Tonight we will be in Deuteronomy 20 v 1

So, if you have your Bibles...

And if you haven’t already so…

Microphones...

Cameras...

Big announcement: Next week we will be meeting in person at LWC for youth group!

Things will still look different

I will send email your parents concerning those changes here in the next few days when the details are fully developed.

But for now, know there is a light at the end of the tunnel

Lord willing, I am excited to get to see you all in person again soon

Without further ado

Deuteronomy 20:1 ESV

1 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

The Remedy for Fear

The most repeated command in the Bible is “do not be afraid!”

This command is in the Bible over 200 times....

And one of those times is here in tonights text

Israel is about to enter into the promised land after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness…

And they are going to be going against stronger and larger armies than themself, but regardless… God commands them to not be afraid

Now, before we get into the details of the text: Let’s consider just a few implications of this often repeated command

The command ‘do not be afraid’ is repeated often throughout the Bible, because we often feel afraid - as were many of the people throughout the Bible to whom this command was given.

here it’s given to Israel as they were about to go into war

This command is repeated, because it is often a command that is disobeyed.

‘You shall not be afraid’ is not a suggestion

It’s a command

Much like you shall not murder

You shall not steal

Here is the problem: Fear is an emotional response to an experience, and emotions cannot be commanded.

Our intellect can be informed - you will face stronger and larger armies

The will can be commanded - Go into the promised land

But our emotions… they are often left to the whim of our environment around us…

our emotions come out from what our intellect has been informed of and what the will has been commanded to do

But all the same, this is this command that speaks to our emotions: specifically our fear…

But let me illustrate this by comparing to the way one might feel about spiders...

If you are scared of spiders, you can muster up the courage to kill a spider… that might be a command of your will

You might even be able to gain a lot of information about which spiders are and are not dangerous…

But it won’t change the fact that you are still afraid of spiders especially if we run into a spider that in in fact dangerous!

So then, how are we to ever obey this repeated commandment, to not be afraid?

Let’s get after the text and see what the Lord says:

Deut 20:11 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own…

Let’s stop there and make one crucial observation…

While Israel is commanded to not be afraid… it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a real threat to them.

You see, for these people were about to go to war against people with more powerful armies and has stronger weapons....

Fear in this moment would not be an irrational emotion to have.

Many of us have irrational fears:

We mentioned a fear of spiders

Or a fear of the dentist might be another

Or even being afraid of the dark

But fearing a stronger army who could destroy you… is a very rational fear to have.

Listen:

1. We have a very real enemy who’s strength is far greater than our own.

The command to “ not be afraid” is not given because fear is irrational and there is no real enemy.

In fact, some of us might even be cavalier (that is to say, we may have a lack of proper concern) about how real and dangerous our enemy truly is.

Because our enemy is far more dangerous than any great army that is equipped with horses and chariots...

Who is this dangerous enemy that I am speaking of?

Is it sickness and disease? - no

Is our enemy those who hate us… not ultimately

Scripture tells us this:

Ephesians 6:10–12 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

I say that many of us have a lack of proper concern for these this real enemy because we many of us aren’t putting on the armor of God! By wich i mean we aren’t serious about practicing spiritual the spiritual disciplines of:

prayer

reading our Bibles

ultimately for the purpose of knowing our God

So first things first, we have a real enemy that is formidable and stronger than us...

And how powerful is this enemy?

Well consider this… what is our enemy’s weapon and what is the final outcome his attack

His weapon is temptation to sin.

And the outcome is death.

Consider this, his weapon is temptation to sin.

Who among us have not fell prey to this enemy?

Sure, you might not be able to see this enemy… But he is there. And he is constantly at work tempting us to disobey God. He will strike doubt in us to cause us to not believe. And he does all this so that we are cut off from our life source: who is God himself.

And what is the outcome of sin? - death

And last I checked, the death rate for humanity is 1 for 1...

That is to say, each and every one of us will die because of sin.

We have a very real enemy who’s strength is far greater than our own… but even though he is formidable foe, we have no reason to be afraid:

this is what the text goes on to say

Deut 20.1 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you

2. Despite our enemy’s strength, there is nothing for us to fear, because God is with us.

The remedy for fear isn’t ignorance…

the way to overcome fear isn’t sticking your head in the sand and not thinking about the effect of sin and the nearness of death.

The solution for fear isn’t becoming more bold through efforts of your own…

No,

The remedy for fear is a knowledge of God’s abiding presence with us.

You see, the cure for fear isn’t found in yourself…

because you cannot control your emotions

And our enemy is far stronger than each of us combined

You don’t overcome fear and thus obey this command when by increasing your strength

or pumping yourself up before battle (figuratively speaking)

The key to not being afraid is by having an accurate awareness of the presence of our God who is always with us.

And here is something important to recognize:

From the very beginning, God never intended his people to acomplish their work apart from him.

You see, for Israel, entering the land was never about them gaining the land by the might of there own military power.

And for us, receiving salvation was never about earning it by your own might…

Victory for Israel then, and for us today, can only be accomplished for man by God…

This is why when Jesus came into the world… he was to be called Emmanuel: which means - God with us

This is why the disciples were not to go into the world to make disciples until the God by his Spirit was with them to empower them to do the work that he had called them to

So too, as Israel was about to enter the land and fight, the key to them not being afraid was them knowing that their battle would be won not by the might of their power, but it would be won by the might of their God.

This is made so clear in the story of Gideon in Judges 7

Judges 7:2 ESV

2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

So too, God was sending Israel into a land that they could not take, unless God was with them:

And this becomes so evident as you read past Deuteronomy and into Joshua

But how was it that Israel could have the confidence that their God who was with them would in fact be able to defeat their enemies? The key to this confidence is at the end of the verse:

Deuteronomy 20:1 ESV

1 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Our confidence in God’s victory in the future is established by remembering God’s victory that has already been demonstrated in the past.

This is the second part of the remedy for fear…

The first, and awareness of the presence or our God.

That he will never leave us or forsake us

that there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God

Our Emanuel will be with us till the end of the age...

that’s the first part

And the second… is rightly knowing the power of our God who is with us.

Israel was well acquainted with the power of their God

For he brought them up out of the land of Egypt.

being freed from Egypt was not something that was initiated by Moses

nor accomplished by the people

Israel being delivered from Egypt was all God’s doing

And in that they saw first hand the power of God over their enemy.

And it was remembering/recalling God’s power in the past, that was instrumental to them overcoming their fear as they went against their enemies in the future.

So too, we do not need to be afraid of our enemy.

yes our enemy is powerful,

yes our enemy is effective

Yes our enemy has ensnared every one of us:

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

But, our God is more powerful then our enemy

in fact, the strength of our enemy only further magnifies the strength, might, and the power of our God

This is why Paul says,

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

So what do we need to be afraid of?

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 27:1 ESV

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Yes we have a formidable foe…

But our God is infinitely more powerful than our enemy

And our God is with us.

Therefore, do no be afraid.

1. What are your greatest fears?

2. Who are our real enemies and how powerful are they?

3. Do you stand a chance combatting our enemies by yourself?

4. Do you need to be afraid of the spiritual forces of evil? Please explain.