Isaiah 41. Fear not, for I Am with You!

Fear not, for I Am with You Isaiah 41 Isaiah 41:1, 5-7 Fear Not, for I Am with You [1] Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment. (The court is ready for your case-NLT) [5] The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. [6] Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!” [7] The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. Isaiah 41:1–13 right hand. [8] But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; [9] you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; [10] fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous [11] Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. [12] You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. [13] For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Of course, I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without going through that dismay. ~ C.S. Lewis Personal Reflection Questions for Isaiah 41 1.What do you fear right now in your life? (vs.10-14) 2.Who or what are you holding onto to cope with this fear? (vs. 7 or vs. 13?) 3.Can you see the hand of the LORD in your life? (vs. 20) A) Court is in session: “Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments.Come now and speak. The court is ready for your case.” (vs.1) B) Consolation and Comfort:“But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend,” (vs.8). A) Present your defense: “Present the case for your idols,” says the LORD (vs.21) Isaiah 41: 1, 5-7, 21-24, & 29 (New Living Translation & ESV) 1“Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and speak. The court is ready for your case. 5The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. 6The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other, “Be strong!” 7The carver encourages the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. “Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine.” Carefully they join the parts together, then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over. 21Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. 22Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, 29 “Behold, they are that we may know their outcome; all a delusion; or declare to us the things to come. 23Tell us what is to come hereafter, their works are nothing; that we may know that you are gods; their metal do good, or do harm, images are empty that we may be dismayed and terrified. 24Behold, you are nothing, winds.” and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you. The Opaque Veil It is woven of the fine threads of the self-life, the hyphenated sins of the human spirit. They are not something we do, they are something we are, and therein lies both their subtlety and their power. To be specific, the self-sins are these: selfrighteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, selfsufficiency, self-admiration, self-love and a host of others like them. They dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them. ~ A.W. Tozer (The Pursuit of God) CONSOLATION FROM A MIGHTY GOD “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” ~ St. Augustine (Confessions) 8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; 10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 Behold, all who are incensed against youshall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. 12 You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. 13 For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” How does fear impact us? • It negatively impacts our decision making skills = (Genesis 3:8-10) • It breaks a safe and loving relationship = (Romans 1:21) • We resort to the 3 F’s (Fight, Flight, or Freeze). = (Mark 14: 4352) It is God Alone…. “I AM WITH YOU” “I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU” “I WILL HELP YOU” “I WILL UPHOLD YOU” “FOR I, THE LORD YOUR GOD, HOLD YOUR RIGHT HAND” “I AM THE ONE WHO HELPS YOU, DECLARES THE LORD.” “THAT THEY MAY SEE AND KNOW…. THAT THE HAND OF THE LORD HAS DONE THIS….” “And the Word became flesh…” (John 1:14) Matthew 14:28–31 [28] And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” [29] He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. [30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” [31] Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him…”