The Conduit From Fear to Freedom
This blog post is Part 6 of a series entitled "From Fear To Freedom" by Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith of Donelson First in Nashville, TN.
Message Date: March 3, 2024
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What most fuels my fears?
I presume, if being honest, each of us here today in some way possess fear. For some, fear isn’t a constant presence. Rather, it is as a snake coiled in the darkness and waiting to strike. Unexpected. Sudden. Always severe. For others, fear is fueled at a very specific intersection in your life. It is not every day you cross this intersection. But when you do, it’s mental and emotional turmoil like rush hour traffic that leaves you frustrated, immobile, and greatly inconvenienced. And undoubtedly, there are those here today who live daily consumed with fear. It awakens you in the dead of night. It is ever-present before you each morning. It is as an arthritis of the mind and soul and heart that is persistent, painful, and pridefully present at every turn.
For those living with fear, and for those not wanting to remain in such misery; for those who desire to journey From Fear to Freedom, today is for you. There are almost always many variables contributing to the fears in one’s life: A dysfunctional upbringing. An abusive relationship. An addictive behavior. A regrettable past. An unchartered future. Though within each of these scenarios there may be a plethora of underlying circumstances fueling the flames and fires of one’s fears, today’s study From Fear to Freedom is going to reveal to us that there is one essential component necessary within each context that can help you and me champion the way to coming to the end of our fears. This essential constituent to which I refer: Faith.
The presence of faith is not a life void of fear.
Rather…
Faith is the conduit through which I can successfully journey from fear to freedom.
We have already spent a tremendous amount of time dissecting in a very detailed manner so very much Old Testament Scripture in the first 5 weeks of this study on the life of Moses – From Fear to Freedom. Before we continue, I want to take a pause and offer some personal thoughts of reflection on our journey thus far with Moses and too on where we are to journey next.
I do not know about you, but I have already learned so very much about Egyptian history, the Pharaoh, what it means to be a “fine child,” The Reed Sea and so much more I did not fully know before beginning this series of teaching. And it’s just going to get even more thick and robust as we move forward. Y’all, I am confident that this study of the life of Moses will increasingly become more and more applicable for your life; your home life; your career life; your ability to establish Godly parameters over how you manage your household, your finances, and your private life. You see… we are going to see as we journey with Moses that, though his un-traditional life is one of a completely different landscape than ours today, it too is a life full of adventure and excitement that is also ours for the taking! And there is a life-lesson in this biblical hero’s expeditions that is extremely practical and applicable to my life and yours at every step of the way from fear to freedom.
Moses avoids a certain death by drowning to a life of the privileged. His life journey takes him from slave quarters to private quarters and then to the desert and even more into the desert. Yet, at times, Moses will feel lonely, deserted, misunderstood, and unworthy. He too will experience the fear of being rejected or overtaken by not only the leader of the world’s largest empire, but too by his own people. He will question his circumstances; his abilities; God. He will even allow his fears to supersede his patience, and inevitably and most regrettably he will allow one such decision to cost him the privilege of ever stepping into the promised land along with nation of Israel.
Moses is not a perfect man.
Moses is a flawed leader.
Moses too... is a man ferociously faithful.
And I pray as we continue to journey with him from Fear to Freedom, that you and I too become such a people of faith. This is why I love deep dives into Scripture because here is what happens:
Supernaturally through God’s Word, we immerse ourselves into these very real moments in time, even time from thousands of years ago… and as we examine the Holy Word, we too find a message customized for each of our hearts.
No two people here in this room, or watching via our stream, will receive this teaching in the same way. And this is what is so unique about God’s Words… Words written many years ago, yet just as rich and robust and rewarding as your morning cup of coffee… or iced tea! I find this to be most truly supernatural and equally stimulating…
The reality that God’s Word, of which I am so privileged to read, and by which I am encouraged to study, and through which I am inspired to pray, and upon which, too, I am called to live; words that were God-breathed by over 40 authors over the course of 1,500 years; words written thousands of years ago, yet too are words that are not merely stories but are actual events in the lives of actual people who walked this very planet. These words have been given to me, as the very words of God. Words of life. Real. Remarkable. Resilient. Relevant. Words that too are extremely intimate and personal and inspiring and convicting, yet still are very tangible and intricately specific to my struggles as a human, and even more specifically, as a follower of the Christ. This is why the Psalmist can say this of God’s Holy Word:
Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Psalm 119:89
This is why the Prophet Isaiah can say this about the words of God:
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. Isaiah 40:8
And even Jesus, when speaking of the present universe, including the earth and even the heavens, reveals to us that it will one day all pass away. But God’s word never will!
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 25:35
I additionally want to offer a few personal reflections on what I have enjoyed thus far in the From Fear to Freedom series with Moses. As you consider this, I am confident you too will agree…Each week, our time of teaching has been truly unique. We spent one Sunday essentially reading over 100 different Old Testament scriptures as we journeyed through the Genesis with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, and Joseph. We spent another Sunday talking practically about sibling rivalries, forgiveness, and grace as we examined the very real and differing struggles Jacob and Esau had with their parents, among one another, and with God.
We too spent time connecting the dots from the covenant God made with Abraham throughout the Old Testament timeline of the birth of his son Isaac, the moment he almost killed his son to honor the will of God, the birth of Isaac's sons Jacob and Esau, and the moment where the two parted ways, only to later reunite near Jabbok the morning after God changed Jacob's name to Israel. Additionally, we spent time several weeks ago dissecting the very hard and difficult, yet truly anointed, life of Joseph and the journey the original Hebrew family made to Egypt, pre-destined by the hand of God to become foreigners in a foreign land all to complete God’s divine plan to one day bring His people back to the land of Canaan.
Last week, we discussed in tremendous detail 5 Fascinating Scenarios that laid the very foundation upon which we are about to embark as Moses is soon to stand before the very Jehovah God on holy ground and speak to a bush that is on fire! How very wild and thrilling! In each of these studies, we have been educated and challenged and thrilled and convicted and often left in awe over how all of this does not merely make for a beautiful read… but instead clearly articulates to us, God’s people, the Church:
God’s redemptive story for humanity collides at a critical juncture with the life of Moses. And to fully understand my life story of pain and sorrow and the uncertainty over the unknown, I am called to journey with Moses from fear to freedom.
Now… as this story speaks to the greater picture of the entirety of the nation of Israel, it too is necessary for me to remind you - - this story is not merely a story of one man. Church… we must remember this as we move forward. Instead, this one man’s personal story is intricately weaved in the lives of over 2 million Hebrews. And how he lives, so they will follow. This is why the awareness over, and greater development of, our personal leadership skill-sets and decision-making principles are going to be ever-before us as we journey with Moses in-particular through the wilderness. For, this too is a story of multitudes of people who are immersed in fear.
As I consider the nation of Israel at the time of Moses’ life, I cannot help but too consider humanity today…Lost. Bewildered. Nervous. Anxious. Alone. Abused. Slaves to personal sins and selfish ambitions… and so very, very many living in fear. You see…As I walk hand in hand with the people of Israel being led through a most difficult time by Moses, I too am going to learn how I can walk hand in hand with people today and lead them though their own personal wilderness.
I have already gleaned so very much as to how I can practically take these teachings from events happening thousands of years ago and apply them to my personal life today as a man, a husband, a father, a son, a friend, and a pastor. I want to encourage you to continue to do the same as we lean into what are going to be some amazing moments in Scripture that too will be very difficult reads for us to digest. I am reminded of the words of the Psalmist, who wrote in a time when fear seemed to define his very life:
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:4-5
I did not enter my week of study presuming I would have taken the take time today to reflect on the past 5 weeks of study with you. But as I began to study, I realized:
Though life can be daunting and dark and desperate and dire… I am not alone in facing my fears.
I want to offer a historical timeline of Moses’ life so that, as we move forward, you have this chronological order ever before you.
AGE EVENT
Birth Moses is rescued by midwives
3 months Moses is rescued while in the reeds and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter
40 years Moses kills an Egyptian and flees to Midian
80 years God commissions Moses at the burning bush; Israel is rescued from Egypt
120 years Moses dies on Mount Nebo in Moab
The attribute of faith takes center stage in the life story of Moses from moment one. We have seen this in the way in which Shiphrah and Puah defied the will of the Pharaoh and did not kill male babies at birth. We continue to see faith on full display when Moses’ mother, upon seeing that her son is a “fine” child, hides him for three months. We once again see this faith in the way in which Moses’ older sister, Miriam, steps into a potentially dangerous and too extraordinarily intimate environment while the King of Egypt’s daughter is bathing in the Nile.
How does all of this connect to our lives today here in America. Well, it’s quite simple: Whether encountering a brutal and murderous dictator such as was the Pharoah of Moses’ time, or navigating life today as a student, or parent, grandparent, employee, or business owner, and on and on…
It is impossible to live a life completely void of fear. How I learn, and then choose, to properly exercise faith amidst my fears is what truly defines my character.
As we conclude “Episode 1” this morning, let’s venture deeper into the faith aspect of this story!
Three Faith Conduits From Fear to Freedom
1. A remnant by faith. In 1445BC, the nation of Egypt was a dry landscape. This would be expected in a land whose annual rainfall is less than 80 millimeters. In Cairo, it’s even less. On average, Egyptians living in the nation’s capital, are the recipients of less than 10 millimeters of water each year. Imagine heat. A lot of heat. Egypt has a climate that is dry, hot, and dominated by dessert. Wind blows from the north off of the Mediterranean Sea. However, by the time the wind picks up from the waters and begins moving South across Egypt, any moisture left in the air is consumed and conquered by sand and dust and heat. One’s skin is mostly sunbaked; course; dehydrated.
Of course, Egypt’s most dreadful deficiency is that of a spiritual nature. The nation of Egypt was not merely environmentally dry during the time of Moses. It too, more significantly, was immersed in a spiritual drought. At the time of the birth of Moses, the nation of Israel has been in Egypt for 430 years, spending 400 of these years oppressed in misery and whips and blood and death. What resulted was a spiritual barrenness of God’s people. It is quite possible that a majority of these 2 million plus people had retained little to no memory of the God of Abraham who had promised His people, the nation of Israel, the stars. The nation of Israel had no written Scriptures to study as we do today. They had no dominant place of worship nor even an established priesthood.
So, it truly makes sense to me that, not surprisingly, the nation of Israel, though God’s people, did not live as God’s people. We will soon see evidence after evidence of this reality in their conduct after being rescued from hundreds of years of slavery, led safely out of Egypt and across dry land through the Reed Sea. Yet, we will see that the Israelites will not be faithful to God even after the Exodus and the many, so very many miracles God will perform daily before their eyes. These people will turn to idols and turn to one another and turn from Moses and complain, and mourn, and curse all that God has done for them in freeing them from Egyptian captivity!
Knowing these realities is what makes it all the more special as we will understand through this story the remarkable display of faith we see among Moses’ family in a dry and dreadful spiritual drought consuming mostly the entire nation. This first faith conduit is a remnant of faith. Do you know what a remnant is?
Remnant = A left-over amount from a larger portion or piece; food; material; a group of people.
Although remnants could be looked upon as worthless scraps to many people, God often assigns a high value to those of His people whom He has set aside for holy purposes, those He labels as “remnants” in several places in the Bible. Noah and his family were remnants upon which God re-inhabited humanity after the great flood. Lot and his two daughters survived the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, a very small remnant, in Genesis 19. In 1 Kings, when Elijah despaired that he was the only one left in Israel who had not bowed down to idols, God assured him that He had reserved a remnant of 7,000:
Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him. 1 Kings 19:18
We even see a remnant of food leftover in the story of the feeding of 5,000 in the New Testament. A variety of remnant moments have repeatedly appeared in God’s redemptive story of humanity throughout Scripture. In the second chapter of Exodus, there is one remnant among a multitude of peoples – a remnant of a family – a husband, a wife, and two children who together are about to experience the ride of a lifetime with the newest addition to their family – the one who is to be “drawn from the water” is born – Moses. The family of Moses is the remnant upon which the nation of Israel is to be saved. Moses’ parents are Amram and Jochebed.
Amram /Hebrew/ = Exalted people
We do not find Amram’s name in Exodus 2. But we do read it on several occasions in Old Testament genealogies in Exodus 6, Numbers 3, and 1 Chronicles 6 to name a few places. As we discussed last week, Amram was from the tribe of Levi, and he lived to be 137 years old.
Jochebed /Hebrew/ = The honor of Jehovah
What a very significant name! How supernatural it is to think that long before baby Moses is set afloat among the reeds, his grandparents gave his mother a name that truly encapsulates the calling on this Hebrew slave’s life. To bring honor to the Jehovah God through pushing past her fears, exercising a willingness immersed in faith to let go of her child, to bring a nation of foreigners in a foreign land to find freedom once again in Canaan.
The name of Moses’s mother too is not mentioned here in Exodus 2. Her name appears only twice in all of the Bible, first in Exodus 6 and then again in Numbers 26. Interestingly, Jochebed too was of the tribe of Levi. She was actually her husband’s father’s sister. Yes, you are putting two plus two together correctly. This means that Amram’s wife, Jochebed, was also his aunt. Now… before you question this marriage and assume there is a little bit of Tennessee backwoods redneck in this story… It is not until Leviticus chapter 18 where such marriages between close relatives are forbidden by God. Though Scripture reveals to us very little about the spiritual temperature of these Israeli families, we can examine the character of this family and easily surmise again…The family of Moses is the remnant upon which the nation of Israel is to be saved.
2. A family of faith. Go back with me quickly to Exodus 2 when Moses’ mother sends her daughter, Miriam, to the riverbanks of the crocodile infested waters of the Nile to watch what happens next when Moses is set afloat in the reeds of the water.
Genesis 2:3-4
The Nile River, though both shallow and narrow in many places, is considered to be one of the most dangerous rivers on the planet. Why? Two animals: Crocodiles and Hippopotamuses. Every day, at least one person is attacked by one of these animals on, or near, the Nile. The average length of a Nile crocodile: 20 feet. The average weight of one of these beasts of animals: 900 pounds. The average length of a Nile Hippopotamus: 16 feet. The average weight of a Nile Hippopotamus: 9,960 pounds. So, why here? Why the Nile? Why in the world would Moses’ mother place her son in such a perversely dangerous environment? Isn’t this unthinkable on her part? Isn’t this irrational? Well…
The unthinkable is not irritational when faith to see God do the unimaginable is in the mix.
Moses’ mother was not expecting her son to die that day! No, she expected more from God and therefore, though I presume she too felt extreme fear on this day, she did not allow these immense fears to supersede her even more immense faith.
Faith, if I lean into it, can empower me to do the unthinkable as I wait with anticipation to watch God to do the unimaginable.
Miriam too, as we discussed in detail last week, standing there as a young girl, most likely not even yet a teenager, steps in at the precise moment to say the perfect words to maintain control of an impossible situation. And at a time when, I presume, every other Hebrew-slave family was consumed with fear, this family made level-headed and well calculated decisions. It is obvious this family was a family determined to walk step in step with God.
Again, to which I referenced earlier, we first see this in the names given to Moses’ parents. There is strong and conclusive evidence that, for generations, this Levite family honored Jehovah God. After all, the names Amram and Jochebed are spiritual names. Therefore, their parents too must have been parents who feared the Lord and desired to honor Him even through the names of their offspring. We even read hundreds of years later when, Paul speaking of spiritual heroes from the Bible applauds the parents of Moses and the faith by which they lived:
By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. Hebrews 11:23
I’ve thought of Miriam often this week as I have imagined this young girl, while holding her breath watching the King of Egypt’s daughter hold her younger brother. Was she nervous? I would say, “Yes!” Did she have to work to hold back her tears? I would say, “Absolutely yes!” How? How was this young girl so very brave in such a fear-consuming moment? I believe: Her parents! Parents, what a great take-home for us today… to remember: My child is learning to face their fears by watching how I exercise my faith. The faith of my child is established in how he or she watches my faith, or lack thereof, on display in our home. What a responsibility! What a responsibility I cannot, I must not, take lightly.
Lastly, I will offer you this thought on faith. Not only do we clearly see a remnant of faith, and a family of faith in this story, but we too see a:
3. A pain amidst faith. Through now 30 years of ministry, 29 years of marriage, almost 22 years of parenting, and about-to-be 4 years of pastoring at Donelson First, Amy and I can say we have had many, so very many pains both personally and professionally; situations and scares and frustrations and disappointments and let downs and spiritual battles and very visible attacks from the great deceiver involving a plethora of scenarios.
As I have traveled the world doing ministry since 1994, and too have struggled with immense health issues consuming most of my body, and too the weight those of us in ministry carry as to the burdens our church family and friends share prayerfully with us, notwithstanding the toll life takes on us all, y’all know this, as it relates to jobs and neighbors and paying bills and losing loved ones and parenting and on and on.
In full transparency, even as your Pastor (and speaking on behalf of a Pastor’s wife I know very well), I can vulnerably admit much of ministry life can leave us feeling very abused and raw, and too, most depleted and, honestly, at times, feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated. In this series From Fear to Freedom, what has drawn me in to very relatable emotions in this study is the, at times, seemingly overwhelming pain these people experienced – people who know God; people who have spent time with God; people who believe in God; people who devotedly love God.
Abraham carries unimaginable pain for three days believing he was about to kill his son – his only son. Isaac carried the pain of realizing his son and wife betrayed him deceitfully convincing him to give his blessing to the wrong son. Jacob is burdened for most of his life consumed in guilt and the pain of betraying his brother and lying to his father. Joseph is sold into slavery. He is falsely accused of a crime and spends many years in jail. Yet, if that pain is not unbearable enough, his greatest pain has to be that of living most of his life feeling betrayed and unaccepted and unloved by his brothers, and too, believing he will never again see the father whom he loves. Joseph’s brothers too live with unimaginable guilt and pain over selling their brother into Egyptian slavery and then lying to their father about it convincing him his son is dead. How in the world did those sons live all of those years with such pain?
And then, consider a Hebrew slave mother, Moses’ mother, who upon realizing she is pregnant, daily awakes, if ever really sleeping, for 9 months consumed with the pain of knowing if, the child inside of her is in fact a baby boy, she would soon see his dead body floating in the Nile. And even after his birth, consumed with fear for three months over his cries being heard by “all the nation” of people commanded by the Pharaoh to kill every Hebrew baby boy.
And, if all of this were not enough, imagine… imagine the moment when those palace gates closed. On the inside of that palace a young Hebrew boy would go to bed among royalty in a home with people of whom he does not know and among people of whom he does not love. In one instant, Moses doesn’t merely change zip codes. He changes planets.
What a change of scenery! From an overly crowded one-room home of clay and dirt and sweat and meager means to a large multi-room palace of stone and gold and incense and insane wealth. Moses immediately was removed from the simple and familiar to the strange and foreign. How painful must have all of this been for young Moses and his mother and his two siblings and his father! As I have seen in my life, and I too see in the journey of God’s people through the Old Testament…
Pain is almost always a close companion of faith. Faith is the conduit from fear to freedom.
God did not remove pain from this story. And, Church, we are going to see that pain really never leaves the story. Why? Because of this reality Church:
God often allows me to suffer greatly over my earthly pursuits in order for His heavenly plans to succeed.
But remember, as we will continue to see…
Through this pain, there will never be a moment I journey from fear to freedom alone.
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Jeffrey Dean Smith is a husband, father to Bailey & Brynnan, author, and the Senior Pastor at Donelson First in Nashville, TN. If you are in Music City, meet Jeffrey and enjoy iced tea on the front lawn each Sunday at 10:30a.