Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Walking With God

Feared by Your Enemies

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2004-06-27

Synopsis: John Weaver teaches from Deuteronomy 28 that God promises to make His obedient people feared by their enemies. He contrasts the paralyzing fear of man with the fearlessness that comes from faith in God, using examples like the ten spies, David, and Jehoshaphat. The blessings of being feared are conditional upon diligent obedience to God's commands. God is the sovereign source who causes, commands, and establishes His people, working through their obedience to put dread upon their enemies.

[John Weaver] All right, well, let's open our Bible's day to Deuteronomy, Chapter 28, Deuteronomy 28. And the message today is entitled Feared By Your Enemies, Feared By Your Enemies. This is not to be confused with a three part series that I have done several years ago entitled Why Our Enemies Do Not Fear Us, which was taken from the New Testament. But rather, this one is found in Deuteronomy 28, and we're going to read the first 14 verses and then begin. Deuteronomy 28, verse 1, And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord by God, to observe and to do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord by God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord by God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shalt be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kind, and the flocks of thy sheep.

[John Weaver] Blessed shalt thou be in thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou sendest thine hand unto, and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee in holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee. If thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways." And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, and in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, and in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

[John Weaver] The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand. And thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail. And thou shalt be above only, thou shalt not be beneath, if thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day to observe and to do them. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them."

[John Weaver] Let me begin with a simple statement. Fear destroys and paralyzes. Each of us have not only heard, but each of us have used the expression frozen with fear. And whenever you hear that expression, you understand that it indicates that someone is so frightful and so frightened that he cannot move, he cannot function, and sometimes cannot even think. Moreover, the Scripture tells us in 1 John 4 and verse 18 that fear hath torment. Fear hath torment. In other words, fear is a very painful and distressing emotion. Men many times suffer from the fear of poverty, the fear of losses, the fear of bereavement, the fear of sickness, the fear of death, and the fear of future woes. Fear distresses men.

[John Weaver] It fills us with anguish and it makes us restless, uneasy, and listen to this, and fear keeps us in servitude. Fear keeps us in servitude. In fact, the Bible teaches that in the book of Hebrews chapter 2. Through fear of death, through fear of hell, through fear of the devil, men are kept in servitude. The Bible said that fear hath torment or fear hath punishment and sometimes The fear itself is indeed a punishment because it torments us so and distresses us so.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold Deuteronomy 28. We're certainly coming and going to look at that passage in detail. But I do ask that you turn to Proverbs 29 and look at verse 25. This verse is very easily quoted, but I do want you to see it. Proverbs 29 and verse 25. Note what the Bible says. The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." Now, it's the first part of that verse that I want to emphasize. The fear of man bringeth a snare. We're cautioned not to dread the power of man. It does not matter whether it is the power of a prince or the power of a multitude. Both are formidable enough in and of themselves, but the slavish fear of either, the Bible says, brings a snare.

[John Weaver] That is, it exposes us to many insults and to many temptations. Now, without me having to take you through the Bible, may I just simply remind you that Abraham, because of the fear of man, denied his wife. He said, she's my sister. Peter, through the fear of man, denied his master. He said, I know him not. And there have been many, many Christians, through fear of man, who have denied their God and their faith. Fear holds people in bondage. It keeps us docile. When you're living in a spirit of fear, it's always, what if this and what if that? Many are so fearful that they will never, ever attempt to change a system of government that enslaves and tyrannizes them.

[John Weaver] Have you ever wondered why the world, not only these foreign countries, but even in our own country from time to time, why people do not rise up and say, we'll not put up with this any longer? May I tell you why? Because of fear. Fear holds us in subjection. Fear holds us in bondage. Fear is absent wherever there is faith. Faith and fear are opposites. They cannot coexist together. They do not go well together.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just ask that you look in your Bibles to another passage, but I want you to hold it. Number chapter 13. Just go ahead and turn there, but hold it just for a moment, because I want to set you up and ask you a question. Look in your Bibles, the book of Numbers chapter 13, and get ready. You see, the truth of the matter is this.

[John Weaver] Men are subjugated and enslaved through fear. Now that you found Numbers chapter 13, let me ask you a question. How many of you would be willing to attack a 6 foot 4, 250 pound man, well trained in the martial arts? Say, one who's been fighting ever since his youth. My question is, why would you not willingly jump him? You say, well, Brother Weaver, I can answer that. I mean, I'm not going to willingly jump him because I'm afraid of him.

[John Weaver] I know probably what he could do. And I'm not really sure of all what he might do. And therefore, since I don't want to be hurt, hospitalized or killed, I'm just going to stay away from him. And then you say, well, now, Brother Weaver, common sense would tell you that you ought not to jump on someone like that. Well, generally speaking, I would agree. But let me ask you a question.

[John Weaver] What if your life or your freedom depended upon whether or not you would fight that individual? What if not only your life, but the life of your family and the freedom of your family depended upon whether or not you fought that individual? Would you fight? You say, now, let me let me try to get this clear. You're talking about someone who's been trained and fighting from as you know, I don't think I'd fight. Are you beginning to see what I'm talking about?

[John Weaver] How fear keeps us in subjection. It keeps us in bondage. Now, watch. Look at Numbers chapter 13, if you would. I'm going to give you two illustrations to illustrate this point that I just made. Numbers chapter 13. Notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 31. Here is the report of the ten evil spies. The Bible says, But the men that went up with him said, now they're reporting to the people, We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.

[John Weaver] Now remember Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report. The other ten spies brought back an evil report. They said, We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land, which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that he did not the inhabitant thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants.

[John Weaver] And we were in our own sight as trap toppers, so that we, so we were in their sight. Now, I want you to watch this. God had told the children of Israel to go up and fight. They said, no, what we're going to do first is send some spies and check out the land. Two of the spies brought back a good report. Ten of the spies brought back an evil report.

[John Weaver] Now, why were they afraid? Number one, it was a lack of faith. But number two, I want you to note something. It was fear that kept them from attacking. It was fear that kept them from fighting. Are you listening? Fear kept them from having a due regard to their life and their liberty. God had given them the land. But they would not obey God. They feared man and therefore they destroyed themselves.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles. The first Samuel chapter 17. I hope you've already figured out this illustration. First Samuel chapter 17. And let's begin reading there. With verse 29. First Samuel chapter 17, verse 29. You will immediately recognize the story. First Samuel 17, verse 29. And David said, what have I now done? Is there not a cause? Here, David is about to fight Goliath. And he turned from him toward another and spake after the same manner, and the people answered him again after the former manner. And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul, and he said for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. Now, remember, Goliath was a giant. Remember, Goliath was a warrior. He was a martial artist trained from his youth up to fight. David said, Don't let any man's heart fail for fear. I'll go up and fight the man. And Saul said, And David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

[John Weaver] And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he had defied the armies of the living God." David said, moreover, the Lord delivered me out of the paw of the lion, out of the paw of the bear. He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said of David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. Here, David, a young boy, inexperienced, faced a well-trained giant. who was trained in the martial arts and yet David faced him unafraid. Now the question is why? Well certainly David trusted in the living God and that faith made fear impossible. I told you earlier faith and fear cannot coexist together and when David saw the giant He said, God's already delivered me from a lion. He's already delivered me from a bear. And the God that sovereignly delivered me in those areas will deliver me in this area as well.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note something that should be exceedingly obvious. The Israelites in Numbers chapter 13 had equally the same promises that David had in 1 Samuel chapter 17. But the Israelites were afraid, and David was unafraid. Why? Because David appropriated the promises. David believed when the Israelites did not believe. Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14. Let me show you the disparity between David and the Israelites. In fact, You can see this disparity that existed between Joshua and Caleb and the Israelites as well. Look at Numbers chapter 14, verse 9. You see, the Israelites were fearful. David was not. The Israelites were fearful. Joshua and Caleb were not. Look at Numbers chapter 14 in verse 9. Look what Joshua and Caleb say.

[John Weaver] Only rebel not ye against the Lord. Now look. Neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred for us. Their defenses departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not. I hope you see the disparity between these two groups. David, like Joshua and Caleb, saw the grace and the power of God when the Israelites did not. What did the Israelites do? The Israelites saw the giants and they were fearful. They were afraid.

[John Weaver] And they said, while we were as grasshoppers in their sights. Now, may I point something out? When they said we were as grasshoppers in their sight, that was the estimation of the Israelites concerning themselves. That was not their enemy's estimation. That's just simply what they thought. They were exceedingly fearful.

[John Weaver] Now, look what one did. The Israelites saw the greatness and the power of the giants and saw their own weakness and lack of strength and lack of faith and said, we're not going to fight. David, Joshua and Caleb were just the opposite. They saw their own strength through the greatness and the power of God and were unafraid and were willing to fight. In fact, Joshua and Caleb said, what are you talking about? They're bred for us.

[John Weaver] He said, you talk about a great people, all that means is they've got a great possession. That's more for us. They're bred for us. So while one group was fearful and were ready to relinquish their lives and their freedom, the others were willing to fight. And they said, we don't care how big they are. or how strong they are or what the multitude of them happens to be. We will fight because we know the power of God.

[John Weaver] Now let me pose an interesting question and all this is going to come back to Deuteronomy 28 just a moment. Here's the question. When it comes to the subject of fear. Had you rather fear your enemies? Or had you rather your enemies fear you?

[John Weaver] Now, to be absolutely honest with you, personally, I'd rather have my enemies tormented, dysfunctional and unable to move and act than to have those characteristics in my life. I'd much rather my enemies fear me and may not fear mine enemies. But you ask, do we have a choice in the matter? And the answer is yes. I'm going to show you that in just a moment. In fact, I confess to you and I want to acknowledge once again publicly the absolute sovereignty of God. And I realize it is up to God who gives His blessing of fearlessness.

[John Weaver] But let me point something out very quickly. God does not give His blessings willy-nilly. There is always an underlying foundation in the bestowment of any of His blessings. In fact, I want you to look at some specific promises. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Exodus chapter 15. Exodus 15. I want you to look. At verses 13 through 16. Then we're going back to Deuteronomy 28. Exodus chapter 15 and let's begin reading there with verse 13. Now we're talking about.

[John Weaver] Having our enemies fear us. Exodus chapter 15 verse 13. Thou and thy mercy has led forth a people which thou hast redeemed. thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation, the people shall hear, that is the people of the Lamb, the heathen, the people shall hear and be afraid." Sarah shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestinia. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed. The mighty men of Moab, trembling, shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them by the greatness of thine arm. They shall be still as a stone till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over which thou hast purchased." Now what did God do when He led His people out of Egypt into the land, he put fear upon all the inhabitants. They would not lift a finger against God's people. And their strength literally melted away. Look at Exodus chapter 23. Beginning there in verse 27. Exodus 23 verse 27. Look what God promises.

[John Weaver] And I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come. And I will make all thy enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, the Hittite from before thee. And I will not drive them out before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out before thee, until thou be increased and inherit the land. Note what he said, I will send my fear before thee. God said, I'm going to make them afraid of you before you ever get there.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles, Deuteronomy chapter 28. And I hope you note that all through the Bible, We are told over and over to fear not. To fear not. Why should we fear when the sovereign God of heaven and earth is our Heavenly Father? Now, I want you to see three things very quickly in Deuteronomy 28. The first one is found in verse 7.

[John Weaver] The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come out against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways." Now my first point is found right there in verse 7, the Lord shall cause. Note, the Lord shall cause. Verse 7 gives us the source of the blessings. The originating cause is God Himself. I don't care which blessing you talk about in Deuteronomy 28 or which blessing you talk about anywhere in the Bible, the source, the originating cause of all blessings is God himself. Romans 11 verse 36 tells us this for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory and honor forever. Amen. Now listen to what that verse said for of him. and through Him and to Him are all things. Let's stop. For of Him, that is originally, to Him, that is providentially, or through Him, that is providentially, and to Him, that is ultimately, are all things. God is absolutely sovereign. That ought to make you remember Ephesians 1 and verse 3 when the Bible says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

[John Weaver] All blessings are in Him. He is the source of all blessings.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand verse 7, 8 and 9 and 10, but in order to understand verse You've got to go back to verse one just for a moment. Now, he says the Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee be smitten before thy face to comprehend the blessing of verse seven. You have to be aware of the stipulation that God laid down in verse one. In fact, everything harkens back to verse one. So go back to verse one. The Bible says. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. Now watch, it shall come to pass, if thou hearken diligently, that is, if you listen carefully to God, why, that you might observe and do all his commandments.

[John Weaver] In other words, the blessings that are promised in Deuteronomy 28 are what you and I would call conditional blessings or conditional promises. What do I mean by that? They're conditioned upon obedience. They're conditioned upon the fact that we honor and worship the one true and the living God only.

[John Weaver] Now, let me explain something to you. Let me make a statement, and then I'll explain the statement. God may work immediately or immediately. Now, when I make that statement, please understand that has absolutely no reference to time. The terms immediately and immediately are theological terms. When we say that God works immediately, what we mean by that is simply this, that God, when He works immediately, He does not use means. He doesn't work in means or by means or through means.

[John Weaver] Let me give you an example. If you'll hold Deuteronomy 28, but look in your Bibles to Psalm 33 and verse 9. Psalm 33 and verse 9. Here's one very easily understood. Psalm 33 and verse 9. Here is an immediate act of God. Psalm 33. Look, if you would please, at verse nine, talking about the creation of the universe. Here it is, Psalm 33, verse nine, for he spake and it was done.

[John Weaver] He commanded and it stood fast. Now, let me ask you a question. Did God use means when he created the world? No. He just spoke and it came into existence. He commanded, he stood fast. That means that God worked immediately. He did not use means whatsoever. Now when we say that God also works immediately, by that phrase we mean that he normally and he usually works by means and through means. Most of the time, God works immediately, not all in all cases we've just seen, but usually God works immediately.

[John Weaver] For instance, let's suppose I have a need of a thousand bucks. OK. And I start praying to the Lord, supply my need. Do you think God is going to immediately? Drop five or six ounces of gold out of heaven for me.

[John Weaver] Now, he could do that, could he not? Sure, he could. But that's not normally how he does it. What he would do is either bless me in my work or give me additional work or move on someone to give me a gift. You see, but either way, he's using means. That is what the word immediately means, that God is pleased to use means.

[John Weaver] Now, when you apply that to Deuteronomy 28, when he says, The Lord thy God shall cause, what he's telling us is this, that our obedience is his instrumentality. In other words, God causes these blessings to come upon us as we obey Him and honor Him and worship Him. One of the blessings that God gives us is deliverance from our enemies, but not just only deliverance. As we shall see later, one of those blessings is that our enemies will fear us. Now, look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 11. Let me just show you some other passages very quickly. Deuteronomy 11, beginning there with verse 25. Deuteronomy 11, verse 25. Look what God says.

[John Weaver] Well, you don't have a blessing. There shall no man be able to stand before you. For the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that you shall tread upon, as he said unto you. Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse, a blessing if you obey the commandment of the Lord your God, which I command thee and a curse, of course, if we disobey."

[John Weaver] Now, look what he says. Verse 25, There shall no man be able to stand before you. Why? For the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that you shall tread upon." God said, I will put your fear upon your enemies. Now note, it's not just they fear God, they fear the people as well. God said, I will put it upon you. Let me show you how God did this. Look in your Bibles to Joshua Chapter 2. Joshua Chapter 2.

[John Weaver] You remember in this passage, the spies have been sent to spy out Jericho. You remember Rahab the harlot who took the spies in and hid them. I want you to know what she said. Joshua Chapter 2. Here's why she hid the spies. Now remember, there's just two of them. Just two of them. Do you know what the average person would have done? If two enemies come in and you know that they're coming in to kill you and your family and destroy your town, your city, and there's only two of them, what would be the normal reaction? We'll kill two of them anyhow. They may get us, but we're going to get these two. But nobody touched those thighs and Rahab would not allow them to be touched. Why? Look at it. Joshua 2 beginning verse 9. Here's what she said. And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land. and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

[John Weaver] For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, who you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts did melt. Neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you. For the Lord your God He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. What did God do? God made the people afraid of Israel. He made them fearful. Their hearts fainted. They had no courage left.

[John Weaver] Well, look in your Bibles. Let me give you another illustration to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 14. Here is the prayer of Asa, and I might add the answer to that prayer. 2 Chronicles 14. And let's begin reading there with verse 9. You talk about someone that would have calls of alarm? Well, here it is. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 9. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand thousand and three hundred chariots, that is a million men and three hundred chariots, and came unto Mereshah." Now, you're talking about a small group facing an army of a million men and three hundred chariots? Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in a ray in the valley of Zarephath and Mereshah.

[John Weaver] And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, saying, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God. We go against this multitude. O Lord, the heart God, let not man prevail against thee. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gera, and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before the Lord and before his hosts, and they carried away much spoil. And they smote all the cities round about Gera. Why? For the fear of the Lord came upon them, and they spoil all the cities. For there was exceeding much spoil in them. So little Judah, with a few thousand men, destroyed an army of a million men, because the fear of God was placed upon them. That's why he said, Deuteronomy 28, The Lord thy God shall cause Thine enemies to be smitten before thy face.

[John Weaver] They shall come out against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways." Now, notice back in Deuteronomy 28. Here's the second point in verse 8. Watch it. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Now watch. In verse 7, the Lord shall cause Now in verse 8, the Lord shall command.

[John Weaver] Let me put it to you very simply. When God speaks, it is done. His voice of command is also the voice of accomplishment. You know what he said in Isaiah 55 and verse 11? He said, So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in that word to which I send it. God said, My word is never, ever going to return void. My word will always accomplish whatever I send it to do.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles. Hold Deuteronomy 28, but go in your Bibles to Psalm 148. Let me just show you that his voice of command is also his voice of accomplishment. Notice in Psalm 148, beginning there with verse one. In this psalm. All the elements are being commanded to praise God, that is creation, and here's why. Psalm 148, verse one, praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him from the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise Him, all ye hosts. Praise ye Him, sun, moon, and praise ye Him, all the stars of light. Praise Him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord. Why? For He commanded and they were created. Do you realize when God commands, Nothing and no one can resist Him, thwart Him, hinder Him, or stop Him. His word of command is His word of accomplishment. Now, go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28. Let me show you what I'm talking about.

[John Weaver] Deuteronomy 28. Verse 7, the Lord shall cause. Verse 8, the Lord shall Now, let's go back to verses 1 and 2. Watch carefully. Deuteronomy 28, verse 1, And it shall come to pass, that thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day. And the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

[John Weaver] Now, in verse two, there is a very interesting word. It is the word overtake. The Hebrew word is the word Nassau, and it literally means to overtake, to catch up with and to overcome. Now, look what he said in verse two, all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God. Now, let me try to paint a picture just so I can illustrate the meaning of this word overtake. Try to imagine yourself as one who is obedient to God. You're honoring him, you're worshiping him, you're doing everything by his grace to please him and endeavoring to bring your life in conformity to his word. And God has blessed you.

[John Weaver] And enabled you to do that. But then God pours out the blessings upon you and you say, Lord, I've got so many blessings now, I just can't handle any more of them. And you start running down the road, trying to outrun and get away from the blessings of God. God said, and all these blessings shall come on thee, and what overtake thee? God said, if you obey me, my blessings will run you down and knock you down and fall all over you, and you can't stop them.

[John Weaver] His voice of command is His voice of accomplishment. Whatever God commands, he brings to pass.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua, chapter eight and then Joshua 21. Joshua eight and then Joshua 21. Joshua eight, and let's begin reading there with verse 10, Joshua eight, and look, if you would please, at verse 10.

[John Weaver] That's probably not the verse I wanted, but it demonstrates the fact that how God has given the victory. So watch this. Joshua 8 and verse 10. And Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered the people and went up and the elders of Israel before the people of Ai. And you know the story there, how, of course, Joshua then accomplished everything that God had told him. that he would accomplish.

[John Weaver] He defeated AI, he defeated all these others as well. Now, skip over, if you would, to the book of Joshua chapter 21 and verse 45. And here is where Joshua sums up all the campaigns that he fought. Look what he says. Joshua 21 verse 45. There failed not of any good thing which the Lord had spoken of the house of Israel. All came to pass. Do you see what I'm saying?

[John Weaver] Whatever God commands, He accomplishes. Everything came to pass.

[John Weaver] Now, go back to Deuteronomy 28. Now watch this. Let me tie it together for you. He said in v. 7, the Lord shall cause. In v. 8, the Lord shall command Now in verse 9, the Lord shall establish thee and holy people unto himself as he is sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord by God and walk in his ways. So you have the Lord shall cause, the Lord shall command, and now the Lord shall establish. And by the way, the word establish here literally means to establish, to confirm, to make sure, and to cause to stand. In light of the cause, which is God himself, in light of the command, which is God's command, we may be certain of God's establishment. God said, I will establish you or I shall establish you a holy people.

[John Weaver] That is one set apart, sanctified for his use. Now, let me ask a question. I'm sure that you will remember this verse, but here's my question. Why were we chosen unto salvation in Christ Jesus? Ephesians 1 verse 4, And He hath chosen you in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Now what did Deuteronomy 28 verse 9 say? He shall establish the holy people unto Himself. Why did God choose us in Christ? That he might establish us a holy people.

[John Weaver] Now, let me explain something. What we really have in Deuteronomy 28 is an illustration of what you and I would call gospel obedience. It is true that we are to obey. It is also equally true that we must obey. But it is not our obedience that saves us. It is Christ that saves us. Hold Deuteronomy 28 and turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 5. And let me point something out.

[John Weaver] Here is a passage that refers to eternal salvation. And I want you to see what it refers to specifically. Notice the book of Hebrews, chapter 5, and look, if you would please, at verse 9. Hebrews 5, verse 9, talking about Jesus Christ and being made perfect. Now watch. And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that what? That what? Obey Him. He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him." Is obedience necessary? Yes. Is it essential? Yes, absolutely. Obedience is the evidence that we have been saved by Christ. It is not our obedience that saves us. It is our obedience and evidence that we have been saved. Look in your Bibles, turn back to the book of Philippians chapter two. Let me show you what I'm talking about. We're talking about gospel obedience. Philippians chapter two. Notice, if you would please, verses 12 and 13. Philippians two. Verse 12. You got it? Here we go. Philippians 2, verse 12.

[John Weaver] Paul writes these Philippian Christians and he says, Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Is he telling them to earn their salvation, to merit their salvation? Well, of course not. He says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Why? For it is God who worketh in you Both do well and do his good pleasure. What's he saying? God worked it in, you work it out. God put it in you. Now you apply it. You bring it out. And so what he is telling us is basically our obedience then evidences the fact that we have been saved by him. Now, the truth of gospel obedience is much like the truth of preservation and perseverance.

[John Weaver] And in times past, I've preached on this subject. In fact, I've got, I think, about 25 hours on the doctrine of preservation and perseverance. But preservation and perseverance are basically the two sides of one coin. If I were to ask you, does God preserve his own? What is the answer? Yes. All you've got to do is read John 10. 28-30 there, where our Lord said, I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

[John Weaver] Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. He's in the Father's hand. And He said, no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. What about Philippians 1 and verse 6? Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. How about Jude 1-1? That we are preserved in Christ Jesus.

[John Weaver] Now, the question is this. Now that we know that we're preserved, does God's preservation negate our perseverance? And the answer is no. In fact, it is God's preservation that ensures our perseverance. When you come to a passage like Hebrews 3 and verse 14, that we're made partakers of Christ if we hold fast. He that endureth to the end the same shall be saved. Now, let me ask you a question. Does our perseverance save us? No. It is Christ who saves us.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that we are unable to persevere only because God preserves us? God's preservation comes to light in our perseverance. God sovereignly and graciously enables us to persevere, and that perseverance then is a demonstration of and evidence and a manifestation of the fact that we are preserved in Him. And because He preserves us, we are enabled to persevere, therefore it means our perseverance is merely by His grace as well. God uses means. Likewise, in gospel obedience, we are obedient to Him only because He has saved us.

[John Weaver] Now, go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28. I want you to see the emphasis in these short 14 verses upon obedience. Now watch. Look in Deuteronomy 28 verse 1 and then verse 2. We've already read it, but look at it again. Verse 1. And it shall come to pass that thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.

[John Weaver] Now note, if you would please. Note, if you would please. You're to hearken diligently. Why? that you might observe to do.

[John Weaver] Now skip down to verse two. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord by God. Once again, we've got to listen. Now skip down, if you would please, to verse nine. The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he has sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord by God and walk in his ways. Now look in verse 13. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail. And thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath, if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day to observe and to do them." And then verse 14, it's the same thing, but it's said negatively. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left.

[John Weaver] to go after other gods and serve them. The emphasis in Deuteronomy 28 is placed upon obedience.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make a statement. I made it earlier. Our obedience is His instrumentality. It is God who is the cause. It is God who commands. And once He causes and commands, He establishes us And it is His grace, then, that enables us to obey, that He might establish us. In other words, God works immediately in our lives, usually speaking. He enables us to obey Him. And as we obey Him, He places these blessings upon us. Now, let me make a statement, and I want you to watch this.

[John Weaver] I'm going to show it to you from Scripture. If you and I wish to live peaceful lives, We must live godly lives. Look what he said in verse 8. Verse 7 first. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways. Verse 8. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee. Watch verse 9. The Lord shall establish the holy people unto himself, as he has sworn unto thee, if thou keep the commandments of the Lord by God, and walk in his ways. Now here's the verse I wanted to point out. And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee. You don't like fighting? Cousin, I can tell you how to keep from fighting. Obey me. I'll fix it where your enemies will be so afraid of you.

[John Weaver] They won't want to jump you. They will not wish to start anything. You obey me and your enemies will fear you. Can you imagine that? even conceive of that fact. That our enemies would be so fearful and so frightened and so frozen and so dysfunctional, they would not even want to mess with us.

[John Weaver] Now, look what he said. Verse 10, And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord. You are the people of the sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God of heaven and earth. They know your mind, and they'll be afraid of you. Why? Because they'll know what our Father can do to them. I've often told people, if you mess with my children, I could hurt you. But if you mess with my grandchildren, I can chew you up and spit you out so quick it'd make your head swim. And if I believe that way concerning my own, how do you think God response to his. You remember what he said to his people?

[John Weaver] He that toucheth thee, toucheth the apple of my eye. Now, it says you better not hurt mine. You better not hurt mine.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn to just a couple of passages. This will tie it all together for you. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 17 to begin with. 2 Chronicles 17. I told you If you want to live a peaceful life. Then you must live a godly life. 2nd Chronicles 17. And look if you would please at verse 10. 2nd Chronicles 17. And verse 10.

[John Weaver] Are you looking here it is? And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kings of the land that were round about Judah. so that they made no war with Jehoshaphat. What kept Jehoshaphat out of war? What kept Judah out of war? The fear of God. Jehoshaphat was a godly king. God said, if you obey me, I'll work it out. Your enemies will fear you. Look in chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 20.

[John Weaver] And let's begin with verse 29. Here it is again, 2 Chronicles 20 verse 29, And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about. And the fear of God was on all those kingdoms of those countries. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs 16, verse 7. Proverbs 16, verse 7.

[John Weaver] Here's one that everyone should memorize. Proverbs 16, verse 7. Are you there? Proverbs 16, verse 7. When a man's ways please the Lord, He'd make it even his enemies to be at peace with him. When a man's ways please the Lord, he'd make it even his enemies to be at peace with him. Had you rather fear your enemies or your enemies fear you? God said if you want to be feared by your enemies, you live a godly life. Now, one last passage. I want you to turn in your Bible, say Exodus 34. I want to show you how absolutely sovereign, how absolutely powerful God is. Exodus chapter 34.

[John Weaver] Now, let me set it up for you to tell you what we're going to read about in just a moment. But do you remember? When the children of Israel came into the land they were to inherit, God put a sword in their hand and said, go kill everyone. Well, he killed a lot of people. The people they did not kill. They enslaved. OK.

[John Weaver] Now, when they got into the land, God demanded that three times a year, every male would appear before him in Jerusalem for those seven annual feasts. Now, the women did not necessarily have to come. I mean, they did come many times, but the men had to be there.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. If you and I go over, say, to the state of Alabama, we get in coffee, Karen, And we kill a bunch of folks and enslave the rest of them and take their property. And then all of us come back to Georgia for a convention. What is to stop those people who we've enslaved from rising up, killing our wives, our children, and taking their land back? You see the problem? The children of Israel had gone in. They tell all these people what they haven't killed, they've enslaved.

[John Weaver] And now all the men are going to go up to Jerusalem three times a year. What is to stop those pagans from rising up in rebellion and killing their wives and children and claiming that land back for themselves? Well, here, look at it, Exodus 34, verse 23. Exodus 34, verse 23, God says thrice, that is three times in the year, shall all your men, children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. So three times a year they had to go to Jerusalem. Watch. God says, for I will cast out the nations before thee and enlarge thy borders. Neither shall any man desire thy land, but thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year. God said, let me tell you something. You obey me. Not only will there not be any insurrections, not only will there not be any rebellions, those people will not even to have their land back. I am the sovereign God. You obey me, and your enemies will fear you. What a powerful, holy, sovereign God we serve.

[John Weaver] If we want to be feared by our enemies, we must live godly, obedient lives. God knows how to preserve and protect His own. The world may be in turmoil and trouble and persecution, but God still protects His own. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us, make us, Lord, holy and godly, and may we bring our lives in conformity to your word. May we not fear our enemies, but may our enemies fear us, because we serve the sovereign God of heaven and earth, the holy, righteous God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of miracles. the God of might. We give thee praise this day and worship thee and confess that thou art the one true, the living God. And besides thee, there's none other.

[John Weaver] Thank you for your so great salvation. And your word. And your spirit. Give us grace that we may serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In thy name we pray. Amen.

Feared by Your Enemies

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	63004155849
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Walking With God
Genre	Sermon
Date	2004-06-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 134: Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification - Volume 1 — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	85

Formatted Transcript

Opening

All right, well, let's open our Bibles today to Deuteronomy, chapter 28, Deuteronomy 28. And the message today is entitled "Feared By Your Enemies," "Feared By Your Enemies." This is not to be confused with a three-part series that I have done several years ago entitled "Why Our Enemies Do Not Fear Us," which was taken from the New Testament. But rather, this one is found in Deuteronomy 28, and we're going to read the first 14 verses and then begin. Deuteronomy 28, verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-14

"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep." "Blessed shalt thou be in thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, and in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, and in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee." "The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand. And thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail. And thou shalt be above only, thou shalt not be beneath, if thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day to observe and to do them. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them."

Introduction: The Nature of Fear

Fear destroys, paralyzes, and torments, keeping people in bondage and servitude. The fear of man brings a snare.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 4:18

Let me begin with a simple statement. Fear destroys and paralyzes. Each of us have not only heard, but each of us have used the expression "frozen with fear." And whenever you hear that expression, you understand that it indicates that someone is so frightful and so frightened that he cannot move, he cannot function, and sometimes cannot even think. Moreover, the Scripture tells us in 1 John 4 and verse 18 that "fear hath torment." "Fear hath torment." In other words, fear is a very painful and distressing emotion. Men many times suffer from the fear of poverty, the fear of losses, the fear of bereavement, the fear of sickness, the fear of death, and the fear of future woes. Fear distresses men. It fills us with anguish and it makes us restless, uneasy, and listen to this, and fear keeps us in servitude. Fear keeps us in servitude. In fact, the Bible teaches that in the book of Hebrews chapter 2, through fear of death, through fear of hell, through fear of the devil, men are kept in servitude. The Bible said that fear hath torment or fear hath punishment, and sometimes the fear itself is indeed a punishment because it torments us so and distresses us so.

Now, I want you to hold Deuteronomy 28. We're certainly coming and going to look at that passage in detail. But I do ask that you turn to Proverbs 29 and look at verse 25. This verse is very easily quoted, but I do want you to see it. Proverbs 29 and verse 25. Note what the Bible says.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe."

Now, it's the first part of that verse that I want to emphasize.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man bringeth a snare."

We're cautioned not to dread the power of man. It does not matter whether it is the power of a prince or the power of a multitude. Both are formidable enough in and of themselves, but the slavish fear of either, the Bible says, brings a snare.

That is, it exposes us to many insults and to many temptations. Now, without me having to take you through the Bible, may I just simply remind you that Abraham, because of the fear of man, denied his wife. He said, "She's my sister." Peter, through the fear of man, denied his master. He said, "I know him not." And there have been many, many Christians, through fear of man, who have denied their God and their faith. Fear holds people in bondage. It keeps us docile. When you're living in a spirit of fear, it's always, "What if this and what if that?" Many are so fearful that they will never, ever attempt to change a system of government that enslaves and tyrannizes them.

Illustrations of Fear vs. Faith

The ten spies feared the giants and refused to fight, while David, Joshua, and Caleb trusted God and were unafraid. Faith and fear cannot coexist.

Men are subjugated and enslaved through fear. Now that you found Numbers chapter 13, let me ask you a question. How many of you would be willing to attack a 6 foot 4, 250 pound man, well trained in the martial arts? Say, one who's been fighting ever since his youth. My question is, why would you not willingly jump him? You say, "Well, Brother Weaver, I can answer that. I mean, I'm not going to willingly jump him because I'm afraid of him."

"I know probably what he could do. And I'm not really sure of all what he might do. And therefore, since I don't want to be hurt, hospitalized or killed, I'm just going to stay away from him." And then you say, "Well, now, Brother Weaver, common sense would tell you that you ought not to jump on someone like that." Well, generally speaking, I would agree. But let me ask you a question. What if your life or your freedom depended upon whether or not you would fight that individual? What if not only your life, but the life of your family and the freedom of your family depended upon whether or not you fought that individual? Would you fight? You say, "Now, let me try to get this clear. You're talking about someone who's been trained in fighting from his youth. I don't think I'd fight." Are you beginning to see what I'm talking about?

How fear keeps us in subjection. It keeps us in bondage. Now, watch. Look at Numbers chapter 13, if you would. I'm going to give you two illustrations to illustrate this point that I just made. Numbers chapter 13. Notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 31. Here is the report of the ten evil spies. The Bible says, "But the men that went up with him said," now they're reporting to the people, "We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."

Now remember Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report. The other ten spies brought back an evil report. They said, "We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land, which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants." "And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." Now, I want you to watch this. God had told the children of Israel to go up and fight. They said, "No, what we're going to do first is send some spies and check out the land." Two of the spies brought back a good report. Ten of the spies brought back an evil report.

Now, why were they afraid? Number one, it was a lack of faith. But number two, I want you to note something. It was fear that kept them from attacking. It was fear that kept them from fighting. Are you listening? Fear kept them from having a due regard to their life and their liberty. God had given them the land. But they would not obey God. They feared man and therefore they destroyed themselves.

Now, look in your Bibles. First Samuel chapter 17. I hope you've already figured out this illustration. First Samuel chapter 17. And let's begin reading there with verse 29. First Samuel chapter 17, verse 29. You will immediately recognize the story. First Samuel 17, verse 29. "And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" Here, David is about to fight Goliath. "And he turned from him toward another and spake after the same manner, and the people answered him again after the former manner. And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine." Now, remember, Goliath was a giant. Remember, Goliath was a warrior. He was a martial artist trained from his youth up to fight. David said, "Don't let any man's heart fail for fear. I'll go up and fight the man." "And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

"And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God." David said, "Moreover, the Lord delivered me out of the paw of the lion, out of the paw of the bear. He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said unto David, "Go, and the Lord be with thee."

Now, let me ask you a question. Here, David, a young boy, inexperienced, faced a well-trained giant who was trained in the martial arts, and yet David faced him unafraid. Now the question is why? Well certainly David trusted in the living God and that faith made fear impossible. I told you earlier faith and fear cannot coexist together, and when David saw the giant, he said, "God's already delivered me from a lion. He's already delivered me from a bear. And the God that sovereignly delivered me in those areas will deliver me in this area as well."

Now, I want you to note something that should be exceedingly obvious. The Israelites in Numbers chapter 13 had equally the same promises that David had in 1 Samuel chapter 17. But the Israelites were afraid, and David was unafraid. Why? Because David appropriated the promises. David believed when the Israelites did not believe. Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14. Let me show you the disparity between David and the Israelites. In fact, you can see this disparity that existed between Joshua and Caleb and the Israelites as well. Look at Numbers chapter 14, verse 9. You see, the Israelites were fearful. David was not. The Israelites were fearful. Joshua and Caleb were not. Look at Numbers chapter 14 in verse 9. Look what Joshua and Caleb say.

"Only rebel not ye against the Lord. Now look. Neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not." I hope you see the disparity between these two groups. David, like Joshua and Caleb, saw the grace and the power of God when the Israelites did not. What did the Israelites do? The Israelites saw the giants and they were fearful. They were afraid.

And they said, "We were as grasshoppers in their sight." Now, may I point something out? When they said "we were as grasshoppers in their sight," that was the estimation of the Israelites concerning themselves. That was not their enemy's estimation. That's just simply what they thought. They were exceedingly fearful.

Now, look what one did. The Israelites saw the greatness and the power of the giants and saw their own weakness and lack of strength and lack of faith and said, "We're not going to fight." David, Joshua and Caleb were just the opposite. They saw their own strength through the greatness and the power of God and were unafraid and were willing to fight. In fact, Joshua and Caleb said, "What are you talking about? They're bread for us." He said, "You talk about a great people, all that means is they've got a great possession. That's more for us. They're bread for us." So while one group was fearful and were ready to relinquish their lives and their freedom, the others were willing to fight. And they said, "We don't care how big they are, or how strong they are, or what the multitude of them happens to be. We will fight because we know the power of God."

Now let me pose an interesting question, and all this is going to come back to Deuteronomy 28 in just a moment. Here's the question. When it comes to the subject of fear, had you rather fear your enemies? Or had you rather your enemies fear you?

The Source of Blessings: God Causes

Deuteronomy 28:7 shows that the Lord is the originating cause of blessings, including making enemies flee. All blessings are conditional upon obedience.

Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles, Deuteronomy chapter 28. And I hope you note that all through the Bible, we are told over and over to fear not. To fear not. Why should we fear when the sovereign God of heaven and earth is our Heavenly Father? Now, I want you to see three things very quickly in Deuteronomy 28. The first one is found in verse 7. "The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come out against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways." Now my first point is found right there in verse 7, "the Lord shall cause." Note, "the Lord shall cause." Verse 7 gives us the source of the blessings. The originating cause is God Himself. I don't care which blessing you talk about in Deuteronomy 28 or which blessing you talk about anywhere in the Bible, the source, the originating cause of all blessings is God himself. Romans 11 verse 36 tells us this: "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory and honour for ever. Amen." Now listen to what that verse said: "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things." Let's stop. "For of him," that is originally, "through him," that is providentially, and "to him," that is ultimately, are all things. God is absolutely sovereign. That ought to make you remember Ephesians 1 and verse 3 when the Bible says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus."

All blessings are in Him. He is the source of all blessings. Now, I want you to understand verse 7, 8 and 9 and 10, but in order to understand verse 7, you've got to go back to verse 1 just for a moment. Now, he says "the Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face." To comprehend the blessing of verse 7, you have to be aware of the stipulation that God laid down in verse 1. In fact, everything harkens back to verse 1. So go back to verse 1. The Bible says, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth." Now watch, "it shall come to pass, if thou hearken diligently," that is, if you listen carefully to God, why, that you might observe and do all his commandments.

In other words, the blessings that are promised in Deuteronomy 28 are what you and I would call conditional blessings or conditional promises. What do I mean by that? They're conditioned upon obedience. They're conditioned upon the fact that we honor and worship the one true and the living God only.

God Works Mediately Through Obedience

God normally works through means; our obedience is His instrumentality. He may work immediately (without means) or mediately (through means).

Now, let me explain something to you. Let me make a statement, and then I'll explain the statement. God may work immediately or mediately. Now, when I make that statement, please understand that has absolutely no reference to time. The terms "immediately" and "mediately" are theological terms. When we say that God works immediately, what we mean by that is simply this, that God, when He works immediately, He does not use means. He doesn't work in means or by means or through means.

Let me give you an example. If you'll hold Deuteronomy 28, but look in your Bibles to Psalm 33 and verse 9. Psalm 33 and verse 9. Here's one very easily understood. Psalm 33 and verse 9. Here is an immediate act of God. Psalm 33. Look, if you would please, at verse 9, talking about the creation of the universe. Here it is, Psalm 33, verse 9, "For he spake, and it was done."

"He commanded, and it stood fast." Now, let me ask you a question. Did God use means when he created the world? No. He just spoke and it came into existence. He commanded, it stood fast. That means that God worked immediately. He did not use means whatsoever. Now when we say that God also works mediately, by that phrase we mean that he normally and he usually works by means and through means. Most of the time, God works mediately, not all in all cases we've just seen, but usually God works mediately.

For instance, let's suppose I have a need of a thousand bucks. OK. And I start praying to the Lord, "Supply my need." Do you think God is going to immediately drop five or six ounces of gold out of heaven for me? Now, he could do that, could he not? Sure, he could. But that's not normally how he does it. What he would do is either bless me in my work or give me additional work or move on someone to give me a gift. You see, but either way, he's using means. That is what the word "mediately" means, that God is pleased to use means.

Now, when you apply that to Deuteronomy 28, when he says, "The Lord thy God shall cause," what he's telling us is this, that our obedience is his instrumentality. In other words, God causes these blessings to come upon us as we obey Him and honor Him and worship Him. One of the blessings that God gives us is deliverance from our enemies, but not just only deliverance. As we shall see later, one of those blessings is that our enemies will fear us. Now, look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 11. Let me just show you some other passages very quickly. Deuteronomy 11, beginning there with verse 25. Deuteronomy 11, verse 25. Look what God says.

God Commands and Establishes

Verse 8 says 'the Lord shall command,' meaning His word accomplishes what He speaks. Verse 9 says He will establish His people as holy, confirming them in obedience.

Let me put it to you very simply. When God speaks, it is done. His voice of command is also the voice of accomplishment. You know what he said in Isaiah 55 and verse 11? He said, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." God said, "My word is never, ever going to return void. My word will always accomplish whatever I send it to do."

Now, look in your Bibles. Hold Deuteronomy 28, but go in your Bibles to Psalm 148. Let me just show you that his voice of command is also his voice of accomplishment. Notice in Psalm 148, beginning there with verse 1. In this psalm, all the elements are being commanded to praise God, that is creation, and here's why. Psalm 148, verse 1, "Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him from the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise Him, all ye hosts. Praise ye Him, sun, moon, and praise ye Him, all the stars of light. Praise Him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord. Why? For He commanded and they were created." Do you realize when God commands, nothing and no one can resist Him, thwart Him, hinder Him, or stop Him. His word of command is His word of accomplishment. Now, go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28. Let me show you what I'm talking about.

Deuteronomy 28. Verse 7, "the Lord shall cause." Verse 8, "the Lord shall command." Now, let's go back to verses 1 and 2. Watch carefully. Deuteronomy 28, verse 1, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day. And the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."

Now, in verse 2, there is a very interesting word. It is the word "overtake." The Hebrew word is the word "nasag," and it literally means to overtake, to catch up with and to overcome. Now, look what he said in verse 2, "all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God." Now, let me try to paint a picture just so I can illustrate the meaning of this word "overtake." Try to imagine yourself as one who is obedient to God. You're honoring him, you're worshiping him, you're doing everything by his grace to please him and endeavoring to bring your life in conformity to his word. And God has blessed you. And enabled you to do that. But then God pours out the blessings upon you and you say, "Lord, I've got so many blessings now, I just can't handle any more of them." And you start running down the road, trying to outrun and get away from the blessings of God. God said, "And all these blessings shall come on thee, and what? Overtake thee." God said, "If you obey me, my blessings will run you down and knock you down and fall all over you, and you can't stop them."

His voice of command is His voice of accomplishment. Whatever God commands, he brings to pass. Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua, chapter 8 and then Joshua 21. Joshua 8 and then Joshua 21. Joshua 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Joshua 8, and look, if you would please, at verse 10.

That's probably not the verse I wanted, but it demonstrates the fact that how God has given the victory. So watch this. Joshua 8 and verse 10. "And Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered the people and went up, and the elders of Israel before the people of Ai." And you know the story there, how, of course, Joshua then accomplished everything that God had told him that he would accomplish. He defeated Ai, he defeated all these others as well. Now, skip over, if you would, to the book of Joshua chapter 21 and verse 45. And here is where Joshua sums up all the campaigns that he fought. Look what he says. Joshua 21 verse 45. "There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel. All came to pass." Do you see what I'm saying?

Whatever God commands, He accomplishes. Everything came to pass. Now, go back to Deuteronomy 28. Now watch this. Let me tie it together for you. He said in v. 7, "the Lord shall cause." In v. 8, "the Lord shall command." Now in verse 9, "The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God and walk in his ways." So you have "the Lord shall cause," "the Lord shall command," and now "the Lord shall establish." And by the way, the word "establish" here literally means to establish, to confirm, to make sure, and to cause to stand. In light of the cause, which is God himself, in light of the command, which is God's command, we may be certain of God's establishment. God said, "I will establish you" or "I shall establish you an holy people."

That is one set apart, sanctified for his use. Now, let me ask a question. I'm sure that you will remember this verse, but here's my question. Why were we chosen unto salvation in Christ Jesus? Ephesians 1 verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 1:4

"And he hath chosen you in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."

Now what did Deuteronomy 28 verse 9 say? "He shall establish thee an holy people unto himself." Why did God choose us in Christ? That he might establish us an holy people.

Gospel Obedience and Perseverance

Obedience is the evidence of salvation, not the cause. God preserves His people, enabling them to persevere. Our obedience demonstrates His work in us.

Here is a passage that refers to eternal salvation. And I want you to see what it refers to specifically. Notice the book of Hebrews, chapter 5, and look, if you would please, at verse 9. Hebrews 5, verse 9, talking about Jesus Christ and being made perfect. Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:9

"And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that what? That what? Obey Him." "He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him."

Is obedience necessary? Yes. Is it essential? Yes, absolutely. Obedience is the evidence that we have been saved by Christ. It is not our obedience that saves us. It is our obedience an evidence that we have been saved. Look in your Bibles, turn back to the book of Philippians chapter 2. Let me show you what I'm talking about. We're talking about gospel obedience. Philippians chapter 2. Notice, if you would please, verses 12 and 13. Philippians 2. Verse 12. You got it? Here we go. Philippians 2, verse 12.

Paul writes these Philippian Christians and he says, "Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Is he telling them to earn their salvation, to merit their salvation? Well, of course not. He says, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Why? "For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." What's he saying? God worked it in, you work it out. God put it in you. Now you apply it. You bring it out. And so what he is telling us is basically our obedience then evidences the fact that we have been saved by him. Now, the truth of gospel obedience is much like the truth of preservation and perseverance.

And in times past, I've preached on this subject. In fact, I've got, I think, about 25 hours on the doctrine of preservation and perseverance. But preservation and perseverance are basically the two sides of one coin. If I were to ask you, does God preserve his own? What is the answer? Yes. All you've got to do is read John 10:28-30 there, where our Lord said, "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish."

"Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. He's in the Father's hand." And He said, "no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." What about Philippians 1 and verse 6? "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." How about Jude 1:1? That we are preserved in Christ Jesus.

Now, the question is this. Now that we know that we're preserved, does God's preservation negate our perseverance? And the answer is no. In fact, it is God's preservation that ensures our perseverance. When you come to a passage like Hebrews 3 and verse 14, that we're made partakers of Christ if we hold fast. "He that endureth to the end the same shall be saved." Now, let me ask you a question. Does our perseverance save us? No. It is Christ who saves us.

Do you realize that we are unable to persevere only because God preserves us? God's preservation comes to light in our perseverance. God sovereignly and graciously enables us to persevere, and that perseverance then is a demonstration of and evidence and a manifestation of the fact that we are preserved in Him. And because He preserves us, we are enabled to persevere, therefore it means our perseverance is merely by His grace as well. God uses means. Likewise, in gospel obedience, we are obedient to Him only because He has saved us.

Now, go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28. I want you to see the emphasis in these short 14 verses upon obedience. Now watch. Look in Deuteronomy 28 verse 1 and then verse 2. We've already read it, but look at it again. Verse 1. "And it shall come to pass that thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth."

Now note, if you would please. Note, if you would please. You're to hearken diligently. Why? that you might observe to do.

The Promise: Enemies Will Fear You

Verse 10 promises that all people will see God's people are called by His name and will be afraid. Godly living leads to peace and being feared by enemies.

Now, let me make a statement. I made it earlier. Our obedience is His instrumentality. It is God who is the cause. It is God who commands. And once He causes and commands, He establishes us. And it is His grace, then, that enables us to obey, that He might establish us. In other words, God works mediately in our lives, usually speaking. He enables us to obey Him. And as we obey Him, He places these blessings upon us. Now, let me make a statement, and I want you to watch this.

I'm going to show it to you from Scripture. If you and I wish to live peaceful lives, we must live godly lives. Look what he said in verse 8. Verse 7 first. "The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways." Verse 8. "The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee." Watch verse 9. "The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways." Now here's the verse I wanted to point out. "And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee." You don't like fighting? Cousin, I can tell you how to keep from fighting. Obey me. I'll fix it where your enemies will be so afraid of you.

They won't want to jump you. They will not wish to start anything. You obey me and your enemies will fear you. Can you imagine that? Even conceive of that fact. That our enemies would be so fearful and so frightened and so frozen and so dysfunctional, they would not even want to mess with us.

Now, look what he said. Verse 10, "And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord." You are the people of the sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God of heaven and earth. They know your mind, and they'll be afraid of you. Why? Because they'll know what our Father can do to them. I've often told people, if you mess with my children, I could hurt you. But if you mess with my grandchildren, I can chew you up and spit you out so quick it'd make your head swim. And if I believe that way concerning my own, how do you think God responds to his? You remember what he said to his people?

Biblical Examples of God's Protection

Jehoshaphat's godliness brought peace; God made his enemies fear. Proverbs 16:7 says when a man's ways please the Lord, even his enemies are at peace. Exodus 34 shows God preventing desire for land during feasts.

Now, I want you to turn to just a couple of passages. This will tie it all together for you. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 17 to begin with. 2 Chronicles 17. I told you if you want to live a peaceful life, then you must live a godly life. 2 Chronicles 17. And look if you would please at verse 10. 2 Chronicles 17. And verse 10.

Are you looking? Here it is. "And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kings of the land that were round about Judah, so that they made no war with Jehoshaphat." What kept Jehoshaphat out of war? What kept Judah out of war? The fear of God. Jehoshaphat was a godly king. God said, "If you obey me, I'll work it out. Your enemies will fear you." Look in chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 20.

And let's begin with verse 29. Here it is again, 2 Chronicles 20 verse 29, "And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about." And the fear of God was on all those kingdoms of those countries. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs 16, verse 7. Proverbs 16, verse 7. Here's one that everyone should memorize. Proverbs 16, verse 7. Are you there? Proverbs 16, verse 7. "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." Had you rather fear your enemies or your enemies fear you? God said if you want to be feared by your enemies, you live a godly life. Now, one last passage. I want you to turn in your Bible to Exodus 34. I want to show you how absolutely sovereign, how absolutely powerful God is. Exodus chapter 34.

Now, let me set it up for you to tell you what we're going to read about in just a moment. But do you remember when the children of Israel came into the land they were to inherit, God put a sword in their hand and said, "Go kill everyone." Well, he killed a lot of people. The people they did not kill, they enslaved. OK.

Now, when they got into the land, God demanded that three times a year, every male would appear before him in Jerusalem for those seven annual feasts. Now, the women did not necessarily have to come. I mean, they did come many times, but the men had to be there. Now, let me ask you a question. If you and I go over, say, to the state of Alabama, we get in Coffee County, and we kill a bunch of folks and enslave the rest of them and take their property. And then all of us come back to Georgia for a convention. What is to stop those people who we've enslaved from rising up, killing our wives, our children, and taking their land back? You see the problem? The children of Israel had gone in. They tell all these people what they haven't killed, they've enslaved.

And now all the men are going to go up to Jerusalem three times a year. What is to stop those pagans from rising up in rebellion and killing their wives and children and claiming that land back for themselves? Well, here, look at it, Exodus 34, verse 23. Exodus 34, verse 23, God says, "Thrice," that is three times in the year, "shall all your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel." So three times a year they had to go to Jerusalem. Watch. God says, "For I will cast out the nations before thee and enlarge thy borders. Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year." God said, "Let me tell you something. You obey me. Not only will there not be any insurrections, not only will there not be any rebellions, those people will not even desire to have their land back. I am the sovereign God. You obey me, and your enemies will fear you." What a powerful, holy, sovereign God we serve.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Paralyzing Nature of Fear

Summary: Fear torments, distresses, and keeps people in servitude, preventing them from acting or fighting for freedom.

Evidence: Fear destroys and paralyzes... fear hath torment... fear keeps us in servitude.

Faith vs. Fear

Summary: Faith and fear are opposites; faith in God's promises eliminates fear, as seen in David versus the ten spies.

Evidence: Faith and fear are opposites. They cannot coexist together... David appropriated the promises.

Conditional Blessings Based on Obedience

Summary: The blessings of Deuteronomy 28, including being feared by enemies, are conditioned upon diligent obedience to God's commands.

Evidence: It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently... that the Lord thy God will set thee on high...

God's Sovereignty in Causing Fear

Summary: God is the source who causes, commands, and establishes His people, putting the fear of them upon their enemies.

Evidence: The Lord shall cause thine enemies... to be smitten... The Lord shall command the blessing... The Lord shall establish thee...

Obedience as Instrumentality

Summary: God works mediately through our obedience; He enables us to obey and then blesses us, including making enemies fear us.

Evidence: Our obedience is his instrumentality... God works mediately in our lives... He enables us to obey Him.

Godly Living Produces Peace

Summary: When a person's ways please the Lord, God makes even his enemies to be at peace with him, as seen in Jehoshaphat's reign.

Evidence: When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Key Arguments

Fear of man brings a snare and keeps people in bondage.

Summary: The fear of man leads to denial of faith and prevents people from resisting tyranny.

Evidence: The fear of man bringeth a snare... Abraham, because of the fear of man, denied his wife... Peter... denied his master.

Faith in God's promises overcomes fear of enemies.

Summary: David trusted God's past deliverances and faced Goliath unafraid, unlike the ten spies who saw only their weakness.

Evidence: David said... The Lord delivered me out of the paw of the lion... he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

God is the originating cause of all blessings.

Summary: Deuteronomy 28:7 says 'the Lord shall cause,' indicating God is the source; Romans 11:36 confirms all things are of Him.

Evidence: The Lord shall cause... For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.

Blessings are conditional upon obedience.

Summary: The promises in Deuteronomy 28 are conditioned on hearkening diligently to God's voice and keeping His commandments.

Evidence: It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently... to observe and to do all his commandments...

God's command is His accomplishment.

Summary: When God commands a blessing, it is as good as done; His word never returns void.

Evidence: The Lord shall command... He commanded and they were created... My word... shall accomplish that which I please.

Obedience is evidence of salvation, not the cause.

Summary: We are saved by Christ, but obedience demonstrates that salvation; God works in us to will and do.

Evidence: He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him... work out your own salvation... for it is God who worketh in you.

Godly living results in enemies fearing us.

Summary: Deuteronomy 28:10 promises that when we are called by God's name, people will be afraid; Proverbs 16:7 confirms peace with enemies.

Evidence: All the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee.

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Context: The primary text promising blessings, including being feared by enemies, conditioned on obedience.

1 John 4:18

Context: Fear hath torment; fear is a painful and distressing emotion.

Hebrews 2:14-15

Context: Through fear of death, men are kept in servitude.

Proverbs 29:25

Context: The fear of man bringeth a snare, but trust in the Lord brings safety.

Numbers 13:31-33

Context: The ten spies' evil report: they feared the giants and saw themselves as grasshoppers.

1 Samuel 17:29-37

Context: David's faith in God's deliverance from lion and bear led him to face Goliath unafraid.

Numbers 14:9

Context: Joshua and Caleb urged not to fear the people, for the Lord is with us.

Exodus 15:13-16

Context: God put fear and dread on the inhabitants of Canaan so they were still as stone.

Exodus 23:27

Context: God promised to send His fear before Israel and make enemies turn their backs.

Romans 11:36

Context: All things are of Him, through Him, and to Him; God is the source of all blessings.

Psalm 33:9

Context: God spoke and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast—immediate work without means.

Deuteronomy 11:25

Context: No man shall stand before you; God will lay the fear and dread of you upon the land.

Joshua 2:9-11

Context: Rahab said the terror of Israel fell on Jericho; their hearts melted because of what God did.

2 Chronicles 14:9-14

Context: Asa prayed and God smote the Ethiopians; the fear of the Lord came upon them.

Isaiah 55:11

Context: God's word shall not return void but accomplish what He pleases.

Psalm 148:1-5

Context: God commanded and they were created; His command is accomplishment.

Joshua 21:45

Context: There failed not ought of any good thing the Lord had spoken; all came to pass.

Ephesians 1:4

Context: Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame.

Hebrews 5:9

Context: Christ became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

Philippians 2:12-13

Context: Work out your own salvation, for it is God who works in you to will and do.

Historical References

Abraham denied his wife Sarah out of fear of man.

Context: Used as an example of how fear of man leads to compromise and denial.

Peter denied Christ out of fear of man.

Context: Another example of fear causing denial of faith.

The ten spies' evil report at Kadesh Barnea.

Context: Illustrates fear preventing Israel from entering the Promised Land.

David and Goliath.

Context: David's faith contrasted with the fear of Saul's army.

Rahab hiding the spies in Jericho.

Context: Shows how God put fear of Israel on the Canaanites.

Asa's victory over Zerah the Ethiopian.

Context: God caused fear to fall on a million-man army, leading to their defeat.

Jehoshaphat's peaceful reign.

Context: Godly king whose enemies feared him and made no war.

Important Quotes

Fear destroys and paralyzes.

Significance: Opening statement emphasizing the destructive nature of fear.

The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Significance: Key verse warning against fearing man and pointing to trust in God.

Faith and fear are opposites. They cannot coexist together.

Significance: Foundational principle that faith eliminates fear.

The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face.

Significance: Central promise that God is the source of victory over enemies.

All these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee.

Significance: Illustrates the overwhelming nature of God's blessings for the obedient.

When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Significance: Summarizes the message that godly living results in peace and being feared.

Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.

Significance: Demonstrates God's sovereign power to protect His obedient people from enemy desire.

Discussion Questions

In what ways does fear of man manifest in our lives today, and how does it keep us in bondage?

Context: Based on the introduction about fear bringing a snare and keeping people in servitude.

How can we cultivate the kind of faith that David had when facing overwhelming odds?

Context: From the contrast between David's faith and the ten spies' fear.

What does it mean that God works 'mediately' through our obedience, and how should that affect our daily walk?

Context: From the explanation of God using means and our obedience as instrumentality.

How does understanding that God's command is His accomplishment change the way we pray and trust His promises?

Context: From the point that when God commands a blessing, it is as good as done.

In what ways is obedience an evidence of salvation rather than a means to earn it?

Context: From the discussion of gospel obedience and perseverance.

What practical steps can we take to live godly lives that result in peace and being feared by our enemies?

Context: From the application that godly living leads to enemies fearing us.

How does the example of Jehoshaphat challenge us to trust God for peace in our circumstances?

Context: From the historical example of Jehoshaphat's reign being quiet because of the fear of God.

Applications

Replace fear of man with trust in God.

Summary: Instead of being paralyzed by fear of what others can do, put your trust in the Lord who is sovereign over all.

Evidence: The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Obey God diligently to receive His blessings.

Summary: The promises of protection and being feared by enemies are conditioned on hearkening diligently to God's voice and keeping His commandments.

Evidence: If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments...

Live a godly life to have peace with enemies.

Summary: When your ways please the Lord, He can make even your enemies to be at peace with you, removing conflict and fear.

Evidence: When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Trust God's sovereignty to protect you.

Summary: God is able to put fear on your enemies so that they will not even desire to harm you, as He did for Israel during the feasts.

Evidence: Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.

Let obedience be the evidence of your salvation.

Summary: Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God works in you to will and do His good pleasure.

Evidence: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:20:53Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:56:15Z

Clean Transcript

Feared by Your Enemies

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right, well, let's open our Bibles today to Deuteronomy, chapter 28, Deuteronomy 28. And the message today is entitled "Feared By Your Enemies," "Feared By Your Enemies." This is not to be confused with a three-part series that I have done several years ago entitled "Why Our Enemies Do Not Fear Us," which was taken from the New Testament. But rather, this one is found in Deuteronomy 28, and we're going to read the first 14 verses and then begin. Deuteronomy 28, verse 1, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep."
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"Blessed shalt thou be in thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, and in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, and in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee."
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"The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand. And thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail. And thou shalt be above only, thou shalt not be beneath, if thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day to observe and to do them. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them."
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Let me begin with a simple statement. Fear destroys and paralyzes. Each of us have not only heard, but each of us have used the expression "frozen with fear." And whenever you hear that expression, you understand that it indicates that someone is so frightful and so frightened that he cannot move, he cannot function, and sometimes cannot even think. Moreover, the Scripture tells us in 1 John 4 and verse 18 that "fear hath torment." "Fear hath torment." In other words, fear is a very painful and distressing emotion. Men many times suffer from the fear of poverty, the fear of losses, the fear of bereavement, the fear of sickness, the fear of death, and the fear of future woes. Fear distresses men.
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It fills us with anguish and it makes us restless, uneasy, and listen to this, and fear keeps us in servitude. Fear keeps us in servitude. In fact, the Bible teaches that in the book of Hebrews chapter 2, through fear of death, through fear of hell, through fear of the devil, men are kept in servitude. The Bible said that fear hath torment or fear hath punishment, and sometimes the fear itself is indeed a punishment because it torments us so and distresses us so.
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Now, I want you to hold Deuteronomy 28. We're certainly coming and going to look at that passage in detail. But I do ask that you turn to Proverbs 29 and look at verse 25. This verse is very easily quoted, but I do want you to see it. Proverbs 29 and verse 25. Note what the Bible says. "The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." Now, it's the first part of that verse that I want to emphasize. "The fear of man bringeth a snare." We're cautioned not to dread the power of man. It does not matter whether it is the power of a prince or the power of a multitude. Both are formidable enough in and of themselves, but the slavish fear of either, the Bible says, brings a snare.
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That is, it exposes us to many insults and to many temptations. Now, without me having to take you through the Bible, may I just simply remind you that Abraham, because of the fear of man, denied his wife. He said, "She's my sister." Peter, through the fear of man, denied his master. He said, "I know him not." And there have been many, many Christians, through fear of man, who have denied their God and their faith. Fear holds people in bondage. It keeps us docile. When you're living in a spirit of fear, it's always, "What if this and what if that?" Many are so fearful that they will never, ever attempt to change a system of government that enslaves and tyrannizes them.
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Have you ever wondered why the world, not only these foreign countries, but even in our own country from time to time, why people do not rise up and say, "We'll not put up with this any longer"? May I tell you why? Because of fear. Fear holds us in subjection. Fear holds us in bondage. Fear is absent wherever there is faith. Faith and fear are opposites. They cannot coexist together. They do not go well together.
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Now, let me just ask that you look in your Bibles to another passage, but I want you to hold it. Numbers chapter 13. Just go ahead and turn there, but hold it just for a moment, because I want to set you up and ask you a question. Look in your Bibles, the book of Numbers chapter 13, and get ready. You see, the truth of the matter is this.
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Men are subjugated and enslaved through fear. Now that you found Numbers chapter 13, let me ask you a question. How many of you would be willing to attack a 6 foot 4, 250 pound man, well trained in the martial arts? Say, one who's been fighting ever since his youth. My question is, why would you not willingly jump him? You say, "Well, Brother Weaver, I can answer that. I mean, I'm not going to willingly jump him because I'm afraid of him."
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"I know probably what he could do. And I'm not really sure of all what he might do. And therefore, since I don't want to be hurt, hospitalized or killed, I'm just going to stay away from him." And then you say, "Well, now, Brother Weaver, common sense would tell you that you ought not to jump on someone like that." Well, generally speaking, I would agree. But let me ask you a question.
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What if your life or your freedom depended upon whether or not you would fight that individual? What if not only your life, but the life of your family and the freedom of your family depended upon whether or not you fought that individual? Would you fight? You say, "Now, let me try to get this clear. You're talking about someone who's been trained in fighting from his youth. I don't think I'd fight." Are you beginning to see what I'm talking about?
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How fear keeps us in subjection. It keeps us in bondage. Now, watch. Look at Numbers chapter 13, if you would. I'm going to give you two illustrations to illustrate this point that I just made. Numbers chapter 13. Notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 31. Here is the report of the ten evil spies. The Bible says, "But the men that went up with him said," now they're reporting to the people, "We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."
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Now remember Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report. The other ten spies brought back an evil report. They said, "We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land, which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants."
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"And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." Now, I want you to watch this. God had told the children of Israel to go up and fight. They said, "No, what we're going to do first is send some spies and check out the land." Two of the spies brought back a good report. Ten of the spies brought back an evil report.
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Now, why were they afraid? Number one, it was a lack of faith. But number two, I want you to note something. It was fear that kept them from attacking. It was fear that kept them from fighting. Are you listening? Fear kept them from having a due regard to their life and their liberty. God had given them the land. But they would not obey God. They feared man and therefore they destroyed themselves.
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Now, look in your Bibles. First Samuel chapter 17. I hope you've already figured out this illustration. First Samuel chapter 17. And let's begin reading there with verse 29. First Samuel chapter 17, verse 29. You will immediately recognize the story. First Samuel 17, verse 29. "And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" Here, David is about to fight Goliath. "And he turned from him toward another and spake after the same manner, and the people answered him again after the former manner. And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine." Now, remember, Goliath was a giant. Remember, Goliath was a warrior. He was a martial artist trained from his youth up to fight. David said, "Don't let any man's heart fail for fear. I'll go up and fight the man." "And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."
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"And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God." David said, "Moreover, the Lord delivered me out of the paw of the lion, out of the paw of the bear. He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said unto David, "Go, and the Lord be with thee."
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Now, let me ask you a question. Here, David, a young boy, inexperienced, faced a well-trained giant who was trained in the martial arts, and yet David faced him unafraid. Now the question is why? Well certainly David trusted in the living God and that faith made fear impossible. I told you earlier faith and fear cannot coexist together, and when David saw the giant, he said, "God's already delivered me from a lion. He's already delivered me from a bear. And the God that sovereignly delivered me in those areas will deliver me in this area as well."
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Now, I want you to note something that should be exceedingly obvious. The Israelites in Numbers chapter 13 had equally the same promises that David had in 1 Samuel chapter 17. But the Israelites were afraid, and David was unafraid. Why? Because David appropriated the promises. David believed when the Israelites did not believe. Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14. Let me show you the disparity between David and the Israelites. In fact, you can see this disparity that existed between Joshua and Caleb and the Israelites as well. Look at Numbers chapter 14, verse 9. You see, the Israelites were fearful. David was not. The Israelites were fearful. Joshua and Caleb were not. Look at Numbers chapter 14 in verse 9. Look what Joshua and Caleb say.
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"Only rebel not ye against the Lord. Now look. Neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not." I hope you see the disparity between these two groups. David, like Joshua and Caleb, saw the grace and the power of God when the Israelites did not. What did the Israelites do? The Israelites saw the giants and they were fearful. They were afraid.
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And they said, "We were as grasshoppers in their sight." Now, may I point something out? When they said "we were as grasshoppers in their sight," that was the estimation of the Israelites concerning themselves. That was not their enemy's estimation. That's just simply what they thought. They were exceedingly fearful.
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Now, look what one did. The Israelites saw the greatness and the power of the giants and saw their own weakness and lack of strength and lack of faith and said, "We're not going to fight." David, Joshua and Caleb were just the opposite. They saw their own strength through the greatness and the power of God and were unafraid and were willing to fight. In fact, Joshua and Caleb said, "What are you talking about? They're bread for us."
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He said, "You talk about a great people, all that means is they've got a great possession. That's more for us. They're bread for us." So while one group was fearful and were ready to relinquish their lives and their freedom, the others were willing to fight. And they said, "We don't care how big they are, or how strong they are, or what the multitude of them happens to be. We will fight because we know the power of God."
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Now let me pose an interesting question, and all this is going to come back to Deuteronomy 28 in just a moment. Here's the question. When it comes to the subject of fear, had you rather fear your enemies? Or had you rather your enemies fear you?
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Now, to be absolutely honest with you, personally, I'd rather have my enemies tormented, dysfunctional and unable to move and act than to have those characteristics in my life. I'd much rather my enemies fear me than I fear mine enemies. But you ask, "Do we have a choice in the matter?" And the answer is yes. I'm going to show you that in just a moment. In fact, I confess to you and I want to acknowledge once again publicly the absolute sovereignty of God. And I realize it is up to God who gives His blessing of fearlessness.
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But let me point something out very quickly. God does not give His blessings willy-nilly. There is always an underlying foundation in the bestowment of any of His blessings. In fact, I want you to look at some specific promises. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Exodus chapter 15. Exodus 15. I want you to look at verses 13 through 16. Then we're going back to Deuteronomy 28. Exodus chapter 15 and let's begin reading there with verse 13. Now we're talking about
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having our enemies fear us. Exodus chapter 15 verse 13. "Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear, that is the people of the land, the heathen, the people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed. The mighty men of Moab, trembling, shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them by the greatness of thine arm. They shall be still as a stone till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over which thou hast purchased." Now what did God do when He led His people out of Egypt into the land? He put fear upon all the inhabitants. They would not lift a finger against God's people. And their strength literally melted away. Look at Exodus chapter 23. Beginning there in verse 27. Exodus 23 verse 27. Look what God promises.
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"And I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come. And I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, the Hittite from before thee. And I will not drive them out before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out before thee, until thou be increased and inherit the land." Note what he said, "I will send my fear before thee." God said, "I'm going to make them afraid of you before you ever get there."
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Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles, Deuteronomy chapter 28. And I hope you note that all through the Bible, we are told over and over to fear not. To fear not. Why should we fear when the sovereign God of heaven and earth is our Heavenly Father? Now, I want you to see three things very quickly in Deuteronomy 28. The first one is found in verse 7.
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"The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come out against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways." Now my first point is found right there in verse 7, "the Lord shall cause." Note, "the Lord shall cause." Verse 7 gives us the source of the blessings. The originating cause is God Himself. I don't care which blessing you talk about in Deuteronomy 28 or which blessing you talk about anywhere in the Bible, the source, the originating cause of all blessings is God himself. Romans 11 verse 36 tells us this: "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory and honour for ever. Amen." Now listen to what that verse said: "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things." Let's stop. "For of him," that is originally, "through him," that is providentially, and "to him," that is ultimately, are all things. God is absolutely sovereign. That ought to make you remember Ephesians 1 and verse 3 when the Bible says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus."
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All blessings are in Him. He is the source of all blessings.
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Now, I want you to understand verse 7, 8 and 9 and 10, but in order to understand verse 7, you've got to go back to verse 1 just for a moment. Now, he says "the Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face." To comprehend the blessing of verse 7, you have to be aware of the stipulation that God laid down in verse 1. In fact, everything harkens back to verse 1. So go back to verse 1. The Bible says, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth." Now watch, "it shall come to pass, if thou hearken diligently," that is, if you listen carefully to God, why, that you might observe and do all his commandments.
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In other words, the blessings that are promised in Deuteronomy 28 are what you and I would call conditional blessings or conditional promises. What do I mean by that? They're conditioned upon obedience. They're conditioned upon the fact that we honor and worship the one true and the living God only.
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Now, let me explain something to you. Let me make a statement, and then I'll explain the statement. God may work immediately or mediately. Now, when I make that statement, please understand that has absolutely no reference to time. The terms "immediately" and "mediately" are theological terms. When we say that God works immediately, what we mean by that is simply this, that God, when He works immediately, He does not use means. He doesn't work in means or by means or through means.
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Let me give you an example. If you'll hold Deuteronomy 28, but look in your Bibles to Psalm 33 and verse 9. Psalm 33 and verse 9. Here's one very easily understood. Psalm 33 and verse 9. Here is an immediate act of God. Psalm 33. Look, if you would please, at verse 9, talking about the creation of the universe. Here it is, Psalm 33, verse 9, "For he spake, and it was done."
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"He commanded, and it stood fast." Now, let me ask you a question. Did God use means when he created the world? No. He just spoke and it came into existence. He commanded, it stood fast. That means that God worked immediately. He did not use means whatsoever. Now when we say that God also works mediately, by that phrase we mean that he normally and he usually works by means and through means. Most of the time, God works mediately, not all in all cases we've just seen, but usually God works mediately.
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For instance, let's suppose I have a need of a thousand bucks. OK. And I start praying to the Lord, "Supply my need." Do you think God is going to immediately drop five or six ounces of gold out of heaven for me?
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Now, he could do that, could he not? Sure, he could. But that's not normally how he does it. What he would do is either bless me in my work or give me additional work or move on someone to give me a gift. You see, but either way, he's using means. That is what the word "mediately" means, that God is pleased to use means.
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Now, when you apply that to Deuteronomy 28, when he says, "The Lord thy God shall cause," what he's telling us is this, that our obedience is his instrumentality. In other words, God causes these blessings to come upon us as we obey Him and honor Him and worship Him. One of the blessings that God gives us is deliverance from our enemies, but not just only deliverance. As we shall see later, one of those blessings is that our enemies will fear us. Now, look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 11. Let me just show you some other passages very quickly. Deuteronomy 11, beginning there with verse 25. Deuteronomy 11, verse 25. Look what God says.
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"There shall no man be able to stand before you. For the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that you shall tread upon, as he said unto you. Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse, a blessing if you obey the commandment of the Lord your God, which I command thee, and a curse, of course, if we disobey."
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Now, look what he says. Verse 25, "There shall no man be able to stand before you. Why? For the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that you shall tread upon." God said, "I will put your fear upon your enemies." Now note, it's not just they fear God, they fear the people as well. God said, "I will put it upon you." Let me show you how God did this. Look in your Bibles to Joshua chapter 2. Joshua chapter 2.
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You remember in this passage, the spies have been sent to spy out Jericho. You remember Rahab the harlot who took the spies in and hid them. I want you to know what she said. Joshua chapter 2. Here's why she hid the spies. Now remember, there's just two of them. Just two of them. Do you know what the average person would have done? If two enemies come in and you know that they're coming in to kill you and your family and destroy your town, your city, and there's only two of them, what would be the normal reaction? "We'll kill two of them anyhow. They may get us, but we're going to get these two." But nobody touched those spies and Rahab would not allow them to be touched. Why? Look at it. Joshua 2 beginning verse 9. Here's what she said. "And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you."
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"For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, who you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts did melt. Neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you. For the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath." What did God do? God made the people afraid of Israel. He made them fearful. Their hearts fainted. They had no courage left.
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Well, look in your Bibles. Let me give you another illustration. 2 Chronicles 14. Here is the prayer of Asa, and I might add the answer to that prayer. 2 Chronicles 14. And let's begin reading there with verse 9. You talk about someone that would have calls of alarm? Well, here it is. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 9. "And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand thousand and three hundred chariots," that is a million men and three hundred chariots, "and came unto Mareshah." Now, you're talking about a small group facing an army of a million men and three hundred chariots? "Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah."
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"And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, saying, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God. We go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar, and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before the Lord and before his hosts, and they carried away much spoil. And they smote all the cities round about Gerar. Why? For the fear of the Lord came upon them, and they spoiled all the cities. For there was exceeding much spoil in them." So little Judah, with a few thousand men, destroyed an army of a million men, because the fear of God was placed upon them. That's why he said, Deuteronomy 28, "The Lord thy God shall cause thine enemies to be smitten before thy face."
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"They shall come out against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways." Now, notice back in Deuteronomy 28. Here's the second point in verse 8. Watch it. "The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Now watch. In verse 7, "the Lord shall cause." Now in verse 8, "the Lord shall command."
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Let me put it to you very simply. When God speaks, it is done. His voice of command is also the voice of accomplishment. You know what he said in Isaiah 55 and verse 11? He said, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." God said, "My word is never, ever going to return void. My word will always accomplish whatever I send it to do."
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Now, look in your Bibles. Hold Deuteronomy 28, but go in your Bibles to Psalm 148. Let me just show you that his voice of command is also his voice of accomplishment. Notice in Psalm 148, beginning there with verse 1. In this psalm, all the elements are being commanded to praise God, that is creation, and here's why. Psalm 148, verse 1, "Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him from the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise Him, all ye hosts. Praise ye Him, sun, moon, and praise ye Him, all the stars of light. Praise Him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord. Why? For He commanded and they were created." Do you realize when God commands, nothing and no one can resist Him, thwart Him, hinder Him, or stop Him. His word of command is His word of accomplishment. Now, go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28. Let me show you what I'm talking about.
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Deuteronomy 28. Verse 7, "the Lord shall cause." Verse 8, "the Lord shall command." Now, let's go back to verses 1 and 2. Watch carefully. Deuteronomy 28, verse 1, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day. And the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."
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Now, in verse 2, there is a very interesting word. It is the word "overtake." The Hebrew word is the word "nasag," and it literally means to overtake, to catch up with and to overcome. Now, look what he said in verse 2, "all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God." Now, let me try to paint a picture just so I can illustrate the meaning of this word "overtake." Try to imagine yourself as one who is obedient to God. You're honoring him, you're worshiping him, you're doing everything by his grace to please him and endeavoring to bring your life in conformity to his word. And God has blessed you.
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And enabled you to do that. But then God pours out the blessings upon you and you say, "Lord, I've got so many blessings now, I just can't handle any more of them." And you start running down the road, trying to outrun and get away from the blessings of God. God said, "And all these blessings shall come on thee, and what? Overtake thee." God said, "If you obey me, my blessings will run you down and knock you down and fall all over you, and you can't stop them."
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His voice of command is His voice of accomplishment. Whatever God commands, he brings to pass.
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Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua, chapter 8 and then Joshua 21. Joshua 8 and then Joshua 21. Joshua 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Joshua 8, and look, if you would please, at verse 10.
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That's probably not the verse I wanted, but it demonstrates the fact that how God has given the victory. So watch this. Joshua 8 and verse 10. "And Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered the people and went up, and the elders of Israel before the people of Ai." And you know the story there, how, of course, Joshua then accomplished everything that God had told him that he would accomplish.
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He defeated Ai, he defeated all these others as well. Now, skip over, if you would, to the book of Joshua chapter 21 and verse 45. And here is where Joshua sums up all the campaigns that he fought. Look what he says. Joshua 21 verse 45. "There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel. All came to pass." Do you see what I'm saying?
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Whatever God commands, He accomplishes. Everything came to pass.
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Now, go back to Deuteronomy 28. Now watch this. Let me tie it together for you. He said in v. 7, "the Lord shall cause." In v. 8, "the Lord shall command." Now in verse 9, "The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God and walk in his ways." So you have "the Lord shall cause," "the Lord shall command," and now "the Lord shall establish." And by the way, the word "establish" here literally means to establish, to confirm, to make sure, and to cause to stand. In light of the cause, which is God himself, in light of the command, which is God's command, we may be certain of God's establishment. God said, "I will establish you" or "I shall establish you an holy people."
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That is one set apart, sanctified for his use. Now, let me ask a question. I'm sure that you will remember this verse, but here's my question. Why were we chosen unto salvation in Christ Jesus? Ephesians 1 verse 4, "And he hath chosen you in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Now what did Deuteronomy 28 verse 9 say? "He shall establish thee an holy people unto himself." Why did God choose us in Christ? That he might establish us an holy people.
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Now, let me explain something. What we really have in Deuteronomy 28 is an illustration of what you and I would call gospel obedience. It is true that we are to obey. It is also equally true that we must obey. But it is not our obedience that saves us. It is Christ that saves us. Hold Deuteronomy 28 and turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 5. And let me point something out.
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Here is a passage that refers to eternal salvation. And I want you to see what it refers to specifically. Notice the book of Hebrews, chapter 5, and look, if you would please, at verse 9. Hebrews 5, verse 9, talking about Jesus Christ and being made perfect. Now watch. "And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that what? That what? Obey Him." "He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him." Is obedience necessary? Yes. Is it essential? Yes, absolutely. Obedience is the evidence that we have been saved by Christ. It is not our obedience that saves us. It is our obedience an evidence that we have been saved. Look in your Bibles, turn back to the book of Philippians chapter 2. Let me show you what I'm talking about. We're talking about gospel obedience. Philippians chapter 2. Notice, if you would please, verses 12 and 13. Philippians 2. Verse 12. You got it? Here we go. Philippians 2, verse 12.
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Paul writes these Philippian Christians and he says, "Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Is he telling them to earn their salvation, to merit their salvation? Well, of course not. He says, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Why? "For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." What's he saying? God worked it in, you work it out. God put it in you. Now you apply it. You bring it out. And so what he is telling us is basically our obedience then evidences the fact that we have been saved by him. Now, the truth of gospel obedience is much like the truth of preservation and perseverance.
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And in times past, I've preached on this subject. In fact, I've got, I think, about 25 hours on the doctrine of preservation and perseverance. But preservation and perseverance are basically the two sides of one coin. If I were to ask you, does God preserve his own? What is the answer? Yes. All you've got to do is read John 10:28-30 there, where our Lord said, "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish."
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"Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. He's in the Father's hand." And He said, "no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." What about Philippians 1 and verse 6? "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." How about Jude 1:1? That we are preserved in Christ Jesus.
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Now, the question is this. Now that we know that we're preserved, does God's preservation negate our perseverance? And the answer is no. In fact, it is God's preservation that ensures our perseverance. When you come to a passage like Hebrews 3 and verse 14, that we're made partakers of Christ if we hold fast. "He that endureth to the end the same shall be saved." Now, let me ask you a question. Does our perseverance save us? No. It is Christ who saves us.
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Do you realize that we are unable to persevere only because God preserves us? God's preservation comes to light in our perseverance. God sovereignly and graciously enables us to persevere, and that perseverance then is a demonstration of and evidence and a manifestation of the fact that we are preserved in Him. And because He preserves us, we are enabled to persevere, therefore it means our perseverance is merely by His grace as well. God uses means. Likewise, in gospel obedience, we are obedient to Him only because He has saved us.
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Now, go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28. I want you to see the emphasis in these short 14 verses upon obedience. Now watch. Look in Deuteronomy 28 verse 1 and then verse 2. We've already read it, but look at it again. Verse 1. "And it shall come to pass that thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth."
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Now note, if you would please. Note, if you would please. You're to hearken diligently. Why? that you might observe to do.
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Now skip down to verse 2. "And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." Once again, we've got to listen. Now skip down, if you would please, to verse 9. "The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God and walk in his ways." Now look in verse 13. "And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail. And thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath, if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day to observe and to do them." And then verse 14, it's the same thing, but it's said negatively. "And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left,
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to go after other gods and serve them." The emphasis in Deuteronomy 28 is placed upon obedience.
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Now, let me make a statement. I made it earlier. Our obedience is His instrumentality. It is God who is the cause. It is God who commands. And once He causes and commands, He establishes us. And it is His grace, then, that enables us to obey, that He might establish us. In other words, God works mediately in our lives, usually speaking. He enables us to obey Him. And as we obey Him, He places these blessings upon us. Now, let me make a statement, and I want you to watch this.
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I'm going to show it to you from Scripture. If you and I wish to live peaceful lives, we must live godly lives. Look what he said in verse 8. Verse 7 first. "The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways." Verse 8. "The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee." Watch verse 9. "The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways." Now here's the verse I wanted to point out. "And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee." You don't like fighting? Cousin, I can tell you how to keep from fighting. Obey me. I'll fix it where your enemies will be so afraid of you.
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They won't want to jump you. They will not wish to start anything. You obey me and your enemies will fear you. Can you imagine that? Even conceive of that fact. That our enemies would be so fearful and so frightened and so frozen and so dysfunctional, they would not even want to mess with us.
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Now, look what he said. Verse 10, "And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord." You are the people of the sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God of heaven and earth. They know your mind, and they'll be afraid of you. Why? Because they'll know what our Father can do to them. I've often told people, if you mess with my children, I could hurt you. But if you mess with my grandchildren, I can chew you up and spit you out so quick it'd make your head swim. And if I believe that way concerning my own, how do you think God responds to his? You remember what he said to his people?
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"He that toucheth thee, toucheth the apple of my eye." Now, it says you better not hurt mine. You better not hurt mine.
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Now, I want you to turn to just a couple of passages. This will tie it all together for you. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 17 to begin with. 2 Chronicles 17. I told you if you want to live a peaceful life, then you must live a godly life. 2 Chronicles 17. And look if you would please at verse 10. 2 Chronicles 17. And verse 10.
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Are you looking? Here it is. "And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kings of the land that were round about Judah, so that they made no war with Jehoshaphat." What kept Jehoshaphat out of war? What kept Judah out of war? The fear of God. Jehoshaphat was a godly king. God said, "If you obey me, I'll work it out. Your enemies will fear you." Look in chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 20.
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And let's begin with verse 29. Here it is again, 2 Chronicles 20 verse 29, "And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about." And the fear of God was on all those kingdoms of those countries. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs 16, verse 7. Proverbs 16, verse 7.
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Here's one that everyone should memorize. Proverbs 16, verse 7. Are you there? Proverbs 16, verse 7. "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." Had you rather fear your enemies or your enemies fear you? God said if you want to be feared by your enemies, you live a godly life. Now, one last passage. I want you to turn in your Bible to Exodus 34. I want to show you how absolutely sovereign, how absolutely powerful God is. Exodus chapter 34.
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Now, let me set it up for you to tell you what we're going to read about in just a moment. But do you remember when the children of Israel came into the land they were to inherit, God put a sword in their hand and said, "Go kill everyone." Well, he killed a lot of people. The people they did not kill, they enslaved. OK.
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Now, when they got into the land, God demanded that three times a year, every male would appear before him in Jerusalem for those seven annual feasts. Now, the women did not necessarily have to come. I mean, they did come many times, but the men had to be there.
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Now, let me ask you a question. If you and I go over, say, to the state of Alabama, we get in Coffee County, and we kill a bunch of folks and enslave the rest of them and take their property. And then all of us come back to Georgia for a convention. What is to stop those people who we've enslaved from rising up, killing our wives, our children, and taking their land back? You see the problem? The children of Israel had gone in. They tell all these people what they haven't killed, they've enslaved.
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And now all the men are going to go up to Jerusalem three times a year. What is to stop those pagans from rising up in rebellion and killing their wives and children and claiming that land back for themselves? Well, here, look at it, Exodus 34, verse 23. Exodus 34, verse 23, God says, "Thrice," that is three times in the year, "shall all your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel." So three times a year they had to go to Jerusalem. Watch. God says, "For I will cast out the nations before thee and enlarge thy borders. Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year." God said, "Let me tell you something. You obey me. Not only will there not be any insurrections, not only will there not be any rebellions, those people will not even desire to have their land back. I am the sovereign God. You obey me, and your enemies will fear you." What a powerful, holy, sovereign God we serve.
#83 | 59:03 to 1:00:25 | cleaned
If we want to be feared by our enemies, we must live godly, obedient lives. God knows how to preserve and protect His own. The world may be in turmoil and trouble and persecution, but God still protects His own. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us, make us, Lord, holy and godly, and may we bring our lives in conformity to your word. May we not fear our enemies, but may our enemies fear us, because we serve the sovereign God of heaven and earth, the holy, righteous God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of miracles, the God of might. We give thee praise this day and worship thee and confess that thou art the one true, the living God. And besides thee, there's none other.
#84 | 1:00:30 to 1:01:39 | cleaned
Thank you for your so great salvation. And your word. And your spirit. Give us grace that we may serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In thy name we pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:20:53Z

Feared by Your Enemies

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver teaches from Deuteronomy 28 that God promises to make His obedient people feared by their enemies. He contrasts the paralyzing fear of man with the fearlessness that comes from faith in God, using examples like the ten spies, David, and Jehoshaphat. The blessings of being feared are conditional upon diligent obedience to God's commands. God is the sovereign source who causes, commands, and establishes His people, working through their obedience to put dread upon their enemies.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-14

"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep." "Blessed shalt thou be in thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, and in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, and in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee." "The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand. And thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail. And thou shalt be above only, thou shalt not be beneath, if thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day to observe and to do them. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them."

Introduction: The Nature of Fear

Fear destroys, paralyzes, and torments, keeping people in bondage and servitude. The fear of man brings a snare.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 4:18

Let me begin with a simple statement. Fear destroys and paralyzes. Each of us have not only heard, but each of us have used the expression "frozen with fear." And whenever you hear that expression, you understand that it indicates that someone is so frightful and so frightened that he cannot move, he cannot function, and sometimes cannot even think. Moreover, the Scripture tells us in 1 John 4 and verse 18 that "fear hath torment." "Fear hath torment." In other words, fear is a very painful and distressing emotion. Men many times suffer from the fear of poverty, the fear of losses, the fear of bereavement, the fear of sickness, the fear of death, and the fear of future woes. Fear distresses men. It fills us with anguish and it makes us restless, uneasy, and listen to this, and fear keeps us in servitude. Fear keeps us in servitude. In fact, the Bible teaches that in the book of Hebrews chapter 2, through fear of death, through fear of hell, through fear of the devil, men are kept in servitude. The Bible said that fear hath torment or fear hath punishment, and sometimes the fear itself is indeed a punishment because it torments us so and distresses us so.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe."

Now, it's the first part of that verse that I want to emphasize.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man bringeth a snare."

Illustrations of Fear vs. Faith

The ten spies feared the giants and refused to fight, while David, Joshua, and Caleb trusted God and were unafraid. Faith and fear cannot coexist.

The Source of Blessings: God Causes

Deuteronomy 28:7 shows that the Lord is the originating cause of blessings, including making enemies flee. All blessings are conditional upon obedience.

God Works Mediately Through Obedience

God normally works through means; our obedience is His instrumentality. He may work immediately (without means) or mediately (through means).

God Commands and Establishes

Verse 8 says 'the Lord shall command,' meaning His word accomplishes what He speaks. Verse 9 says He will establish His people as holy, confirming them in obedience.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 1:4

"And he hath chosen you in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."

Now what did Deuteronomy 28 verse 9 say? "He shall establish thee an holy people unto himself." Why did God choose us in Christ? That he might establish us an holy people.

Gospel Obedience and Perseverance

Obedience is the evidence of salvation, not the cause. God preserves His people, enabling them to persevere. Our obedience demonstrates His work in us.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:9

"And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that what? That what? Obey Him." "He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him."

Now note, if you would please. Note, if you would please. You're to hearken diligently. Why? that you might observe to do.

The Promise: Enemies Will Fear You

Verse 10 promises that all people will see God's people are called by His name and will be afraid. Godly living leads to peace and being feared by enemies.

Biblical Examples of God's Protection

Feared by Your Enemies

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	63004155849
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Walking With God
Genre	Sermon
Date	2004-06-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 134: Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification - Volume 1 — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	85

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Nature of Fear: Fear destroys, paralyzes, and torments, keeping people in bondage and servitude. The fear of man brings a snare.
Illustrations of Fear vs. Faith: The ten spies feared the giants and refused to fight, while David, Joshua, and Caleb trusted God and were unafraid. Faith and fear cannot coexist.
The Source of Blessings: God Causes: Deuteronomy 28:7 shows that the Lord is the originating cause of blessings, including making enemies flee. All blessings are conditional upon obedience.
God Works Mediately Through Obedience: God normally works through means; our obedience is His instrumentality. He may work immediately (without means) or mediately (through means).
God Commands and Establishes: Verse 8 says 'the Lord shall command,' meaning His word accomplishes what He speaks. Verse 9 says He will establish His people as holy, confirming them in obedience.
Gospel Obedience and Perseverance: Obedience is the evidence of salvation, not the cause. God preserves His people, enabling them to persevere. Our obedience demonstrates His work in us.
The Promise: Enemies Will Fear You: Verse 10 promises that all people will see God's people are called by His name and will be afraid. Godly living leads to peace and being feared by enemies.
Biblical Examples of God's Protection: Jehoshaphat's godliness brought peace; God made his enemies fear. Proverbs 16:7 says when a man's ways please the Lord, even his enemies are at peace. Exodus 34 shows God preventing desire for land during feasts.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Fear of man brings a snare and keeps people in bondage.

The fear of man leads to denial of faith and prevents people from resisting tyranny.

The fear of man bringeth a snare... Abraham, because of the fear of man, denied his wife... Peter... denied his master.

Faith in God's promises overcomes fear of enemies.

David trusted God's past deliverances and faced Goliath unafraid, unlike the ten spies who saw only their weakness.

David said... The Lord delivered me out of the paw of the lion... he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

God is the originating cause of all blessings.

Deuteronomy 28:7 says 'the Lord shall cause,' indicating God is the source; Romans 11:36 confirms all things are of Him.

The Lord shall cause... For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.

Blessings are conditional upon obedience.

The promises in Deuteronomy 28 are conditioned on hearkening diligently to God's voice and keeping His commandments.

It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently... to observe and to do all his commandments...

God's command is His accomplishment.

When God commands a blessing, it is as good as done; His word never returns void.

The Lord shall command... He commanded and they were created... My word... shall accomplish that which I please.

Obedience is evidence of salvation, not the cause.

We are saved by Christ, but obedience demonstrates that salvation; God works in us to will and do.

He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him... work out your own salvation... for it is God who worketh in you.

Godly living results in enemies fearing us.

Deuteronomy 28:10 promises that when we are called by God's name, people will be afraid; Proverbs 16:7 confirms peace with enemies.

All the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee.

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 28:1-14: The primary text promising blessings, including being feared by enemies, conditioned on obedience.
1 John 4:18: Fear hath torment; fear is a painful and distressing emotion.
Hebrews 2:14-15: Through fear of death, men are kept in servitude.
Proverbs 29:25: The fear of man bringeth a snare, but trust in the Lord brings safety.
Numbers 13:31-33: The ten spies' evil report: they feared the giants and saw themselves as grasshoppers.
1 Samuel 17:29-37: David's faith in God's deliverance from lion and bear led him to face Goliath unafraid.
Numbers 14:9: Joshua and Caleb urged not to fear the people, for the Lord is with us.
Exodus 15:13-16: God put fear and dread on the inhabitants of Canaan so they were still as stone.
Exodus 23:27: God promised to send His fear before Israel and make enemies turn their backs.
Romans 11:36: All things are of Him, through Him, and to Him; God is the source of all blessings.
Psalm 33:9: God spoke and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast—immediate work without means.
Deuteronomy 11:25: No man shall stand before you; God will lay the fear and dread of you upon the land.
Joshua 2:9-11: Rahab said the terror of Israel fell on Jericho; their hearts melted because of what God did.
2 Chronicles 14:9-14: Asa prayed and God smote the Ethiopians; the fear of the Lord came upon them.
Isaiah 55:11: God's word shall not return void but accomplish what He pleases.
Psalm 148:1-5: God commanded and they were created; His command is accomplishment.
Joshua 21:45: There failed not ought of any good thing the Lord had spoken; all came to pass.
Ephesians 1:4: Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame.
Hebrews 5:9: Christ became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
Philippians 2:12-13: Work out your own salvation, for it is God who works in you to will and do.

Historical References

Abraham denied his wife Sarah out of fear of man.: Used as an example of how fear of man leads to compromise and denial.
Peter denied Christ out of fear of man.: Another example of fear causing denial of faith.
The ten spies' evil report at Kadesh Barnea.: Illustrates fear preventing Israel from entering the Promised Land.
David and Goliath.: David's faith contrasted with the fear of Saul's army.
Rahab hiding the spies in Jericho.: Shows how God put fear of Israel on the Canaanites.
Asa's victory over Zerah the Ethiopian.: God caused fear to fall on a million-man army, leading to their defeat.
Jehoshaphat's peaceful reign.: Godly king whose enemies feared him and made no war.

Important Quotes

Fear destroys and paralyzes.

Opening statement emphasizing the destructive nature of fear.

The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Key verse warning against fearing man and pointing to trust in God.

Faith and fear are opposites. They cannot coexist together.

Foundational principle that faith eliminates fear.

The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face.

Central promise that God is the source of victory over enemies.

All these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee.

Illustrates the overwhelming nature of God's blessings for the obedient.

When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Summarizes the message that godly living results in peace and being feared.

Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.

Demonstrates God's sovereign power to protect His obedient people from enemy desire.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways does fear of man manifest in our lives today, and how does it keep us in bondage?

[Context]

Based on the introduction about fear bringing a snare and keeping people in servitude.

[Question]

How can we cultivate the kind of faith that David had when facing overwhelming odds?

[Context]

From the contrast between David's faith and the ten spies' fear.

[Question]

What does it mean that God works 'mediately' through our obedience, and how should that affect our daily walk?

[Context]

From the explanation of God using means and our obedience as instrumentality.

[Question]

How does understanding that God's command is His accomplishment change the way we pray and trust His promises?

[Context]

From the point that when God commands a blessing, it is as good as done.

[Question]

In what ways is obedience an evidence of salvation rather than a means to earn it?

[Context]

From the discussion of gospel obedience and perseverance.

[Question]

What practical steps can we take to live godly lives that result in peace and being feared by our enemies?

[Context]

From the application that godly living leads to enemies fearing us.

[Question]

How does the example of Jehoshaphat challenge us to trust God for peace in our circumstances?

[Context]

From the historical example of Jehoshaphat's reign being quiet because of the fear of God.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:56:15Z