Destroying Fear: Strategies to Overthrow the Enemy's Tactics and Walk in Total Freedom

By John Ramirez and Juan Martinez

Fear is a form of torment the enemy tries to plague people with in order to paralyze them, to steal their purpose and destiny from God's best. None of us is immune to these attacks. Jesus came to destroy fear and set the captives free.

Speaking as one whom Jesus Christ set free from the devil's grip, John Ramirez, once a satanic high priest, exposes the tormenting weapons of fear of our number one spiritual enemy, the devil, and equips and arms believers with the weapons of our warfare that God has given us through his Son, Jesus Christ, to abort the enemy's mission. In this book, Destroying Fear, you will learn how to get back your peace and purpose and walk fearless into your destiny by dismantling every stronghold and stopping the enemy's attacks once and for all, for a life of freedom!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781493420476

Book preview

© 2019 by John Ramirez

Published by Chosen Books

11400 Hampshire Avenue South

Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

www.chosenbooks.com

Chosen Books is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4934-2047-6

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations labeled AKJV are from the American King James Version produced by Michael Peter (Stone) Engelbrite.

Scripture quotations labeled AMPC are from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016

Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations labeled NLT from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The personal testimonies included in this book are real; however, some names have been changed.

Cover design by LOOK Design Studio

Author represented by Leticia Gomez, Savvy Literary Services, and Raoul Davis, director of Ascendant Publishing

I dedicate this book to the Holy Spirit, my best friend, and thank the Lord Jesus Christ for giving me the opportunity to write another book for the Kingdom and for my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.

Contents

Cover    1

Half Title Page    2

Title Page    3

Copyright Page    4

Dedication    5

Foreword by Juan Martinez     9

Preface     11

Acknowledgments     15

Introduction     17

1. I Am Saved but Still in Bondage?     27

2. Identifying the Source of Fear     38

3. Facing the Spiritual Pharaoh     46

4. Self-Image and the Devil’s Game     54

5. Is Your Mind Good Ground for Light or Fertile Soil for Darkness?      69

6. The Bully in the School Yard     80

7. Fear Is Early-Onset Cancer to the Spiritual Mind     99

8. The Devil’s Booby Traps     112

9. The Power of the Holy Spirit over All Fears     120

10. The Thief in Your Parking Garage     132

11. Doing Damage to the Kingdom of Darkness     140

12. Giving Fear an Eviction Notice     150

13. No Chain Greater Than the Name of Jesus     158

14. Life with No Parole with Jesus Is Ultimate Freedom     167

15. A World Gripped in Fear     179

16. Freedom Is Not Free! The Power of Unchaining Others     189

17. A Warning to Those in Leadership     199

18. No Longer Afraid     211

About the Author    219

Back Ad    221

Back Cover    222

Foreword

Books like this one are rare gems and very important for the Body of Christ to have. The very first thing that happened during the fall of man when they ate the fruit and consumed the lie was that fear came in. Faith and fear cannot exist together, and we know that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (1 Timothy 1:7). John Ramirez is one of the world’s greatest evangelists. His wisdom on equipping you to fight the enemy is strategic and will keep you armed and dangerous.

I remember meeting John for the first time and hearing his story on TBN Salsa. Later he spoke at a dinner I attended. He spoke about believers still in captivity, and he had such a passion for the Church to fight back and such a great excitement and desire to see people set free. At that moment, I knew I would have a lifelong friend.

Whenever John visits Get Wrapped Church, or any of the places I’ve seen him minister, it amazes me how he stays till the very end, shaking hands and making sure he has prayed for each person. It doesn’t matter how long it takes; he is going to stay there ministering deliverance and praying. He always makes that intentional effort to walk people out of their Egypt.

Evangelist John’s books will shape and equip you for every fight against the enemy. He is truly a deliverance pioneer showing us the way as he is led by God’s voice through the Holy Spirit.

I pray that as you read this book you will allow it to renew your mind, and that you will get a passion and heart for deliverance like evangelist John Ramirez. You were created as a victor and not a victim. Your citizenship is in heaven, and we belong to a Body of Christ known as Heavicans with a King named Jesus. As His ambassadors, we are called to the ministry of reconciliation and to set the captives free.

—Juan Martinez, lead pastor, Get Wrapped Church, Spring, Texas

Preface

In the Marvel cinematic universe, the single biggest thread of tension since the first Avengers movie has not been good vs. evil. It has been the relationship between two key heroes—Iron Man (Tony Stark) and Captain America (Steve Rogers)—who are constantly at each other’s throats and have drastically different views on how to confront problems. This, ultimately, is why they have friction.

In like manner, I do not believe the Church’s biggest problem today is the devil. I believe it is the Church’s perception of how to deal with the devil.

Stark is the billionaire playboy who thinks everything can be resolved through enough ingenuity and money. One could say Stark believes in the power of his own strength—the natural. In contrast, while Rogers values gadgets and gizmos, he does not place his faith in them. He believes victory comes from preparation and tapping into a higher source—the spiritual realm.

The difference between these superheroes’ philosophies is that Rogers has faith and he walks it out in every moment. It is not something he puts on occasionally. When he loses his shield in one of the narratives, he does not blink because he knows the shield is within him; the physical shield was just a representation of the strength and protection that was already within him. Because Stark does not have that same sort of faith, he relies on man-made tech and his own strength.

So what does this have to do with the Church? Everything!

We face this same tension today. Society is faced with Tony Stark–type Christians focused on name it and claim it beliefs (material things). The most surprising thing about them is that, like Tony Stark, they are driven by fear masked by a façade of confidence. Ultimately, Stark’s fear leads to overwhelming loss because he puts too much confidence in worldly things. I believe most modern-day churches and the believers who attend them suffer from the same thing.

Fortunately, there is a group of Steve Rogers–type Christians who have faith and conviction. This type of conviction understands that even if a battle is lost, the war is not over. This type of faith allows for conquering fear. It demonstrates that if you are not fearful of losing a battle—even when hardships hit you—then you are able to live freely. The theme of this book is the ultimate victory of living in freedom through Christ Jesus.

Unfortunately, a lot of us in the Church think we understand what we are dealing with when we come up against the enemy, but his strategies related to fear are more than we could ever imagine. We know that Jesus won the war of good vs. evil at the cross, yet we are called to fight daily battles to take back ground the devil tries to steal from us.

I have dealt with fear, and it has nearly paralyzed me, almost preventing me from achieving victory in my life. I feared that if I left the occult, I would have a death warrant over my life. I feared that if I missed a footstep, I would pay the ultimate price with my family. Fear is the number one weapon in the devil’s arsenal. None of us is immune to it. The answer lies in how we respond to it. This book is my effort to help guide the modern-day Church and those in the world to deal with fear and learn how to walk in freedom.

Acknowledgments

I want to dedicate this book to my daughter, Amanda, whom I love with all my heart. I thank God for her every day.

I also dedicate this book to my mother. I am grateful for her and all she has done for me.

I am beyond grateful for Chosen Books and thankful for the opportunity and their trust in me to write this book. Also to Raoul Davis and Letitia Gomez, who have strived and believed in the calling that God has placed on my life. God has used them as divine connections to make this book happen.

I am beyond blessed by Angie Kiesling. She has been working with me in a supernatural way since my first book. God has blessed me to team up with her to accomplish the mission.

I would also like to thank Minister Denise Loffredo for her incredible work of time and passion as she has been a tremendous blessing to my ministry in typing this manuscript and my previous book manuscript. She is a blessing to the Kingdom.

I want to thank Cheryl from the U.K. for being a blessing in handling my Facebook prayer page.

I give a big thank you to Pastor Barbara Yovino from Christian Hope Network and her incredible team. We are partners in the ministry, and they are a true blessing to me.

I want to dedicate this book to all my brothers and sisters who supported this ministry in prayer and gave their financial support—all of whom I love dearly. This one is for you.

For all the pastors and leaders who have allowed me and trusted me to minister in their churches, I thank you with all my heart.

To Get Wrapped Church and my dear friend Pastor Juan Martinez, I consider you a true brother in Christ and my confidant. To my true friend and brother in Christ, Pastor Vinny, also from Get Wrapped Church, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my confidant and amazing brother in the Lord.

I also want to send my love to Pastor Bill and Pastor Jan of First Love Ministry in Kansas City.

I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for showing me what a Christian man looks like through the likes of the late Pastor David Wilkerson, the late Billy Graham and Nicky Cruz. I am so honored to do my best to follow in their examples to touch the world for Jesus Christ.

Introduction

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.

1 Peter 5:8 NIV

Can you feel it—the thing crouching around you waiting to pounce? It strikes you every time you want to do something new, every time you have a breakthrough, every time you are looking to get ahead. It is as chilling as a cold wind in a graveyard. It is fear.

A lot of us think we understand what we are dealing with; fear is just a part of life, right? Wrong! While fear is an emotion we all experience, it is also a spirit sent from the pits of hell to torment us. But fear is not something that should grip or paralyze us. It is time to give this demon of fear an eviction notice.

The Lord Jesus Christ promises abundant life and peace, but many of us struggle with feelings of fear and rejection. It is time to end these struggles. We need to put the devil in his place once and for all.

We are in a season where the Church of Jesus Christ on earth is going back to the book of Acts, to that particular type of church that was born on the Day of Pentecost. They were fearless, and they regularly performed supernatural signs, wonders and miracles. The revelation of deliverance ministry in the Church is much needed today. Without this, we will never be able to destroy the spirit of fear and the works of the evil one. That is the Church Jesus Christ is coming back for, and it all begins with the freedom found through deliverance ministry.

All through the gospels, we see Jesus confronting the powers of darkness and setting people free from spiritual bondage. Being about His Father’s business meant healing the sick, delivering people from evil spirits and proclaiming the way of salvation.

When the imprisoned John the Baptist heard all that Jesus was doing among the people, he sent two of his followers to ask Jesus an important question:

And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?

When the men had come to Him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.

Luke 7:19–23

A World Gone Mad

Jesus’ testimony is that He delivers His people. When John’s hope was shaken and fear stood over His thinking, He asked Jesus who He really was. Jesus’ answer was the testimony of deliverance. We must remember this is who our God is—our Savior and Deliverer.

This is all the more important because we can easily find things to fear. We see volcanic eruptions, mudslides and flash floods. The news tells us of school shootings occurring weekly. We are surrounded by cancer, mental illness and suicide. One only has to look as far as the local newspaper or social media to find something to fear. Believers and unbelievers alike are sucked into the oppressive vacuum fear creates, drowning out God’s truths and replacing them with the enemy’s lies.

Fear cripples. Fear allows individuals to believe the lie of rejection. Fear heaps one bad decision upon another until all the circumstances an individual fears come true.

Faith vs. Fear

Tony grew up without a father figure. He lived with the fear of rejection from his dad. He sought out a sense of belonging from gangs in his neighborhood to fill that void. The fear of rejection led him to the fear of retaliation from his gang’s leader if he did not follow the rules, which meant committing crimes. Eventually Tony was caught and ended up serving time in jail.

After a successful release, Tony now lives with the fears of rejection, of not being able to provide for himself through an honest living and of always living a life of crime in and out of the prison system. Despising himself and his choices, Tony perpetuates the cycle of crime: getting caught, going to prison, being released, committing a new crime, going back to prison—reinforcing the original fear of rejection that set this downhill slide in motion.

Fear cripples. If not stopped in time, fear can end up killing someone. However, it does not have to be that way. I have seen firsthand the deliverance from fear in extraordinary ways through the deliverance ministry I have shared with churches and at speaking engagements worldwide.

Several years ago I met a woman during one of my

Reviews for Destroying Fear

[Brian Mnguni · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fear has lost its grip on us, for God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
Amazing book, power packed

[Christopher Lewis Kozoriz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Either we serve God or we serve fear. We cannot serve both." (John Ramirez, Destroying Fear)

The author is a previous priest in a satanic cult. He was controlled by fear and lived in fear until he gave His life to Jesus in his 30's. So, he knows what fear is and how to overcome it. The keys he shares in this book are the Cross, the Word, the Blood... He teaches that the number weapon of satan is fear. He says, "Saints, we are living in times of war in the unseen world, because the enemy knows that his time is short. One of his greatest weapons against the Church is to strike us down with the spirit of fear." However, we can declare:
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV)


So what is the reason satan wants you to fear? Because he wants you to miss or hinder your destiny and the destiny of those whom you are called to minister too. He says, "Once believers have found freedom in Christ at the cross, it is our purpose to share that freedom with others-believers and unbelievers alike...Someone somewhere is depending on you to do what God has called you to do. I repeat myself: Someone somewhere is depending on you to do what God has called you to do."

One of the things I appreciated about this book is that is full of prayers, renunciations, declarations to taking victory over fear. One of them I excerpt here and you can pray is:
Father, I thank You for my life today.
I know that God has a great plan for me, plans of good and not of evil, to give me hope and a wonderful future.
Father, I thank You for the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
I thank You, Father, for the benefit and the provision of the blood of Jesus Christ.
I thank You for my family, my children, my finances and my ministry, in the name of Jesus.
I confess that I am a child of God.
I declare that I am born again by the Spirit of God.
I thank You, Jesus, that by Your blood You have made me a citizen of heaven, in Jesus' name.
I thank You, Jesus, that by the finished word of the cross, I live in the victorious side, in Jesus' name.
Today, I am reigning with Christ and seated in heavenly places.
Today, I am blessed because my life is hidden in Christ.
I shall live and not die, and I will declare the works of the Lord, in the name of Jesus.
I confess that I cannot fail.
I confess that I will not give any territory to the enemy.
I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord over my life, in Jesus' name.
Today, for me and my house, we thank God for His goodness that He bestows over our lives, in Jesus' name.
I praise the Lord with all my soul, that even though the devil has formed weapons against me, they did not prosper, in Jesus' name.


This book will lead you in teaching, prayers, renunciations and stories to destroy fear in your life and those you are called to minister too!

[Melissa Markwood · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazingly, powerful book full of the power of the Holy Spirit! I read all of the prayers and know without a shadow of a doubt that I am walking in a deeper freedom that I never thought possible! I'm not keeping this deliverance to myself. With the help of the Holy Spirit I will help others to receive freedom! I'm doing life with Jesus with no parole! Hallelujah! Glory to God in the Highest! Thank you God! God bless John Ramirez!!!

[Victoria Omololu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I picked up this book with apprehension, could it really do for me what the title suggested? Indeed it did just that, destroying the spirit of fear which had plagued and haunted my life for so many years and more importantly opening up my confidence to rely 100% on the Holy Spirit to live the life of freedom Christ Jesus intended for me. Thank you Evangelist John Ramirez, my life is changed for ever. I am now so aware of the enemies strategies but even more aware that the enemy is no match for the power of God and the finished work of the cross of Jesus.