THE FEAR OF THE LORD
INTRODUCTION :
What does it mean by “The Fear Of The Lord”? It is giving the due respect and honour for the Lord for who He is and for what He has done for us. The fear of the Lord also means the love that we have for Him. If a person loves the Lord, he will give the due respect to the Lord. The person who loves the Lord and fears the Lord, will always live his or her life in a way that is pleasing to Him. The person who loves the Lord and fears the Lord will always live his or her life according to God’s Word.
We are going to see 10 verses from the Bible which talk about the FEAR OF THE LORD. In this simple sermon, we are going to learn why we need to have the fear of the Lord. There are many blessings for those who fear the Lord and here we are going to see 10 blessings from God’s Word.
1). TO ATTAIN WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
Pslam 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
The fear of the Lord is the most important ingredient to attain Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding. The worldly wisdom that we all can have is of no use. People who possess worldly wisdom have no hope, no peace, no joy, no future and they do not have the hope of eternal life. But if a person has the fear of the Lord and live his or her life according to God’s Word, will receive God’s Wisdom, the Knowledge of God and a good understanding to live his or her life according to His Word. People who have worldly wisdom have all the worldly blessings but their life is meaningless and they don’t find peace and joy at home and all that they do cannot help them understand the purpose of their life.
But the one who fears the Lord will be filled with God’s Wisdom when He reads God’s Word and the Lord will bless him with His knowledge and good understanding. Where can we find God’s Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding? They are found only by reading the Bible daily and by meditating on His Word daily and by Prayer. Let us examine ourselves whether we read His Word daily to get His Wisdom from above.
2). TO BE PROTECTED
Psalm 34:7
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him.
There is protection for those who fear the Lord. Protection is something that we ask the Lord every day. Each day, when we go out of the house, we always ask the Lord to go with us, we long for His presence because we need His divine protection. When we drive our car or ride our bike or even when we walk on the streets, we need the Lord’s protection. This verse says that there is always protection from the Lord for all those who fear Him. The Lord has appointed his angels to be around those who fear Him. What a blessing to be protected by the angels of the Lord.
3). TO BE IN THE PATH OF LIFE
Proverbs 14:27
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.
The fear of the Lord will help us to be in the path of life. We will not go astray from the path of life which the Lord has planned for us. The fear of the Lord will never allow us to go in the wrong direction where at the end there is death and not life. Many people go astray in life because they don’t have fear of the Lord. To have the Lord always on our mind and to be led always by the Lord is a great blessing to live an abundant life in Christ. It will help us to turn away from the snares of death. There is so much evil waiting to trap us in this world. Everywhere there are dark forces that are waiting to make us fall into temptation and fall into sin. But the fear of the Lord will turn us away from these traps of the enemy and the snares of death. What a great privilege and a blessing for us to always have the fear of the Lord.
4). TO LIVE IN CONFIDENCE
Proverbs 14:26
In the fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence.
The one who has the fear of the Lord can live boldly and with strong confidence. Because his trust and hope are in the Lord Almighty. He need not be afraid of anything in life because the Lord is always with him. The one who has the fear of the Lord enjoys God’s presence all the time. The Holy Spirit is in his heart and will guide him in the right path and will not allow him to stumble in the way. No matter what situation you find yourself, you will be in confidence and will be bold when you have the fear of the Lord. You might face a big problem like a huge mountain or a dark valley, but there is strong confidence that the Lord will take care of your life.
5). TO BE TAUGHT BY THE LORD
Psalm 25:12
Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
The man who fears the Lord will be taught by the Lord. Many times, we come to the crossroads in life, where we wonder which way to turn and how we need to move forward, in which direction. But the Word of the Lord says that the man who fears the Lord will be taught by the Lord. The Lord Himself will teach him the way he needs to take. The Lord Himself will choose the way for the one who fears the Lord. You and I, many times, we have faced such situations in life, not knowing which way to move. But when we fear the Lord, the Lord Himself will teach us through His Word and will whispers though the Holy Spirit the direction that we need to take. What a great blessing is this to be taught by the Lord every moment of our life.
6). TO LIVE IN PROSPERITY
Psalm 25:12,13
Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
He himself shall dwell in prosperity, …
If a man fears the Lord, the Lord will teach him and will give him wisdom and will show the way the Lord has chosen for him and will make him to live in prosperity. What a blessing to live in prosperity of the Lord than of the world. The world can make one prosperous but that prosperity is not eternal but it’s only temporary. But the Lord will be with the one who fears him and whatever he does will prosper because this man does everything with the wisdom of the Lord and will be led by the Lord. We read about Joseph in Genesis that the Lord was with him and whatever he did prospered. We all know about Joseph, the way he feared the Lord and lived a righteous life. And the Lord prospered whatever he did.
7). TO SEE THE CHILDREN BEING BLESSED
Psalm 25:12,13
Who is the man that fears the Lord ? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
Proverbs 14:26
In the fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence. And his children will have a place of refuge.
The children of the one who fears the Lord, will enjoy God’s blessings because of the parents’ walk with the Lord. If the parents have the fear of the Lord, their life with the Lord will bring blessings to their children. The Word of the Lord says that the children of the one who has fear of the Lord will prosper and inherit the earth and will always have a place of refuge and they will be safe in this world. What a blessing to have the fear of the Lord – even our children will be blessed because of the parents’ fear of the Lord.
8). TO BE PROVIDED DAILY BY THE LORD
Psalm 111:5
He has given food to those who fear Him.
Psalm 34:9
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
Food is something that we take three times a day. We need food daily. Without food, we cannot survive even a day. The Lord gives food and provision to those who fear Him. Food to sustain us, to make us strong, to make us healthy and to provide energy to live in this world. He provided heavenly manna for the people of Israel. During Elijah’s times, he provided food for the widow and her son who helped Elijah. The Lord fed 5000 people who came to listen to His Word. This verse gives us another reason why need to have the fear of the Lord. He will be our Jehovah Jireh. The Lord is faithful to provide our daily needs if only we have the fear of the Lord.
Jesus said that He is the Living Bread. His Word is our living Manna. If we fear the Lord and read His Word daily, He is faithful to provide us His Word which will give us wisdom to take right decisions daily, His Word will give us the knowledge of who He is, and what He wants us to do in this life, what is the purpose of our lives in this world. He gives us His Word which is the real food that we need daily especially in these last days.
9). TO HATE EVIL
Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.
Proverbs 23:17
Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day.
To hate evil, we need to have the fear of the Lord. People who have the fear of the Lord will never have a desire to sin. He or she will desire to please the Lord and will not let his or her heart to sin. He will always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. If we fear the Lord, we will never do the things which unbelievers or worldly people do. We will keep our hearts and thoughts clean before the Lord. Because the Holy Spirit will always guide our lives and we will always have the desire to live according to God’s Word and to do His will all the time. What a blessing to have the fear of the Lord.
10). TO HAVE LONG LIFE
Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.
To have long life, we need to have the fear of the Lord. The Lord will be our healer, and will sustain us with his strength. We may plan many things for our future but the length of our days is in the Lord’s control. He knows how long we should live, how we should live and where we should live. He also knows when we should live, in which century and in which year we should be born and die. He is all-powerful, all-knowing and almighty. He holds our lives in the palms of His hand. He knows till when we should have our breath in our nostrils. But all we have to do is to have the fear of the Lord. If we live according to His Word, He will use our lives as long as He wants us to live, to be a channel of blessing to many people and we will be used as instruments in His hands to spread the Gospel and to do His will till we die.
Conclusion:
Dear Friends, we have learned the 10 important reasons why we need to have the fear of the Lord or the 10 important blessings we can enjoy when we have the fear of the Lord.
Let us examine ourselves, whether we have the fear of the Lord… whether we give the due respect and honour to our God who loves us so much that He gave us His only Son to die for us and to redeem our souls and to give us eternal life. Let us all fear the Lord for who He is and for what He has done in our lives. May the Holy Spirit help us to have the fear of the Lord and to do His will all the days of our life.
