The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Psalm 34:7

Transcription

1 Fear the Lord The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Psalm 34:7 Personal Intro love Reality SB, God used the planting of this church to call us to SB, began serving children and the youth here for many years love this city - Los Agaves almost weekly still this morning, let s turn to Psalm 34:7 Fear the Lord this sermon was birthed in our HS camp theme this summer (same as SB) something God has been radically moving and teaching me - it hasn t let go since camp read text, pray Intro - We Fear silly things public speaking heights commitment we fear man rejection being left out comparison we fear the future change will I succeed or fail? what about my dreams & desires we fear darkness demons, Satan, warfare we fear Death injury & sickness loss 1

2 Me - I fear man who s this guy preaching? being judged for my appearance, or personality not being accepted. I obsess over the one person, or the one group I don t feel like I m in failure Starbucks for many years wasn t my dream job, felt like I was failing at life not justifying my education, my skills, whatever I suck at my job - youth pastor not enough kids people think I m dumb that person is better at it than me *fear is a real and a daily reality for all of us a question we must ask is Does God Really Help? we know God should help Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me Psalm 23:4 *but why Doesn t He help more? why do we still face our fears each day? When God is too Small too often he s small, unimpressive he s vague, distant, irrelevant, theoretical. he seems distant, far away, not very real here s the thing When we loose the greatness of God, the awe and wonder, the fear of God he is much less help in a time of need. Furthermore, When God is Small 2

3 our sin isn t that big of a deal our obedience isn t that important our time with God - reading our Bibles or praying or fasting is hardly a priority loving those we normally wouldn t love isn t very important he is hardly more satisfying than the joys and pleasures of this life the reason our fears loom large in our lives, the reason we sin, the reason we struggle to obey God, the reason we struggle to read our Bibles and love people is because we do not fear God as we should. What Matter s Most did you know, when Jesus says the most important commandment - to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, he is quoting from Deuteronomy 6? the verses before Now this is the commandment - the statues and the rules - that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to posses it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long Deuteronomy 6:1-2 and Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote a book about the meaning of life, the purpose of life, the futility of living life apart from God. And he sums up his entire book The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man Ecclesiastes 12:13 the whole duty of man Why Fear God? fear? isn t that a strange word to associate with God? fear God? why would we fear him? in our culture, God is more like an old, dusty book up on the shelf God is more like Santa Clause or a Teddy Bear that we get to enjoy and cuddle to most, God, if anything, is the opiate for the weak. Why would we fear him? to help - we need to take an honest look at who God is 3

4 we all love certain aspects of God that s ok but we have to be willing to come to a God who is who he is we have to be willing to approach this book, and see God in all of his glory and majesty and might and power and love and tenderness and toughness *for example Lion and Lamb. we love the lamb. but what about the Lion? we ve taken the claws out, we ve ripped out the teeth, we ve sapped God of his strength and majesty and might there isn t much to fear anymore *let us take a look at this Lion God The Lion For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 God is eternal and infinite Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end Psalm 102:25-27 God is mighty, limitlessly powerful, in control of all things - including death, Satan, every single person, every molecule in the universe I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it Isaiah 46:9-11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will Ephesians 1:11 God is holy, perfect, just, not a single flaw or ounce of evil 4

5 The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he Deuteronomy 32:4 Fear God & the Gospel God is incredible. He is perfect. Which also poses a problem. For when we get a clearer glimpse of who God is, we also begin to see a problem with who we are. *for example Isaiah 6 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim And one called to another and said: Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts! Isaiah 6:1-5 when we see God, we see his perfection and his beauty, and we also see our sinfulness and yet God is not only incredible, high, exalted, holy and perfect God is gracious, forgiving God sent his own son to die on a cross, to pay the penalty for your and my sin *we see a picture of this in the next two verses Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for Isaiah 6:6-7 this is the gospel. that though every one of us has sinned, gone our own way, even our good deeds are as filthy rags before God God has taken away our guilt and atoned for our sin *therefore Fear of God is Not fearing wrath or punishment (if you ve trusted in Christ) By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 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 John 4:

6 in Christ, the wrath of God, the judgment for sin has already been paid. we no longer have to fear punishment from God for our sins we are now beloved sons and daughters of God *so do we not need to fear God anymore? Fear of God is Still for Us We will be fearing God Forever The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever Psalm 19:9 The Cross leads us to fear God If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared Psalm 130:3-4 Jesus Himself Feared the Lord There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD Isaiah 11:1-2 *the Fear of God lasts, because is always God, and He is Still a Lion Walking With A Good Lion (what is the Fear of the LORD?) so to Fear God, is like walking with a Lion that is for you, that loves you, that will protect you and fight for you and defend you he still has his claws, his teeth, his mighty legs and paws and yet that He is for us, and we are safe like Aslan, he isn t safe, but He s good now we fear him in love and awe and reverence and respect and the more we fear him, the better our life will be *10 reasons the Fear of the Lord is Good for Our Souls The Fear of the Lord is Good for Our Souls 1) Fear of God Humbles Us remember Isaiah? remember the transfiguration? 6

7 John in Revelation? these men were undone, fell on their face, and worshipped God their lives were never the same since Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God s majesty (John Calvin, Institutes) if you want to grow in humility, look at God. 2) Fear of God Leads us to Obey God And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require 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 Deuteronomy 10:12 The fear of God is the hidden principle of obedience Here we walk with our Father, humbly, acceptably, securely - looking not at an offended God with terror - but at a reconciled God with reverential love. All the gracious influences on the soul - cherished under the power of the Spirit - all flow out in godly fear towards him (Charles Bridges) 3) Fear of God Fuels Justice & Mercy You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God Leviticus 25:17 do you know what will truly bring justice to our cities, our world? a fear of God a reverence for Him, for his decrees, for his creation people are valuable - because they are His! He made them! like breaking something that belongs to a famous person, or imagine visiting the oval office of the president, and as you are waiting for him, you knock over the bust, the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. and it shatters on the floor then imagine, treating poorly the very masterpiece of the God of the universe! the more you fear God, the more you will treat people with respect and justice! the solution to injustice in our world is the fear of God 4) Fear of God Keeps you From Sin 7

8 Moses said to the people, do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin Exodus 20:20 Imagine you are dating or are engaged, and you are trying not to you know sin you are all alone, it s late, on the couch it s a hard situation and then the parents come by for a surprise visit all of a sudden, it s easy to not do whatever you wanted to do, right? the fear of God is like that! the more aware you are of Him and His presence, it keeps us from giving into temptation *the opposite is true There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me Genesis 20:11 this is the problem with the world - no fear of God 5) Fear of God Brings God s Pleasure His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love Psalm 147:10-11 oh to please the Lord he is already pleased with us because of Jesus but the feeling of a child pleasing their father, the satisfaction of bringing a smile to the one you love most! 6) Fear of God Brings The Goodness of God Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you Psalm 31:19 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him Psalm 103:13 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children s children Psalm 103:17 7) Fear of God Brings Successful Living 8

9 Proverbs - how to live well what is the secret to the good life - success, knowledge, a happy & secure family, confidence, health, a long life the Fear of the Lord The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge Proverbs 1:7 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 3:7-8 The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short Proverbs 10:27 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge Proverbs 14:26 The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm Proverbs 19:23 The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life Proverbs 22:4 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised Proverbs 31:30 8) Fear of God Leads to Radical Sacrifice He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me Genesis 22:12 Abraham was willing to give up his one and only son because he feared the Lord the more we fear God, the more generous and sacrificial, and radical in following Jesus we will become the more we fear God, the things of earth will grow dimmer and dimmer as you are more and more satisfied with God *the best kind of sacrifice is a life on mission 9) Fear of God Fuels Mission God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! Psalm 67:7 when you fear the Lord, your deepest desire is that others would fear him your neighbors and the nations 9

10 10 Fear of God Delivers You of Your Fears do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. Isaiah 8:12-13 I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears the angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them Psalm 34:4,7 Lion in a cave story now imagine that Lion is your friend. is your protector. is with you always. Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand Isaiah 41:10 that God, the one who is mighty, is with you our God is with us and for us. and when we fear him what is man? future? failure? Satan? Death? Sin? Close - Walking With a Lion the Fear of the LORD is walking with a mighty Lion, but he is for you it s beholding glory, yet you are not consumed, you are safe when you see the power and strength of that Lion to save you, you begin to fear him Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses Exodus 14:30-31 do you know what this God has done for you? do you know that he has rescued you from something worse than an army of Egyptians do you know that he has rescued you from eternal punishment for your sins, from death, from Satan and sin and suffering? 10

11 do you see his power, his might, his majesty? let us fall on our faces like those who beheld the glory of God let us raise our hands and our voices and proclaim the worth and majesty of this God - the Lion who goes before us, the Lamb who was slain for us, the God who loves us and is with us. 11