Turn with me to John 16. John 16. And I want to ask us a question. And really think about your answer.
Just stop for one second and think about your own answer to
this question, OK? What do you fear? What do you fear? If a person
says nothing, that person is lying. What do you fear? Well, being that every person
in here is human, I can tell you some of the answers that
have popped into our minds. Number one, not making enough
money, not making enough money. Number two, something happening
to one of our immediate family members, especially once you
have kids. Lord, keep your hands on our
children, provide for us, protect our children, save our children,
save us, This flesh fears many things, but there is one thing that this
flesh does not fear. There is one thing that this
flesh truly, honestly, sincerely does not fear, and that is God. This flesh does not fear God. The Lord Jesus Christ, specifically. If you were to ask people who
do not believe in God, do you fear the Lord Jesus Christ? They
would say no. No, you mean the man that was
here 2,000 years ago? No. I know some people who believe
that there is a God, and they believe that there is a heaven,
but they do not believe there is a hell. I heard them say it. If you were to ask those people,
do you fear the Lord Jesus Christ, they would say no. Many, many religious people sitting
in churches right now, right now, believe there is a God, and they
believe there is a heaven, and they believe there is a hell. Most of the religious world today,
if you were to ask them, do you fear the Lord Jesus Christ, they
would say, no. This flesh, meaning this regular
natural man, This flesh does not fear God. You tell the flesh, you're going
to go meet God. You tell the flesh that. You're
going to go meet God. And you know how the flesh answers
that? Well, we'll deal with that when we get there. I'm not too
worried about it. Nothing but God's Holy Spirit
can cause a man or a woman to fear God. Nothing but God's Holy
Spirit. Look right here at John 16 verse
7. Our Lord said, Nevertheless,
I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if
I go not away, the Comforter, and that's His Spirit, will not
come unto you, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And
when He is come, He will reprove." And that word means convince
the world of sin. Sin in me. Sin in me. And then it goes on
to say, "...and of righteousness." That means, what God requires
to enter into His kingdom. He'll convince the world of the
sin in me and what God requires for me to enter His kingdom.
And then it goes on to say, and of judgment, the punishment that's
coming to me because of my sin. He'll convince men and women
of that. When that realization comes to
a sinner, do you know what that produces? Fear. It really does. Fear. Fear of
a holy God that really does punish sin. Fear of an all-knowing God
who sees every sin, not just in deed, in thought, in heart. Fear of a just God who will never,
ever, ever sweep one sin under the rug. But this serious and reverent
fear is a great gift from God. It is the greatest gift. It is
all the gift of Christ, the gift of faith that produces this fear. God sending His Holy Spirit and
putting this fear in a sinner is the greatest gift from God. Did you notice right here He
said, if I go not away, I can't send the Comforter? He calls
the Holy Spirit that first convinces men and women of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment. He called Him the Comforter.
Turn back over to Psalm 103. Psalm 103, look at verse 11. For as the heaven is high above
the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. Just as high and holy as He is,
That's how great His mercy is toward them that fear Him. Mercy is not getting what we
deserve. That's how great His mercy is
toward those who realize what they deserve. Look at verse 13. Like as a father, pitieth His
children. And man, do we ever. Do we ever. Pity means love. It means to
have compassion on. It says, like as a father pitieth
his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. Turn with me over to Psalm 111. Psalm 111 verse 10 says, The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1 says, Christ is
our wisdom. So this fear, this reverent fear
means Christ has come to a sinner. If a sinner fears, then it means
Christ has come to a sinner. It's the beginning. As soon as
that fear comes along, rest assured, Christ has come to you. And if
Christ comes to a sinner, then there is good news for that sinner. If Christ comes, you've got some
good news waiting on you. Here's the title of this morning's
message. Comfort for sinners who fear God. The comfort in this message is
not to every person on this earth. The comfort in this message is
not to every person in this country. The comfort in this message is
not to every person in church. The comfort in this message is
to every person that fears God. And if I don't fear Him, I need
to cry out, Lord, put that fear in me, because I'm not feeling
it. The Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm
103 verse 1 says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Benefits means
treatment. Those who fear the Lord, let's
not forget how the Lord has treated us. Those who are horrified over
their sin, let's not forget how the Lord has treated us. Let's
remember everything He's done for us, first of all. Verse 3
says, Who forgiveth all thine iniquities? Only God can forgive
sin. You know that. Only the one who punishes sin
can forgive sin. Well, you just told me to fear
this God because He's not going to sweep one sin under the rug.
That's right. Turn over to Psalm 130. This is talking about Christ
our God. Psalm 130 verse 8 says, And He
shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. You know what
redeem means? We do it every time we go to
Walmart. You put that stuff on the counter and then you reach
into your pocket and you pull out payment in full. And He's
not going to sweep one sin under the rug. But you know what Christ
did? He redeemed His people. He paid it in full. For all who
fear God, and all should fear God, if He killed His own Son,
what's going to stop Him from killing me? If He killed His
own Son, What is going to stop Him from killing me? Here's the
answer. The blood of His own Son. He said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. For all who are afraid of the
fact that they've sinned against God, take comfort in knowing
that the blood of Christ has forgiven all your sin. Man, with all of your sin gone,
verse 3, back over in Psalm 103, verse 3 says, the end of it says, who healeth
all thy diseases. He has healed all our diseases. Now our minds dwell on the life
that we have here on this earth. We can't help it. This is all
we see. This is where we are. We're flesh. But our life here
is just the blink of an eye compared to our life in eternity. And
it's a real life in eternity. One we cannot enter into. But
it's a real life. Go with me over to 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 17 says, For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal." Yes, this sin is still clinging to our
flesh. It is. And it causes us to have
sickness, it causes us to have cancer, and it will cause this
body to die. The wages of sin is death, and
it will cause this body to die. But go back over to Psalm 103
with me. Verse 4 says, the blood of Christ
has redeemed thy life from destruction. That body is going to lay down. But that is not the end for you
and me. If I could ever just enter into
that. I always bring up Mary Bell. My heart is breaking. My heart's breaking for them.
But if I could just enter into, and if Mary Bell could just enter
into how real life is, once God takes every bit of that flesh
off of her, and every bit of that sin, can you imagine what
it's going to feel like to have no sin? And to realize for the rest of
eternity, my God has healed all my diseases. All my sickness,
I'll never have cancer again. I'll never have a runny nose
again. Perfect. And then to look back
and say, would you ever want to come back to that? No. Take comfort. God's had mercy
on Donnie too. He's right behind you. The blood of Christ has redeemed
us from the curse of the law. That's death. The blood of Christ
has redeemed us from the judgment and the penalty of sin. That's
death. The blood of Christ has redeemed
us from the grave. They're going to put your body
in the grave. But you won't be in it. You won't be in it. You're going to be alive and
well in glory with Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ has
redeemed your life from destruction. And because of that, verse 4
right here in Psalm 103 says, Christ the Lord has crowned you
with loving kindness and tender mercies. The crown goes around
the head. Right? That's the crown. And
a man or woman is glorified with a crown by placing it on their
head. And Christ is my head. And Christ
is your head. And our glory is in His loving
kindness and His tender mercies. Verse 5 says, Who satisfieth
thy mouth with good things. Nothing on the face of this earth
is able to satisfy a sinner. No amount of money. No amount
of anything. No amount of anything. Nothing
satisfies you. Get it? You want something else.
But every sinner who fears and reverences God, who Christ has redeemed from
destruction, Every soul that is in glory right now is saying,
Christ is all. Christ is all I need. Christ
is all I need. Go over to Psalm 17 with me. What a wonderful verse this is.
Psalm 17, look at verse 15. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. Can you imagine how satisfied
every person in glory is? Are you thirsty? No. Are you
hungry? Nope. Are you lonely? Nope. Are you happy? Yep. Is there anything you lack? No, before I even think of it
or ask, He gives it to me. Before they call, I'll answer.
Do you need anything? Nope. He's all I need. Christ
is all I need. Go with me back to Psalm 103. Verse 5 says, "...who satisfieth
thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like
the eagles." Go with me to Isaiah 40. Our bodies are getting older,
they're getting tireder, they're getting weaker. The things of
this world, they're losing their luster. But look at Isaiah 40
verse 31. But they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength They shall mount up with wings as
eagles. They shall run and not be weary,
and they shall walk and not faint. What keeps us going? What keeps
us coming? I mentioned that fellow to you,
Brother Don Fortner's Bob Poncer. Oh, what a precious man. I don't
know how, I think he's about 90, Brother Don told me on the
phone that it takes him almost three hours to get ready to come
to church. He has such a hard time. And
he said he never misses a service. What keeps us coming? What keeps
us going? Christ. Christ does. Although my body is failing,
my spirit is renewed like the eagles. And if He will enable me, I will
come. The more our bodies fail, the
more our spirits are renewed. The lower I feel and see myself
in this world, the more I start waiting on and looking for Christ. And the reason is because when
He comes back, we're all going to mount up like the eagles.
Every one of us. So for all those who reverently
fear this God, just wait. Just hang on and wait. He's coming. Go back over to Psalm 103. Verse 6 says, The Lord executeth
righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. Take
comfort in the fact that He will do right. and Christ paid the
penalty, it will not come on you. He will do right. Verse
7 says, He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the
children of Israel. For all those who fear Him, David
says, let me tell you what He's like. He just told us what He
did. Now he says, let me tell you
what He's like. You have great reason to fear
Him. You have sinned against Him.
But look at verse 8, it says, The Lord is merciful. He is merciful. That's who He
is. When you walk up to Him, when
you see Him face to face, for the first time, and you know,
I just left all that sin right there, He says, if you fear this
God, you walk up remembering the Lord is merciful. And he
goes on to say, He is gracious, He is slow to anger, and He is,
just in case you forgot, plenteous in mercy. If the Lord is slow
to anger, why can't I be? Plenty us in mercy. Verse 9 says,
He will not always chide. That means chastened. He will not always chide, neither
will He keep His anger forever. Verse 10 says, He hath not dealt
with us after our sins. Why? Because He dealt with Christ
after our sins. Verse 10 says, nor rewarded us
according to our iniquities. He rewarded Christ according
to our iniquities. Verse 11 says, For as the heaven
is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that
fear Him. Let's not forget who He's talking
to. The whole world? No. Those that fear Him. And we just
read in Romans 9, it's very few, a remnant. But if we do, if we
do fear Him, verse 12 says, as far as the east is from the west,
so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Lord, if I have never
known this fear, cause me to know it right now. Me. If I have never known this fear,
if I'm just living life and I saw a person yesterday who makes
no claim to know the Lord and does not even attend a building
anywhere on Sunday. And I thought, what is the purpose
of this life? If you don't fear God and worship
God, what's the point? You'll keep breathing air however
many more years. and you'll have some form of
money coming in, which means you'll buy some food, and you'll
drink some water, and you'll go to sleep, and then you'll
get up tomorrow, and this person was retired, and they didn't
have a job, and I thought, what is the point? Lord, if I have
not feared You, cause me to start right now, right now, if I do
not fear this God, there's no hope, there's no point, Put that
in me right now. Because if I don't fear You,
I have a lot to fear. I have a lot to fear. And none
of these benefits will be given to me. Verse 13 says, Like as
a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear Him. For He knoweth our frame, He
remembereth that we are dust. For all who fear Him take comfort
in this, He's merciful, He's gracious, He's slow to anger,
He pities us and He knows our frame. He remembers, it says. He remembers. Our wicked nature
rises up and then we fear God, right? Our weak flesh loses sight
of Christ and then we fear God. Sin becomes mixed with everything
we do. And we can't pray, and we can't
love, and we can't breathe without it being totally defiled with
sin. And that causes us to fear God. Well, David says, you who
fear, take comfort in this. He knows our frame. He remembers. We have not a high
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, thanks be to
God, yet without sin. He remembers. He remembers. They're just dust. The Word was
made flesh. He dwelt among us. He remembers. Verse 15 says, As for man, his
days are as grass. As a flower of the field, so
he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it,
and it is gone. And the place thereof shall know
it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is
from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and
His righteousness unto children's children, to such as keep His
covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them."
Now that just said, if we fear Him, we better remember His commandments
to do them. That's starting to not look too
good for me. That's actually making me afraid. That's causing me to fear God. Hold your place and go with me
to 1 John chapter 3. 1 John 3. Verse 22 says, And whatsoever we ask, we receive
of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are
pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment,
that we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth
his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby know we that he abideth
in us by the Spirit which he hath given us. He said, these are my commandments. He's put away the old and He's
established the new. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and love one another as I have loved you. By God's grace, He'll
enable me to do that. Believe on Christ and love His
people. I would gladly do that if He'll
put His Spirit in me and cause me to. Well, back over to Psalm
103, verse 19 says, The Lord hath prepared His throne
in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord,
ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments,
hearkening unto the voice of His Word, Bless ye the Lord,
all ye His host, ye ministers of His that do His pleasure.
Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion. And David ends by telling his
own soul, you make sure along with everything else. Let everything
that's in glory and everything that's in earth, let all His
works. And David, and Gabe Stoniker,
along with everything else, you make sure that you bless the
Lord. He says, very last phrase, bless
the Lord, O my soul. Lord, enable me to bless your
holy name. Remind me, cause me, I have so
much reason to. Alright, I hope the Lord will
bless that. Let's stand together.