Clean Transcript

Twin Truths: Fear and Love - Part 1 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

• So I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to Joshua 24, and we're going to be looking at verse 14. Joshua 24 and verse 14. Notice, if you would, what Joshua says very plainly, very clearly. He says, "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord." The title of the message is "Twin Truths: Fear and Love," and this is going to be a two-part message, and I'm just going to be dealing with the first part obviously today. But years ago, I preached a message which I entitled, "Concurrent Realities." And a concurrent reality is something that happens simultaneously, or at least it's two things that happen at the same time. In other words, it would be almost impossible, or it would be impossible, to separate them. For instance, faith and repentance are concurrent realities. So if an individual has saving faith, at the same time there is saving repentance.

  #1 | 0:11 to 1:26 | cleaned

• If a person has saving repentance, at the same time he has saving faith. You could also say that faith and good works are concurrent realities, because if you have a real saving faith, it's going to evidence itself in good works. And if you have good works which are biblical works, then obviously you have faith, because these things are inseparable. And, of course, you could say that these are two sides of one coin, so to speak. Another concurrent reality is that which we would call preservation and perseverance. So many people say, "Well, I'm so thankful I am preserved by God in Jesus Christ."

  #2 | 1:26 to 2:08 | cleaned

• In fact, that's what Jude 1:1 tells us. But the way that we know that we're being preserved by God is He enables us to persevere in repentance and faith. So those who are preserved continually persevere. I've said many times that I've done far more repenting after I was saved than when I got saved. Because when I got saved, I was convicted of a few things. And after I got saved and started reading the Bible, I found out there were a whole lot more wrong with me than just those few things that I thought about. So that's what we're talking about on perseverance as well. So let me just mention also another concurrent reality would be hearing and obedience. So according to Scripture, no one really hears the Word of God unless he obeys the Word of God. So if you're obeying the Word of God, it means that you've heard. If you've really genuinely heard, it means that you're

  #3 | 2:08 to 3:04 | cleaned

• going to be obeying. You will be an obedient individual. Now I want you to notice that I named these messages "Twin Truths." So these twin truths are fear and love. And when you think about those two things, you normally think that they are opposites, but not real biblical fear and not real biblical love.

  #4 | 3:04 to 3:26 | cleaned

• Now, most of you know that Alice and I have four daughters, and two of our four daughters are identical twins. And when they were younger, it was absolutely impossible to tell them apart. And yes, Alice got them mixed up. Got them mixed up, in fact. I spanked the wrong one several times. I never will forget, I was spanking—meant to spank Laura—and I was spanking Leah, and she kept saying, "I'm Leah. I'm Leah. I'm Leah."

  #5 | 3:27 to 4:00 | cleaned

• Well, I didn't believe her. I thought she's just—well, when I got through spanking her, I found it was Leah. So I apologized and I said, "Well, I'm sorry, but sweetheart, I am sure that you did something conservative anyhow." And I can assure you those twins did, because they would always egg each other on. And to show you how identical they really were at that time, and they still are pretty much, but how identical they were—not only did we get them mixed up, but a lot of the children that played with them as well. And one of our dear friends had a son by the name of Mark, and he was trying to tell his mother something about the twins, and he could not remember their names, Leah and Laura. And so he said, "Mother, you know those girls with the same face."

  #6 | 4:01 to 4:51 | cleaned

• So that's how they knew exactly what they were. And by the way, just to show you if you do not believe in inflation—when our twins were born 56 years ago, the doctor who delivered them, his bill was 150 bucks. Now hang on. He said—and nobody knew we were going to have twins except my father. My father told us that we were going to have twins, and I didn't believe him, and I said, "Well, if we have two, I'm gonna give you one of them." So after she had the twins, he said, "Well, which one are you gonna give me?" I said, "Well, I don't want to break up the set. I'm gonna just keep both of them," you know. But anyhow, not even the doctor knew. And so the doctor told me, he said, "Well, since I didn't know," he said, "I'm gonna let you have two for the price of one."

  #7 | 4:52 to 5:47 | cleaned

• I said, "Well, fine." Well, Alice was in the hospital for five days, and back at that time, the hospital actually would get food from gardens and from farms and cook it. It was not this canned stuff. So she stayed in the hospital five days. And our hospital bill was 100 bucks for five days. So the two babies cost me 250 bucks, which was a total. So that shows you how far we have gone as far as inflation is concerned at this particular time.

  #8 | 5:47 to 6:23 | cleaned

• Now, the reason I'm telling you that is because when I talk about twins, we understand especially identical twins. And by the way, there was another thing that's kind of scary about them still is what one calls the other one. When the phone rings, they know it's the other one calling. Interesting. And I have seen them in times past. I was in on the conversation. We were riding horses and one of the twins said, "I like her."

  #9 | 6:23 to 7:01 | cleaned

• "She's really a nice girl." And the other twin said, "Yes, I like Cheryl, too." She automatically knew who the other twin was talking about. And of course, that's who she was talking about. So what I'm telling you, this is to show you that these twin truths go together and certainly you have to understand that they are reciprocal in one sense of the word. Now, let me make a statement and I'm going to show you this from the Scripture. Okay? Listen carefully to this statement: If one does not fear God, he despises Him. If one does not love God, he hates Him. Now, when you look at Malachi 1 and verse 6—I can quote this one, but there's a number I want you to see as well. But Malachi 1 and verse 6, God said, "A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master. If I then be a father, where is my honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear, saith the Lord of hosts?"

  #10 | 7:02 to 8:09 | cleaned

• "Unto you, O priest, who despise my name." Now isn't that interesting? He said, "If I'm not honored, if I'm not feared, then you are despising me." And then of course our Lord tells us that the absence of love is hate, just like the absence of fear is despisement, because our Lord said in Matthew 6 and verse 24, "No man can serve two masters. Either," he said, "he will hate the one and love the other, or you cleave to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." So if someone does not fear God, he basically despises him. If he doesn't love God, then he hates him. Now there are many professing Christians as well as some preachers that profess they love the Lord and they love the one true and the living God, but obviously they disobey His commandments, trample His law under their feet, and they live in sin and rebellion and wickedness and serve their fleshly lusts instead of the Lord. Now let me just make this clear again. I'm going to say it: Whoever does not fear God despises him.

  #11 | 8:09 to 9:24 | cleaned

• So I want you to turn back in your Bible. We're coming back to Joshua 24, but I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 28, just a few pages back. Deuteronomy 28, and I want you to look at verses 58 and 59, because the Bible tells you very clearly about the great and glorious name of God. And Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 58, the Word of God says, "If thou will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, now look, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, the Lord thy God, then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sickness of long continuance." But note, if you would, in verse 58, "If thou will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear." So fearing God has reference, which we're going to see, as to obeying God.

  #12 | 9:24 to 10:35 | cleaned

• Now, if you look back to Joshua chapter 24 and verse 14, here are two very clear truths that this one verse demonstrates. Joshua 24 and verse 14. He says, "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord." So the first truth is this: If you fear the Lord, then you're going to serve him in sincerity and truth. Number two is: If you fear the Lord, you're going to put away other gods, false gods, which of course would include yourself. Because the Bible tells you in Colossians 3 and verse 5 that covetousness is idolatry.

  #13 | 10:35 to 11:22 | cleaned

• So when you and I refuse to obey the word of God and we elevate ourselves above the word of God, we're idolaters because we're setting ourselves up above God himself. Now, what I want to do right now in this message is I want to point out for you the different kinds of fear and show you what a biblical fear is. And next week, Lord willing, I will show you the different kinds of love and show you what a biblical love is.

  #14 | 11:23 to 11:52 | cleaned

• Now, there are some fears that are condemned in the Scripture and one fear that is commended, just like there are some forms of love that are condemned and some that are commended. So when we think about fear of the Lord, what in the world are we talking about? Well, first of all, there is a hypocritical fear of the Lord, which basically has its basis and its foundation in what you and I would call the precepts of man.

  #15 | 11:52 to 12:24 | cleaned

• Now, Job's three friends thought him to be a hypocrite. In fact, I'm going to be bringing a short series on the book of Job in the not too distant future, probably four or five messages, entitled, "Understanding the Book of Job." Because in order to understand the criticisms of his friends, you have to know their point of beginning, you have to know their ideology, you have to know where they are coming from as they condemn him. But they all thought Job to be either a vile sinner or a hypocrite. So in Job chapter 8 and verse 13, it was Bildad the Shuhite who said this, "So are the paths of all that forget God, and the hypocrite's hope shall perish." So he's basically referring to Job then as a hypocrite. And then Eliphaz the Temanite actually accused Job of hypocrisy. In Job 15 and verse 4, he said, "Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest thy prayer before God." In other words, he said, "You don't fear God and you're not even praying." Now, Job, of course, refutes their charges, and he said this in Job 27 and verse 8, "For what is the hope of a hypocrite?"

  #16 | 12:25 to 13:43 | cleaned

• "Though he has gained, when God taketh away his soul?" And the Lord—Job said, "I'm not stupid. You can fool men and you can be a hypocrite and you can get all the praise of man that you want, you can get all the recognition that you want. But what is all that when God takes away your soul?" In other words, when you're dead, you're dead, and all of that hypocrisy is gone as well. Now, I said earlier that hypocrisy is grounded in the precepts of man. So I want you to turn to two passages with me.

  #17 | 13:44 to 14:18 | cleaned

• The first one is Isaiah 29 and the second one is Matthew chapter 15. In Isaiah 29, then we're going to go to Matthew chapter 15. So if you look at Isaiah 29 and verse 13, I want you to see what our Lord says. Matthew—Isaiah 29 and verse 13, "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart from before me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of man." So God says, "Here's this people then that honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." In other words, their heart is not in me.

  #18 | 14:18 to 15:13 | cleaned

• It's not in my worship. It's not in my service. And he said, "Here's the problem. Their fear toward me is taught by the precept of man." They never really had the work of God in their heart. All they had was just simply the teaching of man. Now if you will turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 15, you'll see how our Lord applies this even to the Pharisees, the scribes, the Pharisees. So in Matthew chapter 15, beginning there with verse 7, look what our Lord says to them. "You hypocrites?"

  #19 | 15:13 to 15:47 | cleaned

• "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." So he quotes Isaiah 29, verse 13. But look at the application that he makes in verse 9. "But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." In other words, all they have is the precepts of man.

  #20 | 15:48 to 16:10 | cleaned

• And so he says, "You are nothing more than pure hypocrites." So clearly then, hypocrisy has its foundation only in the precepts of man. In other words, we just do what we do sometimes because of the fear of man and or just simply to please man. It's just like some kids obey, not out of a real respect and honor for their parents, but because they just want to get something from mom and daddy is what it amounts to. And you've seen these children sometimes who are mean as a snake, but when they want something, they're just as sweet as they can be. And that's all they want. It's hypocrisy. The second type of fear that's condemned in the Bible is what you and I would call a servile fear. This is when some servants, and even some children, obey their parents, or the servants obey their masters out of fear of punishment. Not because they love their parents, not because they love their master, but they just don't want to get on the bad side. So I want you to turn in your Bibles for a good example of this to 1 Kings chapter 18, and let me show you a man who is named Obadiah. And

  #21 | 16:11 to 17:31 | cleaned

• although Obadiah says he was a believer, I want you to notice he stayed with Ahab the king and obeyed him out of fear of punishment. And so if you look in 1 Kings chapter 18, and let's begin reading there with verse 7. 1 Kings 18 verse 7. Here it is: "And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am: go and tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me?" Now watch this. See, he's afraid of Ahab, afraid Ahab's going to murder him, kill him. "And the Lord—as the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not."

  #22 | 17:31 to 18:41 | cleaned

• "And now thou sayest, Go and tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord?"

  #23 | 18:42 to 19:07 | cleaned

• "Now I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water. Yes, while the prophets of Baal were dining at the king's table. And now thou sayest, Go tell my lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him this day."

  #24 | 19:07 to 19:30 | cleaned

• So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim." So here's Obadiah. He stays on, although he knows Ahab is so wicked, and yet he does exactly what he is told out of fear of Ahab. So there are some people who do things just simply because they fear death. They fear punishment. They fear some type of chastisement.

  #25 | 19:30 to 20:14 | cleaned

• But they do not perform out of a heart of love or heart of respect. It's not a fear of God that they have, but rather it is a fear of man. Now our Lord said it like this in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. He said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul." He said, "But rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." Now when we're talking about a servile fear, there are a great many "fear nots" in the Bible. And I would challenge you to get a concordance and just look up the phrase "fear not." And you'll be absolutely astounded at how many times God tells us not to fear.

  #26 | 20:15 to 21:06 | cleaned

• For instance, I want you to turn in your Bibles if you would. Let me just show you a few of them. First of all, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 20. Deuteronomy chapter 20 and verse 3, and this is especially when you're facing your enemies in a war. So look what he says. Deuteronomy chapter 20 in verse 3, "And shall say to them, Hear, O Israel, you approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them." And he tells you why: "For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." But notice what God says. God says, "Fear not." In other words, don't fear death. Don't fear man. Don't fear what man can do to you. So look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 31 and verse 6. Deuteronomy 31 verse 6. Again, God says it like this: "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that goeth

  #27 | 21:07 to 22:20 | cleaned

• with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." Again God says, "Fear not." If you would turn over in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 35. Isaiah 35, look if you would please at verse 4. This is just a sampling. Isaiah 35 and verse 4, "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you." So let me give you just a couple from the New Testament, which you already know. But Luke chapter 12 and verse 7, where God says, "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows." And then, of course, in Luke 12, in verse 32, he says, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." So there's so many "fear nots" in the Bible, but usually these "fear nots" are in relationship to servile fear. So God says we're not to be afraid at all.

  #28 | 22:20 to 23:34 | cleaned

• Now, so God condemns a hypocritical fear. He condemns a servile fear. But that which is commended in the Bible is what you and I would call a biblical fear, a godly fear. And we may even call it a saving fear. Now, a godly fear does not tremble with servility. A godly fear does not tremble with doubtful dismay. Godly fear is not superstitious. Godly fear is a fear that is based upon an understanding and the knowledge of God and an understanding of his attributes and of his word.

  #29 | 23:35 to 24:18 | cleaned

• So let me say this another way. A godly fear or a biblical fear is not guilt driven. It's driven from an understanding of God.

  #30 | 24:19 to 24:30 | cleaned

• Now I didn't quote this when I was talking about a servile fear, but here it is in Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 25. The Bible says, "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." So the fear of man always brings a snare. So there is in one sense of the word that a godly fear or biblical fear, we may call it, may also be referred to as a saving fear. In Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 28, the Scripture says, "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." So the godly fear there, of course, would refer to being saved. Now, I want to show you that godly fear always leads to obedience. It always leads to worship.

  #31 | 24:30 to 25:42 | cleaned

• So if you'll go back in your Bibles to the book of Psalms and look at Psalm 5 and verse 7. Psalm 5 and verse 7. Look what David says. In Psalm 5 and verse 7, David said it like this, "But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." Now, the fear of the Lord is that which causes us to worship God. Worshiping God in God's fear is worshiping God in God's salvation, for only those who are truly saved worship him rightly. So only God in his sovereign grace and mercy can implant his fear in our hearts initially and originally. Now I'm going to show you from the Scripture just shortly how you and I can increase our fear of the Lord. But initially and originally, the fear of the Lord is implanted in our heart by God. Now, depraved and fallen men do not have the fear of God in their lives, which I'll show you later.

  #32 | 25:43 to 27:12 | cleaned

• But look in your Bibles to Psalm 61 and verse 5. Psalm 61 and verse 5. In Psalm 61 and verse 5, the word of God says this, "For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name." So if God then has given us the heritage of those that fear his name, he's also given us the fear that places us in that heritage with those that fear his name. So what is a godly fear? What is a biblical fear? What does it actually mean to fear the Lord? Well, when you think about fear, I'm going to give it to you from the Old Testament, and then I'm going to give it to you from the New Testament. The Hebrew word for fear in the Old Testament is the word "yare," and it means to fear, to revere, to stand in awe, to be awed, to reverence, to honor, and to respect. That's what it means to fear the Lord. When you get to the New Testament, the Greek word for fear is the word "phobeo."

  #33 | 27:12 to 28:27 | cleaned

• And the word "phobeo" means basically the same thing. It means to reverence, to venerate, to treat with deference, or with reverential obedience. So here's the interesting thing. Both the Old Testament Hebrew word, "yare," and the New Testament Greek word, "phobeo," both point to the realization that biblical godly fear leads to obedience. So, I want you to think about this. If you genuinely fear God, then you reverence Him, you honor Him, you respect Him, you stand in awe of Him, and therefore you obey Him. Now, I'm going to show you some Scripture, but basic reasoning also dictates that those that say they fear God but do not obey Him are liars. Now, I'm not making that up. I'm going to show you that from Scripture. God says those that do not obey Him are liars. Now, let me just show you, first of all, from the Old Testament, then from the New Testament, how the fear of God always leads to obedience. So, I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 5.

  #34 | 28:29 to 29:50 | cleaned

• Deuteronomy chapter 5. And we're going to spend several minutes in the book of Deuteronomy. We'll look in Deuteronomy chapter 5. And note if you would, first of all, verse 29. Deuteronomy 5 verse 29. Look what God says about Israel. Look at this. God says, "O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!" Now, look at that again. "O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me." Well, if they feared God, what would they do? They would keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever. So he's telling us very plainly those who fear God obey him, and their obedience then leads to safety and prosperity. So look in Deuteronomy 6 and verse 2. He said, "That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee,

  #35 | 29:50 to 31:02 | cleaned

• thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged." Now look at that closely, "that thou mightest fear the Lord thy God." If you fear God, what will you do? You will keep his statutes, you will keep his commandments, which he commanded, and the result will be long life. In other words, that's the very first commandment with promise, that's the fifth commandment. Now, so godly fear leads to obedience. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 13. "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name." So if you fear God, it's going to lead not only to obedience, it's also going to lead to service. And you will cling to him, you will swear by his name, in other words, he's the one true and the living God and none else. If you'll skip down to verse 24 in the same chapter, Deuteronomy 6, look at this: "And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is this day."

  #36 | 31:03 to 32:09 | cleaned

• So the Lord commanded us to do all these commandments. Well, what does it mean to do all these commandments? It means to fear the Lord. And of course, the result is that he will preserve us alive. He will bless us, that is for sure.

  #37 | 32:10 to 32:23 | cleaned

• Now, look, if you would, in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 6. Deuteronomy 8 in verse 6. "Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him." Well, what is fearing him? It's walking in his ways. What is walking in his ways? It's obedience. If you'd turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 10 and look in verse 12. "And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?"

  #38 | 32:23 to 33:08 | cleaned

• I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but I want to mention again. If you fear God, you love him. If you love God, you fear him. These are side-by-side in this passage. So what does the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord? To walk in all his ways and to love him. So if you love him, you fear him. If you fear him, you love him. If you fear him, you walk in his ways. If you love him, you'll walk in his ways. So if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 13 and verse 4, Deuteronomy 13 in verse 4, again, he says it like this: "You shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cleave unto him." So what is fearing God? It's walking after his commandments. It's obeying him. It's serving him. It's cleaving only unto him. Then if you would turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 17. This is where God requires the civil ruler to have his own copy of the law, and there's a reason. So if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 17, and let's read verse 18

  #39 | 33:08 to 34:31 | cleaned

• and 19. "And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them."

  #40 | 34:16 to 34:42 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to pay close attention to that. Why was the civil ruler to have his own copy of the law of God so that he could read it every day? So that he may learn to fear the Lord his God. What is fearing the Lord his God? It is keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them. Then if you would turn right over to Deuteronomy chapter 31. Deuteronomy 31 and look if you would at verses 12 and 13. Deuteronomy chapter 31, look in verse 12. "Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it." So what did he say? He said, "You get everybody together that they may hear the Word of God so that they may learn to

  #41 | 34:43 to 36:03 | cleaned

• fear the Lord your God and obey." Now, I've said this before: I'm not one of those individuals that believe in what is known as children's church. I believe the children ought to be there with the parents. And you say, "But the children do not understand like an adult does." I got news for you: No adult can understand anything either unless God opens his eyes, and God can open the eyes of a child just like he can open the eyes of an adult. And that's what God said. God says, "Gather them all together that they may hear." And when our oldest granddaughter was two years old, she came up to me—she was staying with us—and she had an apple in her hand.

  #42 | 36:03 to 36:53 | cleaned

• And she came up to me and she bowed her head and she said, "In the name of the Holy Ghost, Amen." And I looked at her. I said, "Where in the world did you ever hear about the Holy Ghost?" Two years old. She said, "It's your church in Waycross." And she hadn't been there in a month. Two years old. God says this so they may hear and they may learn. God can open the heart and mind and eyes of a child just as easily as he can open the heart and mind and eyes of an adult.

  #43 | 36:54 to 37:34 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to turn—you don't have to turn to this one, I'll quote it, but go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 3. So I'm going to quote again the text Joshua 24 and verse 14 where he said, "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord." So obviously if you fear the Lord, you are going to be not only worshiping him and serving him in sincerity and truth, you're going to be continually turning from any and everything that is contrary to him.

  #44 | 37:34 to 38:17 | cleaned

• Now, what is the problem that we are experiencing today? So let me ask this question. What's wrong with all those folks in Washington, D.C.? What's wrong with all those people in Atlanta, Georgia? How about those in Tallahassee, Florida? You look around at every state capitol, you look around at the national capitol, and all you see is corruption and degeneracy, stupidity, insolence, arrogance, pride, haughtiness, corruption everywhere. Why? Well, look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 3 and let's begin reading there verse 10. Here's the problem, look at it. Romans 3 verse 10, God says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."

  #45 | 38:17 to 39:05 | cleaned

• "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Now look at this. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known."

  #46 | 39:05 to 39:28 | cleaned

• Why are they so corrupt? Look in verse 18. "There is no fear of God before their eyes." See, if you fear God, you love him. If you fear him and love him, you obey him and you serve him. If you do not fear him, you despise him. And if you do not love him, then you hate him. Now, if they had feared God, if they had loved God, then their actions and their attitudes would have been different, because a biblical fear always leads to obedience, to service, and to turning from sin and wickedness.

  #47 | 39:28 to 40:07 | cleaned

• Now, I want to show you this in the New Testament. So I want you to turn right back, if you would, to the book of Acts, chapter 9. Acts, chapter 9. And look, if you would please, at verse 31. Acts 9, verse 31. Note what the Bible says concerning the church, the early church. Acts 9, verse 31. "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." They were walking in the fear of the Lord. Hmm, what's that mean?

  #48 | 40:08 to 40:53 | cleaned

• Well, it means they were obedient. It means they were genuine and sincere. It means that they were worshiping the one true and the living God as he demanded. If you would turn right over to 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 1. I think I have a three-part message on this, talking about perfecting holiness, but notice if you would verse 1 of 2 Corinthians chapter 7. Look what he says. "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." You cannot have a mature holiness without fear of God. You cannot have a mature holiness without being obedient. You cannot have a mature holiness without being a servant. You cannot have a mature holiness without worshiping God. Now the Bible says in Ephesians 5 and verse 21, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Think about this: submitting yourselves one to the other in the fear of God. Why should Alice submit to me? Because God commands that in the fear of the Lord.

  #49 | 40:54 to 42:21 | cleaned

• It's part of her worship. Why am I to submit to the Lord Jesus Christ? It's because of the fear of the Lord and because it's commanded of me. No one escapes submission. Everybody is to be in submission. But we're to do it in the fear of the Lord.

  #50 | 42:21 to 42:38 | cleaned

• Now, if you will turn right on over to the book of Philippians—Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians—look if you would in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 12. Look at what he says, Philippians 2 and verse 12. He says, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Now, wait a minute. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Is he telling us that we merit salvation, that we earn salvation? Well, of course not. So if you look at verse 13, take it in its context. He says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." God works it in. It's our responsibility to work it out. It's our responsibility to apply it. It's our responsibility to understand it. It's our responsibility to make it practical. Okay, so we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. In other words, whatever God has worked in us, we understand his grace.

  #51 | 42:39 to 43:42 | cleaned

• We understand his mercy. So therefore we're to work it out and apply it in our daily lives.

  #52 | 43:42 to 43:46 | cleaned

• Now, if you will turn right on over one more to the book of Hebrews chapter 11 and look, if you would, at verse 7, and then I'm going to show you two passages that are astounding. So Hebrews 11 verse 7. Look what the Bible says. "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." Now the Bible says that Noah was moved with fear. Well, who's he afraid of? Was he afraid of drowning?

  #53 | 43:46 to 44:33 | cleaned

• And the answer is no. That was not it. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear—that is reverence, respect, and awe of God—prepared an ark to the saving of his house. What did God command Noah to do? To build an ark. And that's what he did. Because he feared God. He obeyed. That's what the Bible means when it says there in verse 7, that of course, he was moved with fear. He was moved with reverence to God, awe of God, and he believed God. And so he did exactly what God said.

  #54 | 44:35 to 45:20 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 11 to begin with, and then chapter 19. And I want you to see an amazing statement in each verse. So Revelation chapter 11 and verse 18, look at this. Revelation 11 and verse 18, "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Notice if you would, the prophets and the saints are designated and called those that fear thy name, whether they were small or great. And then if you look at Revelation chapter 19 and verse 5, Revelation 19 and verse 5, "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great."

  #55 | 45:20 to 46:40 | cleaned

• So clearly, obviously, the fear of the Lord is that which causes us not only to obey, but to serve and to worship as well. So I hope you see, just from this passage right now, the absolute necessity of the fear of God in our lives. If we fear God, we're going to obey Him. If we fear God, we're going to serve Him. That doesn't mean that everybody's going to be a preacher, but it does mean that you're going to serve Him whatever your profession is, whatever God calls you to, whether it's a mechanic, whether it's a carpenter, it doesn't matter. You're going to serve Him and you're going to worship Him.

  #56 | 46:41 to 47:19 | cleaned

• Now, before I make the applications, there's two verses that you have to see in light of this. So I want you to turn to Proverbs 16 and also to Job 28. Here are two verses that would do you well to memorize. All you children, you should memorize these two verses. Proverbs 16 and verse 6. Okay, are we ready? Here we go. Proverbs 16 and verse 6: "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. We're never going to depart from evil unless we fear God, unless we honor him, respect him, believe him, reverence him, venerate him. The reason men are so wicked and corrupt is they don't fear God. Now look in Job 28 and verse 28. Job 28, verse 28. "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." So God gives us wisdom and God gives us understanding, and understanding is to depart from evil.

  #57 | 47:20 to 48:36 | cleaned

• Understanding means to fear God. Once you fear God, you understand that you need to turn from any and everything that's contrary to him and contrary to his word. Okay. All right.

  #58 | 48:36 to 48:48 | cleaned

• Now let's make some applications. I hope you understand now. If you fear God, you're going to serve him in sincerity and truth, like Joshua 24 verse 14 says. If you really genuinely fear God, you're going to be turning from that which is evil and wicked and wrong. But here's the thing. Do not be fooled. Do not be deceived by individuals who profess to be Christians, who profess to love God, but yet they walk in disobedience, in rebellion, in wickedness, and they transgress the law of God in every way possible. I hope you've noticed, and I'm not just picking on them, but I hope you notice every politician is a Christian until he gets in the White House or until he gets in Congress.

  #59 | 48:48 to 49:44 | cleaned

• You understand that? And then they pass laws and do everything that's absolutely contrary to God and contrary to his word. Okay, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 2. I want to show you—I made a statement earlier. I said that someone who professes to love God and disobeys him is a liar. They don't really love God. And I didn't make that statement just to be making that statement. I made it because it's biblical. So if you look at 1 John chapter 2 and verse 3, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." How do we know that we know him? Because he enables us, he empowers us to obey him. Look at verse 4. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Wow. He that saith, "I know him," and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. So the man then that professes to know God and yet disobeys him, God says he is a liar.

  #60 | 49:45 to 50:56 | cleaned

• Now, let me go a little farther. I want you to think about this. The man who does not fear God has no regard or any respect for fellow man. Think about it. Our Lord said in Luke chapter 18, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint." And then he said this, "There was a certain judge in a city, which feared not God, nor regarded man." And then the judge himself in verse 4 said, "Though I fear not God, nor regard man." So if you don't fear God, you're not going to have any regard for man.

  #61 | 50:56 to 51:42 | cleaned

• So let me try to give you an illustration. Let's suppose I look over and I see Joshua and he's got a big wad of cash. And I think, "Man, I'd like to have that money. I mean, that's a big wad of cash." His wife hadn't seen it yet. I'd be second, I can assure you. But anyhow, I see that big wad of cash. Let's suppose there's been a medical emergency. Let's suppose there's been some type of—and this money is really designed to help someone in real need. And yet I see him put that money down or I see him put it in a place where I may get it, and I slip up behind him and I steal that money. Now,

  #62 | 51:43 to 52:30 | cleaned

• what have I just done? Well, he that is not going to respect or fear God is not going to have regard for man. So if I steal that money, I don't care about Joshua. I don't care about the person that he had that money reserved for. I don't care about anything except what I want. You follow that? All adultery, all fornication is based upon this principle: no regard for husband, no regard for wife, no regard for children, no regard for family. I want what I want. I don't care who I hurt. So that's why he said in Luke chapter 18, the man that fears not God has no regard for man. So all of this goes together and flows together. Now, the fear of God leads to life. The fear of man leads to destruction and death. You and I cannot worship aright without fearing God. We cannot serve aright without fearing God. And we certainly cannot obey without fearing God, because the fear of God always leads to obedience. The fear of God always leads to service.

  #63 | 52:30 to 53:47 | cleaned

• The fear of God always leads to worship. And I'm gonna show you, Lord willing, next Sunday, that love does the same thing. Biblical love. There's a love that's condemned in the Bible, and there's a love that's commended in the Bible. Just like hypocritical fear, servile fear are condemned, but biblical fear is commended. Fearing God means that we reverence Him, we respect Him, we recognize His authority, we recognize His sovereignty, and we bow before Him and we obey Him. So the first twin truth is that of fear, a biblical fearing of the Lord. So let's pray. Father, thank you again today for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for the biblical doctrine of fear. And we pray, Father, that you would indeed establish that biblical fear in our hearts and our lives so that we may fear Thee, and Lord, that we may bring our lives into greater conformity to Your Word, that we would obey Thee in truth, and Lord, that we would be genuine and sincere, and that we'd love Thee with all of our hearts and souls and minds.

  #64 | 53:48 to 55:04 | cleaned

• Give us, Lord, Your mercy, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

  #65 | 55:05 to 55:08 | cleaned

• you you

  #66 | 55:23 to 55:24 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:50:28Z