Working Out Your Salvation With Fear and Trembling Pt 2 - Joe Sweet

last week i brought a message i called it working out your salvation with fear and trembling and that comes from philippians chapter 2 verse 12 and 13. paul writes to the believers in philippi he said therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed oh paul i'm jealous in a way what an awesome thing to say to the congregation you have all there's a lot of people in here that love god and obey him but he's but what a great thing and he says you've always obeyed there's a lot of pastors that couldn't say that paul writes to them you have always obeyed not in my presence only but now much more in my absence he said work out your salvation with fear and trembling then here's the encouragement for it is god who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure so he's saying you work it out because god's working it in you god is with you salvation is of the lord when we're born again our sins are forgiven we're justified we're saved from the penalty of sin but we still need to be saved from the power of sin we need to be saved from selfishness vindictiveness lust pride deceitfulness we need to be saved from that so he said you're saved from the penalty of sin now you need to work out your salvation and he said how do you work it out with fear and trembling so last week we talked a little bit about the fear of the lord and we want to try to understand what that is what is the fear of the lord because in order to work out our salvation we have to do it with fear and trembling now most of the church in america don't even know anything about working out their salvation they just know we're justified we prayed the prayer we're going to heaven and we're going to go to church if we're a good christian once a week and get a pep talk on how to have another blessing from god but god said we need to work out our salvation and so the working out of our salvation is where we become transformed into the image of christ but we have his nature his character we're walking with his love filling us and his works are coming out of our life it's progressive we have to work it out and so a part of that is seeking god so we're going to talk about the fear of the lord a little bit more we're going to go farther than last week and about seeking god now god has hidden himself god has hidden his manna he's hidden his treasures and the things of god god himself and the treasures of his kingdom and of his spirit must be sought that's part of our working out of our salvation um god satisfies the longing soul the bible says matthew 5 6 jesus said blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness you shall be filled so in second chronicles 7 14 it's a verse we've been talking about for weeks if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face there's the word seek we'll look at seek and we're going to look at some other things about working out our salvation and then they turn from their wicked ways wicked means the ways of man that do not agree with the ways of god which means it's very possible and and it does happen that we men mortal men not knowing the ways of god think that our ways are approved by him because we judge according to man's standards and so that's what peter did jesus told his disciples i'm going to the cross i'm going to be betrayed and killed i'm going to suffer peter pulled him aside and said lord he rebuked the lord may it never be and jesus said get behind me satan your thinking is in line with satan but peter thought he was being good that's why in the garden there was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil and if you eat the knowledge of evil or the knowledge of good they'll both kill you jesus the day you eat of that tree you'll die so human reasoning to come up with what's good will still kill you we need the will of god so peter had a good idea but it was in league with satan so here we're down here we're doing church the way we think is good we're we have our christian walk the way we think is good god said humble yourself pray turn from your wicked ways peter when pete if before peter talked to jesus he he may have had this thought i'm going to pull the lord aside and tell him no you're not going to die that's a good idea that's a good thing to do he had no idea he was wicked his thought was wicked it was in league with satan which means it took the revelation of jesus to him to to make him know your ways are not pleasing to god and he told them why he said because you're judging according to man not according to god so when god says if my people will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways we cannot turn unless we pray humble ourself and seek his face then he begins to reveal to us this is not right this is right and until we humble ourselves pray and seek his face we can't turn and until we turn he won't hear forgive and heal the land that's why we're praying the scriptures that we pray colossians 1 9-11 philippians 1 9-11 ephesians 1 17-20 ephesians 3 16-20 colossians 2 we're praying these because these prayers are for the for god to make knowing the knowledge of his will with all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that we can walk worthy of him fully pleasing fruitful in every good work and the result increasing in the knowledge of god strengthened with might according to his glorious power for patience and long suffering full of joy it takes on your face praying seeking god until revelation comes then we turn and so god has has it arranged so that if we're going to walk with him he requires that we seek him a casual christianity won't cut it going to church once or twice a week is not reading your bible now and then we'll cut it we have to seek the lord but here's the good news jesus said everyone who seeks finds everyone who knocks the door will be open everyone who asks they'll receive and so a part of our working out of our salvation is to seek the lord we have to seek the lord now why do we have to seek because god hides his treasures just in the natural it's not very common now it does happen every once in a while but it's not very common at all that you'll find a gold nugget laying on the top of the ground you've got to dig for it now you do it did happen it happened out right here in the desert mojave desert out here in either the late 60s or 70s you can read about it at the time as the largest gold nugget ever found in north america on the surface of the desert right here but it's very rare mostly you gotta dig you even have to use explosives and grind the rock sift through it you gotta dig there's a mine here there's a silver mine right here there's a gold mine right here in our valley you gotta dig for it you've got to look for it so god's the same way here's what there's why do we have to seek ezekiel 39 29 says that god hides his face he hides his face he's going to make his face shine on those that seek his face matthew 13 44 jesus said the kingdom of god is like a treasure hidden in a field so the treasure of the kingdom the treasure of the presence of god the face of god of christ is hidden his face is hidden it's not hidden from us but hidden for us so that only those that seek can find revelation 2 17 jesus said to him who overcomes i'll give some of the hidden manna to eat so god hides his face the kingdom is hidden like a treasure jesus said whoever overcomes i'll give some of the hidden manna you know what the hidden manna is is jesus he said i am the bread that came down i am the bread they had to overcome sexual immorality and idolatry they had to overcome other loves that eclipsed their first love and so in proverbs 2 verses 1 through 5 we looked at this it says it gives us the instructions on how to seek god and find him god never tells us to seek him without the intention of us finding him when you find him everything changes you find him everything changes so in proverbs 2 i'll read again 1-5 my son or my daughter if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you there's a key in here treasure my commands treasure my commands in you meaning the you can't seek god apart from his word we have to read the bible while we're seeking him so that you incline your ear to wisdom now to treasure your commands treasure god's commands in me means i value what he says like a treasure and when i treasure his commands what does it look like here's what it looks like so that you incline your ear to wisdom you apply your heart to understanding yes you cry out for discernment lift up your voice for understanding is saying god i want to know you lord i'm seeking your face i want to know your will i want to know your ways i want to understand how to walk with you i want my inheritance in christ how do i walk in the fullness of the spirit how do i abide in christ you're seeking to know to understand while you're reading the word and storing it up in your heart he says now if you do this here's how you do it if you seek her as silver and search for her as hidden treasure there it is again now her is wisdom wisdom is personified in the bible and wisdom is jesus first corinthians chapter 1 verse 13 31 for god has made him to be wisdom for us and uh colossians chapter 2 all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden inside christ so he said if you will seek her which is really him her is wisdom and he's wisdom and search for as for hidden treasure so he's the treasure right and he said in verse 1 of proverbs 2 you must treasure my commands in you he said then i will answer you so what god wants us all to change our minds and that means change our priorities where we become seekers seeking his face seeking his kingdom seeking the knowledge of his will seeking his ways treasuring his commands said if you do verse 5 i'm going to answer you god's saying you will find me and here's what it will be like you will understand the fear of the lord now the word understand means to stand under you're going to experience you're going to know you're going to it's not going to be head knowledge you're going to stand under the fear of the lord and after that you're going to find the knowledge the word knowledge means experiential it's not not head information it's an encounter so you seek me you cry out you treasure my commands and you will if you'll if you'll seek like you would for silver or a treasure if that's the way you seek see there's a way to seek if i seek god half-heartedly the only thing i'm going to get is tired i promise you i know because i've done it but when you seek him with all your heart you find him when you find him you find the fear of the lord and then the knowledge of god that's why people that don't have the fear of god i don't believe they really know the lord i don't care what people say oh yeah the lord said this the lord this and i don't see any fear of god in their life they don't know the lord they don't know the lord the fear of god comes before the knowledge of god you see don't understand the fear of the lord and find the experiential knowledge of god now please hear this so the life of god the manna of god is hidden the kingdom of god is hidden the face of god is hidden and god says now seek me i'll show you how to seek me treasure my commands and cry out to know me he said you'll find the fear of god in the knowledge of god so are you ready the knowledge of god is hidden in his commandments obedience to the commands of god is where we find the presence and the power of god obedience obedience to god's commandments is where we encounter the lord we're going to go farther in this jesus said we sh i'll explain that in case you don't believe it you'll see it from the word jesus said he made it a commandment in matthew chapter 6. he said all the heathen are worried about what they're going to eat or drink and i know christians like that i know christians that'll work all the time and never go to church because they're more interested in making money than putting god first jesus said don't do that he said seek first the kingdom of god seek first his righteousness and god will add to you everything else you need i've never sought i've never sought money and you that know me i've been 30 years this month pastoring this church we've never sought i've never sought anything but jesus and his will and god's added to us everything we need and i know many many people i'm looking at you who've done the same thing if you put god first you don't have to worry about anything all the provision will chase you down but if you don't put him first you'll always be chasing dollar bills and you'll lose the kingdom too so he said seek first his kingdom there it is again seek seek there's the word seek me seek wisdom seek the hidden manna seek my face seek the kingdom now jesus said in matthew chapter 7 verse 13 enter by the narrow gate for white is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult now the word difficult is also another greek word for narrow it means constricted or it has trouble or tribulation on that path difficult is the way that leads to life and there are a few who find it now i could do a whole message on that i'm not going to do that but the way to life is narrow and that way is through jesus period there's not jesus is not a way he's the way his word is the way in acts 14 22 says we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom which means as we seek god there's going to be obstacles there's going to be people that try to talk you out of it oh come on you need to get some balance in your life and uh or come on you need to do this or come on that's this you're going to have persecution you'll have criticism you may have an illness try to come against you you may have who knows what come and um it's allowed because those things are allowed to test us if we are willing to seek him as we would for silver or treasure and if we get put off by these uh by this inconvenience or that criticism or or that persecution then we're not quali we're not worthy of the kingdom jesus said whoever doesn't deny himself take up his cross is not worthy of me well we might as well preach the real gospel so here's what we want to here's what we want to look at we i want to go a little farther than we did last week about the fear of the lord because i want to understand the fear of the lord because that has to happen before i encounter more of the lord do you agree yeah all right here's a few verses i read last week we pray try to put it together and make a composite definition based on scripture what is the fear of the lord first of all the fear of the lord doesn't mean god's angry with a hammer looking who to hit that's not the fear of the lord that's a distorted perversion of who god is god is love and yes god does judge but it's the last thing he wants to do do you hear that god yeah god takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked ezekiel 33 says but rather that he turn and live here's what god said in the book of romans i've held in my hands out all day long to a stiff neck and rebellious people that's the heart of god yes he does judge and yes if you don't repent there's hell to pay but it's not his heart it's not what he wants god wants to save everybody but here's the fear of god from the scripture and i'll tell you in advance my my definition is evolving as i keep studying the word the fear of god is swift and complete obedience that's the fear of the lord where do you get it isaiah 66 2 excuse me but on this one while i look on him who's poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word god said i'll look at the one who's trembling at my word that's the fear of god proverbs 14 2 he who walks in his uprightness that means they obey he walks in uprightness fears the lord that means doing it agreed if you walk in upwards we all agree with uprightness we all agree we shouldn't cheat on our taxes but how many do so the one that walks in it is the one that fears the lord okay proverbs 8 13 the fear of the lord is to hate evil hate it proverbs 16 6 by the fear of the lord one departs from evil it means you stop it it's jesus when jesus taught it brought the fear of the lord when jesus today in most churches in america there's no fear of the lord because we skip and bypass every passage it has to do with the fear of the lord we only do the cotton candy verses but jesus said things like this if you he said you've heard of old thou shall not commit adultery but i say to you whoever looks to lust has already committed adultery in his heart i'm not done he said therefore if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out it's better to go into life maimed with one eye than to hell with two eyes jesus is saying i'm serious about sin that's what jesus is saying jesus is saying sin in god's eyes is not just the external behavior it's what's going on in the imaginations of your heart blessed are the pure in heart matthew 5 8 they shall see god so god he's saying listen if you've got vindictiveness self-pity uh anger lust things going on in your heart god's saying deal with it fall on the rock cry out to god ask for cleansing because what's going on in the heart is real before god he's saying the lust that's in your eye is the same as if you did adultery that's what jesus said this is the kind of preaching jesus preached it brings the fear of god brings repentance he warned people he said if your hand caused you to sin cut it off he said otherwise it's better to to have go into life with one hand than with two into the place he said where the flame never goes out and the worm never dies anyway so we're getting an idea what the fear of god is it means to hate evil and to depart from evil hebrews 11 7 noah moved with godly fear and built an ark he fully obeyed all the instructions the lord gave him build an ark build it three levels build it this long built this wide use this material it says he did it with godly fear so godly fear means to tremble at what god says swift and com to hate evil and it also means to love righteousness and to have swift and complete obedience to whatever god's word says that's the fear of god now we saw in hebrews 1 9 about jesus it says you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness that's the fear of god therefore god your god has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions so when we fear god the anointing comes when we fear god he anoints us we know that the more we grow in the fear of god which brings the bible says the fear of the lord is clean and it endures forever now he says when we do that we're going to enter into the a greater and greater fullness of the experience of the manifestation and the flow of the presence love and power of god we saw that in isaiah 11 verses 2 and 3 where it's a prophecy about jesus it said then the spirit of the lord will rest upon him of jesus of wisdom and understanding those two go together of counsel and might there's these are the seven spirits of god you can read in revelation the seven spirits of god which are before the throne the seven eyes that go out into the whole world it says these are the seven spirits of god the seven horns revelation that said these are the seven spiritual horns speak of power and so you have the spirit of the lord that's one the spirit of wisdom that's to the spirit of understanding that's three spirit of counsel that's four spirit of might that's five the spirit of uh the of knowledge six and seven the spirit of the fear of the lord the seven spirits of god that's isaiah chapter 11 verse 2 and 3 then it says speaking about jesus it lists all the spirits the spirit of the lord wisdom understanding counsel might knowledge the fear of the lord it says and the fear of the lord is his delight so the lynchpin that holds the fullness of the seven spirits together is walking in the fear of the lord and that's what jesus did it said you've loved righteousness you've hated evil therefore god has anointed you more than all your brethren and here's what here's the fear of the lord i came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me here's the fear of the lord the father never leaves me because i always do what pleases him so now god's calling you and me to walk in the fear of the lord anybody want to he's calling us to walk in the fear of the lord you know why he wants to release the fullness of his life of his presence of his love of his power of his he wants to release that but he cannot do it except there be a people that fear the lord we're too dangerous to ourselves and others to have that resting on us without the fear of god and so god said if you'll seek me like you would silver or treasure if you'll seek me that way by storing up the word in your heart and crying out god show me your ways and with the idea i'm willing to obey whatever you tell me god said you'll i'll answer you i'm going to give you the fear of the lord now this is i don't have this the reference right off hand i know sandy smith does because we talked about it but god said i will give them the fear of me so that they will not depart from me jeremiah 24 7 god said i will give them a heart to know me so even when we're seeking god we do it in humility dependence on his grace to empower us to seek him god give me a heart to know you god give me the fear of god so the fear of the lord is i'm going to summarize it i last week i said it means to pay attention to god's word and be very careful to obey what he says to always please him to hate evil depart from evil and love righteousness but that's kind of long and now i have a better definition it says all the same thing in less words and this is from the study of the word of god what is the fear of god god wants us to understand it here it is swift and complete obedience is the fear of the lord now now i want to encourage you some more when we walk in the fear of the lord we start to grow in the fullness of the seven spirits of god that's what rested on jesus and i told you this before so i won't repeat it but in acts chapter 2 acts chapter 4 acts chapter 5 acts chapter 9 every time you can look it up the word and the fear of the lord was on the church this new testament the the next verse talks about the fullness of his power we cannot have more of the fullness of god in our life in our home in our families in our churches unless we grow in the fear of the lord which is swift and complete obedience now here's some other things that i want to encourage you with isaiah 33 6 wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your time and strength of salvation and the fear of the lord will be your treasure do you know why the fear of the lord is our treasure wisdom and knowledge the stability of your time i always think about noah what was the stability of noah's time he had wisdom and knowledge he had knowledge i know a flood's coming i have wisdom i know what to do where did that come from it says he moved with godly fear and built an ark it says here's what uh i give you the reference psalm 25 14 the secret of the lord is with those who fear him god said i know noah he he's swift he will swiftly and completely obey me so therefore the seeker of the lord is with him that's the fear of the lord i remember hearing the late great saint dgs danakaran from india my wife and i got to meet him and spend time with him and and i know his family just he was just such a godly man and he had many many many many many numerous hundreds and hundreds of face-to-face visitations with jesus his life and ministry had all the fruit to prove it and uh whenever he went outside to have a meeting the average attendance was three to five hundred thousand people would come to his meetings because in every meeting the blind sea and the lame walk and miracles happen and uh what one time the lord appeared to him and said i want you to build me a university i want you to build me a technical university so that all these people that are getting saved throughout india all these young people he said the lord said they need jobs and i want him to have good jobs i want him to become like joseph's and daniel's make it a a i forget what he said a technical and engineer i don't know if it's engineering i don't want to misquote it but he said uh they'll they'll come out of that university and they'll go throughout the nation and get some of the highest jobs in the nation and they'll and i'll use them to influence the nation he said so i want you to build me a university and he was thinking to himself he's already on radio already on television he already spent six to eight hours a day on his face in prayer that was his average prayer life he already has books publications and then 10 to 12 times a year doing massive he's thinking i got i'm up to here in my schedule he said i don't have any background in education his background before he went full-time ministry was as a banker he worked for a big bank and he was and he said lord he said lord why are you asking me to build a university i don't know anything about a university and my background is in banking and you know how busy i am and how much work i have and the lord said i'm asking you to do it because i know you'll get it done he said this in a face to face he said if i asked any other minister in india they would tell me yes but they wouldn't do it they wouldn't complete it they won't see it through he said i know you'll obey me he said don't fear son i'll be with you and i'll help you get it done something to that effect not word for word but that's the best i can say that amazing because he walked in the fear of god see swift in complete obedience as a young christian he just read the bible and did whatever it said so when he worked at the bank every single weekend every single weekend he would fast and then all day saturday with a megaphone he'd be on the street with tracks on a megaphone in india preaching the gospel do it all weekend long and go back to work at the bank he did that for years he said so fearing god means whatever god says i'm going to do it so so now here's noah it says the secret of the lord is with those who fear him now isaiah 33 6 6 says wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your time and the fear of the lord is your treasure now i'm gonna instead of the fear of the lord i'm gonna use the phrase swift and complete obedience okay can we agree that's a good definition all right so god's saying the secret of the lord wisdom knowledge revelation from heaven the counsel of god comes to those who have swift and complete obedience so wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your time and living a life of swift and complete obedience is your treasure when god comes in malachi 3 to refine it says the lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple who can stand when he appears he's like a refining fire purifying the sons of levi so those that are looking for him he's just going to purify him and they're going to have a greater capacity for his glory but to those who are unrepentant he said i will i'm coming near you in judgment so when god comes to his temple to one half those that are seeking him or i don't know that it's half but to one group he's that are seeking him he's going to just purify them so they can carry more of his presence they can have a closer walk with him but to those who are obstinate and unrepentant he said i will be i'm come nearing i'm coming near for judgment i'll be a swift witness against sorcerers adulterers people that abuse the alien and so forth so and then when he lists what he's going to do they do all these things he says because they do not fear me so the people that suffer judgment is because they don't fear god now in malachi here's another one in malachi 3 i like this then those who feared the lord spoke to one another so let me just say it like this those who practiced swift and complete obedience to god's commandments spoke to each other and the lord listened and he heard them you know what it says in hebrews that when jesus lifted up his voice and he cried out to god in prayer i'm picturing the garden of gethsemane with loud cries and tears and it said and god heard him because of his godly fear god didn't hear him because he was a son of god he heard him because of his swift and complete obedience it says then those who feared the lord spoke to one another the lord listened so book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the lord for those that practice swift and complete obedience and they shall be mine says the lord on the day that i make them my jewels i will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him the word jewels also translated treasure now watch this everywhere the fear of god i'm going to say again swift and complete obedience psalm 34 7 the angel of the lord encamps all around those who have swift and complete obedience and he delivers them proverbs 19 23 those who practice swift and complete obedience are led into life the fear of the lord leads to life and he who has it will abide in satisfaction he will not be visited with evil swift and complete obedience will cause you to have the life of god abide in satisfaction and not be visited by evil now we see it in in revelation 3 10 jesus is speaking to the church at philadelphia and he says because you've kept my command to persevere that's the fear of god i will also keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth there's one hour of trial coming on the whole world that's called the great tribulation and in case you've been taught the false pre-tribulation rapture theory the bible doesn't support it and i know that can really upset some people so if you want to go further in study it further you can go on youtube look up a message i did a whole teaching on it it's called what the bible says about the rapture find out what the bible really says read matthew 24 jesus said after the tribulation he'll send his angels to gather his elect and the elect used in the new testament every time means the blood body of christ and then there's more there's more there's more but he says to the church at philadelphia because you've kept my commandment and you've persevered keeping my commandment i'm going to keep you from the hour of trial that's coming on the whole world now he didn't say i'm going to take you off the earth he said i'll keep you from it and here's a here's a companion verse john 17 15 jesus prays father i do not pray that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one that's john 17 15. so what just like the israelites when the plagues and judgments fell on egypt god made a distinction and he kept his jews from it they were still here on the earth but he kept them from it come on somebody that's why psalm 91 says i will say of the lord he's my refuge my god and whom i trust though a thousand will fall at my side and ten thousand at my right near me will not come only with my eyes i'll see the recompense of the wicked that means while the wicked are being judged thousand at a time ten thousand at a time i'll see it but it won't touch me if you live in a place of the fear of the lord swift and complete obedience of the seven churches of asia minor those were real actual churches at the time they were written but they also represent churches that are different places all over the world today probably every congregation on the earth aligns more or less with one of those seven churches or combination of those there's the laodicean the lukewarm church there's the church that's being persecuted and he says to the to you be faithful unto death i'll give you the crown of life there's a church that has a name they're alive but they're dead so there's seven churches all throughout history those seven churches exist on the earth and to those who are of the philadelphia church those that fear the lord and keep his commandments and keep on persevering obeying him god said to you i will keep you from the hour of trial that's coming on the whole earth that's the truth [Applause] psalm 103 verse 11 for as the heavens are high above the earth so great is his mercy towards those who fear him the heavens are high above the earth so great is his mercy toward those who practice swift and complete obedience malachi 4 2 but to you who fear my name but to you who practice swift and complete obedience the son of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings proverbs 14 27 the fear of the lord is a fountain of life to you who practice swift and complete obedience you will experience the fountain of life of the lord well i'm i'm getting encouraged i'm almost done hang with me ii corinthians 6 16 god has said i will dwell in them and i will walk among them i will be their god and they will be my people therefore come out from among them be separate says the lord do not touch what is unclean can i add in here don't watch that filth don't listen to that kind of stuff come out from among them touch not the unclean thing and i will receive you i'll be a father to you you'll be my sons and daughters says the lord so god's giving a promise he said i'll come i'll dwell in your midst but come out be holy don't touch what's defiled and i'll i'll receive you then verse seven second corinthians chapter seven verse i'm sorry chapter seven verse one therefore having these promises what promise i'll dwell among you let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of god so to become the habitation of god's manifested glory presence it requires the fear of the lord to work out our salvation it requires fear and trembling it requires being very diligent to read the bible and apply what's read what we read and um to grow to to perfect holiness to perfect holiness means bring holiness to maturity to fullness he said perfecting holiness in the fear of god so if there's a if we're hearing a a distorted grace message hybrid americanized gospel that's only about uh grace grace grace love love grace grace and doesn't include self-denial and obedience it's not the real gospel and you're getting cheated because you'll never work out your salvation you'll never walk in what god wants you to walk in and you'll never grow in holiness and without it you'll never become his dwelling place here's how we should regard god psalm 89 verse 7 god is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints he's developed to be held in reverence by all those around him so god help us to understand the fear of the lord and walk in it and walk in that fountain of life and live in the and help us to have that treasure that from that treasure of the fear of the lord brings forth counsel wisdom knowledge understanding revelation that becomes the stability of our times make us like noah was in his generation god let us be a people that walk in the fear of the lord and because of it revelation and guidance and understanding be that's beyond any human reasoning the supernatural from christ colossians 2 says all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him and he's there is again hidden they're hidden and and he is hidden in us and your life is hidden in christ to find your life hidden in christ you've got to seek christ john 14 21 is another verse of the fear of the lord fear of the lord means obedience jesus said in john 14 21 and also 14 23 he has my commandments and then he said uh in the first one he said he who has my word and keeps them is the one that loves me he said i will love him my father and i and i will manifest myself to him john 14 21 so without the fear of god we don't obey without obeying he doesn't manifest and when he doesn't manifest we have a dead religion and then we we we hear a false gospel of god loves me grace god loves me grace then we complain against the lord why doesn't he do what i want why doesn't he answer my prayers why doesn't he do the things i want because you have the wrong gospel you're supposed to lay down your life and surrender to him it's not a self-centered fulfill your vision fulfill your dream gospel it's the kingdom of god gospel he's the king he purchased us with his own blood we're not our own were his purchased possession so you heard of you heard a wrong gospel and now you're mad at god because he won't do what you want for you i can't believe i'm saying all this but it's true and so if you'll start if you realize that god doesn't owe us anything and everything we have is a gift and anything god gives us is anything god gives me it's a completely undeserved gift even if i serve him with every bit of my being i still don't deserve anything it's all a gift it's all a gift everything is a gift and the good news is god loves us he wants to give us the kingdom he wants to give us everything but in order for us to walk in it we have to learn to obey him and now here's the thing when we understand the gospel requires obedience romans chapter 1 paul said he was an apostle to bring nations to the obedience to the faith hebrews 5 9 jesus became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him he's a kingdom he's a king now when you obey the lord he manifests anybody hear that yes amen so see when god's face seems hidden and we say okay we're going to seek your face seeking god is a is a lifestyle saying god show me where i'm wrong show me where i'm missing it show me where i'm not obeying show me where what show me what i need to change show me how i can obey you better that's seeking god kevin zadai had a in his encounter with the lord jesus christ he's face to face with the lord he asked the lord he said lord will you explain to me what you mean you said be holy for i'm holy can you elaborate on that and he said kevin holiness has to do with ownership he said you've been bought by me you're mine and not your own he said when someone loves the lord they give him their will he said holiness is not behavior there's people that don't walk with god that behave better than some christians but holiness is understanding that you're no longer your own that you lovingly and freely give your will over to the king who laid down his life for you he said it's ownership when you understand you've been bought with a price and you give yourself to me he said that's holiness then you're then your behavior changes first corinthians 6 20 you were bought with a price therefore glorify god in your body here's the second corinthians 5 15 he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them anyway that's probably enough for today but uh but um we're gonna in the coming whatever we're gonna try to go deeper into seeking god on how to obey him better there's two there's two two major commandments and tests one one is love love god love each other is that right so god's gonna want us if i'm going to seek god's face i got to get better at loving you and loving everybody around me and then the other commandment god gave to the church was go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and make disciples so fearing god means let's get busy what can we all do to start seeing the gospel preached with power and disciples made if we're not going to do that then let's not tell ourselves that we fear the lord anyway those are two things getting better i'm gonna get better at seeking god is it like okay god here i am i'm ready for you just come on lord no it's lord show me what i need to change how can i love better how can i love better anyway praise the lord god help us to have the fear of the lord help us to have the fear of the lord let's pray let's pray lord thank you for your word it is a light and a lamp to our feet and to our path and lord i ask that you'll give me and give us the understanding that we would stand under we'd live in that place of the fear of the lord and that god in that place of obedience we would find the treasure that you are god you said to those who overcome you would give some of the hidden manna lord we we're seeking your face we're seeking your hidden manna we're seeking the treasure of your will and of your kingdom lord let your grace be upon every one of us to seek you as you've told us to do in the name of jesus and all that agreed said amen holy holy holy

Channel: ShekinahWorshipTV

Views: 4,692

Rating: 4.8830409 out of 5

Keywords: Joe Sweet, Shekinah Worship Center

Id: 2Y7ATPwiTzk

Length: 51min 59sec (3119 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 04 2021