Fear God Only (4) 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 of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord... Isaiah 11:2-3a. This is a prophecy concerning the coming of Jesus, by prophet Isaiah. As we have been learning, the fear of God is one of the most important virtues we can embrace, and one of the most misunderstood, assumed and neglected virtues. The fear of God is so important that Jesus Himself, being the Son of God, had to be endowed with it. As we have seen, the fear of God is not timidity, anxiety, dread, apprehension and so on, but rather awe, reverence and respect towards God. Jesus did not have timidity towards God, but rather the real fear of God, reverence towards Him. Just as Jesus is, so are we in this world. When we accepted Christ, just like Jesus, we received the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. God not only wants us to fear Him, but has enabled us to do so, by putting in us the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. We gave one major characteristic of the fear of the Lord as hatred for evil. So we have the ability to hate evil, to revere and respect God, the way He desires us to. If we do not submit to the Spirit of God, we will not walk in the fear of God. Throughout the Scriptures, we see advantages of the fear of the Lord. Prov. 8:10 and Ps. 111:10 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and understanding, equating the fear of the Lord to keeping His commandments. Ps. 34:7 says the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them. This is protection, and assurance of victory. Ps. 34:8-14, equating the fear of the Lord to trusting Him, seeking Him, departing from evil and doing good, gives benefits of the fear of the Lord as no lack or want, blessedness, and long life. Prov. 1:7 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and says fools despise wisdom and instruction (despise the fear of the Lord). Prov. 14:26-27 says strong confidence comes from fearing God, and the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. Ps. 25:14 says Gods secret is with those who fear Him. I could go on and on and on, with the benefits of fearing God. The bottom line is, God has guaranteed us all these things: protection, provision, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, confidence, long life and so on, but the key is in the fear of the Lord. When we fear Him, we position ourselves to receive and access all He has for us. By refusing to fear Him in truth and deed, we block all these things. He has released them, but we keep them away by failing to fear Him. Remember, fearing Him equals trusting Him, seeking Him, departing from evil and doing good. Purpose to enjoy all that God has for you, by purposing to walk in His fear, all the days of your life. You have all the ability to walk in His fear, in that His Spirit is in you; fear God, and delight in fearing Him, just like Jesus. All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of Gods providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man. Ecclesiastes 12:13 (AMP). Blessings.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 04:16:41 +0000
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