Fear Not
By Pastor Mitch Horton | December 2003 | Posted in • Archives | (0) Comments
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this season, we have every reason to be confident about our future. Uncertain world conditions give everyone reason to wonder what will happen next, but we have the promise of God that when sin abounds, God’s grace superabounds (see Romans 5:20). When you read about the birth of Jesus in the gospels, you hear over and over the phrase FEAR NOT! That word is so applicable to our present condition!
The message of the angel that appeared to Joseph in Matt. 1:18-21 was FEAR NOT! Joseph was engaged to Mary, and this betrothment meant that for a year they would be preparing for marriage while living separately. When Joseph was told, probably by Mary, that she was pregnant, he was not only heartbroken, but also scared! He loved Mary dearly, and I’m sure He thought it was a pretty wild story she made up to explain the pregnancy. She was pregnant by the Holy Spirit? Right! Sure! He knew that he had never touched her, and he no doubt assumed that she had found another lover and had sinned! How could she make up such a story to cover her sin?
According to the Jewish law of the day, pregnancy out of wedlock was a capital offence that could be punished by stoning the offenders. Joseph’s very life was in danger if others found out she was pregnant. And to be sure they would assume HE was the father! While he was trying to find a way to hide Mary’s supposed sin, the angel appeared to him in a dream with the command, FEAR NOT! Joseph had to take a step of faith to believe the word of the angel over the undeniable circumstances that stood before him! God’s Word to him through the angel overrode the fear that challenged him daily! He acted on the Word!
In Luke 1:5-25, an angel appeared to John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias the priest, and commanded him to “FEAR NOT!” When he entered the temple to fulfill his priestly role of burning incense at the altar, an angel appeared to him and told him that his barren wife would give birth to a child! When Zacharias questioned the angel as to how in the world his old wife could have a child at her age, the angel stated that because he did not believe what the angel spoke, he would be unable to speak until the child was born. This would be a sign to him that God’s Word to him would be fulfilled. He had no conversations with anyone during the entire pregnancy. He refused to believe the simple Word of God to his life, and it cost him! God wants us to walk by faith in His promises! And it grieves him when we draw back in fear!
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Luke 1:26-38 with the command to FEAR NOT! At the initial appearance of the angel, Mary’s first reaction was one of fear. With the command to FEAR NOT, the angel told Mary that she would become pregnant with a child from the Holy Spirit! Instead of doubting, Mary simply asked, ““How is this going to happen?” After the angel explained to her that the Holy Spirit would impregnate her supernaturally, Mary’s faith filled response was, “Be it unto me according to your word!”
The message of the angels as they appeared to the shepherds watching their flocks of sheep in the field in Luke 2:8-20 was FEAR NOT! The angels told the shepherds that they had great news for the whole world. They would find a baby lying in a feeding trough who would be the savior of the world from their sins! The shepherds’ response was to believe the angel’s words, and they showed their belief by going to Bethlehem to see the Christ Child that the angels had sung about!
In Acts 27: 20-25, an angel appeared to Paul and told him to FEAR NOT! A severe storm threatened to tear the ship apart in the water and the angel promised him that all on the ship would survive the terrible storm. Paul’s response to the angel’s words was one of great faith as he stated, “I believe God that it will be just as it was told me!”
We have the Word of God to stand on during these perplexing days that is more sure than the word of an angel (See Hebrews 2:3)! God’s Word is forever settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89)! “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8)! “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
I encourage you to look past your circumstances this Christmas season and FEAR NOT! Don’t allow yourself to succumb to the pressure of fear brought on by circumstances. Have the same faith that Joseph, Mary, the Shepherds, and Paul had when things looked bleak from the natural standpoint! The victory that overcomes the world is our faith! The fiery darts cast at you by the enemy are kept from touching you by the shield of faith! Regardless of the difficulty that you may be facing today, the answers are the same for us today as they were in Bible days; “The just shall live by FAITH!”
“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things that are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18)!
During this holiday season and during this next year, keep your mind renewed with the promises of God, and FEAR NOT!
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