OUTLINE:

God's Whole Person
God’s sovereignty, like every other facet of His character, never functions in the absence of grace. He never drops one part of His character while operating in another. He is who He is. Ex 3:14-15, 33:17-19

Jesus’ Personal Encouragement
Jn 14:1 “Do not let your heart be troubled [e.g., live without fear in your life]; believe in God, believe also in Me.”

Knowing God
To the degree we behold God’s holiness, to that same degree our confidence soars.

The Knowledge of the Holy, by A. W. Tozer.
Love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead. Let reason kneel in reverence outside.

The Knowledge of the Holy, by A. W. Tozer.
[A disciple] may compare Scripture with Scripture until he has discovered the true meaning of the text. But right there his authority ends. He must never sit in judgment upon what is written. He dare not bring the meaning of the Word before the bar of his reason.

The Knowledge of the Holy, by A. W. Tozer.
He dare not commend or condemn the Word as reasonable or unreasonable, scientific or unscientific. After the meaning is discovered, that meaning judges him; never does he judge it.

It’s Strange, Isn’t It?
It’s strange to think that we defend those things in our lives that stand opposed to God’s will; and yet, we do so vehemently!

Misdirected Fear
God uses godly fear for good while the
KoD uses a counterfeit version for evil. We are to resist such things, to “rebuke” fear in our lives (aka allow the Word and the Spirit to shine light into darkness).

Exposing Fears
The Word shines into the dark parts of our souls... and we must believe the purpose is not to take things away from us and make us suffer (ungodly fear), but to set us free from bondage!

Extinguishing Fear
Our job is to show up, while it’s the Word and the Spirit’s job to complete its evaluation. Ungodly fear must be revealed for what it is by means of the Light; for Light extinguishes darkness.

Jn 8:12
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Walking In the Light
Standing/walking in the Light means we cannot be fooled or deceived by darkness.
(Eph 5:6-17)

It Is Wise To Fear the Lord
When Solomon lays out the structural outline of his wisdom/proverbs, his conclusions are founded/understood implicitly as a function of fearing the Lord. (e.g. Pr)

Fruit In The Soul
Do you see the stark difference between the fruit of godly fear (confidence/conviction/etc.) and the fruit of ungodly fear (insecurity/ anxiety/etc.)???

So, You Say You Fear the Lord, Huh?
Then why, pray tell, are you AFRAID...

- To give up ungodly TV/movies/music/media (all of it)?
- To give up “fellowshipping” with unbelievers?

- To give up dating (Ugh!), or even flirting?

- Of finding work and spending money to glorify God?
- Of telling family members they are destined for Hell?

Josh 24:15
But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Typical American “Living Room”  
Who, exactly, are we living for in our so-called “living rooms”???

Ecc 12:13-14
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.