Job 28:28---And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that
[is] wisdom; and to depart
from evil [is] understanding.
Psalm 111:10---The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: a
good understanding have
all they that do [his commandments]: his praise endureth for ever.
Proverbs 1:7---The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge:
[but] fool despise wisdom
and instruction.
Proverbs 9:10---The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and
the knowledge of the
holy [is] understanding.
Proverbs 15:33---The fear of the LORD [is] the instruction of wisdom;
and before honour [is]
humility.
Do you think that God is trying to tell us something here? It
is evident from recent events that
even at the highest levels of public office in our country that fear
of the Lord has been replaced by
hautiness and pride. If we are to even begin to approach God
in the proper manner we must first
learn to tremble in awe and reverence before Him. That is why
fear of the Lord must preceed
even knowlege.
Fear is necessary for:
I. THE WORSHIP OF GOD (Psalm 5:7, 89:7)
Psalm 5:7---But as for me, I will come [into] thy
house in the multitude of thy mercy:
[and] in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy
temple.
Psalm 89:7---God is greatly to be feared in the assembly
of the saints, and to be had in
reverence of all [them that are] about him.
We cannot begin to worship God in a way that is pleasing
unto Him until we learn to stand
in awe and reverence of Him yet I am afraid that
we are way to casual and familiar with
Him when we come into His presence and His house.
II. THE SERVICE OF GOD (Psalm 2:11, Hebrews 12:28)
Psalm 2:11-12---Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice
with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest
he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when
his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed
[are] all they that put their trust in him.
Hebrews 12:28---Wherefore we receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved, let us have
grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear:
Could it be that we are too casual in our service
to God. Is it possible that instead of
standing in humility before Him as we serve Him
that we get the notion that somehow the
kingdom of God will just stand still without us.
In reality He is the wind beneath our wings, the
breeze that fills our sails, without Him we
could do nothing and we ought to stand in awe of
Him. Folks, it is an awesome thing to
serve the Lord. Can you just imagine that
the One who hung the moon and stars in place
desires to use you to accomplish His will on earth!
Me as I stand before you today---there is always
fear and trembling before the Lord as I stand
before you. The moment that I become casual
about my calling is the moment you need to call
a new pastor.
III. AVOIDING SIN (Exodus 20:20)
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God
is come to prove you, and that his
fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
Now, it is interesting to me that this verse comes
right on the heels of the ten
commandments. We have ceased to fear God,
we have thrown His commandments out
the window and it is now mystery as to why sin is
all around us and among us! We even
have shirts that say "No Fear".
IV. RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT (2 Samuel 23:3)
The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake
to me, He that ruleth over men [must be]
just, ruling in the fear of God.
Notice the imperative nature of this statement.
Let us turn it around---"He that is not just
and does not fear the Lord must not rule over men."
We have no one to blame but ourselves when we elect
public officials that show total
disregard for the things of God. It is a terrible
thing when people stop voting according to
the Book and start voting according to their pocketbook.
V. IMPARTIAL ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE (2 Chronicles 19:6-19)
And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for
ye judge not for man, but for the
LORD, who [is] with you in the judgment. Wherefore
now let the fear of the LORD be
upon you; take heed and do [it]: for [there is]
no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor
respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. Moreover
in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the
Levites, and [of] the priests, and of the chief
of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of
the LORD, and for controversies, when they returned
to Jerusalem. And he charged
them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the
LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect
heart.
When I think about these verses I cannot help but
think about the young woman on death
row last year who had hacked a couple to death with
an axe and then was converted to
Christianity while awaiting execution. Appeals
were made by Christian groups that her
life be spared because of the change that come over
her as a result of her salvation
experience. I have no reason to believe it
was not sincere and I would have to admit there
was a part of me that wanted to see her life spared
but I realize why she had to be
executed.
VI. THE PERFECTING OF HOLINESS (2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1)
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not
the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, And
will be a Father unto you, and ye shall
be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Having therefore these promises,
dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.