Fear
the Lord
God's word has a lot to say about fear. I had always thought of fear being associated with being afraid but the word of God sheds much light on the subject, that we are to have a reverent awe of God that is healthy. All of our fears grow out of an unhealthy view of God. Over 300 instances the Word of God refer to this idea of fear as being linked to the majesty and person of God himself. In Acts 9:31 the fear of the Lord was accompanied by the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. It is strongly assigned to Ex.20:3 where we are told to have no other gods, that the place of Jesus in our hearts is to be unrivaled by any person or thing. WE NEED THE FEAR OF THE LORD TO FALL ON OUR LIVES. The Bible says that Jonah feared God as he was running from Him. Truthfully this is fear but not the kind that bring wisdom and knowledge. In Romans 3:16, after that horrible passage dealing with evil and rebellion we see that it all hinging on there not being a healthy fear of the God who loves them and is essentially the only hope for life change. In Chronicles 29 we see that to begin we must clean out the Holy Place and this is a painful chore, before one can clean out the messy room or garage we must first pull it all out in plain view. We have to admit that it is garbage in our lives and deal with it as so. The Word say s that this is the beginning of wisdom Ps.119:10, Pr. 9:10. The question is are we ready and willing to cooperate with God the Holy Spirit and deal seriously with the holiness of God and call OUR sin sin.
Four reasons to depart from evil:Fear of punishment. I might get caught.
My pride, A self righteousness that says I don't do, say, believe in that
The I love Jesus syndrome. I really want to sin in that area but I can't. The pull is there but I suppress it in the guise of my love for the Lord.
I fear the Lord. This is where I really don't want to because I do not want to Do it. Ps. 19:9, Pr. 14:27When we look at Job we see a man that was righteous and feared God yet had all kinds of a"bad" things happen to him and his family, to bring him to a point of breaking. In the early church they feared God as the blessing of God fell on all their lives. Therefore, there were blessings and promises to fearing God.
Pleasure to God. Ps.147:11
Promises of God's mercy and grace Ps.103 esp.v11 ; Luke 1:50
Blessings or a state of well being. Ps28:13 ; ECC.8:11
Bring acceptance with God. Acts10:34
Gives boldness Pr. 14:26
Answered prayer Ps145:19
Knows God's intimate counsel Ps 25:14
Fellowship Mal3:16,4:1 Ps. 119:63 34:7 Job
Riches and life Pr 22:4
ForgivenessNow we ask why is the fear of the Lord necessary?
To assist in worship Ps5:7
Service Acts2:43, Is.57:15 66:1, Heb 12:28
Deterrent to sin Ps4:4
Perfecting Holiness 11Cor.7:1
Mind of Christ in you
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling
Leadership 1Sam23:3, Ex. 18:21-23
Administrator of justice 11Chron, 19:6-9, Luke18
True fellowship Acts2:43, 9:31, Eph5:2
