Sermon Tone Analysis

RISING ABOVE ANXIETY AND FEAR

Spring Valley Mennonite; November 13, 2022; Isaiah 41:9-14

It is not a common occurrence, but it happens to me more often than I care to admit: I wake up in the middle of the night, perhaps from a troubling dream, and unable to drift back to sleep, my mind begins to churn with anxious thoughts.

For example, as I grow older, I have lapses in memory-is this an early sign of Alzheimer's?

Will my grandchildren remain faithful to the Lord?

Will a family member fall victim to the ever-increasing violence in society?

Will our nation continue to grow more openly wicked, and will it survive at all?

And the bad "what if's" continue to fill my mind if I don't find a way to stop such thoughts!

Have you noticed how anxious thoughts can multiply in the middle of the night?

I won't ask if you ever feel anxious or fearful, for I already know the answer!

Of course, you do! God knows our anxious thoughts and gives us instruction on how to rise above our fears and anxieties, and that is our subject of the morning.

Are you personally dealing with fears and anxieties the way God wants you to?

Fear has existed from the Garden of Eden.

Remember the first record of fear in the Bible?

Adam and Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit, hid themselves from the presence of the LORD.

Sin and fear are related, as there was no fear before sin entered the equation.

Since the fall of man, our enemy uses fear as one of his most potent weapons against us.

Since Satan has been given dominion over the earth (within the limits God has established), we find our lives are filled with a multitude of situations which give opportunity for fear.

Fear is a beast which stalks every person, all the time.

To those Israelites who survived the siege of Jerusalem and the forced 500-mile march to Babylon, the few who now found themselves slaves under the overwhelming might of the Babylonian Empire, to these seemingly without hope and severely oppressed, God delivers a message of comfort.

Few of us have situations so bad.

But to all of us who are fearful, have been fearful, or those who will be fearful, God speaks.

If He is able to give comfort to those in such dreadful circumstances, He can give comfort and strength to us.

Turn to Isaiah 41:9-14 (Read)

In an uncertain and changing world, God instructs His people to rise above their fears.

One very real danger of yielding to fear is that:

I. FEAR CRIPPLES OUR WALK WITH GOD

We all know what it is like to be in the vise-grip of panic-to be temporarily driven and controlled by fear.

Every parent has heard his child scream and has instantly dropped whatever they are doing to run to their aid.

Remember the feeling of panic and fear which filled your mind at such times?

Remember the feeling of panic when the phone rings in the middle of the night, knowing that good news seldom comes at such times?

This moment of panic soon passes, and then we are faced with a decision-"Do I yield to fear, or do I choose to trust?"

Let me quickly add that of itself, fear is not wrong.

A healthy amount of fear helps us avoid things that are dangerous: the edge of cliffs, rattlesnakes and grizzly bears.

A whole other topic is how wise and godly people "fear" God.

The fear of God, rightly understood, is the beginning of wisdom and understanding in life.

The fear of God instructs us that our God is not to be trifled with.

But when fear becomes a controller-to state it another way, when fear becomes our "Master", then it is wrong and must be handled like any other sin.

When we find ourselves paralyzed and governed by fear rather than being guided by faith and trust in our good God, steps must be taken.

For fear can make us do things that ordinarily we would not do.

Every dictator who has ever ruled has used fear to manipulate people.

Very few people are able to resist a gun to their head.

Yet, even in such a situation, God will give us strength: I am constantly encouraged by the stories coming from the persecuted church around the world where God has given courage to believers to endure rather than yielding to fear and renouncing their faith.

The evil one who would seek to manipulate our lives will use fear to cripple our walk with God.

Consider how we all have feared the opinions of others to the extent that we have kept silent when we should have spoken out.

Perhaps, fearing rejection or censure from our peers, we have gone along with the crowd and compromised our testimony.

Fear of failure may cause us to work harder and harder, trying to be the perfect parent, the most productive employee, the perfect spouse-until we are so stressed that we give out.

I wonder how often our unspoken fears and anxieties are a source of stress in our lives.

To our fearful, stressed and anxious generation, God tells us: Fear not!

II.

FIVE REASONS WE CAN RISE ABOVE OUR FEARS

God gives us five reasons we can rise above our fears in Isaiah 41:10, each related to the five occurrences of the pronoun "I" in this verse.

God is the solution to our fears and anxieties.

*The first reason is that GOD IS WITH US.

Look at verses 8 and 9 (Read).

God had chosen Israel for His people.

He chooses to remain close with those He chooses.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we know that we have been chosen by God, as proven by these verses:

* John 15:16: You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you."

* 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy natin, a people for God's own possession , that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

* Ephesians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy ad blameless before Him...

God does not "unchoose" His own.

He tells us in Hebrews 13:5, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

In John 6:37, Jesus promises us "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.

Does the small child fear the darkness when safely held in the arms of his loving parent?

Do you fear getting wet from the rain when safely within your house?

Do you fear your creditors after the bill has been settled.

Why not?

You are confident in your resources.

Friend, God is the ultimate resource!

He promises He will always be there for you.

You can take it to the bank!

Remember the majesty and power of God shown in Chapter 40 of Isaiah-that magnificent and all-powerful God is Immanuel, God with us.

Jesus Christ lives within, a very present help in fearful times.

*Secondly, "Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God."

There is a helpful distinction between fear and anxiety: fear has a definite object.

Worry or anxiety is about something uncertain or unknown.

Let's examine anxiety first: We become anxious about whether we will catch a virus, of whether the car will make it to our destination.

What if McDonalds is robbed while I am sitting there?

What if a drunk driver crosses the center line into my path?

That is anxiety or worry-it deals with the "What ifs" of life.

To our anxieties, God tells us in Philippians 4:6, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God speaks in this verse to our anxieties-the "What ifs."

When you wake up in the middle of the night and begin feeling anxious over what might happen, pray.

Place those scary "What ifs" in the very capable hands of Jesus.

Another word for being anxious is "worry."

Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you the feeling of movement, but it takes you nowhere.

To our fears-those definite things which face us, God tells us "I am with you."

He will protect us.

He is standing right there beside us in His awesome mighty power.

To our anxious thoughts, God tells us to replace them with thoughts of who God is.

For present danger, we have "I am with you."

For abstract worries in anxieties, God tells us "I am your God." Please note that God pledges to defend His own.

If you are not a child of God; if you have not been born again, then you have no such assurance.

The world is indeed a fearful place for the unsaved.

*The third reason we can rise above our fears is the promise of His strength.

So very often we forget that in ourselves we are weak and helpless.

Does this strike you wrong, that you are weak and helpless?

Does that thought make you sort of "bristle?"