Living with Tozer's God

Blog Post #7: Living with Tozer's God

" For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him ."

Ps. 103:11

Proposition: The Fear of God is more important than loving God.

Well, that statement should illicit some response! Could it possibly be true? It would probably depend on how you define 'important'. It may be a tad extreme, but not as much as you might think. But, what if we said it in this way. What if we said:

The fear of God is the key to more blessings than the love of God.

Could that be true? I know that many people believe that the love of God is the pinnacle of all God's blessings. That may be true. An argument can certainly be made that the love of God is the source of all His blessings. But, how do they come to us? A strong argument can be made that the fear of God plays a crucial role in our ability to love God and be in that place where He can bless us.

Remember from last time, the fear of God leads to what? Humility. And what does it mean for me to be humble? It means that I rightly understand that God is God and I am not God. Therefore, God rules over me. That's His rightful place. He is worthy to have that place because of who He is. My rightful place is way beneath Him. The fact that He has elevated me to the status of a friend/son/heir doesn't change the fact He is still God and I should be overwhelmed with a reverential awe and fear of Him. He's not my 'buddy'. He's my God and Father.

Americans don't normally think this way. But in most other countries with a history of kings and despots, these concepts are very familiar. They know what you mean when you talk about the cowering fear of being in the presence of terrorizing despot. They also know what you mean when you talk about being in the presence of a great and glorious benevolent, heroic king. And they know the difference between the two. They know the value of the two. And they know what their rightful place is in relationship to them.

This is where a word is needed which is rarely known or used in America. It's the word 'majesty'. It's a word that is only used to describe something of the highest levels of beauty and glory. It's a word we use in concert with words like regal, royal, princely, imperial, etc. The Queen of England is usually addressed as 'Her Majesty'. But, we also talk of 'majestic skies' and 'purple mountain majesties'. We use it to try to describe things which cause an over-whelming sense of awe whenever we're in their 'presence'. It's the sense of 'presence' which separates them from everything else. They are unique and glorious, unlike the 'normal'.

The Downside of 'No King'

That the Puritan Pilgrims had had enough of the 'pomp and circumstance' of kings when they came to America is clear. This was the fuel that fired the great American Revolution and galvanized the thirteen states into what we call the 'Great American Experiment' in representative government. But, these political pioneers brought with them something we lack today.

They brought a profound sense of the 'fear of God', a reverence for God and a determination to be free, but freedom with a purpose. They weren't anarchists. They didn't want to be free just for the sake of being free. They wanted to be free so that they could worship God as they believed He should be worshiped; free from the constraints of human government which wanted to control its worship. Their 'high view' of God demanded that He be exalted above the government... and they would pay any price to do it because they believed He was worthy.

This is an oft-forgotten element of the founding of our nation. Today, it's all about being 'free', but it's the freedom to do what I want, with no consequences. That's a long, long way from being free to do what I need to do to glorify God and do His will. Again, what was their motivation? The fear of God. Not the cowering fear of a despot, but the reverential fear of the One 'who is exalted in the heavens' and to whom I owe everything. 

I sorely miss that sense of 'awe'.

I was raised Roman Catholic. Catholic churches tend to be fairly large churches, at least in the bigger cities. When I became an evangelical Christian and felt the need to find strong biblical teaching, it inevitably led me to a relatively small church group. This was okay, but there was one thing I miss...large churches tend to have a greater ability to create an environment which lends itself to a sense of 'awe', a sense of the 'bigness' of God. When the great choirs would sing, you could at least begin to muster a sense of the awe and majesty of God.

We need some sense of the awesomeness of God. We might argue that we really do believe that God is awesome, but where is the 'fear'? Those who have real struggles with the ideas of 'fearing God' and 'God is love' have to realize that they describe the same person. The problem is in us. The scriptures exhort us to both love and fear God. In the New Testament, this was how the Gentiles converts were described...'those who fear God'. Paul uses it twice in Acts 13. When Paul wanted to sum up the moral bankruptcy of mankind, the most devastating indictment he could bring was simply, 'There is no fear of God before their eyes'. This is why Tozer knew the theme verse for his book had to be Proverbs 9:10. The 'fear of the Lord' is the beginning point for all men of salvation for all men. Where is the God of Jeremiah who says...

"21 'Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people,

Who have eyes but do not see; Who have ears but do not hear.

22 'Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD.

'Do you not tremble in My presence?

For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,

An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.

Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;

Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

23 'But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;

They have turned aside and departed. 24'They do not say in their heart,

"Let us now fear the LORD our God..."

"Jer 5:21-24 NASU

Or, where is the God of Daniel who could so impress a heathen king that He would make a decree such as this:

"25 Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: " May your peace abound! 

26 " I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;

For He is the living God and enduring forever,

And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,

And His dominion will be forever."

Dan 6:25-26 NASU

Of course, we declare with all sincerity that we believe the truth of these words, but where do they fit in our day-to-day experience? I will say this many times, Truth without application is merely information. Information has very limited value. Truth applied has eternal value. If you want God to be real in your life, you have to begin with a right understanding of who He is. 'Fear the Lord'.

There are literally multitudes of scriptures that promise 'blessings' for those who fear God. Time and space will not allow for but a few. Get a concordance and go through these promises; it's an enlightening experience.

Here are just a few:

The Blessings of 'Fearing God'

Q. Do you believe this?

"Holy and awesome is His name.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;

His praise endures forever. Ps 111:9-10

Q. Do you want the Lord Himself to guide and instruct you? 

Do you want to know prosperity that is accompanied with peace and joy?

Do you want to have a family who will follow you in that same prosperity?

Here's the answer. It's a secret God shares with a chosen few.

12 Who is the man who fears the LORD?

He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

13 His soul will abide in prosperity,

And his descendants will inherit the land.

14 The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him. " Ps 25:12-14

Q. Do you want the assurance that God is watching over you? Your family?

Both now and forever?

"18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him ,

On those who hope for His loving-kindness,

19 To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine."  

Ps 33:18-19

"7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him ,

And rescues them. " Ps 34:7-10

Q. Do you want the assurance that your needs will be taken care of?

That you will not lack any good thing?

"9 O fear the LORD, you His saints;

For to those who fear Him there is no want.

10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;

But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing." Ps.34:9

Q. Do you want assurance that God forgives sin? Permanently?

"11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him .

12 As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,

So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him." Ps 103:11-13

Q. Do you want assurance that God will always hear your call? That He will be kind to you? That He will fulfill the godly desires of your heart?

"17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways

And kind in all His deeds.

18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him ;

He will also hear their cry and will save them." Ps 145:17-19

Q. Do you want to know why the world is in the state that's it's in?

"Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;

There is no fear of God before his eyes." Ps 36:1

Q. Do you wonder why the church seems to struggle so much at times and have so little impact against the prevailing culture. Perhaps this is what's missing.

"31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase." Acts 9:31

There are many more verses like this, it's an enlightening study. People simply don't like to hear about 'fearing God'. But, as these verses clearly show, rather than something to be feared, it's leads only to God's greatest blessings. Why wouldn't you fear God?

Think about it...until next time...