We Are Not Alone
Fear Not • Sermon • Submitted
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· 90 viewsJust as God promised to be with Joshua and deliver the children of Israel and just as Jesus promises to always be with us, we can take heart that God will fulfill God's promises to always be with us. We are not alone. In our times of struggle we are not alone, God is with us.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good evening and welcome back!
Tonight we are going to be finishing up our sermon series regarding the subject of “Fearing Not!”
We have taken quite a journey over the last several weeks and looked and many different aspects of fear and how to properly put fear in it’s place.
And tonight we end with a promise and almost what I would call a resolution from God.
And that promise is this—We do not have to fear anything, because God is with us.
We are not alone.
We have never been alone and we will never be alone.
In fact, Jesus Himself reminds us of this.
First in Matthew 28, in our Great Commission . . .
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I think we focus so much on the “going and doing” of the Commission that we sometimes forget that God is with us as we “go and do.”
Jesus says he is with us ALWAYS even to the VERY END OF THE AGE.
So, thinking about that, can anyone go any further with us?
Is there any more that God can do to let us know that He is is with us?
Also, in John 16, Jesus says this . . .
“You believe at last!” Jesus answered. “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Now, just a little background around these verses in John, Jesus has just engaged in conversation with His disciples about his true identity as God’s Son, as the Messiah.
And Jesus has also just informed the disciples about the things to come, the fact that He would be leaving them in person.
He actually tells them in verse 28 . . .
I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
To which the disciples finally get it and finally acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, to which he replies . . .
“You believe at last!” Jesus answered.
But this also creates another problem for the disciples because Jesus is also trying to prepare them for his departure and part of that preparation is letting them know what to expect and the dangers that lie ahead, to which Jesus tells them . . . .
“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
And to understand this we have to put ourselves in the shoes of these disciples.
Here they are 3 1/2 years down the road on this journey with Jesus.
They had seen great miracles but also had seen great trouble.
However, Jesus was always right there to take care of the trouble.
Now Jesus is telling them, “boy’s I’m about to be arrested, crucified, and am leaving here.”
“But, y’all are going to be staying behind to do the work, and you will have some trouble of your own.”
And in their mind, they do not really know what to do.
They are actually terrified about what is getting ready to happen.
And Jesus knows they are scared, so even though he is facing imminent death, he tells them this . . .
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus Christ overcame the world, then and that was a permanent thing.
And we can also have same peace understanding and knowing that Jesus has overcame all things and that Jesus has given us the hope.
We can stand firm in the promises of Matthew 28:20, which Jesus tells us . . .
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Or as the writer of Hebrews puts it . . .
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Meaning that we are not alone.
God has not abandoned us.
And in those times when the fear crops up, guess who is there to help us.
None other than the Lord.
Psalms puts it this way . . .
I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore.
And we have no better example of this, than in the life of Joshua, which is who we are going to be talking about tonight.
In Joshua 1, starting in verse 1 our Bible records this . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No-one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Moses is Dead
Moses is Dead
Now, Joshua finds himself in a similar situation as that of the disciples that we talk about with regards to Jesus.
We find starting in verse 1 that . . .
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant:
So, Moses is now dead.
Just like with Jesus and the disciples, the people had walked with Moses for, in his case 40 years.
He had led them and even though problems and issues had arose, Moses was always there to intercede with the Lord on their behalf.
He was their foundation and their rock.
He was the one they could be confident in and trust in.
He was the one that made them not worry.
And Joshua was his #2, his disciple if you will.
And now with Moses dead and gone, the people turned to Joshua for guidance and leadership.
Just like the people turned to the disciples after Jesus’ ascension to heaven, the people were looking at Joshua, saying “now what?”
God had promised them the Land of Milk and Honey, the Promised Land.
And now they are on the threshold of it, but their leader is dead.
He is gone.
Who is going to lead them into the Promised Land?
Who is going to be there when things get tough?
And God’s Answer . . .
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.
And I am sure Joshua is like— “Oh boy, how am I going to handle this? How am I going to get these people ready?”
I mean it’s one thing to assist Moses, but now all of the responsibility is on his shoulders.
If it goes wrong, it’s on him.
And I can only imagine that he was a bit troubled by it.
But God doesn’t give him an out or an excuse.
He continues to tell Joshua . . .
I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west.
So, God is in essence telling Joshua, “listen, everything that was promised to Moses, is going to come to pass, and you are going to be the leader.”
Anybody ever had God tell you something was going to happen and you were going to be involved in it?
It is like God saying, “here’s the job…get to work.” Anybody ever experience that?
That is exactly what God is telling Joshua here but on a huge scale.
He was going to be responsible for an entire nation and would be filling the shoes of Moses of all people.
And God, remember He is God knows exactly what Joshua is thinking, even if Joshua didn’t say it.
Because I can tell you, if I were Joshua, I would be trying pretty hard to get out of it.
I would be like, “no way, I’m not strong enough, smart enough, etc...”
And if we were honest we would probably all say the same thing.
And most likely have said the same thing.
And the real reason why we say it and think it is fear.
We are afraid of failure.
We are afraid that we can’t do what God has called us to do.
And we have to get past that.
We cannot allow fear to dictate our actions and our lives for God.
And God’s words to Joshua are a perfect example of what we need to remember.
Look at verse 5 . . .
No-one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
And it is absolutely no different with us.
The same God that told Joshua this and walked with Joshua the entirety of his journey is the same God that does the same thing for us.
When we are fulfilling God’s work and God’s mission then no one will be able to stand up against [us] all the days of [our lives]. As [God] was with Moses, so [He] will be with [us]. [He] will never leave [us] nor forsake [us].
However, we have to choose to believe that.
We have to choose to accept that.
We have to choose to trust God with that.
And God doesn’t stop there either.
He goes on . . .
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Two things God says here.
First twice He tells Joshua to “be strong and courageous.”
And He tells us the same thing.
We need to be strong and courageous in the face of danger and hardship.
When things seem impossible, just be strong and courageous.
The second thing God tells Joshua is to be careful to obey all the laws my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
And then in verse 8 . . .
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
And the significance here is God is telling Joshua to listen to Him.
Listen and know the teachings that God had given Moses, who had passed it down to Joshua.
Be faithful and true to God’s instruction.
And for us it is no different. We need to :
Listen when God speaks
Learn from God’s Word
Follow and let God lead
And when we do that, then we too will be prosperous and successful.
And this success may not be measured in the way the world measures it.
But in God’s eyes, if we are obedient to Him, then we will succeed in the mission He has given us.
But we have to listen to God and we have to trust God. Which is the biggest part.
Altar/Challenge
Altar/Challenge
Do we trust God enough to follow God, even when we don’t know where the path is going?
Even when we don’t know exactly what God is going to have us doing, do we trust God enough to follow?
That is the true test.
And if we can trust in God completely then, as God told Joshua . . .
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
God will be with us as well.
Let’s pray . . .