DO YOU FEAR GOD?

DEUT. 10:12-22

INTRODUCTION

            Now:  Jerry Bridges, in his book The Joy of Fearing God, describes the healthy tension between loving and fearing God:

In the physical realm, there are two opposing forces called "centrifugal" and "centripetal."  Centrifugal force tends to pull away from a center of rotation, while centripetal force pulls toward the center.

A stone whirled about on the end of a string exerts centrifugal force on the string, while the string exerts centripetal force on the stone.  Take one force away and the other immediately disappears.

These two opposing forces can help us understand something of the fear of God.  The centrifugal force represents the attributes of God such as his holiness and sovereignty that cause us to bow in awe and humbleness before him.  They hold us reverently distant from the one who, by the simple power of his word, created the universe out of nothing.  The centripetal force represents the love of God.  It surrounds us with grace and mercy and draws us with cords of love into the Father's warm embrace.  To exercise proper fear of God we must understand and respond both these forces.

Bridges, Jerry.  The Joy of Fearing God.  New York: Waterbook Press, 1997.

            Then:  The Israelites had a problem understanding the tension about fearing an loving God.  The people of Israel were near the end of a long journey.  For almost 40 years they had been wandering in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.  There they would be in a land filled with milk and honey, their own land that they could settle and rest from their travels.  It had been a long journey.  In today's passage, Moses has been speaking to the people.  He is preparing them for their departure and for their entry into the Promised Land, telling them how they are to live their lives as God's covenant people.  (Read Text)  The Israelites had to learn to fear the Lord.

            Always:  FEARING GOD LEADS US TO HIS LOVE AND GRACE

            Fear = Awe, Honor, or Respect

I.                    Fearing God produces a proper attitude in us.  (vv. 12-13)

Exp.  Fear (v.12, 20): The word fear is used 435 times in the Old Testament.  In a few passages, the object of fear is a common circumstance or object.  Eighty percent of the passages that use the word have God as the object of fear.  The first important thing to discuss is the meaning of the word fear.  Fear can be associated with terror.  This can be seen in instances like Seir fearing Israel (Deut. 2:4), or Israel fearing the Canaanites (Deut. 7:19).

Fear can also be associated with reverence and worship.  This is the situation in verse 12.  The nature of fear is dependent on the object of that fear.  When we fear someone or something that is evil, then our reaction is to tense up, become paralyzed, our heart races.  What happens when you fear someone who has your best interest at heart?  It becomes reverence.  With God, it becomes a feeling of awe in the presence of divine love and power.  It makes us want to surrender our will to God's will.  This kind of fear casts out fear of the negative kind.

Pr. 1:7    Pr. 14:26  --- (Psalm 23) “I will fear no evil”

Exp.  A Proper Attitude: Having fear or awe of God is not enough.  Notice that verses 12 and 13 has five things that Moses expects from the Israelites: (1) they are to fear God, (2) they are to walk in his ways, (3) they are to love Him, (4) they are to serve the Lord, and (5) they are to keep the Lord's commandments.  As you read these words, you will observe that love is right in the middle of the rest.  This is a very significant thing.  Moses is most likely addressing the "Great Commandment" to love God.  By having the proper attitude of reverence and by loving him, we are able to walk in a close relationship with him. The closeness of that relationship becomes evident in our service and obedience to His word.

Rom 11:20b-21   1 Peter 2:17

Ill.        Leonard Sweet provides an interesting example of this attitude from the history of our country:

One tribe of native Americans had a unique practice for training young braves.  On the night of a boy's thirteenth birthday, he was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone.  Until then he had never been away from the security of his family and tribe.  But on this night he was blindfolded and taken miles away.  When he took of the blindfold, he was in the middle of thick woods.  By himself.  All night long.

Every time a twig snapped, he probably visualized a wild animal ready to pounce.  Every time an animal howled, he imagined what more sinister sound it masked.  No doubt it was a terrifying night for many.

After what seemed like an eternity, the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest.  Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of a path.  Then, to his astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow.  It was the boy's father.  He had been there all night long.

Sweet, Leonard. Soul Salsa.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

God allows us to face the tests of life.  We may have earthly fears.  We may struggle with many things, but God is always present with us.  God's presence is unseen, but it is more real than life itself.  He surrounds us with his love.  The highest Christian love is devotion to Jesus Christ.

            App.  1.  We are to have total dependence upon God.  In everything that we do, we are to draw close to Him.  In drawing close to Him, we know his perfect love.  We are to share that love with others by serving him and telling them about our relationship with Him.

            App.  2.  We are to study God's Word.  You cannot keep what you do not first know.  The more we read his Word the more he can reveal to us about his love.

II.                Fearing God produces a servant's heart.

Exp.  Circumcise your heart (v. 16).  We usually associate circumcision with the dedication of Jewish sons.  In this verse, it serves to remind us of the inward act of the heart.  It is not the external ritual, but the expression of the inward nature of the individual that is of vital importance to God.  He wanted them to peel back the layers from their heart so that they may have compassion for others.  We are to have complete love for God.  When we circumcise our hearts, we take an attitude toward God and others that is the opposite of being stubborn (stiff-necked).

Exp.  A servant's heart in action. (v. 17-19).  Verses 17 and 18 are very interesting.  Here we see the combination of the majesty and power of God combined with his compassion for the helpless and the aliens.  Often, we tend to separate God's fierceness from His compassion.  Many Christians see the fierce as God the Father and the compassionate as Jesus Christ.  The Divine Warrior is intimately linked with His care for those most in need.  Just as the Lord's love for Israel is to be reciprocated by Israel's love and service to the Lord, so too the Lord's love of the stranger means that Israel must love and serve the stranger.

Love is not just a feeling.  Our love for God leads us to serve the Lord with all our heart and soul.  All that we do in life we do for God.  So often Christians act as though God is there to serve them.  1 John 4:7,12 reminds us that love is from God and we are to love one another.  As we love one another God's love is in us and it is perfected by our actions.

Ill.  John Piper tells an interesting story about selecting a school for his 13-year-old. We visited a Christian school not long ago.  He was reading some of their literature about the goals of the school.  In a moment of quiet, He asked two faculty members this question.  "What is the ultimate goal of your education?"  He thought they would pick up on the word "ultimate."

They smiled as though they'd been waiting for this question.  They said, "Our goal in this institution is to train minds of young people so that they will think critically and become fully human.”

They wondered why He didn't respond more energetically, and their faces looked puzzled.  He said, "I thought maybe the mission of this school would be different from a public school."  They were shocked.  H said, "I just thought you might say something like, 'To teach them to love God and serve him in all they do.'"

They said, "Oh, we assume that."

"God does not like to be assumed."  We cannot assume that people will learn of God's love on their own.  We must show them in practical ways.

App.  1.     What is the condition of your heart?  Do you know the love that God gives to us through his Son?  If not, you can experience that perfect love by inviting him into your life.  If you do, you still need to evaluate the kind of relationship you have with him.  He demands nothing less than all you have to give.

App.  2.  The world isn't waiting for advice about how to solve it's problems.  It's waiting for somebody to listen to it and love it.  We are to love everyone, because there is no one that God does not love.  We must seek to find tangible ways of showing that love to people.

Simple Acts of Service – Parking Meter, etc.

III.             Fearing God demands a response and produces a real hope.

Exp.  Our Response (v. 21): "He is your praise and he is your God."  The basis of these two affirmations is gratitude and religious experience.  The people had personally experienced the acts of God on their behalf from the Exodus to the current moment, and in gratitude they were to praise God, and to recognize that he had an absolute claim to be their God.  The worship of God was a vital part of the general requirements stated in verses 12-13.  In worship, we give an inward and outward expression of our relationship of love to God.

Exp.  Real Hope (v. 22): A part of the covenant promise to the patriarchs had already been fulfilled by the growth of Israel's numbers; the faithfulness and ability of God were therefore beyond question.  But a part of the promise was yet to be fulfilled namely the gift of the land.  There still remained the expectation of the land.  The people were to know God's requirements of them in order that they might live to experience the fulfillment of all God's promise to them.

Ill.  In the New Testament, hope is joined to faith and love. Hope is an essential and fundamental element of the Christian life, so essential indeed, that like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of Christianity.  Peter reminds us of this in 1 Peter 3:15.  "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."

App.  1.  We are to respond to the Lord in our worship and our witness.  We must share the news of Jesus in our praise and practice.  Praising God should be an everyday occurrence.  Tell others about His story by sharing your story with them.

App.  2.  Because we have a hope within us, we must live in reverence to God who saves us.  This is to lived out by walking with Him, reading His Word, and serving others.

CONCLUSION

Do you Fear God?  It is imperative to give God the honor He is due.  Israel was called to a life of service of the Lord.  We are called to a life of service today. The problems of a lost and hopeless world need the love that only Christ can provide, and the hope that lives in us.