If you have your Bibles, how many of you brought your Bibles with you this morning? Alright, let's turn over to Romans, Chapter 11 ... Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 22. This morning we are going to begin a series of lessons on God. I have to admit as I began to study for this series, I felt, well I still do feel, completely overwhelmed. God is simply a subject that I can't get my mind around. He's too big. He's too incomprehensible to be able to fit him into a 20-minute sermon or even a series of sermons. I wish I had the confidence of a little girl who was drawing a picture one day and her Mother asked her, she was sitting there at the table drawing a picture, and her Mother asked her what she was drawing. The little girl said, "I'm drawing a picture of God." The girl's mother gently told her that no one knows what God looks like. The little girl never even looked up from her work and said, "Well, that's ok. They will when I get through." I don't have that confidence. I mean, how DO you study God?.

Paul says in I Timothy Chapter 6, Verse 16, that God lives in unapproachable light, that no one has seen him, that no one can see him. You can't define God, you can't put God in a box and say, "Here he is, this is God." He's incomparable! He's indescribable! As in the song Ryan led for us a few minutes ago, "You God, you are beautiful beyond description." Beyond description; maybe that's the best way to describe God. He is beyond description! Our language, actually no language, has enough words or meanings to even adequately describe or explain God, of who he is. We can only try to use what we know, with words that we know, to bring God into some type of understandable light; but when we do, we're actually making God more like us. So we really only get a shadow of who he is, even his name is beyond our language..

Remember back in Exodus Chapter 3 when God appeared to Moses, and he wanted Moses to go to Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery; and Moses said, "Well, if I go and they ask me what is the name of the one who sent me, what am I supposed to tell them?" And God said, "I am who I am. Tell them I am who I am sent you." His name itself is too great for our understanding, he's the great I am - the self sufficient one - the self existing one. His name is I-am-the-mysterious-one, he can't be named, he can't be defined. All we can do is simply say, "God.".

Over the next few Sundays, we want to study and learn all that we can of him. Each of us have our own views of God. Some of us grew up with the view of God that's best described as the hell fire and brimstone God. That God is an angry God. He's angry at our sins; and at a moment's notice, he's willing and ready to destroy you or annihilate you. And we grew up seeing God as Jonathan Edwards pictured him in his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" as a God picking us up and dangling us by a thread over the fires of hell..

Others, though, have heard nothing but the other extreme. Some of us here have heard nothing but the love and the grace of God preached that when someone sins, we just kind of ... we just kind of pat them on the back and say, "It's ok. God loves you." His grace is so big, it covers everything. And so we've gone from one extreme to the other. On one hand, we've been so afraid of God that if we did one inappropriate wink, we were going to be destroyed; and on the other hand, we turn God into this huge fountain of love and grace to the point that nobody confronts sin anymore..

In the passage I had you turn to, Romans Chapter 11, Verse 22, Paul in this passage ... in one sentence ... let's us know that both sides of God are important when he says this, "Consider the kindness and sternness of God." If you're reading from the King James it says, "Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God." There are both of these sides to God. He's not one or the other. He's both sides; but not the extremes. That's the problem with extremes. It seems they tend to go beyond the truth a little bit. Whichever direction you go, they go beyond the truth. So in our study of God, we have to look at all that we know of God. We can't take part of God that best appeals to us and say, "This is my God." It's like we go through a cafeteria line and say, "Well, I like this attribute of God and I like this attribute of God," and we put all of those together and we say, "This is my God." That, in essence, is idol worship. It's creating our own God and worshipping our view of God that we created in our minds; and we can't do that with God. We can't do that. We have to take all of God and learn of him - the kindness and the severity. We've got to take the love and the wrath. We've got to take the grace and the justice. But where do we begin?.

The scriptures tell us that there is just one place to begin. So, if you would, turn with me to Proverbs, Chapter 1, Verse 7 ... Proverbs, Chapter 1, Verse 7. In coming to know God or in coming to gain a better understanding of him, his nature, there's really one place that we must begin; and if we begin any place other than here, then we will never get a true picture of God. So where do we begin? Proverbs, Chapter 1, Verse 7, the writer says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Turn a few pages over to Chapter 9, Proverbs Chapter 9, and look at verse 10. Proverbs Chapter 9, Verse 10, again he says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." How should we approach a study of God? We begin with fear..

Those words are stated at least four times in the scriptures. We've mentioned two of them. Psalm 111, Verse 10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." It's also seen in Job, Chapter 28, Verse 28, "The fear of the Lord -- that is wisdom." As a matter of fact, fearing God is part of the entire existence of man. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 12, Verse 13, "Here is the conclusion of the matter:", he says, "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Now, it's true that God does want us to know him. It's true that God does want us to have a relationship with him, that he wants to have a relationship with us. There are too many scriptures that tell us this is the case; but if we start that relationship anywhere other than the fear of the Lord, then that relationship is going to be an unhealthy one. So, let's explore this fear for just a few minutes this morning. What is this fear with which we're to view God and why is it so important for us to come to God in fear? Why is it so important that God would say it is the beginning of wisdom?.

Turn with me back to Exodus, Chapter 19 ... Exodus, Chapter, 19. We'll begin at Verse 16. It's healthy to start a relationship with God with fear of God simply because of who God is. In Exodus 19, Moses and the children of Israel have been called to God, to meet with God at the foot of Mount Sinai. He's given specific instructions to the Israelites about this meeting. He says, "Cleanse yourselves." He says, "Wash youselves, wash your clothes." He says, "Don't go up to the mountain, don't even touch the mountain or you're going to be killed." And in Exodus, Chapter 19, beginning at Verse 16, we come to the third day when the Israelites were actually to meet God. Exodus 19, Verse 16: "On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him." Now, let's get this picture in our heads and if you could, put yourself in the scene. You're standing there with the Israelites, you're standing at the foot of the mountain, and here comes God. It says that the mountain is covered in smoke because God ascended onto the mountain in fire; and the smoke is just billowing up, it says, "Like smoke from a furnace." I don't know if you've ever seen a house on fire, not when it's smoldering, but when it's completely engulfed in flames, you can see the smoke for miles. It just billows, it just rolls and rolls and rolls up over itself. You're beginning to get the picture of what this was like. The mountain begins to shake, not just a little bit but it says it shook violently, the Bible says. And the trumpet sound gets louder and louder. What would you be thinking? What would you be feeling in that situation? Look at Exodus, Chapter 20, Verse 18: "When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." They - were - terrified! The Bible says they trembled with fear, they shook. Why were they so afraid? Because the presence of God is an awesome thing!.

Listen to some of these scriptures. You don't have to turn to them, but you may want to jot them down and go back to read them just a little bit later. But listen to the greatness and the power that is involved in the presence of God. Job, Chapter 40, Verses 6-14; and actually if you look at Job, Chapters 38 through 41, all of these chapters, God is speaking in response to Job. I just picked out a few of these verses in Chapter 40, Verses 6-14. "Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm: Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God's and can your voice thunder like his? Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty. Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low, look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand. Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave. Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.".

Psalm 29, look at Verses 3 through 9: "The voice of the Lord is over the water; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, 'Glory!'".

Psalm 114, Verses 3 through 8: "The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back; the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, you mountains, that you skipped like rams, you hills, like lambs? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.".

Nahum Chapter 1, Verses 5 and 6: "The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.".

One more, Revelation, Chapter 20, Verse ll says: "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.".

What these scriptures show is the greatness and the power of God. Sometimes I think that nature itself has more sense to fear God than people do. Go back with me there to Exodus, Chapter 20, for a minute. Exodus, Chapter 20. There is a reason for this fear. The people were terrified to be in God's presence. His presence itself was so awesome that they thought they were going to die. In Verse 19, they said, "Moses, you speak to us and we'll listen but don't have God speak to us or we're going to die." Then, look at Verse 20, Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid.".

Have you ever noticed in the scriptures that everytime someone encounters God, or even if they encounter an angel of God, they're so overcome with fear ... they're so overcome with fear that they fall on their knees, trembling. Have you ever been so afraid that you just went limp? Have you ever been so afraid that you just crumbled to the ground? I remember one time we were playing a game in the church building with a group of teens and we were playing "Sardines". I won't go into all the details of the game but basically its reversed Hide and Seek in the dark. Our church building would get pretty dark at night. There were very few windows; and there was one time a teenage boy was running down the hall. I knew he was coming and I jumped out in front of him and kinda yelled, you know, to scare him. He screamed like a girl and he just crumbled to the ground. Now I didn't mean to scare him that bad, but I thought he was going to pass out. He was terrified. I've been that scared one time. You can ask Wanda about it, she can tell you. She's the one who scared me. That's how people react, though, that's how people react when they come into contact with God and the first thing that God says is, "Don't be afraid ... fear not." God has to give you the strength to be in his presence, that's how awesome it is to be in the presence of God. When someone comes into his presence, they're completely overwhelmed with how great and how awesome and how majestic God is and they immediately think, "I can't handle this power ... I'm going to die!" And God has to reassure them and give them the ability to live in his presence..

Hold your finger right here at Exodus, Chapter 20. We're going to come back to it in just a second. I want you to turn with me and look at one verse in Psalm 111 ... Psalm 111, Verse 9. Hold your finger there at Exodus 20, we'll be right back to it. Psalm 111, Verse 9, I just want to show you this one verse in Psalm 111 that has to do with the presence and the power of God. You know, today you hear the word reverend used quite a bit. Well, that word is used only one time in the Bible and it's found right here in Psalm 111, Verse 9. The verse says, "He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever -- holy and awesome is his name." The King James Version and the American Standard Version, the Revised Standard Version all say, "Holy and reverend is his name" The word reverend or the word awesome, as it's translated in the NIV, is the word "yaray" and it means "to fear." It means "to cause to be afraid, to dread." Terrible is the meaning of the word - holy and awesome. Holy and reverend is his name. Then look at the very next verse, Verse 10, I read it to you earlier this morning: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.".

Now, go back with me to Exodus, Chapter 20, if you have your finger there. I said there was a reason for this fear. Exodus 20, look at Verse 20: Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." What is the reason for the fear of the Lord? To keep you from sinning. Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom? When you study the Bible, Biblical wisdom is following God and doing his will, it's following his commands over the ways of the world; and when we come to understand who God is; when we come to understand how awesome he is, his reverend nature, his power, his majesty, that he's creator, that he is the ruler of the entire universe; when we come to understand that no one is above or greater than God, he is the ultimate, he is the top of the top; and when we come to understand that we will one day stand before his awesome presence and that we will answer for our lives, then and only then do we begin to see sin and the temptations of the world in a little bit different way. We begin to realize that God's will and that his commands are greater than the world's; and that's the beginning of wisdom - Biblical widsom - following God's ways over the ways of the world..

Let's turn to one more verse and I'll give you an example and then we'll close. If you're still in Exodus, turn back with me to Chapter 1 ... Exodus, Chapter 1 and look with me at Verse 15. The Israelites in the passage are still in slavery. Moses had not been born yet. The Pharoah is afraid of the Israelites because they're increasing in number; he's afraid that they're going to one day rise up and revolt against the Egyptians. So, he comes up with a plan. Exodus, Chapter 1, Verse 15, read with me: "The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 'When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.'" Verse 17: "The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live." The midwives, however, feared God. These ladies were commanded to do something that they knew was against God's will. They had a choice to make. They weighed the options: Do we obey Pharoah and then displease and disobey God or do we obey God and possibly risk being put to death by Pharoah? Shiphrah and Puah feared God more than they feared Pharoah and they did what God would have wanted. And as a result, look at Verses 20 and 21: "So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.".

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Daniel feared God more than the king's command. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego feared God more than the king's command. Peter and John feared God more than the Sanhedrin and they said, "Shouldn't we obey God rather than obey man?" The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There's a lot more to talk about, but we're out of time for this morning. We're going to continue this next week with the fear of the Lord as we begin our study of God. We're going to look at the meaning of the words that are used for fear and also what the New Testament has to say about this fear of the Lord. So, I hope you'll be back next week..

But right now as we close and offer God's invitation, let me ask you this. What do you fear most in your life? Do you fear your friends more than you fear God? Fear that they will turn away from you, fear that they will not accept you, fear that you will not be a part of a certain group? Do we fear our boss? Do we fear that we're going to lose our job and we have to do what it takes to please him over doing what God would have us to do? Do we fear our popularity, our status, or do we fear God? Is there anything in this world or in your life that you fear more than you fear God? If there is, we encourage you to get rid of it! We encourage you to just turn it all over to God because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If you need to respond to God's invitation this morning, we're here to help you in any way that we can. Can we study with you? Can we pray for you? Do you need to begin your relationship with God this morning, to be baptized, whatever you need, would you please make your wishes known and come while we stand and while we sing this song of invitation.