A New Year Without Fear

A New Year Without Fear
Hebrews 13:5-6

Would you take God's word and turn to Hebrews Chapter 13, and in a few moments we're going to read verses 5 and 6, which will be the basis of our study today. Actually today we're talking on this subject, "A New Year Without Fear." Most of us are afraid of the unknown. And we don't know what this year is going to bring. We really do not.

I heard of some men years ago who were on a leaky old ship, in the middle of a rough and stormy sea. And they were actually fearful for their lives. They didn't know whether they were going to sink or not. So one of them went in to see the captain and said, "Captain, are we safe?" He said, "Well, I'll put it to you this way." He said, "The boilers on this ship are very weak and may explode at any moment." He said, "Also, the ship is very old, and she's taking on water." So he said, "To be very honest with you, we may have an explosion, or we may sink." He said, "We may go up, or we may go down, but at any rate, we are going on." And that's the way we are as we face this new year dear friend. Jesus may come, we may go up. We may die, and go down and then up, but at any rate we are going on. Isn't that true. We're going on. We're facing a brand new year, and we don't know what it's going to bring.

You know the old map makers, before they had the modern instruments that we have, when they would draw maps, they would draw maps as far out as they had been, as far out as they had explored, and then when they reached the netherpoint of their exploration, they had not known what would be beyond. And you can see this on old maps, they would write on there, "Beyond this, there may be dragons." Now they'd never seen a dragon, but they didn't know what was out there. And so they would always think that what was in the future, beyond this there be dragons, because they're afraid of the future, they're afraid of the uncharted. They're afraid of the unknown. Beyond this there'd be dragons.

Well actually beyond this, there were golden beaches, verdant fields, and rivers of gold, and beautiful things. But so far as they were concerned, it was uncharted and unknown and therefore fearful. And that's the way many of us feel about the future. Folks I've never seen things change like they have this past year. You know, it's just incredible.
Never in history, so far as I'm concerned, in my study of history, has there ever been a year like the year we've just come through. Incredibly remarkable. And who knows what 2011 will bring.

With that in mind, look in God's word. Hebrews Chapter 13, verses 5 and 6, "Let your conversation be without covetousness." Now the word conversation there literally means behavior, "and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do unto me." The Lord is ...
Jan Bagwell
God Bless !!