YOU SHALL NOT BE AFRAID
Ps. 91:5; Jn. 10:28-29
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Driving to work, a man had to swerve to avoid a box that fell out of a truck in front of him. Seconds later, a policeman pulled him over for reckless driving.
2. Fortunately, another officer had seen the carton in the road. The policemen stopped traffic and recovered the box. It was found to contain large upholstery tacks.
3. "I'm sorry sir," the first trooper told the driver, "but I am still going to have to write you a ticket."
4. Amazed, the driver asked, “What for?” The trooper replied, "Tacks evasion.”
B. TEXT
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” 5 YOU SHALL NOT BE AFRAID of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. 9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. Ps. 91:1-2, 5-7, 9-11.
C. THESIS
1. Fear is one of the basic human emotions, along with hunger, love, and hate. Some fears are healthy, but most are not.
2. What drives us to bad decisions? Fear. What causes us to say things we shouldn’t? Fear. What enflames our emotions, puts knots in our stomachs, causes tightness in our throats, and makes us drive fast when no one is pursuing? Fear!
3. Fears paralyze us, tortures & debilitate us. Satan is a master of using our fears against us – fears of failure or rejection, inadequacy, or dangers – to cause us not to fulfill God’s destiny for our lives.
4. We’re going to look at 3 reasons the Bible says, “You Shall Not Fear!” FIRST...
I. BECAUSE YOU’RE IN THE FATHER’S HAND
Jesus said, “27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” Jn. 10:27-29.
A. WE ARE GOD’S SHEEP
1. We’ve been bought with Christ’s blood, redeemed from among men, ransomed and bought back from the hand of the enemy!
2. Jesus says, “MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE.” Why? He’s opened our spiritual ears. It’s the mark of a child of God that Jesus has our attention. We Sheep won’t listen to the voice of other shepherds, because we can distinguish Jesus’ voice from all others.
3. ILLUS. The Sheep Follow the Shepherd’s Call
a. During the riots in Palestine in the 1930’s a village near Haifa was condemned to collective punishment by having its sheep and cattle taken by the British Government. The inhabitants however were permitted to redeem their possessions at a fixed price.
b. Among them was an orphan shepherd boy, whose six or eight sheep and goats were all he had in the world. Somehow he obtained the money for their redemption. He went to the big enclosure where the animals were penned, offering his money to the British sergeant in charge.
c. The soldier told him he was welcome to the requisite number of animals, but ridiculed the idea that he could possibly pick out his “little flock” from among the confiscated hundreds. The little shepherd thought differently, and gave his own “call”, with his shepherd’s pipe.
d. To the astonishment of all watching, eight animals separated from the rest and trotted out after him. “I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep—and they know Me.” [Eric Bishop, Jesus of Palestine: The Local Background to the Gospel Documents, (London: Lutterworth, 1955), pp. 297-98]
4. Christ tells of His INTIMACY with His sheep: “I know them.” “The LORD knows them that are His” 2 Tim. 2:19. He knows your secret sighs, your unique personality (some of you, very unique!), your shortcomings – all your hopes and fears. And if need-be, He takes the sheep in his arms and carries us! As Job said, “He knows the way that I take.”
5. Next, Jesus says, “AND THEY FOLLOW ME!” Others may not obey Him, but HIS SHEEP DO! They take up their cross and follow the Cross-bearer; they follow the track that the Good Shepherd made for them.
B. GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE; IN THE FATHER’S HAND
1. His next words, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (vs. 28).
2. Eternal Life is the life of God – the life-giving force flowing from the Being of God, Who is self-generating. It’s similar to electricity – it creates, animates, illumines, and quickens things to life. Created things don’t possess this divine life - except as they are in contact with God.
3. ILLUS. Many years ago Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929) was sitting on a river bank and picked up a solid round stone out of the water and broke it open. It was perfectly dry inside the stone, in spite of the fact that it had been immersed in water for centuries. This is true of many people who attend churches: for years they’ve been surrounded by Christianity, immersed in God’s presence, yet they haven’t let the Holy Spirit penetrate into their hearts.
3. Listen to John, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 Jn. 5:11-12). In Christ is eternal life.
4. And God says, “WE CAN NEVER PERISH!” “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” Isa. 54:17. We are safe! It doesn’t matter what evils assail us (trials or temptations), God’s grace will be greater! Jesus says, “neither shall anyone pluck them out of My hand.” The devil can pluck & pull at us all he wants to, but he can’t dislodge us from Christ’s’ hand!
5. Then Jesus adds (vs 29), for those still not convinced, “no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” So we’re not only in Jesus’ hand, but the Father has laid His hand over Jesus’ – so you’re inside TWO hands! You can be sure God’s double-handed force will keep you! Who can separate me from the love of Christ? No one! Hallelujah!
6. You are safe in Christ’s hand. Know it, and feel the joy of it. “I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
7. NEXT, “YOU SHALL NOT FEAR”...
II. BECAUSE YOU HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURE IN CHRIST
A. GOD HAS A GREAT DESTINY FOR US
1. The Bible tells us the wonderful news that death is not final, the grave won’t hold us, and the Earth can’t keep us!
2. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” 1 Cor. 15:51-52. The Rapture’s going to happen! And Paul adds, “And so we will be FOREVER with the Lord” 1 Thess. 4:17! What awesome words!
3. We’re going to survive death, be transformed and be with God forever. We don’t need to worry about the future – God’s got it covered! Jesus is preparing a place for us; you have a heavenly address already – your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
4. On top of a new body, a new life, a new world, and new mansions – we experience eternal life – not just longer life, but a higher quality of life!
B. THE WORLD DIDN’T GIVE IT TO YOU & THE WORLD CAN’T TAKE IT AWAY!
1. The wonderful thing about what God gives you is that the world can’t take it away. So we shouldn’t let our heavenly joy be dampened by any events that happen here on earth. HOW CAN YOU DO THAT? The same way Jesus did: fix your eyes on the GOAL! It’s what runners do – focus on the goal-line.
2. “Fixing our eyes on Jesus...[WHO] FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” Heb. 12:2, NIV.
C. ILLUSTRATION
1. On May 24, 1965, a 13½ foot boat slipped out of the marina at Falmouth, Massachusetts. It’s destination? England! It would be the smallest craft ever to make the voyage. Its name? Tinkerbelle.
2. Its pilot, Robert Manry who felt that 10 years at the desk was enough boredom for a while. Manry only told a few people what he was doing – just some relatives and his wife Virginia.
3. He spent harrowing nights of sleeplessness trying to cross shipping lanes without getting run down and sunk. Weeks at sea caused his food to become tasteless. Loneliness gave him to terrifying hallucinations. His rudder broke 3X & he was swept overboard in a storm, and if not for the rope he’d knotted around his waist, he would not have lived.
4. Finally, after 78 days alone at sea, he sailed into Falmouth, England. He had fantasized about what he would do when he arrived. He expected simply to check into a hotel, eat dinner alone, then the next morning to see if perhaps the Associated Press would be interested in his story.
5. Was he in for a surprise! Word of his approach had spread far and wide. To his amazement, 300 vessels, with horns blasting, escorted Tinkerbelle into port. And 40,000 people stood screaming and shouting him to shore. Robert Manry, the copyeditor turned dreamer, became an overnight hero! [Charles Swindoll]
6. Keep looking to Jesus & the joy set before you, because there’s a great cloud of witnesses waiting to welcome you into Heaven!
7. The 3rd reason “YOU SHALL NOT FEAR” is...
III. BECAUSE PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT ALL FEAR
A. GOD LOVES YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE
1. God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” Jer. 31:3. John says, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” 1 Jn. 4:16.
2. If you live in the ocean of God’s love and know how much He cares about you, why should you ever be afraid? That’s why John says (2 verses later), “There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear” 1 Jn. 4:18.
B. GOD IS IN CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE
1. A great vision was given to Nebuchadnezzar & Daniel to reveal “so that [all] may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth” Dan. 4:17. “For dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations” Ps. 22:28.
2. The devil IS NOT in control of your life, God is! All your ways are in His hands. God is bigger than the devil and God is bigger than your failings. He’s working all things together for your good. Simply trust Him!
3. In Rom. 4:18-21, Abraham faced the fact of the deadness of his body – but believed God had the power, he believed God’s Promises! “Greater is He that is in me...” “I CAN do all things!” “With God, ALL THINGS are possible!”
C. HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU
1. God says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee; Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” Heb. 13:5; Mt. 28:20.
2. Missionary David Livingstone had spent sixteen years in Africa, surrounded by hostile, angry natives in the heart of Africa. One night he was in grave danger of losing his life. He contemplated fleeing in the darkness. But something happened that changed his mind and gave him peace in his perilous situation.
3. He recorded it in his diary, January 14, 1856: "Felt much turmoil of spirit in prospect of having all my plans for the welfare of this great region and this teeming population knocked on the head by savages tomorrow.”
4. But I read that Jesus said: “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” It is the word of a gentleman of the most strict and sacred honor, so there's an end to it! I will not [flee secretly] tonight as I intended. Should [a man of God] flee? No! I’ll take my latitude and longitude tonight, though they may be the last. I feel quite calm now, thank God!" [Paul Tan: Encyclopedia of 7700 illus., #2000]
5. He staked his life on the word of Jesus Christ. Can you do that? Will you trust Him? Will you believe He’ll do what He said? God says, “Do not be afraid...declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you” Jer. 42:11.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: WHEN TRASH IS REALLY TREASURE
1. Craig Randall drives a garbage truck in Peabody, Massachusetts. In a garbage container one day, he noticed a Wendy’s soft drink cup bearing a contest sticker.
2. Having won a chicken sandwich the week before, Randall checked it, hoping for some french fries or a soft drink. Instead, he peeled a sticker worth $200,000 toward the construction of a new home, reports “U.S. News and World Report” (11/6/95). [Bob Weniger, Ft. Collins, Colorado]
3. That’s what finding Jesus is like – you don’t think you’re going to get much – but it turns out to be a fortune!
4. If only people the around us knew of the peace and joy, and the blessings of the Lord. Maybe we should say like Moses, “Come with us; we will do you good!”
B. THE CALL
1. Do you know anyone who needs to hear the Good News? God loves people and has a wonderful plan for their lives! Can you think of someone to let in on your secret?
2. Maybe someone here has never surrendered their life to Jesus, but you want to do that now. Slip up your hand.
3. How many of you have fears you want God to break off of you? Let’s gather at the front and let God bring healing and deliverance! Prayer.
