Today, I am just setting a scriptural basis for what I want to talk to you about. In order to understand the spirit of fear, we must understand it's opposition... the fear of the Lord. The fear of God is the scriptural fear that we must live by.
These are several scriptures that urge us to fear the Lord & has many promises to us when we do.
Throughout the Word of God you will find the Lord giving direct commands for us to fear Him...because He is God. Deut.4:10b says, "...the Lord said to me, 'Assemble the people to me, that I may let them hear My words so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth and that they may teach their children.' Ps. 86:11 says, "Teach me thy way, O Lord;...unite my heart to fear thy name. Ps. 34:11 pleads, "Come ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the lord."
Several times in the Book of Leviticus when God is giving the Law to the people, as he is dealing with the subjects of how to treat each other, he ends each with "fear your God."
Ps.2:11 says, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." Ps. 5:7 says, "But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." Ps. 22:23 commands, "You who fear the Lord, praise Him..." Ps. 6:9 also commands, " O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Fear before Him, all the earth." When we worship God, it is an open display that we fear Him.
Many times the Bible speaks of the fear of the Lord such as found often in Proverbs. Here are some of the rewards spoken of in Proverbs alone when one has the fear of the Lord... it brings wisdom, causes us to hate evil & to turn away from it, causes our days to be prolonged, gives us strong confidence, is a fountain of life to us, brings riches, honor & life, etc... Ps. 25:14 says, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him..." Ps. 33:18 states, " The eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him." Ps. 34:9 reads, "O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him." Etc... They're are blessings that come upon us when we fear God.
Matt. 10:28 (NAS) says, " And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul & body in hell." Only God has the ultimate authority in our eternity. He is the only one able to meet out the judgment of the way that we choose. Ps. 119:120 says, "My flesh trembles for fear of Thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments. Rev. 14:7 states, "...Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."
Ps. 19:9 reads, "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous all together." This scripture verifies what so many of us already understand. To fear God is not the same kind of fear that you feel from the devil, or an enemy, or even people that you might have the wrong kind of desires to please. It is a revering of Him as the ultimate authority. He is God, and because of this we trust Him enough to serve Him as our God. He is not a mean, abusing god, but rather the just & one true living God. Even when He corrects, it is driven out of love for us, and not to harm us. When we walk in the fear of the Lord, our heart has confidence.
satan, however, in his desire to be God, imitates Him by distorting true fear; the fear of the Lord. satan always twist & distorts truth. It doesn't matter how he can get you to fear, but the fact that he can get you to fear. If he can get you to fear people, circumstances, and him he has done his job. satan's kind of fear operates out of plain fear, fear of man, & man-pleasing. Any fear that it not directed towards God is not an appropriate fear. Here are several scriptures that urge us what not to fear.
The Lord desires that we fear Him only, and not man, our enemies, or the devil. He actually warns us not to fear others.
Look at Jer.1:17, "Now gird up your loins, and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them." Wow...that was a very direct command to Jeremiah to speak to the kingdoms, yet fear no one but God. It came with a warning that if he feared the people, he would be overcome by fear in front of them. He was warning Jeremiah not to trust in man's ability to harm him more than trusting in God's ability to deliver him.
Ps.27:3 confidently states, " Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me..."
2 Chron. commands, " you need not fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you...fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you."
Deut. 20:3-4 says, "...Ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." We are to trust God in the midst of physical wars with pagan lands, as well as the spiritual battles with the devil.
Prov. 29:25, "The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." To fear man is a trap because we are not fully trusting God when we fear man. We are actually saying to ourselves that man has more power than God. He will confound us when we do this; it is a trap of satan.
Gal. 1:10 asks, "For do I now persuade men, or God? Do I seek to please men? For if I pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." It is evident that Paul was rejecting walking in fear & man-pleasing as he wrote this passage. He was defending truth & the gospel versus going with the flow. Man-pleasing is a form of fear.
I. Thes. 2:4 says, "But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts". It is important to know that we are pleasing God rather than giving men what they seek.
Ps. 3:6 says, " I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, who have set themselves against me round about.
Ps. says, "Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor the onslaught of the wicked when it comes..."
Ps. 56:4 says, "...I will not fear what flesh can do to me."
Is. 35:3-4 commands, "Stengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; He will come and save you.
Is. 41:10 commands again, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God, I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee..."
Is. 51:7b says, "...Do not fear the reproach of man neither be dismayed at their revilings.
Eze. 3:9 states, "As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks..."
Heb 13:6 says, " The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me."
These scriptures are very clear in conveying the message that we are not to fear people whatever the circumstances may be.
Rev. 2:10 encourages us, "Fear none of the things which though shalt suffer." The word promises us in Ps. that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all. We cannot fear suffering for whatever reason; we must trust God in all things.
Ps. 23 is probably one of the most well-known scriptures in the Bible. Verse 4b says, " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. David recognized that satan nor any evil could harm him because God was with him.
2 Chron. 17:38b-39 says, "...Neither shall ye fear other gods. But the Lord your God ye shall fear; and He shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. Chapter 17 tells us 3 times not to fear other gods who we know are manipulated by demon spirits.
Judges 6:10 states, " ...I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorites..."Can you see from many of these scriptures just how worship & fear are intertwined?
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