The End Of The Matter

02/03 OCTOBER 2021 | TRADITIONAL AND PRAYER & PRAISE SERVICES

Rev Raymond Fong

Scripture Passage: Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 (NIV)

WATCH | SERMON (VIDEO)

Recorded at Prayer & Praise Service (11.30 am)

READ | SERMON NOTES

Summary | Do we fear being without God and cannot imagine a life without God? This question has to do with the notion of the fear of the Lord.

The end of the matter in Ecclesiastes is clear – fear God and keep His commandments. To fear (yare in Hebrew) means to deeply revere, stand in awe and have a dreadful fear of something.

Contemporary Christianity often downplays the awesome dreadful fear of God. We use words like reverence, honour and respect to describe the fear. Our understanding is shaped by the portrayal of God as an approachable friend, a loving God who is kind, patient and generous. God is indeed like that; but we also need to appreciate the utter holiness of God and just how unholy we are.

The ancient Hebrew understood and was in terror of God because God is absolutely holy; and he knew he was absolutely sinful and needed God’s mercy.

To fear God is to have a proper regard for who He is, His character and His awesome deeds. We are to be in utter reverence and worship of Him, recognising that He has to take the first and central place in our lives.

The biblical understanding of the fear of God is more than just reverence. Through reverence, there must be transformation. The teacher invites us to have a fear of God that brings about this holy transformation.

Why do we need to fear the Lord?

From Ecclesiastes:

1. God is the giver of life and its meanings. Life is meaningless unless God is in it. The pursuit of wisdom and wealth is futile. (e.g. 2:12-16; 3:11; 4:7-8; 5:10-17; 6:1-6) God alone grants the ability and opportunity to enjoy the blessings and pleasures of work, life and food. (e.g. 2:24-25) Life is a gift from God. Without God, who can find true meaning in life? Therefore let us humble ourselves, turn to God and put Him at the centre, as we learn to be contented in Him.

2. God is the master of death and its effects. The teacher calls us to understand the temporal nature of our existence and fragility of our being. Death comes to everyone and renders everything accomplished and accumulated futile. (e.g. 9:1-6; 2:17-23) God alone knows the time we have on earth.

3. God is the mover of history and its purposes. There is a time and season for everything. (3:1) God moves us from one season to another and makes everything beautiful in its time. (3:11)We fear and trust God because our times are in His hands. (Ps 31:15)

4. God is the deliverer of judgment and its justice. God will judge every deed. (12:14) There is a comfort that every evil deed will be judged. Evil doers will not prosper forever because God’s divine justice will prevail. (3:17; 8:12-13; 11:9) We are called to fear and live right with Him, because one day we will be called to account.

At the end of the matter, when everything has been heard, all is clear – fear God. We cannot entirely comprehend the utterly good news of Jesus Christ if we don’t first have the utterly great fear of God. “The fear of God is a fear of a life without God.” (John Piper, paraphrased) A fundamental fear of the Lord is that unless God is with us, it will all be in vain. (Ps 127:1)

How do we fear the Lord?

The fear of the Lord is when we acknowledge our utter need for Him. The heart of the matter is that we need to 1) seek the Lord in revelation (Prov 9:10; Ps 25:14) and repentance (Prov 3:7), 2) obey in devotion (Neh 11:1; Ps 112:1) and discipline (1 Tim 4:7) and 3) surrender in trust (Prov 3:5-6) and transparency (Mk 9:24).

The end of the matter is clear.

When we fear the Lord, we have nothing else to fear.

(Sermon Notes by Denis Koh)

PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What does the fear of the Lord mean to you?

2. As we review what we have learnt through the book of Ecclesiastes, how is the concluding commandment to fear the Lord and obey His commandments a fitting end to the book? According to the book, why do we need to fear the Lord?

3. How does the fear of God cause us to better appreciate the wondrous saving truth and love of the gospel?

4. Seek, Obey and Surrender. How do these express the fear of the Lord? How can we actively seek the Lord every day? What areas of your life is God calling you to deeper obedience? What do you need to readily surrender to the Lord?

5. Pray for each other to have the fear of God to seek, obey and surrender.