Eureka!

Introduction

Church, we are finally here. Today we are closing out our series titled “Fool’s Gold.” We have been talking about wisdom and where to find it. We’ve highlighted how God holds all wisdom and understanding. To obtain these things, we need to dig deeper in our faith and confidently ask.

Today, I want us to talk about the correct heart posture to have in gaining wisdom. Without this heart posture, we will be tempted to only follow Christ when it’s convenient. This posture requires us to take some time to understand our position before almighty God.

The correct posture I’m referring to is often stated, simply, as the fear of the Lord.

STORY: Throwing worms at moving vehicles caused me to run inside my parent’s closet.

The kind of fear I had in this moment was one that made me want to run in the opposite direction. I hid in fear of being caught of my bad actions.

Yet, the concept of the Fear of the Lord is not like this type of fear. God’s intention was never for His people to be afraid of Him to the point that they ran from Him.

Today we are going to spend some time breaking down this type of fear toward our God. Once we can understand this fear and grasp our own position before God, I believe we will have a clearer understanding of the wisdom God gives us.

PRAY

Main Teaching

There are three things I believe the fear of the Lord is able to produce. When we allow these things to be produced in our lives, we will seek to walk in wisdom and greater understanding, inviting God to constantly do His work in us and through us. Here’s the first one:

The Fear of the Lord Produces Awe

At the beginning of this series, we talked about the importance of having reverence for God. This is something the Psalms talks a lot about, as it is a way for us to stand before God in awe of who He is. If you still have a Bible open, turn with me to Exodus. In chapter 19 of Exodus, we see a bit of light shed on what the fear of the Lord is supposed to look like.

In this segment of Scripture, God is getting ready to give the ten commandments to His people. But before this happens, He makes Himself known on Mount Sinai. Here’s what the Bible says in verse 16:

Read Exodus 19:16

Exodus 19:16 ESV

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

Did you catch how the verse ends? “All the people trembled.” But why did they tremble? They were trembling because of what they witnessed just moments before. The Bible says thunder roared and lightning flashed. This was a sign of God’s great power. You see, in this moment, God’s intent was not to scare off His people. Rather, He wanted to display just how powerful He was. This, in turn, would lead them towards reverence as they sought to obey His commands.

Have you ever encountered God’s power in a personal way? We don’t have to look any further than the opening chapter in the entire Bible. Genesis 1 tells us about how God created this world and everything in it. He literally spoke certain things into existence, while forming man from the dust on the ground. All of this displays just how powerful God is.

STORY: Sharing the moment when God called me to ministry in Orlando, FL. He used this powerful moment of shaking my soul to stir my heart and help me be in awe of his for the rest of my life.

This moment did not scare me away from God. Instead, it helped me see there was no one else worth putting my faith and trust in. Only God was deserving, because only God displayed this kind of power. Once we begin to understand what fearing the Lord is supposed to look like, we will stand in awe of who He is and the power He has. This will lead us to a point of placing our faith in Him and His power, which is the second thing produced from our fear of the Lord.

Fear of the Lord Produces Faith

Turn with me to Exodus chapter 14. This is the account when the Israelites escaped Egypt and went through the Red Sea on dry ground. What an incredible story of God’s power and provision for His people. There is a key verse at the very end of this story that highlights the people’s response to what they witnessed.

Read Exodus 14:31

Exodus 14:31 ESV

Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

The Bible says the people put their faith in the Lord. Once we learn to stand in awe of who God is, we must learn to place our faith in Him.

Read Hebrews 12:2

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The New Testament says Jesus, God in the flesh, is the author and perfecter of our faith. This means He gives it to us, allows us to have it, and helps us grow in it. However, it’s easy to place your faith in something tangible, something you can see, feel, or touch. Just like the power that the Israelites had just seen God display in Exodus. But eternal wisdom isn’t tangible. So, how can we be sure it is worth putting our faith in?

I believe it comes down to a greater question: “Do I believe the stories in the Bible are completely true?” You see, many people doubt God because they doubt the Bible. They don’t understand how a book written thousands of years ago can still apply to their lives today. And I think at some point in all of our lives, we will be confronted with this same question at one point or another. Today, even here in this space, we are confronted with this question. Jesus makes it clear that it’s much harder to place your faith in something or someone you cannot see, feel or touch.

Read John 20:24-29

John 20:24–29 ESV

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

In this encounter with Thomas, Jesus says those who believe in Him but have not seen Him face to face, will be blessed. Faith requires a step. A step into something that, in our world, is not the majority. Much of our world is tangible, which is why most of our world pursues worldly things. They give temporary satisfaction. However, the things of God, one of which is wisdom, are eternal. And in our pursuit of wisdom, there seems to be one more thing the Fear of the Lord produces in our lives, and it is a necessary starting point of growth we want to see:

Fear of the Lord Produces a Foundation

Going back to our starting place in Proverbs 1:7, the writer says in this verse that the Fear of the Lord is the “foundation of true knowledge.” He talks to us about the importance of a good starting place. This concept of fearing the Lord is meant to serve as a starting place for our discovery of who God is.

The Bible is full of mysteries, as we talked about last week. But as we study the Bible and read what’s in it, if we have a healthy view of fearing the Lord, we will be building off that concept as we gain knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. It’s important for us to spend time thinking about what kind of foundation we are building.

Jesus talks about this in a well known passage from Matthew 7.

Read Matthew 7:24-27

Matthew 7:24–27 ESV

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

In this segment of teaching, Jesus is closing out His Sermon on the Mount. He is helping people understand how important it is to follow His teachings. The Word of God is the greatest possible place to build our foundation. And out of all the starting places for us within the Word of God, it’s important to begin with a healthy, proper view of God Himself. This is where the Fear of the Lord comes into play.

Do you desire something eternal but rely on something temporary? As we have often said throughout this series, the world will offer us many things to build our lives on. However, each of those things is, in some form, shaky. Even if we build somewhat successful lives based on worldly ideals, we will fail at some point. The only firm ground, Jesus says, is His Word.

Conclusion

I want to challenge you, as we wrap up this series, to think about the wisdom you desire. The knowledge you desire. The discipline you desire. The growth you desire.

There is only one source to obtain each of these, and achieving them begins with a healthy view of God, who is Himself the source. In fact, when Jesus was asked how to pray in Matthew 6, He instructed His disciples to begin their prayer by honoring God and verbally acknowledging His majestic place in the universe;

“Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10)

I pray for God to have your full attention, commitment, and awe today. It’s time to stop chasing after worthless things. Counterfeit treasures will never satisfy us.

It’s time to honor and revere the Lord.

It’s time to dig in and seek Him, His word, and His wisdom.

No more fool’s gold… bring on the eternal treasure of life lived in and by faith.

Let’s pray together.