Fear the Word Ex. 9 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Fear the word. In Ex 9, God brought the plague of grievous hail. Moses gave warning to the people to gather their cattle and servants to shelter so that they would not be destroyed. Those who feared the word of the Lord obeyed and they were spared. Those who regarded not the word were destroyed by the plague.
We are to fear the word of the Lord. “He that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded,” [Prov 13:13]. Of course the first part of that proverb is a stern warning, “Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed.” When you fear the word, you can see what God is showing you from the word. When you don’t regard the word or when you despise the word, you can’t see what God is showing you.
As a result, two people “see” the same thing and have two completely different perspectives. One sees it the way “he” sees it or has been taught to see it. The other sees it the way God sees it [the way it really is]. The first one disregards the word, and the second one fears the word. That’s the difference. Look at these examples:
Eve – Gen 3:1-6 – concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Eve only saw the tree as “good,” “pleasant,” and “desired.” She didn’t see the evil, the sin, the death, the sorrow, the murder of Abel, or the damnation of the entire human race and the corruption of all creation. She should have. God called it the tree of the knowledge of good “and evil” and he pronounced that if she ate it she would “surely die.” She despised God’s words and chose to believe her own words and the devil’s words, instead. Thus, she missed everything that God was trying to show her and from which God was trying to protect her. She couldn’t see it.
The spies – Num 13:1-33 – God promised Abraham that he would give his seed the land of Canaan when they were freed from the nation that would afflict them 400 years [Gen 15:13-21]. When Israel left Egypt and they saw what God did to Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, they “feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses,” [Ex 14:30-31]. In Ex 15:13-18 in the song of Moses, Israel heard that God would cause the enemies of Israel to tremble and melt away as they went into the land of Canaan. When they got to Canaan, the spies were instructed to go in and do recon and obtain intel. Instead, ten of the spies came out with an evil report of the land. Concerning the inhabitants, they said, “we were IN OUR OWN SIGHT as grasshoppers,” [Num 13:28-33]. Because they despised the word of the Lord, they couldn’t “see” their promised victory and successful defeat of these enemies. As a result of their unbelief they died in the wilderness and never did get the promised land [Heb 3:15-19].
Peter – Matt 16:21-23 – after Peter gave the great confession, “thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he rebuked Jesus for saying that he would die in Jerusalem. Jesus said to Peter, “Get thee behind me Satan…” I had always thought after Jesus rebuked Peter, that ended the matter. But it didn’t. Peter continued to despise the words of God concerning Jesus’ death. When the Lord told Peter that he would be offended, Peter didn’t believe him [Matt 26:30-33]. When the Lord told Peter that he would deny him, Peter didn’t believe him [Matt 26:34-35]. When Judas led the soldiers to take Jesus, Peter struck off Malchus’ ear [Matt 26:51-54; Jn 18:10-11] because he despised Jesus’ words. Nevertheless, by Matt 26:73-75, Peter figured it out, after it was too late and he had fulfilled all that the word said that he would do. You know what his problem was? It’s the same problem we have when we don’t believe something that the Lord is showing us… “The way of a fool is right in HIS OWN EYES,” [Prov 12:15].
The blind man – Jn 9:32-41 – the blind man received his sight and knew that the man who healed him had to be “of God.” But the blind man could “see” that Jesus was the Son of God, not by sight, but because he “believed.” The Pharisees, who could see, could not “see” that Jesus was the Son of God because they didn’t believe him!! You see? Your ability to “see” things the way that God sees them depends on your response to his words. If you believe him, then you have his perspective. And if you don’t believe him, you only have your own distorted perception. You think you are right and you are dead wrong.
You – 1 Thes 2:13 – if you will believe Jesus Christ regarding salvation, he will save your soul from hell and give you a fruitful life of joy, peace, love, comfort, transformation, spiritual blessings, answered prayer, provision, protection, fellowship, etc. and in the end of this life everlasting life. You just never quit living!! However, if you despise his word and do not believe him, you may have some happiness and success, plenty of money and a good family, and plenty of friends and a good reputation, but in the end you will spend an eternity in hell. And you will never know the blessings of his divine provisions on either side of eternity. You know why? Because you refused to believe the truth [2 Thes 2:12]. You need to fear the word.
Conclusion: saved folks, God talks to you out of his words. If you don’t regard something he said and see that it applies to you, you will, like Peter, walk on in ignorance and disbelief until the thing comes to pass in your life, if you live to see it [the spies didn’t]. So, fear the word. Lost person, “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul,” [Mk 8:36]? You’d better believe Jesus and get saved.