1 Note: This is the sermon manuscript that Ben carried into the pulpit. Feel free to use it in any way to advance the kingdom of God. Fighting Fear: What Does It Mean To Fear the Lord? Proverbs 1:7-9 Englewood Baptist Church Sunday morning, Jan. 31, 2010 Please open your Bible to Proverbs 1. Today is January 24 th, 2010. As I stand and preach this message, I have been breathing outside the womb for 33 years. To speak like a child, I am almost 33 1/2. Most of you would say I belong to a category called young. Some would call it green. Still some would call me, wet behind the ears. I ll never forget the first pastor s meeting I attended as a 30 year old Senior Pastor. I walked into a room full of seasoned preachers and one of them smiled at me and said, Son, I ve got socks older than you. I wasn t sure how to respond to that: Thank you, sir? Being young has its drawbacks, for sure, especially when one is trying to gain the respect of colleagues. However, being young also has its perks. For example, I am at the age right now that teenagers still think I m one of them. I wouldn t say they think I m cool, but I do they see me as one of them. My baby face is my best friend in this, and I think I have a few more years to play the young card. Today s message is an arrow that I am aiming at the heart of every young person in this room. If you are here today, and you are a young, unmarried adult. I want you to lean in, pay attention, and take note of what I am about to say, for I am about to teach you the secret to success in your life. These are the words of Solomon, the wisest man of the Old Testament. Read Proverbs 1:7-9 Teenagers and college students find themselves at a critical time in their lives. Decisions made between ages 13 and 23 radically shape and steer the rest of our days. This is not to say that crossroads moments won t come at age 30 or 40, but that little window of time, that dynamite decade is explosive and is filled with volatility and danger. Make good decisions and you are like the golfer who hits long straight shots toward the green. You put yourself in a position to win. Make poor decisions and you will spend the rest of your life trying to find the fairway. This is a critical season and one that should be taken very seriously. Listen to what Jesus once said to a group of curious seekers: 28 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. Luke 14:28-30 What Jesus was saying there was simple. Every person has to pay the price for following God. Being a disciple of Christ will cost you something. There is a beautiful, God-given pot of
treasure at the end of this road, but you have to be willing to set aside popularity and pay the deposit for His plan. Between 13 and 23, you will make major decisions concerning the tower that you will build. You will set yourself up for success or for misery in that little sliver of space. So I want to talk to you today, 14 year old, 18 year old, 22 year old. I want you to understand what it means to fear the Lord. Look with me at Proverbs 1, and let me read v.7 to you again In this verse, Solomon makes it clear that not all fear is sinful. In fact, the Bible says that a certain measure of fear is essential to righteous living. And it is this kind of fear that is the foundation of knowledge. Do you know what I ve learned in 5 years of being a dad? I have learned that you can t stack Legos on fuzzy carpet. You can t do it. The foundation is too flimsy and uneven. And just as soon as you get a good solid tower, 10 blocks high, that thing will fall over and frustrate a 3 year old builder. So what do you do? You use common sense and you lay a foundation that is more sure. A hardcover book works great, or even the side of box, but if you want to build anything of significance, you have to be smart about the foundation. Solomon says, When you begin your life, when you begin to learn, there is only one foundation that will serve you well over time. That foundation is the fear of God. What Does It Mean To Fear God? (1:7) To revere him. That means to recognize His authority in the room. You can study till your blue in the face for the ACT, but unless God gives you a green light, you won t get into college. You can dribble a basketball for 15 years and never let it leave your side, but without the help of God, you will never be all you can be on the court. You can work out in the gym, chisel your body like stone, and sit on a tanning bed, but without the good grace of God, you will not find the woman of your dreams. To fear God means to recognize what Jesus said, Apart from me, you can do nothing! Hear me, young people, your life is going if God is not leading it. So the reverence and fear of God is the starting point of wisdom and knowledge. Give him the reins. To stop being thick headed. Look at the second part of that verse: fools despise wisdom and discipline. That word for fool is used 49 times in the Proverbs and it refers to a person who refuses to listen to smart people. And this is the greatest vice of youthfulness. Young people, I m about to say something that will shock you. Are you ready? Here it is. You are not as smart as you think you are. Let me say that again: you are not as smart as you think you are. Growing up, I can t tell you how many times I thought my parents were fools. I thought: they don t get it. They don t live in reality. Their rules are ridiculous. Guess what? Yep. I look back now and I say, they were right. Have you ever wondered why God placed young people in a home? Teenagers grow under the umbrella of a father and mother and other authority figures? God did that on purpose. He did that not to torment you, but to protect you from yourself. No matter how mature you are, it takes 2
time to develop life skills. Don t be embarrassed about that or ashamed. Even Jesus grew in wisdom, the Bible says. God has so created you that you are not born into this world a genius. You have to learn, and be challenged, and sometimes make mistakes, and learn from those failures. As far as I read Scripture, Solomon was only one that received an overnight package of wisdom. God did a miracle in his mind and gave him a heart of wisdom in answer to his prayer. But for me, and for you, and for every other person on the planet, we have to learn little by little, and eat that elephant of wisdom one bite at a time. And it takes time. And so God said, Until this time, the child will live in a home. And Solomon says to every adolescent, Stop being so close minded, stop being so sure of yourself, and do not despise the wisdom offered by older people. I mean this with all my heart. I am sincere when I say this. I love old people. I have never viewed white hair as a sign of weakness, but instead a badge of honor. And I also believe that God has blessed me beyond measure by putting seasoned saints in my path. I could never be where I am today without coaches who taught me how to play the game of life. Growing up as a basketball player, I was exposed to a lot of different athletes. I went to camps every summer, I played every year for our school, I played in countless 3-on-3 tournaments. I have played alongside hundreds of point guards and post players. I have found that there are essentially two types of athletes, regardless of the sport: those who want to get better and those who are convinced there is no one better. And I have watched coach after coach blow their whistle in frustration when one particular player refused to heed simple instructions. And the same is true in the game of life. Don t be that guy, or that girl. If you want to win in this life, if you want to feel victorious on this planet, there is only one way: live in fear of God. Now, I want to share with you now what it really means to live your life in fear of God. I want to pull some verses from the Proverbs that help us get our minds around that idea. Living In Fear of God: How To Put It Into Practice 1. Choose humility before honor. The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. Prov. 15:33 What does it mean to live humbly before God? It means when you walk into a room full of people, assume that you re a nobody and be surprised when they think you re somebody. You should think of other people as being better than you. Young men, Hollywood offers up NO help here. In motion pictures, the man s man is a brawny hero that has no fear. He walks into a room and demands an audience. He calls the shots. He shows em who is in charge. He struts, he swaggers, he speaks with confidence and never second-guesses himself. He is sarcastic and speaks his mind in every situation. And you know what the Bible says about him? He s an arrogant fool who is certain to fall. Pride goes before the fall. He s like a dog on a leash and 3
pride is leading him down a street to shame. Humility is not a high priority in our culture today, but it is at the top of God s list. Living in fear of God means to live humbly. Think for a moment about the humility demonstrated by Jesus. He didn t go from town to town seeking honor and special privilege. He set an example for us by washing the feet of his friends. He made himself nothing and told others to do the same. And the Apostle Paul came after Christ preaching the importance of Christlike humility. He said that one day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is lord. So I love the way one commentator puts it: The question is not whether you or I will be humbled. The question is when we will be humbled. Better now than later. Those are words of wisdom to be accepted and not rejected. If you want to be honored and respected, humility has to come first. A modest, unassuming spirit is a prerequisite to promotion in God s kingdom. So how do you make yourself humble? How to grow in humility: Spend more time on your knees. Prayer is dependence on God. Every time you pray, you demonstrate humility and you show the Lord how lost you are without his rod and his staff to guide you. Find a time in the middle of your day when you can close the door, and quiet your soul, and live out Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. Psalm 42:1 The more time you spend with God, the more teachable, moldable, and useable you will be in his hands. And I can just tell you, because the Chronicler records it, these words are true: The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully His. God gives himself to the praying ones. Humility and prayer cannot be separated. Spend more time exalting others. If humility means lowering ourselves and lifting up other people, then the easiest way to live that out is through service. Do you think those people at the Family Fellowship meal put on white aprons and plastic gloves because it brings prestige. How many autographs have you seen Alma Rogers sign? Zero. Serving in a kitchen is humbling. Some would say, That job is beneath me. I ve got a Master s Degree. That s not where I need to be. One word for that attitude: pride. Don t let there be any job that is beneath you. Find little tasks that no one else wants to do, and meet the needs. And here s the hard part are you ready for this? Minister to others without a desire for praise or promotion or pay. Just serve people with no strings attached. On a few occasions, I have had individuals approach me who want a favor. And this is how they frame the question: Since I have served for X years in such and such ministry, I thought it would be proper to ask for this favor. Do you see what s behind that statement? A sense of 4
entitlement. I have done this, so you owe me that. No, no, no. We don t serve so that we will be served. We serve because Christ first served us. Humility. Spend more time listening to others. When we listen, we put away our pride and we still our voices. Too many times, we enter a meeting and we assume that everyone wants to hear our take on the topic. When we operate with this arrogance, we set ourselves up as an authority, and that s ungodly. Humility leads us to hear the thoughts and ideas of others, to be considerate. Humility leads us to close our mouths and open our ears. So if you want to live in fear of God, make yourself humble before him in these tangible ways. Spend more time in prayer, service, and in listening to others. That s humility and it s part of living in fear of God. Number two, let s talk about the role of discipline. When you live in fear of God. 2. Accept discipline as an opportunity for growth. All throughout the Proverbs, we are reminded of the life-shaping results of discipline, of being punished and learning from our mistakes. Let me just give you a sample of literally hundreds of references to this idea. the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. (3:12) He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. (10:17) Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. (12:1) He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. (13:18) I could go on and on and on, but the Proverbs are packed with verses about the power of discipline. Young people, hear me out. I remember as a teenager when my father would discipline me, I would have feelings of absolute rage against him. I just knew that I was right and he was wrong. And I would go to my room and I would say all kinds of ugly things to those walls and my immediate reaction was always anger. And that s is your fleshly reaction to correction. Who among us receives a whipping on the rear and says, Oh, what a blessing. Could I have one more? Nobody does that. Discipline hurts. It stings, but when it happens, we have an opportunity to grow like never before. We can hate correction, or we can accept it with humility. And let me say this, while I m on the subject of discipline. Part of the role of parenting is to have the courage to correct a child. When my son picks up a plastic ball bat and beats his brother upside the head with it I can choose to ignore that. I can look the other way; I can let 5
him off the hook, but if I choose that, guess what happens? I just let sin come between me and God. His rebellion caused my rebellion. As a parent, I am under God s authority and I don t have a choice to leave my kids alone. The following verses leave me no liberty to let things slide in my home. He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. (13:24) Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death. (19:18) Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul. (29:17) Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him. (22:15) And you get the point. Let me speak from where I stand. Right now in my life, discipline is a two-way street. God does not spare the rod when I roll my eyes at him. As a 33 year old man, I still get spankings. When God punishes me, and shows me consequences for my sin, I have a critical choice to make. I can pout about it, and resent him for it, or I can choose to love that discipline, and learn from it. So I am a 33 year old receiver of discipline. But, not only that, but I am one who dishes out discipline. And this part is not near as fun as I thought it would be. When I was a child, I remember thinking, When I have a boy, I m not gonna spare that rod. He s gonna know who s in charge of the house. And now, I get home from a full day of ministry and my little girl is caught in a lie, and I think, Uuuh. Do I really have to take her to her room and deal with this? I ll just let her off the hook, like I did yesterday. Discipline is not like a trip to Disney. When I m at a restaurant and my child is throwing a tantrum, I have never said to our dinner guests, I ll be right back. This is going to be awesome! Discipline brings no pleasure to the parent. If I had it my way, I would never have to discipline my children, but I don t have it my way. I m under authority, and my boss says that I live with a bunch of little sinners, and folly is bound up in their hearts, and there is only one way to drive it out. If I fail to follow through on discipline, then I become a willing party to their death. So, to live in fear of God is to accept the discipline our parents, and of our heavenly father. I love vv.8-9, when we do this, when we accept the wisdom of our parents, we become like the person with fine jewelry around our necks. Are you enduring a time of discipline? How are you responding? And number three, to live in fear of God means 3. Understand the awesome power of God. 6
Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious, for those two will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring? Prov. 24:21-22 You and I have a hard time grasping the gravity of those two verses because we have grown up in a democracy. The President is powerful, but his power is limited by the other branches of government. Not so with a monarchy. In the day of Solomon, if the king wanted you dead, there was no court of appeal, there was no need for a trial. Sudden destruction could come upon your head with one wrong move, and this explains why Nehemiah trembled in his boots before showing a sad face to the king. Citizens of a monarchy were wise to play by the rules of the king. Now, we all know that our God is a God of Amazing Grace. We sing about it. We preach it. We live under grace. However, the book of Jude warns us that we should not change the grace of God into a license for immorality. So, in college, I heard one young man say it this way: Let s get drunk Friday night. Oh come on. God will forgive us! He was using the grace of God as a license to live his own way. There is no fear of God in that attitude, and if this describes you, I warn you that walking deliberately away from God s will can bring sudden calamity upon you. And if you are that young person here who says this, Someday I ll give my life totally to God, but for now, I m having fun. If you are that person, I warn you: Be afraid. Be afraid. For God will not turn a blind eye to sin. He will discipline those he loves, and he loves you. So you are here this morning and you are playing around with sexuality, getting as close to the line as you can, then you are inviting calamity into your life. If you are here and you are involved in some secret sin and you are disobeying God s commands, and you know it, then consider this your final warning and repent of your sin. Fear the Lord and do not underestimate his power to bring justice. In Matthew 4, we are told that Jesus began preaching the day that John the Baptist was jailed. And Matthew tells us what the sermons were all about. Jesus came preaching, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. To live in fear of God means to live a lifestyle of repentance. Jesus died so that you wouldn t have to live in fear of judgment. And if you are here today and you have never come under the blood of Calvary, then you have every reason to be afraid. But today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, for the kingdom of God is near. 7
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