The Fear of the LORD

Exodus 20. 18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” 21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Hebrews 12. 18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. What Does The Fear of God Mean? It is not what the Israelites experienced. They were terrorized. You cannot have a loving meaningful relationship with someone who holds a gun to your head, saying, “I love you. Do you love me?” God is not looking for that with us. He is looking for us to revere Him, Respect Him, to honor Him, be in awe of Him. Fear of God is to treat Him as He deserves. To honor Him because He is worthy. David and I singing on Friday, “This Is My Father’s World” Honoring Him as Creator, Father Isaiah 44.9 Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? Romans 9. 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? Anger at God, rejecting His plan is not respecting Him. God’s plan was for Israel to draw near. They wanted Moses to do that. Avoiding an invitation from the LORD ends in disaster. This begs a question worth asking. How on earth did they go from this to killing Jesus? Had they no fear?! * Their Religion! They did not want Him messing up their religion, having a form of godliness but no power. They had their rituals. They were so steeped in them and their traditions that they did recognize God when He was standing besides them, talking with them. * Their Building. They were afraid He would be the cause for their temple being taken away. . John 11.48 If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” When a buiding becomes more important than loving God that group is in deep trouble. That generation did not pass until they saw the Destruction of the Temple and all of Jerusalem. * The Money. He upset the whole of Israel by cleansing the Temple of business: buying, selling, money exchange. Mark 11. 15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as He taught them, He said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching. The Laodecian Church had put Jesus out because their wealth made them feel they didn’t need Him. Now they never said that per se, but their actions and their independence spoke loudly. Photo * There is a great need today to drive the merchandising, the business model, out of the church! * Finally He made sense. He spoke with authority. He pointed out their pride and the need for repentance. Repentance among religious leaders does not come easy. We have seen a few exposed for elaborate spending in the past 40 years but many go on without any concern for them becoming rich and the poor paying their way. We even see this outside of the TV preachers. (Not all are evil) I implore you today that if you are giving money to any of them, ask for a detailed financial statement. If they do not give it to you I can assure you that you are being ripped off! This includes denominations. Local pastors can do this as well. I know of men who made millions in managing their property investments while their flocks suffered due to their attention to business ventures. This is so wrong! Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? Ezekiel 34.2 God help us. Shepherds are to take care of the flock:feeding, leading, protecting, guiding, healing, loving Go back again with me to the thunder and lightning v.18 Remember Matthew 12. 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees told Jesus, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 But He replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah, 40 because just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea creature for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look—something greater than Jonah is here! I believe they were bringing Him back to Sinai and this chapter. Let us see some lightning, some thunder. Jesus said I will give you one sigh. It will be on Earth. I will rise again but you still will not believe. He did give a sign in the Heavens, but it was only to His disciples. It was not creating a storm but muzzling one. Mark 4. 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” He did not create a storm this time but stilled it. It had the same effect. They were terrorized by His power. Old Testament whole nation New Testament to His Followers Old Testament they knew it was God. New Testament they are wondering, Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” They became His witnesses. Jesus prayed, in Matthew 12. 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, LORD of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what You were pleased to do. He still is! The Fear of God Keeps Us From Sinning v.20 We need this in the United States today. We have lost the fear of the LORD! I remember a time when saying, “O God” was a sin. Today even kids say it. Even when my kids were young. My youngest learning the chorus, Unto The O LORD, when we came to the line, “Oh my God, I trust in Thee” gasped with horror. Look at the government with lies and corruption. We do not know who is telling the truth. Accusations fly. I remember Watergate. We were all in shock when we found out about a cover up. Today insider trading, tax evasion, leaking classified information is not a big thing. I had a fear of the consequences of sin. I was afraid because I knew God was watching. 21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. I was not afraid of being with the LORD. I have often told you how I wanted to go to Heaven as a kid. So I didn’t run from the LORD. I wanted to be with Him. Now when I wake up in the morning I cannot wait to get down into my Study for Quiet Time. I have begun praying over the whole family before I get up. My Quiet Times have become a time of communing with the LORD, prayer, reading His Word and writing in my journals. Prayer I prayed July 1, 2004 for Art Alexander, after he became DS Your words this morning were restorative! The Fear of the LORD is The Beginning of Wisdom Proverbs 9. 10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,     and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Now we are getting somewhere! We say today, “How foolish can they be!” If a person does not have the fear of the LORD, they will not have wisdom. They will live like there is no God. A person can say anything. The issue is how do they live? If they are living in sin then they have no fear of the LORD. Excuses have been made for inexcusable actions. Dr. Karl Menninger’s book, What Ever Became of Sin, was written in 1973, explores how modern society erased the concept of personal sin, replacing it with therapeutic or clinical terms like "sickness" or "dysfunction" to evade moral accountability. The words, what right do you to have to say, “This is wrong?” were heard throughout the 1970’s. In the 1980’s when making money was rampant, the concept of sin was being erased as the Health and Wealth Gospel proliferated. Fast forward 40 plus years and whole churches are falling apart because they do not stand for anything. What happened to Paul’s words to the Ephesian Church. Ephesians 6. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, It is not how “successful” you are for a season but after years have past are you still standing? What is the Fear of the LORD Today? Hebrews 12. 18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. We are in a place of Communion. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Jesus broke down the barrier, opening up the Holy of Holies where we can go right into the Presence of the LORD. We are in a Place of Joyful Assembly. Not dark, not frightening but with Angels singing. We are in a place of rejoicing our that our names are written down in Heaven. For too long we have been celebrating our successes. If we are not careful Life can become one large scoreboard where someone is listing the points to measure our worth. And before we are fully aware of it, we have sold our soul to the many grade givers. In short, we are worthwhile because we have successes we allow our accomplishments to become the criteria of our self-esteem and our self-worth. Do not rejoice how many come to your church or how many baptisms you have but rejoice that your name is written down in Heaven. We are in a place of Rest from trying to please God. It is finished. We are in fellowship with Jesus. He has forgiven us! Feeling At Home in the Presence of Jesus