1 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,480 Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Love Quest International 2 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,600 Church Podcast where we seek to love all nations, equip the 3 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,560 church, mobilize the equipped, and serve all. 4 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,080 We're super glad you're joining us from whenever and wherever 5 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,760 you're at in the world. Welcome to the family to get 6 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,480 your Bibles ready, get some water, get some coffee, maybe 7 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:39,680 some tea, and get ready to receive. 8 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:41,720 It's go time. Let's get into it. 9 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:53,680 Hallelujah, we celebrate you, we glorify you. 10 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:58,080 Lord, we rejoice in you. You are here in this place, 11 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,520 loved by your mighty Spirit. You're going to touch hearts, 12 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,120 reveal your word and move in power. 13 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:09,360 Lord, we celebrate you. We celebrate you in Jesus name. 14 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:11,400 Amen. Amen. 15 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:19,880 All right, take a seat. Now. 16 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:26,960 When Lily was singing, she was talking about he's in the room. 17 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:36,320 Do you believe it? Jesus said. 18 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:39,880 Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there 19 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,360 in the midst. But do you believe it? 20 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:55,240 There's a shift that occurs between a statement that is a 21 00:01:55,240 --> 00:02:01,000 wish and a statement that is a confident faith belief. 22 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:14,640 When we pray with one another, God is there, but do we believe 23 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:21,320 it? How will your prayers change 24 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:29,440 when we believe that to be true? How does your worship change 25 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:31,560 when you believe that to be true? 26 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,520 How does your confident faith shift gears? 27 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,960 When you believe that He is there, He is present. 28 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,760 I want to thank Pastor Terrace and Pastor Julia for this 29 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,400 incredible opportunity to be able to share the Word this 30 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,560 morning at the 9:00 AM experience. 31 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:03,760 And thank you so much for all you have done in establishing a 32 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:11,320 work where people can encounter Jesus at the beginning of the 33 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:16,840 year. Who remembers the Word for 2025? 34 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,320 This is the year of the the fear of God, the fog, right? 35 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,280 The year of the fear of God. And we're going to be look into 36 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:34,240 that this morning. The fear of God, the fear of God 37 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,240 is not a I'm afraid of God, right? 38 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,000 If you look back, actually, Elder John had a great message 39 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,040 where he spoke about the difference between afraid of 40 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:49,400 versus the fear of God. The fear of God begins with a 41 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:56,000 recognition of who he is. And This is why as we're seeing, 42 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:04,120 I was like, yes, when I recognize that the presence of 43 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:12,520 God is here, when we worship, when we pray, as we believe, it 44 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:19,560 changes everything. So we're going to be looking 45 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:27,920 into the fear of God. Proverbs Chapter 9, verse 10 46 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,320 says the reverent and Worshipful fear of the Lord is the 47 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,080 beginning, the chief and choices. 48 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:40,640 Part of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and 49 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,640 understanding. Now the reverend and Worshipful 50 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:49,280 fear of the Lord is the beginning, but also the chief 51 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:55,400 and choicest part of wisdom. Wisdom started begins. 52 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,360 And the best part of wisdom, the most important part of wisdom, 53 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:03,360 is to fear God, to know God to to have a reverential awe of 54 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:09,560 God. Often you'll see in the 55 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,040 Scriptures we bring up, it's the reverent and Worshipful fear of 56 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:14,920 God. There's a recognition of the 57 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,360 greatness of God, the wonder of who he is. 58 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:27,480 There's If somebody's lived in the prairies all their life, 59 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,320 this may not be the best illustration, but work with me 60 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,600 here. I've been in the prairies. 61 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:41,680 We spent some time in Moose Jaw. Well, to be fair, not Moose Jaw, 62 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:44,920 the bedroom community of Moose Jaw, Karen Port. 63 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:52,680 Yes, yes, we spent a few months there working on a campaign that 64 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,560 we were part of and we went for a walk one day. 65 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:01,000 This is just to give you has anyone never been to the 66 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,000 Prairies, never been to the some of you never been to the 67 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:09,160 Prairies? That's crazy. 68 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:14,760 Yeah. We went stationed out. 69 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:16,720 We're going for a walk and we saw a tree and we said that, 70 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:18,320 well, look, we'll walk up to the tree. 71 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,240 We'll walk up to that tree and then we'll turn around and we're 72 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:29,560 we're walking, we're walking. We're still walking. 73 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:31,000 It's like the tree is running away. 74 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:32,920 What's going on? We can we get to the tree? 75 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:38,040 It's flat, right? And that's my, that's my story 76 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:39,480 about the prairies anyway. Bless. 77 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:53,080 And and it's, it's flat. We were driving between Medicine 78 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,400 Hat. Oh yeah, around there and then 79 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,040 all the way through to Karen Port. 80 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,120 And Stacey's never bought a magazine to read in her life. 81 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,520 She was so bored. She's like, please pull over. 82 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:08,200 Please. I got to see something. 83 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:16,480 Anyway, I digress. But it's the prairies are flat. 84 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:18,640 There's there's nothing there in terms. 85 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,120 There's very little ups and downs, right? 86 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:32,000 But then you come into Whistler or or or Banff and you go, you 87 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:38,240 see now these incredibly high mountains, the grandeur, the 88 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,160 awesomeness, it's like, whoa, what is that? 89 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:46,600 Especially being in the prairies all your life, you'd be like, 90 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,640 I've never seen anything that big, that amazing, that 91 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,440 incredible. As I say, not a great 92 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,560 illustration, but that's the idea of the fear of God. 93 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:07,000 The awe of God is I've got I, I'm used in this and I see this 94 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:14,200 and I go, wow, this is this is magnificent. 95 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,280 This is powerful. This is incredible. 96 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:24,000 The fear of God is actually understanding who he is and 97 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:30,400 going, whoa, nothing can be compared to that. 98 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:37,559 No one can compare to him. That's the all. 99 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:41,039 The fear of God, the reverent and Worshipful fear of the Lord 100 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,360 is the beginning of wisdom. What does that mean? 101 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:50,320 Means when we recognise who God is, then we can start to 102 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,560 understand with just the beginning of understanding of 103 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:57,360 wisdom is to get to know who he is. 104 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,640 And the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and 105 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,520 understanding. You see this, it's this 106 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:10,280 recognition, this knowledge, this understanding of how great 107 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:16,800 God is that begins our understanding of life, of what 108 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:22,960 we're called to, of whom we are. The fear of God is based on a 109 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:30,720 recognition of who God is. It begins with understanding who 110 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:43,640 he is going to read from Job chapter 38 and verse one and has 111 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,280 anyone read the book of Job who but hands up if you've read the 112 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,280 book of Job Fantastic encouraging book. 113 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:57,120 Yeah, has this moments for those who don't know the book of Job 114 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:04,600 story of a man who loses everything because Satan says he 115 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:08,600 only, he only loves you because you give him everything. 116 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,160 So if you take it all away, he'll just he'll curse God, 117 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:16,680 he'll curse you and he loses everything. 118 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:21,240 And there's a whole bunch of what, what we call Job's friends 119 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:26,840 who are not really helping him. And then his wife despises him 120 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:28,760 and says he should never have been born, you know, all the 121 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:35,080 good stuff like that. And, and he gets this stage, but 122 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,720 he, he never curses God. He questions the Lord, but he 123 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,640 doesn't curse God. But I want to read here, this is 124 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,760 God's response to Job. And it goes for three chapters. 125 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:49,480 I'm not going to read the three chapters, but I want to read 126 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:54,080 this first part because I think it we begin to understand the 127 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:59,320 vastness of God. This is from the message Job 38. 128 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:04,480 And now finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent 129 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,960 storm. He said, why do you confuse the 130 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,480 issue? Why do you talk without knowing 131 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,240 what you're talking about? Pull yourself together, Job up 132 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,920 on your feet, stand tall. I have some questions for you 133 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:19,760 and I want some straight answers. 134 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:23,720 Where were you when I created the Earth? 135 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,560 Tell me, since you know so much, who decided on it's size? 136 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,240 Certainly you'll know that. Who came up with the blueprints 137 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,480 in measurements? How was it's foundation poured? 138 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,720 And who set the cornerstone while the morning stars sang in 139 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:47,120 chorus and all the angels shouted praise? 140 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,680 And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby 141 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:54,240 from the womb? That was me. 142 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:59,560 I wrapped it in its soft clouds and tucked it in safely at 143 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:03,040 night. Then I made a playpen for it, a 144 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:07,200 strong playpen so it couldn't run loose, and said stay here. 145 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:11,560 This is your place. Your wild tantrums are confined 146 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:19,760 to this place, and have you ever ordered the morning get up or 147 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:24,240 told dawn get to work so you could seize earth like a blanket 148 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,840 and shake out the wicked like cockroaches? 149 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:32,960 As the sun brings everything to light, brings out all the 150 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,360 colours and the shapes, the cover of darkness is snatched 151 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,000 from the wicked. They're caught in the very act. 152 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,040 Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things? 153 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,240 Explore the labyrinthine caves of the deep ocean. 154 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:49,440 Do you know the first thing about death? 155 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:53,080 Do you have one clue regarding death's dark mysteries? 156 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:56,680 And do you have any idea how large this earth is? 157 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:00,480 Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer. 158 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,640 Do you know where light comes from and where darkness lives? 159 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,960 So you can take them by the hand and lead them home when they get 160 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,320 lost. Why, of course, you know that 161 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,280 you've known them all your life, grown up in the same 162 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:18,880 neighborhood with them. Have you ever travelled to where 163 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:21,560 snow is made, Seen the vault where hail is stockpiled? 164 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:24,720 The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness for 165 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:26,600 times of trouble and battle and war? 166 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:29,920 Can you find your way to where lightning has launched it? 167 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,080 To the place from which the wind blows? 168 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:36,080 Who did you suppose calves? Canyons for the downpours of 169 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:40,320 rain and charts, the root of thunderstorms that bring water 170 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:47,480 to unvisited fields, deserts no one ever lays eyes on, drenching 171 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:52,360 these useless wastelands so they are carpeted with wildflowers 172 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:57,480 and grass. And who do you think is the 173 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:01,400 father of rain and dew, the mother of ice and frost? 174 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,720 You don't for a minute imagine these marvels of where they just 175 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,080 happened to you. Can you catch the eye of a 176 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:13,800 beautiful Pleiades sisters? These are constellations or 177 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:18,360 distract Orion from his hunt. Can you get Venus to look your 178 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,480 way or get the great bear and her Cubs to come out and play? 179 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,440 Do you know the first thing about the Sky's constellations 180 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,200 and how they affect things on Earth? 181 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:44,320 God is saying, Do you really think that I am small? 182 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,280 He's saying, where were you when I created the earth? 183 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,640 When I set the boundaries of where the water was to flow, not 184 00:14:55,640 --> 00:15:07,330 to flow. The beginning of the fear of God 185 00:15:08,650 --> 00:15:17,160 is to understand and really to recognize that we can't fully 186 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:29,720 understand how great He is. How can you begin to measure 187 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:35,240 eternal? How can you begin to measure the 188 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:37,400 one who holds the earth in his hand? 189 00:15:44,510 --> 00:16:02,000 There's a immensity to God, His power, His greatness, His 190 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:18,400 fullness, His immenseness and also His mercy, His love that 191 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:22,880 cannot be measured. You can never come to the end 192 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:29,920 of. The beginning of the fear of God 193 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:40,560 is to recognize that the Lord of the universe saw fit to send his 194 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:44,840 Son Jesus, because he wanted you. 195 00:16:52,090 --> 00:16:57,320 He desired you. God so loved the world. 196 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:06,119 He gave his Son the Lord of creation, the Lord who made 197 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,280 heaven and earth, the Lord who has set the stars in their 198 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:17,480 place, who set in place the planets and the expanse of 199 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:26,760 heaven so we could discover it. When we talk about he's in the 200 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:37,440 room, when we pray, when we worship, this expansive 201 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:50,480 understanding of who He is can fill us with awe and the 202 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:59,120 incredible power of the blood of Jesus that has set us free to be 203 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:07,480 able to walk in him, set us free so we might live a life filled 204 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:12,920 with his spirit. There's an immenseness to it. 205 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,880 There's an awe in it. There's a wonder in it. 206 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,920 In fact the the caption is for the year was the year of the 207 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:26,960 fear of God, the year of awe and wonder. 208 00:18:34,430 --> 00:18:40,310 And I and I, I labour on this point because I believe, I know 209 00:18:44,310 --> 00:18:51,230 that as we get an understanding of his greatness, it shifts us. 210 00:18:52,790 --> 00:18:58,120 It, it, it gives us an understanding of how great this 211 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:04,600 God is who we when we pray, when you bring your request to the 212 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:10,920 Lord, the Bible says he has the cattle on 1000 hills. 213 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:12,600 What that means is he's got it all. 214 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,880 When we pray, when we worship, we're worshiping the God of 215 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:27,680 heaven and earth. Luke 12 verse 2 to 5 says 216 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,320 everything hidden and covered up will soon be exposed. 217 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,080 Sounds like the wind is blowing right? 218 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:39,520 For the facade is falling down and nothing will be kept secret 219 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,280 for long. Whatever you have spoken in 220 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,600 private will be public knowledge, and what you have 221 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:50,040 whispered secretly behind closed doors will be broadcast far and 222 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:55,120 wide for all to hear. Listen, my beloved friends, 223 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,640 don't fear those who may want to take your life but can do 224 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:04,520 nothing more. It's true that they may kill 225 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,840 your body, but they have no power over your soul. 226 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:13,680 The one you must fear is God, for He has both the power to 227 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,680 take your life and the authority to cast your soul into hell. 228 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:23,040 Yes, the only one you need to fear is God. 229 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:33,040 This seems to be a hard word. If you go back to the the 230 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:40,560 previous slide, we get context. Everything hidden and covered up 231 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,800 will soon be exposed, for the facade is falling down and 232 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:45,600 nothing will be kept secret for long. 233 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:47,880 Whatever you've spoken in private will be public 234 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,960 knowledge, and what you have whispered secretly behind closed 235 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,040 doors will be broadcast far and wide for all to hear. 236 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:59,320 So he's saying, look, these things are going to be known. 237 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:05,440 Don't be afraid of the ones who can just kill your body. 238 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:10,920 That seems like something to be afraid of. 239 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:15,280 But you know, right. And I, I kind of like to balance 240 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,400 that off with, well, you know, someone was going to take my 241 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:22,200 body with something and I'm no longer living. 242 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,280 That's that's that's pretty severe, but he's giving a 243 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,480 contrast. He's giving the contrast. 244 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:37,200 Jesus is saying don't allow that to be your greatest fear, rather 245 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:41,720 that you are in relationship, you are in line with, you are 246 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:47,440 walking and following with God because he determines your soul. 247 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,600 The fear of God is a posture of heart and surrender. 248 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:03,760 I want to just add, there's two scriptures I didn't put in 249 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:04,640 there. I'm just going to read them 250 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:11,830 briefly. And this just speaks to that 251 00:22:11,830 --> 00:22:14,710 first section that we're talking about the understanding of who 252 00:22:14,710 --> 00:22:17,430 God is. Isaiah chapter 6, verse one. 253 00:22:17,430 --> 00:22:19,830 And you don't need to put it up, just just listen. 254 00:22:22,710 --> 00:22:26,750 In the year that King Isaiah died, I saw in a vision, I saw 255 00:22:26,750 --> 00:22:30,440 the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the 256 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:34,960 skirt of his train filled the most holy part of the temple. 257 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:40,360 Above him to stood the Seraphim. Each had six wings, with two 258 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,760 each covered his own face, and with two each covered his feet, 259 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:48,080 and with two each flew. And one cried to another, and 260 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,800 said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 261 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,800 The whole earth is full of his glory. 262 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:58,800 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of 263 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,480 him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 264 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,880 And then said, I woe is me, for I am undone and ruined, because 265 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,320 I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people 266 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:14,680 of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of 267 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:20,560 hosts. Revelation One, verse 10. 268 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:26,640 John, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind 269 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:29,640 me a great voice, like the calling of a war trumpet, saying 270 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,160 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the 1st and the last. 271 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,240 Write promptly what you see in a book and send it to the seven 272 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:45,160 churches which are in Asia. Then I turned to see whose was 273 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,600 the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw 7 274 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,240 golden lampstands. In the midst of the lampstands 275 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,520 one like a son of man, clothed with a robe, which reached to 276 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,040 his feet with a girdle of gold about his breast. 277 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:04,200 His head and his hair were white like white wool, as white as 278 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:08,240 snow, and his eyes flashed like a flame of fire. 279 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,680 His feet glowed with burnished like burnished bronze as it is 280 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:18,440 refined in a furnace. His voice was like the sound of 281 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:22,520 many waters. In his right hand he held seven 282 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,360 stars, and from his mouth they came forth a sharp 2 edged 283 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:30,840 sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full power at 284 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:37,160 midday. When I saw him, I fell at his 285 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:47,160 feet as if dead, but he laid his right hand on me and said, do 286 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:51,080 not be afraid, I am the 1st and the last. 287 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,680 These are two visions of encounter with God, and the only 288 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:03,080 response was to fall at his feet. 289 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:27,600 Father, give us a revelation, Lord, when we pray, when we 290 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:33,880 worship, when we, when we engage in you, when we're at home. 291 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,960 Lord, may we have a revelation of the vastness of who you are, 292 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:46,280 Father, a revelation that goes beyond my our mental thinking, 293 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:55,960 our reading, but actually gives us a understanding of who you 294 00:25:55,960 --> 00:26:02,400 are. Your awe, Your grace, Your power 295 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:07,400 with those who are like us, saw you. 296 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:17,800 They fell at your feet. May we not become familiar with 297 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:32,600 your presence. Cold to your word, Father. 298 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:42,900 May we burn with passion. May we get a revelation. 299 00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:48,460 May we get a revelation. The fear of God walks humbly 300 00:26:48,460 --> 00:26:56,680 before God acts Chapter 9. So in this story, actually the 301 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:01,680 the verses before this is actually Paul who had become had 302 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,800 an experience and encounter with God comes to be a believer in 303 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,080 God. He goes, the first thing he 304 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:10,320 does, he, he goes from hating the church, throwing him in 305 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:15,000 prison to the the next thing he's in Damascus and he's 306 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:17,440 telling everyone about Jesus. Yeah. 307 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,960 He had that same fire that he was, you know, taking Christians 308 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,640 and throwing them in, in prison and and persecuting them. 309 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,160 He took that same fire and the first thing he does is, OK, I'm 310 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:27,480 going to tell you all about this Jesus. 311 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:28,720 Hang on. Weren't you the guy just 312 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:30,520 throwing these guys like just a week ago? 313 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,880 I remember just a week ago, you, you were uttering threats and 314 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:36,800 you were out there going to take all the Christians down. 315 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,000 Now you're telling me you've got this Jesus. 316 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,680 You had it. We had one encounter with Jesus. 317 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,960 Yeah, one touch from the Lord. Yeah, 1 encounter. 318 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,920 They changed everything. And then you can't keep your 319 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,720 mouth shut about it. In fact, he got so bad and the 320 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,000 masters had to let him down with a out of a basket down the wall 321 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:07,680 because they were going to kill him this radical anyway. 322 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,800 And then and then he comes to Jerusalem and they're, of 323 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,240 course, a little nervous. I mean, again, a week ago we 324 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:24,200 were running from you and and Barnabas has to come along and 325 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:28,520 say he he he grabs Paul. He says, OK, I hear you. 326 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:30,480 I, I'm, I'm with you. And he grabs Paul. 327 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,640 He brings me to the apostle, says, you've got to hear this 328 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:34,320 story. Check this out. 329 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:38,840 Yeah, God took the worst of them, the one who was just 330 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:41,400 killing us. And he decided that he'd share 331 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,400 his love with him. There's a nugget there. 332 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:51,680 There's a nugget there. He took the worst one who hated 333 00:28:51,680 --> 00:29:00,120 us and transformed them. So the church throughout the 334 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:04,960 whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was 335 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:10,760 edified, growing in wisdom, virtue and piety and walking in 336 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:15,960 the respect and reverential fear of the Lord and in the 337 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:20,080 consolation and excitation of the Holy Spirit. 338 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:24,040 And they continue to increase and were multiplied. 339 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:31,560 So here they are. They're like they they, they've 340 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:36,120 now met Paul and they're going, man, if God can get that guy. 341 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:49,080 He is big, His love is amazing. If he could get that guy. 342 00:29:55,790 --> 00:29:58,150 And they walked in the fear of the Lord. 343 00:29:58,150 --> 00:30:01,830 They walked in this all this reverence of God that they were 344 00:30:01,830 --> 00:30:05,110 walking in the respect in the reverential fear that God was 345 00:30:05,110 --> 00:30:07,550 more than able. They walked in this reverential 346 00:30:07,550 --> 00:30:15,400 fear of God and out of that reverential fear and out of the 347 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:19,200 ministry of the Holy Spirit, they continue to increase and be 348 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:25,200 multiplied out of that. Then God took that and ran with 349 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,920 it. They started with the fear of 350 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:33,120 God to honour Him and glorify Him. 351 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:37,080 So the fear of God walks humbly before God. 352 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,240 The fear of God keeps you from sin. 353 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:49,480 Proverbs 3 verse 7 and 8. Don't be impressed with your own 354 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:53,520 wisdom. Instead fear the Lord and turn 355 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:58,640 away from evil, and then you will have healing for your body 356 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:07,320 and strength for your bones. By mercy and love, truth and 357 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:12,360 fidelity to God and man, not by sacrificial offerings, iniquity. 358 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:14,000 Oh, that's a different verse. Go back please. 359 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:19,520 Sorry, the fear of the Lord. Now this is interesting. 360 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:29,700 First of all, note to self, don't be that impressed with 361 00:31:29,700 --> 00:31:38,220 yourself. I I've had times where I was 362 00:31:38,220 --> 00:31:44,800 very impressed with myself. Yeah, it didn't always work out 363 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:52,400 that well, but instead fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 364 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:58,280 See, there's the fear of the Lord means you don't want to. 365 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,360 I don't want to be in that space. 366 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:09,480 I don't want that when I I recognize who God is. 367 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:14,720 I don't want to be somebody who breaks his commands, who who 368 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:21,600 makes, who turns on him. My recognition is actually the 369 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:25,160 fear of God that he is able to do it. 370 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:32,200 But there's a promise attached. Then you will have healing for 371 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,200 your body and strength for your bones. 372 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:44,920 There's a strengthening from it, there's an empowerment in it, 373 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:51,160 and it keeps you from evil Proverbs 16/6 By mercy and love, 374 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:53,440 truth and fidelity to God and man. 375 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,280 Not by sacrificial offerings. Now that's a pretty big 376 00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:00,160 statement here in the Old Testament because the whole 377 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,360 setup of the law was the sacrificial offerings to deal 378 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,000 with iniquity. But here you're saying by mercy 379 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,880 and love, truth and fidelity to God, iniquity is purged out of 380 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:16,480 the heart because when they when they were were giving 381 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:21,480 sacrifices, they were they were offering the sacrifice for their 382 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:26,520 sin, the ACT. But what he's saying is the 383 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:31,680 mercy and love of God purges it from your heart, right? 384 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,000 It's not just a cover. Oh, I did that. 385 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:38,680 So I'll go and do this, right? It's actually getting that out 386 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:43,440 of your heart. And by the reverent Worshipful 387 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:50,680 fear of the Lord, men depart from and avoid evil, because at 388 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:56,720 that point it turns you away. You're when you come into the 389 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,920 place of the fear of God, you're turned away from those things 390 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:02,160 that that offend him. You're turned away from the 391 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,000 things that are evil because you're turning to Him. 392 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:10,040 The word repent means to turn, to turn around. 393 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:12,840 We're repenting. We're turning around from that 394 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,120 thing to receive what God has for us. 395 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,400 We're turning around. We're coming to Him. 396 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:27,840 When? If you want to know if you're 397 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:34,040 walking in the fear of God when you do something against Him, 398 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:44,480 you're not comfortable with it. I remember, I think it was, I 399 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:46,560 think it was a Pastor Vernon Tompkins. 400 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:50,480 She said it, but she said once, once God's got you, you're a 401 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:54,120 horrible Sinner. Once you give me your life to 402 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:56,840 God, you can't, it just doesn't work. 403 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:06,800 You can't do it because you're the Spirit of God within you is 404 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:10,040 reacting to that. And so now I'm going to come 405 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:13,360 into forgiveness and praise God. He gives us that forgiveness, 406 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:19,600 but the fear of God will line you up and align you with him 407 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:29,760 and he's aligning us. The the there's been great 408 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:37,840 stories of revivals that have occurred and there when the 409 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,760 presence of the Lord is just so rich and heavy. 410 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:54,120 I believe it was Jonathan who Edwards, Thank you. 411 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:58,080 Yes, when he was praying, he's preaching. 412 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:01,800 Sorry, he's preaching. And the Lord would give people 413 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:07,320 visions and the Lord would convict them. 414 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:12,960 And in the middle of the sermon, they would start crying out to 415 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:23,600 God, crying out for mercy, crying out because when God was 416 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:32,240 operating here, their conviction was about getting them back in 417 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:35,040 returning back into alignment with God. 418 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,680 Two Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20, I believe in the new living 419 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:45,520 translation, it says come back to God. 420 00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:49,280 There's this reconciled to God, be reconciled, come back. 421 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:55,960 The fear of God actually wants us to makes us to want to run 422 00:36:55,960 --> 00:37:05,600 from evil, to run to him, to run into his arms, to run into that 423 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:15,920 place of His presence. The fear of God. 424 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,760 Skip a couple. The fear of God brings us to His 425 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:26,600 presence. Psalm 25 verse 14. 426 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:33,880 I love this. The secret of the sweet 427 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:38,600 satisfying companionship of the Lord. 428 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:46,840 Have they who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant and 429 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,840 reveal to them it's deep inner meaning. 430 00:37:53,880 --> 00:38:00,080 The fear of God is that starting point for the secret of the 431 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:08,120 sweet, satisfying companionship of the Lord, that sweet 432 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:17,880 relationship, that place of connection, but also that place 433 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:21,640 where He desires to give you the secret of His coven, the secrets 434 00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:26,120 of His Word to confide in you, to share it with you. 435 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:33,520 Those who fear the Lord get to walk in this space of 436 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:39,680 relationship of connection. And I love that. 437 00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:44,520 I love that, that the visual of this He will show them his 438 00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:47,880 covenant, reveal to them. It's deep inner meaning. 439 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:57,040 He he wants to have that engagement with you when the 440 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:03,960 word comes alive. The Holy Spirit is the teacher. 441 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:11,760 And as we read the word out of that sweet relationship, out of 442 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:16,360 that connection, there's this life that comes. 443 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,880 It's like I share, I get excited about these stories about from 444 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:26,120 Acts and it's like we're reading in just in the back from Acts 445 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:32,400 chapter 4 and the Peter and John had been reprimanded by the 446 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:35,320 authorities told don't speak in the name of Jesus. 447 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:36,720 They were going to try and kill him. 448 00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:39,440 But the unfortunately that they had had a miracle where someone 449 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:42,560 who was lame walked and said that was a bit of a problem so 450 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:43,920 they couldn't kill him right on the spot. 451 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:55,200 It's wild guys. And they go back to the, the, 452 00:39:55,520 --> 00:40:01,120 the church and they gather together and they hear it. 453 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:04,120 They, they, they, they share. This is what happened. 454 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:06,320 They threatened us with this. They threatened us with that. 455 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:15,200 Well, let's pray. Well, let's pray, Lord, you see 456 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,280 their threats, You hear what their charges are. 457 00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:20,720 You know what's going on? You know these people. 458 00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:29,560 You know what's going on. Now grant us the boldness and 459 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:33,760 the courage and the freedom to declare Your Word. 460 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,880 You see, that's what the fear of God does. 461 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:42,840 It connects us back to Him. It connects us back to the cult. 462 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:45,480 It connects us back into that life giving spirit. 463 00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:51,960 It connects us. We come back into that, that 464 00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:59,600 cold place. We come into this, this position 465 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:08,320 of love, this place where God's immenseness is realized. 466 00:41:14,990 --> 00:41:24,110 The fear of God is surrender. It's a place of surrender. 467 00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:38,720 A place where we have come to the feet of Almighty God and He 468 00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:47,400 calls us to come. Come closer, come there, come 469 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:52,480 into that place of rest, come into that place of presence. 470 00:41:54,720 --> 00:42:01,400 I was reminded this week Friday I was picking up some stuff at 471 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:07,320 Costco and that's not an ad. It's just a location. 472 00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:14,800 It's just a location and a weight. 473 00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:22,960 A heaviness had been building over a couple of weeks. 474 00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:33,240 And God talks to you wherever he wants to talk to you. 475 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:43,700 Facts. And it was a simple thing. 476 00:42:44,940 --> 00:42:49,660 I reminded of the verse that Jesus said, coming to me. 477 00:42:49,660 --> 00:42:56,660 All you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest. 478 00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:09,040 And, and a little bit of it was, didn't you remember? 479 00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:13,600 Did you get it? I told you this. 480 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:18,320 You know this. But there's also a reminder. 481 00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:25,440 I love you. If you're weary, come to me. 482 00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:31,560 I'm the I am rest, I am wholeness, I am peace. 483 00:43:39,140 --> 00:43:46,260 Today I want to encourage you. The fear of God is the chief and 484 00:43:46,260 --> 00:43:53,020 choicest part of wisdom. It is that place where we can 485 00:43:53,020 --> 00:44:02,220 come into His presence and He desires to know you. 486 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:08,920 As I said in Psalm 25, it was say it's that sweet 487 00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:12,960 companionship with the Lord. To those who fear the Lord 488 00:44:18,490 --> 00:44:29,290 today, be reminded God is big. God is great. 489 00:44:30,210 --> 00:44:34,170 God has all power and all authority. 490 00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:48,680 Recognize it, receive it, and come to Him because His love is 491 00:44:48,680 --> 00:45:00,280 just as big, just as great, and just as powerful as we walk in 492 00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:14,160 the fear of the law. He will bring us to the place of 493 00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:27,240 completeness and peace and rest. Father, thank you. 494 00:45:32,510 --> 00:45:37,670 Father God, thank you. Lord of heaven and Earth, thank 495 00:45:37,670 --> 00:45:41,480 you. Create a God who made the 496 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:48,320 heavens and the earth and set the boundaries and the path, who 497 00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:51,040 measured out the foundations of the earth. 498 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:55,680 Thank you. You are worthy to receive 499 00:45:55,680 --> 00:45:58,720 praise, You are worthy to receive honour. 500 00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:02,600 You're worthy. Lord, Your goodness and your 501 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:12,440 greatness are magnificent. Father, thank you. 502 00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:16,000 I encourage you. Take a moment. 503 00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:19,840 Take a moment. Consider what the Lord has done. 504 00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:23,520 Consider who he is. Take a moment to consider the 505 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:29,160 vastness of God. Take a moment to remember what 506 00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:33,840 he has brought you from. Remember what His love has taken 507 00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:37,800 you from. Remember how He has engaged and 508 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:41,800 matured you and blessed you. Take a moment. 509 00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:59,440 The safest place is surrendered, broken before a holy God who 510 00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:03,760 loves you, whose mercy is towards you, whose heart is 511 00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:11,880 towards you. A place of greatest healing is 512 00:47:11,880 --> 00:47:21,560 in the fear of God, in the presence of the King, a place of 513 00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:28,480 surrender, the place of Him being our everything. 514 00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:31,240 Amen. Amen. 515 00:47:31,240 --> 00:47:36,520 Just take a seat for a minute. I want to encourage you the 516 00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:39,880 there's plenty of announcements on our social media. 517 00:47:40,080 --> 00:47:42,960 There's lots of things that are happening here. 518 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:45,360 We've got fast coming up. We've got giving opportunities, 519 00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:47,480 We have baptisms. So I want to encourage you to 520 00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:52,120 engage in that. But we may be out of time. 521 00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:56,120 We're never out of the goodness of God. 522 00:47:57,720 --> 00:48:01,600 So until next time, get your love fixed man. 523 00:48:13,350 --> 00:48:15,590 Thank you so much for tuning into this week's sermon. 524 00:48:15,590 --> 00:48:18,950 We pray you were challenged, equipped and encouraged. 525 00:48:19,190 --> 00:48:21,110 Make sure to follow us on all platforms. 526 00:48:21,110 --> 00:48:25,190 That's Lovequest INTL church. We out here for real. 527 00:48:25,270 --> 00:48:27,550 We're really doing it. That's Facebook, Instagram, 528 00:48:27,550 --> 00:48:30,790 YouTube and TikTok. You can find us anywhere you 529 00:48:30,790 --> 00:48:33,070 need to find us. But until next time, you know 530 00:48:33,070 --> 00:48:36,880 the drill, you know the get your love fixed man and we'll see 531 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:37,520 y'all real soon.