The Reverential Fear of the Lord

Dear Blog Readers~

So great to be with you again after a long lapse! For about a month now, the Lord has been speaking to me about "The Reverential Fear of the Lord" and the necessity of the Church to understand the absolute wisdom of God contained within Proverbs 1:7. It is vital to our walk with the Lord to understand that there is a holy, reverential and healthy fear of the Lord which is foundational to our Christian lives.

While watching "The Last Samurai" last night (and I like war movies and how they relate to our Christian commitment), one line stood out...in that, Capt. Algren remarked how the Samurai village contained a separateness and a spiritual quality about it that was unequaled to anything he'd ever previously encountered...He wanted to know more about them.

And so, we must come back to some foundational truths in Christ in that a reverential fear of the Lord is a priority for living a righteous and holy life. Our Christian walk is to be more than punching a button on Facebook or forwarding an email that says, "If you're not ashamed of Me, you will send this on." Really? Is that what our Christianity has now been reduced to? Pushing "Like" buttons and forwarding emails? Because if this is all it takes, anyone can do that.....Church, we are called to mature in Christ.

The following are my notes from the Sunday School class I led this week. Feel free to copy & paste into a format that works better for you.  You are invited to partake of the meal He has provided and we examine our own lives and hearts before Him.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive study, but as we purpose in our hearts to live rightly and holy before the Lord, He will show us The Way; for He is the way, the truth and the life.  

I look forward to meeting with you on a more regular basis.

Blessings always~ Crista

Righteous Living Begins with The Reverential Fear of the Lord

Second only to our salvation is the understanding that our righteous living….walking it out in our day to day life, begins with the reverential fear of the Lord.  Our behavior, both privately and publicly, always reveals what we have truly internalized re: God’s Word and how we are to live our lives before Him. Heb. 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

God’s Word says that His People are destroyed for lack of knowledge….Hosea 4:6

Knowledge:
Strong’s #1847 - Knowing, Understanding, Intelligence, Wisdom, Discernment, Skill
Prov. 1:7 NKJV : “For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and knowledge.”
Amplified: “The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline.” (Amp. Version)

The Fear of God:Strong’s Concordance #4172, morah as: “Fear, reverence, terror, awe; an object of fear, respect, or reverence. Morah is derived from yare’, “to be afraid of, to fear, to reverence.” (Reverence, semnos: Strong’s #4586: Behavior that is dignified, honorable, decent, august, worthy of respect.)

Our trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior is more than a “collect $200/pass Go/get out of jail free” card as the lives of too many professing Christians today demonstrate little difference from unbelievers in word, deed and action; showing little/if any regard for the consequences of our behavior or the realization that God holds us accountable for every thought, word, deed and motive.
There are those in Christian leadership today who are not preaching holiness and making it sound as if we are all friends of God through professing Christ as our Savior. This is called apostasy. Jesus says that we are His friends IF we do whatever He commands us. (John 14:15) This is a conditional statement which demands our attention.
Beware of teachings which put emphasis upon relationship with the Lord without accountability/responsibility on our part.

Scriptural Truths: 1. We will all have to give an account before God. 2 Cor. 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
2. We are all naked before God. Heb. 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give and account.“ What we do, say in private is just as open to God as what we do in public. A good question to ask ourselves: “If Jesus were standing/sitting next to me right now, would I do what I am doing?” Well, He is anyway.
3. We will all be judged.
4. We are to live sanctified, holy lives - To be holy as the Lord, Himself is holy; to come out and be separate. To be sanctified (separated from the world) in thought, deed, action, motive, character, speech and habits.Scriptures:

1) Examine our fruit: Matt. 7:15-21, Gal. 5:22-25
2) Realize that what comes out of a mouth/heart defiles a person. Matt. 15:11, Eph. 4:29-32
3) Our lips may say, “Yes, Lord.”…but our heart is far from Him. (Matt. 15:8)
4) We all have choices in how we shall live; this day/today. Joshua 24:15
5) We are only His friend, IF we do His will. John 14:15
6) Avoid those who preach that it is not necessary to live holy and righteously! Eph. 5:7, Ephesians 5:1-7, 8-14, 15-21, Jude 3-4, 16-25

Reverential Fear of the Lord --->Leads to Holy and Right Living which is pleasing to the Lord
Where do I go from here?
1) Ask the Lord to examine my heart that we may live a holy, sanctified life out of our reverence, love and awe for Him.  (Ps. 139:23-24)
2) Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and body. (Deut. 6:5)
3) Love our neighbor as ourselves. (Lev. 19:18)
4) Be obedient to His Will and Word
     *Obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22b)

     *Rebellion is as witchcraft (1 Sam. 15:23a)

     *To him who knows to do good, but doesn’t do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)

5) Purpose in my heart to be Holy as He is Holy (1 Pet. 1:16)

6) Determine/purpose to live a sanctified life - as Jesus prayed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane. (John 17)

7) Minister and serve unto the least of these (Matt. 25:40)

8) Live at peace with all men. (Rom. 12:18)

9) Guard my mouth. (Eph. 4:29-32)

10) Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, but be filled with the Spirit. Be baptized in the Holy Ghost Who empowers us from on high with His Strength and Power to live holy and righteous on this earth to the Glory of God!  Hallelujah!  (Eph. 4:1-3, Gal. 5:16-25)  

11) Imitate God. (Eph. 5:1)

12)Develop the fruit of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-24)

Life Application:All of us could make a list of things to change…..We look into the mirror of God’s Word so that we know what He desires of us….and we purpose/commit to living a holy, righteous life out of our reverence/fear/awe/respect/worship for Him Who Is The Only Wise God.

Prayer:“Lord, I commit this day, right now, to walk in righteousness before You. Forgive me for the way in which I have strayed from You and Your Word. I ask You to search me and know me and see if there be any wicked or hurtful way in me and lead me in the way everlasting…on Your path of righteousness for Your Name sake. God, I ask that You put such reverence and love in my heart for You, that I purpose in my heart to live holy before You. Show me. Lead me. Send Your Holy Spirit to do what I am unable to do for myself…for I know that I can’t, but You can. Therefore I move my pieces. I choose this day to live in obedience to Your Word that Your Glory may be known among the nations. Amen and Hallelujah!”

Be blessed,
Crista
(CMSimmons52@aol.com)