Opening illustration: Columnist George Cantor told how he dealt with a childhood fear. Almost every night he would wake up in the darkness and imagine scary creatures lurking outside his room. Often he would be too scared to go back to sleep. Sometimes he would go and lie down by his parents’ bedroom door, figuring that as long as he was near them, nothing would hurt him.
That child’s need for some physical evidence of his parents’ presence reminds me of the young servant of Elisha. He woke up early one morning and found that the Syrian army had surrounded the city. Alarmed and afraid, he cried out to Elisha, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6: 15). After Elisha prayed, the Lord opened the young servant’s eyes. What he saw must have filled him with awe and wonder. The Bible says that “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v.17). The Lord’s army was there to protect them.
We too at times long for God to give us some kind of reassurance that He is near, and sometimes He does. But that’s the exception. He wants us to learn to trust His promise that He is with us. No matter how frightening the situation, God’s people always have more on their side than the enemy has on his. (Illustration by Mart DeHaan, Our Daily Bread)
Let us turn to Deuteronomy 31 and catch up with what God is telling the Israelites and their leader ‘Not to Fear.’ Apparently the same passage it reiterated a couple of times in ‘God’s Word.’ It also shows up in 1 Chronicles 28: 20.
Introduction: Notice if you will, how close these six Scriptures are huddled together, like a cluster of fruit from the vine of God. Time and time again, God is building Joshua up, encouraging him, stirring him up inside, fanning into the flame the gift from God to be strong and courageous, for God was with him just as He was with Moses.
We may face new ground in our walk with the Lord; we may be on the threshold of stepping into a battle for lost souls, or even a new direction. Never fear, take heart, for God is saying to you today, “Be strong and courageous,” for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Moses assures Israel of the constant presence of God with them. This is applied by the apostle to all God’s spiritual Israel, to encourage their faith and hope; unto us is this gospel preached, as well as unto them; he will never fail thee, nor forsake thee, Hebrews_13: 5. Joshua is well pleased to be admonished by Moses to be strong and of good courage. Those shall speed well, who have God with them; therefore they ought to be of good courage. Through God let us do valiantly, for through him we shall do victoriously; if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. Fear Not is not a choice but a commandment and God gives us the reasons for us to be fearless …
Word Background: The Bible uses words like fear, afraid, terror, dread, anxious, tremble, shake and quake over 850 times to portray this core human emotion. Healthcare professionals use terms like fear, anxiety, panic attack and phobia to illuminate the spectrum of our fears. For our purposes we use fears and anxiety interchangeably.
Fear is an immediate and intense internal alarm system that alerts us to the presence of danger. It revs up our whole being – body, mind and emotions – and rivets our focus on one primary goal: protection. It prepares us either to flee from or fight against the perceived danger.
Who did God tell ‘Fear Not’ and why?
a) Abraham - for an heir
b) Jacob – to go down to Egypt
c) Israelites – as they ventured into the wilderness and faced many -ites (enemies)
d) Moses – the enemies were given into their hands
e) Joshua – while encountering the enemy
f) Elijah – king Ahab and his wife
g) Daniel – in order to strengthen him in a foreign land
h) Zacharias – his wife shall bear a child (John the Baptist)
i) Mary – favored to bring forth Christ into the world
j) Joseph – to take Mary as his wife
k) To us in Hebrews – not to fear man
l) To us in Revelation – to encourage and tell us that He is the beginning and the end
Why should we be fearless? Because the Lord your God will …
1. Not walk off/out on you (go with you) v.6a
Expanding the Hebrew terminology ~ He will walk to and fro for you and make sure that you stay strong and of good courage …
If we reflect on whether God has ever walked out on us, we all would easily testify that, that has never ever happened but we can give instances when we have walked out on Him. The Word of God tells us that He goes before us, with us and hedges us all around. That is the kind of protection He provides in our going and coming, as well as during our daily life expectancies. Remember He was with the Israelites when they stood by the Red Sea, He was with them in Jericho and while they passed through the River Jordan and during their exodus in the wilderness for 40 years. If all of us start to testify, we will get to hear how God has walked with each one of us all the way and still continues to do so.
Psalm 118: 6 ‘The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Illustration: When W. B. Davidson was a young boy, he walked with his father 3 miles from his rural home to his grandmother’s house. While they were visiting, the sun set. Davidson writes, “Between our home and grandmother’s house was a swamp. That night the croaking of the frogs, the chirping of the crickets and the shadows of the trees frightened me. I asked my father if there was any danger of something catching us, but he assured me that there was nothing to dread. And so, taking me by the hand, he said, ‘I will not allow anything to harm you.’ Immediately my fears passed away and I was ready to face the world.”
2. Not fail (fall short/stop working) you v. 6b
Expanding the Hebrew terminology ~ He will not slacken or relax but continue to protect, care, provide and equip you …
Similarly when we reflect on whether God has fallen short or stopped working in the lives of His followers, it would be found to be untrue. He continued to work in the lives of the OT stalwarts, the Israelites, the NT saints and does the same with us today and will continue to do the same ever after. Apparently when God works in our lives, He works till the end. For His Word says that what He has begun in us, He will complete it also. He doesn’t fail His promises and always keeps them forever. If we see the lives of the NT saints, we see that God continued to make them grow and mature them in the faith everyday of their lives. If we read the story of Joshua, we’ll see that God did the same thing with him. Is anyone here this morning who can say that God has stopped working in your life? We may have failed Him a number of times but has He ever failed you?
Joshua 1: 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
1 Chronicles 28: 20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
A. To encourage us
B. To explain to us
C. To equip us
Isaiah 54: 14 ‘In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.’
3. Not forsake (give up/abandon) you v. 6c
Expanding the Hebrew terminology ~ He will not dessert or leave you hanging half way …
When we read about the blunders of Abraham and Moses and the other OT stalwarts, we see that God did not leave them at all. When the Israelites moved through the desert for 40 years and were not hesitant to shun, test and fail God – He did not abandon them. Apparently He always looked for a way to have communion with them. When the Israelites reached the Red Sea and had nowhere to go … He did not leave them but created a way through the Red Sea. When they reached Jericho, He made them prevail over the enemy and continued to be with them. When the disciples abandoned Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and failed to associate with Him, He did not leave them. Even today when we go through the fire or the waters, He doesn’t leave us or forsake us … He goes with us.
God says in Isaiah 43: 2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”
How many of us today can testify that He is the same God yesterday, today and forever? He is a God who has never left us in the past, never forsaken us today and will never do so in the future. Has God abandoned anyone of you here this morning?
Isaiah 41: 10 ‘Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Illustration: A young woman was waiting for a bus in a crime-ridden area when a rookie policeman approached her and asked, “Do you want me to wait with you?” “That’s not necessary,” she replied. “I’m not afraid.” “Well, I am,” he grinned. “Would you mind waiting with me?”
Like that policeman, we as Christians must be willing to admit that sometimes we become fearful—about dying, about getting cancer, about losing our mind, about losing our job, about our children getting in trouble, about getting old. We don’t like to confess it, so we may ignore, deny, or repress those fears. But to overcome our fear, we must first acknowledge it.
The psalmist recognized his fears. “Whenever I am afraid,” he said, “I will trust in You” (Psalm 56: 3). This trust in the Lord gave him a growing confidence. “I will not fear,” he said (v.4). And again, “I will not be afraid” (v.11). This was much more than self-talk. It was a conscious decision to trust in God: “I will.”
We can conquer our fears. To admit that we are afraid is to admit that we are human. But to admit being afraid and then trusting the Lord and going forward will take the fear out of fear.
Application: This year has been tough on many of our friends, family and many of us. The financial meltdown and unemployment may have taken a toll on many of us and many we know. Things don’t look getting better but going downhill. But in all this we must understand that God has a plan and purpose in everything. Many of us may be fearful or even afraid of the future and what it holds for us ... His Word continually reiterates “FEAR NOT” which is a commandment and also gives us the reasons to fear not … for He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. May we stop fearing and take the step of faith … to trust Christ.
