"WHAT TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF"

“WHAT TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF”
EXODUS 14:10-18
INTRODUCTION
Scrawled in a nervous hand across a blackboard at Southern Methodist University during final week was this message: “We have nothing to fear, but F itself.”

A farmer looked out his window one day and saw several young boys stealing his watermelons from his field. He pulled out his gun and fired over their heads once or twice to scare the thieves off. Later, when the boys met, one said, “Did you hear those bullets?” Another replied, “I heard them twice, once when they passed me, and once when I passed them!”

The farmer accomplished his purpose, since fear kept the boys from further stealing. Fear is a powerful motive-directing behavior. Perhaps love is the most desirable motive, but fear will also do.

I would like to share with you on the topic: “What to Fear Is Fear Itself.”

Background
Most of you are familiar with the Book of Exodus. The story begins at a time when Joseph died and the Pharaoh who ascended the throne of Egypt did not know Joseph. Therefore, upon the advice of his elders he enslaved the Israelites and put them into servitude. This was a time of severe affliction for the children of Israel, and they continued to cry day and night to the Lord. The Lord heard their prayers, and through extenuating circumstances, He sent Moses and Aaron to go and deliver them. Pharaoh and his elders did everything in their power to thwart the efforts of God through His servant Moses. God sent ten plagues as a form of punishment and wake up call to Egypt. The last plagued was the death of the first male born of every Egyptian family, and that got their attention. Therefore, Pharaoh and the Egyptians allowed the Israelites to leave Egypt en route to the Promised Land to serve the Lord. Nevertheless, after the Israelites left and the Egyptians missed their slave labor, Pharaoh and his army changed their mind and they decided to pursue the Israelites to bring them back to Egypt to put them into perpetual servitude. This background brings us to the text that is before us today.

I. THE PROBLEM OF FEAR VV. 10-12
This passage is a test of faith to the Israelites but sad enough they failed in the hour of testing. After what God had done on their behalf in Egypt, they surely had good reason to trust Him now. However, that is not what happened. After such wondrous display of Divine power, and after their own gracious deliverance from the Angel of Death, their present fear and despair were inexcusable. Nevertheless, before you show an air of superiority to the Israelites and call them spineless people, take a good and critical look at yourself. You and I are just like the Israelites in this episode. Our memories are so short. No matter how many times the Lord has delivered us in the past, no matter how supremely His power has been exerted on our behalf, when some new trials come upon us, we forget God's previous interventions, and we are swallowed up by the greatness of our present emergency. The problem of the Israelites was the problem of Peter, and it is the problem of fear that you and I encounter today. Here is the problem. The Israelites took their eyes off the Lord and began to look at the Egyptians behind them. Peter's problem was that he took his eyes away from Jesus and began to look at the sea and he was about to drown. What are you afraid? Do you have the job jitters—you think a pink slip may be in the wind? Maybe you work under the constant tension of a boss who read Robert Ringer's book, Winning through Intimidation. Perhaps you have learned that you have a debilitating illness, and you do not know how you will support your family. Death might look better to you than life.

Some of you have business deals you are working on which hang by a frayed thread. It may have been in the works for months. If it falls through you will have to severely change your lifestyle, maybe lose everything. The thought of having to start over causes the blood to drain from your face and your hands to tremble. You may have a son or daughter on drugs, and both embarrassed and frightened, you do not know where to turn to for help. Maybe people intimidate you and your relationships are filled with anxiety.

Some of you may sense no direction for your life, and you fear God has abandoned you. Some of you fear an uncertain future. Some of you do not have an assurance that when you die you will actually be in the presence of God. Some of us are consumed by the problems this very day brings to our doorstep. Someone said, “I do not have any problem with eternal life and salvation and all of that—it is these next twenty-four hours that I am worried about!” Every person struggles with the emotion of fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of sudden disaster, fear of men—fears of all sorts elbow their way into our stream of conscious thought. While some fears are constructive—many heroes are born by their reaction to a life threat. Most fears handicap men and women. Some people have the fear of bad news. Therefore, when the telephone rings either at midnight or at dawn, they do not want to pick it up. The Bible does not promise that we will not receive bad news. However, it does assure us that we do not have to live each day in gnawing fear of what might happen (Psalm 112:8). Many people are driven by fear. Their fear may be a result of a traumatic experience, unrealistic expectation, growing up in a high-control home, or even genetic predisposition. Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. There are at least three reasons why we choose to be afraid rather than trust God.

1. I have been lied to All of My Life
Since you have been lied to all of your life by everyone you know, should you be surprised that when you read the Bible you can hardly believe it is true? Even though the Bible says to “fear not!” and trust God, you wonder, at least occasionally, if it is true because you have been lied to all of your life.

2. There Is no Such Thing As a Free Lunch
The Bible promises that if you trust God with your life, He will meet all of your needs and direct all of your paths. The message intrigues you: If you will confess your weaknesses and sins, God will not only forgive you, but also cleanse you from all of your unrighteousness. In other words, God will give you everything you have ever wanted in exchange for everything you have ever wanted to get rid of. Most people find this hard to believe the first time they hear it. It sounds very much like a free lunch, and we all know very well that there is no such thing as a free lunch! Nevertheless, God offers us a “free lunch,” because Jesus Christ has paid in full for us (Rom. 5:7-8).

3. We Really Are Guilty
The third reason many people do not trust God revolves around our moral guilt. Our moral guilt is what convicts us that we are sinners. We know we have been guilty of moral depravity in our thought lives, speech, and actions. We find our sins contemptible; we despise our unrighteousness; and we grieve over our incurable and wicked heart. We really deserve God's punishment and wrath. However, in God's hard to understand love, He has withheld His punishment from us and brought it upon the Lord Jesus instead. When you do not accept God's forgiveness for your moral guilt, you have not been “made perfect in love,” and the fear of your guilt remains with you. “But perfect love drives out fear.” God has withheld His punishment, so you need not fear, but trust Him.

II. THE PROPOSAL OF FAITH VV. 13-14
Fear and courage are opposites. Webster's Dictionary defines courage as the state of mind that enables one to face hardship or disaster with confidence and resolution. Fear is the agitated state of mind that cripples us from looking any further than the hardship itself. When I was meditating and studying this passage something suddenly struck my mind. I began to ask the question: where did fear originate? I am not talking about constructive fear, such as respect or reverence we have for God, or children have for their parents. I am talking about negative fear, or nagging fear. I discovered that gnawing or nagging fear came because of the fall in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:10). Before Adam and Eve fell into sin, there was nothing like fear. They were enjoying uninterrupted fellowship and the best of relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. However, when Adam and Eve succumbed to sin, fear set in. I have also discovered that is why Jesus uses the command, “do not fear,” or “be not afraid” more than any other command in the New Testament. Fear therefore, is an enemy of faith in Christ. The Bible repeatedly encourages us not to be afraid. The Bible tells us that God has not given us “the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). We are even told that the man who fears has not been made perfect in love (1 John 4:18).

Moses saw the problem of the Israelites and therefore made a proposition of faith. The only cure for fear is for the eye to remain steadfastly fixed on the Lord. To be occupied with our circumstances and surroundings is fatal to our peace. It was the same problem that Peter faced. While he kept his gaze upon the Lord, he was safe, but as soon as he became preoccupied with the winds and the waves he began to sink.

Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see them no more forever” (v. 13). “Fear not” is one of the great words recurring all through the Scriptures (Gen. 15:1; Joshua 8:1; Judges 1:23; 1 Chron. 28:20; Isaiah 35:4; Daniel 10:12; Luke 12:32). “Stand still” was the next word of command of Moses to the Israelites. All attempts at self-help must end. All activities of the flesh must cease. The workings of nature must be subdued. This is the right attitude of faith in the presence of a trial—“stand still.” Fear and unbelief create or magnify difficulties, and then set us about removing them with our own puny strength and fruitless actions, which prevent us from seeing the salvation of the Lord.

The question you need to ask yourself is, “Why am I afraid?” To be afraid is not to fully trust God. God instructs us not to be afraid, promising us that if we cast our anxiety upon Him, He will take care of us (1 Peter 5:7). Now, if you do not take God at His Word on this, then you have not fully trusted Him. Fear and lack of trust go hand-in-hand; where you find one, you will find the other. We fear people, but they have no genuine power over us. We become concerned that they will cheat us in a business deal, withhold the pay raise, fire us, or rob our house. However, God has genuine power. God has the power of life and death, the power to judge our sins. Who are we to fear, God or man? “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25). John Witherspoon wisely said, “It is only the fear of God that can deliver us from the fear of man.”

III. THE PROMISE OF FREEDOM VV. 15-18
The nagging fear of the Israelites affected Moses, who was the instrument of God's deliverance. He also began to cry out to God. One of the things the Israelites and Moses did right is that they knew where and whom to direct their fear. They cried out to God. Some of you in your fears you cry out to people; you cry out to a tribal god who cannot deliver you anyway. God told Moses that crying out to Him on behalf of the Israelites would not solve the problem. God has promised to lead them from bondage to freedom. He has promised to lead them from slavery to salvation. Therefore, God told them to go forward; they were to march forward. You are not ready to go forward until you have stood still. The reason many Christians fail in their service to God is that they do not stand still to hear from God. They are always on the run, but until you have stood still to listen to God, you will fail in your mission for God. Faith must be based on the Divine promise, and obedience to the command must spring from the faith thus produced.

Someone has said, “It does not require faith to begin a journey when I can see all the way through; but to begin when I can barely see the first step, this is faith.” Let me tell you something about God. When God saved you through Jesus Christ, He established a covenant with you. In His covenant with you, God's reputation is on the line. Any bad thing that happens to you affects His character and reputation. God will always vindicate His name. All that He wants from you is for you to keep your part of the covenant. When you obey Him, God will prove Himself faithful. When God was sending Moses to deliver the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, He knew that His integrity was on the line. When God the Father sent God the Son to die on the cross to save you, He knew that His faithfulness was at stake. God will never begin a work that He cannot finish (Philippians 1:6). You all know the rest of the story of the Exodus. God delivered the Israelites with a mighty hand. What are we to do when we are afraid?

1. Pray to God.
Instead of caving in to fear, pour your heart to God. Prayer is the bridge between panic and peace. Prayer lifts your heart from personal tragedy to the compassion of God.

2. Have Faith in God through Jesus Christ. When fear assails you, feel your way through the fog to the bridge of faith.

3. Wait patiently for God to act. He will certainly act in His own time, not yours.

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