INL December 2, 2005  

SOUNDING OUT:
God Is With You!

  There is a very basic and fundamental awareness that we all must develop to live as more than conquerors in this world. We should constantly recognize that GOD IS WITH US. This awareness goes a long way towards allowing us to eliminate fear from our lives.

  David was a shepherd and knew first hand of the care and concern that true shepherds had for their sheep.

Psalm 23:1-6 {A Psalm of David.}
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. [We lack nothing because the Lord our Shepherd provides for us exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think!]
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: [WHY] for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

  I want to take some time to just run through different illustrations of believers in the Bible who were directed to eliminate fear, recognizing that God was with them.

Genesis 26:24:
And the LORD appeared unto him [Isaac] the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

Genesis 28:13-15:
And, behold, the LORD stood above it [This refers to the ladder in Jacob’s dream.], and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14 And thy [Jacob’s] seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

  God will do what He promised, as He promised. He will not desert us and let His words fall to the ground. He stays with us to perform all His good promises to us.

Exodus 3:9-12a:
Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee [Moses] unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

  What token do you have of God’s presence with you? You have holy spirit and you can manifest it. Anytime you speak in tongues, you know He is with you, and working in you to will and do of His good pleasure.

Deuteronomy 20:1-4:
When thou [God’s people] goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: [WHY?] for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;
4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

Joshua 1:1-9:
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your [Joshua’s] foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Judges 6:12-16:
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him [Gideon], and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

1 Chronicles 28:20:
And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

Isaiah 41:10:
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

  This is not the typical word for dismay. The Hebrew word for fear is used over 300 times, but this word for dismay is used only 15 times. Only twice is it translated dismay, and that is when it is used in the hithpael or reflective conjugation. Then it means to make oneself look in dismay or to gaze about in anxiety. We become dismayed like this when we look about at our circumstances, and lose awareness that God is with us no matter what is going on about us.
“Yea” is a conjunction denoting addition, especially of something greater or more emphatic. It could be translated “so much the more” or “furthermore” or “more than this” or “not only this, but”

Isaiah 41:10-13:
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea [more than this], I will help thee; yea [not only this, but], I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee….

Jeremiah 1:4-8,17-19:
Then the word of the LORD came unto me [Jeremiah], saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

  How often do we make excuses? I’m too young; I’m too old; I’m too, whatever… Jeremiah did, but what did God tell him?

7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound [same word as “dismayed”] thee before them.
18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; [WHY?] for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.

  These were all examples from the Old Testament, when God’s people were not born again of God’s spirit as we are today. We have so much more. Is God with us? You bet He is. He is not only with us; He is in us permanently by seed. Remember in John 14:17 Jesus told his apostles they had not seen anything yet. For speaking of the spirit he said, “For he dwelleth with you and shall be in you.”

  How great to have God always with us, but for us the truth is even greater: He is in us through incorruptible seed.

Acts 18:9-11:
Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. [He was in Corinth at the time.]
11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

  God is with us; who is going to hurt us? He has established a permanent relationship with us, and He has promised to never leave or forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5,6:
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

  Or as it is punctuated in Psalms 118:6.

Psalm 118:6:
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

  Because we know that God is with us we confidently move forth on His Word knowing He will never leave us or forsake us. Let’s be strong and of a good courage so that we observe and do all that He has asked of us.