Fear Him !

Luke 12:4-5 Fear him !
In the bible God continuously says to us, "Do not fear." because fear has to do with punishment. (John 4:18) And God did not give us a spirit of timidity. (2 Tim 1:7) But God sometimes says to us, "Fear him."
Who do you think is the one whom we must fear ? Today's scripture says, "I will show you whom you should fear ; Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him."
It means, the one we have to fear is the God. Bible says about this, "Who will not fear you. O Lord ?"(Rev 15:4) "The Lord Almighty is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread."(Isa 8:13) "Let all the earth fear the Lord." (Psalms 33:8) "Fear God because the hour of his punishment has come." (Rev 14:7)
Brothers and sisters, our God is the God of love and God of mercy. Then why do we have to fear him ? Is he a gangster ? Is he a robber ? Or is he a terrorist ? Some think our God always looks at our wrongdoing and punishes us, so that they fear God and they do not come to God but avoid God.
But bible does not mean this way.' It means worship him with respect and full understanding that life and death, blessing and curse depend on God.
Brothers and sisters, we Christians do not fear hardships and trials. We do not fear wars and rumors of wars. We do not fear even robbers and terrorists. We do not fear even demons, because God is with us. That's why we can overcome hardships, terrorists and even demons. And that's why we can get joy, peace and happiness even under the hardships.
But if God is not with us, if God is apart from us, we cannot overcome hardships nor demons who steal, kill and destroy us, and we face failure ruin and destruction. Therefore we fear God, not because he is dreadful like robbers, but because he is most precious to us. It means if God is not with us, our life is like the desert without oasis, like the fireplace without fire.
David says, "I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side." (Psalms 3:6) It means, he can overcome all of the enemies if God is with him. Therefore David confesses like this, "The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid ? (Psalms 27:1)
But if we continuously sin before God and do not repent of our sins, so that God is not with us, it is really fearful to us. In that case we will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country, and coursed when we come in and cursed when we go out. And we will be humiliated and insulted by others. Therefore we fear that God is apart from us and we are apart from God.
If you fear God because of this reason and say, "God is the most fearful God !" As a pastor I trust in you, because if you confess like this, God is with you and you are the man of faith with deeds.
In Acts 5, we can see a man and wife named Ananias and Sapphira. The name 'Ananias' means 'God's grace' and the name 'Sapphira' means 'Beauty'. They sold their property and offered a lot of money to God. But they died before God. Why ?
Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit ? You have not lied to men but to God. How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord ?" (Acts 5:3-4, 9)
That is, Ananias and Sapphira ministered to God with money, but later they agreed to lie to God, and the result was death. When I read this scripture I asked God, "Lord, why did you record this terrible accident in the bible ? I think you would have not recorded this accident. It reveals church's shame. And it may make people think God bad, isn't it ?"
Brothers and sisters, we can express some opinions against the death of Ananias and Sapphira like these. ① I think the God of new testament is the God of love. But why this accident happened ? Does it mean God himself damaged his character ? ② I think Peter had to forgive them. It is not good for the servant of God to prophesy the death of them.
③ What did they do wrong ? They sold their property and gave money to God. I think God had to praise them. ④ Is there a man who never lies in this world ? No ! Everyone lies. If they were to be killed by God because they lied, everyone are to be killed by God.
⑤ How ruthless God is ! The children of Ananias and Sapphira became orphans because God killed their father and their mother as well. ⑥ I think it is better for God to give opportunity to repent of their sin before he killed them. ⑦ If their relatives hear this news that Ananias and Sapphira died in the church, don't they think God and the church as their enemies ?
⑧ God had to give them opportunity because they offered a lot of money to God ⑨ If this accident is beautified in the church, isn't the church kind of heresy ? ⑩ If non-Christians hear that two Christians died in the church, are they willing to come to the church ?
Therefore pastor Kim, I strongly disagree with the death of them. If this kind of accident happens again in the church, I am not willing to come to the church because I have fear to be killed by God like them.
Brothers and sisters, why did God kill them despite God himself damaged his character. And why did God record this accident in the bible ? When we look at the bible, we can know the answer.
That is, "Great fear seized all who heard what had happened." (Acts 5:5) "Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events." (Acts 5:11) It means, after this terrible accident happened, and after the other people heard this accident, they did not lie to God.
As you know, there is no police nor army in the church. And God is invisible to our eyes. And pastor is not omnipotent nor omniscient. Because of these reasons, is it okay for church members to lie to God, lie to pastor and lie to themselves ? Is it okay for them to do wrong to other church members and to God in the church ?
Of course, God forgives and forgives. He endures and endures. But today Ananias and Sapphira died before God. We realize through this accident. "God is fearful God ! God brings death and makes alive ! We have to fear God !"
Of course, the death of Ananias and Sapphira is really regretable incident. But God wants to give us a precious lesson through this incident. That is, "My children, don't do that like Ananias and Saphhira !"
Brothers and sisters, we all commit sins. But if a man sins like animals, he is to be separated from the human society. It is same to Christians. They sometimes commit sins. But if they do not repent but deceive Holy Spirit and their conscience, and sin on and on, the persons are to be separated from the church. And the separation is not because the pastor is powerful.
Let me say today's conclusion. What is God's purpose through this incident ? Briefly speaking, 'The purpose is to make you fear God.'
When we park our car, we often see this warning, "Unauthorized vehicles will be towed away at owner's expense." We are warned by this words, "Oh, I must not park here !" That is, proper warning and execution of law make our society in order.
Likewise order is necessary even in the church. Our God is the God of order, not the God of disorder. He sometimes uses warning to establish order in the church. Therefore Jesus says in today's scripture, "Fear him. Yes I tell you, fear him."