ISAIAH 41:10
ABOUT OUR GOD
A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26, 1997. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.”
And for plenty of good reasons, since it:
· 1. Can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.
· 2. It is a major component in acid rain.
· 3. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.
· 4. Accidental inhalation can kill you.
· 6. It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
· 7. It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.
He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical. Forty-three said yes, six were undecided, and only one knew that the chemical was H20 (water). The title of his prize-winning project was, “How Gullible Are We?” He feels the conclusion is obvious. Source Unkown
"When you fear that the worst will happen, your own thoughts may help to bring it about. “Fear,” a writer once said, “Is the wrong use of imagination. It is anticipating the worst, not the best that can happen.”
"A salesman, driving on a lonely country road one dark and rainy night had a flat. He opened the trunk—no lug wrench.
The light from a farmhouse could be seen dimly up the road. He set out on foot through the driving rain.
Surely the farmer would have a lug wrench he could borrow, he thought.
· Of course, it was late at night—the farmer would be asleep in his warm, dry bed.
· Maybe he wouldn’t answer the door.
· And even if he did, he’d be angry at being awakened in the middle of the night.
· The salesman, picking his way blindly in the dark, stumbled on. By now his shoes and clothing were soaked.
· Even if the farmer did answer his knock, he would probably shout something like, “What’s the big idea waking me up at this hour!”
· This thought make the salesman angry. What right did that farmer have to refuse him the loan of a lug wrench? After all, here he was stranded in the middle of nowhere, soaked to the skin.
· The farmer was a selfish clod—no doubt about that! The salesman finally reached the house, and banged loudly on the door.
· A light went on inside, and a window opened above. “Who is it?” a voice called out.
· “You know … who it is,” yelled the salesman, his face white with anger. “It’s me! You can keep your blasted lug wrench. I wouldn’t borrow it now if you had the last one on earth!” Source Unknown
I've tried to use the comical approach to what is often a serious problem. The problem is fear. At one time or another, most of us have been gripped with fear.
· We have been afraid that things which happened in the past can hurt is in the present.
· We have been afraid of what people think.
· We have been afraid of what people would do.
· We have been afraid of the future.
· We have been afraid of circumstances.
We have been afraid of ourselves.
We have been afraid of any number of things.
One of the forms fear takes is that of worry. When we are afraid of something, we worry over it. As we continually worry, we make life miserable for ourselves, and for those who have to listen to us worry!
The ironic thing about our fears, is God doesn't want us to fear, as long as we fear Him!
Luke 12:4-5 - And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
The person who fears God, of course, is the person who has trusted Christ as his Savior.
Continuing our Lord's thoughts in Luke 12, look at Vss. 6-7.
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
This is not the only time that God tells not to fear.
Psalm 27:1 - The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
John 14:1 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
There are many other verses which tell us not to fear or worry.
But one of my favorites is our text for this evening:
Isaiah 41:10 - 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.
God is originally speaking to Israel here, but I believe that this verse is applicable to all born again Christians.
Notice please that God tells us not to fear. This is a command. When we fear things God tells us not to fear, we are disobeying God!
What I like about the passage is that this verse tells us why we shouldn't fear. And these reasons are centered on God! In telling us not to fear, Isaiah is telling us something about God. In fact there are five things which we learn about our God here which should help keep us from living in fear and worry. In this passage we learn:
OUR GOD IS PRESENT - Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
OUR GOD IS PERSONAL - be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
OUR GOD IS POWERFUL - I will strengthen thee;
OUR GOD IS PRACTICAL - yea, I will help thee;
OUR GOD IS PERMANENT - yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
OUR GOD IS PRESENT - Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
On any given day, where will you go where God is not present?
Will you go to the store without God being present?
Will you go to work or school without God being present?
Will you stay home without God being present?
Will you go to a state or a country where God is not present?
Will you face people when God is not present?
Will you face trouble when God is not present?
Will you face a new situation when God is not present?
The answer to all of these questions is no!
You will not go anywhere without God being present.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
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.
Christian, you aren't going anywhere without God today!
All you need to do is realize it! You are never alone!
"The story is told in Beams of Light of a timid prisoner who committed a minor infraction and was sentenced to spend the night in a dark, isolated cell - deep inside the prison walls. The inmates feared the silent, total darkness of that cell almost as much as death itself. As the man was led down to it, the dank and loathsome air seemed to choke him. The heavy door clanked shut, and he knew a long, lonely night was before him - far beyond the sound of any human voice.
As he sank to the floor in despair, he thought he heard the sound of footsteps. Then a voice said softly, I'm the prison chaplain. I knew you could not stand it alone, so I've come to be with you. I will be here as long as you are. Because the grateful prisoner knew that another person was with him in the darkness, his lonely chamber became a place of rest.” Source Unknown
In the darkness of uncertainty,
In the darkness of adversity,
In the darkness of misunderstanding,
In the darkness of pain,
Our Lord Jesus comes to us, and says, "I'll spend the night with you." Or he might say, "I'll spend the day with you." He tells you that you are never alone!
OUR GOD IS PRESENT - Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
OUR GOD IS PERSONAL - be not dismayed; for I am thy God
Some people think that is rather impersonal and not concerned about each individual. Some think that God is so busy running the universe that he has no time for specific people.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is God everywhere, as we saw a few moments ago, but He also knows everything.
Psalm 139:1-6 - O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
When God says to the Christian, I am thy God, it reminds me that God and I have a very special relationship. He is my Father, and I am His son.
1 John 3:1-2 - Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
Psalm 103:11 - Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
"An article in the November 1987 Reader's Digest… was about "enhanced 911," an important addition to the emergency telephone call program. Where this system is in operation, a person who dials 911 doesn't have to tell the operator his location. His name, address, and phone number appears immediately on an operator's screen.
"Enhanced 911" has been a dramatic success. For example, a 6-year-old boy called 911 to report that his house was on fire. Even while the operator was telling the frightened boy what to do, fire equipment was being sent. A terrified girl called to say that a man was trying to break into her home. Within 3 minutes an arrest was being made and the child was safe. And in another city, a girl whispered to a 911 operator that a man was hurting her mother, and then hung up. Police arrived in time to capture a rapist.
"God too hears the cries of His people. Whenever we call on Him, and from whatever situation, we can know that He is listening and that He answers." http://elbourne.org/sermons/index.mv?illustration+4473
OUR GOD IS PRESENT - Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
OUR GOD IS PERSONAL - be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
OUR GOD IS POWERFUL - I will strengthen thee;
One of the great problems we have is that we just do not realize how strong our God is. But let's remember that it is our God who created the Heavens and the earth. It is God who has given us all the magnificent creatures in nature.
It is God who controls the weather. It is God who is sovereign. Nobody reigns unless God allows them to reign, not even Mr. Bush.
Romans 13:1 - Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Now if all of this weren't enough, consider part of Paul's prayer for the believers in Ephesus.
Ephesians 1:18-23 - The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
When God says in Isaiah 41:10, "I will strengthen thed", He has the power to strengthen us to face anything we have to face. He has the power to keep us through whatever situation we have to face.
Sometimes it's easy for us to want to give up. But as God provides strength, some great things can happen.
"Some years ago in a little town in Scotland a young lady applied to the superintendent of a Sunday school for a class to teach. At his suggestion she gathered a class of poor boys. The superintendent invited them to his house and promised each boy a new suit of clothes if they would come. So they came, and each was fitted with a new suit.
"The worst and most unpromising boy was named Bob. After two or three Sundays he was missing. The teacher went out to look for him and found him with his new clothes torn and dirty. She invited him back to the Sunday school and he came. Again the superintendent gave him a suit of clothes. Again he was missing after several Sundays. Again the teacher found him with clothes torn and dirty.
"Completely discouraged the teacher went to the superintendent ready to give up on Bob! But the superintendent prevailed upon her to try once more. He promised another suit of clothes if Bob would attend regularly. So Bob promised and received his third set of clothes. He began to attend regularly and became interested in the school.
ISAIAH 41:10 - PAGE 10
He received Christ, joined the church, became a teacher, and later studied for the ministry. The end of the story is
that this boy, Robert Morrison, became a great missionary to China. He translated the Bible into the Chinese language and opened the way for million to read the Bible."
My friend such is the power of God. The teacher and the Sunday school teacher did not give up, and God worked through them and the Sunday School, not only to save a soul but to send a translator of the Bible to China. Source Unknown
OUR GOD IS PRESENT - Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
OUR GOD IS PERSONAL - be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
OUR GOD IS POWERFUL - I will strengthen thee;
OUR GOD IS PRACTICAL - yea, I will help thee;
God says, "Don't fear. Don't worry. I'm help!"
Christianity is a very practical religion.
Not only does God have the strength to help, but the ability to help.
You folks know all about helping people.
I've seen you deliver meals to the sick.
I've seen you come together to put on a Sportsmen's dinner.
I've seen the men break up a concrete slab, haul some of it away and use the rest a base on which to have limestone poured.
I've seen the Willing Workers be the "Willing Workers", doing projects for the nursing homes and for Child Evangelism Fellowship.
You know all about helping. Helping is practical. Helping means getting things get done.
And our practical God says, I will help you.
Got a problem? God will help.
Want to work for the Lord? God will help.
Do you need wisdom? God will help.
Do you need supplies? God will help.
He says "I will help thee."
"John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave.
A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to
Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station. Unknown Source
OUR GOD IS PRESENT - Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
OUR GOD IS PERSONAL - be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
OUR GOD IS POWERFUL - I will strengthen thee;
OUR GOD IS PRACTICAL - yea, I will help thee;
OUR GOD IS PERMANENT - yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Many a parent has taken care of children, even adult children who were not able to take care of themselves.
There came a day, however, when the care giver passed away. I remember my Pastor, who did about everything for his wife, although she was capable. After he passed away, she had to learn to do things herself.
But when God says I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness, that's forever! God will always be there for us!
So we are reminded that we have nothing to fear when we fear God. That's because we have learned a few things about our God this morning.
OUR GOD IS PRESENT - Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
OUR GOD IS PERSONAL - be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
OUR GOD IS POWERFUL - I will strengthen thee;
OUR GOD IS PRACTICAL - yea, I will help thee;
OUR GOD IS PERMANENT - yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.