The Fear of the Lord: Obedience
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. Deuteronomy 10:12-13
What is the Fear of the Lord?
The FOL is foundational to our faith, walk with God and intimacy with Him.
The FOL is necessary for all believers=Followers of The Way of Jesus
Without the FOL, we cannot walk in right relationship with God.
FOL is having the right view of God
If we lack the FOL we cannot see Him rightly
Our view of Him will become distorted and we miss out on enjoying who God really is. (Marriage Ex;FOL would increase our intimacy with God)
to fear, be afraid
to stand in awe of, be awed
To fear, revere, honor, admire, respect
All of these definitions apply to how we should view God
The FOL drives you toward God and His ways
Holy Fear vs. Common Fear
We supernaturally receive the fear of the Lord when we receive Holy Spirit
Isaiah 11:2 says: 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.
Just like any good gift our job is to steward it and preserve it at all costs.
Today we will learn how the FOL preserves our obedience to God.
Obedience:
Obedience preserves our relationship with God. You cannot be in an intimate relationship with Christ without obedience. This is why Jesus’ final command to His disciples is:
19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[b] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” Matt 28:19-20a
If you want an intimate relationship with the Father you must obey. This is why we are so passionate about our vision here. To be the place where heaven touches earth you must hear His voice, you must connect with Him daily and you must walk with Him in obedience.
What is obedience?
To submit to the will of the Father
submission=a voluntary attitude of responsibility and cooperation
Willingly laying down your preferences to accomplish the will of the Father
Obedience delights the Father (for its better than sacrifice)
But Samuel answered, “What pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience to his voice? ·It is better to obey [Obedience is better] than ·to sacrifice [sacrifice]. ·It is better to listen to God than to offer [Submission/Heeding is better than] the fat of ·sheep [rams]. 1 Sam 15:22 (EXB)
Obedience is evidence that you believe God is who He says He is.
Obedience is the feet to the faith you confess
“I believe in God” = obedience proves it.
“When a man obeys God he gives the only possible evidence that in his heart he believes God. Of course it is the persuasion of truth that results in faith (we believe because we are persuaded that the thing is true, a thing does not become true because we believed.” (VINES) (Add. Ref. Heb. 3:18-19)
“An outward result of an inward persuasion.” (VINES)
This is where the Fear of the Lord comes into play. The Fear of the Lord results in obedience. Not because He is a big bad God and if you don’t do what He says He will smite you, but because you see Him as He truly is, you have no other response to Him, but obedience.
Who is God?
God is omnipotent
And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt 19:26
God is omniscient
You have searched me, Lord,and you know me.You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. Psalm 139:1-4
God is omnipresent
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light will become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. Psalm 139: 7-12
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. Pro 15:3 (He knows and sees everything)
Understanding the OMNIs
This should produce a holy fear in us.
The most distant objects in the Universe are 47 billion light years away (one light year is comparable to 6 trillion miles. That is a 6 with 12 zeros behind it!), making the size of the observable Universe 94 billion light years across.
God is Lord of all of it! Observable and Unobservable! He is aware of it all! Not even one sparrow falls without Him knowing about it and without His consent! (Matt 10:29) He is everywhere at all times!
This GOD IS LORD OF US! He is Lord!!! Owner, Ruler, Creator of it all!
And HE DESIRES INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU! HE LONGS TO DRAW YOU CLOSE. HE WANTS YOU AS PARTNER! HE WANTS YOU AS FRIEND! BUT WE MUST SEE HIM RIGHTLY! WE MUST KNOW HIM FOR WHO HE ACTUALLY IS! WITHOUT THIS WE CANNOT WALK IN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP. WITHOUT THE FEAR OF THE LORD WE CANNOT OBEY HIM RIGHTLY!
Holy Fear produces obedience in us!
We obey God because He is
Omnipotent
All powerful
The situation might look impossible for man, but God is all powerful. He is calling you to do something risky and crazy, but you do it! Because you know that you know that He can do anything!
Omniscient
All knowing
What He is asking me to do may make no sense, but He knows all things. I know that I know that He can see what I cannot. I know that I know that He understands the circumstances better than I ever will.
Omnipresent
All present
Even if I lose everything in obedience to Him, I know that I know that He will ALWAYS be with me. I can never escape His presence! AND IF I HAVE HIS PRESENCE I TRULY BELIEVE THAT I HAVE EVERYTHING!
If you don’t see Him rightly stare long enough to be amazed. Get to know Him through His word. Allow yourself to get lost in His magnitude.
Jonah’s Disobedience
Jonah was a prophet of the Lord. God called him to go to Nineveh and call out against them. That they would repent and turn from their wicked ways. Nineveh was a massive city (3 days journey to travel through it). The city was wicked, corrupt and immoral. They were also gentiles, not Jews. Jonah despised them and wanted them to face the judgment they deserved. He knew that the Lord would be merciful to them and spare them with His steadfast love if they repent and Jonah resented that. So Jonah decides, I will flee from the Lord’s presence. I will go where He cannot find me. I will disobey God and go as far from Nineveh as I get because these people deserve what should be coming for them. Jonah hops on a ship headed for Tarshish and God hurls a great wind to the sea. The sailors who served other gods are panic and casts lots to find out who is at fault for this storm. It’s Jonah, who is sound asleep. Jonah confesses that the storm is his fault and tells the man to throw him overboard.
Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard[b] to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:8-17
Jonah said and confessed that he feared the Lord, but his actions did not confirm his words! Remember obedience is the feet to the faith you confess! He said he feared the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land, but believed that He could escape the presence of this omnipotent God!
Jonah negated the omnipresence of God and as a result disobeyed the Lord. Because He did not see God rightly and forsake the FOL, he found a way to disobey God. “I’ll escape the Lord’s presence!”
See when we disobey God we communicate to God with our actions:
I can do it better than You
I am more powerful than You
I can do this faster than You
We forsake His Omnipotence
I know better than you
Your way won’t work the way I want
Your way is too risky
It will be easier my way
We forsake His Omniscience
I can escape you
I can get away with this
I won’t face a consequence
This is no big deal to God
We forsake His omnipresence
He is aware of everything we say do, think or feel and He cares deeply about it
For He made us and grew us! (4:11)
We are His masterpiece
He values us too much not to care.
We may never know the exact reason why Jonah forsake the omnipresence of God and disobeyed. However, what’s more important is determining why we forsake who He is and choose disobedience?
Personal testimony on how the Lord checked me on this.
I tell you to get up, you bargain with me.
Police tells you to get up, you move immediately
Where is the fear of the Lord in you?
God is looking for those who will obey swiftly and thoroughly. Sons and daughters who know Him so intimately, who see Him so rightly, that they don’t even have to question God’s motives or heart for them. They aren’t afraid to obey God, even when it’s costly because their confidence and hope has been placed in God and they know their God. They don’t doubt who God is! They know without a shadow of a doubt that God cannot change, will not contradict Himself and will always be who He says He is. He is the creator of all things. The owner of all things. The Lord of all things. In control of all things! They see Him rightly and believe what they see. He is omnipresent. He is omniscient. He is omnipotent.
God is looking for Abrahams who will obey God swifty and thoroughly. He is looking for people who would offer up to Him “the next day!” obediences. God spoke to Abraham would received a son miraculously, was promised a nation, descendants multiplied like the sand on the ground and the stars in the sky and said:
Gen 22:1-8
Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
And Abraham
3So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.” 6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” “Here I am, my son,” he replied.
As they walked together Isaac asked his father:
“The fire and the wood are here,” said Isaac, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together.
Abraham would not forsake the omnipotence of God!
9When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son …14And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.
Obedience is the feet to the faith you confess
Abraham is know as the father of faith for good reason. Abraham didn’t have to go around telling people “I fear the Lord. Look! I fear the Lord!” Unlike Jonah, talking about the fear of the Lord, it wasn’t lip service unto the Lord for Abraham! No, the Fear of the Lord was the fuel to His obedience!
I know my God as the PROVIDER! I KNOW HIS OMNIPOTENCE, HIS OMNIPRESENCE AND HIS OMNISCIENCE! So even now, when it makes no sense and pains me to obey I WILL NOT FORSAKE WHO MY GOD IS! I WILL OBEY! THE FEAR OF THE LORD DRIVES ME. I SEE HIM RIGHTLY AND WILL NOT FEAR OBEDIENCE! I WILL FEAR THE LORD!
James 2:18-24
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
Jonah believed in God, said He feared the Lord, but faith did not match his actions.
Abraham believed in God and feared the Lord and his faith matched his actions. He was the one considered the friend of God.
The Fear of the Lord never draws you away from God, it only pulls you into greater intimacy with Him.
God is looking for friends, but first He wants to restore awestruck wonder in you. He wants you to see Him rightly. He wants you to obey not because He said so, but because you trust Him to be who He says He is.
You cannot be God’s friend without the fear of the Lord. Some of us are walking around buddy buddy with God and have lost your holy fear! We speak to Him how we want. We obey when we want. We obey how we want. This is dangerous! We are more likely to disobey God when we lose reverence for Him and He becomes familiar or common to us.
The Lord wants to restore reverence for Him today. This is you if your:
Your obedience is delayed
Your obedience is halfway
Your obedience is lacking
Right now we are going to repent for forgetting and treating Him common. Right now we are going to ask God to hit you with a fresh revelation of who HE IS! That you would be HIT with the fear of the Lord. The knowledge of who HE IS! HIS OMNIPOTENCE, HIS OMNIPRESENCE, HIS OMNISCIENCE! Ask the Lord to help see Him rightly. CRY OUT FOR IT! LORD GIVE US THE FEAR OF THE LORD!
