25-0810a Transcript

Preacher: Jim Lokenbauer

(1:06) Well, good morning everybody. Happy Sunday to all. (1:11) Well, it’s my turn to present the word of God.

(1:16) It’s always a privilege to do this. (1:21) Not being a professional speaker, I always battle with, I wouldn’t call it anxiety, (1:30) but there is a reservation in me that digs my heels in, because public speaking is not an easy thing. (1:40) But I know all of you, so I hope to be bringing you a lesson that will benefit you.

(1:48) I think it will. It’s actually designed for our youth. (1:53) Because the last couple times I’ve preached, I’ve brought you lessons called Fatherly Instruction.

(2:01) And Father being God the Father, how he instructs us, and likewise how people from the Bible, (2:10) like David and Solomon, instructed their children, giving us examples on how to teach our own children. (2:21) Today I’m going to continue this with parts 3 and 4. 4 will be this evening. (2:26) And previously we looked at if-then conditional statements from the Bible that illustrate the principle of cause and effect.

(2:38) And today we’ll examine from Scripture that motivational factor behind the cause and effect principle (2:45) that God used to help teach his children make good decisions in their lives. (2:53) And did you notice a common theme this morning in today’s Bible readings? (2:59) That you said fear, you’re correct. (3:02) And that is the motivational factor behind God’s teaching method of cause and effect.

(3:10) Fear. It’s foundational for our learning. (3:14) We are to fear God.

(3:18) And I don’t think our youth these days, or we can’t just blame the youth, (3:24) but those who are supposed to train up the youth, have no fear of God today. (3:31) There is a future after this life. (3:35) And when you realize there’s only two places you’re going to either end up at, (3:41) that should send fear into you, make you want to get to know God’s Word, (3:47) know who is the one who can send you to either of those places.

(3:54) So, fear is what we’re going to be looking at this morning. (4:01) And there are several words in the Hebrew language for fear. (4:04) And one is ya-re, which means morally reverent, afraid, and fear.

(4:14) If we go back to the very first command in which the cause and effect principle can be observed, (4:21) we can easily tell that fear was the motivational factor behind it. (4:27) In Genesis 2, 16 and 17, it reads, (4:32) Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, (4:35) You may eat freely from every tree in the garden, (4:39) but you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge, the knowledge of good and evil. (4:45) For in that day you eat of it, you will surely die.

(4:51) And here’s the principle of cause and effect. It’s plainly taught. (4:55) In regard to eating the forbidden fruit, God’s command can be reduced to this.

(5:02) You eat, you die. (5:06) Death may have been a foreign concept to Adam, (5:10) who at that time was in an eternal state, since he had access to the tree of life. (5:18) And having been created in God’s image, (5:20) he was an intelligent soul from birth, so to speak.

(5:25) He was created a full-grown man. (5:28) He wasn’t a baby man, so he had intelligence given to him by God, (5:34) and he understood what God had commanded him. (5:38) He knew to die was to stop living, (5:42) and built within all of us since the beginning of time is the natural instinct to stay alive.

(5:49) In regard to how we view or think about death, (5:53) there are sort of three mindsets or categories of thought people can have. (6:00) The first group would be the people who have a normal healthy view of death, (6:05) which is first to respect and love life, (6:09) while at the same time being aware that death is both permanent and inevitable, (6:14) and therefore not a preferable option while going through this life, (6:21) and it’s to be avoided at all costs. (6:24) Adam would have been in this group.

(6:26) Believers in God, agnostics, and even atheists can have this mindset. (6:33) And the second mindset that people can have in regard to death is to have a deep fear of it. (6:40) It’s always either on their mind or just simmering in the back of it, (6:44) causing them not to live a full, fruitful, and happy life.

(6:49) The reason they fear death is either they do not believe in God, (6:54) or they lack trust in their God. (6:58) And the third mindset would be those who either have no fear of death, (7:02) or have no regard for life, or both. (7:05) Their belief is in self, and seldom ever consider if there is a God or not.

(7:13) So they also have no fear of God, and they live reckless lives. (7:22) Back to Adam, he was faced with a command from God, (7:27) a father’s instruction to his child, (7:30) saying not to eat of something, in this case the forbidden fruit, or he would die. (7:37) Just as we, out of love, give our children instruction not to do something, (7:43) or the consequences would be bad for them.

(7:47) So Adam, we can assume, had a ya-re, or a reverent fear of his father. (7:55) Adam held God in the highest regard and loved his father, (7:59) especially because he was the only human at the time, (8:05) and needed social interaction. (8:08) God let him know that a particular food was basically poisonous and bad for him.

(8:15) So Adam looked upon him as the giver of life, the giver of blessings, (8:20) knowledge, wisdom, instruction, protection, and love. (8:23) So he knew the warning was for his benefit. (8:29) Another example of the Hebrew word ya-re is found in what was read this morning, Exodus 20.

(8:37) When God was on the holy mountain giving Israel the Ten Commandments. (8:44) If you remember, the mountain was covered with what was called the Shekinah, (8:50) that cloud of glory which enveloped the whole mountain. (8:55) It was a deep, dark cloud of boiling fire and lightning, (9:01) filled with thunder and trumpet blasts.

(9:04) And the ground was continually quaking, and they heard the booming voice of God. (9:13) So Moses told them, do not be afraid, for God has come in order to test you. (9:20) And in order that the fear of him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.

(9:29) This is a clear example that God used fear, (9:33) because it was a good teaching tool or motivator to keep the people from sinning. (9:40) They learned to fear God. (9:42) It was an awesome sight to see the scene before them on that mountain.

(9:49) And so Moses, by God, told the people not to fear, (9:58) but that the fear that they had was so that they would not sin against this holy God. (10:04) So another example of Yahweh or fear can also be used to show reverence or veneration, (10:24) which is to have a very holy respect for someone. (10:31) And we see that in Daniel 9-4, where Daniel says, (10:35) I prayed to Yahweh my God and made confession and said, (10:39) O Lord, the great and fearful God who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments.

(10:49) So Daniel used this word Yahweh there to express a reverent or venerated fear of God. (11:01) Another Hebrew word for fear is kat. (11:06) It is the most often translated dread.

(11:10) Dread, of course, means great fear or apprehension of evil or danger. (11:18) It expresses more than fear, but less than terror. (11:22) We speak of the dread of evil, the dread of suffering, the dread of being audited by the IRS.

(11:30) Or we’re guilty of something and the dread of divine retribution. (11:37) We’ll look at the first time this type of fear was used in God’s Word. (11:43) In Genesis 9-2, after the flood, when God explains to Noah that his relationship to the wild animals in the world had changed, (11:55) he said, the fear and dread of you, that’s kat.

(12:02) So he’s using both words here. (12:05) Yahweh and kat will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, (12:13) upon every creature that moves along the ground and upon all the fish of the sea. (12:19) They are given into your hands.

(12:22) And this is true because when we observe nature, most wild animals, when they see us, (12:30) dread falls upon them and they get out of our, you know, they run away from us. (12:38) That’s dread that God instilled upon them after the flood. (12:44) Pre-flood, God let Noah walk with the animals.

(12:48) They didn’t fear each other. (12:52) That’s pretty cool. (12:54) I think the only animal that doesn’t fear us, sort of, is the little bunny we let in our yard.

(13:01) It’s kind of gotten used to us, but if we get too close, it still splits. (13:05) So there still is some dread there. (13:08) Another Hebrew word for fear, or Hebrew words for fear are ragaz, (13:17) which is to quiver or shake violently with fear.

(13:21) Also rayad, which means to fear and tremble. (13:26) Another is pakkad, which is terror, great fear and alarm that an object feared. (13:32) And all of these words for fear, these particular words, (13:37) are found in these three verses in Exodus 15.

(13:42) And they express the deep, violent fear that God strikes into the hearts of his enemies. (13:51) And it says after being delivered from possible annihilation by the Egyptian army, (14:00) as Israel left Egypt, and they were crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, (14:08) news of that event spread through all the Gentile countries, (14:14) that there was a mighty God going before Israel. (14:19) The inhabitants of all the other countries saw the angel of the Lord (14:26) in that cloud of smoke by day and fire by night.

(14:33) So dread and fear fell upon them. (14:37) And in Exodus 15, 14 through 16, it says the peoples have heard, (14:42) this is Moses singing this in the Song of Moses, (14:47) where he praises God for deliverance from Egypt. (14:51) He says the people have heard, they tremble.

(14:54) Pains have taken hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. (14:59) Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. (15:02) Trembling takes hold of the mighty men of Moab.

(15:06) All of the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. (15:10) Terror and dread falls on them. (15:14) By the greatness of your arm, they are still as stone.

(15:18) Until your people pass over, Yahweh. (15:21) Until the people you have purchased pass over. (15:26) And what did Israel just experience? (15:30) Deliverance.

(15:31) Deliverance from the angel of death at Passover. (15:37) So that also was a reference to that. (15:40) But also it’s a reference to them passing over the Dead Sea, (15:45) where the waters were piled up around them, (15:49) led by the angel of the Lord.

(15:53) And we know that that is the second person of the Godhead. (15:58) We all know who that is. (16:01) That was Christ leading his people then, Israel, by dry ground.

(16:08) And it is he who instilled that dread, terror, and fear of the enemies of Israel. (16:17) And God wanted them to have that fear. (16:23) Our God, Yahweh, is to be feared and venerated, (16:28) which is the highest degree of reverence and awe.

(16:33) He’s to be obeyed, praised, respected. (16:36) And even his enemies fear him. (16:41) As Jesus was about to send out his twelve apostles to preach the gospel in Matthew chapter 10, (16:49) kind of like giving them practice for the great commission that he was soon to be giving them, (16:56) he warned them about the possibility of persecution from those who oppose the will of God.

(17:04) And he told them, do not be afraid of them. (17:08) The Greek word for fear here is phobia. (17:13) And what does that sound like? Phobia.

(17:17) And that’s fear. It covers afraid, fear, frightened, reverence, and awe. (17:23) Later, he said in that chapter in Matthew 10, 28, (17:27) don’t be afraid of those who can kill the body and are not able to kill the soul.

(17:33) Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. (17:42) And Gehenna is hell. (17:46) When you boil it down, Jesus said, do not fear man, but fear God.

(17:54) It is essential to fear God. (17:56) And now that we’ve had a look at some of what the Bible has to say about fear and some of its examples, (18:05) let’s look at how fear helps shape the believer to transform into the image of God. (18:14) Through the prophet Solomon, God explained the importance of fear (18:19) as he taught both his children and Israel’s God’s word.

(18:29) Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote the book of Proverbs. (18:35) In its beginning, he states, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. (18:44) Solomon explained that fear of God was the very foundation and starting point to acquire knowledge.

(18:54) The knowledge that you can acquire by studying these words can be applied to every area of your life. (19:04) To our worship of God, to our relationship with family, (19:08) to our interaction with friends and work associates, people in society, (19:17) in every aspect of life that you can think of. (19:22) Picture being a child and God sits you at his feet and teaches you his wisdom.

(19:29) He says to you that he gave these very words to the wisest man in the whole world (19:35) who wrote them down in a book and he explains what a proverb is and what their purpose are. (19:44) Proverbs 1 through 6 says, God said through Solomon, (19:51) the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, (19:56) for attaining wisdom and discipline, for understanding words of insight, (20:03) for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair, (20:12) for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young, (20:18) let the wise listen and add to their learning, (20:22) and let the discerning get guidance for understanding proverbs and parables, (20:28) the sayings and riddles of the wise. (20:32) In those short six verses, you can count 13 points for the purpose of a proverb (20:41) and we’ll look at those in part four of this lesson.

(20:46) But you’ve got to understand that the fear of God is the very foundation for gaining knowledge, (20:55) any kind of knowledge that can be applied both religiously and in your life outside of these walls. (21:08) Fear of God. (21:11) So, I left off the second half of the proverb that I quoted earlier, Proverbs 1-7, (21:18) where it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

(21:21) I left off the, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (21:29) Do you fear God? (21:32) Or do you live your life like the fool who says in his heart, there is no God? (21:40) Do you go through life without fearing the one whom one day you’ll have to give an account for your life? (21:47) Remember, it’s God who has the power to destroy both body and soul in hellfire. (21:56) Fear Him.

(21:58) If you need the prayers of the church, I urge you to come forward and let your need be known. (22:03) If you’d like to put on Christ in baptism, we can assist you there. (22:08) I’ll complete the rest of this lesson this evening.

(22:11) We’re going to go over those 13 points that I had mentioned. (22:16) So, I encourage you to all come back this evening. (22:20) So, this is the invitation.

(22:22) If you need, come as we stand and sing together.