The Salvation of the Lord 1
Fear Not
Exodus 14:13
And Moses said to
the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord,
which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today,
you shall see again no more forever.
To set the stage
for you, the Israelites had left Egypt after the death of the firstborn in what
we know as the Passover. Pharaoh decided
they could leave, but then changed his mind and sent 600 of his best chariots
with armed soldiers to either kill the Israelites or bring them back to
slavery. God told Moses where to bring
them and now they were up against the Red Sea with the Egyptian chariots
bearing down on them. The people cried
out and God heard and gave Moses the message for them. He told them to do three things: Fear Not, Stand Still, and Watch what God
would do. Today, I’m writing about the
first command: Fear Not.
I read that
there were 365 “Fear not-s” in the Bible, one for each day of the week. While it sounds nice, it’s not true. I found “fear not” 74 times (in the King
James Version,) and also “be not afraid” 29 times. Still, that’s a lot of times to say the same
thing. God really wants us to learn to
Fear Not.
Another thing
I’ve heard that I believe is true is that the opposite of love is not hate, its
fear. I base that on 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears
has not been made perfect in love.
God wants us to love Him and trust in Him and rely on
Him. Fear interferes with our ability to Love Him completely.
In our passage
from Exodus, God wanted them to rely on His protection and know that the
Egyptians could not harm them any longer.
It looked bad, facing on one side the onrushing chariots filled with
armed soldiers and on the other they were crowded up against the sea. But when you are where God wants you to be He
will carry out His will in your life.
The Israelites were called to go to a new land flowing with milk and
honey, not called to die on the sea shore.
And so God’s word to them: “Fear Not!”
I have needed to
learn this lesson the hard way. I have
had some earthquakes in my life. Not
mild earthquakes like the San Francisco earthquake, but real powerful
ones. I’ve been through the death of parents,
a daughter, a brother, a best friend.
I’ve lost jobs to lay-offs. I’ve
been homeless and been divorced. I’ve
raised teenagers. These can be some
serious things to live through and I’ve been fearful.
But being
fearful is wrong. I might go as far as
suggest being fearful can be seen as a sin.
Being fearful is not trusting God Who has proven Himself trustworthy. Being fearful is doubting God’s Word which
has proven itself to be absolutely trustworthy.
Fear Not! Stop imagining the worst thing that can
happen and picture God standing with you.
Stop running in fear and stand still and face God and let Him calm your fears. See God’s Hand on your life!
John 10:29 My
Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is
able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
Question: Who can
snatch you from Christ’s hand?
Answer: No one. Why? Because God’s power prevents it.
God is greater
than all. Indeed, God is so much greater
than all who would try to harm you it is impossible to describe it. Can you grasp this truth? The Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and
earth, has a plan for your life and He will keep you in His hand until your
last day of your life and then you enter eternity with Him.
So the first thing to do is
Fear not!
Stephen Cram February
2, 2014
Daniel 1:8
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile
himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he
drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself.
Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.
Join Pastor Jon Tuesday nights at 6:30 for Praise Chapel
TV at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/praise-chapel-tv
.
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King
James Version of the Bible.
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