HAVING A CORRECT ATTITUDE ABOUT
THE FEAR OF THE LORD.
DEUTERONOMY 10: 12-22.
1. A BIBLICAL APPRAOCH IS THE CORRECT WAY.
A. There are times when Fear can be very beneficial.
B. There are also times when Fear can also be very harmful.
Definition: The fear of God is an awesome respect or reverence growing out of the greatness and power of God.
1. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A DREAD OF GOD.
2. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY DON’T NEED GOD.
3. THERE ARE THE AVERAGE PEOPLE.
4. THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE A HEALTHY UNDERSTANDING.
11. SO HOW DOES “THE FEAR OF THE LORD” SHOW ITSELF?
IN PERSONAL HOLINESS.
IN OBEDIENCE.
IN FAITHFULNESS AND SERVICE
IN JUSTICE AND COMPASSION
IN WORSHIP
IN SALVATION
3. THE FEAR OF THE LORD’S HELPS US IN OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES.
A. THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS ACTUALLY A COMMAND.
Psalm 33:8. "Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him."
B. IT HELPS US TO DEAL WITH SIN.
Proverbs 16:6. "By the fear of the Lord one avoids evil.”
C. IT HELPS US GET THROUGH HARD TIMES.
Job was asked, "Is not the fear of God your confidence?"
D. The fear of God affects life itself!
Proverbs 10:27. "The fear of the Lord prolongs life;
E. The fear of God is essential for leaders.
F. The fear of God results in answered prayer.
Psalm 145:19, "He fulfils the desire of all who fear Him."
HAVING A CORRECT ATTITUDE ABOUT
THE FEAR OF THE LORD.
DEUTERONOMY 10: 12-22.
The concept of the Fear of the LORD is found all throughout scripture. In the Old Testament there are at least 150+ verses that encourage those who are willing to listen how important this attitude is in our relationship with God. I often wonder if maybe today Christians look at the God of the O.T in a different way because the God of the O.T. is seem as a God to be feared, while the God of the New Testament is looked on in the light of his unending mercy. Here is the thing. In understanding the “Fear of the Lord” we must begin by looking at what our attitude is about God. The phrase fear of the Lord denotes that we the Children of the Lord should have an attitude of AWE and Reverence for God. If we have the right attitude it will serves as the beginning of true wisdom. In Isaiah chapter 6 when the prophet saw the Lord for who God really was, Isaiah saw that he was exposed for he who really was. The comparison was shockingly painful. When the seraphs call out to each other, they didn’t call out that God is a loving which He is, nor did they call out that God is mighty which He is. The seraphs used one word to describe God and that word is holy which means that God stands apart from all the rest of creation and that there is nothing in creation that can be compares with him. But “holy” also carries with it the meaning “perfect”. God is perfect in power, in righteousness, in wisdom, in purity, in love, in knowledge and wisdom. And it is precisely these traits which make God separate from all the rest of creation. Because God is who God is we need to think about what our attitude is when we enter into his presence. The Bible shows us that the only way to approach God is with reverence, respect and awe.
1. A BIBLICAL APPRAOCH IS THE CORRECT WAY.
Deut. 10:12-13 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
A. There are times when Fear can be very beneficial.
We all know that fear serves as an important alarm system, warning or preparing us for impending danger. If you were walking down the road and you saw a skunk just ahead of you, it is very likely that your senses would kick in and you would react in such a way so that you wouldn’t get sprayed.
B. There are also times when Fear can also be very harmful.
Fear can and sometimes can also paralyse us, causing us to freeze when maybe we should run. Fear can sometimes work this way a person or an animal. Pat was telling me about a cat that they had difficulty with trying to get the cat to stop jumping on top of the stove when the stove was on. The cat had no fear of the hot stove. They tried everything but nothing seem to work until one day the cat happen to jump on top of the stove while it was hot and it very quickly jumped off because it had learned that the stove was hot. We sometimes don’t respond the way we should when we encounter situation that can be harmful to us. Sometimes we think that because we are a Christians that we can enter into dangerous situations just because we are mature enough; while all the time the Holy Spirit has been trying to get us to stop.
Deuteronomy 5:29. "O that their hearts would be inclined to fear Me and keep all my commandments."
Saul attitude towards the people was the one that he should have had towards the Lord.
1 Samuel 15:24. I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people so I gave in to them.
I see this same kind of attitude in the church today and the church is suffering simple because it is more concern with what certain people are saying that what the Lord Jesus requires. I read about a knife thrower whose assistant in the middle of their act gave out a scream and she fell to the floor of the stage. Everybody figured that she got hit with a knife. When they investigated they found that a harmless spider had crawled up her leg, and when she saw the spider, which she was terrified of, she fainted. In the New Testament there are about 40 references which call for the Children of the Lord to fear God. The fear of God has been grossly misunderstood by many. Before his conversion, Martin Luther was so scared of God, that he nearly grew to hate Him. Luther had a picture of God that was distorted. Luther only saw God as the wrathful Judge; he later saw God as the loving, merciful Father as well. Jonathan Edwards’ who is known more for his 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. What a lot of people don’t know is that when Jonathan Edwards was preaching his sermon, some faithful members of his church were praying in one of the rooms of the church for the Holy Spirit to fall upon the congregation and bring many to the foot of the cross where they would be saved by Jesus Christ.
The phrase “The Fear of The Lord” is not talking about being afraid of God the way we are afraid of a bear. This phrase is talking about our attitude toward the Lord God.
Definition: The fear of God is an awesome respect or reverence growing out of the greatness and power of God.
I would like you to think about Adam & Eve in the Garden.
They had an unbelievable relation with God. They walked with Him, talked with Him and they enjoyed the beauty of God’s creation with the creator. Then sin entered the picture and not only did the relationship change, but what also changed was how Adam & Eve looked at the Lord.
Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We need to understand that there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom.
Knowledge is an accumulation of facts, and things that we learn.
Wisdom is more than knowledge. Wisdom is the practical understanding of how we use the knowledge the Lord gives to us. It is the God-given ability to deal with life’s varied experiences intelligently, in a way so that our lives will be a blessing to all who are involved. Wisdom has an element of knowledge but knowledge does not have an element of wisdom. We have the Word of God which teaches us about the Lord, yet we live in a society where most of the non-believers and maybe some Christians think that what the Bible teaches is out of date with life today. I have had one professor of the Bible say that God does not expect us to live according to the Ten Commandments.
There are four possible reactions to The Fear of The lord. If we fit into the first three then it is very likely that we don’t recognize the Lord Jesus as the Son of the Living God.
1. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A DREAD OF GOD.
In the Bible there is a distinction between the word “Dread” and “Reverence.” The problem is that often the same word can be used to express different expressions. The Hebrew word “yare’ which means to be afraid, but depending on how it is used, it can mean to be in awe. In Genesis when Jacob was talking about his experience at Bethel; Jacob was saying that he was in AWE of the place because of his experience. When people have a dread of the Lord they don’t truly understand the Lord. Here is the thing, you can actually have Christians who fit into this first one, because when they got saved they were raised in a legalistically home and they were raised to be afraid of God. These dear folk are always trying to please the lord by following the exact letter of the law.
People who fit into this pattern are always trying to please the Lord but they feel they never do. They never feel or know the love of Lord or the mercy of the Lord. They are unable to get close to anyone including the Lord.
2. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY DON’T NEED GOD.
The people in this area are always in rebellion and rejection to whatever they think God might want. They think that God is the kind of a God who is going to punish them no matter what they do. They see God as a cosmic judge. These people are always negative and they very seldom have a positive attitude towards anything spiritual and they never trust the Lord. Because this attitude is so ingrained with in these people it is very unlikely that it will be replaced when they accept salvation. They have a very over active conscience and they live each day it total fear of God. They declare their independence from the Lord by their act of rebellion and disobedience.
3. THERE ARE THE AVERAGE PEOPLE. It is likely that the largest number of Christians fit into this group simply because a lot of Christians just don’t understand the fear of the Lord, because they have never heard much about it. The emphasis of Christianity is usually on God’s acceptance of them with very little teaching on our accountability to the Lord. Christian in this group find their relationship with Jesus very shallow even though they understand that they are loved and cared for by the Lord. They do miss some important truths like God has a plan for their lives, and that God expect his children to ask Him for help not only living the Christian life but to reveal His plan for their lives. A lot of times Christians in this group don’t know that they are responsibility to the Lord Jesus for their talents, the knowledge and gifts that He has given to them. Christians in this group look at Jesus as very permissive uncle who allows them to do whatever they want. These Christian’s values and lifestyle are set by their culture instead of following the Word of God by faith. George Bernard Shaw said “There are two sources of unhappiness in life. One is not getting what you want, they other is getting exactly what you want.” If all of our life we are always getting what we want it won’t be long until we begin to think that we don’t need the Lord.
4. THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE A HEALTHY UNDERSTANDING.
The people who fit into this group have a healthy understanding of what Fear of the Lord means. They are good prayer warriors; they have the same attitude towards the Father as Jesus Christ has. They are always in AWE that God Holy Son would leave everything that He had in Heaven for the purpose of coming to earth to die on a cross for their sins. They don’t treat God name lightly, loosely or irreverently. To them there’s a difference between saying God is our friend and saying that God is our "Good Buddy". Their motivation for a correct attitude towards God come from their understanding of Who God is. If we truly have a proper understanding of the character and holiness of God, this fact alone should motivates us to have a sense of respect and reverence toward God. When Christians leave their home to go to Church they are doing so because they want to be with those of like minded to worship Jesus Christ.
The Psalmist says to Enter His Court with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise. Allow me to change a couple of words.
Enter His Church with thanksgiving, enter His sanctuary with praise.
By changing those two words it made me think about what is my attitude when I approach the time to go to church. When I stood at the entrance to his sanctuary before I entered in again I ask myself what is my attitude. Am I aware of God’s presence or is this where I feel that I am fulfilling my Christian duty? As a Christian I am not suppose to come feeling a sense of terror and dread rather I believe that we should be coming with a deep sense of awe, wonder, love, and submission to Jesus Christ. We are bringing the sanctuary of God together so that the Children of God can freely worship Jesus Christ. We are coming to worship a God that has revealed himself as our creator; one who loves us enough to send His Son to die on a cross, so that when we accept his offer of forgiveness we can truly come to know this God who is longing to have a personal relationship with you and me. We offer Worship to God because we have found favour with God through Jesus Christ.
We offer Worship to Jesus Christ because He has removed our guilt. We offer our Worship to Jesus Christ because we love Him.
11. SO HOW DOES “THE FEAR OF THE LORD” SHOW ITSELF IN WORSHIPERS?
Throughout Scripture “Fearing God” is associated with almost every Christian act:
IN PERSONAL HOLINESS is evidence that we fear the Lord. Proverbs 8:13. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." • IN OBEDIENCE is evidence that we fear the Lord. Deuteronomy 17:19. “That he may learn to fear the Lord his God by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes.”
IN FAITHFULNESS AND SERVICE are evidence that we fear the Lord.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13. “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”
IN JUSTICE AND COMPASSION are evidence that we fear the Lord. 2 Chronicles 19:7. “Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
IN WORSHIP is evidence that we fear the Lord.
Psalm 89:7. “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.”
IN 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. We tend to picture God as a kindly old grandfather who’d never send anyone to hell. This is the 20th Century God of sentimental love and not the God of the Old and New Testaments. Hebrews 10:31. "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Matthew 10:28. "Fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." The fear of God converted the shipmates of the prophet Jonah and later the inhabitants of Nineveh.
IN Wisdom which comes by way of fear, which brings us to perhaps the most well-known verse regarding the fear of God, Proverbs 1:7. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Why do people scorn wisdom? Vs 29, "because they hate knowledge and do not choose the fear of the Lord." 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.
111. THE FEAR OF THE LORD’S HELPS US IN OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES.
A. The fear of God is actually a commanded.
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."
B. THE FEAR OF THE LORD’S HELPS US TO DEAL WITH SIN. When we revere the Lord we keep ourselves from sin.
Proverbs 16:6. "By the fear of the Lord one avoids evil.” Annanias and Sapphira were members of the early Christian church. Because of how they behaved they were struck down by God.
Acts 5:11. "Great fear came upon the whole church." Whenever we see God chastening someone in His church, it should move us to Godly fear.
Hebrews 12:29. "Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire." This is a reference to Deuteronomy 4:24 where God is warning Israel about their idolatry. Does your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ motivate you to live a life of holiness?
C. The fear of God gets us through hard times. Job was asked, "Is not the fear of God your confidence?" God, who has limitless might, welcomes our prayers, and cares about our hurts. We need not fear the future, for we know the One who holds the future. The awesomeness of God is our confidence.
D. The fear of God affects life itself! Proverbs 10:27. "The fear of the Lord prolongs life; 14:27. The fear of the Lord is a "fountain of life" and Proverbs 22.4.The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches ,honour and life." David sings in Psalm 34:7. "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them."
E. The fear of God is essential for leaders.
In Exodus 18 Moses gives a prerequisite for leaders that they should fear God. Those entrusted with governmental authority are warned in Psalm 2:10-12. "O kings, be wise; show discernment; and be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, with trembling. Do homage to the Son, lest He becomes angry, and you perish in the way." F. The fear of God 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! The fear of God is the one fear that removes all others. As we cast our cares upon Him, we can become fearless. David wrote while his life was being threatened, Psalm 23:4. "I fear no evil, for Thou art with me." The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the fearsome Lord of Lord has this to say to us in John 14: "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."
II Timothy 1:7. "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline". God faithfully and consistently calms His people’s fears. In both the Old and New Testaments God removes the sense of terror from before His people with the words “do not be afraid.” Maybe the only people who stand before the Lord who have a reason to be afraid are those people who figured that they didn’t need the Lord’s offer through Jesus Christ.
