To tremble--to trust Him more than me

Paul writes in Philippians 2: [12] Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

He writes in II Corinthians 7: [15] And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him. 

He isn’t talking about having awe and reverential respect for God because there’s that “trembling” thing that educates you about what the “fear” thing is all about, explains Richard Jordan.

One of the identifying marks of being controlled by God the Holy Spirit—having the Word of God, the love and grace of God control and fill your life--is in Ephesians 5: [21] Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Paul says in verse 18 to “be filled with the Spirit.” In verse 19, he says, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns,” and in verse 20, “Giving thanks always,” and then there’s verse 21.

That verse ends with “in the fear of God.” Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed those verses or paid any attention to them, but somewhere along the line you have to look at that and understand that the fear of God in Paul’s mind, as the great apostle of grace, factors into the motivation of the life of a Believer, so it’s important to understand what it means to fear God.

What is the godly fear that grace will produce in your life? Here’s the verse to remember when you think about this “fear and trembling” thing.

God’s talking in Isaiah 66: [2] For all those things hath mine hand made, and those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

You see, the fear of God is to submit yourself to Him, to His Word, to His thinking. The fear of God is to be aware of your own inadequacies. "A poor and a contrite spirit."

It's saying, “I know that I don’t have the capacity . . . When I look at God and see who He is, and I see His holiness, when I see His justice, when I see His righteousness, when I see His majesty, it tells me I should trust Him and not me, and I should come to His Word, and when I tremble at His Word, it’s not just that I’m afraid of what He’s going to tell me, it’s that I’m more concerned about what He says than what I say.”

"I’m more concerned about what He thinks than what I think. I’m more concerned about what His opinion is then the opinion of anyone else."

The fear of God in its most basic form is to submit yourself to God’s Word to you. Proverbs 13:13: [13] Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

That verse right there, by the way, tells me something about the future of America. It may say something about your future.

“But he that feareth the commandment” is the opposite of despising it. If you despise the Word, you have no use for it. You belittle it, you say it’s of no importance. If you fear the Word you say, “It’s what matters above all things.”

Paul says about lost people in Romans 3: [16] Destruction and misery are in their ways:
[17] And the way of peace have they not known:
[18] There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Folks, you never want to let your Christian life get to be like the life of a lost man. We talk about God’s love and grace that brings us in and gives us access to His presence with boldness and confidence through the faith of Christ, but that’s what ALLOWS us to have a submissive heart to His Word.

Because it takes away the guilt and the shame of our sin and our inadequacies and allows us to say, “Because of His love to us, what He says is more important than anything anybody else would say, and hence I have a motivation to be submissive to Him.

Lost people have no fear of God in their eyes. None. Don’t think like lost people.

Psalm 36:1: [1] The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

You know where sin comes in in the lives of lost people and in the lives of Believers who think like lost people? It comes from saying, “I don’t fear God; I won’t submit myself to what God says.”