- 3 years ago
The Fear of God - DJ
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00:00there's a power within you to help you overcome your most daunting challenges
00:09where could life take you if fear was not a factor are you ready to move from worry
00:16to confidence from anxiety to hope why be safe when you can boldly step into what's next
00:30it's time to move from fear to fear not
00:46hello i'm david jeremiah as we've been learning to move from fear
00:59to fear not over the course of this series of messages we've identified nine fears that we
01:05need to conquer through faith in order to grow in christ and experience greater intimacy with god
01:12but this week is different instead of discussing the fears that hinder our relationship with god
01:19i want to talk about a fear that actually improves that relationship the fear of god himself the fear
01:26of god is mentioned in over 120 passages in the old and new testaments and today i'm going to spend
01:34our time shedding light on that fear because it's clear from the bible that it's important to god
01:41and so it should be important to us as well in fact god makes dozens of promises to those
01:48who fear him i'll explore some of these promises as we consider deity the fear of god the final message
01:57in our series today on turning point are you in a place in your life where you need hope
02:05dr jeremiah wants to teach you how to move from fear to fear not in his book hope living fearlessly in a
02:13scary world in its pages dr jeremiah explores the top seven fears holding so many of us back
02:19as he shares practical lessons for facing down these fears learn to walk the path of hope and
02:25experience the providential power of god who as dr jeremiah explains still controls even the smallest
02:32details of your life discover strength and encouragement in hope by dr jeremiah yours for a gift of any
02:40amount and if you give 65 or more in support of this program dr jeremiah will send you in appreciation
02:47the living fearlessly set which contains his book his current teaching series what are you afraid of
02:53on your choice of cd or dvd and a correlating study guide plus the fear to fear not bookmark which
02:59will serve as a reminder to claim hope each day hope and the living fearlessly set yours when you give
03:06a generous gift to support the ministry of turning point today in appreciation of your viewership today
03:13dr jeremiah would like to give you the fear to fear not bookmark a powerful reminder containing
03:20scripture to help you travel each day down the path from fear to fear not receive the fear to fear not
03:26bookmark completely free when you contact turning point today now here is dr jeremiah with his message
03:33what i'm about to tell you about today in many respects is a life-changing concept
03:46that if you get your arms around it if you get this in your heart
03:51it will change the way you do life it will change the way you do your faith and in the understanding of
03:59this fear you will gain power over all of the other fears that come into your life
04:07i am going to try to help you learn how to fear and i'm going to encourage you to fear
04:16because today i want to talk with you about the fear of god in fact there are two ways the bible
04:25tells us that we fear god two ways first of all we fear god with awesome dread
04:33awesome dread you say pastor jeremiah where does that come from well did you know that the first
04:39time the word fear appears in the bible it appears in the book of genesis chapter 3 and verse 10.
04:46after adam and eve sinned and god drew near adam hid himself from god's presence and he explained
04:55genesis 3 10 god i heard your voice in the garden and i was afraid because i was naked and i hid myself
05:04and i want to make this point that i am sure that what adam felt at that moment was much more than
05:10awe and reverence for his god he was stone cold afraid exactly as he should have been
05:19god had warned him that if he were to eat of the forbidden tree he would die
05:24he had done what he had been told not to do and now god was looking for him
05:31now the reason i bring this up is because there are many christians today who seem to think that
05:36because of the incarnation and the lord jesus christ coming as the god man we have eliminated the need
05:42for any fear of god those who adopt this mindset as the whole truth often describe jesus as a gentle
05:49compassionate and loving person and he was and he is all of those things but he is more
05:58more he is the fearsome jesus who took a whip and single-handedly drove from the temple a mass of
06:06thieving merchants you can be sure that these men felt fear all and dread our natural responses of the
06:15imperfect to the perfect of the marred to the beautiful and of the contaminated to the pure
06:25when jesus walked into the temple that day they were not afraid of him because he had a whip in his hand
06:31they were afraid of him because the presence of almighty god was in their midst
06:36in the words of the prophet isaiah isaiah 8 13 the lord of hosts him you shall hallow let him be your fear
06:44and let him be your dread now whatever you might want to think about the fear of god let me just put it
06:50on the table right up front there is a sense in which you and i need to cultivate a healthy fear
06:57of god you say what does it mean to fear god it means awesome dread but there's another way that
07:07we fear god and this is the way we are more comfortable with this is what we might call astonished
07:12devotion the bible tells us that as christians this is to also be a part of our lives in fact
07:19philippians says my beloved brethren work out your salvation with what fear and trembling
07:27first peter says conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear
07:35for active followers of jesus christ this concept is the most meaningful for everyday living
07:41we fear god by honoring him by reverencing him by cherishing him we fear him because of his greatness
07:51and his majesty which reduce us to an overpowering sense that nothing else we can ever confront in
07:59this world is like the god that we serve let me just explain to you this morning friends that when we
08:07truly worship god we enter into the wonder of who he is we hit the pinnacle of worship when we are brought
08:16into the presence of the god we serve and made to be aware of his majesty and his wonder and we
08:24were caught up in it because for a moment or so we're made aware that this god of the universe
08:31is the god that we know and the god that knows us you say dr jeremiah why should we fear god let me
08:39give you three reasons first of all we should fear god because of who he is psalm 89 says this
08:48for who in the heavens can be compared to the lord who among the sons of the mighty can be likened
08:56to the lord god god is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be held in reverence
09:05by all those around him we should fear god secondly because of what he has done once again the psalmist
09:16helps us with this by the word of the lord the heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath
09:25of his mouth he gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap he lays up the deep in storehouses
09:32let all the earth fear the lord let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him
09:41for he spoke and it was done he commanded and it stood fast think of it what has he done
09:50he spoke and the world came into existence in order to help us get a picture of it the psalmist says he
10:00gathers up the waters in a heap he holds them in his hands
10:08the god that we serve the god before whom we stand in awe and fear and wonder is the god who created the
10:16world in which we lived and yes we believe he created it and he didn't need any help to do it he created
10:22it out of nothing in the exact time periods the scripture says he created it he spoke it into being
10:31he is the almighty god and we should worship him because of what he has done
10:41because of who he is because of what he has done and thirdly because of what he is doing
10:51all of god's great work is not in the past he is at work even today we should fear him because of what
11:01he is doing psalm 66 5 says in the present come and see the works of god he is awesome in his doing
11:12toward the sons of men let me ask you what is he doing today that should inspire such awe and fear in us
11:19us we could make such a list but i want to focus on one thing if you wonder why we should be in fear
11:26of god because of what he is doing let me just say one word forgiveness psalm 130 verses 3 and 4 read
11:35like this if you lord should mark iniquities oh lord who could stand but there is forgiveness with you
11:44now watch this that you may be feared that we may hold you in awe
11:54these verses remind us that if we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin
12:00and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and some of us were forgiven of our sin when we were born
12:06again so many years ago that we have forgotten and we no longer allow ourselves to wonder in this truth
12:12that a holy god who was 100 percent righteous with no flaw in him could accept us through the simple
12:20process of his forgiveness and i am forgiven i am a sinner like all of you but i am a forgiven sinner
12:31only two kinds of sinners those who are forgiven and those who are not and forgiveness has been made
12:36available to all of us if we will just accept it and it comes right from the heart of almighty god
12:42it is the great work he is doing today and when we hear people whose lives have been changed and
12:49we listen to what they are saying and and how they are saying it and how god brought them through a
12:54process and now they are christians and their whole life has been changed and they're in a whole new
12:59direction from where they once were this life transforming thing is called forgiveness and it's the work
13:05god is doing among us today it's the great work of god your forgiveness and mine before i go on to the last
13:16part of this message i want to answer a question that sometimes people ask and that is how can i love god
13:26and fear him at the same time because the scripture seems to say that we cannot do that first john 4 18 says
13:34there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment but he who fears
13:44has not been made perfect in love the bible tells us that we're to fear god and we're to love god and
13:52they're not in conflict at all this verse reminds us that when we truly know the fear of god we will
13:59understand the love of god and when we truly know the love of god we will understand the fear of god
14:05they are not mutually exclusive only in our own minds now when i told you at the front of this message that
14:13this doctrine was kind of overwhelming to me here's where i'm going with that
14:20i just was not aware of how many places in the bible we are given promises if we will fear god
14:27i mean i can only give you a few and there are many these are things the bible says will be ours if we
14:37learn how to fear god and hold him in esteem as we are called to do first of all is the promise of
14:45provision here's the verse psalm 34 9 and 10 oh fear the lord you his saints there is no want to those
14:56who fear him the young lions lack and suffer hunger but those who seek the lord shall not lack any good
15:05thing bible says if you fear god he provides for you number two the promise of protection
15:14behold the eye of the lord is on those who fear him on those who hope in his mercy to deliver their
15:23soul from death and to keep them alive in famine when you fear god he protects you
15:31the promise of purity psalm 103 verses 12 and 13
15:36as far as the east is from the west so far as he removed our transgressions from us as a father
15:43pities his children so the lord pities those who fear him second corinthians 7 1 therefore having
15:53these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting
16:00holiness in the fear of god according to these verses godly fear is a necessary ingredient to
16:09sanctification the fear of god is not only the key to our knowledge of god it is essential to our
16:15maturity as believers if we do not have a healthy awe and fear of god we cannot grow
16:20we can never be mature we will always be like little children but when we understand who he is
16:27it inspires in us a desire to know him more and to love him better and to grow in our relationship
16:34with him the promise of provision and protection and purity here's one some of you will like the
16:41promise of prosperity psalm 128 1 through 4 once again watch for the fear word blessed is everyone who
16:50fears the lord who walks in his ways when you eat the labor of your hands you will be happy and it
16:57shall be well with you your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house your
17:04children like olive plants all around your table behold thus shall the man be blessed who fears the lord
17:11this teaches us that you can have a god-fearing family i grew up in a god-fearing family
17:22and you know what i learned how to have a god-fearing family so my family is a god-fearing family and
17:32i'm watching my kids and they're building god-fearing families the bible tells us that when you fear the lord
17:40he prospers you and it's not just financial things but he prospers you in the well-being that we all seek
17:47for our lives here's the next one and this one i put at the top of the list but i don't want to do
17:55this just for myself this is the promise of prolonged days
18:00the fear of the lord prolongs days but the years of the wicked will be shortened the bible says and
18:10this is a principle a general principle like we find in the psalms and in the proverbs that generally
18:17speaking those who fear the lord have longer more productive lives you say well i know somebody who
18:24died it was don't give me that i know all that too but what i'm saying is that in the long run over the
18:30long haul if you fear the lord well what happens if you fear the lord well you don't ruin your body
18:35with alcohol and drugs and promiscuity and all of that and and so you're just going to live longer
18:41it also says that god blesses those who fear him this is pretty exciting stuff
18:49provision protection purity prosperity prolonged days and here's a word some of you've never heard
18:56before but i'm going to give it to you anyway because it starts with a p
18:59perpetuity do you know what that means that means the continuation of something into the generations
19:08that go forward remember i told you that if you have a god-fearing family you will create god-fearing
19:13families going forward it's right out of the scripture listen to this deuteronomy 5 29
19:19oh that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and always keep all my commandments
19:27that it might be well with them and with their children forever psalm 103 17 but the mercy of the
19:35lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him and his righteousness to children's children
19:46men and women when we fear god we create an environment in which our children grow up
19:52so that when they go out of our home to start their own home they create families that fear god
19:59who then create other families that fear god we can do this if we follow the word of god and the key
20:06is our attitude toward god himself when we fear him now these are only samplings that are in the bible
20:14if you want to have some fun this weekend go to your concordance and look up the fear of the lord or the
20:19fear of god and write out every verse that you find you will be so blessed you won't know what to do
20:24with yourself and the question then comes as to how do we learn to fear the lord is fearing the lord
20:35something that you are born with or do you learn it well let me suggest to you from the scriptures that
20:41i have found this is something we can learn in fact it was taught in the bible when we begin to
20:48understand the blessings that can be ours by fearing god we will want to begin doing it and it is
20:53possible to learn how to fear god the bible tells us we can do that and here's some verses that will
20:59help you understand what i mean deuteronomy 4 10. here we are told that god told moses to bring the
21:05people together and he instructed moses like this gather the people to me and i will let them hear
21:12my words that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth and that they may
21:21teach their children sort of sounds like you can learn this doesn't it king david wrote in his psalms
21:28come you children and listen to me i will teach you the fear of the lord psalm 86 11 says teach me your way
21:38oh lord i will walk in your truth unite my heart to fear your name and solomon after he had finished
21:47writing the book of ecclesiastes and had experimented with all the wisdom of the world that he could find
21:52and kept coming up with the phrase and it's all vanity and it's all vanity and it's not meaningful
21:56he gets all the way to the end of it and he comes up with this summary listen to this you guys
22:01let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter fear god and keep his commandments for this is man's all
22:15the last words that a man speaks before his death are often considered highly significant
22:20with that in mind consider the last words of david the king second samuel 23 verse 3
22:27he who rules over men must be just ruling in the fear of god and the final words of joshua now therefore
22:38fear the lord serve him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your father served on the
22:44other side of the river and in egypt serve the lord did you ever dream the bible had this much to say
22:53about fearing god my goodness maybe it's the secret we've missed maybe it's the thing we've lost maybe
23:03we haven't understood that if god wants to bless us we have to learn how to fear god and hold him in
23:08reverence and read his words so that we can come to know him better yes it is possible to love god
23:16and fear god it is possible to know god in this incredible way the god who is awesome
23:27and the god who loves us so much that he gave his son to be our savior you know what i'm so amazed
23:34because i came out of this study realizing my god is much greater than i even thought
23:40he's so wonderful he's so marvelous this god we serve it is the terror of god
23:51and our protection in the midst of it that brings such joy and wonder to our hearts
23:58we have a fearful god but he's the same god who has wrapped his arms around us in the middle of life and
24:05loved us to himself it is the very wonder of who he is that causes us to be overwhelmed that for such a
24:16one as me he would give himself as he has and therefore i can fear him and i can love him
24:27and by loving him i learned to fear him and by fearing him i learned to love him
24:35and the bible says that love and fear go together and here's what i want you to know
24:41if you get this fear right it will begin to obliterate all of the other fears of your life
24:49for if you know him and you know he knows you what is there to be afraid of what is there to be afraid
25:00of hallelujah dr jeremiah will return to close today's program right after this
25:06thank you for watching turning point dr jeremiah would like to offer you his book
25:14hope living fearlessly in a scary world to help you learn to move from fear to fear not dr jeremiah's
25:21book will be sent to you as a thank you for a gift of any amount in support of this program
25:26and for a generous gift of 65 or more dr jeremiah will send you in appreciation the living
25:32fearlessly set which contains his book his current teaching series what are you afraid of on your
25:38choice of cd or dvd and a correlating study guide plus the fear to fear not bookmark which will serve
25:44as a reminder to claim hope each day receive these resources when you support the ministry of turning
25:51point today and now with one last word for today's program here is dr jeremiah did you ever think
26:02you would hear someone encourage you to be fearful well the fear of the lord is a unique kind of fear
26:09one that is both wonderful and awe-inspiring at the same time enabling us to see god as our creator
26:16our righteousness our protector and our heavenly father a father who loves us so much that he sent
26:24his son to pay the price for our sin and prepare a place for us in heaven are you living in that kind of
26:33healthy loving fear of the lord would you like to learn how to experience it let me send you a couple
26:40of free resources that will help a booklet called your greatest turning point and our monthly devotional
26:47magazine turning points these gifts are yours at no charge if you take a moment to contact us here at
26:55turning point in addition you can order dr jeremiah's legacy work the jeremiah study bible a beloved study bible
27:06and the culmination of dr jeremiah's decades of teaching helping you to answer what does the bible
27:11say what does it mean and what does it mean for me available in multiple translations and formats
27:18there is a jeremiah study bible for everyone also available for children dr jeremiah's airship genesis
27:24kids study bible order yours today
27:30next time on turning point you just have to say yes to him you have to quit putting him off and
27:37marginalizing and trivializing him and say lord god i want your blessing on my life
27:42and no matter what it takes no matter what you ask me to do i'm here
27:45i'm in the game i'm ready to go join dr jeremiah next time as he begins his series someone like you
27:53the life of elijah here on turning point
28:01experience the setting of the bible firsthand when you travel with david jeremiah to israel
28:06in march 2024 join dr jeremiah as he teaches from god's word in the very locations where
28:12biblical events took place it's a christian travel experience that strengthens your faith refreshes
28:18your soul and makes the bible come alive don't miss this trip of a lifetime call or go online for more
28:25details
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