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
jesus said in john 16 33 in this world
you will have trouble
you don’t have to go looking for trouble
just keep living and trouble will come
and find you
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but it’s while you and i go through it
that we get to really see the details
about who our god is
and listen he wants to be known he wants
to reveal himself to you he doesn’t want
you and i to be satisfied just hearing
about him at the conference or at church
he’s so glad that we hear about him but
he wants and you and i should want more
than anything to experience this god of
the bible
that the same power we see demonstrated
in the miracles of scripture they become
the reality of our life that we don’t
just think this stuff is good for other
people that that we believe it’s true
for us as well
that the same god who divided the red
sea is the same god who can divide the
problems of our life the same god who
raised lazarus from the dead is the
exact same god who has the strength and
the power to raise to life something in
your life or in mind that seems like it
will never be resurrected again
he wants to be known and so he takes you
through it he allows you to go through
it for the privilege of bringing you out
on the other side bringing me out on the
other side more fully aware of the glory
of god exodus chapter 14
the children of israel have been
released from about 400 years of
captivity
and they are on a journey in the
wilderness headed toward the promised
land in the midst of this adventure with
god he’s going to take them through
something
there’s a problem there’s a scenario
there’s a situation there’s a difficulty
that they cannot figure out for the life
of them how they’re going to be able to
get across this difficulty so that they
can move forward with god just like so
many of us that are in a group this size
there have to be more than a handful of
us who are right now staring at what
looks like a very impossible and
seemingly impassable
situation and you cannot for the life of
you figure out how you’re going to be
able to get through this thing so that
you can move forward to what it is that
god has for you the children of israel
know exactly how you feel if you’ve ever
been in that scenario because as they
try to move forward towards the
the land of milk and honey that
represents the grace and the favor the
the promises the provision of god in the
land of canaan they come across a
problem called the red sea
moses says to the people
do not
fear stand by and see the salvation
which he will accomplish for you today
for the egyptians whom you’ve seen today
you will never see them again forever
the lord will fight for you while you
keep silence
four things i want to share with any of
you that are going through something
right now in your life
or that will ever go through something
in your life that’s all of us
moses said to the children of israel the
four exact things that the holy spirit
of god wants to say to you and i today
he says be fearless
do not fear
he says be still
stand by he says be watchful
see the salvation of the lord
and he says
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be
quiet
i want to hand you back the power my
friend of the four things that moses
tells the children of israel is their
ticket through so that they can move
forward with god
the very first and i think most critical
of the four is that moses says to the
children of israel
be
fearless
he says do
not be afraid
this principle of choosing to live
fearlessly oh my goodness you and i in
the church of jesus christ across the
planet and especially in this bible
teaching church have heard so much about
this issue this principle of being
fearless of not being afraid we’ve heard
it so much that sometimes we wonder
whether or not we should even talk about
it anymore because we’ve all just heard
it so much that that fear can paralyze
us we wonder if i even sometimes wonder
man is it a waste of time to spend too
much
time this morning on this one principle
i thought about that this morning before
i came they’ve heard that all before but
it is fear that the enemy will use more
than anything else to you and to
cause you to be disabled from doing what
god has for you that’s why moses needed
to say to the children of israel the
exact same thing god’s spirit wants to
say to you again this morning
do
not
be afraid
y’all this issue of fear it is important
and it was so critical that in the
scriptures some rendition of this
command is given over 300
times
it is said in different ways different
variations but it’s basically the same
thing fear not
do not be afraid
be fearless
fear ye not over and over and over again
in different ways god wants to say to us
the exact same thing in fact it is so
critical and so important to him that he
gets to the new testament and paul
writes a letter to a young man named
timothy and he says tim this is what you
need to know that he has not given us a
spirit of fear
he says of all the important things
timothy that you need to know in your
life and in this ministry that god is
sending you through
to as you go through things in this
journey of life that you will inevitably
go through he says would you remember
that what our god does not give and by
the way our god is in the gift-giving
business
but one thing that he will never wrap up
and tie a bow on to give to you
is fear
he gives power
and love
and a sound
mind
there’s just so much going on in your
life but what god does give to you is
that sense of strength and stability to
carry you and i through whatever it is
that he uh brings into our life or
allows into our lives he does not give
fear
if we believe that our god does not give
a spirit of fear
but you find or i find in my life
that there is a spirit of fear attached
to something specific in your life or in
your journey
an opportunity that you’re intimidated
by
a relationship an endeavor a ministry a
um
an interest of yours that just seems to
cause you to feel a little bit paralyzed
in insecurity or fear or fear if you and
i know what we know now based on the
scriptures that god does not give fear
but you sense that there is a spirit of
fear attached to something in your life
and you know god didn’t give it that
means you know who did
and if the enemy enemy has placed a
spirit of fear on something in your life
it must mean
that he is trying his best to keep you
away from something
and if he’s trying to keep you away from
it that must mean there’s something in
it that he does not want you to have
so as the children of israel sat on the
edge of the red sea
if they were to shrink back in fear and
not pass through it then he knew if he
could keep them from passing through it
they would also be kept from the
promised land on the other side of it
listen my friend if the spirit of fear
is attached to something in your life
would you know that that is likely the
enemy’s way to keep you from passing
through it because he knows if you pass
through it on the other side of it is
the destiny to which god has called you
and so one of the main ways that he will
keep you and i from achieving what it is
and doing what it is that god has called
us to do and who he’s called us to be is
that he will attach a spirit of fear to
the very thing that he knows is the
channel way to your destiny
he wants you and how to be so paralyzed
so crippled so disarmed so disinterested
from the very thing that he knows is
exactly what god wants to take you
through
so that he can bring you to a new place
in him
do not be afraid
do not be afraid
now listen it does not mean that you
won’t feel fear
it made sense in this scenario that the
children of israel would be afraid it
made complete sense they had just been
in 400 years of captivity they are just
several days really just hours even into
the wilderness when they come up against
a barrier that seems to uh abort them in
it seems like they’re going to be kept
from walking into true freedom it makes
sense that they would be afraid because
not only is this body of water in front
of them that they can’t see across nor
can they see a shoreline on the east or
the west but the problem is that now
pharaoh and his army is coming up on the
rear and listen scholars say that this
army would have been so wide and so vast
that they likely would have spanned
around the east side and the west side
of the hebrew pilgrims so not only are
they blocked in front and not only are
they blocked by an army and back but
really they are blocked on either side
as well in other words they are
completely surrounded
you know what it’s like to be surrounded
you know what it’s like to to fix this
problem right here only to turn this way
and realize there’s a problem right here
then to take care of this one only to
realize there’s another one here and
another one here anybody ever known what
it felt like to be completely surrounded
on all sides the children of israel know
how it feels and it makes sense that in
their scenario that they would be afraid
just like it makes sense that in your
scenario
with the difficulty you’re facing right
now in your marriage or in your health
or in your finances
so the command is not to
that you will not feel fear it makes
sense in our frailty in our humanness
that we will feel it
the question is whether or not you will
choose to wallow in the fear that you
feel
the question is whether or not you will
make a decision to sit with it to make
friends with it to pull out tea and
crackers and have a party with it
the decision that you and i have to make
is will we gird our minds with the word
of god and in the power of god will we
do war against the enemy’s attempts to
us from moving forward and go in
god
don’t let fear paralyze you my friend
every time you feel the emotion of fear
or insecurity or intimidation creeping
up on you don’t make friends with it
take that as your cue to drop to your
knees and to offer that fear up to god
and then in the very next breath command
the promises of god’s word over your
life and your circumstances
the reason why you have no reason to be
afraid my friend as god calls you to go
here or do that or go through this
particular thing in your life is not
because you’re so capable it’s not
because you’re so prepared it is because
you have a daddy who loves you he has
already gone behind the scenes he has
already orchestrated and
manipulated events and people and
circumstances so that all he needs is a
woman that’s willing to say yes lord and
stand there at the plate of his grace
and his glory and his a calling on your
life and to do what he’s called you to
do and if you and i will just do it
we will realize we’ve been set up to hit
a home run every single time
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so if right now there is something
crippling you the enemy is working
overtime to cause you to be afraid in
your life will you hear this message
from the holy spirit today step up to
the plate do not be afraid your god has
got your back
the next message that moses had for the
children of israel
and by the way do you notice in this
passage that it’s never really a debate
whether or not they are going to cross
over did you notice that
he said this victory is a victory that
he will accomplish for you today
there’s no question as to whether or not
you will come to through victor
victoriously my friend i don’t know
whether or not you’ve read the book but
but in the end we win
the victory has already been given to
you
your only goal my only goal now as you
go through that thing in your life is
just to claim to lay hold of what it is
that has already been granted to you you
are not fighting for victory you’re
fighting from a place of victory your
stance is already victorious it changes
the way you look at the challenge when
you know the victory is already yours
so he says to them he says be fearless
and the second thing he says to them is
be
still
some translations read stand by others
say stand firm
still others say stand still notice the
two parts of this command the standing
part and the stillness part
neither of which are particularly simple
for me
the standing and the stillness
actually i have a problem with both of
these commands problem with them
because if i had been there on the edge
of the red sea and i’m watching the
chariots and the bows and arrows and the
soldiers that are approaching from
behind and all around the sides when i
am cornered like that in a scenario
where i feel like there will never be
any way of escape in this particular
scenario that i’m in it just does not
make sense to me that moses would look
at me as an israelite in that particular
predicament and say here’s what you what
you’re going to do
i want you to just stand still
moses you mean you do see this wood
right here you don’t want me to get this
wood and start carving out a raft and
getting it together so that we’ll have
something to sail on to get over this
body of water
moses you do see that we’ve got some
swords here you don’t want me to pick up
this sword and get ready to fight mo you
do understand that i’ve got a bow and a
arrow here you don’t want me to pick up
this bow and arrow and get ready to
shoot it into the crowd moses you mean
you don’t want me to take my earrings
off and get some vaseline on my knuckles
and get ready to go
no moses says to them i do not want you
to lean to your own understanding as to
what you would think would be the best
solution in this particular problem what
i want you to do is to plant your feet
firmly to stand and i want you to be
still in faith and confidence and trust
that the god that we serve the same god
that delivered us out of egypt is the
same god who will carry us through the
red sea he says stand still sounds like
a very passive command in the midst of
very active circumstances but i want you
to think about this for just one
second when i come home from a long day
of work when you do as well or running
errands or whatever when i walk into the
house after a long day the last thing i
want to do is stand
what i do is i take my shoes off and
then i what do we do
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we sit
we find the most comfortable chair that
we can
and we collapse into it or lay flat on
our bed and the reason is because all
those standing seems like a passive
action
it actually there’s nothing passive
about it sitting is passive
laying is passive because then we’re
allowing something else to carry our
weight
but when you stand it requires a
decision of your brain that transfers
down to the muscles and the joints in
your body it requires a resolve of your
mind your actions your muscles your your
frame to keep itself upright when you’d
rather just relax
into something else to carry your weight
standing is not passive at all
it requires a decision
a choice
an action on your part a resolution on
your part to plant your feet on
something and not
be
moved
you need to know that our culture the
culture in which we live globally wants
us to relax our standards
wants us to no longer plant our feet
firmly on the word of god doesn’t want
us to make a resolution that we will not
be moved to the left or the right that
when we’re going through something that
seeks to challenge everything that we
thought we knew to be true about our god
and about his commands what we will not
do is allow our feet to be moved away
from the firm belief and confidence and
trust that we have in the promises of
our great god it takes resolution in the
culture in which we live y’all to plant
your feet and stand firm
high school student you gotta stand firm
university student you to stand firm
wife mother single woman in order to do
and be who it is that god has called you
to be you and i are going to have to
plant our feet solidly on the truths of
god’s word and believe that everything
he said is true and applies to our lives
that it’s not just a book written with
historical facts that’s good for history
that it is a book that has been inspired
by the holy spirit of god and that
applies to us today plant your feet on
it my friend and stand
stand firm
ephesians 6 puts it this way having done
everything to stand
stand firm therefore
in other words you just keep on standing
i know that it might be a little bit
tiring a little bit exhausting you might
feel pushed to the left or the right you
might even want to take a step forward
or backward or go out in your own power
or your own strength come up with your
own solution for this incident or this
issue
just plant your feet
trust god
and stand firm
he really does have your back
and if god is for you
who can be against you
i wonder how much sweat and how many
sleepless nights and how much
frustration and how much worry and
concern and anxiety would be saved us
the daughters of god if we would just
believe that our father wrote exactly
what he wanted us to plant our feet and
stand on
do not lean to your own understanding
in all your ways just acknowledge him he
will make straight your path even when
it does not make sense even when it
doesn’t seem rational that this would be
the way to come to any sort of
resolution in that particular problem
that you’re facing lord you don’t want
me to do this this just seems like a
better option to me lord no no plant
your feet on what i said
and stand still
trust god
so moses says you want to get through
this thing you be fearless and then he
says you be still and thirdly he says be
watchful
i love this one so much he puts it this
way he told the children of israel see
the salvation of the lord now remember
they have no idea at this point that the
lord is going to cause that yahweh is
going to cause the walls or the red sea
to divide like two walls on either side
they have no clue what miracle is is
even going to be performed if a miracle
is going to be performed they have no
clue at all so they are still looking at
the problem as it currently is
and with the red sea rushing in front of
them with complete doubt in their mind
as to how they’ll ever be able to
traverse this particular issue that they
are facing moses says to them see it
he says see the salvation of the lord
before the miracle now he’s not talking
about when the miracle comes he’s saying
before you have any clue of how god is
going to take care of this scenario i
want you to open up your eyes
and see what’s happening right now
now this is a problem for me i got to
tell you rebecca because when i have a
problem in my life the last thing i want
to do is look at it
i want to close my eyes and sleep
through it i want god to hurry up and
let it pass
i want to rush through that thing and
miss as much of it as i possibly can so
that i can just move on to the good
stuff moses says don’t wait on the good
stuff this is the good stuff
he says while you’re looking at your
problem your marriage is still a
disaster your child is still struggling
with that issue your health still hasn’t
been turned around your finances are
still on the edge while you’re still
looking at the issue moses says open up
your eyes and see what god is already up
to
he says there are a bunch of little
miracles that if you’re just waiting on
the big miracle you’re going to miss all
the other things that god is already
doing and accomplishing on your behalf
moses is basically saying i don’t want
you to miss what it looks like i want
you to always recall what it looked like
when i stood on the edge of this water
and i held out this rod over the body of
water before we even knew what was going
to occur i want you to remember forever
what it looked like the expression on
the faces of your toddlers and your
elderly as they watched the red sea
divide i want you to remember what it
felt like to hold the hands of your
sweet little grandma that you helped get
across that body of water i want you to
remember the details of what it felt
like when that east wind starts to blow
slowly at first across your cheeks but
then begins to grow and grow in
intensity so much so that you’ve got to
hold your cloak around you or the wind
will take it away when that red sea
begins to divide i want you to never
forget what it looked like when your
sandal feet had absolutely no mud on the
bottom of them because we’re walking
across on dry ground he says don’t just
wait to see the big miracle there are a
bunch of little miracles that god is
already doing on your behalf keep your
eyes open and see the salvation of the
lord
so listen to me my friend while you’re
yet praying for a miracle i mean keep
praying you stay on your knees the
scripture says you and i can make our
requests known for god and so we pray
lord would you divide that red sea lord
would you change my doctor uh my medical
uh the uh the report that has been given
lord would you help my child lord would
you take away this addiction lord would
you smooth out this path on my job or in
my ministry lord would you help my
marriage to stop always hanging on by a
threat and cause us to be um just
fervent in our love for each other and
passionate and have peace and friendship
here you and i keep praying for the
miracle but in the meanwhile we thank
him for what he’s done this 24-hour
period we thank him for the miracles
he’s already accomplishing on be on our
behalf we do not forget the benefits of
the lord even while we’re praying for
and looking forward to how he’s going to
divide the red seas in our life
you be watchful
see the salvation of the lord