Blessing Through Reverence

The prevailing culture in the world today is to do what feels right for you. Rules are only relevant for you if you choose them to be, but are subject to change with our current mood. We have seen dangerous patterns stir throughout the body of Christ before, so we are no stranger to the work of the enemy among us. It is time that we stand with the banner of holiness and declare to the world that there is a standard that God has set forth for His children to walk in. Not everyone agrees that the standard is set by God Himself and not our interpretation of it.

Psalm 128:1 ESV

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!

Psalm 115:1 ESV

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

The blessings that we long for, that we hunger for, are conditional upon our reverence to a Holy God. When you approach Him, how do you go about it? Do you not feel a sense of awe at the greatness of His majesty? Do you long to have a greater awareness of who He truly is?

God is not limited to our clumsy formation of His likeness in our minds, but He is gracious in revealing Himself to the humble.

Why is this such a big deal? Because keeping God in His rightful place allows us to be elevated to Him and out of our problems. If we try to make God less than He truly is and pull Him down to our level, then our mental construct envisions a limited God with limited power.

We need to refrain from any thought that makes God manageable.

The characteristics of reverence

Wisdom is based on reverence for God

Psalm 111:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Never Ending Reverence

Psalm 19:9 ESV

the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.

Jesus Modeled Reverence for the Father

Isaiah 11:2–3 ESV

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

James 4:5–10 ESV

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

God responds to those who revere him

Psalm 147:11 ESV

but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Malachi 3:16–18 ESV

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

There are many that believe that they are friends with God, but their behaviors suggest otherwise. We must allow the Word of God be our guide in these matters.

Psalm 25:14 ESV

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

Acts 10:34–35 ESV

So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

Reverence brings God’s special attention and compassion

Ne 1:11; Ps 33:18; Ps 103:13; Ps 103:17; Ps 145:19; Lk 1:50

God is good to those who revere him

Ps 31:19; Is 33:6

Reverence brings God’s protection and deliverance

Ps 34:7; Ps 60:4; Ps 115:11; Pr 14:26

God meets the needs of those who revere him

Ex 1:21; Ps 34:9; Ps 111:5; Je 5:24–25

Reverence for God is rewarded

God rewards the reverent with prosperity

Deuteronomy 6:24 ESV

And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.

See also Job 1:9; Ps 25:12–13; Ps 85:9; Ps 112:1; Ps 128:4; Pr 22:4; Mal 4:2

Those who revere God avoid his judgment

Deuteronomy 28:58–67 ESV

“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. “And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see.

God rewards reverence with long life and future hope

Pr 10:27; Pr 14:27; Pr 19:23; Pr 23:17–18; Ec 8:13

Proverbs 10:27 ESV

The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

Proverbs 14:27 ESV

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Proverbs 23:17–18 ESV

Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 19:23 ESV

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

Ecclesiastes 8:13 ESV

But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

The verse following this says that man cannot know God’s ways. In other words, we cannot fathom how big, how magnificent, how holy, how gracious, how wonderful, how giving, how loving, how powerful and almighty He truly is with the natural mind.

God is here to reveal Himself to you this morning, He wants you to stop straining at your own thoughts and just allow Him to show you as you simply ask for this truth to break open within your own spirit today. I promise you the newness of God is a new thing everyday if you will hear this morning. It is not His intention to bring sorrow except to grieve for, carry a burden for those that have not opened their hearts to holding the Lord Most High in His rightful place.

Instead of rejoicing in what we can do, He wants us to rejoice in what He can do through us. The possibilities are limitless with God, but few in our own strength.

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