Why a Healthy Reverence for God Is Important, & How to Cultivate It
Do you need a spiritual awakening or adjustment? This message encourages us not to lose reverence for God. Plus, learn four keys to cultivate it and remain spiritually faithful.
The power and presence of God can be forgotten. Are you allowing the wrong things to influence you? Are you spiritually drifting? These questions are important to consider as you strengthen your faith and relationship with Christ. When we lose the fear and reverence of God, we take steps away from God. We need to be sensitive to the things of God. He desires for you to be close to him.
Never Lose the Fear of God in Your Heart
are you allowing the right things to influence you?
Our nation and the world need a spiritual revival. We need a spiritual awaking. This is nothing new. Many have lost the fear of God.
In scripture we see that the people of God served God and then allowed the influences of other nations to turn their hearts away from serving God Almighty. When things were going well, the people became lax spiritually and allowed sin and doubt to creep into their thinking. The influence and success of people and other nations, and their so-called gods appears to have had an impact on the people of God. The Israelites did not see themselves spiritually drifting away from serving God Almighty. All they knew was that their inward sinful desires were being peeked by what they witnessed in the lives of others.
Soon, serving other gods did not appear to bother them. Sacrificing to other gods became an everyday occurrence. Worshiping other gods and praying to other gods became the norm. Other nations worshiped multiple gods and believed in other gods. What could it hurt to honor and to worship more than one God?
The people of God had forgotten that they were to worship Jehovah only. They had forgotten the promises and curses that they were told regarding the worship of other gods and to only worship God Almighty. The people of God forgot the commandments of God, and not to serve other gods.
“These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.”
“13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land” (Deuteronomy 6:1-3, 13-15 NIV).
They forgot that they were not to make idols of any forms. They forgot not to bow down or worship other gods. Over time, the people of God lost the fear of God. They no longer reverenced, revered, or lived in awe of God Almighty.
“Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands” (Psalm 112:1).
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).
‘And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is ‘wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding”’ (Job 28:28).
What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. 13 Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes”’ (Romans 3:9-18).
What was true in Paul’s day is true today. In the eyes of the world there is no fear of God. The understanding of many is darkened. If you look around, you will see ruin and misery on city streets and in the world today, and the way of peace appears far off in many cases.
We learned in our study of James that there are two kinds of wisdom. The wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. The wisdom of the world is earthly, unspiritual and denies the truth. It harbors bitter envy and selfish ambitions of the heart. There you find disorder and every evil practice. The wisdom of God is wisdom from above and is first pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17).
Are you spiritually drifting?
Friends, when we lose the fear of God in our hearts and life, we will lose the fear and sensitivity to living a life of sin. When we drift away from serving God, we will one day find ourselves far from God. Sadly, when we drift away from God it happens gradually and we don’t realize it is happening. Then we slowly accept ideas that we otherwise would not have accepted before. Ideas that can sound reasonable. Ideas that appear to be innocent on the surface. Ideas that have a hint of truth but are mixed with false and unrealized evil intent.
No one begins on the road of self-destruction with the intent of personal destruction. The Israelites did not purposefully turn their backs on God. The enemy tempted them. The enemy caused doubt in their hearts. The selfish desires that arose in their hearts took root like weeds in a garden. Over time the sinful desires took over and choked out their passion for God.
Their reverence for the things of God will grow faint. The fear and awe of God can grow cold. The power and presence of God can be forgotten. In time, we can find ourselves living far from God if we allow the fear, reverence and awe for God to become diluted by poor choices. We can grow cold spiritually as the cares of the world and selfish sinful desires take root in our hearts. Once we focus on self and off of God Almighty, we will spiritually drift apart from Christ as Lord and Savior. Our hearts can become blinded to the truth. In our own thinking we are living Godly lives, but spiritually we have turned directions and are no longer on the path God desired for us. Subtle compromises will lead to spiritually deadly outcomes.
The Israelites fell for the enemy’s bait many times. The subtle compromise of allowing the worship of other gods in the land was the beginning of embracing the worship of other gods by the people of God.
Spiritual compromise does not end with one compromise, soon one’s life is filled with compromises and the person is spiritually blinded to life they are living. The pleasure of the moment has blinded them rather than seeing God and where their life is headed.
The Israelites did not see that their spiritual compromise was leading them away from serving God alone. They did not see the how embracing some of the other nations ways of life was causing them to turn their backs to God Almighty. Little compromises will lead to a spiritually painful and deadly outcome if not recognized and stopped.
The Israelites only turned back and cried out to God when they were in physical and spiritual bondage. It took severe pain, bondage, and loss for the Israelites to turn back to God Almighty. The people of God found themselves in a cycle of compromise and spiritual bondage and calling out to God for deliverance from their sin.
God is a God of love, mercy, and grace, but he is also holy and just. God’s love, mercy and grace is witnessed by Jesus taking our sin and the sin of the world upon himself.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16-18).
The cross also speaks to God’s justice. The penalty of sin and disobedience is spiritual death and separation from God for all eternity.
Four Keys to Remain Spiritually Faithful
Here are four ways you can choose to remain spiritually faithful; to keep the fear, reverence, and awe of God fresh in your heart and mind; to have fear of sin and spiritual rebellion if you are to remain faithful to Christ the Lord.
Read the scriptures each day and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart as you meditate on the scriptures.
Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas that you might have shut off from God.
Open your spiritual eyes and heart. Listen to the Holy Spirit speak to your heart. Choose not to compromise with the world. Do not be deceived by the lies of the enemy.
Look for Jesus’ soon return. Remember the promises of God and know, without a doubt, God loves you and, no matter how things may look in the natural, God is in control. He is all powerful, all knowing and ever present.
Never lose the fear, reverence, and awe for God Almighty. Remain faithful, refusing to compromise spiritually and you will receive the crown of life.
A Message of Reverence for God
Let me close with two scriptures.
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).
“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (Revelation 2:10).
When we lose the fear and reverence of God, we take steps away from God. You need to ask God what is good or bad for your own life. I might consider something sinful for myself that isn’t sinful for you because God convicts my heart about that thing. We need to be sensitive to the things of God. This message is not a condemnation, but a warning not to lose reverence for God. God is full of mercy and grace and he forgives sin. He’s also just and jealous for you to be close to him.
Suggested Praise and Worship
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This and other sermons brought to you by Faith Chapel, an Assemblies of God church in Pleasanton, CA.
Ephesians 3:14-21: What are you facing today? Understand how to be strengthened in your spirit and withstand attacks from the enemy with this message. You’ll learn what it means to be rooted and established in Christ, and how to walk in it daily.