Perfect Security
We can live in perfect security by trusting in God's love and care for us, and being convinced of His sovereign power.
Zac Poonen emphasizes that as children of an Almighty Father, we should not live in fear or anxiety, as doing so undermines our faith in His care and power. He illustrates this with a poem about birds, highlighting that if we truly believed in God's love, we would not worry. Poonen reassures us that God's providence is evident in our lives from before birth, and trusting in His plan leads to perfect security and rest. He cites the story of Joseph to demonstrate how God can turn evil into good for those who remain faithful. Ultimately, our unbelief is what hinders us from experiencing the fullness of God's promises and protection.
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We have an Almighty Father and so we're certainly not orphans. Let's not behave like orphans then. When you're fearful or anxious, you're insulting your heavenly Father - for you are thereby saying that you have no confidence in Him, that you feel He can't do anything for you in your difficult situation, either because He is powerless or because He doesn't care! That is the testimony of an unbelieving heart.
If you really believed that God loved you and cared for you and was Almighty, why would you ever need to be anxious? There's a poem about a two birds that has often challenged me:
Said the robin to the sparrow, "I would really like to know
Why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the robin, "Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly father such as cares for you and me."
Jesus said "Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows." (Matt. 10:31). If Jesus is Lord of our life, and we have no ambition on earth, but to do the will of God, then we can be sure that "all things WILL work together for our good," whatever may happen to us or around us (Rom. 8:28).
God wants us to live in perfect security in His Fatherly love and care for us. We must be convinced that His care for us began even before we were born. He was the One Who determined who our parents should be, what our temperament should be, how much education we would receive, where we would live etc., Once we are convinced of this, we will find that we live in perfect rest, without a single complaint against our circumstances or our parents or anyone else (Psa. 139:16).
God can make even the anger of man to praise Him (Psa. 76:10). One of the clearest examples of this is found in the life of Joseph. If you read Genesis chapters 37 to 50, you'll see how God's sovereign power made all the evil things that different people did to Joseph, to work together for his good, just because he was faithful to his God.
God promised the Israelites that those who honoured their parents would live long on the earth (Eph. 6:2,3). How could God promise that unless He was able to keep each such person from being murdered by an enemy and from dying of cancer or an accident etc., God is well able to do that - even today. It's only our unbelief that prevents us from enjoying the benefits of God's sovereign power.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Insult of Fearfulness
- A. Fearfulness is an insult to our heavenly Father
- B. It shows a lack of confidence in His power and love
- II. The Assurance of God's Love
- A. God's love and care for us began before we were born
- B. He determines our circumstances and our lives
- III. The Promise of Perfect Security
- A. God can make even evil things work for our good
- B. He is able to keep us safe from harm
- IV. The Need for Faith
- A. Unbelief prevents us from enjoying God's sovereign power
- B. We must be convinced of God's love and care for us
Key Quotes
“If you really believed that God loved you and cared for you and was Almighty, why would you ever need to be anxious?” — Zac Poonen
“God can make even the anger of man to praise Him” — Zac Poonen
“Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows” — Zac Poonen
Application Points
- We must be convinced of God's love and care for us in order to live in perfect security.
- Trusting in God's sovereign power can help us overcome fear and anxiety.
- We must read and trust in God's Word in order to know His promises and live in faith.