HE THAT FEARS THE LORD.

 ANCHOR OF LIFE DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE For TUESDAY, 7TH MARCH, 2023.

Author: PASTOR DR. SAMUEL AYORINDE – General Overseer

Anchor of Life & Redemption Ministry Int’l

Topic: HE THAT FEARS THE LORD.

MEMORIZE: "And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." Job 28:28.

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 25:12-14

“¹² Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.¹³ He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.¹⁴ The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.”     

EXPOSITION:

One of the precious messages of the Bible is "fear not" used about fifty times: Gen. 15:1: Gen. 26:24: Ex. 14:13: Isa. 43:1; Luke 2:10: Luke 12:32: Acts 27:24; Rev. 1:17. Also there are variations of this like Jesus' words, "It is I: be not afraid" (John 6:20). But this kind of fear-the fear of God which we ought to have. Job 28 :28, "And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." Psa. 19 :9, "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever." II Sam. 23 :3, "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." 

Lack or absence of this fear can only bring sin, disillusionment and end in tragedy. Gen. 20 :11', Abraham sinned because, "I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place." He mistakenly thought that he was beyond God's fear and was really free. Rom. 3:18 reads, "There is no fear of God before their eyes" - a picture of degenerate man. 

MEANING OF "FEAR OF THE LORD" or "FEAR OF GOD" 

Proverbs 14:26-27 "²⁶ In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge. ²⁷ The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death."

Does it mean physical fear where you stand and tremble in the presence of the -.- Almighty? 

Dr. C. I. Scofield defines it as meaning "reverential trust with a hatred of evil." Fear of the Lord means piety. It is used to express our religious duty toward God. Deut. 4 :10, "Gather Me the people together, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth." From this we see that it is essential but not inherited. It is something that must be taught to children and people that each generation may learn to fear the Lord. 

Fear is the thing that God requires from each one of us. It is a purpose of creation. Deut. 6:13, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him." Ecclesiastes 12:13, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep..." 

THE FEAR OF GOD IS COMMANDED 

Deut. 13 :4, "Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him." 

I Pet. 2 :17, '" Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king." 

Psa. 22 :23, "Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him . . . glorify Him; and fear Him." 

The earthly disciples set up a noble example in this matter. Acts 9:31, ". . . and walking in the fear of the Lord. . . were multiplied." Cornelius was a man who feared God. Acts 10:2, "A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house. . ." Is it any wonder that God sent Cornelius the Gospel? 

II Cor, 7:1, the fear of God teaches us to live circumspect lives, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." This godly fear becomes a powerful motivating force in our lives. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE FEAR OF THE LORD 

1. It is a hatred of evil. Prov. 8:13, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." 

2. It is wisdom. Psalm 111:10, "The fear of. the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." 

3. It is a treasure. Proverbs 15:16, "Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith." Psalm 33 :6, "The fear of the Lord is his [believer's) treasure." 

4. It is a fountain of life. Proverbs 14 :27, "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. " 

5. It is clean. Psalm 19:9, "The fear of the Lord is clean." It is sanctifying. 

6. It endures forever. Psalm 19 :9, "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever." 

7. It is godly. Hebrews 12:28, "Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." There is a difference between reverence and fear. 

RESULTS OF FEARING THE LORD 

1. It brings pleasure to the Lord. Psa. 147:11, "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy." Let's bring much pleasure to the Lord. 

2. It causes the Lord's pity to increase upon the child of God. Psa. 103 :13, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." 

3. It brings acceptance with God. Acts 10 :35, "But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." Peter to Cornelius and friends. 

4. It brings the mercy of God. Psa. 103:17, "But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him." 0 Lord, teach me to fear Thee (Luke 1:50)! 

5. It brings blessings. Psa. 112 :1, "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord." 

6. It brings confidence. Prov. 14:26, "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence." 

7. It brings separation from evil. 'Prov. 16:6, "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." Today there is little fear of God and an abundance of evil. 

8. It brings Christian fellowship. Mal. 3:16, "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it." 

9. It supersedes the fear of man. Isa. 8:12,13, ". . . neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear." 

10. It brings answered prayer. Ps-a. 145;19, "He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry and will save them." 

11. It brings long life. Prov. 10:27, "The fear of the Lord prolongeth days." 

PRAYER POINT: I. Lord, create Your fear in our hearts that we may fear you reverently in Jesus name. 

II. Let us pray that God will teach us to fear Him. Psa. 86:11, "Teach me Thy way, 0 , Lord; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy Name." 

DAILY BIBLE READING IN A YEAR –  Judges 1-3

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ANCHOR OF LIFE is the daily devotional guide of ANCHOR OF LIFE & REDEMPTION MINISTRY (ALRM), written by PASTOR DR. SAMUEL AYORINDE. It is an extraction of God’s word designed to draw the sincere seekers closer to God on a daily basis through an insightful exposition and analysis of God’s Word.

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