Pastor Ian continues the series ‘Committed’ and what it means to Fear & Revere God.
Reading from Psalms 8 v 1 – 9
The reverence & fear that arises from us, is to acknowledge God for who he is.
There is a need in this generation, not to find out who we are. But to find out who God is.
There is a warning that comes with discovering God…we become insignificant.
We need to commit again to the fear & reverence of who God is.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”
Proverbs 9:10 ESV
A reverence of God should bring a fear of the judgement of our sins.
When we have a reference of God it should influence the way we live our lives.
We need to worship God with awe (fear & wonder).
We make a mistake if we play down how fearful and powerful God is.
Joseph when tempted to sleep with his masters wife, immediately proclaimed ‘How can I do this wickedness and sin against God’ (Genesis 39 v 9). Because he feared God first rather than the early consequences.
To fear God is a good thing, it gives us a different prospective about more pleasing him than ourselves.
We should have an understanding that we will spend eternity with God.
We should have a fear to cause God pain and sorrow.
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Deuteronomy 10:12 ESV
To fear God is to….
- To fear God is to:
- Have the proper reverence and awe for Him.
- To stand before His face in all we do, in order to be pleasing to Him without allowing ourselves to be influenced by wanting the approval of people. 1 Peter 1:24-25
- To know that we do not give account to anyone but God Himself for our actions.
- Have a fear of acting contrary to His will.
- Have a fear of dishonouring Him with our actions. Because this ensures that we act righteously with love and goodness toward our fellow man.
- Have a fear of misrepresenting Him or His Word to the world.
- Have a fear of taking lightly the weight and importance of what God has called us to and the ministry He has given us.
- Have a dislike for sin; and have a seriousness about what a big deal it is in our lives. Romans 7:13
- Love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength and to keep His commandments. Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Deuteronomy 10:12-13,Matthew 22:36-38
If we do not fear God, we cannot seriously be accepting of our sin.
Even though we have been forgiven, we still receive the consequences of our sin.
“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:28-29 ESV
We pray that you will once again recover a healthy fear and awe of our almighty God. That we would be reminded of it and allow it to influence how we live our lives.