Objects and reasons of Fear
Notes
Transcript
Who is God?
Who is God?
The creator of heaven and earth
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
He fills heaven and earth
Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
All powerful, all knowing, beyond space and time.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
He established the heavens and the foundations of creation.
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
He has no equal, no one can stand before him and look upon his full majesty and live.
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
Judge
But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.
Who are we?
Who are we?
Temporary
As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
The greatest of us are nothing
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
Wicked
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand.
What is fear?
What is fear?
“Fear is a natural, powerful, and primitive human emotion. It involves a universal biochemical response as well as a high individual emotional response. Fear alerts us to the presence of danger or the threat of harm, whether that danger is physical or psychological.”
Fear is usually considered negative, invokes the fight or flight response. Broken into 2 Categories
Keep us from doing something harmful
Keep us from danger
Drowning, falling, any physical danger
Keep Us from something that is actually safe or enjoyable or good for us
Taking a medication.
Getting on a plane
Seeing a doctor or dentist
Changes in life, moving jobs, new city, new friends, growing older
How the fear of God fit in?
Q: Is God dangerous and unsafe or is he safe and good for us?
He is a danger to anything that is sinful, anything contrary to His nature. Sin will be destroyed
He is good for those who are good.
For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.
Which are we?
Believers are still affected by sin and live with sin in their lives but are forgiven by the blood of Christ.
We are stuck in a place. The already but not yet.
Already forgiven but not yet with Christ in glory.
Story:
I discuss Theology and the Bible online, Verse came up “ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” Proverbs 9:10
Guy commented about The love of God should be the beginning of wisdom.
Q: Why is even the unbelieving word think that fearing God doesnt make sense?
The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Have anyone of you been on a Safari or at the Zoo to see lions and tigers? They are huge creatures with power. Imagine being face to face with a lion, nothing in between you and them.
Even if they are not hungry, angry or otherwise you would be terrified because you understand the power.
The fear of angels in Scripture
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
Also happened to the disciples
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.
If created things strike fear into our hearts, how much more should the everlasting God who is sovereign over all terrify us?
Lets see an account
Pay close attention to the word fear and the physical reactions to this fear.
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.
Q: What did the men around experience and how did the respond?
So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.
His strength left him,
And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.
Observations?
Jump to verse 15
When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute. And behold, one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.”
Q: Was Daniel the kind of guy who loved to sin and disobey God?
A faithful servant of God comes into His presence
God is approaching Daniel with mercy and grace yet still Daniel is overcome with debilitating fear.
How much more should one who willing sins and disregards Gods commandments be afraid?
What causes this fear in us?
Gods own power, majesty and glory.
God’s presence shows us more of who we really are then who we think we are
At night a candle is bright, a flashlight is brighter, camfire even brighter, car headlights are brighter. But nothing compare to the brightness of the sun.
We realize how good God reallt is and it is a terrible and terrifying things
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled.
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
The Fear of God in the Bible
The Fear of God in the Bible
“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, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Abrahams perfect obedience by taking his son Issac to sacrifice as God commanded is an example of the fear of The Lord.
He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
When Jonah was on the ship and the sailors were questioning who he was. This was his response.
And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
When Joseph was 2nd in command in Egypt and his brothers were trying to get food because of the famine, he instructed them what to do and said this.
And he put them all together in custody for three days. On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:
Job - The God Fearer
Job - The God Fearer
When Job is first introduced, the one thing that is described of him is this.
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?
And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”
withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me. Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me.
New Testament
New Testament
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.