Living Without Fear & Shame - Isaiah 43:1

Today, some of us live with some type of fear, shame or even both.  The word of God has great news for you! We don’t have to live with either one of them anymore.  We can get rid of both words in our life even if we’re living in both words at the same time.  Our Heavenly Father has a word for us, especially if this is applied to anyone of us at this moment.  We must understand that the Father sent his son on the cross to erase fear and shame from us.  We must also understand that Jesus said he would send a comforter to us from the Father which is found in John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; ”.

So, we are never forsaken if we know Jesus.  I must say that if you haven’t found Jesus yet, don’t worry!  He will keep knocking on the door of your heart.  Jesus is not going to give up on you either.  We pray that this message will allow you to open your heart and let Jesus in. 

Let’s talk about some types of fears and then shames.  Where did these two words, fear and shame, really come from?  Then we will talk about how we can live without them because of the word of God through Isaiah 43:1.  We will read it and break down this scripture into 5 phases and you will see those words of fear and/or shame can no longer interfere with you anymore.

First, most people know what fear is but really, do we know that we are operating in it more than we think?  Some of us get into fear about where the money is going to come from to meet our needs.  Those in ministry can get fearful about whether their ministry is going to be successful.  Can healing really be for us?  You may have other questions. 
Second, if we use fear as an acronym, it would read out like this: False Evidence Appearing Real.  The truth is we do not have to operate in this fear any longer.
 
Shame, what is it?  Again everybody, in general, knows this means embarrassed about something in their life, feel guilty for what they have done, or even can’t be accepted by someone for something about their past.  Some people are still feeling shame because of an alcohol or drug abuse problem, the house they grew up in or even the type of vehicle they had to ride in growing up.  Shame often times deals with a false burden from the saying “keeping up with the Jones’”.  So many times people think Jesus doesn’t seem to be concerned about them due to their past.  The real issue is this.  The ones who really try to “keep up with the Jones’” may have no peace or rest in their lives.  The truth is, once again, we don’t have to operate from shame.
 
Fear and shame come from the enemy, even today.  He put this in place when he deceived Adam and Eve in the garden.  Do we know why he wants us to feel this way?  The word tells us in the first half of John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:” meaning this right here, Satan wants us to operate in fear and/or shame so he can keep us from seeing the truth of God’s word.
Here is the truth about Gods word so we no longer have to operate in fear and/or shame ever again.  We will read it first then break the verse down into 5 phases. 
Isaiah 43:1 says this “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine”.

Phase 1: “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee,” there are two important things in this part of the verse.  One, the Lord says he created thee and formed thee which can be found in Genesis 1:26-27.  Verse 26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 
27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”.  Two, we can place our name in the place of O Jacob.  Why? Because, he really did create and formed us as he did Jacob.  Can you see it now?  This means he is also speaking to us today.
 
Phase 2: “O Israel,” the Lord took this a step further and said we are Israel as well.  Why?  Due to the fact that we have accepted Jesus we are accepted back into his family again.  Israel is all about his people and he wants all his people to be blessed, not cursed.
 
Phase 3: “Fear not”. This is very, very important for us to understand. He is telling us to have peace and rest in him and don’t dwell in our fear and/or shame anymore.  He is telling to us don’t walk in it whatsoever.  Why?  When we are walking in fear or shame, we are not in his peace or resting in him.  You will see why in Phase 4 that we are to walk in his peace and his rest.
 
Phase 4: “for I have redeemed thee” the Lord is saying this to us, I have already redeemed you from all your fears and shame.  He is expressing his love to us about our well being.  He loves us so much that if we take the time to receive his peace and rest, he will remove those fears and shames out of our life.  Why?  Because he is a true Father looking out for his children in a time of need.  The point is he sent his son to redeem us from all these fears and shames in our life.  How do we know this is true?  Read the second half of John 10:10 “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”. 
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Can you see what is happening to our fears and shames?  They are being removed and replaced to be able to have life, peace, and rest come back into our lives.  The thing is the Lord wants us to have this peace and rest all the time.  He says to have it what?  MORE and he does mean more abundantly.  Give him a shout!   Hallelujah!
 
Phase 5: “I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine”, what is so important about this part?  This is once again confirming he called you by name and you are his.  He is repeating Phase 1 to get us to understand we are the most important thing on his mind.  He is saying we are all his favorite children and he also wants to share his love, peace, rest, and live in a life without fear or shame.
 
Let’s take Isaiah 43:1 and make it personal and you will see the true light of how the word of God is for us.  “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob (your name), and he that formed thee, O Israel (O your name because you are of me and you belong to me), Fear not (take upon my peace and rest): for I have redeemed thee (from your fears and shame), (I am confirming) I have called thee by thy name(your name); thou art mine(because, I created you and I am going to protect you because you belong to me).”
 
Let’s close out with this in mind.  He wouldn’t have created us if he had no concern about us.  We will find that he does care about us not only by sending his son to the cross for us but, look at 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”.  He has a plan for our life and that is he wants to remove all of our fears and shames that we are hanging onto and preventing us from living that abundant life he has given us.
 
Please allow Jesus to remove your fears and shame from you.  He wants to restore you back to who you were to be by accepting him.   Sit back and take on his peace and rest; that is what he wants us to do.  We pray that those who were looking for Jesus have found him and accepted him through this message.

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