How to Have a Healthy Fear of God [FULL SERMON] — John Bevere

my heart is deeply burdened for the church in America Barna has done a study in the last 23 years over 40 million Americans have walked away from the faith half of those 40 million are now professing agnostics atheists and spiritualists second Thessalonians tells us in the last days that there's going to be a great departure from the faith but what the Bible doesn't say is that those people have Departed they won't come back I believe they're going to come back John the Baptist was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel I believe there's a bunch of people in here you're going to be sent to the lost sheep of the church amen what has caused this great departure I believe that we have a gift given to us by God that we've ignored and that gift is called the holy fear of God the holy healthy fear of God Isaiah 33 verse 6 makes this statement it says there shall be stability in your times what creates that stability the fear of the Lord is your treasure and his now I want you to look at this closely the fear of the Lord is God's treasure what do we do with treasure we protect it we put it in safes we hire security companies we have alarm systems we put it in very very safe places the fear of the Lord is God's treasure it's not only ours it's God's now when you speak of the fear of the Lord today we're talking to a culture that's tried to eradicate fear I mean in the 90s we wore t-shirts that said no fear we wanted to abolish it because we hated anything to do with fear but is all fear bad the answer is no I mean you know the healthy fear of not messing with a grizzly bear cubs will preserve my life that is wisdom that will save me the healthy fear of not just balancing over a 2000 foot cliff drop is a healthy fear that will keep me from going to an early death but there is a fear that eradicates all other fears and that fear is called the healthy holy fear of God now the first question we've got to ask is this what is the fear of the Lord let me say this students and I want you to hear me before you automatically just shut me down the fear of the Lord is not to be scared of God okay when Israel came out of Egypt do you remember Moses LED them out students let me ask you when Moses brought Israel out of Egypt where were they going everybody yell it the promised land no that is not right what did Moses say to pharaohs five times thus saith the Lord let my people go that they might worship me in the wilderness why does Moses want to bring him to a promised land before he first brings him to the promiser if you bring him to the promised land before bringing him to the promiser they're going to make the promised land into a place of idolatry see I see an amazing thing I look at Israel they're abused by Egypt they have stripes on their backs their babies are put to death they are working all their lives to build somebody else's inheritance they're eating the worst the slum they're living in the slums yet they come out of Egypt and you know what they constantly say let's go back to Egypt it was better for us back in Egypt I look at Moses Moses is raised in the wealthiest man's house on the planet his grandfather Pharaoh is the richest man on earth he lives in a castle a palace he can do whatever he wants he can have every Lamborghini in the collection he can have every Harley he wants he can throw a national party anytime he wants but he comes out of Egypt and Moses never once says it was better for me back in Egypt why because he had one encounter with God at that bush and he wanted Israel to have the same and so Moses brings Israel straight to Sinai and what he does he goes up to the mountain and has a private meeting with God and God says to Moses in Exodus 19 he says Moses go down and tell the people the whole reason I delivered you from Egypt was to bring you to me he said I have called every one of them to be a kingdom of priests God wanted every one of them to be able to approach him personally and so God said to Moses tell them to get ready and part of the process of his getting ready is he said for the next two days tell him to wash their clothes get the filth of Egypt off of you because I'm coming down and before I ever revealed myself as a loving God I first revealed myself as a holy God and in the center of that whole Holiness is my love and so when God comes down on the mountain I mean to tell you these people they run from God why because they've got a little bit too much of Egypt still in their hearts and Moses is utterly confused by their response and he looks at them in Exodus 20 20 and he says do not fear because God's come to test you what's the test Moses deceive his fear is in you so you may not sin now now look up at me everybody do not fear because God's come to test you what's the test deceive his fear is in you well wait a minute he's talking out of both sides of his mouth do not fear because God's come to see if his fears in you Moses is differentiating between being scared of God and the fear of the Lord there is a difference the person who is scared of God has something to hide what does Adam do as soon as he sins he hides from the presence of God the person who fears God has nothing to hide he or she is terrified of being away from God so if you want the first definition of the Holy fear of God it is to be terrified of being away from him this is why the Bible tells us by the fear of the Lord one departs from Evil back in the early 1990s there was an evangelist who was one of the most well-known men on the planet he had the largest Ministry in the world in the 1980s he was a fiery preacher and he was arrested because of mail fraud and sentenced to 45 years it was reduced to five I was asked to come and visit him and when I visited him I will never forget he came into the waiting area he hugged me and hugged me and wouldn't let me go and then he said to me we have so much to talk about and we only have 90 minutes first thing he said to me is he said John this prison was not God's judgment on my life it was his Mercy come on oh my gosh now I'm looking at probably one of the most infamous people in the world right now CNN covered his trial every day his arrest everything and he told me how Jesus had delivered him from all the evil in his life his first year of prison he was in his fourth year now and when I got comfortable with him I said hey I have a question at what point did you fall out of love with Jesus when did you stop loving him because I remember when you started you were so on fire you wept when you preached and he looked at me he said I didn't I said no no you didn't understand what I just asked you when did you fall out of love with Jesus At what point he said John I didn't now I'm my walls are back up because I don't know this guy and I remember I said to him you committed adultery in 1983 and I named the person and you're going on with all this male fraud for seven more years before you're arrested and you're telling me you didn't love Jesus are you telling me you loved Jesus all the way through this he said John I loved him all the way through it now he sees the confusion on my face and he said John I didn't fear God he said there's millions of Americans just like me they love Jesus but they have no fear of God it is by the fear of the Lord that one departs from Evil so what is the fear of the Lord the fear of the Lord is to stand in awe of him it is to honor tremble Revere esteem respect value venerate him more than anything or anyone else when somebody fears God we will love what he loves and we will hate what he hates you say God hates yes he does now let's show you the legalistic version of the fear of Lord this is why we ran from it as a church I Fear God that's why I hate those Sinners over there now you don't fear God at all because you hate what he loves he loves those Sinners so much he died for them what he hates is the sin that unmakes that person I remember in the 1990s I was praying every single morning for two hours I'd get up at 4 45 religiously every morning I'd go out to an outside Place usually it was a golf course and I would pray till seven in the morning but yet when I would stand up and preach my words were like there was no power no unction no anointing and I was really getting frustrated and one day I went to the Lord and I said God I don't get it why isn't there a stronger anointing on my life and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and he said because you tolerate sin I went what you tolerate sin not only in your life but in the lives of others and then he told me he said read Hebrews 1. now Hebrews one is when God the father inaugurates Jesus as king of the universe after his resurrection and in Hebrews chapter 1 I read this in verse 9 I believe it is it said because you have loved righteousness and the Holy Spirit said stop every Christian loves righteousness he said but that's not all I said Because You Loved righteousness and hated not disliked not tolerated hated lawlessness therefore God even your God has anointed you more than your companions and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and he said learn to hate sin the way I hate sin and you'll see the anointing of God increase upon your life so what is the fear of God or what is the awe of God number one it is to tremble at his presence number two it is to tremble at his word I'm going to briefly cover this in the next couple of minutes what does it mean to tremble at his presence Psalm 89 verse 7 says God is greatly everybody say greatly to be feared in the Assembly of the Saints and to be held in reverence by all those around him now look at the second part of this verse God is to be held in reverence by all those who surround him let me say this write this down you will never find God in an atmosphere where he is not held with the utmost of respect I'll never forget when I first learned this back in 1997 for the first time in my life I was asked the nation of Brazil I was so excited it was a National Conference and I was the Friday night speaker I fly down I pray most the time most of the day in the hotel room they pick me up they take me to service I remember that was back in the days oh did I hate those days when they put the speakers on the platform okay I had to during worship I'm sitting on the platform can you believe that I know most of you never even saw that because you're too young I'm so glad we got delivered from that anyway so I'm looking at this Arena it wasn't an auditorium it was an arena and there are thousands of Brazilians this place is jam-packed it's a national conference and I'll never forget that the worship team was unbelievably gifted and yet I'm standing on that platform and there isn't a drop of the presence of God in the whole place now you understand what I mean by that the Bible talks of two types of his presence his manifest presence and his omnipresence his omnipresence is the presence of God that says I'll never leave you nor forsake you that's the presence that David said if I go to the highest mountain you're there if I make my bed in in the lowest Parts you're there but to manifest the presence Jesus said I will manifest manifest means to bring from The Unseen into the scene the unheard into the Hurd the unknown into the note is when God reveals himself to our senses that presence was totally absent in that Arena and so I closed my eyes I said God where's your presence and all of a sudden when I open up my eyes I noticed something I didn't see before I noticed people standing there during the worship like looking around like this with their arms crossed they had hands in their pocket looking down I saw a lot of people talking to one another I saw people coming out of the you know the the high places and going down and going and getting the concessions and going back to their seats with the tacos or the Coke and or whatever it was and I'm like this this will stop but it doesn't the worship sets over all of a sudden now the one of the leaders of this big movement in Brazil walks up and starts reading from scripture and I'm now because there's no music I hear a mutter of the people talking to one another so now I'm sitting there in absolute disbelief and the Holy Spirit speaks to me and said you got to address this so I'm like how nobody's even listening so he gave me an idea so I walk up I get introduced I walk up the podium and I just sit there and stare at everybody and don't say work my translator is looking at me like what are you doing and when you're the Friday night guest speaker and you're introduced and you're not saying a word you're just glaring at people that will get their attention all of a sudden all the muttering stops every eye in the place was on me and I said this is the first words I ever spoke in public in Brazil I have two questions I didn't say hey thanks for having me love being here I said I have two questions question one you're talking to somebody sitting across the table and the whole time you're talking to them they got their arms crossed looking around as if they're disinterested or they're whispering to the person beside them which you continue to talk to them they said no I said what if every time you go to your neighbor's house and when he opens the door and sees you he goes oh it's you again will you go in I said no I said I have been in this arena for an hour and a half and there is an announce of the presence of God here because God will never manifest himself in a place where he's not held with the utmost of respect I said if the president of your nation would have walked on this platform tonight he would have gotten 10 times the respect you gave the Holy Spirit I said to Pele your greatest soccer player in the history of Brazil would have walked on this platform you would have been on the edge of your seats anticipating everywhere I said you've given no respect to the spirit of God and I preached them for 75 minutes on the holy fear of God at the end of 75 minutes I said if you're in here and you say you're a Christian because it was a believer's conference I said you say you're a Christian and you're but you say you lacked the fear of God and you're willing to repent stand up 75 of the Arena stands up as soon as they do the presence of God comes in people start weeping I lead him in a prayer of repentance they're weeping and the Holy Spirit said to me I'm coming one last time and there's no way of describing this ever can I do this justice but I'll try but imagine standing at the end of the runway at Birmingham International Airport and a Boeing jet takes off in front of you that kind of a violent wind came blowing into that Arena when it did the people erupted erupted now can you imagine thousands of Latinos screaming I mean that's loud the wind was louder and I remember I'm standing on this platform and I am petrified but I'm drawn I don't know how else to describe it I am literally terrified but yet I'm drawn to this presence The Authority was mind-blowing I had never in my life sensed anything like it and I remember I'm standing there and all that's coming out of my mouth is oh my God and I remember these thoughts go through my mind John bevere you say one wrong word you make one wrong move you're dead now would that have happened I don't know but it happened in a church service in Jerusalem when a couple brought an offering and lied about that offering in that kind of presence they buried them but I remember I I knew I knew irreverence wouldn't be tolerated but yet I'm so drawn to this my head's going can I handle this my heart's gone don't lift and I remember the wind lasted 90 seconds it subsided and I'm standing there I'm like Lord what do I do for like five minutes that's silent and I what do I do what do I do and of course I'm through with you I said okay it's all yours I said the leader so they they whisked me out put me in the car they put the national singer and her husband in the car she goes did you maybe it was an airplane flying too low over the arena she goes what are you talking are you almost screaming at me and her husband goes honey honey sir that was no airplane I said how do you know he said because there were security men and policemen all around the outside of the Arena most of them aren't even saved he said they're Union people when the wind began to blow on the inside they heard it they came running in saying what's going on he said I'm at the sound board the main sound board making sure my wife's levels are right for her singing Because the whole time the wind's blowing the decimal meters were at zero he said not one ounce of the sound of the wind came through our sound system I said my God take me to my hotel room oh and I remember I stay up till 1 30 at night just in awe and worshiping the next morning you cannot believe the Miracles that occurred because of one reason ah reverence holy fear God makes the statement in Leviticus chapter 10 verse 3 that's a universal and eternal decree he said by those who come near me yeah draw near to God and he'll draw near to you but listen by those who do come near me I must be regarded as holy I'll never forget one day I used to I used to struggle to get in the presence of God one day in my prayer closet I didn't sing I didn't pray I didn't say anything I just thought about the awesomeness of my daddy I thought about the fact that he put the stars in the heavens with his fingers and called everyone by name I thought about the fact that he weighed every drop of water on the planet in the palm of his hands he weighed the mountains in his scales and and all of a sudden there's the presence of God whoa so the next morning I thought I'm gonna try that again happened again next morning I said I'm gonna try it again it happened again so the third morning I'm I'm I I said I said Lord I don't get it I have struggled so much to get in your presence before in prayer times it's so easy right now and the Holy Spirit said how did Jesus teach his disciples to pray Our Father which art in heaven Hallowed oh my gosh Hallowed be thy name there it is Jesus taught his disciples to come into the presence of God with reverential fear I remember I was in Malaysia in 1999 two years after Brazil by the way we heard about that wind blowing for 20 years we got emails and snail mails I remember Lisa or I actually I'll tell you I went down 2016 to speak to 12 000 Pastors in an arena in goyania Brazil I get it the first Pastor I meet who's one of the leading pastors says I was in the building when the wind blew in 1997 20 years ago and he said my life's never been the same well two years later I'm in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia I'm in the largest Bible School in the nation pastors and leaders had come from all over the nation it was a totally jammed Auditorium this time not Arena and I remember we were on our final service and again that presence manifested I remember I had all the women now these are all Asian people all the Asian women were down there because they were saying I'm called to Ministry and I've never publicly publicly and I I remember I I went I went down to start praying for them and something happened something that just shocked me daddy came in and all these women started laughing all at the same time in unison and within 30 seconds every one of them was on the floor nobody caught him and I saw literally the three women laying on top of each other from just collapsing laughing and I'm literally watching these women roll back and forth laughing holding their gut and I as a Catholic boy am going oh my gosh that must be where Holy Rollers came from right so I'm just literally observing and enjoying this right and this goes on for about five minutes they're just laughing hysterical Daddy had come into the room and he was blessing his girls and the people and I'm I'm just sitting with my feet dangling and watching this and just going this is magnificent right all of a sudden the presence lifts and another presence comes in and I recognize it from Brazil I want oh boy now I didn't say a word I just got up and all of a sudden within moments those women all stop laughing and with moments they started crying out weeping and almost screaming and I'm sitting there going oh whoa here it is again and I remember I'm walking back and forth I'm going my God and and this time it was Stronger there was no wind it was just that presence and these women are literally crying out nobody is orchestrating this except for him and I'm going who my God and I this is when I discovered there's a difference between my heart and my head because once again I had the thought you say one wrong word you're dead and I remember my head thought I can't take this and my heart said ah God don't lift don't live please and I'm literally having an argument remember the word of God pierces between Soul and Spirit there's a difference and I and I remember I'm walking back and forth and all of a sudden my mouth says something my mind had never thought of in its entire life my mouth said this is the spirit of the fear of the Lord and all of a sudden I went home my gosh that's it I didn't do it like that not in that atmosphere inside I'm going that's it that's it Isaiah said remember Isaiah said the spirit of the Lord should rest upon Jesus look I'm going to put the scripture up the spirit of the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel might the spirit of knowledge and the spirit of the fear of the Lord now look at this and Jesus's Delight was in the fear of the Lord you ever notice the Bible says who in the days of his flesh lifted up his voice with vehement cries to him who was able to save him and he was heard Jesus Was Heard because of his Godly fear it's one thing to pray it's another thing to be heard why because he delighted his Delight every morning I'm praying God baptized me in the Holy Spirit God please and I know that's only drawn to people that truly walk humble it's not for the proud you still with me so the next that that that that meeting in Malaysia it's over and the pastor very wisely didn't end the service with the song he just got up and he said I can't end this service you're welcome to stay as long as you want I stayed about 15 minutes then I started walking out and this Indian couple this Indian couple walks up to me and they just look at me now she was nailed by his presence I mean nailed and I remember um I like to get as close to you as possible is that all right I'd be down here if I could so I I remember we're just staring at each other like what do you say after something like this and she says this she said I feel so clean inside I went oh my gosh that describes it you just articulated that's what I felt in Brazil That's what I felt in California that's what I felt in North Carolina it's only happened like five times I said exactly that's exactly what I feel feels so clean so the next morning I'm playing basketball with the Bible school students at Malaysia right I'm putting on my gym shorts in the hotel room the Holy Spirit speaks to me and said read Psalm 19. I have no idea what's in Psalm 19.

so I go if I get my Bible I go over to Psalm 19. I start reading verse 1 verse 3 verse three then I get to verse 9. the fear of the Lord is clean and I went oh my God my girl the Lord is clean now look at this worrying forever everybody say enduring forever spirit of God spoke to me at that moment he said Son Lucifer LED worship right before my throne hey Chris tomlin's a friend of mine he's my next door neighbor he's good but he ain't LED worship right before the throne where the angels are crying out holy Lucifer LED worship right before my Throne he was anointed to do so he didn't fear me he didn't endure forever then the Lord said a third of the Angels surrounded my Throne they beheld my glory my greatness they didn't fear me they didn't endure forever he said Adam and Eve walked in the presence of my glory they didn't fear me they didn't endure forever he said Son every created being that stands before my Throne throughout eternity will have been tested in the Holy fear of God after that I started thinking so many pastors have started in Ministry on fire they love Jesus but they didn't endure in Ministry why they lacked holy fear you still with me there's so much I could talk about the second second aspect of holy fear is to tremble at his word all the people of Israel trying to serve God they're doing it in their way they're doing a lot of things he asked them they're offering their lamb sacrifices their bold sacrifices their grain offering but God says like offering Pig's blood to me and they're confused and God says this is the one whom I look now that word look means pay close that means to pay close attention to God is saying to Israel you're doing all this stuff you're having all your services your prey Services you're offering your Pig's blood excuse me your your your Lamb's blood your he said it's like offering Pig's blood to me but this is the one I look at this is the one I pay attention to on him who is humble and contrite and who trembles at my word what does it mean to tremble at God's word means we'll obey him immediately you ever hear somebody say well you know about this now for several months you are boasting about your lack of holy fear when you tremble at his word it means you'll obey even if it doesn't make sense when you tremble in his word you'll obey even if it hurts if you tremble this word you'll obey even when you don't see a benefit there was no benefit for Esther to go before the king but she said I'm gone if I die I die she feared God you know you you almost have to show people the benefit of obeying God in America to get them to obey that's a real set that's a real sad story you ever wonder why 40 million people have walked away could it be that we sell Jesus instead of preaching could we could it be that we get people to try to join instead of repent I don't know about you but all over the New Testament says the only way to turn to him is to repent it's the first Foundation repentance from dead works you know Lisa and I I really love her but you know if she said to me you know Tony was my high school boyfriend I'd like a few nights a year in bed with him Peter I was pinned to him in college I'd like about a week with him but you'll be my favorite I'll love you more than any of them and I spend the majority of 90 of my time with you I wouldn't have married her and we think a bright we think a groom Jesus is coming back for a bride says let me just have this part of the world we just have this Let Me Entertain myself no let me let me Let Me Entertain myself what Let Me Entertain myself with what drove the nails through your hands means to tremble his words means you'll obey all the way to completion what's the greatest promise of the awe of God it's friendship friendship look at Psalm 25 14.

the secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him and he will show them his Covenant that word secret actually means secrets the secrets of the Lord are with those who fear Him how many of you have secrets let me see a show of hands really quick put them up high high do I pray for the rest of you for lying now or later how many of you know there's good Secrets not all secrets are bad Secrets there are things right Lisa knows that you don't know do you understand what I'm talking about God says I share my secrets with those who fear me which means just like you you don't share your secrets with everybody you share your secrets with intimate close friends can I show you this very in another version friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear Him not everybody not everybody is God's friend oh man could I now in your book I have a whole section on this so just read it Jesus made a statement he said you are my friends we write songs about it we preach sermons about it but we never finished what he said you're my friends if you do whatever I command you that's why Abraham was the friend of God God said go kill your son didn't give him a reason why Abraham goes three days lifts the knife up God says stop now I know you fear me because you obeyed instantly because you obeyed when it didn't make sense because you obeyed when it hurt because you obeyed when you didn't see a benefit because you obeyed the completion Abraham lifts his eyes Jehovah Jireh God just revealed a facet of his personality to him nobody's ever known before because he's my friend look at the friendship relationship between God and Abraham it's amazing one day God says should we do to Sodom and Gomorrah what we're planning on doing without first talking to our friend Abraham so the Lord comes down to territory he says Abe yes yes Lord yes thinking about blowing up those two cities over there what do you think it says Sodom Abraham goes think think think okay think think think my nephew's over there okay God you would like blow up those cities if there was 50 righteous people the Lord goes great idea okay we'll not blow up the cities if there's 50 righteous people glad we talked to our friend Abraham Abraham goes with there's in 50.