Several weeks ago, I began sharing what the Lord told me about 2011.

2. Severalweeks ago, I began sharing what the Lord told me about 2011. • Often He gives me prophetic things. • But, this year He chose to deal with our personal lives. • Looking over the list it seems to answer the question: What kind of person must I be in 2011? • The Lord wants to deal with our personal lives 1st. • Then, we can move on to greater responsibilities and to growth.

3. We dealt with the 1st thing He spoke to my heart: • Make sure every area of your life is built upon the solid rock foundation of God’s Word. • This is going to be so important because everything that can be shaken will be shaken. • Only those things which have been built on the solid rock of God’s Word will last. • I am not prophesying that this will be a year of testing, but I am saying that we need to be prepared.

4. Fear God! • For years, I have shied away from preaching on it because of the perception of what it means. • I have often spoken about personal holiness and living right, but I have not done much on the Fear of God. • If you think about it, the Fear of God is the key to living a pure life. • Let’s look at this because it is an important concept for us to grasp in our walk with God.

5. After Jim Bakker had fallen and been restored to the Lord. • John Bevere, a popular speaker and author, visited him while he was still in prison. • He asked Jim, When in that whole process did you lose your love for God. • He responded: John, I never stopped loving God. I stopped fearing God.

6. Did you catch that? • He never stopped loving God, but he lost his fear of the Lord. • The fear of God and the love of God are like 2 guardrails on either side of our lives. • They keep us on the road as we drive over the mountain ridges. • We need both to work in our lives in order to keep us balanced.

7. The problem has been most people stray too far one way or the other. • Many who go too far on the love of God side fall into the pit of sloppy grace. • Everything is permissible because God is love and He will forgive us. • They love God, but there is not much holiness and purity in their lives. • This is what happened to Jim Bakker. • He went too far on that side and jumped the guard.

8. But, if we go too far to the other side of the fear of God, we may live holy and pure lives, but we will become very rigid and religious. • There is little life, excitement and laughter on that side. • Everything is somber. • This is why so many people recoil when you say, Fear God.

9. If we can strike a good balance between the two sides, we will be full of life and joy. • And, also live the right kind of life that brings glory to Jesus. • The pursuit of love and purity will become our passions, and this pleases the Lord. • They are not in opposition, but they are very much complementary.

10. Let’s illustrate it this way: Let’s suppose that Jesus were to walk into a room where 2 people were. • One is a believer and the other is not. • How would each respond? • The unbeliever would probably run and hide. • Why? • There is no relationship with Jesus and all he sees is the holiness of God—the consuming fire. • What would the believer do? • Probably fall on his knees &begin to worship Jesus.

11. Why the difference? • There’s a relationship. • There is love for Jesus but also a healthy fear. • How do you define the fear of God? Hebrews 12:28-29 – Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire. (NKJV) • We need to serve God with reverence and Godly fear because He is a consuming fire.

12. Matthew 10:28 – And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (NKJV) • Jesus shows that we need to have a healthy fear of the Lord. • Remember: As believers we are to balance this with the fact that we have a relationship with the Lord. • There are 2 guardrails running side by side in our lives—Love of God and the Fear of God.

13. How do you define the Fear of God? • 2 Concepts & 2 Words: • A reverential respect for God. • It is a respect for God as the One who created you and is the Judge of the living and the dead. • When you start to make decisions, you feel a sense of the fact that God is watching and listening, and you want to be pleasing to Him. • Your relationship with God affects whether you do right or wrong.

14. If you do wrong, you feel a churn in your stomach that you have grieved the Lord. • When you do right, you feel a peace in your heart that you have just pleased the Lord. • A God-consciousness, an awareness that God is always there listening to your thoughts & words and watching your actions. • And, even though you know that He is a loving and merciful God, He is also the Judge and will not let unrepentant sin go unpunished.

15. 2 Words: • Honor– This is not a word that is spoken much lately unless you are in the Marines. • Honor, however, has much to do with having a good relationship with the Lord. • To honor someone is to give them respect and high esteem. • It is to treat them as being special and of great worth.

16. When you speak to them or around them, you keep your language clean and understandable. • When they speak to you, you take them seriously, giving their words great weight and significance. • When they ask you to do something, you do your best to accommodate them simply out of respect for who they are. • Is that not a good definition of how we should treat the Lord?

17. Have you ever thought about this? • Your actions either give God honor or they disgrace Him. • How you even speak to and treat other people will give either honor or disgrace to the Lord. • Having that awareness or God-consciousness is the fear of God.

18. How would you act if the President or the Queen of England were to walk into your presence. • You would be very respectful and give them honor. • Would you not? • Think of it this way: The King of kings and the Lord of lords is always with you! • That should impact the way you talk, act & think. • Should it not? • It should!!

19. Holy – The actual definition of this word does not necessarily mean being perfect. • Although that element is there. • Holy means to be set apart for a higher purpose—no longer common or every day, but special and unique. • A person who has become holy to you has a place in your heart that no one can rival. • They are sacred to you. • A person to be honored, praised and defended.

20. Is God holy to you? • Or, is He simply common to you? • Remember: He is a consuming fire. • We are often too flippant and casual about God. • Yes, Jesus is our friend, but He is also our Lord. • God is to be both honored and holy to us. • No one can occupy His place in our hearts and lives.

21. This leads to another point—Those who have a healthy balance of the fear of God have a desire to be pleasing to the Lord. • The fear of God is based on a relationship. • Although there is an element of fear as we would traditionally define fear, it is coupled with an unconditional love. • Relationship with my Dad who exhibited a healthy balance between love and discipline. • But, here’s the key: I never doubted whether he loved me or not.

22. When I grew into my teen years . . . • If Dad knew I had done this, it would break his heart. • My decision to do the right thing was motivated by my relationship with my Dad. • It was based more on love than fear even though I knew I would be in trouble as well. • As I grew older, I eventually transferred that desire to the Lord from my Dad. • I want to please God first and not man.

23. My desire to do the right thing is motivated by a fear of God, but it is based on our love relationship. • I love God, and I don’t want to be the cause of breaking His heart by what I say, do or think. • Men, that is why we fathers have such a big responsibility. • Children get their view of God from their dads. • My relationship with my Dad provided a foundation for my relationship with my heavenly Father.

24. Romans 2:29 – No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. • Having God’s approval and praise should be a major priority for us. • This will guard you against giving into the pressures of other people. • You need to do the right thing not because of what other people think, but because of what God thinks!

25. Galatians 1:10 – Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be God’s servant. • Paul’s desire was for God’s approval. • Notice that if pleasing people were his goal, then he would not be God’s servant. • A servant had one task: Be obedient to his master. • Jesus said: How do you show that you love Me? • By keeping My commandments.

26. You will serve what you fear. If it is man, you will serve him. If it is God, you will serve Him. Proverbs 22:4 – Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life. (NIV) • Not a bad exchange if you think about it—prosperity, honor and a long life. • The key is humility. • Pridewill keep you from walking with a God-consciousness. • Pride is all about you, but humility is all about Jesus.

27. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14– The last and final word is this:Fear God.Do what He tells you. 14 And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil. (MSG) • Here’s the wealthiest and wisest man to have ever lived giving his conclusion to life: • Fear God • Do what is right

28. Why do we obey God and do the right thing? • Is it because of the 10 Commandments? • Because our church leaders have told us to do so? • Fear of judgment and hell? • No, our real motivation should be because we love God and want to please Him! • Our motivation comes from within. • I obey Him because I love Him. • It is really quite simple.

29. Believers who understand this simple truth are the most fruitful in the Kingdom. • They will hear the words, “Well done, My good and faithful servant,” at the end of their days. • These words are the goal for everyone whose desire is to please the Lord. • Why will they hear these words? • It is because all their works will flow from a relationship with the Lord and not from their flesh.

30. Acts 4:36-37 – For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles. • We are told that he sold a field and brought all the money and placed it at the apostle’s feet. • What does that remind you of? • Do you not think of Ananias and Sapphira?

31. Remember what they did? • They too sold a field, but kept some of the profit for themselves and gave the rest to the church. • The difference was that they lied to the apostles. • They said they gave all the money for the field when in fact they kept some of it for themselves. • It wasn’t the fact that they kept money for themselves that got them in trouble, but that they lied about it.

32. Do you know where they are mentioned in the book of Acts? • Immediately after Barnabas is introduced and praised for his integrity and giving. Acts 4:37-5:2 –37 [Barnabas] sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles. Ch. 5:1 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. 2 He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife's consent, he kept the rest. (NLT)

33. Dr. Luke was showing us a contrast between integrity and deception and between those who feared God and those who don’t. • Do not forget that when Luke wrote this book, there were no chapter and verse divisions. • They were added later for ease in finding a particular place. • This has probably clouded us from seeing the contrast in the past.

34. I am sure that Ananias &Sapphira loved God, or they would not have been in the church. • But, they did not have a correct view of the fear of God in their lives or they would not have lied. • Their problem was they loved the approval of men more than they loved the approval of God. • They feared man more than God. • When we get in that place, we often compromise our convictions. • This leads to sin and to dishonoring God.

35. Conclusion • There are 2 things that we need to work on this year: • Make sure that every area of your life is based on the Word of God. • Fear God • Remember that all of this is based on our relationship with Jesus. • Everything must flow out of that foundation.