Text: Psa 55:19
- Intro:
- Psa 55:19 says, “Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.”
- The fear of God is one of the most essential things in the Bible.
- Solomon said that to fear God and keep his commandments is the whole duty of man [Ecc 12:13].
- Yet, Paul said that the trouble with men, in general, is that
- “There is no fear of God before their eyes,” [Rom 3:18].
- God wants you to fear him.
- If you are willing to listen and take instruction, he will teach you the fear of the Lord [Psa 34:11].
- He knows that you and I don’t come by his fear naturally.
- The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge [Prov 1:7] and wisdom [Prov 9:10].
- That is, you don’t even begin to know anything worth knowing and you don’t even begin to have proper wisdom until you fear God.
- The fear of God is the starting point.
- The Lord is the one who gives wisdom, and he doesn’t give it to people who don’t fear him [Prov 2:4-7].
- Instead, he makes their wisdom foolish [1 Cor 1:20].
- What David is saying in Psa 55:19 is this.
- Many people don’t fear God because they have no changes.
- When they have met with a setback, they have just kept going on the way they were going… no change.
- When you look back in your life you can see times when things didn’t work out like you expected.
- How did you handle those times?
- Did you stop and consider that God might have been trying to get your attention?
- In Num 22:22-33, God intercepted Balaam along the path he was taking to go to King Balak.
- The first time, the ass he was riding turned aside to a field.
- The second time, the ass thrust herself into the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot.
- The third time, the ass fell down and wouldn’t move.
- Then, miraculously, the ass spoke to Balaam.
- Finally, the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes so he could see that God had been an adversary to him all along the way.
- And Balaam never stopped to realize that God was trying to get his attention.
- God let Balaam go on to the king, because he wanted the king to hear Balaam bless Israel [Num 23-24].
- Even after the three times God blocked Balaam’s progress, and the three blessings, and the prophecy concerning Israel’s future, Balaam never changed.
- He never feared God.
- He advised King Balak to invite Israel to sacrifice to their gods and to commit fornication with the Moabite women [Num 25:1-3].
- For this, Balaam died when Israel destroyed the Midianites in a later battle [Num 31:8].
- Consider this.
- There were seven or eight events that should have convinced Balaam to change his ways and fear God.
- But he never did.
- If you are one of God’s children, he is going to chasten you [Heb 12:5-11].
- And when he does, when he changes your plans, you had better fear God and make the changes in your life that he wants you to make.
- I look back on my life and I can see definite times when God blocked my plans, set me up for a huge fall, allowed trouble to come my way, and so forth.
- He was trying to get my attention.
- And he did. God made changes in my plans and, eventually, I made the changes in my life God wanted me to make.
- Look how God changed Naomi’s plans in the book of Ruth.
- Naomi finally got the message.
- It was time to head back to Israel.
- And fortunately, Ruth went with her.
- Ruth feared the God of Israel.
- And look how things turned out for her.
- Naomi’s daughter-in-law ends up marrying Boaz and her first child is in the live of Jesus Christ.
- God’s plans are always better than ours.
- When you consider Peter’s life during the earthly ministry of the Lord, Peter was always impetuous.
- He rebuked the Lord in Matt 16, when Jesus told them he was going to die and rise again.
- Peter should have just listened and kept quiet.
- Later, he swore that he would never be offended and forsake the Lord.
- He would die with him before he would ever do anything like that.
- However, Peter didn’t realize how the Lord was setting him up for a major fall right before the crucifixion.
- In Lk 22:36-38, the Lord told his disciples to get some swords.
- They had two.
- Peter ended up with one of them.
- When Peter used that sword to cut off Malchus’ ear in the garden, the night Jesus was arrested, Jesus rebuked Peter and healed the soldier.
- That offended Peter and Peter ended up denying the Lord.
- Peter never saw that change coming.
- After the denial, when the cock crowed, the Lord looked at Peter and Peter went out and wept bitterly [Lk 22:61-62].
- Peter was never the same after that.
- God changed Peter’s plans and Peter made the changes God wanted him to make.
- Do you know what Peter wrote in his first epistle?
- In 1 Pet 2:17, Peter wrote, “Fear God.”
- He learned the important lesson that so many Christians today have never learned.
- God is going to keep changing your plans until one of two things happens.
- You’re either going to fear him and start making the changes in your life that are good for you or he’s going to just back off and let you go.
- And I’m telling you from years of experience in the Bible and in the ministry, you do not want to end up where God just lets you go.
- I have seen untold casualties among God’s children when they refused to fear God.
- In Isa 1:4-7, God said to Israel, in so many words, what’s the use of striking you anymore?
- You’re just going to revolt more and more.
- And so he just let them go.
- In Hos 4:14 he said, “I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom…”.
- In Amos 4:4-13 he said, “Come to Bethel and transgress…”. He just let them go.
- When you get to that place, you are destined for a bad ending.
- Consider the history of Israel after this.
- Consider what they’re going to go through in the Tribulation before they finally get right with God.
- The best thing you can do when you see those unexpected changes occurring in your life is to get on your face before God and see what he’s up to.
- If he’s behind the changes, then you’d better fear him, first and foremost.
- Once you fear him, he can then direct you with his wisdom and knowledge to make the changes in your life that will yield his peaceable fruit of righteousness.
- His ways are so much better than ours!!
- Fear God.