What It Means To Fear God And Worship Him — Zac Poonen

So, brother was just mentioning about the secrets God reveals to us. You know, secrets are something that we don't tell everyone. We all have some secrets which we will only tell to those who are very close to us.

Particularly if you have financial secrets, you don't want the world to know about it. What about the God secrets? It says in Psalm 25 and verse 14, Psalm 25 and verse 14, the secrets of the Lord are for those who fear Him.

God's Secrets and the Fear of the Lord

So, in other words, there are certain things which are clearly revealed in Scripture and certain things that are not clearly revealed in Scripture. They are sort of secrets. In the Old Testament, it's called a secret.

In the New Testament, it's called mystery. If you look up the word mystery, it comes in the New Testament a number of times. The mystery of how to live a godly life, 1 Timothy 3 .16. The mystery of Christ and the church being one, head and body, Ephesians 5.

Those are mysteries which most people have not understood. How to live a godly life in thought, word and deed and motive and attitude or how to build the church as a body, Ephesians 5. It's a mystery.

It's a secret. And I've seen through the years that more than 90 of Christians haven't seen it because God does not reveal the secrets to them. They see the things that are written clearly in the Bible.

They know all the stories, the parables and the miracles and all that, but the secrets, no. And that proves one thing, that those people are not close to the Lord. How do you know you're close to the Lord?

The Lord will reveal His secrets to you. Things which other people don't know. And one proof of it is that you fear Him. You fear Him, He will reveal His secrets to you. And Psalm 25 verse 12 says, Who is the one who fears the Lord?

He will instruct him in the way he should choose. So the fear of God is something which we need to be known for. And CFC is known for teaching the new covenant. It's one of the things we stand for. Even the church is called a new covenant church.

But I feel also that CFC should be known for proclaiming the fear of God. Because Proverbs says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's like learning the ABC of God's wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

And I just thought I'd share a few things about that today. We should be known as a church that contains people who fear God. And who are hearing His secrets, understanding His mysteries. Here is the greatest example of one who feared God.

Christ's Temptation and Victory Over Sin

Hebrews in chapter 5. It's talking about the first person who walked on the earth in victory over sin. Who opened up the new covenant. Who established the new covenant. Which we proclaim so much. Jesus Christ, our Lord.

And it's talking about how we got victory over sin. The secret of godliness. Hebrews 5 .7. In the days of His flesh. That is in the 33 and a half years that He lived on the earth. In other words. He prayed.

And supplication means specific request. Prayer is generally, Lord help me, Lord bless me. But supplication is, Lord this particular thing I want you to do for me. And what was the particular thing He prayed for?

It says here in the same verse to be saved from spiritual death. How do I know it's spiritual death and not physical death? Because it says there He was hurt. He was hurt. That means His prayer was answered.

So it was not physical death because He was not saved from physical death. There are two deaths mentioned in the Bible. Physical death and spiritual death. And Jesus never prayed to be saved from physical death.

No, He was never afraid of that. I mean, we have Christian martyrs who have gone boldly to the martyrdom. They were not afraid of death. Where can Jesus be afraid of death? But that was a death that Jesus feared.

And that was the death that is a result of sin. If you turn over to the next book, James. It says there how sin ends in death. James 1 shows the progression of temptation to sin to death. See this. James 1 verse 14.

Everyone is tempted when he's carried away and enticed. Enticed means drawn by the lusts in his own flesh. We're tempted externally by the devil like Jesus was. But it's basically from the lusts in our own flesh that we are tempted.

The devil appeals to some lusts in our flesh. And it says here that's how we are enticed. And if I respond to that enticement, that invitation, that tempting invitation from my flesh, to have a bitterness against somebody, to grumble about something, to judge somebody, to lust after someone, to be unrighteous with money, whatever it is, those various desires with which you are enticed.

The fact that we are enticed means nothing. But when I yield to it, immediately a conception takes place. You know, conception takes place when two units unite. That's what happens here. This enticement unites with my will.

My will says yes. Then there's a union. And all conception gives birth to something. And here it gives birth to sin. And sin, as it progresses, it ends up in death. So it's temptation, conception, sin, death, spiritual death.

That's the only death Jesus is afraid of. The death that is a result of sin described here. So it says here in Hebrews 5, coming back to where we were, he prayed to the one who was able to save him from that death.

So that is one of the clearest proofs that Jesus did not live on earth as a man, sorry, as God. If he had lived as God, he'd say, oh, I just overcome it. It's like water off a duck's back. Temptation doesn't even, the Bible says in the same James 1, God cannot be tempted.

So if Jesus was here as God, he could not be tempted. Many people who say that Jesus could not have been tempted like us, and thereby saying that he was not a man. Because James 1, 13 says it's only God who cannot be tempted.

Angels can be tempted. Every created being with a conscience can be tempted. Animals can't be tempted to sin. The stars and the planets cannot be, but angels and human beings have got a conscience. They can be tempted.

God cannot be tempted. How was Jesus tempted then? Because though he was God, he refused to use the powers of God when he was on earth. He came 100 as a man. He was 100 God and 100 as a man, but he lived on earth only with the resources that he had as a man.

And therefore, he could have sinned just as easily as you and I sin, in thought, attitude. You know how easy it is to sin in thought? It's so easy. So easy to sin in having a wrong attitude towards someone.

How many times a day? So there we see the miracle of how Jesus lived for 33 and a half years. 24 hours, multiply that by the number of seconds. We can be tempted in one second. The number of seconds in a day multiplied by 33 and a half years and how he lived in absolute faithfulness.

And he knew that he could fall anytime. So what did he do? He prayed. He said, there's only one person who can save me from falling into this sin that leads to death. Do you realize that? Is it your determination or your having understood the new covenant?

Now I can get victory over sin. No, you can understand anything in the world. There's only one person who can save you from death. It says there. I need to recognize that there's only one way I can be saved from sin.

We may have imagined that because we have understood the new covenant in CCF, we will have victory over sin, and you haven't got it, even though you understood it intellectually. I've met people who can explain the new covenant clearly, but they're defeated by sin.

Because this phrase, the one who's able to save us from sin, it's only God himself. That's why he gave us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our helper. To help me to what? It's not help me to make money.

It's not help me to get more educated. It's not help me to be with my daily chores. It's primarily to help me not to sin. That's why he's given us the Holy Spirit. And it's a tremendous deception. And there are Christian groups who say that the Holy Spirit has come to make you speak in tongues.

I believe in speaking in tongues, but it's absolute nonsense to say that that's the primary reason why he was given. He was given so that we might not sin. Man is helpless and needs a helper. That's why Jesus called the Holy Spirit, a helper in John 14.

The Holy Spirit as Helper and the Call to Obedience

I will send you a helper. Let me show you that passage. So that it become very clear that what I'm saying is not theory. You read scripture carefully. John chapter 14. It's the last supper. And he's speaking to his disciples.

And he tells them. Verse 15, first of all, if you love me. You will keep my commandments. And you know how difficult those commandments are. Never lust after a woman, never get angry. Never love money.

Never be anxious. I'm just speaking to someone on the Mount. Never judge others or condemn others. How in the world are you going to keep it? Lord, it's impossible. So the next sentence is, don't worry.

I'll give you a helper. Verse 16. Have you seen the connection? That the first reference to the Holy Spirit being given as a gift. Is in relation to overcoming sin. In relation to keeping the commandments.

If you love me, you'll keep my commandments. And I know they're difficult to keep. So I'm going to give you a helper. I'm going to pray the father to give you a helper. It's called the spirit of truth.

The spirit of truth will bring truth into your life. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. From sin. So we see there. So coming back to Hebrews and chapter. Five. Jesus knew there was only one person who can save him from sin.

And that's God. And he prayed. He prayed to the Holy Spirit. Help me. That I don't sin. That's what we need to pray. The merely understanding the theory of the new covenant will not get us anywhere. That's good enough for us to explain to others.

And to show them that we have understood a truth in the Bible, which they haven't understood. A lot of people just do that. I've understood the truth. You don't understand. I'll explain the new covenant to you.

Well, we got to explain it by our life. That a life that overcomes sin. And. And it says here. Why did God hear his prayer? Because he feared. That's what it says here. Because he feared. It says in verse seven.

So. Why is my prayer not heard? The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him. I apply that verse to myself in Hebrews five, seven and days of my flesh. I realize. There's only one person who can save me from sinning.

And that is the Holy spirit. And I fear. God so much fear God so much that I never want to sin even once. In thought, word, deed, attitude, or motive. So I cry out. Father helped me. Holy spirit of God helped me.

I never want even for a single moment to have a wrong attitude towards somebody or to have a bad thought. Or. Any type of. Word coming out of my mouth, which is simple. I don't even want it once. Ever.

Forget about keeping a day ourselves. I want to keep myself like that in a whole year. And if I fear. God. He will hear me. One of the things I have done in my Bible study. For many years. Is. Use a concordance.

The olden days used to have a book of concordance today. You're going to have it on your phone. It's very easy to check up. Where does this word occur first? For me, it is very interesting Bible study.

Worship as Costly Sacrifice

Where does the word worship occur first in the Bible? I'll tell you it's when Abraham offered up his son. It wasn't shouting and yelling. It was giving to God. That was which is most precious. That is worship.

Not in words is an action. Where does the word fear. Fear of God come. It's also. When Abraham offered up his son. In Genesis 22. It's very interesting. How these two things get connected. The first time.

The word worship comes in the Bible. Is in Genesis 22. We're six. Sorry, where's five. When Abraham told his servants. Isaac and I is going to go up to God. Go up to the. Top of this mountain to worship.

Ah, so that is what worship means. To offer the very best that I have to God. To give to God, whatever he asks. And immediately. That's worship. And then. When he decided to lay his son on the altar. And says in verse 10, Abraham stretched out his hand.

To put the knife to kill his son. God stopped him. And said, now I know verse 12. Middle of verse 12. Now I know. That you fear God. So that is the first reference to the fear of God. In the entire Bible.

So I see that fearing God. Is. It's possible only if I am willing to offer the very best that I have. That which I value the most in my life. Myself will. Everything else. Something I want to yield something.

I want to do it. But. God says no. Or I want to let that person have a piece of my mind. No. God says keep it to yourself. Don't give him a piece of your mind. Just shut up. Okay. That's the fear of God.

To respond immediately. So when I saw that. I said, okay, let me see. Study a little bit about how. Abraham feared God here. So I want to take you to a very brief Bible study. In Genesis 22. Because here we read of the first time.

Somebody feared God and that's. The Bible says the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The first time it says that somebody worshiped God. And Jesus said the father seeks. For those who will worship him.

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him. So these are very important words, the fear of God and worship. And both of them come in this chapter. So that's interesting. And this chapter is quoted in the new testament more than once.

As an evidence of Abraham's faith. So it's connected with faith as well. So. The first thing I want you to see here is. That. When it says God tested him and God called him. He listened. He in the middle of the night.

When God said to him, Abraham. He responded immediately. Here I am. Now we may not hear God. Audibly. Because the Holy Spirit now dwells within us. But I want to encourage you, my brothers. I seek to do this myself.

That. When I have a spare moment. Whether it's in the middle of your work or in the middle of the night. When you wake up. Have, even if you don't say these words, have this attitude. Speak Lord. Your servant is listening.

You know what Samuel said? The middle of the night, he heard a voice. Samuel. And the light told him, say, speak Lord, your servant is listening. It's a very good attitude to have. When you wake up in the middle of the night.

Speak Lord, your servant is listening. I do that sometimes. There's nothing I hear. Sometimes I hear something very precious. I don't dictate to God that he should speak to me every time. But I'm open.

God didn't speak to Abraham every night. But one night he did. And even if God doesn't speak to me every night. One night he does, I want to listen. So I see that's where I begin to fear God. That I have a habit of willingness to listen.

Anytime. That's why I say when you wake up in the morning, first talk to God. Your day will go differently. Here I am. And then the Lord told him. To. Offer something very costly. It wasn't an easy command.

Take your only son. And the Lord emphasizes, you know, the one you love so much. Yeah, you love so much, Isaac. You'd rather give your own life than him. You'd be even willing to sacrifice Sarah. Then Isaac.

But no, it's Isaac I want. Nothing else will do. All the lesser things you offer me will not be acceptable. What is the thing you love most in your life? In Abraham's case, it was Isaac. What is it in your case?

Is it your job, your money, your house, your car? Or some ambition you have? Or in my case, is it my eldership? The fact that I'm an elder of a church? I love that so much. A lot of elders do. I'm sorry to say that.

It means so much to them that I'm an elder of a church. The Lord says, give it up. Lay it on the altar. The only man who can be a successful elder is the one who has laid that lust for eldership on the altar and say, Lord, I have no interest in that.

It's on the altar. It's yours. I will not hold on to anything. My palm is always open. Everything. Position, honor, wealth, money. Give it up. That which you love. Instead of Isaac, you say, put it in your case, I don't know what it is.

But this is where the fear of God begins. That which you love the most. Is it food? Is it sleep? I don't know what it is. It's different in different cases. But you cannot say you fear God if you don't lay that on the altar.

You cannot say you're going to be a worshiper if you don't lay that on the altar. This is where it begins. That which you love. I mean, the Lord could have said just take Isaac. But he emphasized this one whom you love.

You love so much. Take him. And offer him on the land of Moriah in a mountain I'll tell you of. There are a lot of things we can learn if you meditate. If you rush through scripture, you miss something.

But if you go slowly through scripture and read, you say, listen, as I read through further, it says in verse 4, it's on the third day that he reached Moriah. So Moriah was three days journey. Imagine if you had to walk from here.

How far do you have to go to walk three days? 72 hours from here you take a walk. Abraham could have used his reason. Say, Lord, why in the world do you want me to go that far? I'll offer Isaac. Sure, let him do it around the corner.

Why in the world do I have to go three days away to offer it? Those are little things. But I've learned something from that, that I can't use my reason when God tells me to do something. To me, it may sound stupid or unreasonable.

The main thing is to offer Isaac, right? Why does it have to be three days away? Why can't I do it here? The man who fears God does not listen to his other voices of his own apparent intelligence and cleverness.

Lord, if you have said it, I do it. I've seen that in little, little commands in scripture which look so insignificant and unimportant. Lord, you told me to do it, I'll do it. Simple. For example, a simple thing like women wailing their heads or men not wailing their heads.

I don't know. To me, I don't know the whole reason, but God says I do it. Why should it be three days away? My reason says, why not here? The man who fears God doesn't ask such questions. If God has said it, I'm going to do it.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, and don't lean on your own cleverness. Have you read that verse? Proverbs 3, is it verse 5 and 6? Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't depend on your own cleverness trying to explain God's commands.

You will go astray. It's the opposite of faith, leaning upon our own cleverness. So Abraham did not argue. The man who fears God doesn't argue with should I do it three days away or do it around the corner.

And he simply obeyed and went. And the other thing I see here is when he finally reached that place, he doesn't boast to his servants who travel with him, hey, fellas, you know, I'm going to make a great sacrifice today to give a testimony, to get some honor for yourself.

The man who fears God does not. He tries to cover it up. The man who fears God will cover up his sacrifices. The sacrifices he makes in secret to God so that nobody knows about it. We're just going to worship.

Why you stopped here, Abraham? Oh, we're just going to mountain is a good place to worship. So I thought Isaac and I would go up there and worship. That's what he said. He was a man who was going to make the greatest sacrifice of his entire life.

And he doesn't mention a word about it to his servants. And even when he came back, he didn't mention it. The servants thought, oh, they just went up there, worship God, had a good time and came back.

Little did they know that there on the top of the mountain, Abraham virtually gave up his life completely. Or Isaac was that. And you know why God chose this? God was so delighted with this. I want you to turn to 2 Chronicles 3.

Mount Moriah and the Building of God's Church

In 2 Chronicles 3, the Lord had told David to tell Solomon where his temple must be built. The place, the only place on earth where God was going to meet with man. Nowadays, God meets with men everywhere.

But in the days of Israel, the old covenant, there was only one place on earth where God met with man. Where his presence was the fire of God was on that temple. And that was in chapter 3, verse 1, on Mount Moriah.

That's the mountain where Abraham offered up Isaac. When Abraham did that, that was the reason why God said, go there. That's where I'm going to build the temple one day. He couldn't have chosen any place he liked.

And that became so sacred to God, I mean, in God's eyes, that he said a place where a man offered the very best that he had to me, that's the place where I'll build my church. That's what he says even today.

There are many, many people who have gatherings of people which they call churches, Methodist church, Baptist church, church of this place, church of that place. But the real church is only built by people who understood this principle.

The temple is built on Mount Moriah where Abraham feared God, offered up the very best that he had to him. Show me a man or a woman who will offer to God the very best at all times, and I'll show you a man or a woman whom God will use to build a church.

And if you ever see a man or a woman whom God uses to build a church, you can be pretty sure in their private life there have been some Mount Moriah somewhere, more than one perhaps, where they had secret transactions with God which nobody knows, which God noticed, and said, I'll build my church.

God can use any of us. There's no partiality with them. We're all the same. Even women are the same. God can use anyone, but he's not going to use people who don't have those secret transactions of sacrifice with him, no.

Those who just understand the doctrine and say I've understood the new covenant, they'll come and like to sing songs and be part of the fellowship, and CCF is a nice club, we all love one another. You may discover when Christ comes again, you did pretty well nothing to build a church, you just joined a good church and had a good time.

God wants every one of us to have an active part in building the church, and that can only be possible if we fear God. And it also says here, it's also in the place, Mount Moriah, and the exact spot is where David offered an offering on the threshing floor of Aaronah the Jebusite.

So when I read something like that, I go to the threshing floor of Aaronah the Jebusite and see what did David do there, and that's in 2 Samuel 24, I'll tell you something, when God sees you're very diligent in studying the scripture, he'll reveal truths to you that nobody else ever knows.

I've discovered some amazing things like that. And I see that here is the place where David came to the threshing floor of Aaronah the Jebusite in 2 Chronicles 24 and verse 18 onwards, where the Lord told him go to the threshing floor of Aaronah the Jebusite, that's where the David's son Solomon's time.

And this is the place where Aaronah said, you don't have to buy anything, David, I'll give you the oxen free, I'll give you the wood free, you don't have to pay a cent for the sacrifice. And David said, no, I'm going to pay for it.

Verse 24, I will surely pay for it. Whatever your cost, tell me, I'm not going to take it free from you because if I offer something free to God, which I got freely, it'll cost me nothing. I will not offer to God, verse 24, that which costs me nothing.

I'll give you a little testimony. When one of the first things I did soon after a year and a half after I was converted was get baptized in water. And about a year and a half after that, I began to seek for the baptism in the Holy Spirit way back in 1963, which is nearly 60 years ago.

And I wanted the baptism of the Holy Spirit not to speak in tongues, but to be effective in speaking God's word. And God, one of the words God gave me at that time was 2 Samuel 24, 24. I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.

And I felt as the Lord saying to me, never in your life offer to me that which costs you nothing. And I almost swore to God that day that I will never offer to him anything cheap. I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.

If I offer something to God, whether it's my service or my time or my energy, it must cost me something. It must cost me time. It must cost me money. It must cost me my sleep. It must cost me something.

If it costs me nothing, just like I'm like everybody else and I just hang along, just go around and sing a few songs and share a few words and say that's serving God. It's not a garbage. It won't count.

Dear brothers and sisters, I recommend that to you. Say to God, I will never offer to you that which costs me nothing. You'll find a tremendous difference in your life if you take it seriously. That's the place where the temple was built.

That's the place where Abraham proved that he feared God. And that's the place where David proved that he feared God. How did they prove it? By saying, I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.

This is the fear of God. Okay, let's come back to Genesis 22. So Abraham took the wood and he laid Isaac on the altar. Genesis 22, verse 6. And I tell you, Abraham had raised a very obedient son. Imagine if you had a 24-year-old son.

I believe he was around 20 because he carried all the wood up the mountain. I don't think a 10-year-old can carry wood up the mountain. The little, little things that you can see if you use your mind a bit.

Isaac carried the wood all the way up the mountain. I believe he was at least about 20 years old or 22 or whatever it is. He was a young man, not a kid. And Abraham tells this 22-year-old man, lie down there, I'm going to kill you now.

Dad, you're going to kill me? Yes. God's told me to kill you. You're to be the sacrifice. This 22-year-old young man lies down there. Okay, dad, I trust you. You're a very blessed parent. If your 22-year-old son or daughter will do something really hard and say, mom, dad, I trust you.

I can't understand what you're asking me to do, but I'll do it. What a father he was. I tell you, he challenges me. His son so trusted him. My father is a man of God. My father is a man of God. I can't understand why he's asked me to do this, but I will trust him completely.

Those are the type of children you and I need to raise. I see that Abraham didn't consult Sarah. Sometimes you should not consult your wife. I'm almost certain that Abraham told Sarah, hey, Sarah, just going on a trip to kill my son.

What do you think? I mean, I have a lot of respect for Sarah. She was a good woman. But I don't think she'd have agreed. Go right ahead. You want to kill him? I said, yeah, take him. I can't imagine Sarah saying, not because women are inferior, but she hadn't heard God.

That's all. I'm sure if Sarah heard God like this, she would have agreed. But sometimes, dear brothers, your wife may not have heard God. So don't expect her to respond. It's not because she's not wholehearted.

She hasn't heard God like you heard him or vice versa. Maybe your husband hasn't heard God like you heard him. But when I hear God, I don't have to consult my wife or anybody else. If I'm sure God's heard me, I do what he says because I fear him.

And with a father like that, I believe that such fathers will raise such sons who are obedient even to be willing to be killed by the father. And then as Abraham lifts up his hand, it says in verse 10, his hand is up there when God stops him.

God waits to the last minute to see, will this guy really obey me or he's just trying to act? Oh, God will stop me. Oh, God. No, no, no. He's absolutely convinced I had to kill him. And God stops him and says, stop, Abraham, don't kill him.

Flexibility in Hearing and Obeying God

And I see something there also in relation to the fear of God. If God says, no, I don't want you to do that anymore, are you willing to change your mind? Sometimes we can be so stubborn. No, no, no. You told me that time to do it.

I'm going to do it. I'm going to kill him. A man who fears God is willing to be flexible when God says, no, I don't want you to do it. I'll give you an example of how that happened with me. When I was around 23, 24 years old, I really feared God.

I'm studying the scriptures. And I'd always say, Lord, speak to me from the scriptures. I want to obey everything you say. And one of the things I read in scripture was in the book of Jeremiah. I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah and chapter 16.

This is my daily portion one morning. And I was reading it. The word of the Lord came to me, just like it came to Abraham. And I was in the Navy in Cochin in South India. And I read, you must not take a wife.

Jeremiah 16, verse two. And you must not have any sons or daughters in this place. I said, really? You want me to remain unmarried all my life to serve you? I say, yes. Lord, I will not get married. As you said, that helped me tremendously.

Because there were a lot of people in the church I was attending who had a lot of young daughters and who thought, here was this young naval officer who's got a good job and a good salary and is also a devoted Christian.

I'd like my daughter to marry him. I could tell all of them, sorry, I'm not getting married. Others would come with proposals. And it's simple. Jeremiah 16, two, I'm not supposed to get married. It killed all proposals that came to me.

God protected me. I'm a young man. How are young, 23, 24-year-old young men? They always think, I want to get married and every girl looks attractive. I was a normal human being, a normal man. But I said, no.

God's told me no. And I kept it. I refused to look at any girl as a potential wife. Because God told me, Jeremiah 16, two, you shall not take a wife. And when I was 26, I quit my job. The naval headquarters released me only then.

And I started traveling around and had such a gift of preaching that I'd be invited to big, big conferences here and there and all over, sometimes with 5 ,000 peoples. And I discovered that wherever I went, there were these mothers who wanted me to marry their daughter.

And I heard of other preachers who fell. And I said, Lord, what am I supposed to do now? And then the brother whom I respected the most in India, an apostle called Bakhshin, is the only man till today I have respected in India as a man of God.