Fear not, the Lord will help thee!

Notes from a sermon on 2 January 2011

ISAIAH 41 verses 10 - 20

Verse 13 “for the Lord thy God will hold they right hand saying unto thee fear not, I will help thee.”

In this little verse we have a promise from God to us, to our homes, to our families, to our communities and neighbourhoods. God is stating his relationship with the people of Israel but he is also stating his relationship with us. Think of this verse in 2 parts - the first of a living relationship and secondly of a working relationship.

Israel was a forgetful nation. God had to draw alongside them and remind them of their relationship with him. Someone once said “it is possible to be diligent in a religion yet distant in our relationship.” We can be distant in our relationship - oh yes we might be in the house of God every Sunday morning and evening and that is diligence yet we are distant in our personal relationship with God. That was the problem with Israel. They drew near to God with their tongues but their hearts were far from God. We have got to make sure what our relationship is with God today. Israel had not only forgotten but forsaken God too. They had been captive for 70 years in Babylon because they had forsaken God. This nation of Israel had now repented and were brought back into the land of Canaan for a second time. Do you remember the day when you realised you had sinned against the God of heaven? When he took away your sins and wrote your name in the Lambs Book of Life? The Psalmist said “bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalm 103 verse 2) It was personal to the Psalmist. Maybe we need to be reminded of that relationship today. We were bought with the blood of Jesus Christ purchased on Calvary, given as a free gift and all we have to do is come, take it and apply it to our lives. It costs us nothing but God everything. When God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and across the wilderness he gave them the assurance of his presence. That was the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of cloud by night. God gives us assurance too when we accept him as Lord and Saviour - the Holy Spirit. God never left the children of Israel, he never forsook them. We need to know we have a very real relationship with the God of heaven. God brought them through the wilderness into the promised land then they forgot God. Moses warned them “beware lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 6 verse 12)

Israel was a forgiven people. God assures them of his presence. It is the God of heaven who is going with us. When we read the book of Judges we see this cycle clearly. The people are blessed of God then because of that blessing they get careless, they begin to follow after gods of the land in which they were living. God allows that. Then the enemy comes down and because they are not in a relationship with God they cannot stand against the enemy. They go into bondage and they cry out to God who brings them a deliverer. The cycle begins again. This is a forgiven people. God had heard their cries in Babylon and allowed them to be taken captive for 70 years. Now 70 years later he is beginning to bring his people home again. Maybe you realise you are not in personal relationship with God. Somewhere along the line you faltered and now God is speaking to you about that situation. The Psalmist could say with clarity in chapter 103 verse 9 “he will not always chide neither will he keep his anger for ever.” “I have set the Lord before me because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” (Psalm 16 verse 8) Confidence in the God of heaven. Where is God in your life today? Today he can be in no other place because he doesn’t want to be in any other place. If he is not king of your life he is not king at all. We need to be sure. The psalmist made a definite and a deliberate assertion “I have set him at my right hand.”

Not only forgiven and forgetful nation but Israel was a fearful nation. “The fear of man bringeth a snare.”(Proverbs 29 verse 25) We need to be careful because our hearts could be gripped with fear. This was a nation who had so many fears and barriers. Remember the spies going out into the land of Canaan? Ten of them saw all the barriers and obstacles facing them. We are like those spies, fearful of what lies ahead. God had to deal with those fears. Sometimes we think of fearfuless as a failure but it is only what we do with our fears that brings failure. The Lord takes it and brings us through our fears. God is dealing with a nation that has forgotten, a nation he has forgiven and a nation that is full of fears. As the children of Israel stood at the Red Sea, Pharoah has had second thoughts and followed them there. The fear of the Lord was on the people. The pillar of cloud went around them and came to the back of them. It cast a darkness onto the people of Egypt and a light to the people of Israel. God said to Moses “hold up the rod” and as he did so the sea divided and people went across onto dry land. The Egyptians did go after them but the sea returned and destroyed them all that day. God is fighting for you today and wants to see great things accomplished through you.

They were a favoured nation. Remember Mary, despised of the world yet highly favoured of the Lord. Joseph at 17 years of age was working in Potiphar’s house. He had been despised by his brothers yet favoured by God. He was put into a prison cell wrongly. The Lord was with him and took him into the very palace of Pharoah who said of him “there is none greater in this house than thee.” (Genesis 39 verse 9) If only we would open up our lives to God today and ask him to take up his position of our right hand and don’t ever leave it. To place it all on the altar today, to ask God to fill us, cleanse us, to be totally surrendered to God. God is looking for a living relationship with you and I today.