Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Welcome back to our all series. Great to have you here in session. Number four. I want to begin tonight with a quote that I think is, is very relevant to our subject tonight. And actually in the, in the remainder of our series, as we S we focus on the seven realities of God that are given to us to produce all in our lives and enable us to have all replacing.
Fear awe Tozer in his wonderful book, knowledge of the Holy made this famous statement. What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you tonight? Study is about the fact that God is stronger than anything you might face. We see that in two ways throughout the scripture.
First of all, God says that he is stronger than any enemy that might threaten you. Here’s what we read in Isaiah chapter 51 verses 12 and 13. Who are you that you fear mortal man, the sons of men who are, but grass that you forget the Lord, your maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth.
That you would live in constant pain. We are every day, the one who stretched out the universe is stronger than any people in your life. He is the one that stretched out. The heavens I’ve used it illustration before, but I want to use it in this context and try to make application of it. If this paper, the thickness of it stood for the distance between earth and the sun.
We would then use that measurement to measure out parts of the universe. So this thickness, the distance of earth to sun would then be used to measure the distance to the next nearest star. Our in our, in our galaxy. And we would find that we would need to take papers of this thickness and pile them on top of each other and have a pile of papers, 70 feet high to reflect that distance.
If we were to measure out the diameter of the Milky way, our galaxy, we would find that we needed a pile of papers 310 miles high. That would just be the diameter of our particular personal. Galaxy the Milky way. Astronomers. Now tell us, there are a minimum of 100 billion galaxies in the cosmos to put that in perspective, if we can, we’re told that there have been approximately in world history, somewhere around a hundred billion people.
So if every person that’s ever lived owned a galaxy. They would own something that was the, the vastness of our Milky way. That’s the cosmos, you know, if you ever wonder if you’re going to be bored in heaven, just imagine some of the traveling you’re going to be able to, to do for eternity and this God.
Says to you. I’m the one that spanned out this, that spread out this heaven. I’m the one that stretched it out. We’re told then that in Isaiah chapter 40 verse 12, he says to us, I measure it with the span of my hand. He says all those stars to billions of stars in each of those billions of galaxies. God says I appointed the number of those stars in Psalm one 47, verse 11.
And I call them each by their name. God oversees every square inch of that universe. There’s no comment that burns out. There is no Sparrow that falls off a telephone wire. There’s no Juul being formed in an oyster shell that he is not overseeing. And this God says to you, why do you live in terror of mortal man?
And forget me. He says, remember who I am? Steven Oxbridge has written a book on ti entitled. Untamable God, it has the interesting subtitle encountering the one who is bigger, better, and more dangerous than you could possibly imagine. He makes this statement. We serve a God who is not like us. Uh, God was sharp edges and strong opinions.
A hurricane of a God, a tsunami of a God, a God who is greater, more loving, more, just more furious, more frightening, more delightful, and more tender. Then we could possibly imagine if you see him. As big enough to all you, you will see him as big enough to fight for you to protect you, to calm your fears.
Now, of course, it only helps to know if he’s strong. If you know he’s on your side or maybe better that you’re on his side. And that is why we need to listen to God. It is why we need to be with him to let him. Assure us through his word and his presence that he is actually using his strength and willing to use his strength in our behalf.
And the beautiful thing about the Lord is. He is willing to do that in the most personal ways. I’ve mentioned to you in a previous session about the story of the Israelites coming to the land of promise. And as they stood there on the edge, they sent 12 spies in and they came back and 10 of them gave the, the, the fear filled report that man, th the, the, the Ana kites are there and they’re big and they’re strong.
And they were these freakishly large race of, of man that will warriors. And they said we were grasshoppers in their eyes. And quite frankly, we were grasshoppers in our eyes compared to these guys. And 38 years later. Now I want you to fast forward with me. We come to the similar scene where they’re about to cross the river and go into the land of promise once again, and God is again, speaking to a new generation of Israelites and he is saying to them in Deuteronomy seven, Uh, these words do not be terrified by them talking about the nations of the land for the Lord, your God, who is among you is a great and awesome.
God, the Lord, your God will drive out those nations before you little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once. So the wild animals will multiply around you. He says, I’m going to, I’m going to give you victory. You can trust me. I will fight for you. I’m going to do it slowly. It’s going to take years because if you otherwise, chaos would, would dominate you aren’t that old or organized enough yet to really take over the home.
We’ll do a piece by piece by piece, but you will win. And then he continues in Deuteronomy nine with his final word of encouragement. And this is where it just gets so personal. He says to them in Deuteronomy nine beginning at verse one, hero Israel, you’re now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossessed nations greater and stronger than you.
With large cities that have walls up to the sky, the people are strong and tall. Anna kites, you know about them. And I’ve heard it said who can stand up against the Anna kites, but be assured today, the Lord, your God is the one who goes ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them. He will subdue them before you and listen to this word and you will drive the anecdotes out.
And annihilate them quickly. Here’s what he’s saying. He says, we’re going to go in and we’re going to take the land and all these nations that are there, you’re going to conquer it, but it’s gonna take a long time. It’s gonna take years and we’re going to have to do it slowly in order to get some order in the land.
But there is one thing I know is gonna there could eat your lunch, the Anna kite thing. You’ve heard about them for generations now. And it’s the one fear that might eat your lunch. So I’m going to do this for you. The Ana kites. Stronger taller than all the others with city walls, that rage to the, to the skies.
I’ll take those guys down immediately, quickly. He said, when you first go into the land, you will conquer the anatomic kites. I love that. I love the kindness of God. He says, look, I know you. I know what you’re dealing with in you. I know what you’re dealing with in your enemies. I know how much encouragement and what specific hope you will need to survive.
I will creatively carry you as you face your enemy. I will be strong in you as you depend on me and this amazing, awesome. God is willing. To make himself personally known in the midst of your journey to continually are you with I’ve got it. I’m a God of power. I mean, I’ve sketched out the cosmos it’s mine.
I control it. There’s nothing going on there. I’m not overseeing. And he says, I’m just looking for people that will be awed by me. It’s an amazing statements. He says in Psalm one 47, verse 11, it says God’s pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor in the nor does he delight in the legs of the warrior.
He says I’m not what, what gets me fired up is not people that have great resources and strength. You know, they got, they got a chariot with a horse or, or they’ve got a, they’ve got a charger. That’s, that’s great in the battle. It’s not their legs where the strongest muscles in your body or in your legs.
He said, it’s not their strength. It’s not that they offer me their strength that I delight in. It’s this. The next verse, Psalm one 47, verse 11, the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. He’s not delighting in your strength. He’s not the lighting. Even that you offer your strength.
He’s delighting in the fact. That you fear him, that you are letting him all you. And he says he delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. What does God delight in you in, in the midst of your fears and the, and the fearsome things you’re facing? Not that you’re strong, not even that you offer him your strength.
It’s that you say, God, I’m awed with you. I’m stunned with who you are. And my hope is in this. Your love won’t fail me and God says to you great. Now watch,
if you do let him, are you, if you do delight it, let him delight in you when you. Trust in and hope in his unfailing love. You can know that this Lord, God almighty will fight for you. The second thing we’re told is God is stronger than any situation that could overwhelm you. I say a 40 and 41. The prophet is trying to encourage the people that, that they don’t need to fear even the most fearsome of circumstances because of God’s power and Isaiah 41 10, he then sort of does a concluding statement.
He says, so don’t fear. For, I am with you do not be dismayed for, I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. And I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. He says, don’t be dismayed. The word literally means don’t be looking all around it. It has the idea of your eyes going. You’ve trying to find something, man.
I need, I need hope somewhere. It’s a picture of a person that’s dismayed and hopeless. It’s just nothing to latch onto. He says you that are dismayed. Look this way, don’t fear. I’m your God. I will strengthen you and help you. He tells him I’ll come to your aid. I’ll take care of you. He will give you an inner strength to cope and to meet the external needs that he deemed you need.
EV I’ve shared the verse earlier first Timothy chapter one, verse five, where it says, God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and self control. When you’re fearful, he will enable you to love when you want to live in a fetal position, the power to move forward. When you feel so desperately weak.
To have some order in your life. When you fear, when your fear makes you feel like a blob of jelly of hopelessness. And then he says this, not only will I strengthen you, I’ll uphold you with my righteous right hand. It’s the word uphold means it’s used of a tree that is braced that newly planted. It would fall over, but they say, no, they, they brace it.
I’ll brace. You. I’ll keep you standing. Remember we saw a couple of sessions ago that fear one of the four CS of fear. Is it crushes? It weighs on you and exhausts you. It’s a con artist telling you you’re trapped. You’re hopeless. You’re doomed. So the question comes to who we are. Listen to your fierce, or will you listen to the universe?
Creating. All mighty God who says he will uphold you. He will strengthen you. He will fight for you. He will help you. That’s really the alternative that’s given to us today. Right? Maybe something has happened recently and maybe, maybe it’s just a sense that life just feels so out of control. It could be the virus, it could be national unrest.
It could be how schooling is impacted your family. It could be a family crisis or a work crisis or some other form of bad news. Here’s what we tend to do. That one thing, that one thing that feels for boating and out of control is, is like a rock that, that, that is a big rock thrown into a pond. And what happens is there’s ripples, right?
There’s ripples that go out that these concentric concentric circles that go out,
we can look at those circles. And fixate on them and they can be like, the things that we are imagined are going to happen. And some of us, I actually think leaders often have an, uh, an ability to, to evaluate old man, that’s going to lead to that, to that, to that, to that. And, and one of the curses of leadership is sometimes you’re pretty good at guessing, but you’re invariably wrong about a lot of the levels of circles.
Everybody is. But we can fixate on those. And what you’ll do then when that becomes your focus is it will be your strengths applied to trying to control and trying to manipulate and trying to anticipate all the possible waves. But I will tell you that God will not give you power to endure those waves that you are fixating on, which have not come.
Or you lean into God and you can say, God, there’s a big rock. That’s just hit. And I don’t know what’s going to happen, but God, you’re big. And you’ve got control of even, even the waves, the things I don’t know where they’re going and I’m not going to spend my waking moments, fixating and focused on the imagined ripples.
I’m going to seek to be awed by you. I want to use this time to know you, to worship you, to listen to you. I will guarantee you that when whatever ripples come do come, you will be able to face every single one in God’s strength because your mind and heart are already fixated on him. You are awed. By the God that in those moments, whatever ripples come, he will give the grace to endure not before, but as that wave hits as the ripple comes and you’re ready because your mind is already fixated on the awesome God controlling stronger than anything you can face God.
So I want to close today, this session in this way. With a suggested exercise for the next seven days before we meet again. Or if you’re you’re meeting in 14 days, man, you can double us to read Isaiah 40 and 41 every day. Read it. Get your highlighters out. Highlight certain verses. One day, maybe I’ll hit a couple, another, you’ll throw in a couple more.
And the more you read that, the more you’re going to see, the more that’s going to become your story from God. And as you begin to get those phrases, those, those verses that become your own throughout those days start using that as the basis of your prayer time with God. God you, you said here that you’re going to be my strength and I help her.
You’re going to sustain me. I’m claiming this reality today in this situation, begin to make God’s words, your words, as you talk to him, fill your mind. With these passages that talk about a God who is stronger than anything you might face. All comes. As our minds are saturated. With that reality, God is stronger than anything you might face.