And They Walked in the Fear of the Lord

Transcription

1 Dartmouth Bible Notes Notes from the Pulpit Ministry of Dartmouth Bible Church Series: Studies in Acts Lesson 16 Scripture: Acts 9:31c Speaker: Rev. Neil C. Damgaard, Th.M., D.Min. Date: January 20 th 2019 And They Walked in the Fear of the Lord Proverbs 3:1-8 (ESV) My son, do not forget my teaching but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 9:10-12 The FEAR OF THE LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it. Acts 9:31 (ESV) So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Acts 9:31 NA28 H μὲν οὖν ἐκκλησία καθʼ ὅλης τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ Γαλιλαίας καὶ Σαμαρείας εἶχεν εἰρήνην οἰκοδομουμένη καὶ πορευομένη τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τῇ παρακλήσει τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐπληθύνετο. Acts 9:31 (NASB) So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. Acts 9:31 (The Message) Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country Judea, Samaria, Galilee the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully. Introduction When I think of scenes of profound respect, I think of funerals, graduations, royal weddings, medal pinnings and just meeting individual people that one might have heard of for years, and then a chance to greet them personally.

2 Respect is one thing--but outright AWE is another. I have felt that a few times 1. The view from the windy and freezing top of Mount Washington also qualifies, though only for a few minutes! 2. As a kid, standing on a dock at the edge of Lake Superior and overshadowed by what may very well have been the Edmund Fitzgerald with my Dad and being frightened (1959); 3. Again as a kid, a knock on the front door one evening and as my baby-sitter opened it, there stood an active Air Force major general (General Reginald Clizbe), asking to see Master Neil Damgaard! (c. 1963) 4. witnessing an Eagle Scout ceremony in 1965 (I still remember his name: Robbie Eaves). In those days Eagle Scouts were very rare and my troop only had the one. He was four years older than me. 5. Strangely, I remember a feeling of awe in the National Cathedral at my baccalaureate from high school in June of I remember feeling awe (Oct. 4, 1975) as Renée was walked down the aisle by her father at our wedding. And oddly I found myself viewing with awe the royal wedding of Prince William and Katherine Middleton (April 29 th, 2011). 7. I remember feeling awe DURING WORSHIP at All Soul s Church in London on a Sunday morning that I was there in I think of standing on the ancient, first century steps leading up to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem qualifies as does standing in the tiny ancient, first-century synagogue ruins in Nazareth as does standing on the top of the Mount of Olives (1997). The feeling of awe is what I think the church was feeling though certainly nothing organized or scheduled, and Luke reflects that they were walking in awe in the fear of the Lord. I don t think that in this case fear means being afraid; I think it means a deep and overwhelming respect. The church was seeing God use them, and seeing Him work by adding to them. They were blown away by that. These people were waking up each morning realizing that they were part of something powerful and at the same time dangerous. They were HAVING to trust God. But it means more than just feeling awestruck. Luke says they were walking in that awe they were sobered by it. They were living daily decisions in light of it. They realized Wow we re about more than just routinely going about our Judaism that we all grew up with. We re in a new era! Consider Proverbs 9:10-12: The FEAR OF THE LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it. The fear 2

3 of the Lord suggests strongly a humility. Don t go around thinking you re all wise and know stuff. Don t entertain the notion that you really don t need the Lord. I think that our first Bible reading this morning really captures what the fear of the Lord is, although Proverbs 3 doesn t mention it specifically Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (vss.5-8) Now, we can talk about the general subject of walking in the fear of the Lord, and we can talk about what Luke maybe meant when he described the early church I think LET S TALK ABOUT BOTH! As for what Luke meant some might accuse him of spin. Some skeptics might say that he was making the early church look as good as he could. They were walking in the fear of the Lord and feeling the comfort of the Holy Spirit and multiplying. What could be better than that? Perhaps Luke was just making the movement look very positive to convince Theophilus that Jesus-following was a good way to go? But if that is so why would Luke even mention things like Ananias and Sapphira? Why would he mention a rift between Paul and Barnabas? Why would he mention the major conflict that is coming in Acts 15? No, I think that for that short period of time, which Luke was stepping back from in his writing the Book of Acts the church really DID have a moment of peace, a brief opportunity to build itself up and they really DID walk in the fear of the Lord. But where would Luke GET the phrase to walk in the fear of the Lord? He is not a Jew. He is a Macedonian Gentile. You re not doing Bible study very long before you encounter the idea of fearing the Lord! The Bible uses the word fear at least 300 times in reference to God. And actually Scripture is full of examples of how fearing God is a positive rather than a negative thing. For example in Genesis 42:18, Joseph wins his brothers' trust when he declares he is a God-fearing man. It was because the midwives feared God that they obeyed him instead of the authorities by sparing the Hebrew babies (Exodus 1:17). Pharaoh brought disaster on his nation because he did not fear God (Exodus 9:29-31). Moses chose leaders to help him on the basis that they feared God and wouldn't take bribes (Exodus 18:21) and told the Hebrews that God met with them in a terrifying display of his power so that they wouldn't sin (Exodus 20:20). The Mosaic Law cites fear of God as a reason to treat the disabled and elderly well (Leviticus 19:14, 32). And lest you think this is only an Old Testament idea, note that Jesus states this stronger than anyone when he says, "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your 3

4 body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). And Paul says to work toward complete holiness because we fear God (2 nd Corinthians 7:1) 1. But we also have something that the apostle John wrote: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 st John 4:18) How can we fear God when John says that His love casts out fear? Here s how one guy figures this out: Unfortunately, many of us presume that the world is the ultimate threat and that God's function is to offset it. How different this is from the biblical position that God is far scarier than the world. When we assume that the world is the ultimate threat, we give it unwarranted power, for in truth, the world's threats are temporary. When we expect God to balance the stress of the world, we reduce him to the world's equal. As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nevertheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion. William D. Eisenhower in Christianity Today 2 Well, meanwhile, back at the ranch : at least for that brief period of time, as Luke understood it after he researched it the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria was doing well they were walking in the fear of the Lord. They were making decisions as if God was right there, watching them, guiding them and teaching them how to live. They knew God was not to be trifled with and at the same time they knew that the great God Who was the only God, was working among them and for them and was delivering them from trouble, probably almost daily! It humbled them and it encouraged them. Peter wasn t taking himself too seriously and maybe was keeping his trap shut a little more. James and John weren t vying for the seats next to Jesus. Whoever was Judas best friend wasn t siphoning off a few shekels here and there out of the cash box. Maybe Mary and Martha had figured out the dividing up of household duties in an equitable way. Maybe Matthew gave up tax-skimming for Lent! Maybe the woman at the well actually married the guy! They were loving God for Who He is, and seeking to please Him and do what He had told them to do. They weren t watering down the will of God or They knew that God was to be taken seriously and remember: ALL of them were first-generation Christians! 1 JoHannah Reardon Ibid, Reardon. Eisenhower is a PCUSA pastor and adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary 4

5 One thing is sure: people who are walking in the fear of the Lord are walking with an awareness of Who their God is, and with a feeling that He is right here, are not promoting themselves. They are not sporting any arrogance or self-promotion. They are humble and compassionate. They are most focused on what does my Lord want? They are subordinate to His will. Let s sing a stanza of Be Thou My Vision, to close Riches I heed not nor man s empty praise Thou, mine inheritance, now and always Thou and Thou only, first in my heart High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art 5