INSTITUTE OF LOVE

The Profile of A Coward

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Text Box: "But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." Revelation 21:8 NLT According to the dictionary, a coward is a person who lacks the courage to do or endure unpleasant things. It is also a person who is excessively afraid or very fearful or timid or easily intimidated. You can also say that a person who is a coward lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, and pain. This is a serious problem that many Christians struggle with and which makes them act like cowards, paralyzed by fear, and not able to have an effective faith walk in Jesus Christ and experience victory in their circumstances - and certainly not when they find themselves in battle as their faith is being tested. They are bound by the demonic spirit of slavery to fear which causes, among other things, paranoia, nervousness, fainting, shock, phobias, panic attacks, doubt, trauma, and in many cases heart attacks. The Bible says in 2. Timothy 1:7 NLT: For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. God wants us to have a strong heart and not to be afraid, because He will always come to our aid. Just look at what God says in the book of Isaiah, chapter 35 verse 4: Say to those with fearful hearts, "be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you." Isaiah 35:4 NLT If we disobey the Word of God, we allow the coward demon to have entrance in us and cause curses to come upon our lives. "If you refuse to obey all the words of instruction that are written in this book, and if you do not fear the glorious and awesome name of the Lord your God, then the Lord will overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick." Deuteronomy 28:58-59 NLT For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us. Hebrew 10:28-29 NLT It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31 NLT That is why we must be very careful who we hang around, and what we listen to. 'Is anyone here afraid or worried? If you are, you may go home before you frighten anyone else.' Deuteronomy 20:8 NLT In order to be able to do the work of God effectively, we need to be free from the spirit of cowardice. In Judges 7:3, God tells Gideon to send his fearful and coward warriors home. The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, 'Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.'" So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. Judges 7:2-3 NLT Jesus, on many occasions, taught and rebuked His disciples when they were acting fearfully and cowardly, saying things to them like, "Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!" (Matthew 8:26 NLT). Or, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Mark 4:40 NLT). Here is another example in the Bible of a bunch of coward people who believed in Jesus Christ, and yet they were very afraid to acknowledge believing in Him publicly, because of their great fear of being expelled from the synagogue. Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God. John 12:42-43 NLT Such a failure to publicly acknowledge Jesus is a dangerous thing to do, since Jesus said, “But every-one who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:33 NLT Based on the scriptures above, being a coward is a sin that will keep you from going to Heaven. If you have not yet cast out the spirit of fear, then you need to ask God to forgive you for being fearful every time you get afraid, and receive His Spirit that will NOT make you a fearful coward! So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." And this is the reason why; For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Romans 8:15-16 NLT Copyright©2011 Edwin & Sophia Christiaan Text Box: By Edwin Christiaan