Why the World Needs to
Fear God
Study Series on the Fear of God
Proverbs 22:4
Pastor
Craig Ledbetter
DATE: 12
Oct, 2008 AM
PLACE:
I.
Introduction
A.
New series this month.
B.
The entire year we have been
focusing on knee exercises – bowing the knee that is. Learning how to live the
yielded life towards God
C.
This month we are looking at
another attitude that is vital in bowing the knee – that if the fear of God
D.
We spend too much time
worrying about what people think
E.
What does God think, and more
importantly, what should our attitude be towards God’s power – He is GOD last
time I checked!
F.
Three things we will look at
this month:
1.
The Humility in the Fear of
the Lord
2.
The Honour of the Fear of the
Lord
3.
The Horrors of Not Fearing the
Lord
G.
This morning I want to show
you TWO vital ingredients to worship that will either make or break our
relationship with God
1.
Humility
2.
AND a Proper Fear of God
H.
In this day and age, the fear
of God is almost completely GONE, and so people fear almost everything else:
fear of the dark, fear of failure, fear of being fat, fear of ridicule, fear of
germs, fear of alien abductions, fear of bugs, fear of rejection, fear of losing
your hair, fear of nightmares, fear of Satan and demons, fear of black cats,
fear of enemies, fear of ghosts, fear of the future, and even the fear of being
hurt in relationships!
I.
It’s funny how one single
proper fear can fix all those messed up fears… The fear of the Lord!
II.
Message
A.
Nobody Wants to Fear
the Lord Anymore (Psalm 36:1; Proverbs 1:29)
1.
The ungodly obviously do not
fear God
2.
People do not talk about God
like He is in charge, like He is watching, like He will actually judge the world
3.
People have been lulled to
sleep by misinformation and lies about God
a.
Told that God just loves
everybody (which is true, but not like most people think)
b.
Told that there is no hell
c.
Told that a loving God would
never send anyone to hell
d.
People only think the fear of
God is an ancient way of looking at worship
e.
But, it is one of the most
important missing ingredients in worship
4.
How do I know people don’t
fear God?
a.
They carry anger and
bitterness for YEARS against their husbands and wives
b.
People have no concern for the
sinful habits that they just think are normal and not that bad
c.
People use their mouth to tear
down and destroy others
d.
They use language to only
dishonour God
e.
They live like there is no
tomorrow
f.
They could care less about
Jesus!
B.
Yet, Who Wouldn’t Fear God?
(Jeremiah 10:6,7; Revelation 15:4)
1.
He is Lord – in Charge (Isa
44:24)
a.
He is in charge of the
universe
b.
Cross His laws, and you get a
nuclear explosion; divorce, riots, wars and economic meltdowns
c.
Work with His laws and you
fly, and swim, and can travel to the Moon. You have long life, blessed
marriages, souls saved, and sound minds!
d.
Who wouldn’t fear the Being
that is ultimately in charge of this universe? I would!
2.
He is Right (Exodus 15:26)
a.
Never unfair, but rather
absolutely right
b.
He is always right – He has
never made a mistake
c.
What is right is right because
God defined it as right
d.
What is wrong is because God
said it was wrong
e.
Not arbitrary, and defined on
a whim, but absolutely right
f.
And also VERY merciful, and
full of grace - thankfully
3.
He is Judge
a.
God made the rules, not your
parents, or the Church, or some government official
b.
Examples
1)
Judged Adam and Eve and kicked
them out of
2)
Judged
3)
Judged the whole world by a
flood in Noah’s day because of their violence and hatred of God
4)
Judged His own people with the
Babylonians 2600 years ago because of their idolatry
5)
HEY! You want to try and find
fault with God, you will only find perfection, and fault in yourself!
c.
The Lord will judge you and
me. 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10, 12
d.
The Lord will expose all my
secret sins. Luke 8:17; 12:3
e.
He cannot overlook sin – He
can overlook the sinner if a substitute has been found to be punished for his
sins (Jesus)
4.
Who wouldn’t Fear God, if they
only knew who they were dealing with?
a.
He is the One who made us –
not we ourselves
b.
The One who made the world
c.
The One who made the entire
universe, from the atoms up
d.
The One who hears every idle
word
e.
The One who knows our every
lustful thought
f.
The One who sees every
selfish, self-serving action
g.
Would you not worry about
someone like that?
h.
That’s why the Bible says over
and over, it is SO smart to fear God! It is actually the wisest thing you can
do! It is the beginning of learning! It needs to be in our homes from the
earliest ages!
C.
What is The Fear of the
Lord?
1.
Simple Definition: "The
continual awareness that I am in the presence of a holy, just and Almighty God,
and that my every thought, word, and action is open before Him and will be
judged by Him."
2.
The Fear of the Lord is
More than Simple Respect or “Reverence”
a.
There is respect that exists
between two equals: two friends, husband and wife, neighbours – that is
“respect”
b.
There is a different kind of
respect that should exist for a higher power
1)
Like towards a Highway Garda –
notice how quickly the foot goes off the accelerator when you just glimpse a
Garda car up ahead!
2)
Notice how well people dress
and act when they are brought into a courtroom just before they are sentenced –
very polite and well dressed because they KNOW that THAT judge has the POWER to
throw them into jail and throw away the key!
3)
When we were young, we not
only respected our parents, we feared them, because they had power! Maybe your
parents abused their power, but parents are supposed to have power over the
lives of their kids!
c.
When we speak of the God of
heaven, we need to acknowledge the kind of Power that he has
1)
He is not “the man upstairs”
2)
He is NOT sleeping, lazy,
inattentive, uncaring, unfair, or preoccupied
3)
He is perfectly right, and
absolutely sovereign
4)
He does not act on a whim, but
based on righteousness
3.
Describing Real Godly Fear
a.
It is a Real Terror (2 Cor
5:11; Rev 1:12-17; Psalm 38:1,2; )
1)
Definition - The most extreme
of degree of fear. It disables the one who experiences it totally, leaving the
person with neither physical strength or mental ability. This is the type of
fear that the Apostle John had when he saw the reality of God.
b.
It is a Real Fright (Mark
4:37-41)
1)
Definition - "to shrink with
fear"
2)
This was experienced by the
disciples when Jesus calmed the sea.
3)
They at first were terrified
of the danger that they were in
4)
THEN, after Jesus calmed the
storm instantaneously, they were MORE in fear of Jesus! Amen!
5)
Not that they wanted to flee,
but they wanted to know WHY such a powerful Being would want to be with them!?
c.
It is a Trembling (Daniel
5:1-5)
1)
Definition - to shake
involuntarily, to quiver or to quake.
2)
A good example of this is
Belshazzer and the writing on the wall found in the book of Daniel.
3)
Belshazzar never feared his
flase gods of gold and silver
4)
Belshazzar now greatly
trembled at the thought that there was truly an all powerful God that was just
about to judge both him, and his empire!
d.
It is a Proper Dread (Isaiah
6:1-5; 8:13)
1)
Definition - Intense
uneasiness because of imminent danger
2)
A good example of this is when
Isaiah saw his sinful condition in the presence of a Holy and just God. This
account is found in Isaiah chapter 6.
4.
Proper Fear - The Above are
all Right Attitudes Towards God
a.
Fear crossing Him and His
commandments
1)
Go ahead and break His
commandments – see how long you live
2)
Go ahead and live like there
is no God
3)
Go ahead and hate God, and
create your own religion, and worship any old way you want, and see just how low
you will go!
b.
Fear facing Him without an
ability to pay for your sins
c.
Fear being justly placed in
the devil’s hell for all eternity (Luke 12:4,5)
d.
There Is A Proper Kind of Fear
of the Lord:
1)
Solomon Taught About The Fear
Of The LORD (Ecclesiastes 8:12,13)
2)
Jesus Taught About The Fear Of
The LORD (Matthew 10:28)
3)
Peter Taught About The Fear Of
The LORD (Acts 10:34-35; 1Peter 2:17)
4)
Paul Taught the Fear of the
Lord (2Cor 7:1)
5)
Bible believing Churches LIVE
in the right kind of the fear of God (Acts 9:31)
6)
It is the ONLY way to live
(Colossians 3:22)
7)
And it is the only way to
worship
D.
How Does the Fear of the Lord Fit in Worship?
1.
Most people think only LOVE is
the main ingredient in Worship
a.
It is A main ingredient
b.
But without proper fear, then
worship is only a show – a fraud
2.
You cannot Worship and Love
God without proper fear (Psalm 33:8,9; Isaiah 11:1,2, the Holy Spirit is the
Fear of the Lord)
3.
If you do not fear God, then
you are only spinning your wheels, wasting your time being religious, and
putting on a show
4.
Listen to how important the
Fear of God is to WORSHIP
a.
Psa 33:18
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that
hope in his mercy;
b.
Psa 22:23
Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him;
and fear him, all ye the seed of
c.
Psa 96:9
O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the
earth.
5.
Funny how people want to
worship with love, and prayers, and money, and feelings, while God is looking at
our approach towards Him!
6.
It goes hand in hand with our
trust in God
7.
The fear of God does not drive
a believer away from God (only stubbornness, and a guilty conscience does), it
actually helps us to trust him
a.
Psa 31:19
Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear
thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of
men!
b.
Psa 115:11
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their
shield.
E.
Fear, Together with
Humility is the ONLY way to Worship (1Peter 5:5)
1.
This is why most of modern
worship is a sham, a fraud, an act – it is not genuine, and it is why most
children don’t follow their parents in worship – because the adults don’t fear
God at all!
2.
God Resisteth the proud –
rejects absolutely all worship, prayer, needs of a proud, haughty, selfish,
arrogant, conceited, pompous, egotistical, big-headed human – no matter how
sincere they may seem to be!
3.
That’s why Jesus said you
cannot worship God if you have AUGHT against anybody (Matthew 11:25,26)! Period!
F.
How to Humbly Fear God
1.
Believe your Bible
a.
Believe that GOD is GOD and
not your boss, or your mother, or your friends, or your money, or yourself
b.
Believe He is aware of
everything you do, and you think, and you say
c.
Believe that He will judge us
– not slipping by
2.
Mortify Your Pride
a.
The one thing that stops us
from fearing God is our idea that we are more right than He is
b.
Better be quick to crucify
that self righteous attitude that constantly says, God I’ll worry about you
later – I have a fight to win!
c.
When you are in an argument,
or in a temptation to sin, you had better remember that the wages of EVERY sin
is death (God is not mocked)
3.
Make things Right everywhere
and with everyone – period
4.
Fear the results of your wrong
choices
a.
You have a free will to choose
what you want
b.
But you cannot choose the
results of your choices
c.
If you choose to reject
Christ, you will go to hell
d.
If you choose to commit
adultery, you cannot choose the repercussions of that choice – which will be an
early death
5.
Learn the words which the Lord
uses in the Bible to describe the fear which we should have for Him.
a.
Terror
b.
Fright
c.
Trembling
d.
Dread
6.
Become like a little child
again, and just trust God to change you as you humble yourself before in fear
and trembling
7.
Believe me, THAT is the only
person who ever experiences the GRACE, and MERCY, and most of all, the
Loving-kindness of the Lord
III.
Conclusion