Angela’s Thoughts

Chapter #6 – Paralyzed by Intimidation

• An intimidated person honors what he fears more than God
• Intimidation paralyzes us in the realm of the spirit.  It causes us to compromise what we know to be right.  It causes us to allow or tolerate what we, under other circumstances, wouldn’t stand for.
• According to Dake’s Bible, Eli was the fifteenth judge of Israel.  Not only was he judge, he also was the seventh high priest.  His sons, Hophni and Phinehas were priests as well. Hophni and Phinehas were wicked.  Eli knew what his sons were doing; however he did not remove them and only corrected them with a weak rebuke: “Why do you do such things?  for I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.  No, my sons!  For it is not good report that I hear.  You make the Lord’s people transgress.” 1 Samuel 2:23-24.  His sons deserved more than this light correction.
• 1 Samuel 2:29-30, A prophet came to Eli saying, “Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me?… for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed“
• To honor means “to regard, esteem or respect.
• We see this in many families.  Where the parents have relinquished their authority over to their children.  The gifting or power of God in the parents to establish the order in their home and raise up godly children are dormant.
• Many leaders are intimidated by their people.  They either carefully prepare a message as not to offend, or confront those in disobedience, or else he rants and raves in frustration, beating the sheep to cover up his intimidation by the few.  But in all of this there is little or no spiritual life.  Rare is the biblical description of God’s presence.  There may be a spurt of life here or there, but God’s presence does not abide, and His word is not free to flow as a fountain of living water.

Chapter #5 – Exposing Intimidation

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

• Stir up – Rekindle afresh or keep in full flame.
• There are those with pure hearts and true intentions who believe that if God wants something to happen, it will just happen.  However, this is wrong.  As Edmund Burke wrote in 1795: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for GOOD MEN to do NOTHING”
• What causes the gift of God to lie dormant? 2 Timothy 1:7 “For [because] God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind. The word fear implies timidity.  Wow!  So God has not given us the spirit of timidity!
• Intimidated believers lose their authority in the spirit by default; consequently, their gift – God’s ability in them – lies asleep and inactive.  Though it is present, it is not in operation.

Oxford English Dictionary defines intimidation as:

1. The action of intimidating or making afraid
2. The fact or condition of being intimidated
3. The use of threats or violence to force or restrain from some action.

• The Object of intimidation is to restrain you from action, and  coerce or force you into submission.  Intimidation wants to overwhelm you with a sense of inferiority and fear.  Once you’ve retreated into submission, either knowingly or unknowingly, you are a servant of the intimidator.  Now your authority has been stripped from you in order to be used against both you and those in your sphere of influence.
• The origin of intimidation is fear, which has its root in our adversary, the devil.
• Elijah in I Kings 17-19, saw great victory against the prophets of Baal, but shortly after the victory he ran and hid in intimidation from Jezebel.

Symptoms of Intimidation: A intimidating spirit unleashes confusion, discouragement and frustration. Its goal is to cause you to lose our proper perspective.  Everything will seem overwhelming, difficult or even impossible.

• God knew Elijah was determined to run.  When a man ha it in is heart to do something, God will often let him do it even if it is not His perfect will.
• There are those who bear the title of pastor or leader, yet they are controlled by the manipulation and intimidation of others-usually the people who should be undergirding them, such as wives, associates, board members, deacons, intercessors and so forth.
• It is important for a leader to consider the counsel of those around him, whether in his home or his ministry.  But it is more important that he stays in his authority so he can serve and protect his family or ministry using the gift that God has given him.

Jehu (2 Kings 10:28) and Elisha (1 Kings 19:17) would not give up there authority. And eventually the work that God had started with Elijah… was continued through Jehu and Elisha.  When we are intimidated, we give up our position of authority.  We end up unintentionally furthering the cause of the one intimidating us.

Chapter #4 – Imparted Gifts (to those filled with the Spirit)

1 Peter 4:10

• Every person receives a gift  (not a select few)
• The gift is not ours; we are merely stewards of it (not for our PERSONAL GAIN)
• The gift is a portion of God’s manifold grace (2 categories)

1. Oracle Category: Prophecy, teaching, exhorting and leading
2. Serving Category: ministry (serving), giving, and mercy

You should not be in an oracle, or leader, position until you have proved faithful in serving one who is.

Extremes:

1. Those who think more highly of themselves than they ought.  The oracle is not the only gift.  It is not the height of ministry, it is not the only way to serve God!
2. Those who believe ministry is limited only to those who are preachers or ministry staff.  This cripples a church.

• It takes each Holy Ghost filled person in the church to make it function properly.  God has a gift for each of us, we need to know ours and be working in it.  We also need to recognize that everyone in the church has a function or gift.  This is where it is essential to realize that each person is important and of equal value to the church.  There is no big “I”, little “U”.    We need to encourage each other as we work in the gifts that God has given.

A thought provoking point: What would happen if all believers would function in their place?  What awesome things would happen!  What mighty and tremendous things would we see?

We are not responsible for what we are not entrusted with.  Stop worrying about what someone else is or isn’t doing… be concerned about whether YOU are stirring up the gift that God has given YOU.

Chapter #3 – Two Extremes

This chapter of the book brought some astounding truths to light for me.  There are so many in the “church” today who are power seekers (searching for someone to come minister to them with a show of power).  In this chapter, Bevere begins to talk about how many pursue the power and anointing of the Spirit while totally missing Christian Character.  How many of us seek after the works of God in the physical, but never really understand that God wants to work on our inside.  I have begun to really analyze who I am and what reason I use for doing what I do.  I have to admit that out of the two extremes that he mentions, Pursuing Power rather than Character and False Humility, I am in the latter group.  Neither is a group I want to be a part of!  For years I have battled with fear of offending, or saying the wrong thing, therefore I have given over authority to that very thing I battle.  Once I began to read this book, God has been dealing with me to really just trust that He knows what is best and He is in control.  I just have to trust him COMPLETELY!  I have to stop worrying about everything, and allow God to work through and IN me.

• One Extreme: Pursuing Power rather than Character – The goal of the high call of Christianity is NOT the power of God or ministry; it is to KNOW GOD! (Phil. 3:10-15)
• We can’t gauge our spiritual maturity by our ability (or gift) to prophesy or flow in the gifts… God will work in and through who He chooses!  We can be performing works of God, and still not have our hearts right with God.
• A pure heart:  It is more important that we form a right relationship with God than a formula to move in His power.
• The Other Extreme: False Humility – These people recognize the importance of Christian Character but never allow the working of the gift of God inside them.
• They are non-confrontational and are peacekeepers instead of peacemakers. Peacekeepers will go to any length to have a false sense of peace. But blessed are the Peacemakers!!  Those who are willing to fight for what they believe – so that they have peace!  “… the violence take it by FORCE.” (Matt. 11:12)
• Ignoring a situation will not make it go away.  We must address issues…if we don’t, they will never change!
• Fear of confrontation makes you easy prey for intimidation.
• When you are intimidated there is no joy, and without joy – no strength.  Where there is fear there is no peace.

Today, I want to say Thank You!  God has blessed my family with a wonderful church family.  The last couple of days have been extremely difficult… mind, body and emotion!  During all of this, God has placed a group of wonderful people who have been beside us each step of the way.  They have offered to do whatever we needed to be done,  sat with us while we waited, prayed many prayers over us, watched our dog, made sure our daughter was taken care of.. just anything and everything!  I have watched God work and minister through so many people in the last 3 days that I am overwhelmed with how much He loves us.  Thank you, God, for your love!  Thank you, Family, for your understanding and comfort.  Today, as I was getting things ready for service, there was a knock on my door.  The friend that my husband baptized yesterday, before going in the hospital with kidney stones, was standing there with a dish of pot roast, carrots, potatoes, and gravy.  Again, I was struck with the awesome comfort that God takes care of every need.  He takes whoever is willing and works through them to bless the rest of the body.  I am just so thankful that I know who I serve, and who I serve loves me.  Thank you to each of you who have touched our lives in these last few days!  You will never know just how precious each moment was and how you have ministered to us.  Thank you for having the heart of a servant!  I love my church family and I just want it to be known!

Chapter #2 – Spiritual Position and Authority

• Believers have a “place” in the spirit. (Ps 91:1) You need to know the “place” and function of it.  If you do not, you can not properly function in the body of Christ.
• The beautiful thing about God is that he entrusts us with this authority.  But it is up to us to use it or we will forfeit it to someone else.  (Adam was entrusted with authority over all the animals… but he forfeited it to Satan.) When we forfeit our authority, it doesn’t just affect us… it affects all those around us.
• Positions of Authority – (Eph. 2:2, 6) The words used in this scripture are “heavenly places.”  Satan wants to displace us in the spirit of order to regain what he has lost.  If he can steal or cause someone to lay down their position of authority, then he has authority to operate.
• Rank in the Kingdom – Satan goes after the leaders (whether in church or in homes).  If we willfully transgress the commandments of God, then it won’t be long before our children will follow those footsteps.  When we sin, leaders/parents forfeit their position of authority in the spirit, leaving their children (or those they lead) vulnerable to the enemy.
• We need to be careful not to give occasion to the enemy of the Lord. We may be restored, but there are still consequences that will happen because of our transgressions.

I am studying the book “Breaking Intimidation” by John Bevere.  (I highly recommend this book whether you feel you are a person that is fighting intimidation or not!)  I don’t want to forget the things that I have been learning from it.  So, I want to highlight the points that have made me pause and think.  So here goes…

Chapter #1 - Walk in your Spiritual Authority

• If we do not walk in our God given authority, someone will take it from us and use it against us.
• Intimidation will change your focus by asking, “What is going to happen to me?”  The reason: The root of intimidation is fear, and fear causes people to focus on themselves.
• When you are intimidated by people, you forfeit your authority and the gift of God is quenched in you.

Breaking Intimidation by John Bevere
- Rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review

As I have been reading this book, I find myself going back over each chapter. Not because I don’t understand it. It is very well written. But because there are so many profound points… I want to make sure that I take it all in. This not only explains intimidation and the root of it, but it also gives direction in obtaining freedom from it.


View all my reviews.

Parallel Bible-PR-KJV/Am by Zondervan Bible Publishers

My review

I just recently purchased this Bible. I really love that it has the KJV and Amplified side by side. If you are teaching a Bible Study, or for personal study, it can help having the Amplified version available to compare.


View all my reviews.

I thank God that “It is well!”  So much has happened this week that it caused me to start a blog!    My husband has been going through tests… he had a colonscopy on Friday.  The preparation for the test is unbelievable, and downright scary!  Anyway, he had the test on Friday.  The results came back Normal and I am so thankful for that.  Today, (Saturday – because I haven’t went to bed yet!) He went fishing this morning with some men from the church.  While there, he started to pass a kidney stone.  So the rest of our day has been in the hospital ER (twice).  He is now resting while my mind is going 100 mph.   But before he came away from the fishing hole, he baptized Garry in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ!  God will be glorified!  Right now, I need to find a way to wind down, and get some rest.  Tomorrow (again, because I haven’t slept yet) is Sunday.  And we have lots to plan for the day!  God Bless!