“Conquering Fear”
(Isaiah 41:10)
Series: More Than Conquerors (4 of 7)
Todd A. Linn, 2-26-06
- Please open your Bibles to Isaiah, Chapter 41.
A few weeks ago we began a short series of expository messages from various parts of the Bible. The series is entitled “More Than Conquerors.” The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:37 that Christians are not just conquerors, but more than conquerors through Jesus Christ who loves us. And so far, we have learned about conquering our emotions, how to “deal” with how we “feel.” And we’ve talked about conquering worry, depression, and anger. This morning in Isaiah 41, we’re going to learn how to conquer another emotion that every single one of us has encountered, or will encounter, at one time or another.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Holy Word.
Now, I’m going to be focusing on just one verse in this chapter, but in order to ground the verse in context, let me quickly say what’s going on in this chapter. God is speaking to the all the countries who do not follow the One True God. And He is speaking to the people who are not believers in the God of the Bible. And so in verses 1-7, God makes the case that it is He who is in control of all things and that there is no other god. The people of the other lands make their own gods by crafting idols to worship, but they are no gods at all. Then in verse 8, God contrasts the people who do not follow Him with the people who do follow Him, the Israelites. And So God says, in verses 8 and following:
8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Now look again at that last verse. Verse 10. That’s the verse I want to expose this morning. God is speaking to the people who follow Him. He is speaking to the people from whom would come the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. So God is speaking also to us today in verse 10. Let me read it again, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
- Pray.
Introduction:
What is it that you fear? Some of you could answer that question right away. Others of you would think about it and then you’d be able to tell me some of the things you fear. It may be that you fear loneliness. Some people fear illness. Some people fear getting older. Some people fear rejection. Others fear natural catastrophes—like earthquakes or tornadoes.
I read where the former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin so feared for his safety that his residence in Moscow contained eight bedrooms. Each night Stalin chose a bedroom at random to ensure that no one knew exactly where he was sleeping.
But odds are, every single one of us has some kind of fear or another. For millions of Americans, our fears are phobias that we have acquired over the years, perhaps even picking them up from the culture that shapes us. An overprotective parent, for example, may raise a child who is given to certain fears. When he is small, she says to him, “Now, be very careful when you go over there. Remember, you can’t trust people. Watch out. Don’t get killed.” So that little boy or girl grows up and they are overly cautious. They seldom take risks. Why? Because imbedded deeply into their psyche are the words of their mother’s, “Be careful. You can’t trust people. Watch out.” Others have fears of heights, or a fear of crowds, or a fear of flying.
Back in Georgia, I had a friend whose son flew a small plane. My friend was with me in church one day and tried to talk my pastor into going on a plane ride. My pastor was quick to say that he didn’t believe in flying. He reminded my friend that Jesus had said, “Low, I am with you always!” He had a fear of heights. Others have a fear of strangers, or a fear of large crowds. I read where there is even a fear known as phobephobia, a fear of fear!
Someone asks, “What is the difference between ‘worry’ and ‘fear.’” Well, it seems to me that worry is predominantly a kind of settled concern about some thing or another. Worry seems to be more gradual in its work. We worry because we said something we shouldn’t have or we wonder if there will be enough money to pay the bills. Fear, on the other hand, is more instantaneous. Fear is that paralyzing emotion that causes you to freeze in fright, or to run and hide. Fear carries the idea of “being afraid.”
And what is the root cause of all of this fear? Well, it’s interesting to me that you can go all the way back to our first family, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and there you will see where fear was born. The Bible says in Genesis chapter 3 that Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and when God comes to them, God says, “Where are you Adam?” Well, where was Adam? He had hidden. And why had he hidden? Because he was afraid. Fear originates from sin. Before that first sin, the word “fear” was not in Adam and Eve’s dictionary, but as soon as they sinned against God, fear was born and we’ve been dealing with it ever since.
In his book Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey writes about a bully who demanded his lunch money every day. And since he was smaller, he said he just gave him the money. Then he decided to fight back. And so he started taking karate lessons. But one day the karate lesson guy said he had to start paying him five dollars a lesson. So Jack said he just went back to paying the bully. And you know, too many people feel it’s easier just to pay the bully than it is to learn how to conquer him. But we’re going to learn how to conquer the bully of fear this morning.
This one verse will help us do just that. Rather than being victimized and paralyzed by our fears, we’re going to learn how to conquer our fears. And let me say that if you have never memorized this verse, let me encourage you to memorize it this morning. Isaiah 41:10:
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isn’t that a great verse? See if you can memorize as we make our way through it. You can be memorizing it while I am preaching. I’ll give you a test in the end.
From this one verse, we learn a few actions to take when we are overwhelmed by fear. Here’s the first one. When you are overwhelmed by fear, here’s the first thing you can do to conquer your fear:
I. Be Encouraged by the Presence of God
“Fear not, for I am with you.”
Isn’t that a wonderful statement? God says, “fear not, because I am with you.” The Bible here is dealing with the doctrine of omnipresence, the teaching that God is with us wherever we go. There is no place you can go, but that God is not there with you. He is with you always. Therefore, you need not fear.
If you’ve ever taken your child to the doctor’s office, or to the dentist, then you understand how encouraging this verse is. Your child is sitting there in the doctor’s room and what does your child say to you? “Don’t leave me, daddy! Stay right here with me, mommy! You’re not going to leave, are you?” Now why is that encouraging to the small child? I mean, you’re not the one who is doing the physical examination. You’re not the one who is going to check their mouth for cavities. Why is it encouraging? You see, there’s just something about knowing the parent is there that calms the child. If things get bad, the child knows the parent will step-in there and take charge of the situation. The parent is there to oversee what happens.
Listen, that’s what is so encouraging about the presence of God in our lives. God says, “Fear not, for I am with you.” That is, if things get bad, I will step-in there and take charge of the situation. I am in control. Don’t worry. I’m right here by your side.
So when you go out on Monday nights during FAITH evangelism visits, be encouraged by the presence of God. Fear not, for He is with you.
When you go to the doctor’s office for that procedure, be encouraged by the presence of God. Fear not, for He is with you.
When you’re driving in your car and it’s dark and the rain is crashing down violently upon your windshield, be encouraged by the presence of God. Fear not, for He is with you.
Now let me say that this verse is written to believers. If you are not a believer in the One True God, if you have not received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you have every reason in the world to be afraid. The Bible teaches that we are naturally separated from God. We are separated from him because of our sin. If we do not receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then we die separated from God and we spend eternity separated from Him. The only way to be reconciled to God is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, believe that He died on the cross and paid your sin debt in full.
“Fear not, for I am with you.”
Apparently someone has counted all the occurrences of the words “fear not” in the Bible and discovered that there are 365 of them, one for every day of the year. God likes to remind us to “fear not” and in this verse He tells us why we need not fear—because He is with us. So be encouraged by the presence of God. You’ve memorized the first part, “Fear not, for I am with you.” Secondly, when you are overwhelmed by fear:
II. Be Encouraged by the Power of God
“Be not dismayed, for I am your God.”
God says, “Be not dismayed.” That word “dismayed” there means to look around anxiously, to wander about as though fretting about. Have you ever done that? Do you ever wander about, looking around anxiously in fear? God says, “Don’t do that.” And then he tells us why.
He says, “for I am your God.” That is a simple, yet powerful statement. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. He uses the name “Elohim” for God. Elohim is the word for God that speaks of God’s greatness, of His divine power as the Creator, the Sovereign Ruler, the One and only Supreme Being.
So God says, “Here is why you should not be dismayed—because I am your God. Be encouraged by My power.”
You appreciate God’s saying this when you imagine my saying it to you. You tell me you are fearful about some thing and I say to you, “Be not dismayed, for I am your God.” You would laugh and say, “Yeah, right! You’re just a man, you’re not God. What do you know?!” And, of course, you would be right. I am just a man. I am not God. I don’t know what God knows and I don’t have power over your fear, but God does. He knows everything and He has absolute power over everything. So God says, “Be not dismayed—do not fret about, looking around anxiously—I am your God—I have power over that thing you fear. Be encouraged by My power.”
So now you’ve memorized the second part of the verse. “Be not dismayed, for I am your God.” Got it, so far? Let’s take it from the beginning. Say it with me, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God.” Good. Be encouraged by the presence of God and by the power of God. Thirdly:
III. Be Encouraged by the Promises of God
In the last part of this verse that you are memorizing, you will note three promises. Three “I will” statements. When you are fearful, you can be encouraged knowing that God promises three things. First:
1. God Promises to Strengthen You
“I will strengthen you.”
When you and I are overcome by fear, we become weak. We stop breathing and our knees begin to knock together. And anything can cause this fear.
There was a violent thunderstorm one summer evening when a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when that little boy asked what mothers are so often asked during thunderstorms. With a small tremor in his voice, he said, “Mommy will you sleep in my bed tonight?” The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug and said, “I can’t, dear. Mommy is going to sleep in daddy’s bed tonight.” The boy frowned and said, “The big sissy!”
Be encouraged by the promises of God. God promises to strengthen you. He says, “I will strengthen you.” Trust in God to do that, to strengthen you, and He will. What else does God promise to do in this verse? Secondly:
2. God Promises to Help You
“Yes, I will help you.”
We must depend upon God to help us in our time of need. We must ask Him for help. And if we ask for Him to help, he will help us.
In her book, Kids of the Kingdom, Carolyn Lehman, writes about a time when she was asked to give a report about her “Good News Club” at a teacher’s rally. She was with some children sometime beforehand and she asked the children to pray for her not to be frightened when she spoke before the large group. A little six-year-old volunteered to lead in prayer. They all bowed their heads and the little girl prayed softly, “Dear Jesus, please help Mrs. Lehman not to be scared when she gives her talk in front of millions and millions of people.”
Those words probably didn’t calm Mrs. Lehman, but the little girl was going to the right source. She was talking to God and God promises to help us in our time of need. “Be not dismayed, I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you.”
There’s a great story in the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. There we read that the city of Jerusalem is surrounded by her enemies and King Jehoshaphat is afraid. He is fearful. So he turns to God for help. His prayer is so honest. He says, “We are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us, and we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee.” God answers by helping Jehoshaphat and giving Jerusalem a great victory.
So when you are fearful, admit your fears to God and say, “I am powerless. I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are upon You, O God.”
What else does God promise to do? God promises to strengthen you, to help you, and number three:
3. God Promises to Uphold You
“I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
God promises to hold us up. He promises to keep us steady, to never loose His grip upon us. and He holds us up with His “righteous right hand.” That is, with his strong, victorious hand God holds us up. He never relaxes His grip. He keeps us steady.
So be encouraged by the promises of God. God says, “I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
So how do we conquer fear? We are encouraged by the presence of God, the power of God, and the promises of God.
Have you memorized this verse now? Have you memorized Isaiah 41:10? Say it with me: “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10.
Now, use this verse this week as you conquer fear. Whatever situation you find yourself in—sharing Jesus Christ with someone, going to the doctor, going to a job interview, giving a speech—remember, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
And by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ within you, this verse will help you conquer fear.
- Stand for prayer.
If you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you have every reason in the world to be fearful. You have every reason to be afraid. The Bible teaches us that if we die without Jesus Christ, we are eternally separated from God for eternity. There is no second chance after death. At the moment of death, our soul will go immediately to either heaven or to hell. The only way to go to heaven is to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We must turn from our sin and turn to the Savior. We must invite Him into our lives and follow Him. If we do not receive Christ as our Lord and Savior then, when we die, we will continue to be separated from Him for all eternity.
Let me say again, if you have not received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you have every reason in the world to be fearful, every reason in the world to be afraid. Because of your sins, you are separated from God. But the good news of the Bible is that you are here this morning by God’s design. He planned for you to be here to hear this message and to be saved from your sin this morning. Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid your sin debt in full. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Others—God is asking you to make another decision—joining this church, following God in ministry—do not fear. Trust Him right now.
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