Fear Him, Love Him — We Are Ecclesia

May 14

May 14 The Fear of the Lord: Fear Him, Love Him

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 New Living Translation
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and (1)live in a way that pleases Him, and (2)love Him and (3)serve Him with all your heart and soul. 13 And you must (3)always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

I. Fortifying and Expanding the Foundations: The Fear of the Lord

a. The fear of the Lord can be simply defined as having a right view of God

i. yare (H3372) & phobos (G5401)

1. to fear, be afraid

2. to stand in awe of, be awed

3. To revere, honor, admire, respect

ii. Throughout the old and new testaments, scripture is clear, the Lord requires that His people fear Him

1. The Fear of the Lord drives the children of God closer to Himself and His ways

2. We supernaturally receive the fear of the Lord when we receive Holy Spirit

Isaiah 11:2 New Living Translation
2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

iii. You cannot know or have right relationship with God if you do not see Him rightly

Proverbs 2:5 New Living Translation
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.

b. How have we fortified and expanded the fear of the Lord in our hearts thus far?

i. Our desire to fear/see Him rightly has been renewed, we will:

1. Embrace Humility

2. Steward Encounters

3. Prioritize Experience over Knowledge

ii. We have committed to live in ways that please Him

1. We give Him our supreme allegiance

2. We recognize that we exist for the Lord, He does not exist for us

3. We reject everything and anything He calls evil

c. My Goal for Today:

i. Fortify and expand the fear of the Lord

ii. Describe how the fear of the Lord becomes love for the Lord

iii. Share a scriptural understanding of love

Psalm 103:7-18 New Living Translation
7 He revealed His character to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. 13 The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. 14 For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. 15 Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. 16 The wind blows, and we are gone— as though we had never been here. 17 But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear Him. His salvation extends to the children’s children 18 of those who are faithful to His covenant, of those who obey His commandments!

II. Fortifying and Expanding the Fear of the Lord

a. He revealed His character

i. The Lord WANTS to be seen rightly, so He clearly reveals Himself to us

1. His Word

Luke 24:27 New Living Translation
27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
John 5:39 New Living Translation
39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to Me!

2. His Presence/Spirit – The Secret Place

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 New Living Translation
16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.
Revelation 4:2 New Living Translation
2 And instantly I was in the Spirit,[a] and I saw a throne in heaven and Someone sitting on it.

3. His People/Church

1 John 4:7-12 New Living Translation
12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.

4. His Creation

Psalm 19:1-2 New Living Translation
1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known
Romans 1:20 New Living Translation
20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

ii. This is how His church can love, trust, worship, and rejoice in the Lord whom we have never physically seen in the natural

1 Peter 1:8 New Living Translation
8 You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

b. He revealed His character to a person, His deeds to a group of people

i. The Lord wants YOU to see Him rightly

1. You must have a personal right view of God, or else you will only recognize His deeds and miss out on discovering His character

ii. Character vs deeds - The Lord wants to be pursued for who He is, not just what He can do

1. Moses and David both desired the presence of the Lord more than anything else

Exodus 33:13-16 New Living Translation

13 If it is true that You look favorably on me, let me know Your ways so I may understand You more fully and continue to enjoy Your favor. And remember that this nation is Your very own people.” 14 The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” 15 Then Moses said, “If You don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. 16 How will anyone know that You look favorably on me—on me and on Your people—if You don’t go with us? For Your presence among us sets Your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”

Psalm 27:4 New Living Translation
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His Temple.
Hebrews 11:6 New Living Translation
6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.

c. The Lord is like a Father to His children…

i. The Lord wants our right view of Him, to become right relationship with Him

1. The Lord desires to be seen rightly as a LOVING Heavenly Father

2. This is why the fear of the Lord always becomes love for the Lord

ii. I sense that Holy Spirit wants to release greater revelation of His nature as our LOVING Father this morning, just like He did for Moses and David

Exodus 34:6-7 New Living Translation
6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.”
Psalm 103:8-13 New Living Translation
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. 13 The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him.

1. Do you long to see Him rightly?

III. How Fear of the Lord Becomes Love for the Lord

a. Receive Him as He reveals Himself to be, a loving Father

John 1:12 New Living Translation
But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.

i. The Lord is like a Father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him (see Him rightly)

1. I am not making a statement that this one identifier is the grand total of who the one true and triune God is. I am saying this is one of the ways God self-identifies in scripture, how Jesus reveals Him, and what I sense Holy Spirit is speaking specifically this morning.

ii. This is how the Lord desires to be seen by you. This is the kind of relationship He wants with You!

1. Compassionate, merciful, slow to anger, filled with unfailing love, not constantly accusing you, or remaining angry at you, not punishing all of your sins, not dealing harshly with you, but smothering you with unfailing love!

b. Remain in Him/His love and allow it to perfect you

Psalm 103:14-17 New Living Translation
14 For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. 15 Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. 16 The wind blows, and we are gone— as though we had never been here. 17 But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear Him. His salvation extends to the children’s children 18 of those who are faithful to His covenant, of those who obey His commandments!

i. You are not self-made, you have a Father in heaven who created you, redeemed you, and allowed you to be born again. He sees you entirely, knows you intimately, and still chooses to lavish you with unfailing love.

1. This is good news! He already knows that we are weak, covered in sin, broken, lonely, needy, short sighted and He still desires right relationship with us and already did all of the work to cleanse us and make us new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17)

ii. You cannot make yourself worthy or perfect, but you can trust His love to perfect you. You can learn from Him, trust His correction and discipline, call on Him for help or comfort, cry out to Him

1 John 4:9-10, 17-18 New Living Translation
9 God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins… 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.

1. His perfect love will make you ready for His return and the day of judgement

c. Return His love back to Him

1 John 4:19 New King James Version
19 We love [a]Him because He first loved us.

i. Jesus taught His disciples that the way to love Him and remain in His love, is to obey His commandments.

John 14:15-16 New King James Version
15 “If you love Me, [a]keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [b]Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
John 15:9-11 New Living Translation
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. 10 When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

ii. What commandment in particular?

John 15: New Living Translation
12 This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

1. To love God, is to remain in His love for you, until it overflows, perfecting you, and pouring out onto the people around you

1 John 4:7-21 New Living Translation
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.9 God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us. 13 And God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love. 19 We love each other[a] because He loved us first. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer,[b] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And He has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.[c]

IV. A Scriptural Understanding of the Father’s Love

a. Hebrew ahab (H157), Greek agape (G26)

i. Affection, goodwill, and benevolence

ii. Affectionate and unconditional commitment to providing someone with what is absolutely best for them

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New Living Translation
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1. Patient – takes long to boil/get hot/angry

2. Kind – unconditional commitment to do good

3. Not jealous – rejoices and celebrates when good happens

4. Not boastful or proud– doesn’t need to show off to others, or puff itself up

5. Not rude – never humiliates, belittles, or publicly puts down others

6. Does not demand its own way – seeks what is best for others, not itself

7. Not irritable – cannot be made sharp, no retaliation

8. Keeps no record of being wronged – clears your debts

9. Does not rejoice in injustice but in truth – no matter what or who

a. This is why we cannot accept or tolerate sin under the guise of “love”

10. Never gives up – unconditional, and everlasting

11. Never loses faith – generous in its assumptions and believes the best