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Spooked 4 – The Wrong kind of Fear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c35yjwLtFQI
Greetings to everyone in the room and watching online. My name is Chris Fluitt and I am standing on the stage at Redemption Church, in the great city of Plano, Tx, and I am ready to share the Word of God with you today.
I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have. Fear is something that we all need to conquer.
Today I want to talk to you about
Theophobia – The fear of God.
The Fear of God
Are you afraid of God? Should we be
afraid of God? And if so, what should
that fear look like?
As we will see in a moment the
Bible tells us repeatedly to fear the Lord.
That may surprise you. The
subject of fearing God can be confusing. Hopefully we can straighten this all
out.
I am going to show you two
pictures.
Xenomorph & God
On the left is the scariest movie
creature I can think of. It is the Alien
xenomorph from the movie Alien. This
creature is a scary killing machine. It
has acid for blood, long claws, a sharp powerful tail, and 2 sets of sharp
teeth. This is what I call nightmare
fuel!
And on the right is the invisible
God of the universe.
Should the fear of God be like the
fear of the xenomorph creature? Should we run from God like we would run from
the alien?
Luke 12:4 (NIV2011) “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
Luke 12:5 (NIV2011) But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear
him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell.
Yes, I tell you, fear him.
The xenomorph can kill the body but
can’t do anything more. But the God of
the universe has the authority to throw you into hell. We should fear God. This is straight from
Jesus.
The Fear of God
The fear of God can be
confusing. There is a right kind of fear
of God and a wrong kind of fear of God. We need to ask ourselves what kind of
fear of God we have been having.
The right kind of fear
Let’s quickly look at the right
kind of fear of God in the Word of God. There are many verses in your Bible we
will key on a few of them.
Psalm 31:19 (NIV2011) How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.
Psalm 112:1 (NIV2011) Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands.
Proverbs 9:10 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 10:27 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
Proverbs 19:23 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Malachi 4:2 (NIV2011) But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
The right kind of fear
From these 6 verses did you feel
like the fear of the Lord was a negative or a positive?
those that fear Him.
life.
rise upon you with healing.
These are all good things. There is not a single bad thing. This is the RIGHT kind of fear of the Lord.
Can fear be a good thing?
Fear can be a good thing. This may seem crazy, especially since we have
spent this entire series warning you about fear. But it is true that fear can be good.
In the natural, a little bit of
fear can heighten your senses and focus. It’s like the mechanisms that make up
your body come to the realization that “this is serious and we better pay close
attention.” A little bit of fear can
help you study and accomplish tasks… fear can be an excellent motivator. Fear
can boost your adrenaline
Fear can also be a respect and a
reverence. For example there are these
power tools in my garage… miter saw, circular saw, drills, nail gun. When I use these tools I need a healthy
amount of respect for their power. I
need to reverence the ability of the miter saw to cut anything its blade comes
in contact with. It is my benefit to
show a respectful fear to the power of the nail gun.
When the Bible tells us to fear the
name of the Lord… it means to show His name reverence & respect. Don’t you dare put God’s name in a curse
word… Don’t you dare say his name flippantly…
Don’t you know there is more power in his name that in your electric
drill? Show His powerful name respect or
you could actually hurt yourself. For
this reason the Word commands “do not use the name of the Lord in vain.” (Exodus
20:7)
When the Bible tells you to fear
the Lord and his commands, it means you should honor and respect God and obey
Him. This is the right kind of fear. The
fear of God can be a good thing.
As the scriptures we looked at
earlier declare…
When you honor God… fear God, you
will be blessed.
When you fear his name, reverence
His name, righteousness and healing are coming your way.
Abundant goodness is for those who
fear the Lord, who respect the Lord.
Here are 7 qualities of the Fear of
the Lord
Qualities of the Fear of the Lord
Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV2011)…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
When you fear God you will no
longer act like you are God.
When you reverence God, you obey
Him.
Fear actually brings courage! Because the disciples of Jesus feared God,
they courageously stood against very scary situations.
Because we fear God, we will reject
the temptation of sin.
The best leaders fear the Lord.
You are not loving God if you
aren’t respecting God. You are not
honoring God if you don’t obey Him.
Ask yourself today, “Do I have
these 7 qualities at work in my life?”
“Am I fearing the Lord with the right kind of fear?”
The right kind of fear
There is a right kind of fear but
there is also a wrong kind of fear.
The wrong kind of fear
There is a fear that doesn’t lead
to respect and reverence. There is a fear that leads to terror and chaos. There
is a fear that doesn’t bring courage but cowardice. There is a fear that
doesn’t bring you into blessing. This is a wrong kind of fear.
I gave you 7 qualities of the fear
of the Lord. Here are 7 qualities of the wrong kind of fear.
Qualities of the wrong kind of fear
After one conversation with Satan,
mankind has struggled with fear ever since.
The terror of this fear causes you
to take matters in your own hands and not seek humble wisdom from God.
Instead of truth & obedience
this fear lies to us. It makes us
believe things that aren’t even true.
The wrong kind of fear leads to
defeat.
This wrong kind of fear can’t say
no to temptation.
A leader controlled by the wrong
kind of fear can’t be trusted.
There is a wrong kind of fear that
will reject God.
The wrong kind of fear
Many people have the wrong kind of
fear about God.
There are people who say “I can’t
ever step foot back in that church or God will strike me dead.”
There are people who say “I better
not miss church this Sunday because I will anger God and He will do something
terrible to me this week.”
There are people that are sure that
God is going to get them any moment… They are certain that around the next
corner God is waiting to strike them with a lightning bolt.
It would be terrible to confuse the
God of the universe with a xenomorph
Xenomorph & God
I don’t want to know the xenomorph,
I want to run away from the xenomorph and never know it…
The xenomorph is not even knowable,
it is just going to destroy me…
I don’t want to know the words of a
xenomorph, worship and honor the xenomorph…
There is never any reason to thank
a xenomorph…
Other than food, the xenomorph has
no use for or purpose for you…
Who could ever confuse a xenomorph
& God?
The terrorist who straps a bomb to
their body to blow up innocent people, all because he thinks this is a way to
honor his god.
The people who call themselves
Christians yet hold up signs that say “God hates you.”
When the Church preaches doctrines
that declare God has not given man a free will to seek heaven instead of hell…
that God has destined some people to burn in hell for eternity and they could
never come to salvation… that is confusing the God of love with a xenomorph.
When we feel like God doesn’t have
a problem with our unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, prejudice, or anything that
hurts those around us… we are confusing the God of the Universe with a
xenomorph.
This is the wrong kind of
fear.
This inhuman place makes human
monsters. – Stephen King from “The Shinning”
In his book “the shining” Stephen
King gives a great quote. “This inhuman place makes human monsters.”
The brokenness of this place… the
evil, the hurt, the absolute terror of this earth… superimposes itself on
humanity. This inhuman place creates
human monsters.
I want to warn you that this
inhuman place can superimpose itself upon our view of God. We can let the
brokenness of this world lead us to believe God is somehow broken… We can let this unloving world lead us to
believe God is somehow unloving…
Instead of letting the God of the
Bible reflect upon this world, we can actually let this inhuman place reflect
upon God… creating a monstrous God
This is the wrong kind of
fear. This is terror not respect. This
is xenomorph not Jesus!
I am here today to declare God is a
savior not a xenomorph. Even though the
world is broken and messed up, God loved the world and sent his only son to
save it! You don’t have to run in terror
from God, but you can run to God and find everything you need.
Do you agree that a lot of people
have the wrong idea about God? I wonder
who could possibly be behind perpetuating the wrong ideas about God?
Genesis 3:1 (NIV2011) Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Genesis 3:4-5 (NIV2011) “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
From the beginning, Satan has been
spreading the wrong idea about God. He put doubt in Eve’s heart about what God
said, and his character. Satan calls
into question God’s motives about his rule of not eating the fruit of that
tree.
Satan has never stopped this work.
He has been calling God’s motives into question ever since.
Let’s set the record straight on
God’s motives.
God’s motive is Love
God’s motive is not fear, hatred,
anger, pride, power, ego, money, greed…
His motive is love.
If you have the wrong idea about
God today, it is because you have confused God’s motive. You won’t ever be terrified of a God who
loves you and wants what is best for you.
You have done something terrible in
your past, but you can come to God today and find forgiveness because He loves
you. Even when you have been terrified
of God, He has LOVED you.
Love is not something God does… it
is who He is.
1 John 4:8 (NIV2011) Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
God is love. He never ceases to be love. When you fail, he doesn’t stop being love.
So there is the right kind of fear
and the wrong kind of fear. How do we have the right kind of fear?
The wrong kind of fear is a terror
that causes you to run away from God.
The right kind of fear causes you
to respect and honor God.
We need the right kind of fear… but
we need something more than fear.
1 John 4:18 (NIV2011) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Love is greater than fear.
God’s motivation toward us is love.
We need to mature to a place where our motivation toward God is love.
When you love God, you obey Him out
of love. That is such a better motivation than obeying out of fear.
Some people serve God because they
are afraid of going to hell, but it is so much better to serve God because you
love Him… It is better to want to go to heaven because you will be face to face
with the one you love for eternity.
Have you been spooked by fear? Then you need love. There is NO FEAR in love.
Perfect love drives out ALL FEAR. Love
replaces your motivations.
“Fear has to do with
punishment.” Have you been serving God
out of fear of punishment? I offer you something better right now. I offer you love.
Fear says…
I am afraid I don’t measure up.
Love says…
I don’t measure up but I am loved.
Fear says…
I better follow God’s command or I
will get in trouble.
Love says…
Yes God I want to please you. What
else can I do.
Fear hears the lies of the enemy
and believes them.
Love hears the lies of the enemy
and courageously stands against them.
Fear runs away in terror!
Love boldly stands and fights!
Love is greater than fear. I invite you to step past the wrong kind of
fear. I invite you to step past the
right kind of fear. I invite you to step
into the love of God.
God’s motive towards you is love.
It is time to make love your motive towards God.
View all episodes
By Redemption Church Plano Texas
5
11 ratings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c35yjwLtFQI
Greetings to everyone in the room and watching online. My name is Chris Fluitt and I am standing on the stage at Redemption Church, in the great city of Plano, Tx, and I am ready to share the Word of God with you today.
I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have. Fear is something that we all need to conquer.
Today I want to talk to you about
Theophobia – The fear of God.
The Fear of God
Are you afraid of God? Should we be
afraid of God? And if so, what should
that fear look like?
As we will see in a moment the
Bible tells us repeatedly to fear the Lord.
That may surprise you. The
subject of fearing God can be confusing. Hopefully we can straighten this all
out.
I am going to show you two
pictures.
Xenomorph & God
On the left is the scariest movie
creature I can think of. It is the Alien
xenomorph from the movie Alien. This
creature is a scary killing machine. It
has acid for blood, long claws, a sharp powerful tail, and 2 sets of sharp
teeth. This is what I call nightmare
fuel!
And on the right is the invisible
God of the universe.
Should the fear of God be like the
fear of the xenomorph creature? Should we run from God like we would run from
the alien?
Luke 12:4 (NIV2011) “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
Luke 12:5 (NIV2011) But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear
him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell.
Yes, I tell you, fear him.
The xenomorph can kill the body but
can’t do anything more. But the God of
the universe has the authority to throw you into hell. We should fear God. This is straight from
Jesus.
The Fear of God
The fear of God can be
confusing. There is a right kind of fear
of God and a wrong kind of fear of God. We need to ask ourselves what kind of
fear of God we have been having.
The right kind of fear
Let’s quickly look at the right
kind of fear of God in the Word of God. There are many verses in your Bible we
will key on a few of them.
Psalm 31:19 (NIV2011) How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.
Psalm 112:1 (NIV2011) Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands.
Proverbs 9:10 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 10:27 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
Proverbs 19:23 (NIV2011) The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Malachi 4:2 (NIV2011) But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
The right kind of fear
From these 6 verses did you feel
like the fear of the Lord was a negative or a positive?
those that fear Him.
life.
rise upon you with healing.
These are all good things. There is not a single bad thing. This is the RIGHT kind of fear of the Lord.
Can fear be a good thing?
Fear can be a good thing. This may seem crazy, especially since we have
spent this entire series warning you about fear. But it is true that fear can be good.
In the natural, a little bit of
fear can heighten your senses and focus. It’s like the mechanisms that make up
your body come to the realization that “this is serious and we better pay close
attention.” A little bit of fear can
help you study and accomplish tasks… fear can be an excellent motivator. Fear
can boost your adrenaline
Fear can also be a respect and a
reverence. For example there are these
power tools in my garage… miter saw, circular saw, drills, nail gun. When I use these tools I need a healthy
amount of respect for their power. I
need to reverence the ability of the miter saw to cut anything its blade comes
in contact with. It is my benefit to
show a respectful fear to the power of the nail gun.
When the Bible tells us to fear the
name of the Lord… it means to show His name reverence & respect. Don’t you dare put God’s name in a curse
word… Don’t you dare say his name flippantly…
Don’t you know there is more power in his name that in your electric
drill? Show His powerful name respect or
you could actually hurt yourself. For
this reason the Word commands “do not use the name of the Lord in vain.” (Exodus
20:7)
When the Bible tells you to fear
the Lord and his commands, it means you should honor and respect God and obey
Him. This is the right kind of fear. The
fear of God can be a good thing.
As the scriptures we looked at
earlier declare…
When you honor God… fear God, you
will be blessed.
When you fear his name, reverence
His name, righteousness and healing are coming your way.
Abundant goodness is for those who
fear the Lord, who respect the Lord.
Here are 7 qualities of the Fear of
the Lord
Qualities of the Fear of the Lord
Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV2011)…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
When you fear God you will no
longer act like you are God.
When you reverence God, you obey
Him.
Fear actually brings courage! Because the disciples of Jesus feared God,
they courageously stood against very scary situations.
Because we fear God, we will reject
the temptation of sin.
The best leaders fear the Lord.
You are not loving God if you
aren’t respecting God. You are not
honoring God if you don’t obey Him.
Ask yourself today, “Do I have
these 7 qualities at work in my life?”
“Am I fearing the Lord with the right kind of fear?”
The right kind of fear
There is a right kind of fear but
there is also a wrong kind of fear.
The wrong kind of fear
There is a fear that doesn’t lead
to respect and reverence. There is a fear that leads to terror and chaos. There
is a fear that doesn’t bring courage but cowardice. There is a fear that
doesn’t bring you into blessing. This is a wrong kind of fear.
I gave you 7 qualities of the fear
of the Lord. Here are 7 qualities of the wrong kind of fear.
Qualities of the wrong kind of fear
After one conversation with Satan,
mankind has struggled with fear ever since.
The terror of this fear causes you
to take matters in your own hands and not seek humble wisdom from God.
Instead of truth & obedience
this fear lies to us. It makes us
believe things that aren’t even true.
The wrong kind of fear leads to
defeat.
This wrong kind of fear can’t say
no to temptation.
A leader controlled by the wrong
kind of fear can’t be trusted.
There is a wrong kind of fear that
will reject God.
The wrong kind of fear
Many people have the wrong kind of
fear about God.
There are people who say “I can’t
ever step foot back in that church or God will strike me dead.”
There are people who say “I better
not miss church this Sunday because I will anger God and He will do something
terrible to me this week.”
There are people that are sure that
God is going to get them any moment… They are certain that around the next
corner God is waiting to strike them with a lightning bolt.
It would be terrible to confuse the
God of the universe with a xenomorph
Xenomorph & God
I don’t want to know the xenomorph,
I want to run away from the xenomorph and never know it…
The xenomorph is not even knowable,
it is just going to destroy me…
I don’t want to know the words of a
xenomorph, worship and honor the xenomorph…
There is never any reason to thank
a xenomorph…
Other than food, the xenomorph has
no use for or purpose for you…
Who could ever confuse a xenomorph
& God?
The terrorist who straps a bomb to
their body to blow up innocent people, all because he thinks this is a way to
honor his god.
The people who call themselves
Christians yet hold up signs that say “God hates you.”
When the Church preaches doctrines
that declare God has not given man a free will to seek heaven instead of hell…
that God has destined some people to burn in hell for eternity and they could
never come to salvation… that is confusing the God of love with a xenomorph.
When we feel like God doesn’t have
a problem with our unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, prejudice, or anything that
hurts those around us… we are confusing the God of the Universe with a
xenomorph.
This is the wrong kind of
fear.
This inhuman place makes human
monsters. – Stephen King from “The Shinning”
In his book “the shining” Stephen
King gives a great quote. “This inhuman place makes human monsters.”
The brokenness of this place… the
evil, the hurt, the absolute terror of this earth… superimposes itself on
humanity. This inhuman place creates
human monsters.
I want to warn you that this
inhuman place can superimpose itself upon our view of God. We can let the
brokenness of this world lead us to believe God is somehow broken… We can let this unloving world lead us to
believe God is somehow unloving…
Instead of letting the God of the
Bible reflect upon this world, we can actually let this inhuman place reflect
upon God… creating a monstrous God
This is the wrong kind of
fear. This is terror not respect. This
is xenomorph not Jesus!
I am here today to declare God is a
savior not a xenomorph. Even though the
world is broken and messed up, God loved the world and sent his only son to
save it! You don’t have to run in terror
from God, but you can run to God and find everything you need.
Do you agree that a lot of people
have the wrong idea about God? I wonder
who could possibly be behind perpetuating the wrong ideas about God?
Genesis 3:1 (NIV2011) Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Genesis 3:4-5 (NIV2011) “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
From the beginning, Satan has been
spreading the wrong idea about God. He put doubt in Eve’s heart about what God
said, and his character. Satan calls
into question God’s motives about his rule of not eating the fruit of that
tree.
Satan has never stopped this work.
He has been calling God’s motives into question ever since.
Let’s set the record straight on
God’s motives.
God’s motive is Love
God’s motive is not fear, hatred,
anger, pride, power, ego, money, greed…
His motive is love.
If you have the wrong idea about
God today, it is because you have confused God’s motive. You won’t ever be terrified of a God who
loves you and wants what is best for you.
You have done something terrible in
your past, but you can come to God today and find forgiveness because He loves
you. Even when you have been terrified
of God, He has LOVED you.
Love is not something God does… it
is who He is.
1 John 4:8 (NIV2011) Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
God is love. He never ceases to be love. When you fail, he doesn’t stop being love.
So there is the right kind of fear
and the wrong kind of fear. How do we have the right kind of fear?
The wrong kind of fear is a terror
that causes you to run away from God.
The right kind of fear causes you
to respect and honor God.
We need the right kind of fear… but
we need something more than fear.
1 John 4:18 (NIV2011) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Love is greater than fear.
God’s motivation toward us is love.
We need to mature to a place where our motivation toward God is love.
When you love God, you obey Him out
of love. That is such a better motivation than obeying out of fear.
Some people serve God because they
are afraid of going to hell, but it is so much better to serve God because you
love Him… It is better to want to go to heaven because you will be face to face
with the one you love for eternity.
Have you been spooked by fear? Then you need love. There is NO FEAR in love.
Perfect love drives out ALL FEAR. Love
replaces your motivations.
“Fear has to do with
punishment.” Have you been serving God
out of fear of punishment? I offer you something better right now. I offer you love.
Fear says…
I am afraid I don’t measure up.
Love says…
I don’t measure up but I am loved.
Fear says…
I better follow God’s command or I
will get in trouble.
Love says…
Yes God I want to please you. What
else can I do.
Fear hears the lies of the enemy
and believes them.
Love hears the lies of the enemy
and courageously stands against them.
Fear runs away in terror!
Love boldly stands and fights!
Love is greater than fear. I invite you to step past the wrong kind of
fear. I invite you to step past the
right kind of fear. I invite you to step
into the love of God.
God’s motive towards you is love.
It is time to make love your motive towards God.