I'm tired of being afraid.
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intro
FEAR – is a powerful emotion.
At times it can be a crippling emotion. because fear can lead to you being sad, discouraged, worried, and depressed.
some people are short tempered or easily irritated not because they are mean but because they are afraid of something else, but lashing out at you
that’s why financial troubles put a strain on marriages: financial fear puts husband and wife in a bad mod
There’s fear of death, fear of failure, fear of defeat, fear of rejection, fear of being alone
fear of enemies, fear of bills, fear of being inadequate, fear of sickness, fear of problems
and we keep repeating the words, “what if”
what if I get laid off
what if I get a bad report
and we rehearse the worse case scenarios over and over gain
and being afraid just drains the joy out of life
But God does not want us to fear, in fact the command to ‘not be afraid’ and to ‘fear not’ is the most repeated command in the bible: from Genesis to Revelation we see God telling His people do not be afraid.
and if you are tired of being afraid there is a word for you today: A Psalm of David
a man who faced a lion, bear, a giant, battles, the government being after him, wars, and his own son trying to kill him just to name a few
so he has dealt with fear
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, They stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: Therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
9 Hide not thy face far from me; Put not thy servant away in anger: Thou hast been my help; leave me not, Neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, And lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: For false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed To see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the Lord.
we will key in on the first four verses, back to verse 1
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
fear/being afraid
the Hebrew word used for fear indicates worry, extreme concern, apprehension, uneasiness
The Hebrew word used for afraid indicates big time fear, pending fear, fear that causes you to shake, fear that causes you to tremble
all levels of fear and being afraid are covered in this psalm
The Lord
Who is the Lord?
the one who is king forever, the maker of Days, the one who calls every star by name, the all-wise God, in fact he created wisdom
The Bible says dresses in glory and majesty, Isaiah said that He can hold the oceans in the palm of his hand, and that God can pick up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand
angels bow down before him, demons tremble just at the mention of his name
HE is the the Lord God Almighty
I don’t have to fear or be afraid because He is my light and my salvation and my strength!
let’s talk about the Lord is my light
is my light
this means I don’t have to fear because God shows me the way
he illuminates dark paths
God directs me
even when I am in a fog, God gives me clear vision
how does he show me the way?
#1 way is through his word - The Bible says thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway
there are directions in this here Bible
what’s right, what’s wrong, how to act, how to live, how to treat people, what to prioritize . . .
that’s the lighted path . . . doing what the Bible says to do
The Lord also shows me the way through circumstances - sometimes the situation forces you down a particular path
Queen Esther was is a quandry, but her older cousin pointed out to her that based on the circumstance, she really had no choice but to go to the king . . .
for God’s people if it seems there is only one path to take, and going down that path doesn’t contradict God’s word, that is the path to take . . .
The Lord also speaks directly to his children (my sheep know my voice) - that thought you can’t shake, a revelation through another person (sermon), visions, dreams, wisdom . . . can’t go through all of them, but let me just sum it up best I can
If what you are hearing doesn’t contradict God’s word, that is probably his voice
Since THE LORD (the almighty one) is the light. You can trust the light and not be afraid.
The problem for most is not a lack of direction, but the faith to follow the direction . . . the obedience to walk down the path
but often we try to complain, “God has not given me enough direction”
and we pray again, “God show me, God lead me, Guide me”
But agin, since THE LORD is my light
wherever he has directed me is the correct direction
however many directions he has given me is enough information
however much he has illuminated my path is sufficient for the next step
so I don’t have to fear or be afraid
and my salvation
salvation speaks of rescue
I serve a God who does more than talk
Not only does God give his word . . .in Jeremiah, God says, “I am watching over my word to perform it”
so God gives his word and he backs up his word
he’s not the 911 operator who says, help is on the way
he is the help
The Lord is a God of action. He saves, rescues, he steps in, and delivers
he is going to see to your care personally
Yes, he lives in my heart, and he sits upon the throne, but he also rides upon the clouds (fancy way of saying he comes to rescue)
I don’t have to be afraid because my 911 is The Lord God almighty himself!
The Lord is the strength of my life
strength - Hebrew word means a place of refuge, like a stronghold/fortress, a place of safety
some places the enemy just can’t get into
the enemy might surround, threaten, and might even attack
but you are safe because you are in the fortress
and that fortress is the Lord
so don’t be afraid because being surrounded by troubles is not the same as being taken down by troubles
When I am in a strong shelter, the rain doesn’t bother me
and that is where some of you are right now: the rain is falling, strong winds are blowing, the thunder is rolling, and the lightning is flashing . . . yet you are safe because the Lord is your strength
that’s why another scriptures says: God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble
in other words, you are surrounded by trouble, but not in trouble . . . because the Lord is your strength
that’s why the following verses go this way
Psalm 27:2
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, They stumbled and fell.
yes, you do have enemies, and yes they came preparing to attack you and take you down
but they stumbled and fell
in other words, they got taken down instead
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
because God is light and my salvation and my strength, I don’t have to worry even if a whole pack of enemies comes against me
Even if I am facing a war . . . not one battle, but battle after battle . . . every day/week brings a new problem or circumstance
not only will I not be afraid, I will be confident!
Confident in what?
some people are strapped
some people got a crew
some people have a lot of money
all of those things are nice to have, in fact David has all of those things
warrior king - strapped with sword, bow, spear, slingshot
he had a crew called “The Thirty” (they were not to be trifiled with)
he has lots of money
gave over 200,00 pounds of gold
gave over 500,000 pounds of silver
it’s hard to compare value over centuries, but it would be worth 8 billion dollars in today’s money
but being strapped, having a crew, and having money are not the source of David’s confidence
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
This is where his confidence comes from
I have desired and am seeking to . . .
be in the house of the Lord all the time
behold the beauty of the Lord
inquire in his temple
What does that mean?
being in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
God is everywhere, but he let a part of his presence be felt in the tabernacle where they worshipped
David seeks to be near God, close to God
behold his beauty - this speaks of getting to understand and know God, becoming more aware of all that God is
inquire in his temple - meditating (NLT), getting info and directions from God: understanding and listening to his voice
Summarized - My number one desire is being close to God
having a good relationship with God
learning of him, learning about him, learning from him
I am confident because I have put God first . . .
I am not afraid because a good relationship with God is the one thing I seek the most
I am not fearful because I know God and God knows me!
David is making a direct connection and between your relationship with God and being confident (and not fearful)
Your fear or lack of fear is a good measuring stick of the quality of your relationship with God
The facts are that a child of God does not have to fear or be afraid because the Lord is their light, salvation, and strength . . . they are set, they’re good
but that same child of God might waste time worrying and being afraid and not having peace and being miserable every day because their relationship with God is not strong enough to be confident in that fact
Let me put it this way: if we knew God better, we wouldn’t be afraid
There is this preacher I follow on social media and he used the “faith in a chair” example but he expanded it
we can tell we have faith (confidence) in a chair because we trusted enough to sit down on it without even thinking about it . . . . we were not afraid
he added on that we have that faith because we really know chairs . . . our faith is based on our knowledge and understanding of chairs
and he went on to say that the more we know and understand about God the more faith we will have in God
and that’s what David is saying, “You can’t make me doubt him, because I know too much about him”
cause I’m always trying to get to the church to worship him and be in his presence
learn about him and understand him
hear from him, asking, inquiring meditating
and I have learned too much to doubt Him
If you are tired of being afraid, you need to get to know God better
If you are tired of being afraid, you need to get to know God better
and that’s head knowledge, that’s knowledge through experience, and knowledge through observation
back to the chair; confidence because
head knowledge - four legs, sturdy materials, balanced
observational knowledge - you see others sit in chairs successfully
experiential knowledge - eventually you have to try it for yourself, and the more you do it, the more confident and less afraid to sit down you are
same with God
head knowledge - you have to learn the word of God, know it, memorize it
observation knowledge - observe that people keep testifying that God made a way, came through for them, delivered them, brought them out, helped them, stepped in right on time . . . these testimonies give you some knowledge about our God . . .
God is no respect of persons - what he had done for others he will do for you
knowledge through experience - you have to eventually try him for yourself, take that step of faith, you have to taste and see that the Lord is good
and then you repeat, and then again, and your confidence will grow . . .
for some of us, if we just reflect and play back what we have already experienced with God, it would dry our tears and calm our fears
This theme keeps coming back - get close to God
the closer you are to God the more confidence, faith, and trust you have
work on your relationship with God and you will start to really understand that you don’t have to fear
two types of people on the roller coaster of life
those who are afraid - screaming out of fear
those who are having fun - screaming for joy
When you are tight with God, you understand and know that he will (v5-13)
hide you from trouble
set you up on a rock where you can’t be touched
lift you up above your enemies
give you a testimony
hear your prayer
never leave you
see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living (13)
and you will conclude that instead of being fearful, you just need to . . .
14 Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the Lord.
don’t be afraid, just wait on God
it’s just a matter of time before he comes through again/rescues again/provides again/delivers again/helps again/steps in again
so take courage, be confident, have faith . . . and wait on the Lord
Put it into action: back to devotion time theme this year
(if you are tired of being afraid)
invest real effort and time - this one sermon won’t be enough (just a stater)
for me it is a computer file
for you it could be a journal
notes on your phone
head knowledge
reading or listening to the word of God daily;
really work a scripture (memorize and meditate (that’s why we do the same church scripture for at least a month)
we have our scripture of the week
I have a reminder of who God is and who I am
observation knowledge - you will get this through Bible stories
but you an also record stories of people you know God has helped
record your knowledge through experience - we have forgotten more about what God has done for us than we remember
write down when God brings you out
be consistent - all the days of my life
Salvation and Jesus
Sad that our minds can become so twisted that we fear everything but God . . . the one person we should fear and respect
the one who can destroy both the soul and the body
but the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge
Should fear trying to navigate this life without God
you should fear not being sure of your eternal destination
God does not want you to fear those things . . . give your life to God
