Shock and Awe

Posted by Dion Todd July 2nd, 2023 2,842 Views 0 Comments

Shock and Awe from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

All twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ were martyred, except for John. They chose death rather than deny the Lord Jesus Christ. James was beheaded. Peter was crucified and requested it be upside down because he felt unworthy to die as Jesus had. His brother Andrew was crucified and preached the gospel from the cross to those in the area for almost two days. The Apostle Paul was beheaded because Roman citizens could not be crucified.

Many of the disciples suffered similar fates. Stephen was stoned. Philip was crucified. Mark was dragged through the streets and burned. Luke was hanged. Many of these were given the chance to "change their mind," but they feared God more than man. The Lord Jesus had warned them: 

(Matthew 10:32–33 NKJV)  "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."

(Luke 12:4–5 NKJV)  "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!"

The fear of the Lord is a mixture of profound awe, wonder, and humbly fearful respect. It is surprisingly liberating when you fear God more than anything else. It will empower you to do what is right. True fear of God liberates you from the fear of man.

(Psalm 33:8 NKJV)  "Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him."

Moses, a simple shepherd, faced Pharoah, the most powerful ruler on Earth, and told him: "Let My People Go" (Exodus 5:1). How could he do this? Because he had a life-changing experience at the burning bush. Moses feared God more than Pharoah. 

(Proverbs 9:10 NKJV)  "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

The fear of the Lord is liberating. You get in tune with what He is doing, do your best, and He will take care of the rest. That is how David did it. He feared the Lord and mentioned it in many of his Psalms. 

(Psalm 56:11 NKJV)  "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

(Psalm 118:6 NKJV)  "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

David killed giants like Goliath and his brothers, while his predecessor King Saul cowered in fear. The fear of man caused Saul to disobey the Lord and cost him the kingship:

(1 Samuel 15:24 NKJV)  Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice."

Saul feared men more than God, and this got him into trouble. "What will people think? They will think I am crazy. I can't do that!" If the Lord has told you to do something, why does it matter what people think? Do you know that the Prophet Isaiah walked around naked for three years as a sign of the poverty and humiliation that judgment would bring? "Oooh... What will the people think?" 

(Isaiah 20:2 NKJV)  at the same time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

Today, our Awe has been replaced by a smiley face image of God and feeling good about ourselves. People live as if we reversed David's Psalm into: "I fear man. What can God do to me?" It's going to be interesting to see how that works out in the end. Some are going to be shocked. I hope to be in Awe.

The Lord told Noah to build a ship in his front yard. Though people probably thought that was crazy, Noah had been divinely warned about what was coming. He built that ark, and he and his family were saved while the rest perished. They were shocked. Noah was Awed. 

(Hebrews 11:7 NKJV)  By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

The three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, were told by King Nebuchadnezzar to bow down and worship the golden image he had made, or they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. They told him thank you, but no. 

(Daniel 3:15 NKJV)  Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?"

(Daniel 3:16–18 NKJV)  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."

Their refusal made Nebuchadnezzar so furious that he had the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal and threw them into it. The fire was so hot that it killed the guards pushing them towards it. The three walked around in the fire for a while and talked with Someone else who was down there with them, an angel or perhaps Jesus. Then they came out not even smelling like smoke. Only the ropes that bound them had burned away. Nebuchadnezzar was shocked. The three Hebrews were in Awe. 

Choose God. Put Him first in everything, and let what He says overrule anything else. Let Him take care of the details. The fear of the Lord will keep you on the right path. You can either be in shock or in awe. Solomon summed life up like this after writing twelve chapters on it:

(Ecclesiastes 12:13 NKJV)  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me learn more about You and let Your word soak into me. Please draw my heart to You and stir up a hunger within me. Help me align my actions with my words. I choose You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!