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Greetings to everyone in the room and watching online. My name is Chris Fluitt and I am standing on the stage at Redemption Church, in the great city of Plano, Tx, and I am ready to share the Word of God with you today.
I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have. Fear is something that we all need to conquer.
Today I want to talk to you about Theophobia – The fear of God.
The Fear of God
Are you afraid of God? Should we be afraid of God? And if so, what should that fear look like?
As we will see in a moment the Bible tells us repeatedly to fear the Lord. That may surprise you. The subject of fearing God can be confusing. Hopefully we can straighten this all out.
I am going to show you two pictures.
Xenomorph & God
On the left is the scariest movie creature I can think of. It is the Alien xenomorph from the movie Alien. This creature is a scary killing machine. It has acid for blood, long claws, a sharp powerful tail, and 2 sets of sharp teeth. This is what I call nightmare fuel!
And on the right is the invisible God of the universe.
Should the fear of God be like the fear of the xenomorph creature? Should we run from God like we would run from the alien?
Luke 12:4 (NIV2011) “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
Luke 12:5 (NIV2011) But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
The xenomorph can kill the body but can’t do anything more. But the God of the universe has the authority to throw you into hell. We should fear God. This is straight from Jesus.
The Fear of God
The fear of God can be confusing. There is a right kind of fear of God and a wrong kind of fear of God. We need to ask ourselves what kind of fear of God we have been having.
The right kind of fear
Let’s quickly look at the right kind of fear of God in the Word of God. There are many verses in your Bible we will key on a few of them.
Psalm 31:19 (NIV2011) How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.
Psalm 112:1 (NIV2011) Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands.
Proverbs 9:10 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 10:27 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
Proverbs 19:23 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Malachi 4:2 (NIV2011) But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
The right kind of fear
From these 6 verses did you feel like the fear of the Lord was a negative or a positive?
- How abundant are the good things God has stored up for those that fear Him.
- Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
- The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom.
- The fear of the Lord adds length to life and leads to life.
- Those that fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise upon you with healing.
These are all good things. There is not a single bad thing. This is the RIGHT kind of fear of the Lord.
Can fear be a good thing?
Fear can be a good thing. This may seem crazy, especially since we have spent this entire series warning you about fear. But it is true that fear can be good.
In the natural, a little bit of fear can heighten your senses and focus. It’s like the mechanisms that make up your body come to the realization that “this is serious and we better pay close attention.” A little bit of fear can help you study and accomplish tasks… fear can be an excellent motivator. Fear can boost your adrenaline
Fear can also be a respect and a reverence. For example there are these power tools in my garage… miter saw, circular saw, drills, nail gun. When I use these tools I need a healthy amount of respect for their power. I need to reverence the ability of the miter saw to cut anything its blade comes in contact with. It is my benefit to show a respectful fear to the power of the nail gun.
When the Bible tells us to fear the name of the Lord… it means to show His name reverence & respect. Don’t you dare put God’s name in a curse word… Don’t you dare say his name flippantly… Don’t you know there is more power in his name that in your electric drill? Show His powerful name respect or you could actually hurt yourself. For this reason the Word commands “do not use the name of the Lord in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)
When the Bible tells you to fear the Lord and his commands, it means you should honor and respect God and obey Him. This is the right kind of fear. The fear of God can be a good thing.
As the scriptures we looked at earlier declare…
When you honor God… fear God, you will be blessed.
When you fear his name, reverence His name, righteousness and healing are coming your way.
Abundant goodness is for those who fear the Lord, who respect the Lord.
Here are 7 qualities of the Fear of the Lord
Qualities of the Fear of the Lord
- A gift from God
Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV2011)…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
- Produces Godly humility
When you fear God you will no longer act like you are God.
- Instills obedience
When you reverence God, you obey Him.
- Develops Godly courage
Fear actually brings courage! Because the disciples of Jesus feared God, they courageously stood against very scary situations.
- Helps us reject sin
Because we fear God, we will reject the temptation of sin.
- Builds Godly leaders
The best leaders fear the Lord.
- Leads to loving God
You are not loving God if you aren’t respecting God. You are not honoring God if you don’t obey Him.
Ask yourself today, “Do I have these 7 qualities at work in my life?” “Am I fearing the Lord with the right kind of fear?”
The right kind of fear
There is a right kind of fear but there is also a wrong kind of fear.
The wrong kind of fear
There is a fear that doesn’t lead to respect and reverence. There is a fear that leads to terror and chaos. There is a fear that doesn’t bring courage but cowardice. There is a fear that doesn’t bring you into blessing. This is a wrong kind of fear.
I gave you 7 qualities of the fear of the Lord. Here are 7 qualities of the wrong kind of fear.
Qualities of the wrong kind of fear
- A curse of Satan
After one conversation with Satan, mankind has struggled with fear ever since.
- Produces pride
The terror of this fear causes you to take matters in your own hands and not seek humble wisdom from God.
- Lies
Instead of truth & obedience this fear lies to us. It makes us believe things that aren’t even true.
- Brings cowardice
The wrong kind of fear leads to defeat.
- Is powerless to reject Sin
This wrong kind of fear can’t say no to temptation.
- Destroys leaders
A leader controlled by the wrong kind of fear can’t be trusted.
- Rejects God
There is a wrong kind of fear that will reject God.
The wrong kind of fear
Many people have the wrong kind of fear about God.
There are people who say “I can’t ever step foot back in that church or God will strike me dead.”
There are people who say “I better not miss church this Sunday because I will anger God and He will do something terrible to me this week.”
There are people that are sure that God is going to get them any moment… They are certain that around the next corner God is waiting to strike them with a lightning bolt.
It would be terrible to confuse the God of the universe with a xenomorph
Xenomorph & God
I don’t want to know the xenomorph, I want to run away from the xenomorph and never know it…
The xenomorph is not even knowable, it is just going to destroy me…
I don’t want to know the words of a xenomorph, worship and honor the xenomorph…
There is never any reason to thank a xenomorph…
Other than food, the xenomorph has no use for or purpose for you…
Who could ever confuse a xenomorph & God?
The terrorist who straps a bomb to their body to blow up innocent people, all because he thinks this is a way to honor his god.
The people who call themselves Christians yet hold up signs that say “God hates you.”
When the Church preaches doctrines that declare God has not given man a free will to seek heaven instead of hell… that God has destined some people to burn in hell for eternity and they could never come to salvation… that is confusing the God of love with a xenomorph.
When we feel like God doesn’t have a problem with our unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, prejudice, or anything that hurts those around us… we are confusing the God of the Universe with a xenomorph.
This is the wrong kind of fear.
This inhuman place makes human monsters. – Stephen King from “The Shinning”
In his book “the shining” Stephen King gives a great quote. “This inhuman place makes human monsters.”
The brokenness of this place… the evil, the hurt, the absolute terror of this earth… superimposes itself on humanity. This inhuman place creates human monsters.
I want to warn you that this inhuman place can superimpose itself upon our view of God. We can let the brokenness of this world lead us to believe God is somehow broken… We can let this unloving world lead us to believe God is somehow unloving…
Instead of letting the God of the Bible reflect upon this world, we can actually let this inhuman place reflect upon God… creating a monstrous God
This is the wrong kind of fear. This is terror not respect. This is xenomorph not Jesus!
I am here today to declare God is a savior not a xenomorph. Even though the world is broken and messed up, God loved the world and sent his only son to save it! You don’t have to run in terror from God, but you can run to God and find everything you need.
Do you agree that a lot of people have the wrong idea about God? I wonder who could possibly be behind perpetuating the wrong ideas about God?
Genesis 3:1 (NIV2011) Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Genesis 3:4-5 (NIV2011) “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
From the beginning, Satan has been spreading the wrong idea about God. He put doubt in Eve’s heart about what God said, and his character. Satan calls into question God’s motives about his rule of not eating the fruit of that tree.
Satan has never stopped this work. He has been calling God’s motives into question ever since.
Let’s set the record straight on God’s motives.
God’s motive is Love
God’s motive is not fear, hatred, anger, pride, power, ego, money, greed… His motive is love.
If you have the wrong idea about God today, it is because you have confused God’s motive. You won’t ever be terrified of a God who loves you and wants what is best for you.
You have done something terrible in your past, but you can come to God today and find forgiveness because He loves you. Even when you have been terrified of God, He has LOVED you.
Love is not something God does… it is who He is.
1 John 4:8 (NIV2011) Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God is love. He never ceases to be love. When you fail, he doesn’t stop being love.
So there is the right kind of fear and the wrong kind of fear. How do we have the right kind of fear?
The wrong kind of fear is a terror that causes you to run away from God.
The right kind of fear causes you to respect and honor God.
We need the right kind of fear… but we need something more than fear.
1 John 4:18 (NIV2011) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Love is greater than fear.
God’s motivation toward us is love. We need to mature to a place where our motivation toward God is love.
When you love God, you obey Him out of love. That is such a better motivation than obeying out of fear.
Some people serve God because they are afraid of going to hell, but it is so much better to serve God because you love Him… It is better to want to go to heaven because you will be face to face with the one you love for eternity.
Have you been spooked by fear? Then you need love. There is NO FEAR in love. Perfect love drives out ALL FEAR. Love replaces your motivations.
“Fear has to do with punishment.” Have you been serving God out of fear of punishment? I offer you something better right now. I offer you love.
Fear says…
I am afraid I don’t measure up.
Love says…
I don’t measure up but I am loved.
Fear says…
I better follow God’s command or I will get in trouble.
Love says…
Yes God I want to please you. What else can I do.
Fear hears the lies of the enemy and believes them.
Love hears the lies of the enemy and courageously stands against them.
Fear runs away in terror!
Love boldly stands and fights!
Love is greater than fear. I invite you to step past the wrong kind of fear. I invite you to step past the right kind of fear. I invite you to step into the love of God.
God’s motive towards you is love. It is time to make love your motive towards God.