Do Not Fear! (Deuteronomy 31:1-6)

Welcome to God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in Morning Sun, Iowa. Check us out online at www.sharonrpc.org. We pray that this message will be a blessing to you and that the Lord will use it to transform your faith and your life. Well, this morning, it is our great pleasure, you may be seated. This morning, it is our great pleasure to welcome Zach Smith to open the word for us.

Zach and his wife Beth, as well as their two young boys, will be going to South Sudan whenever it's the Lord's will to open up the borders for them to go. Zach is recently graduated from RPTS and he, like you, was raised in rural but on the other side of the country. So he is from upstate New York, son of a dairy farmer, so I hope that you will ask him lots of questions about rural life. After worship this morning, just as a quick announcement, we are going to have a quick break, and then Zach and Beth are going to come up and tell us a little bit about what the Lord is doing in South Sudan and their plans there, and then afterwards we have a meal planned for them.

Prayer for Illumination

But let's pray, as we just read about it, as God who opens a storehouse with the thunder and with the lightning, let's pray that stays that way. So, Zach, will you come forward now? Thank you. Well, good morning. It is a proverbial and a literal breath of fresh air to be out here in God's creation and in such beautiful farm country.

Sermon

I'm going to keep going in terms of sound and hopefully things will come together so you can hear me. This morning, we're going to be looking at Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 31. And I will be reading out of the English Standard Version, but as I looked at it, I think it's pretty close to what you have. I think it's the New King James that you'll be seeing there.

And just by way of introduction, the Israelites had been wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years because of their sin against God, their response to the report coming from the spies about the promised land and their reaction of fear and they rebelled against God and God said for that I'm going to judge you and for a generation you're going to remain here wandering around in the wilderness.

And so they're getting ready to cross over. And the baton is being handed from Moses who had led them for so many years. It's going to be now handed off to Joshua. So it's a time of transition, a time of change as they get ready to enter the promised land. So Deuteronomy chapter 31 verses one through six, listen now to the reading of God's word. So Moses continued these words to all Israel. And he said to them, I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, you shall not go over this Jordan.

The Lord God himself will go before you. He will destroy these nations before you so that you shall dispossess them. And Joshua will go over at your head as the Lord has spoken. And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sion and Og, the king of the Amorites, and to their land when he destroyed them. And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Thus ends the reading of God's word. May he be pleased to write it on our hearts today and forever.

I wonder, what do you fear? Some of you may identify as ones who are more prone to fear than others. But I think if you're honest with yourself, you can find things in your heart, in your life that you fear. whether it's the circumstances around you, or whether it's what might happen to your loved ones, financial security, the list could go on. If nothing else, I think we can all admit that if we ponder what we see here, the reality that one day, each of us will be buried in the ground unless the Lord comes back.

Job talks about that as the king of terrors. We all have reason for fear. Perhaps there's fear of COVID-19 or other turmoil in the world. There's no shortage of opportunity for us to fear today in the 21st century. And this topic of fear is not unfamiliar to the pages of scripture. It's just all over the place. You can find all sorts of references to fear.

And as we get into the subject of fear today, just by way of introduction and definition, we can think of three types of fear. There's first, there's natural fear, what you might consider at times a healthy fear, an act of self-preservation, something that comes as a result of living in a fallen world.

But then there's also sinful fear. Fear that in and of itself is intrinsically sinful. It springs from a heart of disbelief and lack of faith in God. So there's sinful fear that dishonors God. And such fear is to be repented of. And we're going to spend time thinking about sinful fear. And then finally, there's holy fear. There's the fear of the Lord. We are commanded multiple times to fear the Lord.

So we need to understand the different types of fear that we might run across in scripture. But as we think about the fear that we need to fight against, sinful fear, how ought we to go about that process? Well, to fight fear, first we need to be familiar with its causes and its consequences. What is it that causes fear? Well, there's a number of things that can cause fear in our lives.

Just as for the Israelites, there at the edge of the Jordan, getting ready to cross, had opportunity to fear. No doubt, there was the enemy on the other side that could very well kill them. There's also the fear of transition. They had all these years with Moses. What about this new guy? We don't know his qualifications. What's it gonna be like, this unknown future? So the Israelites, they of course had opportunities to fear.

There's other causes of fear. Fear comes when you love the things of this world too much. When you're clinging so tightly to your health, to what's in your bank account, just the enjoyments of this world even, when you're clinging to those things so tightly, and then they get threatened, we begin to fear what's going to happen to those things. So there's a sin of the things of this world that leads to fear.

You may fear because you forget God's character. You forget the things that he's told you in his scriptures. or so many of us, we just, we don't know our Bibles as well as we ought. We don't know what God has to say about this. So we can be led to fear by ignorance, really.

There's also fear that starts out as a legitimate fear. It's a source of stress or turmoil that really, you know, you recoil from it. but we can sin in the response. Think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was anticipating the cross, a terrifying thing. But his response to that was not sinful, though he had a sense of fear of that event.

So our response to just the troubles of life, the rain clouds in the distance can cause us to be overcome with a sinful fear. Those are some of the causes of fear, and you know in your own hearts what causes your fear, and it's good to be aware of those. But then also, what are the consequences of fear?

If you've ever had a physical bodily injury, say to your foot, a sprained ankle, or a bad knee, you know that as you favor that one side, A few days go by, a week goes by, and all of a sudden your hip on the opposite side starts hurting. Or all of a sudden your shoulder starts hurting. Thinking, what's going on here? Well, there's a ripple effect from that injury throughout your whole body. The same is true with fear. Fear in one area of your life can result in all types of other issues in your life. The subtle side effects are really significant.

And as we think about what the Bible says about the consequences of fear, Proverbs says that it's a snare that leads to sin. The fear of man brings a snare. Think of Abraham, who is there in front of Abimelech and he lies about his wife Sarah and says, this is my sister.

He was responding in fear. Or King David, he's acting like a madman at times, just acting like a complete insane fella because he feared a king. You can think of Peter, who there by the fire and in various locations denied his savior because he was afraid of man. He had the fear of man and not the fear of God.

Well, furthermore, sinful fear also dishonors God. It dishonors God. You see, God has given you the grace necessary to get through whatever comes down the road towards you. But when you respond in sinful fear, it dishonors the grace that God has given to you for that day. And your life becomes a parable that says, my life is hard. I'm gonna fear and God's grace is not sufficient. And the world sees that. So it's dishonoring to God.

The Puritan John Flavel says, to trust in any creature as if it had the power of God to help us or to fear any creature as if it had the power of God to hurt us is exceedingly sinful and highly provoking to God. Furthermore, sinful fear today steals the grace that God gives you for today, and you spend it on the evils of tomorrow. Sufficient for the day is its own troubles. If you spend all your time worrying about what's coming tomorrow, you're not going to have the strength and the power to accomplish what God wants you to be working on today. And it's going to stunt your sanctification. And just like the grass that struggles to grow in the shade of the tree, Holiness is going to struggle to grow in the shadow of sinful fear.

And finally, on this idea of the consequences of fear, think about the Israelites. I mentioned it earlier, but what was it that kept them there in the wilderness? Well, you could study this more out in numbers, but it was their sinful response to the report from the spies. They responded in fear. And for that response of fear to what God was calling them to do, God judged them. They did not lose their salvation. But God said to them, this is numbers 1423, those who have not obeyed my voice shall not see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. It had serious consequences for their life.

The response that you have today to the difficulties and the struggles and the trials that you're facing is going to have serious implications for your future. It might mean a shorter life because of fear and anxiety and ulcers and things like this. Who knows what it might lead to, but you risk future blessing by the way that you respond to difficult, hard situations. So admittedly, that is difficult to think about the causes and consequences. So what is the cure? How ought we to respond to this call to not fear or be in dread?

I want you to hear today that this call is going to you. This is written, of course, thousands of years ago in the book of Deuteronomy here. It's written to the Israelites, but the Israelites, they represent the people of God. This word is coming from the same God whose character is the same today forever. And God is speaking to you today as his redeemed people. We are under the same covenant and we have a similar faith. And so I want you to hear today this word coming to you in a personal way. And so what is that command that he says in verse six there? Be strong and courageous. You might hear these words and think. This is about as good as telling a lame man to get up and walk. It ain't going to do any good, Pastor, no matter how hard or how loud you say it. It's not going to make a difference. I don't have the strength to stand up on my own.

But the God of the impossible is speaking to you today. And with St. Augustine of old, we ought to say, Lord, command what thou dost desire, grant what thou dost command, and command what thou dost desire. Lord, give me the ability to do that which you're calling me to. So what are the grounds for this command? God's not calling us to live like every other religion in the world, just do this, do this, do this. What's the grounding for this command?

Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. It is no small thing that the God of heaven and earth would be with you. The one who has created this world the one who has created you, the one who is sovereign over all the powers of this world, the one who raises the nations up and the one who casts the nations down, the one who will judge the living and the dead, the one who is holy, the one who is righteous, the one who has the right to condemn all to hell. This is the God that promises to be with you. The covenant keeping God, Yahweh, promises to be with you. The Alpha and the Omega is the one who says, I will be with you.

God does not say be strong and courageous because it's going to be easy. He doesn't say be strong and courageous because your bank accounts and your grain bins are going to be full. Your health is going to, you're going to be strong right up until the end. It's going to be easy. No. God doesn't say be strong in that basis. God says be strong and courageous because I am going to be with you.

And as you grow in your understanding of who it is, the character of this God that is with you, you will be overwhelmed with a godly sense of fear. You see, as you spend time in his presence, you comprehend God's promise to you. You're going to be undone like the prophet Isaiah. And the fear will well up within you and you will find yourself overcome with a different type of fear.

A godly fear. Listen to Isaiah, Isaiah chapter eight. where it talks about fear. This is Isaiah chapter 8, the latter portion in verse 12 and on. And do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. For the Lord of hosts, Him you shall honor as holy. Let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread, and He will become a sanctuary.

Just like Moses had his staff and he turned it into a snake, a serpent, and that serpent swallowed up those magicians' serpents. So too, as you comprehend this command, comprehend the God who is commanding this, so too will your godly, the godly fear swallow up that sinful fear.

Kids, I don't know, have you ever taken a flashlight and gone into a dark room. You go into a dark room, and that powerful flashlight seems really bright, and it lights everything up. It just seems so big and powerful, and it can do all sorts of fun things. But then maybe, maybe your little brother or sister comes in, and they turn the light on. That's not very much fun, is it? Because then what happens?

You can't see your flashlight anymore. You can't really see the light that was coming out of it, because it got swallowed up by the bigger light. Just like if I had a flashlight out here right now, it wouldn't seem very bright. In the same way, when we find ourselves in the presence of God, in the bright, shining light of His face, and we understand that, it's going to swallow up what once seemed so powerful. Those little fears. will just disappear and melt like wax in front of a candle melts.

So too will our sinful fear in the face of our God. You see, God is a holy God. God is altogether separate from sin and sinners. And yet God, in eternity past, out of His mere good pleasure, said, I want to be with my people. And so God covenanted with His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the mediator, somebody who could bridge the gap between sinful humanity and a holy and righteous God. He sent Jesus Christ so that He could be with you.

There had to be, of course, a shedding of blood. It came at a cost. It was no small thing for God to dwell with his people. And so, of course, in the Old Testament, they had the sacrifices day after day, the shedding of blood. All pointing ahead to Jesus Christ, who had come as the final sacrifice. Due for sin. and He would be sacrificed there on the cross. That moment wherein the wrath of God was poured down in the most awful, dreadful way imaginable. It's an unspeakable reality. An awful reality if we comprehend God pouring out His wrath on a perfect Jesus Christ. And yet there, in the cross, in the pouring out of God's wrath, we also have the greatest act of God's mercy, whereby God now can dwell with us.

Emmanuel, God with us. And that very act becomes the means and the grounds upon which God can dwell with you. And this godly fear brings with it many blessings in our lives. Godly fear will lead to obedience. When you realize the terror that God is, you'll be motivated to obey out of love as well.

Think of Abraham who feared God and so he took his son Isaac up onto the mountain to sacrifice. The Lord said, no, I know that you love me now and you fear me. Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord prolongs life. You may not be able to lengthen your life, but you can certainly shorten it. But we ought to fear the Lord, and that will prolong our lives. The fear of the Lord is, of course, the beginning of wisdom. And Psalm 128 repeatedly says, Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord. And Ecclesiastes says that it is your duty to fear the Lord.

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. As you allow this godly fear to fill your hearts, as you comprehend who it is that is with you, you will be able to stand strong and courageous in the face of whatever it is that you're facing this week. Well, finally, we're called to focus on God's commitment. What is God's commitment? Well, it is that I will never leave you or forsake you. As the old King James said, he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.

God is not like a man who's gonna fail thee. He's not gonna fall asleep like the disciples did there by Jesus. God does not slumber or sleep. And God's not going to forsake you. He's not gonna get so frustrated with all the stupid things that you do in life if you're like me and so many other people. God's not gonna get fed up with you and forsake you. God is committed to be with you. He said, I will not leave you nor forsake you.

And how is it again that God has proven this? Well, he has manifestly proven his commitment by coming in the flesh. We serve a triune God. God promised this years before Jesus would come. But God demonstrated this promise in the most tangible way possible when he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to be with us. Emmanuel, God with us. The fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily there in the God-man, Jesus Christ. God is committed to you today, brothers and sisters. to see you through whatever trials and tribulations that you face.

This past week or week and a half ago, we were taking a walk in our neighborhood and Over our left shoulder we all of a sudden heard a big bark and we look over and here's a big black and brown German Shepherd coming running towards us. And his bark was about as big as his bite it looked like. And my son who is fascinated with dogs, he'll tell you, was pretty curious at first. Well, that curiosity quickly faded into a real concern. That dog kept getting closer and closer, and we didn't know if it was going to stop or not.

So Isaiah is there next to me, and he looks up at me. He knew it wasn't going to do any good to stare down this dog, so he looks up at me, and he just focuses on my face. He didn't say anything, but it was amazing if his eyes could have been speaking in that moment what those eyes were saying. He was saying, Dad, am I safe? What's going to happen? What do I see in your eyes? Are you afraid? Are you going to protect me?

Well, the dog quickly realized that we weren't going to play with him, and so he just turned around as soon as he got right next to us and just wandered back into his yard. But children of God, brothers and sisters, we're called to do what Isaiah did there in that example. We're not called to focus on the fear that's in front of us. We're called to focus on the face of our father.

And he will give you the strength and the courage to face whatever it is, whether it's death that you're facing, Whether it's the failure of crops, or drought, or plague, pestilence, whatever it is, as you focus on the face of your Father, you will be able to face the fears that you have to face this week.

And if your eyes are not open to see that God is with you, May you pray like Elisha prayed for his fearful servant when there was an army surrounding them. The servant was overwhelmed and Elisha prayed that his eyes, the eyes of the servant would be opened. His eyes were opened and he saw in the mountains surrounding them, horses and chariots of fire. God is pleased to dwell with you. you would but trust in him and he is ready to come to your help and your aid.

Closing Prayer

God is in control of this world. He's in control of the horses and the chariots and the dogs that are barking and he guides them for his good pleasures. And so remember today that godly fear will always swallow up any sinful fear that you have. We'll close with these words. Listen to what your heavenly father says to you today. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of the enemy, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Let's pray. God, our father, we thank you that you have promised to be with us.

And Lord, we are familiar with such phrases. But Lord, help us today to comprehend what it means that you are pleased to dwell with us and you promise to be with us. Lord, there's a myriad of things that all of us are facing this week. Lord, some may not even understand or recognize or know the challenges they face. The Jordan River's they're called to cross. Some may be called this week to cross the Jordan River for the last time to the eternal rest. Lord, would you be with us?

That's our prayer today. Lord, we bring back these promises to you, which you have given to us. We give them back to you and plead. Would you be with us? today and until we meet you face to face Lord would you be with us by your Holy Spirit and you have promised to give with us and we know that you will never leave us nor forsake us and that gives us hope Lord we thank you for all these things we pray them for your namesake amen Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith in your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue, Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.