LET THE FAINTHEARTED GO

October 19th, 2001

Pastor Francis Frangipane

A Word To Leaders:

I am concerned about the leaders who have not dealt with their

personal fears. I have a word for you: stop terrorizing the people under

your influence. A number of ministries have submitted to the oppression

caused by the terrorist attacks. As a result, they are speaking to their

constituencies from a position of fear and trepidation. Leaders, please

hear me: The people who are listening to you are already praying, fasting

and repenting. Don't burden them with fear; empower them with vision and

faith.

Fear is not the only motive that will stir people to repentance.

Yes, it moves the soul, but it is only temporary; fear cannot sustain

righteousness nor create true purity of heart. Grace may teach our hearts

to fear, but grace our fears relieve. The fact is, people are already

afraid. It is time for faith to arise, where we put our trust in God's

goodness and power.

Jesus said all things were possible for him who believes. He

specifically warned, "When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be

terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not

follow immediately" (Lk 21:9). He said specifically, "Do not be

terrified." Do not submit to the spirit of terror -- have no part in it!

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

In Luke 18 Jesus asks a question. He says, "When the Son of Man

comes, will He find faith on the earth?" There is a difference between

prayer and faith. If we pray with faith, He said "all things are

possible." My faith tells me God desires to break the stronghold of Islam

so multitudes of individuals will come to Christ. Just as He used America

to halt Japanese Imperialism, German Nazism and Soviet atheism, so God

will aid us in our war against Islamic terrorism.

You say, "It's not possible. God cannot use America." God says,

"All things are possible." You say, "America has sinned against the Lord."

So had Israel under King Saul. Yet, when the Philistines sent forth

Goliath to terrorize Israel, the Lord did not say, "Too bad, but I have

sent this giant to defeat you because you are sinners." No. He raised up a

deliverer, a young man named David, who loved and knew the Lord. David

challenged his adversary, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he

should taunt the armies of the living God?" (1 Sam 17:26)

The rest of Israel was sinful; one soldier was righteous. God used

the righteous to deliver the unrighteous. The Lord allows enemies to smite

a nation when everyone in the nation is mired in sin. If there are

righteous people, He makes them deliverers, warriors. He increases their

strength and influence. He assures us that, where sin abounds, grace

abounds the moreso. Today God is giving a grace to those who have loved

Him. It's time not to fear, but to stand before the Lord prepared,

spiritually clean and ready for spiritual war.

You Shall Not Fear Their Gods

It has been reported to me that some are teaching that the

terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred because some in the church had been

doing strategic level spiritual warfare against Islam. If you hear this

strange view, disregard it and pray for those who spread it. Just before

the Lord raised up Gideon he sent a prophet who rebuked Israel:

"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'It was I who brought you

up from Egypt, and brought you out from the house of slavery. And I

delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all

your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land,

and I said to you, "I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of

the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me" (Judg

6:8-10).

God's command was specific: you shall not fear the gods of the

Amorites. When the Bible speaks of the gods of the pagan nations, it is

referring to the principalities and powers that ruled those lands. The

specific command from the Lord was, "You shall not fear the gods" of the

heathens. In the story of Gideon, after the prophet's word, the angel of

the Lord immediately went to Gideon and empowered him not only to confront

his fears, but to confront the stronghold of the enemy.

The story of Gideon is well known. He delivered Israel. God

protected him when he confronted the stronghold of Baal and the Lord will

protect you in your war as well. In the New Testament, Jesus assures His

followers, "I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and

scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure

you" (Lk 10:19).

We must be wise, not foolish; prepared, not presumptuous. Yet, let

us not be fearful nor heed the voice of those who tremble before God's

enemies.

Let The Fainthearted Go

The terrorists know they could never win a face to face war with

America. The primary purpose of their attacks is to terrorize. Under the

duress of terror, as we listen to the relentless voice of fear, their aim

is that courage would evaporate from our hearts. In such a weakened,

demoralized state, we then retreat from our convictions and purpose. You

probably have read a great many messages as people try to make sense of

all that has happened. Yet, some have, indeed, inspired fear with their

false discernment and prophecies of doom. Let me urge you to stop

absorbing into your spirit the words of those who forecast doom. The

terrorists themselves have told us what they want. They desire the United

States leave the Muslim nations and they want us to abandon our support of

Israel. That is their expressed and published goal. They know that if they

keep up the terrorist attacks, we will weary until we succumb to their

demands. Thus, in the words of Roosevelt: the only thing we have to fear

is fear itself.

Instead of becoming fearful, let us study the times when God lead

Israel into war. The Lord said, "When you go out to battle against your

enemies and see horses and chariots {and} people more numerous than you,

do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from

the land of Egypt, is with you." (Deut 20:1). The basis of all victory is

that we know the Lord is with us.

The Lord continued and said, "Now it shall come about that when

you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to

the people. And he shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, you are approaching

the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be

afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the LORD your God is the one

who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'"

Why would the Lord fight for us? He desires to break the

stronghold of Islam. For all the talk that this is not a war against

Islam, spiritually speaking, it is. If we expect Muslims to come to

Christ, the power of Allah (who is not the same God as our Father in

heaven), must be broken. Muslim extremists are, indeed, praying to Allah

right now to defeat the United Front that has come into Afghanistan

seeking justice.

The text in Deuteronomy continues, after the priests speak God's

word to the people, then the officers are to release certain people from

engaging in war. This would include those who "built a new house and [had]

not dedicated it"; "the man that [had] planted a vineyard and [had] not

begun to use its fruit"; and "the man that is engaged to a woman and [had]

not married her." The Lord knows double-mindedness will defeat us in

battle, so He excused those whose hearts would be divided. They could

return home. Then the Lord gave one last instruction. He said,

"Then the officers shall speak further to the people, and they

shall say, 'Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him depart

and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers' hearts

melt like his heart'" (see Deut 20:1-8).

Fear is contagious. So, the Lord said, in effect, let the

fainthearted go. Beloved, I say, let your fears go, lest they make you

fainthearted. Stop inspiring fear in those around you and now take your

stand in faith. God has been good and He will continue to manifest His

goodness. America's greatest asset is not her weapons, generals or

commandos; her greatest weapon is the prayer army God has raised up in

this land. Let us approach these days expecting to see the goodness of the

Lord manifest. Let us be strong and of good courage, for the Lord will

fight for us if we stand in faith.