Do not be afraid

27 February 2013

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: Oh God Our Help in Ages Past

Theme: The Lord is our Strength and Refuge

Topic: Do not be afraid

Reading: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ ²But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’³And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ ⁴But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’ ⁵He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ ⁶And he believed the Lord; and theLord reckoned it to him as righteousness. ⁷ Then he said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.’ ⁸But he said, ‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’ ⁹He said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.’ ¹⁰He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. ¹¹And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. ¹² As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. ¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. ¹⁸On that day theLord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

Introduction

God tells us severally in His Holy Scripture to not be afraid.  This is because He knows that the vicissitudes of life has the potential of weighing us down.  Hence, He encourages us to put our trust in Him and not to fear; He is and will ever be the Almighty God, bigger, stronger and mightier, than the challenges we encounter in life.  All we need to do is to hold onto His promise of salvation to us, not just from sin and flesh, but also from satanic attacks, sickness, fear of death, difficult relationships, depression and so on.  Note that God may allow us to pass through difficult moments and we may not understand why we have to go through so much pain and confusion, but He has promised to bring us through.  When things appear gloomy and it looks as if all hope is lost, may God through His Holy Spirit at work in us remind us not to fear for He loves us immensely and will surely deliver us.

Questions/Discussion

1. What does it mean to be afraid and what are some of the things that cause us to fear?

Genesis 15:1-3, 7-8

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ ²But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’³And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ ⁷ Then he said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.’ ⁸But he said, ‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’

Mark 14:32-36; 66-72

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ ³³He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. ³⁴And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ ³⁵And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’ ⁶⁶ While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. ⁶⁷When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ ⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. ⁶⁹And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ ⁷⁰But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ ⁷¹But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’⁷²At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

2. Why are we encouraged not to be afraid?

Luke 12:4-7, 22-34

‘I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. ⁵But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. ⁷But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

22 He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁶If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.³¹Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. ³² ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1 John 4:15-21

God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. ¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

3. How do we apply the encouragement not to fear in our lives?

Psalm 27:1-6

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 

² When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall. 

³ Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. 

⁴ One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. 

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. 

⁶ Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord. 

Psalm 46:1-11

¹ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
   though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
³ though its waters roar and foam,
   though the mountains tremble with its tumult.          Selah 

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy habitation of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
   God will help it when the morning dawns.
⁶ The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
   he utters his voice, the earth melts.
⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our refuge.           Selah 

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord;
   see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
   he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ ‘Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations,
   I am exalted in the earth.’
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.          Selah

Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
   and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
   and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴ Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east,
   and from the west I will gather you;
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’, and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.’ 

2 Timothy 1:3-14

I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. ⁴Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. ⁶For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; ⁷for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. ⁸ Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, ⁹who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, ¹⁰but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, ¹²and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. ¹³Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

In this life, we will encounter challenges that may cause us to fear.  Let us be reminded of God’s encouragement to us to be bold and fearless in loving and serving Him regardless of the trials and challenges around us.

Closing Prayer (Collect for Second Sunday in Lent)

Almighty God,

whose Son was revealed in Majesty before He suffered death upon the cross,

give us faith to perceive His glory, that being strengthened by His grace

we may be changed into His likeness,

from glory to glory; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.