The “Fear of the Lord” is NOT to be scared of God.
Isaiah 33:6b NKJV
The fear of the LORD is His treasure.
Luke 12:4-5
I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Luke 12:6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet, not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
To fear God is to be in AWE of Him.
– To honor, tremble, revere, respect, and value Him more than anything or anyone else.
Proverbs 8:13a
To fear the LORD is to hate evil.
JESUS had the Fear of God.
Hebrews 5:7 NKJV
Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death and was heard because of His godly fear.
The Fear or Awe of God is –
- To tremble at His presence.
- To tremble at His Word.
Hebrews 12:28-29 NKJV
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
How do we live in Godly Fear and Awe?
- Repent of the things that displease God and stop doing them.
Matthew 18:7-9
Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
SIN… is your murderer. Kill it before it kills you.
-Richard Baxter
- Cultivate the Fear of God in your life.
1 Peter 1:14-16
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Hebrews 12:14 NLT
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
3. Recognize the consequences of living without the Fear of God.
Matthew 7:21
Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 7:22-23
Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
If there’s no fruit, there’s no root.
4. Maintain a clear conscience.
Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
5. “FIRST 15” – Pray and read God’s Word daily.
Psalms 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalms 139:23-24 NKJV
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.