Fearless Part 1 - Have I Not Commanded You?

June 25, 2023

• In Nehemiah 6:9 we see that the
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  harassment from Sanballat was intended to move Nehemiah and all of the workers from a position of faith, to a position of fear.

For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. —Nehemiah 6:9

• The intent of the Spirit of fear is to
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  your heart and mind with enough negative emotion that you would step back from your calling.

10 Later I went to visit Shemaiah son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home. He said, “Let us meet together inside the Temple of God and bolt the doors shut. Your enemies are coming to kill you tonight.”
11 But I replied, “Should someone in my position run from danger? Should someone in my position enter the Temple to save his life? No, I won’t do it!” 12 I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me.
14 Remember, O my God, all the evil things that Tobiah and Sanballat have done. And remember Noadiah the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to intimidate me.
15 So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. 16 When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. —Nehemiah 6:10-16

• Going to the temple is a wonderful thing, but Nehemiah learned the secret of not
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  in a spirit of fear. He would not run away from his assignment and calling. He refused to re-position himself into a posture of fear.

The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion. —Proverbs 28:1

• Fear is an

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  that tempts the righteous to behave like the wicked.

• The wicked - Morally wrong, guilty conscience, ungodly and godless, hostile towards God.

• The righteous - to be

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  right, to be justified. To be righteous in conduct and character, the cleansed.

There is therefore

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no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus —Romans 8:1
Bold - confident, sure, secure. To feel safe, to be careless (worry-free).

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. —Acts 4:13

1. The sprit of fear is

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with the Holy Spirit throughout scripture.

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage [slavery] again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” —Romans 8:15

• We need to

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  between the regular emotion of fear, and then there is the spirit or atmosphere of fear.

• Don’t allow the spirit of fear to

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  itself as healthy caution.

2. In the Bible there’s a “Fear Not” scripture for

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day.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. —John 14:27
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. —Psalm 34:4–5

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. —Psalm 23:4

When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? —Psalm 56:3–4

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? —Psalm 27:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. —Psalm 46:1–3

For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you. —Isaiah 41:13

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine. —Isaiah 43:1

3. The command to “fear not” is often

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in moments of encounter and calling.

Why is that? Because fear has the potential to

both the revelation and the assignments that the Lord has called us into.

• Jeremiah 1:8 - Do not be afraid of their faces.

• Luke 5:10 - And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”

• Revelation 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” —Joshua 1:6-9