Fearing God

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." - Proverbs 1:7

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments." - Psalm 111:10

"...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.'" - Deuteronomy 4:10

"The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no lack to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD [wholeheartedly] shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the LORD." - Psalm 34:7-11

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate." - Proverbs 8:13

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones." - Proverbs 4:5-8

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

FEAR: honor, revere, reverence. Respect is a common denominator in each of these words.

Honor: high regard or great respect given, received, or enjoyed; a keen sense of right and wrong.

Revere: to regard with deep respect, love, and awe; regarding with affection, honor, deference. Venerate implies a regarding as sacred or holy.

Reverence: a feeling or attitude of deep respect, love, and awe as for something sacred. A manifestation of this.

FEARING GOD

The fear of God does not come naturally - rebellion and disobedience do. As we lean, not in our own understanding, but in God's, we begin to understand who God is and we develop a wholesome reverence for Him. (Look back at the first verse listed above)

Fear GOD. This was the journey of the 2nd wisest (1st = Jesus) man on earth: King Solomon (David's son). He begins the Proverbs with it, and concludes with it in Ecclesiastes. We all seek to have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Well, we must learn from the best: God.

STORY:

A young woman struggling in her marriage, sought counsel from an older woman.

"Do you respect him?" the older woman asked.

The younger one nodded slowly, thoughtfully.

"How do you respond to someone you respect?"

The younger one cupped her chin in her hands. "When I respect someone, I want to know their opinion. I ask questions, listen to what they have to say. I mull their words over in my mind."

Her blue eyes filled with emotion. "Most of all I just want to know them," she whispered. "Know what they think, how they feel. I want to look into their eyes."

-Created to Worship by Norman Jewel & Eva Gibson

Seeing who Jesus is brings us to our knees in reverent submission. We're ready to respond, to listen. We want to know Him better. "Oh, that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection" becomes our heart cry.

Let's take a look at one of the best examples of fearing God:

LUKE 10:38-42

38 "Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.

40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.'

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'"

Jesus said that one thing is needed: to sit at His feet and to hear His word. Fearing God.

If you would rather work for Him than spend time with Him, your priorities are misguided. When Martha welcomed Him into her house, did He tell her to serve Him? No. She did, however, do a good job at welcoming Jesus. Although, how often are we like Mary who just listened to Him? Whenever we welcome Jesus, do we "cease our strivings" (Psalm 46:10) and listen to God? He has a word for us, but we must sit at His feet and listen to Him. Take heed of Him. Fear Him. Show deep respect and reverence towards Him (by listening). We cannot jump into action without inquiring of the LORD first, because then we would be acting in our will and not His. We might discern what is right and what is wrong, but it is still God's will, God's way. Solomon said, "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether good or bad." We must fear the LORD!

There are times where we will run into righteous deeds or things that seem right, but even still, we must inquire of the LORD. Even doing righteous deeds, just like Martha was doing serving in the house, can go against God's will for you. We must fear Him.

Us Christians seek to be used by God, to know God, to love God, and to experience God. Here's the key: Fear Him. We always step into action without inquiring. We are called to wait patiently with joy upon His word. When we look at Mary sitting at Jesus' feet, she was probably gazing at Him. Smiling.

"Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!" - Psalm 27:14

Friends, we need to sit at Jesus' feet, gaze up at the heavenly throne, smile, and fear God. We must do this just as much as we are called to serve. To serve God and each other, we must first listen. This requires spending time with God, both alone and with each other through fellowship and prayer. Even in prayer, stop speaking and let God speak.

Happy New Year :)

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." - 2 Corinthians 7:1