The Fear of God Causes Us to Treasure What God Is Growing. | 6/14/26 | 7pm

Devotional

Day 1: Lanterns in the Path of Oncoming Trains

A railroad flagman runs toward danger, lantern in hand, choosing responsibility over safety. His story mirrors the tension every believer faces: the collision between self-preservation and holy obedience. Fear always rules, but which fear? Reverence for God reshapes priorities, making His voice louder than comfort or reputation. This kind of fear isn’t terror but a gravitational pull toward what matters most. It turns ordinary people into guardians of destinies they cannot yet see. [27:09]

“But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.”
(Exodus 1:17, NKJV)

Reflection: Where is God calling you to hold the lantern high, even when it costs your comfort or safety? What “oncoming train” makes you tempted to retreat?

Day 2: Pharaoh’s Threat vs. God’s Future

Pharaoh saw Hebrew babies as a problem; the midwives saw them as God’s promise. Fear of God recalibrates vision, turning threats into sacred assignments. Every life preserved, every soul nurtured, becomes a thread in the tapestry of God’s kingdom. What seems insignificant—a crying infant, a struggling believer—carries eternal weight. To fear God is to align with His perspective, even when the world screams otherwise. [34:37]

“In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.”
(Proverbs 14:26–27, NKJV)

Reflection: What person or situation do you need to see through God’s eyes this week, rather than through fear or inconvenience?

Day 3: When God Changes What You Hate

Salvation rewires desires. The old life loses its grip as reverence for God grows. Sin becomes a foreign language, and holiness feels like home. This isn’t willpower—it’s the miracle of a heart that now loves what God loves. The fear of the Lord isn’t a cage but a compass, steering us away from dead ends and toward life. [43:23]

“All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption, and perverse speech.”
(Proverbs 8:13, NLT)

Reflection: What habit or attitude once felt “normal” that now unsettles your spirit? How has God’s fear reshaped your loves?

Day 4: Trellises for New Growth

A cucumber plant climbs a trellis, finding strength in its structure. Likewise, mature believers become supports for new faith. Your testimony, your steadiness, your prayers—these are trellises for others. The midwives didn’t know the babies’ futures, but their obedience preserved a generation. God multiplies what we protect. [48:16]

“And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.”
(Exodus 1:21, NKJV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs you to be a “trellis” this week? How can your growth strengthen someone else’s?

Day 5: Preserved for a Purpose You Can’t Yet See

Every believer was once a spiritual infant, protected by someone’s prayers or courage. God doesn’t rescue us because we deserve it, but because He sees what we’ll become. The same God who shielded Moses in a basket shields you today. Your story is proof: what He starts, He finishes. [51:38]

“I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.”
(Isaiah 42:16, NKJV)

Reflection: Look back—where did God preserve you for a purpose you didn’t understand then? How does that shape your trust in His future for you?

Sermon Summary

Exodus 1 sets a clash of fears in front of the church. Pharaoh’s fear views the rising sons of Israel as a threat, but God’s promise to Abraham is bringing fruitfulness, multiplying a people, and building a future. The line lands sharp, “But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.” The fear that decides everything is not terror that runs from God, but reverence so deep that God’s voice weighs more than comfort, approval, or even safety. The railroad flagman with a lantern pictures it. When fears collide, the fear that rules the heart decides what happens next.

God’s work in Exodus is not only deliverance from a tyrant, it is preservation of destinies. The midwives, Sifra and Pua, are ordinary, not powerful, yet the fear of God causes them to treasure what God is growing. God sees sons, fathers, servants, and leaders. Pharaoh sees a problem. The fear of the Lord gives God’s perspective on people, turning infants into futures and converts into precious lives worth protecting. Proverbs names it a fountain of life, a refuge, and strong confidence. Where the enemy pushes toward death, the fear of God protects life and guards what heaven is bringing to birth.

The fear of God also reorders the heart’s loves. Before salvation, sin looked normal. Under holy reverence, sin is exposed as theft, rot, and ruin. Proverbs says, by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. Not endless “struggling,” but departing. Salvation changes appetites. Pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverse speech lose their shine. Old patterns start to feel wrong. That discomfort is mercy. God has been pursuing, preserving, and redirecting long before sinners could see it, and now He reshapes what they hate and what they chase.

Finally, the fear of God builds an atmosphere where others can grow. The midwives protected people who would never know their names, yet they preserved destinies and God gave them households. God multiplies what His people preserve. Healthy churches grow when they treasure what heaven treasures, even one sinner who repents. The image of a trellis fits. A godly example is a sturdy frame that a new life can grip, rise, and strengthen upon. Isaiah’s promise stands. God still leads the blind by ways they did not know, turning darkness into light and crooked paths straight. The God who guarded Israel’s children is guarding His church, and the God who began the work is faithful to complete it. The fear of God causes people to treasure what God is growing.

Key Takeaways

1. The fear that decides everything The heart always follows the loudest fear. Pharaoh’s fear guarded power, but the midwives’ reverence guarded life. When God’s voice holds more weight than comfort or safety, courage shows up at the exact point of collision. That choice preserves destinies that cannot yet be seen. [28:19]
2. The fear of God protects life Scripture calls the fear of the Lord a fountain of life and a place of refuge. Reverence reframes people from problems into promises, so the church treasures new birth and guards it. Where the enemy aims at death, holy fear becomes a shield for what heaven is growing. [34:52]
3. Holy reverence makes sin lose grip By the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. Reverence does more than label wrong, it makes wrong feel foreign and empty. Patterns once called “struggles” become doors that must be left behind, because God’s path is life and anything less steals it. [39:44]
4. A godly example is a trellis New believers need sturdy lives to lean on. Testimony, holiness, and steady love give shape for upward growth, the way a trellis guides a vine. God honors those who protect growth, just as He gave the midwives households when they saved the children. [47:58]
5. Heaven multiplies what people preserve When God’s people value what God values, God entrusts them with more. Healthy churches grow by treasuring one repentant sinner, one rescued family, one guarded destiny. God turns darkness into light and straightens the path for those who walk in reverent obedience. [49:38]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[26:38] - The fear that decides everything
[27:09] - No radios on the rails
[27:30] - Lantern flagman faces danger
[28:50] - Love, grace, and holy fear
[30:22] - Exodus 1 and the midwives
[31:20] - Children targeted, God multiplies
[34:52] - Fear of the Lord is life
[39:44] - Departing from evil by fear
[42:35] - New desires and holy discomfort
[47:58] - Trellis image for discipleship
[48:44] - God gives the midwives households
[49:38] - Treasuring what heaven treasures
[50:30] - Standing in the gap for destinies
[53:04] - Salvation prayer and invitation
[58:49] - Prophetic encouragement and authority
[60:14] - Closing blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Exodus 1:17 (ESV)
But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

Observation questions

What specific action did the midwives take in Exodus 1:17, and what motivated their decision?
According to the sermon, how does Pharaoh’s view of the Israelites differ from God’s view of them? [34:37]
What does Proverbs 14:26-27 say about the practical outcomes of fearing God?
How does Isaiah 42:16 describe God’s guidance for those who trust Him?

Interpretation questions

Why might the midwives’ fear of God have outweighed their fear of Pharaoh’s authority? What does this reveal about the nature of true reverence?
The sermon contrasts Pharaoh’s fear (of losing power) with the midwives’ fear (of God). How do these competing fears shape the choices people make today? [28:19]
Proverbs 8:13 says those who fear God “hate evil.” How does holy reverence transform how we perceive sin, rather than just avoiding it? [39:44]
The “trellis” metaphor suggests godly examples help others grow. Why is this kind of influence critical for new believers? [47:58]

Application questions

What is one area where your fear of human opinions or comfort currently outweighs your fear of God? What step could you take to reorder those priorities this week?
The midwives protected lives they would never see mature. Who in your life (a coworker, neighbor, or stranger) might need you to “stand in the gap” for their spiritual growth, even if you never see the results? [50:30]
The sermon says sin begins to feel “foreign” when we fear God. What habit or attitude once felt normal to you that now feels empty or destructive? How has that shift impacted your choices? [42:35]
Think of a time someone’s godly example (a “trellis”) helped you grow. How could you intentionally become that kind of example for someone newer in faith? [48:16]
Pharaoh saw people as problems; the midwives saw them as promises. Who do you struggle to view through God’s perspective? How might praying for them change your heart?
The sermon emphasizes that God multiplies what we preserve. What “small” act of obedience (prayer, generosity, encouragement) could you prioritize this month to protect what God is growing? [49:38]

Sermon Clips

39s

#StandInTheGap

“The story begins with infants who could not protect themselves. A wicked king who wanted to destroy them, yet god raised up people who fear god enough to stand in the gap for them. Will you be that man? Will you be that woman? Will we be that church that we are called to stand in the gap? The midwives probably thought they were simply saving babies, but they were preserving destinies. And this is the story of our salvation.”

39s

#BeTheFlagman

“In the early days of the railroad system, when a bridge was damaged or a section of the track became unsafe, there were no radios to instantly warn an approaching train. They could not communicate to a train that there's a damaged track or a bridge is unsafe. So the responsibility often fell upon a railroad flagman. If danger appeared ahead, he will grab a lantern, he will run down to the tracks towards the oncoming train, and he will start waving the light and signaling for the engineer to stop.”

50s

#ReverenceOverComfort

“I think that illustrates something we don't talk about much anymore. How many know we talk about the love of God? Talk about the grace of God. We talk about the mercy of God, and rightly so we do. But the Bible also speaks about the fear of God. Not a terror that drives us away from God, but a reverence so deep that his voice becomes greater than any other voice. A respect so profound that his approval matters more than our comfort, our reputation, and even our safety.”

51s

#RiskToSave

“That was very dangerous work, beloved. The train was moving towards the individual, and the temptation would have been to stay back to protect himself, but he understood something very important. If he remained where it was safe, the train will continue forward and lives could be lost. So in that moment, fears collided. One fear said, protect yourself. The other said, do not fail the responsibility that has been entrusted to you. And the fear that ruled his heart will determine what will happen next.”

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The Fear of God Causes Us to Treasure What God Is Growing. | 6/14/26 | 7pm | Victory Chapel |