Fear God and Wait...

Scriptural Text: Isaiah 8:11-15

Fear God and Wait...

If God Did Not Bless If God did not bless, not one hair, not a solitary wisp of straw, would grow; but there would be an end of everything. At the same time God wants me to take this stance: I would have nothing whatever if I did not plow and sow. God does not want to have success come without work, and yet I am not to achieve it by my work. He does not want me to sit at home, to loaf, to commit matters to God, and to wait till a fried chicken flies into my mouth. That would be tempting God.

 Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations, (Biblical Studies Press, 2002).

As Isaiah, God’s prophet,

Despite the wonderful promise of the Lord to be with His people, the vast majority still refused to turn their lives over to the Lord. King Ahaz and his leaders still looked to Assyria instead of to the Lord for protection from the threat by Syria and Israel. Sadly, most of the population supported the pro-Assyrian party. But not Isaiah. He opposed all foreign alliances, placing his full trust in the Lord and encouraging the people to trust the Lord as well. He alone could deliver them (7:9; 28:16; 30:15).

But the leadership and citizens were failing to trust the Lord. They had forsaken the Lord, living unrighteous lives and engaging in false worship. Despite the Lord’s pleas and warnings, they had ignored Him and were placing their complete trust in Assyria... To prevent any chance of this happening to Isaiah, the Lord issued this strong warning to him. Three specific charges were included in this warning, and all are applicable to believers of all generations.

Don’t walk in their ways (11-15)

You are not say it is a conspiracy as they call a conspiracy

Malicious plots or plans to harm or to kill, which may be directed against other people, or even against God. Conspiracies are sometimes motivated by political aspirations, but may be simply an outlet for wrongdoing.

warned him not to buckle under to the charge of the people that he was part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government and give Judah and Jerusalem into Assyrian hands (vv. 11–12).

You are not to fear what they fear, or be in dread of it.

regard the Lord of host as holy, and He shall be your fear (vv.13-14)

To reinforce His warning and restore Isaiah’s confidence, the Lord takes the prophet back to his experience in the temple. Once again, we hear the seraphim sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts,” and the pillars shake under the power of God. Out of that experience, God reminds Isaiah that he should “hallow” and “fear” only the Lord of hosts.

Hallow, first is His holiness:

The word holiness, as applied to God in Scripture, represents, first,

moral purity.—Lev. 11:44; Ps. 145:17; second, his transcendently august and venerable majesty.—Isa. 6:3; Ps. 22:3; Rev. 4:8.

when we hallow Him,

To “sanctify the Lord,” i. e., to make him holy, is to declare and adore his holiness by venerating his august majesty wherever and whereinsoever his person or character is represented.—Isa. 8:13; 29:23; Ezek. 38:23; Matt. 6:9; 1 Pet. 3:15.

Fear: Means to stand in awe and reverence before God, wanting to approach and know Him.

Matthew 10:28 (NKJV) 28And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Luke 1:50 (NKJV) 50And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.

Acts 10:35(NKJV) 35But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

Deuteronomy 10:12(NKJV) 12“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

Joshua 24:14(NKJV) 14“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!

Psalm 25:12(NKJV) 12Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

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

Proverbs 1:7(NKJV) 7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

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

Isaiah 8:13(NKJV) 13The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

Why, because He is the majestic and sovereign Being of the universe.

“To say that God is sovereign is to say that His power is superior to every other form or expression of power; it is to say that God is completely free of external influences so that He does what He chooses, as He chooses, when He chooses.” James Bordwine

Everyday Definition

The Bible depicts the sovereignty of God as God’s supreme authority and lordship over his entire creation.

God has sovereignty over everything because he has created all that is.

God has sovereignty over human beings because he created them for his own purpose and glory.

God has absolute sovereignty over human history because he directs and rules the course of human history as he planned.

This means that God’s sovereignty over his creation is closely related to his ultimate ownership of all creation.

Conclusion:

Results of the fear of God (Prov. 31:30, Jer. 32:39, Ps. 147:11, Ps. 33:18, Ps. 25:14, Ps. 25:14, Ps 103:3, 115:13, Ps. 31:19, Prov. 28:14, Ps. 145:19)

• A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised (Prov. 31:30);  that they may fear me always for their good (Jer. 32:39);

the Lord takes pleasure in all who fear him (Ps. 147:11); the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him (Ps. 33:18);

• the angel of the Lord camps round those who fear him (Ps. 34:7); the secret of the Lord is with those who fear him (Ps. 25:14);

you have given a banner to those who fear you (Ps. 60:4);  you have given me the inheritance of those who fear your name (Ps. 61:5);

• the Lord gives food to those who fear him (Ps. 111:5); the Lord has compassion on those who fear him (Ps. 103:13);

his salvation is near to those who fear him (Ps. 85:9); he will bless those who fear him (Ps. 115:13);

• the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you (Ps. 31:19); happy is the man who fears always (Prov. 28:14);

• he fulfils the desire of all who fear him (Ps. 145:19); by the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil (Prov. 16:6);

he who fears God escapes both errors (Eccles. 7:18); he who fears the commandment will be rewarded (Prov. 13:13);

• the reward for humility and fear of the Lord are riches, honour and life (Prov. 22:4); God will instruct the one who fears him (Ps. 25:12);

there is forgiveness that you may be feared (Ps. 130:4);  it will be well for those who fear God (Eccles. 8:12); his mercy is on those who fear him (Luke 1:50)

Therefore,

Wait for God! (Ps. 27:14; Ps. 37:34, Ps. 37:7, Hab. 2:1, Hab. 2:3)

Wait for the Lord (Ps. 27:14; Ps. 37:34); wait patiently for him (Ps. 37:7); it is good for one to wait quietly for the Lord’s salvation (Lam. 3:26); wait for the Lord and he will save you (Prov. 20:22); wait continually for your God (Hos. 12:6); I will watch to see what he will say to me (Hab. 2:1); if it is slow, wait for it (Hab. 2:3);

hose who wait for the Lord renew their strength (Isa. 40:31);

those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land (Ps. 37:9); blessed are those who wait for him (Isa. 30:18);

none who wait for you will be ashamed (Ps. 25:3);

those who wait for me will not be put to shame (Isa. 49:23);

may those who wait for you not be ashamed through me (Ps. 69:6);

the Lord is good to those who wait for him (Lam. 3:25);

you work on behalf of those who wait for you (Isa. 64:4);

are you he who is to come or are we to expect another? (Matt. 11:3);

waiting until his enemies should be made his footstool (Heb. 10:13);

And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.—1 Thess. 1:10