Reverencing & Hearing
Foundation Statement: The beginning of wisdom, of being led by the Spirit, of seeing and hearing what God
is showing and saying is reverencing God
I.
Psalm 111:10-We can’t
begin where wisdom is concern and ignore this area of reverence Wisdom has it’s
origins in your reverence for God and if you don’t reverence God wisdom has no
place to originate from in your life; it will have no beginning (EX: You can’t
talk about #2 and not want to deal with #1)
A. Are there Christians who
are not receiving direction solely b/c of their lack of reverence? Could being
irreverent keep you from walking in the wisdom God? Is there a connection between lack of reverence and an inability to see
and hear and get direction from God?
1.
The
level of reverence you have for God will effect the level of wisdom you walk
in
a. Many people think
passively, “I reverence God,” and don’t actively search to grow in it
b. Spiritually dense people
never make these spiritual connections
2.
CEB-The
fear of the Lord is where wisdom begins
a. You will only find wisdom
at this place of reverence; If
you aren’t willing to go there, then you have no right to expect to receive
wisdom
b. EX: If you want to get
gas for your car you got to go location necessary to obtain it
3.
AMP-The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom and skill [the preceding, the
prerequisite]
a. Reverence precedes
wisdom; It is a prerequisite
of wisdom; you can’t go on to
wisdom w/o reverence
b. EX: In college there are
prerequisite classes you have to take before you can take certain other classes
4.
NLT-The
fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom
a. You can’t build a wisdom house without the
foundation of reverence in
place
5.
VOICE-Reverence
for the Eternal is the first step toward wisdom
a. If you want to step towards wisdom you need to walk in reverence
b. If you want to end at the
wisdom destination that you must travel the path of reverence
6.
ESV-The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom; all those who PRACTICE it have a
good understanding
a. This reverence is a lifestyle; it’s something you practice everyday
B. This reverence for God will
bring about and manifest His leading
1.
A
led-life, a life overflowing with His wisdom and direction is the result of a
reverent life; You being reverent will result in you being led
2.
1
Sam 2:30-If you’ll honor Him by reverencing him, He will honor you w/ His
leading
a. When God directs you and
gives you his leading he is honoring you, but he will not honor you with
direction when you are not honoring Him with reverence
3.
Psalm
25:12-14-The leading is with
those reverencing
a. His counsel (his showing
and saying) is always the result of your reverence
b. AMP-The secret [of the
sweet, satisfying, companionship] of the Lord have they who fear Him and He
will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning
c. HCSB-The secret counsel
of the Lord is for those who fear Him
d. NIRV-The Lord shares his
plans with those who have respect for Him
II.
A lack of reverence for
God will keep you from the wisdom of God by darkening you and it will cripple
your ability to see and hear the direction God is endeavoring to give you
A. Romans 1:20-22-The
principle here is this: Irreverence darkens the heart
1.
They
are irreverent, they are unthankful, they are giving their minds to useless and
foolish things, they are professing themselves to be wise-IRREVERENCE-Proverbs
3:7
2.
When
it’s dark in your heart it’s hard to see what God is showing you, hard to hear
what He is saying to you, hard to discern what’s Him
3.
If
being irreverent darkens you and makes it hard to see and hear and receive
direction from God, then reverence will brighten you so that you can see and
hear and receive direction from God and you won’t be dark and dumb, but you’ll
have the wisdom of God
a. VOICE-Because despite the
fact that they knew the one true God, they have failed to show the love, honor, and appreciation
due to the One who created them.
Instead their lives are consumed by vain thoughts that poison their foolish hearts.
1)
Irreverence
poisons and defiles the instrument(s) that you use to hear from God
2)
EX:
It’s like pouring water on your cell phone; water is poison to that phone
3)
If
irreverence poisons your heart, reverence will heal it, enhance it, make it
better (EX-Old cell phones)
4)
Reverence
is going to enhance your seeing and hearing
b. Phillips-They knew all the time that there is a God, yet they refused to
acknowledge him as such, or to thank him for what he is or does. Thus they became fatuous in their
argumentations, and plunged their
silly minds still further into the dark.
1)
Irreverence will plunge your heart into the dark;
reverence will plunge you into light
c. NLT-Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even
give him thanks. And they began to think
up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark
and confused.
1)
It’s
easy to think up stupid stuff in the dark and their in the dark because they
are irreverent
2)
In
reverence there will be light and in the light you’ll have wisdom ideas and you
won’t be confused
d. MSG-People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him
like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness
and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives.
1)
As a result of being irreverent they trivialized themselves into
confusion and no direction
2)
You
start reverencing God and you can walk right into direction, wisdom, and
leading
e. Seeing and hearing begins with reverencing
B. Mark 6-Your ability to
see and hear God and receive wisdom and direction from Him is effected by the
level of reverence you have for Him
1.
The
Father, by His spirit, must have sent Jesus to his hometown because He wanted
to show them things and tell them things by His spirit through Jesus
a. What was Jesus doing and
saying there? What he saw and heard from the Father
b. Are they seeing and
hearing what the Father wants them to see and hear? No – Is it b/c He’s
not talking, not revealing? No, He’s there and He’s a saying and a showing, but
they are not a seeing and a hearing
2.
Their
question was, “Where did Jesus get these things?”
a. The answer to their
question is that Jesus got them from the Father, but they are not discerning
that that’s where He got them from; they’re hearing, but not hearing
b. God, by His Spirit,
through Jesus is standing right in front of them talking to them, showing them
things and they are sitting there seeing it, but not seeing, hearing it, but
not hearing
3.
You
can hear their lack of reverence for him in how they refer to Him
a. ERV-Isn’t he just the
carpenter we know – Mary’s son, the brother of James, Joses,
Judas, and Simon? And don’t his sisters still live here in town?” So they had a
problem with accepting him.
b. PHIL-He’s only the
carpenter, Mary’s son, the brother of James, Joses,
Judas and Simon; and his sisters are living here with us!” And they were deeply
offended with him.
c. MSG-He’s just the
carpenter – Mary’s boy. We’ve known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus,
Jude, and Simon, and his sisters.
Who does he think he is?
4.
Their
ability to see who he really was, was affected by their lack of reverence for
him; they’re blinded by their own irreverence (They are not holding him in
esteem)
a. He’s not just the
carpenter, he’s not just James’ brother or somebody’s sister; He’s the son of
God, the messiah, the anointed one, but all they see is the prior
b. The savior of the world
is standing right in front of them, the solution to their every problem, the
answer to their every question and they are seeing, but not seeing and hearing,
but not hearing and it’s connected to their lack of reverence for him
c. Their lack of reverence
for him effected how they saw him and heard him; If their lack of reverence
effected how the heard Jesus, then yours will affect how you hear God
d. How they heard and how they saw was effected by how they
reverenced
5.
Mark
4:24, Luke 8:18-Take heed how you hear; How
you hear (the level of reverence you hear with) will effect what you hear
a. If you’re level of
reverence for God and His word is low it will effect what you receive from God
and His word
b. They that have more will
be given and, they have, because of how they heard
c. They that don’t have,
don’t have, because of how they heard so they won’t get more until they change
how they hear
d. The level of reverence
you hear and see with will effect what you hear and see
C. Proverbs 1:7-Your
reverence for God is directly connected to your ability to discern His leading and
you must make the connection between those two
1.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of discerning what’s Him and what’s not
a. So
many times people can’t discern what was God and what wasn’t God and it’s
completely related to their lack of reverence
2.
John
8:31-49-Why can’t they see and hear? Their lack of reverence is stopping them
a. They are hearing, but not
hearing & it’s like they’re having two different conversations
1)
31-36-They
need to be free from sin, but hearing they are not hearing
2)
37-41-Jesus
is not talking to them about Abraham, he’s talking to them about their father
that is showing them to kill Jesus, the devil
3)
42-44-They
were hearing, but not hearing so Jesus made it real plain to them
b. They have no discernment
because they have no reverence (no harmony)
1)
47-Amp-Whoever
is of God listens to God. [Those who belong to God hear the words of God.] This
is the reason that you do not listen to me: because you do not belong to God
and are not of God or in harmony with Him.
2)
People
are always asking is it me, God, or the devil and that’s the same problem they
are having because they thought Jesus had a devil; they have no discernment
3)
If you’ll develop in
reverence you’ll increase in discernment
3.
Matthew
4:18,16:13-16-The HS showed Peter something and he saw it b/c of his reverence
a. Peter left everything he
had and followed Him and therefore saw who he really was
b. Peter had heard and saw
the same things as others and they could have made the choice to reverence God
like Peter, but they didn’t and Peter did
III.
The Holy Spirit wants to
lead and guide, but there are things that hinder him and stop him from giving
the guidance necessary; there are things that we can do or not do that will
enhance or hinder his guidance in our lives; I’ve got to have God leading &
guiding my life so I can’t do anything to stop God from speaking to me
A. Lack of reverence caused
a lack of wisdom and lack of wisdom got him destruction-Prov
9
1.
The
dark will make you dumb and irreverence makes you dark
2.
3-Wisdom
is crying out to the foolish saying turn to me
3.
6-You
have to forsake and turn your back on this lifestyle of not being led
4.
11-MSG-Wisdom,
that your life deepens, and the years of your life ripen
a. If you’ll fear God, see
and hear, get wisdom life will be sweet
5.
16-Satan
always targets the ignorant, the unwise, the foolish
6.
18-This
could have been avoided if he would have reverenced the Holy Spirit
a. The beginning of you
avoiding bad stuff is you fearing the Lord
7.
There’s
only one way to truly be wise and it starts with reverencing God
IV.
This lifestyle of reverence
keeps you clear, keeps you clean, and keeps sensitive and aware
A. This walk of reverence
and honor is a cautious one-Hebrews 12:14,28
1.
There
is a grace available to show God is due reverence and honor because you cannot
accomplish that feat in your own flesh
2.
Godly Fear-Caution, circumspection-watchfulness,
alertness, care
a. Honor-A keen sense of what’s right and wrong in the mind of God
and then a cautious respect to not violate right
b. A reverent life is one in
which we act with caution, making sure we don’t do anything to displease the
Father. Not because if we do He’s
going to hurt us, but because He’s our Father and we want to honor Him. In a
reverent life there is an overwhelming desire to please the Father
c. Every thought, word, and
action must be handled with great care because each one has the potential to
honor God and lighten my heart helping me to see and hear or dishonor God and
darken me
3.
Lifestyle
of reverence and honor-Philippians 2:12 (AMP)-Self-Distrust, Serious caution,
Tenderness of conscience (sensitive to your conscience of right and wrong),
Watchful against temptation (alert because every word, thought, and action of
yours has the potential to honor or dishonor God), Putting way things that
might offend God
a. I’m motivated by my
reverence and respect for Him not my fear of Him
b. Reverencing God and
having a tender conscience go together; while a hard heart and irreverence go
together
B. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-You
can quench, stifle, and stop the Holy Spirit and His ministry in your life
1.
Quench-To, stifle, suppress of
divine influence
a. ERV-Don’t stop the work
of the Holy Spirit
2.
Nothing
quenches and stops the spirit of more than irreverence and dishonor
a. The irreverence grieves
him, but it darkens you and stops his ministry in your life, not because he
quits doing his part but because you’re so dark that you can’t receive it
b. Don’t shut his ministry
down with your irreverence; you can’t afford it
3.
If
a lack of reverence can quench and stop his ministry in your life then more
reverence and enhance his ministry in your life
a. Reverence will give
enhanced hearing, enhanced seeing
C. This lifestyle of
reverence keeps you aware of Him, clear and clean and soft and sensitive and
bright in your heart to hear him
1.
Psalm
36:9-If you’ll walk in the light of reverence you’ll see the light of wisdom
a. You don’t see the light
of wisdom in the darkness of irreverence
2.
Psalm
19:9-Reverencing God will keep you clean and clear to hear from God
a. Irreverence will muddle
you up so that you cannot receive the transmission
3.
Proverbs
4:18-19, 2 Samuel 23:3-Walk in reverence and it’s going to get brighter and
brighter and you’ll just continue to see and hear better; on the other hand
irreverence will darken you and you’ll fall
a. Every negative situation
in your life has a key issue or a root issue and if you don’t know what the
issue is that situation will keep you locked up and you’ll continue to stumble
and won’t know why; but when you walk in reverence the Holy Ghost will show you
the key issue and that key issue will lock up anything that needs to be lock or
unlock anything needs to be unlocked
D. Proverbs 19:23, Psalm 23-If
you’ll fear God and walk in the wisdom of God this will be your life
1.
Wisdom
keeps you, satisfies you and so does the fear of the Lord b/c it will get you
wisdom
2.
The
sheep are led by the shepherd-He is their guide
3.
If
you are led by the shepherd he’ll lead you to green pastures-prosperity
4.
If
you are led by the shepherd he’ll lead you into still waters-peace
5.
If
you are led by the shepherd he’ll keep you fresh and refreshed
6.
If
you are led by the shepherd you’ll be in the right place at the right time
7.
If
you are led by the shepherd you will not fear; his direction will comfort you
8.
If
you are led by the shepherd he will lead you to good things God has prepared
for you
9.
If
you are led by the shepherd you’ll walk in power and authority
10.
If
you are led by the shepherd your life will overflow
11.
On
the path the shepherd leads you on, goodness and mercy will be in hot pursuit
of you
V.
Ways that we reverence
God
A. We reverence Him is by
how we refer to Him (The HS is a PERSON in authority over you)
1.
How
you refer to a person shows the level of reverence you have for that
person-Mark 6:2
a. You can’t be led by an it, talk to a hunch, & something
can’t tell you what to do
b. The Holy Spirit is your
superior, higher in authority
c. As we reverence Him by
referring to Him properly as A PERSON IN AUTHORITY, we will be more led of Him b/c
it will help us to recognize there is a person in authority over me to lead me
(I’m here to carry our orders)
2.
1
Cor2:10-11, Jon 16:13-15-There’s A PERSON living in me
who has been digging and around in God and knows everything God knows and he’s
been sent to show it to me
a. It’s time receive help
and direction from that person
B. The second way that we
reverence the Holy Spirit is that we acknowledge Him-Proverbs 3:6
1.
It
is extremely irreverent to not acknowledge someone who is in your presence; To
act as if another does not exist is mean, cruel, and irreverent
a. Don’t go hours upon hours
without acknowledging Him
2.
Acknowledge
(Recognize w/particular regard) Him out of respect for Him and He will direct
your paths
a. GNT-Remember the Lord in
everything you do, and he will show you the right way
b. MSG-Listen for God's
voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you
on track
3.
This
is the principle of practicing His presence
a. Acknowledge-To be acquainted with, communicate, know
intimately, a person we have been accustom to converse with
b. The simple truth is it’s
easy for your flesh to forget someone who can’t see; the reality is sometimes
we forget He’s there; we know of His presence, but we haven’t been conscious of
His presence
4.
You
have to acknowledge the Holy Spirit IN ALL YOUR WAYS until you develop a
God-inside-mindedness where you are conscious of Him all the time without even
thinking about it; you have to make yourself be conscious of Him until you
don’t have to make yourself be conscious of Him
a. You got to practice his
presence all the time to the point that you know he’s there all the time
everywhere you go
5.
We’ve
been ignoring the only one with the answer, the only one who can get us out,
get us in, keeps us and cause us to succeed-1John 2:20
a. Be conscious of His
indwelling presence in you; Talk to Him; Ask him questions; Seek His help in
every situation
b. Enlightenment will come
because you fellowship with God; it just didn’t show up out of nowhere, but it
came because you were fellowshipping with the Spirit of God
c. Learn how to spend time with
Him so that He can spend time giving you the advantage in life
d. If you’ll get in the
habit of acknowledging the Holy Ghost, then He’ll start bearing witness with
your spirit and the more you obey Him you’ll find yourself profiting in every
area of your life-Isaiah 48:17
6.
This
acknowledging him keeps you hooked to him, it keeps you in constant fellowship
with Him, it’s respectful and as you engage it you will be led by Him
a. The lines of
communication with him most stay open outside of your prayer closet
b. There should be a
constant dialogue between you and the Holy Ghost all the time
c. You got to diligently
fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit 24/7 getting to know Him
d. He is not just a big part
of your life; He is your life, in him you move and live and have your being
7.
There’s
a cost of neglect; If you’re not spending time with the Guy that you want to
hear from then don’t expect to recognize His voice when He speaks
C. The third way we
reverence Him is that we hate evil-Proverbs 8:13
1.
What
he hates I hate, what he likes a like that’s reverent, that’s respectful
a. Romans 12:9-Abhor evil-A person who hates something
so extremely that he literally backs away from it in disgust
b. Proverbs 3:7-People who
reverence God depart from evil out of respect for Him
2.
To
lightly esteem things that absolutely repulse the Holy Spirit is irreverent
a. Prov 3:6-Acknowldge means consider (consider what the HS thinks about this)
b. ERV-With every step you
take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way
3.
When
these things come up that he hates and you laugh and make light of it, you are
not yielding to him, you’re hardening yourself and you won’t be led by Him
D. The fourth way we
reverence Him is that we recognize our need for Him
1.
To
reverence the Holy Spirit is to be in awe
of Him-Feeling of amazement & respect coupled w/ feeling of personal
insignificance
2.
There’s
something reverent about acknowledging that you need the Holy Spirit, you need
His wisdom, you need His leading, you need his direction; I can do nothing of
myself
a. Prov 3:7-Being wise in your
own eyes, then you are saying you don’t need him
3.
People
who don’t think they need Him, need His direction, need His leading, need his
help, won’t seek Him for it, and in turn will not receive it
a. In their pride my people
aren’t requiring me; but those who humble themselves and require me will be
satisfied
E. The 5th way we
reverence Him is we give Him place and priority and esteem Him & His things
1.
Do
you have time for him? Is he getting your best? Is he getting your energy and
effort? Or everytime when it comes to Him is it
second best?-Malachi 3
2.
NCV-Wisdom
begins with respect for the Lord