One
summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her
small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked
in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?"
Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said
tenderly, "I can't dear. I have to sleep in Daddy's room."
A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice
saying, "The big sissy!"1
Psa 111:10 KJV - "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."
Pro 14:26 KJV - "In the fear
of the LORD [is] strong confidence: and his children shall have a
place of refuge."
I am convinced that the reason so many
Christians struggle with fear is because they don’t really know who
God is. Because they don’t understand who God is, they don’t
understand who they are. Because they don’t understand who they
are, they live in varying degrees of fear of the world around them.
This morning, I believe the Lord has
given us a word concerning fear. The capacity to fear is something
that God has placed in each of us. When that capacity is in its
proper place it is very healthy. When it is not in its proper place
it will cripple you spiritually, and perhaps, even physically.
In the Bible I can find only four
individuals that we are instructed to fear. You will not be surprised
to find that the first and most important of those is to fear God.
This is referenced in many places. In addition to God (or the “Lord”)
I can find three other individuals we are instructed to fear.
Fear Mother and Father
Leviticus 19:3
tells us, "Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father…”
Parental authority is derived from
Divine authority. Every child needs to have a healthy fear of his or
her parents. This does not mean they should run and hide in terror
when their parent walks through the door, nor does it mean that a
child should be abused. It does mean that a child recognizes that
someone loves them enough to create reward and consequences for good
and bad behavior. A child who is not disciplined will come to ruin.2
Fear the King
Proverbs 24:21
says, “My son, fear thou the Lord and the King…”
Governmental authority is also derived
from Divine authority.3
If we go all the way back to Genesis we find the origin of human
government established by God in these words to Noah spoken after the
flood:
"Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the
image of God made he man." [Genesis 9:6 KJV]
Now make no mistake, governments may
determine what is “legal” and “illegal” but only God
determines what is “right” and “wrong”. When legal and
illegal align with right and wrong you have good government. If those
two do not align, we are obliged to follow that which is right, even
if it is illegal.
"Fear not" vs. "Fear God".
If we take a look at a concordance we
will see that throughout the book of Genesis as the Lord is
addressing his chosen people he repeatedly tells them to “fear
not”. These instruction are repeated to the people of God
throughout scripture. When we move to Exodus and Leviticus we
see a change of tone. The children of Israel are repeatedly told to
“fear God.”4
So what is going on?
Throughout Genesis we see God talking
to people (however imperfect) who already acknowledge his sovereignty
and authority over their lives. In Exodus however, he is addressing a
group of people who have just spent four generations immersed in
Egyptian idolatry and superstitious fear.
In the plagues that he sent on Egypt
and the miracle of the Red Sea crossing, God systematically showed
his superiority over the gods of the Egyptians.5
In so doing he displayed his power to the children of Israel and
realigned their sense of fear toward Himself.6
It is against the backdrop of his fearsome power that God defines sin
in the form of the Ten Commandments.
Now let me throw a wrinkle in this. If
the only thing you have is the Ten Commandments, you should be very,
very afraid, because the Ten Commandments point out sin, but they do
not give you the remedy for sin.7
Jesus Christ is the remedy for sin. The cross can only shine brightly
when it is against the backdrop of God’s judgment.
The truth is, the only thing or
person worthy of my fear is God.
The sooner we recognize this truth, the
sooner we are ready to deal with our fears. Let’s go back to the
Ten Commandments. I want to show you something.
-
"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
-
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
-
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:"
-
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I
the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of
them that hate me;"
-
"And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep
my commandments."
Exodus 20:2-6 KJV
Of all of the evil that we are capable
of committing, why does idolatry top the list of God’s top ten?
From a natural point of view, a neighbor who gets up every morning
and burns incense in front of a statue of Buddha isn’t going to
alarm me like a neighbor who gets up every morning to murder someone
before breakfast. From my viewpoint, the order isn’t right, but God
doesn’t look at it like I look at it.
Let’s rewind things all of the way
back to Genesis.
In the book of Genesis God said, "…
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…"8
When God created man, he gave man characteristics that reflected the
nature of God. For instance:
God can love, therefore man can love.
God can hate, therefore man hates.
God is “jealous”9 and therefore man
experiences jealousy.
God is self-aware, and man is self-aware
God reasons10 , and invites man to reason with him.
God is creative and man is also creative.
God is eternal11 and has created man with an eternal soul.
Now obviously our finite mind and being
will never approach the greatness of the infinite God. By virtue of
the fact that He is Creator and I am creation, I will always exist as
very limited reflection of my Creator, but his impression exists on
every person. Man was purposefully created separately from the rest
of creation, because he was created to have authority over that
creation. You are not just a hairless monkey.
There is one thing, however, we have
that God does not have. That thing is a sense of fear. So why is it,
if we are created in God’s image, that we have this sense of fear,
when God isn't afraid of anyone or anything?
Because...
Fear, in its proper place,
is a recognition of authority.
God is over man.
God, because he is God, answers to no
one.12
You and I will answer to God.13
That knowledge should create a fear in every person.
2Co 5:10 KJV -
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that
every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to
that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad."
2Co 5:11 KJV -
"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but
we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in
your consciences."
God placed man over creation.14
Idolatry reverses
this Divine order, making man the servant of things created.
I can experience a healthy godly
fear because:
- I know the character of God.
- Holy
- Righteous
- Just
- Merciful
- Gracious
- I know the power of God:
- By observing creation,
"After
these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision,
saying, ‘Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding
great reward.’ ... And he brought him forth abroad, and said, ‘Look
now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number
them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.’" [Genesis
15:1, 5 KJV]
- By reading his Word.
- In my own past experience15, such as when God pointed back to deliverance from Egypt when talking to the Children of Israel.
- I know the love of God. The love of God is manifested in the person of Jesus Christ the Son, sent to this earth by God, for the express purpose of being the final and complete sacrifice, capable of satisfying the judgment of God against sin. So, when I know Jesus as my Savior, my relationship with God changes. To the sinner God is Judge. To the redeemed, God has become Father. Jesus told us to approach him as “Father”.16
The knowledge that I can love him
because he first loved me changes the whole dynamic.
1Jo 4:17 KJV -
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world."
1Jo 4:18 KJV -
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love
casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not
made perfect in love."
1Jo 4:19 KJV -
"We love him, because he first loved us."
If I, as a Christian, am following the Lord with my whole heart, I need to realize the following:
- I am the prized child of the Creator, and the creation has no power over me without his permission.
- My body is subject to death, but the promise of the resurrection trumps death.
- I don’t have to live in fear of anything, because he trumps everything, and I am his.
- I am his child and I can ask for good things.
God did not place a sense of fear in us so that we would be perpetually scared. He placed it is us so that we would recognize his authority over us and our authority in him. When we recognize our place in him, through Jesus Christ, our fear of other things will abate.
"And I say unto you, Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If
a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give
him a stone? or if [he ask] a fish, will he for a fish give him a
serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If
ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him?" - Luk 11:9-13 KJV
To continue to the next lesson, click HERE.
To continue to the next lesson, click HERE.
End notes:
1
http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/f/fear.htm
2
Proverbs 3:12 ,19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14, 29:15, 17, Hebrews 12:7-8 KJV
3
Romans 13:3-4
4
Leviticus 19:14, 25:17,36,43; Deuteronomy 6:13,24; 8:6; 10:12,20;
13:4; et.al.
5
www.knowingthebible.net/yahweh-versus-the-gods-of-egypt
6
Exodus 20:19
7
Galatians 3:21-24
8
Genesis 1:26
9
Exodus 20:5
10
Isaiah 1:18
11
Deuteronomy 33:27
12
Hebrews 6:13
13
Hebrews 9:27, 2 Corinthians 5:10-11.
14
Genesis 1:28, 9:2; Romans 1:25
15
Revelation 12:11
