Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Greetings to each of you this morning.
[00:00:04] Glad you're here and hopefully that you enjoying yourself and will be blessed as you leave our service. Today we've come to meet the Lord and we certainly want to leave feeling that we have met him and that he's been here with us.
[00:00:26] As we look at the world around us, we can't help but feel that something is wrong.
[00:00:39] There is so much negative things going on and I'm astounded at times as I listen to the news that there everything is just down.
[00:00:59] And I can understand unless we have someone to lift us up out of that despair, we would be in that pit of despair all the time because the news isn't good.
[00:01:14] It's awful to think that the civilized world has come to the place that it has come.
[00:01:32] It just seems that man has no feelings for his fellow man at all.
[00:01:42] And the way that we're treating one another is almost beyond comprehension.
[00:01:52] What's wrong?
[00:01:55] What's wrong with it all? What's wrong with us, the human race?
[00:02:03] We say that the Bible has the answer to all things and I believe it does.
[00:02:10] Perhaps not down to the nitty gritty, but it speaks in ways and tones of which we can get our answers.
[00:02:22] I'd like for you to turn to Romans the third chapter, Romans the third chapter, beginning with verse 11. And Paul seems to describing the conditions of the world of his day.
[00:02:43] But it just seems as if he's right here today describing what's going on around us.
[00:02:54] Beginning with verse 11. And I'm going to paraphrase some of these verses to save time.
[00:03:02] He says there's none that understandeth, there's none that seeketh after God.
[00:03:07] He starts out sort of explaining the problem.
[00:03:17] In the 12th verse. He says there's none that doeth good.
[00:03:22] And it just seems that we can see very little good in the world around us.
[00:03:30] In verse 13 he says the throat is an open sepulchre, just nothing but dirt, dead stuff coming out all the time.
[00:03:44] Verse 14 it says their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
[00:03:53] Everyone is searching for peace, but they cannot find it.
[00:03:58] What's wrong?
[00:04:05] In verse 18 he tells us what the problem is. He says there's no fear of God.
[00:04:12] He sums it up and he says the real problem is there's no fear of God in the land.
[00:04:23] But yet brethren, this nation is known for his Christianity is known as a Christian nation.
[00:04:41] But I question that.
[00:04:45] I question that a nation as a whole, if we are considered a Christian nation.
[00:04:55] I'd hate to see a nation that's not a Christian nation.
[00:05:01] There just isn't any meaning to the word anymore.
[00:05:07] And I'm not trying to be negative. My thought this morning is to wake us up.
[00:05:13] Is to wake us up.
[00:05:18] And when I speak, I speak to myself as much as I do to you who are in the congregation from Sabbath to Sabbath.
[00:05:28] You've heard the old story that when you point a finger at somebody, there's four pointing back at you, or at least three pointing back at you.
[00:05:44] So when you say something, you better realize that you ought to be speaking to yourself at the.
[00:05:52] At the same time, there is no fear of God in the land.
[00:06:01] You don't hear too many preachers speaking about the fear of God anymore.
[00:06:08] All you hear is about the love of God. And I believe in the love of God.
[00:06:15] If I didn't know the love of God and feel the love of God, I'd be a very miserable man.
[00:06:24] But brethren, just as we speak of the love of God, we need to speak of the fear of God.
[00:06:32] There is a fear that needs to exist even in us who are children of God.
[00:06:45] And that's what I want to speak of. There's something missing today, and that's fear.
[00:06:55] Let's go to Genesis, the 20th chapter.
[00:07:00] This was at the time when Abraham went down into Egypt, I believe it was. I could be wrong.
[00:07:12] No, it just says he went into the south country.
[00:07:15] That's in the first verse.
[00:07:20] And as you read the account, the setting here, when he came into this town, which must have been the headquarters or the.
[00:07:35] The throne of the ruler Ambalik, Abraham was fearful.
[00:07:48] Abraham's wife was a beautiful woman.
[00:07:54] And he told his wife, now don't you tell them that I'm your husband, because they'll kill me if you do.
[00:08:02] For you.
[00:08:06] But God spoke to Amalek by night and told him that the woman was married to Abraham.
[00:08:21] And you notice in verse nine it says, Amalek called Abraham and said unto him, why hast thou done unto us?
[00:08:31] And what have I offended thee that thou hast wrought on me and on my kingdom, and a great sin.
[00:08:39] Thou has done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
[00:08:45] Notice the response of Abraham in verse 11 and Abraham 7.
[00:08:52] Abraham said, Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place.
[00:09:03] Abraham assumed that Amalek did not consider God in any fashion form.
[00:09:12] And since he did not fear God, Abraham feared for his life.
[00:09:18] He assumed that there would be nothing that Amalek would not do to get what he wanted. If he wanted his wife.
[00:09:29] And I have to agree with the Apostle Paul, brethren, that what is missing and what is wrong with the world we live in today is because the fear of God is not there.
[00:09:43] Ministers are not preaching the fear of God anymore.
[00:09:55] In the early history of my church, in my early youth, there was a church or a denomination that was known for their hellfire and brimstone messages.
[00:10:14] Now I tell you, brethren, I think we ought to hear more of hell fire and brimstone messages today.
[00:10:24] I did not necessarily agree with their theory of hellfire and still don't.
[00:10:33] But I want to tell you that something has got to be done to throw some fear in the hearts of people today.
[00:10:44] If that is not done, this world is going to get in a worse situation condition than it is at the present time.
[00:10:57] You've heard me say, and I'll say again that I heard a minister say one time, if the Lord doesn't come pretty soon, he's going to have to resurrect Sodom and Gomorrah and apologize to him.
[00:11:12] That's how bad it's getting.
[00:11:18] Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because of their wickedness.
[00:11:26] And the world is getting in the same situation.
[00:11:32] And unless man fears God, and this is in our next reference, turn to Proverbs, the ninth chapter, Proverbs the ninth chapter and the tenth verse.
[00:11:50] It says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
[00:11:59] You know, in my early ministry I used to soften this word fear.
[00:12:07] And one of the meanings it is, when you look at the word fear, one of the meaning is having a deep respect for.
[00:12:19] But I tell you, brethren, I've come to the conclusion the last several years that I ought not to soften the word fear, but that I ought to make it more prominent, stronger in its meaning, and speak it as it is written. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The more we fear God, the more we want to find out what he is and who he is and how he wants us to live.
[00:12:48] And we will live it after we find out, not just with head knowledge, but with heart knowledge.
[00:12:59] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
[00:13:11] Oh, we say that fear has no place in Christianity today. God loves us.
[00:13:21] But I want to tell you, brethren, grace means nothing to the person who has not trembled at the holiness of God and the guilt of sin.
[00:13:34] Grace means nothing to that individual unless he comes to the realization of the holiness of God and how awful sin is and what sin comprises.
[00:13:55] In other words, we seem to feel as Long as I'm not being hurt, there's nothing wrong.
[00:14:05] But I want to tell you, God considers sin sin whether you're hurting or not.
[00:14:14] If it's something that God tells us we ought not to do, it is sin.
[00:14:21] And that there should be fear lest we break, lest we do or say something that's contrary to the will of God.
[00:14:35] I love my father, but I also feared him.
[00:14:43] I also feared him.
[00:14:46] I knew if I disobeyed him. The woodshed was weighty and my father never hesitated to do it.
[00:15:01] Although I never received too many spankings or whippings from my father. But I want to tell you, I remembered every one of them.
[00:15:16] Received a few more from my mother.
[00:15:20] I guess her heart was a little more tender.
[00:15:23] She didn't lay it on quite so heavy.
[00:15:34] But even though I love my father, I still feared him.
[00:15:38] And we can say, sit here today, or stand here today and say, father, I love you.
[00:15:45] Good, wonderful, necessary is needful.
[00:15:50] But I want to tell you need to fear God too.
[00:15:55] You need to fear God.
[00:16:00] And unless you fear God, your love for him is not going to amount to much.
[00:16:08] It's not going to amount to much.
[00:16:14] Oh, we see so much, as I said, going on around us, many things going on that we just sort of take for granted. And we don't consider them the way that God looks upon them.
[00:16:33] But I would like to remind us of the words of Joseph. You remember in. In.
[00:16:40] I forget just what I think. A chapter Genesis 45.
[00:16:46] When he was bought by his master and he was working in his master's home and taking care of his master's business, and the master was on a trip, and so his wife thought she would be unfaithful while he's gone.
[00:17:05] I'd like to remind us how Joseph responded.
[00:17:11] He didn't say, well, Mrs. So and so. I really shouldn't.
[00:17:18] I really shouldn't.
[00:17:22] I don't think my master would like that.
[00:17:28] No. He said, how can I sin this great sin before God?
[00:17:39] It was a great sin. It wasn't just a little sin. It wasn't a minor sin. It was a great sin.
[00:17:52] And unfortunately, if that's a correct word to use, I don't like to use it because you get the wrong impression.
[00:18:00] Unfortunately, God doesn't consider one sin lesser than another.
[00:18:06] To him, sin is sin.
[00:18:13] But man seems to think, well, that's not so bad.
[00:18:19] This is not so great.
[00:18:27] I'd like to bring our attention.
[00:18:35] Fear can be good.
[00:18:41] Unless a sinner looks down the road and he fears what's going to happen to him. He'll never change.
[00:18:53] In Hebrews 11.
[00:18:59] Here it speaks about the great patriarchs of old and their actions, their responses.
[00:19:12] In verse 7, it speaks of the faith of Noah.
[00:19:18] It says, by faith, Noah being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear.
[00:19:27] Notice that fear compelled him. Fear motivated him.
[00:19:34] Moved with fear. He prepared an ark to the saving of his house.
[00:19:40] He feared what was going to come. He feared what was going to come to pass.
[00:19:47] And he didn't want to be lost.
[00:19:53] He didn't want to be destroyed with the flood.
[00:20:00] Now, the Bible indicates and bears out that until the flood there was no such thing as waters from above and the fountains open up from beneath and so forth.
[00:20:21] And so it says, he being warned of things not yet seen, but he believed God.
[00:20:33] And we haven't seen a mass destruction by fire as what's going to be displayed at the coming of the Lord, but it's going to come to pass.
[00:20:47] Do you believe God?
[00:20:50] Then if you're here today unprepared for that day to occur, I hope that somehow that I can stir some fear in your life.
[00:21:04] Or if you're taking God lightly, you may say, well, I'm a Christian. I don't do things. That's too bad.
[00:21:14] Again, I hope that I can stir some fear in your life.
[00:21:24] There has to be two components in the individual's life.
[00:21:32] There has to be a fear of God.
[00:21:35] And again, I want to reiterate, there has to be an abhorrence for sin.
[00:21:46] In Acts, the second chapter.
[00:21:52] In Acts the second chapter, here we find that a lot was accomplished because of fear.
[00:22:06] The setting here and the context.
[00:22:15] Acts, the fifth chapter. I'm sorry, Acts, the fifth chapter, is concerning Ananias and Sapphira.
[00:22:28] Now, if you're a Bible student, you know the story about Ananias and Sapphira.
[00:22:38] All the members of the church agreed that they would sell their possessions and bring the price to the church.
[00:22:52] Ananias of Sapphire agreed to that.
[00:22:58] But after they left the meeting, they begin to discuss it among themselves. And they say, well, that might be a little bit much to give.
[00:23:11] So I think we ought to give just so and so, and we'll keep the rest.
[00:23:19] And so when they sold their possession and they brought the money that they thought they would give to the Lord, why, Peter apparently felt in the spirit that they were lying.
[00:23:35] And he says, ananias, did you sell your property for such and such? Yes.
[00:23:46] Then why are you bringing this amount here?
[00:23:50] Peter said, before you sold, was your decision as to how much you wanted to give, you could have said, well in your mind, well, I'll sell the property and I'll give so. And so Peter said, that would have been all right, I'm paraphrasing it. You may disagree with my paraphrasing, but I think you'll have to agree.
[00:24:17] But he says, ananias, once you agreed to give it all to God, you had no right to go back.
[00:24:29] And as you know the story, Ananias fell over dead.
[00:24:36] His wife didn't know anything about it. And pretty soon she came in. They had taken the body of her husband out, and she came in. And Peter begins to question her.
[00:24:47] And so she says the same thing her husband said, prior.
[00:24:52] And she fell over dead.
[00:24:56] She fell over dead.
[00:25:00] In verse 11, says, and a great fear came upon all the church.
[00:25:09] And upon as many as heard these things, Great fear came upon the church.
[00:25:21] Did that hinder the work?
[00:25:24] Did that stop the work?
[00:25:30] In verse 12, it says, by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.
[00:25:38] They didn't stop the work. They didn't hinder the work.
[00:25:43] Fear caused a revival in the church.
[00:25:54] Fear caused a response.
[00:26:00] And I know it's awful easy again for us to be gathered here together and look out over the world and, oh, they shouldn't be doing those things.
[00:26:17] Let's bring it a little closer to home.
[00:26:20] Let's stay within the church.
[00:26:26] I tell you, brethren, when a man decides to become unfaithful to his wife, where is the fear of the Lord?
[00:26:36] When a wife decides to be unfaithful to her husband, where is the fear of the Lord when an individual decides to lie and so forth? Where is the fear of the Lord.
[00:26:54] When one decides to work on the Sabbath? Where is the fear of the Lord?
[00:27:01] Where's the fear of the Lord?
[00:27:06] Oh, I tell you, brethren, fear is not mentioned as it ought to be mentioned.
[00:27:15] Unless I fear God. Brethren, there's nothing, there's none of those things that I will not be tempted to do now fall for the temptation.
[00:27:29] There's none of them I won't do unless I fear God.
[00:27:35] There has to be a fear.
[00:27:40] There has to be a love. Yes, and I hope that you're not thinking that I'm trying to diminish the worth of love and compassion and so forth.
[00:27:53] But unless we fear God, unless we're afraid. Brethren, I'd like to ask you a question. When you were a child, you did something your parents didn't ask. Why would you? Fearful they're going to find out. Haha.
[00:28:09] Same as I.
[00:28:11] I knew I was going to get punished.
[00:28:14] Knew I was going to get punished.
[00:28:17] And unless that same feeling exists between us and God, we know that there's nothing that God doesn't know. There's nothing we can hide. So that ought not to enter our mind. But yet the fear should exist, lest we do it, lest we step over the line.
[00:28:38] Fear is the only thing that's going to keep you from doing it.
[00:28:46] You must say, won't love do that?
[00:28:50] Well, yeah, the two goes together, brethren.
[00:28:56] You can have one without the other.
[00:28:59] As the song goes, I love my wife.
[00:29:10] Brethren, I need to fear what my actions will do to our marriage.
[00:29:18] If I have no fear of what I do or say, its reaction or effect upon our marriage, love is not going to be altogether the agent or the element that's going to keep me from doing.
[00:29:40] Acts nine in the 31st verse.
[00:29:49] So fear brings actions, brings response.
[00:29:55] Great fear was in the church after Ananias Sapphire came to the ring.
[00:30:03] In Acts 9 and the 31st verse it says, then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified.
[00:30:15] Now notice and walking in the fear of the Lord.
[00:30:22] Isn't this unusual? And it says, in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, fear is not adverse to the things of God.
[00:30:33] We can have fear of God and still walk in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
[00:30:41] We can have both.
[00:30:44] But we seem to think that fear has no place in Christianity.
[00:30:55] But as I said, if the component of fear is not there, we'll probably do what we want to do.
[00:31:06] We'll probably do what we want to do.
[00:31:09] Here is a very unusual verse in Proverbs the 22nd chapter.
[00:31:16] It's related to fear.
[00:31:21] You may think I've been talking negative all this time, but I think this verse will show you that I've been talking in a positive way.
[00:31:32] I've been talking a positive way all the time.
[00:31:36] Proverbs 22 and verse 4. It says, by humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.
[00:31:50] Does that sound negative?
[00:31:53] Who is amongst us this morning who would like to have some more finances than you have at the present time?
[00:32:05] Who is there amongst us doesn't like to have honor among our countrymen?
[00:32:15] And who is there amongst us that doesn't desire life?
[00:32:21] It says, humility and fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.
[00:32:32] Let's come back to second Corinthians. There's just a couple more scriptures I want us to notice and will come Bring it to a close.
[00:32:40] 2nd Corinthians 5.
[00:32:43] This reference again speaks about that fear brings motivation.
[00:32:52] 2nd Corinthians 5. And verse 11 says, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.
[00:33:09] If we can just grasp in its fullness the destruction of man, that's going to cause us to go out and witness more.
[00:33:23] If we really can grasp and fear and understand the fear of the Lord, it will bring motivation, cause us to work, cause us to witness, cause us to talk to people because we don't want them lost or see them lost.
[00:33:49] Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.
[00:33:57] Yes, brethren, fear is not a negative feeling to have. It's a positive and a wonderful positive feeling to have as we serve the Lord and our fellow man. My closing text this morning is Ecclesiastes 12.
[00:34:20] Ecclesiastes 12.
[00:34:25] The wise man sums up his life experience.
[00:34:38] He talks and gives witness of his life.
[00:34:44] He said, I tried wine.
[00:34:47] I tried drinking it up. And he said, that didn't bring satisfaction.
[00:34:56] I tried women, and he said, that didn't bring satisfaction. Well, 900 of them I can understand.
[00:35:07] But he said, that didn't bring satisfaction.
[00:35:12] And as you read his testimony, he tried other things that didn't bring satisfaction.
[00:35:20] But he said, I will tell you where real satisfaction comes.
[00:35:26] Ecclesiastes 12.
[00:35:28] He says, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
[00:35:34] Fear God.
[00:35:36] He doesn't put it last.
[00:35:39] The first thing he says, as he sums it up and explains to us where real satisfaction comes.
[00:35:48] Fear God and keep his commandments.
[00:35:53] For this is the whole duty of man.
[00:35:58] This is the whole duty of man.
[00:36:02] Fear God, brethren, that fear should exist within us each and every day of our life, lest we will be tempted to break, lest we be tempted to turn from the ways of the Lord.
[00:36:22] And unless fear exists, we'll fall.
[00:36:30] And then it says, for God shall bring every work into judgment.
[00:36:36] As you look at your life, are you ready to meet him, or do you want to do some more changing yet?
[00:36:46] If changing is necessary, I hope that you will do it and start doing today.
[00:36:56] Tell yourself, I'm going to change today, not tomorrow.
[00:37:02] Today.
[00:37:04] For God shall bring every work into judgment. With every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.
[00:37:16] We're going to face it someday.
[00:37:19] So, brethren, fear is a positive commodity.
[00:37:26] Hold onto it, cultivate it in your life.
[00:37:33] Because God is a God of love. Yes, but I'd like to remind us He's a God of wrath.
[00:37:44] He's a God of wrath.
[00:37:46] May God bless us.
