John Bevere - Experience God's Awe
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Good morning, Freedom House! Good morning! Wow, wow, all right, I already love you guys because I love your pastors. Pastor, you have been given such beautiful pastors; you know that? They are so full of vision and so humble. Let me tell you this: I believe this church is going to explode, and I don’t believe it’s an accident that you’re moving over to Anaheim. I just want to encourage you: please get behind this vision. I’m so thankful to see you are so close to that $3 million goal—or is it a $5 million goal? I just know it’s going to be hit! Because listen, I heard about this church in January.
What happened was I was at Jacob Baron’s conference in Louisiana speaking, and OED was there. Jacob and Pastor OED started talking, and they said, «The church that we feel is discipling the best of any church in the nation is Freedom House.» I said, «Who is Freedom House? Who are these people?» Because this is our passion at Messenger. Jesus’s final words were, «Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations,» and I thought, «They get it!» Disciples are the ones who bring people into the kingdom, not converts. I was so excited, and then two weeks later, while speaking at the Oceans conference, I had the privilege of meeting your pastors. When I met Josiah and Marie, I thought, «What an amazing couple!» It’s a great honor and privilege to be here today. I’m so excited to watch this church explode and literally reach thousands and thousands of people, amen!
This morning, I’m going to share with you—it’s not really just a message; it’s a lot more. It’s a passion; it’s a burden; it’s a life message. Thirty years ago, God began to reveal to me what I’m going to share with you this morning, and it changed me forever. It answered a lot of questions about what we’re going through right now in our nation. So, I’m going to ask because I believe the Holy Spirit is going to make these words come alive in you. I don’t dare get up and speak without asking Him to do that because I could be the best communicator on the planet, but if the Holy Spirit doesn’t anoint these words, we’re just getting information. We need transformation, amen? I personally believe your life can be changed in one service. How many of you believe that? Let me see your hands! All right, then put up your other hand because that’s what we’re going to ask for.
Heavenly Father, we come before you as a church, Lord, both the Irvine campus, the online campus here, and Lord, we first and foremost thank you for the privilege of being your children in Christ Jesus. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would do what you love to do the most—that is to glorify and honor Jesus in a way like we’ve never known Him before. As you do this, may we go from glory to glory and faith to faith. For I decree your kingdom has come; your will shall be done in this place on Earth as it is in heaven. For this, we give you all the glory, all the honor, all the praise and thanksgiving, and it’s in Jesus' mighty, wonderful, majestic, holy, awesome, magnificent name we pray. And everybody that agrees shouts, «Come on, give Him praise for what He’s going to do in advance!» Amen, amen, amen!
You can be seated. You can be seated. By the way, I need to tell you about my family. Let me do that before I start sharing this morning. Here’s a quick picture of my family: Lisa and I have been married for 42 years; she’s my very best friend. These are our four sons, our daughter-in-laws, and our G-babies. You say, «What in the world is a G-baby?» I’m way too young to be called Grandpa, so it’s G-daddy and G for short. Honestly, I’m going to show you our youngest—this is our youngest, okay? Azy’s not in that picture, but every time I’m talking to my son on the phone or my daughter-in-law, I hear in the background, «Gigi!» This kid’s got me wrapped around his finger. Anyway, that’s my family. I’m so in love with them, and I know God loves us because we’re His big family. Can you say amen?
What I’m going to share with you today is out of the newest book that I’ve written, called «The Awe of God.» I want to say this: there is no way I can cover what’s in this book today. It’s 42 chapters—now they’re all six-page chapters—but 42 chapters. I’ll probably cover about three or four chapters today at most. So, I want to say this: I believe this is one of the most important messages God has ever entrusted me to bring to the church, and I’m asking that if it touches you today, please don’t stop with just the message. Get this book and get in it. Establish this in your life, amen?
I’m going to open up with three verses of scripture. Scripture number one is Isaiah 33:6. Look what we read here: «The fear of the Lord is God’s treasure.» Do you have treasures? What do you do with them? Do you just put them in the front yard or put them in a junk drawer? Think about it: «The fear of the Lord is God’s treasure.» Isaiah 11:3 says, «The fear of the Lord is Jesus’s delight.» Okay, now let’s go to the New Testament. The Apostle Paul writes, «Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.» Notice it’s not love and kindness; it’s actually fear and trembling. So let’s just take a step back. We’re talking about God’s treasure, Jesus’s delight, and what matures our salvation. Why are we talking about this a whole lot more in the church?
First of all, let me alleviate all fears in here—unhealthy fears. The fear of the Lord is not to be scared of God. How can you have a relationship of intimacy? And let me say this right up front: God’s more passionate about being intimate with you than you are with Him. So how can you have a relationship of intimacy with someone you’re afraid of? If you remember when Moses leads Israel out of Egypt, he brings them to Sinai. Correct? God says to Moses in a private meeting, «Hey Moses, tell all these people the whole reason I delivered them out of Egypt was to bring them to me. I want all of them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.» In other words, a priest is someone who can come directly to God for the sake of himself or herself or other people. So God says, «I want all three million of them to be just like you. They should be able to approach me, and I’m going to introduce myself.» So God comes down on the mountain, and when He does, the people all scream and run away. Moses makes this statement to the people.
Look at Exodus 20:20 up here on the board. He said, «Do not fear.» Everybody look, look, look: «Do not fear because God has come to test you.» What’s the test? «Let’s see if His fear is in you so that you may not sin.» Wait a minute! «Do not fear because God has come to see if His fear is in you?» Is Moses talking out of two sides of his mouth? No, he’s differentiating between being scared of God and the fear of the Lord. There’s a difference. The person who is scared of God has something to hide. What does Adam do when he sins against God? He hides from the presence of God. The person who fears God has nothing to hide; that person is actually terrified of being away from God. So if you want your first definition of the healthy fear of God, it is to be scared, even further terrified, of being away from God.
So what is the fear of the Lord? It is when we stand in awe of Him; it’s when we tremble before Him; it’s when we honor what He honors; we esteem Him, we reverence Him above anything or anyone else. When we do this, now listen carefully, we take on His heart. So now we love what He loves and we hate what He hates. You say, «Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! Hate?» Yes, hate! You say, «God hates?» Yes, God hates! Okay, let me alleviate more concerns. We all know legalism kills people, right? God hates legalism. The legalist is the one that makes a statement like this: «I fear God; that’s why I hate those sinners.» No, that person doesn’t fear God at all because he hates who God loves. God loves those «quote» sinners so much He sent Jesus to die for them. What God hates is the sin that unmakes the object of His love. Are you following this?
Now, we are told in the Book of Proverbs, «This is why we’re told in the Book of Proverbs, all who fear the Lord will hate evil.» Now listen—it doesn’t read, «All who fear the Lord will dislike evil.» The fear of the Lord is not to dislike evil; it’s to hate evil. Paul brings it to another level. He says, «Abhor what is evil» in the New Testament. Abhor doesn’t just mean hate; it means strong hatred. Still with me?
Okay, back in 1990, here I am starting out a ministry, and I’ve got a lot of time on my hands because nobody’s inviting me to come preach. So I’m praying two hours every morning, and then I’m spending time in the Bible. I would stand up to preach, and when I stood up and preached, there was no authority in my preaching; there wasn’t a strong anointing. Do you understand that word, anointing? One day, I’m in prayer, and I’m like, «God, I don’t get it. You’ve called me to preach; I left the corporate world for ministry. Yet, I pray two hours a day. I get up and preach, and my words carry no weight. There’s no 'why.'» I remember screaming out, «Why isn’t there a stronger anointing on my life?» The Holy Spirit softly said, «Because you tolerate sin.» I went, «What?» He said, «Not only in your own life but in the lives of others.» Then He said, «Read Hebrews 1.» So I go over to Hebrews 1 and it’s the chapter when Jesus was raised from the dead. God the Father is inaugurating Him as king of the universe, right? Listen to what God the Father says to Jesus in verse 9: «Because you have loved righteousness…» The Holy Spirit said, «Stop right there.» He said, «Every Christian loves righteousness, including you. He said, 'But that’s not all.'» He said, «You have loved righteousness and hated sin or lawlessness; therefore God, even your God, has anointed you beyond your companions.» He said, «Son, you learn to hate sin the way I hate sin, and you’ll see the anointing increase upon your life.»
Now, notice it says «lawlessness.» Everybody say «lawlessness.» Do you know the Bible says adultery is sin? The Bible says murder is sin. But you know what the Bible says sin is? Lawlessness. In other words, this is the definition of sin. What does the word «lawless» mean? It means you’re a law unto yourself. Okay, let me help you understand it. It goes all the way back to the Garden. You’ve got these two main trees in the garden, right? Tree of Life—what’s the Tree of Life? God is my Creator; He knows what makes me and knows what breaks me. Hello, correct?
Okay, let me help you understand that one. I’m a dad of four sons. When they were all toddlers, how many of you know Christmas is a workday for me? You all know what I’m talking about, right? They open up all the gifts, and guess who’s building all the toys? So I’m your typical dad. What do I do? I rip open the box, throw the pieces on the floor, throw the box and the instruction manual over in the corner, and I build a toy. I spent an hour building a toy; I’m now finished. There are still five pieces on the floor. I hit the switch; it doesn’t work. What do I do? I go get the instruction manual that I threw away— the guy that designed the thing. I construct the toy and build it the way he says to build it, and I hit the switch, and it works. Okay, that’s the Tree of Life. He’s our Creator; He knows what makes me; He knows what breaks me.
Okay, what’s this tree? The tree of the knowledge of good and evil? This is when I choose what’s good for me outside of what God says. Listen, when she saw the tree was good, it doesn’t say, «When she saw the tree was evil,» and it would make her wicked. That’s lawless! I choose what’s good for me outside of what He says. So when you put a pair of pants and a dress up in front of a 12-year-old and say, «Which one are you drawn to?» you are saying, «Well listen, you are saying forget that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by your creator in your mother’s womb; you choose what’s right for your life.» When God says a man and a woman—a man and a woman will be joined together as man and wife, He didn’t say a man and a man. But I know more than my Creator! Here’s the thing: it’s a lie the devil’s telling you; you know more than your Creator. You’re me building that toy, throwing the instruction manual away. You think you know how to build it; you think you know what’s right when your Creator, who loves you so much He died for you, says, «I know what’s good for you. Why don’t you listen to me?»
Still with me? So, if you want to categorize the fear of the Lord, you can put it in two different categories. Category number one: to tremble at His presence. Category number two: to tremble at His word. Okay, let’s talk about the first one: to tremble at His presence. You know what God says to His people? This is what God says: «Will you not fear me? Will you not tremble before my presence?» Okay, do we really know who it is we’re serving?
I think what we’ve done in Western culture is almost reduce God down to a buddy. I got news for you: this is God Almighty, the one who measured the universe from one end to the other with the span of His hand. This is the one that put every star in its orbit with His fingers and called everyone by name. This is the one that weighed every drop of water on the planet in the palm of His hands. Isaiah is the most godly man in all of Israel—the most godly man. He has one glimpse of the Lord in His glory, and you know what he cries out? «Woe is me!» One chapter earlier, he’s saying, «Woe to the wicked! Woe to those who call evil good and good evil! Woe to the drunkard!» He has one glimpse of God, and now it’s no longer «Woe is the sinner,» it’s «Woe is me!»
For the first time in his life, even though he’s a godly man, he realizes who this is he’s serving. And for the first time in his life, he realizes who he is before this holy God. I mean, when you see the angels crying «Holy,» and they’re shaking an arena that seats over a billion people in heaven to its foundations, and then you see this King of Glory on His throne, he cries out, «Woe is me!» Job—God said Job was the most righteous man on the planet. Yet Job, in the last chapter, has a glimpse of God. He says, «I’ve heard you; I’ve heard you by the hearing of the ear. I heard about you at church, but now my eye sees you. I utterly abhor myself.» He realizes who it was he was really serving. Moses has one glimpse of God and says, «I was trembling with fear.» John the Apostle, who was the closest disciple to Jesus, sees Jesus on the deserted island of Patmos. His face is shining like the sun; His countenance is like the sun, and John falls down like a dead man. He doesn’t go, «Hey Jesus, whoa, there you are! Whoa! You’re the man upstairs! Whoa! Good to see you again!» He falls down like a dead man! He’s the closest disciple to Jesus! We’ve got to remember who it is we’re serving.
I’ll never forget 1997. I was asked to speak in the nation of Brazil at their National Conference. I had never been to Brazil. I was so excited not only to be a speaker, you know, in Brazil but at their National Conference. I remember flying down; there were over 300,000 people in the church network, and they drive me to the arena. This is an arena, okay? And the place was jam-packed. I walk up on the platform, because back in the '90s, they put us pastors on the platform. I don’t know why they did that, but anyway, it made a spectacle out of us. But it was good because I’m standing there, and I’m listening to probably the most gifted musicians in the nation, and there’s not a drop of the presence of God in the whole arena.
Now please understand, there is the omnipresence of God—that is the presence that says, «I’ll never leave you nor forsake you.» David says if I make my bed in heaven, you’re there; if I go down to the lowest valley, you’re there. But the other aspect of Christianity is His manifest presence. Jesus said, «I will manifest myself to you.» What does that mean? That means to bring from the unseen realm into the seen realm, the unknown realm into the known realm, the unheard realm into the heard realm. It’s when God reveals Himself to your senses. That’s a real part of Christianity, and that presence is nowhere to be found in that arena.
And this is a believer’s conference. I remember closing my eyes and I said, «Lord, where’s your presence?» I open my eyes, and I see something I didn’t notice before. I see people standing there with their arms crossed, looking around. I see people with their hands in their pockets, looking down. I see people talking to each other; people are walking up and down the aisles, going to the concession stands around the arena getting their soft drinks or their tacos and going back, seeing somebody they know, high-fiving them. I’m like, «Really? This will stop!» But it doesn’t. They go through the whole worship set. Now the music stops. Because the music stops, you can hear a rumble—a low rumble coming from all the conversation going on. Then I watched the leader come up and begin to read from the Bible, and they’re still talking, walking around, and all this stuff. I’m like, «Are you kidding me?»
And the Holy Spirit speaks to me right there and says, «Son, you’ve got to address this.» I said, «Yeah, but how do I even get their attention?» He gave me an idea. So they introduced me, and I remember walking up to the podium with my translator right there. I just sat there and stared at everybody and didn’t say a word. Not a word! Now, when you’re the Friday night guest speaker of the National Conference and you’ve been introduced, and you’re just sitting there staring at people for 60 seconds saying nothing, that will get their attention. All of a sudden, everybody stopped talking. They looked. They’re looking. After 60 seconds, when I realized every eye in the place was on me, I thought, «There’s no way I’m saying great to be here; thank you for having me.» I’ll lose them again!
So the first words I ever spoke in Brazil in public—this is the exact words I said: «I have questions. I said, 'Question number one: You’re talking to somebody sitting across the table from you, and the whole time you talk to them, they’ve got their arms crossed, looking around, disinterested. They’ve got their hands in their pockets, looking down, or they’re whispering or talking to someone sitting beside them. Are you going to continue to talk to them? ' No! I said, 'What if every time I come over to your neighbor’s house and you knock on the door and when they open it, they go, „Oh, it’s you!“ Are you going to continue to go? No! ' I said, 'I’ve been in this arena for over an hour, and there’s not an ounce of the presence of God in here because God will never come into a place where He’s not held with the utmost of respect.' I said, 'Psalm 89:7 says God is to be greatly—not a little bit, greatly—feared in the assembly of the Saints and to be held in reverence by all those who are around Him.' I said, 'You will never find His presence where He’s not held in reverence.' I said, 'If the president of your nation would have walked on this platform tonight, you would have given him ten times the respect you did to the Spirit of God.' I said, 'If your greatest soccer player in Brazil’s history—I mean, he’s the Michael Jordan of Brazil—if he would have walked on this platform, you would have been on the edge of your seats anticipating every word. You’ve given no respect to the Spirit of God.' For the next 75 minutes, I preached to them on the fear of the Lord. After 75 minutes, I said, „All right, you’re in here; you say you’re saved; you say you’re born again, but you lack the fear of God, and you’re willing to repent—stand up!“ Seventy-five percent of the arena stands to their feet. As soon as they stand, the presence of God falls in the arena; people start weeping. I’m like, „Finally!“ So, it’s so wonderful, right? The presence of God is so beautiful. The Lord says, „Lead them in a prayer of repentance.“
So I led them in a prayer of repentance, but then all of a sudden, His presence lifted, and I’m standing there, and the Spirit of God said, „I’m coming one more time.“ Now there’s no way I can adequately describe what happened next, but I’m going to try. I want you to imagine being at the end of the runway at LAX airport, and a Boeing jet takes off. That kind of a violent wind came blowing into that arena. When it did, the people started screaming. Now can you imagine thousands of Brazilians screaming? The wind was louder! I will never forget this as long as I live! I’m standing there, and I’m petrified. Do you understand what I just said? I am terrified! But yet I’m drawn to it. It’s the weirdest thing to try to describe. You’re petrified, yet you’re drawn! I remember standing there, thinking, „Oh my God, I had never sensed an authority or a presence like that in my life; it was awesome!“ I remember the thought going through my mind: „You say one wrong word; you make one wrong move; you’re dead!“ Would that have happened? I don’t know! But there was a husband and wife who were members of the Jerusalem Church that came to a service and brought an offering. They came with that kind of an irreverent attitude, and they fell over dead, and they buried them that day.
I knew irreverence, 'cause let me tell you something: Daddy didn’t come in—the King came in! I’m standing there for 90 seconds listening to this wind blow and these people scream, and I’m petrified. I remember it gradually subsided. When it subsided, it left literally a wake—everybody in that arena was collapsed; they were bent over the chairs sobbing; they were collapsed in between the chairs sobbing. I’m standing there, and I’m going, „God, what do I do?“ The Holy Spirit finally spoke to me and said, „Son, I’m through with you.“ So I said to the leader, „It’s all yours.“ I remember they whisked me out; they put me in the car and put the soloist that night and her husband in the car. She was the one that sang the solo, and she screams out, „Did you hear the wind?“ Now, I didn’t want to say it, so I said, „Maybe a jet airplane flew too low over the arena.“ She goes, „What are you talking about?“ Her husband goes, „Sir, that was no jet airplane.“ I said, „How do you know?“ He said, „Well, there were security men and policemen all around the outside of the arena; they’re all union workers, and most of them aren’t even saved. He said when the wind blew, they started coming in saying, „What is the sound of the wind coming from in here?“ He said, „I’m at the main soundboard, making sure my wife’s levels are right for her singing.“ He said, „The whole time the wind blew, I watched the decibel meters—they at zero—they never moved. Not one bit of the sound came through our sound system.“
Then the driver says, „Do you want to go eat?“ I said, „No, take me to my hotel room.“ I remember sitting on that balcony until 1:30 in the morning worshiping God, and the whole time thinking, „Did this really happen tonight?“ The next morning, you cannot believe the miracles that occurred in that same auditorium with the same people because of awe and reverence. We heard about this for 22 years afterward. We got snail mail; we got letters; we got emails; I mean, I went down to Goinia, Brazil, in 2016 to speak to 12,000 pastors in an arena. The first pastor that met me said, „I was in the building 20 years ago when the wind blew. My life’s never been the same.“ That’s because you’re never the same when you meet the awe of God! God says in Leviticus 10:3, „By those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people, I must be glorified.“
I learned something years ago by accident. I used to struggle to get into the presence of God when I would pray. I’d struggle! One day I thought, „I’m not going to sing; I’m not going to pray; I’m not going to say a word. I’m just going to think about the awesomeness of my dad!“ I started thinking about the fact that He put the stars in the heavens with His finger, right? And all of a sudden, there was His presence! I went, „Whoa!“ So the next day, I thought, „I’m trying that again!“ It happened again! The next day, I’m, „Gonna try it again!“ It happened again! So the third day, I said, „What is going on, Holy Spirit? I used to struggle to get in the presence of God. Why am I getting in the presence of God so easily?“ He said, „What did Jesus teach His disciples when He taught them to pray, son?“ I said, „The Lord’s prayer: Our Father which art in heaven.“ Oh my gosh, there it is! „Hallowed be your name.“ Do you know what that means in the Greek? „May your name be kept holy.“ Because where your name is kept holy, that’s where the kingdom manifests and your will is done on Earth as it is in heaven. Jesus taught His disciples you cannot come into the presence of God except through reverential fear!
Two years later, I’m in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the capital of Malaysia, at another meeting. Now Malaysia is an Islamic state. We had pastors and believers from all over the nation that came in, jam-packed auditorium. It’s not an arena; it’s an auditorium. This time we’re at the end of this service, and that presence came in again, but stronger. Not wind—no wind—but stronger. When that presence came in, these quiet Asians started screaming like they were being baptized on fire! I mean, I had never seen anything like it! Again, I’m standing there, and I’m petrified. This is where I found out there’s a difference between my head and my heart. My head was saying, „God, I can’t handle this!“ My heart was going, „God, please don’t lift!“ I’m literally having an argument! And I remember in the middle of this, out of my mouth come these words: „This is the spirit of the fear of the Lord.“ And I went, „My mind kicked in and went, 'That’s it! '“
Isaiah 11: the spirit of the Lord will rest upon Jesus; Spirit of wisdom, Spirit of counsel, Spirit of mind, Spirit of knowledge, Spirit of understanding, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord. This is one of the seven manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Again, I’m standing there thinking, „You make a wrong move; you say a wrong word; you’re dead!“ Now this lasted for five or six minutes; it was about four times longer than Brazil. And I remember it again, left in its wake—everybody collapsed in the whole auditorium. I’m standing there again, thinking, „What do I do?“ God said, „I’m through.“
So I turn over to the leader—he’s wise. He said, „We had a song planned; we were going to end this whole conference with the song. We’re not doing anything; this service is over. But you can stay as long as you want.“ People stayed for a long time! I left. When I started leaving, I get to the back of the auditorium, and there at the doors is this couple from India. They were students in the Bible School in Malaysia. I’ll never forget this; the three of us just sat there and looked at each other. Now, I had noticed she and he got nailed by this presence, and we’re just looking at each other. I mean, like, „What did you say?“ „Great service!“ „Yeah, it was really cool!“ So we’re just staring at each other for like 30 seconds, and she breaks the silence and she goes, „I feel so clean! I feel so clean inside.“ I said, „Oh my gosh, that’s—and I didn’t say a word; I just shook my head. But in my head, I went, „That’s it! That’s what I felt in Brazil! That’s what I felt in Texas because I’ve had this happen three, four, or five times in my life!“
I thought, „That’s it; she articulated it! I remember going back to my hotel room the rest of the night thinking, 'Clean! ' She nailed it! Clean! That’s what I feel is clean!“ So the next morning, I’m getting ready to play basketball with the Bible school students because they love basketball in Malaysia. I’m putting on my gym shorts, and the Holy Spirit said, „Son, read Psalm 19.“ I had no idea what was in Psalm 19! So I go over there, and I start reading, verse 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and I get to verse 9, and look what I read: „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, look at the next words: enduring forever.
And right there in that hotel room, the Spirit of God said to me, „Son, Lucifer led worship right before my throne. He beheld my glory; he was anointed to do so. He didn’t fear me; he didn’t endure forever. He said, 'A third of the angels surrounded my throne; they beheld my glory; they didn’t fear me; they didn’t endure forever.' He said, 'Adam and Eve walked in the garden in the presence of my glory; they didn’t fear me; they didn’t endure forever.' He said, 'Every created being will be tested in the fear of God that surrounds my throne through eternity.'“
I remember walking out of that hotel room that morning thinking, how many ministers have started in ministry? I mean, the statistic is right now, 50% of pastors will not make it five years. Why do you know? What Barna discovered; they did research—a real deep dive research over 30 million Americans have walked away from the faith since the year 2000. Not only that, they’ve stopped going to church and stopped praying on a regular basis, and they’re now professing agnostics, atheists, and spiritualists. Why? Because we don’t teach the fear of the Lord! But let me comfort you: the Bible says Paul said, „Hey, that day will not come until there’s a great falling away of the faith.“ We’re in it right now; we’re in it! I mean, Paul said, „Put up the scripture; show them! It’s there!“ But you know what Paul didn’t write? He didn’t say they wouldn’t come back. And just as John the Baptist was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, I believe there’s a group of men and women going forward in the future, and I believe they’re going to have lost sheep in the church.
All right, the fear of the Lord is to tremble at His word. What does it mean to tremble at the word of God? That’s actually a biblical term; you’ll find it in Isaiah 66:2 or 3. What does it mean to tremble at God’s word? What does that mean? It means we obey God immediately. You ever meet somebody, and they go, „Well, you know, the Lord’s been dealing with me about this now for several months,“ and they laugh about it? I’m like, „Really? You’re laughing about your lack of godly fear? Amazing.“ David says in Psalm 119, „I will hurry to obey your commands.“ It means we obey God when it doesn’t make sense. Has God ever told you to do something that doesn’t make sense? Does it make sense to forgive somebody that’s really hurt your family? Does it make sense to bless somebody who has cursed you and caused you to lose your job? Do I need to go any further? I could go the rest of the morning! Does it make sense to spit in the ground, and put the mud on somebody’s eyes, and then they see when they wash? Does it make sense to tell a bunch of skilled sailors not to get on the lifeboats on a sinking ship? Yeah!
God tells us to do things that don’t make sense! When we tremble at His word, it means we obey God even if it hurts. The Bible says that Jesus obeyed the Father even to the point of death—a gruesome death. And Peter said, „As Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourself with the same mind.“ The religious person seeks out suffering for the god, little g, he or she serves. The Christian says, „I’m going to obey God in a fallen world, and I know as a result, I’m going to experience suffering.“ We tremble at God’s word when we obey God, now listen, even when we don’t see a benefit. We have developed disciples in the Church of America that the only way we can get them to respond to God’s word is to tell them the benefit! Yeah, good, if you pray, God will do this. If you obey, God will do this. If you give, God will do this. If you serve, God will do this. Does God now wait? Does God do this, this, this, and this? Yes! But that better not be your motive!
Okay, what if that was Queen Esther’s motive? What do I get out of this for going before the king and risking my life? She got nothing! She’s already Queen; she’s already got everything she wants! Now she might lose her head for obeying God, but she says, „I’m going for the king! If I die, I die!“ She fears God; that’s why we read about her. We tremble at God’s word when we obey all the way to completion. King Saul does 99,99% of what God asks him to do, and God said, „He’s disobeyed me; he’s rebelled!“ Remember Jesus said, „After you’ve done all those things you were commanded—not 99% of those things you were commanded—say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we’ve only done our duty! '“
Sure is quiet in this Presbyterian Church. Are you still here? I know you’re just listening; I get it! I just need you to breathe, okay? Breathe! Okay, all right, let me spend the last 10 minutes sharing the benefits of holy fear. So, in studying this, this being my life message for 30 years, I’ve discovered there are over 40 distinct promises that are amazing that God makes to only those who fear Him. So now let me tell you this. A lot of times, some of these promises, we’ll say, „Hey, that’s for me,“ but we don’t walk in the fear of God! Like, let me give you an example. In this very place, Orange County, two years ago, I’m here, and I get done preaching on Sunday, big church, and a guy walks up to me and goes, „Look, I’m single, and I’m a businessman. I really need to talk to you. You know, I am single; I’ve got needs, and I sleep with other women, and you know, I realize it’s a little wrong. So, I stopped doing it, and then I just fall back into it. But that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about! What I’m here to talk to you about is, 'Why isn’t my business doing better? '“ I’m serious! That’s exactly the way the conversation went. I went, „Are you kidding me? Are we that ignorant of the holy fear of God in this nation that you can literally walk up to somebody who has just preached the word of God and say this to me?“
So these 40 benefits—I mean, I’ll go through them in the book, but there’s no way I can cover it this morning. I’ve got 10 minutes. I’m going to cover the first one, which I think is the best one. Do you want me to cover the first one? The first benefit: intimate friendship with God! Listen to this: the Bible tells us—and you’ll see it in here—that the fear of the Lord is the starting place of an intimate friendship with God. Starting place! In other words, you haven’t even begun to have a friendship or relationship of friendship with God until you fear Him!
Okay, look at Psalm 25:14. I’ll put this one up so you can see it: „Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear Him; with them, He shares His secrets.“ Who do you share your secrets with? Acquaintances or close friends? Come on! I ask a question. Close friends! God’s no different! God says, „My close friends are those who fear me, and those are the ones I share my secrets with.“
Now, who’s the first guy that’s called the friend of God in the Bible? Abraham. Why is Abraham called the friend of God? Because when he’s old, God comes to him one night and says, „Abraham?“ „Yes, yes, Lord?“ „You know your son that you love more than anything or anyone else, who you waited for 25 years, who I promised you?“ „Yeah, Isaac’s sure he’s sleeping right now.“ „I want you to go on a three-day journey and sacrifice him for me.“ That’s it— period! That’s all He said! He doesn’t say, „If you go sacrifice him, I’ll send my son.“ Abraham doesn’t have Genesis to read. I would imagine he got no sleep that night. I’m serious! I don’t think I would sleep at all! But do you know what my Bible says? „Early the next morning, Abraham’s on his way.“
Well, the Lord’s been dealing with me about this now for several months. Boy, you and Abraham are two different birds right now. Are you seeing this? Early the next morning, he’s on his way! Now God gives him a three-day journey! Why? Because He wants him to think it over! It’s a little easier when you heard the booming voice of God the night before! But what about two and a half days later when you haven’t heard one thing from heaven, and now you’re looking at the mountain you’re going to put the most important person or thing to death in your life just because God said to do it and didn’t give you a reason?
Abraham and Isaac go up in the mountain. They’re building the altar. Can you just imagine this? And to just put a little salt in the wound, 14-year-old or 13-year-old Isaac goes, „Dad, where’s the sacrifice?“ Just keep building! And he’s building, right? I mean, can you imagine? So Abraham, to his regret, gets the altar finished. He said, „It’s time, Isaac.“ He takes Isaac, „You’re the sacrifice,“ he ties him down, lifts up the knife—in this case, I’d say it’s a huge butcher knife! —he’s ready to put the most important person or thing to death in his life just because God said do it and didn’t give him a reason.
The angel appears and says, „Don’t touch him, because now I know you fear God.“ How does the angel know that Abraham feared God? Because he obeyed instantly, because he obeyed when it didn’t make sense, because he obeyed when it hurt, because he obeyed when he didn’t see a benefit, and because he obeyed to completion. Abraham puts down the knife, unties his son with great relief, lifts up his eyes, and there’s a ram caught in the thicket! And Abraham goes, „Jehovah Jireh! God just revealed a facet of His personality to Abraham that no human being had ever known before because he’s my friend!“
Okay, you’re not getting this! You’re not getting this! Okay, wait a minute! Wait a minute! All of you know me as John the speaker. Some of you know me as John the author, but there is a lady I showed you her picture, and boy, she’s a lady. She knows me as John the husband. She knows me as John the best friend, John the athlete, John the dad, John the G-daddy. Can I say this? None of you will ever know me as John the husband! A facet of my personality is reserved for the closest person to me on Earth! God just revealed a facet of His personality to Abraham that nobody had ever known before because he’s my friend!
Now look at the relationship between God and Abraham; it’s amazing! One day the Lord says, „Should we do to Sodom and Gomorrah what we’re planning on doing without talking to our friend Abraham?“ So the Lord comes down by the terebinth trees. He and Abraham go over the cliff, and they look over the plains of Jordan. The Lord goes, „Abe?“ „Yeah, Lord?“ „Abe, we’re thinking about blowing up these two cities. What do you think?“ Abraham goes, „Sodom?“ The Lord goes, „Yeah, yeah, Sodom; and Gomorrah. What do you think?“ Abraham’s thinking, „Oh my gosh, my nephew Lot; he’s over in Sodom.“ And okay, Abraham thinks, „Then okay, God, all right, Lord, you wouldn’t blow up those cities if there were 50 righteous people, would you?“ The Lord goes, „Excellent idea! Excellent idea! We will not blow up the cities if there are 50 righteous people. Glad we talked to our friend Abraham!“ Abraham goes, „What if there are 50?“ Okay, „Lord, wait a minute! Wait a minute! What if there are 45? Would you blow up the cities if there were 45?“ The Lord goes, „Another good idea! Okay, we will not blow up the cities if there are 45. Glad we talked to our friend Abraham!“
Now, Abraham talks some all the way down to ten. He figures there’s got to be ten. Lot’s one; all I need is nine others. But there isn’t! Now, this is amazing. The Bible says Sodom and Gomorrah is buying, selling, trading, marrying, giving in marriage, planting, and harvesting. What is that in today’s vernacular? Life is great! The economy is booming! And if there is a God, He doesn’t mind our lewd lifestyle! There are 24 hours away from being obliterated, and they’re clueless!
That is not what’s scary. This is what’s scary! Everybody say „Lot!“ Lot, Abraham’s nephew, who the Bible calls righteous! It does! Second Peter, chapter 2! Can I put „righteous“ in today’s terminology? Born-again Christian! He’s 24 hours away from being obliterated! He’s as clueless as Sodom and Gomorrah! It takes two messengers of mercy because Abraham prayed! Thank God Abraham prayed to get Lot out! Now here’s two righteous men, two saved men, two born-again men. One righteous man knows what God’s going to do before he does it! And even helps God decide how He’s going to do it! The other righteous, saved-born-again man is as clueless as the world!
Why is that? Because this righteous, born-again man fears God; therefore he is the friend of God; therefore, God shares His secrets with him. This righteous, born-again man does not fear God; therefore he is not the friend of God; therefore God does not share His secrets with him! You’ll see the same thing with Moses and Israel. You say, „John, is this in the New Testament?“ Yeah! Look what Jesus says to us! He said, „You are my friends if…“ Okay, now wait a minute! „If“ is a condition! I’m amazed we preach sermons off this scripture; we write songs off of this scripture, but we never finish the statement! If I look at you and say, „I will pay you $2,000 if you work 40 hours for me next week.“ And you don’t work the 40 hours next week and you come to me for the $2,000, what do I say? „It was a condition! It wasn’t an automatic! I said if you work for me for 40 hours, you didn’t work the 40 hours; you don’t get the $2,000!“ That’s basic English! You are my friends if! If what? Jesus said, „You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.“ There it is—the fear of the Lord, trembling at His word!
You know what Jesus is saying right here? Not everybody in the church is my intimate close friend! In other words, we have a lot of Lots in the church in America! But listen to me carefully! He passionately—Jesus passionately—desires to be your intimate close friend! But you’re the one that chooses the level of your relationship, not Him! When we embrace the holy fear of God, the first benefit is we become intimate friends of God! Because not everybody in the church is an intimate friend of God!