Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / The Fear of The Lord | Moody Bible Institute (President's Chapel, 2024) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

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The Fear of The Lord | Moody Bible Institute (President's Chapel, 2024) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Thank you. Oh, it really is a tremendous
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joy to be with you this morning. I just want to start by saying a
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deep thank you to Doctor Mark Job for the opportunity to open
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God's Word with you. And the last time I was here at
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Moody on the premises was two years ago for a student
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leadership event. And I was really blessed by
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that. And one of the reasons why I was
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blessed by that was because we had the chance to explore a
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topic together, discussion, one that changed my life, one that
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may not be popular today, but is very popular in the scriptures.
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The fear of the Lord, the fear of the Lord.
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And my time is limited today. So I, I want to get straight
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into it and follow up on that message, on the fear of the
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Lord, a Part 2 if you will. And there needs to be no need to
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worry if you weren't there. This is a standalone message.
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It will apply just as much. Specifically, I want to speak to
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you about some of the blessings that flow from this fountain
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called the fear of the Lord. In Isaiah 11 verse three, we are
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told of the Messiah, the perfect servant of Yahweh, who would
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delight in the fear of the Lord. Later in that same book, in
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Isaiah 33 verse six, we are told that the fear of the Lord is
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Zion's treasure. I'm not sure how many people
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today would equate the light and treasure with the fear of the
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Lord, but the Bible does. The Bible does.
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And again, I wish I had the time with you today to unpack what
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the fear of the Lord is and how it is totally relevant to the
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New Covenant. And though we can't exhaustively
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look into that, just in case there may be hesitations
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initially, just by even hearing that phrase, the fear of the
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Lord, I want to make just a couple of brief comments that
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will hopefully bring down any walls to this glorious truth
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that has been made available to us in the New Covenant.
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Often times we hear that and we think it's just a Old Testament
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concept, but here are two things that I want to just make mention
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before we touch on just some of these gems, these rubies, these
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pieces of gold and silver for the soul that comes from this
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treasure chest known as the fear of the Lord #1 The Bible
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emphatically declares that the fear of God is an essential
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component to the New Covenant. In Jeremiah 3240, the prophet
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declares of an everlasting covenant to come, one that God
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would honor. And he says in that verse that
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he will not turn away from doing good to those in that covenant.
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And then he follows it up with this.
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After saying that there is coming an everlasting covenant.
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I will put the fear of me in their hearts that they may not
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turn from me. And that is why when you visit
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the New Testament and you read faithfully through those books,
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you'll see this, this idea of the fear of the Lord sprinkled
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throughout. And so Peter says in first Peter
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117 And for those who call on God as Father, that's the basis
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of what he's about to say. For those who call on, we call
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on God as Father. In Christ.
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We've been adopted in Christ, we've been redeemed in Christ,
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we have right standing before God.
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We've been justified by faith. And Peter says for those who
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call on God as Father, who does not judge impartially but will
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judge according to each one's deeds.
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He goes on to say, conduct yourselves in fear for the rest
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of your exile. And then you come to the end of
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the book, You come to the conclusion of this glorious
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divine library, and you read something interesting at a
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critical juncture of the Tribulation period.
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In Revelation chapter 14, we were told that there will be an
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Angel in verse 6, an Angel who will proclaim the eternal
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gospel. And John was very specific.
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He didn't just say gospel. He wants to be no confusion.
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The eternal gospel, the gospel that has been foreordained, that
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has been foreknown from eternity past, the gospel that has been
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prophesied by a roster of faithful prophets under the Old
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Covenant. The gospel that has been
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preached by the apostles, the foundation, their doctrine, be
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the foundation of the church. The gospel that I pray saved
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your soul, the one that you relish in and you can sing
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about, the one that you have tasted, and through tasting
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you've seen that the Lord is good.
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That gospel, the eternal gospel, at some point will be proclaimed
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by this heavenly creature to all nations, all tribes.
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And then in verse 7 of Revelation 14, we're told of the
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first words that will come out of the mouth of this Angel,
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being prepared and knowing that it will be the eternal gospel.
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And he says this fear God and give him glory.
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Fear God, fear God. How is that related to this
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gospel of grace? Well, evidently they're
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harmonious. Evidently they don't cancel each
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other out. Evidently there is something
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that the Lord deposits in the heart of the redeemed soul that
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causes it to fear God. Here's my second point.
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Although it is impossible to deny the presence and the
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evidence and the relevance of the fear of the Lord, yes, even
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in the new Covenant, it is very possible to miss define it.
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And I wish we can again spend time discussing what the fear of
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God is not. And I wish we can spend the next
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hour or two to collect all the verses, as many verses as
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possible, to get the clearest picture of what the Holy Spirit
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means in His Word when He calls us to fear God.
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But I just want to present to you one verse, just one verse
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that I believe provides a general grasp of what it means
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to fear the Lord. And I invite you, if you have a
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copy of God's Word in your hand, to meet me in Psalm 33 and verse
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8. Psalm 33, verse 8, Let all the
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earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the
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world stand in awe of Him. Here we have Hebrew parallelism
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at work. And in Hebrew poetry, especially
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when it's synonymous parallelism, the author is not
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interested like we might be in the English speaking world with
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rhyming words. He's interested in rhyming
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thoughts. And how that works here is that
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you want to say something in two different ways.
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Meaning in the first line here we have a statement declared,
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let all the earth fear the Lord. And how this works is that the
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second line will essentially say the same thing with slight
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variations. And the purpose of that and, and
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the fruit of that is that the second line often will bring
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greater clarity to the first statement or it will bring a
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fuller picture to the teaching that is being conveyed in that
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breath or in that Psalm. And so with that rule in mind,
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what we see here is in verse 8, the fear of the Lord in great
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part is equated with standing in awe of him.
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Let all the earth fear the Lord. And here's the mirroring
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statement. Let all the inhabitants of the
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world stand in awe of him. Awe is a complex emotion.
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And I argue that it's an appropriate word to try to
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understand this fear, because this fear is complex in itself.
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It's a combination of convictions.
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It is a mingling of feelings. It includes wonder.
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It includes this high honor and holy reverence.
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It includes this continual awareness of the majesty of God
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and all His splendor and all His excellencies that would even in
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a healthy way, bring a redeemed creature to tremble.
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It even includes this intense devotion to God, one that would
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stimulate the shunning of absolutely anything that would
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grieve the very one that we esteem so highly, the fear of
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the Lord. And when we understand those
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characteristics of this fear, and when you study in depth what
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this fear entails, then verses like Psalm 130, verse 4 make a
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little bit more sense. Where you read with you there is
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forgiveness that you may be feared.
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Hold on for a second. Oh my God, Mount Sinai, I get
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it. Lightning, smoke, rumbling law.
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I get it. Tremble, awe, forgiveness.
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But with you there is forgiveness.
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Why? That you may be feared.
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Yeah. You can stand in awe at the
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grace of God. The grace of God should cause
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you to fear God. See.
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How does that work? Well, when I consider the
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holiness of God, the brilliance of God, the purity of God, and
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then I take my eyes and plant them on Calvary, and I see the
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love of God, the justice and mercy of God, kissing the wisdom
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of God, as Paul called it, should I not tremble?
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Oh, should I not tremble when I come to the table with those
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elements and I realized what that bread and what that cup
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signify, the great price of redemption?
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Should I not invoke in me a fear?
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What a mighty God, what a glorious God, what a powerful
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God, what a price that has been paid for my soul.
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With you there is forgiveness that you may be feared.
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In case what I presented to you as an introduction did not
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satisfy potential confusion or hesitation to grasp this, if you
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would take from this place a spark, if there's a spark in
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your belly, I encourage you to journey into this and begin at a
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critical place that will help you clarify this further.
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Take this as a nugget, Exodus 20, verse 20, where Moses as a
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mediator in the Old covenant faces the people of Israel who
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have just experienced this manifestation of the glory of
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God. And he calls this people to not
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fear. Check it out for yourself.
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I don't have time to look into it, but check it out for
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yourself in Exodus 2020 where he tells the Israelites, do not
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fear. OK, that's good.
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Do not fear, for the Lord has come to test you to see if the
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fear of Him is in you. Oh wait, you just told me not to
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fear, and now you're telling me to fear?
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Oh, which one isn't? Well, obviously there are two
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types of fear. God is interested in one, and he
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wants you to reject the other. This fear doesn't cause you to
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cower. This fear doesn't cause you to
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be a slave, to shrink from Him. Moses declares that this fear
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compels you, it keeps you close. And may I say this fear causes
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you to be afraid to be away from Him.
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Don't fear. God has come to test you, to see
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if the fear of Him is in you. So there is a fear, there is a
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love, a perfect love that casts out fear, and then there is a
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love that strengthens another one, fear of God.
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What are some of the blessings of fearing God?
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My time is running short. I want to give you 3.
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Don't tempt me by saying that I want to give you 3.
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Oh there are so many, I want to just give you 3.
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Life altering because this is more than just an emotion that
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might come to you in a spontaneous moment of worship or
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revelation. This fear of God is meant to be
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embedded. It's meant to be a frame of
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mind. It's meant to control you and
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guide you until you finally see the one that you have feared
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along your pilgrimage. Where is the first time the
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expression fear of God is mentioned in the Bible?
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I'm not talking about an example of it.
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I'm not talking about an illustration of it.
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I'm talking about the first time this expression fear of God is
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mentioned in Holy Scripture. You might be surprised where it
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is. Turn your Bibles with me to
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Exodus or excuse me, Genesis chapter 20 and verse 11.
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Abraham is in a land called Garrar, and Abraham upon the
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scene is very fearful. He he observes something that
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causes him to lie about his wife.
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She's not my wife, she's my sister.
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Throw your wife under the bus like that.
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So Abimelech take Sarah as his wife, and God visits him in a
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dream and he tells him you're a dead man.
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She's not supposed to be yours. She belongs to someone else.
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Abimelech claims his innocence. He's fearful.
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God confirms his innocence, and Abu Malik wakes up very early
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and makes things right. He tells his servants they're
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afraid, and finally they bring Abraham.
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And it's so funny. In that very chapter, we're told
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that Abraham is a prophet. So Abraham is now brought under
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investigation. And Abu Malik asks Abraham, hey,
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listen, you put us in a very dangerous position.
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Why did you lie to us? Why is it that you did this?
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You put me in a very compromising state.
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And here is Abraham's explanation.
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And it's the first time the phrase fear of God appears in
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the Scriptures. Abraham said, I did it because I
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thought there is No Fear of God at all in this place and they
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will kill me because of my wife. I did it because I thought there
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is No Fear of God at all in this place.
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And so I lied. How ironic.
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The man who observed that this place did not fear God himself,
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did not fear God. To think about it, you lied, you
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feared man. And if there's anybody here in
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the story who truly feared God, it was the Pagan king.
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Because when God told him you're not, you're not supposed to be
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with this woman, he said I'm getting rid of her, I'm obeying
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you. So you have a prophet according
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here to verse 7, who's telling this Pagan king?
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You and your people evidently don't fear God.
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At least I observed that. So I had to lie.
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And here's a man who obviously didn't fear God.
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Because when you fear God, you won't fear man.
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The fear of God cancels every other fear.
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Isaiah 812 Let him be your fear, let him be your dread.
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Don't worry about all these conspiracies, Israel, Judah
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specifically. Don't worry about all these
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nations that are conspiring against you.
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Just keep your eyes and you're on God.
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But Abraham's not totally wrong in this, at least in his
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analysis, at least in his commentary.
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I find it quite fascinating that the first time the expression
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fear of God is mentioned in the Bible, the Holy Spirit relates
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it to the potential loss of self-control in the area of
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sexuality. I did it because I thought there
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is No Fear of God at all in this place and they will kill me
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because of my wife Abraham. You're not wrong there.
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When you remove the fear of God from a person's life, when you
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remove the fear of God from society, it becomes now the
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grounds for much immorality. Here's my first blessing that I
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want to present to you, and I'm going to hurry up here.
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Number one, the fear of God is a deterrent against sexual
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immorality. The fear of God is a deterrent
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against sexual immorality. When a man has this awe of God,
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realize that it's not just a theological understanding, it
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impacts the soul. Let me say this way, the fear of
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God fulfills you, you know, and wanting us to pursue holiness
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and people even wanting others to pursue holiness.
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There's a lot of emphasis on behaving.
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Behave, behave, behave, behave. Yes, there are clear
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exhortations of what we should do and what we should not do.
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But I think about Paul and meditating on this truth.
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I think about Paul who said something in 2nd Corinthians 318
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where he says beholding the glory of God being transformed
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in the same image. And this comes from the Spirit
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who is the Lord. So Paul gives us a secret, how
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we are conformed, how we are transformed.
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And it's not by putting the cart before the horse.
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You can tell people to behave all you want, let them pound
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their heads against it. But Paul says you got to learn
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how to behold. You got to learn how to behold,
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and then when you behold, you'll be transformed and the behavior
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will follow. Let's return to the practice of
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beholding, beholding the glory of God.
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Then as a result, I am transformed.
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And so when I see Him and all that He is in his, in his
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accurate description as provided here in the Scriptures, there's
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something that takes place within.
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I'm mesmerized. I'm drawn to Him.
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I realize also that in Psalm 25 it says that the friendship of
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the Lord is for those who fear Him.
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And so you can't have intimacy with God unless you first fear
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God. You can't know depths of
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knowledge of Him in a personal way unless you have that
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foundation set. And when you experience Him in
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that place, oh, it satisfies. He who was full loads, honey.
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But to him who is hungry, everything bitter is sweet.
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He who is full loads honey. Look, I had breakfast today.
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I'm hoping to eat later on, but I've had plenty of breakfast is
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where I'm so full I don't eat till much later in the day.
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And let's just presume today was one of those days and I walked
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by a buffet and there is those aromas and there's those colors
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of the different cakes. Whatever it may be, I can tell
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you confidently because of what I ate that morning, I can walk
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by that and not even give it a glance.
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Why? Because I'm already filled with
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a different substance. I am already full.
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I loathe it. I don't need it.
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Not saying that you don't experience temptation, but all
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it gives you the strength to soar above it.
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Why? Because I see him and I know him
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and I'm drawn closer to Him and it does something to my soul.
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I can say more about that because sexual sin today, not in
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the world, even in the church, has become a Goliath type sin.
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And what we're hearing and seeing more than anything else
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is people like the Israelites of that time shaking and cowering
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behind the hills thinking who's going to take this giant down?
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It's possible not in your own strength, but by the grace of
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God who infuses in you the ability through a fear of him
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that causes you to be able to look at sin and say, I don't
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want you. Let's move forward here.
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Let's try to do this turn with me to Genesis 22.
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I want to bring you to the second blessing and fearing the
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Lord Abraham again, you know this story very well.
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Verse one after these things God tested Abraham and said to him,
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Abraham, and he said, here I am. He said, take your son, your
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only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and
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offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains
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of which I shall tell you I love this.
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Verse 3. So Abraham rose early in the
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morning. He didn't wait, he didn't sleep
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in that day. God gave me instruction, I'm
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going to obey it. He didn't press the snooze
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button. He rose early.
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And interestingly enough, the geographical location shows us
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here that it was a three day journey.
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God gave Abraham time to think about it.
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You just imagine this, here's this man, very old, waiting for
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this promise of a son. The promise comes and here he is
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now relishing in that promise, making memories with that
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promise. So much hope and future for the
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descendants of his own seed through this promise.
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And God one night says, I want you to give him up.
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Abraham doesn't debate, he doesn't argue.
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He rises early, he goes and I love this in verse 5.
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Then Abraham said to his young men as they arrived to the
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location, Stay here with the donkey.
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I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to
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you. Worship.
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This is worship. Finally.
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Now for the sake of time Abraham has his son lay there a
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wonderful picture of Christ. And in verse 12 we read as the
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Angel of the Lord intervenes after this man that has this
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knife in the air. Verse 12, he said do not lay
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your hand on the boy or do anything to him for now.
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I know that you fear God seeing you have not withheld your son,
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your only son from me. When you read this, you have to
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compare. You have to always remember,
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have I seen this before? And yes, it's not too far back.
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A very similar statement was made in the introduction of this
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chapter. Notice he says here, I know that
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you fear God seeing that you have not withheld your son, your
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only son for me. Go back to verse two.
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He said take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go
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to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering.
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Noticing the identification of Isaac in verse 12, the Angel of
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the Lord omits something that he introduced in verse 2.
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In verse 12 we read here it says the son, your son do not with.
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You have not withheld your son, your only son from me.
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In verse two he says your son, your only son whom you love.
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He didn't include that in verse 12.
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Do you know why? Because Abraham proved to God
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that he loved God more than Isaac, that's why.
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And he says you've passed the test.
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Now I know you fear me. There's a marriage between
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loving God and fearing God. If I'll say it this way, you
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can't know true love for God, greater maturity and love of God
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and for God without this fear. Blessing #2 The fear of God
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keeps the blessing of God in its proper place.
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We are very good at taking the blessings of God and loving
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those more than God himself. Isaac was a gift and God wanted
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to test him. Let me see if you love this
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promise more than the promiser. Give him up.
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He does, He's willing. God says you've proven yourself.
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You fear me. The fear of God causes us to
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honor Him as our supreme delight, our supreme joy, our
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supreme, supreme source of everything.
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It places God where He needs to be, in places, everything else
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where they need to be. Eli did not do that.
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Eli had two sons, Hofthy and Phineas.
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And we're told about Hofthy and Phineas who were priests in the
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Tabernacle. This is this is minute.
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These are ministers and the Holy Spirit says they were worthless
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men. You know why they were
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worthless? The same verse says because they
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did not know the Lord. You can be in ministry and not
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know the Lord. You can study theology with all
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those letters by your name and still not know God.
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They were worthless men because they did not know the Lord.
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And all these sins that were coming to Eli's attention and he
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just a light tap on the wrist, He did not deal with it
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adequately. Finally, an unnamed prophet
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comes in First Samuel 229 and tells Eli of the consequences of
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his sin. He proclaims it faithfully and
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he says this. For you have honored your sons
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above me. You have honored your sons above
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me. So here we go.
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We have Abraham, who has the son as a result of a promise,
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Abraham, a faithful man, Abraham with no great explanation to
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give up his son, and he does so to win the smile of God.
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And then you have this other man, Eli, with two sons,
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worthless men, disobedient, deserving of chastisement, and
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he's not willing to let go of his sons as he should because he
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didn't want to bring them to shame.
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You've honored your sons above me.
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The fear of God will help you honor God above everybody else.
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It keeps the blessing of God in their proper place.
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If we're not careful, we'll be like the Israelites.
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How do they make the golden calf in the wilderness?
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Where do they get it? They had one night to leave.
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Well, remember when they left, they took the the jewelry of the
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Egyptians. And God had in mind that that
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jewelry would be used. For what?
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Why? So they can look bougie in the
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desert? No, because he had a House of
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worship in mind that would require that material, an ark of
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the covenant, a tent with specific prophetic instruments
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and furnishings, and what was meant for the House of worship.
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They turn into a golden calf. We could take the blessing of
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God and make them in something that they should not be.
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Lastly, blessing #3 Leviticus. Leviticus.
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Yes, Leviticus chapter 19. This is going to be fast
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forwarded version verse 14. Leviticus 19, verse 14, This is
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the holiness code for the nation of Israel.
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And here we have these sporadic different commands and this
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one's caught my attention, He says in Leviticus 1914, you
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shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the
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blind, but you shall fear your God.
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I am the Lord. God's command here is greater
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than just the Israelites not being cruel toward the disabled.
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This in principle is a command that deals with taking advantage
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of a sinful situation because you believe that you will go
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unnoticed. If I take something from a blind
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person, it's much easier as it not.
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If I am my frustration curse somebody who's deaf in my
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presence, you get away with it a lot easier, right?
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Here's what the Lord is saying, knowing that that would be a
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temptation of the people. The blind may not see you, the
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deaf may not hear you, but I do so fear me.
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Blessing #3 The fear of God provides an unbroken sense of
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accountability. The fear of God provides an
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unbroken sense of accountability.
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There's a lot of talk about accountability.
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I think it's important. I've heard it all my Christian
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life, a lot of talk about community.
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I think communities is huge. I encourage every single one of
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you to be a committed member of a local church and to have
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people that you do life with. Absolutely, there are a lot of
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strategies of how to deal with a variety of sins, but I don't
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think they're sufficient. I believe we've left out
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something that is so important and that is the fear of the Lord
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because your accountability partner won't be able to go with
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you on every single business trip when you're in that hotel
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room by yourself. Your elders won't be with you in
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your room as you file your taxes.
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Your teachers are not going to be over your shoulder as you're
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browsing the Internet. But you know what will be there?
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The fear of God. The fear of God is your greatest
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accountability partner. Why?
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Because when you understand who He is and all his nature and all
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his power, you realize that he's all seeing, all knowing.
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I think of Joseph. You've heard this a million
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times. Let me present to you a million
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and one. Here's this man away from his
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home. Here's this man away from his
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family. Here's this man away from people
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who worship the true God. Here's this man in Potiphar's
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house and his wife is throwing herself at him.
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It's one thing to be tempted as you look on something or
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someone. It's another thing when the
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person presents itself to you persistently.
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And here's this young man, we're told he was handsome.
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He was, he was goodly shaped. And there he is.
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And day after day, he's resisting and he's resisting.
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And I can't help but be moved every time I stumble upon that
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story because this man was able to resist pre infilling of the
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Holy Spirit, pre law on Mount Sinai.
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How is this man be able to say no to something that most people
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would give in to? He could have gotten away with
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it. They could have kept it a
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secret. Finally he says to her, how can
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I do this great evil against God?
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That's the fear of God and it's your greatest accountability
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partner. I love my God.
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I know my God. I I these promises that I've
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enjoyed in God. Second Corinthians 7 one, Since
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we have these promises, let us bring holiness to completion in
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the fear of God. What's my motivation to stay in
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the fear of God? The promises, these promises.
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Why would I let go of these promises for a cheap thrill?
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I'm not, and I'm so close to my God.
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I've inherited so much from my God that I refuse to give myself
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to something that is inferior to the joys and the ecstasies that
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He gives me. Oh, I can tell you today about
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how again the fear of the Lord leads into friendship with the
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Lord. I could tell you how the fear of
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the Lord according to Romans 11 drains the heart from pride.
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I could tell you how the fear of the Lord according to
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Ecclesiastes 7 liberates people from legalism.
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Yes, the fear of God liberates you from legalism.
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I can tell you how the fear of God according to the Psalms
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promises the assurance of God's providential leading in your
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life. But time does not suffice.
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All my prayer is in this place is that you would leave here
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with the Psalm 8611 cry where David prayed.
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Unite my heart to fear your name.
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We pray fear away. Get this rid.
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Yes, you have every right to, but let me tell you the secret
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to squashing every other fear, the fear of him.
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Unite my heart. My heart is prone to wander,
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Lord, I fear it. So anchor it in your fear.
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Help me see you and behold, you know you.
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Peel away these layers of the flesh that make me casual around
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you. That's my prayer.
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Moody Bible Institute students, faculty, and everybody in
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between. Staff, fear the Lord your God
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and watch the blessings flow. Let's pray.
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Lord, we stand in awe of you today.
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Our hearts are moved by the revelation of your awe.
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Oh Lord, we just pray that prayer that David prayed.
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Lord, we know that this is a secret, a secret to longevity,
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to fostering integrity, to unlocking fruitfulness as people
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are being trained here for ministry, leadership, missions.
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Lord, help us have this fear. Thank you that it's a grace that
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we receive in the gospel, but it's a grace like many other
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graces that needs to be nurtured and protected.
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So we pray, Lord, that if that fear is there, may it grow,
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Lord, If it's not, there may be birthed.
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And Lord, may this place produce ministry, ministry leaders,
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ministers who undeniably fear the Lord.
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This is our prayer and our heart cry.
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Maybe not just for this moment, but maybe a perpetual plea.
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In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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It was a great joy and an honor. I've been told to tell you that
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you're dismissed. God bless you.