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A couple of weeks ago we talked about Christ’s peace,And what it means for us to have Christ’s peace with/in/for us.This week I want to look at fear.What is fear?Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain or harm;A feeling of anxiety regarding the likelihood of something.Now - knowing the definition of fear, let’s look at Romans 8:15 ***READ***Do you hear that?!We did not receive a spirit that makes us fearful slaves to sin!Well, what spirit did we receive then?According to Romans 8:15, we received the Holy Spirit.It says that we did not receive a spirit (lower case s) of fear,But instead, we received the Spirit of adoption (Spirit with a capitol S)…the Holy Spirit.The Spirit of God.Oh Church, this is about to get good.We received the Holy Spirit of God.Well, that’s great and all, but how does that relieve our fear?Where does our fear stem from?I mean as someone who knows right from wrong;As someone who is a rational human being;As someone who has been through some ups and downs and come out ok…Where does our fear come from?Well, what kind of fears are we talking about here, right?I am talking about fear of the future; fear of tomorrow; fear of failing;Fear of walking through a door we WANT to walk through…Fear that we will not do the right thing;Fear that God will be disappointed with me if I choose “wrong”;Fear of the immediacy of life and decision we think need to made right now;I am talking about deep seated fears that ultimately come from being deceived in the Garden of Eden.I am NOT talking about fear of snakes, or creepy crawlies, or clowns…I am talking about fear that hinders us everyday…The same fear that grabbed a hold of Adam and Eve.Sin brings with it fear,And for some of us, it I can be crippling to our walk with Christ.Now, the laws of God…the precepts of God…are written on our hearts and mindsJeremiah 31:33 ***READ***Now, this is for the Jews, but we see in Romans 2:14-15, that under the New Covenant (Christ),This reaches the Gentiles as well:14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) So you see, these precepts of God are there, and when we are not aligned with them,There is fear in our very soul because - when we are not aligned,With the will and heart of God - we are aligned with sin.And when we are slaves to sin; when we are controlled by our sinful nature,That causes this deep seated fear that seems irrational.Listen to Romans 8:5-6***READ***You hear that?When we are dominated by our sinful nature, we think about sinful things,And that leads to death…which carries with it profound fear.Conversely, those who have submitted to the Holy Spirit,Think about the things of the Spirit…Godly things, things that please the Holy Spirit,And this leads to life and peace, which carries none of that fear with it.Now, those