I can remember as a child attending church with my Great Aunt in Murfreesboro, TN. I don’t remember what denomination it was but I do know it was a church where the people believed in physical worship. They believed in expressing their love for God in a more active way. And the pastor had to be in good shape because he was all over the place
People were falling out and crying, jumping up and down—waving their arms—patting their feet and clapping their hands as they worshipped and praised the Lord. I must admit that sometimes I get very uncomfortable when I am in that kind of setting.
But even more interesting than what was going on around me was the fire and brimstone type of preaching.
I don’t remember all the details but the part that got my attention is where the preacher talked about sin and the consequences of sins.
I remember him saying that those who sin against God would die and spend eternity in the lake of blazing fire.
He talked about heaven and hell as though they are a place and as though they are real. And they are!!
We’re not making this stuff up!!! The bible clearly states there is a place called heaven and the only way to get there is through Jesus Christ!!
John 14:6 Jesus says: “I am the way the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father except through me.”
One of the most tragic misconceptions people have about heaven is that all you have to do to get in is to live a good life—I came here to today to let you know that if you are believe this and are trying to work or buy your way in or think your way in, you’re in for a big disappointment!!!
Heaven is real and Jesus provides the only way in.
Hell is also real, Read Matthew 25:41-46, Revelations 19:20. The good news is you don’t have to do anything to get there, as a matter of fact that is one sure way of getting there—simply do nothing. Don’t accept Christ.
Don’t read God’s word. Don’t love your neighbor as your self. Don’t pray. Jus do nothing and you’re guaranteed a place in Hell, and there is always front row seating, that is if you will be able to sit.
This image of hell sort of got to me as it would any young normal child and it has had a lasting impact.
This young country preacher in Tennessee, put the fear of God in me at a early age and believe it or not—I still have that fear.
When I think of the consequences of my sins,
When I think of what waits for those on the other side of this life who die and don’t know the Lord.
When I think of spending eternity in a place that is hotter than anything I can dream of or imagine…
When I read about Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16 where Jesus says they both died, but Lazarus wound up next to Abraham and the rich man in Hades where looked across the chasm and saw Lazarus and Abraham together and he begged for Abraham to come and dip his finger in the water just to cool the tip of his tongue because he was being tormented by the flame.
When my mind starts to dwell on the consequences of my living a life of sin—there is a fear that comes over me, a fear that compels me to repent and beg God’s forgiveness.
A fear that makes me want to get to know God better and to be all he wants me to be, no matter what sacrifices I have to make.
It was the fear of God that kept me from doing many of the things my friends were doing in my teenage years.
It was the fear of God that made me feel so bad whenever I did something I knew I should not be doing, but did it anyway.
My entire life was one that was controlled by fear.
In many cases my fear would cause me to do nothing.
At other times it would cause me burst into action such as fighting or running away from whatever it was that frightened me.
Fears are real and natural, and in almost all cases our fears are more real than that which we fear.
Fear can be a real downer at times but if we look at it another way, fear can be a real motivator.
If we are to live our lives the way God wants us to-- the fear of God is important to our success in fulfilling God’s purpose.
Proverbs 1:7 says: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
I believe that until you fear God you really don’t know anything about God.
Remember as a child we loved our parents. But we also had a certain amount of fear of them. Especially if word got back to them about something we did across town that they didn’t approve of.
We feared the punishment waiting for us when we got home.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
It is only through the personal relationship with the Holy Spirit that we come to know and understand what God wants.
Job 28:20, 28: From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?... Behold, it is the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.
Ecclesiastes: 12:13-14: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of every human being.
For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil.
One day we will all be held accountable for what we do—or what we do not do-- here on this earth. Every work into judgment—whether it be good or evil!!!
In our text today Peter says: we must live in reverent fear of God during our time a foreigners here on earth.
The word Reverence means : a feeling or attitude of deep respect, love and awe.
So if we are to live our lives in Reverent Fear of God it means we are to live with an attitude of Gratitude toward God and a feeling of deep respect and love for God- which in turn will be seen through everything WE say and do.
This life we’re living today is not all there is, there is more. I think about the woman who wanted to be buried with her fork in her hand.
When asked why she said: whenever I go out to eat the waiter always tells me to keep my fork because the best is yet to come. Referring to the dessert.
This life is only the beginning the best is yet to come for those who live their lives in reverent fear of the Lord.
Many people go through life as if it were a play and this is a dress rehearsal. Guess what?
This is not address rehearsal, this is the final curtain!!
We only get one chance to get it right so we need to get serious about who we are going to follow.
In relation to God-- one of the biggest problems with fearing God is the fact that we can’t see him.
We can’t literally see, feel, or touch him therefore our fear of Him is not an immediate concern.
For instance, If we came face to face with a ferocious wild animal we would be more inclined to act immediately because the danger would be real and action would be required right away.
But because God is patient with us and we can’t physically see, feel or touch Him, we don’t react to our fear the same as we would if a wild animal jumped out at us.
But the danger of losing our life is just as real in both cases even more so in our reluctance to fear God because with the animal we can only lose our human life but with God, Its everything. As my step father use to say: The whole kit and caboodle.
So I urge you to think clearly and exercise self-control.
Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ.
Obey God because you are His children.
Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil;
You didn’t know any better then.
But now you must be Holy in EVERYTHING you do, just as God—who chose you to be his children is Holy.
For He himself has said, You must be Holy because I am Holy!!! 1 Peter 1:13-16
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. Romans 12:2
These are God’s Words not mine.
We have to tear ourselves away from the world’s way of thinking and doing things.
We have to understand that the worldly talk about God often but don’t fear him otherwise they would not do as they do..
As Christians,we are called to be different. We have to march to the tune of a different drummer.
There is no one like God.
He holds the power of life and death in his hands.
He is the Alpha the Omega –the beginning and the end.
God is so great that he is beyond all comprehension –
We can’t even begin to imagine all the things he is able to do.
Unlike Muhammad Ali who use to brag about being the greatest of all time, God is the greatest of all time!!
And since we humans were created by him we should have a healthy and reverent fear of him.
A healthy fear of God gives us the right perspective about life and where we need to be in our relationship with God.
Psalms2:11 says: We are to serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Do you fear God?
Do you believe he will keep his promise to judge us according to what we have done whether it be good or bad?
I do. With all my heart, mind, body and soul.
My reverent fear of God and what God thinks is greater than my fear of what other people think about me. Therefore I choose not to conform to the way the world thinks but instead I am trying to live my life the way God wants me to—whose standards are much higher than the standards of this world.
It may not be the easiest thing to do but for me it is the only thing to do. Amen
Let us Bow in humble adoration for God as we pray.
