You Shall Not Be Afraid

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.