Godly Fear

Bro Vive Supramaniam

Hebrews 12: 28-29
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Illustration:

Mysophobia is fear of "dirt."
Hydrophobia is fear of "water."
Nyclophobia is the fear of "darkness."
Acrophobia is fear of "high places."
Taxophobia is fear of being "buried alive."
Xenophobia is fear of "strangers."
Necrophobia is fear of the "dead."
Claustrophobia is fear of "confined places."
Ablutophobia- Fear of washing or bathing
Telephonophobia- Fear of telephones.
Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the "number 13."

There are many types of fears that plague the lives of people. But there is another fear that is rarely if ever mentioned today among the lives of people, even among those within the church. It is the fear of God.

Introduction

• Our attitude toward God has become very casual and mundane and many seem unaffected today by the reality of God and His presence.

• The concept of "fear" in connection with God is not a popular concept today

• It may not surprise us that the teaching on fearing God is a lost biblical truth within the modern-day church movement

• There is a misconception of the term the Fear of God and often we downplay this term with the concept Grace and Love of God. 

• Many believers have become so familiar with Jesus that they sometimes behave as if He is their next-door friend

• Yes, He is our Friend but He is also our King
• Yes, He is our Abba Father but He is also God Almighty
• Yes, He is the Lamb of God but He is also the Lion of Judah
• Yes, He loves the sinner but He hates Sin

• We hear Christians say, “I don’t fear God, I just love Him.” They sometimes go on to say, “The God of the Old Testament was a God of wrath, but the God of the New Testament is a God of love; therefore, I don’t have to fear God any longer.” 

• People who reason this way merely show their ignorance of Scripture. 

• Now it is true that since the coming of Christ God’s grace and love have had a fuller revelation, but God in the New Testament is just as holy, righteous, and wrathful as He was in the Old Testament. 

• It is still true that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, for we must learn to fear God before we can genuinely love Him.

Hebrews 12: 28-29
“28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

• In the earlier verses (v18-27), the Hebrews author make a comparison between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. It speaks about the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. 

• The Hebrew author acknowledges that we are the people of the New Covenant  - the recipients of God’s grace

• In Hebrews 12:28, we receive the unshakable kingdom of by Grace.  It is a gift from God.

• And this gift must be received with a heart of gratitude “...let us show gratitude...” 

• The Christian is to have a spirit of gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation for the eternal kingdom which is his in Christ Jesus. 

• But this Gratitude for the grace of God must be followed with Worship of God with reverence and awe.

• The concept of Godly fear is not something remote alien in the New Testament. It is not something of the past or something of the Old Covenant:

• In writing about the early church, Luke recorded: 

• Acts 9:31: "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and   in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." 

Note that they were "walking in the fear of the Lord"!

• In writing to the church at Philippi, Paul told them:

• Philippians 2:12: "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;" 

• This morning, I would love to share three things:

• Firstly, define what is Godly Fear or the "fear of the Lord"

• Describe why “Godly fear” is important to the Christian

• Suggest how we can develop a healthy "fear of the Lord" without going to one extreme or the other

What is the fear of God?

• The main Hebrew and Greek words translated fear in the Bible can have several shades of meaning, but in the context of the fear of the Lord, they convey a positive reverence.

• The Hebrew verb yare can mean “to fear, to respect, to reverence” and the Hebrew noun yirah “usually refers to the fear of God and is viewed as a positive quality. 

• This fear acknowledges God’s good intentions (Exodus 20:20).
• Exodus 20:20 “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."”

• This fear is produced by God’s Word (Psalms 119:38; Proverbs. 2:5)
• Psalms 119:38 Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You
• Proverbs 2:5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

• This fear makes a person receptive to wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10) 
• Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction

• In the New Testament, the Greek noun phobos can mean “reverential fear” of God, “not a mere ‘fear’ of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, “Fear, Fearful, Fearfulness”). 

• This is the type of positive, productive fear Luke describes in the early New Testament Church:

• “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31, emphasis added).

• It is the fear of God that hates sin and things that displease the Lord.

• The fear of God is an attitude of respect, a response of reverence and wonder. It is the only appropriate response to our Creator and Redeemer

• A healthy fear of God includes the fear of the consequences of disobedience. There may be times of temptation or trial when we may forget some of the better reasons for obeying God, and that is when we had better think of the consequences (Exodus 20:20).

• The Hebrews author describe in Verse 29 that Gratitude comes along with reverence and awe “...by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe (godly fear)...”

• Reverence and Awe is essence of the New Testament definition of the Fear of God.

Why “Godly fear” is important to the Christian?

• The positive aspect of the fear of the Lord taught in the Bible is a key element in change. 

• It helps us have a proper, humble perspective of ourselves in relation to our awesome God; 

• It helps us in times of temptation when we need to remember the serious consequences of disobeying God; and 

• It motivates us to become more Christlike.

• John Bevere in His book  Fear of God list some of The Blessings of Godly Fear

• Provides wisdom, understanding, and time management

• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you. —Proverbs 9:10–11

• Is our confidence and protection in the face of death

• In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death. —Proverbs 14:26–27

• Provides peace of mind

• Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with trouble. —Proverbs 15:16

• Results in complete satisfaction

• The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil. —Proverbs 19:23

• Will keep us on the path

• And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me —Jeremiah 32:40

• We were both created and redeemed in order to know, love, and worship God forever.

• Godly fear is the key to God’s sure foundation, unlocking the treasuries of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.

• We cannot truly love God until we fear Him, nor can we properly fear Him until we love Him.

• The Fear of God will also lead to devotion in service to Him, and He will be pleased with nothing less. This service is to be done “with reverence and awe (godly fear).”

• Solomon pursued wisdom throughout his entire life. He obtained it, and it ushered in great success. However, he went through a period of torment and frustration in his later years. 

• The fear of God in his heart had waned. He no longer obeyed the commandments of God.

• He married foreign wives and served their gods.

• At the close of his life, he looked back and after much meditation wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes. In this book, Solomon examines life apart from the fear of God. His response to every probing question was, “Vanity!”

• At the very end of the book, he concludes that the whole matter of life is summed up in fearing God and keeping His commandments!

How we can develop a healthy "fear of the Lord"?

• Believers in the New Covenant are to have a healthy appreciation of God’s holiness, righteousness and sovereignty and realize that God does not tolerate sin anywhere, especially in His very own children.

• Godly fear gives God the place of glory, honor, reverence, thanksgiving, praise, and preeminence He deserves.

• God holds this preeminent position in our hearts and lives as we esteem His desires over and above our own, hating what He hates and loving what He loves, trembling in His presence and at His Word.

• Cultivating a lifestyle of fearing the Lord involves at least three things.  It 

• 1. Involves intimacy with God, 

• 2.  Spiritual disciplines 

• 3. Making ourselves accountable.

• INTIMACY: The fear of the Lord is the beginning, or starting place, of an intimate relationship with God.

• God first calls us to Himself and then commissions us to do ministry.  Jesus ordained the twelve apostles, “that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach.” (Mark 3:14) 

• Although God is concerned about the lost world (Mark 6:34) and the scarcity of laborers (Luke 10:2), He never intended the ministry to take His place.

• The seduction of sin has greater impact on us when we neglect our intimacy with God.  It is therefore imperative that we make spending time with God and developing intimacy with Him our first priority.

• The scriptures admonish us not to take the grace of God in vain. (2 Corinthians 6:1) Since God is holy, sin separates us from enjoying the benefits of a close intimacy with Him. (Isaiah 59:1-2) 

• Intimacy is a two way process.  

• Our love for God and the desire to be intimate with Him motivates to develop a lifestyle of reverence and worship.  Secondly, as we worship and reverence Him, we are changed into His likeness.  The more we get close to God the more we realize how wretched we are and our need for continuous cleansing. (Isaiah 6:1-8)

• You can only know some intimately until and unless you walk close with the person.

• SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE: Spiritual disciplines are practices and spiritual habits that we intentionally engage in consistently in order to maintain a close walk with God and vibrancy in our Christian service.  

• They involve life choices that a person makes for the purpose of entering into deeper awareness and relationship with God for personal growth and service to others.  

• They include but are not limited to disciplined prayer life, fasting, study of God’s Word and quiet moments of listening to God.

• THE "FEAR OF THE LORD" comes through knowing the Word of God:

• Just as "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17), the same can be said for the "fear of the Lord"!

• Notice Deuteronomy 31:10-13, where the children of Israel were told to gather every seven years to read and hear the Word. The purpose?  "...that they may learn to fear the Lord"!

• As one reads the Word of God, they should gain a healthy degree of the "fear of the Lord"

• ACCOUNTABILITY: The fear of God brings a sense of accountability before the Lord. We should have a healthy fear of God in our hearts today. It's this fear that motivates our lives and stirs us on to live for God. 

• To think that we will stand before God and be accountable to Him for the way we have lived is an awesome thing.

• Once again, this does not mean that we will be judged for our sins as believers but it does suggest that we should have a healthy fear for God knowing that God will one day examine our lives and see how faithful we have been for Him (1 Corinthians 4:2).

• One discipline that we need to develop in order to cultivate a fear of the Lord lifestyle is that of making ourselves accountable to mentors and spiritual leaders.  

• This involves willingly opening ourselves to others and sharing personal and sensitive information with such.  In doing so we allow them to speak to our lives, pray with us and correct us. (Proverbs 12:1) Such people are not there to police us but are a support system in our walk with God and service.  They are there to “stir us to love and to good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)

SUMMARY

• In his book, The Fear of the Lord, John Bevere told a story of an encounter with Jim Baker, a very successful TV Evangelist who was sentence to serve time in a prison. 

• He asked Jim the question, "Jim, at what point in your life did you stop loving Jesus?” 

• Jim said, “John, I never stopped loving Jesus, I did lost my sense of the fear of the Lord." 

• The take home is to keep myself in living in the fear of the Lord. Not that I'm afraid of God but that I am fearful of being away from God. I believe that I can love Jesus without the fear of the Lord.  In fact that is called religious. 

• The Bible says in John those that the Father looks for are those who worship Him in Spirit and truth. I want to worship God not only by loving Jesus but to walk close in the holy presence of God. I want my life to be an example of a man that lives in the presence of God in humility in the reverential fear of honoring my God. 

• The fear of the Lord is one of the most valuable treasures that we can gain, because God is our Creator, and if we are to find true success, we have to live according to His design. He knows what is best for our lives. As we gain wisdom about His ways and choose to value what He values, we will mature as His children and our lives will be blessed.

• Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.

Many thanks to Bro Vive who sent me his notes due to my absence.