1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,100 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,100 –> 00:00:12,520 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. 3 00:00:12,520 –> 00:00:16,639 Or visit our website openthebible.org. 4 00:00:16,639 –> 00:00:17,639 Let’s get to the message. 5 00:00:17,639 –> 00:00:20,299 Here is Pastor Colin. 6 00:00:20,299 –> 00:00:26,320 We’re continuing our series on the subject of the soul, you have a soul, it will last 7 00:00:26,320 –> 00:00:28,080 forever. 8 00:00:28,080 –> 00:00:35,040 Your soul will either be forever saved or else it will be forever lost, and therefore 9 00:00:35,040 –> 00:00:40,320 to care for your soul is of supreme importance. 10 00:00:40,320 –> 00:00:46,360 And we’ve been seeing that God, in his kindness, has given us four friends to help you care 11 00:00:46,360 –> 00:00:52,000 for your soul, and we’ve been thinking about the Son of God, the Word of God, today the 12 00:00:52,000 –> 00:00:56,759 fear of God, and next week the love of God. 13 00:00:56,779 –> 00:01:04,980 All of these are spoken of in the Bible as being in the soul or in the life of a believer. 14 00:01:04,980 –> 00:01:08,540 And we began thinking about the Son of God, what an amazing gift this is. 15 00:01:08,540 –> 00:01:17,279 Galatians 2 20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives 16 00:01:17,279 –> 00:01:19,459 in me. 17 00:01:19,459 –> 00:01:25,000 The son of God lives in the soul of a Christian believer. 18 00:01:25,059 –> 00:01:27,160 What kind of gift is that? 19 00:01:27,160 –> 00:01:33,580 This amazing gift of the Son of God as the first friend of your soul, putting you in 20 00:01:33,580 –> 00:01:38,699 a position where you’re able to pursue a new and a different life because new and different 21 00:01:38,699 –> 00:01:43,839 desires are arising from the presence of Christ with you and in you. 22 00:01:43,839 –> 00:01:50,419 And then last week, we looked at the Word of God, let the Word of Christ dwell in you 23 00:01:51,400 –> 00:01:57,800 the Word of God producing good fruit in the life of a believer, working from the inside 24 00:01:57,800 –> 00:02:01,019 out as it takes root within your soul. 25 00:02:01,019 –> 00:02:07,320 Now today we come to the third friend, the fear of God. 26 00:02:07,320 –> 00:02:12,820 Now my first task, and I don’t think it’s an easy one today, is to make the case that 27 00:02:12,820 –> 00:02:16,839 the fear of God is actually a friend. 28 00:02:16,839 –> 00:02:23,419 Some of you may as a first thought be thinking what the fear of God, that sounds more like 29 00:02:23,419 –> 00:02:25,440 an enemy to me than a friend. 30 00:02:25,440 –> 00:02:27,000 Isn’t that what we’re trying to get away from? 31 00:02:27,000 –> 00:02:29,179 Isn’t that what we’re trying to get rid of? 32 00:02:29,179 –> 00:02:35,800 It sounds to some people I think more like a dysfunction than a sign of spiritual health. 33 00:02:35,800 –> 00:02:42,919 And yet the Bible, as we’re going to see today, presents the fear of God as a friend, a friend 34 00:02:43,479 –> 00:02:51,339 you all kinds of good if this friend is living in your soul. 35 00:02:51,339 –> 00:02:56,740 And so I invite you to open your Bible at Jeremiah in chapter 32 which was read for 36 00:02:56,740 –> 00:02:59,960 us, and we read these words. 37 00:02:59,960 –> 00:03:10,800 Jeremiah 32 in verse 39, God says I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear 38 00:03:10,820 –> 00:03:17,820 me forever for their own good and for the good of their children after them. 39 00:03:22,800 –> 00:03:29,759 Now, notice what God is saying in this very important verse. God’s own people are distinguished 40 00:03:29,759 –> 00:03:36,759 by the fact that they are the ones who fear Him. And fearing Him is for their good. And 41 00:03:37,759 –> 00:03:41,899 not only their good, it’s for the good of generations that will follow. In other words 42 00:03:41,899 –> 00:03:45,720 if the people of God were to lose the fear of God, there would be trouble the generation 43 00:03:45,720 –> 00:03:51,179 that followed. That’s what God is clearly saying. And this fear of God is not limited 44 00:03:51,179 –> 00:03:56,360 to Old Testament times. He specifically says it is forever. It is forever. So as we are 45 00:03:56,360 –> 00:04:01,839 going to see today there will never be a time on earth or even in heaven itself where the 46 00:04:01,839 –> 00:04:10,720 people of God do not fear Him as we love Him and love Him as we fear Him. I want to do 47 00:04:10,720 –> 00:04:18,140 everything that I can today to dispel the idea, if it may exist in any of our minds, 48 00:04:18,140 –> 00:04:23,459 to get rid of the idea that there is a God to be feared in the Old Testament and that 49 00:04:23,459 –> 00:04:27,320 there’s a God to be loved in the New Testament and therefore the fear of God has nothing 50 00:04:27,519 –> 00:04:31,679 to do with a Christian believer. If you’ve thought that ever, if you think that now, 51 00:04:31,679 –> 00:04:37,679 I want to try and show you from the Bible and entirely different revelation with regards 52 00:04:37,679 –> 00:04:44,619 to the fear of God. By the way, if you were here last week, you may just spot the evolutionary 53 00:04:44,619 –> 00:04:52,220 view of the Bible that we spoke about last week in that thinking. The idea is, oh, well, 54 00:04:52,220 –> 00:04:56,480 in ancient primitive times, people had these crude ideas about a God who was to be feared 55 00:04:56,480 –> 00:05:00,359 but now in these much more enlightened times, we have more sophisticated and better and 56 00:05:00,359 –> 00:05:05,299 inclusive ideas about a God who must be loved. That is entirely the evolutionary view of 57 00:05:05,299 –> 00:05:09,619 the Bible. It’s a complete misunderstanding of what the Bible is. It’s not a history 58 00:05:09,619 –> 00:05:16,679 of human views about God. It is God’s word to us and God never changes. So, the idea 59 00:05:16,679 –> 00:05:19,220 that there’s a God to be feared in the Old Testament and a God to be loved in the New 60 00:05:19,220 –> 00:05:24,619 Testament is a complete misunderstanding of what the Bible is and of what the Bible says. 61 00:05:24,619 –> 00:05:29,420 God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is to be feared as 62 00:05:29,420 –> 00:05:35,859 He is loved and He is to be loved as He is feared. So, the Old Testament is full of love 63 00:05:35,859 –> 00:05:41,980 of God. Read the Book of Deuteronomy and you’ll find the unprovoked love of God that is sourced 64 00:05:41,980 –> 00:05:49,399 only in Himself. Read the book of Hosea and you will find the intensity of the love of 65 00:05:49,820 –> 00:05:55,399 where it is wounded and it is all played out in this amazing story of Hosea who will not 66 00:05:55,399 –> 00:06:00,420 stop loving his wife who is so unfaithful and that this is a revelation of the love 67 00:06:00,420 –> 00:06:05,720 of God. That’s in the Old Testament. When you come to the New Testament, you will find 68 00:06:05,720 –> 00:06:11,119 not only the love of God but you will also find again and again, the fear of God. 69 00:06:11,119 –> 00:06:15,140 Listen to this form Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. 70 00:06:15,140 –> 00:06:23,940 Fear him, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Fear him, who said 71 00:06:23,940 –> 00:06:29,059 that, Jesus. Who did he say it about, his Father 72 00:06:29,059 –> 00:06:35,820 in Heaven? Who did he say it to, his disciples? 73 00:06:36,179 –> 00:06:47,000 Peter, James, John, fear him, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. 74 00:06:47,000 –> 00:06:53,600 The command to fear God, fear God is a direct New Testament command. 75 00:06:53,600 –> 00:06:57,179 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 17, it’s right there, fear God. 76 00:06:57,179 –> 00:07:02,140 It’s a New Testament command. The statement it is a fearful thing 77 00:07:02,140 –> 00:07:06,779 to fall into the hands of the living God, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 31, 78 00:07:06,779 –> 00:07:11,339 is in the New Testament and it’s in a letter, Hebrews that it’s addressed 79 00:07:11,339 –> 00:07:14,839 to Christian believers. 80 00:07:14,839 –> 00:07:20,220 Fearing God was the mark of the New Testament church at its best. 81 00:07:20,220 –> 00:07:26,299 Acts chapter 9 and verse 31, the church lived in the fear of the Lord 82 00:07:26,299 –> 00:07:29,959 and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and it multiplied. 83 00:07:30,679 –> 00:07:33,959 Notice how these two things are put together, the fear of the Lord, 84 00:07:33,959 –> 00:07:35,920 the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 85 00:07:35,920 –> 00:07:40,359 The one experienced in conjunction with the other and not a bit of tension 86 00:07:40,359 –> 00:07:41,200 between them. 87 00:07:41,200 –> 00:07:46,440 They walked in the fear of the Lord when the church was at its spiritual height 88 00:07:46,440 –> 00:07:50,140 and God’s blessing was being poured out in remarkable ways. 89 00:07:50,140 –> 00:07:52,619 This is what it was like among Christian believers. 90 00:07:52,619 –> 00:07:56,600 The fear of the Lord, the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 91 00:07:56,600 –> 00:08:03,380 So, very clearly we need to grasp this fear of the Lord that is spoken about 92 00:08:03,380 –> 00:08:07,559 in both testimonies is commended to us as Christian believers. 93 00:08:07,559 –> 00:08:11,059 And in the scripture that is before us today, supremely we are told it is 94 00:08:11,059 –> 00:08:16,779 for our good and it will be for the good of our children after us. 95 00:08:16,779 –> 00:08:20,519 What then is this fear of the Lord? 96 00:08:20,519 –> 00:08:26,279 I want to suggest to you from the Bible that it is a cord of three strands. 97 00:08:26,399 –> 00:08:30,720 And the three strands are the splendor of God’s glory, 98 00:08:30,720 –> 00:08:36,840 the reality of God’s judgment, and the wonder of God’s love. 99 00:08:36,840 –> 00:08:39,400 Hope you have the Bible open in front of you. 100 00:08:39,400 –> 00:08:46,520 Let’s begin here, that the fear of God arises from a knowledge 101 00:08:46,520 –> 00:08:50,919 of the splendor of his glory. 102 00:08:51,520 –> 00:08:58,380 Now think about who God is — a God who just speaks, 103 00:08:58,380 –> 00:09:00,820 and the moon and the stars and the planets 104 00:09:00,820 –> 00:09:03,000 come into existence, and he upholds it all 105 00:09:03,000 –> 00:09:06,700 by the word of his power. 106 00:09:06,700 –> 00:09:09,719 I want you to see particularly in this chapter 107 00:09:09,719 –> 00:09:12,400 some glimpses of the glory of God, 108 00:09:12,400 –> 00:09:15,739 in Jeremiah and chapter 32. 109 00:09:15,739 –> 00:09:18,280 If you look at the beginning of the chapter, 110 00:09:18,280 –> 00:09:19,380 you’ll see it’s titled, 111 00:09:19,380 –> 00:09:22,739 Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege. 112 00:09:22,739 –> 00:09:26,099 You read this story, I’ll just give it to you in outline. 113 00:09:26,099 –> 00:09:29,219 Verse 2 tells us that Jerusalem was under siege. 114 00:09:29,219 –> 00:09:32,859 The Babylonian army was building up piles of earth 115 00:09:32,859 –> 00:09:35,219 against the city walls, 116 00:09:35,219 –> 00:09:37,820 getting ready to walk up over the walls, 117 00:09:37,820 –> 00:09:40,719 attack the city, destroy it completely, 118 00:09:40,719 –> 00:09:44,080 and to destroy the people. 119 00:09:44,080 –> 00:09:48,500 And what happens to the economy of a country 120 00:09:48,520 –> 00:09:51,679 when that country is under siege? 121 00:09:51,679 –> 00:09:53,820 Its capital city is surrounded? 122 00:09:54,919 –> 00:09:59,640 Well, very obviously the economy goes into meltdown. 123 00:09:59,640 –> 00:10:02,719 Who in the world wants to buy land 124 00:10:02,719 –> 00:10:05,640 in a place that is about to be taken over 125 00:10:05,640 –> 00:10:08,340 by hostile and brutal enemies? 126 00:10:09,239 –> 00:10:13,780 What happens in that circumstance is that values collapse, 127 00:10:13,780 –> 00:10:16,020 trading stops, 128 00:10:16,039 –> 00:10:20,179 commerce grinds to a complete and utter halt. 129 00:10:20,179 –> 00:10:22,080 The whole thing is gridlocked. 130 00:10:23,219 –> 00:10:25,659 And in that circumstance, 131 00:10:25,659 –> 00:10:30,679 Jeremiah did an extraordinary and a very public thing. 132 00:10:31,179 –> 00:10:34,419 He bought a piece of property. 133 00:10:35,340 –> 00:10:39,419 He’s buying land in an economy 134 00:10:39,419 –> 00:10:42,719 where no one would see any value at all 135 00:10:42,719 –> 00:10:44,419 in buying a piece of land. 136 00:10:44,419 –> 00:10:46,000 Hold onto your assets. 137 00:10:46,000 –> 00:10:48,039 That’s the best strategy. 138 00:10:48,039 –> 00:10:49,440 You might be able to find some way 139 00:10:49,440 –> 00:10:51,479 of escaping of the Babylonians, 140 00:10:51,479 –> 00:10:52,840 but Jeremiah goes out and said no, 141 00:10:52,840 –> 00:10:53,659 I’m gonna spend money. 142 00:10:53,659 –> 00:10:55,159 I’m gonna buy land. 143 00:10:56,159 –> 00:10:58,239 And why would he do such a thing? 144 00:10:58,239 –> 00:10:59,640 Verse 14 and 15, 145 00:10:59,640 –> 00:11:01,760 for thus says the Lord, 146 00:11:01,760 –> 00:11:05,619 houses and fields and vineyards 147 00:11:05,619 –> 00:11:10,619 shall again be bought in this land. 148 00:11:11,119 –> 00:11:12,179 Land. 149 00:11:13,460 –> 00:11:16,119 Now that of course is exactly what happened, 150 00:11:16,119 –> 00:11:17,799 if you know the Old Testament story. 151 00:11:17,799 –> 00:11:19,080 It’s a matter of history, 152 00:11:19,080 –> 00:11:21,719 that some years after this scene 153 00:11:21,719 –> 00:11:23,239 in the Book of Jeremiah, 154 00:11:24,099 –> 00:11:26,799 that God, by his divine power, 155 00:11:26,799 –> 00:11:30,659 caused this world superpower, 156 00:11:30,659 –> 00:11:32,000 this world empire, 157 00:11:32,000 –> 00:11:36,419 this impregnable war machine of Babylon 158 00:11:36,419 –> 00:11:40,140 to collapse completely and utterly. 159 00:11:41,140 –> 00:11:42,940 That God, in his mercy, 160 00:11:42,940 –> 00:11:47,400 caused a pagan king by the name of Cyrus, a Persian, 161 00:11:48,400 –> 00:11:49,780 to have it in his heart, 162 00:11:49,780 –> 00:11:52,460 even although he did not know or honor God, 163 00:11:52,460 –> 00:11:54,799 to repatriate the people of God 164 00:11:54,799 –> 00:11:57,219 and to actively support and even sponsor 165 00:11:57,219 –> 00:11:58,940 the returning back 166 00:11:58,940 –> 00:12:01,960 to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. 167 00:12:02,900 –> 00:12:05,280 Who could have guess that within a few years, 168 00:12:05,280 –> 00:12:07,500 God would utterly destroy 169 00:12:07,539 –> 00:12:12,539 and bring down the world’s superpower of the day, 170 00:12:12,539 –> 00:12:14,700 that God would bring back his people 171 00:12:14,700 –> 00:12:18,179 who had been so devastatingly scattered 172 00:12:18,179 –> 00:12:21,739 and that God would give to them in that land 173 00:12:21,739 –> 00:12:24,159 a thriving economy 174 00:12:24,159 –> 00:12:27,080 where things had been in meltdown 175 00:12:27,080 –> 00:12:30,940 just a few years before. 176 00:12:30,940 –> 00:12:33,460 Now you see what that is telling us, 177 00:12:33,460 –> 00:12:38,099 that God is sovereign even all the economies of nations. 178 00:12:41,539 –> 00:12:44,900 That’s why he says in verse 42, 179 00:12:44,900 –> 00:12:49,099 just as I have brought all this disaster upon this people 180 00:12:49,099 –> 00:12:52,599 I will bring upon them all the good that I promised them. 181 00:12:52,599 –> 00:12:54,099 And verse 44, 182 00:12:54,099 –> 00:12:56,380 field shall be bought for money 183 00:12:56,380 –> 00:12:59,900 and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed. 184 00:12:59,960 –> 00:13:04,960 I will restore their fortunes declares the Lord. 185 00:13:05,799 –> 00:13:07,119 He is the living God 186 00:13:07,119 –> 00:13:11,559 and he is sovereign over the fate of cities 187 00:13:11,559 –> 00:13:15,320 and over the rise and the fall of nations. 188 00:13:15,320 –> 00:13:17,679 And he is sovereign over the growth 189 00:13:17,679 –> 00:13:20,520 and the decline of economies. 190 00:13:20,520 –> 00:13:22,320 And he is sovereign over the growth 191 00:13:22,320 –> 00:13:24,099 and decline of churches too. 192 00:13:24,099 –> 00:13:25,400 What else could it mean 193 00:13:25,400 –> 00:13:28,559 when the Son of God says in Revelation and chapter one, 194 00:13:28,559 –> 00:13:30,760 I will remove the candlestick? 195 00:13:30,760 –> 00:13:32,640 What that means is that the life, 196 00:13:32,640 –> 00:13:34,099 even of the people of God, 197 00:13:34,099 –> 00:13:37,460 even of the church is in the hands of this living 198 00:13:37,460 –> 00:13:41,299 and of this sovereign God. 199 00:13:41,299 –> 00:13:42,700 And so it’s not surprising 200 00:13:42,700 –> 00:13:45,140 that earlier in the book of Jeremiah, 201 00:13:45,140 –> 00:13:48,020 the prophet speaks the Word that God gives to him 202 00:13:48,020 –> 00:13:50,440 in chapter five in verse 22. 203 00:13:50,440 –> 00:13:53,780 Do you not fear me, says the Lord? 204 00:13:54,780 –> 00:13:58,039 Do you not tremble before me. 205 00:13:59,020 –> 00:14:01,880 People who do not fear the Lord 206 00:14:01,880 –> 00:14:04,239 have not seen his glory, 207 00:14:04,239 –> 00:14:06,719 who not only created the world, 208 00:14:06,719 –> 00:14:09,239 not only sustains them by his power, 209 00:14:09,239 –> 00:14:11,679 but controls the course of history, 210 00:14:11,679 –> 00:14:14,460 even the rising and the falling of nations, 211 00:14:14,460 –> 00:14:17,280 working out all things, 212 00:14:17,280 –> 00:14:19,960 including the disasters, 213 00:14:19,960 –> 00:14:21,880 as well as the blessings 214 00:14:21,919 –> 00:14:25,020 in the accomplishment of his own inscrutable 215 00:14:25,020 –> 00:14:27,880 and marvelous and glorious will. 216 00:14:28,760 –> 00:14:32,900 And when you begin to get a sense of God being that great 217 00:14:32,900 –> 00:14:34,400 and that glorious, 218 00:14:34,400 –> 00:14:37,080 you begin to get first strand 219 00:14:37,080 –> 00:14:40,340 of what it means to fear him. 220 00:14:42,099 –> 00:14:43,479 A cord of three strands, 221 00:14:43,479 –> 00:14:46,820 number one, the splendor of God’s glory 222 00:14:46,820 –> 00:14:49,559 ruling over the world and over history, 223 00:14:49,559 –> 00:14:54,059 number two, the reality of God’s judgment. 224 00:14:54,919 –> 00:14:57,320 Here’s the second strand. 225 00:14:57,320 –> 00:14:58,960 And here, I want to draw your attention 226 00:14:58,960 –> 00:15:01,520 to 2 Corinthians in chapter five 227 00:15:01,520 –> 00:15:04,900 where Paul the apostle gives two statements 228 00:15:04,900 –> 00:15:07,440 right joined together. 229 00:15:08,400 –> 00:15:11,280 First, he says we must all stand 230 00:15:11,280 –> 00:15:14,640 before the judgment seat of Christ. 231 00:15:15,780 –> 00:15:17,119 He’s writing to Christians 232 00:15:18,059 –> 00:15:20,020 and he says now every one of us, 233 00:15:20,880 –> 00:15:23,359 every one of us, we’re all going to stand 234 00:15:23,359 –> 00:15:26,820 one day before the judgment seat of Christ. 235 00:15:28,580 –> 00:15:30,159 You take that in, and then what he says 236 00:15:30,159 –> 00:15:33,239 in the very next verse is this. 237 00:15:33,239 –> 00:15:36,840 Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, 238 00:15:38,020 –> 00:15:39,739 we seek to persuade others. 239 00:15:40,900 –> 00:15:42,880 Here we live in a world of people 240 00:15:42,880 –> 00:15:44,619 who don’t give weight to God, 241 00:15:44,619 –> 00:15:46,080 are not thinking about his judgment, 242 00:15:46,080 –> 00:15:47,539 probably don’t believe in it, 243 00:15:48,900 –> 00:15:52,500 but God’s people who have seen something 244 00:15:52,500 –> 00:15:56,340 of the splendor of his glory and to have come to know him, 245 00:15:56,340 –> 00:16:01,140 we do think about it and it weighs with us. 246 00:16:01,140 –> 00:16:02,820 We know that we shall all stand 247 00:16:02,820 –> 00:16:05,039 before the judgment seat of Christ 248 00:16:05,039 –> 00:16:08,820 and therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, 249 00:16:08,820 –> 00:16:12,659 we engage in the work of ministry. 250 00:16:12,700 –> 00:16:16,380 And I want you to think with me for a moment 251 00:16:16,380 –> 00:16:18,099 is again, I’ve tried to ponder this. 252 00:16:18,099 –> 00:16:20,099 It’s good for us as Christians to ponder 253 00:16:20,099 –> 00:16:22,359 the day when we will stand before the Lord. 254 00:16:23,599 –> 00:16:27,179 And remember this that he knows everything about you. 255 00:16:27,179 –> 00:16:29,440 He knows you better than you know yourself. 256 00:16:31,700 –> 00:16:35,219 There are many prayers in the Church of England Liturgy 257 00:16:35,219 –> 00:16:37,539 that I found helpful over the years. 258 00:16:37,539 –> 00:16:40,239 And one of them is called a Collect for Purity, 259 00:16:40,239 –> 00:16:41,500 very strange name. 260 00:16:41,500 –> 00:16:44,820 It’s a short prayer and it goes like this. 261 00:16:44,820 –> 00:16:49,820 Almighty God, before whom all hearts are open, 262 00:16:51,179 –> 00:16:56,179 all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. 263 00:16:59,500 –> 00:17:01,460 Just think about that. 264 00:17:01,460 –> 00:17:04,140 Then the prayer says cleanse the thoughts of our hearts 265 00:17:04,140 –> 00:17:06,719 by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit 266 00:17:06,719 –> 00:17:10,500 that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify 267 00:17:10,500 –> 00:17:14,739 your Holy name through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. 268 00:17:14,739 –> 00:17:16,420 Now, you think about this. 269 00:17:17,540 –> 00:17:19,040 You are going to stand, I’m going to stand 270 00:17:19,040 –> 00:17:22,280 before the judgment seat of Christ 271 00:17:22,280 –> 00:17:26,939 and your heart is completely open to him, 272 00:17:26,939 –> 00:17:28,380 there’s nothing that he doesn’t know 273 00:17:28,380 –> 00:17:29,920 that’s going on in your heart. 274 00:17:31,739 –> 00:17:34,819 And your desires are fully known to him, 275 00:17:35,819 –> 00:17:39,119 even the conflicting desires, it’s all known to him 276 00:17:39,520 –> 00:17:44,479 And from him no secret can be hid. 277 00:17:45,719 –> 00:17:49,119 May carry lifelong secrets with regards to other people, 278 00:17:49,119 –> 00:17:50,760 even people who are close to you. 279 00:17:51,920 –> 00:17:56,719 But from God no secret can be hid. 280 00:17:57,599 –> 00:18:00,800 He knows everything, he’s perfect in his knowledge 281 00:18:00,800 –> 00:18:02,520 and infinite in his power. 282 00:18:04,020 –> 00:18:07,280 And we, you and I we must stand 283 00:18:07,280 –> 00:18:11,939 before the judgment seat of Christ. 284 00:18:13,199 –> 00:18:14,880 Now simply to ponder that 285 00:18:14,880 –> 00:18:19,880 and to take it in is going to produce within your heart 286 00:18:21,020 –> 00:18:24,160 what the Bible describes as the fear of God. 287 00:18:24,160 –> 00:18:26,020 It arises not only from the knowledge 288 00:18:26,020 –> 00:18:27,920 of the splendor of his glory, 289 00:18:29,040 –> 00:18:32,280 but for taking in the reality of his judgment. 290 00:18:32,280 –> 00:18:35,520 We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 291 00:18:36,439 –> 00:18:39,880 In the first World War, in the trenches, 292 00:18:39,880 –> 00:18:43,280 there was a soldier by the name of Woodbine Willie, 293 00:18:43,280 –> 00:18:44,420 that was his nickname. 294 00:18:44,420 –> 00:18:46,459 He had a thing going with getting cigarettes 295 00:18:46,459 –> 00:18:49,079 being passed around the trenches, Woodbine Willie. 296 00:18:50,359 –> 00:18:51,239 He wasn’t a Christian. 297 00:18:51,239 –> 00:18:53,660 He had no place for God in his life at all. 298 00:18:54,780 –> 00:18:56,920 But one night Willie had a dream. 299 00:18:56,920 –> 00:19:01,020 And in that dream he saw himself on the day of judgment 300 00:19:01,020 –> 00:19:04,579 looking right into the eyes of Jesus Christ. 301 00:19:05,819 –> 00:19:06,760 It was so vivid. 302 00:19:06,760 –> 00:19:10,380 It was so powerful that it led to his conversion. 303 00:19:10,380 –> 00:19:13,920 He came to Christ in faith and in repentance. 304 00:19:13,920 –> 00:19:16,180 And he began to bear witness in the trenches 305 00:19:16,180 –> 00:19:19,140 to other soldiers around him as to the reality 306 00:19:19,140 –> 00:19:22,780 of the day that lay ahead of every person. 307 00:19:22,780 –> 00:19:27,060 And he wrote this poem that I learned very early in life 308 00:19:27,060 –> 00:19:28,780 and it has stayed with me. 309 00:19:28,780 –> 00:19:31,359 And I find it really, really helpful. 310 00:19:32,239 –> 00:19:37,239 There ain’t no books and there ain’t no thrones. 311 00:19:38,300 –> 00:19:41,040 It’s Him you’ve got to see. 312 00:19:42,359 –> 00:19:47,199 It’s Him, just Him, who is the judge 313 00:19:47,199 –> 00:19:49,359 of blokes like you and me. 314 00:19:50,540 –> 00:19:53,319 And boy’s eyes sooner shrivel up 315 00:19:53,319 –> 00:19:56,199 in the flames of a burning hell 316 00:19:56,199 –> 00:19:59,800 than stand and look into those eyes. 317 00:20:00,800 –> 00:20:03,760 And hear His voice say, well. 318 00:20:06,959 –> 00:20:09,760 See, Willie had come to know the fear of the Lord. 319 00:20:09,760 –> 00:20:13,079 The sense of what it would be to stand 320 00:20:13,079 –> 00:20:14,959 in the presence of the judgment of God 321 00:20:14,959 –> 00:20:16,979 who knows everything about you 322 00:20:16,979 –> 00:20:20,180 and before whom no secret is hid. 323 00:20:22,400 –> 00:20:23,719 Now, you may be saying, well, you know, 324 00:20:23,719 –> 00:20:26,579 I could understand why that would have such impact 325 00:20:26,579 –> 00:20:29,579 on Woodbine Willie and bring him to the Lord 326 00:20:29,599 –> 00:20:31,959 and that’s a marvelous thing, but, you know, 327 00:20:31,959 –> 00:20:36,560 why would Paul, who is an apostle, who is a Christian, 328 00:20:37,640 –> 00:20:41,099 why would Paul speak about the fear of the Lord, 329 00:20:41,099 –> 00:20:42,479 knowing the fear of the Lord 330 00:20:42,479 –> 00:20:45,000 when he speaks about this great day of judgment? 331 00:20:46,439 –> 00:20:50,300 Thomas Manton, a very wise writer from an earlier era, 332 00:20:50,300 –> 00:20:53,520 gives three answers to that question. 333 00:20:53,520 –> 00:20:55,680 Why should we fear the Lord 334 00:20:55,680 –> 00:20:59,119 as we think about this awesome day of judgment? 335 00:20:59,119 –> 00:21:00,719 And here’s the three answers 336 00:21:00,719 –> 00:21:02,800 that Thomas Manton gives to that question, 337 00:21:02,800 –> 00:21:07,800 number one, because the judgment of God was once our due. 338 00:21:12,579 –> 00:21:14,199 Think about that. 339 00:21:15,319 –> 00:21:16,900 It was once our due. 340 00:21:18,280 –> 00:21:21,439 Grace is not a right, 341 00:21:22,959 –> 00:21:26,660 and if it were not for the sheer mercy of God 342 00:21:26,739 –> 00:21:31,199 poured out to us in Jesus Christ at immeasurable cost, 343 00:21:31,199 –> 00:21:33,979 I would have been gone forever, 344 00:21:33,979 –> 00:21:37,020 and whenever I think about the judgment of God, 345 00:21:37,020 –> 00:21:39,579 I cannot think about it without realizing 346 00:21:39,579 –> 00:21:43,979 my total indebtedness for time and for eternity 347 00:21:43,979 –> 00:21:46,420 to all the good that has come from him, 348 00:21:46,420 –> 00:21:47,520 and that’s going to lead, 349 00:21:47,520 –> 00:21:49,300 as you take that into your mind and a heart, 350 00:21:49,300 –> 00:21:51,400 to a sense of the awe of God, 351 00:21:51,400 –> 00:21:54,500 to what the bible describes as the fear of the Lord. 352 00:21:55,400 –> 00:21:56,640 That’s his first answer. 353 00:21:57,920 –> 00:22:02,479 Second answer, we still deserve it, 354 00:22:04,119 –> 00:22:07,939 even after grace has made a change in our condition. 355 00:22:10,079 –> 00:22:13,800 Why should we have this sense of the fear of the Lord 356 00:22:13,800 –> 00:22:15,339 when we think about the day of judgment, 357 00:22:15,339 –> 00:22:18,420 because the reality is that we still deserve it. 358 00:22:19,420 –> 00:22:21,560 Even as Christian believers. 359 00:22:21,560 –> 00:22:25,520 Understand this, that the reason there is 360 00:22:25,520 –> 00:22:29,560 no condemnation for Christian believers 361 00:22:29,560 –> 00:22:33,319 is not that we have become so pure, so holy, 362 00:22:33,319 –> 00:22:35,160 so righteous in our Christian lives 363 00:22:35,160 –> 00:22:37,339 that God couldn’t possibly find anything in us 364 00:22:37,339 –> 00:22:39,520 that was worthy of condemnation. 365 00:22:39,520 –> 00:22:40,880 That is not the case. 366 00:22:42,119 –> 00:22:44,040 The reason that we are not condemned 367 00:22:44,040 –> 00:22:45,900 is not that we become so righteous 368 00:22:45,900 –> 00:22:48,479 that there’s nothing in us that is worthy of condemnation. 369 00:22:48,479 –> 00:22:51,280 The only reason that we will not be condemned 370 00:22:51,280 –> 00:22:55,060 is because in Jesus Christ God determines 371 00:22:55,060 –> 00:22:58,839 not to press charges on his people 372 00:22:58,839 –> 00:23:02,800 because the charges have been brought 373 00:23:02,800 –> 00:23:05,319 against his own son Jesus Christ. 374 00:23:05,319 –> 00:23:07,219 That’s the only reason. 375 00:23:07,219 –> 00:23:08,939 Do you see how that cuts the root 376 00:23:08,939 –> 00:23:11,640 of pride and self-righteousness? 377 00:23:11,640 –> 00:23:14,479 There’s no place among the people of God, 378 00:23:14,479 –> 00:23:18,520 no place in the church for the sort of moral superiority, 379 00:23:18,520 –> 00:23:20,780 as if we could kind of look down our noses 380 00:23:20,780 –> 00:23:24,859 on others who are imbedded in one sin or another. 381 00:23:24,859 –> 00:23:27,140 No, if you were to take Jesus Christ 382 00:23:27,140 –> 00:23:30,839 and his mercy and his grace away from me on that day, 383 00:23:30,839 –> 00:23:35,260 I’d be gone forever, and if God were to judge any of us 384 00:23:35,260 –> 00:23:39,959 on any week in our entire Christian lives, 385 00:23:39,959 –> 00:23:42,819 there would be enough sin in that week 386 00:23:42,819 –> 00:23:45,219 if it were judged apart from Jesus Christ 387 00:23:45,219 –> 00:23:46,839 to condemn us to hell forever. 388 00:23:47,780 –> 00:23:49,099 So here’s what Manton’s saying. 389 00:23:49,099 –> 00:23:50,660 Understand when you think about this, 390 00:23:50,660 –> 00:23:52,900 not only was it once your Jew 391 00:23:52,900 –> 00:23:55,060 but if it were not for Jesus Christ 392 00:23:55,060 –> 00:23:57,680 even standing at your best as a Christian, 393 00:23:58,780 –> 00:24:00,219 you would be completely gone. 394 00:24:00,219 –> 00:24:01,540 You would have no hope, 395 00:24:01,540 –> 00:24:03,199 and therefore as you think about this, 396 00:24:03,199 –> 00:24:06,520 you begin to see the degree of your dependence 397 00:24:06,520 –> 00:24:08,540 upon grace and upon Christ 398 00:24:08,540 –> 00:24:11,319 and you have a sense of awe and wonder 399 00:24:11,319 –> 00:24:16,319 that’s altogether different from so much that is trite. 400 00:24:19,859 –> 00:24:21,839 Even within the church of God. 401 00:24:22,739 –> 00:24:24,219 And then he gives a third answer. 402 00:24:24,219 –> 00:24:25,300 He says, remember this, 403 00:24:25,300 –> 00:24:27,900 that we are still in the process of being saved. 404 00:24:30,219 –> 00:24:31,599 He says, I know, I quote here, 405 00:24:31,599 –> 00:24:33,479 I know that I shall be saved 406 00:24:33,479 –> 00:24:35,739 but it is a difficult thing to save me. 407 00:24:37,380 –> 00:24:38,979 In other words, what he’s getting at here 408 00:24:38,979 –> 00:24:40,739 is that a Christian is a person 409 00:24:40,739 –> 00:24:43,060 who not only has an awareness of their past sins 410 00:24:43,060 –> 00:24:44,359 that have been forgiven, 411 00:24:44,359 –> 00:24:45,859 a Christian is a person 412 00:24:45,859 –> 00:24:48,300 who has an awareness of the sins that remain. 413 00:24:48,359 –> 00:24:50,699 The sins against which I do battle. 414 00:24:50,699 –> 00:24:53,540 The sins against which we are in daily need 415 00:24:53,540 –> 00:24:55,979 of being saved even now. 416 00:24:57,479 –> 00:24:58,859 And if we have no sense of that, 417 00:24:58,859 –> 00:25:00,599 we have very little knowledge of ourselves 418 00:25:00,599 –> 00:25:02,699 and probably very little knowledge of God. 419 00:25:05,140 –> 00:25:07,300 So there is nothing of self-righteousness 420 00:25:07,300 –> 00:25:08,660 about the true Christian. 421 00:25:08,660 –> 00:25:13,459 At our best, we hang on the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. 422 00:25:13,459 –> 00:25:16,479 And as we think about the reality of that day, 423 00:25:17,479 –> 00:25:20,199 it would cause us to tremble because of what we are 424 00:25:21,099 –> 00:25:25,319 and to be amazed that the grace of God 425 00:25:26,280 –> 00:25:27,839 should embrace us still. 426 00:25:29,280 –> 00:25:30,520 The fear of God. 427 00:25:30,520 –> 00:25:31,560 You see what it arises from? 428 00:25:31,560 –> 00:25:34,660 A glimpse of the splendor of his glory, 429 00:25:35,599 –> 00:25:38,979 a sense of the reality of his judgment, 430 00:25:38,979 –> 00:25:40,560 and here’s the third strand, 431 00:25:42,400 –> 00:25:44,599 the wonder of his love, 432 00:25:44,599 –> 00:25:45,760 the wonder of his love, 433 00:25:47,079 –> 00:25:49,680 Psalm 130 and verse four. 434 00:25:50,599 –> 00:25:51,520 Begins by saying, 435 00:25:51,520 –> 00:25:54,500 “‘Lord, if you were to mark all of our iniquities, 436 00:25:54,500 –> 00:25:56,199 if you were to mark up everything 437 00:25:56,199 –> 00:25:58,199 I’ve done wrong this week, this year, 438 00:25:58,199 –> 00:26:00,260 who could possibly stand? 439 00:26:01,520 –> 00:26:04,520 Who could stand if you were to mark all of our iniquities?’ 440 00:26:05,680 –> 00:26:06,699 But then he says this, 441 00:26:06,699 –> 00:26:10,959 “‘With you there is forgiveness.’” 442 00:26:10,959 –> 00:26:12,959 Isn’t that an Amen moment? 443 00:26:13,000 –> 00:26:16,859 “‘With you there is forgiveness.’” 444 00:26:16,859 –> 00:26:19,119 And then notice what comes next. 445 00:26:19,119 –> 00:26:20,459 You would think he’d say, 446 00:26:20,459 –> 00:26:22,180 “‘With you there is forgiveness 447 00:26:22,180 –> 00:26:24,319 so that you will be loved.’” 448 00:26:24,319 –> 00:26:26,140 That’s not what the psalmist says. 449 00:26:26,140 –> 00:26:28,479 Psalm 130 verse four, get this. 450 00:26:29,560 –> 00:26:31,579 “‘With you there is forgiveness 451 00:26:32,880 –> 00:26:35,199 that you may be feared.’” 452 00:26:36,839 –> 00:26:39,479 So here is the grace of God, the mercy of God, 453 00:26:39,479 –> 00:26:42,880 the love of God leading into the fear of God, 454 00:26:42,920 –> 00:26:44,880 which is why I’m saying the third strand 455 00:26:44,880 –> 00:26:46,719 is the knowledge of God’s love. 456 00:26:46,719 –> 00:26:50,099 Do you see now why it is only a Christian believer 457 00:26:50,099 –> 00:26:52,260 who can come to the knowledge of the fear of God? 458 00:26:52,260 –> 00:26:53,500 Because only a Christian believer 459 00:26:53,500 –> 00:26:55,599 has come to see something of his glory 460 00:26:55,599 –> 00:26:59,160 and to meditate on the awesome reality of his judgment 461 00:26:59,160 –> 00:27:01,699 and to experience the wonder of his love. 462 00:27:01,699 –> 00:27:04,500 The world doesn’t know these things, 463 00:27:04,500 –> 00:27:05,319 but we do. 464 00:27:07,719 –> 00:27:09,140 How does this work, 465 00:27:09,140 –> 00:27:12,300 the forgiveness that you may be feared? 466 00:27:12,359 –> 00:27:14,979 Here’s what it’s like. 467 00:27:14,979 –> 00:27:16,959 You come to know as a Christian believer 468 00:27:16,959 –> 00:27:20,640 the amazing love of God poured out to you in Jesus Christ, 469 00:27:20,640 –> 00:27:24,640 forgiveness at immeasurable and unspeakable cost. 470 00:27:26,459 –> 00:27:28,819 And as you experience the wonder of his love, 471 00:27:28,819 –> 00:27:30,859 you begin to feel within your heart, 472 00:27:30,859 –> 00:27:33,880 how can I sin against love like this? 473 00:27:36,060 –> 00:27:38,760 How can I grieve the heart of a father 474 00:27:38,760 –> 00:27:40,680 who loves me this much, 475 00:27:42,780 –> 00:27:45,359 how can I wound the Son of God 476 00:27:46,760 –> 00:27:50,420 who already has borne so many wounds for me? 477 00:27:51,420 –> 00:27:54,339 You don’t sin so easily when your heart is filled 478 00:27:54,339 –> 00:27:57,599 with the knowledge of the love of Christ. 479 00:27:57,599 –> 00:27:59,459 Because it produces the fear of God, 480 00:27:59,459 –> 00:28:03,660 with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared. 481 00:28:05,660 –> 00:28:08,500 I’ve adapted a definition of the fear of the Lord 482 00:28:08,500 –> 00:28:10,839 or perhaps a description is a better way of putting it 483 00:28:10,839 –> 00:28:13,479 from John Brown who wrote a massive commentary 484 00:28:13,479 –> 00:28:16,520 on first Peter which includes the words fear God 485 00:28:16,520 –> 00:28:20,760 in chapter two in verse 17 and Brown’s got pages and pages 486 00:28:20,760 –> 00:28:23,160 but it boils down to this, let me put it to you 487 00:28:23,160 –> 00:28:25,119 in a sentence as clearly as I can, 488 00:28:26,339 –> 00:28:30,719 that to fear God is to love Him 489 00:28:31,780 –> 00:28:36,599 so that his frown would be your greatest dread 490 00:28:36,599 –> 00:28:40,079 and his smile would be your greatest delight. 491 00:28:40,079 –> 00:28:43,800 That’s what it is, it’s so to love God 492 00:28:44,920 –> 00:28:46,920 that to bring displeasure to the father 493 00:28:46,920 –> 00:28:49,959 who loves you like this would be the thing 494 00:28:49,959 –> 00:28:51,520 you would dread the most. 495 00:28:51,520 –> 00:28:54,920 Better anything than to grieve the heart 496 00:28:54,920 –> 00:28:57,180 of my father who loves me like this 497 00:28:58,459 –> 00:29:02,739 and oh what joy there is to live under his smile, 498 00:29:02,739 –> 00:29:05,239 to experience his pleasure, 499 00:29:06,160 –> 00:29:11,160 that’s the heart of the person who fears the Lord. 500 00:29:13,479 –> 00:29:15,280 The fear of the Lord. 501 00:29:15,280 –> 00:29:18,640 It’s in the heart of someone who has seen his glory, 502 00:29:18,640 –> 00:29:21,760 the splendor of his glory and the reality of his judgment 503 00:29:21,760 –> 00:29:26,300 and the wonder of his love, glory, judgment, love. 504 00:29:26,300 –> 00:29:28,780 Now do you see why in the Old Testament 505 00:29:28,780 –> 00:29:33,040 it speaks about the people of God will fear him forever 506 00:29:33,939 –> 00:29:38,400 because in heaven itself, what are we going to experience? 507 00:29:38,400 –> 00:29:43,199 The splendor of his glory beautifully unveiled 508 00:29:44,540 –> 00:29:48,500 and heaven will remain a happy and a holy place 509 00:29:48,500 –> 00:29:49,880 forever and forever. 510 00:29:49,880 –> 00:29:50,719 Why? 511 00:29:50,719 –> 00:29:52,920 Because the judgment of God will continue 512 00:29:52,920 –> 00:29:56,160 forever and forever upon sinners in hell 513 00:29:57,880 –> 00:30:00,040 and his love will be unveiled 514 00:30:00,040 –> 00:30:02,579 and we shall see it in its fullness 515 00:30:04,380 –> 00:30:07,839 so that the people of God will find joy in him 516 00:30:07,839 –> 00:30:08,900 as never before, 517 00:30:08,900 –> 00:30:11,359 casting our crowns before him in worship 518 00:30:11,359 –> 00:30:16,359 and love and praise, glory, judgment, 519 00:30:17,739 –> 00:30:22,739 love, expressed out of the very heart of God 520 00:30:24,199 –> 00:30:26,979 and his people loving him as they fear him 521 00:30:27,339 –> 00:30:30,060 and fearing him as they love him forever 522 00:30:30,060 –> 00:30:33,880 and forever and forever and forever. 523 00:30:36,040 –> 00:30:38,060 Friends, we’re looking at heaven. 524 00:30:38,060 –> 00:30:39,760 Let me bring you right back down to earth 525 00:30:39,760 –> 00:30:41,599 and just see the contrast. 526 00:30:43,479 –> 00:30:47,140 We’re living today in what I’m going to describe 527 00:30:47,140 –> 00:30:52,000 as the OMG culture. 528 00:30:53,719 –> 00:30:54,819 You know what I’m saying 529 00:30:54,819 –> 00:30:58,060 to wash with reality TV shows. 530 00:30:58,060 –> 00:31:00,540 Whether it’d be fix it upper houses. 531 00:31:00,540 –> 00:31:02,579 I really enjoy some of these by the way. 532 00:31:03,979 –> 00:31:05,359 Who ever’s losing the most weight 533 00:31:05,359 –> 00:31:06,459 or whatever these things are. 534 00:31:06,459 –> 00:31:08,500 They have a certain formula and you know what’s coming, 535 00:31:08,500 –> 00:31:11,099 that at the end, there’s gonna be a reveal. 536 00:31:12,180 –> 00:31:16,780 At the reveal, people are surprised and delighted 537 00:31:16,780 –> 00:31:18,900 at something that has happened either to them 538 00:31:18,900 –> 00:31:22,819 or to their home, or whatever the particular show 539 00:31:22,819 –> 00:31:24,479 that we’re thinking about is. 540 00:31:24,979 –> 00:31:26,859 And you know if you watch any of these shows 541 00:31:26,859 –> 00:31:29,699 and I’ve tipped my hat as to which ones 542 00:31:29,699 –> 00:31:30,920 I particularly enjoy 543 00:31:30,920 –> 00:31:34,000 on the Home and Garden channel or whatever that is. 544 00:31:35,739 –> 00:31:37,579 You know what’s gonna happen and if you’re a Christian, 545 00:31:37,579 –> 00:31:41,119 it’ll always touch you in some way, grieve you. 546 00:31:42,839 –> 00:31:45,140 That almost universally, 547 00:31:45,140 –> 00:31:48,739 the characteristic way of expressing surprise 548 00:31:49,900 –> 00:31:52,339 is for someone to shriek out 549 00:31:52,339 –> 00:31:55,699 and articulate the letters G-O-D 550 00:31:56,939 –> 00:31:59,640 in a way that shows that the person knows 551 00:31:59,640 –> 00:32:03,579 absolutely nothing of the glory, or the judgment, 552 00:32:03,579 –> 00:32:07,160 or the love of the one of whom they speak. 553 00:32:08,520 –> 00:32:09,400 And it’s everywhere. 554 00:32:09,400 –> 00:32:11,380 O-N-G, all over the internet. 555 00:32:12,780 –> 00:32:14,040 All over our culture. 556 00:32:15,579 –> 00:32:17,699 And if you think about this for a moment, 557 00:32:17,699 –> 00:32:21,520 the Jews had such a fear of the Lord, 558 00:32:21,520 –> 00:32:25,300 such a sense of the exalted glory and judgment 559 00:32:25,300 –> 00:32:30,300 and love of God, that they would not even speak his name. 560 00:32:32,060 –> 00:32:34,900 And we’re awash in a culture that has so lost 561 00:32:34,900 –> 00:32:36,900 the knowledge of who God is, 562 00:32:37,819 –> 00:32:41,339 that it’s become the characteristic way 563 00:32:43,260 –> 00:32:44,520 of shrieking. 564 00:32:45,859 –> 00:32:47,719 And I wanna give you this challenge. 565 00:32:47,719 –> 00:32:52,040 Young and old, if you are a Christian, 566 00:32:52,040 –> 00:32:54,959 I want you to resolve with me today 567 00:32:54,959 –> 00:32:59,959 that any time you ever speak or write 568 00:33:00,000 –> 00:33:05,000 the name of God or of Jesus or of Christ, 569 00:33:07,520 –> 00:33:11,260 that you as a Christian will speak that name 570 00:33:11,260 –> 00:33:13,920 in a way that would make it quite evident 571 00:33:13,920 –> 00:33:16,540 that you know something of his glory. 572 00:33:17,380 –> 00:33:19,560 Something of his judgment, 573 00:33:21,300 –> 00:33:22,760 and something of his love. 574 00:33:23,959 –> 00:33:25,959 I’ll tell you folks, we’re living in a culture 575 00:33:25,959 –> 00:33:28,619 where the knowledge of God is fast erased 576 00:33:28,619 –> 00:33:31,579 and in such a culture what is desperately needed 577 00:33:31,579 –> 00:33:34,660 is a community of people who at least can speak 578 00:33:34,660 –> 00:33:36,619 about the name of God in a way 579 00:33:36,619 –> 00:33:40,300 that shows that we know him and that we fear him 580 00:33:40,300 –> 00:33:41,160 and that we love him. 581 00:33:41,160 –> 00:33:43,140 Isn’t that needed among us today? 582 00:33:43,140 –> 00:33:44,680 It’s desperately needed. 583 00:33:45,660 –> 00:33:47,280 And it’s gonna be desperately needed 584 00:33:47,280 –> 00:33:49,319 in high schools and middle schools. 585 00:33:49,319 –> 00:33:51,979 This is one place where something different 586 00:33:51,979 –> 00:33:53,260 can be seen in you. 587 00:33:54,180 –> 00:33:55,619 Don’t miss that opportunity. 588 00:33:56,520 –> 00:33:58,739 You’re someone who fears God and loves God. 589 00:33:59,760 –> 00:34:02,800 Loves God and fears God. 590 00:34:04,400 –> 00:34:07,819 Now let me just wrap up here in these last moments 591 00:34:07,819 –> 00:34:08,760 by saying this. 592 00:34:08,760 –> 00:34:10,320 That the fear of the Lord will bring 593 00:34:10,320 –> 00:34:12,000 wonderful blessing into your life. 594 00:34:12,000 –> 00:34:14,040 The more you have of it the better it will be. 595 00:34:14,040 –> 00:34:16,659 The fear of God is a wonderful friend for your soul. 596 00:34:18,139 –> 00:34:20,060 In the book of Proverbs we read these words, 597 00:34:20,060 –> 00:34:22,760 blessed is the one who fears the Lord always. 598 00:34:22,760 –> 00:34:24,959 You’re gonna be blessed. 599 00:34:24,959 –> 00:34:27,080 How are you going to be blessed? 600 00:34:27,080 –> 00:34:29,479 Because you’re gonna make wiser decisions 601 00:34:29,479 –> 00:34:31,540 because you know the fear of the Lord 602 00:34:31,540 –> 00:34:33,600 is the beginning of what? 603 00:34:33,600 –> 00:34:35,580 Wisdom, you’re gonna make better decisions. 604 00:34:35,580 –> 00:34:37,080 The more you know of the fear of the Lord 605 00:34:37,080 –> 00:34:39,340 the better decisions you’re gonna make in your life 606 00:34:39,340 –> 00:34:40,760 because God carries weight 607 00:34:40,760 –> 00:34:42,000 and, therefore, you won’t simply 608 00:34:42,040 –> 00:34:44,560 be going on your own personal impulse. 609 00:34:44,560 –> 00:34:46,520 You’d be much wiser. 610 00:34:46,520 –> 00:34:49,219 The fear of the Lord will keep you from sinning. 611 00:34:49,219 –> 00:34:51,179 That’s in Exodus 20 in verse 20 612 00:34:51,179 –> 00:34:54,120 and it’s also right here in Jeremiah chapter 32, 613 00:34:54,120 –> 00:34:56,760 a sense of this God and he’s being present 614 00:34:56,760 –> 00:34:58,080 with you right now, 615 00:34:58,080 –> 00:34:59,719 and one day you’re gonna stand before him 616 00:34:59,719 –> 00:35:01,340 and nothing could ever be hidden from him. 617 00:35:01,340 –> 00:35:03,239 That’s gonna help keep you from sinning. 618 00:35:03,239 –> 00:35:05,399 It’s gonna strengthen you against temptation. 619 00:35:05,399 –> 00:35:07,439 Fear God more, you’ll sin less. 620 00:35:08,959 –> 00:35:11,919 And you’ll be motivated with regards to evangelism, 621 00:35:11,939 –> 00:35:13,879 that since we know the fear of the Lord 622 00:35:13,879 –> 00:35:15,520 that we seek to persuade others, 623 00:35:15,520 –> 00:35:17,760 that the church gets moved with regards 624 00:35:17,760 –> 00:35:20,060 to the gospel being brought to others 625 00:35:20,060 –> 00:35:22,399 because we’re the ones who have a sense 626 00:35:22,399 –> 00:35:24,639 of the awesome reality of the day 627 00:35:24,639 –> 00:35:26,520 that lies ahead of every person. 628 00:35:28,560 –> 00:35:30,159 So there are multiple ways 629 00:35:30,159 –> 00:35:32,219 in which blessing is just going to flow 630 00:35:32,219 –> 00:35:34,199 into your life more and more 631 00:35:34,199 –> 00:35:36,679 the more that you’re able to move away 632 00:35:36,679 –> 00:35:39,439 from trivial, low-level views of God 633 00:35:39,439 –> 00:35:41,580 to something that’s really shaped 634 00:35:41,860 –> 00:35:43,580 by what was revealed in the Bible, 635 00:35:43,580 –> 00:35:45,239 the splendor of God’s glory, 636 00:35:45,239 –> 00:35:46,899 the reality of His judgment 637 00:35:46,899 –> 00:35:48,239 and the wonder of His love. 638 00:35:49,860 –> 00:35:51,300 And I want you to notice too 639 00:35:51,300 –> 00:35:54,580 that this is something that’s wonderfully promised. 640 00:35:54,580 –> 00:35:59,580 Verse 40, I will put the fear of me in their hearts. 641 00:36:02,979 –> 00:36:06,580 Well, notice what God says here to His people. 642 00:36:06,580 –> 00:36:08,219 I’m going to put this in your hearts 643 00:36:08,219 –> 00:36:10,139 so that you won’t turn against me. 644 00:36:11,139 –> 00:36:12,199 It’s a wonderful promise. 645 00:36:12,199 –> 00:36:14,580 It’s part of the promise of a new heart 646 00:36:14,580 –> 00:36:15,899 that runs all the way through 647 00:36:15,899 –> 00:36:18,860 these Old Testament prophecies. 648 00:36:18,860 –> 00:36:20,840 I’m going to put this in you. 649 00:36:22,419 –> 00:36:24,739 Oh boy, you read stories in the New Testament 650 00:36:24,739 –> 00:36:27,820 about how God did that in the life of the early church. 651 00:36:27,820 –> 00:36:29,540 There are two stories in particular. 652 00:36:29,540 –> 00:36:30,879 One’s a story of judgment. 653 00:36:30,879 –> 00:36:33,679 One’s a story of grace. 654 00:36:33,679 –> 00:36:36,179 The story of judgments in Acts chapter five, 655 00:36:37,040 –> 00:36:38,979 two people, Ananias and Sapphira, 656 00:36:38,979 –> 00:36:40,060 they got some property. 657 00:36:40,060 –> 00:36:41,479 They sell it, they decide that 658 00:36:41,479 –> 00:36:44,679 they’re going to give money to the church. 659 00:36:44,679 –> 00:36:47,840 They were under no obligation to do that. 660 00:36:47,840 –> 00:36:49,659 But they chose to do it. 661 00:36:49,659 –> 00:36:51,760 They could’ve given all of the money to the church. 662 00:36:51,760 –> 00:36:53,479 They could’ve given some of the money to the church. 663 00:36:53,479 –> 00:36:56,360 They could’ve given none of the money to the church. 664 00:36:56,360 –> 00:36:57,419 What they chose to do was 665 00:36:57,419 –> 00:37:00,100 to give some of the money to the church and heres the deal. 666 00:37:00,100 –> 00:37:02,000 They then lied about it. 667 00:37:02,000 –> 00:37:04,260 Why in the world did they do that? 668 00:37:04,260 –> 00:37:07,939 They lied to the apostles about the gift. 669 00:37:07,979 –> 00:37:10,820 They said this is all that we got. 670 00:37:12,120 –> 00:37:14,239 And you know the story of Ananias and Sapphira 671 00:37:14,239 –> 00:37:17,000 that before the day was done 672 00:37:17,000 –> 00:37:18,580 Ananias stone dead. 673 00:37:20,800 –> 00:37:22,479 Sapphira stone dead. 674 00:37:25,239 –> 00:37:28,239 And the Bible tells us that great fear 675 00:37:30,020 –> 00:37:32,879 came upon the whole church. 676 00:37:32,879 –> 00:37:34,379 And all who heard these things. 677 00:37:34,379 –> 00:37:37,639 Well you can imagine that, can you? 678 00:37:37,780 –> 00:37:41,959 These people lied to the apostles, and they’re dead. 679 00:37:46,020 –> 00:37:47,979 Now you would think that would be 680 00:37:47,979 –> 00:37:50,479 the end of church growth, wouldn’t you? 681 00:37:50,479 –> 00:37:52,639 I mean it says, seriously. 682 00:37:53,879 –> 00:37:55,959 Because it says all the community knew about this. 683 00:37:55,959 –> 00:37:58,479 I mean it went right round. 684 00:37:58,479 –> 00:38:00,479 Better not touch that church, 685 00:38:00,479 –> 00:38:03,860 tell a lie in that church, you’re dead. 686 00:38:03,860 –> 00:38:06,000 Better not go there. 687 00:38:06,000 –> 00:38:07,419 And yet here’s the remarkable thing 688 00:38:07,540 –> 00:38:09,320 that the Acts of the Apostles records 689 00:38:09,320 –> 00:38:12,639 just three verses later, Acts 5, verse 14, 690 00:38:12,639 –> 00:38:16,639 more than ever, believers were added to the Lord. 691 00:38:20,280 –> 00:38:21,959 You know why? 692 00:38:21,959 –> 00:38:23,360 Because out in the whole community, 693 00:38:23,360 –> 00:38:24,939 people began to think, my goodness, 694 00:38:24,939 –> 00:38:26,639 if there’s a God who has power like that, 695 00:38:26,639 –> 00:38:30,340 I better think about getting right with him. 696 00:38:30,340 –> 00:38:32,760 I mean, wouldn’t you think that? 697 00:38:32,760 –> 00:38:34,560 If there really is a God of awesome power, 698 00:38:34,639 –> 00:38:36,500 how then I better get right with him? 699 00:38:37,520 –> 00:38:39,100 And the fear of the Lord, 700 00:38:40,040 –> 00:38:41,739 actually led to a whole movement 701 00:38:41,739 –> 00:38:44,399 in which people were brought to faith and repentance. 702 00:38:45,719 –> 00:38:48,459 I’ll put my fear in your heart, 703 00:38:48,459 –> 00:38:50,260 and it’s gonna bring transformation. 704 00:38:52,459 –> 00:38:55,219 The other’s a wonderful story of grace, Saul of Tarsus, 705 00:38:55,219 –> 00:38:57,040 and he’s killing Christians, 706 00:38:57,040 –> 00:38:59,199 and he’s running this campaign against them, 707 00:38:59,199 –> 00:39:01,340 and then he’s marvelously converted. 708 00:39:01,340 –> 00:39:03,239 And of course Christians find it very hard 709 00:39:03,320 –> 00:39:05,199 to believe that this has actually happened, 710 00:39:05,199 –> 00:39:07,820 but in the end they hear him genuinely preaching the gospel, 711 00:39:07,820 –> 00:39:10,820 defending the Christ, that he used to hate, 712 00:39:10,820 –> 00:39:13,340 and we’re told at the end of Acts and chapter nine, 713 00:39:13,340 –> 00:39:16,439 after that amazing story of God’s grace, 714 00:39:16,439 –> 00:39:20,219 that the church was walking in the fear of the Lord, 715 00:39:20,219 –> 00:39:23,540 and in the comfort of the Spirit, and it multiplied. 716 00:39:23,540 –> 00:39:26,020 You see what’s happening there? 717 00:39:26,020 –> 00:39:28,399 People are in awe of God, they say, 718 00:39:29,580 –> 00:39:33,060 if God can save Saul of Tarsus, 719 00:39:33,080 –> 00:39:35,219 there’s no limit to what he can do. 720 00:39:36,239 –> 00:39:40,139 And suddenly there’s a new sense of how great 721 00:39:40,139 –> 00:39:42,300 and how glorious God is, 722 00:39:42,300 –> 00:39:44,919 and the spiritual temperatures gone up, 723 00:39:45,979 –> 00:39:49,139 and people are being drawn to the knowledge of this God 724 00:39:49,139 –> 00:39:51,199 for whom nothing is impossible. 725 00:39:52,899 –> 00:39:57,100 I will put my fear in their hearts. 726 00:39:58,860 –> 00:40:02,840 Lord, put more of this fear of you in our hearts. 727 00:40:03,659 –> 00:40:07,139 This fear of you, this awe of you 728 00:40:07,139 –> 00:40:10,580 that arises from a knowledge of the splendor of your glory, 729 00:40:11,500 –> 00:40:14,500 that arises from the knowledge of your, 730 00:40:14,500 –> 00:40:17,520 reality of your judgment and the wonder of your love. 731 00:40:19,100 –> 00:40:20,419 And let me leave you with this, 732 00:40:20,419 –> 00:40:23,659 it’s just the last note and it’s simply this, 733 00:40:23,659 –> 00:40:26,860 there’s a prayer that you can use this week 734 00:40:26,860 –> 00:40:28,979 to earth everything that we’ve been learning 735 00:40:28,979 –> 00:40:30,659 from the Bible, and it’s in 736 00:40:30,659 –> 00:40:35,659 Psalm 86 and verse 11, where David prays these words, 737 00:40:36,219 –> 00:40:40,340 Lord, unite my heart to fear your name. 738 00:40:40,340 –> 00:40:42,139 Isn’t that a great prayer? 739 00:40:42,139 –> 00:40:44,060 And you can say now Lord, you’ve promised 740 00:40:44,060 –> 00:40:47,419 to put the fear of you into the hearts of your people. 741 00:40:47,419 –> 00:40:49,560 And this is what I want more of, 742 00:40:49,560 –> 00:40:53,260 unite my heart to fear your name. 743 00:40:53,260 –> 00:40:55,120 Let me never take you lightly, 744 00:40:55,120 –> 00:40:57,360 sin against you easily. 745 00:40:57,360 –> 00:40:59,419 Let me take in your glory, 746 00:40:59,439 –> 00:41:01,280 your judgment and your love. 747 00:41:01,280 –> 00:41:03,080 This heart, it needs uniting. 748 00:41:03,080 –> 00:41:05,199 I’m pulled in all directions. 749 00:41:05,199 –> 00:41:08,679 This heart’s all over the place. 750 00:41:08,679 –> 00:41:12,520 Now make my heart one and make it one in this 751 00:41:12,520 –> 00:41:14,800 to fear your name because I’m seeing 752 00:41:14,800 –> 00:41:16,560 something of your glory, 753 00:41:17,560 –> 00:41:21,580 and I’ve felt something of the reality of your judgment, 754 00:41:21,580 –> 00:41:26,419 and I am experiencing something of the wonder of your love. 755 00:41:27,419 –> 00:41:29,899 Make my heart one. 756 00:41:31,219 –> 00:41:35,060 Lord Jesus, for your sake. 757 00:41:36,100 –> 00:41:36,939 Amen. 758 00:41:36,939 –> 00:41:37,780 Let’s pray together. 759 00:41:37,780 –> 00:41:42,780 Lord, we live at a time where we’re surrounded 760 00:41:48,879 –> 00:41:53,879 by such cheap and diminished views of who you are. 761 00:41:57,080 –> 00:41:59,739 And we come into the Bible and we are confronted 762 00:41:59,739 –> 00:42:04,739 with your glory, your judgment, and your love. 763 00:42:07,899 –> 00:42:12,899 Unite my heart to fear your name 764 00:42:15,600 –> 00:42:20,600 so that all of the blessing of the fear of the Lord, 765 00:42:20,919 –> 00:42:24,520 loving you as I fear you and fearing you as I love you, 766 00:42:25,379 –> 00:42:29,600 may pour into this life until faith is turned to sight 767 00:42:29,600 –> 00:42:31,340 and your glory is fully seen 768 00:42:31,340 –> 00:42:34,320 and your judgment fully made known 769 00:42:34,320 –> 00:42:37,560 and your love fully experienced by all of your people, 770 00:42:38,419 –> 00:42:39,679 forever and forever. 771 00:42:41,120 –> 00:42:42,179 Amen. 772 00:42:44,159 –> 00:42:45,379 You’ve been listening to a sermon 773 00:42:45,379 –> 00:42:47,780 with Pastor Collin Smith of Open the Bible. 774 00:42:47,780 –> 00:42:52,899 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 775 00:42:52,899 –> 00:42:56,459 or visit our website, openthebible.org.