Đừng Sợ Hãi
“Do not Fear” Isaiah 43:1
But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob and He who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!
Introduction:
Some time ago, it dawned on me how common is my name. In 2014, as we prepared to move to Albuquerque, the leasing office of the apartment we were to move into asked me for a letter from the police department that stated that I did not have a criminal record. When I asked them why, they told me that it was because my name was so common.
Some months later, I was invited to participate in the installation service of a new pastor for a Spanish Baptist Church in Anthony. I was once again reminded how common my name is. You guessed it. The name of that pastor was Ricardo Rivera.
When I was a child, my mom had told me, “they can take everything but there is one thing they cannot take away…your name. That day, I feared, I had just lost that too. I had lost my name.
In the text we have just read, the Lord gave Israel three things that they could claim when they found themselves with fear. I believe that the three things God told Israel, we too can claim when we find ourselves in a state of fear. But before we look at those three things, let us remember the reason why Israel was fearful that led to God to have to send these words to them through the prophet Isaiah.
What was going to happen to Israel that the nation found itself in a state of great fear? Verse 2 tells us that Israel was going to go through waters, rivers, and fire. Those words give a possible indication of the serious trials that would come to them in the future.
An author writes, “There were, perhaps, special troubles to be endured connected with the final
Babylonian struggle that was to come.”
Another author says,
“These words allude to the enormous power deployed by the Persian people to conquer the
world, as verse 3 reveals, ‘give Egypt as a ransom for you (Israel), Cush and Seba in your
place’.”
God was communicating to Israel, through the prophet Isaiah, the prophecy of what would happen to Israel when Babylon conquered them; however, he was also trying to calm their fears about such a sad future event.
I believe that what God told Israel is very applicable for us today as well. As a church or as an individual, you may be going through times of trials. You may be feeling right now some level of fear or uncertainty. The events of our world today may have you in a state of emotional distress.
The economy is not good. Your income has not improve. However, the prices on everything you can purchase have increased tremendously. Disasters are happening around the world. Wars are taking place. Crime has increased in the cities. A disregard for law and order has taken place. The list goes on and one and on.
You may be going through times of trials. You may be feeling right now some level of fear or uncertainty. If that is true, God has message for you as a church and as an individual believer.
What is the message? The message is simple. Do not be afraid. Do not afraid, because I have redeemed you. Do not be afraid, because I gave you a name. Do not be afraid, because you are mine.
Let us look at the first thing God told Israel, that He also tells us today. He tells us…
Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you:
Of course, with these words, God was reminding Israel of the experiences they had when He promised to rescue them and kept His promise by rescuing them from Egypt and from the attacks of the surrounding nations.
The word that has been translated here as “redeemed” means “the purchasing of something back, something that has been lost, by paying a ransom.”3 Or it can mean, “paying the required price to secure the release of a convicted criminal.”4 In the case of our text, God would be paying Israel’s ransom to Babylon by giving up Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba to King Cyrus.
What does this mean to us today? Let me ask you these questions. What has you enslaved today? The uncertainty of the future? Some sin? Some habit or vice? The insecurity of your future destiny? Or maybe it’s some emotional distress aroused by impending danger, evil, or pain? Maybe it’s anxiety or concern.
Whatever the worry maybe or the lack of peace that’s that you may be feeling, God wants you to know, Christian, that he has redeemed you and will continue redeem you.
He redeemed you the day you received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. However, He continues redeem you every time you fall under the conquering hands of some enemy. He pays the price even though you do not deserve it.
So, if you enslaved somehow today by fear. God wants you to know that you do not have to be afraid, because He has redeemed you. But God doesn’t just want you to know that you do not have be afraid because He redeemed you, He also wants you to know that you do not have to be afraid because He has given you a new name.
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4 Trent C. Butler, Ed., Holman Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 1991), 1170.
Do not be afraid, because I have given you a new name:
The people in the Bible didn’t get their names the same way today’s babies get theirs. My mother gave me my name “Ricardo” because of the Hispanic actor Ricardo Montalban and even though I acted out as a child, it was not for that reason that she gave me that name. She just like the actor. She liked his name and so she named me Ricardo.
In the biblical times, people gave their children names because of different reasons. “The task of naming a child generally fell on the mother, (Gen. 29:31-30:24; 1 Sam. 1:20), but could be performed by the father (Gen. 16:15; Ex. 2:22) and in exceptional cases by non-parental figures (Ex. 2:10; Rut 4:17).”
In some cases, in the Bible, the name given to a child reflected “the circumstances of his birth,” like when Rachel named the child of her death, Benoni or son of my sorrow (Gen. 35:18). Jacob was named “sup planter” because “he took hold of Esau’s heel” during birth (Gen. 25:26). Moses, named his son Gershom because he was a “stranger in a strange land” (Ex. 2:22).
The conditions of the times also led to the naming of children. Do you recall the name Ichabod? The name meant, “The glory has departed Israel,” because the Ark of the Covenant had fallen into the hands of Philistines (1 Sam. 4:21-22). But we also have the symbolic names of Isaiah’s sons: Shear-jashub that meant “a remnant shall return” (Isa. 7:3); and Maher-Shalalbaz that meant “swift booty, speedy is the prey” (Isa. 8:3).
The names of some of the children came from something personal, the name of an animal, or from plants. For example, Esau meant “hairy” (Gen. 25:25; 2 Rey. 25:23), Careah meant “bald,” Debra meant “bee,” Jonah meant “dove,” Rachel meant “ewe,” Tamar meant “palm tree” and Susana meant “lily”.
God changed the name of his chosen nation from Jacob, the sup planter, to Israel, which meant, “God strives, rules, or heals.”
Let me ask you a question. What does your name mean?
You see, you and I, those who have received Jesus as personal Lord and Savior, have also received a new name from God. We go by the names of, “the redeemed, the beloved, the victorious, the aroma of Christ, the bride of Christ, the saints, and the righteous. Just to name a few.
We are Christians or small Christs. We have been made in the image of God to shine in the midst of a dark and sinful world, to draw others to the light of His love and salvation.
Question we need to ask ourselves is are we living up to that new name that God has given to us or have we determined that we will never become who God says we already are?
When we looked in the mirror this morning, did we ask God to give us His eyes so that we are able to see ourselves the way He sees us? Or is the problem that we have that we have forgotten the new name that God has given us, because we have allowed ourselves to be convinced by the world and the enemy that we will never reach with our behavior and attitude the name God has already given to us? If that’s the case, we must repent and return to God.
God told Israel, and tells you and me today, “do not be afraid because I have redeemed you and because I have given you a new name.”
But God doesn’t just want us to know that we do not have be afraid because He has redeemed us and given us a new name. He is here also to tell us “do not be afraid, because you are mine.”
Do not be afraid, because you are mine:
Israel had not chosen God. God had personally chosen Israel. The Psalmist reminded them of that truth several times. For example, in Psalm 135:4, he said to them, “For the Lord has chosen Jacob himself, Israel for His own possession.”
Through the prophets, God had told them, "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” (Isaiah 41:9, NASB).
“You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth…” (Amos 3:2a, NASB).
Israel was and is the chosen people of God.
“Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God” (Psalms 50:7, NASB). "You shall be My people, and I will be your God” (Jeremiah 30:22, RV60 and NASB.).
We, the Church of Jesus Christ, have also been chosen by God. Peter reminds us of that fact, when he said, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may pro-claim the excellency of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, NASB).
Jesus Christ said, “…upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18, NASB).
You and I are part of the God’s chosen people; therefore, we ought to fear nothing. Because, “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32, NASB).
We are His chosen people! Let us live who we are! We are God’s possession. He did not only create us, but He also saved us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19, NASB). We are God’s possession. Let us act who we are. The world is looking at us. The world is looking to find in us the reason to have hope.
So, God doesn’t just want us to know that we do not have be afraid, because He redeemed and has given us a name. He is also here to tell you and me, “do not be afraid, because you are mine.”
Conclusion:
An elderly woman was asleep in her bed one night, when she was awakened by a strange noise coming from her living room. Cautiously, she walked in and discovered a thief in the process of stealing her stereo. Overcome with fear, she whispered a desperate prayer, "Help me Jesus!"
The thief heard her and started walking towards her. Without a thought, she put up her hand and shouted a favorite scripture reference: ACTS, 2:38! The thief froze immediately. The woman dialed 911, and within minutes, the police were on the scene, and took the burglar to the police station.
As the police were questioning the thief, one of the detectives said, “I’m curious, you could have ran and got away. Why did you stay frozen in that one spot?" The thief answered, "Man, if you knew that woman was carrying an axe and two .38 revolvers, you would not have moved either!"
Martin Luther made this interesting observation. "God and the devil use opposite tactics in regards to fear. The Lord, allows us to become afraid, so that he might relieve our fears and comfort us. The devil, on the other hand, makes us feel secure in our pride and sin, so that we might later be overwhelmed with fear and despair."
This morning, you have heard what God told Israel in the moment of their fear. God tells us the same thing today.
Do not have be afraid, because I have redeemed you. Do not be afraid, because I have given you a new name. Do not be afraid, because you are mine.
Let us pay attention to God’s word this morning and leave this place encouraged. For if God is for us, who can really be against us?
Let us pray.