Overcoming the Fear Factor pt2

Overcoming the Fear Factor pt. 2

IV. What are we not to fear?

1. Our enemy. Psalms 64:1
2. Destruction of wicked. Proverbs 3:25-26
3. Sudden calamity. Proverbs 3:25-26
4. Those who can kill our body. Matthew 10:28
5. The reaction of others if we are suffer for righteousness. I Peter 3:13-14

III. What are things the Bible says we should fear?

1. Fear God. Deuteronomy 6:2; Joshua 24:14; I Samuel 12:14; Psalms 96:4,9; Proverbs 3:7; I Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7
2. Fear God’s judgments. Psalms 119:120
3. Fear commandments. Proverbs 13:13
4. Fear one who is able to send our spirit to hell. Matthew 10:28

Psalm 96:4 says …He is to be feared (reverenced or respected) above all gods.

There are four great impelling motives that move men to action: Fear, Hope, Faith, and Love—these four, but the greatest of these is Fear. Fear is first in order, first in force, first in fruit. Indeed, fear is “the beginning of wisdom.” Scripture summarizes the chief cause of sin and crime: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[1]

It is reported that the late newspaper counselor, Ann Landers, received an average of 10,000 letters each month, and nearly all of them from people burdened with problems. She was asked if there was any one of them which predominates throughout the letters she received, and her reply was the one problem above all others seems to be fear.

People are afraid of losing their health, People are afraid of losing their wealth, People are afraid of losing their loved ones. People are afraid of life itself.

—The Bible Friend

[2]

The same holds true today, and yes, as human beings we all will be affected by these very things, but if we have the right fear of God, we need not be afraid! Solomon wrote in Eccl 3:14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should 1a/fear Him.[3]/

As we continue with the second half of having the right fear of God, we want to touch on three points today. We will see how God blesses those who fear Him, how He favors those who fear Him, and how He sustains those who fear Him. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but these are just some of the things that God promises to do for us when we have the right fear or reverence and respect for Him.

I. God Will Bless Those Who Fear Him-

Ps 115:13-15

He will abless those who 1fear the Lord,bThe small together with the great. May the Lord agive you increase, You and your children. May you be blessed of the Lord,

aMaker of heaven and earth.

/[4]/

He will bless them both small and great, both young and old. God has blessings in store for those that are good betimes and for those that are old disciples, both those that are poor in the world and those that make a figure. The greatest need his blessing, and it shall not be denied to the meanest that fear him. Both the weak in grace and the strong shall be blessed of God, the lambs and the sheep of his flock. It is promised (v. 14), The Lord shall increase you. Whom God blesses he increases; that was one of the earliest and most ancient blessings, Be fruitful and multiply. God’s blessing gives an increase—increase in number, building up the family—increase in wealth, adding to the estate and honour—especially an increase in spiritual blessings, with the increasings of God. He will bless you with the increase of knowledge and wisdom, of grace, holiness, and joy; those are blessed indeed whom God thus increases, who are made wiser and better, and fitter for God and heaven. It is promised that this shall be, (1.) A constant continual increase: "He shall increase you more and more; so that, as long as you live, you shall be still increasing, till you come to perfection, as the shining light,’’ Prov. 4:18. (2.) An hereditary increase: "You and your children; you in your children.’’ It is a comfort to parents to see their children increasing in wisdom and strength. There is a blessing entailed upon the seed of those that fear God even in their infancy. For [5]

II. God Will Favor Those Who Fear Him

Psalm 147:11

The Lord afavors those who fear Him,b/Those who wait for His lovingkindness.[6]/

The favor of God is a powerful force in our lives! If we fear God, we can be assured of His favor in our lives because our fear will be a motive for obeying Him. We don’t have to earn favor from God because we are His sons and daughters. The prodigal son thought he had to earn his fathers favor by becoming a hired servant and working his way back into favor with the father because of what he had done wrong. However he forgot who he was! He was only temporarily disconnected from the favor. No matter what he did he didn’t have to earn his favor back because he was still a son. He regained a proper fear of the father that caused him to turn from his sin and come back. Because he was a son, he was received right away because favor was at work! In our lives, we may have experienced times when we were temporarily disconnected from the favor of God operating in our lives. We turned away from God to do things our way, and we got so far away that we felt like we had to earn our way back into favor with Him only to realize that once we came to our senses, and turned back to God our Father, that he was waiting to extend His favor to us again. Often you hear that God’s grace is His unmerited favor, however a distinction needs to be made to really understand that there is a difference between grace and favor. God’s grace is His ability working in us to accomplish what we could not on our own. Favor is the special affection of God towards you that releases an influence upon you so that others are inclined to like you or cooperate with you. God’s favor is not manipulation. When we have the right fear of God, we will tap into Gods laws such as The Law of Sowing and Reaping, The Law of Love, and The Law of Faith just to name a few. God’s laws are higher than natural laws. The Law of Gravity keeps us on the ground. If we challenge that law by trying to dive off a building to see if we can fly, for example, we all know that the results will not be good. That’s understandable. The Law of Lift is higher and overrides the Law of gravity as in the case of a plane lifting off the ground. That’s understandable. But when we tap in to God’s laws and His favor releases an influence upon us, then supernatural things happen in our lives that we cannot fully understand. That’s why when doors open for you that others said would not be possible, you know it’s nothing but the favor of God at work! That’s why when people may have told you that you’ll never be anything, you’ll never do anything great, call you names, say that you’ll never have any influence, and then God uses you to touch many lives; it’s nothing but the favor of God at work! That’s why when people who don’t even know you and give you an unexpected blessing, it nothing but the favor of God in your life!

III. God Will Sustain Those Who Fear Him

The Word of God is a sustaining power when we live by it’s instruction. Fearing the Lord, Solomon wrote, is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord occurs 11 times in Proverbs (and “fear the Lord” occurs 4 times). “Beginning” is the Hebrew rē’šîṯ which means “the start.” One cannot gain knowledge of spiritual things if he begins at the wrong point, refusing to fear the Lord (i.e., to recognize God’s character and respond by revering, trusting, worshiping, obeying, and serving Him). Rē’šîṯ also means the capstone or essence. The essence of true knowledge is fearing God. Apart from Him a person is ignorant of spiritual things (Rom. 1:22; Eph. 4:18; 1 Peter 1:14).

Job was an example of a man who feared God. Job was blameless (”without moral blemish,“ or ”morally whole“) and upright (”straight“ in the sense of not deviating from God’s standards). Also he feared God, that is, he was aware of, revered, and submitted to God’s majesty. And he shunned evil, rejecting the opposite of God’s character. [7]

Job was rich in possessions, “a very great household.” He had seven sons and three daughters. His livestock numbered in the thousands. Certainly God had blessed Job, and Job was not hesitant to praise God for all He had done. Paul wrote, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound...” (Phil. 4:12). Most of us have no problem turning to God when we are “abased” and things are going wrong, but how difficult it is to serve God and remember Him when things are prosperous. Job did not permit his money and possessions to take the place of God.

Satan admitted that he had been going up and down the earth (see 1 Peter 5:8–9), and God pointed to Job as “Exhibit A” of what a godly man ought to be. The Lord said to Satan, “Have you 1considered aMy servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, ba blameless and upright man, 2/fearing God and turning away from evil.”[8]/

But immediately Satan, who will never agree to God’s Word, accused Job of being a hypocrite. “The only reason Job is obedient is because he is so rich. Take away his wealth and he will curse you to your face!” As believers we are “hedged about” by the Lord and that Satan cannot touch them without God’s express permission.[9] Satan is not equal to God either in wisdom or in power. Satan is not all-powerful, for he is but a created being limited in power. Satan is not everywhere-present; he is limited to one place at one time. And Satan is not all-knowing; for had he known how this contest would turn out, he would never have entered it. Satan holds this world in his lap (1 John 5:19), but “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). The moment he had the divine permission, Satan left to attack Job’s personal possessions, and in a brief time, Job was left a pauper.[10] How did Job respond? He mourned for the dead and worshiped God. “The Lord gave” (this is easy to say) “and the Lord has taken away” (this is harder to say). “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (it takes real faith to say that).[11]

But the testing wasn’t over yet. Job maintained a right fear of God through the first test, now God allowed Satan to touch Job’s body. The pain was so great that Job wished he had never been born. His wished that he had died at birth than to endure this grief. Job did not know the purpose of his suffering. When you become perplexed over the trials of life, remember that God is still on the throne. Job himself in the 23:10 said “But he knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (nkjv). He had a right fear of God. Job was going through the furnace. But when one of God’s children is in the furnace, God is there with him[12] Job said a lot of things during the course of his testing, but Job did not curse God; nowhere in the book does Job deny the Lord or question His holiness or His power.[13] His friends made their accusations, Job made his appeals to God, and God presented some questions to Job as well. In the end Job had twice what he had before. If you compare Job 1:3 with Job 42:12 it’s easy to see the multiplied blessing. However, it is often overlooked that he ended up with twice the number of children too. Although the seven sons and three daughters were taken from Job, they were alive with God in heaven. God blessed Job with seven more sons and three more daughters so now Job had 20 children rather than ten. Job maintained the right fear of God. God blessed him, God favored him, and God sustained him.

Conclusion:

Having the right fear of God should drive us to be obedient to God. Regardless of the circumstances, we must remember that God has never left us, He has never lost His power, He sees all, knows all, and He is everywhere! When we have the right fear of God, we can be assured of His blessings in our life, His favor upon our life and His sustaining us through our life. We will do as Heb 12:2 says 1fixing our eyes on Jesus, the 2aauthor and perfecter of faith,[14]

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[1]Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Garland TX: Bible Communications.

[2]Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Garland TX: Bible Communications.

[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ec 3:14). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ps 115:13-15). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[5]Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ps 115:9). Peabody: Hendrickson.

[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ps 147:11). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[7]Walvoord, J. F. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Job 1:2). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Job 1:8). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[9]Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the Old Testament (Job 1:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[10]Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the Old Testament (Job 1:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[11]Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the Old Testament (Job 1:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[12]Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the Old Testament (Job 1:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[13]Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the Old Testament (Job 1:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[14]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Heb 12:2). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.