Fear Part 3: March 16, 2011

MARCH 16, 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY MARCH 16, 2011

FEAR
PART THREE

DEFINITION:

The feeling of being afraid, having a concern or great anxiety.

SCRIPTURE:

“Fear the Lord and depart from evil.” Proverbs 3:7

“Fear God and keep His commandments.” Ecclesiastes 12:13

“That you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all of the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.” Deuteronomy 6:2

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

It is recorded in the book of Deuteronomy beginning in the fourth chapter the instruction that Moses gave the Children of Israel concerning God’s commandments and their need to obey God. He reminded them when they were in Horeb at Mt. Sinai (Deuteronomy 4:10) where the Lord spoke to them and said, “Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they MAY LEARN TO FEAR ME all the days that they live on this earth, and that they may teach their children as well.”

And in the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy (above) Moses continues to tell the children of Israel the importance of fearing the Lord. When we fear the Lord, He will guide us, control us, protect us and care for us. In Psalm 27:1 it reads, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

As believers in Christ we must realize that there are constructive and destructive fears and understand how they affect our lives. In Matthew 10, Jesus said to His disciples who were very fearful about what would happen to Jesus: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Fear of what man can do to us is a destructive fear.

Jesus did warn the disciples and the apostles that they would be persecuted for preaching the gospel and that they would have no physical defense. The Apostles did suffer severe persecution and nearly all were put to death. While the disciples had reason to fear what man could do to their physical bodies, Jesus wanted them to be assured their soul was safe because man cannot take away what God has given. God had given them, as well as us, eternal life.

There are two elements that will deliver you from destructive fear, whether it is fear of life or death, fear of failure or loss, fear of people or position or rank or power. They are FAITH IN GOD and GOD’S LOVE.

Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 43:1 to fear not because God has redeemed us. Faith and trust in God dispels fear. When speaking of God’s love, John says (I John 4:18) that “perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment.” Believers need not fear God’s judgment because God’s perfect love guarantees our salvation.

Fear of the Lord is a constructive fear. Fear of the Lord is to honor and respect God, to bow in awe at His majesty and power and to be obedient to His commandments. Fear of the Lord keeps us from doing evil as written above in Proverbs 3:7. When we fear the Lord we recognize that God ultimately has the power and right to cast both our body and soul into hell. Satan does not have that kind of power.

Fear of the Lord is constructive because it teaches wisdom (Proverbs 15:33), it keeps us from evil (Proverbs 16:6) and it keeps us obedient to God’s commandments. When we have reverential fear for God we will want to honor and obey Him and will want to commit our lives to Him. This is constructive fear that transforms our lives.

You cannot have faith in God, trust God and be fearful at the same time. God is love and because of this immeasurable and perfect love for us, He has made it possible for us to spend eternity with Him. For those who love Him as their Lord and Savior there is nothing that can happen to us in this world that can change that fact. In I John 4:18 it reads: “There is no fear in love, because perfect love drives out fear.”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 33:8:

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

PRAYER:

Give me the strength today to fear You so that I can bow in awe at Your majesty and power. Help me today to be obedient to Your commandments. Teach me wisdom, keep me from evil and open my eyes anew to the blessings You are giving to me and my family each day.