2 KINDS OF FEAR In HIS BOOK (REJOICE & TREMBLE) Author Michael Reeves talks about 2 kinds of fear… SINFUL FEAR - Being Afraid of God RIGHT FEAR - Fearing God SINFUL FEAR SINFUL FEAR DRIVES YOU AWAY FROM GOD RIGHT FEAR JEREMIAH 32:38-40 (ESV) 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may FEAR ME FOREVER, for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the FEAR OF ME IN THEIR HEARTS, that they may not turn from me. This Fear flows from an APPRECIATION of God! This keeps us from DRAWING BACK from God JEREMIAH 32:8-9 (ESV) 8 I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. 9 And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall FEAR and TREMBLE BECAUSE OF ALL THE GOOD AND ALL THE PROSPERITY I PROVIDE FOR IT. CURRENT CULTURE - ANXIETY Bertrand Russell - Why I am Not a Christian [March 6, 1927] Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes. In this world we can now begin a little to understand things, and a little to master them by the help of science, which has forced its way step by step against the Christian religion, against the churches, and against the opposition of all the old precepts. Science can help us to get over this craven fear in which mankind has lived for so many generations. Science can teach us, and I think our own hearts can teach us, no longer to look around for imaginary supports, no longer to invent allies in the sky, but rather to look to our own efforts here below to make this world a fit place to live in, instead of the sort of place that the churches in all these centuries have made it. GLORY REVELATION 4(ESV) THE THRONE IN HEAVEN 4After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and CARNelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” BEAUTY Verse 1 Behold the One the radiance The splendor of every living thing You are the Word You are the Life You are the face of God Chorus Oh You’re beautiful Oh You’re beautiful Verse 2 Behold the Man of grace and truth The image of the Father’s outstretched hand This act of love this sacrifice We’ve seen the face of God Bridge (Oh) Angels cry out this unending song Holy is the Lord God Almighty We all bow down in wonder and awe Forever we will sing of Your beauty ”For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.“ Psalm 96:4 ESV