Fear or Faith

(To download this message, click on the title above. To listen now online, click on the play button of the audio player shown above.)

This is a sermon based on three different stories recorded in the Old Testament and it attempts to draw a contrast between living a life based on fear or living life based on faith.

Written Excerpts:

Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord God! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:” (cf. v.27)

The context of this verse reveals the circumstances under which Jeremiah made this confident statement of faith.

The Kingdom of Judah is near the end of her existence. The city of Jerusalem is surrounded and besieged by the Babylonian army. Jeremiah himself is sitting in prison because the King didn’t like his “negative tone” in the messages he was bringing. While he is the prison, God tells him to buy a piece of property and preserve the legal papers in an earthen jar, because God was going to bring the people of Judah back from exile and the land would once again be inhabited and crops would be planted and harvested. (see vv.15, 37ff)

It is in that setting and context that Jeremiah proclaims, “…there is nothing too hard for thee.”

Introduction:

As I began to seek God’s will for the message today, my thoughts were naturally centered on the journey we have all begun into a new calendar year – 2013. Anyone who has been paying attention to the news understands that there are many uncertainties that confront us in this new year.

I don’t know about you, but I think that one of the natural human responses to these kinds of stories and information is the feeling of dread and fear. When we try to “look forward” into the weeks and months of the coming year, our imaginations may run wild with all the possibilities for disaster.

I began to think about the fact that fear cannot flourish and survive in the presence of genuine faith. Therefore, I felt led to draw our attention to a few biblical stories that illustrate the clear distinction between fear and faith.

The first story is found in Numbers 13 and it is the story of Moses sending the twelve spies into the land of Canaan. You recall how that 10 of the spies brought back a report based on fear, and two (Caleb & Joshua) brought a report based on faith.

The second story is found in 2 Kings 6:8-23 and it recounts the events involving the prophet Elisha and his servant. It was a time when the nation of Syria was at war with Israel. Every time the Syrian king would make plans to attack, the King of Israel would learn about the plan in advance. When the king of Syria asked who was telling their secrets, someone told him that it was the prophet Elisha getting the messages from God and delivering them to the king of Israel. So the king sent his army to capture Elisha.

2 Kings 6:14-18 (NKJV) ¹⁴Therefore he [i.e., the king of Syria] sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. ¹⁵And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" ¹⁶So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." ¹⁷And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, "Strike this people, I pray, with blindness." And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

The third story I want us to consider is found in 2 Chron. 20:1-30. The story is too long to read it all now, but it records another war when the nations of Moab, Ammon and others came against King Jehoshaphat and Judah.

Let us consider a few ways in which fear is contrasted from faith, and then ask God to help us eliminate our fears by exercising faith in Him.

1. Fear focuses on material realities while faith focuses primarily on spiritual realities.

Numbers 13
²⁸  Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.…³¹  But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."…

The ten discouraged and fearful spies who reported on Canaan could only think about the size and number of the inhabitants. “There are giants…. We appeared as grasshoppers in our own sight and in their sight.” They focused on the size and fortifications of the cities.

Caleb and Joshua, on the other hand, boldly proclaimed their belief that the land could be conquered. They weren’t focusing so much on the size of the cities and the size of the people. They were focusing on the size of their God and the size of His promises to Israel.

2 Kings 6

When the servant of Elisha came out all he could see was the city was surrounded by soldiers and horses and chariots.

The servant said to Elisha, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"

The man of God simply prays, “Lord, open his eyes.” Get his focus off the enemy and on to your resources.

2 Chron. 20

Jehoshaphat was overcome with fear when he focused his attention on the number of people coming against him. Although Jehoshaphat called for prayer and fasting and called on the Lord, it was another man (Jahaziel) who received a fresh anointing of the Spirit of God and proclaimed a message of hope and victory. (v.15-17)

2. Fear focuses on present circumstances while faith focuses on divine promises and abilities.

In all of these stories the scenario is very similar. In every case there were people of God who were essentially thinking and saying…

We’re outnumbered. We’re too few; they’re too many.

We’re too weak; they’re too strong.

We’re too small; they’re too large

At the same time there were others in each of the stories who saw all of the same details as the fearful ones had seen, but they saw more than that.

Caleb and Joshua focused on what they could do with the help of God.

Elisha knew that God was with him and hadn’t abandoned him to the enemy, and he knew that God was mightier than all of the Syrian army or the Syrian king. The way the story is told, we get the distinct impression that Elisha saw the army of the Lord immediately when he came outside, even though the young servant couldn’t see them.

Jahaziel heard from a different “news source” than Jehoshaphat had. He understood by divine revelation that God was going to fight for them and that God was capable of taking care of the situation. They wouldn’t even have to fight; only “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” The text verse I mentioned at the beginning truly says all we need to know.

 Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord God! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”

I may not know about tomorrow, but I know our God is strong enough and wise enough and loving enough to handle everything you and I will face in 2013. There is NOTHING too hard for Him!

Conclusion:

Every one of us here today already knows by experience that it is very likely we will face some frightening and overwhelming circumstances during this coming year. We are going to have those moments when we get to looking at the circumstances and the material realities rather than the spiritual realities.

What should we do?

We should do what Jehoshaphat did. By calling for prayer and fasting, he illustrated his confidence in God. He illustrated his faith that Almighty God could and would provide the victory they needed. We should do what Peter did when he was walking on the water and began sinking – cried out to the Lord, “Save me!”

Fear paralyzes us and causes us to continue focusing on the negative circumstances, but Faith inspires us to look at the abilities and qualities of the God who created heaven and earth, and to trust Him for every need we have.