Fear Not! (Revised April 2024)
Isaiah 43:1New King James Version (NKJV)
The Redeemer of Israel
43 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
Introduce…
This morning we are going to look at a passage of Scripture that Reminds us that we have hope in the midst of our fears.
Family… There are sooooo many things that cause us fear today…
I recently read about a young couple that was watching television on a rainy night.
They lived in Laguna Canyon, California.
Their nine-month old baby, was asleep in her crib in the next room.
And their first clue that something was wrong was when the television screen flickered, then, went black. The power was out.
and one of them said…. "I heard an explosion like the mountain was moving," "and I took the baby from the crib."And husband and wife held each other and the baby close and braced for the impact as, a river of mud smashed through their apartment wall. The mother tried to shield her baby, positioning herself so the mud and debris would hit her instead of the child. The husband, in turn, tried to shield his wife and child.
And Strong as he was, and as determined as she was, they were swept down the hill by the force of the current. And the young baby was torn from her mother’s arms.
…..When they finally came to rest, husband and wife lay a few feet from one another, unable to move. And they could hear their baby crying in the distance, but could not see her.
And as the mother began to call for help. Moments later, the baby’s cries were replaced by something far more terrifying. Silence. There worst fears had come to visit….
***LEAVE THE ABOVE ILLUSTRATION FOR NOW AND RETUREN TO IT AT THE END OF THIS MESSAGE.
*** Although the main points of this sermon and most of the explanations are different, this Illustration as well as several other thoughts were gleaned from an excellent sermon on this passage by Jeremy Houck on Sermon Central. Many thanks to Pastor Jeremy, and please do look up his messages! High marks! ***
Fears… Fears… Fears….
We all have them…
Sometimes I tell people that I never met a bumble bee or a tornado that I was very comfortable with…
And just like the young couple in the mudslide…. There are things that cause us fear!
I used to own a home that was located on a prominent hilltop in the Idaho Mountains. Now you know that severe storms can be bumpy. What was surprising to me is that a thunderstorm on a hilltop has a different dynamic.
When you are in the valley.. the storm is above you… but on the hilltop, the storm rages all around you on every side and even below…
The lightning falls during the night….. it falls near and on feels closer.. the blinds are drawn and the dark house and yet, the home lights up inside like million camera flashes at a concert.
In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face
While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place
'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry
Keep me safe till the storm passes by
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand
Keep me safe till the storm passes by
And so I ask you….. What’s the worst that can happen?
**Everyone will have a different answer to that question. And your answer will largely depend on the things that you are most afraid of.
The loss of a spouse.
Your own death
The loss of a child.
The fear of Never having a child.
What are you afraid of?
Being alone.
Losing your job.
Terrorism. War. Crime.
Everybody has a worst case scenario for their lives.
The people of Israel had them then…. And we have them now.
-pause-
Now remember as we come to our scripture that in 722 BC, Israel had been going some misbehaving; and as a result, God brought judgement and the nation of Israel fell to the invading armies of Assyria…
As an instrument of God’s Judgment and wrath, Assyria carried the people of Israel off into captivity.
The people of Israel were in effect.. Deported out of their homeland and forced to move to the North Country.
That nation of Assyria was long feared for their brutal tactics… and so without going into detail…. The only thing that I can think of that even comes close to some of the things that I’ve read about, would be to say that some of tactics of our modern day ISIS are similar…
Another army that would come later… The Babylonias were described as a POT OF BOILING WATER… poured out on Judah.
And what I’m wanting you to catch a glimpse of here… is that when these Armies attacked from the North… They didn’t fool around.
These were fearful times with real dangers and real fears!
-pause-
Many of you know that I am a combat veteran from Desert Storm. I spent time under fire and I can tell you the exact moment when my fears went from a general uneasiness about the enemy threat to full fledged fear that I might not only die… but that I could die in the next 5 minutes.
Now I know that some veterans will try to tell you that they were not afraid during times of war, but I can tell you that my experience is that were it not for Christ…. Some of those fears can be nearly paralyzing.
.....Transition.......
This morning as we come to Isaiah 43:1 - 3.
There are some words of comfort for us, as we face the things that make us afraid!
In the previous chapters… things are bad…
And yet when we come to the Beginning of Isaiah 43….
There is a contrast….
In the previous chapters, God pours out His wrath…
and yet, here at the beginning of Isaiah 43, we begin with the words…. BUT NOW!
BUT NOW
This morning, I’m so glad that with God there is always the potential for a BUT NOW!
The worst has happened. But now God wants to do a new thing in your life.
The thing you feared most has COME UPON YOU
Thing thing that you feared the most has overtaken you.
But now God gives you a new perspective and a new promise.
Your worst case scenario has become a reality. But now God reveals his providential hand.
When the worst threatens….
When the worst happens,
Faith listens for the words, "But now .... "
1. You do not have to fear because God has Called you (By Name!)
Repeat!!!
When the worst happens we often… don’t just lose our health or a loved one or a job or a home;
Sometimes we lose something else….
When the worst happens… Sometimes we can lose our identity!
Let me explain….
Do you remember back in the book of Ruth…
All through the first part of the book of Ruth… Ruth is referred to as what? THE MOABITIS!
For the lady Ruth… who came from the land of Moab… The pagan nation… the foreign nation… the nation if idols and false gods…
Her past has become her last name!
And it can be the same for us….
Sometimes the tragedy is so overwhelming…
Sometimes the grief can be so all-consuming, that it redefines us.
And It tags us with a new and unwelcome label.
And now instead of having your old identity….
**Now, you are a divorcee.
Or a widow.
Or an orphan.
Or broke.
Or unemployed. Or disabled.
Or an adulterer. Or addict. Or drunk. Or thief…. A sinner
And Whether the worst comes falling down on you through no fault of your own…
or comes because of your own sinful choices…
…you lose possessions or you lose precious relationships.
The worst can be so overwhelming because you can lose yourself…
And you can wonder…..
Does God even think of me? Does he even know who I am?
The Psalmist… even wondered about this… when he asked,
“What is man that you are mindful of him”
Well family…. Let me remind you that you have been created in the image of God!
He formed you and He knit you together in your mother’s womb!
He knows you… He loves you.. and He has called you by name!
… Illustration…
Tell of a time when I thought about changing my last name…. and why.
You see… my old name is tarnished… my old name has flaws… my old name connects me to my sinful past..
And then I remember that the word of God tells me
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
All things become new….
If you are in Christ… You get New Life!
If you are in Christ… You get a New Identity!
And if you’re in Christ…. One day…. You even get a new name!
Revelation 2:17 To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
Now scholars have a bunch of ideas about what that white stone and new name entails… but the thought that I like the best is the thought that…
With a brand new name…. comes a complete separation from all the awful things connected to the old one!
Family…
When the worst comes…
You don’t have to fear because God knows who you are… and not only does He promise a new name later…. HE CALLS YOU BY NAME now… (Come as you are)
(Insert the visual of a parent calling a toddler trying to walk here)
- Our babies roll.. then crawl… then begin to pull themselves up on the edge of the furniture, and finally begin to find their balance.
- Finally when they are beginning to find their courage to take those first steps, we don’t push them out into the living room floor by themselves…
- We are the ones who go to the middle of the floor, and then we reach out our hands toward our children, and call them by name… “Come on… Come to me… it’s ok… you don’t have to be afraid.. Cmon” and we call them by name!
Aren’t you glad that God does that for us?!! He calls us by name, and we don’t have to be afraid!
Well, there’s another reason why you don’t have to fear this morning….
2. You do not have to fear because God has Redeemed You!
This word redeemed is a wonderful word!
Redemption involves deliverance from bondage based on the payment of a price by a redeemer.
In the Old Testament… In Leviticus 25 it says that an Israelite who has had to sell himself into slavery because of poverty may be redeemed by a kinsman.
In the book of Ruth. Boaz brought the matter of Elimilech’s estate to the attention of the nearest kinsmen redeemer and suggested that he “Buy it”
It involved paying a price…
In the matter of Hosea and Gomer…. Through her unfaithfulness, Gomer wound up as the next item for bid on the Slave market.. and Hosea Redeemed her… He paid the price and he bought her back for “fifteen shekels of silver, a homer of barley, and a lethech of barley” (Hosea 3:2)
Kenneth Beckman once said that “Sin is a costly thing…. “ Sin costs… and the price is so costly that you and I can not even begin to pay it!
**** Unpack the imagery of the pawn shop… and the redeemer.
- Something of value is sold for far less than its worth to the pawnbroker..
- It is placed on the shelf in the backroom, and there it stays until someone comes to redeem it…
- Likewise.. you and I sold ourselves out to sin, and ended up on the back shelf in the enemies pawn shop.
- Unable to pay the price or, in anyway redeem ourselves out of the aweful place
- Finally, Jesus the redeemer comes along and pays the high price for our redemption, and redeems us out of that place!
- He secures our deliverment from bondage based on the payment of the ultimate price… the shedding of His very own blood.
“and So when Jesus paid the redemption price for you sin, and for mine…. He paid the price of our redemption more adequately than if each man had died for his own sins…
Jesus paid it all…. All to Him I owe…. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow
And so this morning you do not have to fear because God has redeemed you! And if that ‘s true… then it leads to one final comfort.
We’re nearing the end of the message and so this thought will be a shorter one…..
When the worst comes…
3. You do not have to fear because You belong to God! (You are His!)
Isn’t it cool to know that He claims you?
I think of the newlywed husband and wife when they are first married… when they people in the community. How do they introduce one another?
This is MY wife…. This is MY husband… How good it feels and how good to think and know that she still claims him! H belongs to her! And She belongs to him!
-pause-
We belong to Him… This Idea of God’s ownership of us… flows so well with him Redeeming us….
The New Testament encourages us to Glorify God with our bodies because… We are not our own… We were bought with a price!
But just as in the two way ownership between a husband and wife… He is hers and she is his…
This causes me to ask the question..
Is it the same with you and God right now?
The scripture tells us that He claims you… but do you claim Him?
The old song says…. I’m my beloved’s and he is mine…. His banner over me is love!
We love because he first loved us!
38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
Fear not! … because you belong to God!
----Transition to close…. Call to a decision…
As we come to the close of this message… Our invitation is 2 fold. We want to invite you to give your fears to God… and secondly if you don’t know Him, we want to invite you to Him personally.
-pause
Do you remember the story that we opened with … Do you remember the mud slide?
Mother and Father…. lay helpless in the mud and debris fearing the worst for their child…. Things looked bad…
But What they didn’t know is that a little way down the hill, a man was sorting through the rubble, looking for survivors. And He picked up what looked like a ball of mud. Then it began to cry.
And he handed the baby to a neighbor and she placed it in the care of firefighters.
As Mother and Father anguished over their baby daughter….
The thing that was most precious to them HAD BEEN PLACED IN THE HANDS OF ANOTHER!
You see family…. As our worst fears… Threaten…. As it turns out… the very safest place is in the hands of another..
We can place those fears squarely in the hand of God.
This morning as we offer His invitation… We invite you to place your fears in His fands..
And so, I also ask you…. When He calls you by name… Have you answered his call?
When He calls you Call to salvation
When he calls you to Ministry and the other things that he calls us to?
Have you answered his call with a “Yes! Here I am Lord”
The price to redeem you has already been paid….. He offers freedom and salvation to you as His free gift to you… But… Have you accepted? Have you Been Redeemed?
You see its not enough just to have the redeemer … you must accept his payment on your behalf!
When He says that you are His…. Are you included in that?
Tie the ribbons on it with scripture… …
Remember that all have sin and come short of the Glory of God
Remember that the wages of sin is death
Remember that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse
Also remember that…
EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…
And that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
invitation to follow...
