THE FEAR OF THE LORD (Part 2)

THE FEAR OF THE LORD (Part 2)

I have read many definitions of the fear of the Lord but the one the has helped me the most is one that Bill Gothard shared at his seminars: "The fear of the Lord is the continual awareness that God weighs, sees and knows every one of my thoughts, deeds, words and actions."

We like to focus on the love of God and I am thankful for His everlasting, unconditional, and unfailing love. But there is the other side of God -- His holiness, His justice, His righteousness that needs to be realized.

Most of us have heard the fear of the Lord defined as reverence for God. The word reverence means to treat with awe and respect. Dr. Ed Welch in his book WHEN PEOPLE ARE BIG GOD IS SMALL says that on one side of the fear of the Lord there is terror, dread, and trembling as we consider who God is. In this side of the fear of the Lord we want to hide from Him because we fear Him. Yet the more I come to know Him and love Him, it leads to astonishment, awe, reverence, devotion, trust and worship of Him -- We seek, draw near and submit to God.

Growing up I can remember having my Mom say when I was naughty, "Just wait till your father gets home." There was dread and trembling because of the discipline that I knew was coming. I respected my Dad and yet when I knew that I would face discipline from him, I wanted to run and hide. And yet there was in that respect for him, the desire to be in his presence ... something that created in me a desire to be near him and a desire to submit to his authority.

John Bunyan, author or PILGRIM'S PROGRESS wrote: "Christian, let God's distinguishing love to you be a motive to you to fear Him greatly. He has put His fear in your heart, and may not have given that blessing to your neighbor, perhaps not to your husband, your wife, your child, or your parent. Oh, what an obligation should this thought lay upon your heart to greatly fear the Lord! Remember also that this fear of the Lord is His treasure, a choice jewel, given only to favorites, and to those who are greatly beloved."
Tomorrow I want to share with you the benefits of fearing the Lord.
Have a great day!!!

Next week Dr. Jimmy DeYoung will be on campus at America's KESWICK for our prophecy week. Sessions will be Monday - Thursday mornings at 9:30 AM and the Monday - Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM. With all that is going on in the Middle East, you don't want to miss this great week. For further information, call 732-350-1187.