Cont. Of the fear of God. The fear of God is a gift from God, given through the Holy Spirit, which He puts in our heart to keep us close to Him.“They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.”(Jeremiah 32:38-40) The Bible tells us that through the anointing of the Holy Spirit Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord.There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.(Isaiah 11:1-4 NKJV) Jesus the Christ delighted in the fear of the LORD,And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears. Jesus told us that He only said what He heard the Father say, and He only did what He saw the Father do, He only did those things that pleased the Father. We also delight in the fear of the Lord because it causes us to walk in obedience to the Father so that we have the joy of a clean heart. True love, and true fear of God, are revealed and experienced through the Holy Spirit. God’s love is the power and motivation to do His commandments, and God’s fear is the ability to understand and walk in His righteous judgments, His commandments, and not our own decisions. Like a protective wall the fear of God keeps us walking on the right path. The joy of a clean heart does not come from our own self it comes from experiencing God’s joy when we walk in His love doing His commandments.“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Fathers commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”(John 15:10-13) The fear of God leads to obedience of God, which gives us confidence in our heart before God.Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.(1stJohn 3:21-22) Walking in the fear of the Lord causes us to walk in righteousness, experiencing the joy of a right relationship with our God.Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!(Psalms 32:11) The Bible tells us that we perfect holiness in the fear of God.Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God(2 Corinthians 7:1). It is by God’s grace and mercy that He adopts us to be His Children, and we accept Him as our Father in humble honesty of our need for His mercy. Just as with a good human father, his children both love and fear him, the combination of this love and fear causes the children to walk in obedience. The love and fear of the Lord is also needed in our lives to bring about spiritual maturity, that we may fully depart from evil and cling to the One we love.In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.(Proverbs 16:6) People that study human behavior know that the most powerful way to control behavior is with a combination of positive and negative reinforcement, which is reward and punishment. God cares about us and our behavior, that is why the Bible is full of positive and negative reinforcement like this passage.This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.(Deuteronomy 30:19-20) Everyone has a fear of something. People that do not have a right relationship with God fear things on earth instead of the God of heaven. People can fear other people, fear situations, and even fear the future when they do not fear God.Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.(Proverbs 1:30-33)
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 20:01:55 +0000
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