The Fear Of God

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Here we go. All right guys, grab your bottles, get you something to drink. Get comfortable. We'll see what God does tonight. Today we're going to be talking about the fear of God. What it can do for us personally. What it might even do for a nation. Stay tuned. [MUSIC] Okay guys, get your bottles turned to Joel chapter two. Joel chapter two, we're going to read a little bit there. Then we're going to pop over to Jonah. It's pretty interesting how Jonah and Joel, if you've never really made the connection, there's some parallels there. So we're going to talk about that tonight and see what God's going to do. Ready fororama word, I am to get your Bibles, Joel chapter two. We'll start reading in verse number one. We'll read one, then we'll read 12 through 18, and then we'll read 28 through 32, just so you'll know. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, sound an alarm in my holy mountain, and let all the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the Lord comeeth. For it is nigh at hand. All right, let's drop down to verse number 12. Therefore also now say at the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning, and render heart and not your garments, and turn into Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth? Remember this, who knoweth if he will turn, and repent and leave a blessing behind him, even a meat offering, a drink offering unto the Lord your God. Let's go to verse 28. And it shall come to pass afterward, then I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. And upon the servants and the handmaids in those days, will I pour out my spirit, and I will show wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood, and fire, pillars of smoke, the sons shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. Verse 32. "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered, for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." All right, let's run over to Jonah chapter 3. Jonah chapter 3. I want to read verse number 5. Now you know the story of Jonah, you know how he was called, how Nineveh was fixing to receive some measure of judgment. And God called on Jonah to go and be herald, as you will, to tell them that they're fixing to get in trouble. And God is fixing to bring down wrath and judgment upon them because they're sinful ways. And if you haven't read that or don't know that, go and read this, it's a fascinating story. But verse number 5. So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast. Do you remember that from Joel? Do you remember? So they believed God, what he said he was going to do. And they proclaimed a fast and put on sack cloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them. So here's Nineveh that aren't followers of Jehovah in any measure. And when the herald shows up to give them the news from Jehovah then he's going to bring judgment upon them. They believe him. I mean straight forward they just, the king says hey, from the greatest of you to the smallest of the least of you, I want you to get in sack cloth or proclaiming a national fast here because God said he was going to bring judgment on us and we're going to take his word for it and then we're going to do something about it. And what made Jonah disobey God? What made him run from God? What made him feel that he was of such stature that he could just tell God no? I would tell you that I believe the problem with Jonah was is that he had lost the fear of God. There was a measure that he knew God and he knew that God was money. But somehow or another he had forgotten that God is a just God and a holy God. And when he makes a proclamation he can't turn his back on it because it was his words. And so Jonah had forgotten that when God says it, I mean if you're as old as I am, you remember the old E.F. Hutton, right? And E.F. Hutton hadn't got anything on Jehovah Jara, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, our God Jehovah. And so he had lost his fear and so God had to bring an attitude adjustment on him. He had to bring what's the turn it over? He had to bring repentance to turn around. What was he repenting for? Because he had lost the fear of God? Because he disobeyed God and God brought an adjustment to him and why did he bring it to him? To return to Jonah a proper reverence and a proper fear of God. See, when Jonah got that proper fear, when he was in the boat and they told him to pray and said, "What's wrong with you?" And he said, "It's me. Throw me over." "I'm your issue." And so here he is thrown over. God has some submarine, a submarine taxi service ready to adjust him. He goes inside the whale. And I know I hear you now saying it's not the whale. Go read the New Testament, that's exactly what it says. But anyway, he adjusts him by putting him in the belly of the whale for three days. All of a sudden, Jonah has the fear of God back. All of a sudden, Jonah's perspective has changed. So God did that. for Jonah, so that Jonah could have a healthy reverence and a healthy fear so that God wouldn't have to bring judgment on Jonah even to a greater degree. But he was doing that for Jonah. He was also doing it for Nineveh because God had said he was going to sin Nineveh as a herald to proclaim his potential judgment. So what made Nineveh turn? Nineveh was was the city. It was kind of like some of our cities today that are full of debauchery and sin and what made them turn? Was it was it Jonah? Was it Jonah's rebellion that made them turn? Was it Jonah's reluctance to even go in the first place? No it had nothing to do with Jonah because God was working on Jonah and one hand in Nineveh on the other. So Jonah didn't persuade and they didn't look at his life and say oh Jonah's been such a great outstanding follower of Jehovah. We better listen to him. No it's just the opposite. He just had to have an attitude adjustment. So it wasn't his goodness that calls Nineveh to have a fear of God and to repent for their sin written ways. So if it wasn't Jonah was it just because maybe Nineveh's tired of sinning? Look I mean even the Bible says and then we're on this podcast we're just gonna be real. I'm just saying that up front. We're gonna be real. So I might say some things that might be abrasive to some of God's people that are sensitive but that's not what this is about. This is about the fear of God. This is about getting too true so that God can have his way in us and through us. Okay so that's that's pretty much the the whole premise of this podcast. So was it because they were tired of sinning? No because even the Bible says there's pleasure in sin yet but for a season there's there's a payday and so they were having a good time. They were eating it up they were having an awesome time in their sin whatever advice is they had. So we it wasn't that they wanted to change. The heart is desperately wicked. There is there is none that seeketh after God. There is none righteous no not one so it wasn't their righteousness. It wasn't there being tired of just having a good time that made them turn. So what made them turn when they heard the herald come into their city and Jonah proclaims that God's gonna do this great judgment upon this city if you do not repent and turn from your wicked ways. I'll tell you what it was. It was the power of the proclaimed word. When God says his word will not return void. He means that God is true and let every man be a liar. His word is powerful. It's quick. It's sharper. They need two agents sword piercing even to the dividing right. God's word is powerful and when it's proclaimed watch this in the spirit of fear and trembling and then received in the like manner in fear and in trembling. The word that is sent forth and proclaimed and received in fear and trembling has an ability to bring about God's intended purpose which is mercy. God is full of mercy. I'm reminded right now of David's David's song where he time after time after time verse after verse after verse for the Lord is merciful. Lord is merciful. The Lord is merciful. The Lord is merciful and his mercy endures forever and his mercy endures forever and yes God's mercy endures forever. Now I can testify for me that if God's mercy wasn't an enduring mercy I would have been dead long long time ago. God's mercy and so it's the proclaimed word that is spoken with the proper reverence with a proper fear of God. I mean it wasn't a gospel of you're okay. You get your ticket punched. Everything's all right kind of gospel. It wasn't a mixed gospel. It wasn't you know you're gonna get this and you're gonna do this and God's gonna but it was God is mighty and he's bringing fourth judgment. Now here's some of you right now saying well God's not giving me a spirit of fear. Well you need to take that verse in context. You need to read it in context and then you even need to look up that word and see what that word means. That word that is translated fear there in that scripture is the only place in the New Testament where that is rendered fear and that word in and of itself means timidness. So he's saying God's not giving you a spirit of timidness and when you read that in that statement in that scripture in its context you're right God's not giving us a spirit of fear of man but we're nothing in comparison to God. Well he's not giving me a spirit of fear. Right. Why should I fear what man shall do to me? Jesus said don't worry about the one that can kill you. You're gonna worry about the one that can kill you and then throw you in hell. That's the one you need to worry about. That's the one you need to fear. So don't be timid. You're right but that's not the fear that we're talking about. I hear another. I hear another. Here it is. Well that that's just a Old Testament language that's just legalism. You know how many times God says Yeshua says in the New Testament about fearing God you need to have a healthy reverence and a healthy fear of God. It's what drives us to the foot in the first place. God is good all the time and I hear them say a lot and you've probably heard this as well. God is our friend. He calls us friend. That's true. He calls us friend but that's just one aspect. One characteristic that God portrays in his relationship with humanity. My wife and I have been married for 29 years and a lot of people know me as pastor. A lot of people know me as an employee. They have known me as a friend. They have known me as a brother or as a son but there's only one that has known me as a husband and a lover and since I got saved that that woman is the only one that has known me in that kind of drug. I only know I lean in that degree. Right? What if we only looked at God as a friend? See if if anybody looked at if I lean only looked at me or if I only looked at her as a wife then how much of who she is am I missing? How much of her am I missing by only looking at one attribute of who she is and focusing and saying that's all she is because I can call her wife and I can call her lover. I can call her my friend but she's a mother. Right? She's someone's friend. She's an employee. She is a great prayer warrior. People know her for many other aspects and attributes of her life and how diminished would our view of her be if we only looked at her in one attribute. We don't know her as the other ways if what's all we look at. And yes, God is our friend. But God is judge of all the earth. He's the creator that stood on nothing and spoke everything into existence with the words of His mouth. He is the judge that will be there when the books are opened. He is the victor in the Battle of Armageddon. He is the victor over death, hell, and the grave at Calvary. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. And I feel the Lord. He is all of those things. He's not just our friend. So why when we talk about one of His attributes that He definitely possesses, do we run to the opposite side? We shortchange ourselves. The fear of God brings prosperity. I'm not talking about the prosperity that this world talks about. I'm talking about the prosperity of a proper relationship and a proper fear of God, reverence to God. We'll keep you from doing sin with the wages of sin. When they come about, they always bring forth death and harm. They always bring forth a problem. But a healthy fear of God will keep you from sinning. And it becomes prosperous to us, right? It becomes prosperous to us. So let's get back on. So what changed? Well, for Nine of us, they heard God speak and they responded. And because they responded, God stayed His judgment. Because finally, in the belly of that whale, Jonah responds finally, after being persuaded greatly, he responds, God stays that final judgment. Now, none of eventually returns to the same thing. We read that in scriptures and they return in, but they were stayed because they repented. Joel says that what's coming, that day of the Lord that is coming is not hand. And I'd say that it's very not hand. I want to say this before I go further, if you've not read John Bevere's book, The All of God, you need, let me implore you. It was such a revelation to me. You hear this today, and you may think, well, this guy's headed together. All is no. But when I was restored to a proper place of reverence for God, I went deeper. I wasn't walking over the gift that God has given me. I changed. I wanted more. But it starts in here. Judgment begins in the house of God. Know you not that you are the temple of the living God. It starts in the house of God. It starts with you. It starts with me. And if I will, and you will, and our neighbors will, and we come together, we can have Mark 16 right here on earth, right? All right. So if you haven't read The All of God, this is not a commercial, but I do want to pay respect to a guy that I hold in respect to that book. I don't know everything about him, but I know in that book, you need to read that book. You need to read that book. It's an amazing book. But Mark, to nighthand, our time is running out. And I have had such a great time with you. God's judgment isn't coming. And it's coming. And if you do not know him, it's coming to you. If you do know him, don't fall short. Don't sell yourself short. Find a place, repent. Second Chronicles 714. If my people, that's who he's talking to, my people, right? And if our nation would bow its knees and repent and turn from our wicked ways, then God would hear from heaven and heal our land. And we would be likened in of a saved, I've got to ask you for him. Will you? Will our nation? I don't know. I don't know if our nation will. I hope so. I love my nation. I serve this country. I love this place. I'm a patriot to the end. But it comes second or third. God's first. My family is next. And I love my country. I love my ministry. I love God. I am glad God has restored a healthy reverence. God's, I mean, there's nothing wrong with saying God's my buddy. He calls us for him. The only thing that's wrong with that is if you lose the aspect of seeing him as judge someone that can bring about a discipline in our life. We don't have to go there. If we just keep that reverence of God, I look, I hope you come back. This is our first time. I'm learning. We'll get better in a promise. But until the end, seek God with all your heart. And we'll see you on the other side. Bye. Bye.