Back against wall 1

Ex14:10-16 "And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

15 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."

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In these passages, God gives 3 commands to the Children of Israel when their backs are against the wall; when it looks like there is no way out of their dilemma: 1.) Fear not 2.) Stand still and see 3.) Go forward; lit "get moving!"

In the next few weeks, I want to deal with these three commands one at a time, for they provide the answer for us when our own "backs are against the wall."

So today let's look at the first thing God told them..."FEAR NOT!"

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I regularly talk to people who are afraid or anxious (and anxiety is really just "floating" fear).

People fear what others think of them…

Or fear not having enough money…

Or fear public speaking, or flying, or being far from home, or spiders…

There is the fear of failure or rejection, Of losing a loved one…

The fear of disease, pain, or death…The list of fears goes on forever...

If there is a universal thing we all experience, it is the battle with fear....

We all want more of God’s peace in life, instead of experiencing fear!

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And you know what? God knows our struggles, and is well aware of our struggle with fear.

So the first thing I want to point out is the obvious...

I. God doesn't want you to be afraid....

Did you know that “Fear not!” is the most repeated command in the Bible?

In fact, it’s been said that there are 365 “Fear nots” in the Bible — one “Fear not” for every day of the year!

Author Lloyd Ogilvie writes that there are 366 “Fear nots” in the Bible, one for every day of the year, including Leap Year!

God doesn’t want us to go a single day without hearing the comforting words: “Fear not!”

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Now, some have said, “That's a nice thought to say that there are 365 ‘Fear nots’ in the Bible, but it’s not true.”

And they are technically correct...

There is not a single version of the Bible that says 365 times, “Fear not.”

For instance, the King James Version says “Fear not” or “Be not afraid” 103 times, but not 365 times.

But here's the deal---if you want to get technical, there are way more than 365 “Fear nots” in the Bible!

How can I say that?

“Fear” is spoken of over 500 times in the KJV.

For instance, in addition to the “Fear nots,” the Bible teaches us to “Fear God,” which really means reverence God alone and do not fear anyone or anything else.

And the many verses that encourage us not to worry or not to be anxious add many, many more “Fear nots" to the Bible.

This is why I say that there are more than 365 “Fear nots” in the

Word of God!

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And the Psalms provide one of the best places to find the "fear nots" of the Bible...

I love the Psalms because they deal with the real nitty gritty, down and dirty struggles of life...

The Psalms are the Bible’s great book of "soul care"...

And listen--they're designed to train your soul to respond to all of life's trials and difficulties through prayer and trust in the Lord rather than fear and worry...

There's all kinds of “Fear not” prayers.

Psalm 56 is a great one, because David's back is REAllY up against the wall...

In this psalm, he has been surrounded by the Philistines in the city of Gath...

In the natural it looks like he's done, and he senses fear creeping into his soul...

But instead of giving in to fear, he turns his eyes toward God...He writes:

"When I am afraid,

I will trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

In God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can mortal man do to me?"

If God is with him, man can not hurt him!

And then of course, there is my favorite--Ps. 27:1

"The LORD is my light and my salvation--so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?"

The Apostle John wrote that fear is defeated by God's love:

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18).

And we all know about Paul's word to Timothy that fear is not from God:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7).

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Now, jumping back to Moses and the children of Israel, God's word to them contained the same sentiment when, they too, had their backs up against the wall:

"Fear not, you have nothing to be afraid of because I am with you!"

So first, no matter how bad the trial, God doesn't want you to be afraid...

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Secondly, when we're afraid we need to remember that...

II. The Lord knows your situation

The Lord not only knows of the trial you're in... He knew your trial was coming before it ever arrived!

God never says "Oops!" And He never says, "Well I'll be!"

Jesus assured us, "Your Father knows exactly what you need before you ask Him" (Matt. 6:8).

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One day, Jesus looked right at Simon Peter and said, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift...you like wheat" (Lk. 22:31).

When wheat is sifted it is shoveled with a pitchfork and tossed violently into the air where the wind blows the unnecessary chaff off of it...

The pure kernels of wheat then fall back to the ground, ready for the granary.

So Jesus is literally telling Peter that he's about to be tested in a way that is going to throw his whole life into the air...He's about to experience a great shaking!

But more: He also knew full well that Peter was going to crash and burn....

"Peter," He said, "A rooster will crow after you have denied three times even knowing Me."

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In short: The Lord knew that Israel had their backs against the wall, that Peter was about to have his own back against the wall...

And He knows all about the trial you're in right now...

He knows about your stresses, the pressures you face, the needs you have, the battles you're fighting, the temptations you're facing...

He knows about your situation! But here is where it gets even better....

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The third reason the Bible gives for us not being afraid is...

III. The Lord will fight for you

Moses told the people, "The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace!"

Meaning, "You might be afraid now, but you will soon experience the quietness of peace."

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Let's jump back to Peter's impending "trial of betrayal" for a moment...

The Lord's word to Peter is a perfect exposure of the reality of spiritual warfare...

First, notice that Jesus was fully aware of a satanic assignment hatched in hell against His top disciple.

The Lord possesses all knowing, all seeing radar equipment that reveals every move the enemy makes.

He always has top of the line intel on how and when the enemy is going to attack God's children!

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And knowing what the enemy was up to, Jesus fought for Peter in the place of prayer before the enemy ever struck!

"The Lord will fight for you," said Moses, "and you will hold your peace."

After telling Peter what Satan was up to, the Lord assured Him...

32 "But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

In other words, Jesus saw the trial coming and prayed that it would not destroy his faith!

He engaged in spiritual warfare for Simon, heading the devil off at the pass, cancelling the satanic assignment that was designed to take Simon out for good!

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Of course, when Peter heard Jesus' prediction, he immediately displayed the whole reason he needed to go through the trial...

Simon immediately responded, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.”

But Jesus knew better and said....

34 “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

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Jesus knew that 1.) Satan was about to attack Peter, 2.) that he would fail the test, 3.) that he would for a season walk away, 4.) that he would be restored, 5.) and that he would be a source of strength for the church afterward.

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Now jumping back to Moses, We see exactly the same thing--God fighting for Israel...The Bible says:

"19 Then the Angel of God, who was leading the people of Israel, moved the cloud around behind them, 20 and it stood between the people of Israel and the Egyptians. And that night, as it changed to a pillar of fire, it gave darkness to the Egyptians but light to the people of Israel! So the Egyptians couldn’t find the Israelis!" (14:19-20)

Now this "Angel of the Lord" was none other than Jesus Christ; that's why "Angel" is capitalized!

This is what we call a Christophany, an appearance of Jesus before He was born as a human being in Bethlehem.

Paul wrote that "the Rock that followed them was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4).

The Lord Jesus Himself fought for them so that the enemy couldn't even find God's people!

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So what is Jesus doing right now as I speak?

The Bible says, "And so Jesus is able, now and forever, to save from the punishment of sin all who come to God through Him because He lives forever to pray for them." (Heb 7:25)

And again, "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;" (Ro. 8:26)

Jesus knew that this moment when your "back is against the wall" was coming, and has covered you in prayer!

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1.) He doesn't want you afraid 2.)He knows of your situation, 3.) He's fighting for you