FACING YOUR GREATEST FEAR Feb.9-15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmf0F7JxxXE
So what is your greatest fear? Sometimes you’ll hear it said
that people fear public speaking, even more than death. But think of the controlling emotion, not the event. So it’s not really the fear of public speaking, it’s
the fear of possibly being ridiculed and thus, shamed. Ugh! We dread that! Many
have a terrible fear of flying. But aren’t they really afraid of the terror of
falling to their death? Pause and imagine that- how terrifying! Most of us had
or still have a fear of the dark. But isn’t it really a fear of being pained or
even overwhelmed by what may be waiting
for you in the dark? Those ice cold hands grabbing for your throat! That could
scare you to death! And speaking of death, many admit they have a gnawing fear
of death. For lost people, this fear of death haunts them like a scary ghost all
their lives. But don’t you love what
Hebrews 2:15 says- Christ came “to free those who all their lives were held in
slavery by their fear of death.”
Fear is so controlling isn’t it? It will freeze people up
from giving a speech or from getting on a plane, or entering a dark room. Fear governs our behavior. Perhaps that’s why
we are told to fear the Lord. The fear of the Lord is a crucial subject and mentioned
well over 100 times from Genesis to Revelation. Yet it’s not often discussed
and thus, poorly understood. But I’m convinced it is foundational to knowing God
and growing in godliness. That’s why it’s the first of our monthly character
traits we’ll be focusing on. The more I’ve studied this theme in Scripture, the
more I see great blessings associated with it and great woes for failing to
have such. But rather than share my discoveries with you, I’d like to see your
discoveries. So this week, for our SOS Bible study, I’d like you to post a
favorite verse(s) you found on the fear of the Lord. How? Well, “when I was your
age” I had to spend a small fortune on buying Bible commentaries and
concordances to study up on such topics. But these days, you have a fortune of
such information available at your fingertips. Now, I could give you sites I found
via Google listing verses even from the NIV on the fear of the Lord, but I’d
rather see what gold you dig up on your own. I look forward to being enriched
by you. So share a favorite verse or two and why you liked it. Want more gold?
Then discover and share what the fear of the Lord actually means. And may God become our greatest fear!
Announcements & Reminders!
Don’t miss our next Sunday, February 16th 7:00pm get
together at Jack & Janie’s estate- 10749 Cherrywood Dr. Palos Park. Come and enjoy some great fellowship, desserts and discussion. Please email me if you want to be included
in this great time together- dgarratt@sbcglobal.net.
Luke! What a great gospel! We are reading a chapter of it a
day. Just look at the calendar to know which chapter to read. Use a bookmark
and read every day. (Make reading God’s word the most important thing to do in your day. This prompt really works- No Bible no breakfast. or No Scripture no sleep.) Underline
favorite verses and put a question mark by things for which you’d like to gain greater
understanding. Bring your Bible, questions and wealth catcher to any
meetings and to Jack & Janie’s. You’ll glean and preserve so much this way
and will have a wealth to share with others. Remember, such sharing
is a powerful tool in spiritually influencing others. And leadership is
influence- intentional influence.
How are you doing with our M&M passage Eph.2:1-5?
Congrats to one person (she wishes to remain anonymous) who already quoted it to me
perfectly this past week. Review the passage regularly, using the memory tips you
learned from last week’s blog article. You’ll have it down before it's due on our next group
meeting- Sunday March 2nd at Midway from 11:30-12:30. Also, please be ready to share at the meeting the name of the Christian friend you picked to be your wealth partner. See you there!
The NGL program is a work out. It isn’t for everybody. We’ve purposely put
more weights on to make you stronger. But your trainers are for you. We want to
see you become a strong leader. That’s why we are also measuring your progress. We are recording what work outs you have done. Did he or she post on the blog? Did they
meet with their mentor? Did they come to the monthly meeting? Did they bring
their Bible and wealth catcher? Did they pick a wealth partner? Did they
memorize the assigned verses for the month? These all reveal how determined the NGL is to
grow and develop as a responsible leader. Is that what you want to become? I
thought so!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere is an incredible song by Chris Tomlin, titled, Whom Shall I Fear, which pretty much sums it up for me, based off of Psalms 27. Such a powerful verse/declaration/reminder that with God on my side, whom shall I fear. It goes a little like this...
ReplyDeleteWhom shall I fear
I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side
The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side
My strength is in Your name
For You alone can save
You will deliver me
Yours is the victory
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
Wow. I don't know about you, but there is a sense of peace to know who goes before me, who stands behind me, and who's always by my side!
Good word brother! I love that thought.....we never go anywhere that the Lord hasn't already been. He Precedes and Proceeds us. Amen ^_^
DeleteDeuteronomy 12-13
ReplyDelete12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength (Matt 22:37-39). And the way we demonstrate our love for Him is by obeying His commands (John 14:15, 1 John 5:3). The reason that we obey is because we fear, especially if "fear governs our behavior" and impacts how we live. We have a fear of God, because we do not want to displease Him and we do not want to dishonor Him. Our Father asks us to fear Him. More so, God asks us to honor Him and to obey Him, similar to that of a earthly father. Just thinking about the relationship with my earthly father - this fear is acted upon out of respect, which flows out of our love for Him. But we need to understand, and be constantly aware, and reminded, that God hates sin and if we commit sin, there will be consequences to pay. Thus, we have a fear of God and His judgement on sin. If we follow His ways, His laws, commands, decrees, He will steer us clear of putting ourselves in a position to fall into sin. That's why many times throughout the Bible, especially in the book of Proverbs, we see such a high value placed on pursuing God's wise words and truly applying them to our lives. It is through the understanding and application of His Word, which is a result of having fear of God, that we can live a holy and righteous life. A life, in which, God has called us to live, not just for the benefit of a promised prolonged and prosperous life, but to give God the praise and glory, by living a life that is a sweet aroma to His nostrils, as a sacrifice for who He is, what He has done, and what He is capable of doing.
"We have a fear of God, because we do not want to displease Him and we do not want to dishonor Him." We should fear him for this reason! Amen. Your post brought a holy conviction and reminder, Thanks for sharing brother!
DeleteVery good Eddie. I especially like your words, "We have a fear of God, because we do not want to displease Him and we do not want to dishonor Him." And of course the flip side of this is that we want to please Him. O to hear Him say, "Well done!" This is the positive side of the fear of the Lord, isn't it. Will be praying for you as you are away on your mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Best of blessings!
ReplyDeleteActs 5:1 - 1 Ananias and Sapphira.
ReplyDeleteThis passage connects to the churches of today and sadly, with the people that fill them. I believe that there is more of a fear of punishment then a fear of the Lord. There is a healthy fear in the Lord, His supremacy, His control of life, but the one that makes us all uncomfortable (myself included) is His judgment. We ought to fear God is a way that maximizes Him and completely minimizes ourselves. Luke 12:5 "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Or as said in Matthew 10:28 "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." There is a fear of greatness and overbearing power over our puny life.
To stay consistent, the fear that floods many people's lives isn't an awestruck worry about God's greatness, but rather "what if He were to find out!?" I am guilty that I fear His wrath not because He is powerful but more so because I don't want to experience. I believe there needs to be more a reverent fear of His greatness because He is not to be mocked. Ananias and Sapphira mocked Him. They did not truly fear Him. There palms were probably sweaty thinking "what if they ask" or "what if they find out" but not so much "what will God do to me" or "why am I lying to God."
This passage is a tragedy shared in scripture, in my understanding, to influence our fear to be true and reverent, and not to mock God.
"I believe there needs to be more a reverent fear of His greatness because He is not to be mocked." Yes, yes and yes. I speak this to myself. Great post.
DeleteYes, I agree Ken, there needs to be more of a healthy, reverent fear of His greatness. He is utterly Other. "O for grace to fear You more!"
ReplyDeleteproverbs 1:7 The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
ReplyDeleteIn fearing the Lord we seek his word. Reading his word gives us ultimate Knowledge on how to live our lives in a Godly way and how to get others to want to live Godlier lives. Unfortunately nonbelievers are the fools in this case, because they only want to rely on themselves and only take orders from themselves. That is why they prosecute us for following the all mighty God. That's why fearing the Lord is beneficial.
Thanks Lucas! You made an important connection- fearing the Lord involves following His word. Thanks be to God that He brought us out of the folly of our old ways when we were following the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air. He made us alive and put His fear in our hearts. Amen!
DeleteDeuteronomy 10:12-13
ReplyDeleteAlthough not a favorite, but caught my attention when looking at different verses/stories started to reflect.
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
This passage primarily talks about that Moses chiseled out two stone tablets again and restated The Ten Commandments for the Israel For yet again they fail to follow and obey Gods decrees and to fully trust in Him. through this act God restates his covenant with them and show them the steadfast love and and mercy upon them.
Reflecting on this passage I begin to look and the very first words that's comes out God mouth and asks, to'fear' the Lord your God. I believe He says that because God constantly show the Israelites the power, the might, the authority and just the magnitude who God is. Ex: Saving them from slavery, cracking open the red sea, opening the earths core and swallowing the people that madeithe decision to oppose God and fall to the flesh... many more. constantly reminds me how picture perfect you(Dave) described It earlier this week is being blind folded and not knowing where your going and when unfolded and now your at the edge of a very high mountain ready to fall with no parachute!!! Ahh... that is the awesome factor but yet the fearof God that we should have. That God can do anything!! He Is Who He Is!!! By that fear, that fear will keep me sustained, controlled, abide, all in Him.
Although I agree with Eddie as first and greatest command to love your God with all your heart, soul and strength. This is what the passage in Deuteronomy meant to me.
Good job Ismael of first studying the context-the verses before 10:12-13- and noting that it had to do with the reception of the 10 commandments. Here and in several other passages on the fear of the Lord, we see a close connection to obeying God's commands. Who can say they fear the Lord, if they are willfully breaking His commands? Thanks.
DeleteGreat insight Isma!, God displays his power to us first being that he saved us! He displays himself in every way to us in this world and when we disobey we are clearly denying all of who he is just like the Israelites, how true is this. Great reminder to truly fear the one that holds our lives in the palm of his hand.
DeleteI have at least tried to type this comment four times already and every time I hit publish, the whole comment deletes and refreshes the page. It has been pretty frustrating trying to rewrite 3 paragraph responses that I wrote before, and I almost said, "I will not attempt this anymore!" But then I thought about the verse that I thought displayed the Fear of God which was Exodus 14:31, "And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant." Now I know how God felt when Pharaoh continued rejecting God's plan, and I believe that it was the same way i felt when my computer rejected me at least four times(God was rejected more than 10 times). I just think that sometimes we want to do our own thing and exclude God because the thought of becoming our own God constantly slips into our minds without us even knowing it.
ReplyDeleteSo after four attempts of trying to publish my comment, I think that once we actually notice that God is jealous of the separate little gods in our life, such as money, pride or material things, God can easily take away those things just as He took away the lives that we keeping Israel away from fulfilling God's purpose which was quoted in Exodus 14:4.
Ugh! So sorry you had such a hard time posting Ivan! I've lost entire documents and it can be maddening! But I'm so glad you persevered because the insights you gleaned are golden, especially relating what you went through to God being rejected. 14:31 reveals a close connection between the people fearing the Lord and revering Him for His awesome power in delivering them. And you're right, God's purpose in all of this according to 14:4 is that God would gain glory for Himself. Glory to God in the highest!
DeleteThe Bible verse that stuck out to me was Matthew 10:28. It says "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." This means that those on earth can only do harm to the body. Our body isn't ours to start off with. Its God's. We should fear the one who has control over our soul. This stood out to be because it put me in perspective. It reminded me that we are not from this world. Why should I fear something that can do me no harm in the long run. If I stay true to the one who decides whether I burn in hell or live in paradise I have made the right decision. Its, to some degree, like a boss. You may have so fear toward your boss because at the end of the day they decide whether or not you stay with the company or you get fired. It is similar because at the end of the day God is the only who makes the decision on judgement day. The fear of the lord is not actual fear but it is the acceptance of his choice and your choice to either live for God your not.
ReplyDeleteThanks Araceli! Good words- "Why should I fear something that can do me no harm in the long run?" Your comparison of God to a boss is good. We want to please him, but if we anger him, then there is reason to truly fear God.
DeletePsalm 19:9a “The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever…”
ReplyDeleteAs a declaimer to this post, I would have to say I don’t have a “favorite” verse or passage concerning the fear of the Lord. It was always something I read in many places in Scripture, but never specifically noted. So this was a refreshing exercise in scouring resources, to see what the Word of God mentioned about it. It would have been easy for me to go the Proverbs 1:7 route, which is always the passage that comes to my mind when this topic is mentioned in conversation or in a sermon. However, when I thought about that verse, I couldn’t help but notice that while it mentions what “the fear of the Lord” produces (namely, the young seeds of the attribute, Wisdom), it doesn’t necessarily address what the attribute, “the fear of the Lord”, is. In a similar fashion, Proverbs 14:26 addresses that the “fear of the Lord” brings forth security, a refuge. But again, it was something produced by it, and not its own attribute in and of itself. Then I came across Psalm 19:9a. “The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever…”. I asked myself the same questions I used in analyzing the above Proverbs…Is the “purity” a product of “the fear of the Lord”? - Possibly, but in this context it doesn’t appear to be mentioned in that way. Does it go on further in the verse to describe what it creates? - Again, no, it stands alone. Could it then be something describing “the fear of the Lord” itself? Its own attribute. Something about what it is, its essence?…This was so exciting to see. So I wanted to delve further into understanding how this verse described “the fear of the Lord” What is Pure? What does it mean to be Pure? An online dictionary references “Pure” as (to name a few selections):
1. not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material. 2. without any extraneous and unnecessary elements.
3. free of any contamination.
I could see the obvious common element in these definitions. Free. Free of other substances. Free of unnecessary elements. Free of contamination. Further studying, I came upon the influential British Preacher Charles H. Spurgeon’s writings on the Chapter of Psalm 19, and his specific analysis of Verse 9: “The doctrine of truth is here described by its spiritual effect, viz., inward piety, or the fear of the Lord; this is clean in itself, and cleanses out the love of sin, sanctifying the heart in which it reigns. Mr. Godly-fear is never satisfied till every street, lane, and alley, yea, and every house and every corner of the town of Mansoul is clean rid of the Diablolonians who lurk therein.”
After reading this, I could better grasp the essence of what “the fear of the Lord” is - - - A purifying force, something that not only enables us, but propels us to cleanliness. Something that assists us in becoming more Holy for Him. Something great that equips us to do these things, and in turn, provides for our needs, such as Security, Refuge, Wisdom, etc.. Then the word I mentioned above came back to mind. Free. Free of Sin’s deadly influence. Free of the distractions of this world. Free of idolatry. When you have “the fear of the Lord”, it puts your perspective on the one who deserves it, God, and it leaves little room for other things. When you make all your decisions, spiritually, physically, relationally, and so forth and so on, based on this “fear”, it is a freeing, and purifying experience.
In closing, this Verse shows “the fear of the Lord” in a simple description, “Pure”, and yet shows it as so complex and vast, leaving me all the more in awe of God’s mysteries. That is why I enjoyed and wanted to share Psalm 19:9a.
Glad to see some serious study you gave to this William! Spurgeon's reference to Mr. Godly Fear comes from one of my favorite old books, The Holy War by John Bunyan. And you're right, the fear of the Lord is a vast subject, but you have considered well one facet of it. Good job!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteGreat post will, definitely added some perspective for me especially on the purity factor" A purifying force, something that not only enables us, but propels us to cleanliness." thanks for sharing!. "When you have “the fear of the Lord”, it puts your perspective on the one who deserves it, God, and it leaves little room for other things." <-- you said what I tried to say in one sentence lol. Great job brother.
DeleteWilliam I throughly enjoy both your analasis and conclusion. Specifically the deduction that the fear of god is pure and therefore purifies us of all that is ungodly, leaving us free from the contamination of sin or the retribution of god. Thankyou for your thoughts
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Nori! "...it also has been a verse that I have often just put to the side and didn’t really want to dive into because it would truly reveal the fear I was carrying with me, that reality would make my pride cringe." This kind of thinking, I believe, speaks to a lot of us. It is so easy to fall into the trap of hoping we can close our eyes and pretend we didn't read something in scripture lol. You're right, perspective is key to not living in fear. Well done! :)
ReplyDeleteI did a little research into this topic of Scripture because I am not too familiar with verses regarding the fear of the Lord. Not to say that I haven't heard or know of any it's just that this is always a topic I sort of gloss over and just accept it for what it is without even asking what it means to fear the Lord! Anyway, the verses that I think really speak to me would be Psalms 56:3-4 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" and 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV) "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." which doesn't specifically mention to fear the Lord but rather to not be plagued by fear but remember what God has blessed us with. While searching for these verses I also came across a quote which I like and I think is a nice way to close this comment.
ReplyDelete“Faith activates God – Fear activates the Enemy.” ~ Joel Osteen
I'm attempting to better respond to the blog on the "fear of the Lord" rather than on "fear" Thanks for pointing that out for me Dave. Proverbs 14:27 - The fear of the LORD [is] a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. Nothing can be more true. I remember when I was being mentored through the blue book, I was already convinced that I wanted to live for God and make that public declaration before Him and get baptized, as I went through the scriptures with my mentor, a fear of God rose within me. The scriptures talked about the acts that lead to a spiritual death and if I did these acts I would not inherit the Kingdom of God. Well, the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to me because during those moments I knew my life was leading me straight to Hell if I did not repent and there was no promise of tomorrow for me. This “fear” of God that I had was not a fear that he would strike me but an awareness of his holy commandments and the reality that I was completely going against him if I continued to live the life I was living. The fear of the Lord truly was a fountain of life for me because it brought so much clarity to me, I wanted to please God and repenting was a sign of my love and respect for him, fearing the Lord helped me see that my choices were in fact “snares of death”. I was actually afraid NOT to repent because that meant I was so willing choosing to go against a Holy God and he would be righteous in pouring his wrath on me. Days later you better believe I left my past behind me and set a date to get baptized. I do want to say that “the fear of the Lord” became only a memory and the battle for my soul was soo real after my baptism because after I got baptized I quickly gave in to my old ways, Sunday after Sunday I was at the altar. Brings me to my point that the “fear of the Lord” is not something we have once but we should actively fear him in our everyday life. The enemy wants to snuff us out and keep people blind of knowing Him intimately or fearing him. He does disguise himself as an angel of light in so many ways to distract us. He’s the one that whispers “what you’re doing isn’t so bad,” or he uses the ancient lie on us “you won’t surely die?” If we listen to those lies and not know what God says in his word we can be sure of fearing God less as we walk closely with the enemy rather than the one that is trying to save of us in the battle.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Nori! You related the fear of the Lord to His holy commandments and the desire to love and respect Him and know Him intimately. All of these are important facets of fearing the Lord.
DeleteProv. 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. I like this verse because it focus's on what we are to hate which i think is just as important as what we are to love since deductively they complement two sides of the same truth. I believe that fear and hate are unfairly shunned by many but sadly to their own detriment for each has it's place and time. What we hate we avoid,we look down upon as having lesser value and we are aggressive to remove from our experience of life. I believe we should hate rape for example.moving on to fear, what we fear we avoid because we perceive the danger of pain or loss, the f ear we feel is ourbwarning sign to caution. Now more specifically why should we fear our loving God, well I believably is because while god is love he is not only love, he is pure, he is just, he is judge to name a few and because he is unchanging he has need to produce to present actions that preserve and qualify these attributes. Because he is morally pure he must be averse to evil, he must not simply dislike it he must loathe it. God is a just judge and is responsible to asses, reward and consequence the actions of those under his authority (every created being). As Christians I believe there is the temptation to believe we are excluded from judgement and have nothing to fear but I contend that this is incorrect.I believe we as Christians have been absolved from eternal consequences but not from temporal consequences that through pain and loss encourage us to fear the effects of sin and the God who decides those effects. I believe the fear of God is the accurate awareness of Gods person, character and authority and it's relation to us and that when we accept this reality, we fear His disapproval, His consequences, and becoming anything unlike him. As I look at my life I realize thar the fear of God keeps us from the abuse of grace and my often casual response to sin is evidence that I fear God not enough and have grown complacent with habitual sin. May I fear God as deeply as He has loved me, for in hating sin and fearing God I preserve my own wellbeing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony! I really think your last two sentences are important for people to read. Excellent!
ReplyDelete