Don’t Be Afraid
OKAY – for the next few minutes I want to talk to you about something… and I am going to go out on a limb and say, it’s something that everyone in this room has experienced before. And maybe even more so as the coronavirus continues to dominate our national conversation...
In John 10:10, Jesus said…
The thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – John 10:10
AND LISTEN – I am convinced that what we are going to talk about tonight is one of our enemies primary weapons to steal, kill and destroy the ‘have it MORE abundantly’ life from us, from me, from you.
I MEAN - this weapon just kind stops you dead in your tracks… and leaves you kind of paralyzed and trembling.
SO TODAY – I want to encourage you to overcome this weapon of your enemy with these 4 words…
“Do Not Be Afraid”
NOW I will be using one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament… found in 2 Kings chapter 6.
QUESTION – have you ever been afraid?
What kind of things cause fear to fall over you like a thick dark cloud?
Are you afraid about something even now?
HEYY – so what are some of the things that people your age are afraid of most often?
Go ahead and just shout them out.
NOW – there are literally hundreds of fears out there… and they are sometimes called phobias, which comes from a Greek Word that means ‘fear or horror…’
OKAY – try to guess what the following phobias are referring to…
Acrophobia
(heights)
Arachnophobia
(spiders)
Arithmophobia
(numbers)
Hydrophobia
(water)
Ophidophobia
(snakes)
Nyctophobia
(dark)
Gynophobia
(women)
Coulrophobia
(clowns)
Ephebiphobia
(teenagers)
Pogonophobia
(beards)
Venustraphobia
(beautiful women)
OKAY – turn to 2 Kings 6… beginning at verse 8…The event we are going to talk about, takes place during the time when the nation of Israel was divided into 2 kingdoms - Israel in the North & Judah in the south. Before we begin our story let me introduce to the list of characters...
Elisha - He is a powerful prophet of God; He was a student & successor of Elijah - (remember - Mt Carmel & the 450 prophets of Baal).
Elisha did some pretty awesome miracles; he healed the sick, multiplies food - he even raised the dead...
Joram - He is the King of the North - the son of Ahab & Jezebel who we meet a couple of weeks ago.
(Elisha a student of Elijah - Joram the son of Ahab & Jezebel... I think it’s pretty safe to assume that these guys didn’t have too many BBQ’s together.)
Ben-Hadad - He is the king of the Arameans - a nation that was fighting against and harassing the Northern kingdom....
Unnamed servant of God - Elisha’s new servant & student.... Elisha’s last servant (Gehazi) was fired and given leprosy for taken kick backs from the Aramean General Naaman...
Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”
(setting up an ambush to capture Joram)
9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.
(any places God has warned you to stay away from or be very careful in)
11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
(thought He had a leak in his inner circle… like how is Joram getting away every time)
12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
(our enemy loves the darkness)
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
(Seriously, how would you feel if you were this servant.
LIKE – he just got this new job working for Elisha, things were looking up… and then he wakes up and finds out that in the middle of the night his enemy came and now surrounds him)
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
(I’m not so good at math, but me and you is only two)
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
(Now – I am pretty certain that Elisha prayed out loud… so that his servant would know that the horses and chariots of fire were already there)
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
(Samaria was the capital city of Israel)
20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?” 22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow?
Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
OKAY – let’s do this… ‘Do Not Be Afraid’ a command of God spoken hundreds of times in the bible to His people.
And I want to use a word coined by a famous deputy in the town of Mayberry.
N – Never Forget Whatever Is Surrounding You God Is Surrounding It.
UNDESTAND – the break-through in this story IS NOT when God does something ‘for’ His people.
NO – the break-through is when His people see that He is already there and already doing something… that He is an ever-present help in times of trouble…
Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. - 2 Kings 6:14-17
The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. – 1 John 4:4
QUESTION - is something surrounding you?
Whatever it is your God is greater!
YOU KNOW - there is something about being in the presence of someone who is stronger than we are, that soothes our fear and melts our terror.
A child’s fears after a terrible dream go away, when he is in his parents room...
A boy confidently walks by the bullies who had beat him up, because his older brother now walks beside him.
The shepherd boy with just a sling, faces a 10 foot giant that has an entire nation shaking in their boots, because he knows the Almighty God is with Him....
Remember I said earlier that the phrase "Don’t be afraid" appears in the bible… alot -- mostly spoken by God and by Jesus (that is significant),
And it is also significant to note, that nearly every time after saying, "Don’t be afraid," God then reassured the people of His presence…
When Isaac was afraid…
That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you…” – Genesis 26:24
When Joshua was afraid…
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
– Joshua 1:9
When Jeremiah was afraid of the king of Babylon…
Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. – Jeremiah 42:11
In Moses farewell speech…
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
– Deuteronomy 31:8
You need to NIP your fears in the bud…
N – “Never forget that…”
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. – Mark Twain
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. – Nelson Mandela
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important.
I – Increase Your Fear Of Missing Out So That It Is Greater Than Your Fear Of Messing Up
QUESTION – has the fear of messing up ever kept you from doing something?
Is it keeping you from doing something right now?
I might mess up, fail, fall short…
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take Wayne Gretsky.
UNDERSTAND
• Moses going back to Egypt
• Joshua crossing the Jordan River and marching into the promise land
• David walking down into the valley
• Esther going in the King’s throne room
• Joseph taking Mary as His wife
• The disciples sharing the Gospel in the face of persecution.
Everyone of them felt fear…
QUESTION – do you think they were glad they took the shot?
OKAY – here’s the bottom line…
When we are controlled by the fear of messing up there is a good chance that we will miss out on something that God has for us.
How do I know?
Because of the good things God has done and brought into my life when I pushed through my fear…
N…
I…
P – Pursue Your ‘What Ifs’ Straight To The Bottom
What is your scariest “what if?’
LIKE - what doubts, chatter and noise have caused fear to descend onto your heart and mind?
OKAY – here’s the deal… here is what I am trying to say…
INSTEAD - of trying to avoid our ‘what ifs,’ let’s dive headfirst into them.
WHY? Because we know what… we’re going to find every time: The faithfulness of our God, amen…
In His book ‘Crashing The Chatter Box’ Steven Furtick writes about a time he went o a Christian counselor, about a friend who wanted to commit suicide.
AND - the Christian counselor kind of surprised him by what he said…
Hey I got a friend who says he wants to kill himself and I don’t know what to do… Furtick writes…
“Well, what if?” he asked.
“Excuse me? I’m confused.”
“What if he did kill himself? What would happen?” he asked.
“I’d be devastated.”
“Right. It’d be one of the worst days of your life.”
“Yes. The worst. I have no idea how I’d get through it.”
“But you would?”
“I would what?”
“Get through it. You would get through it, wouldn’t you?”
“I guess I would. Somehow God would get me through it …”
He continues…
As I heard myself saying those words, I felt something shift inside. I was still afraid, but not in the same way. My hope was no longer being choked out by fear. Instead I was wrestling with the fear but holding on to a hope that was higher than the fear. And finding a foundation that was stronger. – Steven Furtick
What If… That Would … God Will
God will get me through this . Somehow. Some way.
No matter what happens. God will be at the bottom, and because I’ve built my house on the Rock, it will stand.
What if? – and you fill in the blank…
• Making this move is a mistake
That would… - hurt, be terrible, be so difficult
NOW - the key, though, is not to stay down too long in the potential pain of that would.
It’s like being at the bottom of a pool— you can hold your breath for only a few seconds before you drown.
YOU SEE - the goal is to assess the fear,
NOT – obsess over the fear, because obsessing over the fear will asphyxiate you.
OKAY – stay with me, we are about done, but believe me you do not want to miss where we are about to land.
LISTEN AFTER - we’ve identified the fear and acknowledged the possibility of pain,
WE NEED TO - breathe in the promise.
AND - breathe it in deeply….
BECAUSE – even if the worse happens …
God will!
God will!!!
• protect me. Be my refuge and my shield
• give me peace that passes understanding
• put me back together.
• catch me, hold me be with me
• cause all thing to work together for good
• be an ever present help
• God will sustain me, get me to the other side and make me stronger
• Never leave or forsake
• Make me more than a conqueror
• Walk with me through the valley
Maple Grove when it comes to overcoming any fear we need to
N…
I…
P…
Let’s Pray
