How covenant with God, faith empower Christians to defeat fear

By Chioma Obinagwam

Christians have been urged to overcome fear and avoid making decisions rooted in it by entering into covenant with God.

Pastor Dapo Rotimi of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Solidrock Parish, made this charge during a Sunday service.

Confiance News gathered that he described fear as the “language of lies.” Drawing from biblical accounts, Pastor Rotimi highlighted the consequences of fear-driven choices and offered practical steps to overcome it.

Citing Numbers 22:1-6, Pastor Rotimi recounted the story of Balak, the Moabite king who feared the Israelites due to their reputation for great exploits. Confiance News learnt that Balak’s fear led to erroneous decisions with devastating consequences, including a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites (Numbers 25:9), the slaughter of Midianite males and their five kings (Numbers 31:1-8), and the eternal repercussions noted a thousand years later in Nehemiah 13:1. Pastor Rotimi emphasized that Balak’s fear was unfounded, as God had already instructed the Israelites not to attack the Moabites, descendants of Lot, who was connected to Abraham’s promise (Deuteronomy 2:8).

“The language of faith is truth, but the language of fear is lies,” Pastor Rotimi declared. “A lot of times, the things we are afraid of are not true. They don’t exist.” He likened fear to the roar of a lion, intimidating its prey, and cautioned that fear often drives selfish decisions, such as hoarding resources meant for the common good.

Practical steps to overcome fear
To overcome fear, Pastor Rotimi outlined three key steps. First, he urged believers to enter a covenant relationship with God by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Second, he stressed the importance of eradicating spiritual ignorance by knowing God and understanding one’s identity in Him, which brings authority. Quoting 1 Corinthians 3:16, he reminded the congregation that believers are temples of God, carrying His presence like the ark in the Old Testament.
Third, he encouraged feeding the spirit with God’s Word, noting the Bible contains 365 “fear not” verses—one for each day of the year.

Satan is not supreme
Pastor Rotimi also debunked misconceptions about satan’s power, explaining that the devil is not omnipresent and relies on demonic forces for information, unlike God, who is supreme, outside creation, and navigates both light and darkness. “Don’t think the devil can just mess you up anyhow. That’s a lie,” he said, urging believers to walk boldly, backed by a supreme God.

He concluded with a heartfelt call to salvation: “If you don’t belong to Jesus, you are out of the covenant, and you become minced meat. If you were the only one on earth, Jesus would have still come to die for you.” The sermon left the congregation inspired to reject fear, embrace their identity in Christ, and trust in God’s unseen work behind the scenes.

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