 awesome and amazing day to serve the Lord because we have an awesome and amazing God, you know, he's going to do something consistent with that character, that amazing character of his, and he's going to do it today in this program. We're so glad you joined us for Hope Today. I'm Tom. I'm here with Sydney and Amy. Amy, we have a great guest coming up. We do. You're reminding me of the song, Our God is an awesome God. You know, Holy Fear is not a topic that you'll hear much about these days, but if you want to build a faith that stands strong through troubled times, you cannot afford to miss this book. John Bavir is here today and he shares a staggering statistic. The Barna Group reported that more than 40 million Americans departed from the faith from the years 2000 to 2020. That's not good, but John is here. He's going to unpack one of the most important virtues for a believer. And that is guys, the fear of the Lord, the awe of God. And I just think it is such a now word, a now book for a now moment. We know that God is moving all around the country and this, I believe, is going to be a key to unlock some things in our lives. So it's going to be really, really in awe today, Sydney. Yeah, I think it's so important as the body of Christ that we need to fear the Lord. I know there's so much about we love God, we poured our love, but do we have reverence? Do we have honor? Do we respect him? When he shows up in the room, do we know how to bow down before the king of kings? You know, I've often time I've heard because, you know, we live in a democracy and we don't understand about kingdoms, the king and queen system. We don't know how it is to reverence and honor the king, but that is something Tom that has been so in my heart that I've heard so a lot of people just talking about, especially here in America, we need to fear the Lord. It's not a joke. It's not something to be playing with. Well, you know, we don't understand the fear of the Lord. We really, it's a subject that we don't talk a lot about. It's not taught a lot in the churches, but it needs to be. And it's something that is so important for us to understand what that reverence and that recognizing his holiness and his majesty and all those things. You're right, Sydney. We don't, we don't, you know, I was watching one of those shows with the queen in it. And when the queen dismisses the person in the queen of England, they don't even turn their backs on her. They back out because you don't turn your back on royalty. And just think of that honor, you know, that kind of honor. We sort of understand that a little bit when we honor our leaders, but we don't understand it like we need to. And I feel like if you've ever encountered the presence of the Lord, this is like, I remember the first time when I felt like the weighty glory of God like fall and you can't get up. I was a fear falls like, Oh my gosh, like when you have an experience and encounter with the Lord, you're like, he is real. So today I'm really excited, Amy, with our conversation with John Bavir, just to dive into this and understand why it's so important for us to fear the Lord like never before. Do you long for an intimate relationship with God, but you struggle to feel his presence or wonder if he is even listening at all? Well, the reason could be that you're missing out on something very essential to your faith. Watch this. How is a lack of fearing God affecting you? If we're afraid of God, we'll pull away, but if we fear God, we'll draw near. You say, John, that sounds counterintuitive. The reason it sounds counterintuitive is because the fear of God has nothing to do with being afraid of God. The fear of God is when we're actually terrified of being away from God. If you look at the men and women in scripture and in the history of the church, the ones who walk closely with Jesus are those who feared him. I have spent the last year writing the most critical revelations that God has ever given me because I want to see you in dirt to the end and fulfill all that God has called you to do. When we understand the awe of God, everything changes. Minister and international bestselling author John Bavir joins us now to share how you can experience the intimate relationship with God that he so desires for your life. John, it's a privilege and an honor and we're in awe to have you with us today on Hope Today. Amy, Tom, Sydney, thanks so much for having me on and I love what you guys are doing and it's just a real privilege to be on and talk to you about this extremely important topic today. Let's talk about the timing of this book, the awe of God, with the Jesus Revolution movie coming out and sweeping the nation with the Asbury revival, with revivals breaking out on all of these campuses with God moving. How is this book critical to this timing of this season of revival? Well, if you look at any move of God, one of three things, we can be in one of three places. We can be on the outside looking in or we can be resisting it or we can be on the crest of the wave and it's funny, the Irwin brothers, Andy is a good friend of ours and we previewed the movie last September. I already knew the book was coming out in February and to be honest with you, the publisher, when they said the book was coming out in February, I said, that's too soon. I said, you need a year because we met in July and they said, no, we feel like it's supposed to come out in February. Well, after praying about it, I felt good too. Well, then Andy, you know, the Irwin brothers told me, okay, our movie's coming out in February. I'm like, that's interesting. Well, then the Asbury revival breaks out and I'm realizing that God is wanting to position us to receive the outpouring of his spirit, to enter into his glorious presence. So the movie shows that here's a pastor faced with a crisis. Am I going to continue to do things the way I've been doing it with no presence of God and no revival in my church? Or am I going to take the risk and am I going to start welcoming these people in that are bare feet that haven't taken a bath as he says in the movie? And what happens? He ends up Chuck Smith being a leader of an entire movement. And I told our team, I said, guys, we kind of learned how to pivot in COVID. We, you know, back in 2020, I said, we better be ready to pivot this year. I said, because we are about to see an outpouring of God's spirit that I have been waiting for for 40 years, I came in to know Jesus at the very end of the Jesus revolution back in 1979. And God told me back in those days, I'm going to bring my church into a wilderness, and I'm going to refine her character so that she can handle the full measure of my power. And then in the 19 early 1990s, God spoke to me, he said, the outpouring of my spirit that is coming will emphasize the holy awe of God. And he said, that is what's going to prepare my church for my son's return. Because the only description, Amy, of the church that Jesus is coming back for, it's not a leadership driven church. I believe in leadership. It's not a relevant church. I believe in relevance. It's not a community church. I believe it's not good that man's alone. It is a holy church without spot or wrinkle. But think of it, the enemy so perverted holiness that people fear that word. Holiness has nothing to do with legalistic rules and regulations. It's all about being completely and totally his. And so the awe of God is what opens up an intimate relationship with him. It is the beginning of knowing God intimately, which brings us into his presence, which sets us apart and makes us holy. How do you describe, you know, the fear of the Lord? It's not often that we hear people preaching about, oh, fear the Lord. How do you define that in this book? Well, you know, if you look at the fear of the Lord in Isaiah 11, verse three, it says it was Jesus's delight. Now I think that should cause us to pay attention right there. What Jesus delighted in, we should delight in. The fear of the Lord has absolutely nothing to do with being scared of God. It's actually being terrified of being away from him. If you look at when Moses brings Israel to the mountain of God and God comes down on the mountain, the people run away. And Moses makes this amazing statement in Exodus 2020. He said, do not fear because God's come to test you to see if his fears in you so that you may not sin. Now wait a minute, Moses, what do not fear because God's come to see if his fears in you? What's he doing? He's not talking out of two sides of his mouth. He's differentiating between being scared of God and the fear of the Lord. There's a difference. The person that is scared of God is something to hide. What does Adam do when he sins against God? He hides from the presence of the Lord. The person who fears God, that person, that man or woman, has nothing to hide. They are terrified of being away from God. So if you look at the Holy fear of God, it's a very important virtue because Paul the apostle makes the statement in Philippians two. He said that we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, not love and kindness with fear and trembling. So our salvation is matured, brought to a place of completeness when we walk in the Holy fear of God. And Amy, I will never forget it. I went and saw a world famous evangelist in prison in 1994. And this is when God really began to open this up to me. And because it's become a life message for 30 years, I've been praying and studying this in the Word of God. But I'll never forget, here's this world famous evangelist. And I knew he was passionate about Jesus, loved Jesus, loved people. And yet he was arrested. He was sentenced for five years in prison. And I'm in this prison cell or in this penitentiary, federal penitentiary with him. And he said, John, this prison was not God's judgment on my life. It was his mercy. And I remember going, what? He said, yes, if I would continue to live the way I was living, I would have ended up in hell forever. Well, he had my attention. And after he told me his whole story, how Jesus had delivered him from all the wickedness that was in his life in prison, I asked him, the first question I asked him was, at what point did you fall out of love with Jesus? What point? When did it happen? And he looked at me and he said, John, I didn't. And I said, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You committed adultery. And I named the woman's name in 1983. And I said, you got arrested in 1990 and sentenced in 1990. Are you telling me in those seven years when you're walking in all this corruption, you love Jesus? He said, yes, John, I loved him all the way through it. And he sees the confusion on my face. And he said, John, I didn't fear God. And I went, what? And he said, there are millions of Americans like me. They love Jesus, but they lack the fear of God. And if you look at the love of God, it is what delivered us out of legalism. When we were in a legalistic state back in the 60s and 70s, we found out God is a good God. That love of God delivered us from legalism. But we went to the other side of that narrow road of life and we fell into the other ditch. And that ditch is called lawlessness, which is an excessive, fleshly, worldly disobedient lifestyle. And there is a force that God has given us. It's a gift. It's a treasure that keeps us from that lifestyle. And that's called the holy awe of God. That's why we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, not love and kindness. Wow. I mean, that should just shake us to the core because, you know, so many of us in the Christian church, we do say, we love Jesus, we love Jesus, but there's some things that maybe we're missing. Like, are we obeying him when he speaks to us? And when we're in church services, what is our attitude like? Are we paying attention? Are is there a reverence and an awe? What are some questions or some signs that we need to be looking for as believers so that we're not loving Jesus, but not fearing the Lord? Well, is obedience optional? That's the big one. The fear of the word, you can break it down in two categories, to tremble it as presence, to tremble it as word. Israel was very selective in how they were obeying God in Isaiah 66. And God said, you know what, your selective obedience is like offering pigs blood to me, which pig, a pig is an unclean animal to the children of Israel. So this was like what? And God said, this is the one I pay attention to, to him who was poor, or that means humble, contrite and trembles at my word. So what does it mean to tremble at the word of God? It means we'll obey him instantly. It means we'll obey him when it doesn't make sense. It means we'll obey him even if it hurts. It means we'll obey him even if we don't see a benefit. And it means we'll obey him to completion. If you look at Abraham, God came to Abraham and said to him, I want you to go. You know, your son you waited for for 25 years, he's more important to you than anything or anyone else. I want you to go on a three day journey and sacrifice him for me. Oh my goodness, there was nothing more important to Abraham. And God didn't even tell him why to do it. He didn't say, Abraham, if you do this, I'll send my son. He just says, go off drunk. And so we read in the Bible early the next morning. Oh my goodness, he's already on his way. And you know, it's easier maybe when you heard the booming voice of God the night before, but what about two and a half days later when you're looking at the mountain, you're going to put the most important person or thing to death and you're like, just because God said it and didn't give you a reason. Abraham goes to the top of the mountain. He ties Isaac up on the altar. He lifts up the knife and the angel of the Lord appears and the angel says, Abraham, stop. Now I know you fear God. How did the angel know that Abraham feared God? He obeyed instantly. He obeyed when it didn't make sense. He obeyed when it hurt. He obeyed the completion and he obeyed when he didn't see a benefit. Abraham puts down the knife, lifts up his eyes out of his spirit comes Jehovah Jireh. God reveals a facet of his personality to Abraham. No man had ever known before because he's my friend. And if you look at Abraham and you look a lot, you see the difference between a Christian who fears God and a Christian who doesn't fear God. Abraham is led in on the secrets of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot is clueless. And so if you look at Jesus and you bring this into the New Testament, Jesus said, you're my friends if there's a condition on friendship with Jesus. What's the condition? If you do whatever I command you. So that's the Holy fear of God that opens up a relationship of friendship with the Lord. Psalm 25 verse 14 says, friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear him. With them, he shares his secrets. And you know what my burden is, Amy and Sidney and Tom? There are so many Christians. They know God by how he answers their prayer. They know God by what he does in their church services. But yet, do they know his secrets? Does he share the secrets of his heart with them? I don't know about you, but there is nothing in this universe I am more hungry for than intimate fellowship with God. And the fear of the Lord is the door that opens that up. It's the starting place. Wow. I just have to say, wow, and take a pause for a second with everything you just said there, John, because I think I know I've wrestled with this. And I think some of our viewers are wrestling with, how do I put that thing of fear in that same place of intimacy? Because it's like, it seems almost counterintuitive. I know that for me, I recognize that I could fear my father, but was also glad when he showed up, you know, because there was protection, there was love, there was all those things, but I could fear his judgment if I was doing wrong. How does the person that's watching, how does the Christian, who's known the Lord for 20 years, take a step in the direction that you're talking about? The way to do it is to ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit of the fear of the Lord. Jesus said, if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them who ask him? Well, if you look at Isaiah 11, there are seven manifestations of the Holy Spirit. It said, the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Jesus. The Spirit of wisdom, counsel, might, knowledge, understanding, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. And Jesus' delight was in the fear of the Lord. So one way is we ask God to fill us with that Holy all. That is a gift, that is a treasure that we can ask for. And then if you look at Psalm 34, God says, come near and I will teach you about the fear of the Lord. It is so important that we're taught. You know, if you look at, you mentioned it about it when a king or a queen walks into their throne room. Now, we don't see this today in the 21st century, but back in the day, there would be a herald that would announce the name of the king. But before that king came in, everybody in that throne room was taught in the protocol of how to respond to the king when he came in. If you look, God is trying to tell us, this is the way you come into my presence. You don't come in and go, hey dude, what's going on? That is absolutely a terrible thing that we've done that causes people not to be able to have that intimate fellowship with God. He is a holy God. Here's Isaiah who's preaching. Woe to those that are proud. Woe to those who are wicked. Woe to those who linger long at the bottle. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. That's Isaiah five. Isaiah six, he is one glimpse of the Lord in his glory and he is groveling on the floor saying, Woe is me. Now what happens? The result of that holy fear brings a cleansing to him. Now he's the only one in the nation that can hear God say, who will go for us? When God speaks, it's like your TV station sending the waves out. If people don't have their receiver on, they're not going to be able to hear you guys. But when God speaks and says who will go for us, there's only one man that's been cleansed by his holy fear and that's Isaiah. So this is the thing that opens our ears to be able to hear. Opens our eyes to be able to see and yet we've not taught it. That's why it's through fear and trembling our salvation is matured. You know, John, I just love this conversation about the holy awe of God and why it is so important now more than ever that we gain a revelation and we experience that and our daily lives and our walk with God. I just want to ask you if I'm at your personal standpoint, when was the moment that you had that you experienced for the first time this holy reverence and awe of God? Well, you know, Sydney, that's such a great question. I remember being asked to the nation of Brazil and there were thousands, thousands in the arena and I was the Friday night speaker and when I walked in, people were standing there looking around during worship. They were whispering, they were walking in and out, getting concessions in this massive arena and then when the person got up and began to read, the leader of the national movement got up and began to read from the word of God. They're still talking. You can hear them muttering. You can see people walking around and I'm like, whoa. And God spoke to me and he said, son, you need to deal with this. And I remember getting up and preaching on the holy awe of God. I said, if you, if you're Pele, your, your favorite soccer player in Brazil's history would have walked on this platform. You would have been on the edge of your seats giving him 10 times the respect you gave the spirit of God. Well, when it was, when it went after 75 minutes of preaching on the fear of the Lord, I said, if you're a Christian and you lack the fear of God and you're willing to repent and receive the fear of God stand up 75 percent of the arena stands up immediately. The presence of God comes in. People start weeping and I remember praying with them, but then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and he said, son, I'm coming. I'm coming one more time. And the only way I know how to describe it, Sidney, is that you're at the end of a runway and a Boeing jet takes off in front of you. That kind of a violent wind came blowing into that arena. Now the people started screaming. Now, can you imagine several thousand of Brazilians screaming in prayer? The wind was louder. And Sidney, I am standing on that platform and I thought, John Bavir, if you make one wrong move, you say one wrong word, you're dead. Now, would that have happened? I don't know, but it did happen with Ananias and Sapphire when they brought an offering to their church service and they lied about it in Acts chapter five. And that presence was on the apostles and Peter so strongly that they walked out of that meeting and they just laid the six sick in the streets and they got healed. The authority that came into that arena was so terrifying, but yet, now listen, I'm drawn to it. I'm literally drawn to it. I'm like, in my heart going, God, I want more. I want more. I want more. My head's going, God, can I handle this? Can I handle this? And I remember that men lasted for 90 seconds. And the guys at the sound board said the decimal meters were at zero. Now one ounce of the sound of the wind came through the sound system. We heard about that incident for 22 years after it happened through emails and calls. And when I would go down to Brazil and leaders would say, I was in the building when the wind blew and my life has never been the same since. Let me tell you, when you come into that presence, you change. You can't articulate how you change, but you change. It changed me forever. I sat on the balcony of my hotel, Sidney, and I worshiped God till 1.30 in the morning. And I just in my mind thought, oh, wow, what really happened? Well, it's happened in Malaysia. It's happened in North Carolina and California and Colorado Springs since. But I remember it changed me. And this is what I believe this move is about to do. I think these people coming out of Asbury, I think they're getting a level, but I don't believe they're getting the full measure yet. I believe we're coming into a time where God told me in my heart years ago, it's going to make the Book of Acts look like child's play with the power. I mean, when they prayed in Acts, the building shook. I mean, they're winning entire cities to the Lord. What is coming is so powerful. And we must be in the place to where we're not fighting against it, but to where we're flowing with what God is doing in the earth. Think about it, guys. God is so awesome and he wants to reveal himself to us, but he knows, he knows that we must walk in holy awe in order to be able to abide in that presence. Aaron had two sons. They were authorized to come into the presence of the Lord, but in Leviticus 10, they came in with irreverence and they were immediately struck dead. So you see this in the Old Testament. You see it in the New Testament with Ananias and Sapphira. Hey, we're coming into great days ahead and I want everybody prepared for this move of God. Yes, amen. We're, we're shouting. We can't contain ourselves. We want people to experience the awe of God. John, we have like a minute left. Can you pray for all of those that are watching? They're like, I need to jump in to this awe, profound reverence, fear of the Lord. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for every single person that's watching this program. I'm asking that the presence of your spirit would come upon them, that you would fill them with the holy awe, with the holy fear of God. I'm asking, baptize them now afresh with the spirit of the living God. And I thank you that Lord, as a result, they will come to know Jesus more intimately than they've ever known him before. And I thank you, Lord God, in Jesus' name, that this holy awe will protect them and keep them from falling away from you. And I ask this in Jesus' mighty name, amen. Amen. Wow. Thank you, John, for that prayer. Thank you for this book and this message. You can pick up this book at Amazon. You can just put it right in your cart and prime. It'll be there in less than a day, probably. And also, the Bevere's have an incredible app called MessengerX. Go to the App Store, download it. It is such a resource and tool for this time. This message is a now message for a now time. Thank you so much, John. What a gift. Tom, Sydney, Amy, it's been such a pleasure. And also, when you go to the App Store and you type in MessengerX, don't put a space between the R and the X, and it will pop up for you. Beautiful. Wow. Guys, I have to tell you, as I was reading this book, it's never happened before, but I felt the tangible presence of God surround me in the living room as I was just diving into scriptures about the fear, the awe, and the reverence of God. This is a game changer for the believer. Yeah, Sydney. Just take a moment and just make room for him. Because I'm telling you, when you experience the wind of the Spirit, when you experience the weightiness, I know, and he was the Kavad glory, it changes you forever. And so that's what we desire for you today, is that you experience the awe of God, the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and he reveals his secrets, his revelation to those who fear him. Don't miss this moment and don't miss this opportunity to be with your maker. So often we share our thoughts at the end. This is not about thoughts. This is about God's presence. This is about God coming to where you are. It's what he wants to do. It's what he's going to do. Have a great day. On Tomorrow's Hope Today, discover how to prioritize your wellness and crush your fitness goals. Fitness expert Brooke Daniels shares about her faith-based fitness movement, which focuses on the mind, body, and soul when it comes to exercise. Don't miss Tomorrow's Hope Today. Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.