HOW TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF SIN AND DEATH



By Pst . Michael Benson Ajayi   
John 1:48-49 NKJV Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
           Nathaniel was known for his credibility and criticism therefore, his brother Phillip was confident that he was best positioned to authenticate the validity of Jesus claim to divinity. Prior to his encounter with Jesus, he had been seating alone under a tree and was very sure that nobody saw him. Jesus knew that in order to convince Nathaniel it has to be beyond reasonable doubt, this He did by revealing Nathaniels secrets.
           The presence of God (His essence or tangible manifestation) has often been viewed as a temporal phenomenon.  The word presence was first used in Gen 3:8 KJV And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. The word presence is the Hebrew paniym which means the face, countenance, anger, heaviness, favour. These words describe the tangible manifestation of God.
            God is the creator of all things and is infinite in manifestation whereas man is finite. It is difficult for the finite mind to comprehend the infinite nature of God therefore, in order to communicate with man, He does so in progressive manifestations (Rom1:20,Isaiah28:10). To better understand this, imagine your physical size in comparison with that of planet earth. You cannot see the entire planet at once but in bits. The earth is measurable and according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, the earth is said to have a surface area of about 510 million square kilometers or 5.1×108 km2 . If the earth had a human- like face, say of the size of the African continent, we would still not be able to see it except through space technology and in comparison we would be like specks of dust on the surface of the earth. This should give us an idea of what it means to be in the presence of an immeasurable personality and the creator of the universe. We are literally nothings in comparison, thats why the angel sought to know why God placed so much value on humanity , the psalmists says  Ps 144:3 NKJV Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
                 God made man in His image; we have the same creative capacity inherent in Him. This is why of all Gods creation none is as dominating as the human species. We have placed our footprints on the earth and in space. It is this superior creative ability and the capacity to worship that makes us this valuable before God. God desires worship every moment of the day.  
           We are like fishes in a boundless ocean (God), we came from Him and will return to Him like the fishes in the ocean. We cannot hide from Him because He lives in us and us in Him. He knows whatever we say or do. He sees our thoughts ( 1Sam 16:7).He is omnipresent. It is against this backdrop that the religious concept of coming out and going into the presence of God is injurious to the soul. It is gives Satan room to manipulate our intellects and makes it easier to fall into temptation. That was how he deceived Eve. She did not know that God was present all the time in Eden- if she did, she would have verified Satans claims against God by asking Him directly. The tree of the knowledge of God and evil was the symbol of the judgment of God. She ate of it and became judgmental and was condemned for it (Mat7:1.Rom2:1) .Divine judgment belongs to Him with the power to overcome death. She had no such ability and therefore died spiritually. The awareness of the eternal presence of God gives freedom from the fear of death whose power lies in sin.         
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