FEAR NOT "TAKE MY HAND"
Isaiah 41:13 (CJB) For I, ADONAI, your God, say to you, as I hold your right hand, 'Have no fear; I will help you.
GLIMPSES OF GOD'S GREATNESS THAT ISAIAH GIVES
Glimpse #1
In Isaiah 41:1 God says, "Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, and let the peoples gain new strength; let them come forward, then let them speak; let us come together for judgment."
Here is a picture of God calling all the coastlands and all the peoples to gird up their strength and come before him for judgment. The God of Isaiah 41:10 is the judge of all the earth. He calls all nations to give an account of their lives and their religions and their thoughts. He is not called to account. He is not on trial. They are. They come into his courtroom. He is the judge of all and will pass sentence on every person. That's the God who is with you to strengthen and help.
Glimpse #2
In Isaiah 41:2-3 Isaiah asks, "Who has aroused one from the east [probably Cyrus the Persian king that God stirred up to come against Babylon] whom He [God] calls in righteousness to His feet? He delivers up nations before him, and subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, as the wind-driven chaff with his bow."
Here is a picture of God rousing a king and leading him in conquest and delivering up nations before him. So the God of Isaiah 41:10 is Ruler of the rulers of history. He controls the affairs of men and nations for his purposes. That's who gives the pillars for fearlessness in Isaiah 41:10.
Glimpse #3
In Isaiah 41:4 Isaiah asks, "Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? 'I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.'"
Here is a picture of God not only judging the nations and ruling the rulers of the earth but calling all the nations of the earth into being--"calling forth the generations from the beginning." God is the first--he is the absolute reality before all other reality and on which all other reality depends. He is the uncreated first. And he will be there with the last when all is accomplished according to his eternal purpose.
When God answers, "I, the Lord, am the first . . ." the word "Lord" is "Jehovah or Yahweh. Franz Deilitzsch comments on this verse: "It is the full meaning of the name Jehovah which is unfolded here; for God is called Jehovah as the absolute I, the absolutely free Being, pervading all history, and yet above all history, as He who is Lord of His own absolute being, in revealing which He is purely self-determined; in a word, as the unconditionally free and unchangeably eternal personality" (cited in E.J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, vol. 3, p 76). That's the God of Isaiah 41:10 who strengthens and helps and upholds.
Glimpse #4
In verses 5-7 Isaiah shows us the desperate attempts of the nations to persuade themselves that they and their gods are strong. Verse 5: they are afraid and they come together. Verse 6: they try to encourage each other not to be afraid, and say, "Be strong!" Verse 7: the idol makers who smooth the metal and nail up the idols with nails try to encourage each other and say, "It is good."
In other words, there is a picture of the unrepentant nations desperately trying to convince themselves that their self-wrought gods, made with soldering and nails, are really adequate for their needs.
Over against this desperation of self-reliance and idolatry God says to his people in verses 8-9, "But you [are] Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you."
That is what God has done for us in Christ. He chose us before the foundation of the world. He called us out of darkness and death. And he took us for himself to be his. To make himself our God.
There are some truths in the Word of God that I want to give you. These truths will help us in these days of discouragement, dismay, despair, and disorientation so we can stay encouraged. I have determined that there are three things that will get us through the trials and discouragements of life.
The Five Pillars of Fearlessness
1. "For I am with you"--"Do not fear, for I am with you."
2. "I am your God"--"Do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God."
3. "I will strengthen you."
4. "surely I will help you."
5. "Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
When God calls you to be free from fear as you do evangelism, as you take a test, as you face an interview, as you take a stand against an unjust business practice, as you confront someone with sin in their life, when you leave a secure position and take a risk in a new venture, when you face an operation or a treatment, when you lose a spouse or a friend--when God calls you to be free from fear (to overcome this natural emotion and have peace, he does not leave the command hanging in the air. He puts pillars under it. Five of them. That's the nature of all Biblical commands. They come with divine support.
Fear not . . . God is with you;
Fear not . . . God is your God;
Fear not . . . God will strengthen you;
Fear not . . . God will help you;
Fear not . . . God will uphold you.
The key to overcoming fear is resting on the pillars of the promises of God. ~Bits and Pieces from the sermon by John Piper
Isaiah 41:10-13 (AMP) 10 Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice. 11 Behold, all they who are enraged and inflamed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; they who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. 12 You shall seek those who contend with you but shall not find them; they who war against you shall be as nothing, as nothing at all. 13 For I the Lord your God hold your right hand; I am the Lord, Who says to you, Fear not; I will help you!
Many things will discourage you in this life. When you see the world growing in power and wickedness, it will discourage you. When it seems that nothing is the same as before, it has the potential to discourage you. You would think that because of the wickedness of the world the church would fight harder than ever before. However, Jesus declared in Matthew 24:12, (KJV) “12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” God wants us to be an encouraged people!
When studying the Word and praying, I saw a vision of God's hand and he said, "Take My Hand." ~Debi Webster Perry
From Genesis to Revelation, God has spoken to people through dreams and visions! We can choose to invite God's Spirit to speak to us in any way that He chooses. God has not limited us to know Him only with our minds and the written logos Word of God. We can invite Him to make Himself known to us through open spiritual eyes and ears. Praise God! He wants us to know Him intimately!
More Study on the Hand of God: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208488417788268&set=a.1394488662546.78714.1242077685&type=3&theater
THE OPEN HAND OF GOD
Many people today are living as if God is not interested in their life or in how they are living it. As a result, their life has become one struggle after another with seemingly no one to turn to. Not only are financial struggles a major problem for people but also health concerns, and family pressures overwhelm them. Many Christians as well as unbelievers are living in a mere survival mode wondering what will happen next and feeling that they are just about ready to go under. They do not expect anything to get better.
Is there a different way to live our lives; and if so, how do we get there? Scripture speaks of God’s unfailing love for his people and His wonderful deeds that He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 104:28 says, “When you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.” This verse says when, not if. Psalm 68:9 says, “You gave abundant showers, O God, You refreshed your weary inheritance.
These are just three of many scriptures that speak of God’s open hand, Psalm 107:9; Psalm 104:21-28; Psalm 68:9. The adjectives used to describe His provision are not skimpy, barely enough, just scraping the bottom of the barrel. They indicate that He satisfies; He fills. Other scriptures use terms of agriculture--a well-watered garden--a flourishing plant or bubbly springs. In Isaiah 58:11 the Message Bible puts it this way, “I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places…”
We need to know and be convinced that God wants to open His hand toward us. Many people will say, “Oh, I’m not worthy. Oh, I’ll never have a good job, or I never will be well…” On and on people speak as if they are not convinced of God’s love for them. In spite of the economy or anything going on around us, we can have a sense of wholeness and wellbeing in our souls.
Apply this to yourself. You are not parched in your soul--you are flourishing. If the Lord is satisfying you, you are not just barely getting by. We have to be convinced that God wants our life to be good. Often we think that God is just wanting to disqualify us over our past or that He never quite forgives us.
We have to be convinced of God’s forgiveness so that His hand can be open toward us. Psalm 84:11 says, “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
Being convinced that God is not out to get us, just what opens His hand and what closes it? Just how do we move into a place where we can see the open hand of God in our daily life? There are several things that cause this to happen, and I would like to talk about four things:
1. THANKFULNESS--Thankfulness is a key to open God’s hand. Thank you opens the door to all that God has done, is doing, and will do. Be generous with your "Thank You" to God.
We fail to receive when we are careless about thanking Him. In fact, scripture calls our thanks a PASSWORD. In Psalm 100 the Message Bible says, “Enter with the Password: THANK YOU. Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank Him. Worship Him.”
2. OBEDIENCE--We usually know what God wants us to do but often want to do what WE want to do because it is easier or takes less effort. Scripture tells us, “…to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (I Samuel 15:22).
We can say, “God, I would rather substitute something else instead of what you are requiring of me.” That kind of attitude keeps the hand of God from opening toward us because “if you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land” (Isaiah 1:19 NIV).
Are you doing all you know to do to be obedient to what God wants you to do? “From now on if you listen obediently to the commandments that I am commanding you today, love God, your God and serve him with everything you have within you, he’ll take charge of sending the rain at the right time, both autumn and spring rains, so that you’ll be able to harvest your grain, your grapes, your olives. He’ll make sure there’s plenty of grass for your animals. You’ll have plenty to eat” (Deut. 11:27 MSG).
The provision is traced back to obedience not just doing whatever we want to do even though we know it doesn’t please God. Can you say like David, “I delight to do thy will, O God?”
3. ACKNOWLEDGING GOD--You need to be walking close enough to Him to hear what He has to say to you. Proverbs 3:6 tells us “in all thy ways acknowledge him [listen for God’s voice in everything you do] and he will direct thy paths.” We have to be on the lookout for God’s open hand. Would you recognize it if you would see it? It may come in the form of an unexpected job opportunity that just came up--out of the blue. It could come in the form of a good buy on something. That was not just coincidence. That was God’s open hand.
Position yourself for His open hand by acknowledging Him every day and listening for what He has to say. We have to be alert and ready to receive from His open hand. Too often we say, “It’s not a good time for me. Wait till the flu season is over. Wait until warm weather. Wait till school is out.” We often miss God’s open hand because we procrastinate.
God’s open hand comes to us in many different ways. It is not always money we need. If you are sick, you need God to open His hand in healing and wellness. If you are in constant conflict with people, you need His open hand in the area of conflict resolution. There are many ways that He causes us to be like a flourishing plant or springs of water. When we acknowledge Him, we become more aware of His open hand in many areas of our life.
4. PLANTING SEED--Give God something to work with by planting seed away from yourself. God told Abraham, “…I will bless you…and you will be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2).
Isaiah 58:11 tells us, “if you are generous, with the hungry and start giving to the down and out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I will give you a full life in the emptiest of places--firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry” (Isaiah 58:11 MSG).
Giving opens the hand of God by establishing a cycle--giving and receiving. When God gives, don’t let it stop there--you give again. Give out of your need, give in a lot of ways, not just money. Give friendship to someone, give things to add a sparkle to someone’s day--learn to become a generous person in many different ways. Luke 6:38 tells us “give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
A well-known Old Testament scripture speaks of the open hand of God in another way, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I will not throw upon the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it” (Malachi 3:10 NIV). The Message Bible says, “…see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams.”
What needs to be done in your life in order for you to experience the open hand of God? Do you need to change some things? Start by being more thankful in the everyday things. Live in obedience to what you already know to do and acknowledge Him in your daily life. Be a blessing to someone, generously giving of yourself and your resources. You will begin to see God’s Open Hand become evident in some very specific ways in your life.
~Bits and Pieces of sermon by Marilyn Murphree
