(Recite Matthew 7)
Those last words of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount give us a clear message, do they not?
What you and I do with the words of Jesus determines whether our lives will stand or fall. Today, I would like to take these final words of Jesus and apply them not just to us individually, but more specifically to how we build our homes, how we build our families, and we could expand that to how the church is built and how a nation is blessed. But let’s focus this time on our homes and families. First of all, Marriages founded on the foolishness of a foundation other than following Jesus Christ have a similar future to the fool that built his house on the sand, ultimate disaster. Second, raising children founded on the foolishness of any other foundation than the teachings of Jesus Christ are also destined to frustration and failure.
What is the secret of building a faithful family? Well, it begins with and is sustained by one thing: the fear of the Lord. What Jesus is teaching here is supposed to inspire a since of both blessing and fear. A promise of blessings of security and strength for those who live by Jesus words and warning that inspires a fear of disaster in all who would fail to follow Jesus’ teaching.
Marriages and families that hear God’s word and obey it, these have a sure foundation in Jesus Christ and a solid future when the trials come… And they will come. Marriages and families that fail to follow in the fear of the Lord… well, Jesus offers no hope or future for those that do so other than destruction.
To begin our lesson, please turn with me to the Old Testament book of Proverbs. Jesus echoes so much of the Old Testament, we must go there to hear the voice of God spoken to us as well.
Proverbs 14: 26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death. NASB
26 He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. NIV
The fear of the Lord…
How can fear build a strong confidence in us and a refuge for our children? How can fear build a secure fortress and, again, a refuge for our children? Don’t we usually think of fear as a bad thing? Isn’t fear associated with weakness instead of strong confidence or security? Well, it all depends on the object of our fears.
Take a piece of note paper from the pew and write down a list of the three things you are most afraid of.
Go ahead, do it. While you are doing that I’ll tell you what I found in the Old Testament about this. I looked up this word fear and there are several Hebrew words in the Old Testament that are translated “fear” Megorah – dread or terror, Pallatsuth – trembling, Yagor – dread, Pachad - terrified and, Yirah – fear or reverence (this word is almost always applied to fear of the Lord)
Job 28:28 And to man He said, ’Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’"
Psalms 19: 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psalms 34 ( A powerful Psalm about the blessing of the Fear of the Lord)
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. (Hebrew -magor: dread) 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. 20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. 22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Do you hear all these promises for those who fear the Lord? Just imagine the security God gives to those who fear Him.
Proverbs speaks of the fear of the Lord over and over, calling us to commit to it because it is the beginning of wisdom. It protects those who walk in it. Listen to chapter 8: 13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate. And 19: 23 The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. 22: 4 The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life. 23: 17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; 18 For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.
Perhaps the most surprising statement in the Old Testament about the fear of the Lord is this one from Isaiah 11: 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
Why is this surprising? Because this scripture is about Jesus, and it speaks of Jesus Christ delighting in the fear of the Lord.
Jeremiah 32: 37 "Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. 38 "And they shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39 and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good, and for the good of their children after them. 40 "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. 41 "And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
Now… you may wonder just how this applies to Matthew 7, or perhaps you see very clearly where this is going. Well, here’s the application that we must make, and let me state it in questions:
Did you know that whatever your biggest fear is controls your life? Jesus taught us in Matthew 10:28 not to fear those who can kill our bodies but not our souls, then Jesus said, “Fear Him, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Remember the famous line at the end of Ecclesiastes (12:13)? What is the whole duty of man?
Do you want faithful Christian children? Are you raising children who fear the Lord more than they fear anything else? Are our youth here more afraid of God or peer pressure? Are they more afraid of doing something to offend God or something that will make them look “un-cool.” Are they more afraid of God or what others think of them?
How can we teach the fear of the Lord to our children?
Parents, and especially fathers: do you tell your children things about your youth that show that you enjoyed doing things that were wrong? Do your children ever hear you talk about your sinful past and un-Christ-like behaviors and do you ever laugh about it or make light of it? If you do, what do you think they learn from you about the fear of the Lord? Don’t be surprised if they turn away from God. If God is not worthy of my fear, he is not worthy of my worship or obedience either.
Does the Bible not say that Love rejoices not in evil but rejoices in the truth? Do you love your children and want them to love God? Do you see what kind of foundation you are building their lives on when you treat the fear of the Lord lightly? How can you love your children if you rejoice in the things that are contrary to the image of God in Christ and share that with your children?
My dad was the best man I ever knew. He taught me the fear of the Lord in many ways, not the least of which was his example. My mom and dad used to do Bible studies with neighbors and friends a lot. Dad wasn’t perfect, but I knew he had a deep reverence for God. But I remember one particular time though after church, dad was talking to a couple of guys about work and he told about a phone conversation he had recently with someone way up in Chicago. Dad said that the guy up north was saying something about the weather being really cold and miserable and he asked dad how it was in Alabama. Dad said, “I just lied between my teeth and told him it was beautiful here!” And he laughed. I happened to hear that. When we got home my dad got a phone call. It seems that one of the men Dad told that to was a relative and visitor to our church and he was offended about my dad’s story and used it as an excuse not to come back to church with such hypocrites. I remember my dad wept about that and prayed for forgiveness and went to see the visitor whom he had offended to apologize and ask him not to let his sin stand between him and God. I saw my dad walking in the fear of the Lord. When he stumbled, he got up and kept going. His faithful walk with Jesus Christ in the fear of the Lord has built a refuge for me and that is my goal for my children and now my grandchildren.
If you have been treating your sinful past lightly, how do you think your kids will treat their sinfulness today?
Listen, the words of the Lord without the fear of the Lord builds hypocrisy not faithfulness. Do you know what Jesus said about sin in the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you, it is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you, it is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
Doesn’t that sound a lot like fearing the Lord? I believe that the fear of the Lord is the foundation of the Love of the Lord. I might possibly love a god I did not fear, but it would be a pitiful love, not a reverent one. But the Lord God, my Father, and Jesus Christ my Savior inspire me to both fear and love with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
Paul wrote 2 Cor. 5:10-11, 14
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men…
14 For the love of Christ controls us,
So… How do we teach our children the fear of the Lord? First, we must take Jesus words seriously and decide to build our lives on Jesus Christ and his teachings. Next, we must talk about the life and words of Jesus with our children. Also, we need to look on our sinful past as David did: "Remember not the sins of my youth!" When you remember your sins and talk about them, do it with shame not lightly with laughter and rejoicing! WHATEVER YOU LAUGH AND REJOICE IN, YOU CREATE DESIRE FOR IN THE HEARTS OF YOUR CHILDREN! Rejoice and delight yourself in the Lord and the fear of the Lord, not the things Jesus had to die for! Certainly we would never take lightly killing anyone, how much more putting to death the Son of God! Yet that is exactly what our sins have done. We dare not share them in a way that takes them lightly.
How often do you parents sit down with your children and share the word of God and pray with them? Could that have anything to do with why so many children of Christian parents are bored with church? Is God’s word given at least equal time with TV in your home? If not, who do you think is teaching your children? Where are they getting their instruction and example for life? What kind of foundation are you laying for their faith?
If your TV causes you to sin, unplug it and through it in the trash! It is better to lose one piece of furniture in your house than for your whole house to go to hell.
If your computer causes you to sin, pull the plugs and put it on the pile of garbage! It is better to lose your one electronic devise that for your whole house to be thrown into hell.
If your cell phone causes you to sin, turn it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one texting tool and facebook than have your whole body to be thrown into hell.
If your friends cause you to sin, saturate them with your absence! It is better to lose friends in this life that to join them in hell.
Don’t just come to church and hear words of Jesus and leave here and not put them into practice! Do what Jesus says! Build your house on the rock where there is security and a sure and glorious future.
Let me close with these words from the book of Hebrews 12: 18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God is a consuming fire."
