The Reason We Should Not fear
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Good Morning! It is good to be in the house of the Lord this morning, please turn with me in your Bibles this morning to . We will begin reading at verse (8).
But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
descendant of Abraham, My friend —
I brought you from the ends of the earth
and called you from its farthest corners.
I said to you: You are My servant;
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:8
(Let’s Pray)
We have been going through a few of the most devastating traps that hinder Christians from becoming the person God created them to be in Christ.
We have been going through a few of the most devastating traps that hinder Christians from becoming the person God created them to be in Christ.
Throughout the Christian life there are traps, set by the enemy to distract, derail, and destroy the Christians joy and forward progress of living the Christian life. Thus far in our series we have looked at being trapped by tradition and how that robs us from the living power of walking with a risen Lord.
We have also learned that unforgiveness is something that only causes the Christian to imprison their own self, because even Christ has told us that we will only be forgiven to the degree we forgive others.
This morning we are going to be talking about the trap of fear.
Fear is the opposite of faith and yet most Christians find themselves overwhelmed with fear and or worry. The devil is very convincing. He wants you to be afraid of change, He wants you to fear the future, He wants you and I to see something God has told us to do, as something that cannot be done. When in reality if God has called us to it, He will bring us through it.
Fear is the absence of faith, Fear is the thief of joy, Fear is our enemy.
Yet so many are plagued with fears, that they find theirselves paralyzed and unable to move forward in their walk of faith.
So this morning I want to speak with you on this subject:
FEAR IS A LIAR
It’ll rob your rest steal your happiness,
But I want you to know this morning THERE ARE VERY BIG REASONS TO FEAR NOT
Here we have the prophet Isaiah the mouthpiece of God himself, speaking the very words of God, this is not some nobody giving his opinion He is saying the WORD OF THE LORD. So essentially what we need to understand is this is God speaking and God had a message for his people then and He has a message for His people today… His Message YOU HAVE MANY REASONS TO BE AFRAID, BUT YOU HAVE EVEN MORE REASONS NOT TO BE AFRAID
I think it is interesting to notice here how God begins calling His children to courage.
“Coastlands, listen to Me in silence,
And let the peoples gain new strength;
Let them come forward, then let them speak;
Let us come together for judgment.
God begins by proclaiming to the world LISTEN TO ME IN SILENCE
God starts here because the human race talks too much. We do dont we especially when we face something we are afraid of questions swirl in our minds when we are afraid. HOW IS THIS GOOD? HOW CAN I DO THIS? I DONT UNDERSTAND? I FEEL LIKE GOD ISN’T HERE AT ALL
All types of thoughts like this swirl through our minds when we are afraid.
To the point we cannot here the voice of God nor see his hand because the lies are much louder than the truth.
The enemy says LOOK AT YOU HOW CAN GOD POSSIBLY USE YOU
WHAT A FAILURE YOU ARE, DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS PERSON CARES ABOUT YOU?
It is through all of the lies floating around in the world the Lord speaks up AND SAYS BE SILENT!!
BEFORE ME COASTS AND ISLANDS
God desires everyone and everything to be quiet so that they can hear from the Lord truth and reason.
God says right here in this verse that the way to renew your strength as a Christian is through silence and reliance upon HIs word BE SILENT BEFORE ME COASTS AND ISLANDS AND LET THE PEOPLE RENEW THEIR STRENGTH.
Now doesn’t that sound familiar?
but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.
God proclaims that to His covenant children, God is offering the whole world the same power through relationship with Him to live in victory and hope.
But notice what God says at the end of verse 1
“Be silent before Me, islands!
And let peoples renew their strength.
Let them approach, then let them testify;
let us come together for the trial.
Testify? Come together for the trial?
These are legal terms God is expressing the fact that when we fear, we are actually questioning His goodness and love toward us.
When we worry we are saying that we dont believe God cares enough about us to actually do anything to help our situation, Church nothing could be farther from the truth.
God is saying here that we need to approach the bench its time to have a conversation.
SOMETHING HAS GOT TO BE SETTLED
There is a widespread misconception of God that has to be done away with.
MISCONCEPTION= GOD IS UNINVOLVED IN OUR WORLD AND THEREFORE OUR LIVES HAVE NO MEANING
There is a large group today that believe God may have existed but He is not actively involved in our lives today, and He is not involved in what goes on in our world today.
the Lord says this has got to go, THERE IS NOTHING THAT HAPPENS IN THIS WORLD OR IN OUR LIVES THAT GOD HIMSELF IS NOT IN CHARGE OF.
HE IS LORD OVER ALL!
But you say you dont know what I am going through how could God be responsible for this...
GOD CAN DO MORE IN YOUR BROKENNESS THAN IN YOUR STRENGTH.
God will allow hard times to come not to make you bitter or angry with Him even though many people become that way. God will allow hardships in your life because He sees you are relying to much in your own strength.
when trials come we have to learn to LOOK FOR THE LESSON
Gods trials never come without a lesson about Him or a lesson about ourselves.
But God calls the world to the stand to make a case against Him but before they even utter a word He lets them know that everything happening in History comes from Him.
Who has stirred him up from the east?
He calls righteousness to his feet.
The Lord hands nations over to him,
and he subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like wind-driven stubble with his bow.
He pursues them, going on safely,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, Yahweh, am the first,
and with the last —I am He.”
Isaiah 41:
To put this plainly God says to His people every call to righteousness, every king every event that happens in Human history is divinely guiding this world to it’s intended end.
We need to understand this, WHOEVER IS OUR PRESIDENT GOD WANTS HIM THERE, WHOEVER RULES OUR GOVERNMENT GOD WANTS THEM THERE.
WHATEVER HAPPENS IN OUR LIVES WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS WORLD IS COMING TO AN END ONE DAY, EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD IS GUIDING HISTORY TOWARD THE RETURN OF KING JESUS!!
This is a fact , and the sooner we begin to long for HIs appearing the better.
ONE DAY THAT EASTERN SKY WILL SPLIT APART AND THE TRUMPET OF THE LORD SHALL SOUND AND THE ONLY ONES WHO WILL NEED BE AFRAID ARE THE ONES WHO DONT KNOW THE LORD JESUS CHRIST PERSONALLY!
Notice how He closes
I AM THE LORD, THE FIRST and WITH THE LAST - I AM HE
The Aplpha and the omega the beginning and the end am with the last.
the last what?
Notice He didnt say I am the last even though He is.
HE SAYS I AM WITH THE LAST
HE IS DECLARING THERE IS NOBODY NOT WHO WAS NOR WHO WILL BE AT THE LAST WHO GOD WILL NOT BE WITH.
He says on that day
Isaiah 41:
The islands see and are afraid,
the whole earth trembles.
They approach and arrive.
So basically the Lord is telling his people that we can help our fears by living in light of eternity, it is amazing when we live everyday in light of the last day of human history..
the day when we will stand before our Lord and then give account for what we did with Him in the life He gave to us.
We need to understand this:
If I just float through life never giving a second thought to the Lord just basically resting in the fact I am saved from my sin, we will miss the reason why we are alive. God has called us to something, He has called us to be HIs representatives on this Earth and if we kinda float through life not remembering this there will be many things to fear.
I DON’T CARE MUCH WHAT YOU THINK OF ME WHEN I UNDERSTAND THAT I WILL GIVE ACCOUNT FOR WHAT GOD HAS COMMANDED ME TO DO
ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT I LIVE IN SUCH A WAY THAT I AM FOUND FAITHFULLY ATTEMPTING TO DO WHAT GOD HAS CALLED ME TO DO.
After hearing about the day when the Lord will come and bring in His judgment and the coasts and the islands being afraid, this might cause fear in us as well.
BUT IT IS HERE THAT GOD GIVES US SEVERAL REASONS WHY WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID:
HE HAS CHOSEN US!
HE HAS CHOSEN US!
THIS IS THE BEST NEWS IN THE WORLD TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE
GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU!!
For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love
He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will,
Ephesians
to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved.
AGAIN IN CHAPTER !
We have also received an inheritance in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will,
so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.
So God before the foundations of the world knew you and knew you would be His you did not surprise Him at all!
So when we face trials we can get excited because we know this if we are saved
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.
Romans 8:28
What then are we to say about these things?
If God is for us, who is against us?
Church we dont have to fear because our God has chosen us for blessing in Christ!
IF GOD BE FOR US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US!
The answer NOBODY!!!
Let this sink in church, God before He spoke the world into existence knew your name, He knew your likes your dislikes your struggles and the things you would be good at, He knew who you would marry, what your childrens names are and those things that you hope nobody ever finds out about you He knew them before the world began as well.
HE KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE A DAY WHERE YOU WOULD SURRENDER YOUR LIFE TO HIM, AND THE MOMENT YOU DID IT BECAME OFFICIAL YOU ARE HIS CHILD.
NO I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT WHEN IT SEE HOW CERTAIN GOD IS ABOUT WHO HIS CHILDREN ARE IT EMBOLDENS ME IT ENCOURAGES ME BECAUSE IF HE LOVES ME THAT MUCH THAT BEFORE THE MOUNTAINS WERE FORMED, BEFORE HE TAUGHT THE SUN WHERE TO STAND IN THE MORNING, BEFORE HE TOLD THE OCEANS IT COULD ONLY COME THIS FAR, BEFORE HE TAUGHT THE MOON WHERE TO HIDE TILL MORNING,
BEFORE DAVID KILLED GOLIATH, BEFORE THE ISRAELITES WERE LEAD TO THE PROMISED LAND, BEFORE NOAH BUILT A BOAT, BEFORE A VIRGIN BECAME PREGNANT WITH THE SON OF GOD, BEFORE HE DIED ON THE CROSS, BEFORE HE ROSE FROM THE GRAVE, BEFORE TONGUES OF FIRE, LONG BEFORE THE FORMING OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA....
HE KNEW MY NAME!
HE KNEW YOUR NAME!
We can face uncertain times because we serve a very certain Savior who knows what He is doing!
YOU WERE CHOSEN BY GOD!!!
But notice
YOU WERE CHOSEN FOR GOD
Here God uses the name Israel which represents the nation of God, the elected people set apart to be Gods people. But church I have some good news for you. This is not just talking about the region of the world in the middle east, this is talking about every group elected and set apart as God people.
That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring.
What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For He tells Moses:
I will show mercy
to whom I will show mercy,
and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion.
Romans 9:14-
As He also says in Hosea:
I will call Not My People, My People,
and she who is Unloved, Beloved.
And it will be in the place where they were told,
you are not My people,
there they will be called sons of the living God.
Romans 9:25
I’m telling you church by being a part of the body of Christ, by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ you went from not being His people to being His people, you went from being unloved to being beloved and now WE ARE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD!!
But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
descendant of Abraham, My friend —
Isaiah 41:
YOU ARE CALLED FRIEND OF THE LORD
I dont know that there is anything more profound in all of the Bible than the thought that God chose us, That He even wanted us, but to know that he calls us friend????
How in the world could God the invisible creator, the Holy One call little ole piddly me friend?
A man with many friends may be harmed,
but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
This means I can have all the friends I want but there is only one friend that sticks closer than even a brother....
Who is this friend?
How can I get to know Him?
If your in here this morning and you want to know Jesus personally I just want Jesus to speak to your hearts this morning.
“As the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love.
“I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from My Father. You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
John 15:9
GOD SHOWED THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL BY LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THOSE WHO HE WOULD CALL FRIENDS
Now HE stands ready since your part of the family to provide for your every need there is only one condition TRUST AND OBEY, and LOVE ONE ANOTHER
HE RESCUED US!!
HE RESCUED US!!
I brought you from the ends of the earth
and called you from its farthest corners.
I said to you: You are My servant;
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
Isaiah 41:
God wants us to know this morning WE ARE RESCUED NOT REJECTED
Listen Christian I know you might be struggling I know you might be afraid but I am here to tell you this morning, the SAME GOD WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE MESS YOUR LIFE WAS BEFORE HIM IS THE SAME GOD WHO CAN GET YOU OUT OF YOUR MESS TODAY!
We dont have a God who is uninvoled with our lives EVERYTHING IS WORKING TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE
The key to that verse is at the end according to His purpose.
Notice in our text Gods word says
“YOU ARE MY SERVANT”
“I HAVE CHOSEN YOU”
To be God’s servant is to live for His kingdom and not our own, it is to be about His purposes
YOUR NOT HOLDING ON TO GOD HE IS HOLDING ON TO YOU
YOUR NOT HOLDING ON TO GOD HE IS HOLDING ON TO YOU
Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.
5 things god wants you to know
I AM WITH YOU
I AM YOURS
I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU
I WILL HELP YOU
I AM HOLDING ON TO YOU WITH MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND
GOD IS WITH YOU, GOD IS YOUR GOD
But when he gets down here and says I will strengthen you the word there in the Hebrew can be translated HOLD YOU UP
Are you weary or weighed down with something?
The Lord can hold you up when you feel like you are going to collapse, When you feel you just cannot go on GOD CAN HOLD YOU UP AND KEEP YOU FROM FALLING
When He says I WILL HELP YOU
That word in the Hebrew translates secure or protect
Here God is telling us that when were weak He is Holding us up and when we are afraid for our lives HE IS OUR FORTRESS OF PROTECTION
How is He holding you up?
BY HIS RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND
(Jesus)
GOD IS FIGHTING FOR THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT HIS PURPOSES
GOD IS FIGHTING FOR THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT HIS PURPOSES
Be sure that all who are enraged against you
will be ashamed and disgraced;
those who contend with you
will become as nothing and will perish.
Isaiah
Have you got someone who is mad with you unjustly?
Do you have someone who is trying to ruin your life or make life hard for you?
Know this if you are in God’s will, and if you are seeking His kingdom not your own, HIs purposes not you own then our God is a warrior who is fighting on your behalf!
Here God tells us that the enemies of the children of God, when they face opposition, that though it may seem bad for awhile, it pales in comparison with what the Lord is going to do to thier enemies.
God says they will become as nothing and perish, it is true that so long as your walking with the Lord God can remove evil people from your life altogether.
You will look for those who contend with you,
but you will not find them.
Those who war against you
will become absolutely nothing.
God can fix a problem person, it aint our job to fix them, the Lord has to fix them
You just keep serving Him you just keep seeking Him and if He reveals your out of step then get in step with Him and you have nothing to fear. All we do when we try to fix something or someone is make things worse let the Lord fight for you!
When we fight our battles on our knees we cant lose
For I, Yahweh your God,
hold your right hand
and say to you: Do not fear,
I will help you.
Here we see the Lord calling his children worms, this speaks of the weakness of a worm, I have never met a strong worm. Oh I have seena wiggly one, one that didnt wanna get on the hook but I have never seen a strong muscle bound worm, the poiint is this GOD HELPS IN OUR WEAKNESS
God says you may not think you can handle the mountain in front of you but you need to believe in what I can do through you!
Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel:
I will help you—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
See, I will make you into a sharp threshing board,
new, with many teeth.
You will thresh mountains and pulverize them
and make hills into chaff.
You will winnow them
and a wind will carry them away,
a gale will scatter them.
But you will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
God is saying that mountain in front of you, I will strengthen you and you will pound it into dust and it will be blown away like saw dust in the wind, not so that you can boast in your strength but you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
Because only the Lord could have done this
Have you got a mountain problem?
Trust in the Lord and watch Him turn that thing to dust
God speaks now of those who feel hopeless, He speaks to those in a dry spiritual season
GOD WILL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU NEED
GOD WILL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU NEED
The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, Yahweh, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
Isaiah 41:
Some of you in this room this morning feel dry and cracked in your soul, but God says He hears your prayers and will answer you, HE HAS NOT AND WILL NOT ABANDON YOU
GOD CAN BRING LIFE WHERE THERE IS NO LIFE
GOD CAN BRING LIFE WHERE THERE IS NO LIFE
I will open rivers on the barren heights,
and springs in the middle of the plains.
I will turn the desert into a pool of water
and dry land into springs of water.
I will plant cedars in the desert,
acacias, myrtles, and olive trees.
I will put juniper trees in the desert,
elms and cypress trees together,
Listen to me this mornign you may be in what feels like a rut or a spiritual desert and you want that vribrancy back in your walk with the Lord but you need to know something God is cultivating fruit right in the midst of your pain, and struggle
WHY?
FOR WHAT PURPOSE?
Well I dont know about you but if I see a pool of water in the midst of a desert I stand amazed and i got to take a closer lookif I see rivers on the barren heights and springs in the middle of the plains I need to take a closer look
WHAT GOD IS DOING THROUGH YOU DRY SEASON, THROUGH YOUR TROUBLED TIME, THROUGH YOUR SITUATION IS HE IS SETTING THE STAGE TO FLEX HIS MUSCLES IN ORDER THAT OTHERS MAY KNOW WHO YOUR GOD IS!
YOUR TRIAL PRODUCES FRUIT WITHIN YOU THAT BLESSES OTHERS
so that all may see and know,
consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
THIS STRUGGLE IS MEANT FOR GOOD
THIS STRUGGLE IS MEANT TO GROW ME
THIS STRUGGLE IS MEANT TO BLESS OTHERS
God will do in brokeness what He could never do if you sit back with your own agenda in your own strength trying to accomplish your plans instead of the plans of the Lord
THANK YOU LORD FOR MY STRUGGLES
For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.
2 Corinthians
Maybe your struggle is not a struggle at all, maybe the thing you are afraid of the most is there to produce Godly Character in you and to grow your faith....
GOD IS WITH YOU
GOD IS FOR YOU
GOD CHOSE YOU
GOD WILL STRENGTHEN U
GOD WILL HELP YOU
GOD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU
GOD WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU
GOD IS AT WORK ..... TRUST IN HIM
(Let’s Pray)
