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; 4For 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 shalltread upon, that haveI 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. 8Be 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: 10For 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.
