The fear of God

 The Fear of the Lord as in the Word of God

Psalm 19:9
"The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous."

It purifies; it keeps us clean forever and for eternity.

Proverbs 23:17
"Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord."

All the time.

What the Fear of the Lord is Not:

  • It is not natural fear.

  • It is not a natural reaction.

  • It is not demonic fear.
    2 Timothy 1:7
    "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

  • Religious fear - hypocrisy.
    Isaiah 29:13
    "The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.'"
    Matthew 15:8
    "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'"

  • Fear of man - it is the opposite of fearing God.
    Proverbs 29:25
    "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."

What is the Fear of the Lord?

  • We do need to fear God. It is not done away with.
  • It is standing in awe; we dare not come too close due to the awe.
  • Reverent fear.
  • It contains elements of fear, awe, reverence, respect, worship, submission, honor, and submissiveness.

The first thing that will happen is you will think, "What will God say about this?"
Genesis 31:42
"If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you."

Isaiah 11:1-2
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord."

Revelation 1:4
"John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne."

Revelation 5: 

Without the fear of the Lord, you will be very incomplete. We cannot afford to have an attitude of having no fear of anything, as the fear of the Lord must always be present.

How to Have the Fear of the Lord:

Proverbs 1:28-29
"Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord."

Knowledge and fear of the Lord are side by side.

Psalm 34:11-12
"Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days."

Let the Holy Spirit teach you the fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 3:7
"Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil."

Separate yourselves from evil.

Make right choices. Be taught by the Holy Spirit.

You need to renounce all evil as you recognize it.
Job 28:28
"And he said to the human race, 'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'"

Psalm 25:12
"Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose."

We do not teach people who do not fear the Lord.

The Lord shares His secret with those who fear Him.

Proverbs 10:27
"The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short."

Proverbs 14:26-27
"Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death."

Proverbs 19:23
"The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble."

Proverbs 22:4
"Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life."

Just give God the glory. Life and fear of the Lord come hand in hand.

Psalm 2:11
"Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling."

Acts 9:31
"Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers."

Ephesians 5:21
"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

1 Peter 1:15-19
"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.' Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."

Proverbs 2 - The fear of the Lord

Proverbs 2:1-5 (Seeking Wisdom)
"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."

Proverbs 2:6-8 (Source of Wisdom)
"For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones."

Proverbs 2:9-11 (Benefits of Wisdom)
"Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you."

Proverbs 2:12-15 (Protection from Evil)
"Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways."

Proverbs 2:16-19 (Protection from Immorality)
"Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life."

Proverbs 2:20-22 (Walking in Righteousness)
"Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it."


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