Fear of God
I grew up believing fear was a weakness.
I grew up believing fear was held by those who were losers.
When I became a Christian, fear was a topic that came up often.
So, is there anyone who is like me, and found that ‘Fear of God’ thing confusing?
Because I sure did.
I heard;
☆ For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
• 2 Timothy 1:7
But from that same pulpit, and that same teacher,
I would also hear;
☆ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.
• Psalm 111:10
I am not the smartest man, but that sounded dumb.
I may not be the most logical, but that didn’t sound logical to me and
I knew even then, that it could not be true both ways.
Oprah Winfrey had the same problem.
She found something that didn’t add up, and it took her completely out of the church she was in.
A church that believed in salvation through Christ.
to where she chose to get into new age philosophy.
And what was that problem?
A misunderstanding the Word.
Oprah heard her minister read the scripture about God being a ‘Jealous God’, and;
That was enough for her to leave the church.
She would never want to surrender to a God who had any petty jealousy.
Like Oprah, who didn’t understand that the jealousy of God was God just being protective;
I also did not understand the fear of God.
As, like Oprah, those aspects of God were never explained correctly to us from the pulpit.
The fear of God, is like the fear of fire.
It is a;
– Reverence
– Respect
– Awe
– Veneration
It is a form of LOVE of God.
☆ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
• 1 John 4:18
FEAR is a LEARNED BEHAVIOR.
Watch any toddler, they prove that.
They put themselves in imminent danger without fear all the time.
They do not know a lit stove top is dangerous, they have no fear of it.
But they will learn.
So, though we know an uncontrolled fire is dangerous, and we should fear it,
We also know that a controlled fire can keep us warm, cook our meals, and burn our garbage.
But if we learn about fire the wrong way, we will always fear fire.
If we are taught wrong about the reverence of God, we can live life fearing God.
So many leaders have taught the Bible through their own learned experiences.
Thus the fears of their own personal lives can be intertwined with their understanding of the Holy Word.
☆ The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
• Proverbs 29:25
How many of you have had any kind of problems worshipping of Your Father In Heaven;
Because of the memories of the mistakes and imperfections of your father here on earth?
– Sadly, too many of those trying to teach the Bible, also have some residue of their learned fears of their fathers.
– Sadly, too many people have less faith in God, than they have of fears of other people.
We can fear others peoples;
– Opinions
– Rejection
– Support
– Response
– Disapproval
But that fear in our lives, should always be covered by our confidence in HIM.
Our fear of man, should always be removed because of our (reverence) fear of God.
☆ The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
• Psalm 118:6
So,
– We need to ‘Re-Learn’ all we know about our fears in life.
– We need to ‘Re-Structure’ ourselves in our reverence IN God
– We need to’Re-Discipline’ ourselves in our daily surrender TO God.
God wants us to do that.
God says “Do not fear” for a reason.
Because as we just saw, HIS perfect love casts that OUT!
But we are to revere GOD, honor GOD, submit to GOD, and request from GOD
That perfect love from GOD.
For not only ismthat what God wants us to do,
But HE also tells usmwhat will happen when we do.
☆ I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
• Psalm 34:4
Do you have a healthy understanding of God – or –
Do you have a man made understanding that’s off?
Do you have an unhealthy fear of God?
Or do you have a mature reverence of Him?
Think about that…seriously.
I love you guys!
