Carrying the Fear of God

Part 3 of 4

“In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”

                                                                                    Matthew 27:44

The two thieves, who were being crucified alongside Jesus, joined the crowd in hurling insults at him. They mocked Jesus even as they themselves faced death. However, at some point one of them was awakened to the fear of God. One of the criminals cried out: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” The other criminal, awakened to the fear of God, rebuked him saying:

“Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

                                                                                                Luke 23:41

Some might argue that it wasn’t the fear of God that motivated this man, but rather the fear of death. However, the other criminal was facing death too, yet he continued to hurl his insults upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  He did not fear God.

Too quickly we cast our lots in with those who have no fear of God, who mock the idea of Christ, and live as enemies of the cross. It isn’t long before the fear of men overtakes our fear of God. The prophet Isaiah warns us in Isaiah 8:11-13:

“The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said: “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”

In fact, Jesus declared in Matthew 10:28:

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

It is a tragedy that so many have lost the fear of God. Many have been deceived to believe that God is not going to judge us, confusing His patience and forbearance towards us with forgiveness.  However, Romans 14:10-12 declares:

“For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:  “As surely as I live, says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

The fear of God lies at the core of our faith. In fact, it is the fear of God that activates our faith.

 

 Pastor Scott Burr                                                                   

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Carrying the Fear of God

Part 2

After Moses went up the mountain to receive the law of God the people became restless. When they saw that he was so long in coming down, they gathered around and Aaron and said:

“Come make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what happened to him.”

                                                                                                Exodus 32:1

So they took gold earrings and fashioned a golden calf to worship and then they got up to eat, drink and indulge in revelry! Moses carried with him the fear of God. When he was gone, the people fell deep into sin. It was evident from their behavior that they did not carry the fear of God for themselves.  Evangelist Ray Comfort once said,

“When men don’t fear God they give themselves to evil.”

The Israelites cast their lots together and indulged their flesh. They even managed to draw Aaron into the fray. When Moses came off the mountain he asked Aaron:

“What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

                                                                                                Exodus 32:21              

Aaron had been influenced by the people! The fear of men became a greater influence in Aaron’s life than the fear of God. There is nothing that will lead you away from the fear of God faster than “casting your lot” in with those who do not fear God at all.  Proverbs 1:10-15 declares:

“My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for someone’s blood, let’s waylay some harmless soul; let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we will get all sorts or valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse- my son, do not go along with them, do not set your foot on their paths.”

It is interesting to see how many instances that people lost the fear of God when partnered with other people, like Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 and Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.  Even at the cross we find two criminals, one on either side of Jesus mocking him and hurling insults at him:

“In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”

                                                                                    Matthew 27:44

Until one of them was awakened to the fear of God!

 

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Carrying the Fear of God

Part 1

“Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

                                                                                                Exodus 20:20

In an effort to make God more approachable, many have dedicated an unbalanced amount of time and energy depicting Him to be a loving, merciful, caring God who oozes with forgiveness. In Exodus 20, the children of Israel are gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai as the presence of God came down and rested on the mountain. Thunder and lightning filled the skies and smoke covered the mountaintop:

“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself as we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

                                                                                                            Exodus 20:18-19

Scripture tells us that the people remained at a distance while Moses approached the thick darkness. This is the same God that you and I worship today! However, there was a holy fear of God that gripped the children of Israel that has been lost on many of us today. He was not revealed to them as a loving, merciful, caring God oozing with forgiveness. Instead, He was revealed as a fire, holy, just and righteous, all powerful, worthy of reverence and worship.  

What does it mean to fear God? To unbelievers, the fear of God is commonly associated with the idea of judgment. To believers, it carries with it the idea of reverence or awe. Nevertheless, any definition of the fear of God must include an understanding of how much God hates sin coupled with a fear of His judgment of sin.

Moses told the children of Israel that “the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” This is an important revelation from the passage. Sometimes we deceive ourselves into believing that there are things we can do to keep us from sinning. We tell ourselves things like: “If I go to church enough it will keep me from sinning”; “Listening to only praise music will keep me from sinning”; “Reading my Bible everyday will keep me from sinning”; “If I go to enough accountability classes it will keep me from sinning”; “If I isolate myself from bad things it will keep me from sinning”; “If I wear Christian T-shirts or tattoo a scripture on my body it will keep me from sinning.”

I would venture to say that many of you have tried those things and still found yourself in sin! Why? None of those things will keep you from sinning. Moses told the children of Israel that it is the fear of God that you carry with you that will keep you from sinning. The question is “Do you carry with you the fear of God?”

 Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Humility:Lessons from a Donkey

               
Part 2 of 2

“The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest.”

Matthew 21:6-9

Are donkey’s really stubborn or just misunderstood? I had to laugh a little this week when I discovered that this was the topic of discussion at a major university. The School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London held a two-day talk back in May of 2012 on the topic. Perhaps our furry friends have been getting a bad rap for their behavior, but their stubbornness to follow instruction has caused us to see donkeys as obstinate and unwilling to take instruction.

The donkey in this passage, however, set herself apart by being obedient to the will of the Lord. Instead of digging her heels in and refusing to cooperate she was led without any kicking and screaming into the crowd where she willingly bore the weight of our Savior on her back. 2 John 6 states:

“And this is love; that we walk in obedience to his commands.”

Obedience to the will of God is in the truest sense an indicator of humility and an indication that we see ourselves in proper relation to God. When Jesus took a seat on the donkey’s back it would have elevated him above the crowd. In fact, with the crowd surrounding him, you could have seen Jesus, while never seeing the donkey. True humility has at its heart the exaltation of Christ, without the necessity of being seen or recognized for our service.  In Matthew 6:1, Jesus encouraged his followers:

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

The desire to be seen for what we do is a powerful thing. That is why Jesus addresses it so often in Scripture. In the end, if we are serving him in humility, no one will be looking at us, they will have their eyes on him.

The donkey never believed or accepted that the fanfare was for him. For him to accept the praise of men while doing the work of the Lord would have robbed Jesus of part of the praise due him. John 12:43 declares:

“For they loved the praise of men, more than praise from God.”

The praise of men is a powerful ego booster because it is an instantaneous fix. The praise from God is often in secret or even stored up for a later time. This delay is what causes so many to exalt themselves in the eyes of others. True humility will always be centered around Christ being exalted and praised. As John the Baptist said, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”

When we learn these humble lessons from a donkey we too can declare as Corrie Ten Boom once said:

“If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in His glory, I give him all the praise and honor.”

 

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Humility: Lessons from a donkey

(Part 1)

“The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest.”

Matthew 21:6-9

Corrie Ten Boom, a holocaust survivor, who went on to author a book about her experience titled “The Hiding Place,” was once asked if it was difficult for her to remain humble.

Her reply was very simple:  “When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches, and throwing garments on the road, and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was for him? If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in His glory, I give him all the praise and honor.”

I have been pondering that quote for some time now and realized that there are several lessons we can learn from that donkey in regards to humility. Oxford English Dictionary defines humility as having a low estimate of one’s importance, worthiness, or merit. This secular definition has caused many to have a low opinion of humility. Humble people are seen as weak, submissive, push-overs, and of little importance.

Biblically, however, humility is depicted very differently. Throughout Scripture it is seen as the opposite of pride. James 4:6 states:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

 Biblical humility does not mean that a person has a low estimate of their importance or significance. Rather, humility keeps us from having an over-inflated view of ourselves. The Greek word for humble refers to something being made low. Biblical humility is recognizing that we are lower than God and it is expressed through our submission to His Will.

The first lesson learned is that Jesus chose the donkey! His choice was not based upon giftings, talents, or charisma, but availability. She wasn’t being used at the time. I don’t say this to diminish the donkey’s abilities, but she wasn’t chosen for her wisdom, strength, or speed. God is much more concerned about our willingness to be used than by our abilities. The donkey was chosen that day, not on her own merits but because Christ chose her.

 John 15:16 states:

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go bear fruit, fruit that will last.”

Humility will always include a willingness to be available for His use. 

 

Pastor Scott Burr