Sermon Tone Analysis

Suppose you were exploring an unknown Greenland glacier in the dead of winter.

Just as you reach the sheer cliff with a spectacular view of miles of jagged ice and mountains of snow, a terrible storm breaks in.

The wind is so strong that the fear rises in your heart that it might blow you over the cliff.

But in the midst of the storm you discover a cleft in the ice where you can hide.

Here you feel secure.

But, even though secure, the awesome might of the storm rages on, and you watch it with a kind of trembling pleasure as it surges out across the distant glaciers.

Not everything we call fear vanishes from your heart, only the life-threatening part.

There remains the trembling, the awe, the wonder, the feeling that you would never want to tangle with such a storm or be the adversary of such a power.

And so it is with God.

The fear of God is what is left of the storm when you have a safe place to watch right in the middle of it.

Hope turns fear into a trembling and peaceful wonder; and fear takes everything trivial out of hope and makes it earnest and profound.

The terrors of God make the pleasures of his people intense.

The fireside fellowship is all the sweeter when the storm is howling outside the cottage.

Last week we talked about repentance and just briefly touched on the relationship between the fear of God and repentance.

And what an important piece it is.

Puritan Thomas Watson writes, “As the embankment keeps out the water, so the fear of the Lord keeps out uncleanness.”

John Murray writes, “The fear of God is the soul of godliness.”

One of the things we find in statistics today is the is reality of this thing we call false repentance.

From what I see is a false repentance of just simply saying sorry for a mistake, instead of experiencing real sorrow for our sin for transgressing the living God.

Our problem today is not repentance but no fear of God.

Like the book of Judges … we are doing what is right in our own eyes.

Let’s take another look at our passage today.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.

Repentance and Fear

Repentance with Salvation

The first thing we will look at today is the essence of true repentance and its relation to the fear of God.

Second, we will see the relationship between true repentance and the wonders of our salvation in Christ and Christ alone.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to walk without a true fear of God in our hearts, it is the power of the Holy Spirit and truth of scripture that will cause us to see that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

I. Repentance and fear

- The people feared the Lord.

A.

Not only did they cease trying to build a luxurious lifestyle for themselves, the began working on the temple of the Lord.

They devoted the time and resources to do what it is that God has called us to do.

So again we see that their repentance was not just a cease disobedience, but also a stepping to obedience.

Remember the Westminster catechism.

Sin.

Any want of conformity or transgression of the law of God.

Want of conformity… not being or doing what God requires.

Transgression… doing what God forbids.

B. Remember the Golden rule of Christ...

C. It is not a negative… it is a positive.

We are failing if we do not DO to others.

So it is not just that we keep ourselves from crossing the line we also gotta climb the ladder.

But how many times do we find that we just don’t climb the ladder.

We do all that we can to keep ourselves from being selfish but not enough to be selfless.

Shane I am doing in my power to live at peace with everyone.

I’m not causing problems… I’m not being selfish.

But are you also considering others as better than yourself?

Are we sharing with others?

Are we making sacrifices for others today?

We don’t because there is not fear

D. Ok… well I just don’t feel good and encouraged today so I’m gonna take some me time to get it together.

I’m gonna have some fun.

Gonna try to enjoy the good things in life.

Now we out partying, we spending time with people who lust after the things of the world.

Now they are beginning to rub off on us.

Now we taking illegal drugs, consuming alcohol to the point of drunkeness, and hang out with other women and looking to have an affair.

Time to repent… I will not cross that line.

I’m sorry Lord.

Thats great what about my kingdom?

What about bearing one another's burdens?

What about contributing to the needs of the saints and seeking to show hospitality?

We don’t because there is no fear.

E. Ok… well I need to be a better person so I am going to concentrate on my personal life and personal goals.

Then maybe I’ll be able to help the kingdom if I get some success.

So we just work and work trying to better our lives, try to pay our bills, but Shane I gotta live right?

I gotta pay my bills.

I need to be successful then I’ll be able to help God.

Now we don’t spend time with family, now we are compromising values for that promotion, now church and the church family are set aside to spend more time.

Now we have spiritually abandoned our family and our wives, not giving to the church anymore so we can invest more money in in our stock tips.

We cussing now.

We get angry fast.

We are rude and insensitive.

Always stressed and always too busy for anything.

Nooo!!! Time to repent.

I gotta stop crossing the line.

But, we need to sell our possessions, and give to the needy.

Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Love each other as I have loved you.

We don’t because there is no fear.

F. I will do better today… I am gonna stay away from crossing any lines.

Not gonna go out with my friends, not gonna spend money of foolish things anymore, not gonna watch crazy shows on TV anymore, in fact I’ll just get rid of it.

Getting rid of social media, gonna sell my XBox and Playstation… But I need you to climb the ladder.

What about studying, what about meditating on the world of God?

What about prayer?

What about fasting?

What about instruction in sound doctrine?

What about thinking on the true and noble?

Loving God and loving our neighbor?

We just don’t climb the ladder today.

We just don’t climb the ladder because we do not fear God.

G.

Because it is respect and hope for something better that keeps us from crossing the line, but it is the fear of God that will get us to climb the ladder.

Want someone to climb the ladder… it is FEAR.

Jeanine comes in with kickboxing gear on.

H.

We see in Haggai 1 that the people responded and there was a true fear of the Lord.

The word of God declares… And the people feared the Lord.

Commentator Matthew Henry writes...

“Note, A holy fear of God will have a great influence upon our obedience to him.