Open your Bibles, if you will, with me to Isaiah chapter 33. Isaiah chapter 33. You need to understand a little bit about the context of this passage to even understand all of it. you need to recognize that this passage has been set at a time in 715 or 713 BC. In 722, Sennacherib came and he came with his Assyrian army and he wiped out Israel what he didn't kill. He took and those tribes were lost for literally millennia until 1948 when all of a sudden those people who were scattered to the four winds, little pockets of them from India and Africa and Ethiopia, all over the world started coming back and God was bringing to pass what he promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and David, and Daniel. Aren't you glad that Israel hasn't been swallowed up in the church. We're the church. We're the bride. John the Baptist and all those before him are the friend of the bride. And we're glad we have a lot of friends. And there's going to be a lot more when Israel looks upon the one whom they've pierced. And they come. And there's a fountain open in the house of David for sin and for uncleanness. It's going to be a grand day. But nine years after 722 is 713, and Assyria thought, let's wipe them out. Let's take Jerusalem too while we're at it. Let's go on down and take the southern kingdom. So they came down to take them. As they drew near to Jerusalem, the people of Judah were unsure what to do. The false prophets had two different points of view. Some of them said, just capitulate. Capitulate and your lives will be saved. Capitulate to Assyria. The other said, no, make an alliance with Egypt. And Isaiah came and said, don't do either one. Fear God. Fear God. And so if you turn to Isaiah 33, God is talking to Assyria here. Ah, you destroyer. You, you yourself who have not been destroyed. You traitor, whom none has betrayed. When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed. And when you have finished betraying, they will betray you. And then Isaiah is praying for the nation of Judah. Oh Lord, be gracious to us. We wait for you. Be our arm every morning. our salvation in the time of trouble. Now back to the scene. At the tumultuous noise, peoples flee. When you lift yourself up, nations are scattered and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers as locusts leap. It is leapt upon. Now we're coming to our text. The Lord is exalted for he dwells on high. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. And he will be the stability or the sure foundation of your times. Abundance, and we've heard about it, of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. And the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure. Or as the New Living Translation says it, the fear of the Lord is the key to Zion's treasure. Wow. Let's ask the Lord for His help. And let's get ready for communion today. And as we do, I want to come to the key. The key. Somehow or other, we've heard about salvation by grace through faith. Faith. And we're to add to it. If we're going to have any wisdom, we have to add to it from 2 Peter chapter 1. We have to add virtue. And we've went all the way down, all the way to brotherly love. and agape, and then we have to have wisdom. We have to have the aroma, the aroma of Christ, the fragrance of his knowledge. We've heard, haven't we heard tremendous messages? Now let's ask God for a simple message on the fear of the Lord, which is the key to wisdom, knowledge, and salvation. Proverbs says in Proverbs 1.7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Let's pray. And now, Heavenly Father, as we seek your face, you alone are the stability of our times. In Christ's Lord, we're more secure than ever. As we used to sing, Trigare caning in vare, in gud slilla borne at scarra, hwerne ne po himla feste, fo glenei cinne nesta. More secure is no one ever than the loved ones of the Savior. Help us, Lord, in the face of life's despondency and meaninglessness to realize, God, you're here, and you're the sure foundation, and you're the stability of our times. And this text is messianic because you're telling about the coming of Messiah in the face of the storm, in the face of the threat. Lord, I thank you for a leader like Hezekiah. I thank you, Lord, that he spread it all out before you. Rabshakeh got up and said all those awful words we can hardly say in public. And they said, don't speak in our language. But he could speak that language and scared him to death. But Hezekiah, Lord, he poured it all out before you because he feared you. He had the fear of the Lord, which is Zion's treasure. Oh God, give us that treasure. The fear of the Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let me read just a few passages. If you'll open your Bibles, turn to Isaiah chapter 30. Chapter 30. And you'll realize that Egypt isn't the answer. Ah, stubborn children, declares the Lord, who carry out a plan but not mine, who make an alliance but not of my spirit. Even in these days of fear, hasn't the church turned too often? The church has turned to an alliance with the world, that they may add sin to sin. Who set out to go down to Egypt without asking for my direction? to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation. They were fearing the Lord, he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, my refuge, my fortress, my God, in him will I trust. And it says, and though his officials are at Zohan and his envoys reach Haines, everyone comes to shame through a people that cannot profit them. That brings neither help nor profit, but shame and disgrace. Hezekiah pours this whole thing out before the Lord. He pours it out before him. And if you'll turn to Isaiah chapter 37, you'll find what's happening here. And it's an incredible, it's an incredible story. He receives the letter, he pours it out before the Lord, and he says in verse 20, ''So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that's Sennacherib and Assyria, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.'' Little Judah, two little tribes. Who are they among so many? 185,000 Assyrians, and nobody has stopped them. Nobody has stopped them. Wow. It's an incredible thing. But when you fear the Lord, notice verse 36, what God can do. And the angel, that's just one angel. Imagine what two could have done. But only one angel. This is how big God is. Just one of his angels. And an angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when the people arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead bodies. That's it. 185,000, easy, done, over. Any more assignments? That'll be good for today. Isn't that amazing the kind of God we have? Just one of his angels. And when people arose early in the morning, that's those in Judah, they were still alive. Behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. He returned home in shame. without his army. Can you imagine going out with 185,000, coming home by yourself? God wanted him to return in shame. But God wasn't done. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, after he saw what God could do, because he heard what Isaiah said, we're going to fear. He said, don't let you, don't let anyone tell you that your God can overcome us. No other gods have. He goes home in shame with his tail between his legs because he knows he's been whipped. But he's foolish. He lived at Nineveh. I wonder why Nineveh was so bad. And he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch, his god, who's no god at all, Adramelech, and Sharizer, his son, struck him down with a sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, you know where that is, that's where the ark landed, Ezra had his son reigned in his place. So, what have we come to? We've come to stability or a sure foundation. Fear me, God says, I'll be your treasure, I'll be your sure foundation, I'll be your stability, I'll be your conquering army, I'll be your resource. And in Isaiah 26, 3 and 4, he says, you keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. And then Isaiah spoke to the people and said, trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord is an everlasting rock. In Isaiah 30, verse 15, God told Isaiah, tell God's people in quietness and in confidence, resting in the Lord shall be your strength. So that's what we're going to preach about today. That was way back in 713. This is 2021. It's a few years now, right? God never changes. He has been, He is, He ever will be the sure foundation, the stability of His people no matter what we face. Hebrews 13, eight is our treasure. Jesus Christ is the same. That's the key. That's the fear of the Lord. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and the door's unlocked. Our hours of trial are intense, but God keeps a firm grip on us through the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ living in us. If we have been taught anything at this conference, I hope we have taken the word to heart and we've heard God saying, quit letting the national news and the political news and the medical news and all the other kind of news on whatever channel, I don't care what channel you're listening to. Quit letting that be what you fear. Fear me. Fear me. Fear me. The fear of the Lord. is the stability of our times. Now, I wondered if what I was going to say was something that my brother would have said, but he never mentioned this, so I'll just mention it. Out there where he lives, there's a place called San Dimas. Have you ever heard of San Dimas? It's right there by Big Dalton Canyon, and between that and go past San Bernardino to Highland, there's a little 38-mile long road. I don't know if you knew this, but it's called Baseline Road. Baseline Road. is baseline because they took a survey of that road 150 years ago and the dictionary defines a baseline as a line of measurement calculation and location and when the fear of the Lord doesn't shift no matter what happens in our world that's a baseline and God is saying the fear of the Lord is your baseline I'll make sense out of the instability of your times. I'll take care of all the confusion, all the conflicted problems that arise. If the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure, and it is, then God values as a treasure when we as his people fear him. We're the bride of Christ. We're the very Israel of God. No, the church doesn't replace Israel. All God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and David, and Daniel, All of those down through the years will be kept, as well as all his promises to the church. But we're called the Israel of God because we have been, we're the wild olive branch that's been grafted in. And don't be too proud. We just got grafted in. When we join Abraham in our faith and fearing God, something happens when we fear God. We stop trembling. It's time for the church to stop trembling. It's time for the church to stop trembling. Whenever you agree with me and say it with me, we'll be done with this line. When we fear God, we will stop trembling. The church has been trembling too much. We tremble before God, but not before the news. This is our last morning of the 10th Annual Intermountain West District Evangelical Fellowship of Free Church Conference. We're going to share the Lord's Supper in a few minutes. But God the Holy Spirit has called us to a baseline. He's called us to a final means of giving us a sure foundation, stability for our times. We've heard some of the most powerful messages that have been spoken on earth ever except for Jesus in these last two days. Now, if you think I'm wrong, debate me. I'll talk to you later. We prayed that God would come down. He's been down. And we could have just said, okay, let's all pray and go home. But God says, don't leave out the key. The key is the fear of the Lord for our volatile times. If we're gonna have the salvation by faith that we're gonna add to, and that we're gonna have the fragrance, this aroma of Christ in 2 Corinthians 2.14. And the word of God teaches us five priorities. We're going to look at brief priorities that God uses to lead us into the true fear of the Lord. Number one, fearing the Lord begins with an intimate relationship with him that is ever growing. There it is. Write it down. Take it home. Tell your people. Turn to Isaiah 41, verse 10 to 13. Isaiah 41, 10 to 13. Fear not, for I am with you. Circle it. I'm with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. Underline it. I'll help you. Circle it. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded. Those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them. Those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. In essence, he says, I am with you. I will help you. I will fight for you. For I, the Lord, your God, hold your right hand. It is I who says to you, fear not. I am the one who helps you. I want you to know that all true fear of the Lord develops out of a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to be drawn. We have to be drawn to Jesus by God the Father. No one comes to Jesus without being drawn. If you weren't drawn, let him draw you. He's tugging at your heart. He's been doing that with cords of love over and over. Last night, when God said to me, give an invitation, I wasn't sure. I thought, Lord. He said, give an invitation. OK, that's enough. We have two ladies that came into the kingdom last night because he's still drawing. He says, I'll draw all men and women, boys and girls, to me. When we repent, believe, and receive Him, we receive something called the fear of the Lord, and it's more than what unbelievers and even the devil and his angels all have, who fear and tremble before God. Because whatever you know about the devil, know he's scared to death of God Almighty. That's why he got cast out of heaven. That's why his time is short, and he's doing anything to defeat God, but he can't. He has stepped up his ante. He has amped it up. And if you haven't felt it, get in the Spirit and feel the amp. It's up. It's up. He's going to do everything to try to stop us, but greater is He that is in us than he that's in the world. James 2, verse 19 says, even the demons believe and they shudder. How does this intimate relationship grow? It most often comes in times of tests and trials. If you haven't had any tests and trials, you probably won't grow much in your relationship. but I haven't had any lack of them. Because I've had plenty of them, I get to keep growing in the Lord. I'm so glad you're here, Diane, with your husband. I'm so glad. I love seeing your face. We've prayed for you. You've been through such terrible things. Here you are. Let me tell you how God works. The doctor says, there's no hope. That's all he says, just three words. There's no hope. What do you do when he says, there's no hope? He says, fear not. I'm with you. I will help you. I will fight for you. And whether he heals you on earth or he heals you and takes you to a better place with a brand new body and all that, he's going to heal you. I'm with you. I will help you. I will fight for you. You get the hospital bill. You look at your sweetheart and you say, there's no way. There's no way we can ever pay for this. There's no way we'll ever get the money. God says, fear not. I am with you. I will help you. I will fight for you. Your marriage runs into a snag. If yours has it, you're not married. Get it straight. All marriages run into snags. So there you are, wimping or limping off to work, and there she is home alone, and she's sad, and you're sad, or one of you is mad, and it's a hard time, and you call out to God, and you say, what are you going to do? What if she leaves me? What if he leaves me? God says, fear not. Fear me. I'm with you. I will help you. I will fight for you. You have a situation at work, you can feel it in your bones, you're going to get fired, and you do. You're sure it's going to follow you and you won't get a job, and you're just giving up. God says, be not afraid, fear me, I'll be with you, I will help you, I will fight for you. This week, I heard on the news, just came on, I saw it, our country is going broke. Well, I had remembered that the news said it was going to all happen on April 14th. False prophecy. You know what they said this week? They said, the banks are going to seize all of your accounts and you will have nothing in the bank. Well, what if they do? Fear not. Fear me. I am with you. I will help you. I will fight for you. You say, one or more of my children has turned away from God. They won't listen to me. What am I going to do? Fear not. Fear me. I am with you. I will help you. I will fight for you. Don't be dismayed. I'll strengthen you. I'll help you. I'll uphold you with my righteous right hand. I'll keep a firm grip on you. Don't be anxious. Don't fear what man can do to you. Fear me. There's a hymn writer by the name of Oscar C. Ellison. He was born in 1902. He went home to Jesus in 1985. So he lived to 83. But he shouldn't have lived. He should have died like his brother. They both had tuberculosis. He was a Swedish-American pastor. He served in the assemblies of God, which also are going to heaven, all of them that are born again. It's not just one denomination, folks. He was a prolific poet and composer and hymn writer. He wrote 50 hymns and gospel songs. Oscar and his brother Paul were diagnosed with tuberculosis, which was swamping our nation and all the world and still is in many nations. They were put in a sanatorium in Minneapolis where Paul died. After the death of Paul in 1929, Though he was weak, he got out and he kept preaching, and his right lung collapsed. And when his right lung collapsed, he decided to write a hymn in 1946 called, I've Learned to Know a Name I Highly Treasure. Billy Graham heard of it. Cliff Barrows heard of it. Bev Shea heard of it. They started singing it at all their crusades. They came to Minneapolis and they got Oscar Ellison to be up there and to say, this is his song. He attended. How can a man with tuberculosis keep in the ministry? A Presbyterian minister came to see him in 1964. And he says, why aren't you healed? Well, he says, I've been anointed with oil. I've been prayed over. He says, there's nothing wrong in doing it one more time, is there? Prayed for him, and he was healed on the spot in 1964 and lived to the age of 83. The song that he wrote that has been sung in Billy Graham crusades for years by a man with a collapsed lung, as I've learned to know a name I highly treasure. Oh, how it thrills my spirit through and through. Oh, precious name beyond degree or measure. My heart is stirred whene'er I think of you. That name brings gladness to a soul in sorrow. It makes life shadows and its clouds depart, brings strength and weakness for today, tomorrow. That name brings healing to an aching heart. That name still lives and will live on forever while kings and kingdoms will forgotten be through mist or rain. It will be clouded never. That name shall shine and shine eternally. And the chorus I love. My heart is stirred whene'er I think of Jesus. That blessed name that sets the captive free. The only name through which I find salvation. No name on earth has meant so much to me. Fearing the Lord begins with an intimate relationship with him and it keeps growing even if your lung collapses. David says the key, the secret, the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, Psalm 25, 14. So if you want the key, you have to start out, you have to start out with an intimate relationship with Jesus that keeps growing. Number two, fearing the Lord comes from how we speak of God differently and never disrespectfully. You'll notice Isaiah 41.1, God's calling his kids. He's calling everyone to silence before him. Listen to me in silence, O coastlands. Let the peoples renew their strength. Let them approach and then let them speak. Be reverent before Him. Let us draw together near for judgment. The coastlands have seen their afraid. The ends of the earth tremble. They have drawn near and they come. Do we come honestly and respectfully before the Lord God Almighty? He's not our buddy. He's our Savior. He's our Lord. He's our bridegroom. But we don't speak lightly of Him. The greatest example of fearing God in the Bible, perhaps, is Job. Job 1.1, there's a contest in heaven, and the dragon, the red dragon, Lucifer, the accuser of the brethren, who gets us to accuse each other when we listen to it, he goes and accuses of all things, and God sets it up. I don't understand all that goes on. Because he says, how are things going down there on earth? He says to Lucifer, how are things going? Well, pretty good. Thank you. And he says, have you noticed my servant Job? He's a righteous man that fears God. He says, yeah, take away his hedge. Take away his cars. Take away his trucks. Take away his boat. take away his houses, take away his lands, take away his seven sons, his three daughters, take away the confidence of his wife, and then see where he is. He'll curse you to your face." So it all happened. Job 1.21-22 says, when it all happened, Job tore his robe, shaved his head. You can look around and see what that looks like. There's a few places here. He shaved his head. He fell on the ground and he worshipped God saying, naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I shall return, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin or change or charge God with wrong with his lips. Why? Because fearing the Lord comes from how we speak of God, differently from the world, never disrespectfully. How we speak about God is a priority that must always prevail in private, even when you're working on the car and you hit your thumb with a nail. How do you speak of God then? The last prophet in the Old Testament, Malachi, in Malachi 3.13, spoke to the people and charged them. God said, your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. And in Malachi 3.15-18, God gives us the definition of what makes us as believers stable in our times. It includes the definition of what makes us different and distinguishes us from the world. It's our speech. Our speech is different. We read, then those who feared the Lord spoke often with one another. And the Lord paid attention and heard them. And he had to write it down. When he hears us talking, he writes it down. It's a book of remembrance. Are you in the book? It's a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and thought often or spoke often or esteemed his name. Then he says, they shall be mine, says the Lord, in the day when I make up my jewels, my treasured possession, and I'll spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see. the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. How do we know if we fear the Lord, our speech betrays us or it shows who we are? When you say, excuse my French, it's no excuse to God. When you let a rip, Whether it's vulgar words or curse words or you're trying to make your point, so you add an emphasis of a word God doesn't want, you're not getting closer to Him. You're being disrespectful to Him. We demonstrate in those moments that we do not fear God as we should. What's down in the well will always come up in the bucket. The Bible says, what the heart is full of, the mouth speaks, Luke 6, 45. In Romans 3, 18, Paul quotes David in Psalm 36, 1, saying, there is no fear of God before their eyes. How do you know? By their lips. Fear in the Lord, having an intimate relationship that's growing, means you know not to be afraid. You fear him. He says, I'm with you. I'll help you. I'll fight for you. Fearing Him means we speak of Him differently than the world, never disrespectfully. Thirdly, fearing the Lord always means we honor His word. We always honor His word. When we begin to speak of the need for stability and a sure foundation in our times, this third priority is paramount. Fearing God means we give great reverence to His word. Isaiah speaks of this in a verse that makes chills go up and down my spine, because he talks about God as creator and moves immediately into his response as redeemer to us who are redeemed. I want to read it to you, and I want you to think about it. It just gives me chills when I think about it. Gus has been saying, holy man, holy woman. You say, forget it. If you are, admit it. If you aren't, get saved. Isaiah 66, 1 and 2 is powerful. Heaven is my throne, God says, and the earth is my footstool. That's my Hasek. It's where I put my feet up is on the earth. He's got his feet up here in Rock Springs today. I feel his presence. He's got his feet up here. He's resting here. All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look. He who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word. God fears never take one word of the Lord lightly. I don't care if you're a professor or a preacher and you say this is an obscure passage. You just messed up. You're not honoring. Every word of God is tested. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words lest he reprove you and you be proved a liar. Proverbs 35 and 6. God fears. Take every word. and are quick to do what the Word of God says. Now, our very destiny, our very destiny, our future is tied to how we respond to the Word of God. If you don't respond with honor to the Word of God, you're going to hell. That's it. Jesus said in Matthew 7, 24 to 27, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell. And the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house. But it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. Now, I hope this is you. And everyone, no, I don't hope this is you. I hope what I just said was you. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them, may it not be. It's like a foolish man or woman who built his house on the sand and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. If we ignore God's word, our destiny is we will fall. If we honor God's word, if we take time to read it daily, I want you to know we cannot honor God any higher than he should be. You can never honor him high enough. But when you honor him and obey his word, you hear God's word and do it. What a rebuke it must have been to his own earthly mother and his own earthly brothers and sisters. When early in his ministry, because you know, the brothers, sisters never really came to Jesus until after the resurrection. He appeared to James and He got the word out. Everyone believed they were in the upper room. But you remember they came to take him away from a house where everybody was crowded around and he was healing the sick. They said, go in and tell him that his family is outside. They wanted him to come out. In Luke 8, 19-21, This is what happened. Then his mother and brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, your mother and your brothers are standing outside desiring to see you. But he answered them, my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of the Lord and do it. Are we reading God's word and doing it? The stability of our times is because we have an intimate relationship and we're not afraid. We fear God. He will be with us. He'll help us. He'll fight for us. We speak respectfully, differently from the world, and we honor his word. Fourthly, fearing the Lord is characterized by our living a holy life. Living a holy life. Isaiah 8, 11 to 13 is so powerful. For the Lord spoke to me with this strong hand, his strong hand upon me and warned me. This seems like it's written in 2021. I'm going to start again. For the Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people saying, do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy. Doesn't that sound like something you've heard in 2021? I couldn't believe it when I read it. Do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread, but the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. In Isaiah 35.8, He says, The pathway for those that fear the Lord is called the highway of holiness. Oh, that it would be traveled more than I-80. The highway of holiness. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6.16-7.1, speaks in a passage that people have said is kind of oblique, maybe on the side. Well, it used to be a time when this was one of the main passages you'd hear when you go to a holiness camp, or you'd go to any kind of a place and hear about holiness. But it's like it isn't often quoted, but I'm going to quote it to you. What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. God is living in us. And God said, I will make my dwelling, your body, my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I'll make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst. Get out away from all the idolatry. and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing, and I will welcome you. I'll be a father to you. You'll be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord God Almighty. Since we have these promises, now there's a phrase here you ought to put on your refrigerator. Since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Now here's the phrase. Bringing holiness to completion, in the fear of God. Well, what does he mean by all this? Because we fear God, we should endeavor to perfect holiness. Let's say it plainly. We should get rid of all the sinful habits in our life. Boom. That's it. That's all. In the fear of God, we get rid of our sinful habits. What's your sinful habit? Think of it. If you want to live a holy life and have the fear of the Lord, get rid of it. Not tomorrow. Right now, get rid of it. How do we do this? Paul says, cleanse yourself from all filthiness. God can do the final cleansing. He means you got to get rid of it. You got to burn it. You got to mash it. You got to smash it. You got to do whatever you have to do. We must cleanse ourselves from what filthiness? Every, all filthiness. We should never tolerate any un- Any known sin, not unknown, we can't take care of those until he reveals them. But we should never tolerate any known sin in our lives, no matter how small it is. This doesn't mean that we separate ourselves from unsaved sinners. The Lord desires that we share the gospel with all people and go where you have to go to do what you have to do, but don't do what the world does. To do this means we cleanse ourselves from sinful thoughts, all sinful thoughts, all sinful words, all sinful actions, and we hate what God hates, and we do what pleases God. When we fear God, we strive daily to live holy lives. Jenny and I have been reading through Jeremiah recently. We came this week across Jeremiah 7.23 and we both commented on it. I said certain things, she said certain things, but they all boil down to one thing. He says, obey my voice and I will be your God. That's it. Obey my voice and I'll be your God. Will you do it? Well, let's look at the last point and think about that. Obey my voice and I'll be your God. The fifth and last thought we have for you today is fearing the Lord is doing everything God commands. How much? What? What's the word I said? Everything. I don't know if you like that. Some things, a few things, everything. This means whatever God commands is in his word. Whatever we know is the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we will obey, we will do whatever it is. Now, Jeremiah again, 723, obey my voice, and I'll be your God, and you shall be my people. If you walk in all I command you, it will be well with you. How would all of you like for things to be well with you? Just have to obey God's voice in everything he says. That's it. In fact, Isaiah 50 verse 10 says, who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? God links fearing him with obeying him on all counts. Now, let me just mention, as we come towards the end of this message, on this last point, Abraham is certainly the man we look to. He's the man we talk about as the man of faith. He was tested by God. After he finally, at age 100, he and Sarah finally decided to obey God after 25 years of having known he wanted them to have a child, they finally did it. And God says, he's probably 18, 22, he's somewhere in there. He's a young man. He can carry wood. He can go way up a hill. He's pretty. He's pretty active, pretty spry. On the way up the hill, he says, ''Dad, my father, my father, I got the wood, you got the fire and the knife, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?'' This man of faith says, ''My son, the Lord will provide a lamb for the sacrifice.'' And what did this man do? He heard a voice. He heard a voice. That's why he's on this three-day journey. He heard a voice, just a voice. God told him, Abraham, Abraham. He says, present, here I am. God said, take your son, your only son, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him. There is a bird offering on one of the mountains, which I'll tell you. He was to be the lamb on the altar, slain, set on fire, and to burn. The Lord didn't tell him how it was going to turn out, did he? He says, go do it. Abraham was obedient. He and his son built the altar. You can imagine. How many altars we built on this mountain over here to lay things down before God, I don't know. But it was a lot bigger altar than that. This altar would carry his son. It was a great big altar. And then he tied up his son, and lifted him, and laid him down. And his son looks up into his father's eyes. And his dad takes out his knife out of his sheath. And he goes, and an angel of the Lord cried, Abraham! Abraham! I want to make sure you heard it. Do not lay your hand on the boy. Don't do anything to him. I don't even understand this next thing. But I know he said it. For now I know that you fear God. For now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. I'm going to say it again. What did he say? Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." Abraham's radical obedience to God demonstrated he feared God. God is looking for that kind of radical obedience from me and you. It's his special treasure. It's the key. that unlocks the door to stability in our times. He may allow you to go through some of the most difficult tests you've ever wanted to ever see. And if you don't drop the key, if you have that fear of the Lord key. That's what Isaiah is speaking of, this treasure of radical obedience. And he will be the sure foundation, the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the key to Zion's treasure. The fear of the Lord that obeys whatever he asks of us is an extremely valuable treasure. I ran across a fellow, probably these men over here from India, maybe even have heard of this guy. I've never heard of him before. I just ran across him. Ever heard of Stuart Patiko? You have? He's in England. He's a pastor of Joy Community Church in England. And I just read what he had to say, and I said, Lord, I'm not going to try to say that as well as he said it. So I'm just going to quote him. This is what he said. He's talking about should we do whatever God asks of us. He says, what if God spoke to you and asked you to give up the thing that was most valuable to you? Would you give it up? Perhaps God has been speaking to you to give up something. See to it that you obey him. For then you will demonstrate what is most valuable to God, the fear of the Lord. If we fear God, then we will do what God tells us to do, no matter what it is. Has God spoken to you about something? Has he called you to do a particular work for him? No matter how hard it seems, it is so important that you obey him. Radical obedience is the virtue that characterizes those who fear the Lord." Stewart, he got it right. He came up with the same point I did, out of the same book. But he said it better than I could have. As I close and we come to the Lord's Supper today, do you have the key in your life? Do you have it in your hand? Do you have it in your heart, in your spirit? Do you have this intimate relationship with the Lord that's ever growing? I wonder if you're speaking of God differently than the world, never disrespectfully. Are you honoring his word? Are you living a holy life, separated unto God? Are you doing everything he commands you to do? If so, then you won't even have to examine yourself. And maybe God's calling on us. In just a moment, we're gonna take the Lord's Supper. And if you're honest enough to say there's something in my life that's impeding the fear of the Lord in my life, I'm gonna ask you to bow your heads.