Be not afraid

Genesis chapter 3 please. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 9. And the Lord called unto Adam and said unto him, where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. I was afraid.

Brother, sister, are you ever afraid? Lots of things can make people afraid. We know little kids, they're afraid of the dark and the boogeyman. Some people are afraid of spiders, some of heights, some of snakes, and there's all kinds of things that make people afraid.

How about you and me? What are you afraid of? Some people are afraid of their present circumstances, wondering what's going to happen. Wondering about the future makes them afraid. Just talking with somebody yesterday and they're not that old but they're starting to feel aches and pains and they told me they were afraid of what's coming.

Some people are afraid of dying. Others are afraid of their finances, their job, what's going to happen. I've had young people tell me they're afraid of what others think, the peer pressure.

They're afraid of loneliness. You know, we read here the first mention of fear in the Bible and really these words are among Adam's first words after the fall. I was afraid.

Fear is one of man's basic instincts and how we handle it is very critical because it can cripple us in many ways. It can result in wrong behaviors. It can keep us from enjoying the Lord.

It can keep us from worship. It can keep us from serving. It can keep us from the will of God.

Is fear doing that to you in any of these areas? You know, it's interesting that the words fear and its various forms and the word afraid, just those two words are found hundreds of times in our King James Bibles, actually 700. The Lord knows what we're like. It's also interesting the number of times that he says, fear not and be not afraid, over and over again.

Fear not, be not afraid. Is it possible not to be afraid? Adam was afraid here. I'd like to look with you just briefly at three occasions in the Bible when the Lord says, don't be afraid.

We're going to look at a situation where there's difficulty, when there's disappointment, and when there's darkness. First of all, look with me in Joshua chapter 1. Joshua chapter 1. I guess if you don't have a fearful bone in your body, then you can go to sleep for a few minutes here. Joshua chapter 1, verse 1. Now after the death of Moses, a servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead.

Now therefore arise and go over this Jordan, thou and all his people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. Verse 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. Be strong and of a good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them.

Verse 9. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. Don't panic, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest.

Now it's easy just to read through here and not realize the difficult assignment that Joshua had. I mean, he had to take over from Moses, he was going to be the leader of God's people. He was to take them into the land where there were enemies, walled cities, giants, no little thing.

Brother, sister, do you have a difficult assignment these days? I mean, at work or school? Do you have a boss or a teacher or professor that's unreasonable and you just dread going to work or school on Monday or any other day? How about in the home? Difficulties with your husband, your wife, your children? You feel that you're not all on the same page. It causes fear. How about the assembly? Difficulties there? Personalities? Maybe the smallness, only a few sets of eyes looking back at you.

Faults are magnified. And then in the personal realm, difficulties, maybe behaviors in your life that you know need to change and they don't seem to be changing. And we could go on here.

Difficult assignments. What did the Lord say to Joshua in his difficulty? He says, don't be afraid, don't panic. Why? Because I'm with you.

I'm with you. Brother, sister, I don't have to tell you, this can make all the difference. Just a sense of the Lord's presence, that he's with us.

The one who has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. But sometimes the difficulty can be so big and the Lord's presence seems so small when it's actually quite the reverse. You know, I didn't read verses 7 and 8, but notice the importance of the Word of God here.

In verse 8, we read this book of the law, the Lord's talking to Joshua, this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, we shall meditate therein day and night. Meditating on the Word of God. You know, if we're going to chew on it, if we're going to think about it, we need to read it day by day.

Meditating on it. You know, we can be reading something like this in verse 9, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go, and if you're like me, ten minutes later forget all about it, and some difficulty can eclipse any sense of his presence. I know I need to be absorbing the Word of God day by day and throughout the day.

But not only to meditate on it, it goes on in verse 8, thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. So meditating upon it and by the grace of God putting it into practice, but then back in verse 7, he says, turn not from it to the right hand or to the left. Now mention has been made about this already.

So easy for us, creatures of extremes, to go to the left or to the right. You know, we can go to the left and think God's standards don't matter, and just do whatever we want to do, and maybe there were those in the assembly in Corinth, they just did what they wanted to do. But you know, it's equally wrong going to the right.

Going beyond the Word of God, like the Pharisees in the Lord's day, just living by a set of rules, man-made rules, both are equally wrong. The Lord says, turn not from it to the right hand or to the left. May the Lord help us just to understand his word, not come short of it, not go beyond it, so we can be reminded that because we've been bought with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is alive forevermore, we don't need to be afraid when there's difficulty, because he's with us.

You know, I enjoyed what our brother Bergsman was saying about the risen Christ. You know, it's the death of Christ that secures our position. It's the risen Christ that helps us with our condition in our day-to-day lives as believers.

The one who's the same yesterday, today, and forever, never changes. He says, I'm with you. And you know, maybe you've thought like I have, in difficulties, if the Lord were to be with us physically, like he was with the disciples when he was here on earth, would we be afraid if we could actually see him and even hold his hand? Likely not.

Is he any less present? See, that's why the Word of God is so important. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Laying hold of these truths, it's one thing to know it, it's another thing to live in the good of them.

So, in difficulties, his presence makes all the difference. What did the Lord say to Joshua with his difficulty? I mean, listen, Joshua could have said, it's too big for me, and went the other way. And there's always the temptation for you and me, in our difficulties, to pack it in, go the other way, and not trust him.

The Lord wants us to have that sense of his presence. Don't be afraid, don't panic, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Look with me in Mark chapter 5. Mark chapter 5 and verse 22.

Mark 5 and 22. And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. And when he saw him, the Lord Jesus, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lies at the point of death.

I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed, and she shall live. And Jesus went with him, and much people followed him, and thronged him. And a certain woman, and then we get the account of this woman with the issue of blood, down to verse 35.

While he had spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. Verse 38.

And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the two-moth, and them that wept and wailed greatly. Verse 40. And they laughed him to scorn.

But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with them, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said to her, Talitha cume, which is being interpreted damsel, I say unto thee arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked.

For she was of the age of twelve years, and they were astonished with a great astonishment. Now here this man Jairus comes to the Lord for help, and he believed that if the Lord would come and lay hands on his daughter who was dying, that she would be healed. Well you know what happened, the Lord starts to go with him, and then there's another need, this woman with the issue of blood, and the Lord takes time to meet her need.

And while he's doing this, somebody comes from Jairus's house and says, you don't need to bother the master any longer, your daughter is dead. How do you think Jairus felt at that moment? How would you feel? Do you think he was a little bit disappointed? Crushed? Afraid? Brother, sister, are you ever disappointed in the way the Lord does things with you? Do you ever feel the Lord has let you down? Are you ever disappointed in God when things don't work out the way you expect them to? I mean I'm sure Jairus was thinking, now the Lord, he's coming and everything's going to be okay. And suddenly everything wasn't okay.

You know, Jairus could have said, see you Lord, I thought you're going to help me. I'm sure he was bewildered, disappointed, but then the Lord says to him, the Lord knew what he was experiencing, what he was thinking, what he was feeling. And he says in verse 36, don't be afraid, only believe.

You know, if we feel that the Lord has let us down, if we're disappointed in him, it can be hard to trust him. And when it's hard to trust him, it's so easy to be afraid, isn't it? Anybody here today and that's where you're at? The Lord said to Jairus, don't be afraid, just believe. Just trust me.

You know, there are times in all of our lives as believers when we don't understand, when the unexpected happens. The test is, can we trust him even in this? Somebody has said, when there's some doubt as to what the Lord is doing, give him the benefit of the doubt. Brother, sister, the last chapter in Jairus' life wasn't written when Jairus heard that his daughter was dead.

The last chapter wasn't written. Just imagine if he had said goodbye to the Lord, that's it, I'm out of here, what he would have missed. And you know, the last chapter in your life and mine hasn't been written either.

In times of disappointment, when we don't understand, it's good to hear these words of the Lord to Jairus, don't be afraid, just believe. But I like to read one more instance when the Lord said, don't be afraid. Look with me in Matthew chapter 14.

Matthew chapter 14, verse 22. And straightway or immediately, Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him unto the other side while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray.

And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it's a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.

This was a dark time for the disciples. It was night. There was a storm.

We read that the ship was tossed with the waves. They were tossed, literally tormented, up and down, bobbing on the waves. And the wind was in their face.

They seemed to be on their own. The Lord hadn't come. And they're probably tired.

They're weary. It's between three and six in the morning. They've been out there for hours.

A dark time. Now, it doesn't take too much imagination to apply this into the lives of Christians, and maybe some even here today. While you're in a comfortable room, yet it's a dark time.

There's a storm, and you feel like a cork up and down. The wind is in your face, not in your sails. It's hard going.

You don't have that sense of the Lord's presence, and you're weary. This storm, this darkness has gone on for quite a while. Well, this is a situation these disciples were in.

And as they look out in their darkness, what they see scares them half to death. And they cry out for fear. What do you see, brother, sister, as you look out in your darkness? Does it cause you great fear? Notice what the Lord says to them, to the disciples in their storm, in their darkness.

He says, be of good cheer, or take courage, take heart. He says, it is I. Literally, I am. The great I am.

The storm didn't bother him. The darkness didn't bother him. The one who created the universe, who sustains the universe, who's keeping that heart of yours beating, brother, sister.

He says, I am. He's in your darkness. He's in your storm.

And he says, don't be afraid. What makes all the difference? In times of darkness, it's his person, who he is, his power over the storm. This storm didn't go on forever.

Neither did the darkness. And our storms, our darkness, won't go on forever either. Fear.

How well do we handle it? Or is it handling us? Is it crippling us, keeping us from the will of God, from bringing honor to the Lord Jesus? In times of difficulty, the Lord said to Joshua, be not afraid, I'm with you. Times of disappointment, the Lord said to Jairus, be not afraid, only believe. Times of darkness, Lord said to his disciples, be of good cheer.

It is I. Brother, sister, can we take this to heart? Be not afraid.