THE TERROR OF GOD

1. Do we know who is the God of terror?

a) The God of terror is the great, mighty and awesome God that will cause intense fear from his great, mighty and awesome miracles.

i) 17For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. (Deuteronomy 10:17 NIV)

b) The Greek word for "terror" here is "Phobos" which means "fear."

i) 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10 NIV)

ii) 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31 NKJV)

iii) 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things  done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord (what it is to fear the Lord), we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. (2 Corinthians 5:10, 11 NKJV)

2. What was the terror of God all about?

a) Miraculous signs and wonders

i) 2Keep in mind that I am not talking now to your children, who have never experienced the discipline of the LORD your God or seen his greatness and his strong hand and powerful arm.

ii) 3They didn’t see the miraculous signs and wonders he performed in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his land.

iii) 4They didn’t see what the LORD did to the armies of Egypt and to their horses and chariots—how he drowned them in the Red Sea as they were chasing you. He destroyed them, and they have not recovered to this very day!

iv) 5“Your children didn’t see how the LORD cared for you in the wilderness until you arrived here.

v) 6They didn’t see what he did to Dathan and Abiram (the sons of Eliab, a descendant of Reuben) when the earth opened its mouth in the Israelite camp and swallowed them, along with their households and tents and every living thing that belonged to them. (Deuteronomy 11:2-6 NLT)

b) In fact, we can find more in the Bible.

3. How did King David face God's anger that resulted in the decision he had to make for one of the 3 terrible choices affecting his people?

a) David takes census

i) 1Once again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the LORD told him.

ii) 2So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.”

iii) 3But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?” (2 Samuel 24:1-3 NLT)

b) Judgment for David's sin

i) 10But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, LORD, for doing this foolish thing.”

ii) 11The next morning the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message:

iii) 12“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”

iv) 13So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the LORD who sent me.”

v) 14 “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”

vi) 15So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. (2 Samuel 24:10-15 NLT)

4. What can the terror of God do for us?

a) Gives protection

i) 1Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."

ii) 2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.

iii) 3Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone."

iv) 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.

v) 5Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. (Genesis 35:1-5 NIV)

b) Gives favor

i) 1Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will strike Pharaoh and the land of Egypt with one more blow. After that, Pharaoh will let you leave this country. In fact, he will be so eager to get rid of you that he will force you all to leave.

ii) 2Tell all the Israelite men and women to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”

iii) 3(Now the LORD had caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the people of Israel. And Moses was considered a very great man in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people alike.) (Exodus 11:1-3 NLT)

c) Adds length to life

i) 27The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. (Proverbs 10:27 NIV)

d) Is a fountain of life

i) 27The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27 NIV)

e) Makes man both wise and honored

i) 33Wisdom's instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor. (Proverbs 15:33 NIV)

f) Avoids evil

i) 6Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided. (Proverbs 16:6 NIV)

g) Leads to life, happiness and protection from harm

i) 23The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. (Proverbs 19:23 NIV)

5. What should we do then?

a) To fear the Lord

i) 12And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? (Deuteronomy 10:12, 13 NIV)

b) To love and obey the Lord

i) 1Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. (Deuteronomy 11:1 NIV)

6. Prayer focus

a) Pray that we will always have the fear of the Lord in our minds.

b) Pray that we will always love and obey the Lord in all our ways.

c) Pray that we will always be protected from our enemies and always have special favors showered upon us from our heavenly Father.