WED: “Fear Can Control Us for God or Bad”

  1. The wrong fear can cause us to do wrong
    1. Fear can cause us to rebel against God     Numbers 14:9
    2. Fear can cause us not to obey God     Numbers 21:34
    3. Fear can cause us to be controlled by someone other than God     Proverbs 29:22-27
  2. Letting fear control us is very discouraging      Deuteronomy 1:21
    1. Living by the fear of the Lord is encouraging     Deuteronomy 3:22
    2. The fear of the Lord is a learned discipline        Deuteronomy 4:10; 5:29; 10:12,20; 13:4; 14:23; 17:29
      1. Learned by getting to know God
      2. Learned by being in God’s Word
    3. The fear of the Lord motivates us to honor & obey God
      1. Honoring Him because He is worthy       Deuteronomy 6:2
      2. Serving Him because He is worthy           Deuteronomy 6:13
      3. Living in the fear of the Lord is better for us         Deuteronomy 6:24; 8:6
  3. The fear of consequences motivates right behaviors and deters wicked behaviors                 Deuteronomy 13:11; 17:13; 19:20; 51:21; 20:3
    1. Respecting God & His Word motivates this
    2. Understanding God’s Word regarding sinfulness & consequences motivates this
    3. Honoring God so as to benefit from His blessings motivates this