Fear

Let's open the word at Isaiah 41 and we will be reading from verse one up until verse 16. Isaiah 41. Listen to me in silence, O coastlands. Let the people renew their strength. Let them approach, then let them speak. Let us together draw near for judgment. Who stirred up one from the East whom victory meets at every step?

He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them and passes on safely, by a path his feet have not trod. Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first and with the last, I am He. The coastlands have seen and are afraid, the ends of the earth tremble, they have drawn near and come. Everyone helps his neighbour and says to his brother, be strong. The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith and he who smooths with the hammer, him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, it is good, and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, you are my servant. I have chosen you and not cast you off. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you.

I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded. Those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them.

Those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. It is I who say to you, fear not. I am the one who helps you. Fear not, you worm Jacob.

You men of Israel, I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord. Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp and having teeth. You shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the Lord, and in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

From verse eight: But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, you are my servant. I have chosen you and not cast you off. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Who amongst you are not scared easily? A bit harder. Who amongst you are not in fear? Have you asked yourself what the source of your fears are? Wouldn't it be great, indeed marvellous, if at the end of our devotions and our worshipping, fellowshipping this morning, if we could all leave that door and not be afraid, not experience fear, instead be in a position to face our fears and even to overcome them.

I'm not referring to not being made scared, but to be in the position to be constantly overcoming fear that builds up in your life, to shut down its power and to overcome it. Fear has become part of man's existence from the beginning, from the moment separation from the source of life and truth became a reality for them. How far back can you remember where it started off? Adam and Eve, when they chose to accept a lie instead of the truth, when they chose to live contrary to what God demanded.

From that moment, how did that change their relationship with God? Remember, we read every night God would come down to them and He would walk with them. After that moment of sin, disobedience, how did they approach God? In fear. Is that how God wants you to live in your relationship with Him?

Has He made you to live in fear? Someone else wants you to. Therefore, being scared and living in fear is a reality in this world of ours. Satan wants you to live in fear. The unbelievers will do everything in their power to instil fear in you because in the end, it's all about subjection.

We know of Islam and how they subject. We've seen it and we've heard it and it's still going on. Fear is one of the biggest weapons in the hand of Satan and man to subject people and hurt them his and the unbelievers' way. This morning you will be reminded of promises made to you. I'm not making it.

The living God has already made it. He's given it to you to live by it. To use it to strengthen your shaking legs spiritually. So let's start off. What are you actually scared of?

A lot of people, especially our fairer fellow believers, would jump onto the pews the moment they see a mouse running past through their legs, or experience a cockroach running over their legs. There will be a yelp. Who is scared because they've made themselves scared? To put it in a different way, are you not scared because you have been made scared by something you've seen or been told? The old ghost story trick. Remember growing up as kids, around midnight if you're still awake, especially going visiting some friends?

I don't know whether it still holds true, but there were people well renowned for telling ghost stories when I grew up. How many children and even adults live in true fear of the dark because of horror movies they've been watching? Hence, unknown and I can't understand why they still keep on watching it. By the way, who here believes in the existence of ghosts? I can assure you that there is no such thing as a ghost.

So you can bury that fear. God didn't create ghosts. They have been given life due to man's denial of the existence of God's created spiritual world and the heavenly realm where the fallen angels are residing. If you're looking for a ghost, go look for demonic works and that will give you an explanation. Therefore, apart from the physical world, there are a number of sources for fear that originate from the unseen world of the mostly unknown part of our existence.

Sometimes we fear due to things we see and experience, and how easily does this happen? If you think or watch something and that puts your nerves on the edge, it doesn't take much for your mind to start wandering, to conjure things up. There seem to be things that go bang in the night. Did you know that the medical profession even have medical terms to describe these unseen events? Apparently, those who have defibrillator devices placed in them have had strange experiences, contributing to serious psychological problems, including anxiety and depression.

A study, for example, has found patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator devices who had nocturnal sensations of cardioversion. It's all medical because it comes out of the English medical journal. In some instances, with observing jolting and verbal outcries, these episodes resemble a variety of sleep onset phenomena referred to as exploding head syndrome. Patients with this syndrome reported having loud explosion-like noises as they are falling asleep. Another bizarre sensation also called phantom shocks should be discriminated from real shocks before any treatment is prescribed or the device is reprogrammed.

Treatment of secondary psychiatric disorders may provide a solution, or New England Journal of Medicine. Now picture yourself the following. Imagine waking up at four a.m. and after some time not getting back to sleep, your mind starts wandering and the thoughts are flowing.

It's good thoughts, for it builds on what you have heard the previous day being at the camp, listening to what Pastor Joss was saying about God holding you in His right hand. And after being approached by KJ and Joss asking you, what are you going to preach about, Donnie, this coming Sunday? I don't know. So whilst lying and my thoughts running, I picked up a laptop and I read Isaiah 41. I started to note down the thoughts and the thoughts revolved around fear, being scared, and then my thoughts were interrupted by some sort of sound coming from somewhere in the hallway.

Now I'm not making this up. There should not be any sounds up here. The family is at the camp. Adele is lying down in her room down at the lower level, but for sure there shouldn't be any sounds up here. Yes, there he goes again.

It's definitely something moving. The old cold tingling eerie feeling running down your whole body soon follows. Who can it or what can it be? I've heard some movement on the roof the other morning, but this is different. There it goes again.

My thoughts turn to, no, not ghosts, they don't exist. Demons do. I know they do because I've experienced it in my ministry. I've seen them at work. Then the passage from the Lord in Luke comes to mind, Luke 10:17 and further, where He speaks of their existence and influence in the lives of people.

The 72 returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name. And He said to them, I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven. Behold, I've given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Now it's crunch time.

Am I either going to stand up and face the fear building in me, or could I choose the easier one and ignore the sound coming from somewhere in the rest of the house? There he goes again. Now if the Lord is with me, if He is greater, stronger, almighty, and I have power over Satan and his demons, then I need to face this. I stood up and I walked slowly, softly, encroaching. It is dark.

I can't see much. There that icy shiver runs down my neck and all the way down to my spine. I could address these demons and bar them from the house, in Jesus' name, but yet again the sound's gone. I can't hear it anymore. So I returned to bed and I resumed thinking and typing.

Now not to drag this out, I think I stood up and traversed the hallway another two times, every time the sound was gone. Sometime later that morning I heard it again. I stood up and walked the hallway again. It has become light in the house. I look into the study, there is nothing there.

I look into Esme's room, there is nothing there. I look into Christian's room and there is something there. Christian on his bed. Now why is he here? He shouldn't be here.

He should be at the camp. I cracked a smile and I could have laughed out loud. Why is he back? He shouldn't be back. In his bed?

How silly of me. No, it was not silly of me. I thought about it. I made the decision to face it that caused me to fear. For have I not read earlier that my God has told me that He is with me?

I need not fear. I need not live in fear of anything seen or unseen. Practical living? Nah, nothing to do with practical living. What about practical faith?

No, it has got nothing to do with practical faith. Living faith due to a living relationship with a living God. That's what it's about. God has said to me, don't fear. So why should I then?

Why should you? By the example, the triune God has made a promise to you, one He said He will keep. But as it is with every promise and knowledge of the truth, it cannot change your outlook if you don't believe in it, own it, and live it. It is the truth. Now you have to believe it to be and live by and through it, for you are going to need it.

This morning we will be looking at how our God wants us to react to fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that are part and parcel of dealing with the world that we are living in, especially the invisible, but also the visible, a world that is now faster changing than ever before. So where does fear come from? Fear becomes a reality when something or someone in your reality becomes more than God, your belief in Him. Now can anything to be experienced in this world become greater than our God? The answer is quite obvious, no.

But yet sometimes we experience, then think, then believe, and act as if that is the fact. As if our set in stone reality is what we see. It doesn't take long for our experiences to become a fact in our subconscious and for us to start act and to live by it. What you basically do is you allow fear to come in and to direct your life. Don't we have a good example of that in the life of Peter, the apostle?

But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, it's a ghost. They cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, take heart. It is I. Didn't you hear that in our passage?

It is He. I am He. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it's You, command me to come to You on the water. He said, come.

So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus, but when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, oh you of little faith. Why did you doubt? So what happens when you take your eyes off Jesus? Do you walk in faith up until we take our eyes off Jesus and then fear sets in?

Peter walked on the water when he had his eyes on Jesus, but when he saw the power of the wind picking the waves up, most probably higher than him, he sank in faith. He sank into the water and was about to drown. How wonderful that at that moment he could call out to the Lord Jesus and said help. So are you created to live in fear? No.

You and I are created to live by God's truth. His truth is not only the only truth because of who He is, but also because His truth tells us the truth about who we are and how we should look at His created world and the earthly reality we are living in. So what do you believe about God and about your existence in this life, especially when it comes to fear? Look at the word fear. Now in your mind just spell it out.

F-E-A-R. So F stands for? For. E stands for? Elohim.

A stands for? Are. And R stands for? Real. For Elohim are real. Well, Donnie, wait a bit.

You won't make it through the first round of spelling bee because singular noun takes singular verb. In the English language it might, but not in the Hebrew. For Elohim is a majestic plural. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are real. So why fear?

Elohim, after a search through the internet, Elohim denotes God. It's one of the most common names for God in the Old Testament, starting in the very first verse in the beginning of the Bible. God, Elohim, created the heavens and the earth. The name Elohim occurs 2,500 times in the Old Testament, and it's interesting when Jesus cries out Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, this Eloi is a shortened version of Elohim. What about Unitarianism? Does the fact that Elohim is plural suggest the triune nature of God?

It's best to be understood that the word in its construction is a plural of majesty. Writing Elohim is a stylistic way of emphasising His greatness, His power, and His prestige. With that said, and in the light of the overall teaching of the Bible, the plural form of Elohim certainly allows for further revelation of God's nature. You and I need not fear because the Triune God is actively involved in our daily lives. This is the message of Isaiah to Israel, ensnared and affected by what?

Being in captivity. Most probably experiencing the life and the world of the unbeliever where they are subjected to captivity. It rings true for us in our current situation. The whole unbelieving world is crying out homophobia, whilst Isaiah reminds us theophobia, fear of God.

Have we not come to live in fear of what the unbelieving world might do to us and therefore have become reserved in speaking out, not calling the actions of man that are against the commandments of God's word for what it is, sin? People's lives are full of it. It's destroying their relationships. It's dished up, watched, celebrated, elevated, and even advocated as enjoyable, normal, and your right. Listen to me in silence, O coastlands.

Let the peoples renew their strength. Let them approach, then let them speak. Let us together draw near for judgment. We've all experienced how something can actively grab hold of our mind and our thoughts to the extent that you become emotionally and spiritually drained. Now the Lord says, be still.

Be quiet for a moment. Don't think about it anymore. Don't let it upset you more than it should. Let them carry on. What we will do is, we will draw near for judgment.

How futile are the attempts of a defence lawyer in his attempts to prove the lie that his client is innocent when the prosecutor and the jury and the judge know that he is guilty. Who is going to have the last say in this? Is it not the judge? Is the truth not that every man shall stand before the judgment throne? That is still where God is working towards, whether man wants to accept it or not.

A resurrection where you will be clothed according to the way that you lived. As simple as that. It will be apparent for all to see who lived with God, who lived without God, who feared God, and who did not. So where does fear start? It speaks for itself, fear of God.

Elohim is asking you this morning, have you forgotten? Come see again for yourself. I have been actively at work from the beginning of time, steering everything, and at the same time, I'm also at your side. Why are you concerned about the present outcome when the past, the present, and the future is in My hand, secured? In our passage, the Father refers to the past.

Who was the one that brought into existence what is today? Isaiah, in his context, is reminded of where God started with these people that He is leading, trying to lead in captivity. God called Abraham out of Ur, the land of the moon worshippers. God called him out of Ur to separate them, or him, from them, and He calls Abraham to follow Him. And by calling Abraham to follow Him, He separates him, as I said.

And what followed then? God did not only call Abraham, but true to His promise that his descendants will be as countless as the stars in the heavens and the sands of the seashore, the Father congregates His children. In the Old Testament, in the nation Israel, in our present day, this church building and all the other similar ones all over the world. He brings His children together and guides them through what's happening now. Through sermons, through you reading your word, His word, through prayer, through following, through a relationship.

Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first and with the last, I am He. But you, Israel, my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, you are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off. So how big is the sea around you at this moment? We know the one big sea wave going up and down.

But what else is threatening to engulf you? Perhaps it's already steered your ship in a different direction. What's the Father telling you this morning? I have chosen you. I'm actively involved and called you to an existence to be part of a believing nation, the children of the living God.

Visualise this morning. How good is that? The mention of generations speaks of more than long time involvement. It speaks of relationship. A specific relationship that would later become visible for them in the covenant that God made with Israel through Abraham.

Is that covenant still happening? Is it still visible for you? Has God changed? Has He changed His covenant? Has He changed His way of making it visible for you?

Most of our brothers and sisters have walked away from infant baptism. No. They walked away from the covenant of God being made visible for the parents and those that are attending church. Why do we bring our children to be baptised? Aren't we confirming, making visible God's covenant with us, beginning with Abraham, through Isaiah and everybody in captivity, to us being in captivity today on this earth?

Are we in captivity? That's not the truth. We have been looking at the 10 Commandments in the past weeks, past few weeks. Did you see the covenant in that? Isn't the 10 Commandments God's guidelines for how we should live in this covenant relationship with Him?

If everybody had the correct understanding of the covenant, they would have a correct understanding of the marriage. God takes Abraham and now even the believers in captivity in a situation where He wants them to live focused on Him. Perhaps that's where we should start to acknowledge that in this world we're living in, God is still working the same way with us. We're not in captivity, but we are still subjected to what happens in this world and in our daily circumstances. So whenever man goes against God's will and he changes the order of existence to fit his convictions, what he does is exactly what happened with Adam and Eve.

He separates himself from God, and as he turns against God more and more, his separation becomes bigger until he, in the end, stands up against God. And that's what I think we're starting to see. Separation from God has turned around to man standing up against God saying, I'll make the decision about how I want to live. The more they turn against God, the more their actions force us to acknowledge God. Do you hear that?

The more they separate themselves from God and stand up against God, the more you will be forced to acknowledge God. Or have you fallen silent out of fear? I'm not implying that we did not acknowledge God beforehand, but instead that we have the calling to call them to acknowledge God and His will for their lives. That is why we read in this chapter that God the Father gives His children an identity. Twice in verse eight and nine, He refers to them as His servants.

Instead of being subjected to worthless and lifeless idols, God calls His children to live in a life of servanthood. Now not to keep us guessing, Elohim characterised the servanthood. Being a servant of the living God brings you in a position that affronts the world and their ways. Easy as that. You live like a child of God, how you live will affront the accepted ways the kings of the old, not Judah, but the whole Palestine, how they lived.

And God not only rejected them, but He used the nation to basically stop them in their existence. Who stirred up one from the East whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them and passes on safely, by a path his feet have not trod.

Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last, I am He. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you.

I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. So what we need to see this morning is God's close involvement that stands completely opposed to that of the idol worshipper. In context, the unbeliever. God calls, gathers, and does not cast off again.

Instead, He draws closer. God's relationship with us is to bring us blessings and not fear. Let's have a look at that. When He describes this personal relationship, He starts off with a call to stop doing something. So I hope you have basically moved in your thought line this morning and already started to think differently about living in fear.

He does not initially give the reasons at first, but places the emphasis on one element that is not to be part of your relationship with Him. Did you realise that when you read this passage? God doesn't start off in this passage and say these are the reasons why you should not fear. What does He say? Fear not.

And now He comes to the reasons. No fear, not in any form of fear. This is in total contrast to the life of the idol worshipper. And then in the passage we read how they react. Apart from being subjected under an earthly ruler that can change his mind any day and take your life, put in bondage your family, that's the reality.

He used to be pitied as an unbeliever for putting his hope on something that is nothing. What a hopeless situation it is to be in when you believe you are being assisted by someone powerful like your ruler and yet that king can't live past his own life. He's not even certain about his own reign. And then God starts off and He says, apart from your earthly ruler, there are also idols that you are worshipping. And how pitiful you are if you put your trust in something that does not exist or that is nothing.

No one is going to intercede for you. There's no one that's going to come to rescue you. Now this won't be the case for the child of God. Let's look at the rest of verse four. I am with you.

And then He uses the example of this king that can't live past his own lifetime, but Elohim can. Therefore He draws us back to the beginning with Abraham and He cements it in a covenant so that you that live today can say, that covenant is still real. I see it in the life of my children and if you are blessed, in the life of your grandchildren and great grandchildren. Apart from Elohim being immortal, He brings Himself to acknowledge, brings you to acknowledge that He is not just God, but personally your God. Is that how you feel about God this morning?

When you contemplate about fearing or not fearing? So how has the focus changed? Satan has told Adam and Eve that it's all about them, that they are the epicentre of the whole universe. The same old lie is becoming more visible for us in our reality. As technology is developing, our civilisation has become more and more egocentric and self-centred.

Away with what God wants. Let me see what the other people are saying on social media this morning. I was amazed when Renee told me of someone that starts to become anxious when she can't give her input on the topic of the day on social media. Anxious. Couldn't understand that Renee is not plugged in onto social media.

Where is God's norm? I tell you, you'll definitely not hear of Him on social media. The last place people would be talking about God and God's norm, God's law. So social media has brought man's right and man's law. That's what you're being asked to say yes or no to.

Not about God's will for marriage. What's your law for marriage? And I'm not trying to, understand me correct, I'm not trying to influence you to say yes or no. You know what you need to say.

I'm just trying to explain to you how we have evolved emotionally, morally, and the world that we live in. The reason for this dramatic change in approach is to be found in the fact that somewhere postmodern ethics and morals has put what the individual wants above what the majority wants, based on the premise that everybody has certain unalienable rights. Doesn't that sum up the yes and the no vote? Yet it is a right to be determined that once it's acknowledged, it will be protected by legislation.

The legislation then will infringe on the religious and civil rights of the majority of society who has acknowledged it into so-called existence. Now the Father steps into a struggle of daily life. Don't fear, I'm with you. Don't be dismayed by what happens around you or even to you. I am your God.

Nothing can change that. Remember, I chose you. I made you. He has decided on the nature of your relationship. And He is giving His all.

You have an example of that? Jesus Christ. He's given all so that you don't live in fear. What did Jesus say about the man you're living with? I must use the word right.

Not man as in married man, but man as in humans. Did He say that you should fear them for what they can do to you? How fearful have we become of losing our possessions and what they can do to us? There are other reasons why we should not fear. It does not stop there with the confirmation as to what our identities are, but a further promise of active involvement.

It builds on the knowledge that God is with us. We are inseparable, infused in our relationship with Him. He will give us the necessary strength. And as if that is not enough, I will help you. And if that is not enough, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Has He done that for you? Has the Father through the Lord Jesus not made you righteous? What has kept you with Him? What has brought you here this morning? Yes, we acknowledge we are sinful and we do sin.

But how wonderful that we could say in prayer, Father, forgive us, and know in the Spirit that He has, that we are righteous, that He will make sure that we keep on being righteous. Even if we still choose to fear and doubt. Did He drop Peter off on the beach after he doubted? He took him on the journey. Now against this backdrop, what does the idol worshipper or the unbeliever have going for him or her?

The Father has already made it clear that to anyone who rejects His truth, His order. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded. Those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them. Those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.

Those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.

They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. What man is creating by denying God's truth and direction, inevitably, they will be making it hell for themselves on earth. Their own choosing will be their own demise, God says. Now what awaits you and me if we choose not to live in fear? I'm just going to take a few passages out of Scripture as part of our summary and conclusion.

You and I will not be delivered because the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. Like the believers in captivity, we were promised a saviour figure, Cyrus. Did he come? Jesus did come. Is He coming again?

For sure He's coming. Instead of living in fear, we are called to be walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. We are not to live in fear of those who will kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who is coming. You can destroy both soul and body in hell. So what are you taking home today and be reminded of every day?

For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God, 2 Corinthians. You and I have a calling to speak the truth even if it means imprisonment and rejection. That most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.

But what we are is known to God, and I hope it's known also to your conscience. So lastly, let us make a proclamation like David did. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life.

Of whom shall I be afraid? The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me? Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You who fear the Lord, praise Him. All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him and stand in awe of Him. All you offspring of Israel.

Amen. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we will not fear. You have overcome fear for us, Father, through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by Your Holy Spirit.

Father, forgive us for being fearful of man, of rejection, Father, that we have hidden away the truth, that we are scared of speaking the truth. Thank You that we may also know that our salvation is not dependent on speaking the truth, that our salvation has been secured in His obedience, in Him being faultless, sinless, complete obedience to the death. Lord Jesus, You've given us a lot of eschatological parts in Scripture that speak of the day we are living in. That there will come a dark time on this earth, and we can see the clouds gathering. We can see that man has not only rejected You, but he's been standing up against You in revolt.

We pray, Father, that we will be worthy witnesses, worthy servants of the one living true God. Thank You again for confirming the truth. You were there in the beginning when You made the earth and the heavens. For You are Elohim, the almighty God. You were there when You called Abraham.

You were there when we were baptised. And You will also be there when we die. That we don't even have to fear death. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You have conquered death. That death is now a door to You, to the throne room, to heaven.

A doorway to eternal life with You. Not in heaven, but on this earth, reclaimed, cleansed by fire. Our words fall short to praise You for who You are, Father. For everything You have done, that You are still doing in our lives. Help us through Your Holy Spirit to be the servants, the children, the witnesses who we are called in our identity that You've given us.

Let Your name be glorified in this week as we go forth and not fear, but rejoice and proclaim and live with You and walk with You. This is our prayer in the wonderful name that You've given us through which we know that this prayer is answered. The name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.