Click and study all the 74 "fear
not" passages in the KJV
-
(Study the 57 occurrences in NASB - Gen. 15:1; 21:17; 26:24; 35:17;
Exod. 14:13; Num. 14:9; 21:34; Deut. 1:21; 3:2, 22; 31:8; Jos. 8:1; 10:8,
25; Jdg. 6:23; Ruth 3:11; 1 Sam. 12:20; 2 Sam. 9:7; 13:28; 1 Ki. 17:13; 2
Ki. 6:16; 17:34; 1 Chr. 22:13; 28:20; 2 Chr. 20:15, 17; 32:7; Ps. 55:19;
64:4; Isa. 10:24; 40:9; 41:10, 13f; 43:1, 5; 44:2; 51:7; 57:11; Jer. 10:5;
46:27f; Lam. 3:57; Joel 2:21f; Hag. 2:5; Zech. 8:13, 15; Mal. 3:5; Matt.
10:26, 28, 31; Lk. 5:10; 12:7; 18:4; 1 Pet. 3:14; Rev. 2:10 or
click to study the 65
occurrences in the NIV). Note who says these words most of
the time, who is being addressed, what the situation is that is
conducive to production of fear, what the effect of the command to "fear
not" had on the recipients (encouraging, discouraging?), etc.
Remember
that
everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,
so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might
have hope. (Ro 15:4-note)
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Worry is like a rocking chair—it will
give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere (Click
Our Daily Bread devotional) Fear always has a definite object.
Every fear object is something we perceive as both present and powerful,
something over which we have no control. This is where fear differs from
worry. People worry about something uncertain or unknown. Worry will often
give way to fear.
Ray Stedman (in exposition of
Ephesians 6:10-11)adds that
Worry comes from fear, and the only thing
that will dissolve fear is facts. Therefore, to put on the armor of God is
to face the facts just as they are. Therefore, to put on the armor of God is
to face the facts just as they are -- not as they appear to be in the
illusive picture that the world gives us, but squarely as they are.
Therefore you are to worry about nothing. (See sermon
Advice when Attacked)
(Related resource - notes on
Ephesians 6:10;
6:11);
see notes on
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
wrote that
the remarkable thing about fearing God
is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not
fear God, you fear everything else.
C H Spurgeon has the following
illustrations on fear...
Fear about your future.
When a great vessel
is crossing the sea, and another comes within sight, they propose the
question, "Where are you bound?" If the other vessel took no notice, gave
no answer whatever, it would look suspicious. A craft that will not say
where it is going, we don't like the look of. If one of Her Majesty's
vessels were about, and it challenged a sail, and received no reply to the
question, "Where are you bound for?" I think they would fire a shot across
her bows and make her heave to till she did answer. Might not the silent
craft prove to be a pirate? When a man confesses he does not know where he
is going, or what his business may be, the policeman concludes he is
probably going where he ought not to go, and has business on hand which is
not as it should be. If you are afraid to consider your future, your fear
is a bad omen. The tradesman who is afraid to look into his accounts will,
before long, have them looked into for him by an officer from the
Bankruptcy Court. He who dares not see his own face in the glass, must be
an ugly fellow; and you who dare not behold your characters, have bad
characters. — Barbed Arrows from the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon
><>><>><>
Fear of man.
Think of a king
saying, "I am afraid," but that is what the French king said to Bernard
Palissy, the potter. As nearly as I can remember the story, the monarch
said, "Palissy, you must go to mass." "That I never will," he answered.
"Then I am afraid I shall have to give you up to be burnt." "There," said
Palissy, "your Majesty could never make me say such a word as that, with
all your power. I am no king, only a poor potter, but nobody made me say,
'I am afraid.' "Oh that fear of men, that dread of ridicule, that wishing
to avoid sarcasm! How it has made a man come down from the dignity of his
office, from the honor of the position which God has conferred upon him,
and has made him baser than the menials around him.— Barbed Arrows from
the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon
><>><>><>
Fear of Sin
The old naturalist,
Ulysses Androvaldus, tells us that a dove is so afraid of a hawk, that she
will be frightened at the sight of one of its feathers. Whether it be so
or not, I cannot tell; but this I know, that when a man has had a thorough
shaking over the jaws of hell, he will be so afraid of sin, that even one
of its feathers—any one sin—will alarm and send a thrill of fear through
his soul. This is a part of the way by which
— Feathers for Arrows
><>><>><>
Some of
Spurgeon's sermons related to how to handle fear...
(Excerpt) I
SHALL SPEAK this morning to those that are discouraged, depressed in
spirit, and sore troubled in the Christian life. There are certain nights
of exceeding great darkness, through which the spirit has to grope in much
pain and misery, and during which much of the comfort of the Word is
particularly needed. Those seasons occur in this manner. Frequently they
occur at the outset of a religious life. A young man, deeply impressed
under the ministry, has been led to feel the weight of sin; he trusts also
he has been led to look for salvation to the Christ who is preached in the
gospel. In the young ardor of his spirit he devotes himself wholly to
Christ; with the most solemn vows he dedicates body, soul, time, talents,
all that he has, to the great work of serving God; he thinks it easy to
fulfill his vow; he doth not count the cost; he reckons it will be easy to
forsake gay companions, to renounce old established habits, and to become
a Christian. Alas! before many days he finds out his mistake, if he did
not reckon without his host he certainly reckoned without his heart, for
his evil heart of unbelief had deceived him, he knew not how hard would be
the struggle, and how desperate the wrestling between his old evil nature
and the new-born principle of grace within him. He finds it to be like the
rending off of right arms to give up old and cherished habits; he
discovers it to be painful to renounce his former pursuits, as painful as
it would be to pluck out his right eye. He sits down then, and he says,
"If this be the trouble at the outset what may I expect as I proceed. O my
soul, thou wast too fast in dedicating thyself to God; thou hast
undertaken a warfare which thy prowess can never accomplish; thou hast
started on a journey for which thy strength is not adequate; let me again
return unto the world;" and if the Spirit saith, "Nay, thou canst not,"
then the poor soul sits itself down in deep misery, and cries, "I can not
go back and I can not go forward; what must I do? I am exceedingly
discouraged because of the way."
The same feeling
often overcomes the most valiant Christian veteran. He who has been long
experienced in the things of the divine life will sometimes be over taken
with a dark night and a stormy tempest; so dark will be the night, that he
will not know his right hand from his left, and so horrible the tempest,
that he can not hear the sweet words of his Master, saying, "Fear not, I
am with thee." Periodical tornadoes and hurricanes will sweep o'er the
Christian; he will be subjected to as many trials in his spirit as trials
in his flesh. This much I know, if it be not so with all of you it is so
with me. I have to speak to-day to myself; and whilst I shall be
endeavoring to encourage those who are distressed and down-hearted, I
shall be preaching, I trust to myself, for I need something which shall
cheer my heart—Why I can not tell, wherefore I do not know, but I have a
thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me; my soul is cast
down within me, I feel as if I had rather die than live; all that God hath
done by me seems to be forgotten, and my spirit flags and my courage
breaks down with the thought of that which is to come. I need your
prayers; I need God's Holy Spirit; and I felt that I could not preach
to-day, unless I should preach in such a way as to encourage you and to
encourage myself in the good work and labor of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a precious
promise to the young Christian, or to the old Christian attacked by
lowness of spirits and distress of mind! "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and
ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer the
Holy One of Israel. Christian brethren, there are some in this
congregation, I hope many, who have solemnly devoted themselves to the
cause and service of the Lord Jesus Christ: let them hear, then, the
preparation which is necessary for this service set forth in the word of
our text. First, before we can do any great things for Christ there must
be a sense of weakness: "Worm Jacob." Secondly, there must be trust in
promised strength; and thirdly, there must be fear removed by that
promise: "Fear not, for I will help thee." (Read
the full message)
(Excerpt)
...First, then, we are reminded Of A Very Common Disease Of Good Men-Fear
And Dismay.
This disease of fear
came into man’s heart with sin. Adam never was afraid of his God till he
had broken his commands. When the Lord God walked in the garden in the
cool of day, and Adam heard the Almighty’s foot-fall, he hastened to
commune with God as a dear child talks with a loving father. But the
moment he had touched the fruit that was forbidden, he ran away and hid
himself, and when God said, “Where art thou, Adam?” Adam came cringing
and trembling, for he was afraid of God. It is sin, consciousness of sin,
that “makes cowards of us all.” Though he who made us is a consuming
fire, and we should always have a holy awe of him, yet the fear that
gendereth bondage would never have come into our spirit if we had not
first of all transgressed his law. Sin is the mother of the fear which
hath torment.
And, brethren, fear
continues in good men because sin continues in them. If they had attained
to perfect love it would cast out fear, for fear hath torment; but, since
the flesh is still in them and the lusts thereof still strive for the
mastery, even the holiest of God’s people are sometimes afflicted with the
mockings of the child of the bondwoman. O that he were cast out, for he
can never be heir with the free-born nature! As grace grows and increases
in power, fear declines; and, when sin is cut up root and branch, then no
doubt or fear will ever vex us again. Once strip us of these houses of
clay, once deliver us from all indwelling sin, and our spirits shall seek
God as the sparks seek the sun; but until then, since by reason of
weakness sin sometimes prevaileth, fear also prevaileth, and we are sadly
cast down.
Fear, coming in by
sin and being sustained by sin, readily finds food upon which it may live.
Let the believer look within, and, my brethren, he has only to do that but
for a moment to see abundant reasons for fear. “Ah!” saith fear as it
looks within, at the heart still prone to wander, I shall never hold on my
way.” “Ah!” saith fear as it looks at the besetting sin, “I shall be
tripped up yet; I shall never persevere to the end.” Grace is there, it
is true, but fear is blind to the better nature, and fixes his glance only
on the body of this death. Looking within upon the old nature is seldom a
very pleasant operation, especially if we forget that it is crucified with
Christ. I suppose if any man among us could see his own heart as it really
is, he would be driven mad. The poet was right when he said —
“Heaven’s
Sovereign saves all beings but himself,
That hideous sight, a naked human heart.”
Faith looks at all
the ruins of the fall, and she believes that the blood of Christ will get
the victory, and she sings her poem of triumph even while the fight is
raging, rejoicing with the apostle, that “Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
But fear saith, “I shall one day fall by the hand of the enemy; such a
poor frail bark as mine will never stem the flood and weather the tempest,
but I shall make shipwreck after all.” And then, my brethren, if fear
finds food within, it also very readily finds food without. Sometimes it
is poverty, sometimes sickness, sometimes the recollection of the past,
and quite as often dread of the future. Even those who have faith in God
may occasionally be weak enough to fear and be dismayed about common
circumstances to which they ought to be indifferent, or over which they
ought by faith to exult. Desponding people can find reason for fear where
no fear is. A certain class of persons are greatly gifted with the
mournful faculty of inventing troubles. If the Lord has not sent them any
trial, they make one for themselves. They have a little trouble-factory in
their houses, and they sit down and use their imaginations to meditate
terror. They weave sackcloth and scrape up ashes. They know that they
shall be bankrupt; there was a little falling off in their trade last
week. They believe that they shall soon be too old for labor; it is true
they are older than they were a month ago. They feel sure that they shall
die in the workhouse; it is clear they will die somewhere. They feel
certain about this dreadful thing and that, and fret accordingly. None of
these things have happened to them yet, and in the judgment of others they
are less likely to happen now than ever they were, but yet they convert
their suspicions into realities, and torture themselves with them though
they be but fancies. Oh! it is sad that we should degrade ourselves to
this. (Click
for full message)
“FEAR not” is a
plant which grows very plentifully in God’s garden. If you look through
the lily beds of Scripture you will continually find by the side of other
flowers the sweet “Fear nots” peering out from doctrines and precepts,
even as violets look up from their hiding among places of green leaves.
“Fear nots” bloomed in the old time, at the feet of Abraham, when he
returned from fighting with the kings. Melchisedec blessed him, and the
Lord comforted him. The patriarch might have been half afraid that he
would always lead a troubled life, now that he had once drawn the sword;
but the Lord came to him in vision, and said, “Fear not, Abram. I am thy
shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” If he had to undergo a soldier’s
toils, he should have a soldier’s shield and a soldier’s pay, and both
should be exceeding great, for he should find them both in God. After you
have been fighting battles for Christ you may feel weary and worried, and
then your great Melchisedec will refresh you with bread and wine, and
whisper in your ear “Fear not.”
A “Fear not” was
spoken to Isaac when he had dug wells, and the Philistines strove for
them, and he, like the meek soul that he was, gave them up one by one to
avoid a conflict. At last he settled down at Beersheba, and there the Lord
appeared unto him, and said, “Fear not, for I am with thee, and will
bless thee.” He was a feeble man, and therefore the Lord dealt tenderly
with him. If any of you are meek and quiet spirits, and rather apt to
tremble exceedingly, may the Lord often give you a blessed “Fear not” to
wear in your bosoms, that its fragrance may comfort your hearts. Then
there was Jacob. You know how troubled his life was, but when he heard
that his beloved son whom he thought was dead was alive in Egypt, and was
clothed with glory, and that he had sent for him to go down to see him, he
was afraid to go till the Lord said to him, “Fear not to go down into
Egypt,” and gave him this encouraging promise, “I will go down with thee
into Egypt.” If any of you are making a great change in life and moving,
perhaps, to the very ends of the earth, “fear not to go down into
Egypt.” Should God command you to go to the utmost verge of the green
earth, to rivers unknown to Bong, yet if he bids you go, fear not to go
down into Egypt, for certainly he will be with you.
The Israelites at
the Red Sea were afraid of Pharaoh, and then the Lord said to them, “Fear
not, stand still and see the salvation of God.” If you are brought to a
pass to-night, and know not what to do, take the advice, of Holy
Scripture, and “Fear not”; but “stand still and see the salvation of
God.” As we observe the Scriptures we perceive that “Fear nots” are
scattered throughout the Bible as the stars are sprinkled over the whole
of the sky, but when we come to Isaiah we find constellations of them.
When I was a boy I learnt Dr. Watts’s catechism, and I am glad I did. One
of its questions runs thus, “Who was Isaiah?” And the answer is, “He
was that prophet who spake more of Jesus Christ than all the rest.” Very
well, and for that very reason-that he spoke more of Jesus Christ than all
the rest-he is richest in comfort to the people of God, and continually he
is saying, “Fear not.” Here are a few of his antidotes for the fever of
fear: “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not.”
“Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God.”
“Fear not, I will help thee.” “Fear not, thou worm Jacob.” “Fear not,
I have redeemed thee.” “Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither
be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame”; and so on, I was
going to say, “world without end.” So abundant are these “Fear nots”
that they grow like the king-cups and the daisies, and other sweet flowers
of the meadows, among which the little children in the spring-time delight
themselves. As to gathering them all, no one would attempt the task. The
bank that is fullest of these beautiful flowers is that which Isaiah has
cast up; go there and pluck them for yourselves.
Now I gather from
the plentifulness of “Fear nots,” even in the Old Testament, that the
Lord does not wish his people to be afraid, that he is glad to see his
people full of courage, and especially that he does not love them to be
afraid of him. He would have his children treat him with confidence.
Slavish fear may be thought to be congenial to the Old Testament, and yet
it is not so, for there the Lord cries to his chosen, “Fear not.”
When we come into
the New Testament, there we see God coming more familiarly to men than
ever before; not descending upon Paran with ten thousand flaming chariots,
setting the mountain on a blaze, but coming down to Bethlehem in an
infant’s form, with angels chanting the joyful lay, “Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” The genius of the New
Testament is drawing near to God: ceasing to tremble and beginning to
trust, ceasing to be the slave and learning to be the child. Though in the
precise form of it the words of my text were not very often spoken by the
Lord Jesus Christ, yet his whole life was one long proclamation of “Fear
not.” I think I shall give you to-night most of the instances in which
our Lord himself expressly said “Fear not,” and as each one I shall give
you will either come from the lip of Christ, or else from Christ’s own
angel, sent to comfort one of his servants, I pray that it may come fresh
from God to every tried and troubled believer, and that all of us together
may receive for our different fears this one same solace from the mouth of
the Eternal, “Thus saith the Lord unto thee, fear not.” (Click
for full sermon)
The only sure way to take fear out of living is to keep a
respectful fear of God in our lives, which means to maintain a reverent
attitude toward His place and influence. This brand of fear is a healthy
ingredient, a deterrent to want, a spur to courage and confidence, an
insurance against loss, and source of comfort and understanding.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Whenever John Wesley felt afraid
he would just pause to pray and praise God for the fact that He was still
on the throne of heaven ruling all things well. Wesley wrote
I have
never known more than fifteen minutes of anxiety or fear. Whenever, I feel
fearful emotions overtaking me I just close my eyes and thank God that he
is still on the throne reigning over everything and I take comfort in His
control over all the affairs of my life.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Ray Stedman reminds us that
The devil always makes his appeal in this realm to our fears, while God
makes his appeal to faith. From faith comes hope and love, but the devil
pushes to the opposite. He wants us to give way to our fears.
The one thing Jesus said over and over again to his disciples was, "Fear
not. Be not fearful, be not anxious, be not troubled." Why? Because, "I am
with you," he said. From fear comes despair, the opposite of hope, and hate,
the opposite of love. That is what the devil is after. If you give way to
fear, you will soon be discouraged and defeated. If you give way to defeat
you will begin to hate, and then the devil will have accomplished his
purpose. He has destroyed, he had ruined, he has laid waste that which God
loves and desires to bless. (See full sermon
The Tactics of Terror)
There are two commands
in the verse (Isaiah 41:1-13) not to fear and five pillars of fearlessness. "Fear
not" is the first command at the beginning of the verse. And then the
second is "do not anxiously look about you" (RSV: "do not be dismayed").
As always in the Bible, there are reasons for the commands. Commands don't
hang in the air with no basis in reality. If God commands us to do
something there are good reasons to do it. And power comes from
understanding and believing those reasons.
Here there are the five reasons--call them
The Five Pillars of Fearlessness.
"For I am
with you"--
"Do not fear, for I am with you."
"I am your God"--
"Do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God."
"I will strengthen you."
"surely I will help you."
"Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
Restated, the Five
pillars of fearlessness are:
God is with
me;
God is my God;
God will strengthen me;
God will help me;
God will uphold me.
When God calls you to
be free from fear as you do evangelism, as you take a test, as you
face an interview, as you take a stand against an unjust business
practice, as you confront someone with sin in their life, when you leave a
secure position and take a risk in a new venture, when you face an
operation or a treatment, when you lose a spouse or a friend--when God
calls you to be free from fear (to overcome this natural emotion and have
peace, he does not leave the command hanging in the air. He puts pillars
under it. Five of them. That's the nature of all Biblical commands. They
come with divine support.
Fear not . .
. God is with you;
Fear not . . . God is your God;
Fear not . . . God will strengthen you;
Fear not . . . God will help you;
Fear not . . . God will uphold you
The key to
overcoming fear is resting on the pillars of the promises of God....If
the key to fearlessness is believing that God is your God and is with you
and will strengthen you and help you and uphold you, then knowing the
greatness of this God will intensify your faith and your fearlessness....
Or change the image for
a moment. Not five pillars. But God in five relations to you expressed in
five different prepositions.
I am your
God--over you.
I am with you--by your side.
I will strengthen you--from inside of you.
I will help you--all around you from wherever the enemy comes
I will uphold you--from underneath you.
Over you, by you,
inside you, around you, underneath you.
Therefore do not fear.
We come to the end of
this series with one great ground for fearlessness--GOD!
I - am your
God.
I - am with you.
I - will strengthen you.
I - will help you.
I - will uphold you.
I call you this morning
to stop defining and limiting your future in terms of your past and start
defining it in terms of your God. I call you to recognize that God is
greater than your personality. God is greater than your past experiences
of timidity. God is greater than your "family of origin". And God calls
you to joyful fearlessness. The crucial factor in your fearless living is
not your family but your God.
"Let not your
hearts be troubled, BELIEVE IN GOD."
Believe in God! Trust God! Let God be your God!
Your help. Your strength.
He will uphold you with His righteous right hand.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
From sermon by
John Piper "Fear not, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel."
--Isaiah 41:14
The main point of this text is that
the people of God should not be a fearful people. We should not be a
people who are anxious or troubled or worried or fretful about things that
threaten our life and happiness: economic adversity, hostile people,
satanic opposition, guilt-laden consciences, deteriorating health, and
death. The mark of God's people is not incapacitating fear, but rather
contrite courageous confidence in God. That's the main point of Isaiah
41:14.
Then there are two subordinate points which clarify for us this experience
of fearlessness. First, God's people are in the condition of a worm: "Fear
not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel." Second, the source of our
fearlessness is the promise that God will help us: "Fear not, you worm
Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is
the Holy One of Israel." In other words, freedom from fretting comes not
because we are not in the condition of a worm but because God engages all
his forces on behalf of worms who take refuge in him. (See entire message
-
Fear Not, You Worm Jacob (Isaiah 41:14)!)
We will not die apart from God's
gracious decree for His children.
James 4:14, 15, "If the Lord wills, we
will live and do this or that."
Mt 10:29, 30, "Are not two sparrows
sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from
your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear
not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."
Dt 32:39, "See now that I, even I, am
he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I
heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand." (See Job
1:21;1Sa 2:6; 2 Ki 5:7)
Curses and divination do not hold sway
against God's people.
Nu 23:23, "There is no enchantment
against Jacob, no divination against Israel."
The plans of terrorists and hostile
nations do not succeed apart from our gracious God.
Psalm 33:10, "The Lord brings the
counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the
peoples." (Spurgeon's
Note)
Isa 8:9, 10, "Take counsel together
[you peoples], but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not
stand, for God is with us." (See 2 Samuel 7:14; Nehemiah 4:15)
Man cannot harm us beyond God's
gracious will for us.
Psalm 118:6, "The Lord is on my side; I
will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Spurgeon's
Note)
Psalm 56:11, "In God I
trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Spurgeon's
Note)
God promises to protect His own from
all that is not finally good for them.
Psalm 91:14, "Because he holds fast to
me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my
name." (Spurgeon's
Note)
God promises to give us all we need to
obey, enjoy, and honor Him forever.
Mt 6:31-note "Therefore do not be
anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What
shall we wear?' . . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these
things will be added to you."
Php 4:19
(note)
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in
glory in Christ Jesus."
God is never taken off guard.
Psalm 121:4
(note), "Behold, he who keeps
Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." (Spurgeon's
Note)
God will be with us, help us, and
uphold us in trouble.
Isaiah 41:10, "Fear not, for I am with
you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will
help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:13, "For I, the LORD your God,
hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who
helps you.'"
Terrors will come, some of us will die,
but not a hair of our heads will perish.
Lk 21:10, 11, 18, "Then [Jesus] said
to them, '. . . there will be terrors (!) and great signs from heaven. . .
. and some of you they will put to death. . . . But not a hair of your
head will perish.'"
Nothing befalls God's own but in its
appointed hour.
Jn 7:30, "So they were seeking to
arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet
come." (See John 8:20; 10:18)
When God Almighty is your helper, none
can harm you beyond what He decrees.
Hebrews 13:6
(note), "So we can confidently say,
'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'"
Romans 8:31
(note)
"If God is for us, who can be against us?"
God's faithfulness is based on the firm
value of His name, not the fickle measure of our obedience.
1 Sa 12:20, 21, 22,
"And Samuel said to the people, 'Do not be afraid; you have done all this
evil. . . . For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's
sake.'"
Fear has also paralyzed the Body of
Christ. One fear that knows no boundaries, has no time limitations, is
found in Eastern and Western Europe as well as in the United States. It
cripples the church and robs men of the blessing of the Lord.
It's the fear of rejection. All people have a deep fear of being
rejected by their friends and family members. In the East, that fear runs
even deeper. Christians may be rejected for sharing the gospel, and then,
they lose educational and economic opportunities.
The need for acceptance stems back to the beginning of human history. When
Adam was in the garden with Eve, his every need was met. There was no
fear. God walked and fellowshipped with Adam. There was perfect harmony.
However, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, fear filled their hearts. When
God visited them, they hid. God is holy, and they had become unholy. Since
that day, there has been a deep sense of rejection in the heart of sinful
man.
Every person desperately wants acceptance. We try to gain acceptance in
three ways. One way is legitimate; the other two are not. People try to
find acceptance through other people. A teen might try drinking or drugs.
He thinks that will get his friends to accept him. After he has
compromised, the sinking feeling of rejection remains. A girl might
compromise her moral principles to gain acceptance. But after her sexual
encounters, she is still haunted by rejection.
I've met husband and wives who loved each other when they married, yet
several years later, they almost hate each other. How can this be? The
moment one feels rejected by the other, there's a feeling of betrayal.
They though they had conquered rejection through the relationship, but
rejection follows them through their lives. Young people feel rejected by
heir parents, yet some of their parents are the most loving, kind and
gracious people anyone would want to meet. Even wonderful parents can't
overcome that deep fear of rejection. No individual or group can give us
enough acceptance to conquer it.
Fear of rejection is there because of a broken relationship with a holy
God. Many attempt to please God and thus receive His acceptance. Many
become more religious. But in the shadow of their religion stands a tall,
ugly figure called "Rejection." Many churches are filled with people
working hard to escape this figure, but the fear of rejection can never be
escaped by religion.
Revival always awakens man to the true basis of acceptance. Acceptance can
be found only through faith. Martin Luther understood that "the just shall
live by faith," and he shook the world for God's glory. He didn't
experience some new faith. He came to know and experience the faith of the
spiritual giants of centuries past. His faith was the same as Abraham's,
Isaac's and Jacob's. It was the faith of Paul, Peter and John. True faith
is simply our acceptance of His acceptance of us based on what Jesus did
on the cross.
Old Testament believers found acceptance by looking forward to the
Messiah. We find our acceptance by looking back to the cross. One word
gushes forth from the cross: grace. Rejection has to flee when that word
is spoken. Hallelujah! I have been accepted! By grace I have been
accepted! Sin separated man from God. But God entered human history
uniquely through Jesus. He was unique. He was so much God that it was as
though He wasn't man. And yet, He was so much man that it was as though He
wasn't God. He was Son of God and Son of Man. He was the God-man. He
crashes through the wall of sin that separates man from God. He has become
the door through that wall. He forever stands as the doorway to God's
acceptance. And when we have been accepted by the Father, we have really
been accepted! That causes us to bow before the Father to love and worship
Him in simplicity and devotion. He has met the deepest need of our lives
through His Son, Jesus. (Source)
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
The following question was posed to the
noted expositor
John MacArthur
"What are practical ways of
dealing with Satan in terms of fear, especially at night?"
Dr MacArthur's answer
I don’t know if you’ve ever had that problem. I went through a little
phase in my life where night was a fearful thing for me—and it was wasn’t
when I was 6, it was when I was an adult. I don’t know what I was afraid
of, but I had a little time of about a couple of months there where I was
sort of, you know, in bed like this, just, you know, checking everything
out. There are people who have this problem. It may depend upon their
background and what they were saved out of... But, how do you deal
practically with fear? Well, I would suggest this method—and I’m not going
to take the time to explain all of it...Sit down with your concordance and
find every use of the word “fear” in the Bible and just trace it through
and see if you can’t build a little theology against fear.
I think the greatest thing to
give you security is to know how the Bible teaches fear and how it deals
with it.
But, let me just add this: there are two causes of fear, basically. One
is a guilty conscience. The other is a lack of trust. Two
things cause fear: sin in your life that you haven’t dealt with (then you
feel you have a right to being punished and so you’re afraid it’s going to
come) (Ed Note:
click for OT illustration or
here) or, secondly, you’re afraid because you don’t think God can handle
your situation. You’re afraid you’re going to die, you’re afraid you’re
going to get sick, you’re afraid your kids are going to get hurt, you’re
afraid the roof’s going to fall in, you’re afraid the demons are going to
get you… Whatever it is, it comes from two things. Number one, you have a
guilty conscience. Number two, a lack of faith. Now, you can deal with
both of those. A guilty conscience: confess your sin and get it all
cleaned out. A lack of faith: get your Bible open and read what God says
about himself and learn to trust him. Okay? And pray. (Source)
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
"How is it that
you have no faith?" -- Mark 4:40
Ray Stedman commenting on this section writes that
"This is why people become afraid -- because they lose faith. Faith is the answer to fear. This is the first lesson which
comes to us out of this incident (read Mark 4:35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41). Faith is always
the answer to our fears, regardless of what they are. Jesus put his
finger right on it: "Have you no faith?
Well, evidently they did not. They
had forgotten all the things he said to them in the Sermon on the Mount
about the extent of God's care for them: "You are much more valuable than
flowers and birds. God cares for them; will he not much more care for you,
O ye of little faith?" {cf, Matt 6:30}. Here he was in the boat
with them; their fate would be his fate; and yet they had forgotten
this...
The significance of this event to us is that faith is the answer to fear
-- faith in the goodness and care of God in our lives, faith that he loves
us and he is able to work in our midst." (Read
the full sermon Why are you Afraid?)
The remedy for heart trouble is
contained in the two phrases which follow: "believe in God, believe also
in me." "Let not your hearts be troubled." How? Why, "Believe in God" --
God who is still in control, who knows what he is doing, who is capable of
exercising infinite wisdom, infinite power, and infinite love -- and,
"believe also in me," Jesus said, who is the means by which all that
wisdom and resource and power of God is made available to you. That is the
secret...the answer to fear is faith. The next time you are afraid, reach
out for a promise of God, and lay hold of it by the power of Jesus, and
your fear will vanish. There is no other answer to fear but that. Anything
else will permit the fear to come back again and again. But the promise of
God remains steady and sure, and the availability of the resources of
Jesus to lay hold of it is the way of deliverance. (Read
full sermon The Cure for Troubled Hearts)
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
There is no fear
in love;
but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves punishment,
and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
-- 1John 4:18
Love accomplishes something, not only
for the future, but now. It casts out fear now. It gives us complete
freedom from fear. Before we look further at this there is a
translation we need to correct. In the RSV it says that "fear has to do
with punishment," but that is not exactly right. What it really says is,
"fear has punishment," not "has to do with punishment," as though it
always produces it. Even more literally, perhaps, since this word for
punishment comes from a root word which means to limit or to restrain,
what John is saying here is that fear has limitation, fear
imprisons us. Now is that not true? Fear imprisons us.
Anxieties, tensions, worries, apathy -- all these things are forms of
fear, and they literally imprison us, they limit us. I have known
people who were unable to go outside the door of their house because of
fear. I have seen Christian people who were unable to drive their cars
because they were ridden with anxiety, or who were afraid to meet people,
afraid to be in various circumstances. It is because fear has limitation.
Fear imprisons us, narrows us in, binds us up, limits our life, pushes us
into corners and keeps us there, and we cannot live as God intended us to
live.
This is a common experience of life, is it not? What is wrong? Well, John
puts his finger right on it. He who fears is not perfected in love. That
is the trouble, that is the analysis. Love may be in him, if the life of
God is there, but it is not perfected, it is not coming out, it is not
expressing itself, it is not manifest, it is not taking the form of deeds
and words, it is all inside. That is the trouble. Love, perfected, casts
out fear. Now do you dare try that? What a dramatic solution to the
problems of fear and anxiety, and yet, how wonderfully true it is. I have
often seen it happen. There are those who have the life of God and yet
never let it out; their pride and self-pity bind them up and they do not
want to show love, they are afraid to. They are afraid it will open them
up to be hurt, or that it will give someone an advantage over them, and so
they bottle it up, keep it in, and then they wonder why they are oppressed
by anxieties, tensions, and problems of nervousness. They are limited,
unable to move and do as they ought to. But love, perfected, casts out
fear. John is not talking about a perfect kind of love; it is love that is
made perfect, love that is perfected, love that comes to its end and
accomplishes its purpose. I have often seen people who begin to show love
to somebody else, feebly at first, tentatively, perhaps saying but a kind
word, but beginning to minister to another's need. As they did, they found
their own heart flooded with release and deliverance. Gradually they were
set free and able to be what they were intended to be. (Read
full sermon - Love's Accomplishments)
Several years ago, during the dark
days of communism, a dear Romanian brother was traveling with me across
his country. It was very dangerous for him because he was interpreting for
me. Following the evangelistic meetings one night, he was walking to the
apartment where he was staying. He knew someone was following him. His
heart began to race. Fear gripped him. Then with one simple decision, he
shattered the fears of his heart. He kept walking faster and faster in an
attempt to get away from the person following him. Finally, he stopped and
looked straight into the eyes of the person following him. The man in
shock, turned and began walking away. My friend began following the man.
The man fled, and my friend's fear fled. Thus, my friend learned a great
lesson. The only way to overcome your fears is to face them.
There's one thing that I really appreciate about the Bible. It is SO
honest about its heroes. One of the great men of the Bible was Joshua.
Yet, we find that he had to deal with fear. In the beginning of the
account of Joshua's leadership among the children of Israel (Joshua
chapter 1), God has to tell Joshua four times (Joshua
1:6,7,9,18) "be strong and of good courage."
Joshua had much to fear
First, he had to deal with the fear
of failure.
Anyone who steps into a position of leadership understands how powerful
and paralyzing this fear can be. Joshua followed one of the greatest
leaders of all times. Moses saw the Red Sea parted; the people fed "manna"
daily; and many great signs and wonders among the people of God during
Moses forty years of leadership. Could Joshua step up to the plate and
take the reigns of leadership from such a great man of God. Certainly, he
had to deal with the fear of failure.
But a second fear must have been the fear of family and friends.
He knew how fickle the children of Israel were. He had seen them love and
revere Moses when everything was going well. But he had also seen them
become rebellious when things weren't going so well. Joshua must have had
to deal with the fear of rejection from those he loved so much.
I'm also sure that Joshua had to deal with the fear of the future.
There's a certain sense of security in being under someone's leadership.
The buck stops with him. When we're second in command, we leave all the
worries up to the top brass. However, when we are placed in the top
position of leadership, all of a sudden, we begin to realize that the
future of those whom we are leading rests in our hands. That is enough to
cause anyone to tremble in fear.
A final fear that Joshua must have faced was the fear of the foe.
He had been into the promised land as a spy. He and Caleb had come back
and told Moses, "No problem. Sure, there are giants in the land, but they
are no match for our God." That was easier to say when Moses was leading.
But now Joshua was the bottom line leader, he had to put up or shut up.
So, how did Joshua face his fears?
There's one remarkable provision for facing our fears that stands out in
the first chapter of Joshua - the word of God.
First, Joshua had the promise of God.
The Lord said to Joshua after Moses died, "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" (Joshua
1:5NIV). I have discovered that there's nothing like the
promises of God to enable us to face our fears. Too many Christians have
sat for too long in the church premises and have stood too little on God's
promises.
But Joshua also had the commands of God.
The word of God came to Joshua saying, "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" (Joshua 1:7NIV).
Obedience to
God's word drives away fear.
It gives a sense of victory and it secures God's provision.
God is looking for men and women who
are courageous. I've been in some of the most difficult areas of the
world. But I've never met a courageous Christian who wasn't standing on
the promises and walking according to the commands of God. Trust and obey
- there's no other way. (Joshua-Facing Fear)
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Elisabeth Elliot writes that
The world is shaking with fear. "What will become of us? Where will it all
end? What if Russia...? What if cancer...? What if expression...?" The
love of God has wrapped us round from before the foundations of the world.
If we fear Him--that is, if we are brought to our knees before Him,
reverence and worship Him in absolute assurance of his sovereignty, we
cannot possibly be afraid of anything else. To love God is to destroy all
other fear. To love the world is to be afraid of everything--what it may
think of me, what it may do to me, what may happen today or tomorrow for
which I am not prepared.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
In his sermon
Freedom
From Fear Steve Zeisler discusses Jacob's recurring
irrational fear explaining that
Most of us suffer from irrational
fear of one kind or another, and no matter how much others reassure us
to not be fearful their words don't seem to help much. What they are
saying is true, and they mean what they say, but we don't find their
reassurance helpful. The reason we are not helped by their words, of
course, is that we are ultimately unwilling to trust God...Fear
is a spiritual problem. Left to ourselves, we will never learn how to deal
with it. All we will succeed in doing is masking and hiding what we
fear. The only way to finally overcome our fears is to allow
God to separate us from what we feel is our strength, and to fear
Him instead. Then we will never again have to fear anything.
If you suffer from the "Jacob
Syndrome" (and we all do to one degree or another) read the entire chapter
of Genesis 32 and then read Zeisler's
sermon for some very insightful
comments on how God Himself "cured" Jacob of his irrational fears, even to
the point of giving him a new name "Israel". (Click full
message
Freedom
From Fear)
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Proverbs 29:25 You're Afraid
Of Whom?
Mrs. Ima Terror
chased her husband through the crowds at the zoo, waving her umbrella and
unleashing insults like invisible missiles. Her perspiring and winded
husband, seeing that the lock on the lion's cage had not quite closed,
yanked it open, jumped into the cage, slammed the door, pushed the
astonished lion hard against the bars, and peered over its shoulder. His
frustrated wife shook her umbrella, stuttered in anger, and finally
managed to explode, "Ralph, come out of there, you coward!"
Ralph, in this fictitious story, is like the people of Israel that we read
about in the book of Numbers. They were confused about whom they should
really fear. They saw themselves as grasshoppers when compared to the
giants in the land where God wanted them to go (Nu 13:32, 33).
If we are so afraid of people that we stop following the Lord, we're not
trusting Him. It shows that we have doubted His plan, His power, and His
promises. We have failed to recognize that He, above all others, is the
One to be feared—which means that He is to be reverenced, trusted, loved,
and obeyed.
Our love for God should always move
Our hearts to do what's good and right;
Love also fears His judgments true
And stands in awe of His great might. —D. De Haan
Fear God, and you'll have nothing else to fear.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Woodrow Kroll's
devotional Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
--Isaiah 41:10
As an old farmer sat on his front
porch, a stranger came along and asked, "How's your cotton coming?" "Ain't
got none," he replied. "Didn't plant none. 'Fraid of the boll weevil."
"Well, how's your corn?" "Didn't plant none of that either. 'Fraid o'
drought." "How about your potatoes?" "Ain't got none. Scairt o' tater
bugs." The stranger finally asked, "Well, what did you plant?" "Nothin,"
answered the farmer. "I just played it safe."
Isaiah was not called to "play it safe." Instead, God called him to
confront kings (7:3) and denounce mighty nations (Is 34:1, 2).
All around him vast armies were on the move, and political scheming was
rampant. Yet in the midst of all these intimidating situations, God said,
"Don't be afraid. I am with you."
There are many things that cause fear; in fact, someone has estimated that
the average person has at least 200 fears. Yet the answer to all of them
is the same—God.
As the hymn writer
so aptly put it,
Fear not,
I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee & cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
Play
How Firm a Foundation
If God has called you to something,
don't be afraid. If He has called you to be single, don't be afraid. He
will stand in the gap. If He has called you to live alone, don't be
afraid. His company will comfort you. If He has called you to serve Him
far from family and friends, don't be afraid. He will be there for you.
God has not called us to play it safe; He has called us to trust Him.
Where God has called us, He will keep us.
Most of us live relatively safe and
secure lives, but David was in exile. He was being hounded by King Saul,
who wanted to kill him. Here David prays for protection, and he closes the
psalm by saying, "The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in
Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory" (Ps 64:10).
We find three key concepts in this verse that encourage us: joy,
faith and glory.
Are you glad in the Lord today? So many times we are not glad because of
circumstances. David prayed, "Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;
preserve my life from fear of the enemy" (Ps 64:1).
I would have said, "Preserve my life from the enemy." But David
said, "Preserve me from fear of the enemy." In other words,
instead of fear he had faith.
Instead of fear he had joy.
Instead of fear he wanted to bring glory to God.
Most of our problems are not on the outside but on the inside. When the
disciples were in the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee on a stormy
night, Jesus came to them and rebuked them for their unbelief. Their
problem wasn't the storm on the outside--it was the storm on the inside.
Likewise, your problem today may not be the circumstances around you or
the people against you. It may be the fear that's inside you.
"All men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God" (Ps 64:9).
David sang praises to the Lord. He was glad in the Lord. He trusted in and
gave glory to Him. "All the upright in heart shall glory" (Ps
64:10).
It's easy to read this verse but much more difficult to practice it. Take
your eyes off the circumstances and put them on the Lord. Trust in His
promises, not your own power. And most of all, seek to bring Him all the
glory.
* * *
Fear can rob you of your joy and
trust in God.
Don't allow fear or circumstances to take your eyes off the Lord.
Let the truth of the Word of God control your mind and heart.
“What? Not even a little?”
“No, do not fear.”
“Surely I may show some measure of fear?”
“No, do not fear.”
Tie this knot tight around the
throat of unbelief: “Do not fear.” “Do not fear” today. “Do not
fear” tomorrow. “Do not fear” any day of your life. When fear comes,
drive it away and give it no space. When the weather is rough, passengers
on a ship can be comforted by the captain’s calm behavior. One
simple-minded soul said, “I am sure there is no cause to fear, for I
heard the captain whistling.” Surely if the captain is at ease, the
passengers can be at peace. If the Lord Jesus is at the helm singing, do
not fear. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Ps. 37:7). “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come
with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you”
(Isa 35:4).
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- Are you afraid? Your fear will be
removed when you find that He who sent the trouble teaches you through the
trouble. In our schools, much is learned from the chalkboard. In Christ’s
school, much is learned from affliction.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- You need never fear suffering if you
remember it will richly bless your soul. The nightingale only sings at
night, and there are promises that only sing when we are in trouble. It is
in the cellar of affliction that the fine wine of the kingdom is stored.
You will never see Christ’s face so clearly as when all others turn their
back on you. Oh the visits of love that Christ pays to His people when
they are in the prison of their trouble!
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- Suppose an accident should take our
lives? I smile as I think that the worst thing that could happen would be
the best thing that could happen. If we should die, we shall be with the
Lord (1Th 4:17-note). So, if the worst that can befall is the best
that can come, why should we fear? This is good reasoning. If you are a
believer, and if God is your refuge, there is no logical reason to fear.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- Do not fear! Has not God helped you in
every plight already? When we cast our cares on the Lord, to do as He
wills, at no time will He be unkind. He will never put us in the furnace
unless He intends to purge our dross, and the furnace will not be one
degree warmer than is absolutely necessary. Mercy will always balance
misery; strength will always support burden. The Lord is our friend; He
will never be our foe.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- “Fear not” is the Lord’s command and
His divine encouragement to those who at His bidding are launching upon
new seas; the divine presence and preservation forbid so much as one
unbelieving fear. Without our God, we should fear to move, but when He
bids us go, it would be dangerous to tarry. Reader, go forward, and fear
not.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- This is the
antidote of fear: God appoints everything in the future, so rejoice that
everything is in the hand of the great King.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon
wrote "May the Spirit of God
assist us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of anxiety and all the
ills which gather in this valley of earth and to ascend the mountains of
anticipated joy and blessedness. May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords
that keep us here below and assist us to mount."
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- "Seeing that we
have such a God to trust, let us rest upon Him with all our weight. Let us
resolutely drive out all unbelief and endeavor to get rid of doubts and
fears which so much mar our comfort since there is no excuse for fear
where God is the foundation of our trust. A loving parent would be sorely
grieved if his child could not trust him, and how ungenerous, how unkind,
is our conduct when we put so little confidence in our heavenly Father who
has never failed us and who never will! We have been in many trials, but
we have never yet been cast where we could not find in our God all that we
needed."
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- "If you are in
personal danger, or in the midst of a storm, or facing illness, and if you
hear a voice saying, “Surely the Lord is in this place,” you will be
perfectly at rest. The anxious air grows pure if He is there. Lightning
cannot strike you, or if it does it will be joy. The storm cannot devour
you, nor can the hungry ocean engulf you, or if one does it is happiness
if God is there. There is no need to fear."
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- "Do not let
fear trouble your spirit, because death is vanquished. We have no reason
to fear. Courage, Christian soldiers, for you are encountering a
vanquished enemy. Are you afraid to die? Does the grave alarm you? Do not
fear, for you cannot die. “Christ is risen from the dead, and has become
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. … For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1Co 15:20, 22). Oh, the comfort of the gospel. Allow me to say this:
If your trust is in Jesus, there is nothing in the Bible to make you
afraid. Nothing in the Bible, did I say? There is nothing in heaven,
nothing on earth, and nothing in hell to make you fear, if your trust is
in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Because I live, you will live also. At that
day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John
14:19, 20).
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- "I am not a
fatalist, but I strictly hold to the doctrine that God has decreed all
things that come to pass and that He rules over all things for His glory
and good. What have we to fear? The unbeliever looks at the lightning and
is apprehensive, but the Christian believes that it follows a predestined
path, and he contemplates it with confidence. At sea, when the waves dash
against a ship and toss it to and fro, some panic because they think that
this is all chance. But believers see order in the waves. They hear music
in the wind and are at peace because the tempest is in God’s hand. Why
then should we fear? In all this world’s convulsions, in all temporary
distress and danger, we can remain calm, collected, and boldly say with
confidence, “I know God is here and all this is working for my good.”
“Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though
the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar
and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling” (Ps 46:2). Think on these things."
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon -- "God says to you,
“Fear not...I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Ge 15:1). Believer, grasp the divine word with a personal, appropriating
faith. Think that you hear Jesus say, “I have prayed for thee, that thy
faith fail not” (Lk 22:32).
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
No Fear C. H. Spurgeon
"Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night."
--Psalm 91:5
What is this terror? It may be the
cry of fire, or the noise of thieves, or fancied appearances, or the
shriek of sudden sickness or death. We live in the world of death and
sorrow, we may therefore look for ills as well in the night-watches as
beneath the glare of he broiling sun. Nor should this alarm us, for be the
terror what it may, the promise is that the believer shall not be afraid.
Why should he? Let us put it more closely, why should we? God our Father
is here, and will be here all through the lonely hours; He is an almighty
Watcher, a sleepless Guardian, a faithful Friend. Nothing can happen
without His direction, for even hell itself is under His control. Darkness
is not dark to Him. He has promised to be a wall of fire around His
people--and who can break through such a barrier? Worldlings may well be
afraid, for they have an angry God above them, a guilty conscience within
them, and a yawning hell beneath them; but we who rest in Jesus are saved
from all these through rich mercy.
If we give way to foolish fear we shall dishonour our profession, and lead
others to doubt the reality of godliness. We ought to be afraid of being
afraid, lest we should vex the Holy Spirit by foolish distrust. Down,
then, ye dismal forebodings and groundless apprehensions, God has not
forgotten to be gracious, nor shut up His tender mercies, it may be night
in the soul, but there need be no terror, for the God of love changes not.
Children of light may walk in darkness, but they are not therefore cast
away, nay, they are now enabled to prove their adoption by trusting in
their heavenly Father as hypocrites cannot do.
"Though the night be
dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from Thee;
Thou art He, who, never weary,
Watchest where Thy people be."
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in Faith's Checkbook commenting on
“He shall not be afraid of evil
tidings:
his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.”
—Ps 112:7
"Suspense is dreadful. When we
have no news from home we are apt to grow anxious, and we cannot be
persuaded that “no news is good news.” Faith is the cure for this
condition of sadness: the Lord by His Spirit settles the mind in holy
serenity, and all fear is gone as to the future as well as the present.
The fixedness of heart spoken of by the Psalmist is to be diligently
sought after. It is not believing this or that promise of the Lord, but
the general condition of unstaggering trustfulness in our God, the
confidence which we have in Him that He will neither do us ill Himself,
nor suffer anyone else to harm us. This constant confidence meets the
unknown as well as the known of life. Let the morrow be what it may, our
God is the God of tomorrow. Whatever events may have happened, which to us
are unknown, our Jehovah is God of the unknown as well as of the known. We
are determined to trust the Lord, come what may. If the very worst should
happen, our God is still the greatest and best. Therefore will we not fear
though the postman’s knock should startle us or a telegram wake us at
midnight. The Lord liveth, and what can His children fear?"
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook “Surely there is no enchantment (sorcery, magic curse) against Jacob,
neither is there any divination against Israel.”
—Numbers 23:23
"HOW this should cut up root and
branch all silly, superstitious fears! Even if there were any truth in
witchcraft and omens, they could not affect the people of the Lord. Those
whom God blesses, devils cannot curse."
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook “So that we may boldly say,
The Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto
me.”
—He 13:6
(note)
"BECAUSE God will never leave nor
forsake us, we may well be content with such things as we have. Since the
Lord is ours, we cannot be left without a friend, a treasure, and a
dwelling place. This assurance may make us feel quite independent of men.
Under such high patronage, we do not feel tempted to cringe before our
fellow men and ask of them permission to call our lives our own; but what
we say, we boldly say and defy contradiction. He who fears God has
nothing else to fear. We should stand in such awe (Ed note: an emotion
variously combining dread, veneration and wonder that is inspired by
authority or by the sacred or sublime) of the living Lord that all the
threats that can be used by the proudest persecutor should have no more
effect upon us than the whistling of the wind. Man in these days cannot do
so much against us as he could when the apostle wrote the verse at the
head of this page. Racks and stakes are out of fashion. Giant Pope cannot
burn the pilgrims now. If the followers of false teachers try cruel
mockery and scorn, we do not wonder at it, for the men of this world
cannot love the heavenly seed. What then? We must bear the world’s scorn.
It breaks no bones. God helping us, let us be bold; and when the world
rages let it rage, but let us not fear it."
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches,
he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”
—Rev 2:11
(note)
THE first death we must endure,
unless the Lord should suddenly come to His temple. For this, let us abide
in readiness, awaiting it without fear, since Jesus has transformed death
from a dreary cavern into a passage leading to glory. The thing to be
feared is not the first, but the second death; not the parting of the soul
from the body, but the final separation of the entire man from God. This
is death indeed. This death kills all peace, joy, happiness, hope. When
God is gone all is gone. Such a death is far worse than ceasing to be: it
is existence without the life which makes existence worth the having. Now,
if by God’s grace we fight on to the end and conquer in the glorious war,
no second death can lay its chill finger upon us. We shall have no fear of
death and hell, for we shall receive a crown of life which fadeth not
away. How this nerves us for the fight! Eternal life is worth a life’s
battle. To escape the hurt of the second death is a thing worth struggling
for throughout a lifetime. Lord, give us faith, so that we may overcome,
and then grant us grace to remain unharmed, though sin and Satan dog our
heels!
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
“And all people of
the earth shall see
that thou art called by the name of the Lord;
and they shall be afraid of thee.”
—Deuteronomy 28:10
THEN we can have no reason to be afraid of them. This would show a
mean spirit and be a token of unbelief rather than of faith. God can make
us so like Himself that men shall be forced to see that we rightly bear
His name and truly belong to the Holy Jehovah. Oh, that we may obtain this
grace which the Lord waits to bestow! Be assured that ungodly men have a fear of true saints. They hate them, but they also fear
them. Haman trembled because of Mordecai, even when he sought the good
man’s destruction. In fact, their hate often arises out of a dread
which they are too proud to confess. Let us pursue the path of truth and
uprightness without the slightest tremor.
Fear is not for us, but
for those who do ill and fight against the Lord of hosts. If indeed
the name of the Eternal God is named upon us, we are secure; for,
as of old, a Roman had but to say “Romanus sum,” I am a Roman, and he
could claim the protection of all the legions of the vast empire; so
everyone who is a man of God has omnipotence as his guardian, and God will
sooner empty heaven of angels than leave a saint without defense. Be
braver than lions for the right, for God is with you.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook commenting on
“Be not afraid of their faces:
for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.”
— Jeremiah 1:8
"Whenever fear comes in and
makes us falter, we are in danger of falling into sin. Conceit is to
be dreaded, but so is cowardice. “Dare to be a Daniel.” Our great
Captain should be served by brave soldiers. What a reason for bravery
is here! God is with those who are with Him. God will never be away
when the hour of struggle comes. Do they threaten you? Who are you
that you should be afraid of a man that shall die? Will you
lose your situation? Your God whom you serve will find bread and water
for His servants. Can you not trust Him? Do they pour ridicule upon
you? Will this break your bones or your heart? Bear it for Christ’s
sake and even rejoice because of it. God is with the true, the just,
the holy to deliver them, and He will deliver you. Remember how Daniel
came out of the lions’ den and the three holy children out of the
furnace. Yours is not so desperate a case as theirs; but if it were,
the Lord would bear you through, and make you more than a conqueror. Fear to fear. Be afraid to be afraid. Your worst enemy is
within your own bosom. Get to your knees and cry for help; and then
rise up, saying, “I will trust, and not be afraid.”
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook “He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him:
heal so will hear their cry, and will save them.”
—Psalm 145:19
HIS own Spirit has wrought this
desire in us, and therefore He will answer it. It is His own life within
which prompts the cry, and therefore He will hear it. Those who fear
Him are men under the holiest influence, and, therefore, their desire
is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever. Like Daniel, they are men of
desires, and the Lord will cause them to realize their aspirations. Holy
desires are grace in the blade, and the heavenly Husbandman will cultivate
them till they come to the full corn in the ear. God-fearing men
desire to be holy, to be useful, to be a blessing to others, and so to
honor their Lord. They desire supplies for their need, help under burdens,
guidance in perplexity, deliverance in distress; and sometimes this desire
is so strong, and their case so pressing, that they cry out in agony, like
little children in pain, and then the Lord works most comprehensively, and
does all that is needful, according to this Word—“and will save them.”
Yes, if we fear
God, we have nothing else to fear;
if we cry to the Lord, our salvation is certain.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook “I have set the Lord always before me:
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
—Psalm 16:8
THIS is the way to live. With God
always before us, we shall have the noblest companionship, the holiest
example, the sweetest consolation, and the mightiest influence. This must
be a resolute act of the mind. “I have set,” and it must be maintained
as a set and settled thing. Always to have an eye to the Lord’s eye, and
an ear for the Lord’s voice—this is the right state for the godly man. His
God is near him, filling the horizon of his vision, leading the way of his
life, and furnishing the theme of his meditation. What vanities we should
avoid, what sins we should overcome, what virtues we should exhibit, what
joys we should experience if we did indeed set the Lord always before us!
Why not? This is the way to be safe. The Lord being ever in our minds,
we come to feel safety and certainty because of His being so near. He
is at our right hand to guide and aid us, and hence we are not moved by
fear, nor force, nor fraud, nor fickleness. When God stands at a man’s
right hand, that man is himself sure to stand. Come on, then ye foes of
the truth! Rush against me like a furious tempest, if ye will. God upholds
me. God abides with me. Whom shall I fear?
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook
The Lord, he it is that doth go before thee;
he will be with thee, he will not fail thee,
neither forsake thee:
fear not neither be dismayed.”
—Deuteronomy 31:8
IN the presence of a great work or a
great warfare, here is a text which should help us to buckle on our
harness. If Jehovah Himself goes before us, it must be safe to follow. Who
can obstruct our progress if the Lord Himself is in the van? Come, brother
soldiers, let us make a prompt advance! Why do we hesitate to pass on to
victory? Nor is the Lord before us only; He is with us. Above, beneath,
around, within is the omnipotent, omnipresent One. In all time, even to
eternity, He will be with us even as He has been. How this should nerve
our arm! Dash at it boldly, ye soldiers of the cross, for the Lord of
hosts is with us! Being before us and with us, He will never withdraw His
help. He cannot fail in Himself, and He will not fail toward us. He will
continue to help us according to our need, even to the end. As He cannot
fail us, so He will not forsake us. He will always be both able and
willing to grant us strength and succor till fighting days are gone.
Let us not fear
nor be dismayed;
for the Lord of hosts will go down to the battle with us,
will bear the brunt of the fight,
and give us the victory.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook “Happy is the man that feareth always.”
—Proverbs 28:14
THE fear of the Lord is the
beginning and the foundation of all true religion. Without a solemn awe
and reverence of God, there is no foothold for the more brilliant
virtues. He whose soul does not worship will never live in holiness. He is
happy who feels a jealous fear of doing wrong. Holy fear
looks not only before it leaps, but even before it moves. It is afraid
of error, afraid of neglecting duty, afraid of committing
sin. It fears ill company, loose talk, and questionable policy.
This does not make a man wretched, but it brings him happiness. The
watchful sentinel is happier than the soldier who sleeps at his post. He
who foreseeth evil and escapes it is happier than he who walks carelessly
on and is destroyed. Fear of God is a quiet grace which leads a man
along a choice road, of which it is written, “No lion shall be there,
neither shall any ravenous beast go up thereon.” Fear of the very
appearance of evil is a purifying principle which enables a man,
through the power of the Holy Spirit, to keep his garments unspotted from
the world. In both senses he that “feareth always” is made happy.
Solomon had tried both worldliness and holy fear: in the one he
found vanity, in the other happiness. Let us not repeat his trial, but
abide by his verdict.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in Faith's Checkbook “And he answered, Fear not:
for they that be with us
are more than they that be with them.”
—2Kings 6:16
"Horses and chariots and a great host, shut up the prophet in Dothan.
His young servant was alarmed. How could they escape from such a body
of armed men? But the prophet had eyes which his servant had not, and
he could see a greater host with far superior weapons guarding him
from all harm. Horses of fire are mightier than horses of flesh, and
chariots of fire are far preferable to chariots of iron. Even so is it at this hour. The adversaries of truth are many,
influential, learned, and crafty; and truth fares ill at their hands;
and yet the man of God has no cause for trepidation. Agencies, seen
and unseen, of the most potent kind are on the side of righteousness.
God has armies in ambush which will reveal themselves in the hour of
need. The forces which are on the side of the good and the true far
outweigh the powers of evil. Therefore, let us keep our spirits up and
walk with the gait of men who possess a cheering secret which has
lifted them above all fear. We are on the winning side. The battle may
be sharp, but we know how it will end. Faith, having God with her, is
in a clear majority: “They that be with us are more than they that be
with them.”
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook “I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee.”
—Acts 18:10
"SO long as the Lord had work for
Paul to do in Corinth, the fury of the mob was restrained. The Jews
opposed themselves and blasphemed; but they could neither stop the
preaching of the gospel, nor the conversion of the hearers. God has power
over the most violent minds. He makes the wrath of man to praise Him when
it breaks forth, but He still more displays His goodness when He restrains
it; and He can restrain it. “By the greatness of thine arm they shall be
as still as a stone, till thy people pass over, O Lord.” Do not,
therefore, feel any fear of man when you know that you are doing
your duty. Go straight on, as Jesus would have done, and those who oppose
shall be as a bruised reed and as smoking flax. Many a time men have had
cause to fear because they were themselves afraid; but a
dauntless faith in God brushes fear aside like the cobwebs in a
giant’s path. No man can harm us unless the Lord permits. He who
makes the devil himself to flee at a word, can certainly control the
devil’s agents. Maybe they are already more afraid of you than you
are of them. Therefore, go forward, and where you looked to meet with foes
you will find friends."
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Spurgeon in
Faith's Checkbook “And it shall come to pass,
when I bring a cloud over the earth,
that the bow shall be seen in the cloud.”
—Genesis 9:14
"JUST now clouds are plentiful
enough, but we are not afraid that the world will be destroyed by a
deluge. We see the rainbow often enough to prevent our having any such
fears. The covenant which the Lord made with Noah stands fast, and we
have no doubts about it. Why, then, should we think that the clouds of
trouble, which now darken our sky, will end in our destruction? Let us
dismiss such groundless and dishonoring fears. Faith always
sees the bow of covenant promise whenever sense sees the
cloud of affliction. God has a bow with which He might shoot out His
arrows of destruction. But see! it is turned upward. It is a bow without
an arrow or a string; it is a bow hung out for show, no longer used for
war. It is a bow of many colors, expressing joy and delight, and not a bow
blood-red with slaughter, or black with anger. Let us be of good courage.
Never does God so darken our sky as to leave His covenant without a
witness; and even if He did, we would trust Him, since He cannot change,
or lie, or in any other way fail to keep His covenant of peace. Until the
waters go over the earth again, we shall have no reason for doubting our
God."
"THE fear of the Lord is the
beginning and the foundation of all true religion. Without a solemn awe
and reverence of God, there is no foothold for the more brilliant virtues.
He whose soul does not worship will never live in holiness. He is happy
who feels a jealous fear of doing wrong. Holy fear looks not only before
it leaps, but even before it moves. It is afraid of error, afraid of
neglecting duty, afraid of committing sin. It fears ill company, loose
talk, and questionable policy. This does not make a man wretched, but it
brings him happiness. The watchful sentinel is happier than the soldier
who sleeps at his post. He who foreseeth evil and escapes it is happier
than he who walks carelessly on and is destroyed. Fear of God is a quiet
grace which leads a man along a choice road, of which it is written, “No
lion shall be there, neither shall any ravenous beast go up thereon.”
Fear of the very appearance of evil is a purifying principle which enables
a man, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to keep his garments
unspotted from the world. In both senses he that “feareth always” is
made happy. Solomon had tried both worldliness and holy fear: in the one
he found vanity, in the other happiness. Let us not repeat his trial, but
abide by his verdict."
Warren Wiersbe notes that "The
admonition “fear not” is often repeated in Isaiah, backed up by
various reasons why God’s people need not be afraid.
God is with us no matter what the circumstances, and He strengthens us and
helps us no matter what the task (Isaiah 41:10).
He holds us as He helps us (Isaiah 41:13,14).
He will not forsake us because He made us and redeemed us, and we belong
to Him (Isaiah 43:1 Isaiah 43:5)
He was with us before we were born, and He has a purpose for us to fulfill
in this world today (Isaiah 44:2).
How can we be afraid when God’s words are sure and He is the Rock of our
salvation (Isaiah 44:8)?
Warren Wiersbe: "When you fear
people, you start to hide things, and this leads to hypocrisy. You fail to
confess Christ openly and depend on the Holy Spirit and this
silences your witness. When you fear God alone, you need fear no one else;
and you can boldly witness for Christ. You are important to God and
precious in His sight, so never fear what people can say or do."
Ps 23:4 "Even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no
evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me."
We need not ponder death with fear,
Though what's ahead we cannot see;
For we who put our faith in Christ
Look forward to eternity. —Sper
Death separates us
for a time; Christ will reunite us forever.
- HOW TO HANDLE FEAR -
Fear Not
Warren Wiersbe
'Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
Isa 41:10
In his "First
Inaugural Addressa, on March 4, 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said to a
nation in the grip of an economic depression, “The only thing we have to
fear is fear itself.” Why? Because fear paralyzes you, and fear is
contagious and paralyzes others. Fear and faith cannot live together in
the same heart. “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” (Mt
8:26) Frightened people discourage others and help bring defeat
(Dt 20:8).
Nehemiah’s first step (Neh 4:9)
was to post guards at the most conspicuous and vulnerable places on the
wall. The enemy could then see that the Jews were prepared to fight. He
armed entire families, knowing that they would stand together and
encourage one another.
After looking the situation over, Nehemiah encouraged the people not to be
afraid but to look to the Lord for help. If we fear the Lord, we need not
fear the enemy. Nehemiah’s heart was captivated by the “great and
terrible” God of Israel (Neh 4:14;
see Neh 1:5), and he knew that God was strong
enough to meet the challenge. He also reminded the people that they were
fighting for their nation, their city, and their families. When the enemy
learned that Jerusalem was armed and ready, they backed off (Neh 4:15).
God had frustrated their plot. “The Lord brings the counsel of the
nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The
counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all
generations” (Ps 33:10, 11). It is good to remind ourselves that the will of God
comes from the heart of God and that we need not be afraid.
A promise: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I
am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand" (Isa 41:10NIV).
Fear Not
by Woodrow Kroll
"After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision,
saying,
"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
--
Genesis 15:1
Fear is everywhere. Even people who
appear brave, if they’re honest, will admit to moments of immense fear.
During World War II, a military governor met with Gen. George Patton in
Sicily. When he highly praised Patton for his courage and bravery, the
general replied, "Sir, I am not a brave man—the truth is, I am a craven
coward. I have never been within the sound of gunshot or in sight of
battle in my whole life that I wasn’t so scared that I had sweat in the
palms of my hands." Patton’s honesty is refreshing, but God offers the
best solution for our fears.
Abraham was just as human as you and I. Even though he had 318 trained
soldiers in his personal army and had just won a major victory over four
mighty kings (Ge 14:13, 14, 15, 16, 17), he still experienced times of apprehension and
dread. That’s why God said, "Do not be afraid." God then told Abraham why
he need not be afraid: "I am your shield [to protect you from evil], your
exceedingly great reward [to meet all your needs]."
Our fears fall into two broad
categories: We fear that something will harm us or that we will suffer
need in some way. God promises that He is sufficient for both of these
concerns. The psalmist speaks of God’s protection from evil when he says,
"A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand;
but it shall not come near you" (Ps 91:7). And in another psalm we are assured of God’s provision:
"The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord
shall not lack any good thing" (Ps 34:10).
What troubles you today? Put aside your fears and trust God. The God of
Abraham is sufficient both to protect you and to provide for all your
needs.
Genesis 15 has
rightly been called one of the most important chapters in all the Bible.
In it we discover the details of the Abrahamic covenant, which is the most
important covenant in all the Bible. Hundreds of years later the New
Testament writers (especially Paul in Galatians 3 but also Peter in Acts
3) will look back on this covenant as the foundation for the Christian
gospel.
Since the word Genesis means “beginnings” we shouldn’t be surprised to
discover several important “firsts” in this chapter:
1. The first use of the phrase “the word of the Lord came” (Ge
15:1). This
phrase is used over 100 times in the Old Testament.
2. The first time God said “fear not” to anyone (Ge
15:1). A phrase used over
300 times in the Bible.
3. The first time God is called a “shield” (Ge
15:1). Frequently used in the
Psalms to describe God’s protection for his people (see Ps 3:3, 5:12,
28:7).
4. The first time anyone is said to have “believed” in the Lord (Ge
15:6).
The New Testament uses the word “believer” as a synonym for “Christian”
(see 1Ti 4:12).
At this point God’s fundamental word to Abraham is “fear not.” But what
did Abraham have to fear? First, he certainly could fear retaliation after
his shocking defeat of the four kings from Mesopotamia. Doubtless smarting
after Abraham chased them north of Damascus, they might well be expected
to mount a counterattack.
Waiting For a Baby
But his greater fear
no doubt related to God’s promise to give him a son. Many years earlier
the Lord has said he would give Abraham descendants as numerous as the
dust of the earth. Even then Abraham was over 75 years ago. Now he is at
least 85 and not getting any younger. His wife Sarah is far past
childbearing age. Even though he has just won a great victory, nothing can
satisfy his deep desire for a son.
Only those who have gone through this experience can fully empathize with
Abraham and Sarah. There is no sadness like the sadness of wanting
children of your own but being unable to have them. Even in this day of
modern medicine and advanced technology, many couples wait for years and
some couples wait forever.
Has God Forgotten His Promise?
I think Abraham’s
greatest fear stemmed from the fact that God did not seem in a hurry to
give them a child. How much longer would he wait? Why had he delayed? Had
God changed his mind and not told Abraham? Was there some problem he
didn’t know about? Had they sinned? Was there something Abraham and Sarah
doing that was displeasing to God? Why was Sarah’s womb still closed? If
God had promised, why was it taking so long to be fulfilled? Should they
go to Plan B?
All these questions were running through Abraham’s mind. God knew exactly
what his servant was thinking. He saw the doubt. He understood the fear.
Now he moves to reassure Abraham that all will be well. The time has not
yet come for the child to be born, but it wasn’t far off either.
Genesis 15 contains two promises God gave to Abraham. The first concerns
the promise of a son and the second relates to God’s promise to give him
the land of Canaan. From these two promises we may learn great truths
about God’s answer to our deepest fears.
I. Promise # 1: “A Son from your own body” 1-6
There are four reasons why Abraham could have doubted God’s promise of a
son:
1. He was too old.
2. Too many years had passed since the promise had been given.
3. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
4. Sarah also doubted God’s promise.
When you think about it, there was no reason to believe—no reason except
that God had promised to do it. The question now is simple: Will God’s
promise be enough for Abraham?
In answer to that question, God declares, “I am your shield.” We should
not think of a small shield that covers only the chest area, but rather of
a shield that stretches from head to toe and completely protects every
part of the soldier’s body. Such a shield offers complete protection from
every attack of the enemy.
To call God our shield means two specific things:
1. He protects us in times of doubt.
2. He rescues us in times of danger.
A Shield After Midnight
Yesterday I took a walk late in the afternoon. For some reason I altered
my normal route and headed east on Randolph, then north to the Dominick’s
store, walking along the alley, then back to South Street, crossing East
Boulevard, until I came to Wesley Avenue. I turned left and began walking
the two blocks back to my house at the corner of Wesley and Randolph. As I
got within a half-block of my home I looked to my right and saw a tree
with a large section of bark torn off near the bottom of the trunk.
Someone had painted over the gash with a black substance. Then to my left
I saw a green chain link fence slightly bent out of position. In a flash
it all came to back to me.
Last one night last summer my son and his friends had been driving our van
when it jumped the curb, nearly hit a house, sideswiped the fence, jumped
another curb and hit the tree going 55 miles per hour. The van was
totaled, all four people wound up in the hospital, and I was told later
that it was a miracle that anyone walked away from the accident. The man
at the body shop showed us how the van hit the tree squarely in the middle
of the front bumper. If it had moved six inches to the left or right, we
would have been going to funeral home instead of to the hospital.
I cannot fully explain what happened that night or why son and his friends
were spared from sudden death. But I accept the words of my friend Howard
Harvey who said, “Ray, an angel took the hit.”
Yesterday as I walked past the spot for the first time since the accident,
I felt like erecting a sign, “The Lord God is a shield around his people.
He protects even in the darkness.”
A Christian is Immortal
This week I ran across the following quote: “A Christian is immortal till
his work on earth is done.” That statement means that nothing can harm
without God’s permission. Not cancer, not AIDS, not bankruptcy, not theft,
not the loss of your job, not a terrible accident, not the death of a
child, not any of a thousand other sorrows that afflict the children of
God. Folks, we aren’t immune to sadness. What happens to others also
happens to us. The difference is this: We know that God protects us from
harm so that nothing can touch us that doesn’t first pass through his
hands of love.
That knowledge doesn’t meant that we don’t weep or we don’t suffer. Far
from it. But it is the basis for the statement that “we sorrow but not as
those who have no hope.” Our sorrow is different precisely because we hope
in God.
“Nothing Except That Which My God Permits”
During my recent trip to India Dr. Aletta Bell asked if I knew she had
nearly been put in jail. It turns out that about ten years ago a local
lawyer began harassing her and the work of the Duncan Hospital. Because he
is not a Christian, he objected to the fact that the hospital openly does
evangelism along with its compassionate medical care. Thousands of Hindus
and not a few Muslims have come to Christ over the past sixty years.
Seeking a pretext for legal action, the lawyer accused the hospital of
illegally selling intravenous fluid to the patients. It wasn't true, of
course, but that didn’t matter. For several years the case bumped up and
down the Indian court system, eventually reaching the Supreme Court. At
one point several years ago it appeared likely that Dr. Bell might either
be thrown in jail or forced to leave the country. “I’m going to shut down
this hospital,” the lawyer chortled, “And you’re going to jail or I’ll
have you deported.”
To which Dr. Bell replied, “You can do nothing to me except what my God
permits you to do.”
That’s a perfectly biblical answer. Our God is a shield around his people.
Nothing can touch us except that which God permits.
Look at the Stars
Not only to did remind Abraham of his faithfulness, he also once again
promised descendants without number. This time he told Abraham to look at
the stars (v. 5). “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed
you can count them. So shall your offspring be.” They say you can see
8,000 stars on a clear night in the Middle East. Astronomers tell us they
have catalogued over 30,000 stars. But they estimate the total number may
be over 100 billion. No one knows how many stars there are. That’s
precisely God’s point. Abraham will have so many descendants that he will
ever be able to count them all.
That’s quite a promise to make to a old man with an old wife who has no
children and no prospects.
John 3:16 of the Old Testament
Verse 6 has been rightly called the John 3:16 of the Old Testament. It
contains the first clear message of the way of salvation in the Bible.
“Abram believed in the Lord and it was credited to him for righteousness.”
Three crucial words unlock the meaning of this verse:
A. Believe – In the Hebrew, this word is related to the word “amen.” To
believe God is to say “Amen” to his promises. It means to rest the entire
your entire weight on the truth of what someone has said or done.
Believing God means relying upon his Word to the point that if his Word
isn’t true, you aren’t going to heaven.
B. Credited—It’s a term from the banking world that means to “credit to
one’s account.” Just as a teller will accept a deposit and then credit
your account with an amount of money, God credited Abraham’s “account”
with righteousness because of his faith.
C. Righteousness—The word stands for the moral perfection God demands of
all people. “The righteousness of God is that righteousness which his
righteousness requires him to require.” God demands perfection and only
perfect people will get into heaven. He does not grade on a curve. You
either score 100 or you don’t go through the door.
Here is the gospel plain and simple. Abraham believed all that God had
said and in response God credited his account with perfect righteousness.
That was 4000 years ago, but the same principle works today. All you have
to do to be saved is believe what God has said about his Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ:
That he is the Son of God
That he died on the cross for you
That he rose from the dead on the third day
That he paid the price for all your sins
That he is both Savior, Lord and God
That he will save you if you will come to him
How’s Your “Account” With God?
How do you stand with God right now? What kind of “account” do you have
with him? Are you certain you will go to heaven when you die? No one who
reads the words needs to go to hell. If you go, it will be in spite of all
that God has done for you.
If you aren’t sure of how your “account” stands with the Lord, I urge you
to do what Abraham did—believe with all your heart everything that God has
said. Embrace the Lord Jesus as your only hope of salvation. When you do,
God will credit your account with righteousness—the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. All his perfection will be entered under your name in the great
ledger books of heaven. All that you lack will be given to you. You will
then be sure that you will go to heaven when you die.
II. Promise # 2: “I will give you this land” 7-21
With that we now pass to the second great promise God made to Abraham. The
first concerned the birth of a son, the second the promise of inheriting
all the land. Let me summarize the material in this paragraph:
1. There is a reminder of past guidance from God (Ge
15:7)
2. God then tells Abraham to gather animals for a sacrifice (Ge 15:8, 9,
10, 11)
3. God spells out the details of the covenant he is about to make with
Abraham (Ge 15:12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
4. God “cuts a covenant” with Abraham (Ge 15:17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
Several details of this passage may seem obscure because they rest on
ancient practices that are quite foreign to our experience. Basically, God
is making a formal agreement called a covenant with Abraham. Covenants
were the most common means of making a legal agreement in the ancient
world. Since written agreement were not common, most agreements were
formalized through a ceremony known as “cutting the covenant.” After
agreeing to the details, the two people involved would bring animals for
sacrifice. After reading the agreement aloud, the animals were sacrificed
and laid in two parallel rows. Then the two people would join hands and
walk side-by-side between the rows of dead animals. This signified two
things: A) Join agreement to the terms of the contract and B) a vow that
if the terms were violated by either party, the violator would be put to
death (i.e. suffer the same fate as the animals).
“This One Is On Me”
The most important point in this passage is the fact that God (symbolized
by the smoking oven and the flaming torch) passes between the dead animals
while Abraham sleeps. That fact is most significant because it means that
God is taking upon himself the full responsibility for keeping the
covenant. It’s as if God is saying, “Go ahead and take a nap, Abraham.
This one is on me.”
Theologians call this the Abrahamic covenant. It is the most important
covenant in all the Bible because it contains (by implication) God’s plan
to send his Son to the earth. When Paul discusses the “seed” of Abraham in
Galatians 3, this covenant is on his mind.
Here are four words that describe this covenant: It is . . .
Therefore, we may say with confidence that this covenant is still in force
today.
The Indestructible Jew
At the end of the chapter God makes several specific promises to Abraham:
1. I will give this land to your descendants (Ge
15:18)
2. The land will stretch from the Nile to the Euphrates (Ge 15:18)
3. The tribes living in the land will be dispossessed. (Ge 15:19, 20, 21)
You may wonder about the ten tribes mentioned in the last three verses—the
Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and so on. If you are interested,
you can find information regarding them in any good Bible dictionary.
However, the most important point to know is that none of them exist any
more. They have all passed into the dusty pages of history books. You can
search the earth from Bangladesh to Berwyn and you won’t find any
Kadmonites, Kenizzites or Jebusites. They vanished from the face of the
earth thousands of years ago.
But the descendants of Abraham remain. They are the Jews, the literal,
physical recipients of the promise made 4000 years ago. Someone has
written a tract called “The Indestructible Jew.” That’s a wonderful title
because it is true! Despite the passage of forty centuries—through wars
and pogroms, across millennia of cultural change, despite some very
determined efforts to wipe them out—the Jews remain. Not even Hitler in
all his vile dreams could kill them all.
When God Makes a Promise
When God makes a promise he keeps it. I would venture to say that the
continued existence of the Jewish race after four thousand years is one of
the strongest proofs of the truth of the Bible. The Jews are here because
God promised Abraham that he would make of him a great nation. Abraham
never lived to see the fulfillment of that promise. Indeed, in this very
passage God declared that he would live to a ripe old age and then his
descendants would spend 400 years in Egypt. Only then would they return
and possess the land.
History is truly His Story. And the Jews are truly God’s Chosen People.
Nothing else can explain their miraculous survival across the centuries.
Why God Delays His Answers
It all started with God’s promise to give Abraham a son four thousand
years ago. That brings us back to the central issue of the chapter. Why
did God wait so long to give Abraham a son? After all these years God
still isn’t ready to answer his prayers? Abraham is old but he will be
older yet before Isaac is finally born.
Of all the questions that plague the people of God none is so vexing as
the question of unanswered prayer. We know God loves and has a good plan
for our lives. Why then does God take so long to answer our deepest, most
heart-felt prayers? From this story we may suggest five answers:
1. God delays his answers in order to develop our faith.
2. He also wants to develop the quality of perseverance
3. Long delays mean than when the answer comes no one but God can get the
glory.
4. Long delays also mean that no one can doubt that God has worked a
miracle in answer to our prayers.
5. Stories such as Abraham’s are meant to give hope to everyone who has
prayed and prayed for years without receiving an answer.
The Answer is a Person
God’s answer to fear is not an argument or a formula. It’s a Person.
That’s why he said to Abraham, “Fear not. I am your shield.” God himself
is the final answer to every fear of the human heart.
Have you ever wondered by God called himself by the name “I AM” in the Old
Testament? Certainly it has to do with his eternal existence, but there is
also a word of personal encouragement in that name.
Think of it this way. Who is God to you? According to his name, he is the
essence of whatever you need at the moment.
“I am your strength.”
“I am your courage.”
“I am your health.”
“I am your hope.”
“I am your supply.”
“I am your defender.”
“I am your deliverer.”
“I am your forgiveness.”
“I am your joy.”
“I am your future.”
In short, God is saying to you and me, “I am whatever you need whenever
you need it.” He is the all-sufficient God for every crisis.
III. Moving From Fear to Faith
Let’s wrap up this message by looking at four principles that will move us
from fear to faith.
1. Fear focuses on the past, faith focuses on the present.
A few days ago I met with a woman who is struggling with personal issues
of fear and doubt. In some ways you might say she is even gripped with
fear as she thinks about certain people and how things might work out in
her life. As we talked together, I finally looked her in the eye and said,
“It’s time to move from fear to faith. Are you ready to move with me?” She
smiled hesitantly and then said yes. We prayed, claiming God’s promises of
protection. When I saw her the next day she said that she had slept much
better that night because she wasn’t focusing on her fears.
Think of Abraham. The past argued against ever having a child. So did the
present. His only hope lay in the promises of God for the future. As long
as he looked back, he would never have faith to believe God. His only hope
was to step out into the future, trusting that somehow, some way God would
keep his promises.
2. Faith means trusting in God’s timing--not your own.
So many of our struggles with fear start right here. Deep down, we fear
that God has somehow made a mistake in his dealings with us. Like Abraham,
we have waited and waited—sometimes for years on end. Even though we may
have seen many remarkable answers to prayer, the one thing that means the
most to us has not been granted.
I’m thinking right now of certain people in our congregation who pray
faithfully week after week for their loved ones to be saved. Some of them
write notes each week asking prayer for an unsaved husband or wife. Week
in and week out the requests come in and the staff prays for them
faithfully.
Where is God? Why doesn’t he answer the fervent, heart-felt prayers of his
people?
Of the many answers that might be given to that question, one answer must
be that God’s timing and ours are often quite different. Sometimes we are
living in Eastern Daylight Time and God seems to be working in Pacific
Daylight Time.
Edward Dobson offers a helpful word at this point:
The issue is this: Is God in control, or is he not in control? If God is
in control, he is never early; he is never late. He is always right on
time. . . . God always operates on schedule. He on-time arrival schedule
is perfect. Never early. Never late. He never forgets and is always on
time.
3. Faith grows by believing God in spite of your circumstances.
Sometimes our circumstances make it easy to believe in God; other times we
have to struggle. I was deeply moved by the words of thanks from Stan and
Marge Utigard in last Sunday’s Calvary Family News. Many of you know that
Stan has been diagnosed with cancer and the outlook is not good. In the
note he and Marge thanked everyone for their prayers. Then they added this
sentence: “No matter what happens we are trusting in the Lord.” That’s
biblical faith rising above its circumstances to lay hold of the eternal
promises of God.
4. Faith is obeying God, one step at a time.
This principle is often overlooked by those seeking to do God’s will. God
promised a child and Abraham desperately wanted to see the fulfillment of
that promise. So what does God tell him to do? Round up the animals for a
sacrifice. How do you get from there to the nursery? Abraham doesn’t have
a clue and God doesn’t tell him a thing. But Abraham now has a choice. He
can choose to obey God, round up the animals, and get ready for a
sacrifice, even though it doesn’t seem to connect with the son of his
dreams. Or he can argue with God or decide to take matters in his own
hands.
How often we stumble over this. We slight the near in favor of the far,
shirking the duties of day because we are dreaming about some distant
tomorrow. But until we have done what God has called us to do today we
will never be prepared for what he wants us to do tomorrow.
In the end 99% of life turns out to be humdrum, ordinary routine. It’s the
same old thing day after day. Yet out of the humdrum God is weaving an
unseen pattern that will lead us one day lead us in a new direction. Faith
means taking the next step—whatever it is—and walking with God wherever he
leads us. Sometimes it will make sense, other times it won’t. But we still
have take that step if we are going to do God’s will.
Can You Trust God?
Everything I’ve been trying to say in this message comes down to one
simple question: Can you trust God? Or better, Can God be trusted? More
and more I am convinced that this is the fundamental question of life: “Is
God good and can he be trusted to do what is right?” If the answer is yes,
then we can face the worst that life has to offer. If the answer is no,
then we’re no better off than the people who have no faith at all. In
fact, if the answer is no or if we’re not sure, then we really don’t have
any faith anyway.
Not long ago while doing a radio interview for a station in Yakima,
Washington I was asked how I could be so positive and confident when I
spoke about God’s will. The man asking the question seemed burdened with
many cares and difficulties. My answer went this way: “Twenty-two years
ago when my father died, I came face to face with the ultimate
unanswerable question of life. I didn’t know then why such a good man
would have to die at the young age of 56 or why he would leave my mother
and her four sons without a husband and a father. I had no clue about what
God was doing. In the years since then I have learned many things about
life, but I confess that I still don’t understand why my father died. It
doesn’t make any more sense to me now than it did then. I am older and
wiser but in the one question that really matters I have no answers. But I
have learned since then that faith is a choice you make. Sometimes you
choose to believe because of what you see, often you believe in spite of
what you can see. As I look to the world around me, many things remain
mysterious and unanswerable. But if there is no God, and if he is not
good, then nothing at all makes sense. I have chosen to believe because I
must believe. I truly have no other choice. If I sound confident, it is
only because I have learned through my tears that my only confidence is in
God and God alone.”
My older brother Andy is a urologist who recently lost a 20-year-old
patient to a rare form of kidney cancer. When he asked me in all
seriousness, “Why did he die?” I had no answer. But I felt no shame in
saying that. I have decided to believe that God is good and can be trusted
no matter what happens. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have the
strength to get out of bed every day.
“But I Can Trust”
Many of you recognize the name of J. Hudson Taylor, who founded the China
Inland Mission one hundred years ago. During the terrible days of the
Boxer Rebellion, when missionaries were being killed and captured, he went
through such an agony of soul that he could not pray. Writing in his
journal, he summarized his spiritual condition this way: “I can’t read. I
can’t think. I can’t pray. But I can trust.”
There will be times when we can’t read the Bible. Sometimes we won’t be
able to focus our thoughts on God at all. Often we will not even be able
to pray. But in those moments when we can’t do anything else, we can still
trust in the loving purposes of our heavenly Father.
Fear not, child of God. No one knows that a day may bring. Who knows if we
will all make it through this week? But our God is faithful to keep every
one of his promises. Nothing can happen to us except it first pass through
the hands of God. If your way is dark, keep on believing. His eye is on
the sparrow, and I know he cares for you. (Click
to read full sermon How to Overcome Fear)
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