The Fear of God, Part 1

Isaiah 8. 13 says this, It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy, and he shall be your fear, and he shall be your dread. Today, we need to be able to capture or recapture some of that holy terror. That's why we have spent over 20 weeks talking about God, His essence. Who he is, describing his holiness, his grace, his mercy, his wrath, his justice, his presence, his power. His omniscience, and so forth, that somehow we might be able to grasp this God in whom we serve and whom we are to know.

Tonight and next week, we want to spend our time specifically talking about what the Bible says about the fear of God.

Over the last 20-some weeks, we've talked about the essence of God. We've explored that essence, trying to help you understand who is this God we worship and serve. But as we begin to close out this season of time, we want to talk about specifically the fear of God, and then we'll close out with what it means to worship. That God in weeks to come. But what is the fear of God? That's main point number one.

And after we answer that question, we're going to answer why should we fear God? Number one, the reason we fear God is because it is the key to knowledge and wisdom.

It is the key to knowledge and wisdom. Proverbs chapter 1, verse number 7, says this: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and inst. Now you must note that when you read through the book of Proverbs, the word Wisdom, understand, knowledge, instruction are pretty much all synonyms used by Solomon to describe what we should be doing. And the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

The first step. To knowing God, the first step in understanding God, the first step in receiving the wisdom of God, the first step in being instructed in God is to fear God.

Warren We, in his book, Be Skillful, says this about the fear of God. If we truly fear the Lord, we acknowledge from our hearts that He is the Creator. We're the creatures. He's the father. We're his children. He's the master. We're the servants. It means to respect God for who he is, to listen carefully to what he says, and to obey his word, knowing that our disobedience displeases him. breaks our fellowship with him and invites his chastening. It's not the ser fear of the slave before the master, but the reverential and respectful fear of the child before the parent.

Children fear not only because their parents can hurt them, but also because they can hurt the parents. Proverbs 13, 13 admonishes us to fear God's commandments, which suggests that the way we treat our Bible is the way we treat. God in quotes. Two kinds of people: those who fear God and those who are fools before God. Those are the only two kinds of people in the world. I trust that you are a feare. God. Over in Proverbs chapter 15, verse number 33, it reads as follows: The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom. Over in Psalm 111, verse number 10: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all those who do his commandments. Job said this in Job 28, verse number 28. Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to depart from evil is understand. Number two, it is the knowledge of God himself.

To fear God is actually the knowledge of God Himself. Proverbs chapter 2, verse number 5 reads as follows. We'll begin with verse number one.

My son, if you will receive my sayings and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding. For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures, then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge. God. Proverbs chapter 9, verse number 10, reads as follows: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the Holy One is understand.

Wisdom and understanding are parallel statements. The fear of the Lord and knowledge of the Holy One are parallel. So you need to understand that the fear of the Lord is the actual Understanding and knowledge of God Himself. The reason most people don't understand and know God is because they don't fear God. To fear God is to know God. When you know him, you'll fear him. If you don't fear him, you don't know him. That is so clear in the scriptures. The pursuit of our culture is to know ourselves.

We're not into knowing God, we're into knowing ourselves. Well, that's a futile pursuit. Why? Because the Bible says that your heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, no man can know it.

So when you pursue to know yourself, you will come up empty because there's no way you can really know the true self. What we need to do is pursue God. Know God. If you know God, you will have a clear understanding of yourself. So you must pursue God, and that is to fear God. And therefore, you will receive the knowledge of the Holy One. Therefore, you will be able to discern accurately and biblically what you are in relation to a holy God. Number three.

What does it mean to fear God? It means that you respect, or you have respect, for the power of God's word. If you fear God, you have an awesome respect for the power of God's word. Psalm 33. Verse number eight and nine record this: Let all the earth fear the Lord. That all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. So if you fear God, you will stand in awe of Him, you will marvel at Him. You will wonder about him. Verse number nine: For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood f.

The Bible says that when you fear God, you are going to have an awesome respect for the word of God. God spoke the universe into existence, Genesis chapter 1. Ten times it says in Genesis chapter 1 that God spoke and it happened. God spoke and it happened. If you read Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 3. It says, by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. We understand that everything came into existence because God spoke it into existence. The man of faith understands that.

If you go back to Hebrews chapter 1, verse number 3, you realize that it's a power of God's word that sustains and maintains everything that he spoke into existence. So his word is powerful enough to create. His word is powerful enough to sustain. And if you read 1 Peter 1:2, you realize that people are born again. By the living and abiding Word of God. So people are born again, are regenerated, are converted because of the Word of God. People who fear God have a holy and awesome respect for the power of God's holy word.

This is so important. We have missed the boat on this in evangelicalism today. When Jonathan Edwards preached his sermon, Sin in the Hands of an Angry God, he preached it in a monotone voice for hours. And people fell on their faces before God and repented of their sins. Do you think that a preaching was irrelevant? That Paul would have told Timothy: listen, Timothy, in latter days, you got to change some things. Don't do what we did. No, he said, continue in the things in which you have learned and in which you have received.

Why? Because the word of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God will be thoroughly equipped. Thoroughly furnished, excellent, being the kind of person that God wants him to be without the preaching of the word of God, then we will minimize the power of God in the local church. And so we need to understand that when a person fears God, what he is actually saying is that I have a holy respect. For the power of God's word, faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God.

When people hear the word of God, that's what saves a soul. God uses the word that's living, active, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword to pierce the heart and soul of a person, that they somehow might understand the truth of God's Holy Word. So, a person who fears God has an awesome respect for the Word of God. If God can use His Word to speak things into existence, if He uses His Word to transform a sinner into a saint, Why should we then diminish His Word when it comes to equipping and training people on how to deal with everyday life?

The power of the Word of God is so important. The fourth one, what does it mean to fear God? It means that there is a respect for the power of God's Word. To fear God means that there is a knowledge of God Himself. To fear God is the key to knowledge and wisdom. And fourthly, to fear God. What does it mean? It means that you hate sin. It means that you hate sin. Proverbs chapter 8, verse number 13. Says this: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth I hate.

What does it mean to fear the Lord? What does it mean to fear God? It means that you have a hatred. For evil Proverbs chapter 16, verse number 6 says this: By the fear of the Lord, one keeps away From evil by the fear of the Lord, one keeps away from evil. You show me a man who was concerned about holiness and concerned about purity and concerned about living a sinless life. I'm going to show you a man who really truly fears God. You show me a man who doesn't care that much about what he does, what he says, where he goes, and I'll show you a man who doesn't understand the fear of God.

It's very simple. To fear God means that you hate evil. Our culture tolerates sin. Our culture has redefined sin. We've candy coated sin. But the man who fears God has a hatred for it. But it is the hatred of sin, all sin, anything that would cause another brother to stumble. Anything that would cause another brother to fall into sin, you hate. That's what it means to fear God. Next. What does it mean to fear God? To fear God is a fountain of life. Is a fountain of life. Proverbs 14, verse number 26 says this: In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have refuge.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may avoid the snares of de. Deliverance and life are made available to those who fear. The Lord. It's a fountain of life. It's a fountain that never ends. It's an unending succession of life that satisfies an individual. It says over in Proverbs chapter 19, verse number 23, these words: The fear of the Lord leads to life. So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. Isn't that good? How many of you go to sleep satisfied at night? The Bible says that the fear of the Lord leads to life.

And if you have that life, you will sleep satisfied. And you will be untouched by evil. Those are good words for those who fear God. Next, to fear God is to hope. In the Lord. Proverbs 23, verse number 17 says this: Do not let your heart envy sinners. But live in the fear of the Lord always. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. When you fear the Lord, you have hope in the Lord. When you fear God, you have a secure future. So important to understand. Isn it not true that sometimes we envy the sinners?

We envy why they have it so good. We envy why the fact that they seem to go unscathed through life. Kind of go through on an easy street, and no problem seemed to come their way. And there could be a touch of envy that wells up in our hearts and in our souls because we think that we've got it worse than they did. Yet the Bible's very clear. That you should not envy sinners, but live in the fear of God always. They don't fear God. They don't care about God. But you should fear God always. Because with fear in God, there is a future.

For you. For those who do not fear him, their future is one of separation from God. Proverbs chapter 15, verse number 16, says this: Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure. And turmoil with it. Point number two: why should I fear God?

Very quickly. Number one, it prolongs your days. When you fear God, it prolongs your days. Proverbs chapter 10. Proverbs chapter 10, verse number 27. The fear of the Lord prolongs life. But the years of the wicked will be shortened. Can't get any clearer than that. Right? The fear of the Lord prolongs life. But the days of the wicked will be cut off. They will be shortened. There's something about living long. There's something about living a well life. Not necessarily as longevity as much as quality of life.

And we know that if you fear the Lord, which I really believe is the Old Testament's equivalent to New Testament salvation. That is, when you fear God, you are a saved person. The unbeliever doesn't fear God. The unbeliever isn't saved. But to fear God, when you read through the book of Proverbs, you understand that to fear God is to have real, true, saving faith. Because is it not true that the true believer who loves God and is saved from sin hates sin? Does he not have a hope in the future? Sure, he does.

Does he not have a knowledge of God? And does he seek to pursue God and understand God? And does he or she not have a fountain of life welling up within them? Sure, they do. So you must understand that the fear of God prolongs life. Number two, it protects our lives.

Proverbs 14. 26 and 27. We just read it a minute ago, a minute ago. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death. Verse number 26: In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have refuge. Isn't that good? When you fear God, do you know that your children will have refuge? Your children will be protected. That is so good to know as a parent. Think back with me to Am and Jac. They are the parents of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses. These people feared God.

Read Hebrews chapter 11. You understand that they did not fear the king's edict. Right? So what do they do? They put Moses in a little basket in the Nile River. Instead of drowning him in the Nile River like all the kids were to be drowned that day, they put him in a little basket because they didn't fear the king, they feared God. They didn't fear man, they feared God. And because they feared God, their children were protected. And you realize that Aaron became the first high priest of Israel.

Miriam was a great prophetess. And Moses, he was the greatest leader known to man in the Old Testament. He was the great Old Testament leader. And it says in Hebrews chapter 11 that he too did not fear the king's edict. He did not flee Egypt because he was afraid of what the king said. He chose rather to suffer the affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. He was protected. He was watched over. Why? Because he had parents who were from the ghetto and Goshen.

They didn't have anything to give their kids. They didn't have a retirement plan to put their kids through college and the best schools around and let them drive the best chariots on the block and have the greatest luxuries of all the other kids growing up. But they feared God, and those kids were protected because they feared God. And they became great people to be used of God in a mighty way because their parents feared God. If you're a parent tonight, fear God. Not only does it prolong your life, but it protects us.

It protects your children. God's going to bless you. God's going to be your shield. That's why you fear God. And that's why you don't have to fear man. Because God says, if you fear me and don't fear man, I will protect you.

I will be your shield. I will be your guard. I will be your guardian. I will be everything that you need. You just fear me. Honor me. Respect me. Serve me. Number three, it provides for all of our needs.

Psalm 33:1 and 19 say this. Psalm 33, verse number 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope for his loving kind, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. If you fear God, He is going to provide every one of your needs. In the midst of a famine, He's going to take care of you. In the midst of all the Y2K problem, God will protect you. God will watch over you. You can do all the storing up you want. You can buy all the bottled water you want.

You can dig a well in your backyard, all you want. But if you fear God, you have nothing to fear because God will watch over you in the day of famine. Fear God, don't fear Y2. That 's the message of the Bible. If you want to know what I think about that, that's what I think about that. All right? It says over in Psalm 34, verses 8 and 10, these words: O taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in the Lord. Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints. For to those who fear him, there is no what?

No want. The young lions you lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. All you got to do is Fear God. All you got to do is submit to Him. All you got to do is understand who He is, know Him, hate sin, pursue wisdom, pursue instruction. Fear God, He will be your deliverer, He will be your shield, He will be your protector, He will watch over you and do everything that you need because God promises that. I trust that you believe that. Number four, it pleases the Lord.

To fear God, why should you please him? It protects us. It provides for all of our needs. It prolongs our days. And fourthly, it pleases the Lord. Psalm 147. Psal 14, verse number 10 and 11 says this. He does not delight in the strength of the horse. He does not take pleasure in the legs of man. The Lord favors those who fear him, those who wait for his loving kind. God is not interested in your military might. God is not interested in your human strength. God is not interested in how many horses you can ride.

God is not interested in how much you can stockpile to show how powerful you are. Why? Because those mean nothing to an all-powerful God. The only thing God cares about and what pleases God is that you f him. If you want to please God, fear him, and you will please him. Next, it provides special blessings. From the Lord. If you fear God, He will provide for you special blessings. Over in Psalm 25, verses 12 to 14, it says this. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

Verse number 14. The secret of the Lord is for those who fear him. He will make them know his covenants. Listen very carefully. When you fear God, he gives you keen insight into the scriptures. You ever read the Bible and realized we were going never get anything out of it? You ever said, you, I read my Bible week after week after week after week, and I don't get anything out of it. It could be that you don't fear God. Because if you fear God, the Bible says that the secret things of God are going to be revealed to you.

He is going to give you keen insight into the scriptures. The key is, do you fear him? Look what it says over in Psalm 128. I love this one. Psalm 128 about those who fear God and how he provides a special blessing for you. How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord. Verse number one, who walks in his ways, when you shall eat of the fruit of your hands.

You will be happy, and it will be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house. Your children like olive plants around your table. Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. God says, if you fear me, four things happen.

Your fortune will change, your feelings will change, your future will change, and your family will change. If you want to see things happen in your family, you fear me. You want to see things happen with your fortune? You fear me. You want to see things happen with your future? You fear me. You want to see things happen with your feel Feelings and your emotions, you. Fear me because that is the blessed man. I'm going to provide all of your needs, and there will be a special blessing for me if you do one thing, and that is fear the Lord.

And lastly, it promises future salvation. It promises future salvation. Malachi chapter 3, verse number 16. Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the Lord and to esteem his name. And they will be mine, says the Lord of hosts. on the day that I prepare my own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.

He promises future salvation. God says, there's a book of remembrance. That I write those people's names in who fear me. Because everything they do is worth noting down. Everything they do is so treasured that they are my own valuables. They are my own possessions. And I want to make sure that I treasure up everything that they do because one day I want to let everybody know what my people have done. And God says, You fear me?

I promise you a future with me. A future that's way more than you can ever imagine, way more than you can ever dream of, because I am your God and you are my people.