THE FEAR OF THE LORD
By William Akehurst, HSWC
According to 1 Chronicles 28:9, We all have a choice to make in this life...to DO IT or to DO IT NOT. And to understand what IT is all about...is the beginning of wisdom. Ps 111:10
Key Verses: Psalm 111:10 and 25:4-5
Other Scriptures used:
Deuteronomy 6:5, 1 Chronicles 28:9, 2 Chronicles 12:14, Jeremiah 29:13
Psalm 25:4-5, 111:10, 19:9, 128:1, 112:1,7-8
Isaiah 40:31
Psalm 111:10
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.
Psalm 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
Psalm 128:1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.
What is this fear of the LORD?
Reverential Trust…including hatred of evil
Daniel Webster defines Fear and Reverence as this...
Respectful, worthy of deep respect or awe
To be respectful is feeling or expressing profound respect or aw
To esteem, a feeling or attitude of admiration and deference toward somebody or something
To not go against, or violate something. To pay due attention to and refrain from violating something
Awe...
Mixture of wonder and dread
a feeling of amazement and respect mixed with fear that is often coupled with a feeling of personal insignificance or powerlessness
Ability to inspire dread or reverence
To be extremely frightened…
We are to FEAR the LORD. That is to understand who HE is. To know HE holds the power of life and death. We are nothing in comparison to HIM.
In our country, We do not know what it is like to be under a leader as some other countries are. We see in Egypt in biblical times, that the Pharaoh thought of himself as the morning star, and that he was god himself. And the people feared him for their lives.
You did what you were told, or you died. It was that simple. Obedience…or punishment, which typically was death.
Could you imagine that type of leadership from a parent. “Eat your oatmeal or die”
But think about it. It could be that simple.
Pharaoh killed of the children of Israel because he thought there was a threat to his kingdom. He did what he wanted and no one could contest otherwise, or it would be their death.
I’m not comparing the Almighty with a simple ruler of Egypt. But we do not live in a society where we are subject to our leader, who dictates our every move. We do not know what it is like to be subjected to a ruler who tells us what to do.
Because we are blessed as a nation. And because of this blessing, we must understand and not lose sight of where this blessing was founded.
Our nation was founded “Under God” “In God We Trust”
We have so much…that we take what we have, for granted. We see material things, but it’s the things we have when the material things are gone that are what really matter.
We have the ONE TRUE GOD. To whom we owe our everything. He loves us, and we are to love HIM.
And to love HIM, is to SERVE HIM.
And in order to Serve HIM, we must know what he wants. He must show us HIS ways, and we must learn and do them.
Psalm 128:1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.
Psalm 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments.
When we have this FEAR of the LORD. This reverence and awe, we are blessed.
When we have this FEAR of the LORD, and delight in obeying HIM, walking in his ways, WE ARE BLESSED.
So how is it that we are able to know how to walk in His ways? We need to put our trust in Him and follow his commands. But where do we begin?
Start by Asking...
Psalm 25:4-5
4 Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
The NIV says it this way...
Psalm 25:4-5 NIV
4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
My HOPE is in you ALL DAY LONG.
Seeking HIM every day, and all the day long. Preparing our hearts to serve HIM and to do HIS will. Seeking HIM.
Why do we need to seek HIM and prepare our hearts to serve HIM?
If we do not, then we are doomed to destruction
EXAMPLE OF ONE WHO DID NOT FIX HIS HEART ON THE LORD
2 Chronicles 12:14 Rehaboam, Solomon’s Son
14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.
We are to prepare our hearts to serve HIM, seeking God ALL the day long.
It is to be our fixation. A celestial fixation if you will, with the most holy, all powerful, eternal and everlasting GOD. The God of Righteousness itself.
And we are to reverently fear HIM. And when we fear HIM, we need not fear evil. Because evil has no power over He HIMSELF
Psalm 112:7-8
7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
OUR HEARTS MUST BE FIXED UPON HIM
In 1 Chronicles 28:9, David spoke to Solomon about this very thing...
9 “As for you, my son Solomon, KNOW the God of your father, and SERVE Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. IF you seek Him, He will be found by you; but IF you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
IF=CHOICE We are either FOR or AGAINST. Solomon chose to be FOR the LORD, fearing the LORD. And as it says in the Psalms, Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and as we know it, Solomon was the wisest of kings ever on the face of the earth.
WE are to...
SEEKING HIM...DAILY. TRUTHFULLY, HONESTLY, WILLINGLY.
How do we seek HIM...first by understanding how to LOVE HIM.
Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
SEEK HIM with ALL YOUR HEART
With EVERYTHING that is IN us…
WE are to…
PUT OUR TRUST IN HIM,
FIX OUR HEARTS UPON HIM,
ASK HIM TO SHOW US AND TEACH US WHAT IS RIGHT
HOW?
MEDITATING IN THE WORD
PRAYING to HIM, Communication with GOD, with Jesus
LISTENING to the instruction by the HOLY SPIRIT
KNOWING and understanding that when we put away all the things of this world, and fully lean and put our trust in the LORD, surrendering our lives to HIM...we will find ourselves truly blessed.
Psalm 112 shows some of these blessings
Our seed will be mighty
Our generations and future generations will be blessed
Wealth and riches will be in our house
There will be light in darkness. We will see rescue in troubles
We will be an everlasting remembrance
We can impact the lives of those around us. Family, friends, neighbors.
We will be lifted up in honor to the LORD
ALL this is a choice we must make...
To Do it…or Do it NOT
Rehoboam-did it not, and did evil
Solomon-did it…and obtained wisdom
Choose today to DO IT
And when we DO accept Jesus as Savior, we can seek God’s instructions and guidance as a child of the Father.
ASK the LORD according to Psalm 25:4-5
LORD, show me your ways, Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me.
You are God my Savior, and my hope is in you.
On You, LORD, I wait all the day long.
And what does the Bible say about those who wait upon the LORD?
We are given new strength for each day.
Isaiah 40:31 tells us that ‘they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
The best days are ahead of us when we put GOD first in our daily lives.
Many of you here today are 70, 80, 90 or more years of age. The best days are ahead of you as well…when you put God first in your daily life.
Take a look at Moses. His ministry didn’t begin until he was 80 years old!
Psalm 92:14 proclaims this promise about the righteous believer...They will still bear fruit in old age. They will be full of sap and green
The fear of the LORD, the reverent awe in the Almighty...understanding and more importantly...knowing HIM...brings blessing.
Blessed are they who fear the LORD and walk in HIS ways.
Amen
