Fearing the Lord is more important than you think... (Pastor Steve Smothermon)

and so today we're going to talk about wisdom's foundation is the fear of the lord see god is the one to fear not the men spurgeon said this not the men who persecute the followers of jesus the worst they can do is destroy the body but being a coward before god can have eternal consequences there's no cure for the fear of man like the fear of god proverbs 9 10 says fear of the lord is the foundation some translations say beginning of wisdom knowledge of the holy one results in good judgment so we need to understand that the fear of the lord and i'm on a purpose to define it i'm going to give you several definitions so hopefully one of one you can grasp and hang on to and recognize who god really is in your life are supposed to be see so many people today walk around living their life giving no thought to god at all he is not even on their radar they live their lives making decisions and choices never giving a thought to god and his will and his ways today people are constantly thinking about covet and in turn they people even believers give more respect to a virus than to god himself now i'm not downplaying the seriousness of this virus but i am saying i've seen people they come and they say i'm going to do this i'm going to do this i'm going to do this they give such respect to it and to god they don't even consider what i'm saying is i believe the way this virus has been done has been handled completely wrong especially in our state and you say well why is that because i go to the scriptures and people say well i don't agree i know i get it but it doesn't change my belief in the bible and when you look at how god handled these kinds of things or curses or sicknesses he never quarantined the healthy he only quarantined the sick and that's the only reference we have well you don't know i know i'm not a scientist i know and really when you talk about science what science it's all conjecture and if we're going to do science let's look at sweden they're doing incredibly well but they don't talk about them much anymore they only want to talk about it when they thought they were having a problem because they never closed down anything and so i'm saying that because of the scriptures because when i looked at the bible if i was the leader i'd look and say how did god handle that and i would have did exactly like he did and other states have done that but shouldn't we give god my whole point of saying any of that is shouldn't we give god more thought and more respect than a virus proverbs 1 7 says the fear of the lord is the foundation of true knowledge but fools despise wisdom and discipline the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom and without this we cannot accomplish anything of lasting value for the lord fearing god is not just another thing we are supposed to do for god in other words it is it is the way we are supposed to live act and function in other words if people say well i pray read the bible i go to church it's it's more than that it's not in a list it's not something else we do for god it's the thing that should cause us how we act and think and process and live and talk in life it's the very core of the foundation of wisdom and wisdom only comes from god without or wisdom is with awesome reverence and respect that's with the fear of the lord that's one definition it it's the fear of the lord also means an awesome dread of displeasing him it means submitting our will in our lives to him in other words what does he say and then we purpose to act on it now when i teach this i'm not telling us we could ever be perfect because you can never be perfect none of us the church can't be perfect we can't be perfect you can never be perfect but you can't be committed to learning and obeying the commands in the word of god that means along the way you're going to stumble you're going to fall you're going to make mistakes but we get back up we dust ourselves off we don't apologize to god we repent to god apologize say i'm sorry i did that but i don't get it right repentance says god forgive me i will purpose not to do that again and i'm going to i was walking this way now i'm going to turn and walk this way it means a change of mind change of thought change of action that's what repentance is god doesn't want your apology he wants your repentance a wise person fears reverences and obeys the lord a fool despises god's instruction and cannot be told what to do a wise person is wise because they have started out started at the starting place they built on the solid foundation the fool has no foundation it's sinking sand that's why all the things and ideologies and theories and philosophies of the world they change constantly because they have no foundation to them romans chapter 1 if you would verses 21 and 22. the bible teaches us now these are people who knew god and verse 21 says yes they knew god but they wouldn't worship him as god or even give him thanks and they began to think up foolish ideas of what god was like we hear that today with so-called christians they'll say that well i think this about god and i think he's this way and i think he's that way and then you can go to the scriptures and say no that doesn't that doesn't jive with the scriptures it's nothing lined up well i don't care that's what i believe anyway see they knew god but they didn't glorify him as god neither gave him thanks and then they began to make up their own god and that's what's happening in the churches all over america people who call themselves believers and christians we just want an easy greasy grace teaching that makes me feel better and tickles my ears and makes me happy and i'm like man when did the bible said that the word of god is quick and loud powerful and the word of god is powerful and it's just wants to make you happy he says no it's for instruction and reproof and correction that means we're not going to be happy sometimes that means we're going to hear the word of god and it's going to be like i got to work on that i mean i was telling someone earlier when i study for this stuff sometimes i have to repent like god i can get my life right this is convicting me so to think up foolish ideas of what god was like as a result their minds became dark and confused claiming to be wise this is what i want to get to claiming to be wise they instead became utter fools because they knew him they didn't glorify him as god neither were they thankful see this is the description of people who try to obtain wisdom while ignoring god period it cannot be done because god is the source of wisdom in fact god doesn't have wisdom he is wisdom that's a big difference god doesn't have love he is love the foundation is understanding who god is and his place in our lives that's the fear of the lord the link between the fear of god and wisdom means we cannot possess wisdom if we make god in our own wisdom and our own image i mean i can tell you guys i've had so many conversations with people and and they'll we'll just be talking and and they'll say well i believe or i think god is this way and even if you say yeah but the bible doesn't teach that they said i don't care that's what i believe well our believers are off if we don't line it up with the scriptures because now we're making god into our image instead of him making us into his image and if you have the fear of the lord you don't want to be that person in other words when you hear the truth the truth will change you not offend you because i have people all the time i'm offended when you say that i'm like but it was the bible i mean i can't change the bible nor would i yeah but it was so offensive i i know because you don't have the fear of the lord in you because the fear the lord what it does it helps us accept truth regardless of how it affects us and says okay now i have a goal to strive for i can be better at this and i can do better i can be a better husband better wife better sister better brother better son better daughter better friend people today want to make god in their own image the god they want him to be instead of the god he is see they want to make him a god that makes them feel good and there's not one scripture in the bible where god says i just want to make you feel good now he'll fulfill us if we delight in him and trust in him we'll be fulfilled which can make us feel better but that's not his goal but that's how people make enough i just want a god that makes me feel good i want a god who gives everything and expects nothing from me i want a god that makes me feel comfortable can i tell you something guys if you're real comfortable you quit growing you quit striving you quit and it's not god's job and he is not in the in the business of making you feel comfortable he's in the business of growing you and developing you to do the work of the ministry he wants you to grow and develop and the only way you can grow and develop is to move out of your comfort zone but i just want to be comfortable good because that's that's not the god we serve or the god of the bible they want a permissive buddy if you would god who exists simply to bless us and give us just what we want see we won't fear reverence respect him in the way he deserves or commanded us to don't make god in your own image folks find out what the bible actually teaches about god fear of the lord is the continual awareness that our loving heavenly father is watching and evaluating everything we think say and do it's just understanding that he's watching everything you can hide from your spouse you can hide from your family you can hide from your boss but you can never hide from god he's looking evaluating to and fro seeking someone who'll act on his word so he can perform it the bible says not someone with great intentions but someone who's willing to step out and do it yeah but what if i falter and fall you will but we get back up and keep moving forward he didn't say you wouldn't fault or fall he didn't say you wouldn't sin in fact he said we've all sinned and come short of the glory of god he just said you got to be big enough to wipe yourself off so here we go again because you will make mistakes lord knows i've made many so the fear of the lord is the continual awareness that our loving heavenly father is watching and evaluating everything we think say and do not to hurt you but to help you see jesus even told the seven churches in revelations i know your works he knows everything so we must recognize god for who he is and those who fear the lord have a continual awareness of him in their lives a sincere commitment to obey him see wisdom is seeing life from god's perspective his word and responding accordingly wisdom should be a priority and we are told to seek it above all else proverbs 2 verses 1 1-7 my son if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding yes if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasure then you will understand the fear of the lord and find the knowledge of god for the lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding he stores up sound wisdom for the upright he is a shield for those who walk uprightly that means those who walk in his righteousness the bible says in matthew 6 seek ye first the kingdom of god and all his righteousness what that simply means his ways his thinking his doing that man i'm seeking your way god so i can emulate and act the same way i can do what you want me to do but what happens is we seek the kingdom and then we're trying to find our way of doing things instead of god's way but the upright are those who follow his way and if you have the fear of the lord that's your desire that's your hope you may not always accomplish it because we will make mistakes but you'll keep going you're committed to the process and until our hearts are in the right relationship with god we aren't able to have the wisdom that comes from heaven see i don't know about you but i prayed for wisdom a bunch of times anybody here because the bible says pray for wisdom and he gives it to you without reproach or rebuke he'll just give it to you but you can't get it if you don't fear him if there's not in you this awesome dread of displeasing him that's what he wants within all of us that's what he desires that's what he wants for us and when you do that he said that's the beginning of wisdom now when you ask for wisdom he can give it to you see we won't be in the know unless we fear him does anybody here know how it feels or online when everyone knows something but you don't or didn't anybody ever been that way i've been that way with my own family like i didn't know that why didn't you tell me how come but not good enough to be told i mean come on what do you think is something wrong with me how many thought that you know but here's what we know if you don't like the way that feels if you don't like being feeling left out this is how it is for many of us people say i'm right with god but don't listen to him that means you're not in the know you're being left out you don't even realize it because people say all the time i'm right with god but they don't even know what that means a lot of them don't because if you would ask somebody when they say that if they don't say because i've asked jesus to be lord of my life i'm committed to his process i'm committed to his ways i go to church not not once every six weeks i tend regularly i serve i bring my tithes and offerings i'm working on my attitudes toward things and people that's how you know if you're not all those then you might be questioning some stuff or maybe you're not there yet but you're working towards that goal that's okay too because you're going towards god and that's how we seek come on somebody see the bible says the fool who rejects wisdom is always in trouble actually it's a quote the fool who rejects wisdom is always in trouble in some area of their life there's something going like man i'm doing it here but all that's mess or this is good and that's a mess the one who rejects wisdom because god's wisdom helps us live life luke chapter 16 once again i'm going to read verse 16 through 23 or 21 then he told them a story this is jesus a rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops he said to himself what should i do i don't have room for all my crops and then he said i know i'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones then i'll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods and i'll sit back and say to myself my friend you have enough stored away for years to come now take it easy eat drink and be merry but god said to him you fool you will die this very night and then who will get everything you worked for and then verse 21 yes a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with god in other words he didn't acknowledge god he didn't seek god it was all about himself and that's where a lot of people are today i mean the bible is true whether we think so or not see without the fear of the lord we will begin to make decisions based on faulty human understanding proverbs 3 5 and 6 the bible says trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths see the fear of the lord will cause us to make decisions based on wisdom but the bible says trust the lord with all your heart lean not to your understanding acknowledge him in all your ways and he'll lead direct your past and then he then he begins to say out of the living bible he says um that was a 10 by the way maybe a 9. the living bible says not only will he if you acknowledge by the way he's he'll lead direct your past he'll crown your efforts with success how many here want your efforts crowned with success so he simply says trust him and if we trust him we'll acknowledge him some people tell me i need to pray longer i need to pray more why don't we start by just learning to acknowledge who god is and that he's with us chris do me a favor chris you're going to be on live come on come on come on ron you're going to be all over the world now this is chris archuleta this is ron padilla and so i want you guys to imagine this i'm going to walk up the island and you guys are going to walk towards me okay imagine this and then you can tell me what it's like so you guys walk towards me now i know them but i didn't acknowledge them how many you say that's rude wow thank you guys they didn't acknowledge me either it wasn't just me everybody in here said that's rude but how many days do we get up and we never think once about god in our life and the bible's clear he didn't say steve go pray for five hours he just said steve you need to acknowledge me in all your ways so here's how i get up in the morning my wife will tell you this he was sitting here first service he's taking her head yes i get up in the morning one of the first prayers i pray i pray just like this good morning father i love you good morning jesus i love you good morning holy spirit i love you father you said in your word if i acknowledge you and all my ways you lean direct my past and crown my efforts with success so today i acknowledge you in my life and i thank you for leaning direct in my past and crowning my efforts with success today folks it lasted that long what was that seconds and a lot of times we can't acknowledge i don't know how many people in the church you know said well i was in church and so and so saw me and they didn't acknowledge me and they're all hurt and i'm like what they get all hurt but sometimes we never think about acknowledging the one that evaluates sees holds our life in his hands for eternity we don't think about acknowledging him and a lot of times those people who say those things you know like they they didn't acknowledge me they saw me they didn't say hi sometimes we'll talk to those people and say hey everything okay no man i just had a terrible report someone just died they weren't even they weren't even they weren't even conscious of that but we get so moved by that i mean christians are so fickle sometimes you know the one that bugs me the most not the most one of the ones that bugs me the most is this one i went to your church but no one said hi to me i'm like oh my gosh gag me come on [Applause] it makes me nauseous really i'm like what so i always ask the question did you acknowledge anybody do you say hi no oh so you know that person that was three seats down from you yes oh they said the same thing to me that you didn't say hi to them i mean why do we think so much of ourselves and so little about anybody else and i'll tell you why because the fear of the lord will give you wisdom and you'll stop concentrating on you and start wanting to help others and then god will take care of you that's how it works and i know people don't like when i talk like that's so mean no it's not grow up man we're in a fight for our lives the church is being persecuted like it's never been persecuted before and some churches refuse to even open up they're so afraid i'm glad i'm not i'm you know what my wife just said i think i'm too dumb to be afraid i'm not smart enough not intellectual enough i just believe man i believe what we believe and we should stand up for our rights i just believe that why not the world throws their beliefs at us without any regard or shame and the church says oh just coward just do that they say let's do what they say i'm going to do what i believe god wants me to do because ultimately he's the one that blesses he's the one that encourages he's the one that walks by our side so how hard is it to acknowledge him you just said it was rude when i didn't say hi to ron and chris even though they didn't say hi to me either i guess i can't come to church anymore they saw me actually bump me a little bit and you know i'm working this i know i'm working it i'm just saying guys quit we need to stop that stuff what does that have to do with serving the lord why don't we aggress towards others and say hi to them and then i guarantee it for october chris said hey chris he'd say hey past stephen hey steve what's going on he wouldn't just shake my hand and go i mean that had to be family we'd have to be we'd have to both be our chalettas because that's how we treat our family like la familia you know come we need to understand how god works and you won't have the wisdom of god you'll be so caught up with the foolishness of this world and the fickleness of it i know you guys are thinking right how's he going to get back up there some of you said he's too old not yet psalms 211 serve the lord with reverent fear and rejoice with trembling the fear of the lord is not being afraid of god because that's how people think of it like i'm scared some of you raised in that like man oh god i'm afraid and scared it's not that it's not had anything to do with that it's understanding his power and his majesty and who he is proverbs 4 7 getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do and whatever else you do develop good judgment if you want wisdom you must decide to seek it and go after it solomon in first chron or second chronicles 1 10 and 1st kings 3 1-15 a story of solomon he took over for his dad king david died and he took over and man i've tried to read and study how old he was i think it was between 15 and 19 somewhere in there no one really knows but approximately he was a young how many i'd say that's a young guy to be king and so he's dealing with the people he's going out and he's trying to do the right thing you know making treaties with other kings and he's trying to do the right thing and one night god comes to him and says solomon ask whatever you will and i'll give it to you now i want you guys to stop and think for a moment if you didn't know the story of solomon and if you don't know if god came to you in the night and said ask whatever you will and i'll give it to you just think from what would i ask for money power wealth god take my enemies out you know they're bad people are they treating me bad just take them out i mean think about it solomon is a king the buck stops with him and as a young man he said god i just want wisdom and understanding because there's so many people here so many you can't number them and i need to know how to lead them and god said to him solomon because you didn't ask for wealth and riches and for me to destroy your enemies here's what i'm going to do for you i'm going to give you wisdom and then i'm going to give you all that other stuff too see we're seeking the other stuff instead of the thing that matters the most we need to see god in his ways and watch he'll bless us with this other stuff now i want you to know this too they say solomon was the wisest man they consider him to this day the wisest person that's ever lived and he was the wealthiest person that ever lived i did a series or teaching on this a while back and his wealth if you took it it would line up he had so much from california to the coast of california to the coast of new york and all the people who are rich today in our world don't even get close it's not even close it's like he's up here and they're like down here somewhere he's still the wealthiest man god kept his word but solomon knew to ask for wisdom and what we do is ask god help me god help me and god says why don't you seek wisdom it's because maybe we don't have the fear of the lord in us we don't we don't have this awesome dread of displeasing him you know how you meet people sometimes celebrities football players i've been around some nfl players i've met them and i've been around different people and and i used to get so tongue-tied when i was around they'd say hey how you doing ask me a question i'd be like yeah ba-dab-a-dab-a-doo i'm like oh my gosh i would look at my wife and say i'm so dumb i don't know what happens to me i just freak out anybody know what i'm talking about it's like you get around someone you think is important or someone you think like is up here and you're down here and it's like fred flintstone all over again and my wife just said why do you get like that because she was never like that i said i don't know i get nervous now today i don't get so nervous but i thought about this we can do that with people but man we should be doing it with god more than any people that man there should be god i don't want to displease you and i know i i messed up man i repent of that i'm going to work harder next time so i don't repeat it that's repentance when you have the fear of the lord you get convicted it's like man that was wrong i'm gonna make it right or the fear of the lord helps you do what's right and you get the blessing of that let me give you as i close some practical ways to fear the lord we're almost done number one hate what is evil love god and hate sin proverbs 8 13 says to fear the lord is to hate evil i hate pride and arrogance evil behavior and perverse speech you got to learn to hate evil you know i used to dip snuff a long time ago and my wife and i we got you know started dating she said when are you going to quit that and i said we'll become an item and so then we got engaged he said hey are you going to quit now and i said no we're just an it it's a true story and she said what i said when we get married we're an item but i personally back then liked it i just liked it nasty but i liked it and i literally had to start god praying god help me to hate this because if i don't hate it i'm going to keep dabbling in it i'm going to pet it i'm going to get close to it i'm going to rub up on it so that's why you even have to pray god help me to hate sin this is sin i know it is but i like it because our flesh likes it he said you're a preacher yeah i know but it doesn't make me any different than you so i had to say god help me to hate it now today when i see someone with a spit cup when i see it in their lip i'm like oh that's so nasty my wife said you used to do it i said but i hate it it's so sickening i watched the guy with my granddaughter was getting surgery before covid when you go in the hospital and um and there was a guy sitting over there spitting into a bottle and i thought dude couldn't you at least cover the bottle like come on dude it's a clear bottle you got to hate sin you got to hate it number two you got to praise the lord psalms 135 20 o levites praise the lord all you who fear the lord praise the lord number three have an undivided heart psalms 86 11 teach me your way o lord and i will walk in your truth give me an undivided heart that i may fear your name james 1 5-8 talks about a double-minded man will receive nothing from god you're either in or you're out because here's what we know the devil owns the fence number four we've got to trust in god psalms 1 15 11 all you who fear the lord trust the lord he is your helper and your shield number five you gotta obey him cheerfully psalm 112 1 praise the lord how joyful are those who fear the lord and delight in obeying his commands in other words it's not like oh we've got to get up i'm going to church i got to go to church today i got to serve i got to go greet people oh they're going to ask me for my money i got to get my money that's not delighting that's begrudging delighting is hey we're going to church today we're going to get to serve the lord we're going to honor him but with our money because god blesses us every blessing comes from him we're going to serve him and honor him [Applause] and they when you fear though it doesn't mean you're always happy and like that going to be crazy but at least you don't begrudge it see the fear of the lord is the beginning of all wisdom it's the thing that keeps us on the straight and narrow when we want to stray it's like ah man come back [Music] he said well how'd i get the fear of the lord is you putting god first and understanding who he is that man just think about he holds your whole eternity in his hands you don't get to just go to heaven because you think you get to go to heaven it's his heaven i don't know people think things that are just really sad for me because i think if they think that till they die they're going to end up in hell because there's only two places you go when you die heaven or hell there's no middle ground there's no purgatory [Music] there's none of that and you make all the decisions now so all of you online or here get to make a decision if you're not right with god you've walked away because you got mad or angry hurt whatever it might be it's time to come back to the lord and you come back because you do have a reverence for him this awesome dread of displeasing him i really don't want to displease him sometimes we make mistakes and we feel unworthy folks jesus died for your mistakes he knew you was going to make him long before you made them so he died for him so that you could repent and get your life right that's all there is to it it's not rocket science so if you're here and you've walked with the lord walked away this is your moment to get right if you're online same thing if you're here and you've never given god permission to your life you've never made him lord of your life you know so many people say i'm saved i'm saved i'm saved but the question is have you made him lord because without lordship there's no salvation i'm going to read that to you because i know people when i say that they're like what let me just read it just so it's thus saith the lord not steve smotherman or legacy church romans 10 9-10 if you openly clear declare that jesus is lord everybody say lord and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead you will be saved lordship means i submit my will to his god i reverence you and i'm going to i'm going with i'm going to come to you with intention to learn your ways i may not understand it all and and can i say this the longer you're in the kingdom the more you realize you don't know so people say i know the whole bible is like yeah right dude if you really had been walking with god you realize you know very little the best of us know very little because we only see him part and knowing part we see through the glass darkly and so if you've never given god your heart this is your moment to do so with every head bad if you're online the same thing just a moment of reverence and stillness with every head bowed and you say pastor would you pray with me i want to come home i do love god i i do respect him i just got messed up along the way so i'm ready to come home and god will receive you if you come or pastor would you pray with me i'm ready to give jesus my heart i don't understand it all [Music] but i want to do the right thing if that's you whether you're online or in this house and you say preacher pray for me even if you're by yourself i want you to do this you say would you include them in your prayer right now right where you're seated if that you're in the powerful name of jesus without any hesitation and you say including your prayer in jesus name would you just lift your hand up all over this place is anybody here thank you sir thank you thank you ma'am god bless thank you thank you god bless you god bless you i'm looking around god bless you god bless you god bless you god bless you god bless you god bless all four of you god bless you guys who else as i look across the top god bless you sir god bless you ma'am as i look across the top who else god bless you god bless you god bless you i just saw your hand up this is the time to come to god you say but god bless you i i've messed up so what we've all messed up can i tell you this even when you come to christ you're going to mess up he died for our mess-ups that's we're not worthy because of us we're worthy because of him but pastor you don't know what i've done i've done so many bad things you still haven't done a bad enough stuff that his grace can't reach you all you got to do is humble yourself anybody else thank you god bless you anybody thank you thank you god bless you god bless you god bless you look across the top god bless you i see those hands anybody else father in the powerful name of jesus you saw they acknowledged you i just had them exercise what i taught they just acknowledged you in their life by lifting their hand they say god i want you in my life and i don't care what anybody else thinks i need to get this thing right so father i pray blessings upon each one online at our home or wherever they're watching it from and in this house i pray your blessing upon them i play i pray with all my heart they'll never be the same because of you and this message will just resonate in their hearts and minds and they'll begin to acknowledge you what a nice thing to do [Music] in jesus name if you lifted your hand i want you to pray this prayer aloud with me but i want everybody in here to pray with us in support of those and there was so many online if you're by yourself i want you to pray this out loud if you're with a group they'll pray with you pray it out loud the bible says we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth would you pray this with me church and if you lift your hand pray with all your heart would you pray father i choose to believe in jesus and i believe he is lord and i believe you raised him from the dead to give me a new life so with my heart i believe and with my mouth i willingly confess jesus be lord of my life forgive me my sin thank you for saving me because today i'm saved and thank you for forgiving me in jesus name amen and amen amen let's thank the lord church

Channel: Legacy Church

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Keywords: legacy church, pastor steve smothermon, steve smothermon, smothermon steve, legacy church steve smothermon, legacy church (sermon series name), pastor steve smothermon (sermon series name), (sermon series name), legacy church 2020 sermons, steve smothermon 2020 sermons, 2020 sermons, church sermon, church, Christianity, Jesus, God, God the Father, Holy Spirit, Bible, Albuquerque, New Mexico, sermons, best sermons.

Id: pL2Mlvow_08

Length: 38min 31sec (2311 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 05 2020