September 12, 2021
Morning Service

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

  Many are allowing fear to dictate every part of their lives and it is even affecting their faith.  In this verse above Joshua was getting ready to take over leadership of the nation of Israel and lead them into the Promised Land when God spoke these words to him (reread).  Fear is a feeling of anxiety concerning the outcome of something that is happening around us.  It certainly makes sense that Joshua was afraid/anxious/worrisome of the task that was set before him.  Not only was he to lead a nation of over a million people, but he was taking over for Moses and that would be a hard act to follow.  I am well aware of that type of fear.  When I have a difficult task before me and I often question my ability to do it.  Notice the reason God told Joshua not to fear; “for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Joshua could move forward knowing that the success/failure of his mission did not rely upon Joshua’s abilities, but it lay solely in the hand of the One who called him to the task.  He was simply the hammer in God’s hand as He built this nation.  The hammer should have no fear because it is the Carpenter that is in control; Joshua (and each of us) are simply commanded to follow faithfully and trust the Lord for the outcome.  Each one of us plus God makes a winning team every time.   Fear/anxiety/worry do not come from God.  Paul wrote to young Timothy about his anxiety in overcoming his timidity to accept his calling of leadership to preach.

2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

This certainly applies to Timothy, but it also applies to us today.  We are not to allow fear to control us, but hold tightly to the fact that God has given each of us a spirit of “power and of love and of a sound mind.”  When fear/anxiety/worry appear in our lives we are to confront that fear with faith.  When times of struggle come upon us listen to Jesus’ words and apply them by faith to your situation.

Mat 6:25-34 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  (26)  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  (27)  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  (28)  "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; (29) and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  (30)  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  (31)  "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  (32)  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  (33)  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  (34)  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Worrying gains us no advantage, nor does in change anything.  Jesus here is telling us that we have great value to our Heavenly Father and we need to trust Him fully to care for us. The key to a applying that is verse 33; “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.”  Our hearts have to belong totally to Jesus.  Our relationship with Him must be the single most important thing in our life; He must be the lover of your soul, your all in all.  This life change, becoming fertile soil, does not come naturally or easily, it is a process that takes great diligence, resolve, and a lot of faith.  My life changing verse proclaims this truth better than I can.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

            We as followers of Jesus, “MUST believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  It was around 1989, though I had been a believer all my life, that this verse slapped me in the face.  I took a long hard look in my spiritual mirror and found that my faith was lacking in the area of “diligently seeking Him.”  If I truly believed, then every aspect of my life should reflect that faith and at that time it did not.  It was then that my journey turned from the wide path to the narrow, difficult road.  I committed myself to not only be a “hearer of the Word, but also a doer of it.”  I sought to no longer conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind yielding to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.   The journey has been a difficult one, but one that I treasure in my heart as a gift from God.  It has brought me to this moment in time to stand before you and proclaim that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him for I am one that has experienced His rewards.  Jesus has become so much more to me than just a friend I visit on Sundays.  He is my Lord, Savior, Friend, Confidant, Waymaker, and a constant companion.  He truly is “My Jesus!”  I cannot imagine life without Him.  He gives my life meaning and purpose and is the glue that holds me together in the midst of the storms that I am facing right now.  His presence in my life chases out the fear as the Psalmist says:

Psalms 27:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

            At the news of dad’s accident came to my attention, I was driving quickly over to mom’s to break the news to her, but there was no fear in that moment.  I felt the peace of God which passes all understanding so much so that I yielded my will to His.  I told the Lord that if He chose today to take my father home then I would accept that, but my request was that He would totally heal dad to his former state.  It was not up to me; oh my prayers matter but the fate of my father lay solely in the hands of my Lord, Savior and friend.  I didn’t want it any other way.  I don’t want things to come down to my abilities because I am weak, but HE IS STRONG!  This week, after walking down that dark path with the hospital stay of my dad, I was able to use that painful experience to minister to my other family as we deal with Kim and Bill being in very similar circumstances.  Pray and make your request known to God, but yield your will to His.  He is present in that kind of brokenness and works in you to fulfill His will and grant you the strength to carry on.  “We MUST believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him!”  Dad was not healed, but was promoted to His eternal home and God is still good.  Kim and Bill face a serious life threatening illness and God will be good no matter the outcome.  Trust, don’t fear, fear is a liar.

            Can you relate to where I am coming from this morning?  What circumstances in your life are causing you to stare down the road of fear/anxiety/worry?  Don’t be afraid, Jesus is with you and is in control; yield to His perfect will and accept His decision as being best for us.  We are all in the hands of a loving, merciful God, take comfort in that fact.  I close with this testimony from David in Psalms 23 that we are all very familiar with.

Psalms 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

            Choosing to follow Jesus does not make us exempt from trouble, trials, and heartaches in this life, it means we do not walk them alone.  “For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  Choose faith over fear and trust the One who loves you more than you can even imagine.  He promises to “never leave you or forsake you.”