Abraham was commended for his fear of God Genesis 22:12, Romans 4:16, Galatians 3:8
The Law given at Sinai Exodus 20:18 Trembling & fear. By design Deuteronomy 4:10, 5:29
The fear of God was to be taught Psalm 34:11. By nature men do not fear God. Romans 3:18
We must learn to fear & obey God. Ecclesiastes 12:13 'Fear God & keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man.'
Gospel message Revelation 14:7 'Fear God & give Him glory'
Fear God, Revere His person, His Name, His ways, Not displease Him.
Respect, Awe, fear, Careful obedience.
Deuteronomy 9:19 'I feared the wrath & anger of the Lord, for He was angry enough with you to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me.' Hebrews 12:21
NT: 'Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?' Matthew 3:7
Signs & wonders bring joy & gladness, but also fear Acts 2:43
Ananias & Sapphira’s actions & result produced great fear Acts 5:11
Nehemiah 8:10 'The joy of the Lord is your strength.'
God makes Himself known in various ways:
A healing presence : 'The power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick' Luke 5:17
A worship presence: Jesus blessed the disciples as He ascended, They worshipped Him.
This followed the outpouring of the Spirit Acts 2:47 Also Paul & Silas Acts 16:25
Produces laughter Psalm 126:2 'Our mouths were filled with laughter, with songs of joy'
Ezra 3:11 'With praise & thanksgiving they sang to the Lord.'
Nehemiah 8:10 'Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'
A judgement presence: Acts 8:21 'You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.'
A time for deliverance Mark 5, Acts 16:16 Paul waited many days.
A feeling of holy awe Luke 1:12 'Zechariah was startled and was gripped with fear.' Luke 5:26 'Filled with awe.'
Luke 7:16 'Filled with awe & praised God' Luke 8:37 'Overcome with fear.' Leave us...
A mixture of joy & fear: Matthew 28:8 'Afraid yet filled with joy & ran to tell His disciples.'
Let God be Himself. Respect His ways. For some joy & praise, others fear & awe
How Fear of God is taught Deuteronomy 4:10, Psalm 36:1 'There is no fear of God before the eyes of the wicked.'
Through God’s love in action that fear of Him is the result.
When people left God out of their lives, He gave them up to live as they liked Romans 1:24
Whom the Lord loves, He chastens, an indication He is involved in their lives.
The fear of God is taught, By hearing, seeing, obeying.
Hearing Romans 10:17, Deuteronomy 11:18-19, Gospel preached Romans 10:14 Assumes God’s wrath
conviction of sin John 16:8-9, Need to be forgiven Acts 2:38, Need of faith Romans 3:25
Good news of Christ’s atonement Romans 5:8
'What shall we do?' Acts 2:37 Save yourselves!
Seeing Deuteronomy 11:7 ' Your own eyes saw all these great things the Lord has done.'
Luke 5:26 Fear followed Jesus miracles. Filled with Awe.
Acts 19:17 'They were seized with fear & the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor'
Obeying Deuteronomy 11:8, Romans 1:5, Deuteronomy 10:12 What does the Lord God require of you?
To fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, serve Him, all your heart.
John 14:15 'If you love Me you will obey what I command.' 2 Thessalonians 1:8 'He will punish those who do not know God & do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.' (1 Peter 4:7)
Why people come to fear God? Preaching of God’s wrath Matthew 3:7. With power Acts 2:37
Teaching with authority Matthew 7:28-29. Signs & wonders Acts 4:16
Believers: Fear of: Chastening Psalm 6:1, of displeasing God Psalm 19:7-14, Not entering God’s rest Hebrews 4:1, fear of continued disobedience Hebrews 10:26-31.
Results of fearing God
Knowledge Proverbs 1:7 Understanding Proverbs 9:10 Turns one away from the snares of death Proverbs 14:27
From immorality Proverbs 6:24. God confides in those who fear Him Psalm 25:14. Blessings Psalm 31:19
To walk in the light 1 John 1:7. God stays involved Psalm 33:18. Promises long life Proverbs 10:27
We Truly fear the Lord? Seek His glory & not that of man John 5:44 Not fear man.
Revere His Name Deuteronomy 28:58, Psalm 86:11 Jealous for His Name. Desire to please Him 1 John 1:7
Faithful in the very little Luke 16:10
Luther: We must know God as an enemy before we know Him as a friend.
Letting God Love Us God really loves us. Often too aware of our sins, small issues,
A perfectionist mentality. A Father unlike earthly fathers. Only Jesus reveals the Father.
John 3:16 'God so loved the world...' Not Luther! Maybe it was another Luther because this Luther is unworthy. Romans 5:8 'God loves us: while we were sinners, Christ died for us.'
'We love because He first loved us' 1 John 4:19. 'The Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance' 2 Peter 3:9
Jesus died for every one. 2 Corinthians 5:14 He tasted death for every one Hebrews 2:9. Jesus is the atoning sacrifice not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world 1 John 2:1-2
Promise is to those who believe. Romans 3:22 This righteousness comes thru faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. God is just and justifies the man who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:26.
God is the Saviour of all men & especially those who believe 1 Timothy 4:9-10 With out faith it is impossible to please God. Once faith is exercised in His finished work the following applies: We are loved with an everlasting love Jeremiah 31:3
Loved by Jesus Himself: John 13:34 'As I have loved you, so love one another.' John 17:23 'You (Father) love them as much as You love Me.'
Why does God love us? Deuteronomy 7:7 God loves us because He loves us. He chose us before we were born. Romans 9:11, Ephesians 1:4. 'We love because He first loved us' 1 John 4:19
How do we let God love us? Experiences of life condition us. God’s love is pure. Only known by faith in Him. We are never worthy of that love. We will never deserve it. We cannot alter the situation.
He alone can. Our part? Confess our sins. 'He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins' 1 John 1:9
We block God’s love by works of our own as though we must earn His love.
“Lay down my life for You.“ Deliberate disobedience results in fellowship with the Father lost.
Walk in the light will reveal the past. Confess it & forget it as it is under the blood.
Forgive yourself. Accept God has forgiven you. Good deeds do not cancel out bad deeds. Only God can do that because the death of Jesus dealt with that. Enjoy what God has done.
Hebrews 4:16 'Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.'
1 John 4:16 'So we rely on the love of God for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God'
1 John 3:20 'If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts.'
Psalm 103:14 'He know how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.' Psalm 103:10: 'He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities'
We should affirm God’s love when: We are depressed. We should remind ourselves that God does not change.
The psalmist did that when he was discouraged. Psalm 42:11 He was able to say in Psalm 42:8 'by day the Lord directs His love at night His song is with me.'
Aware of sins? Confess them! Be thankful.
Do not isolate yourself. God will place people in your path. Hebrews 13:2 'angels without knowing it.'
Reconnect with the Holy Spirit in you. He will draw you closer to God in due time. Humble yourself in the sight of God & He will draw you closer to Himself in due time.
Usually when you have learned the lesson that sins separates and is not to be treated lightly.
Totally forgive others that have hurt you.
Accept God’s discipline with dignity. Hebrews 12:5, Revelation 3:19
