THE LORD’S BRANCH CHRISTIAN CENTRE
THE BRANCH’S WAY-Isaiah 4:2 (A WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE)
TOPIC: FEAR THE LORD
Text: Deuteronomy 6:1-3
Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: [2] That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. [3] Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it ; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
To fear God is not to cringe before God as a slave does before his master but to stand in awe of His holiness, to give God complete reverence and honour Him as the great God of glory, majesty, purity and power. Paul in his letter to the Philippians church admonished them to work out their salvation with 'fear and trembling' the same is true of us today so as not to be entangled in the affairs of the world (Philippians 2: 12). The psalmist also wrote why we should fear the Lord as he said "Let all the earth fear the Lord : let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. [9] For he spake, and it was done ; he commanded, and it stood fast'' (Psalm 33: 8 & 9).
A believer that truly fears the Lord will put his/her total trust in Him for all his or her needs. God is our shield and help (Psalm 115:11).
Fearing God will definitely generate in us absolute confidence, trust and hope in Him when we seek for mercy, forgiveness and spiritual salvation (Psalms 103: 11, 130: 4& 85: 9). All God's people must possess holy fear that grows out of a true awareness of God's supreme power and authority as well as with a deepest sense of accountability to Him. The fear of the Lord will make us to be conscious of sin and it's repercussions. Joseph declined to heed to the immoral request of Potiphar's wife because he feared God, he said "how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God"? (Genesis 39: 9c). The genesis of most problems in life stems from failure to fear the Lord Almighty.
God Himself asked in the book of Malachi for His fear, He said 'where is my fear' - where is my adoration, where is my reverence, where is my honour? The question we need to ask ourselves is do we fear God as The Almighty, The All Powerful? To this question many of us will say 'yes' I fear God, yet we come to church late. We choose when and when not to attend fellowship. Many of us bring into the house of God 'lamed' and 'blemished' sacrifices, offerings that do not show we honour Him. We come to God with 'leftovers' of our money (tattered notes in our pockets), 'leftovers' time and energy (it is when we are tired of watching television or done with our social media that we pick our Bibles to read that is if we ever read at all).
Our God is not an object we treat anyhow, He is The King of kings, The Lord of lords. He deserves the very best from us and not our rejects. God said it would have been better not to sacrifice at His alter at all than to offer with disrespect (Malachi 1: 10 ERV). David said I would not offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing (2 Samuel 24: 24b)
Giving our best of everything to God is a sign of honour and fear of God. Our whole life should be a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12: 1). David said he would enter the House of the Lord with fear and worship in His holy temple (Psalm 5: 7).
How fearing God will affect our lives:
We will obey His commands and live by His standards.
This will make us to depart from evil -and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil (Proverb 16: 6, 8: 13).
It will make us to be careful of what we say (Proverb 10: 19 and Ecclesiastic 5: 2, 6-7).
The fear of the Lord has a cleansing, purifying and restoring effect on believers.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverb 1: 7).
It will make us to worship and praise and honour God as Lord of All (Psalm 22: 23). A worshipping Church is the one that fears God.
The fear of God will save us from most of the world problems.
Benefits of fearing God:
Length of days- The fear of the LORD prolongeth days (Proverb 10: 27a).
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life (Proverb 14: 27a).
It brings security and protection from death (Proverb 14: 26-27).
It brings wisdom (Proverb 1: 7).
It guarantees eternal life (Psalm 119: 74).
They that live in awe of God will experience wellness regardless of what is happening around them (Ecclesiastic 8: 22-13).
There is provision for daily needs (Psalm 34: 9, 111: 5).
The fear of the Lord brings empowerment by the Holy Spirit (Psalm 33: 18-19).
In conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastic 12: 13).
Prayers:
O Lord my God help me to stand in awe of You in Jesus name.
Holy Spirit increase me in the knowledge of God in Jesus name.
Spirit of The Living God let me be filled with all the fullness of God in Jesus name.
I receive the unserchable wisdom of God through the help of the Holy Spirit in Jesus name.
Every unrepentant pursuer of my destiny, I destroy in Jesus name.
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