From Fear to Faith to Worship | Brian Morgan+

Well, good morning. Good to see everybody today. Hello? Anybody out there? Oh, you're staring at the little ones. I get that. My nephew got married yesterday and we had a little newborn there and it was like they'd won the gold medal. Everybody was gathered around the little newborn because he was so cute.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for scripture. We pray you would bring it alive for us as we dive in today. Lord, we need to be reminded of this great love you have for us. Help us bring scripture alive. Shoot it like a fiery arrow to our souls. In Christ's name, Amen.

We're continuing a sermon series on the Proverbs. We've been talking about how there are two voices in life. Proverbs is speaking and declaring and describing these two voices—voices of wisdom and voices of folly, words of wisdom and words of folly. Sometimes those voices are really loud, like NPR and Fox News and ESPN and advertisements at Target and maybe your voter ballot, whatever it is. They're really loud and you're trying to discern them. Sometimes the voices are really quiet and really hard to hear, but they're whispering to you and they're saying, "Come, follow me." What voice are you listening to? You're listening to a voice, you're choosing to listen to it, so am I, and we're choosing to follow it. So you have to discern which one am I listening to?

The Fear of the Lord

Today we are talking about fear. Turn with me over to Proverbs chapter one. If you don't have a Bible, there's one right in front of you. I encourage you to bust it open. If you don't, you can go on your phone or whatever technology you have.

Today is a huge nugget. It's the core of all of Proverbs. Today helps you unpack everything else in Proverbs. So we're gonna read verses one through six, and then you're gonna see verse seven on the screen.

The Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction and wise dealing in righteousness, justice, and equity. To give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth. Let the wise hear and increase in learning. Let one who understands obtain guidance to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. — Proverbs 1:1-6

Here we go. Ready?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. — Proverbs 1:7

Eighteen times in Proverbs, it talks about the fear of God and it's attached to everyday life. It's saying if you want wisdom in life—all of us want wisdom in life—the beginning of that is to fear God.

Listen to some of the other ways. You don't have to look them up, but listen, I'm gonna read them quickly because there's eighteen of them. I'm not gonna read them all.

Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord. — Proverbs 8

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. — Proverbs 9

A wise man fears and departs from evil. — Proverbs 14:6

In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence. — Proverbs 14:26

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasures and trouble. — Proverbs 15

Better is fear of God than lots of stuff that we accumulate. You ever thought about that? I don't think about that much. I like to accumulate stuff.

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. — Proverbs 15

Over and over and over, there's this notion that fear of God is the birthplace of great wisdom, of really important things for life.

Now, if you're saying fear is not that bad and we've got it all figured out, what do you think we've been doing the last eighteen months? What has been part of the cloud over our life the last eighteen months? Has it been joy? No, these last eighteen months have been filled with fear. Let's be honest. Raise your hand if you've had some fear in the last eighteen months. If you're not raising your hand, you're lying like a rug. It has been difficult. It has been shrouded in fear—sickness, death, loss of job, economy, you name it.

The wedding I went to a couple days ago of my nephew, my other nephew has a newborn and they had some fear. Do we bring the newborn with all these people? Have they been vaccinated? Have they not been vaccinated? How do we do that? Those are difficult questions for a newborn baby. There's some great fear in there.

I have some slides that are great pictures of fear. Go ahead and show the first one. Raise your hand if you like snakes. You want a couple of those in your bed? No. Kids are raising their hand. That's interesting. Remember Indiana Jones? What did he hate? Snakes. Next slide. Oh. Spiders. People are scared to death of spiders.

I don't mind a spider. Snake, not so bad. Spiders, not too bad. What about the next one? You know, we laugh at that, but for some people the scale is a very scary thing. You watch the Olympic trials, there were a couple Olympic athletes that have wrestled with their weight. Professional athletes do all the time—if I gain too much I'm not gonna win, so I need to throw up, I need to starve myself. That's a great fear for a lot of people.

How about the next one? Money. I've had more money than I could ever know what to do with and I still get caught in fear of not having enough. I know you do. The wealthiest people in the world still fear they don't have enough.

What about the next one? Just gotta say it. Sadly, we've lost people because we weren't strict enough with those things and sadly we've lost people because we were too strict. We don't want that, but it's a great fear.

How about sickness? It's huge, huge fear.

How about the next one? Being alone. That's a fear. All of us, deep down.

How about the last one? Being found out. What if people really know what I'm like? What if people really know what goes on behind closed doors? I fear people are really gonna see me the way I am.

There's even this fear some people say: "I don't fear anything, fear itself doesn't scare me." What are they really saying? They're afraid of fear. If we're that radical that we're afraid of nothing, it's because we're afraid of being fearful.

So, what are you afraid of? What is guiding your life? Is your fear helping you? Is your fear chaining you?

The Fear of the Lord

Proverbs says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. — Proverbs 1:7

The end of Proverbs says this:

A woman that fears God, she shall be praised.

So the beginning of Proverbs is about the fear of God. The end of Proverbs is about the fear of God.

Here's a couple questions. What do you fear? What fears play in your mind daily, hourly, right now? What fear is right here? You know that fear. Right here in your gut or right here in your mind.

So let's talk about this. What would they have understood? What would God's people have understood when they heard that verse: "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom"?

The Proverbs are written between the tenth and the sixth century BC. So thousands of years ago, the Proverbs were written. What would God's people have heard when they heard "fear God"?

Let's start with this. They would have understood that God created all things. God is the most powerful thing there ever was. God is the most powerful thing there will ever be. So they would have had this incredible fear in their mind.

Look at the Hebrew word: yoret. That's the actual Hebrew word. The verb is yr. It's hard to come up with an English word. It actually means fear and it means trembling, but there's so much more to it.

The fear of God the way God's people would have understood it—the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. It would have ranged from absolute horror, being scared to death of a holy entity that I'm not, to a heavy duty respect, an awe, a holy respect. God's people would have understood this posture of submission: "God, you are so much greater than that, and I'm not like that." That's what they would have understood about the fear of God. And it's the birthplace of great wisdom—not blogs, not news shows, not the internet, not your devotional book. God himself is the beginning of wisdom.

Listen to the Psalms. There are a couple Psalms I'm gonna read. You don't have to turn there, but these Psalmists describe what God is like. Remember, the Psalms are the prayer book for God's people. The Psalms are prayers and poems and songs that have been written that God's people have prayed through for thousands of years.

When Israel came out of Egypt, Jacob from a people of a foreign tongue, Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel his dominion. And then listen to how they describe it: the sea looked and it fled, the Jordan River turned back, the mountains leaped like rams, the hills like lambs. Why, why was it sea that you fled? Why Jordan did you turn back? Tremble earth at the presence of the Lord! — Psalm 114

The Psalmist is saying that God is to be feared because he is powerful. The mountains leap in the presence of God. Have you ever stood in the middle of a river and it's going so strong you're afraid you're gonna get knocked over? Raise your hand if you've had that before. Yeah, almost always some version of that.

When I started fly fishing, it didn't work so well. It was too strong and I fell over and floated down the river. The Psalmist is saying God is so strong that the rivers are rushing and they meet with God and they turn and they go the other way. The Psalmist is saying God is all powerful. That's why we tremble before God and that's why we fear God.

Hear, O people, and I will speak. God speaking through the Psalms, "Oh Israel, I will testify against you, I am your God. He says, not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds for every beast of the forest is mine, every cattle on a thousand hills." — Psalm 50

What is God saying? God says, I own it all, I don't need anything that you have, I am all powerful, all knowing, I started it, I'm gonna end it and it's all gonna be about me. When God's people heard fear, that's what they were thinking of. He says, "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills, he says, know all the birds of the hills, all that moves in the field is mine. God says, if I were hungry, would I tell you?"

Those are hard words. For God's people in the Old Testament, the fear of God was a real fear. God was powerful, God was honest, they should be scared. They lived in a holy reverence, a horror. God was not Mister Rogers. He wasn't your high-five buddy. He wasn't your best friend. So when they hear the fear of the Lord, it was a real, honest fear. If you and I want to take God seriously, we gotta start with real fear, people. That is the gospel truth. We have got to start with real fear. We gotta take God seriously. We should be shaking in our boots.

Honest to goodness fear, that's what it meant in the Old Testament—from respect to honest fear and being scared of the power, to shaking in your boots, to not messing around, to not high-fiving God because he's so great and sweet and he's my chummy buddy. It was a relationship with the Almighty, and we better be ready and make sure we've got it together.

We fear money. We fear getting sick. We fear so much. But do we fear God? Church, we must fear God. Are we living in a posture that we fear God because when we die we're gonna be in front of him? Are you ready? That's what they understood when they heard the fear of the Lord. Are we ready?

Oh, the cross, oh, the wonderful cross. When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my riches gain I count but loss and I pour contempt on all my pride. See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did air and love and sorrow meet where thorns compose so rich a crown?

See, as Christians, we have the cross and the resurrection that now overlay the Proverbs. Oh, the wonderful cross, the wonderful cross bids me come and die that I may find and have life.

The Old Testament fear was fear and trembling. Moses only saw the backside of God. God couldn't be touched. He couldn't be hugged. He couldn't be drawn near because he was perfect. And God's plan from the beginning was to die so we could do that.

Now, as Christians, if you're in Jesus Christ, you can know God as your buddy. Are you afraid of God? Are you here this morning saying, "I'm exploring Christianity, I'm trying to figure out if Jesus is real, I'm trying to figure out if God is real"? Listen, we're so glad you're here. If you're saying, "God is far away, I'm scared to death," I have a great invitation for you. It's called Jesus, and he is this wonderful invitation to take you from being scared in the corner to drawing near in love and grace.

You see, the cross and the empty tomb change Proverbs' understanding of fear. If your fear is based on your morals and you're being a good person, you're in for a world of hurt—eternal hurt. If you're thinking that you're gonna take Proverbs and you're gonna live into all these great wise things to get it figured out at the end, good luck. It's gonna be difficult. But the invitation this morning is: oh, the wonderful cross, the empty tomb turns fear into faith, which is a gift, and it turns it into worship.

See, the cross and empty tomb turned a scowling "God, you're so holy, I can't be near you" to "God, you're running after me in the cross," to "I wanna bow and be in worship of you."

The Markin Sandwich

Turn over to Mark chapter five. It's this great—it's called the Markin Sandwich. It's these two stories sandwiched together, and they present what is the New Testament understanding of fear based on the Old Testament understanding of fear. What we see in these stories are people that should have had great fear, that should have kept them away, but it didn't.

Here's how the author Michael Reeves describes it. He has a book called Rejoice and Tremble, and he talks about this tension. He explains that there are two different sources of knowledge about God. Each way of knowing lands to a different identification of God and consequently, a different kind of relationship with God.

In other words, a different kind of fear is what he says. Those who know God only through creation have a sinful fear of God because they're stuck in their sins and they understand God only by his power without his character. That's one version of knowing God through fear. He says, in contrast, those who know God through Jesus Christ, they have a right fear, a filial fear, because they know God as their loving father. They tremble before the Lord not because God is far off but because of the cross God draws near.

So if you're not a Christian this morning, you can come near to God in Jesus. It's a gift. Luther calls it an open-handed receiving—grace, forgiveness, a brand new life. Just receive that gift. It's the greatest gift you'll ever receive, and if you're like me, I receive it every day, every breath, every thought.

The Story of Jairus and the Bleeding Woman

So we see in Mark this great story sandwiched in between another story. Mark chapter five, let's begin:

And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about it and he was beside the sea. Then came out one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. — Mark 5

Okay, he's a synagogue ruler. He's a religious guy. He's probably wearing a robe. He was a leader in the synagogue. He should not have gone to Jesus, but you're gonna see what happens in a minute. His daughter is sick. They would have understood it was probably something they did. He should have been in fear of God, worried and concerned: "God, you're so holy, you're so far off, I can't find you. My daughter's gonna die." And look what he does:

Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at Jesus's feet. — Mark 5:22

The core word for worship is to fall down, to prostrate. So this guy comes before Jesus. His daughter's dying. And what does he do? Not "Jesus, give me your HMO account number." He gets down low before Jesus. Look at verse 23:

And he implored him earnestly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be well and live." — Mark 5:23

She took fear of God and she said, "I think God is in Jesus," and she turned it into faith. She said, "Jesus, I believe you can do this."

So look at verse 35. This is the ending of the first story:

While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house, from Jairus's house, someone who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." — Mark 5:35-36

Do not fear. Believe. Trust me. Don't be in the corner scowling that God may help. Believe that I am God in the flesh and I'm gonna bring healing right here, right now. If you're scowling in the corner in fear, Jesus is saying to you, "Come on out. Come on out to me. See my scars. Know my cross and empty tomb."

Sure enough, Jesus touches her, she comes back to life.

Let's go to the middle story—this is like the middle of the Oreo. You know, you got the two parts and the middle? Anyway, here we are. Follow along, people. Verse 24:

So he went with him. And a great crowd followed Jesus and thronged about him. — Mark 5:24

That means they were all over him. It was like a sporting event. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years. She would have lived in complete, absolute fear. Nobody got near. Nobody touched her. Nobody wanted to be close to her. Certainly, she was probably not married. I highly, highly doubt it. She would have seen herself as a scorn, as an outcast of God. She would have said, "God, I fear you because you are so holy and I'm not, and you should stay away from me, God, because I've been bleeding for twelve years."

And she had suffered much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. When she had heard the reports about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment, for she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." — Mark 5:26-28

Man, she had amazing faith. And she touched him and boom—immediately she was healed, just like that.

And what's great about the story is Jesus is like, "Hey, who touched me here?" Do you think he knew? Somebody said, "Of course he did." That's right, yeah. I think he was calling her out in love. "Come on, you don't have to live in fear anymore. You can know me. He's saying, 'I am wisdom incarnate. I am love incarnate. Come and know me.'"

So verse 30, he says:

"Who touched me?" — Mark 5:30

Disciples in verse 31 says, "Hey, all these people are pressing around you. What do you mean who touched you?" Verse 32, and he looked around to see who had done it. In verse 33, the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear. And by the touch of Jesus, it went from fear to faith to worship.

So the proverb is: the beginning of wisdom is to have fear of God. You see in Hebrews, there are these three great scriptures. I'm not gonna read them all. I'll give you a quick one:

If we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us draw near to God with a sincere faith. Let us approach God's throne with confidence. — Hebrews 4

A little bit earlier, we sang a song called "The Heart of Worship." In the early nineties, Matt Redman was a worship leader at an Anglican Church in Waldorf, England. And if you know any worship songs nowadays, Matt Redman probably wrote some version of it, or his best friends did, or the person who did. But Matt was a pretty new, young worship leader—kind of hip with the jeans and everything. He was in this Anglican church, and Mike Pilavacci was the head pastor there. It was a growing church with lots of young folks in England.

Mike felt like the church had become stale. He felt like people had lost their fear of God. They had lost what it meant to be in awe, to be in respect, to have faith, to be in worship. So he said, "Hey, for this next season, we're gonna strip away all the instruments."

Of course, Matt was like, "What, am I fired? I'm the worship leader here. This is what I do every week, and now you're stripping all this stuff away?"

Mike said, "Yeah, we're gonna strip it away. Church, we're gonna gather on Sunday and we're just gonna sing with no instruments. I want us to get back to the heart of worship."

That's where that song came from. Matt wrote that song one night. When the music fades, all was stripped away—literally, the instruments were stripped away for a season. No lights, no cool slides, no great guitar solo. We're taking away all that. We're here simply to be in worship, to be in awe and respect and holy faith in a God who is huge and mighty and massive, who came down and went to the bloody cross for a bunch of rejects like us, and the tomb was empty.

All is stripped away and I simply come, something that it's worth to bring you. I wanna bless your heart, God. I'll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself is not what you have required. You search much deeper through the way things appear. You're looking into my heart.

That song took off and is one of the most popular songs ever written in worship. It's about fearing God. It's about moving from scowling to embracing to celebrating.

The Fear of God and the Cross

You see, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom because God, through the lens of the cross and the empty tomb, draws us with an invitation. The wisdom giver is saying, "I died on the cross. Come home."

The fear of God in Jesus allows us to stop running and instead see God running after us. The fear of God says, "God, stay away." And the cross says, "God says, I'm coming in. I'm gonna find you. I'm gonna find you in your fear. I'm gonna bring you home."

The fear of God in Jesus allows us to stop hiding in fear and instead be found. That brings freedom and worship.

What fear has you chained right now? We can fear God in Jesus and we can crawl up into God's lap by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. What fear is nagging you? When you leave here today and all the worship good feelings go away, what's that still voice that you feel like is chaining you, that's playing in the background of your life that you're drowning in?

Jesus died so you can be free from that, so you can draw near to him in that. This morning is about calling out to the rescuer, Jesus, the incarnation of wisdom.

Let's pray.