Holy Awe

Today we jump into a new sermon series that I am very excited about.

It is a bit different, It is a series AND comes with a daily devotional for anyone who might be interested… I’ll talk a bit more on that in a minute. And… I feel it is very timely.

The topic that is at the heart of this series is one that needs to make a MASSIVE come back in both the church and the world. In fact, I would offer that our culture is running from this at blazing speeds… sin is celebrated, immorality is honored, and unrighteousness is becoming the norm.

We are, as a society, moving away from the very person that has blessed this nation and we are beginning to reap what has been sown.

Violent attacks are on the rise.

Theft from stores is on the rise.

School shootings are on the rise.

Divisive leaders are on the rise.

We need God God in this nation again.

AND today, we dive into this new topic that I believe is essential in people returning to the Lord. WHAT IF I TOLD YOU OF A HIDDEN VIRTUE, THAT IN ESSENCE, IS THE KEY TO ALL OF LIFE?

This virtue unlocks the purpose of your existence.

It attracts the presence, protection, and providence of your Creator.

It is the root of all noble character, the foundation of all happiness and provides needed adjustments to all difficult circumstances you might face.

When fully embraced, this virtue will lengthen your life, produce good health, ensure success and safety, eliminate lack, and guarantee a noble legacy and it can be all yours for 8 easy payments of $49.95!

Sound too good to be true? It might sound a bit like an infomercial.

A problem is presented… and a bit exaggerated. They try to relate to the buyers frustration and disgust. “Has this ever happened to you?”

But the words I just spoke were not made up words… these promises were written by the wisest man to ever live, and he wrote them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!

Do I have your attention now? I hope so!

So… who was this guy and what was he writing about?

As a child, he was trained in and he embraced this virtue. He grew strong in noble character and developed keen insight.

He excelled quickly in leadership and eventually became a ruler of millions.

He possessed incredible wisdom and very little was too difficult for him to understand.

He wrote thousands of wise sayings and composed hundreds of songs.

He achieved success and wealth like no other.

Kings and queens and people of influence would travel great distances to be in his presence, to hear his insights, and to witness his incredible team and all that they built and accomplished under his leadership.

But as time passed… we see a shift, we see a turning away.

This noble leader turned away from what fueled his achievements.

He became wise in his own eyes and deemed it no longer necessary to heed the wisdom of this virtue.

As a result, he lost his way and spiraled into a pit of depression, pessimism, and cynicism.

Then… he started saying things like this:

Everything is boring… utterly boring - no one can find meaning in it.

History merely repeats itself as there is nothing new under the sun.

What is wrong cannot be made right.

What is missing cannot be recovered.

The day you die is better than the day you were born.

This doesn’t sound like a guy you want to be around does it? From wise and mighty leader to complacent and critical… yuck.

The good news is, his story does not end in the depths of this attitude.

He writes seven times in one way or another to “Remember your Creator.” And his final statement in his book is simply this:

Ecclesiastes 12:13 NLT

13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

The prized or hidden virtue we will be talking about is THE FEAR OF GOD. We need to understood and get back to a healthy fear of God!

We will be talking about this in the weeks to come AND I want to lead you to a resource to help along the way. (Display Slide Here)

Author John Bevere wrote a book called, “The Awe of God” and it is an incredible guide to have as we journey through this topic the next several weeks. It includes daily devos that go along with our sermons and lessons.

You can find it on Amazon or through other book retailers but I would highly recommend you pick up a copy… why? Because I believe that all Christians should have this virtue. I believe we all need to know what a healthy fear of the Lord is and we need to display it in our lives.

What is Fear?

So what is fear? What does it mean to fear the Lord? Isn’t fear a bad thing? Aren’t we taught that fear is the opposite of faith? All good questions that require some explanation.

For years, people have strived to eradicate fear.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Voices across all platforms shout that we need to find ways to overcome it.

We can find hundreds, if not thousands of self-help books designed to do exactly that.

We used to have clothing (maybe some of us still do) that had the words, “No Fear” printed boldly across them.

We seem adamant in our quest to eliminate all fear from our lives. This effort seems like a good idea and while on many fronts it is, the truth is, BUCKLE YOUR SEAT BELT, not all fear is bad!

So why do we automatically move in the direction that all fear is bad?

John Bevere offers this insight: that we have lumped all fears into one big category under the label of “harmful.” But is this assumption accurate?

First, it is important that we acknowledge the existence of DESTRUCTIVE FEARS, even when they might seem sensible.

If we fear losing all our money and our possessions, we will likely obsess over them and become misers or hoarders.

If we have a fear of missing out, it might cause us to chase the next latest and greatest thing no matter the expense.

If we fear being unhappy, we might chase anything that MIGHT bring us happiness.

Secondly, there do exist CONSTRUCTIVE FEARS that produce beneficial wisdom.

The fear of a grizzly bear’s power gives us the wisdom to try to never pet one!

The fear of a third degree burn gives us the wisdom to never place our bare hand in boiling water.

And yet, constructive fear, although beneficial, if left unchecked can also be perverted and can diminish our lives.

The fear of a grizzly bear’s power might cause a person to never go outside.

The fear of boiling water might cause someone to never make mac and cheese.

So what I want us to do is ask a different question… instead of asking what should we fear and not fear, I wonder if we could ask WHAT DO WE FEAR MOST?

Sound a bit odd? Just hear me out.

We are humans… and we each have our own fears. Most of those fears have come as a result of our upbringing.

Studies suggest we are born with only two fears:

The fear of falling.

The fear of loud noises.

Both of these are protective fears. The rest… are taught to us. And what you fear most is likely the result of what others have taught you to fear most.

So I want you to get out your big erasers and we are going to do some work. What is it that you fear most? If God is not at the top of that list… we have some work to do.

The fear of God is unlike the fear of a bear. The fear of God is a holy fear. The fear of God places Him above all else… not as a destructive force, but as someone we love, respect, honor, worship, and obey. The fear of God reminds us that God is someone we do not want to live without!

Holy Fear’s importance so vastly trumps all other virtues. Scripture identifies it as:

The delight of Jesus - Isaiah 11:3

The key of God’s treasure - Isaiah 33:6

Holy fear is God Almighty’s delight and treasure.

Solomon did not fully realize the value of godly fear, even though he taught it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!

Prior to his fall, godly fear was not his treasure or delight - so it was easy to draw him away.

In stumbling, experiencing hardship, and finally recovering, he more fully grasped the importance of this incredible virtue!

Holy fear is God’s treasure and it should be ours as well!

Is Fearing God an OT Thing?

I want to be clear this morning… ALL believers should have a healthy, holy fear of the Lord. This goes for the believers in the OT as well as NT believers today.

So why might people believe that the fear of the Lord is no longer relevant?

Someone might quote 2 Timothy 1:7 that simply says

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

See…right there it says we are NOT suppose to fear! Sure it does… when taken out of context! What Paul is talking about here is not being afraid of sharing our faith with others or standing up to evil. God has not given us a reason to be afraid of telling the world about Jesus… He has not given us a spirit of fear, timidity, or shame regarding the gospel. We should not be afraid to stand for the Lord!

Okay, but what about passage like 1 John 4:18?

1 John 4:18 NKJV

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Ooooo… we got you there! If God is love and we are in fellowship with Him then there should be NO FEAR in our walk with Him!

Look at what is being said… those who are in right standing with God (saved by Jesus) do not have to fear His judgement. If you are in Christ, your sins have been forgiven through the perfect love of our God. Believers have been redeemed or made perfect in the love of God.

Take a look at what the NT does say about the fear of the Lord.

Philippians 2:12 NKJV

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV

1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Hebrews 12:28 NKJV

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

1 Peter 1:17 NKJV

17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;

Here’s the deal… a HOLY FEAR is not being scared of God, it is a reverent, worshipful, respectful awe of God that recognizes His authority, His sovereignty, His power, His might, and most importantly, HIS EXISTENCE!

Here’s the difference… the person who is scared of God has something to hide.

Think back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve had sinned, what did they do when they heard God walking through the Garden? They hid from His presence because they were what? They were afraid! They tried to hide their nakedness and shame from God.

How many know today that… we cannot hide from God!?! I don’t say that to scare you… I say that to encourage you not to run away from Him… but to run toward Him!!!

The person who is scared of God has something to hide, but the person who fears the Lord has nothing to hide. This person is not interested in seeing how close they can get to sin without falling… instead they desire to be closer with God… so close, in fact, that the line of sin can no longer be seen!

Without God, we perish. Without God, we cannot know love. Without God, we cannot know peace, hope, purpose, salvation, redemption, identity or value. Without God, we cannot know what it means to be whole again because of the brokenness sin has caused in our lives.

Holy fear moves us into a realization that simply says this: Without God, I am nothing! But with God, I have been given EVERYTHING!

Do You Fear God… Most?

This might sound odd as we close but hear me out. Regarding the list of the fears you might have… is God at the top of that list? If not… things will be out of sorts.

For example:

If you fear not having enough money most… then your relationship with the Lord might suffer as you chase the almighty dollar.

If you fear not being happy most… then you might do things God said not to do in order that you might feel happy.

If you fear not being able to make a name for yourself most… then your pride will lead you away from the Name that is above all names.

If you fear not having enough time for yourself and for your family most… then you might consider other events more highly than you do your weekly church attendance.

Sound too harsh? Sound too blunt? Stepping on a few toes today? Good. I hope it makes us think. I hope it causes us to step back and to consider what it is we fear most.

If we truly fear the Lord above all else, we will not be satisfied in making excuses or giving reasons to why we are neglecting our walk with Him. He will be our top priority… as He always should be.

To fear the Lord is go a different direction than what the world is going.

To fear the Lord is:

Reverence and complete awe of Him.

To esteem, respect, honor and adore Him.

It is to love what He loves and to hate what He hates.

What is important to God becomes important to us.

To fear God is to hate all manner of evil, sin, and injustice.

It is to depart from evil in every sense - thought, word, and action.

To fear God is to give Him all that belongs to Him.

To fear God is to shun away from complaining, murmuring, or grumbling.

It is to respect, honor, and to submit to His authority.

THE FEAR OF THE LORD SHAPES OUR INTENTIONS, THOUGHTS, WORDS, AND ACTIONS.

What benefits come with holy fear?

The fear of the Lord is the starting place for an intimate relationship with Him.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, understanding and knowledge.

The fear of the Lord is how we mature our salvation and are transformed to the image of Jesus.

The fear of the Lord is clean, it produces holiness in our lives.

To abide in the fear of the Lord is to secure an eternal legacy.

The fear of the Lord gives us identity, makes us productive for the kingdom, and empowers us to multiply the number of believers.

The fear of the Lord provides angelic assistance, fulfilled desires, enduring success, nobility, influence, longevity, productive days, enjoyment in life, happiness, pleasure in labor, healing for our body, and so much more! (there it is! BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE)

The virtue of the fear of the Lord is the KEY… to living a life full of purpose, blessing, happiness, etc. Why? Because it places GOD FIRST… not YOU FIRST.

Unhealthy fear places you and me in the driver’s seat. We take the wheel and try to navigate life as we see fit.

But when we fear the Lord, it places Him in TOTAL CONTROL. Say that with me… TOTAL CONTROL. And with that comes an immediate peace in knowing that God’s got this!

Today, I want to invite you to give Him… everything. I want to invite you to fear the Lord, FIRST.

In that invite, comes the call for you to place your faith in Him. Fear of God without faith in God is being scared of God. Your sin reality has you hiding… your brokenness is bringing you shame.

Hear my words clearly: God doesn’t want you running away from Him. He wants you running toward HIM! Will you give your life to Him today?

PRAYER - SALVATION

Secondly, you may be in need of a refreshing of your fear of the Lord. Maybe you’ve allowed other things to get in the way of your walk with Him. God… is not number one in your life.

He desires to reset that in you today. But you must be willing to… out of reverence… to come to Him with a repetitive heart.

Hear me: God is not looking to punish you today… He looks to set you free of ALL your other fears!

When He is first, all our fears are washed away. Jesus said to seek FIRST His kingdom and righteousness and ALL these things (what you need) WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU!

Are you ready and willing to seek Him today?