This morning we’re going to talk about the new year and how to face it without fear . . . because fear brings panic. (Remember those famous words, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”) Fear causes us to think and to act in an irrational manner, to make irrational decisions. Fear paralyzes; it imprisons. It enslaves us. Fear is one of the most powerful weapons in the arsenal of our enemy. But listen to what God said through the Apostle Paul in II Timothy 1:7: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” I heard the story of some men who were on a leaky old ship in the middle of a rough and stormy sea. They didn’t know if they were going to sink or not. One sailor asked, "Captain, are we safe?" The captain replied, “I’ll put it this way. The boilers on this ship are old and may explode at any moment. The ship is old and taking on water. To be honest, we may sink at any moment. We may go up, or we may go down, but at any rate, we are going on.” That’s how we face the coming year. Jesus may come, and we may go up. We may die and go down (into the grave) and then up. But, at any rate, we are going on. We are facing a brand new year, and none of us knows what it will bring. Did anything happen in 2021 that you didn’t expect, that you had not planned for? Do you have the coming year “all planned out?” I have news for you. Things may not go as planned. James 4:13-15 gives a warning to all those who “plan out” their lives and think things will go as planned. "Go to now” is a phrase that says, “come on, now;” “look here;” “listen up.” (He’s getting our attention.) These had life all planned out – “Today or tomorrow we’ll go into a certain city. We will stay a year, and through our merchandising, we are going to make a fine profit.” But look at what James says (vs. 14), “You don’t know about tomorrow, and what it will bring.” We often sing, "I Don’t Know About Tomorrow.” The chorus says, "Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand; but I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know Who holds my hand.” So James says, “You ought to say, if the Lord wills, I’ll go here and there and do this or that.” And, he reminded them that life is momentary. It is a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow. Mankind has an inbred fear of the future, a fear of the unknown. The old map makers, before there were satellites and GPS, etc. would draw maps only as far out as they had been, as they had explored. When they reached the limit of their exploration, they would not know what lay beyond. You can see on old maps they would write, “Beyond this there may be dragons.” They feared the uncharted. They were afraid of what lay beyond the limits of their knowledge. And, if you will look at some of the old maps you will see the sea monster in the ocean. Man, by nature, has a dread, a fear of the future. It’s something we all face, whether young or old, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. We wonder, “What is going to happen tomorrow?” That’s why people spend millions of dollars each year on fortune tellers, on psychics and prognosticators. That’s why many read their horoscopes each day and trust fortune cookies and tea leaves, etc. Fear has no racial bias; it is endemic to all people, and yet God wants us to have a future without fear. In order to have a future without fear, there are at least 4 things you need: 1) Contentment; 2) Companionship; 3) Confidence; 4) Comfort. We will see these things today as we examine the text we have just read. First of all we need:

  I.  THE CONTENTMENT OF HIS PROVISIONS – VS. 5.

 II.  THE COMPANIONSHIP OF HIS PRESENCE – VS. 5.

III. THE CONFIDENCE OF HIS PROMISE – VS. 5.

 IV.  THE COMFORT OF HIS PROTECTION – VS. 6.