Earlier in this series, Bevere mentions how sad it is that people need benefits in order to do something. “I don’t want to join your super savers club.” “You’ll get 10 cents off every gallon of gas.” “Sign me up.”

A no can easily turn into a yes when a benefit is attached.

This is why sin is so enticing. If sin actually advertised what you actually get, we wouldn’t even give it a thought. “Look at something bad on the internet and feel guilt and shame for three whole days, Whole Days, WHOLE DAYS!!!” That’s not what you get. What sin says is, “Your spouse hasn’t even noticed you this week,” or, “You’re single, so its no big deal…”

Now, I don’t think John means that benefits are bad, and I don’t either, but:
obedience for the benefit is hardly obedience. It’s bribery.

Translation: when the reward is the focus, obedience becomes a duty.
In reality, the delight is obedience. The benefit is just a byproduct.

So rather than trying to sully this series with talks of benefits of holy fear, let me shift our terminology to what really happens when you walk in holy fear.
We could perhaps call them benefits, but they are really fruit, produce, byproducts, not benefits. The things I am about to share are the fruit of holy fear. They are the natural byproducts of revering God, trembling at his word, of obeying his commands.

There is a standing principle in the Bible that if you do what God asks, you get the byproducts.

Examples:
Money tight? Hard to make ends meet?
Maybe you aren’t living in your means (most Americans are not), but the first thing most people do is cut out tithing. What does the Bible say about this?
Leviticus 27:30
A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.
(Tithe here is asiri which literally means tenth). Tithe is 10%. Anything less is a tip. Don’t get mad at me. God commands this, not me. But: “Churches just want your money.” If that is the principle then there’s nothing in your life that is genuine. “Your spouse just loves you because you pay the house note.”

Even worse, you have to be careful that you don’t let this principle of yours spill over into your relationship with God. How? If you won’t obey God because of some churches’ sin concerning what they do with the tithe, then how could you ever love God when there are so many hypocrites?

You can’t base your obedience to God on whether or not other people obey. You will answer for you! They will have to answer for them.

Proverbs 3:9-10
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Malachi 3:8-12
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

The only verse where God says test him. Give God 9 weeks and tithe faithfully and see what happens. Why? Because there is a byproduct to obeying his command on tithing.

Again, we are talking about what happens when you are obedient and the byproducts that come from your obedience.

We talked tithing. Let’s talk about one we like more:
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Obey by believing, you get eternal life.

James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Obey by drawing near, he’ll draw near to you.

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Obey by repenting, and get the land healed.

Obedience produces, but so does disobedience.
Don’t tithe, get the devourer.
Don’t believe, get everlasting hell.
Don’t draw near, get separation from God.
Don’t repent, get a perpetually sick land.

So in light of our series, what are the byproducts of someone who truly walks in holy fear? Psalm 112 captures several of those:

Psalm 112:1-3,6-9
1 Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. 2 Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. 3 They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. 6 Such people will not be overcome by evil (and they) ... will be long remembered. 7 They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. 8 They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. 9 They will have influence and honor.

Let’s chat about the byproducts of the person who fears God from just this one psalm:

1) This person has successful children
To begin, let's return to the father of faith, Abraham. When the angel said, "now I know you fear God,” this is what God said Genesis 22:17
Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants ... and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

In Jewish understanding when you have a double reference like this, it's all about multiplying, and because one verb tense is present tense and the other verb tense is future tense, it's described as one blessing on father Abraham, but God is promising that there will be blessings on his descendants. In other words, in blessing you Abraham, I will continue to bless you through your children.

Holy fear continues to bless us through our descendants, and this is true not only in this life, but eternally.

2) This person is wealthy
Notice this could be financial wealth and it could be wealth in other areas.
Growing up, we were not wealthy in finances, but my parents were loaded because they invested heavily in people.

3) The good things this person does will last forever
Sadly, many think in heaven everything starts over. Not true.
As believers, we've already begun to shape eternal history.
You actions today have eternal ramifications.
Remember not every good thing is godly, but every godly thing is good.

4) This person will not be overcome by evil
I know this sounds impossible, but the truth is that the closer you get to Jesus, the further you get from sin, AND you can actually get to a place where sin is as repugnant to you as it is to God. The closer you are to Jesus the harder it is for sin to overcome you. So if you are struggling with sin, it is evidence that you need to get closer to Jesus.

5) This person will be long remembered
v.2: "an entire generation of godly people will be blessed"
The word 'generation' means, “an age" and it references our “posterity,” or all future generations of people
Luke 1:50
Zechariah prophesied, "His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation"

A great example of this is found in the lives of two men, both born early in
the 18th century.
Max Jukes
In 1874 a sociologist named Richard Dugdale visited 13 county jails in upstate New York. He discovered 6 persons under 4 different family names that were blood relatives. The family line led back to an early Dutch settler named Max Jukes, who was born in the early 1700s. After years of research Dugdale identified 540 descendants of Jukes. Among his descendants were:
76 convicted criminals
18 brothel keepers
120 prostitutes
In short, there were generational sins that led to an abundance of dysfunctional behavior and negatively impacted his descendants. 40%

Jonathan Edwards
Born during the same time period. He was a revivalist who authored numerous books and inspired many to take the gospel to the nations of the world. He was married to Sarah Pierpont in 1727. This couple greatly feared God. They read the Bible and prayed together every night before retreating. He was most famous for a powerful sermon called, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”Jonathan and Sarah had 11 children and Jonathan prayed a blessing over each child daily. He stated, "Every house should be a little church." Jonathan and Sarah's 1,394 known descendants reveal God's promise to those who fear Him, “that they will possess the gates of their enemies and their children will be successful everywhere.” Among their descendants are ...
13 college or university presidents
65 college or university professors
3 United States Senators
30 Judges
100 lawyers
60 physicians
75 Army and Navy officers
100 ministers and missionaries
60 authors of prominence
1 vice president of the United States, Aaron Burr

It’s the little things that create the things people will remember about you.
Based on your fear of the Lord alone, how will you be remembered?

6) This person is fearless and confident.
Fearless
"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." ~ Oswald Chambers

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Confident
God said to Joshua 7 times 'Be strong and of good courage'

Alexander the Great said, "An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep.”

It is easy to be fearless and confident when you know who is on your side!
And when you are walking in the fear of the Lord, you are walking with someone who calls you friend, who reveals his secrets, who unpacks his plan in advance. How different would your life be in terms of fear and confidence if you were so close to Jesus that he showed you how he was going to handle your situation in advance?

7) This person has Influence
“Influence is leadership.” ~ John Maxwell

The reason God allows you to have influence is not to give pride a place to live, but so you can lead people into the same fear of the Lord that got you to that level of influence to begin with.

This is why people lose influence. It isn’t that they became prideful. That is just the byproduct. It’s that they lost the fear of the Lord.

8) This person has honor - a person of dignity
The Hebrew words here mean “to exalt one’s glory.”

John 17:22
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.

That glory is the Holy Spirit. So why would God honor someone? Because he wants to exalt his glory, the Holy Spirit, in your life because when you are led by the spirit, you get the byproducts of the life lived in the Spirit. Reference: Romans 8. This only happens as a product of holy fear.

These 8 things are the byproducts of Fearing God.

Again, we’re talking about the byproducts of fearing the Lord. Let’s shift gears a little and talk about wisdom

Proverbs 4:7
Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do.

There is nothing in this world that equals the value of godly wisdom. We should seek God's wisdom in every decision we make.

We are told in Proverbs 4:8
If you prize wisdom, she will make you great.

The Hebrew word for “great” is defined, "to raise, to lift up; to be exalted."

When God promotes, no one or no circumstance can demote! Wisdom, therefore, is the path to enduing significance. Remember, significance is not recognition as being great. Significance is being in a position where you can help others be great. If you want to be great, help people reach their highest potential in Christ Jesus. THAT is REAL significance.

Promotion in the Kingdom is never about you. Never. That is why one of the most dangerous people in any organization are the ones who want authority. Promotion that is about you is not promotion, it is pride.

Promotion is always about others. If you are promoted, it is because God wants to use you to see his plan completed.

This is why Paul says this in Philippians 2:3
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
It isn’t based on comparison. It is based on helping others succeed.

So we need to seek wisdom, but…

Wisdom must be discovered; it's hidden, but not out of reach. And once found, it brings tremendous byproducts.

So how do we find wisdom?

Psalm 111:10 & Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.

The Hebrew word for beginning is very significant. It's found in the first verse of the Bible, "In the beginning God created the heavens and earth."
This word means: 'the starting place.' Holy fear is the originating point for wisdom.

Picture it like this ...
There is a storehouse full of all the wisdom you need for enduring success.
However, there's only one door and one key that can gain you access, it's holy fear.

Isaiah writes in Isaiah 33:6
a rich store of wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

Just a reminder: the fear of the Lord in a nutshell is: holy reverence for God, that is, to esteem, respect, honor, venerate, and adore Him above anyone or anything else, trembling at his word, obedience

Holy fear is the origin of enduring wisdom, but the byproducts continue beyond the starting place:

Proverbs 14:27
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.

Two key words are highlighted: fountain and snares.

Fountain
The Hebrew word carries the meaning of 'a flow' or a constant source. To live well doesn't result from sporadic good decisions, rather a consistent flow of wise decisions that bear lasting fruit.

Snares (refer to traps or bait).
The proper understanding of this Hebrew word is the lure or bait placed in a hunter's trap." Any good hunter knows that a trap needs two things to be successful. It must be hidden, in hopes that the animal will not recognize it for what it is. It must be baited to entice the animal into the trap's deadly jaws.

So take Proverbs 14:27 and add Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom

What we get is:
Holy fear is a fountain - a continual flow - of the instruction of God's wisdom. It's an ever-present counselor, that doesn't slumber or sleep, but consistently coaches us to make wise decisions in life.

When we are left on our own, separate from God's wisdom, mankind has proven for thousands of years we will make detrimental decisions, while thinking we're making good ones.

Why is this?
- The ways of death and destruction are hidden and baited, no different than traps.
- What appears to be good, wise, beneficial, and enjoyable is often merely bait to lure you into what over time is bad, unwise, detrimental, and grieving.

The fear of the Lord protects us from this by faithfully turning us away from these traps.

How? Think of Abimelech, king of Gerar
When Abraham came into that country, he lied saying Sarah was his sister because he was afraid the king would kill him if he knew he was Sarah’s husband. Sarah was beautiful, the Bible tells us. As a result, the king took her into his harem and planned on…

Genesis 20:3
But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!"

If you read the entire chapter you see that Abimelech had an entire conversation with God. He was appalled Abraham would lie and said as much to God. He refused to do what was unholy in the sight of God. Why? Even HE feared God.

When he confronted Abraham, here is what Abraham said:
Genesis 20:11
Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place

Look at what the fear of God did with Abimelech. IT PROTECTED him from sure sin and certain death!

What sure sin and certain death could the fear of God keep you from? Hint: you get that protection as a byproduct when, because of the fear of the Lord in you, you have that constant flow of wisdom from God causing you to make wise decisions, showing you how to avoid traps.

If you will permit me a few more minutes, I want to wrap up this entire series. Remember, fearing God is to esteem, respect, honor, venerate, and adore Him above anyone or anything else, to tremble at his word, to obey. But there are three main sins that will keep us from fearing God. I’ve said how to fear the Lord. This is what might keep you from doing that.

Three things:
Idolatry. Pride. Lawless.

Idolatry.
This is the second biggest sin we engage in that keeps us from experiencing everything of God. Money, people’s opinions, our spouse, our kids, our identity, our ego, our abilities. We are worshippers by nature and when we are not walking in the fear of the Lord, we easily avert our worship from God to the thing that gives us instant gratification.

How serious is this? Look at Jonah 2:8
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
Love here is checed and means: "kindness, lovingkindness, goodness, favor, mercy."

What if you realized that every time you were tempted with idolatry Satan was simply trying to get you to forsake your hope of God’s favor? His goodness? His kindness? His mercy, even?

This mindset is what you get when you don’t walk in the fear of the Lord.

Pride.
Every sin ultimately goes back to pride. It is the sin that got satan kicked out of heaven. If pride can get the covering angel kicked out, how do you think it works to create separation between you and God in your life?

Proverbs 22:4
The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Riches (osher): fortune, riches, wealth
Honor (kabowd): the weight of his glory
Life (chay): life

What do you think riches are to God? Money? A quick glance through the Bible verses having to do with riches finds 13 times when riches and righteousness are contrasted. Money is not riches to God. Righteousness is. Luke 16 says PEOPLE are the true riches.

What do you think honor is?
The word the Bible uses says honor is the physical presence of God.

What do you think life is? This one is easy - it is to live!

So we can reread this Proverbs 22:4 to say:
When we walk in humility, fearing the Lord, the reward is his righteousness, his family, his tangible presence, and life.

Humility. Not pride. Pride goes before destruction.

Lawlessness.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Built into lawlessness is the notion that you can do it without God.
Look at verse 4
4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

This is not an attempt to overtake God, but to consider ones’ self to be god.

It is the blatant act of refusing to engage with God because you think you don’t need him, refuse to acknowledge him, pretend you can do it all on your own anyway

It is atheism, in essence. You might say, wait a minute, that isn’t me!

Atheism just means without God.
While you may not be an atheist in your beliefs, are you an atheist in your actions?

An evidence of a lack of the fear of God is the active attempt to live your life without him. You don’t consult him about decisions you think you have under control. You don’t spend time asking for his wisdom on things like your marriage, your job, your parenting, your friendships.

We say we aren’t atheists, but we live without God.

When you operate out of a mindset that says “I don’t need God,” he unfortunately gives you exactly what you are asking for.

If you don’t believe me, look at Romans 1:28-32
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Refusing to acknowledge God is the epitome of atheism, and it is the root of lawlessness.

Not trying to be mean to you here at the very end, but if you aren’t walking in the fear of the Lord, there is a reason for it.

So why?

I’ll be honest.
Sometimes I love affirmation more than I love obedience. That’s Idolatry.
Sometimes I get haughty when I think I have everything under control. That’s Pride.
Sometimes I feel like I don’t need him or his insight. That’s Lawlessness.

We’ve talked about the byproducts of fearing the Lord, but idolatry, pride, and lawlessness are the ingredients of the opposite of the fear of the Lord.
What is that? Vanity.

Vanity is regarding something as value-less, empty, idle, hollow, unprofitable, fruitless.

When we live to please ourselves, our lives are value-less, hollow, fruitless and our view of God is vain, too.

So why would we want the byproducts of vanity towards God?
Because the fear of the Lord requires we deal with those things that make us vain, and vanity is more pleasing to our flesh.

So from a place of complete love in my heart for you:
What needs to change in you today so you can walk in the fear of the Lord?

I am asking you to shift from a vain view of God to a holy fear of God. I don’t want to dangle the benefits of holy fear in front of you as a bribe to get you to do it. I want you to want this. More than anything.

So if you can be honest with God today, it’s time to lay those things on the altar.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?