Fear of the Lord

Island Fellowship Church
Message
Sunday, October 24, 2021

INTRODUCTION
1. I often stop and think about how awesome, how powerful and how amazing God is.
2. The Bible gives us some idea of how awesome and powerful God is.
a. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. – Gen. 3:1
b. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. – Psalm 147:4-5
c. He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not split open under them. He covers the face of the full moon and spreads over it his cloud. He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble and are astounded at his rebuke. By his power he stilled the sea; by his understanding he shattered Rahab. By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand? – Job 26:7-14
d. When Jesus had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” – John 11:43-44
3. The early church understood the fear of the Lord and benefitted from it.
a. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. – Acts 9:31
4. In writing to the church at Philippi, Paul told them:
a. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;" Phil. 2:12
5. Jesus himself emphasized the awesome power of God the Father
a. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. – Mat. 10:28

DEFINING THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"
A. THE WORD "FEAR"...
1. In the Hebrew, the word is "Yare’" (yaw-ray) and is used in the Old Testament to describe:
a. fear, terror
b. awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear)
2. The Greek word is "PHOBEO", and it is used to describe:
a. fear, dread, terror
b. that which strikes terror

B. IN CONNECTION WITH THE "FEAR OF THE LORD", IT IS OFTEN DEFINED AS "REVERENCE" OR "AWE"...
1. Which is fine as far as it goes...
2. But I wonder if this definition truly goes far enough...
3. For though the terms "reverence" and "awe" imply a place for "trembling", do most people make the connection?

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"
A. FROM THE BOOK OF PROVERBS, WE LEARN...
1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. – Prov. 1:7
2. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. – Prov. 8:13
3. The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. – Prov. 10:27
4. In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. – Prov. 14:26-27
5. By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil. – Prov. 16:6
6. The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm. – Prov. 19:23
7. The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. – Prov. 22:4
B. WITHOUT THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"...
1. Without the fear of the Lord, we cannot please God
a. Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. – Isaiah 66:1-2
b. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him… - Psalm 103:17

III. DEVELOPING THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"
A. THE "FEAR OF THE LORD" COMES THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD!
1. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. – Romans 10:17
a. The same can be said for the "fear of the Lord"!
b. The more we read and internalize God’s Word, the more we will learn to fear Him.
2. In Deut 31:10-13, the nation of Israel was told to gather every seven years to read and hear the Word...
3. And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” – Deut 10:10-13
4. The purpose? "...that they may learn to fear the Lord"!
5. As you read and study the Word of God, you should gain a healthy degree of the "fear of the Lord"
a. Remember what Peter said in his second epistle
I. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. – 2 Peter 3:7-14

CONCLUSION
1. The Psalmist said...
1. For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings[a] is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? - Psalm 89:6-7
2. So, while we should fear God, we also should remember that while he is awesome and powerful, he is also a God of mercy and grace.
3. Remember what the prophet Micah said:
1. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. – Micah 7:18
4. And the words from the Gospel of John that we know so well:
1. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16
5. So, while we serve an awesome and powerful God whom we should greatly fear, he is also our Father who shows us mercy and loves us beyond anything we can comprehend.

Benediction:

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.—Jude 24–25