Thankful for another day to gather together, the Lord's Day. I'm thankful for this hour to study together, think through these topics together, open the scriptures, have questions, and hopefully it'll be a blessing this morning. Let me pray and we'll get started. Our glorious and gracious Father, We bow to you today, thankful we can gather in the name of the Lord Jesus, that we can have the holy scriptures to open, to read, to be encouraged and helped by, taught. Teach us, Lord, today. Use me, help me to speak in love and in truth, ultimately to glorify you. Help us learn this reality of the fear of the Lord. It's in the precious name of Jesus I pray, amen. All right, well today I am gonna continue on in this subject of the fear of the Lord. Last time it just, the time got away, there's so much. So it may end up being that next week I'm doing it as well. And you know, I'm teaching this again, partly because I feel it in my own heart as a Christian, and as a pastor or elder, this need of the fear of the Lord. And as I was reading, just in my annual reading, I try to read through once a year of the scriptures, I just kept seeing it popping up, and especially as I got into the Psalms and Proverbs, just, well, there it is again. And again, the fear of the Lord, and to where I started compiling some notes. I better set these aside, and then I felt strongly I should teach on this subject. So it is not a peripheral, minor subject in the Scriptures at all, is it? It is a fundamental aspect of Christianity, of a godly life, is this reality of the fear of God, the fear of the Lord. And just as, by way of recap from last week, I really focused on, first of all, how where Solomon started in the Proverbs, I asked the question, what's the first verse you think of when you hear the topic, the fear of the Lord? And the first one I think was pretty much unanimous. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And Solomon in Proverbs 1 says it a little differently. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. This fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So I've talked about that, knowledge and wisdom. how knowledge can, from the Lord, that comes from the fear of the Lord, you're using that knowledge for good now, because you can, two people can accumulate knowledge on the same subject, important subjects, like a doctor, and they can use that knowledge for good or evil. Well, the fear of the Lord guards you from that evil, and you use that knowledge for good, and then the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. real wisdom, wisdom from above. There's worldly wise, there's wisdom that is crafty and gets things accomplished to its own end, but wisdom from above is first of all, there's that purity aspect, peaceable, James 3 I spoke on. And, you know, wisdom is rightly applied knowledge, but it's never separate from that ethical pure aspect, real wisdom, wisdom from above. And then the definition of the fear of the Lord, it's somewhat difficult to define, isn't it? You almost have to describe it. But the attempt I had here at a definition were the words reverential awe, reverential awe, A-W-E. or reverential love, because that awe and that reverence, it isn't just head knowledge, it's knowledge that spills into your heart. So now there's this, your affections are engaged when this true fear of the Lord's occurring. And we talked about how it's knowing who we are. It's when we realize who God is and who we are, and then understanding what God has done for us, then this, This aspect of this mixture of reverence and awe and fear and joy and pleasure, these things start filling our hearts and impacting our lives, doesn't it? I was, you know, knowing who we are, just, I'll never forget, I don't know why, but one day I was sitting, I think I was about to read or just, I was alone, and I just started looking at my hand, and I started thinking of the design. I don't have one finger, I've got five, and how that thing works, and look how it bends, not just there, but there too, and I just started meditating on that creation, and I started thinking, wait a minute, God made this. He made me, but look at what He made. I was starting to worship, realizing I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. This thing works. It can be such a blessing to my whole body and my whole life. So, we're realizing who we are, a creature, made by a Creator. And this reverential awe starts coming into us, this fear of the Lord, is vital. And this is something that's in all believers, all people who know God have this because God is the one who's put it in their hearts. Jeremiah 32, he said, I will put the fear of me into their hearts to cause them to stay near me and not to go from me. Now that's big, because normally you fear something, you don't want to be around that something. You don't want to deal with that person or occasion or you fear it. But that separated the two realities of the servile fear versus the filial fear. The servile fear we talked about was like a servant to a master, a hard, mean, cruel master. The drill sergeant to the New recruit, so to speak, there's a servile fear, servant. I'm afraid of the pain they can inflict. I'm afraid of what they can do to me. Therefore, I serve. Therefore, I do what they say. Therefore, I'm obedient. And when religion, so to speak, is factored into servile fear, then you're getting into this whole reality of legalism. joyless works, and on and on. Very slippery slope. We don't fear God like that. It's a filial fear, which is rooted in the aspect of family, isn't it? And it's this, you know, God is our Father, and He's one that we love and respect and want to please. Our fear is that He's not pleased. Yes, he'll discipline and will fear that too, but the pleasing of him is what's the driver. And we see that. You could go on and on in scriptures about examples. Adam and Eve ran. They had that servile fear at the fall, didn't they? They hid. Abraham, when he offered up Isaac, his only son, he waited a hundred years for, then God said, now I know you fear me. And this was the filial, this is the right, this is the godly fear. that it's God I fear. And even though he's our father, there's still even filial fear of reverence, isn't there? We don't approach him in a cavalier way, do we? Shouldn't. It's not a chummy, chummy relationship. Pal, he's my pal. And I hate when people say the man upstairs, that's not reverential, it just isn't. It's not this casual aspect. I talked about Babe Ruth. He's taught the protocol when he went to meet the King of England. He broke all protocol and just said, hey, King. And it's not like that, is it? There's still this aspect of reverence. Well, today, I wanna focus on this aspect of the blessings that flow from the fear of the Lord. And it's just, it's pervasive through the scriptures too. The blessings that flow into our lives from the fear of the Lord. And I had a few verses just to walk through. And really it's a meditation on these verses. And for us to see that this is so contrary to a servile, wrong, misapplied fear of the Lord. But I'm going to start today in Proverbs chapter 10. If you're taking notes or jotting down or want to look with me, it's Proverbs 10, and I'll start in verse 27. Proverbs 10, 27, this is where I'm starting. It says, the fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. Think about this. That's one blessing right there. It prolongs life. The fear of the Lord prolongs life. And then the contrast, those who fear the Lord, it contrasts with who? It says the wicked. The wicked who don't fear the Lord, which we'll talk about later, but this aspect of it prolongs life. It's the beginning of knowledge and of wisdom. And in the regenerate heart, it causes us not to turn from God, flee from God, but this real fear of the Lord causes us to stay near him, doesn't it? And this principle follows, and the Proverbs are just that. They're principles, general principles of what's true. They aren't a promise or a formula. Do this, do X, Y, and it'll automatically be this. It's not mechanic, but this general principle is fearing the Lord prolongs So, I had another one not far from that in Proverbs 14, verse 27. 14.27 says, the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may turn away from the snares of death. Now, note the picture here and the contrast. Fountain of life, it says. Fountain versus snare. Life versus death. Now, I would not even need to ask any of you, which would you prefer? If you're on a journey, so to speak, to encounter a fountain or to encounter snares? It's just the contrast is so vivid, and that's what the scriptures are drawing out and showing us. Fountain. a fountain, this picture of this perpetual flow, this perpetual overflow, even, of water. You know, it's blessing you, refreshing, satisfying, it's cleansing, strengthening, nourishing, helping, it's building up, it's life-giving, it's sustaining your life, isn't it? That's what a fountain does, that's what the picture of the Scripture, that's why it's using that metaphor. It's that. A fountain's a good thing, isn't it? It's a good thing. When you're in need of a fountain, real need, you're very happy to find it, aren't you? It's a very good thing. And it says, the proverb says, the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. It's not like a fountain of life. It is a fountain of life. That's what the fear of the Lord is. It's a fountain of life, it's life-giving. And you have the snares. I mean, this is a picture of, if I were to ask you what would be the first material object or thing that you think of when you hear of a snare, what would you think of? Anyone? A bear trap? That's a snare, yeah, okay. What else, what are some snares? Don't make me call on you. You've got me curious now. What are you saying? Fishing, that's a good one, because that's a hook. That is a snare to that fish, isn't it? Goes in easy, but it don't come out easy, does it? It's designed not to. It's a snare. That was one I would have brought up myself. Well, snare. This picture of, contrary to a fountain, you get this picture of something capturing you, holding you against your will, enslaving, you're trapped, you're hurt, you're, and you're even, it's something, you're in bondage, you're stuck, it's doing damage, and ultimately, it kills. Its end is death, right? So, opposite of fountain. And that's what it says, the snares of death, and that this fear of the Lord will cause you to turn away from these. And it's that fountain aspect, we'll turn away from these snares of death. There's all kinds of snares in our lives, isn't there? The enemy is crafty. He's a crafty enemy, and enemies in war, battle, whatever kind of confrontation are ready to set traps. They're ready to set snares, and there are many, Many, many of them, but what will help you avoid those is this fear of the Lord. It will cause you to turn away from these because you now, you're fearing God, you're getting this knowledge, aren't you? And from this knowledge, you're applying it for good and you're getting this wisdom. So you see what a blessing the fear of the Lord is in that respect? Most, all of you, I think, know Eric Bird. He used to be in our church, a Fort Worth police officer. Now he's in our West Church Plant Providence Fellowship. I'll never forget one time he and I were standing right back there, kind of by that door, that entryway after a church meeting here. And I don't know why in our conversation we were talking, and I brought up this time in my life in college, where I decided not to do something or get into something that was ultimate. It was wrong or sinful, but I just, I never did that. And he just off the cuff said, well, you fear God. And I wasn't even thinking along those lines. I wasn't even thinking, well, that's the bottom root of the whole deal. But I'd started thinking, you're right. That's what it was. I fear God. And what'd that do? It caused me to turn away from that thing. I don't even recall what it was, but it caused me to turn away from that. And so he just, as a Christian, a mature man and Christian knew, he's like, well, what was going on is you fear God. And it made me praise God. It made me thankful to God. And so the blessing that can occur even in our fellowship, you know, isn't that it helped come together and think through things and talk and fellowship. Well, sin leads to this death, doesn't it? It just does. Sin is a snare. And God wants us to experience this abundance of life. He does. He's not the kind of person who, if you ask him for a fish, he's going to give you a snake. Right? That's what the enemy wants you to think. He wants you to have an abundant life. He wants you to have Joy. He wants you to be overflowing with life and joy. He wants you to be happy. He's for your happiness. That's where I think Piper is so good in this aspect of his desire to be glorified is not in conflict with your desire to be satisfied, happy. Those are not in conflict. When you walk in the fear of the Lord, look what the blessing starts coming. this fountain of life. He'll sustain you, He'll refresh you, and prolong your life. He'll deliver you from these snares. Psalm 347 says, the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. And, the psalm doesn't stop there, and delivers. He's a deliverer. So this is an incredible blessing. That's just the first one. Some won't be as long, but I want us to see that. I want us to understand that and see how important that is in this reality of the Christian life being so rooted in the fear of God, the fear of the Lord. Another one here, Proverbs 25, 14. I want us to think about this. Proverbs 25.14 says, the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant. See, we have His friendship. The fear of the Lord pleases Him. The psalmist also says, the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, those who hope in His steadfast love. But I don't want us to underestimate the blessing The privilege of God's friendship, the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him. And again, it's filial, it isn't servile. It's a real friendship, and there's no greater friendship. Jesus even said, I call you my disciples, my friends, didn't he? I call you my friends, you're not my slaves. You're my friends. You are my servant in that respect, but it's a right aspect and proper aspect of he's the king. And there's that reverence. But there's also the reality of he's your friend, too. He's your friend. God's friendship. There can be no greater blessing than a true friend in the earth, right? What the value of that is, the blessing that comes from that, is just incalculable, isn't it? So don't underestimate God's friendship. And I love it, I love it too, when a father can be a friend to their child. Or a parent, a mother, they can befriend their children, where there's that, there's still that aspect of respect, of the proper protocol in the sense of you are the dad, you're the mom, you're in charge, yet there's something beautiful too about a friendship that develops. And it probably is later when the child gets a little older. And I think it's just healthy, don't you? When you see that, there's I love you, you're my parent, but I also like you. I like being with you, I like and you like them, you wanna call, you wanna talk, you wanna go do something, there's something healthy about that. And I know this is a little bit idealized, it's not always the case, but there is a beauty in that, right? And God's showing us that his friendship, his friendship is for those who fear him. It's not for those who treat him in a casual, chummy, pal-like friendship, that's different. But this real friendship, this lasting thing, this relationship of a healthy love and enjoyment of one another, it's there. It's there with God for those who fear Him. That's how God is. That's how He is. He will be your friend. I remember one preacher one time mentioned, he said, Jesus Christ, can be your greatest friend. And he said, but someday he'll be your only friend. And what was he talking about? In that day, when it's over, when you come to die and you're standing, you'll want that one friend. You must have that one friend in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him. So there again, there is another blessing that comes, that flows out of this proper fear of the Lord. Another one, I'm back in Proverbs 14. Proverbs 14, 26 says, the fear of the Lord, I'm sorry, in the fear of the Lord, one has strong confidence and his children will have a refuge. So look at this, this fear of the Lord gives us this strong confidence, this great confidence in life. And it's not only that, but it's a blessing to our children. But this strong confidence, think of this. When you properly are walking in the fear of the Lord, what is going to be birthed in you is this strong confidence. Confidence. Now think, Contemplating this, how these go together, confidence comes to you. Do you ever feel like I have zero confidence? Or is this not self-confidence, right? Self-confidence is not necessarily a good thing, but when confidence stems or comes from this proper fear of God, now this is a good thing. This is a thing from God that we need, isn't it? We need this strong confidence. And it made me wonder, well, if I'm defeated or if I'm lacking in this, then what's the answer? I think it, number one, let me just throw it out to the Bible study class. If we're lacking, what would be ways to regain confidence? I mean, I know we'll fear God, but what can we do? I missed that. Read his word. Yes. Rehearse past things he's done. Yeah. Anything else? The gospel substance. Right. Yeah. Gospel application helps in every aspect of life, every aspect of defeat or discouragement or weakness or lack of confidence, bring back in the gospel, which tells us, again, how great He is, who we are, what we've done, how He's dealing with us. Start thinking about how loving He is, how compassionate He is, His promises come in through. It is, it's a refocus. And it's not on me. Start looking inward, start figuring out the problem in here. No, it's a refocus out. Back to Christ, back to Him, His power, His love, His compassion. And so this fear of the Lord, as it says, in the fear of the Lord, one has strong confidence. It's a possessive aspect. You have it. When you're walking in the fear of the Lord, it's yours. You have strong confidence. You have every reason to be, now that you're properly fearing God and have that reverential awe and your affections toward him, you have this confidence that will come. And he talks as well about your children, our children. Strong confidence and your children will have a refuge. Refuge is a place to flee to or a place to find safety, a place to find comfort, a place to find protection. Your children will have that when you are fearing God. And I started this whole subject or this whole talk on Psalm 128, if you remember, those of you who are here. Psalm 128, it might be worth even going back to that. I'm gonna turn back to it. But Psalm 128, it's very brief. Very short, but it's the essence of this psalm is this subject. The fear of the Lord blesses everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. And you're fearing him and you're walking in his ways. His confidence will be there. And you shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands and you shall be blessed and it shall be well with you. Verse three, your wife, oh, My wife? Yeah, your wife. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house. And your children will be like olive shoots around your table. So think about that. Your wife. You've walked in the fear of the Lord. You have this friendship with the Lord. You're walking in His ways. This knowledge is coming now, the fear of the Lord's beginning of knowledge, this wisdom's developing in you, wisdom from above, which is peaceable, pure, gentle, reasonable, cultivating fruitfulness, and you've got now this confidence, this godly confidence, and now guess what? Your wife. Your wife's gonna be blessed. So this blessing overflows to you and it overflows to your wife and your children. So when you fear the Lord, you're walking in this, it's not just you that get the blessing, it's others. And the psalmist here starts with those others who are most intimate in your life, those you love the most, those whom you live with, they're gonna be blessed. And he says, your wife will be like a fruitful vine. That's a beautiful picture, isn't it? We have the picture of a fountain, something beautiful, life-giving, refreshing. And there's another one, a fruitful vine. Now, if you're on that journey, you encounter a fountain, you avoid the snares and traps, you encounter a fountain, ah, yay, good. And then, what do you encounter next? A fruitful vine. Even better, more blessing. You see, and it comes from this walking in the fear of the Lord, the fear of God. You won't just be blessed, but others will be blessed too. Your children will be like olive shoots around your table. It's just, I don't know if many of us here have olive shoots really around our table, maybe as a decor, but if it were a decor, it'd be because it's pretty. But the picture is, it's again, it's this fruitfulness. Your children are gonna be blessed, life-giving, fruitful. They're gonna be impacted by you walking in the fear of the Lord. He's talking about the husband and the father, isn't he? And it would mean the wife, you too walk in the fear of the Lord, it's gonna bless others. Well, that's another thing. You see, blessings flow. God is not against, this fear of the Lord is not against your happiness. Psalm 31, 19. And it says, Psalm 31, 19, I think this is very helpful. He says, oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you. and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind." So think of this. This is an incredible picture. Goodness. This goodness from God being stored up. That's the language. Stored up. And it's like some kind of, I don't know, storage bin. When you think of this aspect of stored up, what's the picture that comes to your mind? Storing up. A grain silo? Yeah. I thought of that too, actually, with Joseph. Plague's coming. He's walking in obedience and in the fear of the Lord. What does he start doing? Storing up. Storing up all this grain, which will be giving life and blessing. What else? What do you store up for good? What comes to mind? Come on, folks. What about like a savings account? You're storing up. You're storing up, right? So that the unforeseen may occur, that when it does, then you'll have some help, right? I thought of a savings account. I thought of the grain silo. Storing up, keeping food. Storage locker. Somewhere to keep things for you, for when you need it. Not necessarily junk, right? That can be wasteful, but something needful for the future. That's the picture, something needful for the future. Those who walk in the fear of the Lord, this is going on. This is, by inspiration of the scriptures, God's telling us this is a reality happening for you. You're walking in the fear of the Lord, you don't see it, you may not even feel it, but it's happening. God is storing up what? Goodness. That's hard to always define. Goodness, though, is the thing being stored up for you. And it's just incredible. And I think it appears to be some kind of just God keeping this for you, for those who fear him. And it will be worked for you, ESV says, or bestowed upon you. poured out upon you or wrought into your life at God's timing and in God's way and in His providence and in His wisdom, this storage of goodness is gonna be coming your way. And it's gonna be wonderful. It's gonna help you. It's for those who fear God. It makes me think of those who, when things get hard, right, when things get difficult, we face things in life that are extremely trying, or heart-wrenching, or just upsetting, or whatever the negative adjective is. This verse right here, it can be a real help. And sometimes you will hear a mature Christian, when they are facing things, when they're in a situation, or they're hurt somehow, a lot of times you'll hear the statement, we're looking to the Lord, I'm looking to God, or I'm trusting in the Lord in spite of the situation. And I think what they're really saying underneath what's driving that is they're gonna fear God. They're gonna walk in the fear of the Lord no matter what is going on. And this verse here, Psalm 3119, can be such a buttress and a help and a sustainer because this goodness is being stored up for those who continue to walk in the fear of the Lord. And he's gonna, no matter the circumstance, he's gonna pour out this goodness. It's for you. He's not gonna not let you ever have it, is he? It's for you. And it's for those who fear the Lord. So this is another blessing that comes from this proper fear of the Lord. There's this storage bin of God's goodness waiting, and it's coming. So just continue to walk in the fear of the Lord. I'm almost done, actually, so hopefully you'll have some questions and comments. Psalm 34 9 says, O fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack. He's going to provide. You're not going to lack. If you're walking with him, he's your friend. You're walking in this knowledge and wisdom. There won't be a lack. There won't be. God sustains and provides and even prospers those who fear the Lord. We're not a health, wealth, prosperity church by any means. Yet we don't want to let that heresy rob us of biblical truth either, right? For example, Proverbs 22.4, the proverb says, the reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches in honor and life. It is, it's riches in honor and life. So you think, well, if I fear the Lord, if I live that way, I won't have adequate provision, this honor aspect, I won't have whatever honor I want, or I won't have the life I want, well then you're missing it. Because really it's talking about true riches, isn't it? True riches. You may not be a multimillionaire, but you will be in a spiritual sense in God's eyes. You will have this. And you're always dependent upon the Lord, right? Always. You're always in this walking in this fear of the Lord and in this humility, but the Proverbs says there will be true riches and true life. And the very next verse ties into what I was talking about earlier. Proverbs 22.5, it says, the thorns and snares, thorn's another good one on snares. Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked. Whoever guards his soul will keep far from them. So you have that contrast, Proverbs 22, 4, and then verse 5. Riches, honor, and life are for those who fear the Lord in the true sense. Avoidance of snares, thorns, you'll be guarded from that. Well, my focus today, saints, is to emphasize the blessings that flow from the fear of the Lord. And I didn't want to go too fast because I want it to set in. I want us to think about these. I want you to be able to get it. That these blessings flow to the lives of those who fear the Lord. And when we rightly fear the Lord, we have this awe, this reverence. And a pleasure in this reverential love and awe of God and walking in His ways is that you're going to be blessed. You as a Christian will be sustained as a Christian. And we're not justified by fear of the Lord, are we? We're justified by faith alone in Christ alone. But this is the Christian life, walking in the fear of God.