How to Live a Fearless Life

David Penuel: Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Good. If this is your first time with us this morning, I want to welcome you and thank you for trusting us with your Sunday morning. As you may be aware, Watermark, this fall, coming up in November, we are celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary as a church. One thing we thought would be encouraging for the body of Christ here in Dallas is to hear from somebody who made a significant impact in our church for about 12 years while he served here.

So, the person you're going to get to hear from today helped build and led our young adults ministry for many years, served as a teaching pastor here for our church, and also was our Dallas Campus pastor for a while. Now, for the last five years, he has been serving as the lead pastor at Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. So, please join me in welcoming back Jonathan "JP" Pokluda.

Jonathan Pokluda: If you're a first-time guest with us today, my name is Timothy Ateek. (It doesn't work as well after the intro, I know.) It's so great to be with you. Watermark, how are we doing? I'm going to take you back to me in high school. I was a super-awkward teenager. I kind of wanted to be a gangster, so I had this big gold chain with a Nike pendant, wore these really baggy jeans, and had the flat bill, but I was raised on a farm with cows and tractors and stuff, and the farm would really get in the way of my gangster persona.

I got into a lot of fights growing up, which was unfortunate because I wasn't very good at fighting, so I got beat up a lot. My town was 6,000 people in the middle of nowhere. The neighboring town where the movie theater was and the girls I'd want to date were was Victoria, so I would go over to Victoria for fun, if you will.

I wasn't really welcomed in Victoria. In fact, one time I was there and got into a fight with this guy. It was really just him and me, but then six of his friends jumped in. It took a gruesome turn. I was kind of left for dead in the parking lot, if you will. So every time I would go to Victoria, I was looking over my shoulder, like, "Who's going to get me?"

There was this low hum of anxiety and fear everywhere I went, just thinking, "What's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to me?" I never really felt that safe as a kid, honestly, because of all of these insecurities. Even in my own high school, I didn't fit in that well. My whole school was geared toward athletes, and I was always the super-tall, awkward guy. Athletes did well there.

There was this guy named Keke. Every high school had a Keke. Keke was that dude who hit puberty in the second grade. He was 17 but looked like he was 27. He could jump through the roof, dunk the ball. He was the fastest guy in school. He had the jacket with all of the letters on it. Star football player, catch the pass, shoot the ball…all the things. He was kind of a ladies man. He was funny. Everybody loved him. He had style. That was Keke.

But Keke had an edge to him. Everyone in my high school knew you didn't mess with Keke. In fact, one time I wrestled Keke, and he lifted me up above his head and slammed me on the mat. That's when I learned you don't mess with Keke. I can remember one time we were in the locker room, and he walked up to this guy and went, "Hey, I heard you said this about me behind my back." The guy went, "Yeah. So?" And Keke knocked him out cold. Just laid him out.

I don't condone violence, by the way. It's a good time to put that in the message. I'm going to spend the rest of the time trying to lift up on this illustration, so stay with me. Hang in there with me. What happened was Keke and I became friends. Everything shifted for me when Keke and I became friends, because he would go with me to Victoria, and the low hum of anxiety was gone. The fear was gone. I didn't look over my shoulder. In fact, when I was with Keke, I was kind of like, "I hope somebody comes." It was like, "What are you looking at?" His swagger became my swagger.

It's really interesting that the strength I feared became the strength I trusted in. That's what I want to talk with you about, because there's a lot of fear in the world today…fear of hurricanes, fear of tornadoes, fear of flooding, fear of natural disasters, fear of the unknown, fear of politics. "What if my candidate doesn't win? What's going to happen to Christians? What's going to happen to the church? What's going to happen to us? What's going to happen to my money? What about inflation? Q4 earnings? I'm afraid. What about our kids? What about my grandkids? What about the future of our world?"

There are plenty of things to be afraid of. What I want you to know is the Bible has a whole lot to say about fear. To say it in a different way, the Bible speaks to fear a lot but really in two categories. I can break down just about everything the Scripture says into two categories. Let's just say you're here… "I'm a Christian. I trust in God's Word. I want to take it to heart." You need to know it says two really clear things about fear.

The first thing it says is "Do not fear." Over and over and over and over again, about 365 times, one for every day of the week…"Do not be afraid." The second thing it says is "Fear God." You as a follower of Jesus, you as a human being, are to fear God. The Bible says a lot about the fear of the Lord. What is the fear of the Lord? What would you say? What are some words that come to mind when you hear, "The fear of the Lord"?

"Awe and reverence." That's what I would have said. For most of my life, even as a pastor, a Bible teacher, if you asked me, "What is the fear of the Lord?" I would have said, "Awe and reverence." Then I began to spend some time with people who spent a lot of time better understanding the words, the original Greek and Hebrew, and all the things.

The words yada and yirah, two Hebrew words for fear (fear of the Lord), and then phobos, the Greek word where we get the word phobia… These are the words used in the Scripture. These are the words we often translate awe and reverence. What's interesting about that is these words mean so much more than awe and reverence. For the vast majority of history, they've meant terror, being deathly afraid. These are the words that were used before God.

What happened in the Reformation is those words awe and reverence came into our language, and then in the Romantic period of the 1800s we began to over-index on this idea that "God is beautiful. God is love. His kindness leads to repentance." All of that is true, but it's incomplete. The definitions changed in the 1800s to more awe and reverence. It's kind of a newer idea.

So, if that's us and what I'm saying to you is true (and you can certainly test it, and you should), then we might this morning, as we're singing to God, have an incomplete view of him. Maybe we don't know him as well as we think we do. So I want to dive into this text. I'm going to be in Matthew, chapter 10.

I'm going to say this. We gather around the name of Jesus. We've professed faith in the gospel, his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. You cannot rightfully understand the gospel unless you understand the fear of God. At least you can't rightfully be grateful for the gospel. I'll prove it to you like this.

If I come to you and say, "Hey, there was somebody who was really angry looking for you, saying you owed them money, but don't worry about it; I took care of it. I paid them," your gratitude is going to be aligned with "Who was it, how powerful are they, and how much did I owe them?" If I was like, "Oh, it was your friend from high school. He said you borrowed $20, but don't worry; I took care of it," you'd be like, "Oh, great. Thank you."

But if I said, "Oh, it was the president of the cartel, had an army behind him, armed with an AR-15, said you owed him a million bucks, but don't worry; I took care of it," that's a different "Thank you." Can we agree? It'd better be different. It's a different kind of "Thank you." What I want to share with you is how a correct fear of God leads to a fearless life. When Keke and I became friends, everything changed for me. So, in Matthew 10, I'm going to look at who not to fear, who to fear, and why you don't need to live in fear.

I want to say this. I'm incredibly thankful to be here this morning. I love this place so dearly, and I'm so encouraged by the leadership here. I love Pastor Timothy Ateek. I love the elders here. We talk every now and then. I just try to keep up with what God is doing here in conversations with them and pray for you guys often. If you are new, please don't take for granted this unbelievable, incredible movement of God that he has allowed to happen right at the center of North Dallas. I just don't want you to take it for granted. I'm just really, really thankful.

I'll set up Matthew 10 so you know what's happening and the context. Jesus is sending out the Twelve to build the kingdom. I don't know some of you. I don't know your view of Christianity, your view of your mission. This is our mission. He's like, "Hey, guys. Are you ready? You're going to go out there. I'm sending you like sheep among wolves."

The government at this time is incredibly hostile. It's run by narcissistic leaders who are in it for themselves. So he's like, "Hey, you're going to go out like sheep among wolves." He's going to tell them what not to fear and who to fear and break down this reality of why they don't need to be afraid. But you are on mission. The context is important. It's evangelism. It's sharing the gospel. That's why Jesus is saying this. I'll read it.

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

He says, "Don't be afraid of people, of those who can kill you." It's interesting. The person who is telling them not to be afraid of people who can kill them is going to be killed by people, and he's talking to people who are going to be killed by people. In fact, all twelve of them except one are going to die a martyr's death, and the one who lives gets boiled alive first. That's what's happening.

It's like, why don't we share the gospel? It's like, "I might not get invited to happy hour. They're going to think I'm weird. I don't know. They might turn me in to HR." They're like, "Why don't we share the gospel? Well, they're going to crucify me upside down, chop off my head, quarter me with horses, throw me off the temple mount, beat me with clubs." All of that happened, and Jesus is like, "You don't need to be afraid." He says in verse 28, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."

1. Do not fear people. You don't need to fear people. Don't be afraid of people, especially in sharing your faith. Listen. Let me just tell you. The people you're sharing with… The worst they can do is kill you. You might be like, "No, but that's not true, because they can also hurt my feelings." Sure. They can do that too. They can hurt your feelings. They can kill you. But Jesus is saying, "Hey, there's something so much bigger than this life."

I don't think we think about that enough. You get swept up in all the to-dos, the sports, the games, the house, the bills, school, class, homework. The Enemy wants to pull you off focus from God, and he's trying to distract you with the world. Jesus is saying, "But there's this other world. There's another world I'm calling you to live for, so you don't need to be afraid of people."

He really is like, "You don't need to fear anything." Matthew 6. "Don't worry about food. Don't worry about clothing. Don't worry about tomorrow." Over and over and over the Bible says, "Do not fear." I think we're like, "But wait a minute. There are hurricanes. There are tornadoes." He's like, "Yeah, but that's just in this world. This world is like that. There's another kingdom. There's something else you're living for."

He's saying this really important truth. You have fears that are irrational. If you were afraid of something irrational, wouldn't you want to know? What are you afraid of? What are we afraid of here? "Spiders." That's a big one. That's a consistent one. I mean, those things are huge. No, they're really not that big. But they have teeth. No, I guess they don't. What else are we afraid of? "Scorpions." They're just like spiders. Pinchers, man. They get you, but that tail…

What else? "Snakes." I see you, man. Me too, brother. Those things, dude… They will get you. Satan was a snake in the garden. They'll get you. On the farm there are snakes everywhere. It was like I was raised like, "Hey, they're everywhere, and they're going to eat you." That's what it felt like. I'm like, "I've never really seen one, but I'm just trusting that they're all out there in the tall weeds. That's where they live, so you don't walk at night."

The Lord healed me. I was really afraid of snakes and he healed me. I'll show you picture evidence that he healed me. Look. That's a big ol' snake right there. That's real. That's not play. I'm going to tell you it wasn't an emotional problem; it was an educational problem. I learned, "I don't really need to be afraid of snakes." Like, every snake I saw was a poisonous snake. Here's the truth. Quick lesson on snakes, and then we'll move on. We'll get back to the real stuff.

There are 115 different species of snakes in Texas. Four kinds are venomous. A nonvenomous snake is virtually absolutely harmless to you. It can do just about nothing to you, especially in Texas. There are no constrictors. A venomous snake… Sure, it can hurt you, but of the 115, the four are copperhead, cottonmouth, coral snake, and rattlesnake. Those are the four that can hurt you. So, if I saw a snake, it was certainly one of those.

Here's one I saw. What kind of snake is that? There it is in the water. What's that snake? Water moccasin, of course. That's a cottonmouth. Those are the same thing. It has to be what it is. Right? No. It's a nonvenomous, harmless water snake. It can do nothing to you. A kitten is more dangerous to you than that snake. It's funny. Right? Let me prove it to you. Twelve thousand people last year got cat scratch disease. About 20 died. Seven thousand people last year got bitten by snakes. Five died in the entire United States of America.

I saw some of your faces. You were like, "Hmm. Wow. Maybe I don't need to be afraid of snakes." That's what I'm saying. I was like, "Wow! This is crazy." So, I wonder what else we're afraid of that maybe we don't need to be afraid of. Listen. I'm not going like the end of Mark. I'm not bringing out the vipers and walking over them or anything. That's not today. It might be next week. I'm just saying… What else are you afraid of that you maybe don't need to be afraid of?

I don't know how much you trust this book, but it seems to say you don't have to fear anything. Other than God, you don't need to be afraid. He's like, "You don't have to fear people." So why fear people? He says, "Fear God more than people." So, if I don't share my faith, it's because I'm afraid of people, but I'm not afraid of God, but if I share my faith and have some understanding of the fear of God, I understand that these people are going to go to hell unless the Holy Spirit intersects with my words and saves them. You don't need to be afraid.

He's calling you on mission to something. The Creator of the heavens and the earth is saying, "You don't have to fear people." So many of us are enslaved to the approval of others. Galatians 1:10 says, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

He presents this dichotomy. You're either trying to please people or you're a servant of Christ. There's nothing else. Those are your options. Which one is it? Are you living for the approval of people or are you rather a servant of Jesus? You can choose A or B. There's no C. It's binary. Which one is it for you?

I think sometimes we're like, "Well, if I share the gospel, they're going to hate me or want to move or not be my friend." What if you just thought if you share the gospel they're going to get saved? What if God does that? What if he's like, "Hey, you share, I'll save"? That's the agreement. "I may not let you see it. I might do it 5, 10, 15 years later, but you share, I'll save." What if that's the agreement God was making with us?

So, we shouldn't fear in general, but especially not people. So who should we fear? If we have this emotion…God gave us this emotion…who should we fear? It says in the same verse, "Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." He's saying, "People can only hurt you here." The first-century church got this. The ancient Hebrews got this. They would pronounce the name of God out loud. They'd write his name without consonants, wipe the quill, and then throw it away and continue to write, because they had written the name of God with a pen.

You and I are like, "Oh, should I go back and capitalize it? Should I capitalize his pronouns? I'm not sure. What should I do?" That's what you and I do. They would write his name and throw away the pen, never to write anything else again, because it wrote the very name of God. What happened? How did we get here? Awe and reverence. It says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

2. We're to fear God. The Bible says to fear God over 300 times. Let me show you some of them. I want you to understand that it's repeated over and over. It says, "The fear of the Lord" in the Proverbs. "The fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord." This is something that marks believers. Over and over you see "Fear of the Lord."

In Genesis, just this command, "Fear God." In Exodus, "Fear of God." Deuteronomy: "Fear the Lord your God." Again, "Fear the Lord your God." Again, "Fear the Lord your God." Then Joshua is going to say the same thing. "Fear the Lord your God." Then in 1 Samuel it says, "Fear the Lord." Then in 2 Chronicles, "Fear of the Lord." Nehemiah: "The fear of our God." Job: "The fear of the Lord." Psalms: "The fear of the Lord."

Proverbs again, "The fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord." Again, "The fear of the Lord." Then in Ecclesiastes the command, "Fear God." Isaiah the prophet says, "The fear of the Lord." He says again, "The fear of the Lord." In Jeremiah, "Let us fear the Lord our God." "Fear me," God says. Then in Acts, "The fear of the Lord."

I'm going to stop right there, but I could keep going. It's not in any way an exhaustive list. It's really just a sample of what the Scripture says over and over and over and over. I think so many believers today just sit with this ambiguity of "I don't really know what that means, so I'm just going to kind of keep going. How do I fear God? Why do I fear God?"

What does it look like to not fear God? Let me show you. Have you ever been in this place where you…? Like, maybe you're looking at something on your phone and you kind of look over your shoulder to see if anybody else is looking. You turn your screen. You know, the employees are walking by. "I don't really want them to see. That's going to be confusing." You begin to adjust so that a person doesn't see what you're doing. This is a really dangerous lack of faith.

We know that God sees everything. What you're doing in that moment is you're like, "I fear what my child thinks or what my spouse thinks or what my employees think or what these other people think so much more than what God thinks." "God, I don't care that you see me. I just don't want them to see me." It's a very, very dangerous step in the direction of a lack of faith.

Different people have different hobbies. Maybe you watch football or crochet or something. I buy and sell stuff. That's my hobby. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, you know. I bought a car. It had a title. You have 30 days to transfer that title in your name, but I was really busy that particular month, so I didn't get to transfer that title, or at least I didn't prioritize it.

Then when I did remember, like, "Oh, I've got to transfer that title in my name," I went to the title office, and I owed $350 in late penalties. But here's the really good news. When the seller sold me the car, they didn't put the date in the box. Great news. All I had to do was write the date within 30 days. Nobody cares. It's victimless. It doesn't matter. It's inconsequential. All I needed to do was date it within the past 30 days and I wouldn't have to give them a check for $350.

Now, the only problem with that is it's a lie. It's not the truth. But it doesn't matter. Nobody gets hurt. But it's not true. Why would I do something that's not true? Why would I lie on this even if it doesn't matter? What if only God knows? What if I just think about in my head that I take that $350 and set it at the feet of Jesus one day as an act of worship? "This one only you and I knew about, Jesus." But because of the fear of the Lord, I want to walk in righteousness and do the right thing.

When did we stop doing the right thing? There's a holiness drift in the church right now. The things you watch, the music you listen to… You glorify the things that put Christ on the cross. You think it's funny and cute, and it's not. It killed him. It killed God. It crucified Jesus. It's like, "Well, we don't want to be legalistic." Don't be legalistic. Understand grace, but walk in righteousness and do the right thing no matter what it costs you.

What if it was $3,500? What if it was $3,500,000? At what point is it worth…? With that one you just want to fudge the date a little bit. When? What's your soul worth? What does it profit a man to gain $350 but lose…? Proverbs 16:6: "Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided."

Wisdom is doing the right thing, avoiding evil, walking in the fear of the Lord. I think right now you're like, "Wait a minute. So why would we fear God?" Well, why do you fear anyone? Let me just appeal to your logic for a second. Why are we afraid of anyone or anything? Because they're powerful? Because they can hurt us? Because they can kill us?

You're like, "Yeah, but God doesn't just go around killing people." Are you sure? I can give you a few examples. This is where it gets difficult. Hang in there with me. Don't go to the bathroom right now. I'm going to try to pull up out of this in a second, try to redeem that story up front in a moment. But doesn't he?

You know that story we put on the nursery walls? It's so pretty, the rainbow with all of the colors. It's like that day God killed everyone. "Hey, kids, I'm going to drop you off to these people. You can trust them, though. Disregard that. It's Noah. I'll tell you about it later." Everyone but eight people died. Remember that? Genesis 6.

Then you have Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities wiped out. That's Genesis. Exodus, the plagues… The firstborn sons all died in Egypt. All of the firstborn sons were killed. Do you remember that? Are we still tracking? Like, "Why would I be afraid of God?" I don't know. Have you opened the Word? It's wild in there.

In Leviticus 10, Aaron's sons are bringing an offering of fire, and they're incinerated. I have a son. You just turn the page like it's no big deal. His sons were killed by fire! They were burned up, man. This is wild, and you're like, "Oh, awe and reverence, like a beautiful sunset. That's the fear of the Lord." Yeah, if you understand that if you get closer to that sun it's going to burn you up. And I don't mean a sunburn. I mean incineration. This is wild.

You're like, "Oh, the fear of the Lord is like the Grand Canyon, just a big hole in the earth." No, it's not. It's like the hole that swallowed up the sons of Korah. Remember that story? The earth opens up and devours them in Numbers 16. So, we're in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers so far. We can keep going. I'll go one more with you. This story is in 1 Chronicles 13 and 2 Samuel 6 with Uzzah.

David is like, "Hey, I'm going to have the oxen carry the ark." The oxen trip and Uzzah sticks out his hand to straighten the ark and dies right there. Why? Because the holiness of God is not to be messed with. You're like, "God is cute. Jesus is my homeboy." Man, be careful. "I don't want to be legalistic." No, you want to be righteous. You want to pursue holiness, because he is holy.

You're like, "But that's the God of the Old Testament." Don't you dare. I'll tell you a quick story. Acts, chapter 5. The church is growing just like this one. The ushers are trying to figure out where to put people. Acts 2, Holy Spirit comes. Acts 3, thousands added to their number. Acts 4, thousands added to their number. Acts 5, thousands added to their number. Slam on the parking brake. Stop. What happened?

A couple, Ananias and Sapphira, sell a field, bring the offering, and lay it at the apostles' feet. Peter is like, "Is this all the money you got for the field?" Ananias is like, "Yeah, man." Peter is like Boom! Ananias dies right there. Peter didn't kill him. Then Sapphira comes up, and Peter is like, "Hey, is this all the money you got for the field?" and she's like, "Yeah." He goes, "The same men who carried out your husband's corpse will now carry you out. You've lied in an effort to manage perception. You've lied in an effort to appear generous."

Whoa. Why? Because there's a purification of the church that God cares deeply about. It says in verse 11, "Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events." You can't speak away a really important aspect of God's character. So, the fear of the Lord might be the beginning of wisdom. Scripture says it is the beginning of wisdom, but it doesn't seem very conducive to intimacy. Right? There's kind of a knot in your stomach. Like, "How am I supposed to go to God, and he's loving and kind, but he can kill me? What?" Let's read.

Verse 29: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." He cares for the sparrows. "And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." He knows you intimately, everything about you…insecurities and birthmarks, the number of hairs on your head, or the lack thereof in some of your cases. Easy job for God. "I know the hairs on…"

"So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Sparrows were the cheapest bird in the market sold for food. The equivalent of pigeons today, but they ate them. You could buy two for a penny. He's saying something really important here.

3. The one you fear cares for you. He's all-powerful, and he cares for you and values you. When you have something valuable that you care about, what do you do? You protect it. At all costs you protect it. Two sparrows sold for a penny. You were purchased by the blood of God's own Son Jesus Christ. The buyer, the purchaser, always determines the value of something. God says you have infinite value. He places his value on your life.

So, we have this greater understanding of the gospel that the wrath of God (that means God's anger toward your sin)… He knows about prom night. He knows about the abortion. He knows about the sexting. He knows about the tax manipulation. He knows about the lie, the time you wrote the wrong date on the title. He saw all of that. He was there, and his anger toward your sin was satisfied on his Son. That's the good news. You don't have to pay for your sins.

The Scripture says in Romans 8:1, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…" Second Corinthians 5:19: he's no longer counting your sins against you. Now, how do you get the privilege of being in a place where God is not counting your sins against you? You trust fully in the finished work of his Son Jesus Christ. That's the gospel. That's the good news.

Romans 5:9 says, "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" God's anger at your sin is satisfied by our Savior. That means you become his child. John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…" You trusting in Christ does not make God soft; it makes him family.

You trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ doesn't make God weak. It makes all of the strength of God, all of who he is… All of the terror of God is now operating on your side. You are his daughter, and you are his son. Imagine with me for a moment. You work somewhere. You have a corporate job, or wherever you work, and it has become a rather hostile environment because of one person.

They don't like you, and they are trying everything they can to get you fired. They've been making up lies about you. You go to work now with anxiety and fear, trying to avoid them. You don't want to see them. You're being bullied in the workplace. They're going to HR, and HR is hearing their side of the story, so you're not sure what to do. Can you feel that for a second? Do you feel the fear and the tension, the anxiety there? You're really like, "I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to work here anymore. This was my dream job, but now it's not." Do you feel that?

Now they call the meeting. You're going to walk into the meeting with them and HR. HR has already heard their side of the story. As you walk into the meeting, you remember something. Your daddy owns the company. You know what I mean? They didn't realize that your daddy is the CEO. You walk in there, and HR is like, "Wait. You're talking about [so-and-so's] kid? Hey, honestly, I think you should be fired," to the person.

Do you understand how the position of your Father diminished the fear you had toward others? Your proximity to being in a family manipulates your fear and trepidation toward other things, because you understand that your Dad is in charge, and not only is he in charge but he's all-powerful. He can do anything at will, and he's now at work on your behalf because you've been adopted. This is the gospel. This is the truth. This is why you do not need to fear.

Psalm 34:9: "Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing." Oswald Chambers says… This is really a summary of this message. He says, "The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else." Romans 8:31 says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

So, how can a correct fear of God lead to a fearless life? The fear of God for the Christian is this. I'm going to define it right here for you. For the believer, the fear of God is being terrified of being separated from him. If you're like, "Well, because of the gospel I can't be separated from him…" Yes, but sin will give you the feeling, the sensation that you are. That's what it does.

So, the fear of God is wanting to walk in his righteousness and not miss out on his blessings. When you live with the fear of God, you begin to tell everyone about him. You try to persuade people. You share the gospel. This is 2 Corinthians 5:11. "Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord…" So, if you know what it is to fear the Lord. "…we try to persuade others."

You think, "Well, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Like, all of these things. What is wrong?" Let me just tell you something. You can only complain inasmuch as you share your faith and build the kingdom, because that's our mission. That's what we've been called to do. I mean, you stop being salt and light and, yeah, darkness comes in. Things begin to rot. That's what happens. It's the way it works. In summary, don't fear people; fear God, and know the one you fear cares for you, which means you don't need to fear anything else.

I respected Keke. In some ways, I was in awe of Keke, his abilities. Was I afraid of Keke? That depends. Are we friends or not? Is he working against me or is he on my side? If he's on my side, then his strength, the strength I was afraid of, now becomes my security. It's protecting me. But here's what you need to know about Keke. His protection of me is limited. In fact, he passed away three months ago.

But there was another time where I went to a place and I had a lot to be afraid of. I moved to Dallas and didn't know where I was going to work and what I was going to do. I had all of the insecurities of starting life as an adult. "Who am I going to marry? Where are we going to live?" I was at a club 22 years ago, and someone invited me to this place.

I came in. I sat in the back, hungover. As I've said many times, I smelled like smoke from the night before. I heard about one who would never leave me nor forsake me. I thought he was the sheriff in the sky who was just mad at me for all of the things I did, but I heard that through his Son he would go to fight on my behalf. I need only be still and know that he is God. It changed everything about me.

The biggest thing it changed is when I really understood that, after being in church my entire life, I just wanted to tell everybody. I was like, "How did I miss out on the grace of God? God, the most powerful force in the entire universe, is for me. He's with me. I want to live on mission for him. Life is short." We don't even know our great-great-grandfather. We don't even know his name. He was alive 50 years ago. You can do the math later. That's family, and you don't even know his name?

That means 50 years from now, nobody is driving down the road, saying, "Oh, thank you so much, Great-Great-Grandfather. Thank you so much, Great-Great-Grandmother." No. You went in a hole in the ground unless you got the Jesus thing right. What else are you going to live for? What else are you going to do with your life except tell everybody? You're like, "I can't tell everybody." Sure you can.

"Who?" Everybody. "Where?" Everywhere you go. "When?" Every day. Just keep it simple. "Like, everybody at the restaurant?" Yeah, everyone. "Like, just walk around the tables and tell people?" Sure. Be crazy. "Everybody at the mall?" Sure, I guess. "In the grocery store, the person behind me and the person in front of me?" Sure. Tell everybody. I don't know. I mean, could you imagine with God? Like, "You sure were busy down there." Let's do it. Let me pray that you would.

Would you give us that courage? You are an almighty and awesome God. "Awesome in wonder," the NIV says. "Full of terror," the King James says. I imagine you're both of those things. I'm not even worthy to speak your name. John the Baptist said he wasn't even worthy to tie your sandals. None of us are worthy to know you, yet you've adopted us as sons and daughters.

Let me just give you a second. Is there a holiness leak in your life that you want to repent for right now? Maybe just say that to God. Say, "God, I'm so sorry that I've let this in my life, that I've watched this, that I've looked at this, that I've listened to this or been given to this." Just talk to God in that way. Thank him for his grace. In Jesus' name, amen.