HOLY FEAR
The Fear of God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Meet with intercessors
- pray in spirit during service and altar time
- Invite the presence of God (Omnipresence of God, Shekinah Presence of God - 2 or 3 gather in His name, He is in the midst Matt. 18:20)
Until self-effacing men return again to spiritual leadership, we may expect a progressive deterioration in the quality of popular Christianity year after year till we reach the point where the grieved Holy Spirit withdraws—like the Shekinah from the temple.
A. W. Tozer
OPENING PRAYER (WORSHIP TEAM STAY UP HERE)
13 All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.
- Repent of irreverence, distractions, wrong, priorities, exposing the Spirit of God that dwells within us to deplorable sins
- We're going to go into a time of silence, and we are going to meditate on the holiness and the are of God.
Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Meditate:
His power and ability to create
Think about eternity (heaven & hell)
Ruling and reigning with Christ
I pray that the recognition and the reverence, and the awe of God would drive us away from:
- lustful pleasure,
- vain conceit and arrogance,
- hatred and corruption,
- animosity and perverse speech,
I pray that God would impart:
- Holiness,
- Humility,
- Hunger,
I pray against:
Hurriedness, schedule anxiety, constantly concerned about where I need to be next, western culture thinking has driven us out of times of intimacy with God
We are going to end that with a celebration of praise and scripture reading of who He is
WHAT IS HOLY FEAR ?
2 Main Categories
Tremble at the presence of God
Tremble at the Word of God
10 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing.
11 Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch.
12 Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death.
13 No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain.”
14 So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes.
15 He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.”
16 On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.
17 Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18 All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.
19 As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.
20 The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.
21 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the Lord, or they will die.
22 Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them.”
23 “But Lord,” Moses protested, “the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. You already warned us. You told me, ‘Mark off a boundary all around the mountain to set it apart as holy.’ ”
24 But the Lord said, “Go down and bring Aaron back up with you. In the meantime, do not let the priests or the people break through to approach the Lord, or he will break out and destroy them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them what the Lord had said.
I know I try imagine God in my mind sometimes when I worship or pray.
There is no image in my mind that even does God justice.
7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.
1 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.
2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
The Hebrew word Holy means separated, unapproachable.
Earth is filled with His Glory! Glory - the aspect of God’s character that emphasizes His greatness and Authority
The angels don’t say that because that is their job; They say that because they see God upon His throne and they are blown away by His splendor.
Saying a word 2x’s means it’s important; they repeat it 3x’s; we Italicize it or BOLD it if it’s important.
Moses and Isaiah
- “Saw the Lord”
- Most likely means they saw the glory of God
18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
26 Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man.
27 From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor.
28 All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.
The throne has an occupant described as a man obscured by the brilliance of fire. God was revealing His presence in Babylonia as well as in Jerusalem.
Falling down on his face was a common response to the Presence of God.
Revelation 1:10–18 (NLT)
10 It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.
11 It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands.
13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest.
14 His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire.
15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.
16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last.
18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.
The first place in scripture that the first day of the week is called the Lord’s day.
The seven churches were located on a Roman postal route listed in the order that they would receive the message.
The seven lampstands represented the seven churches which are to be lights in a dark world.
Revelation 4 (NLT)
1 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”
2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.
3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.
4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.
6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.
7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever),
10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
The fear of God, ushers in the presence of God, the presence of God, transforms the people within it
Distractions cease, children are silenced, cell phones are put away, conversations between individuals cease and the conversation focuses on the Lord
QUESTIONS TO CREATION:
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?
18 To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?
25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
OUR RESPONSE TO THE REVELATION OF GOD: (Start here 7-16-23)
14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone.
15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
The only fear I have is to fear to get out of the will of God. Outside of the will of God, there’s nothing I want, and in the will of God there’s nothing I fear, for God has sworn to keep me in His will. If I’m out of His will, that is another matter. But if I’m in His will, He’s sworn to keep me.
And He’s able to do it, He’s wise enough to know how to do it and He’s kind enough to want to do it. So really there’s nothing to fear.
I get kidded by my family and friends about this, but I don’t really think I’m afraid of anything. Someone may ask, “What about cancer? Do you ever fear that you’ll die of cancer?” Maybe so, but it will have to hurry up, or I’ll die of old age first. But I’m not too badly worried because a man who dies of cancer in the will of God, is not injured; he’s just dead. You can’t harm a man in the will of God.
A. W. Tozer
Why are we seeing an increase in crime?
An increase in radical policies?
Justification the killing of babies?
AMERICA LACKS THE FEAR OF GOD
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16 Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”
18 “They have no fear of God at all.”
Men love everything but righteousness and fear everything but God.
Havner, Vance
DO I FEAR THE LORD?
2 Those who follow the right path fear the Lord; those who take the wrong path despise him.
CONCLUSION:
12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.
7 “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”
PRAYER AND FASTING
10 MINUTES / 3 TIMES PER DAY
7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
When you wake up
At home or work during the day (maybe lunch)
Before you go to bed
The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying not “What a lovely sermon!” but “I will do something.”
Francis de Sales