The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God 

“The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.” (Acts 9:31 NLT)

Over the last few days, we have discovered many wonderful benefits connected to the fear of the Lord, but we have barely scratched the surface. According to the above passage, here are four for the church: peace, strength, encouragement, and growth. Let’s look at what the Bible tells us about each one.

·      Peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27 ESV)

·      Strength: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isa. 40:31 ESV)

·      Encouragement: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,” (Rom. 15:5 ESV) 

·      Growth: “Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47 ESV)

Therefore

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:58 ESV)

The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God 

“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” (Prov. 22:4 ESV)

Humility and fear of the Lord

The passage at the top states that there is a favorable reward for humility and the fear of the Lord: riches, honor, and life. This is for both now and later. It’s now because of God’s law of reaping and sowing (Gal. 6:7) that you will reap the results of living that lifestyle. And it’s later when He comes again, bringing rewards (Rev. 22:12).

“The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.” (Prov. 15:33 ESV)

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8 ESV)

Therefore

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,” (Col. 3:12 ESV)

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6 KJV)

And finally

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14 ESV)

The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God

 “By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.” (Prov. 16:6 ESV)

A few days ago we read in Proverbs  8:13 that the fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil. Today we learn that the the fear of the Lord turns us away from evil. It’s good to know that God turns us away from what He says He hates. He even tells how it happens, “By steadfast love and faithfulness, iniquity  is atoned for.” That’s the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,” (Gal. 1:4 ESV)

We do not fear evil because God is with us!

“He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalms 23:3-4 ESV)

Therefore

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (2 Tim. 4:18 NIV)

The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God 

“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” (Psalm 31:19 ESV)

Gods abundant goodness is stored up for those who fear Him. Of course we know that God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good. We joyfully say that to one another. It’s His nature to be good and it is evident in His love for us through Jesus Christ.

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8 ESV)

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” (Nahum 1:7 ESV)

 Therefore

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” (Psalm 27:13 ESV)

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6 ESV)

The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God 

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:13 ESV)

The dictionary defines compassion as a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for other people’s suffering and a desire to help. The word compassion itself derives from Latin and means “to suffer together.” 

Jesus demonstrated compassion

“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matt. 14:14 ESV)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4 ESV)

Therefore

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32 ESV)

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Col. 3:12-13 ESV)

The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God 

“Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Exo. 20:20 ESV)

When the “fear of Him” is before you, as said in the above passage, it keeps you from sinning. We see an example of this in the life of Joseph when Potiphar’s wife attempts to seduce him. He refuses her and says, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.” (Gen. 39:9-10)

The key is to constantly draw near to God

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8 ESV) 

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16 ESV)

Therefore

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb. 20:18-22ESV)

The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God 

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1 ESV)

Yesterday, we looked at our being clean before the Lord through what Jesus did for us on the cross. We are clean because the blood justifies those who believe in Jesus. Romans 5:8 says, “… while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.“ His blood sacrifice made it as though we never sinned. The next verse, Romans 5:9, confirms that we are justified by His blood. Therefore, when God looks at us, He sees the blood of Jesus covering us, not our sins.

But that doesn’t mean we have nothing to do

We must do everything we can as followers of Christ to “cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

We live a clean and righteous life here on earth. It’s a lifelong process that is not complete until we are finally with Jesus. And God will help us.

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6)

Therefore

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Col. 3:5 ESV)

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Gal. 5:16-26 ESV)

The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God 

“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.” (Psalm 19:9 ESV)

Clean before the Lord

“The fear of the Lord is clean.” What does that mean? The dictionary defines clean as without blemish. Being pure, virtuous and complete. Free of dirt, spotless, unblemished, and washed. That’s what you are when you are cleaned by Jesus.

I met my wife, Susan, at a Christian coffee house with the name Superior Cleaner Coffee House. Some Christian hippies had turned a building that had previously been a clothes cleaning business into a coffee house. The sign on the building originally said “Superior Cleaners,” but they removed the “s” at the end and said, “Jesus is the superior cleaner! It represented what their ministry was all about, which was telling people how their lives could be cleaned up by Jesus.

A song I really liked back then, sung by Evie Tornquist, started off with, “Clean before the Lord I stand, and in me not one blemish does He see. When I placed all my burdens on Him, He washed them all from me.” I liked it because it said very clearly what God did for us when we turned to Him.

Jesus cleanses us from all sin

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (John 1:7 ESV)

“Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3 ESV)

Therefore

“Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalms 51:9-10 ESV)

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:22-23 ESV)

The Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence and awe towards God 

“In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.” (Prov. 14:26 ESV) 

Having a healthy fear of the Lord strengthens you like a rock, and that will turn you into a wonderful refuge for your children. That’s especially important in the world we live in today, with so much uncertainty and negativity coming at them from every direction.

We have confidence before God

“For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.” (Prov. 3:26 ESV)

“For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;” (1 John 3:20-21 ESV)

Therefore

“So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:6 ESV)

“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Heb. 10:35-36 ESV)