The Fear of the Lord
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The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom
The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom
(Doesn’t Get More Foundational Than That)
speak on challenges of this message, 2 fold Holy Spirit filling and Foundations)
Gary Hines, the message of the first church – (heartcry of the apostolic church was repentance)
( repentance was foundational for them, but it could not be attained if it were not for a fear of the Lord.
For me, I could not come to a place of repentance when I was lost because that fear wasn’t there. I had to get a reset and unlearn the garbage that I was taught.
I believe that most of the people Jesus encountered during his Earthly ministry understood and had a fear of the Lord. Even the Parisees and Saducees, scribes, as wrong as their understanding was about Torah and the Messiah, this is something they got.
Many if not all of the people that Jesus encountered and healed also probably had a correct understanding of what it means to fear God. I believe this is not something Jesus taught too much about because it was understood very well by His audience at the time.
Today, not so much.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Some other verses mentioning the fear of God and knowledge/wisdom:
Job 28:28, Proverbs 1:29, Proverbs 2:5, Proverbs 15:33, Isaiah 11:2, Isaiah 33:6.
Without A Fear of the Lord, You Cannot Have A Correct View of God
Why is our nation/world in such bad shape today? This concept of God has not been properly taught.
Either God doesn’t exist, or He’s seen as equal with us, just a friend, companion, someone to run to in times of weakness.
We start with the fear of God, which leads us to true wisdom, which is the knowledge of the Love of God through His Son, Jesus. This is the goal of God’s Law (Torah)
Going Back To the Beginnings, What Does Scripture Teach About Bringing Up Children?
Many familiar passages might come to mind...
Exodus 20:12 (Honor your father and mother)
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Here are some New Testament verses...
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise:
All good instruction, but nothing about fearing the Lord. Here are some less familiar verses...
Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,
especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Couldn’t find any verses in the NT (Clement-Peter)
1 Clement 21:
“Let us reverence the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was given for us; let us esteem those who have the rule over us; let us honor the aged among us; let us train up the young men in the fear of God; let us direct our wives to that which is good.”
1 Clement 21: (cont)
“Let your children be partakers of true Christian training; let them learn of how great avail humility is with God — how much the spirit of pure affection can prevail with Him — how excellent and great His fear is, and how it saves all those who walk in it with a pure mind.”
What Does It Mean To Fear The Lord?
What Does It Mean To Fear The Lord?
Lets consider some verses...
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods.
Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the Lord your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,” Says the Lord God of hosts.
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
I now what you are thinking…Mike, that’s Old Testament God. We are under grace, perfect love casts out fear...
Jesus describes in Luke 18 an “unjust judge”
saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.”
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
So many more verses to consider. We just took a sampling from the Torah, History Books, Wisdom Writings, Psalms, Prophets, Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.
One of the greatest discoveries you will make as you study the Scriptures..this is one book, no inconsistencies or contradictions, one author, same message, cover to cover.
If we can all agree that God is just, righteous, holy, and His word is perfect, and we read something that we don’t like or rubs us the wrong way, the problem lies with us, not with God.
What Does It Mean To Fear The Lord?
Strong’s Concordance (definitions)
Fear - (1) awesomeness, that which causes wonder and astonishment, reverence, a state of piety and respect toward a superior.
Fear - (2) revere, venerate, show profound respect for one, that borders on fear of the object.
Fear - (3) be in a state of profound awe and respect, so intense the body may react with trembling and shaking.
Fear - (4) power so forceful that it instills terror, anxiety, or alarm.
So How Do We Reconcile This With God’s Love?
Over 200 times there are references to God’s Love and the Fear of God throughout the Bible, so both are undeniable aspects of God
Oftentimes in the Hebrew, words describe a feeling but differ on the cause of the feeling. For example, criminal before a police officer and a person about to get married might experience the same physical feelings (trembling, turning of the stomach, etc).
Here’s an analogy that might help you understand this better. Electricity...
personal experience
220 volts - stove
2,000 - electric chair
500,000 volts - high tension lines
When Asked, “Is Your Job Safe? Do You Ever Get Scared?”
Consider the answer of the lineman and how it parallels the walk of a believer...
“Every move we make is thought of and rehearsed beforehand, so its as safe as crossing the street. Though it’s not a job for hotshots.”
Consider This Analogy
Consider This Analogy
Here’s another analogy...
Navy Seal, comes home from war, his family doesn’t “fear” him, despite what he is capable of
imagine being a newborn baby in the hands of a Navy Seal, hands that have fired thousands of rounds of ammunition, detonated explosives, engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and that baby can enjoy the embraces of it’s father, being held by the same hands, which have the capability to do the same to that small life.
A Right Perspective of God
A Right Perspective of God
We must fear God as the Judge over all creation and yet be in awe of the cost of His Redemption. He is the Judge who sits on His stand, convicting the sinner of his crimes, proclaiming the punishment, then taking off His robe, places that robe upon us as he comes off the stand, to take the very punishment he just commanded to be given to the sinner.
And not only does he wipe our record clean, but he delegates His spiritual authority and power to us to supernaturally do His will on earth, making us co-heirs with Christ.
It is this sacrifice and gift, which was totally unnecessary and undeserving of us, that should cause us to stop and stand in awe of Him.
The same hands that were nailed to the cross are the ones that parted the Red Sea and smote Pharaoh with all of the armies of Egypt, the superpower of the day.
The same Jesus who is the Commander of the Armies of Yahweh who fought the battles of Joshua in the promised land, destroying the walls of Jericho, is the same Jesus who came into this world as a helpless baby in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago.
It was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who exchanged his kingly robe and crown, for a blood soaked cloth and crown of thorns.
The same Word which was present with God at the creation, which spoke every living creature and thing into existence, is the same Word which is described as a sword coming forth from the mouth of Jesus as He rides upon the clouds on His white horse in Revelation 19 to wage the final war on those who are not for Him but are against Him.
It was Jesus that said that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, who also said to not fear who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul, rather fear the same God who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.
It was the disciple whom Jesus loved that could do nothing else but fall at His feet powerless when in His presence in Revelation 1.
I’m not sure if when we meet Christ in heaven we are going to give Him a fist bump or do face plant.
We cannot focus upon only one of these 2 characteristics of God. To limit God as only a God of love or only a God of fear does not truly represent the full nature of who God is. And whether you are a believer or not, you must acknowledge both.
As believers, we should be conscious of dishonoring God with our lives and being attentive to the Presence of the Lord in our lives.
If you are not a born-again child of God, then you have much to fear. The Bible says that all who do not acknowledge God for who He is and for the way He has made for you through His Son Jesus will have to face the White Throne Judgment and be cast for eternity into the Lake of Fire.
If you are in Christ, the judgment against your sin was made at the Cross and you are now declared righteous by faith. Jesus fully paid the price. If you are genuinely trusting in God’s salvation, the fear of punishment for your sins comes to an end. But our faith in God’s love should never remove awe and reverence from our hearts.
So how do we as believers work out our salvation in fear and trembling?
Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.