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DOES ANYONE
FEAR GOD ANYMORE? MARCH 26, 2006
INTRODUCTION A group of army
chaplains were sitting around sharing stories of the various places they had
served. One of the group was a chaplain who had served in Viet Nam, and when he
was asked the question that many combat veterans have heard, "Were you afraid?"
he said what most of them do, "Of course--only the foolish were not afraid."
Everyone is afraid of something. We fear many things today. In fact, fear is a
growing industry, as people deal with phobias and fears that are both real and
imaginary. People fear disease and death and growing old and being alone and how
they look in the eyes of other people, rejection, humiliation, etc.
To be fair, not all kinds
of fear are harmful. In a positive way, fear can serve as an important alarm
system, warning or preparing us for impending danger. An adrenaline rush can
move us out of place of danger. Fear of burning ourselves on a burner can keep
us from putting our hands on a hot stove. But in a negative way, fear can also
paralyze us, causing us to freeze when we should fight or flee... causing us to
avoid people or things that mean us no harm.
In a time when fears seem
to be growing and becoming more numerous, there is only one fear that seems to
be disappearing from the face of our human consciousness, and ironically, it is
the one fear we are commanded to have- a proper fear of God.
Time was when it was the
general custom to speak of a believer as a "God-fearing man." Now I know that
this probably isn’t a popular topic today, even in many churches. We would
rather talk about love and gentleness and comfort and acceptance- all of which
are important parts of the gospel and what we ought to share with a hurting
world. But that isn’t all there is in the story.
A BIG
MISUNDERSTANDING The fear of God
or the fear of the Lord is a phrase that has been misunderstood and abused by
many:
- Before his conversion, Martin Luther was so petrified by God, he nearly grew
to hate Him. Luther had a picture of God that was distorted—he could only
envision God as the wrathful Judge; he later saw God as the loving, merciful
Father as well.
- Jonathan Edwards’ famous fire & brimstone sermon, "Sinners in the hands of an
angry God" had his congregation trembling, grasping the pews lest they tumble
into the very pit of hell itself. Some appraise Edwards soley on the basis of
this sermon and fail to see that he also preached on God’s grace.
(Examples today) “Do
this… don’t do that… or God will get you!”
But to say as disciples of Jesus Christ that we "fear" God does not mean we’re
afraid of Him in the boogey-man sense or the “I’ll crush you if you get out of
line” sense either. In fact, 2 Timothy 1:7
clarifies this, explaining that " God has not given
us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” So
what does it mean to fear the Lord?
Definition- The fear of God is an awesome respect or reverence growing
out of the greatness and power of God. To revere God as we ought- yes as the one
who loves and embraces and forgives… but what makes these attributes so powerful
is to realize that they work together with His wrath, His purity, His holiness,
His power, and His overwhelming might. In fact, fear was one of the most common
responses to God in the Bible because when people encountered Him, they
encountered One who was so much beyond who they were, and greater than they
could comprehend. In giving the reason why we should fear God, the Bible points
out 2 simple truths:
WHY FEAR
GOD?
1- Because of Who He is:
Job 37- "God
is clothed with awesome splendor and majesty. The Almighty--we cannot imagine
His power. He is great in justice and abundant righteousness in His dealings
with men. No wonder men everywhere fear Him!"
Perhaps no one has captured the character of God better than C.S. Lewis in his
Chronicles of Narnia, In these books he portrays Jesus Christ as a lion, as John
does in Revelation chapter 5. The lion is a figure fierce and powerful, yet
tender. His splendor is dazzling. His wrath is terrible, yet His love and
tenderness are infinite. To be in His presence was awesome. Quoting Lewis: "As
the Lion passed by they were terribly afraid He would turn and look at them, yet
in some queer way they wished He would." Naturally one would be nervous meeting
a lion! The question was asked to one who knew this Lion well, "Is He safe?" The
answer? "Safe? Who said anything about safe? Of course He isn’t safe. But He’s
good. He’s the King."
This is a message we need to hear today. How irreverently we treat God! The
third commandment tells us not to take God’s name in vain. This means lightly,
loosely, irreverently. There’s a difference between saying God is our friend and
our "Good Buddy". The “god” many people talk about today sounds more like a
therapist or a social worker or a manager or a sales clerk- there’s nothing
wrong with these jobs, but that isn’t God!
Our motivation for fear grows out of an understanding of Who God is, because an
understanding of the character and attributes of God motivates respect and
reverence.
2- The fear of God is
commanded. Sometime take a Topical
Bible and just read over the verses regarding the "fear of God". It is amazing
how many times it is mentioned, and even encouraged! Let me read just a few:
Deut 10:12,
"What does the Lord require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in
all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord."
Eccl 12:13,
"Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man."
Psalm 33:8,
"Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in
awe of Him."
WHAT
EFFECT DOES A PROPER FEAR OF THE LORD HAVE IN OUR LIVES?
I think it’s important to understand
that having an appropriate fear of the Lord is the key to experiencing many of
the blessings that God offers to His people.
1- A proper fear of the
Lord brings Wisdom
Proverbs
1:7- Fear of the
Lord is the beginning of
knowledge. Proverbs 9:10-
Fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.
Proverbs 15:33-
Fear of the Lord teaches a person
to be wise; humility precedes honor.
If we reject God, we cut ourselves off from our only source of wisdom. We may be
wise in our own eyes, but we are foolish, trusting a twisted perspective, if we
do not fear the Lord.
2- A proper fear of the
Lord helps us reject Sin--When we
revere the Lord we keep ourselves from sin. Proverbs
16:6- Unfailing love and faithfulness
cover sin; evil is avoided by fear of the
Lord.
Annanias and Sapphira were
members of the early Christian church. They behaved in a deceitful way, and were
struck down by God. According to Acts 5:11,
"great fear came upon the whole church." Whenever we see God
chastening someone in His church when we see the results of sin both in the
lives of people and nations, and in what Jesus had to do to free us from it- it
should move us to Godly fear.
Hebrews
12:29
urges us, "Let us offer to God acceptable worship,
with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire."
What keeps you from
sinning? Fear of hellfire? If you’ve received Christ, His cleansing blood covers
your past, present, even future sins, so why not go for it? Because a proper,
informed understanding of God’s character, His sacrifice for us, and the
greatness of His grace motivates us- not out of fear that he will stop loving
you, but simply because of who He is.
3- A proper fear of the Lord empowers our witness- Acts
9:31-
The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it grew in
strength and numbers. The believers were walking in the fear of the Lord and in
the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:11-
It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to
persuade others.
4- A proper fear of the
Lord results in answered prayer.
Psalm 145:19,
"He fulfils the desire of all who fear Him." Are your prayers
characterized by reverence for the Almighty? If ever fear was beneficial, this
one is!
5- A proper fear of the
Lord can even prolong our lives! Proverbs
10:27- Fear of the
Lord lengthens one’s life, but the
years of the wicked are cut short.
Proverbs 14:27- Fear of the
Lord is a life-giving fountain; it
offers escape from the snares of death.
6- A proper fear of the
Lord brings us to repentance for Salvation-
many people who turn to Christ are fearful of hell. Hopefully that isn’t the
only reason, though it’s not a bad one (elaborate on salvation as Jesus
paying the sustitutionary penalty for our sins so we wouldn’t have to go to
hell).
- The unbeliever has every
reason to be panic-stricken at thoughts of God, for he stands condemned before
Him (Matt.
10:28; John 3:18).
-
Hebrews
10:31
tells us that "it is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God."
-
Jesus said,
"Fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." (10:28)
- The fear of God converted the shipmates of the prophet Jonah and later the
inhabitants of Nineveh.
CONCLUSION:
Proverbs 19:23- Fear of the
Lord gives life, security, and
protection from harm.
The fear of God is the one
fear that removes all others. As we cast our cares upon Him, we can become
fearless. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the fearsome Lord of Lord has this to
say to us: "Fear not, for I am with you. I will
never leave you nor forsake .let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid." (John 14) May we be
awed by a view of God's majesty, and have a vision of God's greatness, His
perfect holiness & righteousness, His irresistible power, His sovereign grace,
that causes us to revere, respect, and fear Him in a Biblical way.
(Portions of this message were inspired by a sermon by Chaplain (LTC) Robert
Leroe, 69th ADA Bde, Giebelstadt Army Airfield, Germany)
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