No Fear

Well, brethren, it has been good to be back in the Wisconsin Dells. My wife Barbara and I were here with the Deaf group two years ago. We really enjoyed the feast at that time, and we're back again.

So it's really been wonderful to be here, and it's a real joy to serve our Deaf brethren. We have some very fine servants, interpreters, and just everyone who's a part of this group is just a very cohesive, nice group to be a part of. And we're glad to be back here again. Now, the weather and the fishing haven't been as good this year, but the most important things, the feast, the messages, the fellowship, have been as good as ever.

So it's really been a wonderful feast. It is a tremendous blessing to keep the feast. I hope we all understand that. I'm sure we do. And as we all know, and as we have heard in the messages here at the feast, the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ will be a wonderful time of peace and prosperity. It will also be a time of great faithfulness. And as the Millennium progresses, it will become a time without fear. Imagine for a moment a time and a world with no fear. Now, it will take a while before the Millennium becomes such a kingdom, but it won't be long.

With Jesus Christ ruling and with the firstfruits as kings and priests ruling along with Him, it will become a time of no fear. Today there are so many things that people are afraid of. Thieves, murderers, rapists, thugs, bullies, and even bosses. In fact, in some ways, especially bosses, in some cases, not in mine, but I've got a very good boss that... But people are... people are afraid of bears. They're afraid of wolves, cougars, snakes, lions.

People are even afraid of little tiny spiders. Some have what they call arachnophobia. There's even been movies about such things. People have a lot of different phobias, don't they? Some are even afraid to come out of their homes. Some are afraid of the dark. Some are afraid of the light. Some are afraid of germs. There's just so many things that people are afraid of. Today's world is certainly not a world without fear, but it is a world filled with all sorts of fear.

I can remember a few times in my life when I was filled with fear. One was in 1965 when my family and I were on the way to the World's Fair in New York City. I was a country boy growing up in Ohio, northwestern Ohio, living out on a farm. And I remember crawling into the back seat, or into the station wagon in the back part, lying down and hiding my head, trying to fight the tears away.

Because the traffic was unbelievable. I had never seen anything like it. I really thought that I would never survive that trip. It was a frightening time for a little 10-year-old from the country. I also remember growing up in northwestern Ohio with a dank basement. And I had to go down and put coal in the fire at night. And it was one of the scariest experiences of all. I had to leave the door open. So there would be a little bit of light coming from the...

And so I could quickly get up the stairs in case I had to, to shoot back into the house, because there were bats down in the basement. And that was a little bit scary. But probably the most frightening time I ever had when I was selling books, door to door.

That was probably the most frightening experience ever. And I actually did it four summers. I worked my way through college, if you can believe it. Now I don't know that there will be any book-selling, door to door, in God's kingdom. I doubt it. But it was quite an experience.

And the company I worked for had their motto was, building character in young people. And I was 18 years old when God was calling me. And I went to Ambassador College. And so I thought, well, God wants me to build character. So maybe this is what I should do. And I did develop a lot of character. But it was a frightening experience in many ways. And I'm glad I don't have to do it anymore.

But we do live in a world that's filled with all sorts of fears.

Brethren, God's kingdom will be a world without fear. And if you like titles to sermons, you can just call this one, No Fear. And to help you remember it, I have a little prop as well.

You've probably seen this type of symbol, No Fear. Now, I had one of our members of our Deaf program put this together for me. He does a beautiful job. He's an artist. But I didn't know what he was going to put on the back.

I don't know if you can read that or not, but... It says I had a swig with Nick.

I think they're trying to corrupt me. They took my wife and I to this bar. And all we had was a little swig, though. Just a little tiny swig. And by the way, Mr. Shafer was there, too.

So I thought you'd probably like to hear about that. You've got to watch those Michigan brethren. Brother, let's turn to Micah 4. Micah 4. And let's consider what this verse tells us. Micah 4. And we've turned here already. But I wanted to focus on just verse 4. Micah 4.

It's right after the book of Jonah. Micah 4. And of course, this is where it talks about God's government being established in the mountains. It talks about God's law flowing from Zion. It talks about a time when there will be no more war. And then in verse 4, notice what it says. Verse 4 of Micah 4. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid. No one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. God wants a kingdom without fear. And when God speaks, it happens. So we have a wonderful kingdom to look forward to. In Jeremiah 30, it also says basically the same thing, but let's take a moment and look at it. Jeremiah 30. Again, it talks about a kingdom without fear. A kingdom of no fear. So Jeremiah 30, and it's clearly talking about the Millennial reign of Christ. It says in verse 9 of Jeremiah 30, But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. So King David is going to be resurrected. They will be serving God during the kingdom. David will be their king. Verse 10. Therefore do not fear, O my servant Jacob, says the Eternal, nor be dismayed, O Israel. For behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. Again, what a beautiful time to look forward to. God's kingdom is going to be one of peace and tranquility. In many respects, it will be a stress-free environment. Now, none of us know what that's like. None of us live in a stress-free environment. It's going to be really nice. I'm looking forward to that. What a world it will be when we will be free from fear of war. There will be peace among all the nations. Now, it will take a little while, I'm sure, to get this across. We know some aren't even going to come up to keep the feast of tabernacles until Christ withholds the reign. But then they'll come up and they'll learn. It's going to be a time of peace in communities. We're going to be free from the fear of crime and the fear of hostility. There will be peace in families. There will be peace in relationships. We're going to be free from the fear of rejection. Free from the fear of abuse. It's going to be a very happy time in which to live. And we're going to have an inner peace and a true freedom that we've never experienced. The inner turmoil that perhaps some of you may even feel today, to some degree or another, will no longer be around. We're not going to suffer like we suffered today.

But, brethren, what are we going to be... what should we be doing in the meantime? How can we be freed from the turmoil caused by fear now? Do we just have to live with it until the kingdom of God is a reality? Or is there something that we can do to make it better? How can we have inner peace in a world with so many reasons to be fearful? How can we overcome fear and replace it with living faith? To put it another way, I'll ask another question. Are you now ready to go in and possess the Promised Land to inherit the kingdom of God?

The reason the ancient Israelites were not at first able to go in and inherit the kingdom was because they lacked faith. They weren't ready to go in. They didn't really truly believe God. So are you ready to go in and possess the Promised Land? Are you ready to inherit the kingdom of God? I'd like to switch gears for a moment, and I'd like to just play a little game. You guys like to play games, right? This is going to be a short game. It won't last long. I have just one question for you. If you get it right, you're going to win the game. But if you don't know the answer, guess what? You lose. It's just one simple question straight out of the Bible. And since you're all students of the Bible, this should be pretty easy, right?

Here's the question. Who are the following people? Shammuah, Shaphat, Ilgal, Palti, Gadiel, Gadie, Amiel, Sather, Nabhi, and Ghul? Do you have the answer? My wife really loves to fingerspell all of those names, by the way. She wasn't looking forward to that part. Well, for those of you who don't already know the answer, I'll give you a couple of hints. First of all, they're all men. That's a big help, isn't it?

Secondly, all 10 men were Israelites, and they all have something very important in common. Now, we don't remember the names of these 10 men, even though they have something in common, and even though they're in the Bible, and even though you've read them several times, I'm sure. We just don't remember them. A third hint. These 10 men have something in common with two other men, whom you do know and remember very well. Their names, Joshua and... That's right, Joshua and Caleb. Now, why don't we remember these 10 other men? Shammuah, Shafad, Ilgal, Palti, Gaddi, Elgadi, Amiel, Sather, Nabhi, and Ghul? Why don't we remember? Well, they didn't go into the Promised Land. They died in the wilderness. But Joshua and Caleb inherited the kingdom. They possessed the Promised Land back at that time.

So, yes, these other 10 are the fearful, faithless spies who were sent in to spy out the Promised Land. We just don't remember their names, though, do we? They're all forgotten. But again, we do remember the two courageous, faithful spies who did enter the Promised Land. We remember Joshua and Caleb.

Shammuah, Shafad, Ilgal, Palti, Gaddi, Elgadi, Amiel, Sather, Nabhi, and Ghul? We're all afraid of the people in the land. They said, the land is very good. It is flowing with milk and honey. It's abundant. It's amazing. The fruit is just tremendous. But the people are very big and very bad. We are like grasshoppers to them, and they will eat us up. They said we're not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. Let's go to Numbers 14 and see what Joshua and Caleb had to say. Numbers 14. By the way, Numbers 13 is where all these men are listed.

Numbers 14, however, tells us what Joshua and Caleb had to say. Numbers 14. Notice what Joshua had to say in Numbers 14. This was when they were giving a bad report. It says in verse 30, Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it. Now, I really don't think Joshua was thinking of those 10 spies and the children of Israel when he said, We are well able to overcome it. I know he was thinking of God who was behind the Israelites who had promised them this very land.

But of course, it says in verse 31, But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. They were looking to themselves, they were not looking to God, and that's a big problem, brethren. When we look to ourselves, when we look to human beings, that's a big problem. We have to look beyond the flesh to our Savior Jesus Christ and to God the Father.

Notice in Numbers 14 verse 6, And they were all beginning to complain. They wanted to go back to Egypt. They wanted to select a new leader. They wanted to get rid of Moses and Aaron and Joshua and Caleb. In verse 6 it says, Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jafuna, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. And they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land we pass through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.

If the Lord delights in us, and isn't that the key? If God delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land. Do not fear them, for they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them. And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. That's how they responded. Well, brethren, we're going to have leaders that are going to say, We have to follow God, we have to follow Christ, we have to stand up, we have to follow God's standard.

And I hope that all of us will get behind those true leaders of God, and will follow Jesus Christ into God's kingdom. It's going to be very important that we learn not to fear, but to place our faith in God. No doubt, one of the very best examples of faith is that of Joshua and Caleb.

As the Israelites, we're on the very verge of entering the Promised Land. This is an excellent account for us to consider because it parallels the time that we live in today. A time just before the first fruits, God's called out ones enter the Promised Land and inherit the kingdom. We are all here in the Wisconsin Dells this year, and we all have something in common with these twelve men.

We are all on the verge of inheriting and taking possession of the Promised Land. But this is the real Promised Land, the Kingdom of God. In a very real sense, we're all here at the feast, spying out the Promised Land. We're talking a lot about God's kingdom and what it's going to be like. We're anticipating ruling and reigning as kings and priests in the Kingdom of God. We've talked some about being teachers of God's way in His kingdom. We have seen that it is a very good land, this Kingdom of God. A land flowing with spiritual milk and honey, and lots of physical milk and honey as well. It's a beautiful land. Brethren, ask yourself, are you a lot more like Joshua and Caleb?

Or at times, do you find yourself feeling a bit more like the ten men whose names we don't remember? Are you more courageous and faithful, or do you tend to be a bit more fearful? Are you ready to inherit and take possession of the real Promised Land, which this feast of Tabernacles pictures?

Again, the glorious Kingdom of God. Brethren, it is easy to be fearful and to lack faith in a world such as ours. Satan is the God of this world, and he has truly deceived the whole world. Out of the billions of people on earth today, a very small number have living faith in the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Many don't even believe that God exists in a world that shows very clearly that He does. Satan also broadcasts in fearful moods and in attitudes, and he desperately wants us, who are among the firstfruits, to lack faith in God.

And let's face it, one of us, no one here, is perfect in faith. We all lack faith to some degree, but thankfully we don't have to have perfect faith to inherit the Kingdom of God. It's a wonderful gift that God is going to give us if He delights in us. So we're going to talk about how we can delight, how we can be a delight to God. We're going to talk about how we can take possession of the Promised Land. We're going to talk about how we can overcome fear with real, living, active faith. What are you doing to actively build courage and faith now?

Now is the time that we have to develop character and to build faith. And of course we know that faith is a gift from God, but God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and God will grant us more faith. So what I'd like to do in the remainder of the time is talk about four principles that will help us prepare to possess the Promised Land. To go into the Kingdom, to be like Joshua and Caleb, and to have faith. And the first principle, a very important one, is always remember that He who is with you and also in you is greater, much greater than anything or anyone that is against you.

Always remember that He who is with you, God the Father and Jesus Christ, even living in those of you who are baptized and have received God's Spirit, it is much greater. God is much greater than anyone or anything that is against you. Realize that fear, brethren, is something that God's servants have had to deal with for millennia, for thousands of years since Adam and Eve were created. We've all had to deal with fear. In 2 Samuel 22, verse 5. King David says, When the ways of death surrounded me, the floods of ungodliness made me afraid or overwhelmed me.

David was overwhelmed at times, and yet he was a man after God's own heart. So if you are feeling overwhelmed at times, that's okay. Just realize that David felt overwhelmed. He had to give himself pep talks, too. So give yourself some pep talks if necessary. But do have faith in God. And remember that he is on your side, and he's much greater than anything that's against you. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 7. 2 Corinthians, in chapter 7. In verse 5. He's talking about Paul and his group that was traveling with him. Paul writes, for indeed, when we were came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side.

Outside were conflicts, and inside were fears. There were times when Paul was afraid. No doubt we would be afraid if we had to go through all that Paul went through. Paul was beaten. He was left for dead. He was shipwrecked. He was in the deep a number of days. And he went through tremendous trials and problems as God's servant. And yet he always remembered who was on his side and who was greater than anything that he was ever facing.

It is normal and human to be afraid at times, but the key is to overcome fear with faith. David and Paul remained faithful in spite of their fears. That's because they again always remembered that God was on their side and that God had promised to never leave them nor forsake them. He has given us the same exact promise. In Deuteronomy 7, let's go to Deuteronomy 7.

Let's go to Deuteronomy 7. And let's take a look at verse 6, where it talks about God's chosen peoples. Deuteronomy 7, verse 6. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, the Eternal your God has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. Now, I believe that God has called us in the same manner, but even in a greater sense, because we are his spiritual nation. We are his spiritual people looking to him. Verse 7, the Eternal did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples.

And God has said that he's called the foolish of the world, that we might confound the mighty. Verse 8, but because the Lord loves you and because he would keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Now, let's go down to verse 17. Wait, let's read verse 9 first.

Therefore, know that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations, with those who love him and keep his commandments. That's why we're here, because we love God and we are here keeping his commandments. We're keeping his feasts. We've come to worship the king. Verse 17, if you should say in your heart, these nations are greater than I, how can I dispossess them?

You shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt. The great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstressed arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out, so shall the Lord your God do to all the people of whom you are afraid.

Moreover, the Lord your God will send the Hornet among them, until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. God has promised to look after his people. We are still under those same promises today. Even greater promises. So, as it says here, remember well what the eternal God did in Egypt when he brought the people out of bondage and out of slavery. Remember well what he is doing today.

The Bible is filled with examples of faith, of times when God delivered his people. Remember Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego, and how God delivered them out of a fiery furnace. And King Nebuchadnezzar came to realize that there is no other God who can deliver like the true God. There is no other God who can deliver like the true God.

In fact, there is no other God. God will deliver. And many other examples. Daniel and the Lion's Den. King David. The Apostle Paul, as we've already mentioned. And remember how God has delivered you in the past. There have been times when perhaps you have gone through car accidents and you came out unscathed. Now that's happened with my wife and I. I choose to believe that God was there protecting us. I believe that he was. Because it could have been far worse. Now some of you I know have gone through accidents and you've been hurt badly.

But God is nevertheless with you. Some have died and God has allowed that. And yet God is with them and we know that. We understand that. So no matter what we go through, if we always realize that he was on our side is greater than he was against us, we're going to do well. In 1 John 4a, it talks about how God is love. 1 John 4. God is truly love. And if we always remember that God is love and we remember how powerful love is, that will give us the strength to go on and to face our trials.

1 John 4. 1 John 4. 8. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation or the atonement for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

And in verse 16, and we have known and believed the love that God has for us, God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. We don't have to fear we can have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. Christ lives in us today. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment, but he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

We love him because he first loved us. So when we're changed into spirit, we're going to be loved completely and totally at that time, and there will be no fear in us. What a wonderful thing. What a wonderful way to be. So remember the first point. He who is with you and in you is greater than anyone or anything that ever comes up against you.

And remember, as Christ's disciples, we are primarily known by the love that we have for each other, and not just the Church of God, but all people. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.

It's the video that we saw the people in Rwanda, where they stood up and hid people that were not a part of God's Church, but they were willing to die with those people. That's the kind of love that we all need to have, that we're willing to die and do the right thing and stand up and protect and look after others and love them. Let's go on to a second principle. Always face your fears and move forward as a doer of God's laws and ways.

Always face your fears. Don't hide from your fears. Don't run from your fears. Go to God and say, God, I'm scared. I'm afraid. I need your help. It's okay to feel some fear and to be afraid because we're not yet spirit. But fear, brethren, must not immobilize us. And it must not cause us to compromise and break God's law. Oftentimes it is fear that causes us to compromise and to break God's laws. But we must not let our fears overwhelm us to the point that we sin against God. And, of course, when we do, we know that we can go to God and ask for forgiveness and know that He will grant us repentance because we're still flesh.

But we can be overcomers with God's help. We can put fear out. We can put sin out of our lives with God's help.

Do you remember what happened when the children of Israel left Egypt and Pharaoh and his armies began to pursue them? They seemingly had them trapped. The Red Sea was in front of them and Pharaoh and the most powerful army on earth was behind them. They were afraid. They were grumbling and complaining. And they were mad at Moses. Once again, why did you lead us out here to be destroyed? And Moses said, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. But do you remember what God told Moses? He said, why are you talking to me, Moses? Tell him to move forward. Tell him to go ahead. Tell him to step out in faith. Tell him to move into the Red Sea. Go toward it.

Raise up your staff and I will part the Red Sea. God wants us to move forward. He wants us to do our part. He wants us to have faith and put one foot in front of the other. Now, Nehemiah was another leader who understood the importance of doing his part to overcome fear and develop greater faith. Nehemiah had led the third and final group of Israelites from the house of Judah back from the Babylonian captivity into Jerusalem. Now he was coordinating the rebuilding of the shattered wall of Jerusalem. His task was met with great opposition. You might remember Tobiah, Sanballat, and Geshim the Arab and how they withstood him and opposed him at every turn. Nehemiah had to take bold action and show great courage and faith. Nehemiah 4 was a wonderful leader who looked to God, who had courage, had faith. He was still human. He prayed to God a lot. He got his strength from God. Nehemiah 4, verse 14.

Nehemiah says, I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the leaders and to the rest of the people, the house of Judah that was with him, Do not be afraid of them. Don't be afraid of your enemies. Remember the Lord great and awesome and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his own work. But they went back to work. Half of them were working and the other half had swords and spears, and they were protecting the rest of them so that they would not be attacked.

There is a time when we have to do something ourselves. God expects us to do something. Nehemiah did not allow his fears to immobilize him as he stepped out in faith and directed the others to step out in faith and do their part as well. Now, their battle was largely physical. They were building a wall and people were opposing them and trying to stop them and wanting to kill them. Well, ours, brethren, is more of a spiritual battle that we face each and every day of our lives. Nonetheless, we must also courageously face our battles with faith as we move forward and do what we can do ourselves, what we can reasonably do, having faith that God will take care of anything and everything else. So the second principle, brethren, again, is always face your fears and move forward. Don't just stand still. There are times to move forward to step out in faith. Be a doer of God's laws and God's ways. Live up to God's standards, as Mr. Cordelue said, and don't allow fear to immobilize you and cause you to compromise and break God's law. A third principle is always follow King Jehoshaphat's no-fear formula. Always follow King Jehoshaphat's no-fear formula. Now, do you know what it is? If not, let's go. Let's talk about it. Let's turn to 2 Chronicles 20, and we'll see that there is a formula here for facing our fears. King Jehoshaphat was one of the very few good kings of Israel and Judah. He was a king of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 20, it shows in the first couple of verses that there was a great multitude going to come against him to destroy he and the nation of Judah. Verse 3, and Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord. Okay, that's the first part. The first part of the formula is seek the Lord. It's okay to fear, but start seeking the Lord right away. Seek the Eternal. He set himself. Sometimes we have to set ourselves. We have to just make ourselves do it. Get down on your knees and start praying. That will help. And so he began to seek the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast throughout all of Judah. Remember, some things don't happen except through prayer and fasting. Verse 4, so Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord. He sought again the Eternal's help, and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. So they united together. We're the United Church of God, and we certainly need to be united and work together and face our challenges together. Verse 5, Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new port, and he said, O Lord God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? He remembered who God is, and he reminded God of who he is. And Thomas Coe, who was one of the Karen brethren, he was a part of the Karen National Liberation Army, you might remember in the video, he did the same thing. He went to God in prayer when he was faced with those trials, and God heard him, and God delivered he and his family. So God's the same yesterday, today, and forever. They united together, and then they sought God, and Jehoshaphat prayed to God, and he said, He said, Now God has his temple in us. We are the temple of God's spirit, and we can trust God to live in us. And God will hear, and God will save.

But they turned from them, and did not destroy them. Here they are, rewarding us, by coming to throw us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. So go and talk to God, and reason with God. God likes it when you talk to him, when you reason with him, when you remind him of who he is and what he's done, and what you expect him to do for you, as you humbly seek his will.

Verse 12, He says, And I'm not going to read the rest of the account, but God intervened mightily, and those nations turned against each other. And they fought against each other, but they only did so after they unitedly sought God's will, and they began to praise God. And they lifted up their voices in praise to God. They trusted in God. They had been fasting, and they looked to God for his deliverance. And they were indeed delivered, and those nations fought against each other and killed each other. And we'll go to one verse. Verse 24, So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and there were their dead bodies falling on the earth.

No one had escaped. And then God blessed them with all the spoils for three days. They took the spoils of those people who had died, who had turned against each other. God will fight our battles for us, but they had to go forward in faith. They went forward unitedly praising God and seeking God's will. And God surely answered them. So that is the no-fear formula.

That's Jehoshaphat's no-fear formula. So remember, Jehoshaphat's no-fear formula. Use it. And we as a church should use it collectively together. And then let's go to the last principle, number four. Brethren, always spread faith, not fear. Spread faith and not fear. If you're fearful, try not to spread it to others. Go to God and deal with it. But some of us, sometimes, we need others' help. And that's okay, too. If you can't quite deal with it, go to others and let's help each other. Let's encourage each other. Let's lift each other up. Brethren, as we draw ever closer to the return of Jesus Christ, times will become more and more difficult.

This world will become more and more frightening. Satan will be angry, and he will make war with God's people. Many frightening prophecies will be fulfilled. They will come to pass, as surely as we're here today. They will come to pass, and it is vital that we all learn to spread faith and not fear. As those days approach us, we don't know how soon they're coming. But if we don't face them ourselves, our children will face them.

And as Mr. Cordelou said, we need to teach our children and prepare them as well. We just don't know when Christ is going to return, but we know He's coming, and we know those prophecies are going to be fulfilled. In Deuteronomy 20, it shows that fear is contagious. I don't think I'll take the time to go there, but fear is contagious. In fact, when there were people that—there were rules of warfare back in the nation of Israel, and basically, when there was someone who was fearful, they would tell them to stay home.

And don't infect everyone else with your lack of faith, because it spreads. It's contagious. So it is important that we battle our fears and that we overcome them, and that God gives us the strength. But we can help each other. We can work together. We're all in this together. It's a beautiful thing to see members helping members. Faith is also contagious.

We can spread our faith. There are many examples in the Bible where faith was spread. In fact, Jehoshaphat's no-fear formula. They united together. They had faith. They were feeding on one another's faith. They believed in God, and they unitedly sought His will. Jesus Christ gives us some very good advice in Matthew 10. Christ says, fear not. In fact, that phrase is used 63 times in the Bible. Fear not. He says, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.

The word for body is the Greek soma, which is talking about the flesh, just this physical body. But the soul is sukei, and it corresponds with life or existence. You see, no one can kill our life. Only God can take your life away. But God doesn't want to do that. It's His good pleasure to give all of us His kingdom. He doesn't want to do that. He wants to give us eternal life. He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But He says, fear not those who can kill the body, because if the flesh dies, we know that God has power to resurrect. So if disease takes our bodies, if a car accident takes our bodies, if someone murders us, we will live again. So we don't have to fear man, but we do have to have the proper awe and respect for God. The proper kind of fear that the song we sang about a little while ago talked about.

We do need to have a proper respect and awe and proper fear of God. God loves us, though, and God will take care of us, and we just need to believe in Him and have faith. In Luke 12, verse 32, it does say, fear not, little flock.

Fear not, little flock. It is the Father's good pleasure. It's what He wants to do. He wants to give us all His kingdom. That's a wonderful, wonderful thing to understand is that God desires to give you His kingdom. Unless you don't want it, you're going to be there. Do you want God's kingdom? Sure you do.

That's why you're here. So we can go boldly before the throne of grace in time of need. We can ask for help because we have a God who loves us. We have a Savior who died for us. So, brethren, don't worry. Seek God's kingdom, and always remember it is the Father's good pleasure to give you His kingdom. Now is the time to place our faith and trust in God the Father and in Jesus Christ our Savior.

Brethren, as we continue to keep this feast, and as we return to our homes in just a few days now, let's continue to look to God's glorious kingdom. Let's continue to seek first the kingdom of God, and always remember that it is a kingdom of peace. It is a kingdom with no fear.