Introduction

In verses 12–16 Moses has just given Israel some astonishing promises of covenant blessings. I loved preaching on that section. But, we also saw that blessings can either draw us closer to God or they can subtly draw us away from God - depending on how we handle the blessings. So even in the midst of blessing we have to be on guard to not allow blessings to make us soft or to make us materialistic - where we begin to be focused more on the gift than the Giver. So in the previous section, Moses called God's people to cleave to the Lord and to use every blessing they were given as a stewardship trust.

Now I n verses 17–21, Moses addresses a very different temptation: the temptation of ungodly fear. And this too is a temptation that is common to man.

Since ungodly fear automatically draws our hearts away from a walk of faith, God does not want Israel to permit that fear to govern them. They needed to be on a holy warpath against their inward fears. They needed to take those fears seriously.

And I should point out that this is not the first time Israel had faced that temptation. Forty years earlier, the spies had returned from the land and said,

“The people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there” (Num. 13:28).

And then they concluded,

“We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we” (Num. 13:31).

So this passage addresses a very practical question: How do God’s people keep fear at bay when obedience looks dangerous, costly, or impossible?

Moses gives four answers. He says that we need to monitor the inward conversation of the heart. Second, we need to remember God’s previous works and promises. Third, we need to trust His present providence. And then, fourth, we need to allow the fear of God to drive out the fear of man.

God’s people must honestly handle fear (v. 17)

Verse 17 says, “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’”

Fear starts in the heart with inward dialogue

First of all, Moses says that fear starts in the heart with an inward dialogue. Moses does not pretend that fear will never arise. He knows that Israel will face enemies that appear far beyond their strength. He knows they will look at Canaan and feel small. He knows they will be tempted to say, “This is way more than we can handle. How can we possibly do what God has commanded us to do?” We are not talking about doing anything and everything. We are talking about doing what God has commanded us to do.

And notice how pastoral Moses is. He does not merely address outward actions. He doesn't start with the obedience. He first of all addresses the heart. “If you should say in your heart …” Before fear becomes public rebellion, it is often a private conversation that we have with our hearts. Yes - we do tend to talk to ourselves. Before our fears are spoken to others, they tend to be rehearsed inwardly. And I like to say that fear preaches bad sermons to your soul. Let me repeat that: Fear preaches bad sermons to your soul. And if those inward sermons are not immediately rebuked, rejected, and resisted by faith, they will eventually shape your outward obedience. In Matthew 15:19, Jesus said, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies," etc. You've got to start with the heart, and the first image in your outline illustrates how that inward preaching tends to work.

Fear often begins with accurate observation.

And the next thing to notice is that fear often begins by focusing on an accurate observation. Moses says, “These nations are greater than I.”

That was true. That was absolutely true. Israel was not imagining the disproportionate strength of the enemy. Sometimes our fears can be irrational and make us exaggerate the problems that we face. But that was not what Moses was addressing here. These nations were indeed greater in number, greater in experience and military preparation, greater in city fortifications, and greater in long-term possession of the land.

And forty years before, the Israelites had seen the exact same real obstacles. They weren't making things up. But they drew an unbelieving and faulty conclusion from those real observations. They had measured Canaan against themselves alone rather than measuring Canaan against God, and what God had promised to help them with. And those of you who are fearful know how easy it is for this to happen. I’m not judging you; it happens so easily.

So one issue that we need to consider is that fear does not always begin with fantasy. In fact, I would say that most fear begins with real facts. The problem is not always that we have imagined the danger. The problem is that we have forgotten that God is much bigger than our danger.

So the second thing to realize is is that faith is not pretending that obstacles to God's will do not exist. They do. Biblical courage is not make-believe. Faith does not require Israel to say, “Ahhh! The Canaanites are not strong.” That would be a false sermon to their soul. Faith does not require the church to say, “The world is easy to take on.” Faith does not require parents to say, “The internet poses no danger to our children.” Faith does not require reformers to say, “The institutions of America have not been completely captured by false ideologies.” Faith does not require us to deny reality. The nations really were greater than Israel.

If you are trying to get your children past their fears, there is a pastoral lesson here that we can use with them. We don't need to think that fear is always irrational. Granted, fears can sometimes be irrational. But often fear begins with real circumstances. For example, the medical diagnosis that you received from your doctor may be a really serious one for which there is not a lot of hope. Or, it may that your car needs to be replaced at a time when your finances are really tight. The cultural opposition against Christianity in America makes our successful involvement in culture seem unrealistic. Or perhaps your child really is wandering away from the faith, and you are not sure what to do about it. Or perhaps the marriage really is strained. And there may be other circumstances that cannot be denied.

So the question is not usually whether the obstacles are real. The question is whether God is more real to us than the obstacles are. That is why the fear of God is the fourth component for answering sinful fears. And we will get to that in a bit. But let's move on in verse 17.

Fear turns accurate observation into unbelieving conclusion.

The second half of the heart-speech in verse 17 says, “How can I dispossess them?”

This is where the problem subtly begins to emerge. The first statement may be factually accurate: “These nations are greater than I.” But the second statement begins to draw a conclusion that leaves God out of the equation: “How can I dispossess them?” Notice that God is not part of that second sentence. Fear has begun to interpret life as though God were not involved on their behalf.

That was the sin committed by the previous generation. They saw giants, fortified cities, and military strength. All of those things were real. But they spoke as though the contest was purely between Israel and Canaan. They measured God’s command (and it was a command) by their own resources alone rather than by God’s promised presence and power.

And this is one of the subtle movements of unbelief in our hearts. Unbelief does not always begin by denying God openly. In fact, it rarely does. It usually begins by simply omitting God from the calculation of their obedience. It looks at the budget, the polls, the institutional opposition, the experts, the history, the probabilities — and then says, “How can this possibly be done?” Ungodly fear fails to bring God’s Word, God’s power, God’s covenant, God’s promises, or God’s past acts into the equation.

One way of describing this problem is that fear often does bad arithmetic. It adds up the obstacles and subtracts God, His resources, and His promises. And when you do that, you really do have something to worry about. Adding up the obstacles may be prudent caution. That's OK. God does not oppose strategy, planning, or an honest assessment of our resources. But subtracting God from the equation produces a faithless conclusion.

So Moses is not rebuking Israel for seeing the strength of the nations. That's a part of faithful strategy and planning. In the book of Joshua we saw that Joshua was not naive. He made the best plans that he could. He was a brilliant tactician and strategist, but he always trusted God to bless those plans. But in this verse, God is warning them against drawing Godless conclusions from what they saw. Remember: that chapters 6-11 constitute God's exposition of the first commandment and its practical applications. The first commandment forbids us from putting anything in the place of God. When we remove God from our calculation of what is possible (assuming that God has indeed commanded us to do something), we are thinking like practical atheists. We are violating the first commandment in our hearts.

Fear talks to the heart before it talks to God.

The fourth thing to notice in verse 17 is that fear talks to the heart before it talks to God. And fear doesn't let up; it keeps talking to the heart. Moses says, “If you should say in your heart…”

Fear often begins with an inward unmonitored conversation that is not stopped immediately. We let fear talk a mile a minute without answering it. We rehearse every possible disaster. We magnify every difficulty. We predict every possible failure. We develop inward speeches of defeat before we ever speak them out loud. We talk ourselves into believing our own defeat. We can become defeated in our hearts before the battle has even begun. This means that the battle against fear must begin with that hidden conversation inside our heart.

And the remedy is not to merely to ignore those inward speeches. That's what some people recommend, but that is not an adequate solution. Nor is the remedy to shut down our minds. The true remedy is to actively and aggressively contradict those inward speeches by preaching the truth of God's Word to ourselves. This is why memorizing the promises of Scripture is so important. It is perfectly appropriate to talk to yourself. I do it all the time. The question is whether you are preaching truth or falsehood to yourself. In Psalm 42, the psalmist asks,

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God.” (Ps. 42:5)

The Psalmist is not merely listening to his soul. He is talking to his soul and disagreeing with his soul. He does not allow his emotions to have the only voice in the room. He answers fear with truth. He answers inward turmoil with hope. He answers inward disquiet with the command to trust God.

I have in the past occasionally found myself talking out loud and saying, “Stop it, Phil. You are not going to call God a liar. His Word says…” And then I quote the promises of Scripture and tell myself that I am going to believe God rather than my fears.

Many acts of obedience look impossible before they are attempted: confronting a longstanding sin, resisting cultural idols, ending abortion in Nebraska, discipling our children, building Christian institutions, pressing for biblical civics in an unbelieving age, calling magistrates to kiss the Son, refusing to compromise when compromise seems like the much safer route to take.

The question is not whether the obstacles are real. The question is whether we will allow fear alone to interpret the obstacles, or whether we will allow God’s Word to interpret the obstacles. And when we use Scripture to rebuke ourselves, convince ourselves, and give a pep talk to our heart, the Scripture has a transformational power that our own words do not. Not all of our speeches to ourselves have to follow exactly this pattern. The key is that we allow Scripture to be our touchstone. It has a power to change fear into faith. Fear preaches bad sermons to the soul that kill faith. Fear and faith are incompatible, so we must answer those bad fears-sermons with the Word of God. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

God’s people must answer fear by remembering redemption — vv. 18–19

OK - moving on to the second major point. Verses 18–19 give God’s next answer to fear:

“You shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.”

Moses does not say, “Pretend the nations are small.” He says, “Remember Egypt.”

That is a very different answer. God does not call Israel to courage by minimizing the enemy. He calls them to courage by magnifying the Lord. He does not say, “Canaan is nothing.” He says, “Remember what God did to Pharaoh.”

Pharaoh was not weak. Egypt was not insignificant. In fact, Egypt had been far stronger than Canaan was. And Israel did not defeat Egypt by superior strategy, superior weapons, or superior numbers. God broke Egypt. God humbled Pharaoh. God brought His people out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

So Moses says, in effect, “Hey! When you look ahead and begin to fear Canaan (which is natural to happen), look back and remind yourself of what I did to Egypt.” And we too should remind ourselves of the many times in the past that God has come through for us.

The command is direct: do not be afraid.

Verse 18 begins, “You shall not be afraid of them.”

Notice that this is a command. This is not an option. Fear is not treated as harmless. It is not coddled. It is not excused as merely a personality trait. Some people's counsel is counterproductive because it does little more than empathize with fear. There is a proper place for compassion, gentleness, and patience with those who are frightened. In fact, Scripture is filled with tenderness toward trembling people. “Fear not” is often one of the most gracious expressions in the Bible. But it's also a command. That means we are in sin when we don’t obey that command, and when we excuse fear.

It is precisely because fear can paralyze us, distort our judgment, prevent obedience, and eventually lead to rebellion, that God confronts sinful fear directly. We must learn to recognize ungodly fear as sin. Don’t relabel it; it is a sin.

Fear is not a safe master. When fear rules the heart, obedience becomes negotiable. When fear rules, God’s commands begin to appear unreasonable. When fear rules, compromise starts to look wise. When fear rules, trading votes with senators in the other political party disguises itself as prudence.

So God commands, “You shall not be afraid of them.” That is a command to resist what comes naturally to our hearts.

That command is not harsh. It is liberating. God is refusing to let Israel be governed by terror. He is calling them out of an enslaving fear and into the freedom of faith. And He calls any of you who are slaves of fear to take this seriously as well.

The remedy is remembrance.

But the next subpoint shows that you can't get rid of fear without replacing it with something else. This is true for all sins - there is a put off and there is always an opposite put on to replace the sin. Otherwise your heart will act like a vacuum and the sin will get sucked right back in. And one of the "put ons" in this passage that helps to replace fear is remembrance. Moses says, “but you shall remember well…”

Biblical courage is not psychological self-confidence. It is theological memory.

God does not say, “Believe in yourself.” He says, “Remember what I have done.” He does not say, “Find your inner strength.” He says, “Recall My mighty hand and outstretched arm.” He does not say, “You are enough.” He says, “I am enough.” There is a big difference between each of those contrasting phrases.

Much modern encouragement is idolatrous because it tries to build courage by building up self-esteem. But Moses does not build Israel’s courage that way. He does not say, “Israel, remember how impressive you were back then?” No! They were anything but impressive! He says, “Israel, remember what the LORD your God did.”

Christian courage is not rooted in self-esteem. It is rooted in God’s faithfulness. Let me repeat that: Christian courage is not rooted in self-esteem. It is rooted in God’s faithfulness. Toss the books that are preaching self-esteem.

Well, if what I have just said is true, then it means that forgetfulness is very dangerous. Forgetfulness is not a minor weakness. It is a spiritual hazard. When we forget what God has done, we become vulnerable to fear, grumbling, compromise, and rebellion. A people without memory will not have courage. Which means that if you are not strategically memorizing God's Word and hiding it in your heart (especially the verses that are the opposite of your doubts), you won't have the resources to put on the remembrance of His faithfulness, His promises, His grace, and His provisions. When pastor Gary or I keep harping and harping on the spiritual discipline of the memorization of Scripture, we are begging you not to go into battle without your armor. I've little Scripture cards in my wallet that I review. My wife uses a phone app to review and memorize Scriptue. But whatever means you choose to use, maintain a habit of Scripture memory. Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."

But there are other ways that we can remember as well. Worship is full of remembrance. We remember God's works in our songs, readings, confessions, and even in the Lord's Table - “Do this in remembrance of Me.” We train our hearts to remember because fear thrives in forgetfulness.

The content of remembrance is redemption.

Moses next gives them more of the content of their remembrance. He tells them to remember “what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.”

They were not merely to remember abstract doctrines. They were to remember acts of redemption in history. God acted. God intervened. God judged. God delivered. God brought them out. God had proved faithful in far worse circumstances than what they are facing right now. Israel must therefore interpret future battles through the eyes of past deliverance.

The Exodus was not merely an event in Israel’s past. It was the lens through which Israel was to view the future. If God delivered them from Egypt, He could deliver them from Canaan. If God defeated Pharaoh, He could defeat the kings of the land. That conclusion logically flows. If God brought them through the Red Sea, He could bring them through the next obstacle.

For Christians, the greater redemption is the cross and resurrection of Jesus. When we fear obedience, we remember not only what God did to Pharaoh, but what He did to sin, Satan, death, and hell through Christ.

Colossians 2:15 says that Christ disarmed principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross. Hebrews 2:14 says that He destroyed the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil. He bore our sins. He satisfied divine justice. He conquered the grave. He ascended to the right hand of the Father. He has all authority in heaven and on earth.

So when Christians face fearful obedience, we do not merely say, “Remember Egypt.” That can be helpful in its own right. But we also say, “Remember the cross. Remember the empty tomb. Remember the ascended King. Remember that the worst enemy has already been defeated. Remember that if God has given His own Son for us, He will not fail to give us everything we need to be able to obey God's commands.”

Redemption becomes emotionally vivid

And Moses piles up more phrases in verse 19 that are helpful. He says, “the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm…”

This is not flat theology. This is emotionally vivid theology. Moses wants Israel to feel the weight of what God has done.

“The great trials” reminded them that Egypt was not defeated easily. Obedience can be difficult. So that impresses us to not be naive.

“The signs and the wonders” reminded them that God’s works were public miracles that were visible, astonishing, and undeniable. Our God is a God of miracles - and He can help you to get past your own impossibilities.

“The mighty hand and the outstretched arm” reminded them that redemption was personal and powerful. God was not distant. He stretched out His arm. He acted as a warrior for His people. His arm continued to be present with them.

And what Moses was doing with each of those phrases was training Israel’s imagination. Imagination tends to run wild with fear, and so we need to retrain our imagination. Fear had made Canaan emotionally vivid. Fear can paint powerful mental pictures of disaster. So Moses makes redemption emotionally vivid as well. Fear painted pictures of fortified cities, giants, armies, and defeat. Moses paints pictures of plagues, signs, wonders, Pharaoh humbled, Egypt broken, the Red Sea opened, and Israel brought out by God’s mighty hand.

That is often what we need. We need more than bare statements. We need the works of God pressed into our imagination until divine faithfulness becomes more vivid to us than our fears. It's one of the reasons I put pictures into your outlines. My hope is to make the theology a bit more vivid to the imagination. I'm not always successful. But it is also one of the reasons Gary and I encourage you to put on the second spiritual discipline of meditation. But those two disciplines need to go together. There can be nothing to meditate upon during those random times when fear strikes if we have not memorized key verses that answer our besetting fears. Memorize, memorize, memorize. And then meditate upon those Scriptures and preach them to your hearts.

The conclusion is assurance.

Verse 19 ends, “So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.”

God’s past faithfulness becomes the pledge of future help.

Moses does not say every detail will be identical to what they had experienced in Egypt. But the same God who redeemed them then will help them now. That's the point. His past works reveal God's character. And because His character does not change, His people can trust Him in new trials.

That is one of the great uses of biblical history. I was very moved by the story from the history of missions in India that Gary shared last week of the missionary who got tuburculosis almost as soon as he arrived in India to be a missionary. That was discouraging enough. But he couldn't communicate with anyone in the sanitorium because he hadn't learned the language yet. He was also very sick, and no one wanted to take the Gospel tracts that he was hoping to hand out. He couldn't read them, but he was hoping that they would. But nothing seemed to work. It seemed like his call to missions had died. But when he did what he could - carry an invalid to the bathroom (an invalid who couldn't do it on his own), God used that act of Christian compassion to open the hearts of many people in that sanitorium, who then took his tracts, and several became saved. History stories like this can help us. Reading missionary stories has helped my faith a lot.

David used this same logic when he faced Goliath. He remembered how God had delivered him from the lion and the bear, and he concluded that God could deliver him from the Philistine giant, Goliath. And interestingly, David's faith that flowed from His meditation on who God was inspired faith in others - like Jonathan. In fact, it temporarily inspired faith in even king Saul. The rest of that verse says, "And Saul said to David, 'Go, and the LORD be with you!'." Past deliverance gave courage for present obedience, and that courage spilled over into the lives of others.

So too with us. The God who saved you will not abandon you. The God who forgave your sins will not forsake you as you walk the path of obedience. The God who raised Christ from the dead is not intimidated by your circumstances. When you take the steps that are illustrated in this passage, you will begin to gain supernatural assurance, and that assurance will spill over into the lives of others.

God’s people must handle fear by trusting God’s providence (vv. 20–21)

OK, on to the next major solution to fear. Verses 20–21 continue: “Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.”

Moses now moves from past redemption to present providence. Our God is a God of providence who governs absolutely everything in this world - including your loss of finances, and your car dying, and the sickness you are experiencing. And He calls us to trust His providence to be for us even when it seems like it is the opposite. There are so many stories of apparently bad providences turning out to be absolutely necessary for our success in the advancement of Christ's kingdom.

And His methods are not limited to Israel’s visible strength. God can use unseen providences, and demoralizing fears sent into the hearts of the Canaanites, collapsing alliances among those nations, disease, confusion, insects, weather, rumors, timing, political foolishness, or anything else in creation. The Creator has the whole creation at His disposal. And He wants us to live by faith that if He is for us, who can be against us? Let's look at each part of these verses:

God can turn nature against His enemies (v. 20a - “hornets”)

Verse 20 says, “Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them…”

There has been needless debate over whether the hornet is literal or figurative. I take it as literal hornets, and see no reason to take it any other way. But if you read very many commentaries, you will see that others take it as a metaphor for panic, terror, or some providential means by which God would drive out the inhabitants of the land. It makes me wonder whether these people don't have a good theology of providence - perhaps that God doesn't actively control hornets and that they are left to supposed natural laws of nature. Either way, the point is clear: God is not dependent upon Israel’s military strength alone.

If literal (as I take it), then the text is a wonderful reminder that God can use small creatures to humble great enemies. The God who used literal frogs, gnats, flies, and locusts against Egypt can use hornets against Canaan. A mighty nation may have walls that humans can’t get past, but it is still vulnerable to the smallest messengers that God might send behind those walls. You might have thought of COVID as something that Satan used to destroy your health, but God is the one that is sovereign over viruses and even the crazy lab technicians who modified the viruses. There are no accidents in history. The devastating impact that COVID has had on me has positively grown my faith. I have thanked God for my long-COVID many times. It doesn’t mean that I don’t try to overcome it, but I trust God’s providence. And God has used COVID to open doors for others that would not have otherwise been opened. In any case, I take hornets as literal insects.

This is a tremendous encouragement. We often assume that obedience depends only on the resources we can tangibly count or see. We look at our money, numbers, influence, credentials, institutions, and visible support. But God’s providence includes innumerable factors we cannot see. He is already at work in places we have not yet entered. He is already disturbing enemies we have not yet met. He is already arranging events we could not plan. He is preparing the enemy for their own defeat. Praise God! And every week I get encouraging reports from one or more of you - of people whom God has providentially prepared to hear the Gospel. And you've been able to share it. Praise God!

God can reach enemies Israel cannot find (v. 20b)

Verse 20 continues: “until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed.”

And whether enemies are physically destroyed or spiritually destroyed by conversion - turning them into friends, we can apply this promise in a general way too - just like the New Testament does. No enemy is beyond divine reach. Israel might not be able to find everyone. Some Canaanites would hide. Some would retreat into strongholds. Some would avoid direct conflict. Some would remain as hidden threats. But they could not hide from God.

This is both a comfort and a warning. It is a comfort because God’s people are not responsible to be omniscient (in other words, to know everything). There is much we do not know, yet we must obey with the limited knowledge that we do have. Israel does not have to see everything in order to trust God. God sees what they cannot. Likewise, we must obey with the limited knowledge that God has given to us. We do not need to know every hidden plan of the enemy. We do not need to possess perfect knowledge of the future. Our responsibility is faithfulness. God’s responsibility is providence. Too many times fear wants to control what God alone can control. But He has clearly laid out our responsibilities and He tells us to trust Him for the outcomes. So verse 20 is a comfort.

But it is also a warning because no enemy of God can successfully hide. Adam hid among the trees, but God found him. Achan hid devoted things in his tent, but God exposed him. Jonah fled to Tarshish, but God pursued him. The kings of the earth may gather against the Lord and against His Anointed, but Psalm 2:4 says that He who sits in the heavens laughs at man's futile attempts to dethrone Christ.

The point is that no enemy is beyond divine reach. Will we believe that in the abolition movement? Will we live by faith? No idol is hidden from His sight. No conspiracy is too deep for His wisdom. No rebellion is safe from His judgment.

God’s presence and greatness are the answer to terror (v. 21)

On to the last point. Verse 21 says, “You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.”

Here is the central answer to disproportionate odds that are against us: God is among you. That's all that matters. When we live by faith, we experience the exceeding greatness of His power with us. Ephesians 1:19-20 speaks of "the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places." The same power is with those who believe. Why? Because God is with you.

God's presence is the answer to disproporationate odds

Israel is small, but God is not. Israel is weak, but God is not. Israel is inexperienced, but God is not. Israel may be outnumbered, but God is not outmatched.

Notice the covenant tenderness: “the LORD your God.” We have a claim on Him and He has a claim on us. The word LORD in all capital letters is the covenant name Yehowah (or Jehovah). That means that the God of heaven has bound Himself to this people by covenant. Praise God!

And for Christians, this promise continues in Christ. Matthew 1:23 says that His name is Immanuel — which means, "God with us." Jesus promised His church, “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). The Spirit dwells in us. Christ walks among His churches. God has not left His people to face obedience alone. He has promised to be for us if we will walk with Him by faith.

The church does not go into the world saying, “We are strong enough.” It goes saying, “Christ is with us.”

Parents do not disciple their children because they possess perfect wisdom or strength. None of us do. They do it because Christ is with them to bless their discipleship.

Christians do not resist cultural idols because they have superior numbers. They do it because the King of kings is present with His covenant people. And even one person with God is a majority. We need to keep that in mind when we confront the wickedness of abortion. Too many prolifers compromise because they have bad spiritual arithmetic. They add up the obstacles and subtract God, His explicit commands, and His promises.

The issue is not the greatness of our strength. It is the greatness of the One who is among us.

Right fear expels wrong fear (v. 21b)

Moses goes on to say that they must not be terrified of Canaan because “the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.” Note the words "great and awesome." The translation "awesome" comes from a Hebrew word that means to produce awe or fear. God is so great, that He produces awe and fear in the stoutest heart. In other words, the fear of God cures the fear of man, Satan, and anything else.

This is a principle repeated throughout Scripture. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.” Jesus says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).

The answer to fear is not fearlessness in the abstract. Human beings are worshipers. We will always fear or be in awe of something. The only question is whether we will fear God rightly or fear man wrongly.

A church, family, or nation that loses the fear of God will tend to be ruled by the fear of man. If we no longer tremble before God’s Word, we will tremble before public opinion. That's what happens to so many Christians when they get into politics. They begin to be governed by the fear of public opinion. If we no longer fear offending God, we will fear offending the culture. If magistrates do not fear God, they will fear voters, donors, media, mobs, lobbyists, and international pressure. If fathers do not fear God, they will fear the displeasure of their children and cut corners on discipline. If churches do not fear God, they will fear being labeled extreme, unloving, irrelevant, or politically incorrect. And they don’t want those labels. Why? Because they fear man.

So the phrase “the great and awesome God” is meant to recalibrate Israel’s perception. If they look only at Canaan, then yeah - Canaan looks great and awesome. But Moses says, “No. The LORD your God is the great and awesome God.” The greatness that matters most is not the greatness of the nations, but the greatness of God. The godly fear of God is one of the greatest antidotes to the fear of man.

Conclusion

Well, let me conclude with just a few more thoughts. This passage began with Israel saying, “These nations are greater than I.” It ends with Moses declaring that the LORD is “the great and awesome God.” That contrast is the heart of the passage.

• Fear says, “Look how great the enemy is.” Faith says, “Look how great God is.” • Fear asks, “How can I possibly obey?” Faith asks, “What has God commanded, what has He promised, and what has He already done? I'm committed to obeying Him even if nobody else does.” • Fear adds up the obstacles and subtracts God. Faith looks honestly at every obstacle but refuses to leave God out of the equation.

So when fear begins preaching to your soul, do not passively listen. Instead, let me give you some practical ways of killing fear.

• When fear says, “You cannot obey,” answer, “No. I'm not going to believe that. 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' - Philippians 4:13” When fear persists, you raise your voice and say, "No! I am not going to call God a liar. I can indeed do all things through Christ who strengthens me, because God has said so." • When fear says, “You will be abandoned by God,” answer, “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” • When fear makes you think that you have committed the unpardonable sin, confess your sin to God and then rebuke fear by saying, "Since I have confessed my sin, I will not call God a liar by believing it is the unpardonable sin. The one who commits that sin would not confess his sin because God says, 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." • When fear says, “The enemy is too strong,” answer, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” • When fear says, “Christ’s kingdom cannot prevail,” answer, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ.” • When fear says, “Your obedience will make no difference,” answer, “My labor in the Lord is not in vain. Scripture says so.”

So, brothers and sisters, do not pretend that the enemies are small. Do not deny that obedience may be difficult, costly, or dangerous. But neither should you act as though those enemies are greater than God.

Guard the dialogues you allow in your heart. Remember his works and His Scripture. Trust providence. Believe that the awesome God is present with you. Fear Him more than you fear your circumstances.

May God enable each of us to do so. Amen.