The Fear of the LORD

Father’s Day.

We have entitled this series as The Way of Wisdom. The beginning of wisdom, as we read in the first chapter is what is called the fear of the LORD. We have talked about it a bit this series but it’s a topic Solomon and many other biblical authors keep addressing. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEAR THE LORD?

The fear of the LORD is not trembling, terror and dread. I’m 29 years old, but when i go to make decisions about my life, i still consider what my parents would think of it. I’m not afraid of my parents, rather I think they are awesome. If they think good of my decisions then I generally think they must be good decisions. I highly respoect and value my parents and their opinions. I want to honour them. To thank them for what they have done for me, what they have given to me, how they have sacrificed for me. I want to live me life to honour them. This, too, is what the fear of the LORD also looks like. It is a reverent respect for God and who He is. To seek to thank God for what He has done for us, by living a life that is pleasing to Him, that honours and brings praise to Him. To want to make Him proud! We run our lives and our decisions through the lens of “what would the LORD think of this?” What would God say about how I use my time, my gifts, my resources, my money. What would he say about how I speak to others, how I love my wife, how I treat others or my children? If God inspires in me feelings of awe and wonder, a desire to live rightly in His eyes, then that is the fear of the LORD.

Solomon recognises this truth. He has spent the first 26 verses addressing our hearts, or our inner life, exhorting the reader to know scripture and allow it to transform your heart, to trust in the Lord with all of that heart. To honour the LORD with our wealth, to not despise His dicipline as it is proof of His love for us. To pursue Wisdom as the source of abundant life and to not lose sight of the secure way God has set for us. He waits until the ending, to expound upon how our outward life can reflect the health of our inner life.

“We were designed to be social beings, to live in vertical community with God and horizontal community with others. But we can know the true joys of human love only if love for God first rules our hearts. It is only when He is in His rightful place in our hearts that people can be in their appropriate places in our lives.

If love for God isn’t the place where you find your rest, you need human relationships too much and you are asking people to do for you what only your Savior can do.” - Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies

When God isn’t at His rightful place in our life- something else will be. Our lives are most fulfilling, most satisfying when they are lived as a worshipful reflection of God on the throne in our hearts. The brokeness, the sin in our hearts is a signpost, that He isn’t on that throne.

Solomon gives his son, and the reader, four warnings, four indicators that the LORD isn’t occupying that throne.

The Sin of Omission v. 27-28

Proverbs 3:27–28 (ESV)

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

when it is in your power to do it.

Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,

tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.

Solomon lists here, two sins of omission- that is, failure to do good. Solomon makes it clear, when we have the ability, capacity or opportunity to good for others and we choose not to- we have sinned against our neighbours by omission. It’s to value our time and needs as more important than someone else’s. A fairly normal human habit, but what makes your time more important than someone-else’s? If something cost you 2-minutes to complete and you don’t, leave it for someone else to spend 2-minutes to do it- have you not devalued them? Placed yourself higher than them?

We are also each called to love one another, to be apart of a body of believers that loves and serves one-another. We are each called to contribute in whatever capacity God has given us to the work of His Church. We each have different skills, experience, capacity, availability, resources and giftings. We each recognise that all that we have has been gioven to us by God- right? So if has given all that you have to you, what gives you the right to withhold from His work, His Kingdom, His Church? ). At Whitehill, we don’t say you must give a certain amount or serve so much to be apart of this church. That is a question between yourself, and the LORD. How is He calling you to honour Him and bring Him praise?

If we withhold what He has given us it is ultimately God that we sin against- though others might get caught up in it. So we each are responsible for taking what we have to the altar, asking the question, “what would you have me do with this?” (time, resources, wealth, skill, experience) When God sits in His rightful place in our hearts, this is the natural for us.

I have no doubt that we as a church exist as we do because of the love and sacrifice of each other and of those who came before us. This church is 130 years old. It would not exist if it’s earliest members had withheld from one another.

2. The Sin of Comission v.29-30

Proverbs 3:29–30 (ESV)

Do not plan evil against your neighbor,

who dwells trustingly beside you.

Do not contend with a man for no reason,

when he has done you no harm.

So we can sin against God and each other by being passive and selfish, so it should go without saying that we also can sin against eachother overtly.

As a part of God’s church we are invited into one of the most unique communities in the histroy of human kind. A community of peace. That, is an abnormal concept. We are invited to live in a culture where to lead is to be one’s servant, where we seek to humble ourselves and consider ourselves no greater than eachother. A haven against the squabbling, power-struggle dynamics of our broken world. That is a gift! So, therefore, if you are engaging in activity which actively harms those around you, it begs the question- where does God sit in your heart? These overt sins are like gossip, slander, anger, hatred, envy, lust, greed, dishonour, unkindness, and much more. We all at times will struggle and be tempted, when we fall to these, we should be quick to reconcile with one another.

Colossians 3:13 (ESV)

bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Consider the armour of God-

Ephesians 6:15 (ESV)

and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

As a Christian, whereever we go, wherever God takes us, peace should follow.

3. Do Not Envy Power v. 31-32

Proverbs 3:31–32 (ESV)

Do not envy a man of violence

and do not choose any of his ways,

for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord,

but the upright are in his confidence.

This is a fun verse. "A man of violence” has cultural context here. Think- Brad Pitt’s depiction of Achilles in the 2000’s film Troy. Achilles, Ajax, Patroclus, Odysseus, Prince Hector. These men were warlords, princes, generals. Their prowess as warriors allowed them to garner power, control and influence over others. It was power, and they enemies, friends, Kings and servants envied it. We are warned not too! For us in the modern day, the risk for us is to look upon the rich, wealthy, famous, powerful. The influencers with an instagram lifestyle with envy. These people get what they want, when they want it. I think, “If i had just a fraction of Taylor Swift’s wealth, so many of my day to day considerations/concerns would be done a way with.” If God wanted me to have that wealth, you’d best belive he’d have given it to me. If I choose then otherwise to envy, to desire what He hasn’t gfiven me- am I not saying that I know better than Him? However, this power and influence which can produce an ease of life comes at the cost of manipulation and coercion of others. The overt violance and covert deviousness are related as they are both means with which people use others to get what they want and the LORD hates it. He hates it, it’s an abomination to Him. That is strong language.

Verse 32 shares commonality with the final three verses.

4. Sin Resides Within You v.33-35

Proverbs 3:32–35 (ESV)

for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord,

but the upright are in his confidence.

The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,

but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

Toward the scorners he is scornful,

but to the humble he gives favor.

The wise will inherit honor,

but fools get disgrace.

Deviousness, wickedness, scournfulness and foolishness. These are an outward demonstration of an inner life in turmoil. They are an indicator that sin dwells within you. In relation to questions about what defiles someone, that is to make them unclean, Jesus says:

Matthew 15:16–20 (ESV)

And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

We live in the age of the victim mentality. It is hard to find someone who will readily and willingly look to themselves as the cause for disharmony and disorder within their life in this day. We say, “It is because of their sin, that I am angry, bitter and resentful.” “It is their fault that I eat as a coping mechanism. Drink to numb myself. Binge TV or video games to distract myself. Work late hours to find meaning and purpose and value for myself.” It is something outside of me, causing the disruption within. This is wrong friends! That is us excusing our sins. Jesus died for us, for your sins that you might be free! He didn’t die to simply mitigate the effects of sin, but to bring about it’s end. When we come to faith in Jesus, and put our hope and trust in him, we begin the greatest journey of all. The end of sin in our lives. We start to see sin as He sees it. We detest it. We mourn its effect in our lives and the world. We begin to turn away from it and what it offers us in this world. This is repentance. Repentance is not a thing you achieve to say, it is an on-going act of turning away from sin and turning toward the LORD. Repentance looks like replacing sin and the things of the world on the throne of our hearts with God. It’s a recognition that our greatest battle isn’t outside of us, but within us, and if we can win there then that which is outside of us will begin to take care of itself.

-HELPERS-

We have spoken a bit on this over the past few months, but I want to briefly speak to the idea of revival. You may have heard of stories, namely from the Asbury Revival, of a groundswell of momentum around the world toward revival. Things seem to be happening. In the history of revival, there is always a common thread. Awakening, renewal, revival. Awakening is ones heart recognising the sin in one’s life and their place before God and turning to Him. Renewal is that person confessing and repenting of their sin and coming alive in their faith. Revival is the outward flow of that process. A person is now so transformed and empassioned that the Gospel leaks and bleeds from them. At Asbury, this occured as many believers stopped and waited upon the LORD, earnestly praying for His tangible presence. They got it. They began with confession and repentance. If we are serious are desiring to see renewal and revival in our church, opur city. Begin with the confession and repentance of your sin, prayer earnestly and wait upon the LORD.

The Way of Wisdom is to recognise the sin within ourlives and to turn away from it. To seek to place God on the throne of our hearts and to live for Him in all that we do. May I ask, what does that look like for you today? Have you ommitted your responsibilites to God and to others? Have you committed wrongdoings against your brothers and sisters? Is there something or someone you could confess to?