Faith

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Fearing the right thing

Gasoline prices hovering at $4.00 a gallon, Fires covering California, earthquakes, a Muslim running for president (and leading at this point), gay marriages, millions of abortions, daily mockery of our current president, the threat of Iran, a weak dollar and a collapsing housing industry, shall I go on? It appears that the very core of the American psyche is being assaulted with a continual bombardment on all fronts. Had we lived in Jerusalem around 740 B.C. we may have heard the voice of Isaiah ringing in the courtyards saying “The Assyrians are coming!”

Judah had all but abandoned her God. Isaiah put it like this, “Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloh that flow gently and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaiah, therefore the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory.” Isa.8:6-7 It was reckoning time for those who had subbed their noses at the Lord of Hosts, and it wasn’t going to be pretty either!

Isaiah’s heart was crushed as he saw his beloved country turn its back on its only hope. The consequences were now unfolding and there was nothing he could do but watch and cry. He would continue to proclaim the Word of the Lord but his words would fall on deaf ears.

As the mighty Assyrians mustered for battle fear griped the hearts of Israel. Panic seized the young and the old. Rich men, poor men, mighty men and the weak, trembled at the news of the inevitable. “Ah, Assyria the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him to take spoil and seize and plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” Isa 10:5-6

I would suppose that even Isaiah could not sit by with calm indifference at news like this. He too would feel the agonizing pain of fear and dread even more clearly than most. Yet in the midst of these horrific announcements of divine justice, God speaks a word of great encouragement and strength to the prophet, a word that should be our “strong tower” in the days of our “Assyrian Invasion.”

Perhaps, one lonely night as Isaiah sits on a roof top, contemplating what is to unfold, he gazes upon the rising columns of smoke from households preparing dinner and then suddenly this word shatters the silence. “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”

In other words God tells Isaiah “DO NOT FEAR!” As I read this I was struck with the realization that this is not a suggestion, it is not like a friend putting his arm over your shoulder and telling you, “It will all be alright, don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine.” Instead this is a command, clear and concise. “Do not fear what they fear nor be in dread!” The God of the universe orders us to not be afraid of the circumstances that are rising in our midst. Now, I don’t know about you but for me this is enormously encouraging because I know that what God commands He also gives grace to accomplish.

For the Christian to be fearful of the current conditions we face is in some ways is an insult to our Lord. By fearing gas prices and the current economical trend, we are saying that my hope lies in OPEC not God. But God says “Don’t be afraid of these things. Be afraid of me!” In other words by embracing a healthy fear and trust of God I am demonstrating my complete trust in the One who controls all things and will turn them out for my good. Furthermore, I will find ample grace to do what in the natural would seem utterly impossible. A supernatural response would require a supernatural power and that is found in his grace! When all your neighbors are complaining and worried you and I can stand in grace! It will be in moments like this when those called by his power shine brightly for his glory. Yes, we will pay for the $4.00 a gallon for gas like the rest but the difference is, he will provide the $4.00 I need!

But there is more. The Prophet continues: “Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. I will wait for the Lord who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob and I will hope in him.” Our source of hope is written on pages in a book that is sealed by blood and authorized by Spirit. “Bind it up,” he says, “seal it.” That is to say embrace his word above all else. Embrace his word more than CNN or FOX News.

Recently I received an E-mail from a friend who sent something they had received from another. In this letter the author was “browbeating” the saints for not praying and allowing our nation to succumb to the moral and political influences of our generation. It was a strong letter intended to motivate the church to take up the challenge to pray for our nation. I concur. Nations have been changed by men and women on their knees; however, scripture teaches us that there is a continual moral and spiritual decline that will accelerate in the last days. The last days would be characterized by rebellious children, immature leaders, uncontrolled violence, homosexuality, moral indecency, wars, famine, plague, greed and spiritual indifference. Not only this but an ever increasing animosity would grow, culminating in the persecution of Christians even to the point of death.

So should we just give up and quite praying? In no way! However when we pray we can be as those who discern the times and realize that all of humanity is coming towards that one final climax in which the Son of God will return to restore his magnificent kingdom. The march from here to there is filled with traps, crises, and pain, yet the word of the Lord holds true! “Do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”

So it all comes down to this, “What will you fear?” The one will cancel out the other. Which will it be, the ‘Grand Finale, or the I Am?”

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