What is the Fear of the LORD Conclusion

"Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.'                                                                 1 John 4:17-18  NKJV

Many Christians, including myself over the years, have struggled with the subject of fearing God. It has almost made Him look like a great ogre who terrifies His subjects. But this is very far from the truth. God is a loving God who, cannot get enough of us, He loves us dearly and wants us to feel the same way about Him. 

How easy it is to get the wrong picture. God is not an ogre. He is a loving, caring God who sent His only Son, Jesus into the world to die for us that we may have, hope in this world and a place in Heaven at the end of our time here on earth. This is not fear, it is love.

People can bring fear upon us if, we allow them to. As children, many of us were told by our parents, that if we don't go to sleep, the bogy man will come for us or, the ten o' clock horses. As an 8 year old, my mum told me that, if I didn't behave, the gypsy people would come and take me with them. I was petrified. Imagine how I felt, when one day a gypsy stood at our door trying to sell pegs. We need to be so careful what we say to people, especially children. Many times, what is said is believed as the truth.

The devil will whisper lies to us, he can't speak the truth if he tried. He can be so convincing and can make us feel guilty about something, an unloved person and totally condemned. But as we train ourselves to know the voice of God, we know the difference when we hear such things. The devil accuses, God doesn't, the devil lies, God doesn't and God will never condemn you but, the devil will

The devil has an appointment with God that he cannot avoid. Hebrews 10:31 says, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God', and one day soon, he will; this is certain and he will not sweet-talk his way out of that.

Remember, 'There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear - 1 John 4:18 and as Charles Spurgeon writes:

' What love is this that shone on us when we were the serfs and slaves of satan, the dishwashers in the kitchen of iniquity'

God is love, not fear

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What is the Fear of the LORD Part 4

"For God has not given us a Spirit of fear, but one of power, love and sound judgement"  

                                                                                                2 Timothy 1:7  CSB 

HOW DOES LOVE CAST OUT FEAR?

Fear in this verse comes from the Greek word Deilia, which means cowardice, timidity and fearfulness. Fear in the bible is a key element to change. It helps us to have a humble perspective of ourselves in relation to God. It also helps us to remember the seriousness in times of temptation and disobedience and motivates us to become more God like.

Reverential fear is designed to help us grow and become more like God. It helps us to grow in love and grace towards other people, especially the ones who have hurt us. God loves us so, there is no need to be terrified of His judgement. We repent and our sin is taken away and we are declared, 'Not Guilty.'

'Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.'

                                                                                          1 John 4:17-18  NKJV

CONSIDERATIONS

(1)  God loves us so, there is no need to be terrified of His judgement

(2)  As we repent from our sin, we are declared, 'Not Guilty'

(3)  The subject of fear in the bible, is a key element to change. It helps us to remember the seriousness of temptation, of disbedience and motivates us to be more like God.

(4)  Fear, if not taken hold of, can completely disable a person leaving them totally unable to live their lives properly. It is a major tool that our enemy, Satan uses against us and, triggers bad thoughts into our spirits. Once we allow these thoughts to become a stronghold, they can be very difficult to be free of them. We need God's help in activating the tools of warfare as written in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. 

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What is the Fear of the LORD Part 3

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

Basically, if we truly fear God, we acknowledge in our hearts that He is the creator and we are His creation. He is the master, we are His servants. We respect Him for who He is. We will do all we can to be obedient to His word and try not to displease Him. This is not an example of a slave to His master - far from it. It is a reverential and respectful attitude towards Him, such as, a child to a parent.

To fear God properly, God expects us to live a reverent life. The problem is, we are still open to committing sin and sometimes, wilfully. From one point of view, we could expect God to wipe us away for deliberately sinning. However, He is full of grace; we are still learning and will be until we are with Him. God is faithful and loving.

Psalm 130:3-4 tells us:

'LORD if you kept a record of our sins, who O LORD could ever survive? 4 But You offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear You.'  NLT

God has provided the ability for us to repent and as we do, we receive a reason to fear - a reason to change. Gratefulness and the desire to grow in love and, to be more like Him.

Just for a moment, consider Psalm 130:3-4. Just imagine if God did keep a record of your sin; it's easy to understand how we could never survive this. This is how it will be for all those who refuse to accept Jesus as Lord. When they stand before Him at the end of time, they will need to give an account for what is written in His book about them. If Jesus hasn't rubber-stamped it with His forgiveness, they will be lost without any hope. This is what the fear of the Lord is. He offers each individual a place in Heaven through Jesus Christ. If they fail to comply, there is only hell to look forward to

CONSIDERATIONS

(1)  God is our master - we are His servants. We are not slaves to our master -God. We have a reverential and respectful attitude towards Him - a child to a parent.

(2)  We are to live reverent lives; God is full of grace and understands that we sin, often; He knows that we're still learning.

(3)  When we repent, He gives us a reason to fear - a reason to change. Any sin is then cancelled out.

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What is the Fear of the LORD Part 2

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?                    Psalm 27:1   NKJV 

Just a glance at our text today shows us that there is no way that God wants us to fear Him in the negative way. He is our light, showing us the way forward in safety and He gives us eternal life. If God gives us strength - a live worth living, why should we be afraid of Him?

There are various meanings in the Greek and Hebrew for the word 'Fear'. Phobos (Greek) is one. This is seen here: 

'There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love'   1 John 4:18 

This describes possessing God's love which results in a fearless confidence towards God and love for the brethren. The one who knows this love, has no dread of facing God at the judgement. Phobos can mean reverential fear of God and a dread of displeasing Him. In Thomas Nelson's Study Bible 1997 a note on Psalm 128:1 reads:

'The fear of God is an attitude of respect, a response of reverence and wonder. It is the only appropriate response to our creator and redeemer.'

CONSIDERATION POINTS

(1)  God does not want us to fear Him in a negative manner. He is our God. However, He must be obeyed and respected.

(2)  Fear of God does not bring torment or terror. We receive a fearless confidence towards Him as we stand in awe.

(3)  To fear the Lord means to reverence Him and to seek to please Him by obeying His word.

(4)  Phobos (fear) can mean having reverential fear of God and a dread of displeasing Him. However, this must not be confused with terror of Him.

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What is the Fear of the LORD? Part 1

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, all who follow His instructions have good insight."                                                                        Psalm 111:10 

This subject has brought a lot of pressure to many people over the years. The thing is, are we to be frightened of the Lord? This doesn't really ring true somehow.

When we see this phrase in our bibles, it actually means that we need to have a deep respect, reverence and awe for just who God is. In life, we fear many things, accidents, death, devastating news, storms, terrorism and extreme loss of someone close, our job or our livelihood. Taking these into account, it can be a natural thing to feel the same way when we read about the fear of the Lord. We can listen to fire and brimstone preachers and come under extreme condemnation. Notice that I wrote: 'condemnation' and not 'conviction'. With conviction, we can do something about it - repent for one thing. With condemnation, there doesn't seem like we have any place to run. This however, is how the devil wants us to think, but:

'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus' 2 'because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.'  Romans 8:1-2.

We are not condemned, we are free. 

CONSIDERATION POINTS

(1)  How easy it is to get the wrong picture. God does not want us to be in fear of Him. On the contrary, Jesus told us to, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.'  Luke 10:27 NIV.

(2)  To fear God is the way forward into wisdom. This way we receive Holy Spirit guided instruction.

(3)  Read and understand scripture carefully, it brings us life. Proverbs 4:22

(4)  To fear God is to have a deep respect, reverence and awe for just who He is.

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Don't be frightened to avoid the norm

'Cast the net on the right side of the boat' v6                         John 21:1-6   CSB 

Jesus had arranged to meet His disciples in Galilee, 'But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee'  Matthew 26:32. There have been heated debates in bible colleges over the years about why Peter, decided to disobey Jesus and go fishing, taking the others with him. However, they had their reasons and off they went and it leaves us with some important teaching.

Peter was still upset because he had denied Jesus and the others, were completely confused about what had been happening and were unable to give answers to how Jesus had risen to life, even though He had told them that He would. The only thing Peter knew was his livelihood - fishing; the rest of his life was in tatters. He knew he had blown it and so, he decided to get back to work where he felt he belonged and yet, he caught nothing. No Jesus = nothing

Through the despair, frustration, depression and possible anger, they heard someone calling to them from the shore. 'You don't have any fish, do you?' Now, was this a question - someone asking if they could buy some fish for their breakfast on the beach? This would have been perfectly logical. On the other hand, was it a statement such as, 'You haven't caught anything have you'? Their answer to this gentleman was a polite 'No', which could have been far worse under the circumstances. But Jesus knew and gave them a direct order, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat.' Now, these were experienced fishermen, they knew the right way to cast a net. Casting it on the wrong side against the tide, could tip them over if they had a catch. There was a danger! However, they did it and the result was a massive catch of fish that threatened the boat because of the weight.

This all goes to show that Jesus knows best. We may think there is only one way to do something but, when Jesus say differently, why not trust Him and see for yourself. Don't be frightened to go against the norm. The ways of Jesus are far wiser than the rigid plans of the world. 

What are you struggling with at the moment? If Jesus has shown you the way, then do it! 

DON'T FORGET THE  SERIES ON

WHAT IS THE FEAR OF THE LORD?

Starts tomorrow 15th August - 19th August

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What is your food?

"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." v34  

                                                                                                        John 4:1-42  CSB 

Jesus had a 100% dedication and commitment to His Father and nothing was going to prevent Him carrying out His mission. 

Many have said that they could never match this commitment, it is just too impossible. Well, partly there is truth to these statements, after all, Jesus is God, He can do it all. However, in John 14:12, Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, the one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father.' 

Jesus Himself said we could do it, so it must be true. However, it takes a certain type of lifestyle to be able to be committed this way. We must be able to put to death the old life and live the new. Charles Spurgeon put it this way:

'When we have conquered ourselves, we have conquered all.'

Jesus had said, 'My food is to do the will of God - '. Bruce Milne in his book The Message of John writes: 'The service of the kingdom is like a food which sustains and fulfils'. This was the type of food Jesus described that day and displayed in His daily life. 

Warren W Wiersbe comments, 'Jesus viewed His work as the very nourishment of His soul. Doing the Father's will fed Him and satisfied Him inwardly.'

Tony Evans added to this, 'Jesus' greatest satisfaction was not in filling His belly but, in obeying God. For us too, the spiritual must take precedence over the physical.'

There we have it; Jesus' food was obeying God. He lived for it and therefore changed many lives in doing so. You are His child, made in His image. He has said you can be committed and dedicated, so you can do it. There is however, a part that you have to play:

'I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.'

                                                                                               Galatians 2:20

Conclusion? You need to die to self.

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