I invite you again this evening to open your Bibles to Genesis 15. Genesis 15. We'll be focusing this evening just on the first verse of this chapter that we looked at in more detail this morning. Again, we're looking for Christ in the Old Testament. We're looking for Him in ways of the progress of redemption, of promises made that are fulfilled in Christ. We're looking for them in the types that exist in the Old Testament pointing to Christ and the themes that we see throughout the whole of Scripture. We're looking with comparison and contrasting in our thinking. And that helps us. It's not the only way, but those are some ways that we can look for Christ. Before I read just this one verse that we'll consider together this evening, let me ask Are you ever afraid? Worried? Anxious? Me too at times. But God comes to Abraham through his word and says do not be afraid. Listen to the word of God, Genesis 15 and verse one. After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Fear not, Abram. I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great. Having heard from God in this word, please join me in your hearts as we seek him in prayer. Our Father in heaven, in this simple, straightforward verse, we pray that we might hear from you It would not be the preacher that is remembered, but the Christ for whom we're looking and from whom we are hearing. And so open our eyes that we may behold wonderful things from your word we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Do not be afraid. This is God's word that comes to Abram. And is this a specific command to Abram only? And why do we think God is giving this command to Abram? If you know the context, if you have your Bibles open, you can look back to chapter 14. In that context, we have a war. A war between five kings and four kings. And Keterlaomer and the four kings that were with him defeated the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and three other kings that were with them. And then he took captive Abram's nephew Lot. And Abram, with 318 trained men and with the Lord, defeated those four kings that had defeated five kings. And he brought home the spoil. The king of Sodom offered him some of that spoil, and he said he wouldn't take from his hand. And it's after these things, as we read, after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Was Abram afraid of retaliation? We really don't know. We don't know the exact reason for this command, but we have this command from God. Abram, be not afraid. We see often in the scripture, and you probably know of it in your own life, that fatigue can come after a time of intensity. And certainly there would have been fatigue after this battle. Perhaps in that fatigue, Abraham was being tempted to fear. Perhaps he was afraid that these kings might come and retaliate against him. He was, remember, a visitor in this land. It wasn't yet a place of his own. And yet perhaps, we just don't know all of the reasons, but perhaps God was giving this command more in preparation for the future. than in a particular need in his current circumstances. Nevertheless, for whatever reason God gave this command, Abram needed to hear it. Do not be afraid. As we look on into the account of Abram's life, we see that he needed to have in mind the need not to be afraid, particularly not to be afraid of men. For when Abram was afraid of men, He forgot to act in the fear of the Lord. And always, always when we are afraid of men, we will be tempted to sin. You look in Genesis chapter 20, and for the second time, Abraham by then offered his wife to another man. saying she was his sister, which was a half-truth, and a half-truth is a half-lie, or maybe a half-truth is a whole lie, as some have said. And Abraham offered his wife to Abimelech, saying that she was his sister, and Abimelech took her, but God came to him in a vision and prevented him from being intimate with Abraham's wife. And Abimelech came to Abraham the next morning and said, why have you done this? And Abram said, because there was no fear of God in this place. Abram looked at the people, and he saw that they didn't fear God, and so he didn't fear God either. Because he was afraid of men, he forgot to live in the fear of God. And that will constantly happen in your life and in my life. Proverbs 16, verse six says, one turns from evil by the fear of the Lord. One turns from evil by the fear of the Lord. If you and I are afraid, we are a lot more open to temptation, to sin. God says to Abram, fear not. One writer reminded us that God will meet Abram's fear by being his rewarder and his protector. With God on his side, Abram should have nothing to fear. The call of the scripture from beginning to end, not merely in this text, is trust God. And when you trust God, you will not fear. Psalm 112, verse 7, speaking of the righteous man, he will not fear bad news. His heart is confident, trusting in the Lord. But you might say sometimes I am afraid. Does that mean I'm not trusting the Lord? Well, when you're afraid, trust in the Lord. Psalm 56, verse three. When I am afraid, I will trust in you, Lord. That's the pattern that we're to live as Christians. We're to live and not be in fear, and when we are in fear, we're to turn our trust to the Lord. As I was considering our text for this evening, I thought of times in my life that I have faced fear. The night before Nancy's first brain tumor surgery that took place 20 days before we were to be married. And I remember that night talking a bit with one of my best friends, my best man, who encouraged me in the Lord, as we need to do with one another when we are afraid. And this one may have been brief, but nevertheless, as we were hurtling down the runway at Los Angeles International Airport, our belongings packed and our plan to live in Australia for either two or 10 years, depending on who you asked. I turned to Nancy and said, Nancy, I've changed my mind, let's not go. Of course, we had to go at that point and we went and God was with us. Another incident that may have been the most physical fear I've ever felt in my body And some of you have heard the story and laughed along with us about it. We were on a ski lift, wasn't ski season, but we were going up to the top of Mount Kosciuszko, not the top, but up far enough that we could hopefully walk the rest of the way to the top and meet our kids. And we had with us their daughter, our granddaughter, Eleanor, who was about six months old. I was scared on the way up, and I was terrified on the way down. I could feel the terror in every fiber of my being. And I said, Nancy, you've gotta pray for me. I am terrified. And she did. And God calmed my fear. Another of the times that I can think of fear is often stepping into the pulpit to preach the word of God. For who am I? Who am I that I could open to you the very word of life? You might notice every morning and evening that the elders before worship gather up on this platform. Sometimes we used to sit, but now we stand. and one of the elders prays for whoever's presiding, whoever's praying, and for the preacher. And if it were not for that prayer, there are times I'd be too afraid to step into this pulpit. Donald Cargill, who was a Covenanter martyr, said this as he climbed the ladder to the scaffold where he was to be put to death. He said, the Lord knows I go up this ladder with less fear and anxiety than I ever entered the pulpit to preach. I would just assume not to ever have to climb a scaffold to be executed, especially for preaching the gospel, but if I did, I pray that my confidence in the Lord might match his and have less fear of that than that fear of stepping into this pulpit to open the word of life week by week. Those are things that push me toward fear. What are things that push you toward fear? Difficulties at work, challenges at school, the future, not knowing what's gonna happen this week or next year, finances, sickness, disease, relationships, the scorn of unbelievers around you, what are the things that push you to fear? What are the things that tempt you to be afraid? As you think about those things, remember God's command, do not be afraid. And this is not only a specific command to Abraham. It is a theme throughout the whole Bible. It is a theme throughout the whole Bible. This is a general command to all who belong to God in Jesus Christ. A general command to all who belong to God in Jesus Christ. You'll notice if you're following along in the outline that there's a blank in the title. And that blank's for your name. Do not be afraid, Howard. Do not be afraid, Catherine. Do not be afraid, Alex. And I'm not gonna name all of you. But this is a command to you if you are in Christ. If you are not in Christ, if you have not savingly trusted in a righteousness that only comes through faith in Christ, then be very afraid because God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, he shall also reap. And there will come a day when you will stand exposed before God in the judgment seat. And if you have not trusted Christ, you will be found guilty, guilty, guilty. And you will suffer the just punishment for your sin for eternity. And so this call, do not be afraid, is only for those who are God's. Those who belong to God through Jesus Christ. And so we see this theme all through the scripture. Well over a hundred times we have these words or one form or another of them. Do not be afraid. Fear not. Don't be afraid. We see it three times in Luke's account of the birth of Christ. Don't be afraid, Zachariah, as he is told of the promised child to come. Not just the promised child that he and his wife hoped for and received, but the one who John the baptizer would be the forerunner of. And then Mary, as she's told that she would bear the child of God. Don't be afraid, Mary. And then those shepherds who were gathered in their field And the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid, shepherds. We see this theme in Jesus' words over and over as He teaches. Luke's Gospel, chapter 12, verse 7. Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Therefore, don't be afraid. You're worth more than many sparrows. You wonder sometimes, does God really, does He really know what's going on in my life? Yeah, He knows what's going on. He knows how many hairs you have or don't have on your head. He considers you more worthy than the sparrow and He knows every time the sparrow falls to the ground. And so Jesus says, don't be afraid. And just a little bit later in that same account in Luke's gospel, seek His kingdom. The things that you need will be provided for you. Don't be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. This is a theme of the Scripture that's given from God to Abram here, and it's given to Christ all through His instruction. And we see at the resurrection that we looked at a couple of weeks ago, that same command, a command by the angels to the women, and then by Jesus Himself to the women. at his resurrection the angel told the women in Matthew 28 don't be afraid I know you're looking for Jesus who was crucified he's not here for he's risen and then Jesus appeared to the women in the garden and he said don't be afraid go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee and they will see me there and the reasons given here in Genesis 15.1, for Abram not to be afraid, also point to Christ. Why is it? What were the reasons, the foundations that God gave Abraham as reasons not to be afraid? He said, don't be afraid, for God protects you. God protects you. And you and I, like Abram, need to trust that God protects us. God shields you. That's the word that's used there. The immediate context again. It's as if God is saying, Abram, I shielded you in your battle against Keterleomar and the kings with him, and I will continue to shield you. In fact, in chapter 14, verse 20, where God says, I delivered the kings into your hand. It's the same. It's a verb form of the same word shield here. Have continued to shield you and I will shield you therefore don't be afraid As one writer put it God's caring presence served as an invincible shield to protect him from deadly harm Ultimately, it is God's promised protection. That is the cure for every Christians anxiety The Lord has not promised believers that nothing bad will happen to us. We saw that this morning What he has promised is that our eternal souls are safe in his keeping. What's the worst that could happen in whatever you're afraid of? God will shield and protect you. It may be in this life, it may be in the life to come, but God is your shield. Moses says to the people in Deuteronomy 33, how happy you are, Israel, who is like you, a people saved by the Lord. He is the shield that protects you, the sword that you boast in. Your enemies will cringe before you and you will tread on their backs. How happy are you, O people of God, who is like you, a people saved by the Lord. That's not just a promise for the Israelites in the wilderness preparing to go into the promised land. It's a word from God to you and to me. We sang in Psalm 18, I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. God shields you. God shields you in all of your life. Doesn't mean that nothing bad will happen. I've shared with some of you perhaps, I sometimes forget, the day I got back, the Lord's Day I was back in our congregation in Pittsburgh, Covenant Fellowship, after I had my bicycle accident two years ago this past summer. Our pastor was preaching on Psalm 91. He will give his angels charge over you, lest you dash your foot against a stone. And Pastor Pete Smith said, where was Ed's angel? I hadn't dashed my foot against a stone, but I had taken a fairly severe tumble on my bicycle and spent a week in intensive care, as many of you know. And Pete's conclusion was this. God told him to stand down. God told your angel to stand down because he had a greater purpose for your bicycle accident than if he had protected you from that. And I spent some time in those days wondering, and I don't know that I can tell you for sure what God's greater purpose was, but I'm convinced that God had a greater purpose that I go through that accident than that I not. For if God's greater purpose were that I had been protected from that accident, he would have given his angels charge to protect me. And so with you, as you face difficulties, as you face crises, as you face danger, God is your shield. And He may, in His ultimate wisdom, decide not to protect you from certain things that happen. But what's the worst that could happen? The worst that could happen is you die and you go to be with Christ, which is better by far. We don't try to die. We don't in a sense look forward to dying. But we know even if things. Potentially could kill us. God can still protect us. We dare not say God, I know you're going to protect me from this and I know that this sickness will not end in death because perhaps it will. And be careful about telling God how to run his world and even how to run your life. We have on our sign an image of a sun and a shield. And it comes from Psalm 84 that we're going to sing at the end. The Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord grants favor and honor. He does not withhold good from those who walk in uprightness. And sometimes in the Christian life, as we're called to encourage each other daily, As long as it is called today, the author of Hebrews says, we need to remind each other of this truth. We need to remind each other that God is our shield. Sometimes you need to remind me, and sometimes I need to remind you, and sometimes you need to remind each other. And you need to encourage each other, and you need to pray for each other. It's not merely a truth that we absorb all in ourselves and by ourselves. but we help one another remember that God shields you. And this is a promise that is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. And we see that even in the Old Testament. I quoted from Psalm 84, verse 11, back up two verses, and it says, consider our shield, God. Look on the face of your Messiah. The Lord God is a sun and shield. Consider our shield, God. Look on the face of your Messiah. It's Christ, the anointed one, that is our shield. And so Jesus would tell his disciples in the upper room, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. When you're afraid, when you're forgetting that God is your shield, you're not gonna have peace. And Jesus tells his disciples, I told you these things so that you would have peace. You will have suffering in this world, but be encouraged. That seems a bit contradictory, and if Jesus had stopped there, we'd be left wondering. But he didn't stop there. He said, be encouraged. I have conquered the world. If Christ conquered the world, then he can shield you from anything it is in his purpose to shield you from. And you can be confident in that. So don't be afraid, because God shields you. Trust that he protects you. And then, don't be afraid, because God gives you himself. God gives you himself. God said to Abram, I am your shield, as we have in the ESV, your reward shall be very great. And it can be translated one of two ways. Either your reward shall be very great or I shall be your very great reward. You might say, well, that seems a little bit different. How could you translate it one way or the other? Well, literally it just says your reward, great, very. That's all we have in the Hebrew, and so we have to add some to it. We have to understand what it means, and it seems to some English Bible translations and to many, those who've studied this text, that it fits better to not translate it the way the ESV has translated it, but to translate it, I am your shield, I am your very great reward. There's a consistency, there's a parallelism that's often found in the Hebrew. Even if it's your reward shall be very great, what reward do we have that's any better than God himself? And so this promise is that your reward is to be very great. Last Lord's Day evening in our prayer time, one of the children in the congregation was asking prayer for a sick child who was a friend. And I was thinking about it as I was reading this text this week, and I may not have heard it completely accurately, and I may not remember it completely accurately, but what I think I heard and what I think I remember is that this child, speaking of another, said this child is really, really sick. Super duper sick. And I thought of that in the context of this promise. God is your really great reward. God is your super duper reward. Said in the words of a child, but perhaps useful, I am your very great reward. And that agrees with what we see all through the scripture. Psalm 16, verse five, Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing. You hold my future. Are you afraid of what the future holds? Remember who holds your future. And God is your portion. Psalm 73 verse 26, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart. God is my portion forever. Some of us have been studying the book, The Shadow of Christ, in the book of Lamentation, and you'll be familiar with Lamentation 3, 24. I say, the Lord is my portion, therefore, I will put my hope in him. Some of you will have the opportunity to sit down at a Thanksgiving meal this week, and if what is being served is something you like, and if you're not giving yourself to gluttony, You can desire that the portion you get is a big portion. What greater portion can you have? What greater portion can I have than God himself? God the Lord is my portion. God the Lord is my very great reward. And so what more could we want than that? What more could you want than Christ. I don't know about you, but I know when I sing Psalm 73, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is a strength of my heart, my portion forever. Whom have I in heaven? Earth has nothing I desire besides you. I think, am I telling the truth? Am I singing the truth? Is God what I desire more than anything else? Is Christ what I desire more than anything else? Is Christ what you desire more than anything else? If I were to ask you to write down five things that you want, and by things I don't necessarily mean physical things, but five existences, five experiences, five realities, what is it that you want right now? If you don't get it, do you believe that God is enough? If you don't get the other things that you want, do you believe that Christ is enough? Over and over in the New Testament, we're told, the believers are told, Christ is in you. Christ is in you, the hope of glory. Christ is yours, and you are Christ's. And if you have Christ, if you have Christ, you have everything you need. We sing that in the 23rd Psalm. The Lord's my shepherd, I shall not want. I don't have any other wants because I'm satisfied with Christ. And might you be encouraged with the command not to be afraid, and the reason given, because God gives you himself. For the Christian, for you and I in Christ, God gives you himself in Christ. And the one who has given you Christ is not gonna be stingy. He's gonna give you what you need. He might not give you everything you want, because he wants you to want Christ. more than what you want. But God says to Abram, and God says to you, don't be afraid. Are you ever afraid? Worried? Anxious at times? Me too. But God says, don't be afraid. I'm your protection. I am your very great reward. Pray with me and give thanks to God for his care of you. Father in heaven, we do pray that we would have confidence in you and that we would encourage each other in you. At times we are afraid. At times we need to simply remember the promises of God. But at times we need a brother or sister to come alongside us and encourage us in the Lord to help us, to pray for us, to support us. And might we be a people who are confident so confident that you are our shield and that you are our reward, that we live lives more and more free from fear, because you have said, do not be afraid. Hear our prayer, we ask in Jesus' name.