Introduction

Have you ever seen the show Fear Factor?  Well, they do all sorts of stunts and gross food eating, etc, and at the final stage, when someone has one, Joe, the host says to that person “You have just one $50,000.00 and apparently fear is not a factor for you.”

A.           Having a Healthy, Holy Fear of God

1.            The Promises & Motivation to Pursuing Fear.

a)            Do You Delight to be Afraid?

(1)           Fear is Something Most of Us Want to Get Rid of, not get more of.  Let’s Look at the Spectacular Promises of God to Those Who Fear Him.

(a)           The Friendship of the Lord (Psalm 25:14 cf. John 15:15).

The Psalmist says Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear him.  With them he shares the secrets of his covenant.

(b)           The Watch Care of the Lord (Psalm 33:18)

In Psalm 33 we read But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.

(c)           The Deliverance of the Lord’s Angels (Psalm 34:7).

Again, read in the Psalms The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.  (Psalms 34:7 NKJV)

(d)           Freedom From Craving (Psalm 34:9-10).

Again, in Psalms we read Oh; fear the LORD, you His saints!  There is no want to those who fear Him.  The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.  (Psalms 34:9-10)

(e)           The Lord’s Fatherly Pity (compassion Psalm 103:13)

As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. (Psalms 103:13 NKJV)

(f)            The Permanent Love of God (Psalm 103:17).

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children, (Psalms 103:17 NKJV)

(g)           Being Enjoyed by the Lord (Psalm 147:11).

The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.  (Psalms 147:11 NKJV)

(h)           Having the Beginning and the Essence of Wisdom (Job 28:28; Ps.111:10; Pr.9:10).

And to man He said, `Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.'" (Job 28:28 NKJV)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10 NKJV)

(i)             Confidence & Place of Refuge; Drinking at the Fountain of Life (Proverbs 14:26-27).

In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.   The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:26-27 NKJV)

(j)             Being Satisfied (Proverbs 19:23).

The fear of the LORD leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.  (Proverbs 19:23 NKJV)

!!!! b)            The Motivation to Pursuing the Fear of the Lord.

(1)           The Lord Commands it (Deut.13:1-4 esp.v.4)

(2)           The Holiness of God (Rev.15:4).

(3)           The Greatness of God (Deut.10:12, 17).

(4)           The Goodness of God (1Sam.12:24).

(5)           The Forgiveness of God (Ps.130:4).

(6)           The Wondrous Works of God (Joshua 4:23-24).

(7)           The Judgment of God (Rev.14:7)

2.            The Object & Author of our fear.

a)            All Genuine Wisdom Starts with Fearing God (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10)

(1)           God is the Object of Fear—Not Man

(a)           Isaiah 8:13 – Let Him be your fear, & let Him be your dread

(b)           Luke 12:5 cf. Matthew 10:28 – God has the power to cast into hell.

b)            Several Reasons Why Men Are Not To Be Feared:

(1)           Man Can Only Send Us Out Of This World, Not Out of Heaven.

Paul said in Philippians 1 that “To be with Christ is far better (Phil.1:23; 3:20-21).

(2)           Man Can Only Separate Us From This World, Not From Eternal Life.

(a)           We have eternal life, we do not taste death, Christ tasted it for us (Heb.2:9).

The writer of Hebrews says But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9 NKJV)

(b)           We have already passed from death unto life and are in the process of living forever (John 5:24 cf. John 17:3).

Jesus said Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (John 5:24 NKJV)

And Jesus told us described eternal life, He said And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3 NKJV)

(3)           Man can only separate us from other men, not from the love of God (Rom.8:35-39)

(4)           Man can kill only the body, not the soul (man’s real being), mans power is limited (Matt.10:28).

(a)           The power to destroy the soul is God’s power alone.  Destroy (apoleia): loss of one’s well-being (not loss of one’s being), waste, ruin, worthless existence. “To destroy both body and soul in hell” does not mean that a person would cease to exist, but that he would live a worthless existence… suffering waste and ruin forever and ever.

c)            The Fear of Man Brings a Snare (Prov.29:25)—God has not given us a spirit of fear.

(1)           Several Reasons Why Men Have a Fear of Other Men: Don’t be trapped by this fear.

(a)           Peer pressure—the fear of rejection—Pilate’s Fatal Choice (Luke 23:13-25). 

(i)             Pilate for fear of being reported to Caesar as allowing another man to claim to be king, turned Jesus over to the crowd to be crucified.

(ii)                  Aaron yielded to the desire of the people to make them a god that they might worship (Exodus 32; 1-6, 23-24).

!!!!! (2)           The Fear of man has kept people from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev.21:8).

(a)                 The fearful or cowardly: those who do not confess Christ because they fear what others might say.  Those who fear to fellowship or become identified with Christian people.  My wife has a Buddast friend who wanted to become a Christian but didn’t for fear of rejection by her parents… the same with the youth

(b)           They sit their under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, in their heart they know that they should go forward and make a public commitment, but what will people think?

(c)           My friends will laugh at me, they will say that I've become religious; they will call me a Jesus freak.

Jesus said Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.  "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.  (Matthew 10:32-33 NKJV)

Listen to what Paul says…  That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NKJV)

Paul also says to Timothy that If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.  (2 Timothy 2:12 NKJV)

(3)           The Fear of man has caused great men of God to fail.  Abraham was afraid that the men of Gerar might kill him to take Sarah from him so he said that she was his sister, rather than his wife (Gen.20:1-11).

(4)           The Fear of man brings you into many compromising positions.  Failing to stand up for what is right (Galatians 2:11-13).

God is the Author, we read in Jeremiah I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.   `And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. (Jeremiah 32:39-40 NKJV)

!! B.           The Meaning of Fearing God.

1.            The Definition of “the fear of the Lord”.

a)            What It Is Not—Unholy Fear—Having a Guilty Conscience.

(1)           Don’t think of God as a policeman. 

(a)           It is not the kind of fear when you see red & blue lights flashing in your rearview mirror, and you think you’ve been busted, however, it should be the kind of fear that would cause you to not do the thing that a police officer would want to pull you over in the first place.

(b)           Adam & Eve ran from God because they feared Him in the wrong way (Genesis 3:8, 10).  God was after them because He loved them.  I would do the same with my kids. 

Listen to what the writer of Proverbs says The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1 NKJV)

(2)           This Fear has Two Aspects

(a)           Reverence – a sacred awe of God’s utter holiness

(i)             Having fear in the presence of such majesty.  What if the secretary of the White House called you to inform you that your name has been chosen at random to sit with the President at a banquet for the heads of state to represent the average American Citizen?  That fear that you feel as you wait in a room waiting to go out and take your place as all the world looks at you through the television. 

(ii)            If standing before the President and heads of state can put you in the position of such awe, what should be your attitude standing before the God who created the Universe?

(iii)           Fools curse Him, speak against Him, and rise up to oppose Him.  

(b)           Fear of God’s Displeasure – fear that you might do something that would displease Him.

(i)             In the presence of God, true wisdom trembles with a holy, healthy sense of terror and apprehension. It is the fear that you might do something that would displease Him, and forever embarrass you.

(ii)            Understand this: when you do wrong you set yourself up against a holy God who will deal out consequences for those who violated His righteous principles!

(iii)           God is not mocked & you will reap the bitter consequences of whatever sin you sow (Gal.6:7-8).

!! C.           The Necessity & Results of Having A Fear of the Lord.

1.            The Necessity of Fearing God.

a)            We Must Have a Healthy & Holy Fear of God.

(1)           This Holy Fear Must Be Present Within Us:

(a)           To Worship God (Psalm.5:7; 89:7cf. Revelation 14:7 )

(b)           To Serve God (Psalm 2:11; Hebrews 12:8)

(c)           To Avoid Sin (Exodus 20:20)

(d)           To Perfect Holiness in our Life (2 Corinthians 7:1)

(2)           We Must Be Careful to Maintain a Full Understanding of All God’s Attributes.

(a)           2 Corinthians 5:8-14 – a coin that has two sides

(b)           Knowing that I will stand before Christ and be judged (v.9-10)

(c)           Knowing the “terror of the Lord” I serve and persuade men.

(d)           Knowing what Christ has don for me “love of Christ constrains me”

1 Peter 1:13-19 – Knowing that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ & what Great length’s the Lord has gone to save me, I cant help but wanting to serve the Lord out of Fear & Love.

2.            The Results of Fearing God.

a)            When You Fear God you will Also Fear Sin (Prov.16:6).

(1)           God Hates Sin, therefore, We Must Hate It To.

(a)           Joseph (Gen.39:1-9; 42:18)

(b)           Proverbs 14:16; 10:27; 14:27

(c)           Proverbs 19:23; 15:16; 14:26

b)            Fearing God Will Lead to the Obedience of God.

(1)           Examples of Those who had a Fear of God That Led to the Obedience of God.

(a)           Noah (Gen.6:8-9, 22; Heb11:7)

(b)           Midwives in Egypt refused to take the lives of Hebrew children (Ex.1:15-21); they obeyed God rather than men (Acts 5:29)

(c)           Christians (Acts 9:23-31)

(d)           The thief on the cross (Luke 23:32-43 cf. Matt.27:44; Mk.15:32; )

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NKJV)

I.  Fear Factor

A. Having a Healthy, Holy Fear of God

B. The Meaning of Fearing God.

C. The Necessity & Results of Having A Fear of the Lord.