The Fear of the Lord: Fear Him, Serve 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 live in a way that pleases Him, and love Him and serve Him with all your heart and soul. 13 And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.
I. The Lord Requires that His People Fear Him
a. Israel – people of God, those who contend with the one true God as He truly is
b. He Requires that you fear (yare [H3372] & phobos [G5401]) the Lord your God
i. Live in ways that please Him
ii. Love Him
II. Serve Him with all your heart and soul
a. abad (H5647) and douleou (G1398) from doulos (G1401) and deo (G1210)
i. To work for another, assist another by labor
ii. To submit to, yield obedience to
iii. Devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests
iv. To be bound, tied, fastened to another (husband and wife)
v. To surrender/yield your life and purpose to pursue the interests/goals of another
b. lebab (H3824)
i. inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
c. nepes (H5315)
i. life, appetite, desire, emotion, passion,
ii. that which breathes, the breathing substance, inner being
III. Fortifying and Expanding the Fear of the Lord in our Hearts
Matthew 6:22-24 New Living Translation
22 “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! 24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
a. Your eye is like a lamp
i. Your clarity of sight and faculty of knowing is a lamp that provides light for your inner being
ii. Your ability to fear/see God rightly, and know Him rightly, affects your ability to correctly see and know your own thoughts, feelings, and desires
b. When your eye is healthy haplous (G573) your whole body is full of light
i. Simple, single (in focus), whole (undivided)
Psalm 27:4 New King James Version
4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the [a]beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.
ii. When have this singularity of focus, your heart is well lit, you are able to see, and address, the condition of your thoughts, feelings, and desires
1 John 1:7 New Living Translation
7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 3:20 New King James Version
20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
iii. It is from this place, that we are motivated to bind ourselves in service to Jesus, who is greater than, and already knew, the condition of our hearts
c. When your eye is unhealthy poneros (G4190), your whole body is filled with darkness
i. Full of labors, annoyances, hardships
1. Focusing on multiple goals and directions
1 Kings 11:1-4 New King James Version
11 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not [a]loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.
ii. Without singularity of focus your heart is shrouded in darkness, you are unable to even recognize your thoughts, feelings, and desires
1 John 1:5-7 New Living Translation
5 This is the message we heard from Jesus[a] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
d. It is possible to think that you’re full of light, when you are actually full of deep darkness
i. You might genuinely believe you see and know God rightly, however, if He is not your sole pursuit, the one thing you’re committed to seeing and knowing rightly, your only master, you’re deceived
ii. Not only do you not know the condition of your heart, but you’re convinced it is in the light and cannot recognize your need to surrender yourself fully to the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus
e. No one can serve two masters
i. You cannot compartmentalize your life when you belong to Christ
1. Work life, school life, church life, home life, personal life, etc.
ii. To be in Christ is to bind every area of our one/whole/undivided life to Him, devoting ourselves to Him alone
1. If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all
iii. You cannot serve the Lord and
1. Man
Matthew 6:1 New King James Version
6 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Matthew 6:5 New King James Version
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the [a]hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Matthew 6:16 New King James Version
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the [a]hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
2. Money
Matthew 6:24 New Living Translation
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
3. Worry over the future
Matthew 6:31-34 New Living Translation
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
4. ANYTHING ELSE – Jesus does not share His throne
IV. If You Serve Multiple Masters
a. You will hate one and love the other and you will be devoted to one and despise the other
i. Masters have the right to interrupt their servants, tell them to wait, and tell them no
1. If you serve God alone, interruptions, delays, or denials are recognized as opportunities for the love of God to be experienced by, or manifested through, you
2. If you serve multiple masters interruptions, delays, and denials are full of annoyances and you hate the master who was responsible
ii. You serve a master in devotion to the disregard of your own interests
1. If you serve God alone, you will remain devoted to Him whether or not He gives you what you desire or believe you deserve
2. If you serve multiple masters, you will take your worship off of the Lord’s altar and place it on the altar(s) of the master(s) that will give you what you want fastest
V. Repent and Be Saved
a. If Holy Spirit was merciful enough to shine a light in your darkened heart this morning RESPOND
b. REPENT - By the power of Jesus’ blood, break partnership with any other masters
i. Choose today to fear the Lord rightly and serve only Him with all of your heart and soul
ii. Allow Jesus to illuminate the condition of your heart and cleanse it from all sin
c. THANK HIM - For being merciful, compassionate, slow to anger, tender toward you this morning
