If we truly fear God, we will escape the snare of fearing man.

God is Glorious, So We Don’t Have To Fear Others

Luke 12: 4-5 

God is glorious-We are to fear and stand in Awe of Him alone
Psalm 33:8-Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
Proof texts-
Isaiah 6:1-5: In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
Revelation 1:17-When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And he placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid…”
Luke 2:9-And an Angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.”
THE NATURAL RESPONSE TO ENCOUNTERING GOD IS FEAR AND FEELING THAT YOU SHALL DIE
LUKE 12:4-5
“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 warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes I tell you fear Him!”
Definition- “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. (Proverbs 8:13 NASB)
Biblical reasons why we should fear Him-
1. HIS SOVEREIGNTY-Luke 12:5-He kills and has authority to cast into hell.
God can take your life at anytime. He answers to no one.  He took the lives of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.
God killed Herod for not giving Him the glory in Acts 12:21-23
Psalm 115:3-But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. (-He is not bound by what we think He should do. He does not owe us anything but His holy wrath)
Daniel 4:35-“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,  But He does according to His will in the host of heaven  And  among  the inhabitants of earth;  And no one can ward off His hand  Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?'”
2. HIS HOLINESS-Revelation 16:4-“Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For You alone are holy…”
GOD HAS A HOLY HATRED FOR ALL SIN-
Proverbs 6:16-19-There are six things which the LORD hates,  Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,  And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans,  Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness  who  utters lies,  And one who spreads strife among brothers.
3. HIS JUSTICE-Psalm 7:11-God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
Psalm 97:2-Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne
2 Cor. 5:10-For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Acts 17:30-31-Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all  people  everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

SO WE DON’T HAVE TO FEAR OTHERS
Luke 12:4-“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.”
NOW WE ARE DEALING WITH THE FEAR OF MAN
Biblical Reasons why we should not fear man
1

. God is sovereign over man’s power/Authority -Luke 12:4-AND AFTER THAT HAVE NO MORE THAT THEY CAN DO!
CREATED BEINGS CAN ONLY DO WHAT THEIR CREATOR ALLOWS.
Psalm 103:19-The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,  And His sovereignty rules over all.
Ephesians 1:11-(God) works all things after the counsel of His will, (Ephesians 1:11 NASB)
SATAN OR MEN CAN ONLY TOUCH YOU IF GOD ALLOWS.
Job 1:12-Then the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.
Job2:6-So the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.” -JOB WAS NOT IN SATAN’S POWER BEFORE. GOD HAD TO GRANT IT

2. IT IS IDOLATRY-We are putting Man’s opinions or desires above God’s-Acts 4:18-20: And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all In the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 5:29-“We must obey God rather than men.”
WE ARE TO SERVE AND OBEY JESUS FIRST AND FOREMOST.
THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT IS TO LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL OUR HEART MIND SOUL AND STRENGTH. OBEY HIM!
3. IT LEADS TO SIN-King Saul’s fear of men caused him to sin and it cost him his kingdom and life
1 Sam. 15:24-Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.
1 Sam. 28:5-7-When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.”
1 Chronicles 10:13-14-So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry  of it,  and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.

APPLICATION
1. EXAMINE YOURSELF TO SEE IF THE FEAR OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU
GOD SAYS THAT WE DO NOT NATURALLY FEAR HIM
Romans 3:18-There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Psalm 36:1-4-Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes. For it flatters him in his  own  eyes Concerning the discovery of his iniquity  and  the hatred  of it.  The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise  and  to do good. He plans wickedness upon his bed; He sets himself on a path that is not good; He does not despise evil.
UPON THE GRACIOUS WORK OF REGENERATION EVERY TRUE BELIEVER WILL COME TO FEAR GOD
Jeremiah 31:33-“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Jeremiah 32:39-41-And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for  the good of  their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
2. PURSUE THE FEAR OF THE LORD which is the hatred of evil
Make it your aim to live a holy life!
Hebrews 12:13- without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Psalm 97:10-Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
3. Cherish the doctrine of THE FEAR OF THE LORD
Proclaim it. Boast in God’s holiness and how we ought to fear Him.
Share the benefits with others.
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27 NASB)
The fear of the LORD  leads  to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. (Proverbs 19:23 NASB)
THROUGH IT YOUR LIFE WILL BE MORE PEACEFUL.
4. WARN OTHERS-
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men… (2 Corinthians 5:11 NASB)
Preach repentance and faith.

______________________________

© The Bridge

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Kelly Salas. © The Bridge.  Website: www.TheBridgeOnline.net