What is your greatest fear? Is it heights, spiders, closed spaces? Or are your fears more cerebral? Are you afraid of failing, of rejection, or loneliness? What is your greatest fear? Are you afraid of living? Are you afraid of dying? What is your greatest fear.

From time to time we hear someone say that they are “fearless.” I think that some people have less fears than others, but firmly believe everyone fears something. Either you live under the fear of the Lord, or you are afraid of the things of this world.

Oswald Chambers wrote, “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything.”

Today I want to talk to you about the fear of the LORD. But the fear of the Lord is different from the kind of fears we normally think about. It is the “fear of the LORD.” While I don’t want you to live a life fear-filled life, I want you to learn how to live under the fear of the LORD.

I am going to describe this type of fear throughout this message, but the simplest way I can state it is the fear of the LORD is the recognition that God is God and you are not. God is God, and you are not. When you begin to live in the light of this truth, you will begin the journey of living a wise life.

Wisdom brings everything into focus.

1. The Beginning of Wisdom
   • The fear of the Lord is not bashful, or timid attitude. It is a life of putting things in proper focus. The fear of the Lord is a combination of love and respect. Love and respect.
   • “The fear of the Lord combines the two qualities of love plus respect. It is ‘loving respect’ and ‘respectful love.’ To fear someone in this sense is to love them and respect them at the same time. We can see this more clearly if we state it in the negative. Where there is no respect, there is no love… Where there is no respect, there is no love.
   • “So how does this apply to our relationship with God? Here is my definition of the fear of the Lord. It is the choice I make to obey God because I love him and want to please him. The fear of the Lord is an ongoing attitude of my heart that causes me to choose over and over again to obey God even when it might be easier to do something else. I make that choice because I love God and want to please him. The fear of the Lord is not cringing fear, which is respect without love. And it is not irreverent flippancy, which is love without respect. Respect plus love equals the fear of the Lord.” (https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/living-in-the-fear-of-god/”
   • That is so good. When you fear God, by living in a love relationship, founded on respect, you will not be afraid of anything. This is the beginning of wisdom.
   • There are at least three elements to this.
     1. Know Who God Is…
        • Throughout Proverbs the one who lacks wisdom is referred to as a “fool.”
        • In the Book of Psalm 53:1 we read, “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Thus the fool is one who does not know, or pretends not to know who God is.
        • Therefore, the wise person is the one who knows who God is. Those who respect God, those who reverence God, know who God is. This is the beginning of wisdom.
        • Proverbs 2:1 says, “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”
        • Notice please that it does not say, “take my words and commandments and listen to my wisdom and understanding, and you will know about God.” It says you will know God.
        • A wise person knows who God is, and a fool says there is no God. And let’s be very clear: “knowing God” is not just a collection of information; it is the nurturing of a relationship. “Loving respect,” and “respectful love!”
     2. Know what God says
        • Notice please in Proverbs 2 that fearing God is knowing what God says.
          1. Receive my words (v. 1)
          2. Treasure my commandments (v. 1)
          3. Make your ear attentive to wisdom (v. 2)
          4. Incline your heart toward understanding (v. 2)
          5. Call out for insight (v. 3)
          6. Raise your voice for understanding (v. 3)
          7. Seek it like silver (v. 4)
          8. Search for it like a hidden treasure (v. 4)
        • THEN… you will understand the fear of the Lord. You will never have a loving respect for God until you know what God says.
        • Are you committed to receiving, treasuring, inclining your ear, seeking, and searching for what God says? How would 2020 look if you spent as much time seeking the face of God as you do searching facebook? How would 2020 look if you spent as much time seeking God’s Good News as you do listening to the nightly news?
        • If you want to develop the fear of the Lord, you must know what God says.
     3. Obey what God commands
        • The Bible says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” There is a linkage between your love for God and your obedience to God.
        • So notice the progression: you must know God, then you must learn what God says, then you must obey what you have learned.
        • It’s not enough to know His commands; you must keep His commands.
        • This goes right to the heart of “loving respect” and “respectful love.” This will lead you to the fear of God.
     4. Where can you grow? 
        • Can you grow in your knowledge of who God is?
        • Can you grow in your knowledge of what God says?
        • Can you grow in your obedience to what God says?
2. The Blessings of Wisdom
   1. Wisdom begins with God, but the pursuit of wisdom brings blessings from God.
      • It produces long life.
        1. Proverbs 10:27 says, “The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.”
        2. Now this is a good place to say that a Proverb, a wise saying, is not the same as a promise. Whenever you read a Proverb, you must remember that it is a wise saying and not a promise.
        3. Not all righteous people will live a long life. Sometimes the good do die young. But there is a simple truth that in general, “the fear of the Lord prolongs your life.”
      • It Produces a confident life.
        1. Proverbs 14:26 says, “In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence…”
        2. Are you lacking in confidence? Then develop a loving respect for God and you will find confidence.
      • It produces a better life.
        1. Proverbs 14:27, “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life…”
        2. When you develop loving respect and respectful love for God, your life blossoms. It flows like a fountain. There is abundance.
      • It produces a satisfied life.
        1. Proverbs 15:16 says, “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.”
        2. When you have a loving respect and a respectful love for God, you are satisfied with what you have. You don’t worry about your treasure, because your treasure is the Lord.
        3. Nothing will ever be enough until God is enough!
      • It produces a blessed life.
        1. Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.”
        2. Again, this is not a promise, but a proverb, but if you develop the fear of the Lord you will have a blessed life.
        3. You will be rewarded.
3. The Battle for Wisdom
   • The third thing I want you to see is the Battle for Wisdom. Notice Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (wisdom); fools despise wisdom and instruction.
   • Some look at wisdom as a treasure. Others view God’s wisdom as trash. This is the battle that rages on every day.
   • The battle is simply this: which voice will you listen to? Will it be the voice that comes from God, or will you listen to your own voice? One will make you wise, the other a fool.

APPLICATION

Let me give a few observations before we wrap up our study today. 

• If you are looking for a new start in 2020, start with developing a loving respect and a respectful love for God. It’s where wisdom begins.

• If you want 2020 to be the best year of your life, start with developing a loving and respect and a respectful love for God. It’s how wisdom blesses.

 • If you want 2020 to be the most successful year of your life, start with developing a loving respect and a respectful love for God. It’s wisdom’s battle. 

What do you wish for in 2020? I pray that you wish for wisdom and will hunt it down like a treasure. I do not know what 2020 will hold for you, but I know that you will need wisdom.