Participants:
Series Code: TAM
Program Code: TAM000003S
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00:30 Let's pray. Oh wonderful, almighty God, what a joy it is
00:38 to be in Your presence today. 00:40 And as we study about how to fear, and revere, and honor 00:49 Your wonderful and holy name, we ask for the presence of Your 00:53 Spirit, and that You will give us understanding 00:56 as we open Your Holy Word. 00:59 We thank You Father for hearing our prayer, for we plead and ask 01:04 it in the precious name of Your Beloved Son Jesus, Amen. 01:09 In our last topic we studied the everlasting gospel. 01:15 And we noticed that the reason why the everlasting gospel 01:19 is called so is because the plan was devised in eternity past. 01:25 And we also noticed that we will sing the praises of the 01:30 Redeemer throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. 01:34 Even when the great multitude is on the sea of glass 01:37 we will sing the praises of the Lamb. 01:39 We also noted that the meaning of the everlasting gospel is 01:45 that Jesus came to this world to live the perfect life 01:49 that we should live. 01:51 And then at the end of His life He died the death 01:55 that we should die. 01:56 And by living and by dying, Jesus wove a perfect robe 02:02 that we can claim, and we can be covered with 02:05 fully and completely. 02:07 But as we studied in last time's topic, we must repent, confess, 02:14 and also trust in Jesus, and claim by faith 02:19 His righteousness and be baptized. 02:22 And in this way Jesus will take the robe of His righteousness, 02:26 and He will cover us, and He will look upon us 02:30 as if we had never sinned. 02:32 What a joyous message that is to stand before God innocent 02:37 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 02:40 But we also noticed in our study last time that the gospel 02:45 makes demands upon us. 02:47 Once we have embraced and accepted the gospel 02:51 of Jesus Christ, then God expects something from us. 02:56 And for this reason in the first angel's message we have three 03:00 imperatives, three commands or orders from God upon those 03:06 individuals who receive and accept the everlasting gospel. 03:10 And those three imperatives are: fear God, give glory to God, 03:17 and worship the Creator. 03:20 In other words, when we receive the gospel, the gospel gives us 03:25 great responsibilities and duties towards God. 03:29 Now in our study today we're going to take a look at the 03:33 first of those imperatives. 03:34 We're going to study what it means to fear God. 03:40 Let me begin by saying that fearing God does not mean 03:44 that we are afraid of God. 03:46 Because the Bible makes it very clear that we can fear God 03:50 and experience joy at the same time. 03:52 I'll tell you, when I'm afraid I don't experience joy. 03:56 Notice, for example, what we find in Psalm in the book of 04:00 Psalm 2:11, Psalm 2:11. 04:05 Notice how you have the idea of fearing God, 04:08 trembling before His presence, and at the same time 04:10 experiencing joy. It says there: 04:17 And then it says: 04:21 Now you say, That's almost a contradiction in terms, 04:24 but really, we're going to find in our study today, 04:28 that the fear of the Lord does not mean afraid of Him. 04:32 When the Bible speaks about trembling before the Lord, 04:35 we're not shaking out of fear. 04:37 Because this verse tells us that we can experience the fear of 04:41 the Lord and at the same time we can rejoice. 04:44 Perhaps an analogy can help us understand a little bit better 04:49 this idea of what it means to fear God. 04:52 In the Bible we are told that children should fear 04:58 their father and their mother. 05:00 In fact go with me to Leviticus 19:3 where we find these very 05:06 interesting words... 05:07 And I'm reading from the New King James Version. 05:10 Every one of you shall revere... 05:14 That word revere is the same word for fear. 05:20 ...or fear... 05:28 Now when the Bible tells us that we're supposed to fear 05:31 our father and our mother, does that mean that we're supposed 05:34 to be afraid of them? Absolutely not! 05:37 What it means is that we're supposed to have a 05:39 profound respect for them. 05:42 We are to hold our parents in awe. 05:45 In other words, the expression to fear God does not mean 05:49 being afraid of God, it entails great respect, and awe, 05:55 and reverence for someone. 05:57 Now I want to mention some introductory things about the 06:02 fear of God, or what the Bible also calls the fear of the Lord. 06:06 The Bible tells us that fearing God is the beginning of wisdom. 06:12 In other words, if we don't fear God we don't even have 06:14 the beginning of wisdom. 06:16 And, of course, of we don't have wisdom we're fools. 06:19 The Bible says, The fool has said in his heart 06:22 there is no God, because he has no wisdom. 06:25 Notice Proverbs 9:10 where we're told that: 06:40 So you can have all kinds of information in your brain 06:43 that you've studied in school, but if you don't have the fear 06:46 of the Lord the Bible says that we do not even have 06:50 the beginning of wisdom. 06:53 We have not even started to be wise. 06:55 So it's very important to have the fear of the Lord. 06:59 Another interesting detail about the fear of God, 07:02 or the fear of the Lord, is that we cannot simply make up our 07:07 minds that we're going to fear the Lord. 07:08 Because the Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is placed 07:12 in our hearts by God Himself. 07:14 Notice what we find in the book of Jeremiah 32:40, 07:21 Jeremiah 32:40. Here God is speaking and He says this: 07:45 So you don't make up your mind that you're going to 07:47 have the fear of God. 07:49 The Bible says that God Himself takes that fear 07:52 and He plants it in your heart. 07:54 The Bible also tells us that the fear of God, or the fear of the 07:59 Lord is far better than any earthly possession 08:03 that we might have. 08:04 It's far better than riches. 08:06 Notice what we find in Proverbs 15:16. 08:11 Here Solomon, who by the way, for a while was very rich, 08:15 and also very foolish, because he did not have 08:18 the fear of the Lord. 08:19 He went astray from God, then later on in his life he wrote 08:22 Proverbs, so he's writing from experience. 08:25 And notice what he says: 08:33 It's better to have just a little with the fear of the Lord 08:36 than to have all kinds of riches. 08:39 Now another important aspect of fearing God, or having the fear 08:44 of the Lord in your life, is the fact that it is a choice. 08:49 In other words, to fear God is something that you choose. 08:52 You allow God to take it and plant it into your heart. 08:56 Notice Nehemiah 1:11, Nehemiah 1:11. There it says: 09:18 So fearing God's name is a desire that we have. 09:23 It's a choice. And then it says: 09:32 Also in Proverbs 1:29 we find this statement: 10:02 So notice once again the idea that Israel is rejected by God 10:06 at this point because she did not choose the fear of the Lord. 10:10 In other words, we can choose to fear God, 10:12 or we can choose not to fear God. 10:15 It's not something arbitrary that God plants in the hearts 10:18 of some people, and not in the hearts of other people. 10:20 It's something that we must choose to allow God 10:24 to plant in our heart. 10:25 Incidentally, the Bible also says that to fear God, 10:30 or the fear of the Lord, is something that can be taught. 10:33 You can learn it. Notice Psalm 34:11, Psalm 34:11. 10:41 There the Psalmist says, Come, you children, listen to me: 10:47 I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 10:52 So the fear of the Lord is a learned phenomenon. 10:55 It can be taught as we have fellowship 10:58 and communion with God. 11:00 But now we must ask the question, What does it 11:04 really mean to fear God? 11:07 Well, in order to answer this question we need to examine 11:13 the expression, fear God, and also the expression, 11:17 fear of the Lord, as it's found in all of the Bible. 11:20 Perhaps you know that the book of Revelation contains over 11:24 a thousand references to the Old Testament alone, 11:27 which means that Revelation is getting much of its information 11:31 from all of the rest of Scripture, 11:33 from all of the rest of the Bible. 11:35 So if we want to know what the first angel's message means 11:38 when it says, fear God, we need to see what 11:41 that expression means in the rest of Scripture. 11:44 You see, the expression, the fear of God, 11:48 or the fear of the Lord, is like a many edged diamond. 11:52 Each edge is a different aspect of what it means to fear God. 11:58 So we must look at the entire biblical testimony about this 12:03 expression, or these expressions. 12:06 Now by definition the expression fear God, 12:11 or the fear of the Lord, involves respect, awe, 12:16 reverence, and worship towards God. 12:21 And the reason why we are to have this respect, this awe, 12:27 this reverence, and this spirit of worship for God, is because 12:32 He is our Creator, and we are His creatures. 12:36 Notice Psalm 33:6-9 where this is brought out clearly. 12:41 Psalm 33:6-9. It says there: 12:50 Notice creation. 13:14 So why are we supposed to fear the Lord 13:17 and stand in awe of the Lord? 13:19 It's simply because God is the what? the Creator, 13:23 and we are creatures. 13:25 Jeremiah 10:6-10, Jeremiah 10: 6-10 adds to this idea. 13:33 It says there: 13:38 Jeremiah is describing God. 14:03 So reverence and awe for God, fearing God has to 14:08 do with who He is. 14:10 He's the great God! 14:12 He is the Creator of the heavens and of the earth. 14:16 In fact, I found this interesting statement; 14:19 it's very short. It's in the beautiful and magnificent book 14:23 on how to bring up children. 14:24 It's called Child Guidance. 14:27 On page 538 we find this definition of what 14:30 it means to fear God: 14:45 In other words, the reason we fear God is because we discern 14:50 His infinite greatness, and we also realize that He is present. 14:57 But, you know, the fear of the Lord is an 15:00 interesting phenomenon. 15:02 To fear God is an interesting phenomenon because it has to do 15:05 with God being distant, and at the same time 15:08 with God being close. 15:10 In other words, God is transcendent, 15:13 but God is also imminent. 15:15 God is over and above His creation, but God comes in 15:19 contact with His creation. 15:20 You know, the great writer Rudolph Otto once said 15:25 that God is the Holy Other. 15:28 In other words, we should not conceive of God 15:30 as our good old buddy. 15:32 We can't conceive of God as the man upstairs. 15:36 God is a God who is great, omnipotent, 15:40 and He must be respected. 15:41 He's up there; He's over and above us; He's outside of us; 15:46 He is transcendent. 15:47 But the Bible also tells us that God comes into close contact 15:53 with those who are humble of heart. 15:55 In other words, He's a God that's way up there. 15:58 He is to be respected; He is to be held in awe; 16:01 He is to be honored. 16:02 But at the same time, those who are humble God comes down 16:05 and He has contact with them. 16:07 That's why we can fear God and at the same time have joy. 16:11 Notice Isaiah 57:15 where we find this apparent dichotomy 16:18 between God's otherness, and God's coming to be with us. 16:22 Isaiah 57:15. For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits 16:30 eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the 16:37 high and holy place. 16:39 Notice God says, I'm up there. 16:42 I'm beyond the sun, the moon, and the stars. 16:44 I inhabit eternity. 16:45 But then notice what He says: I dwell in the 16:49 high and holy place, with him who has a contrite 16:54 and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, 16:58 and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 17:02 So God is way up there; He's transcendent, 17:05 but He is also imminent. 17:06 He is to be respected because He's outside of us; 17:09 He's the great Creator, but He's the Creator who is our Father, 17:13 and comes in contact with us. 17:15 And so when we fear God, we respect Him as the omnipotent 17:20 God, but at the same time we love Him as our intimate Father. 17:25 Now let's talk a little bit about that intimate closeness 17:30 that God has to us. 17:31 Notice Deuteronomy 13:4. 17:35 And what I want you to see in this verse is the number of 17:40 synonyms that are used to describe our 17:43 relationship with God. 17:44 Deuteronomy 13:4. Notice what it says: 18:10 Do you see all of the synonymous expressions? 18:12 To fear God means to walk with Him, to keep His commandments, 18:17 to obey His voice, to serve Him, and to hold fast to Him. 18:20 By the way, that expression, hold fast to Him, 18:24 really in the King James Version, (I'm using the New King 18:27 James), but in the King James Version it's translated, 18:31 to cleave; you shall cleave to Him. 18:34 Now that's the very same word that's used in Genesis where it 18:38 speaks about a man leaving his father and his mother, 18:42 and joining his wife, and cleaving unto her. 18:46 In other words, it's an intimate closeness. 18:48 It's actually becoming one, according to Scripture. 18:51 By the way, the same word is used in Psalm 102:5, 18:55 where it speaks about the bones cleaving to the skin. 18:58 And it's used in Psalm 137:6 where it speaks about the tongue 19:02 cleaving to the roof of your mouth. 19:04 In other words, this is an intimate closeness; 19:07 it's a sticking together. 19:08 And God says this is what the fear of the Lord means. 19:13 It means to cleave unto the Lord your God. 19:16 Fearing God also involves respecting God's holy name. 19:22 Notice Deuteronomy 28:58, 59, Deuteronomy 28:58, 59. 19:32 Here God is warning Israel about the need to respect His 19:36 holy name, which, by the way, is a reflection of His character. 19:40 God's name and His character are interchangeable. 19:43 When you trample on God's name, you're really trampling 19:46 upon His character. 19:47 It says in Deuteronomy 28:58, 59, God is speaking: 20:17 Notice that God expects that we should what? fear His glorious 20:24 and awesome name, and His awesome name is 20:27 the Lord Your God. 20:30 Notice Psalm 111:9 also about respecting the holy name of God. 20:36 In other words, we should not unnecessarily 20:39 repeat the name of God. 20:40 It should not become common on our lips. 20:42 Psalm 111:9. It says there: 20:56 And, of course, we all know that the third commandment 21:00 in Exodus 20:7 says: 21:06 In other words don't use it unnecessarily. 21:14 And, of course, we're all acquainted with the Lord's 21:17 prayer where Jesus, in Matthew 6:9 says, hallowed be Your what? 21:23 be Your name. The word hallowed means Sanctified be your name. 21:27 Your name is holy. 21:29 You know, I think that Hollywood would do real well 21:32 to listen to this. 21:34 Because in the movies that are produced by the media 21:37 God's name is constantly taken in vain. 21:41 Not only this, we do it also, many times as Christians, 21:44 when we use slang words to describe Jesus, 21:47 or to describe God. 21:49 We say, for example, Gee, which is short for Jesus. 21:52 And we say gosh, and I say this reverently to make a point. 21:57 We say gosh; it's a slang word for God. 22:00 You know, the Jews did not even pronounce God's holy name 22:04 because it was so magnificent. 22:06 They actually only wrote it. 22:08 They never even pronounced it with their lips because it was 22:11 such a holy and reverent name. 22:13 How many times don't we just basically repeat the name of God 22:18 in our prayers, the name of God in our conversation, without 22:22 taking into account the reverent and awesome, and omnipotent 22:28 meaning of that holy name of God. 22:30 Do you know that fearing God will not only effect how we 22:34 use His name, but fearing God will also effect 22:37 how we worship Him; our style of worship. 22:41 Notice 1 Chronicles 16:29, 30, 1 Chronicles 16:29, 30. 22:49 Notice that we have several key words that are found in the 22:53 first angel's message. 22:55 In fact all of the key commands in the first angel's message 22:59 are in 1 Chronicles 16:29, 30. Notice: 23:07 Do we find that in the first angel's message? fear God 23:10 and what? give glory to Him. 23:12 Okay, so it says, Give the Lord the glory due His name; 23:17 bring an offering, and come before Him: 23:24 Is that word worship in the first angel's message? 23:27 Absolutely! And so it says: 23:32 And then notice the idea of fearing God. 23:44 O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 23:47 Notice that we're supposed to worship the Lord 23:57 Do you know how Israel worshipped God? 23:59 You know, today many Christian churches come 24:03 to church to have a party. 24:04 But do you know how Israel worshipped the Lord 24:09 in biblical times? 24:10 They came with humility. 24:12 They were not haughty. 24:14 In fact the Bible says that when God's people encountered God 24:18 their immediate reaction was to bow their forehead to the ground 24:23 in reverence towards God. 24:25 I want you to notice what we find in 2 Chronicles 7:3 24:30 where it speaks about the inauguration of Solomon's 24:33 temple which is, by the way, misnamed; it's God's temple, 24:36 and it was built by Solomon. 24:37 2 Chronicles 7:3. Notice that worshipping God 24:42 involves humility. 24:43 We cannot be haughty. 24:44 In our worship style we must be reverent, in other words. 24:48 It says there in 2 Chronicles 7:3: 25:09 Notice that they put their forehead to the ground, 25:11 and they bowed before the great God. 25:14 You know, every great person in the Bible that encountered God 25:17 was awed by His presence in the worship experience. 25:22 In Isaiah 6 Isaiah was permitted to see God's heavenly temple, 25:26 and he heard the Seraphim singing, and the posts of the 25:31 temple were shaking, and the angels were singing, Holy, Holy, 25:35 Holy. And how did Isaiah feel? 25:37 He says, Oh I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, 25:42 and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips. 25:45 But when he realized that he was nothing, 25:47 then God made him something, because God sent an angel 25:50 to touch his lips, and his sin was cleansed, 25:53 because he came to worship God in humility. 25:56 When Moses met God at the burning bush, 25:59 and he discovered that it was God that was in the burning 26:02 bush, the Bible says that he bowed his head to the ground. 26:06 In other words, he was reverent in the presence of God. 26:10 When Jesus encountered Peter after the resurrection, 26:12 Peter said, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man. 26:17 In fact, do you know where the word humility comes from? 26:19 The word humility comes from the Latin humus. 26:24 Do you know what humus is? It means dirt. 26:28 It means dust. In other words, humility means that you 26:33 recognize that you are dust. 26:36 And what are we composed of? 26:38 What did God create us of? 26:39 He created us of dust. 26:41 In other words, when we come to worship before God we realize 26:45 that we are but dust. 26:47 But, of course, in the sight of God, we are very precious dust. 26:51 We must come to worship God in humility, in other words, 26:56 not with a haughty spirit. 26:58 Psalm 9:20 explains the importance of recognizing 27:04 that we are not God; that we are simply men. It says there: 27:15 See, when we have the fear of the Lord, what do we realize? 27:18 We realize that we are but what? we are but men. 27:22 In other words, the fear of the Lord creates humility in us. 27:26 Notice Isaiah 45:9, Isaiah 45:9. 27:49 Do you remember the story of Nebuchadnezzar, right? 27:52 that great king of Babylon. 27:54 He thought he was hot stuff. 27:55 In fact the Bible tells us that one day he went out on the 27:59 balcony of the palace, and he says, Isn't this great Babylon 28:04 that I have built with my power and for my glory? 28:06 And the Lord said, Oh yeah? 28:09 And in an instant God removed the pearl of reasoning 28:13 from his mind, and suddenly Nebuchadnezzar 28:17 was no better than a beast. 28:18 He was something as long as God gave him a reasoning power. 28:24 When God removed that he was nothing. 28:27 And at the end Nebuchadnezzar says, I now praise and honor 28:32 the God of heaven, because He is able to humble those who 28:36 have a haughty spirit. 28:38 So the fear of the Lord intells great humility. 28:41 The Bible also says that fearing God entails a spirit of trust 28:48 in God; it means to trust in Him. 28:51 Notice Psalm 115:11, Psalm 115: 11. It says: 29:01 See, those who fear the Lord, they trust in the Lord. 29:07 But, of course, the question is: what does it mean to trust 29:10 in the Lord? By far, folks, the most predominate connotation 29:18 of the expression, Fear of the Lord, or fear God in Scripture 29:22 has to do with a response of willing obedience to God. 29:28 You know my colleague here at Fresno Central Church, 29:31 Elder James Finn, many times has said that obedience is what? 29:39 obedience is the highest form of worship. 29:43 It's also the highest form of fearing the Lord. 29:47 You say, How is this? 29:49 We're going to notice now several verses in Scripture 29:54 that show that fearing God leads to a change in our lifestyle. 29:58 It leads to loving obedience to God's commandments. 30:03 It leads us to do what God says that we're supposed to do. 30:07 For example, you remember when Abraham got to 30:12 the city of Gerar; the king there was Abimelech. 30:15 And Abraham was afraid that Abimelech was going to kill 30:19 him and take his wife Sarah, because it appears that Sarah 30:21 was pretty good looking, even though at that time she was 30:24 up in years. But she was still pretty good looking. 30:27 And notice what Abraham said; the justification for lying 30:31 and saying, No, she's my sister. 30:32 You know, he didn't tell the whole truth 30:35 and nothing but the truth; he told a partial truth 30:37 with the intent to deceive. 30:39 Notice Genesis 20:11. And Abraham said, 30:55 What happens when there's no fear of the Lord 30:58 in a certain place? 30:59 People what? people kill. 31:01 Are you with me? In other words, when there's no fear 31:04 of God there's no obedience; there's violence in other words. 31:08 Notice Exodus 1:17. 31:10 You remember that Pharaoh said that they were supposed to kill 31:12 all of the male children? 31:14 Do you remember that? two years and under? 31:16 Well, the fact is that the Hebrew midwives 31:19 did not kill the children. 31:21 Why didn't they? Notice Exodus 1:17: 31:36 In other words, where the fear of God is present, 31:39 your life is safe. 31:41 Where the fear of God is not present, people violate the 31:46 commandment, Thou shalt not kill. 31:48 Notice Ecclesiastes 8:11-13, Ecclesiastes 8:11-13. 31:57 And, by the way, Solomon knows what he's talking about, 32:00 because Solomon, you know, he went off on a tangent away 32:05 from the Lord for years. 32:06 He became almost an atheist. 32:08 He became an infidel. 32:09 So he knows what he's talking about. 32:11 He actually wrote the book of Ecclesiastes when he was 32:14 and old man and he had returned to the Lord. 32:16 And he's telling people what life was like away from God. 32:19 Notice: 32:27 In other words, just because a person doesn't suffer the 32:30 penalty for sin right away: 32:37 And then he says: 33:01 Did you catch that? 33:17 What does it mean to not fear God? 33:19 It means to be wicked. 33:20 What does it mean to fear God? 33:23 It means to be righteous. 33:25 And the days of the righteous are prolonged, 33:28 but the days of the wicked are not. 33:30 You say, Well, I know a lot of wicked people that have lived 33:33 a long time. Yes, have they lived eternally? 33:36 You see, when the Bible says that the righteous will live 33:39 a long time, it's not only talking about this brief period 33:43 in human history, it's talking about living forever. 33:46 Now let's notice Romans 3:10-18. 33:50 Here the apostle Paul is describing the sinfulness 33:53 of the human race, and I want you to notice how he 33:56 ends this passage. 33:57 Romans 3:10. It's a pretty sad description of the sinfulness 34:03 of the human race. As it is written: 34:45 And now notice how the passage ends. 34:47 It's described all this wickedness, and then it says: 34:55 Why is it that you have all of this list of wickedness? 34:58 Because people have no what? they have no fear of God 35:02 before their eyes. 35:04 Let me ask you then, do you think that the first angel's 35:06 message is talking about the importance of being obedient 35:09 to God, and following what He says in His Holy Law? 35:13 Absolutely! Now let's notice when the ten commandments were 35:17 given, God said something very interesting to Israel 35:21 a little bit later on. 35:22 Notice what we find in Deuteronomy 4:10-13, 35:27 Deuteronomy 4:10-13. 35:30 Here Moses is reminiscing about what happened on Mount Horeb 35:35 when God gave the law. Notice: 35:51 Because God spoke the ten commandments. 35:54 To what? When God spoke the ten commandments it was to 35:59 teach Israel to do what? to fear Him. 36:02 So it says, I will let them hear My words that they may... 36:12 Is there anything in the ten commandments that teaches 36:14 people to fear God? 36:16 Are we supposed to teach our children the principles 36:18 of the ten commandments? Absolutely! Notice verse 11: 36:49 So notice that God gives the commandments and He says 36:53 to Israel, You know, these commandments are going to teach 36:56 you to fear Me, and you are to teach these commandments to 37:00 your children, so that your children will also fear me. 37:04 By the way, do you know that the fear of the Lord involves 37:10 in our way of treating other people, it changes rather 37:13 the way that we treat other people? 37:14 You know, it makes us loving and kind towards the weak, 37:19 and the less fortunate. 37:21 By the way, the main principle behind the ten commandments 37:24 is love. Isn't that right? 37:26 Notice what we find in Leviticus 19:14, and then we're 37:31 going to jump to verse 32. 37:33 Notice how the fear of the Lord, when we have the fear of God 37:36 in our hearts it's going to effect the way that we 37:39 treat our neighbor. 37:41 And, of course, the essence of God's law, the essence of the 37:44 ten commandments is love. Notice: 37:52 And then what does it say? 38:02 Now notice verse 32. 38:11 And then it says: 38:20 Are you catching how the fear of God in our lives effects the 38:24 way we treat other people? 38:26 Notice Leviticus 25, and we'll read verse 17, and verse 36, 38:31 and also verse 43. It says there: 38:40 Notice that when we fear God we don't oppress other people. 38:45 Also, notice what He says: 38:49 Do you know what usury is? 38:50 It's an exorbitant amount of interest. 38:53 It's taking advantage of people financially. And so it says: 39:06 And notice Leviticus 25:43, Leviticus 25:43 says: 39:16 That is rule over your neighbor. 39:24 So, in other words, having the fear of God in our lives 39:28 leads us to keep God's law, and it leads us to love 39:32 or fellow human beings. 39:34 Now let's read a few other verses that show how important 39:38 it is when we fear God to obey Him and do His will. 39:42 Deuteronomy 5:29, Deuteronomy 5:29. 39:49 Notice how God opens up His heart to Israel. He says: 40:00 Now notice, what does fear lead to? 40:17 What does it mean to fear God? 40:19 It means always to keep what? all of God's commandments, 40:24 according to this passage. 40:25 Notice Deuteronomy 8:6, and I'm reading so many of these 40:29 so you don't think that I'm just picking and choosing a verse 40:32 here or a verse there. 40:34 In Scripture the main connotation of the fear of 40:38 the Lord, or fearing God, has to do with keeping God's 40:42 commandments: departing from evil, doing good, 40:46 loving our neighbor. 40:48 In other words, it's related very closely 40:51 with God's Holy Law. 40:52 Notice Deuteronomy 8:6. 41:06 Notice once again the idea that the commandments are 41:09 linked with fearing God. 41:11 Notice Deuteronomy 10:12, 13, Deuteronomy 10: 12, 13. 41:30 Now notice all the synonyms: 41:54 Let me ask you, Does fearing God have anything to do with 41:58 our own practical walk, every day walk? Yes or no? 42:01 It most certainly does! 42:03 Because fearing God is explained here as walking with Him, 42:06 loving Him, serving Him, and keeping His what? 42:10 and keeping His commandments. 42:12 Notice Psalm 103:17, 18. 42:16 And, by the way, I'm reading many of these texts, 42:18 but there are many more that I could have included, 42:21 but there's just too many pages. 42:22 Notice Psalm 103:17, 18. 42:49 Let me ask you, those individuals who fear God, 42:53 do they keep the commandments of God? Absolutely! 42:56 I want you to notice 1 Samuel 12, 1 Samuel 12, and we're going 43:01 to read verses 14 and 15, and then we're going to jump 43:04 down to verse 24. 43:05 I thought about reading the whole passage, 43:07 but it's too long. 43:08 You can read it at your leisure. 43:09 1 Samuel 12:14, 15, and then we'll read verse 24. 43:13 God is speaking here to the kings of Israel. 43:26 Do you see everything that has to do with the fear of God here? 43:29 It says: 44:06 Notice that the fear Him is the opposite of doing wickedly. 44:17 Now there's a special verse in the Bible that is very close 44:22 to what we find in the first angel's message. 44:25 The first angel's message says, Fear God, give glory to Him, 44:28 for the hour of His judgment has come. 44:30 Now notice Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; the similarity in this 44:38 passage that ends the book of Ecclesiastes. 44:41 See, Solomon in Ecclesiastes basically has told his life 44:45 story: how he blew it, how he almost became an atheist, 44:49 how he womanized, and how he had all of these riches, 44:52 and all of these things. 44:54 And at the end of his life he felt like committing suicide, 44:57 he says in the book of Ecclesiastes. 44:58 He was totally angry at life, because everything that he 45:04 considered important he realized was totally worthless. 45:07 In fact it was vanity. 45:10 You know the word vanity is used thirty-five times 45:12 in the book of Ecclesiastes. 45:13 Vanity of vanities; all is vanity Solomon says 45:16 when he talks about everything that he had in life. 45:19 Notice how he ends his book. 45:22 Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. 45:33 Revelation says, Fear God and give glory to Him. Here it says: 45:42 And now notice the idea of judgment. 45:50 Do you see the relationship between this passage 45:53 and the first angel's message? 46:01 Do you remember when God asked Abraham, or commanded 46:05 Abraham to take his son to Mount Moriah 46:07 and to sacrifice him? 46:10 And he raised his hand and he was ready to plunge the knife 46:13 into his son, and a voice said, Don't you plunge that 46:17 knife into your son. 46:18 I want you to notice what God said. 46:21 Genesis 22:12, And he said, Do not... 46:39 Let me ask you, Did the fear of God lead Abraham to be obedient 46:44 to God, even to the point of being willing to 46:47 sacrifice his own son? Absolutely! 46:49 The fear of God has to do with obeying the commands of God. 46:54 That's especially what I want us to gather from 46:56 what we're talking about. 46:58 Notice Job 1: 8, 9. 46:59 Let me ask you, Was Job a pretty righteous man? 47:02 God said so! Let's hear what God had to say about Job. 47:07 Job 1:8, 9, Then the Lord said to Satan,... 47:28 Let me ask you, If you fear God are you going to shun evil? 47:31 Absolutely! That's what it says. 47:36 Let me ask you, What is it that shows you what is 47:38 evil and what is good? 47:39 God's Holy Law shows you what is right and wrong, 47:43 what is good and evil. 47:45 And so it says here; God is saying, One who fears 47:48 God and shuns evil... 47:53 In other words, Does he obey you free? 47:56 God said, Yeah. And the Devil says, Well, let me try him. 47:59 And God says, Go for it. 48:01 And we all know that Job remained faithful to God. 48:04 Notice a little later on in the book of Job, Job 28:28, 48:09 Job 28:28. Listen carefully. 48:12 The Bible is full of this idea. It says: 48:22 This is a synonymous parallelism. 48:25 What is said in the first line is repeated in the second line 48:28 in different words. 48:35 In other words, the fear of the Lord is to depart from evil. 48:39 Notice Proverbs 8:13. 48:41 There it's explicit. 48:43 It says in Proverbs 8:13: 48:57 So what is the fear of the Lord? 48:59 It is to what? to hate evil. 49:01 And evil is the transgression of God's Holy Law. 49:04 Proverbs 16:6, the same idea. It says there: 49:19 What does the fear of the Lord lead you to do? 49:21 to depart from evil. 49:23 Notice Proverbs 3:7, Proverbs 3:7. 49:35 Notice Proverbs 14:12. 49:38 Time and again Scripture comes out with this idea. 49:42 Proverbs 14:12. 49:55 Let's notice, as we draw this to a close, some passages in 50:00 the New Testament that describe what it means to fear God. 50:04 Hebrews 11:7. You remember that God told Noah to build a boat? 50:09 He told him to build an ark? 50:11 Was that a reasonable thing? 50:13 Folks, it had never rained, and God is telling Noah to build 50:19 this huge transatlantic, like the Queen 50:23 Elizabeth, on dry land. 50:25 Anybody would say, That's ridiculous! 50:28 That can't be God's voice! 50:30 But what did Noah do? 50:32 Did he obey God even though it appeared to be ridiculous? 50:35 Absolutely! Notice Hebrews 11:7: 50:56 You see, righteousness by faith, which is the gospel, 50:59 involves you having godly fear that leads you to move, 51:02 and to do what God says that you're supposed to do. 51:05 Notice Hebrews 12:27, 28, Hebrews 12:27, 28. 51:11 It says there: 51:17 In other words, someday we're going to be in a kingdom 51:19 that's not going to be left to any other kingdom. 51:22 What should we do? 51:24 Let us have what? grace. 51:27 See, some people love to talk about grace. 51:29 They say, Oh yeah, let's have grace! 51:31 Yeah, but what does grace demand? 51:34 We noticed this in our last study. 51:36 We talked about what grace commands us to do. 51:40 Notice what it continues saying. 51:58 What is it that grace leads us to do? to serve God acceptably 52:05 with reverence and with godly fear. 52:08 Notice one more verse before we talk about the promises that God 52:12 gives to those who fear His name. 52:14 2 Corinthians 7:1. 52:16 By the way, this is after God says, Do not be unevenly 52:20 yoked with unbelievers. 52:21 And you've read that passage that comes before; 52:24 and God says, If you fulfill what I'm saying, 52:26 I will receive you. 52:28 I will be your Father, and you will be My children. 52:30 And then He says what we're supposed to do in the light 52:32 of what He has said. 52:34 Notice 2 Corinthians 7:1. 52:39 You can read them in the last verses of chapter 52:41 6 of 2 Corinthians. 52:42 Notice what it says. 53:00 What does the fear of God demand of us? 53:04 We must perfect what? holiness, according to Scripture. 53:08 Do you understand what it means to fear God a little bit better 53:12 now when we read Revelation 14: 7, Fear God? 53:15 See, it's not enough just to read, fear God, 53:18 in the first angel's message. 53:19 You say, Okay, that's nice. 53:21 What does that mean? 53:22 We have to go to all of the Bible, and we notice that 53:25 the fear of God, or fear of the Lord is like a diamond 53:29 that has many edges. 53:30 And you look at all of the concept, and then you have this 53:32 beautiful diamond multi-dimensional concept, 53:35 of what it means to fear God. 53:37 And primarily it means to obey God out of love for Him, 53:42 because He has shed His grace upon us. 53:46 Do you know that the Bible has some beautiful promises 53:49 for those who fear God? 53:50 I'd like to end by reading some of those promises. 53:53 Do you know that those who fear God are going to have 53:56 their names written in a book of remembrance? 53:58 Notice Malachi 3:16, Malachi 3:16. 54:14 See, God is eavesdropping on a conversation. 54:33 What was written? a book of remembrance. 54:38 Notice Psalm 103:11-14. 54:43 God gives glorious promises to those who fear His name. 54:47 So it's worthwhile to fear Him. 54:49 Let me tell you something folks, we can't fear God unless 54:52 we spend time with God. 54:53 Because it's only as we come to know God that we have this awe, 54:58 and this reverence for God. 55:01 And we want to please Him because He's such a wonderful, 55:03 and such a great God. 55:05 But in order to grasp who He is, we must know who He is. 55:09 And in order to know who He is, we must spend time with Him. 55:13 The closer we come to Him, the greater awe, and reverence, 55:17 and fear, and Godly fear we have of Him. 55:21 Psalm 103:11-14... 55:33 Isn't that wonderful? 56:04 What a beautiful promise! 56:05 Actually it's a series of promises that God 56:08 gives in this passage. 56:09 I'd like to bring this to an end by reading one final verse: 56:13 Proverbs 10:27. Notice this wonderful promise of God. 56:19 It says there: 56:33 What does God promise for those who fear His name? 56:36 He promises for them long years. 56:40 Now what does He means when He talks about long years? 56:44 Is He talking about long years on Planet Earth? 56:46 Absolutely not, because there's a lot of wicked people on Earth 56:50 who have long years who don't fear the Lord. 56:53 What He means is that those who fear God 56:57 will inherit eternal life, because they will be saved 57:01 by the gospel of Jesus Christ. 57:03 And they will be on the sea of glass praising the Lord 57:07 for His grace, and for His love. 57:09 And they will be obedient, because the Bible says that 57:13 the end time generation will keep the commandments of God. 57:16 In fact, at the end of the first angel's message it speaks about 57:20 a people who keep the commandments of God. |
Revised 2023-04-20