“But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
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.
‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
“Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
“You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” (Isaiah 41:8-13 NASB1995)
Now, this is Old Testament, and it was written to the Israel
of old, of the Old Covenant, and yet it is consistent with the teachings to
believers in Christ in the New Testament. We who believe in Jesus Christ under
the New Covenant that God has with his people Israel (Jew and Gentile by faith
in Christ) are the chosen of God, the children of promise, Abraham’s seed, and
heirs according to the promise. For, in Jesus’ death on that cross, he made Jew
and Gentile one people by faith in Christ, the one and only Israel of God.
[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans
2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians
3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13;1
Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude
1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]
And, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are going to have
enemies. We are going to have people who oppose us, who reject and persecute
us, and who come against us. And Jesus promised us that if we follow him with
our lives that we are going to be treated as he was treated. And he is not
going to deliver us physically from every one of these situations. Look at the
examples of Jesus and of his New Testament apostles and of the prophets of God
before them. Most all were persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
So, what do the Scriptures teach us regarding how we are to
respond to such situations as this, when we are being opposed for righteousness’
sake? We are taught that we are to love our enemies, to do good to them, and
not evil, to pray for them, and to bless them, i.e. to say to them what will be
beneficial for them, and not to cause them harm, i.e. the opposite of cursing
them. If they are hungry, we are to feed them. If they are thirsty, we are to
give them something to drink. We are to repay evil with good, not with evil.
Also, we are taught that we are not to fear our enemies or
what they might do to us. We are not to worry about what they might do or say.
And this is not a promise that God is going to deliver us from every situation,
either, but that we are not to be afraid of suffering for the sake of
righteousness, and for the sake of the name of Jesus and for the sake of the
truth of the gospel. For our Lord will give us the wisdom and the words and the
strength that we need to respond to our circumstances in the way he has planned
for us.
And this is not a promise that those who are angered at us
will immediately be shamed and dishonored, and that God will not allow them to
do evil, for a time, until the time that he comes in judgment against the
ungodly of this world. But if they do not repent of their evil, and if they
continue in that evil, eventually God will judge them, some sooner than later.
And for our part, we are to keep trusting the Lord with our lives, no matter
what comes our way, and we are to pray for our enemies that they will turn
their hearts to Christ.
[Matthew 5:10-12;
Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21;
John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter
1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2
Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation
7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation
13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
For Our Nation
Professionally
recorded in Nashville, TN
Via Gerry Peters,
music producer and arranger
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Bombs are bursting.
Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is
gently calling
You to follow Him in
all ways.
Trust Him with your
life today.
Make Him your Lord
and your Savior.
Turn from your sin.
Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you
of your sin;
Cleanse your heart,
made new within.
Men betraying: Our
trust fraying.
On our knees to God
we’re praying,
Seeking God to give
us answers
That are only found
in Him.
God is sovereign
over all things.
Nothing from His
mind escaping.
He has all things
under His command,
And will work all
for good.
Jesus Christ is
gently calling
You to follow Him in
all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re
believing
In our Lord, and
interceding
For our nation and
its people
To obey their God
today.
He is our hope for
our future.
For our wounds He
offers suture.
He is all we need
for this life.
Trust Him with your
life today.
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Do Not Fear!
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