“Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord.” Psalms 128:1-4 NKJV“COME, YOU CHILDREN, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” Psalms 34:11
One of the greatest reasons for the apostasy of the church is a lack of fear of God. I have heard people describe this “fear” as mostly a lax condition, since it produces cognitive dissonance in their minds of a loving Father. I have heard people call Him, “Daddy”, and proclaim that is the meaning of “Abba”. This is a humanistic teaching. “Abba Father” is a term of endearment, but still regards our Heavenly Father as the Almighty and holy God. It is most closely translated to mean “Dear Father”.
Think about the men in the Bible who had the closest relationship to God: Moses saw God face to face; but took off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. Moses always maintained a humble attitude when speaking with the Father. Abraham was called a “friend of God”, yet even in his pleading with the Lord to not destroy Sodom he spoke honorably and humbly before Him. Isaiah when he approached the throne proclaimed, “I am undone!” for he was a man of unclean lips.
All the OT prophets who had a close relationship with the Almighty always had an awe and respect for God. They never demanded anything from Him or marched in and told God what He was going to do for them. Fast forward to the NT, Paul used mightily of the Lord and had a close relationship with the Father, always humbled himself. John leaned on Jesus, but in his revelation experience stood in awe and reverence of a holy God, proclaiming his own unworthiness in awe and fear.
The fear of God is an awesome reverence and respect for God and His Word. It’s a firm understanding that God will do what He said He would do. He acts according to His Word. An honest fear of God produces a holy life before Him. The fear of the Lord is true godliness and religion; it is clean and endures forever. When you do what you want to do, operate in fear, gossip about others, treat people wickedly, create division and rumors; you show Him a lack of honor and lack of fear.
When you mock and scoff at goodness and righteousness, you lack the fear of the Lord. When you try to hide sin from the Almighty, you lack the fear of the Lord. Loose lips show a lack of fear. Perhaps you do not really believe His Word? The psalmist declares “there is no want to those who fear Him”. See, the promises of God are reserved for those who genuinely fear the Lord. He promises to: save me from all my fears and all my troubles (v.4,6,17), send angels to encamp around me (v.7) supply all my needs (v.9), give me an abundant life (v.12), hear my prayers (v. 15), comfort me with His presence (v.18) and redeem my soul (v.22)— IF I fear Him.
The NT Gentile converts were called “the God-fearers”. These sought the Lord, cried out to Him, drew near to seek His ways, kept their tongue from evil and lies, remained separated from the world, had contrite hearts and became His servants. Grace draws you in, but the fear of the Lord keeps you reliant on Him. Rectify this is your mind: you can lay down on His chest and reverence His holiness at the same time. You can cry out, “Dearest Father” and remain in awe and humility at the same time. It’s not “either” “or”, it’s both: drawing near through the shed blood of Christ in a spirit of honor, awe and humility. #runyourrace
To Learn More About Pastor Crystal please visit the Leadership Page
