OPEN: A policeman was walking his beat. I don’t know if he was writing a ticket or watching a suspicious individual, but he was distracted enough that he barely felt the tug on his coat. He turned, and there stood a little girl.
“Can I help you?” the policeman asked her.
“My mommy told me that if I needed help I should find a policeman,” she replied.
Suddenly a little alarmed the policeman asked “Oh… what’s wrong?”
Looking down she put out one of her feet and asked: “Could you tie my shoes?”
APPLY: Now, why did that little girl look for a policeman?
She knew he would help.
She knew he could be trusted.
She knew that she didn’t have to fear him.
ILLUS: Now, let’s change the scene for a second.
You’re driving down the road, in a 55 mph zone, going 65 mph.
I know you’d never do such a thing, but just for the sake of argument, let’s say you did. And you’re not the only one. It seems that everybody else on the road is also driving at about 65 mph.
Now, over the crest of the hill comes a police car.
What happens? (wait for audience to reply)
That’s right, they slow down!
Why?
Because they don’t believe the policeman is there to help them.
They don’t think they can trust him to overlook their indiscretion.
In fact, they believe they have good reason to fear him.
They’ve been caught doing something wrong.
Now bear in mind – they don’t know WHO that policeman is.
It might be their uncle Fred.
It might be the a close friend.
It might even be someone they know and like.
They don’t know who is behind the wheel of the police car. But it doesn’t matter. That car represents the hand of judgment. And they’ve been doing wrong.
And they’re afraid.
Fear.
The Bible tells us that some fear is a good thing.
In fact in the very first chapter of Proverbs we’re told:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” Proverbs 1:7
This “Fear of the Lord” is mentioned 18 times in Proverbs. And it’s repeated so often because the writer of these proverbs believes this kind of fear is an important trait of wisdom.
Now, I collected all 18 of those verses and I began to sort through them looking for things they might have in common. And I found that a vast majority of those verses taught that “fearing God” can have two very important benefits for those who are wise enough to practice it.
• The first benefit of fearing God is that it helps me to avoid evil.
“To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Proverbs 8:13
If I fear God I’ll avoid evil things. In fact I’ll hate evil things.
But, if I don’t - I won’t.
If I don’t fear God, I won’t hate evil.
ILLUS: I was recently listening to a preacher tell about two sets of parents in one of the churches he’d served. Their children were going to a prom… and both of these “God fearing Christians” had rented rooms in hotels for their children and their dates… so they could spend the night together.
(Pause) Now, were these “God fearing parents?” (Wait for audience to respond).
No, they weren’t!
They didn’t care what God thought.
And they didn’t care about the judgment God would bring upon their family for this evil.
They did NOT fear God - and so they did not hate evil.
In fact, they embraced evil.
ILLUS: Another preacher had worked hard on inviting a non-Christian friend to church. The friend learned about Christ and was eventually baptized into Christ. But after a few months, he stopped coming to church. That frustrated the preacher because he’d spent so much time getting his friend to decide to go to church and ultimately to belong to Jesus. So, the preacher went out to find out why his friend had stopped coming.
The friend explained that he’d decided to quit the church when one of the leaders in that church got up to give a devotion. The church was large enough that the new Christian hadn’t noticed him before, but when he did, he recognized the man as a manager at the plant he worked at. This “Christian leader” had a reputation at that plant… he took just about everything that wasn’t nailed down. He would take home, tools and paper and whatever else he could sneak out the door.
He was a thief. When the preacher’s friend realized this man was a leader at church… he left.
(Pause) Now, aside from the fact that this probably wasn’t the best way for this new Christian to deal with this situation… was that “Christian leader” a God fearing man? (Wait for the audience to reply).
No, he wasn’t!
He didn’t care what God thought.
He didn’t care if his behavior turned people against Jesus.
He frankly didn’t fear God, and so he did not hate evil. In fact, he embraced evil.
ILLUS: One last story: I knew of a church where one of their deacons was committing adultery. And everybody in town knew it. And everybody in church knew it. When that deacon was removed from office, they Board held a special meeting where the ex-deacon was in obvious attendance.
They put him back into his office.
Why? It was suspected that he threatened to sue the church if they didn’t.
(Pause) Now, was that church a God fearing Church? (wait for the audience to reply)
No, they weren’t!
That church “liked” God well enough, and they might even have respected God in some odd way, but they didn’t fear Him.
Who did they fear?
They feared the deacon and so they did not hate evil. They embraced evil.
But, “to fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Proverbs 8:13
Now those people and churches we talked about didn’t fear God… so they embraced evil. But a God fearing person/church will avoid evil like it was the plague.
So, fearing God properly will help me to avoid evil in my life.
2ndly, the proper fear of God will help me live a long life.
“The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.” Proverbs 10:27
Now, how does that work?
ILLUS: Well, over here is a wall socket.
There is power in that socket.
Because of that power, I can plug lamps, fans, microwaves and phone chargers into it and magically empower those devises. I can even plug a car charger into a wall socket and revive a dead car battery (like I’ve had to the past 2 Saturdays after my son borrowed the van).
Now, if you go down to the hospital you’ll find all kinds of devises plugged into wall sockets. They plug in devices that can monitor your health as well as devices that could save your life.
So, you could say that the power offered in those wall sockets can add pleasure to your life. And they can add years to your life.
Now, I have in my hands a butter knife. (pause a moment to let this sink in)
What would happen if I were to plug this knife into that socket?
(wait for audience to reply).
That’s right!
At the very least it’ll burn my hand and frizz my hair.
But it also might cause my heart to stop.
So, in that wall socket there is POWER and that power can bring me life… or it can bring me death. If I am wise, and I have a proper fear for that power, I’ll add years to my life.
But, if I don’t… I won’t.
Now, I’ve never put a knife into a wall socket.
Why not?
For the same reason I’ve never put my tongue on a frozen pipe!
I’m afraid of what will happen if I do!
I don’t have to experience these things to be afraid of them.
You see, when I fear God, I realize there are certain things He hates. If He hates something, I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to do that. Because if God hates something… that’s good enough for me.
What makes God angry about sin is that it hurts me. Or, if it doesn’t hurt me, it will hurt someone else around me. I don’t have to understand how my sin hurts people any more than I have to understand how electricity hurts people. I just have to know God hates something, therefore I should be afraid to go there.
ILLUS: Let’s say I see little child trying to put this butter knife into a wall socket. Am I going to sit down with him and try to explain the theory of electricity?
Of course not!
He would never understand that.
What I’d probably do is take the knife away and swat his butt.
But now, if that child repeatedly tries to put that knife or some other item into that wall socket I may have to decide to put a little of the fear of God into him. He may not understand what electricity could do to him, but he will understand how to fear me. And if I love him that’s probably just what I’d do. I want him to think twice about putting a knife in that socket.
And, you see, God’s like that.
He’s not some celestial ogre waiting for us to do some bad thing so that He can drop the hammer on us. He is a father who wants to protect us from evil.
If you’re a Christian, you are His child.
He is your heavenly Father.
Just like any parent – if He sees that you are doing something you shouldn’t He WILL get your attention one way or the other.
As Hebrews 12:7-8 says: “…what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (by God) - and everyone undergoes discipline - then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.”
So, if I fear God I’ll build a wall between those evil things and me.
Everything on THAT side of the wall is bad stuff.
I don’t go there.
Everything on THIS side of the wall is good stuff.
It’s safe on THIS side of the wall.
On this side of the wall is like being that little girl asking the policeman to tie her shoe. She has no reason to fear that man. He is there to help and protect her.
But the other side of the wall is like those cars on the highway. On the other side of wall is the danger of judgment and punishment. Those who live on that side of the wall get exactly what they deserve, either from the hand of God, or from the ultimate pain their lifestyles deal to them.
As Proverbs 13:15 says: “… the way of transgressors is hard.” (KJV)
So here, on this side of the wall, is where I intend to stay. Because on THIS side of the wall I have life.
On THAT side… I face death.
So, Proverbs tells us that fearing God the right way is healthy. A healthy fear of God leads to repentance, to a change in our lives. And IF I have this kind of fear for God… it will protect me from evil, and it will lead me to a lifestyle which ends up adding years to my life.
That’s a healthy kind of fear.
But, just as there’s a healthy kind of fear of God, there’s also an UN--healthy way to fear God. Just as a healthy kind of fear can drive us to change our lives to please God, an unhealthy fear of God can lead us hide from Him.
ILLUS: In Genesis, we’re told the story of Adam and Eve. They sinned. They ate of the tree God had forbidden. And they feared God. And what did they do?
Genesis 3:8-10 says: “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and (what did they do???) they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because (I was over the speed limit, I’d done something I was ashamed of) I was naked; so (what?) I hid."
If we continue in sin - if we refuse to fear God the way we should - we can end up fearing to be around God. And we’ll seek for ways to hide from Him… just like Adam and Eve did.
2 Corinthians 7:10 has another way of saying this:
“GODLY sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret…”
In other words if I end up doing something I ought not to do, and I fear God the way I should, I will have a Godly sorrow that will make me want to repent of what I’ve done. I’ll be prompted to abandon my sin. And that will bring me God’s salvation and leave me with no regrets.
“But (II Corinthians 7 continues) WORLDLY sorrow brings death.”
Worldly sorrow differs from Godly sorrow in that my sinful fear of God makes me want to hide from God and live my life in the shadows. That type of fear will ultimately will lead to death and hell.
I want a Godly Sorrow.
I want a fear of God that makes me want to change bad habits in my life so that I please Him. So that I’ll have no regrets in my life.
Now, there’s one more aspect about fearing God.
In this world you’ll end up fearing something.
It’s unavoidable.
But the Bible tells us we have a choice as to what we fear.
Will we fear God... or man?
ILLUS: Just recently, an NBA player came out of the closet. He said he was “gay.” Do you remember hearing about that? His name was Collins, and everybody from the President of the United States on down praised him for being “brave.”
Collins wasn’t being brave. He was proudly declaring his sin.
And, there was no way he was going to lose his job. Everybody in the Media and on the left were going to sing his praises. He had nothing to fear.
But then Chris Broussard, a reporter from ESPN, said “NO! That’s not right!”
On the air Broussard said that Collins was "walking in open rebellion to God" by living as a gay man. Broussard cited the Bible, saying that living an openly homosexual lifestyle -- as well engaging in adultery and premarital sex -- is "openly living in unrepentant sin."
That was bravery.
Others had lost their jobs for being so open about their opposition to the sin of the week. He had good reason to be afraid. But he wasn’t. You know why? Because he feared God more than he feared men.
There are going to be times when we’re going to be afraid of standing up for our Christianity. We’ll be afraid of losing our jobs, or promotions, or our spot on the “team.” We’ll be afraid of losing the respect or affection of someone we care about… and so, sometimes we’ll be tempted to deny (or at least backpedal) on our faith. We’ll be tempted to leave our Christianity at the church building for fear of what man could do to us.
But Jesus said: “… whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33, NKJV)
A person who fears what man will do, or say, or think, will ultimately do whatever is necessary to distance themselves from Jesus. They’ll find ways not to confess Him. In fact, they’ll deny Him if necessary. Because they’ll fear man more than they fear God.
But when we fear God… we have no need to fear anything else.
One man observed: “It is only the fear of God that can deliver us from the fear of man.” (John Witherspoon).
If I fear God I have no need to fear anything else.
Proverbs 19:23 says: “The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.”
Nothing can touch me.
Nothing can threaten me.
One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 103. Psalm 103:11-13 puts it this way
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those WHO FEAR HIM; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those WHO FEAR HIM”
God loves those who fear Him properly.
He has compassion on them, like father has compassion on his children.
AND because God loves us and has compassion on us nothing else can touch us.
God will protect just the same way that any Father would protect His children.
And when that happens, Proverbs 3:23-26 says…
“..you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.”
God will be ‘my confidence!”
When I fear Him and seek to honor Him in all that I do, He’s got my back.
I don’t have to fear ANYTHING.
• I don’t have to fear angelic beings.
You remember what angels would say to the Biblical heroes when God sent them? The first words out of their mouths were: “Do not be afraid.”
Why wouldn’t those mortal be afraid. Because these angels had been sent to God fearing people. As powerful and imposing as an angel could be, there was no way they’d ever hurt those who feared God.
• And I don’t have to fear Satan and his minions. I John 5:18 says “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the EVIL ONE CANNOT HARM HIM.”
• And I don’t have to fear what men can do to me.
• And I don’t have to fear the past, present or the future.
Paul said: “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
When we fear God properly, He’s got our back.
We can trust Him, because we know He’s there to protect us.
CLOSE: When I was a boy, we had a dog named Trixie. She was a beautiful beagle, and she was a joy to be around. My brother, sisters and I would spend every chance we could playing with her because she was our dog and she loved us as much as we loved her.
Now, Trixie wasn’t allowed in the house.
She had to be down in the basement, because Dad wouldn’t allow dogs in the house. Every once in a while Trixie would sneak up into the house, but Dad would catch, swat her behind, and either send her back to the basement or toss her outside.
Dad was never really unkind to Trixie, but if she was bad, he’d punish her. And you could tell that Trixie was always afraid of dad. He was the hand of judgment in her life.
The rest of us in the family loved Trixie and would play with here when we could, but she was a little cautious around dad.
One night, there was a terrible storm.
Lightning lit up the night.
Thunder rattled the windows.
Mom and Dad were in bed – almost asleep – when something bounced up on the bed and huddled next to Dad.
It was Trixie.
Trixie hadn’t jumped on to mom’s side of the bed.
She hadn’t come to find my brother or sisters or me.
She wanted Dad.
Why? Because she knew he was big enough to protect her. She may have feared him, but in the storm she knew she was safe with him.
In the same way, if we fear God the way we should, we’ll know He’s bigger than anything else in this world. And He’s big enough that – in the storm – we’ll know we’re safe with Him.
What do you fear?
Do you fear God?
Or do you fear the opinions of others.
There are many who put off becoming Christians because they’re afraid of what their friends would say. There are many who refuse to get baptized because of what their family would do.
But if you fear God this morning, realize He loves you so much that – if you choose Him – He’ll save you from the storms of life. He’ll hold you close to His side, because He’ll make you His child.
INVITATION.
