I want to focus on is verse number 10 that says this, the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom.
And that's the title of my sermon, is the fear of the Lord.
And I want to preach on that because if you look at the second part, it says the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and good understanding have all day
that do His commandments.
And because of this coronavirus going around, people are wondering what should I do?
Should we go to church?
Should we go soul winning?
Should I go to work?
Should I quit my job?
Am I staying in?
Am I staying out?
So people have a lot of questions and people are begging for wisdom.
They're hoping that our politicians are making the right decisions.
They're hoping that the pastors are making the right decisions.
But at the end of the day, what we want to do as God's people, we want to make
sure we do things according to God's will, according to the Bible, amen?
But the thing is this, if you want to know what to do in these times, I think
this is the verse you need to look at first.
Because look at what it's saying right there, the fear of the Lord.
So if you want to begin to know what to do, it needs to start right there with the fear
of the Lord.
And I think a lot of reasons, or a reason why a lot of people are just wondering what
to do in this country is because this country is not a country that I would say
fears the Lord like they used to, amen?
And so when it comes to knowing what God wants you to do, hey, the Bible makes
it very clear in James 1.5, if you have your Bibles, please go to Proverbs 8.13,
go to Proverbs 8.13.
I'm going to read from James 1.5 that says this, very famous scripture, if any of
you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and not
braideth not, and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea, driven with the wind, and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.
Now what we can see is that in order for you to get your prayers answered and for
God to give you wisdom, you need to ask, and you need to ask with faith, believing
that he will answer you, and it makes it very clear that he wants you to ask in faith,
nothing wavering.
He wants you to come to him knowing that he can answer prayer, knowing that he will
give you the wisdom that you need, and he'll give it to you.
But it doesn't say everything in regards to how to get God's prayers answered or
for you to get your prayers answered.
If you look at Proverbs 8.13, we get a little bit more of a clue as to what to do
besides just praying with faith.
Because today I believe that people believe that God can do anything.
I believe that people believe that God will answer you.
But I believe that people are forgetting that there is a catch in the way when it
comes to getting God's prayers or getting God to answer your prayers.
And one of those things is obedience.
And also if you look down there, Proverbs 8.13, it says that the fear of the Lord.
So what is the fear of the Lord?
Here's a big clue.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.
To hate evil, pride, arrogance, and the evil way in the forward mouth do I hate.
So as God's people, yes, we ought to fear God, be afraid of him.
But when it comes to sin, God doesn't want us to just stay away from sin.
He wants us to hate it, amen?
And that's the thing you need to realize.
Do I really hate sin?
Do I really hate pride?
Do I have arrogance coming out of my mouth?
Do I have a lifestyle that we consider to be a lifestyle that's following in the evil
way?
And do I have a forward mouth?
I mean, do I hate these things?
There's a lot that the Lord hates.
I'll just read Proverbs 6.16.
If you can't go to Psalms 139.21, go ahead and meet me at Psalms 139.21.
But here's some more things that the Lord hates.
These are things that the Lord hates.
Yea, he's having an abomination unto him.
It says simply this, a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devisives wicked imaginations, feet that be swift and run into mischief,
a false witness that speak lies to liars, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
And guess what?
If God hates it, he wants you to hate it as well.
But do you hate those, like it says right here, that have a forward mouth, those that
are of a false witness, those that sow discord, prevalent children in the church, do you
hate those that sow discord among the brethren?
Because God does.
He says, I hate these individuals.
And when it comes to hating, some people say, hey, we shouldn't hate.
Quickly look at Psalms 139.21, we're not going to spend a lot of time there,
but it says, Do not hate them, O Lord, that hate thee.
Am I not grieve with those that rise up against thee?
I hate them with a perfect hatred.
Who is the them?
Well, Proverbs 6 gives us a clue.
Those that shed innocent blood, those that run around causing mischief, those that are
false witnesses, those that sow discord among the brethren.
It says that God hates them, and if God's against it, we should be against it as well.
It says, I hate you with a perfect hatred.
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart.
So it's not just about them.
It's about you as well.
Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts.
So a lot of times we're clean on the outside, but when it comes to fearing the Lord, and
he wants you to be clean on the inside as well.
Amen?
And when it comes to hating sin, yes, stay away from it, but God wants you to hate
it.
And what is one of the things he wants you to hate?
It says, Proverbs 6, 18, a heart that divides wicked imaginations.
And we're all able to do such a thing.
Why?
Because the heart is deceitful above all things.
And it isn't barely wicked, it says that it's desperately wicked.
So what do we see?
It says, hey, God, search me, show me, know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked
way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting.
And you saw in Proverbs 8, 13, it says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride,
and irreconcy.
So if you're someone that hates God, but you really don't hate sin, I don't think
you have the fear of the Lord like you should.
And if you don't have it, it says right there that you may not get the wisdom.
Because if you want to start to figure out life, you want to start to figure out what to do
in your life, if you want God to guide your steps, it does start like it says
in Psalms 111, 10, fearing the Lord, fearing the Lord.
So the first thing that we see is that fearing the Lord is clear, it's to hate evil.
That's one thing when it comes to fearing the Lord.
What's another thing?
Well, as you saw right there in Psalms 111, good understanding have all they that do
His commandments.
So if you want to have good understanding, you have to do His commandments.
Because God just doesn't want us to avoid sin, He wants us to hate it.
Why is that?
Because when you hate something, you have a higher chance of not doing it, amen?
Here's a key example.
I hate watching the WNBA.
I just hate watching it.
For those of you that don't know what the WNBA is, it's the Women National Basketball
Association or whatever.
I enjoy basketball.
I kind of like watching highlights.
I like people dunking, I enjoy that.
I love that when Shaq used to slam that court and just break it in pieces, or is
it just me?
That was pretty cool.
I mean, I love Steve Curry throwing those three-pointers.
I don't watch a lot of basketball, in fact, I really don't.
I just like watching the highlights whenever they come up, because I do enjoy kind of seeing
those shots, you know, from half-court just tossing that thing.
But when it comes to the WNBA, I think I might have saw like five minutes of a game
and it was super boring.
And honestly, the NBA can be boring as well.
You know, just watching it, it can get a little boring, but it's way more exciting
than the WNBA.
That's a fact.
But I don't know who in the world decided to come up with the WNBA.
And any man in here that watches that ought to get right with God, amen?
Because these ladies are tall, they're all tattooed out, and they're wearing
men's clothing, bottom line.
They have baggy shorts.
You almost wonder, are they lesbians?
I'm just thinking that when I see them, because they look rough, tough, tattooed
it up, or is it just me when you see that?
You're like, what in the world?
I'm not saying they're all lesbians, but it makes it seem like they're trying to
be above average manly, amen?
So when it comes to something that's abominable to me, it's the WNBA.
So don't ask me to sit down and watch the WNBA with you, because right now I'm
telling you I'm not even going to think about it.
It's just the thought of watching it, watching a one-hour game, WNBA, to me it's
just like, ugh, no.
I got better things to do.
I'm going to do other stuff like watch grass grow, amen?
But this is the thing.
Why do I stay away from it?
Why don't I sit down and watch it?
Because I hate it, because it's an abomination unto me, it's boring, but the top two
reasons I already mentioned, amen?
So when it comes to like, hey, fearing God, yes, he wants you to hate sin, but
the thing is this, he also wants you to obey him.
Because here's the thing, just because we hate something is not a guarantee that we're
not going to do it.
A perfect example is smoking, especially people that have really damaged their bodies.
I wonder if they love smoking, you know, the same as when they started smoking.
I highly doubt that when they're sucking in an oxygen machine.
I highly doubt that when they're told you got cancer, man.
I highly doubt that they enjoy smoking, but they still do it, do they not?
So yet they hate it, similar to how a Christian can hate sin, but yet if you're
not careful, you can still commit sin.
No different than a person that smokes.
I'm sure they're like, man, I hate the fact that I have this, or drinking, or heroin,
or crack, or whatever the addiction, whatever the sin.
Sometimes you do hate it, but you still do it.
Why?
Because you don't have enough of a healthy fear of the Lord in order to depart from
it, amen?
But somebody who fears the Lord, that's something that God approves of, you know, go to Proverbs
14.2 if you can, go to Proverbs 14.2.
And while you go to Proverbs 14.2, I'm going to read from Jonah 1.8, the story of Jonah
when they asked him, who are you?
He says this, then said unto him, tell us we pray thee, for whose cause is evil upon
us?
This was when he's on the ship, and then the storm starts to hit.
What is that occupation, and whence cometh thou?
What is that country, and of what people art thou?
And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew.
This is Jonah speaking, and I fear the Lord.
So he's making it clear, I fear the Lord.
And that's great.
The God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land, then were the men
exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, why hast thou done this?
For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he hath told
them.
So Jonah flat out says, look, I fear the Lord, and I believe he did.
But here's the thing, he forgot how God really is when it comes to being disobedient
towards him.
So what happened in this story?
Obviously he wasn't being blessed.
He was somebody that fears the Lord, but yet he was in sin, because he was fleeing
from the presence of the Lord.
So when it comes to fearing the Lord, you already saw that God wants us to hate sin.
The fear of the Lord is to hate pride, irreconcy, the evil way.
But not just that, Psalm 111 says that the fear of the Lord is to begin in wisdom,
and he's going to give understanding to those that do his commandments.
So when it comes to fearing the Lord, it's not just fearing or being afraid of God,
but also walking uprightly that's going to bring that wisdom that Psalm 111 is talking
about.
When it says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, you want the
wisdom to figure out what to do, it's not just being afraid of God, it's also
obeying God.
It's clear that that's how you're going to get the wisdom that God promises you in
his Word.
It says here in Proverbs 14, 2, he that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord,
but he that is perverse in his ways despise of him.
So this is the kind of fear that God wants to see, a fear where you're walking uprightly.
Amen?
If you have your Bible, I want you to go ahead and go to Proverbs 16, 6.
Go to Proverbs 16, 6.
So I just wanted to show you really quickly that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil.
So if you're someone that doesn't sin per se, but you don't really hate sin like
you should, you don't have the fear of the Lord.
That's what it clearly says, the fear of the Lord is to hate whatever sin you add
into the spot or whatever.
Whether it's this or that or whatnot, if you don't hate it, you don't have the fear
of the Lord.
That's what the fear of the Lord is, that you hate it.
But not just that, he that feareth the Lord walketh uprightly.
So if you're in the fear of the Lord, you're not just hating sin, you're obeying
God as well.
But sometimes we pray for wisdom and we're like, man, I don't know why God ain't
answering me.
You know, I want to know what to do in this situation.
I want to know whether to do this or that or whatever, but I don't feel like anybody's
answering me or anybody's helping me out.
It could just be that something's hindering you and usually it's that you're not obeying
God's commandments like you should.
That's just what the Bible teaches.
So I had you go to Proverbs 16, 6, correct?
And see, here's the thing, what else does it mean to fear the Lord?
I already mentioned that it's hating sin, I already mentioned that it's obedience.
To walk uprightly, hey, that's fearing the Lord.
Similar to when I obey my parents as a child, I did it because I was afraid of my mom
and my dad basically whipping me for disobeying them.
So when you're walking uprightly, bottom line, if you do it because you love God, if
you do it because you're afraid of God, that is a form of fear in the Lord.
That is fear in the Lord as well.
I'll just read from Exodus 2018, it says this, this is when they heard the thunderings
and the lightnings when they were in Mount Sinai.
And all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings and the noise of the trumpet
and the mountain smoking.
And when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, speak thou with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak
with us, lest we die.
So here they're showing some fear of the Lord.
They're afraid of God.
They're afraid they're going to die if he speaks to them.
And Moses said unto the people, fear not.
But first of all, he just told us to be in fear.
Well, see, here they were afraid of the wrong thing.
They were afraid that God was going to kill them.
But he says this, fear not, for God has come to prove you, and that is fear, his
fear.
See, they had the wrong fear.
They were fearing the wrong thing.
But it's not that Moses tell them don't be fearful at all.
He's just saying, look, don't fear the fact that you're going to die, but fear
thy God.
Be afraid of him, but don't be afraid that you're going to die because you're not
going to die.
And it said this, I am the Lord.
This is a message from Moses to the people of Israel because that's what God told Moses
to tell them.
Hey, don't be afraid.
He will take care of you, but be afraid of him because at any moment he can just
change it.
And instead of blessing you, he can punish you.
But that's the fear that we need to have is where we fear God that he can punish
us at any time.
And just like it says right there that he did that so that they can depart from sin.
I had you go to, where did I have you go?
Proverbs 16, 6.
Let me finish Exodus 20, 20, and Moses said unto the people, Fear not, for God has come
to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, why?
That you sin not.
So being afraid of God is a good thing in a way because it's going to help you
to turn from sin.
It says in Proverbs 16, 6, by mercy and truth, iniquity is purged, and by the
fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.
This is what was happening in Exodus 20, 20.
You know, Moses was saying, hey, fear God and have that fear that you need.
Why?
That you sin not.
So you don't become a wicked nation so that you may fear the Lord.
And like Proverbs 16, 6 says, hey, fearing God is a good thing.
Why?
Because it's going to help you depart from evil.
I'll just read from Leviticus 19.
I'll read two verses that mention the fear of the Lord.
If you have your Bibles, go ahead and go to Proverbs 30, 17.
Go to Proverbs 30, 17.
Leviticus 19, 14 says this, Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block
before the blind, but shall fear thy God.
I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19, 32 says this, Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the
face of the old man, and fear thy God.
I am the Lord.
I'll just read from Leviticus 25, 17.
You shall not therefore oppress one another, but thou shalt fear thy God, for I am the
Lord your God.
So it's clear that God wants us to fear Him.
Fear Him.
What is that going to do?
It's going to cause you to depart from evil.
It's going to keep you straight, and see, fearing God is great, but don't forget the
part where He wants you to hate evil.
Why?
Last chance you'll commit it.
Amen?
I'll read from Deuteronomy 6, 1.
This is a good verse in regards to the fear of the Lord.
It says, Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgment which the
Lord your God commanded to teach you.
This is Moses talking to the children of Israel, that you might do them in the land
whether you go to possess it, that thou mightest fear the Lord thy God.
To keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou and thy son and
thy son's sons, all the days of thy life, and that thy days may be prolonged.
I mean, I'll just talk about that later, but one of the things that's going to help
you to live long is if you fear God, because if you have that fear of God, where you
feel like, hey, God can punish me, you'll be like Joseph, how can I commit this
great sin?
He didn't commit adultery because he was afraid of God.
How could I commit this great sin and sin against God, because God knew that God was
going to punish him.
So he was afraid, so that fear caused him to do the right thing.
So when we end up making mistakes, when we end up committing sin, hey, check your fear.
Check your fear.
See where it's at.
It's time to start building that thing back up.
Why?
That you may learn to fear the Lord all the days, and that you may depart from sin,
that the days that you have on this earth may be prolonged.
Now besides God, there are other people that the Bible says we should fear.
You guys are in Proverbs 30, 17?
There's another person or other people that we should fear in our lives, and that's our
parents.
Our parents.
We should be afraid to despise our parents.
We should be afraid to talk ill about our parents.
We should be afraid to do evil to our parents.
Proverbs 30, 17 says this, the eye that mocked it at his father and despised it
to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles
shall eat it.
So as parents, we should teach our children to fear the Lord.
And that's going to help them to also fear you.
Because when they fear God, chances are they'll fear you.
Because if they're afraid of God, then God's going to punish them for doing wrong.
And then they realize that, hey, I should obey my parents, I should honor my mother
and my father.
What's going to happen naturally is that they have a good health or a good dose of
fear is that they're probably going to follow the word because they're afraid that God's
going to punish them.
That's something that my parents didn't even know I was Catholic.
You know, who speaks Spanish in here?
I need a translator.
Okay, I got my friend over here.
So you're going to translate for me.
This is what my mom would always say.
She would tell me basically in Spanish to be good, o dios de va castigar.
What did I just say?
God would punish you.
That came out of her mouth a lot.
Listen to me, o dios de va castigar, dios de va castigar, dios de va castigar.
And that put the fear of God in me.
So yeah, I wouldn't talk back.
Yes, I would go clean my room.
Yes, because she started when I was as young as I can remember.
Dios de va castigar el diablo, el diablo.
I don't need to translate that.
You guys know what el diablo is, you know.
That fear of God made me obey my mom.
Made me obey my mom.
And you know what, parents?
Teach your kids the fear of the Lord.
Here's a few verses.
One is Proverbs 3, 17.
Here's another one, 2 Kings 2, 22.
I need to read this to my kids even more.
I love this story.
Even as an adult, it puts the fear of God in me.
I want you guys to go to Judges 16, 20, please.
Go to Judges 16, 20.
But here's a good one to teach your kids, parents.
This is the story of Elijah.
It says, so the waters were healed unto this day
according to the saint of Elijah, which he spake.
And he went up from Thessalonica to Bethel
and he was going up.
By the way, there came forth little children
out of the city and mocked him.
Do you have a lot of kids in here
or are they all at home?
No, we have a few.
Hey, this is a nice story to tell these children
that are in this room and mock them.
So here's some children mocking Elijah.
I said unto him, go up, thou bald head.
They're making fun of his bald head.
That's messed up.
I mean, I hope I have hair when I'm older,
but man, please don't make fun of the hair
I'm already losing.
Go up, thou bald head.
And he turned back and looked on them
and cursed them in the name of the Lord.
And there came forth two she-bearers out of the wood
and tare 40 and two children of them.
I mean, that's a crazy story.
42, two she-bearers come and just tear them to pieces.
Why?
They didn't fear the man of God.
Do you think they feared God?
No way.
Their parents should have just taught them
that God punished us.
Even if they would have just said that to them,
who knows what would have happened.
Maybe they never would have gone that route.
But it's not like my mom quoted Bible verses to me
as I was a kid.
She was Catholic.
She never opened the Bible.
They told her, if you do, you're gonna go crazy.
But guess what?
It's the opposite.
And she would always say, God's gonna punish you.
God's gonna punish you.
So I said, look, try to have the fear of the Lord.
And guess what?
I did a lot of right because of that.
But I'll just read from Deuteronomy 86.
Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God
to walk in his ways and to fear him.
Deuteronomy 10, 12.
And now Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee
but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways,
to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God
with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deuteronomy 10, 13.
To keep the commandments of the Lord and his statutes,
which I command thee this day for thy good.
For thy good.
So his commandments are for our own good.
Even though we know that, we still break them.
So it's not just knowing what to do.
Having the fear of the Lord can help you do the right thing
but because we don't have it, we tend to sin more.
But see, it's a great motivator, is it not?
Having the fear of the Lord.
Reading these stories of the she bears.
I mean, is that not a great motivator
just to do right even today?
Or is it just me?
You don't have to be a little kid to be afraid.
Just reading how some bears came out of nowhere
and it was God's will.
Because the Bible says, what so ever you ask,
if it be his will, he's gonna do it.
So I guess God was mad at those little kids.
Then he cursed them and they came
and they tore them to pieces.
And that's for us, for our own good.
That story is there for our own good.
But it's definitely a great motivator.
And when I think of fear of being a great motivator,
I think of Samson.
I'll just read Judges 16, 20.
If you're there, follow me.
And she said, this is his wife,
the Philistines be upon thee, Samson.
And he awoke out of his sleep.
He got up.
What made him get up?
Fear.
He just popped out.
And I'll be honest, when I don't have a reason
to get up in the morning,
I tend not get up in the morning.
But I tend to get up because I have to go to work.
But if I'm off or whatever,
I tend to sleep and I don't wanna sleep.
I just tend to do it.
But when it's like, hey honey,
you got like 15 minutes to get to work,
pop out and just take off,
and hopefully I don't kill anybody.
No, I'm just joking.
But you guys know that, hey,
it is fear that gets us up in the morning.
Because I don't wanna get fired.
And I'm sure you don't wanna get fired.
So if anything, the alarm clock doesn't do it.
But when you realize, hey,
if I don't get there, I'm gonna get fired.
That's what makes you get up.
See, that same fear we apply towards God
can help us to do the right thing.
But if you have your Bibles,
please go to Psalms 2.
Go to Psalms 2, 11.
This is what God wants from us.
I mean, it's clear from Deuteronomy.
I mean, it's clear from Leviticus.
It's clear from Leviticus 25 to Deuteronomy 6
that God wants us to fear him, to be afraid of him.
Why it's gonna help you, it's gonna be for your benefit.
How are we gonna get the fear of the Lord?
Continue to read his word?
That's what's so important to read his word
so we can fear him.
And so when things like the coronavirus ends up coming up,
if you're right with him and you fear him
and you're keeping his commandments,
he's gonna allow you to know what to do.
And I'm gonna get into that in a second.
But I just wanna read a few more verses
that keeps bringing up this thing of fearing him,
fearing God.
I'll read from Malachi 1.6.
A son honoreth his father and a servant his mother.
And then I be a father, where's my honor?
And if I be a master, where's my fear?
Say, look, I'm your boss, where's my fear?
And we ought to feel our bosses, amen.
Say, the Lord of hosts,
O praise that despises my name,
and say ye, wherein have we despised thy name?
Isaiah 8, 13 says this,
sanctify the Lord of hosts himself
and let him be your fear and let him be your dread.
Your dread.
Doesn't sound like God just wants us to respect him.
I think he wants us to fear him
knowing that, hey, he can hurt you.
He can hurt you if you don't do what you're supposed to do,
if you get into sin.
Psalms 2, 11, you're right there.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with what?
Trembling.
That's gotta be some serious fear if you're trembling.
If you have your Bibles,
go ahead and go to Proverbs 23, 17.
I'll just read from 1 Corinthians 2, 1
that talks about serving the Lord with trembling,
with fear.
This is Paul saying,
And I, brethren, when I came to you,
came not with ecstasy of speech or of wisdom,
declared unto you the testimony of God.
And here's somebody who served the Lord.
He rejoiced.
He served the Lord with fear and rejoiced with trembling.
This is what Paul said,
For I determined not to know anything among you,
save Jesus Christ and him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness and in fear,
and Paul says this,
and in much trembling.
Trembling.
So I'm not here to preach to you today
not to be afraid.
I'm actually here to tell you to be afraid.
To be afraid.
To be fearful.
But I'm here to teach you to be fearful
of the right things and starting out with God.
He's the one that we should be fearful of.
Because if God wants you to get a corona,
guess what?
He's going to make sure you get the corona.
But the bottom line is,
if you want to increase your chances
of not getting the corona,
you might want to fear Him and keep His commandments,
and He'll guide you and help you out.
Amen?
Philippians 2 12 says this,
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence.
Work out your own salvation,
here it is again,
with fear and trembling.
I had you turn to Proverbs 22 17, correct?
Well, here's the thing.
Well, does He want us to be afraid,
like all day or whatever?
Well, I think this answer is very clearly.
Let not thy heart and be sinners,
but be thou in the fear of the Lord.
If you're there with me,
just pay attention.
Not some of the day,
not the majority of the day,
but it says right there,
to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long.
How are you going to do it?
Meditate on His word?
That's going to help you.
That's what we should meditate day and night.
And if you do that,
if you're an individual that just learns to fear the Lord,
and you're a person that obeys the Lord,
and you're going to be as bold as bold can be.
So when you hear rumors of wars,
of pestilences, of famine,
I'm not saying you're not going to care.
I'm just saying that you're not going to melt down.
Because the Bible says this,
the wicked flee when no man pursueth,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
I wonder how they got that way.
Well, fearing the Lord and obeying His commandments,
that's what I believe is happening.
And not just that,
when you're one of these individuals
that is fearing the Lord,
you're afraid of God,
you're terrified of God,
you're obeying the Lord.
Hey, remember that promise
that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom?
Here's another clue.
Ecclesiastes 2 26,
if you have your Bibles,
I want you to go to Psalms 11 three.
Psalms 11 three.
This is what Solomon said,
For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight,
that's God's sight,
he gives him wisdom.
So it's not just asking,
God, what should I do?
If you're not living right,
he's not going to give you wisdom.
There's that catch.
If any man lack wisdom,
let him ask of God.
Yes, true.
But like it says right here,
when you're good in his sight,
he's going to give you wisdom and knowledge
in a thing that people want more than anything these days
that spend a ton of money trying to get it and joy.
That's what it says,
For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight,
wisdom, knowledge, and joy.
And yes, if any man lack wisdom,
then you can ask of God
when you're doing the right thing,
when you're fearing him,
when you hate evil,
when you're in obedience.
Yes, then if you lack wisdom,
ask of God and he's going to give it to you.
He's going to give it to you, amen.
Because right now people are like,
what should we do?
What can we do?
What's going on?
What's the right thing to do?
Psalms 11 13 says this,
If the foundations be destroyed,
what can the righteous do?
Well, if our land be destroyed,
what can the righteous do?
What can we do about this coronavirus?
What's the situation with that?
Vitamin C all day, every day,
every hour of the day?
Go to 2 Chronicles 7 12, please,
and we'll start looking at the answer,
what to do during this corona crisis,
whether you believe it's a pandemic or a plandemic,
whether you think it's a hoax,
whether you think man made it
or God created it to wipe out people.
The answer is simple.
I don't even need to really tell you
what should we do.
I'm sure you guys are like,
hey, keep serving the Lord.
But are you doing it with fear?
Do you hate evil?
I know you come to church,
I know you go to so many,
I know you read the Bible and you're praying,
but don't forget, God wants us to hate sin,
not just stay away from it.
And he wants us to be afraid of him.
And this, if not,
has caused a lot of people to be afraid.
But what is the message?
Hey, be afraid.
Be afraid of God.
Brother girl, are you scared?
Yes, I'm scared.
Are you scared of the corona?
I'm afraid to get the corona.
You know what?
I'm afraid to get it if I'm wicked.
That's the bottom line.
I'm afraid to get it.
If I get it and I'm doing everything I possibly can,
I'm not afraid.
It's like, if I get it, I get it.
But I'm afraid to get it as a punishment,
not as a trial.
And look, just because you're serving God
doesn't mean you're not gonna get sick
while serving God.
We'll get into that in a second.
But let's take a look at what should we do?
What can the righteous do?
If our nation starts getting destroyed,
what can we do as God's people?
Well, let's take a look.
Second Chronicles 7, 12.
And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night,
and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer.
Well, let me give you a clue.
The Bible says in Psalm 66,
if I have iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me.
So why is he answering him?
At this point, Solomon is wise
and Solomon is worshiping the Lord.
Solomon is right with him.
So this is why he heard his prayer.
And have chosen this place to myself
for a house of sacrifice.
If I shut up heaven that there be no rain,
or if I commend the locusts to devour the land,
or if I send what?
Pestilence.
Isn't that what the corona is?
Pestilence among my people.
Because I doubt that his people
are not getting sick during this time.
People are saying, hey, this old IFB guy got it,
this individual got it, you know?
And I'm gonna be honest with you,
I'm pretty sure somebody in this room is gonna get it.
They're estimating that 150 million Americans
are gonna get it.
That's half of us.
But if you get me sick,
I won't hold it against you, amen?
I'll forgive and forget, I promise.
But it says right there,
if I send pestilence among my people,
here we go,
if my people which are called by my name,
it's not talking about the heathen,
it's talking about us, the real deal.
We're not talking about fake Christians,
apostate Christianity,
we're talking about saved, born again, children of God,
we're talking about those that are God's people.
If my people which are called by my name
shall humble themselves
and pray and seek my face,
and what else?
Turn from their wicked ways.
And I'm pretty sure the corona's helping
a lot of Christians.
I'm not talking about everybody that names
the name of Christ,
but I'm talking about people that are actually saved.
I'm pretty sure this corona's helping them to fear God
and not just that, get right with God.
And this is a good thing
when it comes to the coronavirus.
Like I said, am I afraid of it?
Of course, but I'm afraid to get it as a punishment.
If I get it without knocking doors,
I'm gonna do my best to keep my social distancing,
one arm distance or whatever.
Praise the Lord a lot of times,
I don't even open the screen door anymore,
but you can still kind of see through.
Yeah, they're getting nervous out there.
Who's been noticing people bringing up the corona
out knocking doors?
It's like, hey man, I can't take that,
you know, what's going on in the world,
I don't mean to be mean,
but you know what I'm saying?
For sure.
But if you die, where you gonna go?
I refuse to answer that.
But what's it say?
My people, which I call by my name,
shall humble themselves and pray and seek my faith
and turn from their wicked ways.
Then I will hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin and will what?
Heal their land.
So when it comes to what should we do?
Well, they haven't shut us down,
you guys are coming to church.
You know, just so you know,
we're trying to get this place down to zero.
We're not trying to pack God's house
because we believe it's a real threat, understand?
But if you wanna come, if you feel I'm healthy enough,
the risk is low.
Hey, you know what?
I need church, and I understand this.
A lot of people say, look, if I don't come to church,
hey, I need the fellowship.
I'm a single guy or whatever.
You know, I need to talk to somebody.
I can't just be looking at my dog all day, you know?
I'm not that kind of animal lover.
It is a fact that, hey,
we're leaving this open for you guys.
So we're just trying to be reasonable.
We're just trying to use wisdom, you understand?
I mean, this is what we think is okay.
It's just to have the doors open, right?
We're having the doors open.
Hey, you guys got five minutes to leave this place
once the last song ends, amen?
Kicking you out.
You don't leave, I got tasers.
And I'm not afraid to use them.
Just forgive me if I do.
But what are we doing?
We're taking measures.
I mean, you already saw the bulletin, fist pumps.
Hey, no nurseries.
Hey, we can't give you water.
We're afraid it'll just get you sick if somebody has it.
But it's a fact that probably
somebody's gonna get it here.
Someone's gonna get it, you know?
But here's the thing, though.
Just try to live the best life you can,
obeying God, fearing Him, hate the evil.
Don't just avoid it, you know?
And you increase your chances of it going well with you.
And like I said, and I'll talk about it in a second,
just because you're serving the Lord with all your heart,
with all your mind, with all your soul,
doesn't mean you're not gonna get sick.
And there are people in the Bible
that got sick to the point where the Bible says
he was nigh unto death.
And we'll read about him in a second.
That means that he was about to die.
So if I end up in the ICU and I go home,
you know what?
It's better to be in heaven than to be down here.
That's what the Bible teaches.
And yes, I would like to see my kids grow up
and get married, et cetera, et cetera.
But I'm trying to be as wise as possible,
keep my distance, but you know what?
Hey, I'm sure the people that got saved
the last three weeks, I'm sure they're rejoicing.
I'm sure they're still happy that they have eternal life.
I'm sure they're not worried about the corona
like they were two weeks ago or a month ago.
You know, so we just try to do our best.
And look, here's the bottom line.
If I was 80 years old, I wouldn't be going soul winning.
I would not.
Too high risk.
If I had a pre-consistent condition, I would not be going.
Because here's the bottom line, it's too risky.
It's not wise at that point.
If you already have issues, if you're on meds,
I don't think it's wise until this whole thing goes away.
Sound good so far?
If you have a job where they're like,
hey, if you're sick, you're out.
I don't know, I wouldn't be doing soul winning
like I am right now.
But who do I work for?
Pastor Anderson.
If I want to take a month off, he'll be fine.
He's not gonna fire me.
But here's the thing, not everybody's in that situation.
So yes, I'm gonna lead soul winning,
but if I end up getting sick,
I feel a little bit of sickness,
hey, I'm gonna call somebody and say,
look, I got the maps, I'm not gonna go,
I'm afraid I'll spread it.
I'm just trying to be as wise.
Same thing with you guys.
If you feel like, ah, you know what, I got the symptoms,
may not be corona, just stay home.
Stay home.
Don't come out soul winning.
It's okay.
Even in the Bible, there were people
that were too weak to go out and fight,
and the ones they could fight went to fight,
and then when they came back,
they were kind of bitter at the ones that didn't fight,
and King David said, no, we're all in this together.
You know?
They were watching our stuff.
We went and did business.
The reason they're so tired they can't go
is because they gave it everything they got.
Hey, when you go out and knock doors and do whatever,
or you just get older, hey, you're serving the Lord,
it's just gonna happen naturally.
You will get sick.
It's just gonna happen.
But I think what we're doing is reasonable.
Even the world would say it's reasonable.
Come on, where's the UFC fighters,
those fans that love the UFC?
Nobody wants to admit it, huh?
All right, well, bottom line,
are they canceling their events?
No, what are they doing?
It's just gonna be two fighters in the cage.
There ain't gonna be no fans.
It's just gonna be the ref, the fighters, the cameraman,
and that's about it.
Well, we're trying to get to that level too,
which is pastor, me, the camera, and that's it, you know?
But if they lock us down, they lock us down.
If you feel, hey, I'm good, I think I'm healthy enough,
I can risk a little corona, I'm just joking.
Keep coming, but you know what?
If you're like, look,
I don't know about going knocking doors, man,
I don't know about that, stay.
There's no harm in that.
Pray for the ones that are going.
Don't feel like, hey, can I just, no, look, stay.
If your job is like, look, if you get sick, you're out,
you know what?
They're not gonna pay unemployment anytime soon.
I heard they're a little jammed on that,
but just make the best decisions that you can.
I don't think I'm high risk.
I have no symptoms, period.
That's why I'm preaching.
Pastor's like, look, I don't think I got the corona,
but I'm not gonna risk it.
You're up.
I'm like, no problem.
I'm not even sick 1%, and if I am, I don't notice it.
So I'm doing what he will be doing.
On a normal week, he will be here,
but we're going through some crazy stuff.
Corona, who's ever even heard of that?
Never even heard of corona.
And then when they call it COVID-19,
I'm like, what is COVID-19?
What is that?
But who else should we fear besides the Lord?
Really quickly, our bosses.
I'm gonna tell you right now,
I'm afraid of Pastor Anderson,
but even then, I was afraid of my previous boss
and my previous boss before that,
just because that's just how I feel.
If I disrespect this person, God's not gonna bless me.
So I fear them, because I fear the Lord.
Bottom line.
Even though I was working on my last job,
it was, yes sir, yes sir, yes ma'am.
You know, it was a female boss and her husband,
and even the boss would be like,
hey, don't call me sir, I work for a living.
Yes sir, oop.
It would be like that.
Just comes, I'm so used to my previous job
working at Fry's Electronics.
Yes sir, no sir.
Hey, can you show me where this mouse is at?
Yeah, right over here, sir.
Yes sir, this, yes sir, that, you know?
And I respect my boss, I was afraid of my bosses,
then I got a new job doing Cox Cable,
which I think is more dangerous than coming to church,
because you're going to every single house.
You know, and there's probably more people here
that work with other individuals.
That's probably riskier than coming to church.
But hey, this is what it is.
We're taking it week by week, day by day,
they shut us down, we're shutting it down.
You know, the judges decide, hey,
this pestilence is just too dangerous.
Hey, no churches?
Then no church.
You know?
That's not anything simple.
We're just being smart and safe.
Amen?
But at the end of the day, hey, the corona,
hey, that's a scary disease or whatever.
But I don't fear it in the sense that
I'm afraid to get it, I'm afraid to be punished by it,
which is why I'm trying to live the best life
that I possibly can.
Even before this corona thing,
I'm always growing in the grace
and the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
always trying to figure out what am I doing wrong
and perfect myself.
You know, the 2019 brothers and girls,
I'm embarrassed of that guy.
You know, I'm like, man, you know what?
I got to step it up, I want to be better this year.
You know?
And hopefully I feel the same way in 2021
with the 2020 brothers and girls.
I'm embarrassed of that guy
because I constantly want to keep improving.
My Bible, my prayer, my service,
you know, being a husband, being a father,
you know, constantly trying to grow.
You know, and I know that's going to happen
if I'm fearing God, if I'm terrified of God.
If anything, I just want to learn to fear Him more,
to keep me away from sin
so I can serve Him to the best of my ability.
Amen?
But besides that, we should fear our government
if they tell us, look, we're shutting you down
because of the corona.
There's nothing sinful in regards to that.
That's biblical, you know?
They would say, look, your church members,
you know, one guy has leprosy.
You guys want him to stick around, stay in there?
No, I'd be like, hey, take him outside.
True, or if he had the Ebola, you know?
It's like, hey, brother Raymond has the Ebola.
Hey, you need to go, bro.
You know, go hang out at your house.
I mean, seriously.
It's like, this guy has the Ebola.
Please leave or we're going to kick you out, you know?
That's just how it should be biblically.
But in regards to our bosses,
hey, Ephesians 6, five, servants, be obedient to them
that are your masters according to the flesh
with fear and trembling.
So like, I don't fear my boss, I think he's an idiot.
Well, you better fear and tremble
because you know what?
God's going to come down on you
because that's what the Bible's commanding us.
We're servants, obey our masters,
that's our bosses, with fear and trembling.
Our government, for rulers shall not a terror to good works
but to the evil.
Without them, be afraid of the power.
Do that which is good
and thou shalt have praise of the same.
For He is the minister of God to thee for good,
but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid.
For He bears not the sword in vain,
for He is the minister of who?
God, a revenger to us to do wrath
upon Him that doeth evil.
Now, of course, if they make us,
you know, if they're trying to get us
to do something simple,
then we'll bust out Acts 5, 29,
then Peter and the other apostles answered and said,
we'll obey God rather than men.
But listening to them, to the experts,
and nobody knows what's really going on.
All we can do is take the witnesses' statements
that are the experts saying,
hey, this is what we recommend, do it, okay?
No problem, social distancing, be careful.
Fist pumps, what up?
They do elbows, it's kind of dorky,
but we do fist pumps at church, amen.
But we're trying to just figure this whole thing out.
So even the Bible says that there's individuals,
you know, that are trying to put somebody to death,
and you find out that they're a bunch of false witnesses,
they're going to be put to death, amen?
But the person that puts them to death,
or if I put an innocent person, let's say I'm a judge,
if I got two witnesses saying,
hey, this guy's worthy of death,
he murdered the individual, and I put this guy to death,
guess what, if they turn out to be liars, I'm fine.
I'm fine, they're going to be punished.
We're going to put them to death if we figure it out.
So whether it's a pandemic or a plandemic,
these people are going around saying,
hey, shut it down, shut it down, whatever.
It's like, okay, you know, especially if we can tell,
we can't say that either way.
You know, they got the guns, they'll force it upon us.
But guess what, God is watching the whole thing.
And if you're fearing him and you're obeying him,
you're going to be all right.
That's just what the Bible teaches.
But if you're not, I don't care if you do know
that this is a hoax and you got the smoking gun,
you got the evidence, if you're not right with God,
it's going to go bad for you.
That's just what the Bible teaches.
So we're just trying to figure this whole thing out,
doing everything we possibly can.
But Acts 5, 28, obviously we've got to pay God the man.
So let me just quickly review.
I got 20 minutes and then I'll finish.
So what does it mean to fear the Lord?
It means that you hate evil.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.
What else?
You're obedient.
What else?
You're terrified of God.
Everybody's got it so far?
Great, amen.
But who not to fear?
Wicked men.
I'll just quickly read these verses.
The fear of man bringeth a snare.
But whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be saved.
This isn't just any man.
In the context of it is wicked individuals.
Those that want are hurt, amen.
Joshua 1, 5 says this,
Thou shall not any man,
there shall not any man be able
to stand before thee all the days of thy life.
As I was with Moses, so would I be with thee.
I would not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
So if this is a big hoax, guess what?
It's just the devil behind it anyways.
And guess who he's always going after?
Believers.
And of course, unbelievers as well.
But it doesn't matter.
Be strong and of good courage, for unto these people
should thou divide and inheritance.
For the land which I swore unto their fathers
to give them, only be thou strong and very courageous,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law
which most of my servant commandment,
turn not from it to the right or to the left,
that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
So what's the key thing?
Obeying God.
Says you're gonna prosper, you're gonna be okay.
Bottom line, amen.
And if you don't think this corona is a big deal,
I don't know what to tell you.
But when it comes to who should we not fear,
obviously wicked men, who else should we not fear?
The devil.
If you have your Bible, what I want you to do
is go ahead and go to Revelations 2-8.
Go to Revelations 2-8.
While you go to Revelations 2-8,
I'm gonna read from James 4-7.
James 4-7 says this.
Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil,
and he will flee from you.
Revelations 2-8 says this.
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
these things saith the first and the last
which was dead and is alive.
I know thou workst in tribulations and poverty,
but thou are rich.
And I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews and are not,
but are the synagogue of Satan.
Fair none of those things where thou shalt suffer.
Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison,
that ye may be tried.
It needs to have tribulation 10 days.
Be thou faithful unto death,
and I will give thee a crown of life.
So who shouldn't we fear?
Wicked men.
I'll just read a little bit more in regards to that.
The Bible says in Psalms 34, four says this.
I sought the Lord and he heard me
and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto him and were lighted
and their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried and the Lord heard him
and saved them out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encapped around them.
Here's what I want you guys to listen up to.
The angel of the Lord encapped around about them
that fear him and delivereth them.
So it's very important to God that you fear him.
One of the things he's going to look at
if you want to get delivered.
God help me, protect me.
Keep me safe from the corona.
Well do you fear me?
Do you hate evil?
Are you obeying me?
Because you know what,
you're asking me to protect you from the corona,
but if you have an liquid in your heart,
I already told you I cannot hear you.
So why should I listen to you
when you're not listening to me?
So it's not just like I'm doing what's right, no.
Do you fear God?
Are you afraid of him?
Do you hate evil?
And if you do, I think you'll be okay.
Because this is what it's saying,
that you seek the Lord, he'll hear you,
and he's going to deliver you not from some,
from all of your fears.
From all of your fears.
So guess what, if you're afraid you're going to die,
live a wicked life, you probably will.
But you know what, if you want to live to be 120,
well you know what, if you earn it,
I guess God will let you live to be 120
if that's what you want.
If you want to die a martyr, well you know what,
if you're living right and this coronavirus kills you,
consider yourself a martyr.
Either way, if you're going to fear something, fear God.
Don't fear the people behind the plandemic.
Don't fear those people.
Who should we fear?
God.
And he'll keep you safe, he'll take care of you, amen?
Obviously we know that the devil can't touch you
according to Job 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11.
He can't touch Job, he couldn't touch Job
without God's permission.
But besides wicked men, besides the devil,
obviously we shouldn't fear pestilence.
Let me just read Matthew 24, six.
I want you to go to John 14, 27.
Go to John 14, 27.
I'm 44 minutes into it, I got 15 minutes to go.
We shouldn't fear pestilence.
What is pestilence disease, coronavirus, whatever.
Jesus already told us in Matthew 24,
and you should hear of wars and rumors of wars.
See that you be not troubled,
for all these things must come to pass,
but the end is not yet.
For nations should rise against nations,
and kingdom against kingdom, we know that part,
and there shall be famines and pestilences,
and earthquakes and diverse places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
John 14, 27, but remember what Christ said.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you,
not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.
So corona or no corona, hey, it is what it is.
Don't be afraid of the corona,
don't be afraid of the people behind it or whatever.
We don't really know what the truth is,
but who should you be afraid of?
Clearly, clearly it is the Lord.
That's where your fear should be.
Oh man, I'm afraid to get it.
Well, you know what, if you're right with the Lord,
don't be afraid to get it,
because God will let you recover if He wants you.
How do I know?
Well, Philippians 2.25, if you have your Bible,
go to Philippians 2.30.
I'm gonna start from 2.25.
Philippians 2.30, like I said before,
corona, no corona, hey, it is what it is.
You can get sick.
You can get sick to the point where you can even die.
How do I know?
Because that's what the scriptures tell us.
Go ahead and go to Philippians 2.30.
I'm gonna read from Philippians 2.25.
Yet I suppose it is necessary to send to you
if Aphrodite is my brother and companion
and laborer and fellow soldier,
but your messenger and he that ministered to my wants,
for he long after you all and was full of heaviness,
because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
Verse 27, for indeed he was sick nigh unto death.
So corona, no corona, you're serving the Lord,
there's no guarantee you're not gonna get sick
and end up in the ICU.
I mean, I've had children end up pretty much in the ICU.
I had my son Sabian was sick.
He couldn't breathe.
They stuck a tube down his whatever,
down his neck, down to his gut,
or I don't even know what,
and he kept ripping that thing out.
They had to strap him up.
He couldn't even move his arms.
They had to strap him up.
And I'm just trying to serve the Lord, do what's right,
and one of my kids ends up in the emergency room.
Same thing, I'm just over here,
just having, I forgot what we were doing.
I think it was maybe a bridal shower or something,
and next thing you know,
my son Stephen ends up just blowing up.
He's just getting all fat and red everywhere.
He had an allergic reaction.
He's allergic to peanuts.
He picked one up from the ground, ate it,
and boom, in the emergency room.
And I'm just trying to just set up a wedding
or whatever it was, a baby shower,
but these things will happen.
And it happened to this man,
for indeed he was sick unto death.
You're right there in verse 30.
I'll just skip to it,
because for the work of Christ,
for the work of Christ, he was what?
Nigh unto death.
Go to Psalms 34 again.
Psalms 34, I got 13 minutes to finish.
So besides pestilence, what else?
Famine.
Here's one that people have brought up.
No food!
You guys know no toilet paper, right?
No toilet paper!
You know, whether you believe the corona is legit or not,
hey, the lines at Costco are legit, right?
The lack of toilet paper is legit.
If you guys need toilet paper,
I got a brand new box in my house
for you guys specifically,
so come hit me up secretly.
Send me a text.
I'll deliver it to your house, amen?
So if you don't want the long lines,
I got a big box of toilet paper in my house,
ready to distribute that anybody that needs it.
So if you get a little busy serving the Lord,
it's all right, man, I got you.
Don't worry about the big, long line.
I already suffered through it.
I got your back.
But here's the other thing.
Famine, famine, famine, famine, famine, famine.
What's up with famine?
Well, I'm gonna read from Psalms 111 five.
We read it.
Well, you guys are in Psalms 34.
Psalms 111 five says this.
He giveth, talk about God,
he has given meat unto them that fear him.
Fear him.
Not a coincidence that he's taking care of these people.
He's giving them food.
He will ever be mindful of his covenant.
So of course, God will feed you.
You're gonna be okay.
Psalms 33 18, behold the eye of the Lord is upon them
that fear him upon them that hope in his mercy.
So if you're living a wicked life,
he may not be, like the Bible says,
his eyes may not be upon you.
But why?
Why is his eyes upon us?
Why, if you fear the Lord, is his eyes upon you?
To deliver their soul from death
and to keep them alive in famine, in famine.
So fearing the Lord is a good thing.
It's gonna keep you alive in famine.
And I'll talk about that a little bit more.
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright
and their inheritance shall be forever.
Shall they not be ashamed in the evil time
and in the days of famine?
They shall be satisfied.
I think it's gonna be okay
if you fear God and keep his commandments.
True?
But the wicked shall perish.
The Bible says in Psalms 37 25,
I've been young and I am old.
Ye have not seen the righteous forsaken
or received begging bread.
God is ever merciful and landeth
and the seed is blessed.
Depart from evil and do good
and you're not gonna be begging for bread.
Amen?
Proverbs 10 three says this.
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous
to famish.
Raise your hand if you know what famish means.
From what I looked at at dictionary.com,
it has two definitions.
One is to starve.
So what is the Bible saying?
That it's not gonna allow the soul of anybody to famish?
No, the soul of the righteous to famish.
So he's saying you're not gonna starve,
but then you look at the second definition.
Famish, to look at dictionary.com,
means starve to death.
Starve to death.
So what's the key thing?
The soul of the righteous,
he says, is not gonna allow you to famish.
You're not gonna starve to death, people.
And you know what?
If you're a person that fears God,
if you're a person that obeys the Lord,
guess what?
The devil's not gonna let you famish.
He's not gonna let you starve.
Why?
Because this one only cometh forth through prayer and what?
Fasting.
You think the devil is gonna starve Pastor Anderson?
No.
Mrs. Anderson, no.
I don't believe that for one sec.
Somebody who's out there and he's on fire for the Lord,
you think the devil is gonna starve them?
No, because guess what they're gonna start doing?
Praying.
And guess what's gonna happen if they start praying?
God's gonna answer somebody who's fasting and praying.
And you see that in scripture.
Esther, perfect example.
How many days did she go with no food and no water?
One day?
Two days?
Who said three?
Three days.
Try going three days with no food and no water.
Try it.
In fact, don't try it because you can die.
And I'm not joking.
I'm serious now.
All right, let's get back to being funny.
No, I'm just joking.
But not just her.
Who else?
Nineveh.
What did the king say?
No animal, no one for three days,
but what did he want him to do?
Cry mightily unto God.
And guess what happened?
The Lord spared it.
After he said, I'm gonna destroy it.
So God saw that and he's like, hey, they're serious?
I'm serious.
So do you think the devil's really gonna
keep bread from you?
No, you'll be like Jeremiah if anything, bread and water.
He'll give you that.
But he doesn't want a righteous person
to start going without food because guess what?
That's gonna get God's attention real quick.
How do we know?
Look what happened with the 5,000.
I might have messed it up with the 4,000,
but he said, hey, turn them away.
Jesus said, turn them away
because they've been following me for three days
and they don't have anything to eat.
If they leave, hey, they're gonna pass out.
He said, hey, feed them.
Who knows the story?
And what happened?
He mentioned, hey, they've been without food
for three days.
Esther, without food for three days.
The king of Nineveh, hey, don't eat for three days.
And what ended up happening?
God stepped in mightily.
Miracles.
So do you think the devil, if you're righteous
and you've got a good prayer life
and God answers your prayer,
you think he's gonna want you to start fasting?
I don't think so.
And guess what?
Regardless of the devil, God says, look,
I'm not gonna allow the soul of the righteous
to starve to death.
You're gonna be fine.
It may not be steak and whatever,
but you're gonna get some food.
You'll be fine, especially during famine.
Amen?
What else should we not fear?
Death.
Just quickly read Revelation 13,
be faithful unto death,
and he'll give you a crown of life.
First Corinthians 15, 55.
Oh, death, where's that sting?
Oh, grave, where's that victory?
Second Corinthians 5, seven,
for we walk by faith, not by sight,
for we are confident, I say,
willing rather to be absent from the body
and to be present with the Lord,
which is far better than being here.
How do I know?
Philippians 1, 23.
For I'm in a strait betwixt two,
having desire to depart and to be with Christ,
which is far better.
Nevertheless, the buying of flesh
is more needful for you.
Paul's saying, look, I'm only here for you.
I'd rather be departing to be with Christ,
you know, because if we all die of the corona,
guess what, tonight we're eating with Christ.
Amen?
So just to review,
who shouldn't we fear?
Wicked men.
Who shouldn't we fear?
The devil.
Who shouldn't we fear?
Why shouldn't we fear?
Pestilence, famine, death.
But who should we fear?
God.
And let me just end it with some
good things about fearing the Lord.
What happens if I fear the Lord?
Well, it's gonna give you protection.
I'll just blow through these.
Turn around to me, 11, 25.
There shall no man be able to stand before you,
for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you
and the dread of you,
upon all the land that you shall tread upon
as He has said unto you.
Joshua 2.9, and she said, oh, I'm sorry.
Yeah, this is Joshua, talking about Rahab.
And it said unto the man,
I know that the Lord hath given you the land
and that your terror is fallen upon us,
and that all that happens to the land
may be because of you.
So what's happening here?
They're right with God.
Hey, man is starting to fear.
Fearing them.
They don't wanna mess with them.
So God, if you fear Him,
He's gonna protect you.
Psalms 34, 14, I saw the Lord and He heard me,
delivered me from all my fears.
Genesis 34, even when you mess up.
When Jacob was talking to Simeon and Levi,
he says, He troubled me and made me distinct
among the inhabitants.
This is when they killed and this man.
You know, among the canines, the parasites,
I being few in number,
they should gather themselves together against me
and slay me.
Even when they messed up, guess what?
Jacob feared the Lord.
He was afraid of God.
He served the Lord.
And even though his son screwed up,
and he thought, hey, they're gonna slaughter us,
it never happened.
God stepped in and protected him.
What else besides protection is God gonna give you
if you fear Him?
He's gonna provide for you.
Psalms 34, 19 says this.
Oh, fear the Lord, ye His saints.
There is no want to them that fear Him.
Says, you're not gonna lack.
You're not gonna have everything you want,
but you're gonna have everything you need.
Amen?
Key thing, those that fear the Lord.
Fear the Lord.
There's no want to them.
The Bible says in Psalms 84, 11,
for the Lord God is a sun and a shield.
The Lord will give grace and glory.
No good thing will He withhold
from them that walk uprightly.
Did you catch that?
No good thing is He gonna withhold from you.
Is food a good thing or not?
It's a good thing.
Says, you walk uprightly, you're gonna have it.
Don't worry about it.
So if we end up whatever hearing that there's no food,
I'm fine.
I know God's gonna provide one way or another.
What else besides protection and provision?
Actually, this was one that a lot of people want.
You'll get a prolonged life if you fear the Lord.
Says, come ye children, hearken unto me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
What man is he that desire of life and love of many days?
I mean, who wants to live many days?
Well, I've been telling you, fearing God,
keeping His commandments, that's what's gonna do it.
Says, what man is he that desire of life
and love of many days that he may see the good?
This is what he's saying.
Hey, keep your tongue from evil.
That leaves from speaking out.
Depart from evil and do good.
Big surprise.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The fear of the Lord, prolonged days.
So don't go after the fountain of youth.
Just start fearing the Lord, you'll live long.
You may be kind of ugly, but you'll live long.
What else besides a prolonged life?
Obviously, providence.
What is providence?
He'll give you wisdom.
You'll be prudent.
For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight.
Wisdom.
Who doesn't want to be smarter?
He'll give you wisdom, knowledge, and joy.
What's the key thing?
Being good, not in your sight,
not in your friend's sight, but in God's sight.
And what else?
He'll give you prizes.
I press the Lord to mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us therefore as many as be perfect.
So God wants you to be perfect.
And of course, if you fear the Lord,
I'm not saying you're automatically perfect,
but that goes hand in hand with fearing the Lord.
Job won one, there was a man in the land of us
whose name was Job, and that man was perfect
and upright, one that feared God.
So I wonder why God blessed him so much.
He feared him.
And he chewed evil, he stayed away from it.
So what's the conclusion of it all?
Simply this.
Ecclesiastes 12, 13.
Let us hear the conclusion of it all.
Ecclesiastes 12, 13.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
Fear God and keep his commandments.
But you guys know that.
Today I just want to remind you of that.
As you watch the news, and please don't watch
too much news, watch a little bit of it,
but it can scare you to death watching that
every single day.
You're like, what in the world?
Hey, the threat is real,
whether you believe in it or not.
Hopefully you do believe in it.
How bad is it?
We don't know, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Amen?
That's why pastor's not preaching here,
because in any other time, he will be here,
even with the sickness that he has.
He's preached way worse than what he has right now.
But he wants to be safe than sorry
given the circumstances, amen?
And yes, the horse is prepared for the day of battle
and the safety of the Lord,
but the Lord does not want us to be stupid, amen?
Let's pray.
Dear Father, we thank you so much
for all that you've given us, Lord.
Thank you for not allowing the government to shut us down.
Obviously, Father, we are going to obey him
as we decide to do such thing.
We're just going to go with it
if they do our national lockdown
and we're not allowed to go soul winning, so be it.
Obviously, they're doing it because of this corona
or that's what they're claiming.
But in the end there, Father,
only you know what's going on.
But it's clear through scripture,
you want us to be afraid.
We're going to be afraid of something.
We need to be afraid of you.
You're the one we need to fear.
You're the one we need to be terrified of.
And it's for our own benefit.
It's going to help us to be righteous individuals
and help us to read your word,
help us to read it, hear it, whatever,
because that's how we're going to get
the fear of the Lord.
Not just from wanting it, from reading your word.
That's why it's there, that we may learn
to fear the Lord all the days of our life.
And not just that, Lord, help us to also obey you.
Not just be afraid, but obey you as well,
because that's what you want and that should be enough.
It's already clear that you're going to provide for us,
you're going to protect us there, Father.
And not just that, dear Lord,
you're going to give us a prolonged life if we fear you.
But if there was any reason to fear you, Lord,
and obey you, it's because that's what you want,
bottom line.
So we ask you to bless everyone here,
and protect us from this corona.
I want to see everybody here not even get it.
Help us to continue to knock doors,
continue to get people saved, and keep the corona away.
You made it clear, if we humble ourselves,
if we seek you, if we pray,
if we turn from our wicked ways,
you're going to hear our land, dear Lord.
And Lord, we just got to trust you.
In Jesus' present name, amen.