Fight Fear with Fear

Psalm 34 | Fight Fear with Fear

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Slides:

The fear of the Lord brings joy and freedom in the midst of the cares and fears of this world.

-The fear of the Lord makes us worshipers, and worship cultivates a fear of the Lord.

-The fear of the Lord keeps God bigger than our circumstances and ourselves.

Psalm 47:1-2 

Oh clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy. For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth.

Exodus 15:11 

Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

The fear of the Lord draws us to Him in times of need.

Fear toward the Lord, and toward his goodness. This fear leans toward the Lord. When you really know God, you would be thrice happy if you would run toward Him, falling down before Him, worshiping Him with bowed head yet glad heart, all the while fearing toward him, and not away from him. Blessed is the man whose heart is filled with that holy fear.- Spurgeon

Isaiah 8:11-13

 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.

Fear of the Lord is cultivated by experiencing His goodness as we draw near to Him in times of need.

The fear of the Lord produces holy, abundant living.

-Not from being afraid of rejection, but out of response to His love and goodness.

2 Corinthians 7:1 

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Isaiah 11:1-3a 

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, And He will delight in the fear of the Lord…

The fear of the Lord makes us glad that He is near.

A right fear of the Lord keeps us confident in, and strengthened by the Gospel.

John 16:33: 

“in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”

“Godly fear flows from a sense of the love and kindness of God. Nothing can lay a stronger obligation upon the heart of God than a sense of, or hope in, His mercy. If we have a low view of the mercy of God, we will not fear him, we will only be afraid of him.” -John Bunyan

Psalm 34:22 = Romans 8:1-2

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 

Psalm 130:1-5 

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.