"Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
Where is your hope? Genesis 22:12
The man who is going to be executed tomorrow has an amazing concentration of thought. He is certainly not thinking about superficial things – news, weather and sports, or even his portfolio. Or the man who hears "there is nothing we can do. You have only weeks to live." (Remember Greg Miller who spoke to us a few years ago as he was dying of cancer?) At this point what a person is truly hoping in looms large! Where is your hope?
"But neither exile (living here on earth as aliens and sojourners) nor homecoming (going to heaven) is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we'll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what's coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad. That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It's no light thing to know that we'll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God." (2 Cor. 5:9-11- The Msg.)
Abraham's hope was in the promises of God and with that sure hope he had the faith to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God. "The best evidence of our fearing God is our being willing to serve and honour him with that which is dearest to us, and to part with all to him or for him." (Matthew Henry -also see Rom. 11:36)
What motivates you to seek after God and to earnestly desire to please Him and honor Him in all you do? As we see from Abraham and Paul's example above, it was living in the fear of the Lord. There are other motivations to seek to know the Lord and honor Him such as our gratitude and love for what He has done to save us and bless us and our realization that this world will never satisfy us (John 6:68-69). But we must admit there are times when our love for God doesn't motivate us to sacrificial obedience and we can't simply work it up when we need to. Whereas the fear of the Lord motivates us both in a negative sense – i.e., to avoid painful consequences – God's loving discipline in this life (Heb. 12:5-11) and the loss of rewards in heaven (1 Cor. 3:10-15); as well as the positive motivation to please the Lord now in this life and hear "well done, my good and faithful servant" at the judgment seat of Christ. (Matt. 25:19-23)
God's will for our life is nothing less than to change us into the very likeness of His Son Jesus. (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18) Yet we can say we love God and remain in sinful attitudes and habits for years as David said about his enemies here in Psalm 55:19. "Because they do not change. Therefore they do not fear God." The fear of the Lord gets our attention and motivates us to change, to repent and "prepare to meet thy God" as the prophet Amos warned God's people in his day. (Amos 4:12)
But the problem is that the fear of the Lord is not a part of our nature apart from God's grace. In Romans 3:10-18, Paul (Scripture) exposes man's deficiencies and depravities ending with "there is no fear of God before their eyes." (Rom. 3:18; also see Psalm 36) And more than that, the natural man or carnal Christian actually hates God's rule and authority over his life. "Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him."(Rom 8:6-8 Amp.) This certainly seems to have been true of Adam and Eve who experienced God's very best and yet did not fear the consequences of breaking His command – "You will surely die."
So we first of all must realize our need to fear the Lord and continually ask God for His grace to rightly fear Him. "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." (Heb. 12:28-29 NKJV) We must pray David's prayer continually, O Lord, "Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." (Psalm 86:11)
We must realize the brevity of life and the very short time we have to get our soul ready for heaven. And we must look to heaven and not this life for the full recompense for our faith and obedience because Scripture and our own experiences confirm that God's perfect justice is not carried out on earth but we can know it will be on That Day. "When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, (in the end – my comment) who are reverent before God." (Eccl. 8:11-12) "Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. So then, as occasion and opportunity open up to us, let us do good[morally] to all people [not only} being useful or profitable to them, but also doing what is for their spiritual good and advantage]. Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith [those who belong to God's family with you, the believers]." (Gal. 6:7-10 Amp.) {"Those who do the former reap a harvest of disappointment and loss right here on earth because they learn as they grow older that the flesh they lived to please is decaying and dying. Then in the age to come they lose eternal rewards. Those who sow to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. There are two ways in which eternal life (same word translated everlasting) is used in the Bible: (1) It is the present possession of every believer (John 3:36). (2) It is that which the believer receives at the end of his life here on earth (Rom. 6:22). Those who sow to the Spirit enjoy eternal life here and now in a way which other Christians do not. Then, too, they will reap the rewards which accompany faithfulness when they reach their heavenly home." Believer's Bible Commentary}
We must beware of "redefining God" to be the God we want Him to be instead of the God Who is as seen in Scripture. The God in Scripture is a God of perfect justice, holiness, and wrath (for unbelievers) attributes of God that are too often overlooked and even denied. "My God wouldn't send anyone to hell" we may hear someone say. But Jesus says: "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:4-5)
We must let God's Word judge us and not judge the word and redefine God. In the passage that follows we see that the Word exposes even the thoughts and attitudes of our heart and that even our motives and attitudes will one day be judged by Jesus Christ. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him (Jesus Christ) to whom we must give account." (Heb. 4:12-13)
"Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." (1 Peter 1:17) Our motivation to obey the Lord is based on our belief about His many attributes – both those that reveal His love, mercy, etc. ("soft" attributes) and those that reveal His holiness, judgment, etc. ("hard" attributes). If we are not motivated to respond to a particular attribute (e.g., His judgment) then we really don't believe it. Unbelief is the issue.
Discussion Questions FOR APPLICATION OF GOD'S WORD
What did the Lord say to you through this message?
What does it mean to "fear God" and how does it differ from loving God as a motivation for obedience? Share what you have done (or refrained from doing) because your feared God.
If you knew you had only one more year to live, what would you do differently than you are doing now? If you would change, what would be your motivation? Discuss this at your table.
Scripture memory verse: "But neither exile (living here on earth as aliens and sojourners) nor homecoming (going to heaven) is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we'll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what's coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad. That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It's no light thing to know that we'll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God."
(2 Cor. 5:9-11- The Msg.) {Recommended books: Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer and Knowing God by J. I. Packer}