Fearing God (Part 4)

Continuing directly from the previous post:

Unfortunately, many modern day preachers skip over the verses about sin and don’t preach on it (in seeker-friendly churches). They speak all about God’s love and mercy (which is of course right and necessary), but that’s not all there is to God. And because of it, people are being led astray!

I say this, because I know it’s true, because I’ve been through it. I’ve been subject to “fluffy” preaching. In fact, for a while it’s all I ever knew. But by God’s providence, once I moved away I started going to a church where I began hearing the Voice of Truth. The church is Riverbend Community Church in Ormond Beach, FL and the pastor is Dr. R.A. Hargrave. I can’t tell you how much it changed my spiritual life. I remember being so convicted by the very first sermon I heard from him (which was on being unequally yoked with unbelievers from 2 Corinthians), and going home, and opening up my bible and reading over the verses he’d preached on. I called my girlfriend and told her about it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all day. This wasn’t normal for me – usually I would think about what I was gonna do after church during the sermon. Usually I would forget about the sermon the minute I walked out the church doors. And to some degree, I was dissatisfied (Proverbs 19:23), although I didn’t completely realize it at the time.

Being subject to godly preaching was what made me truly fear God, because I was hearing the truth of His word! It wasn’t the preacher, it wasn’t the church, it was the word of God that changed me. This fear of the Lord gave me a new passion for learning about Him (seeking wisdom) and led me to seek discipline. And it has been humbling and humiliating at times, but it has led to satisfaction, and I know, from the word of God, that it will bring honor, blessings, and other great things.

Back home, it led me to change churches to where the truth of God’s word was preached. In London (Ontario) I found it at Forest City Bible Church under the preaching of Pastor John Thompson … and it was quite a search – I ended up trying a number of different churches in London before I came to FCBC. If you’re from London, I would encourage you to visit this church to see what I’m talking about, or listen to one of Dr. Hargrave’s sermons on www.graceworx.com. Believe me, I’m not trying to advertise these churches. I’m trying to advertise the importance of the truth of God’s word. If you’re currently going to a seeker friendly church, and hear a sermon from Pastor John or Dr. Hargrave, you’ll definitely notice a difference. Their sermons are convicting because they speak truths coming right out of the bible. Among the many blessings that fearing the Lord has given me, is the courage and ability to write this blog, which, if for no one else, it at least benefits me because it takes a lot of studying the bible for me to write this stuff.

With that said, God uses different means for bringing you to fear Him and gain wisdom. For me, it was being subject to godly preaching. For you, it might be something that you read in the bible that the Holy Spirit convicted your heart with. It might be your parents that have trained you up to fear the Lord, or maybe even an event that happened in your life that caused you to fear Him. No matter what, it is still essential to be under preaching of biblical truths, especially if you’re weaker in the faith. You won’t know what good it does until you’re subject to it, so try it! Learn from me.

In addition, remember that God is sovereign in His timing. Looking back, it’s actually amazing to see how perfect God’s timing was in my life. Although I’ve been a Christian for many years, I didn’t begin to truly fear the Lord until recently, which may seem kind of absurd, but it was God’s timing, not mine, and I just thank the Lord that it happened.

Last point: Proverbs 2:6. It’s self explanatory. It further proves God’s sovereignty. He’s the one who gives wisdom. It’s not the preacher, it’s not your grandpa, it’s not your parents, it’s not yourself because you were smart enough to read the bible, it’s not your friends. It is the Lord who gives wisdom. Remember that, and when you get it, thank God for it.