JOHN: So what I’m asking is what is the evidence, what is the outward evidence in somebody’s life that they truly have the fear of the Lord? Number One: they’ll obey God instantly. Number Two: they’ll obey God even if it doesn’t make sense. See has God ever told you to do something that didn’t really make a lot of sense to you?
AUDIENCE: Yes he has!
JOHN: Number Three: it means you’ll obey God even if it hurts. Number Four: means you’ll obey God even if you don’t see a benefit. Okay, let’s look at Esther. She’s queen to the Persian king. And her cousin says you have got to go before the king. And you have got to remember even though she’s wife to the king, she can’t walk in that, that court room because she wasn’t scheduled. And if she walks in and he doesn’t point that scepter her head comes off. She had everything to lose and she had nothing to gain. She had nothing to gain by going in there. What, what good would it do her? I mean yeah, all the Jews were going to be destroyed on a certain day. But nobody knew she was a Jew, she’s queen, she’s not going to be destroyed. So she has everything to lose including her head and nothing to gain but she still obeyed God, she feared God. And Number 5: it means you’ll obey Him to completion. Saul did 99.9 percent of what God asked him to do. Yet Samuel still looked at him and said you disobeyed God, you rebelled against God. Think about it, he killed every Amalekite except one person. Now here’s the scripture I wanted to bring you to “cause this is the, I think, this is the jugular vein scripture in the Bible on the fear of the Lord. Psalm 25:14. It says, “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Now I want you to listen to that: The secret of the Lord, or the secrets of the Lord are with those who fear Him. Now I want to ask you a question to all my audience, if you’re watching by video answer me. How many of you have secrets in your life, let me see a show of your hands, show your hands. Okay, what do I do with the rest of you? Pray with for your lying now or later?
AUDIENCE: (LAUGHTER)
JOHN: Everybody has secrets in their life. How many of you know all secrets aren’t bad? Okay? So your mind went to the negative on that one. Okay?
AUDIENCE: (LAUGHTER)
JOHN: All right, so let me ask again how many of you got secrets in your life? Everybody’s got secrets. All right. Now this is, this is, I want you to honestly answer this question: Who do you share your secrets with and I’m going to give you two choices. Choice Number One, okay: acquaintances? Choice Number Two: intimate close friends?
AUDIENCE: Close friend, intimate close friends.
JOHN: Intimate close friends. God’s no different. God says I share My secrets with My intimate close friends and by the way My intimate close friends are those who fear Me. Now let me show you I’m not taking this out of context. I’m going to read Psalm 25:14 same psalm out of the New Living Translation: “Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear Him.” So you know what God is saying right there? Not everybody is My friend. Let me be more specific: not everybody in the church is My friend.
AUDIENCE: Right.
JOHN: Okay? There were two men that were called the friend of God in the Old Testament. Okay? Who were the two men? Abraham and Moses. Were there others? Absolutely! Okay, I believe David was a friend of God, I believe Daniel was a friend of God, I believe Joseph was a friend of God, many others, Deborah, Esther. But these two men’s lives exemplified what it took to have a relationship of friendship with the Lord. Let’s talk about the first guy, Abraham. Why is Abraham called the friend of God? Because when Abraham was really old, one night God comes to him and says, “Abe?” “Yes, Lord, yes.” I want you to take your son who you really love, who you’ve really grown attached to, the son you’ve waited for for 25 years. And I want you to go on a three-day journey and kill him for Me. Now, okay, you’ve heard the story a thousand times, okay, if not, if not more. But you had the Book of Genesis to read, he didn’t. You have to understand all God says to him this night is I want you to go three days and kill Isaac. He doesn’t tell him why. He doesn’t say if you sacrifice Isaac then I’ll send My Son. He does not say that! Do you understand what God is asking him to do? It would have been easier for Abraham to go kill himself, because there was nothing or no one more important to Abraham than Isaac. Yet do you know what my Bible says? Early the next morning Abraham saddles his donkey and is on his way. You know how some people say, “Well, you know the Lord’s been dealing with me about this now for several months” and they laugh.
AUDIENCE: (LAUGHTER)
JOHN: You are bragging about your lack of the fear of God. Okay? Okay? So now God gives him a three-day journey. Why? To think it over. It’s easier when you heard the booming voice of God the night before. But what about three, two and a half days later, you haven’t heard one word from heaven and you’re looking at the mountain, you’re going to put the most important person or thing to death in your life just because God said do it and didn’t give you a reason to do it. But Abraham goes to the top of the mountain, he builds the altar. Can you imagine his emotions while he’s building that altar? And his son’s helping him build it. He ties up Isaac on that altar, he lifts up the knife and he’s ready to put the most important person or thing to death in his life just because God said do it and didn’t give him a reason. And right as he’s ready to thrust the knife through Isaac, an angel of the Lord appears, and you go read it in your own Bible, and the angel says “Abraham stop, because now I know you fear God? How did the angel know that Abraham feared God? Because he obeyed instantly, because he obeyed when it didn’t make sense, because he obeyed when it hurt, because he obeyed when he didn’t see a benefit, and because he obeyed to completion. Abraham puts down the knife, unties Isaac, lifts up his eyes and there’s a ram caught in the thicket. And out of his inside comes this: JEHOVAH JIREH! The Lord my Provider! Now you’ve heard that before because you’ve read the Bible. But wait a minute. God just revealed a facet of His personality to Abraham no human being had ever known before. Why? Because he’s my friend.
AUDIENCE: Ahhh. Mmmm.
