From His Heart

Speaker 1

When it comes to any fear you have in life, do you have enough faith to face it? Here's Pastor Jeff Shreve.

Speaker 2

Everyone struggles with fear. You struggle with fear. The Old Testament saints struggled with fear. The New Testament saints struggle with fear. The great apostle Paul said, "I was with you people in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." That's what he told the Corinthians. We all struggle with fear.

So you know what? God puts stories in the Bible to help us, to help calm our fears and increase our faith. See, because when your faith is strong, your fear starts to go away. You begin to trust God and believe that He can heal every scar with real truth, real love, and real hope from His heart.

Speaker 1

And that could be the reason that many people fail in the area of overcoming fears. We're centering all of our efforts on not being afraid when we ought to be concentrating on believing that God is faithful and true all the time.

This is from his heart, the broadcast ministry of Pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for joining us today. And here is the question for the day for you to answer: Are you hopeful today or are you fearful? Said another way, are your eyes on the things that frighten you, or are they on the one who is greater than all your fears?

Today we'll learn that without doubt, God is so powerful that he can conquer fear and bring peace and confidence to your heart. Today, Pastor Jeff's message on From His Heart is called "When Fear Meets Faith," designed to help you overcome your circumstances by becoming a person who truly trusts God and recognizes his miracle work in your life.

Let's get right into this comforting and empowering lesson today. Here's Pastor Jeff with part one of the lesson from Exodus chapter 14 called "When Fear Meets Faith."

Speaker 2

Now, years ago, I heard a story about a mountain climber who was out hiking in the mountains when he fell off a cliff. On his way down, he reached out and grabbed hold of a tree limb that was growing out of the side of the cliff. He was just hanging there, looking down at the vast distance below him. He then looked up and called out, "Is anybody up there?" To his surprise, God answered him in a booming voice, saying, "I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?" The man replied, "Oh, yes, Lord, I believe you. I really believe you. But I don't know how long I can hold on." God reassured him, "That's all right. Don't worry. I will save you. Just let go." After a long pause, the man looked up to heaven and said, "Is there anybody else up there?"

You know, that's the way so many of us are. We say we believe God, but do we really believe Him? Do we believe Him enough to let go? We're starting a new series of messages today entitled "Believing God, Expecting Miracles." When you truly believe God—believe Him enough to let go—you experience the miracles of God. Jesus said, "Be it done to you according to your faith." Faith is believing God, believing Him enough to let go.

Think about the people in the Bible who experienced the miracles of God; they had to take a step of faith. They had to believe Him enough to let go. Peter had to believe God enough to let go of the boat, and then he experienced the miracle of walking on the water. The man with the withered hand that we read about in the Gospels was told by Jesus to stretch forth his hand. His hand was all withered, and he had never stretched it forth before. But Jesus said, "Do it. Stretch forth your hand." He believed God enough to do it, and he was healed. Naaman the Syrian had leprosy, and the prophet told him to go and dip seven times in the Jordan to be cleansed. He had faith enough to do what the prophet said, and when he dipped seven times in the Jordan, his flesh was made like a little baby's flesh, and all his leprosy was cleansed.

That's how the Lord works. When you believe God, you experience His miracles. So what we want to do is believe God and expect His miracles because God works on the basis of faith. "Be it done to you according to your faith."

Now, with that being said, the chief enemy to believing God enough to let go is fear. Fear keeps us holding on to the branch because we look down and say, "There's no way. I can't let go of this branch. If I let go, I am dead meat." Fear is a big problem. Can I make a confession to you? Fear is a problem in my life. I struggle with fear. Can I tell you a little secret? The person sitting in your seat struggles with fear. Everyone struggles with fear. The person next to you struggles with fear. You struggle with fear. The Old Testament saints struggled with fear. The New Testament saints struggled with fear. The great apostle Paul said, "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." That's what he told the Corinthians. We all struggle with fear.

So you know what? God puts stories in the Bible to help us, to help calm our fears and increase our faith. Because when your faith is strong, your fear starts to go away as you begin to trust God and believe Him. Over and over again in the Bible, God says, "Don't be afraid. Do not fear. Do not fear. Do not fear."

There's a story we want to study today that will help you and help me as we struggle with fear, as we struggle with letting go of the branch and doing all that God wants us to do and really believing Him. It's the greatest miracle in all of the Old Testament, talked about throughout the Bible. This one miracle is the Old Testament equivalent of the New Testament resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That's how powerful this miracle is. What is it? It's the parting of the Red Sea and God's deliverance for His people from Egypt.

In Exodus, chapter 13, I'll begin reading in verse 17. The Scripture says, "Now it came about when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near. For God said, 'Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.' Hence, God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea. And the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt."

Now, go down to chapter 14, verse 1. "Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before PI Hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. You shall camp in front of BAAL Zephon, opposite it by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, "Look at that. They are wandering aimlessly in the land. The wilderness has shut them in." Thus, I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will chase after them. I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.'"

Now, here's our question today: How can we overcome our fears and step out in faith to really believe God and experience His miracles? There are three essentials.

Essential number one: You must remember that God has a plan. When you study about the children of Israel coming out of Egypt, you know God led them out with a mighty hand through the ten plagues that He put upon the Egyptians. Finally, Pharaoh said, "You people, go worship your God. Get out of here." They wanted them to leave in such haste that they even gave them silver, gold, and clothing. The Israelites came out of Egypt with all the spoils and were rejoicing and excited as they left.

But God didn't lead them from Egypt straight into the promised land. He had promised them the land and told Moses that was where they were going eventually, but He didn't lead them there directly. The shortest distance from Egypt to the promised land was to come up by the coast by the Mediterranean Sea, but the Philistines lived there. The Lord knew that if He brought His people up that way, it would be a problem because the Philistines were a warring people. They would see war, and His people would get scared and turn back. So, God led them another way.

The Lord had a plan, and He has a plan for you. Mark it down: God knows how much you can take. He knew how much His people could take. They couldn't handle going up through the land of the Philistines; that was too much for them. And God knows what is too much for you. The Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. Isn't that a great verse? God is just faithful to me, and He is never going to put me in a situation where there is too much for me to bear.

Some of you are going through a hard time right now in life. You can relate to the children of Israel. You're getting ready to camp at PI Hahiroth, which is between a rock and a hard place. The Red Sea is in front of you, and Pharaoh's armies are behind you, and it doesn't look like there's any place to go. You might say, "I can't take any more of this." But God knows exactly how much you can take. God is aware. God is good. God is loving. God is sensitive. He will never put you into a position where you can't take it.

If you've had a lot of difficulty in your life, don't ever get the idea that God is picking on you. God is not picking on you; He has picked you out for something special, for something great. God knows that you can handle all the things that He has allowed to come into your life, and He has something that He is going to do in your life.

You know, the name PI Hahiroth means "the place of liberty." It was the worst place that the Israelites thought they could be—in between a rock and a hard place with the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaoh's armies behind them. Yet, it was the site of the greatest miracle. All of God's choicest servants go through hard times. David went through a hard time, and God used him and did miracles in his life. Daniel went through a hard time, and God worked miracles in his life. Joseph went through such a hard time. So, if you're going through a hard time today, you are in good company, and God has something great in store for you. He is never going to allow too much to come upon you.

So, remember that He has a plan, and He knows exactly what He is doing. God purposely had His people wander and meander around. Why would He do that? I remember in the movie "The Ten Commandments," one of the things Pharaoh says as he sees God's people wandering around in the wilderness is, "This boy that Jehovah, the Lord of the Jews, he's not much of a general. He doesn't know how to lead his people because they're wandering aimlessly." God did that on purpose. He had a plan.

God knew exactly what He was doing. He wanted to lure Pharaoh in to go after His people. The people of Israel thought that the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to them was that Pharaoh and Egypt would come after them. But God said, "No, that's exactly what I want to happen."

Why would God want that to happen? Because God says in verse 4, "Thus, I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will chase after them. I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his armies, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." That's very significant. He says it again in verse 18, His motivation for the Red Sea experience: "Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord."

When Moses first went to Pharaoh, he said, "God told me, 'Let my people go that they may worship me.'" Pharaoh responded in Exodus 5:2, "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let His people go." That's very significant. Pharaoh did not know the Lord.

The Lord said in His heart, "Well, Pharaoh, get to know me. I'm going to introduce myself to you." And then came plague after plague after plague. Pharaoh thought he was a god, but God said, "I'm going to introduce myself to you. Here's my business card: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Here's your business card: Dust. Nothing. After the Red Sea, it's going to be fish food."

God was introducing Himself to Pharaoh. You would think that after ten plagues, Pharaoh would say, "I know the Lord now." But he still didn't get it. So, there was going to be a Red Sea experience to seal the deal. Pharaoh and all of Egypt were going to know from that moment on who the Lord is, and God was going to be honored in this experience.

Listen, you might be at PI Hahiroth in your life right now, between a rock and a hard place. Your finances might be terrible, your job situation might be horrible, your marriage might be falling apart, your health might be failing, or you might have lost a loved one and can't see how you're going to get through. The Lord says, "Listen, I've allowed these things to happen—the worst of your fears—because I'm going to use this. The people in your world are going to know that I am the Lord, and I am going to honor myself. I'm going to work a miracle, and I'm going to do something that you never even dreamed I could do. So, just hold on. I have a plan."

So, how do we overcome our fears and step out in faith? You must remember that God has a plan.

Essential number two: Not only must you remember that God has a plan, but you must keep your eyes on the Lord. Look at this; it's really interesting. Chapter 13, verse 21 says, "And the Lord was going before them, in a pillar, literally a column of cloud by day, to lead them on the way, and in a column of fire by night to give them light that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people."

That was a visible representation of the presence of God among His people. Anytime, day or night, you could look up and see that column of cloud by day and the column of fire by night. God is there. God is with us.

Now, look at what the story says in chapter 14, verse 5. "When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people. They said, 'What did we just do? We just let a million slaves walk out of here with our gold and our silver? Who's going to make our pyramids? Who's going to do all our work? We don't want to do it.' So they said, 'We need to go get them.'"

Verse 6 continues, "So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him. He took 600 select chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel. As the sons of Israel were going out boldly, the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, and his army. They overtook them, camping by the sea beside Pahirath, in front of BAAL Zephon."

As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them. They didn't have smiles on their faces, and they became very frightened. An abundance of fear filled them. So the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. They didn't cry out in prayer; they cried out in complaint. They cried out in despair.

In verse 11, they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

Wow! They had just witnessed ten plagues that God brought upon the Egyptians. How many miracles do you need to see to believe that God is going to work? Obviously, they needed more because they didn't believe God.

Here is the picture: You have the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day—something you can look at to lift your eyes and focus on. Then, behind you, you have Pharaoh with blood in his eye, his chariots, and his armies. You have a choice: What am I going to look at? Am I going to focus my attention on God, the great God, or this great problem?

Speaker 1

Where will your eyes be focused the next time? Fear creeps in. More about this in just a moment with Pastor Jeff when he returns.

But first, you know, lots of people believe in God, but they don't believe God. And there's a big difference. Believing God means you take him at his word. Regardless of the circumstances or the delays, when you really start to trust God, you should prepare for miracles.

Today's message is from Pastor Jeff's series "Believing God, Expecting Miracles," and it includes today's lesson when fear meets faith. You can get your copy online when you go to promisheart.org or ask for the series "Believing, Expecting Miracles" when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE).

Again, hit the Listen link when you go online to promisheart.org. Now let's conclude part one of the lesson. Here again is Pastor Jeff. Listen.

Speaker 2

You can choose what you focus on in your life, and my life, you can choose. God gives us that choice. I think it's interesting that the Lord's representation of Himself, the cloud by day and the fire by night, was up high in the sky.

See, the Bible says in Colossians Chapter Three, "Since you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

And the Scripture says in verse 10, "When the sons of Israel looked and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them." That word "looked" literally means to carry your eyes. They carried their eyes over to Pharaoh and they focused in on Pharaoh, and they didn't look to the Lord. They had a choice, but they made the wrong choice.

Jehoshaphat, in the Old Testament, was a good godly king, and he was in a tough situation. He had his PI Hahiroth in his life. The armies of the enemy were coming against them, and they were like the sand on the seashore. God's people were dead meat because they couldn't compete with all these armies coming against them, and his heart was fearful.

But he went to the Lord in prayer and began to pour out his situation to the Lord. King Jehoshaphat said this in 2nd Chronicles, chapter 20, verse 12: "O our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us. Nor do we know what to do. But our eyes are on you."

Speaker 1

The Bible is filled with examples of people who put their faith in God when it would have been so much easier to focus on fear in what seems like a hopeless situation. That first response of faith is so important. Messages on Faith Real Mountain moving Faith are our focus this month to help you allow faith to comfort you and empower you for the struggles in your life.

In John 11:40, Jesus said, "Did I not say to you if you believe you will see the glory of God?" For you to see miracles manifested in your life, you need to have that faith first before you'll see the mighty hand of God move mountains in your life. Of course, God surely revealed Himself in miracle after miracle in the Book of Exodus.

This month, we'd like you to get Pastor Jeff's series "Faithful and True: Introducing the One and Only God" to give you the insight to the power and promise of God through faith. This eight-message series is our gift of thanks to you for your support this month of Any Amount. When you invest in From His Heart's ministry to reach the world, you are helping fulfill the great commission God gave to all of us in His Word to get "Faithful and True: Introducing the One and Only God" in the format of your choice.

Make your gift of any amount today when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromhisheart.org. God bless you and thank you for joining with us.

Thank you for being with us today. I'm Larry Nobles, trusting that you'll be here tomorrow for part two of this impactful and inspiring message, "When Fear Meets Faith," here on From His Heart.

From His Heart is the listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve, speaking the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more when you go to fromhisheart.org.