𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Tell us about one of the hardest things you had to do in the past year.
• If you were not afraid of anything, what would you do? Why?
• Growing up, what is one word your parents or guardians used to describe you? What impact do you think it had on you?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭: “𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶." 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟯:𝟭–𝟮

(Read also 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟯:𝟯–𝟳.)

Israel had failed to trust God. They had trusted in many other things, to no avail, and even rebelled against God. As a result, they faced His judgment and discipline. They even felt like God had abandoned them. However, God remains faithful—to fulfill His promises, to the covenant He made with His people, and to His own character. After everything Israel had done and been through, God referred to them as 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 (Isaiah 43:1), 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, and 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 (Isaiah 43:4). Because He remains faithful, His people can have courage and face every challenge. In this lesson, we will highlight two reasons to not fear.

𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭: “𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦." 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟯:𝟭

God not only created and formed His people. He also redeemed them and called them His. When God calls people by name, this shows that God knows who they are. This also brings peace and security. If we believe Him, we belong to Him as well. Because of this, no matter what else happens in our lives and even in times that we have failed Him, we can choose to live in hope rather than fear. He has redeemed us in Christ and will continuously assure us as His treasured possession. What are some of the promises God made to His people in Isaiah 43:2–4 that you can appropriate by faith in your own life?

𝟮. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀.
"𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶." 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟯:𝟱

God promised to be with His people in every situation. Although they had been exiled because of their disobedience, He promised His presence and restoration from wherever they were. As we continue to walk with God, the knowledge of His presence brings joy, peace, and hope in our lives. How do you think the words “fear not” reassured God’s people?

The promise of redemption and belonging to God—in spite of our sin and disobedience—was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. On the cross, the Great Exchange happened. God gave Himself up for our salvation, so that we may be forgiven, know Him, and have eternal life. He who never sinned became sin for us, so 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 (2 Corinthians 5:21). He is 𝘐𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘭, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴 (Matthew 1:23), and He also promised to be with us 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦 (Matthew 28:20).

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• Why do you think “fear not” is reassuring to hear from the Almighty God? In what area of your life are you learning to “fear not”?
• Take some time to think of where you put your trust. What are you willing to do differently to trust God every day?
• Who do you think would be encouraged by knowing God is with them? What can you do this week to share this truth with them?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for His redemption available in Christ Jesus. Thank Him for the great exchange He made for sinners on the cross.
• Pray that you would not be in fear because you believe that God is your Redeemer and He is with you. Pray that this would be real in your life every day.
• Ask God for courage to obey and serve Him, and to love and serve others. Pray that you would preach the gospel with courage.