How to Overcome the Spirit of Terrorism

2 Timothy 1:6–12

Introduction

Take God’s precious Word, find 2 Timothy chapter 1, and in a moment we’re going to begin reading in verse 6.

Today we are going to talk about How to Overcome the Spirit of Terrorism.

Terrorism has taken hold in our societies in the flesh. The victims on television news no longer live in distant countries where suffering is sometimes “selfishly normalized”. These days, we personalize anguish much more because these faces and lives remind us of our own.

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Terrorism represents an emerging and global threat that affects the entire world and which, produces some specific effects.

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Among them are the significant lack of security, fear regarding future attacks and their unpredictability, fear and often a lack of trust in our institutions. We are faced with new emotional and psychological demands that we will need to know how to face.

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Terrorists do much more than accumulate death tolls, they affect the psyche of society.

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Psychiatrist Calvin Frederick said: Terrorism “Is psychological warfare.”

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Dr. Robert Ursano, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress - says the terrorists are clearly bent on more than a shocking body count. “The target of terrorism is not the terrible number of deaths and injuries, ‘It is to disrupt the rest of the nation, destroying our collective sense of security.’ ” (Newsweek Magazine)

An interesting article published in the magazine “Psychology Today” states that terrorism will have won in our societies the moment people start to carry out four specific actions:

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Cancel trips and stop traveling

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Feeling afraid every hour of the day and fearing an attack nearby

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Distrust institutions

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Feeling the need to move with the family to safer places

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In an article published in “Revista de Estudios Sociales”, psychologist Ordoñez Díaz states that the attacks seek, above all, to cause a psychological effect that causes great social impact, in addition to exercising a type of power linked to fear and insecurity.

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In other words, what terrorism wants to do is cause terror. It is more than a war against our buildings, our economy or our people; It's a war in our minds. And that's what Satan has always done.

Now before we even get to our text this morning, I was reminded of a passage in Isaiah that talks about the rise and fall of the ultimate terrorist—not Hamas, Hezbolha, ISIS or Osama bin Laden, but the ultimate terrorist, who is Satan himself. And just put these verses in your margin— Isa.14:12-17 - The prophet Isaiah looks at Satan’s rise and fall, and listen to what he says—Isaiah 14, verse 12:

Isaiah 14:“12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,

17 the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?””

“Is this the one who did that? Here is Satan, the highest of the high, brought to the lowest of the low. In the lowest hell, there he is—so low you have to kind of squint to see him. That’s him? That’s the one—the one who made the nations to tremble?”

Friend, we need to get a perspective of things. We need to see things as they are. You see, Satan’s chief tool—the one who weakens the nations and makes the nations to tremble—is terror. As I told you before, the chief terrorist is Satan. John 10:10 “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

That’s what he comes to do. And the way he keeps his people in tow is with the spirit of fear.

For example, in Hebrews 2:14–15

Hebrews chapter 2—put this scripture down; we haven’t gotten to a text yet—but Hebrews 2, verses 14 and 15:

“14 Since the children have flesh and blood, —he’s talking about us, the children of God—he too —now he’s talking about Jesus—shared in their humanity —that is, the great God stepped out of glory and robed Himself in human flesh—so that by his death —now, listen to this—he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil——who is that? Satan. The death of Jesus was the undoing of Satan’s kingdom——now, listen to this next phrase. 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” —“through fear of death”—“were all their lives were held in slavery.”

If Satan can put these chains on you, he’s got you: You’re his slave. And what chains are these? The fear of death.

Now God has commanded us—not suggested, but God has commanded us—in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 28—listen to it now—

“In nothing [be] terrified by your adversaries.” (Philippians 1:28)

Did you hear that? Satan keeps you in bondage through fear. God has said clearly, “Don’t be terrified.” Now, why would God command us not to be terrified if it’s impossible for us not to be terrified?

Again, what is the purpose of terror? What does the Bible teach? The terrorist want to bring us into terror.

Now when I heard what happened on October 7, there were many emotions that came to my heart and mind. Like a mighty Water Fall, they just rushed upon me: bewilderment, shock, fear, anger, compassion, and many other emotions. You had them all. They just came like this—and you could hardly believe it. We were just stunned—stunned. Some of these emotions are good, some bad, some indifferent, some terrible, some forbidden.

One emotion that is forbidden is terror. “Be not terrified.” That is what God said. We’re not to cooperate with the terrorist. If we cooperate with the terrorist, then he has won.

Now to our text—2 Timothy chapter 1, beginning in verse 6. Paul is talking to young Timothy, and he says,

2 Timothy 1:6–8 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

Now listen to this—

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

For God”—listen to this—“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind"//

Now I want to talk to you a little bit about the spirit of fear because the spirit of fear is synonymous with terrorism.

Now God did not give us the spirit of fear. That came from the devil. There is another spirit, an unholy spirit, a filthy spirit—it is the spirit of fear. If that spirit’s in you, I can tell you, it did not come from God.

A. Protective Fear

Now I did not say God did not give us fear. It may surprise you to know that God has given us fear. Fear is a gift of God, and there’s nothing wrong with fear. Fear is productive, and fear is protective. Franklin D. Roosevelt, a former president of the United States, said in a masterful speech to the nation, “There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” Well, that’s a wonderful line—it’s just not true. There’s a lot to fear. I mean, lock your doors at night, and check your cholesterol. Look both ways before you cross the street. There are all kinds of things out there. God has given us fear—healthy fear—to keep us alive and to keep us safe.

B. Reverential Fear

There are productive, and there are protective fears. Then the Bible also teaches the fear of the Lord. That’s not the spirit of fear; that’s the spirit of worship.

Listen to what Jesus said in

Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

"Pastor, “I thought we should love God, not fear God.” Listen friend, He who fears God the most is the one who loves God the most.

Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” //

What is the fear of the Lord? It is loving what is right and hating what is bad.

The Bible says in Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

That’s what God says, “So you’re going to hate what I hate, and what I hate is evil, and pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way.” And when you fear the Lord, you’ll fear these things.

You see, the fear of the Lord is a clean fear, not a filthy fear.

Psalm 19:9 “The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.”

When we fear God, when we come together with holy reverence, then God is blessed.

Psalm 89:7“In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.”

I don’t want any part of a church where the fear of God is not present. When we, with reverence and awe, stand in the presence of God, friend, God brings awe. God is awesome, not awful. He is awesome. And, therefore, we’re to have this fear.

C. The Spirit of Fear

So, there are productive and protective fears. There are reverential fears. But what is the spirit of fear? There’s a difference. The spirit of fear is terrorism.

This is what Satan wants to infect us with, affect us and keep us in captivity. It is very different. The fear of the Lord is holy. Normal fears are protective. If you were in one of those kibbutz that were attacked and you saw a girl being killed before your eyes, would you be afraid? Shake your head. Of course you would! Would this be legitimate fear? Off curse! This is how God made us. And it would be foolish to say to a person on that kibbutz, “Now, don’t be afraid.” I would have been scared. And any thinking person would have been scared. This is not the spirit of fear.

• See, fear like this is like a storm. Have you ever been in a storm where the lightning zigzags across the sky, and the wind howls, and the clouds stir, and the rain falls, and everything is shaking, and you cringe? But then it passes. The heavens reverse. Blue appears. The birds sing. The sun shines. The storm has passed. This is what legitimate fear is like.

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Do you know what the spirit of fear is like? The spirit of fear is like a fog that just arrives and never passes. It just sits there with the darkness and the sadness and the cold and the damp, and it just sits and sits and sits like a lingering fog.

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This is the spirit of fear. It's not like a storm, it's more like a heavy fog that just lingers over us and takes all the blue out of our sky, and doesn't come back.

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This is what the devil wants to do to this nation. It is this type of fear that causes the damage.

The Word of God says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

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Who wrote this? The apostle Paul. Who did he write this for? For Timothy. Where did he write it from? Where was he? He was in the Mamertine prison. The Mamertine Prison was a dark and filthy dungeon where the apostle Paul was, humiliated, mistreated, neglected, threatened, waiting to be killed. (I visited a similar prison in Caesarea…)

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You find no fear in Paul - nor the spirit of fear in him. In effect, he is saying to Timothy: “I am in prison, but I know whom I have believed; (2 Timothy 1:12) and, Timothy, God has not given us the spirit of fear.”

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Now he's writing this from prison. He is not writing this from an air-conditioned office. He's writing this from prison. And he says: "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

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The spirit of fear causes harm. In fact, Jesus spoke of the last days and how terrible they would be, and He said in Luke 21:26 "People will faint from terror""

I don’t think that’s metaphorical. I think that you can have a cardiac attack with fear—legitimate fear. But continuing fear is even worse.

A well-known American internist, at a round table on psychosomatic medicine, said the following: “Despite what they say, ninety percent of chronic patients who consult doctors today have a common symptom.” These are the people who keep coming back and coming back and coming back – a common symptom. “Their problem didn’t start with a cough, chest pain or hyperacidity. In ninety percent of cases, the first symptom was fear” – fear!

I found a list, in some other reading, of what a spirit of fear can cause: rapid heartbeat, irregular heartbeat, difficulty swallowing, hyperventilation, shortness of breath, choking sensations, leg weakness, blurred vision, nausea, diarrhea , sweating, chest pain, discomfort, fear of going crazy or losing control, choking, dizziness, feeling unsteady or faint, tremors, feeling numb or tingling, hot flashes or chills.

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The spirit of fear often does more harm than what we are afraid of.

‌And that’s what the terrorists want to do—is to cripple America/World with a spirit of fear. And, friend, I want to serve notice: People in this congregation are not going to cooperate.

Now it’s one thing to say to a person, “In nothing [be] terrified by your adversaries”; (Philippians 1:28) but if God didn’t tell us how not to be terrified, that wouldn’t do much good, would it? So, what does Paul say here in this passage of Scripture? Paul gives us three ways that the Holy Spirit of God—the Holy Spirit, not the spirit of fear, but the Holy Spirit—helps us.

I. The Holy Spirit Energizes Us with Power

Number one: He energizes us with power. The Holy Spirit energizes us with power. Have you got it? “God hath … given us the spirit of … power.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Now, what is the Spirit of power? That is the Holy Spirit. Luke 24, verse 49—Jesus said, Luke 24:49 “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.””

Now the Spirit of God is the Spirit of power, not physical strength. You don’t have to have physical strength. What you need is the Lord Himself.

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?”

That would be a good verse for you to write out, teach your children, and put on your refrigerator door. We’re talking about strength now. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

Did you know the man who can kneel before God can stand before anybody?

“The LORD is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear?”—that is, who compares to Him?—“the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” God has given us the Spirit of power.

Now, do you know why we get terrified? We get terrified because we feel weak and inferior.

We feel that a greater force is coming against us than we have. But when you recognize that you are on the side of might, then that takes away the terror.

• Here’s a little boy who walks to school, and there are some bullies that pick on him. Every day those bullies are taking his lunch money, shoving him down, throwing his books in the weeds, and so forth. The little boy is afraid to go to school because of these bullies. Then one day his brother—the little guy is maybe eight years old; he’s got a brother who’s seventeen and plays football—his brother walks to school with him, or his daddy walks to school with him. He’s not terrified now, because his brother is there or his dad is there. •

If you have somebody who is bigger than you, stronger than you, with you, then you’re not terrified by your adversaries. So you can say, “The Lord is my strength”—listen—“the Lord is my strength.” God has given us power, the Spirit of power.

And Paul goes on to say in this passage here, in verses 9 through 12, “Look, I’m not afraid to die.” And he said, “I know whom I have believed.” He didn’t say, “I know what I believed.” He believed what, but he didn’t say that. He didn’t say, “I know why I believe.” And he had some good whys. He didn’t say, He said, "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

Some of us get nervous about the market, the economy, the stock market crashing/Dow Jones plummeting. This same nervousness is what causes this. And then sometimes there is a stampede. Someone says, “All I have worked for, all I have saved; my sweat, my tears, my work – it’s going down the drain.” And you panic. Why would you panic? Why would you panic? Because that's where your confidence lies. You need to know who you believed. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus. I want to ask you something. What would you prefer: a warehouse full of stale bread or a father who owns a bakery? "I know whom I have believed." “God did not give us the spirit of fear; but of power.” (2 Timothy 1:7) He empowers us with His power.

II. The Holy Spirit Enriches Us with Love

Number two: He—the Holy Spirit—enriches us with love. He not only empowers us, but also enriches us. He gives us the Spirit of love, and love is a powerful force to overcome terror.

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‌Listen to me: if a terrorist can terrorize you, he has won. If the terrorist – now, listen carefully – can make you hate him, he has won.

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Hello! If the terrorist can make you hate him, he has won.

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You say, “But he is our enemy.” Yes! And what did Jesus say about our enemies? Love what? Your enemies. “Love your enemies.” (Matthew 5:44) Now, if the terrorist cannot make us afraid and cannot make us hate, he has lost.

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But if we can love, then he was the one who failed at what he does.

See, Jesus, when they nailed Him to the cross, wasn't spitting venom at those who were nailing Him to the cross. What was he doing? He was praying for them: “Father, forgive them, because they don’t even know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

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I want to tell you that all these terrorists don't know what they are doing.

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They are just tools in someone else's hands. They are blind. They are ignorant. Wicked, yes; but we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

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And the reason we are sometimes terrified is that we are all wrapped up in ourselves.

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We are so afraid of what will happen to us and we forget to look outside and start loving others.

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The time has come for us to have a powerful baptism of love, this is the time to show the love of the Lord Jesus.

And the question is not: am I brave enough? The question is: do I love enough?

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Let me tell you the difference between love and fear.

Love looks for opportunities to give; fear is self-protective.

Love does not think about evil; fear no longer sees anything.

Love focuses on today; fear focuses on tomorrow.

Love makes us closer to other people; fear makes us withdraw from others.

Love is the sign of a confident Christian; fear is a sign of doubt and lack of love.

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Now we shouldn't just love other people; we need to find some people who are different from us, of a different race, of a different religion, especially if they are of Arab or Muslim origin, and just move towards them with love – move towards them with love.

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What an opportunity to show the difference Jesus makes!

Our faith is not based on fear; our faith is built on love.

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And it is not a religion of the sword; it is a religion of love – but not just of love for others, but of God's powerful love for us.

1 John chapter 4 and verse 18, the Bible says that “perfect love drives out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

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Listen, it is not my perfect love that drives out my fear; It is my understanding that God loves me perfectly.

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Listen: “We are not afraid of someone who loves us perfectly. His perfect love for us eliminates all fear.”

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Now, thank God for that. God love us. And fix your eyes on love, and let God love you, and start loving others.

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You say, “Well, shouldn’t there be judgment?” Yes. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

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God knows exactly what he is doing, he will judge everyone.

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But let's do our duty – which is to show love.

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You say, “Well, I don’t have what it takes.” Congratulations, you're almost there. When you understand that you don't have what it takes, then you understand what the Bible means in Romans chapter 5, verse 5:

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Romans 5:5 “5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

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This is the Spirit we need: the Spirit of love. God enriches us with love. These things are gifts of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;””

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God's love is poured into our hearts by his Spirit. He enriches us with his love.‌

III. The Holy Spirit Enlightens Us with a Sound Mind

Now, thirdly, here is the third thing He does to eliminate the terror of terrorism: Friend, He enlightens us with a sound mind. Now, remember our key text again:

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

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Now, when he says “God gave us a spirit of “sound mind”; The word here for “sound mind” means “a disciplined mind”, “a mind that is under control”, “a mind that has discernment”.

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It means “a mind that cannot be stampede”. (animals when they stampede…gazelles/zebras…)

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Terror wants to stampede us, but the Holy Spirit says: "prepare your minds for action‌" - 1Pet.1:13

1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

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prepare your minds for action//

Now, once you stampede, once you feel terror, you are not only afraid of the original cause of terror, but you are afraid of everything.

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Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.”

When you run away and there's no one chasing you, do you know what's wrong with you? You are in the grip of the spirit of fear – a spirit of fear has imprisoned you! You are now afraid of everything!

And this simply comes from our old corrupted nature. The first words that man uttered after sinning were these: “I was afraid” – “I was afraid” (Genesis 3:10) – afraid of God. Here is God walking in the garden, saying, “Adam! Where are you, Adam? (Genesis 3:9) This was not the voice of a detective; this was the voice of a brokenhearted God. God was not pursuing him to punish him; God was courting him to win him over. "Adam! Adam!" “The wicked flee when no one pursues them.” (Proverbs 28:1) See, sometimes we need to have a sound mind.

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• Have you ever been a child and thought there was a monster in your room at night? I mean, you're five years old and you think there's a monster in the room. You open your eyes and there he is in the corner. He's horrible. He is waiting to attack you. You cry. His mother comes in and turns on the light. This is not a monster; It's your shirt that you hung on the chair. But in the dark, it was a monster – until the light came! And you understand that this fear is often unfounded. •

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But you say, “But, pastor, we're not talking about shirts on the back of the chair. We are talking about people who want to kill and destroy us.” Yes, but we can't be afraid of them.

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Listen to what Charles Spurgeon said: “It is impossible for any harm to come to a man who is loved by the Lord; the most crushing calamities can only shorten his journey and hasten him to his reward. For him, evil is not evil, but only good in a mysterious form. Losses enrich him, illness is his medicine, reproach is his honor, death is his gain. No harm, in the strict sense of the word, can happen to him, as everything is nullified for good. Happy is he who is in this case. He is safe where others are in danger; he lives where others die.”

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Oh, thank God for that. Listen, guys. Don't let the devil, don't let the terrorists take over your mind and run away with it. “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, of love, and sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7) — a mind that is under control, a mind prepared for action by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Conclusion

Tomorrow you will get up and go to work or go to school. And tomorrow has two handles: one called faith and the other called fear. And you will hold tomorrow with one of these two handles. And I want you to know that God did not give you the spirit of fear.

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If you have a spirit of fear, it is a phobia of Satan, the sinister minister of fear.

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And you need to get on your knees before you leave home tomorrow, on your knees somewhere, and say, “O God, give me your power, enrich me with your love, enlighten me with a balanced, sound mind,” and then go and and face your day.

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Let us bow our heads together in prayer.

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Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank you, Lord, for the promise You gave us: power, love, and a sound mind.

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Now, while heads are bowed, if you are here, and you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and you have never had the wonderful, joyful discovery of having your sins forgiven, of having a vital relationship with God through Christ, right now , if you would like to receive Him into your heart as your personal Savior, I want to guide you in that decision.

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And I'm telling you, on the authority of God's Word, if you, with repentance and faith, trust in Jesus - repentance simply means turning from sin to Him; faith means receiving Him with childlike trust – He will forgive your sins.

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He will clean you up. He will come into your life to give you a new nature. And when you die, He will take you to heaven.

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If you want this to happen, pray this prayer: Dear God, I need to be saved and I want to be saved. I know you want to save me and that's why I ask you to do so. Jesus, you died to save me and you promised to save me if I would trust you. I trust you.

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Jesus, I trust you. I do this now, in this moment, with all my heart. Forgive my sin. Clean me. Save me, Lord Jesus.

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Pray from the heart. You don't need to use these exact words, just "Save me, Lord Jesus" but do it right now, pray this way: "Save me, Lord Jesus". "Lord, I have nothing to offer you, just an imperfect past, stained by sin and a heart bruised by my own choices, but I have a deep desire to know you better and remain in Your presence.

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Thank you, Lord Jesus, for saving me.

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And now, give me the courage to make this public and help me not to be afraid to make it public, for You have not given me the spirit of fear, but of love, of power and of a sound mind. In Your name I pray. Amen.