Fear Not
April 22, 2021 at 3:44 PM 7 comments
The audio for this article is here: SermonAudio.com/StudyGrowKnow
We’ve been away for a few days of enjoyable camping. Now, it’s back to the reality of day to day life. A few things to highlight this morning briefly then I want to get into one verse of Scripture and unpack it. Oh, and by the way, we have a new grandchild, just born early this morning at 1:08am to our son and dauther-in-law. Mother and daughter are doing well.
COVID-19 Related
Some topics to help you research.
- Masks and Mask Mandates: A study from Nov 2020 indicates masks not only do not offer help in minimizing the spread of illnesses, but may also create more problems than they solve and researchers are concluding that constantly wearing masks can bring about premature death. Other issues are specifically connected to children wearing masks.
- Children Wearing Masks
- Study on Masks from Nov 2020 – research this carefully because there are numerous outlets stating this has been “debunked.” Has it? Depends on who you ask.
- Vaccine Passports: Numerous states within America are in vehement protest against so-called vaccine passports. The latest state is South Dakota, in which Governor Noem has banned institution and use of vaccine passports. Many believe these vaccine passports are nothing more than means of control by people in power. The idea that these passports are needed for an illness with a 99.7%+ survivability rate is ridiculous. In spite of this, many are all-in on the fear bandwagon and believe these passports are a good thing. They are actually a sign of the times. While I do not believe these passports are THE mark of the beast, I certainly believe these and other things like them (including potential mandatory vaccines), will ultimately naturally segue to the actual mark of the beast.
- A New Crisis Needed – in this article, the author goes into detail regarding what he/she believes the globalists are attempting to secure throughout the world and how it is generally much more difficult to accomplish in the USA because of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Large portions of the USA’s population are refusing the CV-19 vaccine. At least one-third of all military personnel are refusing the vaccine. Beyond this, more and more states are simply opening up and people are moving away from the social distancing, masks and other mandates created by tyrannical government leaders. The article highlights some of the things that the author believes globalists may have up their sleeve, including the World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab’s next meeting this July in which they will simulate another type of major cyber-attack. Will this coming July be a repeat of Event 201’s pandemic simulation but with a huge cyber-attack? Time will tell.
For your additional research:
- Not Working: 86 million vaxxed; same number of cases as in February
- Potential Problems with mRNA-based Vaccines
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Caused by Pfizer Vaccine?
- Amazon Rolls Out Paying with Your Palm – Cashless society is on its way!
Bad Kings of Israel/Judah
All of the kings of Israel (after the nation divided) and nearly all of the kings of Judah were absolutely terrible kings. You can read about them in 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles. This morning, in my daily Bible reading, I read about Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, who was worse than pagan kings of other nations. He actually rebuilt the pagan altars his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. Manasseh was more in line with Ahab than his own father. Manasseh murdered people, probably including certain prophets like Isaiah as well. After him came Amon, who reigned for two years and was then murdered. After Amon, Josiah started ruling when he was 8 years old (2 Kings 22:1) and ruled for 31 years in Jerusalem. Josiah absolutely did what was right, true and best for Judah, by following the Lord’s commands, just like David had done. Josiah went to great lengths to rebuild the Temple and to ensure that what he did pleased the Lord.
Under Josiah, the Book of the Law was found, read and followed. Josiah reintroduced the Passover, which had not been observed since the days of the Judges.
Isn’t it amazing how far a nation can fall? The USA is being pushed in the same direction and this should be concerning to every person with a healthy conscience. One can only wonder how long things will continue with the amount of lawlessness continually occurring throughout this nation? However, what I’m learning is that just like Israel of old, God protects those and supports those who continue to seek and serve Him. This does not mean these folks will never see persecution. It simply means that God encircles with His protective care so that only those things He allows get through His protective hedge and this is for His glory and that Christian’s spiritual growth.
Christians today who are not serious about following the Lord, who do not seek to fulfill His commandments, fail to come under the same protective care and that is due to the fact that those Christians are out of fellowship with Him. Their sin pushes them away from God and that sin can be any sin, including a failure to believe Him and resolutely follow Him.
Fearing God
I’ve talked about the fact that Christians need to once again become very familiar with the concept of fearing God. By this, we mean to have a deep, growing, profound respect and awe for Him. This is not something that is preached or taught that much today and it doesn’t happen overnight. Christians must cultivate this attitude through desire and obedience. I believe if Christians had a growing awareness of a healthy fear (deep, profound respect and awe), of and for God, we would live different lives.
Imagine prophets like Isaiah. Their job was to preach the literal Words of God to kings and the people of Israel/Judah. Often, they were maligned, ridiculed, beaten and even killed because they dared to share God’s truth. People didn’t want to hear truth then and do not want to hear the truth today either. Truth is “dangerous” to the globalists and their efforts of tyranny and global conquest. Truth must be stamped out in order for their plans of a global takeover to succeed and we know that this is part and parcel of the final global world order’s character as evidenced by the upcoming leader of this global regime, the Antichrist.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 NKJV; emphasis added)
Lying wonders. Unrighteous deception. Why? Because people hate truth and because God’s truth brings about saving knowledge. Notice in verse 11 of this same chapter, Paul tells us that God will send a strong delusion so that people who hate the truth will more easily believe the lies presented by Antichrist. Remember, these people already hate God and His truth, rejecting it out of hand. God gives them over to themselves so that the lies are easier for them to believe since this is what they want. We can expect more lies to make headlines and be presented as truth. As we are aware there are a great many lies associated with CV-19, yet too many accept these lies as truth simply because it calms their fears.
Truth? Here are a couple of sermons by Rev. Danny Jones from North Georgia. If you are unable to attend a good, Bible-teaching church, there are great churches online, like this one. Take advantage of it. There’s really no excuse today.
Fear Not
I’d like to finish up this article by beginning to unpack just one verse. This will probably take several articles to complete, but we’ll start here today.
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)
Many times throughout Scripture, we are commanded to literally “fear God.” We know this “fear” is defined as deep, profound respect and awe. This is as it should be and just as we fear our parents when we are young, we should also have an even greater fear of God.
In a healthy parent-child relationship, our parents had authority over us as children. We feared that authority and because of it, it prompted us to live proper lives. Over time, as we grew from childhood to adulthood, this initial underlying fear deepens to a love and respect. We learn to do things for our parents because we love them, not because we are deathly afraid of them and retribution for not obeying. Of course, this is the natural way it should be. There are many examples of parents being child abusers and because of that, a very unnatural/unhealthy fear of parents is established, but I’m referring to healthy relationships between children and adults.
With respect to God, there should be a very healthy profound respect for Him if only for who He is and the power that He wields. God has the power not only to destroy our physical lives, but has the power to destroy our spirits in eternal death. Of course, this does not apply to the authentic Christian as God will never pour out His wrath on any of His true children. However, His power, might, and all other attributes should be deeply respected by us. Too often, He is not respected, as seen in the way we fail to live.
But here in Isaiah 41:10, the prophet Isaiah, speaking on behalf of God tells us something else about fear. While we are to fear God, we are not to fear regarding several other things. Isaiah says to “Fear not, for I am with you.” Focus on that statement for a moment. The “I” in that statement of course is God speaking so it refers to Him.
We should not fear because God is with us and literally for us; our success in obedience to His will (implied). This does not mean we become legalistic. It means we we should endeavor to love all of God’s commands in actually doing them. This is what creates a deeper love for Him; His reward for following Him and His will.
God wants us to “sit down” on the inside by empowering us to live as He would have us live. Interestingly enough, if we actually learn to biblically fear God, we will, I believe, at the same time, be learning to “fear not” or to “rest in Him” as He works in and through us for His good pleasure.
To this end, I am memorizing Scripture verses. I’ve downloaded an app called Verses that has numerous “games” that help me memorize Scripture more easily. Isaiah 41:10 is one of the verses that I’m choosing to memorize. As we memorize these verses, we can continually think about them, meditate on them and pray about them.
Memorizing Scripture is the only solution I am aware of that can actually tame the mind (Philippians 4:8-9). If I am filling my mind with actual Bible verses (God’s literal Word), how can I be also thinking of things to worry about? Won’t God’s Word empower me including remove any anxiety or restlessness within?
I’ve taken to simply repeating Isaiah 41:10 and other verses purposefully in my mind, thinking about their meaning. God does not want me in fear, especially in fear of what is coming to this world. As I purposefully repeat this and other verses in my mind or even aloud, fear and anxiety is “tamed” by God’s truth.
We will pick up with the next part of Isaiah 41:10 next time. In the meantime, help yourself by memorizing Scripture!
Entry filed under: 9/11, Agenda 21, alienology, Atheism and religion, christianity, Communism, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Cultural Marxism, Demonic, devil worship, Eastern Mysticism, emergent church, Emotional virtue, eternity, Global Elite, Gun Control, israel, Judaism, Life in America, new age movement, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Politics, Racism, Radical Islam, rapture, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, Satanism, second coming, Shadow Government, Socialism, Transhumanism.
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Guided and Unanxious | Study - Grow - Know | April 26, 2021 at 12:47 PM
[…] 41:10 continued We began unpacking this verse in our previous article titled “Fear Not.” Let’s continue with the next part of the verse where we left […]
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Jen B | April 23, 2021 at 2:23 PM
Dear Brother, thank you for the sermon and the app. I am very disheartened by the fact that I used to think scripture all day long…I would read scripture and verses would come to me throughout the day. However this past year I have been very distracted with headlines and like a deer in headlights at the outrageousness before us…while I read and study daily, the scripture seems so far from me when I need it. I have committed to take in more of His Word and less of the headlines, but it is very difficult. I will download the app.
I was thinking of Josiah recently also, imagine Israel had become so estranged from the LORD that they had forsaken the Passover and didn’t even know the Torah! Yet, Christendom today isn’t too far behind.
I also wondered if you might share your insights on watching “The Chosen”….I had rejected it outright last year for many reasons the least of which is that the mega church where, years ago, I had been indoctrinated into carnal Christianity and doctrines of demons, Dallas Jenkins was a big part of the system. I am concerned about mixing scripture with movie lines, as it relates to Revelation. however, it was recommended to me by a very trusted teacher and I watched Jenkins video about the reasons he made it, etc. What do you think? I’m sure it’s far better than most of the toxic garbage out there, and I’m sure I will really like it. I am concerned that I might really like it too much and be led into emotionalism rather than biblical thinking plus isn’t it true that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”? Though if the movie led someone to seek the Word and believe unto salvation that would be good…confusion abounds in my mind about this.
Regarding your new grandchild, may our Father and LORD Jesus Christ bless and keep her, make His face shine upon her, may He lift up His countenance upon her and bring her His Peace through Jesus Christ our LORD, now and forevermore. Amen.
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modres | April 23, 2021 at 3:14 PM
Hi Jen,
Yes, it’s pretty easy to get sidetracked where God’s Word is concerned, made easier by the fact that Satan himself wants us to have nothing to do with the Bible. I’m sure he throws many roadblocks into our paths that we might not even be fully aware of. As soon as we realize what’s happened, we need to move back toward Him resolutely. When I was a younger Christian, I spent far more time reading books ABOUT the Bible or about people’s testimonies and/or experiences. That went on for years unfortunately, largely due to habits I made while in the Charismatic Movement.
I think the patterns that engulfed and took over Israel are often the same ones that engulf and try to take over Christendom. Few seem to see it though but I think there is a sort of separation occurring throughout Christendom. I think the time has come for Christians to understand that we must willingly SERVE our risen Savior. Too many still see God as the celestial Genie who will make all our dreams come true, when in reality, as we receive salvation, we should be willing to live an exchanged life as Jesus did. I wonder if this problem isn’t due to the “easy believism” that has become so prevalent within Christendom? Too many preachers present the Gospel and gaining salvation with a simple prayer and a few words. They rarely talk of a true exchanged life and the actual meaning of what it means to follow Jesus. I don’t know, but with the way things are heading, I think it will require Christians being willing to sacrifice all for Him in order to be guided, protected and to be able to grow in our relationship to Him.
Jesus said during these days that because iniquity will increase, the love of many will grow cold (Matt 24). We are seeing that and it is infecting the church as well. Love toward God and His commands is waning in many. I’m not saying they will lose their salvation because I don’t believe that can happen (if they’re truly saved). I’m saying that are moving away from God by no longer being in fellowship with Him. This has serious ramifications.
“The Chosen”…we watched the first season and even purchased the DVD. From the start, even though I thought that it was good overall, I did not like the way they (Jenkins and producers) tried to fill in the blanks that are not in Scripture. The idea that Peter was working with the Romans, wound up in debt and the miracle of the fish that Jesus provided sets Peter free from that debt is extrabiblical. I don’t like that kind of thing at all because it is infusing into the Bible human opinions. I think it would simply be best to stick with the actual text, but Jenkins likes to tell stories. In fact, I find it very difficult to listen to his videos where he just “talks” on and on. I saw one “interview” with him talking with the actor who plays Jesus. Jenkins went on and on and on and on before he let the actor speak. Jenkins asked a question, then talk all about that question and the possible answers the actor might say. By the time the actor actually responded to Jenkins, the question had already essentially been answered by Jenkins.
The other issue I have is that there are several points in the very first few episodes of season one that are – in my opinion – not biblical at all. For instance, when Jesus meets Mary Magdalene, who is clearly possessed by demons (from an earlier scene). What I find fascinating (and unbiblical) is the fact that the demon(s) within Mary essentially did not react at all. Yet, we know from other passages in the Gospels that every time Jesus came closer to someone who was possessed, the demons were exceedingly frightened and He had to tell them to be quiet or stop speaking.
There are other instances where I think Jenkins does not do justice to the actual Gospel account. I absolutely hate the fact that Jenkins has Jesus say, “I didn’t see that coming” when something happens, as an aside or type of joke. I don’t believe Jesus would have denigrated Himself or God’s power in that way at all.
The acting is extremely good. The characters are developed to the point that you get lost in the acting so that you don’t notice it. They have some extremely good actors in the project.
Overall, what Jenkins appears to have done is fluff out the Gospels with a good storyline but one that is not necessarily true to the Bible. I wasn’t aware that Jenkins was part of the mega church you used to attend. I have a problem with mega churches in general, because from personal experience of having attending a number of them years ago, it became clear that biblical truth is often de-emphasized or even set aside so that the fewest amount of people are offended. The less who are offended, the more they will remain and open their wallets.
We attended one church while living in California that began meeting in a local junior high campus. They eventually got too big and moved to the high school. Then they bought land and built a campus. To date, what they’ve gotten in the habit of doing is pouring money into churches that are stagnant and/or losing ground. They then absorb that church as part of their system of satellite churches. Last time I checked, they had about 7 of them. The pastors are all trained the same way, the same style of music is played at each church, etc. The main pastor of the main church came to a point of actually saying that Mormons were Christians. I found this out from another couple we know where the husband had actually come out of Mormonism. They were horrified to say the least as were others who eventually left that church.
Today’s mega church SEEMS to all be about making money and itching ears. I’m sure there are exceptions, but in general and in my own experience, this is what I’ve found to be the case. I’m sorry, but Dallas Jenkins seems to me to be a great salesman. I personally have a difficult time with that type of personality.
We have not begun watching Season 2 yet. We went back and started rewatching the first season, and I began noticing even more things I didn’t like. I have not seen the Gospel actually presented yet. Maybe they’ll get to it, but I would think that should be part of each episode, but maybe that’s just me.
Thank you for your prayers for our new granddaughter. Our grandson Caleb, is improving each day. He’s just reached 6 lbs and hopefully, he’ll be released to go home soon. They are still working on his eating, although he’s improving there as well.
Okay, I wrote more than I intended – sorry about that!
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Jen b | April 23, 2021 at 8:04 PM
Well I thank you kindly for your response regarding the chosen. You have confirmed every doubt I had. The mega church system is likely going to sail right into the great tribulation, and Dallas Jenkins is a bit too emergent for me also.
It occurred to me after I asked that if I have to watch a 40 minute explanation from Dallas Jenkins, wherein he attempts to overcome all the objections to the movie, than why not just take a pass.
Your comments on the syncretism and explanation offered on the line where Jesus was taken by surprise is exactly the type of thing I was concerned about….as Satan continues to lead the organized church system away from the true Jesus to the counterfeit..this type or blending the true with imaginations of men is a dangerous path in my view. When in doubt leave it out.
Blessings upon you and your family, so glad to hear that little Caleb is coming along and pray for his continued strength and health….🙏🏻
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modres | April 23, 2021 at 10:14 PM
Thanks very much, Jen. Blessings to you and yours as well 🙂
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Sandy | April 22, 2021 at 8:06 PM
Hello Dr. DeRuvo,
I am so glad that you had some time away and congratulations on the precious new grandbaby!
Your comments on learning and ruminating on certain Bible verse is just what the Lord is having me do of late. I was listening to Dr. David Jeremiah and he recommended a book on the 23rd Psalm by Robert J. Morgan titled: The Lord Is My Shepherd: Resting in the Peace and Power of Psalm 23. I purchased it and am really enjoying it.
Also I wanted to suggest an amazing tool called: my ibible.It contains the whole Bible (in different versions of course). It features a repeat option that has been so helpful to me in memorizing. It is portable and comes with ear buds so I can take it anywhere. Just thought it may be helpful for others. It is sold through http://www.christianbook.com.
Keep looking UP & Blessings!
Sandy
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modres | April 22, 2021 at 8:09 PM
Thank you, Sandy. I’ll check into iBible. I don’t believe we can get enough of God’s Word.
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