John Bevere - What Does It Mean to Tremble at God's Word?
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The next morning, I'm playing basketball with the Bible school students in Malaysia. As I put on my gym shorts in the hotel room, the Holy Spirit speaks to me and says, "Read Psalm 19." I have no idea what's in Psalm 19, so I go get my Bible and turn to Psalm 19. I start reading verse 1, verse 2, and verse 3. Then I get to verse 9: "The fear of the Lord is clean." I went, "Oh my gosh, there it is! The fear of the Lord is clean.
Now look at this: enduring forever." Everybody say "enduring forever." At that moment, the Spirit of God spoke to me, saying, "Son, Lucifer led worship right before my throne, where the angels are crying out holy. Lucifer led worship right before my throne; he was anointed to do so, yet he didn't fear me, and he didn't endure forever." Then the Lord said, "A third of the angels surrounded my throne. They beheld my glory, my greatness; they didn't fear me, and they didn't endure forever. Adam and Eve walked in the presence of my glory; they didn't fear me, and they didn't endure forever. Son, every created being that stands before my throne throughout eternity will have been tested in the holy fear of God."
After that, I started thinking: so many pastors have started in ministry on fire; they loved Jesus, but they didn't endure in ministry. Why? They lacked holy fear. You still with me? There's so much I could talk about. The second aspect of holy fear is to tremble at His word. All the people of Israel were trying to serve God, but they were doing it their way. They were doing many things He asked of them; they were offering their lamb sacrifices, their bold sacrifices, their grain offerings. But God says, "It's like offering pig's blood to me," and they're confused. God says, "This is the one whom I look at." Now that word "look" means "pay close attention to." God is telling Israel, "You're doing all this stuff; you have all your church services, your prayer services, you're offering your lamb's blood. But this is the one I pay attention to: on him who is humble, contrite, and who trembles at my word."
What does it mean to tremble at God's word? It means we'll obey Him immediately. Have you ever heard someone say, "Well, you know, about this now for several months"? You are boasting about your lack of holy fear! When you tremble at His word, it means you'll obey even if it doesn't make sense. When you tremble at His word, you'll obey even if it hurts. When you tremble at His word, you'll obey even when you don't see a benefit. There was no benefit for Esther to go before the king, but she said, "I'm going; if I die, I die." She feared God. You know, you almost have to show people the benefit of obeying God in America to get them to obey. That's a really sad story. Ever wonder why 40 million people have walked away? Could it be that we sell Jesus instead of preaching? Could it be that we get people to try to join instead of repent? I don't know about you, but all over the New Testament, it says the only way to turn to Him is to repent. It's the first foundation: repentance from dead works.
You know, Lisa and I, I really love her, but if she said to me, "You know, Tony was my high school boyfriend; I'd like a few nights a year in bed with him. Peter, I was pinned to him in college; I'd like about a week with him, but you'll be my favorite. I love you more than any of them, and I spend the majority, 90% of my time with you," I wouldn't have married her. And when we think of the bride, we think of the groom. Jesus is coming back for a bride. He says, "Let me just have this part of the world. Let me just entertain myself." What? Let me entertain myself with what drove the nails through your hands. To tremble at His words means you'll obey all the way to completion.