“Be Strong and Not Afraid”
Deuteronomy 31:6
INTRODUCTION:
• Open in Prayer
• Read Verse: Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
ILLUSTRATION:
Did you know that the greatest enemy of joy in life is fear and the greatest hindrance to fulfilling all God has for you is fear. Let me show you what I mean…
For many years my very best friend has contemplated going into business for himself. He has been working in the heating and oil business for over 13 years, he has felt God’s call to go out on his own, he has the experience to succeed, he has the customers telling him they will support him, he has a wife who encourages him to step out in faith and give it a go but the one thing that has hindered him from taking this leap of faith and starting his business is fear. Fear that he will not make his bills, fear that people will ridicule him if he fails and fear that he will mess up God’s plan for his life.
Well our passage has some great advice for my friend and for all of us; You see as Moses prepares to depart this world, knowing that in his absence the people may be fearful in following God, calls on the Jewish nation to do two things in order that they may experience the fullness of God’s plan for their lives in his absence:
• Be Strong – “ Be strong and courageous”
• Do Not Be Afraid - “Do not be afraid or terrified…”
PROPOSITION:
Christians can not fulfill God’s purpose and plan for their lives if they are constantly living in fear.
PREVIEW OF MAIN POINTS:
This morning I will show you three reasons we can be “strong and courageous”:
I. God goes with us (Confidence)
II. God will not leave us (Trust)
III. God will not forsake us (Assurance)
TRANSITIONAL SENTENCE:
Let me show you what I mean look with me if you will at vs. 6…
I. GOD GOES WITH US– “The Lord Your God Goes With You” (Confidence)
EXPLAINATION:
Let’s allow Moses statement do two things here:
• Allow it to speak for itself
• Allow it to encourage us
Expose The Text:
• “The Lord” –The Supreme Being; Jehovah. The creator of heaven and earth of all that is seen and unseen. The great “I AM”, the beginning and the end, author and finisher of life.
• “Your God” – Not generic but very personal. You, your God. Moses spoke to God’s people then and I am speaking God’s people now, The Lord is “YOUR” God. He is on your side.
• “Goes” – God follows you, pursues the course, travels ahead, behind and along side.
• “With You” – You are in the company of, You are leaving with and You are arriving with the Lord Your God!”
ILLUSTRATION:
In 1715 King Louis 14th of France died after a reign of 72 years. He had called himself "the Great," His court was the most magnificent in Europe his funeral was equally spectacular. As his body lay in state in a golden coffin, orders were given that the cathedral should be very dimly lit with only a special candle set above his coffin, to dramatize his greatness. At the memorial, thousands waited in hushed silence. The Bishop then began to speak; slowly reaching down; he snuffed out the candle and said, "Only God is great."
I understand your fears in life and I understand that you may not feel great, you may not feel that you can accomplish all that God has called you to and the truth is you can’t but God can and He is with you, He is your confidence.
APPLICATION:
My guess is that if you are anything like me there is something in your life that you simply wish you could do for God but fear has simply paralyzed you.
Please take a moment now to consider it. (Spend 20 – 30 sec. in silent prayer for the people)
Now I would like you to re-consider knowing this:
• The Lord
• Your God
• Goes
• With You
God wants you to have confidence in Him, that you may not fear.
TRANSITION:
If that does not make you want to be strong and courageous then how about this…
II. GOD WILL NOT LEAVE US: “He Will Never Leave You” (Trust)
EXPLAINATION:
Moses was not about to stop with God goes with you, He now wants them to have more than confidence in their God he wants them to trust their God. Look at what Moses says:
Expose The Text:
• “HE” – This same God we spoke of earlier
• “Will” - A deliberate choice or decision about
a course of action. God has deliberately chosen that He will not leave us.
• “Never” - Not ever; on no occasion; at no time, God has never even considered changing His mind for it was made up that He would Never, No not ever Leave You.
• “Leave” – Walk away, turn away, reconsider and go.
• “You” – Personal, you are the one being addressed.
ILLUSTRATION:
I can remember as a kid going to the department store with my mother. She would be looking at clothes or something and I would just beg her to take me to the toy section. She would continually say why dont you go to the toy section and I will come and get you when I am done. The problem was that I did not trust that she would come back to get me before she left.
The point is God wants us to trust in him so that we do not miss out on the greatness of His plan for us. I often wonder how many toys I missed out on becuase I did not trust my mother enough to leave her side? :)
APPLICATION:
Now please take a moment now to consider that one thing in life that you really want to accomplish for God but fear has you paralyzed: (Spend 20 – 30 sec. in silent prayer for the people)
Now I would like you to re-consider knowing this:
• He
• Will
• Never
• Leave
• You
God wants you to trust Him, that you may not fear.
TRANSITION:
So we have seen that God goes with us and will never leave us but lastly…
III. GOD WILL NOT FORSAKE US: “Nor Forsake You” (Assurance)
Finally Moses brings not just confidence, not just trust but assurance to the Jewish people as he says:
Expose The Text:
“Nor” – Conjunction meaning will not do either, God will not leave or forsake you
“Forsake” – To give up or renounce, you will mess up, you will fall short and you will let God down at times but have this assurance God will not give up on you and he will not renounce you.
“You” – This is the last time I am going to say this so please hear me, God is talking not about you but rather God is talking to you. He is speaking to you right here, right now. He will not forsake “YOU”.
ILLUSTRATION:
Sometime when you’re in an airport, observe the difference between passengers who hold confirmed tickets and those who are on standby. The ones with confirmed tickets read newspapers, chat with their friends or sleep. The ones on standby hang around the ticket counter, pace and smoke, smoke and pace. The difference is caused by the assurance factor.
This is the kind of assurance God wants you to have when you step out in faith.
APPLICATION:
This is the last time I will ask but please take a moment now to consider that one thing in life that you really want to accomplish for God but fear has you paralyzed: (Spend 20 – 30 sec. in silent prayer for the people)
Now I would like you to re-consider knowing this:
• Nor
• Forsake
• You
God wants you to have assurance in Him, that you may not fear.
TRANSITION:
So let’s just take a moment to review what we learned today
REVIEW MAIN POINTS:
The three reasons we can be “strong and courageous” :
IV. God goes with us (Confidence)
V. God will not leave us (Trust)
VI. God will not forsake us (Assurance)
CONCLUSION:
I believe God gave me this message not because He expects that we will all live our lives without any fear but rather that the fear will not stop us from moving past the excuses, moving past the Na-Sayers and sometimes even moving beyond the logic of the situation.
Today has God put a burden on your heart? Has God given you a vision, a future that only exsists in your heart and mind because fear has stopped it in it’s tracks?
• Have Confidence
• Have Trust
• Have Assurance
“For the Lord Your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you”
ILLUSTRATION:
At the beginning of this sermon I told you about a man whose fear had stopped him for many years from starting His own business, well the confidence, trust and assurance of the Lord has made his heart leap and he has decided to step out in faith. His story inspired me to seek God and this was the message God gave me, I hope it has ministered to you as it ministered to me.
CONCLUDE WITH PRAYER
