Fear not…For I am with thee, says the Lord
What is God’s solution for us & what he can do for us as we go through difficulties in life.
Isaiah 43: 1 But now, this is what the Lord says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel,your Savior; …. 4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. 5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
No one is immune from trials, tribulations, troubles and distresses in this life. These things affect us all. Jesus said: These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.
Notice the words “when you’….. in vs 2 this doesn’t mean “if’ it means when…..
You may try to avoid the waters & rivers and the fire but you won’t be successful . You will Either do it with God… or alone… but you will go through.And remember: “If God’s will brings you to it… His grace will bring you through it!”
We do not all go through the same waters. Some of us will go through the waters of poverty, impaired health, discrimination, physical or mental handicap, abuse of some sort, etc.
AND THROUGH THE RIVERS ... Throughout life we will have rivers to cross. There will be times when our faith is not as strong as it should be; times when sorrow and grief seem greater than we can bear and times when the challenges facing us come when our strength is depleted.
But there is a promise here “THEY WILL NOT OVERFLOW YOU."Even though you will pass through the waters, some very deep and dark, and rivers that threaten to overflow you and dash you against the rocks hidden from your view, God’s promise is sure. “They will not overflow you!”
And then…. we walk through the fire ...I was looking up what “through the fire “means its a process of burning, a changing from one substance to another.
ILLUS>:There was a woman who called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.The woman was silent for a moment.Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that’s easy. When I see my image in it."
I don’t know about you but I think we are going through the refiner’s fire lately with all these things that are going on, its just a little trial here, trial there. It’s just fire for the purifying process.
As you study the history of Israel, you will find out that God always made a way for them. He made a way to get them out of Egypt, He made a way for them to cross the Red Sea, He made a way for them in the crossing of the wilderness, and He made a way for them to go into the promised land. Deut. 1:19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy contains a distinct message spoken to the Israelites by Moses just before he dies. The Israelites have wandered forty years in the wilderness.. They are standing on the banks of the Jordan River where their forefathers had failed miserably forty years prior. As they stand at their place of greatest failure, Moses is strongly admonishing them to obey God, who has beenand will continue to be faithful to them. The Israelites must make an all-important decision about their future. As they stand on the brink of the Promise Land they stand at a point between their past history of disobedience and their potential future obedience. Forty years of aimless wandering and failure motivates him to emphasize God’s ability to provide success. We find the mandate of God being made "crystal clear" to His "chosen people": Look, see the land that I have given to you,just as I promised your fathers! Go up and possess it, claim it with all the abundance and fulfillment that I desire for you, do not fear and do not be discouraged! Yet, after having come so far, after having prevailed over Pharaoh and his army, after crossing on dry land to the other side of the Red Sea, after successfully journeying through the wilderness places, the Israelites simply could not cross the finish line! Their final obstacle,fear, got the best of them!The Israelites were standing in the very place of their greatest failure. It had taken them 40 years to make an 11 day journey. They are surrounded by reminders of their past failures. They were facing the same river and the same enemy. You can only imagine the emotional war raging within their minds. Knowing your strengths is great but understanding your weaknesses is even greater, but it is much scarier.
Moses did not want them to use their failures as an excuse for not trying again. You may not be able to recoup the loses, undo the damage, or reverse the consequences, but God will allow you to make a new start.This time you can be wiser, more sensitive, and more determined with the help of God to do right. I’m here to tell you this morning, that you, too, may be standing on the threshold of God’s greatest promise for you; yet, you need to know that you will never claim God’s blessings if you allow fear to dominate your life! Paul, in 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV), tells us: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Fear robs us of our perspective on things - it destroys our viewpoint - and, it brings the worst side of us out into the open! Fear brings out complaining, distrust, fingerpointing, and despair in people!
God had provided the Israelites with victory over their Egyptian oppressors - He delivered them through their wilderness experiences .
He had offered His "chosen people" a new "Plan for Living" through the "Ten Commandments" - and, now, God was giving them real estate - a new land for the building of their nation! But, the people were found cowering in their tents, fearful, griping, and groaning over their circumstances, complaining that "God brought us all this way just to deliver us to the Amorites!"
Doesn’t fear affect us in the same way?
Here they were, only three days journey through the wilderness, yet they simply could not get up enough courage to take that step and conquer the land in the name of God! Fear spreads like wildfire among the people! Fear causes us to lose the ability to see clearly - to see things in their true perspective!
It is fear itself, not the object of that fear, that destroys us - playing on our minds and causing us to deny the power of God, in our lives, to give us the victory!Fear causes us to lose sight of the promise, found in Philippians 4:13 (KJV): "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
The greater our fear becomes, the weaker our reasoning ability becomes! Fear distorts God’s purposes in our lives!
Fear can be compared to an "Octopus" reaching out its tentacles to each and everyone around us! It causes the contagious environment of discouragement to grip us tight in its tentacles, trapping us in a state of mind where we will eventually become hysterical and unable to function properly!
The word "discourage" means to take away "courage" - it drains us of our vitality! Discouragement is an extremely contagious circumstance and it can infect an entire nation - not just for a day - not just for a week - not just for a month - but, in this case, for a whole entire generation!
The "golden dreams", the hopes and aspirations of the Israelites,for a secure land and a new beginning were ruined for an entire generation because of the "Majority Report" of ten (10) out of twelve (12) didn’t think they could overtake the land!
In Deuteronomy 1: 29 Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." 32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
The Israelites were not facing some mysterious, unknown entity, something that came out of nowhere, demanding that they place their trust in untested or uncharted waters! God had gone before them, leading the way, bringing them safely through their wilderness experience! This was the same God who had remained steadfastly by their side who had provided for their every need, this was their "Heavenly Father" who was worthy of the same trust that an infant child would place in his or her earthly parents, but, even more so, because He had already proved Himself time and time again!
God had ordered their steps all the way, nurturing them, protecting them, doing everything possible to establish a fully trusting relationship! Yet, when "push came to shove" they simply could not pass the test - The Israelites were given a test to reveal whether or not they really and truly trusted God - and, guess what? You got it, they failed the test!
What makes it even worse, was the fact that it was an"open-book" test - they had everything that they needed to pass the test in front of their very eyes! They had seen God in action! They had witnessed miracle after miracle!
Isn’t that just like us! We ought to be able to look back upon our lives and say" God has brought me from a very long way - He’s brought me this far - He surely will be able to bring me on home!"
It’s what the Israelites should have said, but they failed the test! How about you? Will you fail the test too?
You know, we can let fear overtake us as we look at the things in front of our eyes - we can tremble at what we see in the"headlights" - however, if we will just take a moment to look in our "rearview mirrors", perhaps, our memory of things past when God brought us on through,when God opened doors where there were no doors ,when God made a way out of no way; just perhaps, we will be able to change our perspective and it will give us courage to trust God in our current circumstance or situation!
Fear causes us to disbelieve God’s promise that "I will never leave you nor forsake you!" God tells us over and over again, "Fear Not" - a simple two-word phrase - that, is an absolute command from - to overcome our fear with His promise! God is in control of everything!
When you go back to Isaiah 43 notice the phrase in verse 16 and verse 19, “make a way”16 This is what the Lord says-- he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing!Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
So what is that way “I AM DOING A NEW THING”
We like new things, don’t we? There’s always something new, something different, something better, than what we have right now. A new phone. A new computer. New clothes. There’s always new technology, new styles.Lots of new things! This morning, God says, “I am doing a new thing!” What is this new thing that God is doing? How can anything related to Christianity be a new thing? I thought Christianity was an old thing – a religion that has been around for almost 2000 years -something from the past, something becoming more and more obsolete. What does God mean, when he says, “I am doing a new thing? In verse 18, God says, “Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past.” Do you know the setting of these words? These words were originally meant to be words of comfort for people in captivity.
But God says, “Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” God was telling the people, that while he did some amazing things for them in the past,they haven’t seen anything yet. He was going to rescue them again: “I am making a way in the desert, and streams in the wasteland.” God’s people were trapped in country that was surrounded by one of the most barren, most deadly deserts in the world. Even if they escaped from their captors, they would never make it through the desert. But God was going to do the impossible – he was going to set up a highway for them to walk on. He was going to provide water for them as they journeyed back to the promised land: This is the “new thing” that God eventually did do for the Jews during that time in history. They were eventually released from captivity. They eventually survived that difficult trip through the desert, and returned to their homeland. What does this have to do with me? God says, “I am making a way in the desert.” Jesus says, “I am The Way, the truth, and the life.” God says, “I am making streams in the wasteland.” Jesus says, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”
Just as God was doing a new thing for Israel, rescuing them, so also right now, God is doing a new thing for you right now – he’s rescuing you, rescuing you from this world, which is passing away. “Do you not perceive it?” God asks you this morning.
He is our highway in the desert. He is our oasis, our stream in the wasteland. Jesus is the new thing that God is doing for us.
Do you see yourself in our lesson this morning?
This is a new thing. Yes, these teachings have been around for a long long time, but they never get old. They are new every day – never obsolete, always the cutting edge of “spiritual technology.”And God says “fear not for I am with you” and I am about to do a new thing.,…
Today I am looking for that new thing….I am looking for a renewed relationship with him…. I am looking for a new way to worship Him… I am going to look for everything new he is going to do for me today and this week … you need to be looking too…….
