•Isaiah 51:9-16
•An Unworthy Fear
9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the LORD;
awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to pass over?
11 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
(Isaiah 51:9-11, ESV)
12 “I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
13 and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the LORD your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of hosts is his name.
16 And I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
establishing the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
(Isaiah 51:12-16, ESV)
•Main Point
• These verses reflect on the people and how they still wonder if God is able or capable
• God reminds them He is capable
• Why fear that which has been made?
• Fear God who is not made, and who is capable of doing that which He has said He will do
Application Points
• An Unworthy Fear
• The people continue to question God, but God always provides the necessary answer
• He is this same God to them as He was to generations before
• In light of these things it should not surprise us to see God’s response to the people
• Tyranny, despotism, oppression, these are all realities they have faced under the Assyrians, Babylonians, and even under their own monarchs at times
• We can sympathize with them
• Whether it be with Afghanistan and the Taliban regime, or the Chinese government and their crackdown on religious and civil liberties
• Not only on this grand scale, but those moments in the night wondering if some oppressor has broken into our houses?
Application Points
• An Unworthy Fear (2)
• To say we do not fear such things is a lie
• We fear because we have value in this life
• We fear, and our fears change our attitudes, our behaviors, our lives
• What have we to fear?
• Is not the tyrant a mortal like you and I?
• We are but fading grass
• They are but a breath away from death
• This should cause us there is no reason to fear another person
• We often think this time on earth is the only time we have
• God…has told us of life beyond this mortal existence
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
(Luke 12:4-7, ESV)
Application Points
• An Unworthy Fear (3)
• Christ reminds us that humanity is not so powerful in the grand scheme of things
• They may take our lives, but they cannot take our souls
• If humanity had this kind of power, then we would have every reason to fear
• If we should fear anything, it should be God
• This God who has stretched out all the heavens and the earth
• This God who is pure glory, the maximally greatest being of all things
• A Being of such magnificence…even the smallest amount of His unveiled presence would cause all of us, as well as any Tyrant or Oppressor, to fall down crying, “Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! Woe is me I am undone!”
Application Points
• An Unworthy Fear (4)
• Yes, this magnificent God is worthy of our fear
• It is no wonder in all the wisdom literature the statement is made, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge” (Prov. 1:7) and “wisdom” (Prov. 9:10) and “Zion’s Treasure” (Isaiah 33:6)
• Yet what else do we find in today’s text?
• While it is foolish to fear man rather than God, we also find this same God turn to us and say, “Fear not.”
• When we fear Him it shows we understand Him and His nature
• But, it also leads us to what He has said today, “I am your comforter”
• He is far greater than anything we could fear on this earth, and He has told us, “Peace.”
Application Points
• An Unworthy Fear (5)
• That, however, is our problem
• If we were to fear God, we would have no fear in the end, because we know His peace, and His Words, and His mercy, and His kindness all mean something
• God has promised to be with us, and He is with us
• Of all people on the earth it is we who have nothing to fear in this world
• He has shown us He is good
• He has saved us from the Pharoahs, the Rahabs, the monsters of the world
• This does not mean we will not experience hardship
• Instead, this reminds us that our perspective matters
• We would always be having our eyes open preparing ourselves to be obedient to Him
Application Points
• An Unworthy Fear (6)
• Then we will find exactly what the apostles, and before them the prophets, found
• They were unafraid to proclaim and live in the truth, despite death
• This proper fear, then, leads to a reason for doing, and standing, for what is right
• We stand to do what is morally and ethically right, despite what the oppressor tells us, because we have no fear of what they can do to us
• The first is there is a worthy fear, and that fear is found in God
• The second is, there is an unworthy fear in humans who are like the grass
• Choose to fear the right thing, knowing only One has ultimate power in the universe
Application Points
• The Gospel of Christ
• Origins
• Fall
• Redemption
• Glorification
