect themselves.  Why do you suppose they needed protection -- especially for their private parts?  Nobody tries to protect themselves unless they fear danger or injury or death?  There's a whole lot more here that we could go into, but we will save that for another time.

Now, the Lord shows up on the scene.  Following what had become a normal daily event, God shows up for their daily walks, their fellowship and sharing.  Adam and Eve hear the sound of the Lord walking in the Garden.  (By the way, that is a very distinctive sound!  For folks in union and fellowship with Him, that sound brings great joy and excitement.  For people who are NOT in fellowship, or who have disobeyed a very specific command of His, that sound brings.....the Fear of Evil!)

THAT is precisely what took place.  The very sound of the Lord walking in the Garden provoked such fear that they ran and hid from Him amongst the trees.  And here we see the evidence of a wicked spirit which they've opened the door to by their disobedience: the spirit of the Fear of Evil.

Consider the nature of that spirit for just a minute.  The Fear of Evil specifically targets a person's relationship with God.  If you hide from God (or at least think you can hide from Him), it's because you are afraid He's going to bring down judgment upon you.  Folks try to hide from God in the midst of religion -- and religion is a direct product of the Fear of Evil.  One of the ways people try to hide from God is to involve themselves in a lot of "good works."  They attempt to shield themselves from what they perceive as the expected wrath or anger of God because of their failures by doing something that they think will compensate with God so that He doesn't execute judgment on them.

The Fear of Evil causes folks to miss out on what Jesus did on their behalf.  This fear blinds them to the fact that there is nothing they can do that will add to the price that Jesus paid with His suffering, His death on the Cross and His resurrection -- for them!   It's one thing to minister to the widows, the orphans, the needy and to do these things because Holy Spirit has specifically directed you to do them; and it is another thing altogether to do these "good works" because you are trying to "please God."

This may shock you, but God isn't impressed with "good works" that are done just because folks are trying to please Him.  The Fear of Evil drives those kinds of good works.  God isn't looking for folks to "help" Him!  He's looking for people who will respond to Him in a place of absolute love, trust and faith in His Word to them.  Faith and love-motivated obedience pleases God, NOT the doing of "good" works.  "Good" works motivated by eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of "Good" and Evil produce nothing of spiritual benefit when it comes to one's relationship with the Lord.

Getting back to Adam and Eve in the Garden, the Lord calls out, "Where are you?"

Adam's response is very telling: "I heard your sound in the Garden as you approached, and was fearful of you because I was naked; so I concealed myself amongst the trees."

God's response to Adam gets right to the heart of the issue: "Who told you that you were in the nude with no covering?  Have you eaten of the tree I specifically instructed you to NOT eat from?"

Now we're going to see the "blame game" get underway as the Fear of Man manifests.

"It's THAT woman you gave to me who did it!  (Get it?  All of a sudden, it's God's fault for giving Eve to Adam!?)  She gave me the fruit of the tree and I had to eat it!"

Well, folks, once the blame game starts, it's going to swing like a pendulum back and forth.   Obviously, the Lord isn't going to let this go.  "What have you done?"

And Eve is going follow Adam's example and pass the buck just like he did.  "The serpent seduced me.  He led me astray and convinced me it was OK to eat of the tree."

What's with this "blame game," anyway?  Once fear gets a foothold in a person, it begins to manifest in multiple ways.   We've already talked about the Fear of Evil, which is the granddaddy of all spirits of fear.  The Fear of Man, however, cannot stand to be seen as responsible for any contrary actions or blunders in the sight of other men or women, and when confronted will immediately point the finger at someone else.

In the case of Adam and Eve -- and even today in husband-wife relationships -- the finger will generally get pointed at the opposite spouse when tensions arise or one is confronted with an issue.  We'll talk more about this in the weeks ahead, but let's pick up the rest of this Garden event in our next Coffee Break.

Again, if you are in need of healing -- especially if you have some terminal disease or prognosis of a very short time to live from the doctors -- please join our prayer conference calls on either Monday or Wednesday of each week at 7:00 PM Eastern. Once again, the number to call is (805) 399-1000.  Then enter the access code: 124763#.  To get into the queue for prayer, when Randy opens the call up for everyone, hit *6-1 on your keypad. Let us minister to your need for healing!

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Sunnyside, Washington 98944

Email Contact: Admin@RiverWorshipCenter.org

Our book, A Tale of Two Brides, published by Destiny Image, is now available on Amazon.com as an E-book: http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Brides-Relationship-ebook/dp/B00BSV6HZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363139096&sr=8-8&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Brides#_

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.To remove yourself from the mailing list, please send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.

CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: INDEPENDENCE DAY

Another Coffee Break:

Independence Day

July 4, 2014

Today's Coffee Break is a departure from our new series on Dealing with Fear.  Because we celebrate Independence Day as a nation, I just felt to make some comments and observations and requests to all of you on this 4th of July.  We will return to our series on fear next week.

Today's photo is a bit unusual, I know.  Most folks have normal grandchildren -- don't they?  Some folks, like the Capeners, have kids, grandkids, and even great-grandkids who just don't fit the mold!  Today's picture was on the front page of the Anchorage Daily News.  This is our grandson, Joseph Picasso, who was yelling "USA" chants at the USA-Belgium World Cup soccer match.

Joseph, and his brother, Anthony, are both nationally-recognized soccer players, and they are sports fans of every stripe (pun intended)!  Because many of the attendees at the soccer match had painted their faces with USA flag colors, Joseph decided to do one better and paint the upper half of his body and then drape the flag, Superman style.  No accounting for what some folks will do, I guess.  (grin)  Joseph is normally a very sober-minded, focused young man.  Normally!  Guess he just HAD to be different at this soccer match.

During the past few days I've been remembering some of Benjamin Franklin's writings, his speeches, and the importance he placed on our nation's foundations as being rooted in our relationship with God.  Perhaps his most famous oration occurred when he was addressing the Federal Convention in 1787 as the delegates were struggling to come up with a Constitution for the new nation:

"Mr. President:

The small progress we have made after 4 or five weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other—our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes and ays, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, some we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of Government, and examined the different forms of those Republics which having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution now no longer exist. And we have viewed Modern States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.

In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection.

Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend?

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that "except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it."

I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service."

Franklin, as well as all of the Framers of the Constitution, realized the value of religion in society.  And they realized the value of prayer in the weightier matters of politics.  As it turns out, Dr. Franklin was not senile at all as some have suggested in more modern times; he was simply asking for divine assistance in what proved to be the formation of our American system.  Perhaps there were no "official" prayers during the Convention, but denying that the delegates wanted God's blessing and direction—now that would be senility.

Was that simply a political expression, or an attempt to curry favor with his outspoken Christian compatriots?  Was it a "deistic" expression?  I hardly think so.  You hear the ring of conviction in Benjamin Franklin's plea; and it is a notable shift from those things we read from Franklin's writings in his earlier years.  My personal sense is that as he sat there in that Federal Convention, the words he had heard the fiery Evangelist,  George Whitefield, preach years before rang in his ears.  There was indeed a realization on his part that except the Lord order the establishment of America as a nation, this country would soon fold under the weight of the anarchy of Godlessness.

It was on November 4, 1800, that Charles Carroll of Carrollton -- the one Roman Catholic who signed our Declaration of Independence -- wrote to another of the founding fathers, James McHenry, and said in part,

"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime & pure, [and] which denounces against the wicked eternal misery, and [which] insured to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."

He might just as well have been writing to today's ACLU -- an organization which has gone out of its way to "decry the Christian religion" and "undermine the solid foundations of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments" under the premise that government has no right to enact morals and Biblical standards for behavior.

There's a quote I find eminently appropriate for our 4th of July celebrations.  It comes from Leviticus 25:10, and appears as a quotation on the nation's Liberty Bell: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land to the inhabitants thereof."

In looking for the name of the individual(s) who commissioned the making of this bell, I was trying to find out who called for the inscribing of the Scripture verse.  It appears that our history has omitted the name of the person who actually proposed this, but the order for the casting of the original bell with scripture verse intact came from an order of the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania for the State House in Philadelphia (also known as Independence Hall) in 1751.  Although we have no concrete evidence to back it up, it would appear that the commissioning of the bell was to commemorate William Penn's Charter of Privileges written 50 years before.

To put the quote from Leviticus in context, here is the first paragraph of William Penn's preamble to that Charter of Privileges:

"BECAUSE no People can be truly happy, though under the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences, as to their Religious Profession and Worship: And Almighty God being the only Lord of Conscience, Father of Lights and Spirits; and the Author as well as Object of all divine Knowledge, Faith and Worship, who only doth enlighten the Minds, and persuade and convince the Understandings of People, I do hereby grant and declare, That no Person or Persons, inhabiting In this Province or Territories, who shall confess and acknowledge One almighty God, the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the World; and professes him or themselves obliged to live quietly under the Civil Government, shall be in any Case molested or prejudiced, in his or their Person or Estate, because of his or their conscientious Persuasion or Practice, nor be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious Worship, Place or Ministry, contrary to his or their Mind, or to do or suffer any other Act or Thing, contrary to their religious Persuasion."

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London cast the very first Liberty Bell, but its metal composition was so brittle that the very first time the bell struck, it cracked.  John Pass and John Stow, who were local Philadelphia founders, offered to melt and recast the bell and strengthen its composition.  The new bell was completed and hung in March, 1753.  The first time it rang, however, the city fathers didn't like its tone, so Pass and Stow recast it a third time.  They completed the work in short order, and in June, 1753, the bell was re-hung.  Although some of the city fathers still didn't like the tone of the new bell, the majority of citizens agreed that it was a good sounding bell, and this time the bell stayed.

That bell cracked almost a hundred years later, although the date of its initial crack is in question.  That crack, however grew in proportion on February 22, 1789 in honor of George Washington's Presidency when it tolled for several hours.  An attempt to repair the crack some 57 years later resulted in only extending the flaw, and the bell has not been rung publicly since.  The bell was recast and a replacement donated by Henry Seybert in 1876 at the Centennial Anniversary Celebration.

The name, "Liberty Bell," however, was not the name the bell was known by until 1835.  In fact, the bell had no name per se until R. G. Williams published Volume 1, No. 2 of The Anti-Slavery Record in February of 1835.  His comment is worth reprinting here:

"The Liberty Bell. Being in Philadelphia a few days since, I was invited after viewing the room in which the Declaration of Independence was signed, to ascend the tower of the State House, to take a view of the city. The view was delightful. On our ascent, we did not fail to examine the celebrated Bell. It weighs 2300 pounds, and was cast 23 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. On that occasion it was rung, and has been run every 22d February and 4th of July since. It is remarkable that the following inscription was on the bell when it was cast. It was considered a sort of prophecy: "PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND, AND TO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF." May not the emancipationists in Philadelphia, hope to live to hear the same bell rung, when liberty shall in fact be proclaimed to all the inhabitants of this favored land? Hitherto, the bell has not obeyed the inscription; and its peals have been a mockery, while one sixth of "all inhabitants" are in abject slavery."

In fact, Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation almost 29 years later fulfilled the prophecy, and the Liberty Bell became a prophetic symbol of the freedoms we enjoy in Christ as Americans.  It commemorated to a certain degree the words of those Mayflower settlers whose compact and covenant began, "In the name of God…Having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith… "announcing the fact that this nation's very beginnings were undertaken "for the Glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith."

The signs and symbols, the Scripture references that abound in our founding fathers' commentaries, and their labors of love and covenant to establish this great nation make abundantly clear that they purposed to have "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

America has, because of its degeneration and promiscuity, fallen into the hands of the lawless who think nothing of ignoring our foundations, the Constitution which was written to provide checks and balances against the tyranny of a few, and the blood of our founding fathers who bled and died in order to see that this nation was founded in and with a covenant relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Never has there been a greater crisis for this nation's existence in its 238 year history than we face today.

This is why I call upon every believer to join in daily prayer and intercession for the removal of the wicked and the raising up of righteousness at every level of governance and influence across this nation: from the White House (and its various cabinets) to the Senate, to the House of Representatives, to governors and state legislatures, to city and county governments.

We have been a free and independent nation, but our independence has caused us to stray from our dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ for His governance in this land.  It's time to reverse thing, folks!

Happy Independence Day, America!

Healing conference calls have resumed with our normal schedule.  If you are in need of healing please join our prayer conference calls on either Monday, Wednesday or Friday of each week at 7:00 PM Eastern.  Once again, the number to call is (805) 399-1000.  Then enter the access code: 124763#.  Let us minister to your need for healing!

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES

RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Sunnyside, Washington 98944

Email Contact: Admin@RiverWorshipCenter.org

Our book, A Tale of Two Brides, published by Destiny Image, is now available on Amazon.com as an E-book: http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Brides-Relationship-ebook/dp/B00BSV6HZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363139096&sr=8-8&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Brides#_

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com.   Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.To remove yourself from the mailing list, please send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.

CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: DEALING WITH FEAR, Part 1

Another Coffee Break:

Dealing With Fear, Part 1

June 27, 2014

Peter and Janet Van Hierdan are friends we've known for the past nine years.  We met under rather unusual circumstances during a tour of the National Cemetery in Washington, DC.  Peter was walking in front of us, engaged in an animated discussion with a Canadian friend.  I couldn't help overhearing them as Peter was describing a series of puzzling events that were taking place in his home with his teenage children.

It seems that they'd been having Bible studies with other kids from the area.  Peter and Janet had been supervising and leading these Bible studies and things had taken a decidedly unusual turn -- especially for folks whose church and faith background was rooted in the Netherlands Reformed Congregation.  After the time of Bible study was finished, the kids would get together and begin praying.  One evening without any warning, some of them began speaking in tongues.

Soon those who'd been baptized in the Holy Spirit began laying hands on others, and it spread like fire.  They started praying for one another and seeing healings take place.  For families who had no background whatever in these kinds of displays it was a source of consternation. 

Overhearing Peter's discussion during our walk in the National Cemetery and his puzzlement over what he was seeing and hearing, I couldn't help but insert myself into the conversation.  It resulted in Peter and Janet coming to our hotel room that night while Della and I shared with them.  We laid hands on them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit that night, and while we didn't see or hear any immediate manifestation of their speaking in tongues, the seeds were planted -- seeds that would shortly explode with humorous manifestation.  All of us had been in DC for a conference and when the conference ended, we shared telephone numbers and addresses (Peter and Janet live in Lethbridge, Alberta), and we headed our respective ways.

A few days later Peter calls me.  "I just received a phone call from my wife -- at least I'm pretty sure it's my wife -- but I can't understand a word she's speaking!"  He explained that Janet regularly went on prayer walks just to be alone with the Lord.  On this occasion as Janet had been praying, she received a royal download of her prayer language, to the point where (as I shared with you in the last Coffee Break about my own experience) she couldn't speak English.  I assured Peter that this was not unusual, and that he should expect more of this.

In the weeks, months and years that followed, Della and I were able to be with them in their home and see the continual growth and the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit abound in their family to the point that their sons and their daughters developed unusual prophetic giftings.

I've really only scratched the surface of this story but my purpose in sharing is to introduce Janet to you and to let you know that she has published a rather unique book titled, Preparing the Bride of Christ for His Return.  This book is a chronicle of her own experiences and revelations developed during her prayer walks and times with the Lord.  When Janet first began to share the book with me, I saw it as an extraordinary and very inspirational daily devotional and recommended that she chapterize it in that manner.

The book is currently available at Amazon.com in both softcover and e-book form.  A link is available on our website at www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com.  Simply click on the photo of the book cover.  You won't be disappointed!

OK, my introductions today got a bit windy, so let's see if we can get cracking on this new series.

In the thirty-plus years that have gone by since Holy Spirit first began to download into me the revelation of the families of fear, my understanding has grown by a quantum leap of just how pervasive these families are, and the extent to which these wicked spirits conceal themselves as part of the character or personality of individuals.

In 1981, I was invited to speak on a Sunday night at the Presbyterian church in Fairbanks, Alaska on the subject of deliverance.  One of the elders of the church was a gentleman whom I'd known as a teenager, growing up in Barrow, and he'd heard me share in a Charismatic conference on deliverance from fear.  He shared what he'd heard with the pastor, and as a result I was given the invitation to come and teach.

When I began to teach, I made the statement that "If you get stirred inside, if anger rises up inside you or you get really fidgety while hearing this message, that's a good sign!  The Enemy who has hidden himself inside you -- an enemy who has camouflaged himself as part of your nature and makeup -- does NOT want you to hear and receive the truth that you have authority over him, and that you can be rid of him."  When I finished sharing that night, the first person to the front of the church to receive deliverance was the pastor.  More than three-quarters of the church followed him to the front.  As they followed me in a prayer of deliverance, there were a few cases of folks who began to cough almost uncontrollably, some began to experience convulsing as though they were about to vomit and some made hissing noises but most of them very calmly exercised the authority they had in Christ Jesus to receive their deliverance.

My very first experience with ministering deliverance from fear occurred a decade earlier in Salt Lake City.  An 18-year-old girl sat on the front row of the church as I was teaching, and when I finished she immediately volunteered the fact that she lived her life in constant fear, doubt, and uncertainty, reacting to sudden noises or events around her as though something was going to kill or injure her.  When I spoke to the spirit of fear and commanded it to leave her, the sound that came out of her mouth was almost unbelievable.  It was akin to the sound of a steam locomotive with a deafening hiss and something approaching a scream.

Have to admit, the look of shock on her face and the faces of those sitting near her was something to behold!  But the manifestation of her deliverance from fear and the boldness that developed in her life in the years that followed was a story all by itself.  Although I left Salt Lake City the following year to minister with Dwain McKenzie at Long Beach Christian Center (in California), events transpired which allowed me to see this young woman's life unfold and keep track of her for a number of years to come.  She eventually went on to become a stock broker, an investment advisor, and -- eventually -- a managing director for Smith-Barney (now Morgan Stanley Smith Barney).

With that, let's lay some foundations from the Word.

II Timothy 1:7 (KJV):  "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Let's expand this a bit from the Greek text:  "For God has not endowed, or committed to our being and existence the spirit (the very breath and speaking forth) of fear, timidity and faithlessness; but of miraculous power, might and strength, and of agape love, and of a disciplined mind (under control and not subject to "flights of fancy")."  (RAC Translation and Amplification)

Then we pick up with a verse shared in the previous Coffee Break from I John 4:18 (KJV):   "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."

Once again, here is the same verse amplified from the Greek text:

"There is never any alarm or fright or excessive concern in the love feast [we have with Jesus]; but completed and mature love throws out any fright or excessive concern: because fright and alarm bring torment. He who allows himself [the luxury] of alarm, or fright, or excessive concern does not permit the finished work and maturity of God's love feast in Christ Jesus in us."  (RAC Translation and Amplification)

Now, take another look at the way the Greek phrases II Timothy 1:7:  "For God has not endowed, or committed to our being and existence the spirit (the very breath and speaking forth) of fear, timidity and faithlessness; but of miraculous power, might and strength, and of agape love, and of a disciplined mind (under control and not subject to "flights of fancy")."

Do you see it?  God HAS NOT endowed us with any spirit of fear.  We were never given the breath of an evil spirit at Creation.  Adam and Eve were endowed with and imbued with the breath of God, and His breath became their spirit.  For the 2,000 years or so they lived in the Garden, their lives exemplified what John describes in his Gospel like this:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life; and the life was the light of men."  (John 1:1-4 KJV)

When God breathed the breath of life into Adam and Eve, He breathed into them HIS life, and that life was light -- both in the sense of what flowed in their veins AND in the context of the revelation that filled their beings.  Adam and Eve never had to go to school to learn anything.  They didn't graduate from Eden University.  They never had to attend Garden Tech in order to learn how to tend the Garden.  Eve didn't have a PhD in child-rearing or home economics.  Adam didn't attend four or eight years at the Divine Institute of Technology in order to transition between dimensions or to become expert in zoology.

OK.  You can laugh at me if you like, but you get the picture!  The naturally supernatural ability to do what they did came with the Breath of God being breathed into their beings.  It brought all the revelation they would ever need to fulfill every commission God gave them. 

Oh, and by the way, when God breathed into Adam, and then into Eve after He took a rib from Adam and made her, He didn't conduct a ceremony in which He stood before them and performed some kind of ritual.  God blessed them with His declaration, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.  And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.  And to all the animals on the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the ground—to everything in which there is the breath of life—I have given every green plant for food."  (Genesis 1:28-30  Amplified Bible)

What Adam and Eve received from the Lord with His Spirit being breathed into them, AND the blessing He declared over them, was total dominion over the earth.

David makes this clear in Psalm 115:16 when he writes, "The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men."  (KJV)

It's even clearer when you read it in the Hebrew text:  "The Heaven, even the Heavens [past, present and future], are the Lord's: but the earth has He appointed, assigned, delivered and charged to the sons [and daughters] and descendants of Adam."

By now you are seeing it, aren't you?  What happens when someone is given complete dominion -- full authority?

They are given the control of things!  No one, no being, no entity has the power or authority to take it away.  If the one with dominion and authority cedes any part of that authority to someone else, then that "someone else" has the ability to function or to exercise some rule in the stead of the grantor.

Let's put it another way.  The grantor has the final authority.  He is a king.  The one to whom some portion of power or authority is granted is still subject to the king.  That individual is regarded as a prince.

It may seem like I'm really going around a 40-acre field but my objective is to show you some contrasts, and in the process help you understand the nature and the foundation for the creation of, or basis for fear.

Once again, what was it that first happened with Adam and Eve?  "And God blessed them......."  With God's Blessing came His authority!  With God's Blessing, Adam and Eve had full revelation of God's plan for the Garden; they had all their needs supplied; they had the creative ability to call each of the animals, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and endue them with their respective nature, their character, their personality and their makeup.

Here's one thing most folks miss in this picture: Adam had dominion over the serpent!  The serpent was subject to him.  The serpent was answerable to him.  Despite the fact that Satan had entered into the serpent, causing it to take on Satan's character and makeup, the serpent still remained a serpent -- a reptile (or creeping thing), if you will -- over which Adam had all rule and authority.

When the serpent deceived Eve through cunning and subtlety into eating of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he tricked Eve into violating God's command and warning that doing so would induce death.  Adam acted with purpose, not being deceived, and he acted emotionally, not fully considering or comprehending the long-term consequences of his action when he took the fruit from Eve and ate of it himself.  God specifically commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of that tree -- NOT because He was trying to keep something good from them, but because the human frame was never designed for any knowledge acquired by anything other than revelation.

What Adam did not comprehend was that when an individual eats of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, three serious consequences follow: (1) the Knowledge of Good produces pride and arrogance; (2) the Knowledge of Evil produces the Fear of Evil, and along with it a host of other fear families; and (3) that kind of fear produces a chain reaction in human cells and human DNA resulting in ultimate death.

Adam and Eve were never designed to die.  They were created in the image and likeness of God, Who is Eternal.  They had dwelled in the Garden for some 2,000 years (give or take), walking and talking with the Lord and functioning inter-dimensionally between earth and the heavenlies.  The fact that partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil began marking a point in their existence at which life would terminate produced in them (and all their descendants) the Fear of Death.

Next week we will explore the events that unfolded in Scripture when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of that tree, and watch each specific event that followed, along with a visual demonstration of the families of fear as they activated in both of them.

Again, if you are in need of healing -- especially if you have some terminal disease or prognosis of a very short time to live from the doctors -- please join our prayer conference calls on either Monday or Wednesday of each week at 7:00 PM Eastern. Once again, the number to call is (805) 399-1000.  Then enter the access code: 124763#.  To get into the queue for prayer, when Randy opens the call up for everyone, hit *6-1 on your keypad. Let us minister to your need for healing!

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Sunnyside, Washington 98944

Email Contact: Admin@RiverWorshipCenter.org

Our book, A Tale of Two Brides, published by Destiny Image, is now available on Amazon.com as an E-book: http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Brides-Relationship-ebook/dp/B00BSV6HZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363139096&sr=8-8&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Brides#_

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.To remove yourself from the mailing list, please send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.

CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.