Calvary Gospel Church ~ Adult Sunday School
When People Are Big ~ And When God Is Small
Growing and Knowing God
May 11, 2014
The Fear of the Lord: Its’ Beauty
The goal is to establish a daily tradition of growing in the knowledge of God.
To grow in the knowledge of the Holy God we must find such knowledge beautiful and attractive.
The fear of the Lord is the great treasurer of life.
Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the Lordleads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.
Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the Lord prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.
Proverbs 14:26
In the fear of the Lordthere is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.
Proverbs 15:16
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, Than great treasure with trouble.
Proverbs 22:4
By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
What does the fear of the Lord look like?
- It looks like loving good and hating evil.
- It looks like trusting God and obeying Him.
Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the Lordis to hate evil;
When someone sins against us we can cover the sin in humility and love, or we could confront the other person in the same spirit.
The Fear of the Lord: God’s Questions
How do you react when good things are taken from you?
How do you react to financial loss?
How do you react to the death of a family member?
How do you react to the loss of love?
How many of us, after experiencing such intense suffering, would be persuaded that God is bigger than our suffering?
Job 1:21
….The Lord gave, and the Lord h as taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 2:10
……Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”….
Challenge: Read the last four chapters of the Book of Job every day for a month.
When we proclaim that “God is God—I will submit to His will,” people have no power to manipulate, pressure or control us.
The Fear of the Lord: Face to Face
The person who fears God fears nothing else.
Reverential obedience is one of the great blessings of the fear of the Lord. We think less often about ourselves.
When a heart is being filled with the greatness of God, there is less room for the question, “What are the people going to think of me?”
The knowledge of God is the first step in liberation from the fear of people.
Isaiah 40:11
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.
When we are being oppressed by other people—whether they are enemies, bosses, or spouses—this is one of the holy pictures that God gives us. God’s compassion is bigger than the threats of other people.
It takes eyes of faith to see God’s strong arms of compassion and anticipate deliverance in times of trouble.
God’s Job-like series of questions lead us into the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 40:12, 17, 18
12Who has measured the watersin the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span…,17 All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
When the fear of the Lord matures in you, Christ becomes irresistible.
The Fear of the Lord: God’s Wrath
Hell teaches us about the fear of the Lord.
We know that we do not measure up to God’s glory and we know we deserve wrath but the thought of hell is too terrible to face.
We prefer to think about low self-image rather than nakedness before God; therefore avoiding the holiness of God.
The truth about hell:
Matthew 25:46
And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Roman 2:4
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
John 3:36
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
2 Corinthians 5:11 (NIV)
Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.
The key to learning the fear of the Lord is to stay in Scripture. When you are reading the Word of God, pray that God would teach you that He is the Holy One.
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