Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…..”
Proverbs 1:7 “……but fools despise wisdom and instruction”.
The fear of God is not a spirit of dread, but a position of respect and reverence for a holy God, a Heavenly Father who has been so loving and long-suffering of my condition.
The finished work of Calvary is a “fully comprehensive” covering that negates and destroys anything that would seek to oppose it. Are you willing to be “fully persuaded” like the apostle Paul, or are you still foolishly opposing God with your arguments, your “buts”? Paul declared, Romans 8: 37-39 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
The Word of God has everything covered. 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31 deals with every aspect of my lack. God has called me in spite of my lack or failure. We are qualified by God’s word to be partakers of the inheritance of children of light. He has qualified me, through the righteousness of His Son, so I must refrain from disqualifying myself with negative statements. Learn to exchange your negative statements with the word of God. When your unruly heart condemns you, declare what God says about you in His word.
Let God have the last word, not your heart. God has it covered: 1 John 3:20 “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things”.
Let us return to the theme “the fear of the Lord”. Once the Holy Spirit has spoken to me about an issue in my life, where does my responsibility lie? God expects me to respond in obedience to His conviction. Over the years we have “seen through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13: 11-12). We have enjoyed the presence of God in measure in Gatherings. We have continued by God’s grace in His love and long-suffering. Acts 17:30 declares the day of God “winking His eye” is over. In His long-suffering, He has permitted much, but now requires a repentance and for us to operate in the fear of the Lord – a reverence, respect and obedience to what He requires of us.
There is a difference between innocence, when I have not been enlightened, and ignorance, when I am ignoring, and therefore disobeying, what God has said. If I declare I want to move into all the fullness of God, my birthright in Christ, God will not wink His eye any more at my disobedience. The choice is mine. God has done everything from His side, the finished work of Calvary has made available to every Believer the resurrection life of His Son. We can be indwelt by deity!….the glorious life of Christ. It is available, it is offered to us. Only our pride and lack of surrender will prevent us walking in our birthright.
Peter declared “For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God…”, 1 Peter 4:17. We must judge ourselves, not others , under the light of the Holy Spirit.
I need to fear the Lord more. I need to walk in His love more. Jesus said, John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another”. This is the measuring stick. We are living epistles, known and read of all men, known so much more for what we are in demonstration, than for what we say. Actions speak louder than words!
One of our biggest challenges can be the fear of man, rather than the fear of God. We have the order wrong. What is the fear of man?…..living, caring more for what men think about me more than caring what God thinks. “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoso puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe”, Proverbs 29:25. I need to be a God pleaser first, rather than a people pleaser. We often want to look good in others’ eyes, but all that does is puff up our pride. Man’s pride is the enemy of the glory God. God will resist me in it…1 Peter 5:5 “…..be subject one to another and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble”. God’s word is plain. God resists me when I am proud, when I want the praise of men, I open myself up to the devil and his devices. This is exactly how the devil was deposed from heaven, because he sought to take God’s glory!
Let us seek to reverence our Creator, our beloved Heavenly Father, in our daily lives. His joy is our strength for our daily walk, whatever befalls us. Even His chastisement is an ingredient of His unconditional love for us. The fear of God can cause me to comprehend the love of God. Sometimes we try to understand what can only be experienced in His love.
Loving Heavenly Father, may your vastness be enlarged in me! Amen.
