That thing that has you up at night worrying? God has it under control. The issue that is disappointingly unresolved? God is already working it out. Don’t be afraid! What can anything of this earth do to us when Jesus is on our side?
Romans 8:31-39 (NLT)31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Solomon, the wisest man that has ever lived wrote that wisdom begins with the fear of God.
Proverbs 9:10 (NLT) Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
Fear of God isn’t the emotion that usually comes to mind when we think of fear. That emotion is fright, which is a sudden intense feeling of fear. Synonyms of this type fear are fearfulness, terror, horror, alarm, panic, dread, trepidation, dismay, nervousness, apprehension, apprehensiveness, perturbation, and disquiet. The fear of God is a reverential respect of God’s power and glory. Fear of God is the result of His love for mankind and the grace that He has given to those who, in faith, believe on His Son, Jesus Christ.
Other than the fear of God, we are commanded to “fear not”. We are commanded to “fear not” because God of the many promises He made to those who believe in Jesus, have confessed Him as Lord and Savior, and been “born again”. He’s promised to protect them, to provide for them, and to give them eternal life with Him.
Today there are many reasons to fear and doubt; police brutality, racism, COVID-19, the economy, bad reports from the doctor, serious illness of a loved one, death of a loved one, global unrest, and hopeless predictions from political prognosticators ….. I could go on and on.
Fear is also one of Satan’s strongest weapons and he uses it against us in spiritual warfare. Worry, anxiety, and fear can overwhelm us and paralyze us or control every move and decision we make.
Romans 8:31-39 (NLT)31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Solomon, the wisest man that has ever lived wrote that wisdom begins with the fear of God.
Proverbs 9:10 (NLT) Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
Fear of God isn’t the emotion that usually comes to mind when we think of fear. That emotion is fright, which is a sudden intense feeling of fear. Synonyms of this type fear are fearfulness, terror, horror, alarm, panic, dread, trepidation, dismay, nervousness, apprehension, apprehensiveness, perturbation, and disquiet. The fear of God is a reverential respect of God’s power and glory. Fear of God is the result of His love for mankind and the grace that He has given to those who, in faith, believe on His Son, Jesus Christ.
Other than the fear of God, we are commanded to “fear not”. We are commanded to “fear not” because God of the many promises He made to those who believe in Jesus, have confessed Him as Lord and Savior, and been “born again”. He’s promised to protect them, to provide for them, and to give them eternal life with Him.
Today there are many reasons to fear and doubt; police brutality, racism, COVID-19, the economy, bad reports from the doctor, serious illness of a loved one, death of a loved one, global unrest, and hopeless predictions from political prognosticators ….. I could go on and on.
Fear is also one of Satan’s strongest weapons and he uses it against us in spiritual warfare. Worry, anxiety, and fear can overwhelm us and paralyze us or control every move and decision we make.
God Still Reigns
Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ, not in any nation on earth, including this one. We don't need to panic. So when we see the United States continuing to go downhill we should remind ourselves to focus on God.
As Christian's our task is to declare the gospel of Jesus, not to export the free enterprise system, or to praise the virtues of patriotism. Our patron saint should not be George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or Abraham Lincoln. or Donald Trump.
We Are To Lift The Hope of Jesus
1. He alone is Lord.
The word gospel means good news.
Luke 2:8-11 NLT That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
Romans 1:16-17 NLT For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
2. We live in Victory.
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 NLT For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:35-37 NLT Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” ) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
3. God has not attached His hopes on any nation.
Nations are nothing more than the people who make up their population. No nation is inherently righteous or divinely protected by merit of a great constitution or wonderful heritage.
Isaiah 40:15-17 NLT No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand. All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God. The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth.
4. It’s possible to lead our people to be thankful for all America means without preaching nationalism.
We like to sing patriotic songs in our churches, especially around holidays. We should ask ourselves if that is proper in a worship service when our focus should be on God.
5. We need to stop preaching despair but offer the hope that is in Christ Jesus.
To despair means we have turned our backs on hope. We have chosen to disbelieve God and His many promises to deliver and provide. Despair means we have fixed our gaze on this world and are looking to it for happiness. Jesus warned us not to “fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell”
Matthew 10:28-31 NLT “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin ? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
But, as children of God, we cannot despair because we have hope in God. Our hope rests on eternity and not the few days we live on this earth.
James 4:14-16 NLT How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.
Things may get worse so we as Christians must become role models for hope. So that we can show the world how to handle adversity.
Jeremiah 12:5 NLT “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?
God has not lost control. He is still in charge.
2 Corinthians 4:8-12, 17-18 NLT We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
So stay focused Christian.
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