No Reason To Fear
Notes
Transcript
attention grabber
attention grabber
what daunting task is in front of you?
what is it that you are facing you say, “whoa”
looks impossible because . . . .
your resources are very limited, or
the timing seems wrong, or
no one else has done it, or
people better than you have failed, or
you’ve already tried and failed at it more than once, or
it’s just a big responsibility
it could be almost anything
health challenges
financial need
succeeding in a business or career
overcoming a personal issue
dealing with a sudden life change
raising children during these times
we are going to look at some encouraging words spoken to a man, who was facing a daunting task/ “whoa” situation
His job was to do what the great prophet Moses had tried and failed
His responsibility was to lead a large group known to be rebellious and hard-headed folks
His charge was to lead a group who almost stoned him to death 40 years earlier
his job was to take over this new nation of roughly 2 million people who had no home
His name was Joshua . . .
Background
Background
The children of Israel are finally about to enter the Promised Land, and their leader, Moses is turning command over to Joshua
in verses 1-2 of Deut. 31, Moses explains to the people that he will not be going with them
in verses 3-6, Moses lets them know that Joshua will lead them, and he encourages them to look to the Lord
in verse 7, Moses gives instructions to Joshua (paraphrasing) . . . “be strong and courageous and lead these people to the land that God promised to give them . . . the promised land
in verse 8, our verse for today, Moses gives Joshua encouragement
and it also provides encouragement for us
8 “The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
the first 5 words . . .
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
first, Moses is establishing the fact that though he has been the face of leadership for 40 years, the Lord is the actual leader
The Lord is the one who has been making it all happen
understand Joshua, it was the Lord who called and sent me
it was the Lord who brought the 10 Plagues
got us across the Red Sea
got us water from a rock
made bread fall from heaven. . . it was ALL GOD!
So Joshua though I am about to depart this world, take comfort in the fact that one who counts the most will still be here
The Lord is the one!
and though Joshua, you have been appointed as the next leader, and you have been in training for many years, everything still rests on the Lord
you have a role, but don’t put pressure on yourself to make it happen . . . The Lord is the one
And in YOUR life, in whatever you are facing . . . the Lord is the one
it doesn’t matter who or what is there or is not there . . . the Lord is there . . the Lord is the one
you have a role to play, you have some talents, but the pressure is not on you to make it happen . . . the Lord is the one
have you ever worked at a job where you felt you had to do your job and your co-worker’s job?
handle your responsibilities and their responsibilities?
take care of your duties and their duties?
What was the result: can’t half do your job, wore you out, put an extreme amount of pressure on you, made us resent the co-worker, made you want to quit?
This is what happens when we forget that the Lord is the one
try to do our job and his
handle our responsibilities and his
take care of our duties and his
What was the result: can’t half do your job, worn out, feel extreme pressure, resent God, want to quit
what’s even worse, that you could never do God’s job anyway
if you don’t get anything else, get an understanding that The Lord is the one
The lord is the one, and he also . . .
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
The Lord goes ahead of you
quick note: since God goes ahead of you, it is assumed that you are following him
yes, God goes before you, in front of you - God clears the way
Preparing things things ahead of time, fixing things in advance
God has already set up tomorrow for you, next week, next month, next year
the songs says, “I know he holds the future
Look at your present surroundings at church . . . it is only like this because someone went ahead of you
the grass was overgrown and uncut, the doors were locked, it was dark in here
the temperature was warm and muggy, chairs out of order
the screen was blank
sound system and organ were turned off
but by the time you got here: the grass was cut and trim, the doors were unlocked, the lights were on
chairs straightened, the temperature was cool, words are on the screen
sound system was on, organ turned on, words on the screen
because someone went ahead of you, setting everything up
someone paid tithes, offering,
someone took that money to pay the bills
someone showed up early before you to unlock the church door, set up the sanctuary
someone warmed up the organ
someone tested the sound system
someone hooked up the computer to the projector
someone went ahead of you, and put everything together, and all you had to do was just walk in
99.9 % of you had no doubt or worries that that everything would be set up
you believed so strongly that you took steps of faith
got out of your comfortable bed, got dressed, spent expensive gas money
in other words, you did your role
and you just walked in here expected that everything would be alright, you trusted that someone would go before you and set everything up
That’s what God does for us
He’s already gone ahead of you into tomorrow, next month, next year . . . putting people in place, blessings in place, resources in place, help in place, opening doors . . . preparing everything for your victory
all you have to do is walk in it
just do whatever role god as assigned you, and trust in him to do the rest
and if you can trust a few church workers to go before you on a Sunday, certainly you can trust God
stop worrying about tomorrow, just start walking into tomorrow
stop stressing about tomorrow, just do your little role, and walk into tomorrow
expecting that God has set up everything that you need
when you approached the church door, did you expect it to be locked?
when you walk with God, you can expect the right doors to be opened
Examples from Joshua’s life of how God went ahead of him:
look at what the enemy was thinking before the battle
9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.
now as the battle draws near
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”
Joshua goes to get a good look at the enemy city, and God’s army is already there!
and his sword is drawn, drawn swords is for fighting
this captain of the Lords army is at the fighting stage while Joshua is at the scouting stage
God goes before us!
the Lord the one, He goes ahead of us, and . . .
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Not only does God go ahead of us , He is with us
He will open the door, and then walk with us through the door
the song says, “Hold to his hand, God’s unchanging Hand” . . . cause he’s right there to be held onto
sometimes you feel alone, but you are not alone
you can’t always see God working, but know that God sees you
you don’t always hear God’s voice, but know that God hears you
He’ll be with you
you’re like the undercover cop in a sting operation, looks like he’s alone, but actually around 20 others are standing by ready to jump into action
God promises to be with you!
God is a player-coach . . . he doesn’t just call plays from the sideline, he is on the court or field with you!
The Lord is the one, he goes ahead of you, He will be with you, and . . .
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Things get get so bad and desperate that we can wonder two things
can God? and will God?
Moses tells Joshua,”God will not fail you or forsake you”
God can and God will!
Joshua, our God is able and willing
Some people will go into battle with you, they really try, but they fail you . . . not strong enough, not smart enough,
you both get beat down, you might even end up having to rescue them
they were willing but not able . . . they failed you
But there is no failure in God, because God cannot fail!
God is not limited by power or resources
Whatever the situation calls for, he is more than able to do it
heal, help, strengthen, provide, rescue, fix, handle, protect, lift up
He will not fail!
then Some people will say they will go into battle with you . . . . but they don’t show up, ghost you
when the battle begins, and they are no where to be seen
they were able, but not willing . . . they forsook you
spouses, family, friends, companies, countries will forsake you . . . but God will not forsake you
He is not a man, that he should lie
He will not forsake us . . . you can count on him, He is our rock
He will stay with you the whole fight
Rest assured, Christian, that God is in it for the long haul
The Lord is the one, he goes ahead of you, he will be with you, he will neither fail or forsake you, so . . .
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
These are the type of words you say, when you know that the road ahead will not be easy: don’t fear or be dismayed
fear: afraid, worried
dismayed: don’t panic, fall apart type fear, give in hopelessness
Are you afraid?
have you forgotten that The Lord is the one, he goes ahead of you, he will be with you, he will neither fail or forsake you, so . . .
before you say “no”, Let’s check
sometimes fear shows up as sadness or depression
fear that things will never get better
sometimes fear shows up as anger
many couples argue during tough financial times, because both people are afraid that the bills won’t get paid, and they take that fear out on each other in the form of anger
one our biggest arguments was over a 25 cent ice cream cone argument
sometimes fear shows up as procrastination or laziness
What if I try it and and it doesn’t work?
What if I give it my very best and come up short? Fear!
you’ve chosen to not try, or come up with an excuse to put it off, rather than face the fear of failure
sometimes fear shows up in our bodies
panic attack, high blood pressure, body is wound up all tight, breathing is rapid
because fear causes us to tense up, and our bodies are not meant to be tensed up all the time
sometimes fear shows up in unhealthy habits
those habits take our mind off the fear for just a little while
a self check will often reveal that you are fearful . . .What are we afraid of?
We are afraid that we are not up to the task
not smart enough, not good enough, not strong enough, not talented enough, not old enough, not young enough
but the scripture answers this fear . . . The Lord is the one
We are afraid of the future (life is so unpredictable)
you know that your life can be turned upside down with one phone call
but the scriptures answers this fear . . . The Lord goes ahead of you
We are afraid of being alone
where no one knows, or cares, or loves us, or helps
no one to catch us if we fall
but the scripture answers this fear . . . He will be with you
We are afraid of being let down
because people failed you, you are afraid that God will fail you
you’re scared to get your hopes up
Psalmist honestly writes in Psalms 25, O my God, in you I trust, do not let me be ashamed
but the scripture answers this fear . . . He will not fail your or forsake you
The call this morning is to remember that there is no reason to fear or be dismayed
for the Lord is the one
the Lord goes ahead of you
the Lord will be with you
the Lord will not fail or forsake you
Don’t let fear steal your . . .
joy, peace, hope
future, blessing
stop your destiny
make you settle for 2nd best
so if you are NOT going to be afraid, what are you going to do?
you’re going to be strong and very courageous
you are not going to have fear, but faith
you are not going to be dismayed, but instead you’re going to trust in God
you are not going to panic . . . you will have peace
you are not going to waver . . . you will be steadfast
God is calling for us to be strong and courageous
men and women
young people and old people
husbands and wives
mothers and fathers
people who will follow the bold and audacious plans that God has set before them
as WMBC is about to celebrate 40 years, we need strong and courageous church members, church leaders
for the Lord is the one! . . . it’s on Him, really
the Lord goes ahead of you . . . he will set it all up
the Lord will be with you . . . right by your side all the way
the Lord will not fail or forsake you . . .He will show up and show out
salvation
salvation
I noticed that Moses did not pass on his staff to Joshua
the staff that turned into a snake and devoured the serpents of Egypt
staff that turned water to blood, brought frogs upon the land, flies
parted the read sea
used to hit a rock, and water came gushing out
because the staff of Moses was only a stick, just a piece of normal wood
it’s not some holy relic with powers to pass on to the next leader
because the Lord was the one, it’s all about what God did with this piece of normal wood
there was some other wood, that was very normal . . . the wood of the cross
others had been crucified before him, and with Jesus, so it wasn’t the wood
it is what Jesus did with those normal pieces of wood
Calvary was a normal hill, it’s what Jesus did on that normal hill
he paid the price for your sins, at that normal hill, with those normal pieces of wood
for the Lord is the one
only God could bring about salvation for us, so he sent his son Jesus
the Lord went ahead of us
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
everything about salvation is already set up, you just have to walk in it by faith
the Lord will be with us
if you invite Jesus in, he will send his Holy Spirit in your heart
He will live in you and through you
the Lord will not fail or forsake me
he won’t leave you, once you are his, you are his
he is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy
Accept Jesus Christ and you don’t have to be afraid of life or death
the road won’t be easy, but you can spend your life being strong and courageous instead of fearful and dismayed!
