Fear The Lord- In Wisdom

Good morning and welcome to Living Faith Church. I am so excited to be able to worship Jesus Christ with you on this amazing Sunday. If we have never met before, my name is Aaron. My wife Stella and I are honored to be able to serve on the Pastoral team at LFC. Today I want to ask you a question - What do you fear the most?

When I was a young kid, I worked for a cabinet maker named Wally. Wally was a man carved out of sawdust and stubbornness—rough hands, sandpaper voice, and an attitude that said he’d been doing things his way long before OSHA was invented. He was in his mid-60s and missing most of the feeling in his left thumb.

One day he told me how it happened. Years ago, while ripping a board on his table saw, the wood kicked back and his hand slipped. The blade caught his thumb and—just like that—it was gone. They managed to sew it back on, but it never worked the same again. It bent funny, stiff and crooked, like it was frozen in time as a reminder.

And Wally, being Wally, had taken every safety guard off his tools. “They just get in the way,” he’d grumble. Which is ironic, because the only thing that really got in the way was that saw.

One afternoon, he handed me a piece of oak and said, “Go ahead, run that through.” I hesitated, staring at that same saw—its teeth humming, its metal gleaming—and I swallowed hard. “Wally,” I said, “I’m afraid of this saw.”

He looked up from his workbench, that crooked thumb resting on a block of wood, and with the calm authority of a man who had learned the hard way, said,

“Don’t be scared of the saw, kid. Respect the saw.”

This is not only a good thought, it is directly evident throughout Scripture.

The fear of the Lord is more than just terror, it’s more than being afraid of God. James 2:19 tells us that even the demons tremble at the sound of God’s name. The fear of the Lord is a Spirit! It is one of the Seven Spirits of God mentioned in Isaiah 11:2

Isaiah 11:2 NASB95

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

And before we move on, I want to speak to those of you who have been battling fear — fear of death, fear of failure, fear of the future. This series can change your life. Because when you fear God, you fear nothing else. Every fear you surrender to gains authority over you — but every fear you place under God’s lordship loses its power.

You give sanction to whatever you fear most. So choose this day whom you will serve.

The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord

Now it is vital to understand that the Spirit of Fear, and the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord are two dramatically different things, even opposing spirits. This has confused a great number of believers who take verses like 2 Timothy 1:7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control - and say that we don’t need to fear God.

The problem with this argument is that the word Paul used in 2 timothy 1:7 is the Greek word “deilie” - meaning cowardice, not. God has not give us a cowardice, or timid spirit - but we must fear the Lord.

Prov 9:10 tell us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom?

Proverbs 9:10 NASB95

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Heb 12:28 tell us that we should: “serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear

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.

Fear is Gods Design

See, the truth is, that all humans fear something. And this is by Gods design – we were created to be fearful beings. We often do not consider this, especially as Christians we learn very well the language – “Fear Not.” But fear is actually a God design that is keeping you alive.

I have a very healthy fear that keeps me from putting my hands on a burning stove

I have a very normal fear that keeps me from jumping out of my car while on the highway

The Washington Post Recorded the top three Fears recorded by Surveyed Americans:

1. Fear of Public Speaking

2. Fear of Clowns

3. Fear of Heights

We were created to fear, but, as in everything in the Christian walk, when we don’t put our fear in God, we give Satan access, and Satan disrupts our fear – it becomes unnatural, it becomes warped.

So, What Would It Look Like To Fear God?

To begin we must wrestle to the ground the thought that to Fear God is to be afraid of God. We cannot be afraid of God and draw near to God simultaneously. And we are called to draw near to God.

1 Samuel 14:36 NASB95

36 Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” So the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.”

Hebrews 7:19 NASB95

19 (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

James 4:8 NASB95

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

So, whatever fear is drawing us away from God, is not of God. The fear of the Lord doesn’t push you away—it pulls you close.

Solomons Fear Of The Lord

Ironically, for all Solomons failures as a king, which were many, he did get one thing right at the end of his life:

Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB95

13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

He reverse-engineered this in the book of Proverbs when he said:

Proverbs 29:25 NASB95

25 The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.

Reverence and Awe

Secondly, the Fear of the Lord means God receives all of my reverence and all of my awe.

Hebrews 12:28 NASB95

28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

The Fear of the Lord is Reverence:

The Dictionary of Bible Languages would define Reverence as: reverent submission. Meaning I have respect and honor toward this God, and so it is my joy to follow and obey. Can we address an issue that I see in the body of Christ? Can I be as bold as to say that too many believers have more respect for the Church building than they do the Lord of the church? How many of you grew up being told not to run in church, or talk like that in church. But as soon as you step foot in the car to go home all hell broke loose. Can we just recognize that maybe God knows you are talking behind His back, playing church yet not revering His name! It’s time we put the pretenses aside and fear the Lord more than the image of a religion.

The Fear of the Lord is Awe:

The Second word “Awe”: is defined as: Alarm and Fear. Now, remember – not to draw us away or cause us to run from God, but to cause us to draw near. When Jesus was radiant on the mount of transfiguration the disciples stood in awe! They were WOW’d by Jesus. In the world today there is so much to be wow’d about- we are on the verge of wow fatigue. To fear the Lord is to reserve your awe. It is to guard your heart from things that will steal the awe reserved for God alone. What would it be like for you to be unimpressed with much of the things that want to impress you today- just think about how much greater God would be in your eyes. See, the subtractive message the author of Hebrews is giving us is simple. A false idol is not only something we revere and bow down to, it is also something steals the awe that belongs rightfully to God.

Do you fear God?

Church, we have a responsibility to safe guard the fear of the Lord in our heart.

To guard the appetite for affirmation

To guard the appetite for attention and distraction

To guard the appetite for entertainment.

To fear the Lord is to keep the Lord at the center of our desire, the center of our affection, the center of out respect and devotion. As we wrapt this up I have three questions for you to ponder.

1. Compromise in Devotion

Israel bound themselves to other nations and gods through unholy alliances. They didn’t just marry foreign wives; they married foreign ways. We do the same when we blend Christian faith with cultural idolatry — when we try to synchronize a godly life with worldly loves. Today, the question I am asking you consider is this: Where in your life have you partnered with something God asked you to separate from?

2. Complacency in Discipline

God told Israel to rest on the Sabbath as an act of trust — to prove that He was their source, and not their striving. The fear of the Lord teaches us to live within God-given limits and excel through God given grace. Do your daily habits reflect fear of the Lord or self-reliance?-

Do you practice a sabbath routine?

Do you obey God in fasting, and in sharing you faith?

Can God trust you with His work when He commissions you to pray for the sick?

3. Corruption in Delight

While Moses trembled on the mountain, Israel “played” in the valley — turning worship into entertainment. The word amuse literally means “to not think.” When we stop musing on God’s holiness, we fill our lives with lesser joys. An amused church cannot be a revived church. Do you reserve and focus your delight on the Lord? Think of it this way - Have I rationed my affection for the Lord?

The fear of the Lord reorders our desires. It anchors devotion, restores discipline, and purifies delight — until we find satisfaction in God alone.

Response:

When we lose the fear of the Lord, we start filling our hearts with everything but Him.

So today, before we rush out, let’s make space to respond — to let the Holy Spirit search us and fill us again with holy fear and holy love. As we close today, I want to call you to respond to God. Turn to Him. Draw near to Him. Revere Him by letting Him illuminate the unlit places of your heart. Let the Holy Spirit reveal any area — even in your thoughts — where you’ve withheld surrender. Maybe it’s compromise, complacency, or simply distraction. Whatever it is, He’s not exposing it to shame you, but to free you.

So as our prayer team comes forward, I’m inviting you to do the same — to come forward, to bow before the Lord, and to turn your heart fully toward Him.

Salvation Response

At the beginning of this message I shared about my shop teacher Wally who taught me to respect the equipment in his shop. And even to this day, his words impact me. This idea that when I use these potentially life threatening tools in the way it was designed, together our relationship can make the most beautiful fireplace mantel, kitchen cupboard, or nightstand. But when I violate its design, I can destroy my body, even lose my life!

And so right here, I want to pause. Because I think that every person in this room should take a moment and consider this thought. That to live with God in reverent fear is to draw near and build a beautiful life that will stand as a testimony of Gods beautiful design, to live life in opposition to God, is a life in lived in terror, in turmoil, a life lived in a spirit of fear. A life destroyed not because God destroyed us, but because we did not draw near to God, our rock, salvation, fortress in the storm. The prophet Isaiah cried out to Israel - "Turn to me and be saved- Isa 45:22

Isaiah 45:22 NASB95

22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.

Maybe for someone today this is how you need to respond to this message. You need to draw near to God, realizing that He has a design for your life - free from sin, free from shame, free from the guilt and pain that sin induces.

Romans 10:9 NASB95

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Today, I want to lead you in that prayer: If you would say, I want God’s forgiveness, I want to accept this gift of life, I want Jesus to live in my heart, raise your hand so I know who I am praying for.

KEEP YOUR HANDS RAISED HIGH - I HAVE A PRAYER PARTNER COMING TO PRAY WITH YOU

“Heavenly Father, I trust You to save me through Your Son, Jesus. Forgive me for all of my sins. Make me brand new. Because You died for me, I want to live for You. Fill me with Your Spirit, so I could follow You. Jesus, You’re now my Lord and the Savior of my life. Take my life. It is Yours. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”