Fearing the Lord
People have generally been confused about the idea of 'fearing' the Lord. The word 'fear' has been so commonly used to express a sense of dread that evil will happen on us. It is a painful emotion; that of anxiety. Yet throughout the Bible, we find the phrase 'Fear of the Lord'. But in 2 Timothy 1:7, the Lord clearly tells us that "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Clarification of the word 'Fear'
Apart from the meaning - reverence, submission, recognition and adoration of our Lord in our lives. As explained VERY SIMPLY in the verse above, to fear the Lord is simply not to walk with evil. The Lord wants us to hate evil. Why? Because evil corrupts the mind, body and spirit of a believer. The Lord hates anything that destroys His children. So He wants us to hold the same attitude towards evil - to shun, reject and move away from it.
Does that mean you won't be tempted or sin? No! There will still be temptations. But know this, as a believer, sin does not have power or in-roads over our lives. Why? Because the Holy Spirit helps us to repent - to have a change of mind towards the evil that's tempting us or even in our lives and move away from it like you would from an infectious disease. We don't like it. We don't enjoy it. We may be tempted once in a while. But it does not give us the peace. And when you repent, you confess; and what confession means is simply to agree with our Lord that what's in my life in not right.
Do you know fearing the Lord is a choice we make? Yes we can choose not to fear the Lord. Oh but just simply by fearing Him, by walking with Him, by taking our rightful place under His refuge, He gives us so much more in return.
1. Delighting in the Lord
Verse 1 says that the person who fears the Lord will greatly desire Him. It is not about simply going to church. But to desire and delight in the word of our Lord. To find out His goodness and His graciousness from the scriptures. To understand the very nature of our Lord. And the Bible says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! Thereafter pursue the word!
Proverbs 14:26-27 says, "He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death."
So how do you be strong and remain confident? You pour on the word of God in your life and He builds in you His confidence.
Psalms 111:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise
Build a good understanding of our Lord. When you begin to realise the goodness of our Lord, you'll automatically fear Him for you will begin to find evil distasteful.
2. For Your Family
Verse 2 says clearly that those who fear the Lord will have children who will be mighty in the land and the generation of the righteous will be blessed. Our children will be courageous and bold in the truth. Teach your children from an early age to fear the Lord. To learn to hate evil and shun those things that will destroy them and derail them in the Lord's ultimate plan for them. Fortify them with the Lord's words that they will learn to deny evil.
3. Wealth & Righteousness
Yes indeed verse 3 says that you will have wealth and riches in your house. If you fear the Lord, you will be financially more well-off. But aside from financial security, the Lord tells us something even more important, that His righteousness endures forever with us. Fovermore we will be walking on His solid ground if we fear Him.
Psalms 34:9 says "Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him."
4. Light my way O Lord
Even in darkness, He will light my way and I will never be shaken. And my heart will remain steadfast and calm in Him. That's what fearing the Lord can do for you. No - you will not tremble in fright and sweat. Instead, when you learn to fear Him, He promises to be your light and still your heart.
Psalms 34:7 says, " The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. "
He's our rescuer. The hero in your individual life story. But hey, in every story, just because you live a life fearing the Lord, it does not mean difficult times won't come around. But what it means is that when darkness do come around, sweat not, our hero's going to come and sweep us off our feet.
In the midst of great overwhelming darkness, we hold our head up. Why? Because His light encamps around us. As a child of God, darkness will only be able to cast its shadows on us and not cover us for His light always keep it at a distance. The seasons of hardship and heartache will come. But so will the Lord also always stay with us through it all.
Webster gives a few definitions to the word 'fear'. One of which is the sense of dread which I mentioned above. Interestingly, there is another definition to the word 'fear'. Webster defines that in the scripture, fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion. In good men, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience. This is filial fear.
Let the Bible Define Fear!
Proverbs 8:13 says, "To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech."
Apart from the meaning - reverence, submission, recognition and adoration of our Lord in our lives. As explained VERY SIMPLY in the verse above, to fear the Lord is simply not to walk with evil. The Lord wants us to hate evil. Why? Because evil corrupts the mind, body and spirit of a believer. The Lord hates anything that destroys His children. So He wants us to hold the same attitude towards evil - to shun, reject and move away from it.
Does that mean you won't be tempted or sin? No! There will still be temptations. But know this, as a believer, sin does not have power or in-roads over our lives. Why? Because the Holy Spirit helps us to repent - to have a change of mind towards the evil that's tempting us or even in our lives and move away from it like you would from an infectious disease. We don't like it. We don't enjoy it. We may be tempted once in a while. But it does not give us the peace. And when you repent, you confess; and what confession means is simply to agree with our Lord that what's in my life in not right.
Consequences from Fearing the Lord
Psalms 112:1-8 says, "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD , who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD . His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. "
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD . His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. "
Do you know fearing the Lord is a choice we make? Yes we can choose not to fear the Lord. Oh but just simply by fearing Him, by walking with Him, by taking our rightful place under His refuge, He gives us so much more in return.
1. Delighting in the Lord
Verse 1 says that the person who fears the Lord will greatly desire Him. It is not about simply going to church. But to desire and delight in the word of our Lord. To find out His goodness and His graciousness from the scriptures. To understand the very nature of our Lord. And the Bible says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! Thereafter pursue the word!
Proverbs 14:26-27 says, "He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death."
So how do you be strong and remain confident? You pour on the word of God in your life and He builds in you His confidence.
Psalms 111:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise
Build a good understanding of our Lord. When you begin to realise the goodness of our Lord, you'll automatically fear Him for you will begin to find evil distasteful.
2. For Your Family
Verse 2 says clearly that those who fear the Lord will have children who will be mighty in the land and the generation of the righteous will be blessed. Our children will be courageous and bold in the truth. Teach your children from an early age to fear the Lord. To learn to hate evil and shun those things that will destroy them and derail them in the Lord's ultimate plan for them. Fortify them with the Lord's words that they will learn to deny evil.
3. Wealth & Righteousness
Yes indeed verse 3 says that you will have wealth and riches in your house. If you fear the Lord, you will be financially more well-off. But aside from financial security, the Lord tells us something even more important, that His righteousness endures forever with us. Fovermore we will be walking on His solid ground if we fear Him.
Psalms 34:9 says "Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him."
4. Light my way O Lord
Even in darkness, He will light my way and I will never be shaken. And my heart will remain steadfast and calm in Him. That's what fearing the Lord can do for you. No - you will not tremble in fright and sweat. Instead, when you learn to fear Him, He promises to be your light and still your heart.
Psalms 34:7 says, " The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. "
He's our rescuer. The hero in your individual life story. But hey, in every story, just because you live a life fearing the Lord, it does not mean difficult times won't come around. But what it means is that when darkness do come around, sweat not, our hero's going to come and sweep us off our feet.
In the midst of great overwhelming darkness, we hold our head up. Why? Because His light encamps around us. As a child of God, darkness will only be able to cast its shadows on us and not cover us for His light always keep it at a distance. The seasons of hardship and heartache will come. But so will the Lord also always stay with us through it all.
From Dr. Charles Stanley - radio message
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