Let's pray. Oh wonderful,
almighty God, what a joy it is
00:00:30.43\00:00:38.23
to be in Your presence today.
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And as we study about how
to fear, and revere, and honor
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Your wonderful and holy name,
we ask for the presence of Your
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Spirit, and that You
will give us understanding
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as we open Your Holy Word.
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We thank You Father for hearing
our prayer, for we plead and ask
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it in the precious name of
Your Beloved Son Jesus, Amen.
00:01:04.26\00:01:09.06
In our last topic we
studied the everlasting gospel.
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And we noticed that the reason
why the everlasting gospel
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is called so is because the plan
was devised in eternity past.
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And we also noticed that we
will sing the praises of the
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Redeemer throughout the
ceaseless ages of eternity.
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Even when the great
multitude is on the sea of glass
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we will sing the
praises of the Lamb.
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We also noted that the meaning
of the everlasting gospel is
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that Jesus came to this
world to live the perfect life
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that we should live.
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And then at the end of
His life He died the death
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that we should die.
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And by living and by
dying, Jesus wove a perfect robe
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that we can claim,
and we can be covered with
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fully and completely.
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But as we studied in last time's
topic, we must repent, confess,
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and also trust in
Jesus, and claim by faith
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His
righteousness and be baptized.
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And in this way Jesus will take
the robe of His righteousness,
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and He will cover us,
and He will look upon us
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as if we had never sinned.
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What a joyous message that
is to stand before God innocent
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through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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But we also noticed in our
study last time that the gospel
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makes demands upon us.
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Once we have embraced
and accepted the gospel
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of Jesus Christ, then God
expects something from us.
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And for this reason in the first
angel's message we have three
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imperatives, three commands
or orders from God upon those
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individuals who receive and
accept the everlasting gospel.
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And those three imperatives are:
fear God, give glory to God,
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and worship the Creator.
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In other words, when we receive
the gospel, the gospel gives us
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great responsibilities
and duties towards God.
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Now in our study today we're
going to take a look at the
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first of those imperatives.
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We're going to study
what it means to fear God.
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Let me begin by saying
that fearing God does not mean
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that we are afraid of God.
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Because the Bible makes it
very clear that we can fear God
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and experience
joy at the same time.
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I'll tell you, when I'm
afraid I don't experience joy.
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Notice, for example, what
we find in Psalm in the book of
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Psalm 2:11, Psalm 2:11.
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Notice how you have
the idea of fearing God,
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trembling before His
presence, and at the same time
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experiencing joy. It says there:
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And then it says:
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Now you say, That's
almost a contradiction in terms,
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but really, we're going
to find in our study today,
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that the fear of the Lord
does not mean afraid of Him.
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When the Bible speaks
about trembling before the Lord,
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we're not shaking out of fear.
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Because this verse tells us that
we can experience the fear of
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the Lord and at the
same time we can rejoice.
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Perhaps an analogy can help us
understand a little bit better
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this idea of what
it means to fear God.
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In the Bible we are told
that children should fear
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their father and their mother.
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In fact go with me to Leviticus
19:3 where we find these very
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interesting words...
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And I'm reading from
the New King James Version.
00:05:07.67\00:05:10.21
Every one of you shall revere...
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That word revere is
the same word for fear.
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...or fear...
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Now when the Bible tells
us that we're supposed to fear
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our father and our mother, does
that mean that we're supposed
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to be afraid of
them? Absolutely not!
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What it means is that
we're supposed to have a
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profound respect for them.
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We are to hold
our parents in awe.
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In other words, the expression
to fear God does not mean
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being afraid of God, it
entails great respect, and awe,
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and reverence for someone.
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Now I want to mention some
introductory things about the
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fear of God, or what the Bible
also calls the fear of the Lord.
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The Bible tells us that fearing
God is the beginning of wisdom.
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In other words, if we don't
fear God we don't even have
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the beginning of wisdom.
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And, of course, of we
don't have wisdom we're fools.
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The Bible says, The
fool has said in his heart
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there is no God,
because he has no wisdom.
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Notice Proverbs 9:10
where we're told that:
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So you can have all kinds
of information in your brain
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that you've studied in school,
but if you don't have the fear
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of the Lord the Bible
says that we do not even have
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the beginning of wisdom.
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We have not even
started to be wise.
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So it's very important to
have the fear of the Lord.
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Another interesting
detail about the fear of God,
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or the fear of the Lord, is that
we cannot simply make up our
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minds that we're
going to fear the Lord.
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Because the Bible tells us that
the fear of the Lord is placed
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in our hearts by God Himself.
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Notice what we find in
the book of Jeremiah 32:40,
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Jeremiah 32:40. Here God
is speaking and He says this:
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So you don't make up
your mind that you're going to
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have the fear of God.
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The Bible says that
God Himself takes that fear
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and He plants it in your heart.
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The Bible also tells us that the
fear of God, or the fear of the
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Lord is far better
than any earthly possession
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that we might have.
00:08:03.31\00:08:04.65
It's far better than riches.
00:08:04.68\00:08:06.18
Notice what we
find in Proverbs 15:16.
00:08:06.21\00:08:11.19
Here Solomon, who by the
way, for a while was very rich,
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and also very foolish,
because he did not have
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the fear of the Lord.
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He went astray from God, then
later on in his life he wrote
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Proverbs, so he's
writing from experience.
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And notice what he says:
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It's better to have just a
little with the fear of the Lord
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than to have
all kinds of riches.
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Now another important aspect of
fearing God, or having the fear
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of the Lord in your life, is
the fact that it is a choice.
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In other words, to fear God
is something that you choose.
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You allow God to take it
and plant it into your heart.
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Notice Nehemiah 1:11,
Nehemiah 1:11. There it says:
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So fearing God's name
is a desire that we have.
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It's a choice. And then it says:
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Also in Proverbs 1:29
we find this statement:
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So notice once again the idea
that Israel is rejected by God
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at this point because she did
not choose the fear of the Lord.
00:10:06.84\00:10:10.27
In other words, we
can choose to fear God,
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or we can
choose not to fear God.
00:10:12.97\00:10:15.18
It's not something arbitrary
that God plants in the hearts
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of some people, and not in
the hearts of other people.
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It's something that we
must choose to allow God
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to plant in our heart.
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Incidentally, the Bible
also says that to fear God,
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or the fear of the Lord, is
something that can be taught.
00:10:30.13\00:10:33.90
You can learn it. Notice
Psalm 34:11, Psalm 34:11.
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There the Psalmist says, Come,
you children, listen to me:
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I will teach you
the fear of the Lord.
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So the fear of the Lord
is a learned phenomenon.
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It can be taught
as we have fellowship
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and communion with God.
00:10:58.39\00:11:00.19
But now we must ask
the question, What does it
00:11:00.26\00:11:04.49
really mean to fear God?
00:11:04.53\00:11:07.50
Well, in order to answer
this question we need to examine
00:11:07.50\00:11:13.50
the expression, fear
God, and also the expression,
00:11:13.54\00:11:17.17
fear of the Lord, as it's
found in all of the Bible.
00:11:17.21\00:11:20.34
Perhaps you know that the
book of Revelation contains over
00:11:20.38\00:11:24.41
a thousand references
to the Old Testament alone,
00:11:24.45\00:11:27.58
which means that Revelation is
getting much of its information
00:11:27.62\00:11:31.69
from all of the
rest of Scripture,
00:11:31.72\00:11:33.72
from all of the
rest of the Bible.
00:11:33.76\00:11:35.32
So if we want to know what
the first angel's message means
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when it says, fear
God, we need to see what
00:11:38.66\00:11:41.93
that expression means
in the rest of Scripture.
00:11:41.96\00:11:44.80
You see, the
expression, the fear of God,
00:11:44.83\00:11:48.07
or the fear of the Lord,
is like a many edged diamond.
00:11:48.10\00:11:52.34
Each edge is a different aspect
of what it means to fear God.
00:11:52.37\00:11:58.91
So we must look at the entire
biblical testimony about this
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expression, or
these expressions.
00:12:03.92\00:12:06.76
Now by definition
the expression fear God,
00:12:06.79\00:12:11.09
or the fear of the
Lord, involves respect, awe,
00:12:11.13\00:12:16.63
reverence, and
worship towards God.
00:12:16.67\00:12:21.17
And the reason why we are
to have this respect, this awe,
00:12:21.20\00:12:27.04
this reverence, and this spirit
of worship for God, is because
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He is our Creator,
and we are His creatures.
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Notice Psalm 33:6-9 where
this is brought out clearly.
00:12:36.08\00:12:41.26
Psalm 33:6-9. It says there:
00:12:41.29\00:12:45.63
Notice creation.
00:12:50.40\00:12:51.73
So why are we
supposed to fear the Lord
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and stand in awe of the Lord?
00:13:17.36\00:13:19.36
It's simply because God
is the what? the Creator,
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and we are creatures.
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Jeremiah 10:6-10, Jeremiah
10: 6-10 adds to this idea.
00:13:25.93\00:13:33.78
It says there:
00:13:33.84\00:13:35.18
Jeremiah is describing God.
00:13:38.55\00:13:40.38
So reverence and awe
for God, fearing God has to
00:14:03.41\00:14:08.34
do with who He is.
00:14:08.38\00:14:10.95
He's the great God!
00:14:10.98\00:14:12.68
He is the Creator of the
heavens and of the earth.
00:14:12.71\00:14:16.69
In fact, I found this
interesting statement;
00:14:16.72\00:14:19.59
it's very short. It's in the
beautiful and magnificent book
00:14:19.62\00:14:23.26
on how to bring up children.
00:14:23.29\00:14:24.63
It's called Child Guidance.
00:14:24.66\00:14:27.00
On page 538 we find
this definition of what
00:14:27.03\00:14:30.23
it means to fear God:
00:14:30.27\00:14:31.80
In other words, the reason we
fear God is because we discern
00:14:45.45\00:14:50.95
His infinite greatness, and we
also realize that He is present.
00:14:50.99\00:14:57.59
But, you know, the
fear of the Lord is an
00:14:57.63\00:15:00.93
interesting phenomenon.
00:15:00.96\00:15:02.26
To fear God is an interesting
phenomenon because it has to do
00:15:02.30\00:15:05.83
with God being
distant, and at the same time
00:15:05.87\00:15:08.54
with God being close.
00:15:08.57\00:15:10.04
In other words,
God is transcendent,
00:15:10.11\00:15:13.01
but God is also imminent.
00:15:13.04\00:15:15.08
God is over and above His
creation, but God comes in
00:15:15.11\00:15:18.98
contact with His creation.
00:15:19.01\00:15:20.82
You know, the great
writer Rudolph Otto once said
00:15:20.85\00:15:24.99
that God is the Holy Other.
00:15:25.02\00:15:28.06
In other words, we
should not conceive of God
00:15:28.09\00:15:30.63
as our good old buddy.
00:15:30.66\00:15:32.29
We can't conceive of
God as the man upstairs.
00:15:32.33\00:15:36.50
God is a God who
is great, omnipotent,
00:15:36.53\00:15:40.10
and He must be respected.
00:15:40.14\00:15:41.74
He's up there; He's over and
above us; He's outside of us;
00:15:41.77\00:15:46.37
He is transcendent.
00:15:46.41\00:15:47.74
But the Bible also tells us that
God comes into close contact
00:15:47.78\00:15:53.48
with those who
are humble of heart.
00:15:53.52\00:15:55.65
In other words, He's a
God that's way up there.
00:15:55.68\00:15:58.09
He is to be respected;
He is to be held in awe;
00:15:58.12\00:16:01.29
He is to be honored.
00:16:01.32\00:16:02.66
But at the same time, those
who are humble God comes down
00:16:02.69\00:16:05.96
and He has contact with them.
00:16:05.99\00:16:07.66
That's why we can fear God
and at the same time have joy.
00:16:07.66\00:16:11.73
Notice Isaiah 57:15 where
we find this apparent dichotomy
00:16:11.77\00:16:18.17
between God's otherness,
and God's coming to be with us.
00:16:18.21\00:16:22.68
Isaiah 57:15. For thus says the
high and lofty One who inhabits
00:16:22.71\00:16:30.29
eternity, whose name
is Holy; I dwell in the
00:16:30.32\00:16:36.96
high and holy place.
00:16:37.03\00:16:39.43
Notice God says, I'm up there.
00:16:39.46\00:16:42.03
I'm beyond the sun,
the moon, and the stars.
00:16:42.06\00:16:44.23
I inhabit eternity.
00:16:44.27\00:16:45.87
But then notice what
He says: I dwell in the
00:16:45.90\00:16:49.14
high and holy place,
with him who has a contrite
00:16:49.17\00:16:54.48
and humble spirit, to
revive the spirit of the humble,
00:16:54.51\00:16:58.55
and to revive the
heart of the contrite ones.
00:16:58.58\00:17:02.28
So God is way up
there; He's transcendent,
00:17:02.32\00:17:05.22
but He is also imminent.
00:17:05.25\00:17:06.79
He is to be respected
because He's outside of us;
00:17:06.82\00:17:09.72
He's the great Creator, but He's
the Creator who is our Father,
00:17:09.76\00:17:13.19
and comes in contact with us.
00:17:13.23\00:17:15.26
And so when we fear God, we
respect Him as the omnipotent
00:17:15.30\00:17:20.94
God, but at the same time we
love Him as our intimate Father.
00:17:20.97\00:17:25.27
Now let's talk a little bit
about that intimate closeness
00:17:25.31\00:17:29.98
that God has to us.
00:17:30.05\00:17:31.51
Notice Deuteronomy 13:4.
00:17:31.55\00:17:35.15
And what I want you to see
in this verse is the number of
00:17:35.18\00:17:40.36
synonyms that are
used to describe our
00:17:40.39\00:17:43.29
relationship with God.
00:17:43.32\00:17:44.83
Deuteronomy 13:4.
Notice what it says:
00:17:44.86\00:17:48.23
Do you see all of the
synonymous expressions?
00:18:10.52\00:18:12.95
To fear God means to walk with
Him, to keep His commandments,
00:18:12.99\00:18:16.99
to obey His voice, to serve
Him, and to hold fast to Him.
00:18:17.06\00:18:20.83
By the way, that
expression, hold fast to Him,
00:18:20.86\00:18:24.57
really in the King James
Version, (I'm using the New King
00:18:24.60\00:18:27.77
James), but in the King
James Version it's translated,
00:18:27.80\00:18:31.04
to cleave; you
shall cleave to Him.
00:18:31.07\00:18:34.84
Now that's the very same word
that's used in Genesis where it
00:18:34.88\00:18:38.45
speaks about a man leaving
his father and his mother,
00:18:38.48\00:18:42.02
and joining his wife,
and cleaving unto her.
00:18:42.05\00:18:46.12
In other words, it's
an intimate closeness.
00:18:46.15\00:18:48.42
It's actually becoming
one, according to Scripture.
00:18:48.46\00:18:51.59
By the way, the same
word is used in Psalm 102:5,
00:18:51.63\00:18:55.36
where it speaks about the
bones cleaving to the skin.
00:18:55.40\00:18:58.23
And it's used in Psalm 137:6
where it speaks about the tongue
00:18:58.27\00:19:02.84
cleaving to the
roof of your mouth.
00:19:02.87\00:19:04.47
In other words, this
is an intimate closeness;
00:19:04.51\00:19:07.41
it's a sticking together.
00:19:07.44\00:19:08.88
And God says this is what
the fear of the Lord means.
00:19:08.91\00:19:13.08
It means to cleave
unto the Lord your God.
00:19:13.11\00:19:16.92
Fearing God also involves
respecting God's holy name.
00:19:16.95\00:19:22.62
Notice Deuteronomy 28:58,
59, Deuteronomy 28:58, 59.
00:19:22.66\00:19:32.10
Here God is warning Israel
about the need to respect His
00:19:32.13\00:19:36.04
holy name, which, by the way, is
a reflection of His character.
00:19:36.07\00:19:39.77
God's name and His
character are interchangeable.
00:19:40.08\00:19:43.04
When you trample on God's
name, you're really trampling
00:19:43.08\00:19:46.01
upon His character.
00:19:46.05\00:19:47.42
It says in Deuteronomy
28:58, 59, God is speaking:
00:19:47.45\00:19:51.79
Notice that God expects that we
should what? fear His glorious
00:20:17.61\00:20:24.05
and awesome name,
and His awesome name is
00:20:24.09\00:20:27.69
the Lord Your God.
00:20:27.72\00:20:30.03
Notice Psalm 111:9 also about
respecting the holy name of God.
00:20:30.09\00:20:36.90
In other words, we
should not unnecessarily
00:20:36.93\00:20:39.13
repeat the name of God.
00:20:39.17\00:20:40.50
It should not
become common on our lips.
00:20:40.57\00:20:42.60
Psalm 111:9. It says there:
00:20:42.64\00:20:46.71
And, of course, we all
know that the third commandment
00:20:56.92\00:21:00.46
in Exodus 20:7 says:
00:21:00.49\00:21:02.82
In other words don't
use it unnecessarily.
00:21:06.80\00:21:09.50
And, of course, we're all
acquainted with the Lord's
00:21:14.44\00:21:17.11
prayer where Jesus, in Matthew
6:9 says, hallowed be Your what?
00:21:17.17\00:21:22.98
be Your name. The word hallowed
means Sanctified be your name.
00:21:23.01\00:21:27.78
Your name is holy.
00:21:27.82\00:21:29.15
You know, I think that
Hollywood would do real well
00:21:29.18\00:21:31.99
to listen to this.
00:21:32.02\00:21:33.36
Because in the movies
that are produced by the media
00:21:34.46\00:21:37.09
God's name is
constantly taken in vain.
00:21:37.13\00:21:41.10
Not only this, we do it
also, many times as Christians,
00:21:41.13\00:21:44.70
when we use slang
words to describe Jesus,
00:21:44.73\00:21:47.67
or to describe God.
00:21:47.70\00:21:49.04
We say, for example,
Gee, which is short for Jesus.
00:21:49.07\00:21:52.77
And we say gosh, and I say
this reverently to make a point.
00:21:52.81\00:21:57.51
We say gosh; it's
a slang word for God.
00:21:57.58\00:22:00.52
You know, the Jews did not
even pronounce God's holy name
00:22:00.55\00:22:04.29
because it was so magnificent.
00:22:04.32\00:22:06.52
They actually only wrote it.
00:22:06.55\00:22:08.09
They never even pronounced it
with their lips because it was
00:22:08.12\00:22:11.13
such a holy and reverent name.
00:22:11.16\00:22:13.70
How many times don't we just
basically repeat the name of God
00:22:13.73\00:22:18.43
in our prayers, the name of
God in our conversation, without
00:22:18.47\00:22:22.70
taking into account the reverent
and awesome, and omnipotent
00:22:22.74\00:22:27.98
meaning of that
holy name of God.
00:22:28.01\00:22:30.91
Do you know that fearing
God will not only effect how we
00:22:30.95\00:22:34.88
use His name, but
fearing God will also effect
00:22:34.92\00:22:37.75
how we worship Him;
our style of worship.
00:22:37.79\00:22:41.06
Notice 1 Chronicles 16:29,
30, 1 Chronicles 16:29, 30.
00:22:41.09\00:22:49.73
Notice that we have several
key words that are found in the
00:22:49.76\00:22:53.77
first angel's message.
00:22:53.80\00:22:55.17
In fact all of the key commands
in the first angel's message
00:22:55.20\00:22:59.24
are in 1
Chronicles 16:29, 30. Notice:
00:22:59.27\00:23:02.68
Do we find that in the
first angel's message? fear God
00:23:07.95\00:23:10.49
and what? give glory to Him.
00:23:10.52\00:23:12.92
Okay, so it says, Give the
Lord the glory due His name;
00:23:12.95\00:23:17.33
bring an offering,
and come before Him:
00:23:17.36\00:23:20.20
Is that word worship in
the first angel's message?
00:23:24.70\00:23:27.34
Absolutely! And so it says:
00:23:27.40\00:23:29.44
And then notice the
idea of fearing God.
00:23:32.64\00:23:35.31
O worship the Lord in
the beauty of holiness.
00:23:44.45\00:23:47.79
Notice that we're
supposed to worship the Lord
00:23:47.82\00:23:52.63
Do you know how
Israel worshipped God?
00:23:57.00\00:23:59.57
You know, today many
Christian churches come
00:23:59.60\00:24:03.30
to church to have a party.
00:24:03.34\00:24:04.91
But do you know how
Israel worshipped the Lord
00:24:04.94\00:24:09.21
in biblical times?
00:24:09.24\00:24:10.85
They came with humility.
00:24:10.88\00:24:12.45
They were not haughty.
00:24:12.48\00:24:14.02
In fact the Bible says that when
God's people encountered God
00:24:14.05\00:24:18.72
their immediate reaction was to
bow their forehead to the ground
00:24:18.75\00:24:23.73
in reverence towards God.
00:24:23.76\00:24:25.49
I want you to notice what
we find in 2 Chronicles 7:3
00:24:25.53\00:24:29.96
where it speaks about
the inauguration of Solomon's
00:24:30.03\00:24:33.74
temple which is, by the way,
misnamed; it's God's temple,
00:24:33.80\00:24:36.47
and it was built by Solomon.
00:24:36.50\00:24:37.84
2 Chronicles 7:3.
Notice that worshipping God
00:24:37.87\00:24:42.08
involves humility.
00:24:42.11\00:24:43.45
We cannot be haughty.
00:24:43.51\00:24:44.85
In our worship style we must
be reverent, in other words.
00:24:44.88\00:24:48.15
It says there in
2 Chronicles 7:3:
00:24:48.18\00:24:50.95
Notice that they put
their forehead to the ground,
00:25:09.34\00:25:11.87
and they bowed
before the great God.
00:25:11.91\00:25:14.18
You know, every great person in
the Bible that encountered God
00:25:14.21\00:25:17.68
was awed by His presence
in the worship experience.
00:25:17.71\00:25:22.05
In Isaiah 6 Isaiah was permitted
to see God's heavenly temple,
00:25:22.08\00:25:26.32
and he heard the Seraphim
singing, and the posts of the
00:25:26.35\00:25:31.26
temple were shaking, and the
angels were singing, Holy, Holy,
00:25:31.29\00:25:34.96
Holy. And how did Isaiah feel?
00:25:35.00\00:25:37.23
He says, Oh I am undone;
for I am a man of unclean lips,
00:25:37.27\00:25:42.24
and I dwell in the midst
of a people with unclean lips.
00:25:42.27\00:25:45.57
But when he
realized that he was nothing,
00:25:45.61\00:25:47.34
then God made him something,
because God sent an angel
00:25:47.38\00:25:50.41
to touch his lips,
and his sin was cleansed,
00:25:50.45\00:25:53.52
because he came to
worship God in humility.
00:25:53.58\00:25:56.85
When Moses met God
at the burning bush,
00:25:56.89\00:25:59.39
and he discovered that it
was God that was in the burning
00:25:59.42\00:26:02.29
bush, the Bible says that he
bowed his head to the ground.
00:26:02.32\00:26:06.39
In other words, he was
reverent in the presence of God.
00:26:06.43\00:26:10.07
When Jesus encountered
Peter after the resurrection,
00:26:10.10\00:26:12.63
Peter said, Depart from
me, for I am a sinful man.
00:26:12.67\00:26:17.21
In fact, do you know where
the word humility comes from?
00:26:17.24\00:26:19.64
The word humility
comes from the Latin humus.
00:26:19.67\00:26:24.05
Do you know what
humus is? It means dirt.
00:26:24.08\00:26:28.75
It means dust. In other
words, humility means that you
00:26:28.78\00:26:33.36
recognize that you are dust.
00:26:33.39\00:26:36.49
And what are we composed of?
00:26:36.52\00:26:38.16
What did God create us of?
00:26:38.19\00:26:39.76
He created us of dust.
00:26:39.79\00:26:41.66
In other words, when we come
to worship before God we realize
00:26:41.70\00:26:45.23
that we are but dust.
00:26:45.27\00:26:47.84
But, of course, in the sight of
God, we are very precious dust.
00:26:47.87\00:26:51.14
We must come to worship God
in humility, in other words,
00:26:51.17\00:26:56.28
not with a haughty spirit.
00:26:56.31\00:26:58.38
Psalm 9:20 explains the
importance of recognizing
00:26:58.41\00:27:04.79
that we are not God; that we
are simply men. It says there:
00:27:04.82\00:27:09.06
See, when we have the fear
of the Lord, what do we realize?
00:27:15.50\00:27:18.13
We realize that we are
but what? we are but men.
00:27:18.17\00:27:22.64
In other words, the fear of
the Lord creates humility in us.
00:27:22.67\00:27:26.61
Notice Isaiah 45:9, Isaiah 45:9.
00:27:26.68\00:27:28.01
Do you remember the
story of Nebuchadnezzar, right?
00:27:49.10\00:27:52.23
that great king of Babylon.
00:27:52.27\00:27:54.30
He thought he was hot stuff.
00:27:54.34\00:27:55.67
In fact the Bible tells us
that one day he went out on the
00:27:55.70\00:27:59.61
balcony of the palace, and he
says, Isn't this great Babylon
00:27:59.64\00:28:04.11
that I have built with
my power and for my glory?
00:28:04.18\00:28:06.95
And the Lord said, Oh yeah?
00:28:06.98\00:28:09.48
And in an instant God
removed the pearl of reasoning
00:28:09.52\00:28:13.92
from his mind, and
suddenly Nebuchadnezzar
00:28:13.99\00:28:17.16
was no better than a beast.
00:28:17.19\00:28:18.63
He was something as long as
God gave him a reasoning power.
00:28:18.66\00:28:24.83
When God removed
that he was nothing.
00:28:24.87\00:28:27.94
And at the end Nebuchadnezzar
says, I now praise and honor
00:28:27.97\00:28:32.51
the God of heaven, because
He is able to humble those who
00:28:32.54\00:28:36.24
have a haughty spirit.
00:28:36.28\00:28:38.05
So the fear of the
Lord intells great humility.
00:28:38.08\00:28:41.82
The Bible also says that fearing
God entails a spirit of trust
00:28:41.85\00:28:48.69
in God; it
means to trust in Him.
00:28:48.72\00:28:51.19
Notice Psalm 115:11,
Psalm 115: 11. It says:
00:28:51.23\00:28:58.03
See, those who fear the
Lord, they trust in the Lord.
00:29:01.70\00:29:04.24
But, of course, the question
is: what does it mean to trust
00:29:07.68\00:29:10.71
in the Lord? By far, folks,
the most predominate connotation
00:29:10.78\00:29:18.72
of the expression, Fear of the
Lord, or fear God in Scripture
00:29:18.75\00:29:22.89
has to do with a response
of willing obedience to God.
00:29:22.92\00:29:28.80
You know my colleague
here at Fresno Central Church,
00:29:28.83\00:29:31.87
Elder James Finn, many times
has said that obedience is what?
00:29:31.90\00:29:39.14
obedience is the
highest form of worship.
00:29:39.17\00:29:43.45
It's also the highest
form of fearing the Lord.
00:29:43.48\00:29:47.42
You say, How is this?
00:29:47.45\00:29:49.55
We're going to notice now
several verses in Scripture
00:29:49.58\00:29:54.16
that show that fearing God leads
to a change in our lifestyle.
00:29:54.19\00:29:58.79
It leads to loving
obedience to God's commandments.
00:29:58.83\00:30:03.73
It leads us to do what God
says that we're supposed to do.
00:30:03.77\00:30:07.60
For example, you
remember when Abraham got to
00:30:07.64\00:30:12.61
the city of Gerar; the
king there was Abimelech.
00:30:12.64\00:30:15.58
And Abraham was afraid
that Abimelech was going to kill
00:30:15.61\00:30:19.25
him and take his wife Sarah,
because it appears that Sarah
00:30:19.28\00:30:21.68
was pretty good looking,
even though at that time she was
00:30:21.72\00:30:24.29
up in years. But she was
still pretty good looking.
00:30:24.32\00:30:27.12
And notice what Abraham said;
the justification for lying
00:30:27.16\00:30:31.53
and saying, No, she's my sister.
00:30:31.56\00:30:32.93
You know, he didn't
tell the whole truth
00:30:32.96\00:30:35.26
and nothing but the
truth; he told a partial truth
00:30:35.30\00:30:37.60
with the intent to deceive.
00:30:37.63\00:30:39.23
Notice Genesis
20:11. And Abraham said,
00:30:39.27\00:30:43.57
What happens when
there's no fear of the Lord
00:30:55.95\00:30:58.25
in a certain place?
00:30:58.29\00:30:59.62
People what? people kill.
00:30:59.65\00:31:01.76
Are you with me? In other
words, when there's no fear
00:31:01.79\00:31:04.86
of God there's no obedience;
there's violence in other words.
00:31:04.89\00:31:08.30
Notice Exodus 1:17.
00:31:08.33\00:31:10.73
You remember that Pharaoh said
that they were supposed to kill
00:31:10.77\00:31:12.83
all of the male children?
00:31:12.87\00:31:14.20
Do you remember
that? two years and under?
00:31:14.24\00:31:16.34
Well, the fact is
that the Hebrew midwives
00:31:16.37\00:31:19.41
did not kill the children.
00:31:19.44\00:31:21.18
Why didn't they?
Notice Exodus 1:17:
00:31:21.21\00:31:24.88
In other words, where
the fear of God is present,
00:31:36.52\00:31:39.23
your life is safe.
00:31:39.26\00:31:41.33
Where the fear of God is
not present, people violate the
00:31:41.36\00:31:46.20
commandment,
Thou shalt not kill.
00:31:46.23\00:31:48.44
Notice Ecclesiastes
8:11-13, Ecclesiastes 8:11-13.
00:31:48.47\00:31:57.58
And, by the way, Solomon
knows what he's talking about,
00:31:57.61\00:32:00.62
because Solomon, you know,
he went off on a tangent away
00:32:00.65\00:32:05.02
from the Lord for years.
00:32:05.05\00:32:06.52
He became almost an atheist.
00:32:06.55\00:32:08.39
He became an infidel.
00:32:08.42\00:32:09.76
So he knows what
he's talking about.
00:32:09.79\00:32:11.39
He actually wrote the book
of Ecclesiastes when he was
00:32:11.43\00:32:14.20
and old man and he
had returned to the Lord.
00:32:14.30\00:32:16.46
And he's telling people what
life was like away from God.
00:32:16.50\00:32:19.60
Notice:
00:32:19.63\00:32:20.97
In other words, just because
a person doesn't suffer the
00:32:27.18\00:32:30.01
penalty for sin right away:
00:32:30.05\00:32:31.38
And then he says:
00:32:37.62\00:32:41.12
Did you catch that?
00:33:01.64\00:33:04.88
What does it
mean to not fear God?
00:33:17.33\00:33:19.16
It means to be wicked.
00:33:19.19\00:33:20.53
What does it mean to fear God?
00:33:20.60\00:33:23.20
It means to be righteous.
00:33:23.23\00:33:25.13
And the days of the
righteous are prolonged,
00:33:25.17\00:33:28.34
but the days of
the wicked are not.
00:33:28.37\00:33:30.17
You say, Well, I know a lot
of wicked people that have lived
00:33:30.21\00:33:33.21
a long time. Yes,
have they lived eternally?
00:33:33.24\00:33:35.98
You see, when the Bible says
that the righteous will live
00:33:36.01\00:33:39.61
a long time, it's not only
talking about this brief period
00:33:39.65\00:33:43.35
in human history, it's
talking about living forever.
00:33:43.39\00:33:46.22
Now let's notice Romans 3:10-18.
00:33:46.25\00:33:50.59
Here the apostle Paul is
describing the sinfulness
00:33:50.63\00:33:53.86
of the human race, and I
want you to notice how he
00:33:53.90\00:33:55.96
ends this passage.
00:33:56.00\00:33:57.33
Romans 3:10. It's a pretty sad
description of the sinfulness
00:33:57.40\00:34:03.91
of the human
race. As it is written:
00:34:03.94\00:34:06.41
And now notice
how the passage ends.
00:34:45.31\00:34:47.32
It's described all this
wickedness, and then it says:
00:34:47.38\00:34:50.65
Why is it that you have
all of this list of wickedness?
00:34:55.36\00:34:58.56
Because people have no
what? they have no fear of God
00:34:58.59\00:35:02.86
before their eyes.
00:35:02.90\00:35:04.27
Let me ask you then, do you
think that the first angel's
00:35:04.30\00:35:06.27
message is talking about
the importance of being obedient
00:35:06.30\00:35:09.50
to God, and following
what He says in His Holy Law?
00:35:09.54\00:35:13.61
Absolutely! Now let's notice
when the ten commandments were
00:35:13.68\00:35:17.91
given, God said something
very interesting to Israel
00:35:17.95\00:35:21.52
a little bit later on.
00:35:21.55\00:35:22.88
Notice what we find
in Deuteronomy 4:10-13,
00:35:22.92\00:35:27.66
Deuteronomy 4:10-13.
00:35:27.69\00:35:30.86
Here Moses is reminiscing about
what happened on Mount Horeb
00:35:30.93\00:35:35.93
when God gave the law. Notice:
00:35:35.96\00:35:39.10
Because God spoke
the ten commandments.
00:35:51.65\00:35:53.62
To what? When God spoke
the ten commandments it was to
00:35:54.75\00:35:59.25
teach Israel to
do what? to fear Him.
00:35:59.29\00:36:02.56
So it says, I will let them
hear My words that they may...
00:36:02.59\00:36:05.89
Is there anything in the
ten commandments that teaches
00:36:12.13\00:36:14.90
people to fear God?
00:36:14.94\00:36:16.27
Are we supposed to teach
our children the principles
00:36:16.30\00:36:18.91
of the ten commandments?
Absolutely! Notice verse 11:
00:36:18.94\00:36:22.21
So notice that God gives
the commandments and He says
00:36:49.04\00:36:53.34
to Israel, You know, these
commandments are going to teach
00:36:53.38\00:36:56.48
you to fear Me, and you are
to teach these commandments to
00:36:56.51\00:37:00.45
your children, so that
your children will also fear me.
00:37:00.48\00:37:04.32
By the way, do you know that
the fear of the Lord involves
00:37:04.35\00:37:10.16
in our way of treating
other people, it changes rather
00:37:10.19\00:37:13.26
the way that we
treat other people?
00:37:13.29\00:37:14.93
You know, it makes us loving
and kind towards the weak,
00:37:14.96\00:37:19.63
and the less fortunate.
00:37:19.67\00:37:21.00
By the way, the main principle
behind the ten commandments
00:37:21.04\00:37:24.54
is love. Isn't that right?
00:37:24.57\00:37:26.47
Notice what we find in
Leviticus 19:14, and then we're
00:37:26.51\00:37:31.95
going to jump to verse 32.
00:37:31.98\00:37:33.42
Notice how the fear of the Lord,
when we have the fear of God
00:37:33.45\00:37:36.72
in our hearts it's going
to effect the way that we
00:37:36.79\00:37:39.72
treat our neighbor.
00:37:39.75\00:37:41.09
And, of course, the essence
of God's law, the essence of the
00:37:41.12\00:37:44.76
ten
commandments is love. Notice:
00:37:44.79\00:37:47.50
And then what does it say?
00:37:52.87\00:37:55.90
Now notice verse 32.
00:38:02.74\00:38:05.61
And then it says:
00:38:11.12\00:38:13.72
Are you catching how the fear
of God in our lives effects the
00:38:20.46\00:38:24.47
way we treat other people?
00:38:24.50\00:38:26.40
Notice Leviticus 25, and we'll
read verse 17, and verse 36,
00:38:26.43\00:38:31.41
and also verse
43. It says there:
00:38:31.44\00:38:34.28
Notice that when we fear God
we don't oppress other people.
00:38:40.42\00:38:42.92
Also, notice what He says:
00:38:45.05\00:38:48.02
Do you know what usury is?
00:38:49.16\00:38:50.53
It's an exorbitant
amount of interest.
00:38:50.56\00:38:53.70
It's taking advantage of people
financially. And so it says:
00:38:53.73\00:38:57.97
And notice Leviticus
25:43, Leviticus 25:43 says:
00:39:06.91\00:39:13.55
That is rule over your neighbor.
00:39:16.55\00:39:18.45
So, in other words, having
the fear of God in our lives
00:39:24.56\00:39:28.26
leads us to keep God's
law, and it leads us to love
00:39:28.30\00:39:32.70
or fellow human beings.
00:39:32.73\00:39:34.14
Now let's read a few other
verses that show how important
00:39:34.17\00:39:38.14
it is when we fear God
to obey Him and do His will.
00:39:38.17\00:39:42.18
Deuteronomy
5:29, Deuteronomy 5:29.
00:39:42.21\00:39:49.52
Notice how God opens up
His heart to Israel. He says:
00:39:49.55\00:39:53.79
Now notice, what
does fear lead to?
00:40:00.20\00:40:03.53
What does it mean to fear God?
00:40:17.75\00:40:19.18
It means always to keep
what? all of God's commandments,
00:40:19.21\00:40:24.09
according to this passage.
00:40:24.15\00:40:25.49
Notice Deuteronomy 8:6, and
I'm reading so many of these
00:40:25.52\00:40:29.89
so you don't think that I'm just
picking and choosing a verse
00:40:29.92\00:40:32.69
here or a verse there.
00:40:32.73\00:40:34.03
In Scripture the main
connotation of the fear of
00:40:34.10\00:40:38.03
the Lord, or fearing God,
has to do with keeping God's
00:40:38.07\00:40:42.87
commandments:
departing from evil, doing good,
00:40:42.90\00:40:46.91
loving our neighbor.
00:40:46.94\00:40:48.44
In other words,
it's related very closely
00:40:48.48\00:40:51.55
with God's Holy Law.
00:40:51.58\00:40:52.91
Notice Deuteronomy 8:6.
00:40:52.95\00:40:55.62
Notice once again the
idea that the commandments are
00:41:06.63\00:41:09.13
linked with fearing God.
00:41:09.16\00:41:11.87
Notice Deuteronomy 10:12,
13, Deuteronomy 10: 12, 13.
00:41:11.90\00:41:20.34
Now notice all the synonyms:
00:41:30.05\00:41:31.75
Let me ask you, Does fearing
God have anything to do with
00:41:54.28\00:41:58.18
our own practical walk,
every day walk? Yes or no?
00:41:58.21\00:42:01.85
It most certainly does!
00:42:01.88\00:42:03.22
Because fearing God is explained
here as walking with Him,
00:42:03.25\00:42:06.76
loving Him, serving
Him, and keeping His what?
00:42:06.79\00:42:10.76
and keeping His commandments.
00:42:10.83\00:42:12.96
Notice Psalm 103:17, 18.
00:42:12.99\00:42:16.03
And, by the way, I'm
reading many of these texts,
00:42:16.06\00:42:18.70
but there are many more
that I could have included,
00:42:18.73\00:42:21.10
but there's just too many pages.
00:42:21.14\00:42:22.84
Notice Psalm 103:17, 18.
00:42:22.87\00:42:27.44
Let me ask you, those
individuals who fear God,
00:42:49.66\00:42:53.17
do they keep the
commandments of God? Absolutely!
00:42:53.20\00:42:56.37
I want you to notice 1 Samuel
12, 1 Samuel 12, and we're going
00:42:56.40\00:43:01.51
to read verses 14 and 15,
and then we're going to jump
00:43:01.54\00:43:04.05
down to verse 24.
00:43:04.08\00:43:05.41
I thought about
reading the whole passage,
00:43:05.45\00:43:06.85
but it's too long.
00:43:07.02\00:43:08.35
You can read it at your leisure.
00:43:08.38\00:43:09.72
1 Samuel 12:14, 15, and
then we'll read verse 24.
00:43:09.75\00:43:13.15
God is speaking here
to the kings of Israel.
00:43:13.19\00:43:15.42
Do you see everything that has
to do with the fear of God here?
00:43:26.60\00:43:29.34
It says:
00:43:29.37\00:43:30.71
Notice that the fear Him is
the opposite of doing wickedly.
00:44:06.68\00:44:09.74
Now there's a special verse
in the Bible that is very close
00:44:17.75\00:44:22.86
to what we find in
the first angel's message.
00:44:22.89\00:44:25.53
The first angel's message says,
Fear God, give glory to Him,
00:44:25.56\00:44:28.70
for the hour of
His judgment has come.
00:44:28.73\00:44:30.83
Now notice Ecclesiastes 12:13,
14; the similarity in this
00:44:30.87\00:44:38.11
passage that ends
the book of Ecclesiastes.
00:44:38.14\00:44:41.24
See, Solomon in Ecclesiastes
basically has told his life
00:44:41.28\00:44:45.05
story: how he blew it, how
he almost became an atheist,
00:44:45.08\00:44:49.45
how he womanized, and how
he had all of these riches,
00:44:49.48\00:44:52.89
and all of these things.
00:44:52.92\00:44:54.26
And at the end of his life
he felt like committing suicide,
00:44:54.29\00:44:57.09
he says in the
book of Ecclesiastes.
00:44:57.13\00:44:58.96
He was totally angry at
life, because everything that he
00:44:58.99\00:45:04.27
considered important he
realized was totally worthless.
00:45:04.30\00:45:07.67
In fact it was vanity.
00:45:07.70\00:45:10.04
You know the word vanity
is used thirty-five times
00:45:10.11\00:45:12.21
in the book of Ecclesiastes.
00:45:12.24\00:45:13.58
Vanity of vanities;
all is vanity Solomon says
00:45:13.61\00:45:16.51
when he talks about
everything that he had in life.
00:45:16.54\00:45:19.28
Notice how he ends his book.
00:45:19.31\00:45:22.88
Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14.
00:45:22.92\00:45:26.32
Revelation says, Fear God and
give glory to Him. Here it says:
00:45:33.90\00:45:37.33
And now notice
the idea of judgment.
00:45:42.94\00:45:45.91
Do you see the relationship
between this passage
00:45:50.71\00:45:52.98
and the first angel's message?
00:45:53.01\00:45:54.35
Do you remember when God
asked Abraham, or commanded
00:46:01.26\00:46:05.56
Abraham to take
his son to Mount Moriah
00:46:05.59\00:46:07.60
and to sacrifice him?
00:46:07.66\00:46:08.96
And he raised his hand and
he was ready to plunge the knife
00:46:10.87\00:46:13.47
into his son, and a voice
said, Don't you plunge that
00:46:13.54\00:46:17.14
knife into your son.
00:46:17.21\00:46:18.54
I want you to
notice what God said.
00:46:18.57\00:46:21.41
Genesis 22:12,
And he said, Do not...
00:46:21.44\00:46:26.82
Let me ask you, Did the fear of
God lead Abraham to be obedient
00:46:39.56\00:46:44.57
to God, even to the
point of being willing to
00:46:44.60\00:46:47.10
sacrifice his
own son? Absolutely!
00:46:47.20\00:46:49.67
The fear of God has to do with
obeying the commands of God.
00:46:49.74\00:46:54.44
That's especially what
I want us to gather from
00:46:54.48\00:46:56.75
what we're talking about.
00:46:56.81\00:46:58.15
Notice Job 1: 8, 9.
00:46:58.18\00:46:59.88
Let me ask you, Was
Job a pretty righteous man?
00:46:59.91\00:47:02.82
God said so! Let's hear
what God had to say about Job.
00:47:02.85\00:47:07.09
Job 1:8, 9, Then the
Lord said to Satan,...
00:47:07.12\00:47:12.39
Let me ask you, If you fear
God are you going to shun evil?
00:47:28.74\00:47:31.48
Absolutely! That's what it says.
00:47:31.51\00:47:34.22
Let me ask you, What is
it that shows you what is
00:47:36.28\00:47:38.35
evil and what is good?
00:47:38.39\00:47:39.72
God's Holy Law shows
you what is right and wrong,
00:47:39.75\00:47:43.83
what is good and evil.
00:47:43.86\00:47:45.19
And so it says here;
God is saying, One who fears
00:47:45.23\00:47:48.70
God and shuns evil...
00:47:48.73\00:47:50.07
In other words,
Does he obey you free?
00:47:53.90\00:47:55.94
God said, Yeah. And the Devil
says, Well, let me try him.
00:47:56.00\00:47:59.54
And God says, Go for it.
00:47:59.57\00:48:01.28
And we all know that Job
remained faithful to God.
00:48:01.31\00:48:04.95
Notice a little later on
in the book of Job, Job 28:28,
00:48:04.98\00:48:08.98
Job 28:28. Listen carefully.
00:48:09.02\00:48:12.15
The Bible is full
of this idea. It says:
00:48:12.19\00:48:14.92
This is a
synonymous parallelism.
00:48:22.03\00:48:25.07
What is said in the first line
is repeated in the second line
00:48:25.17\00:48:28.54
in different words.
00:48:28.57\00:48:29.90
In other words, the fear of
the Lord is to depart from evil.
00:48:35.71\00:48:39.35
Notice Proverbs 8:13.
00:48:39.38\00:48:41.42
There it's explicit.
00:48:41.45\00:48:43.49
It says in Proverbs 8:13:
00:48:43.52\00:48:46.25
So what is the fear of the Lord?
00:48:57.53\00:48:59.30
It is to what? to hate evil.
00:48:59.37\00:49:01.17
And evil is the
transgression of God's Holy Law.
00:49:01.20\00:49:04.37
Proverbs 16:6, the
same idea. It says there:
00:49:04.41\00:49:09.24
What does the fear of
the Lord lead you to do?
00:49:19.12\00:49:21.46
to depart from evil.
00:49:21.49\00:49:23.46
Notice Proverbs
3:7, Proverbs 3:7.
00:49:23.49\00:49:27.86
Notice Proverbs 14:12.
00:49:35.84\00:49:38.84
Time and again Scripture
comes out with this idea.
00:49:38.87\00:49:42.14
Proverbs 14:12.
00:49:42.18\00:49:43.85
Let's notice, as we draw this
to a close, some passages in
00:49:55.02\00:50:00.90
the New Testament that describe
what it means to fear God.
00:50:00.93\00:50:04.67
Hebrews 11:7. You remember that
God told Noah to build a boat?
00:50:04.70\00:50:09.64
He told him to build an ark?
00:50:09.67\00:50:11.77
Was that a reasonable thing?
00:50:11.81\00:50:13.84
Folks, it had never rained,
and God is telling Noah to build
00:50:13.88\00:50:19.38
this huge
transatlantic, like the Queen
00:50:19.41\00:50:23.12
Elizabeth, on dry land.
00:50:23.15\00:50:25.32
Anybody would
say, That's ridiculous!
00:50:25.35\00:50:28.86
That can't be God's voice!
00:50:28.89\00:50:30.29
But what did Noah do?
00:50:30.33\00:50:32.49
Did he obey God even though
it appeared to be ridiculous?
00:50:32.53\00:50:35.53
Absolutely! Notice Hebrews 11:7:
00:50:35.56\00:50:38.30
You see, righteousness by
faith, which is the gospel,
00:50:56.32\00:50:59.59
involves you having godly
fear that leads you to move,
00:50:59.62\00:51:02.89
and to do what God says
that you're supposed to do.
00:51:02.92\00:51:05.66
Notice Hebrews 12:27,
28, Hebrews 12:27, 28.
00:51:05.73\00:51:11.70
It says there:
00:51:11.73\00:51:13.07
In other words, someday
we're going to be in a kingdom
00:51:17.41\00:51:19.34
that's not going to be
left to any other kingdom.
00:51:19.37\00:51:22.88
What should we do?
00:51:22.91\00:51:24.58
Let us have what? grace.
00:51:24.61\00:51:27.58
See, some people
love to talk about grace.
00:51:27.62\00:51:29.55
They say, Oh
yeah, let's have grace!
00:51:29.58\00:51:31.42
Yeah, but what
does grace demand?
00:51:31.45\00:51:34.22
We noticed this
in our last study.
00:51:34.26\00:51:36.93
We talked about what
grace commands us to do.
00:51:36.99\00:51:39.79
Notice what it continues saying.
00:51:40.36\00:51:41.93
What is it that grace leads us
to do? to serve God acceptably
00:51:58.95\00:52:05.45
with reverence
and with godly fear.
00:52:05.49\00:52:08.09
Notice one more verse before we
talk about the promises that God
00:52:08.16\00:52:12.46
gives to those
who fear His name.
00:52:12.49\00:52:14.36
2 Corinthians 7:1.
00:52:14.40\00:52:16.93
By the way, this is after
God says, Do not be unevenly
00:52:16.97\00:52:20.34
yoked with unbelievers.
00:52:20.40\00:52:21.74
And you've read that
passage that comes before;
00:52:21.77\00:52:24.11
and God says, If you
fulfill what I'm saying,
00:52:24.17\00:52:26.64
I will receive you.
00:52:26.68\00:52:28.01
I will be your Father,
and you will be My children.
00:52:28.04\00:52:30.11
And then He says what we're
supposed to do in the light
00:52:30.15\00:52:32.58
of what He has said.
00:52:32.65\00:52:33.98
Notice 2 Corinthians 7:1.
00:52:34.02\00:52:36.75
You can read them in
the last verses of chapter
00:52:39.02\00:52:41.12
6 of 2 Corinthians.
00:52:41.16\00:52:42.69
Notice what it says.
00:52:42.72\00:52:44.63
What does the fear
of God demand of us?
00:53:00.98\00:53:04.55
We must perfect what? holiness,
according to Scripture.
00:53:04.58\00:53:08.92
Do you understand what it means
to fear God a little bit better
00:53:08.95\00:53:12.49
now when we read
Revelation 14: 7, Fear God?
00:53:12.52\00:53:15.46
See, it's not enough
just to read, fear God,
00:53:15.49\00:53:18.39
in the first angel's message.
00:53:18.43\00:53:19.76
You say, Okay, that's nice.
00:53:19.79\00:53:21.10
What does that mean?
00:53:21.13\00:53:22.46
We have to go to all of
the Bible, and we notice that
00:53:22.50\00:53:25.33
the fear of God, or fear
of the Lord is like a diamond
00:53:25.37\00:53:29.27
that has many edges.
00:53:29.30\00:53:30.67
And you look at all of the
concept, and then you have this
00:53:30.71\00:53:32.47
beautiful diamond
multi-dimensional concept,
00:53:32.51\00:53:35.91
of what it means to fear God.
00:53:35.94\00:53:37.31
And primarily it means to
obey God out of love for Him,
00:53:37.35\00:53:42.48
because He has
shed His grace upon us.
00:53:42.52\00:53:46.02
Do you know that the Bible
has some beautiful promises
00:53:46.05\00:53:49.49
for those who fear God?
00:53:49.52\00:53:50.89
I'd like to end by
reading some of those promises.
00:53:50.93\00:53:53.66
Do you know that those
who fear God are going to have
00:53:53.70\00:53:56.33
their names written
in a book of remembrance?
00:53:56.36\00:53:58.60
Notice Malachi
3:16, Malachi 3:16.
00:53:58.63\00:54:05.04
See, God is
eavesdropping on a conversation.
00:54:14.35\00:54:18.45
What was written? a
book of remembrance.
00:54:33.20\00:54:38.71
Notice Psalm 103:11-14.
00:54:38.74\00:54:43.91
God gives glorious promises
to those who fear His name.
00:54:43.95\00:54:47.32
So it's worthwhile to fear Him.
00:54:47.38\00:54:49.85
Let me tell you something
folks, we can't fear God unless
00:54:49.88\00:54:52.45
we spend time with God.
00:54:52.49\00:54:53.82
Because it's only as we come to
know God that we have this awe,
00:54:53.86\00:54:58.79
and this reverence for God.
00:54:58.83\00:55:01.00
And we want to please Him
because He's such a wonderful,
00:55:01.03\00:55:03.87
and such a great God.
00:55:03.90\00:55:05.23
But in order to grasp who
He is, we must know who He is.
00:55:05.27\00:55:09.17
And in order to know who He
is, we must spend time with Him.
00:55:09.20\00:55:13.38
The closer we come to Him,
the greater awe, and reverence,
00:55:13.41\00:55:17.08
and fear, and Godly
fear we have of Him.
00:55:17.15\00:55:21.58
Psalm 103:11-14...
00:55:21.62\00:55:24.89
Isn't that wonderful?
00:55:33.80\00:55:35.96
What a beautiful promise!
00:56:04.16\00:56:05.49
Actually it's a
series of promises that God
00:56:05.53\00:56:08.13
gives in this passage.
00:56:08.16\00:56:09.60
I'd like to bring this to an
end by reading one final verse:
00:56:09.63\00:56:13.64
Proverbs 10:27. Notice
this wonderful promise of God.
00:56:13.74\00:56:19.74
It says there:
00:56:19.97\00:56:21.31
What does God promise
for those who fear His name?
00:56:33.22\00:56:36.52
He promises for them long years.
00:56:36.56\00:56:40.50
Now what does He means
when He talks about long years?
00:56:40.53\00:56:44.13
Is He talking about
long years on Planet Earth?
00:56:44.17\00:56:46.84
Absolutely not, because there's
a lot of wicked people on Earth
00:56:46.90\00:56:49.97
who have long years
who don't fear the Lord.
00:56:50.01\00:56:53.64
What He means is
that those who fear God
00:56:53.68\00:56:57.31
will inherit eternal
life, because they will be saved
00:56:57.35\00:57:01.75
by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:57:01.78\00:57:03.42
And they will be on the
sea of glass praising the Lord
00:57:03.52\00:57:07.12
for His grace, and for His love.
00:57:07.19\00:57:09.79
And they will be obedient,
because the Bible says that
00:57:09.82\00:57:13.16
the end time generation will
keep the commandments of God.
00:57:13.19\00:57:16.60
In fact, at the end of the first
angel's message it speaks about
00:57:16.67\00:57:20.24
a people who keep
the commandments of God.
00:57:20.27\00:57:23.94