Ladies Conference: Moving from Fear to Faith with Flora Chizana

Flora Chizana & her little girl - Maita

John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Jesus comes to give life. The enemy doesn't like us. He doesn't like it that Gods affection is on us. It makes the devil mad and he devises schemes. Praise God that there is one who has given life and life in abundance. We are too used to a life that has been stolen from, destroyed. We re surrounded by it or born into it. One scheme is fear. Fear is not of God. It's not His will that we live in fear. As way of clarification: The fear of the Lord is a good thing. In Proverbs it tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom.

Fear the Lord, not man and the devil. The Fear the Lord will guide us. It's not a terror where we are paralysed. It's knowing God exists. There is NO ONE above God. What does it mean to fear God? To fear God is reverence, in awe, to respect Him. To give Him glory & honour - to obey God. If we disobey, we fear man not God. God has given us talents which are not to be hidden. Its for His glory. We are not honouring Him by hiding it. We are to use it. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."

Fear is a spirit sent to destroy, to keep you confined and in your place. It is not to be welcomed into our lives. It is not from God. Don't give it any place in our life. Lets welcome what motivates us to love. We need to steward our minds and life. It's glorifying to God.

What is it that we fear?
1. Failure: This results in us not trying. Afraid of making the same mistake. We get paranoid.
2. Rejection: This results in us not wanting to get close to anyone. Struggle to make friends. Will do anything to be accepted by a group.
3. Disappointment: Results in us not hoping and dreaming for anything in our life. We are not sure and are afraid of being disappointed.
4. Afraid of what people think of us: Their opinions are so important to us. We can't do anything because of what they'll think. we can't please everybody. The fear of the Lord is what is to guide us regardless of what others think.
5. Death: This results in us putting strings on the children. Whose hands are you committing your child to? Where has all this come from? Put your child in the hands of God not in the hands of the ancestors or grandparents.
6. Afraid of travelling: We are afraid because of accidents. We feel paralysed.
7. Curses: This results in us appeasing people by going to traditional ceremonies. We go to the dead because we of fear of what will come.
8. Not having enough: especially as women. We hoard things. We can't let go of anything.
9. Stingy: We can't share with anyone.
10. Worry: We have great difficulty spending money. We think "Where will that dollar come from? When will the money come back?

We need to live a life of faith and sometimes it's risky. God wants us to live a life of faith. 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment The one who fears is not made perfect in love." There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear. The punishment was put on the cross of Jesus Christ. The love of God will fill our hearts. He is concerned about us. Our lives are important to Him. He has a plan, no matter where we come from or what wrong has happened in our lives. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

Walk the walk of faith. Fight the fight of faith. Everytime we fear, we are opening a door for the enemy to influence us. We need to take this seriously and repent. Close the doors of unbelief and fear. Its up to us to take that step.

Hebrews 11:6 "We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realised."

1 Timothy 6:12 "Fight the good fight of faith."

Faith is sometimes a battle. We need to replace our fearful mindsets with the word of God.
2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we live by faith, not by sight."
Ephesians 6:16 "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." The shield of faith is part of the armour God gave us. The shield - we need to use it in the battle.

Be courageous women. Step up and do it. don't be afraid. Don't allow fear to rule your life.

Flora then got all the ladies to repeat after her, "I am a woman of faith."

Summarised by Molly Manhanga