Sunday Service: 04/02/2024
Supporting Scripture: Isaiah 41:10
Title of Message: Do Not Fear
Delivered by: Deacon Kwesi Richardson
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Fear is caused by the absence of faith. So, what is the definition of faith?
“Complete trust or confidence in someone or something” – Oxford English Dictionary.
You see, we serve a living God who says in Matthew 17:20-21 that we only need faith as small as the size of a mustard seed and we can move mountains. Our faith allows God to take action and control over our circumstances that they will neither hurt or destroy us but instead will be flipped in our favour.
All it takes for salvation is faith in something that’s already been done, such as salvation:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We know Jesus lived and by all counts, was a Holy man. A great guy in fact! Of all the healing and miracles that he did, one in particular caught my attention as I was preparing this message. In Matthew 17:16-17 the Bible tells us that Jesus exorcised demons from a boy when previous attempts by His disciples had failed. Jesus took the opportunity to point out the lack of faith of the people around at the time, including his disciples:
Matthew 17:16-17 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
Another example of the great power of faith is in John 4:49-52:
John 4:49-52 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”. 52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
It should be evident by now that all God requires from us is a little demonstration of faith and he will get to work. Why?
This work or shall I say “supernatural action” is not a result of our own inner power, no! It’s God’s work entirely. Hence why we see in Matthew 17:20:
Matthew 17: 20 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your [a]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
The Bible (according to many online resources and my own personal research) commands us not to retain fear, at least 365 times. It just so happens that there are 365 days in a year (or 366 in a leap year) therefore each day we can be reminded that the Bible tells us to “Fear Not”! Why is that? Because “the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6
So, how do we do this?
The Bible teaches that love eradicates fear.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Using the example of marriage, throughout the Bible, our walk with God is compared to the union of a husband and wife in marriage;
- Notice how with good communication and healthy respect on both sides, the longer a marriage goes on, the stronger the bond becomes?
To buttress the point of communication let’s refer to Matthew 4: 4:
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” - The longer a marriage / relationship lasts without infidelities, the more trust it gains.
- When we truly love, we don’t fear or worry about the negative possibilities and we are willing to ride through (2 Timothy 2:13).
Conclusion
Having a true relationships with God helps us understand who he is, his power, and what he wants from us – our love and faith grows simultaneously resulting in the eradication of fear within.