WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEAR THE LORD?

Last week, we looked at understanding the fear of the LORD. Today, we are going to look at what it means to fear the LORD.

In Psalm 34:11 God said, “Come, ye children, hearken unto Me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”

Proverbs 3:7 says, “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”

What then does it mean to fear the Lord? 

1. “The fear of the Lord” means to have respect and reverence for God and to be in awe of His majesty and power. This is the starting point to finding real wisdom.

Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

2. The fear of the LORD means to take sides together with God’s attitude towards corruption. The fear of the LORD is making sure that you don’t do anything that will displease God. “…by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil” (Prov. 16:6).

3. The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.

In Job 28:28 He said, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” 

Respecting God to the point that you do not disregard any of His commandments is what we call the fear of the Lord. Respecting God for who He is in your life, not out of what He can do to you is the fear of the Lord. Obedience to His commandments [respect for God] should be based on love for God (Josh. 22:5b).

Joshua 22:5b says, “Love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, obey all His commands, be faithful to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul” (NLT). 

You see, you cannot force people to respect you. You must earn it. People respect you because of who you are to them not because of who you think you are. If you show no responsibility towards people, no one will respect you.

If you love the Lord, then show it by respecting Him. If you love the Lord, then stay away from evil.

In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” 

In Proverbs 8:17 Jesus said, “I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me.”

4. Why should God earn our respect? 

God earns our respect because of the awesome responsibilities He shows towards us. When you consider all the countless goods He has done to you, all He is doing for you right now, and all that He’ll yet do for you in the future, you’ll have every reason to respect Him. He is:

• Jehovah Rohi, when you lack a sense of direction (Ps. 23:1; Jn. 14:6 & Rom. 8:14). He is the Lord that leads you beside still waters, and leads you in the path of righteousness.

• Jehovah Jireh, when you have a need (Ps. 23:2b). He is the Lord that provides for your need even before the need arises (Gen. 22). A young man walked into my office and began to bless the name of the Lord. He narrated that the previous day; he had nothing at all to eat. He had no money also to buy anything, and as he was about to become worried about his situation, the Holy Spirit dropped into his heart the words, “The Lord will provide.” He believed these words and cooled off. By the time he got home in the evening, somebody he lest expected had already brought for him three fat tubers of yam and three hundred naira. Here, Jesus manifested Himself to him as Jehovah Jireh.

• Jehovah Shalom, when you lack peace in your life, home, office (Ps. 23:2b; Isa 9:6).

• Jehovah Rapha, when you are sick (Ps. 103:3; 23:3a) – He restoreth my soul. How can you know that He is the Healer – Jehovah Rapha, if you have never been sick and God healed you?

• Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. He leads you according to His Word by His Spirit (Ps. 119:105; Ps. 23:3b).

• Jehovah Shammah, Are you in trouble and you desire His presence? (Ps. 23:4; Isa. 43:2; Heb. 13:5).

• Jehovah Nissi. Are you facing a battle in your office, home, your business, and your studies? (Ps. 23:5).

• Jehovah Ebenezer. The Lord that has led us thus far. The Lord that will yet lead us in the future.

• El-Shaddai, the all-sufficient God. The God that ensures that you have all sufficiency in all things so that you can abound unto every good work (2 Cor 9:8). The God that is more than enough.

Because God is so great and mighty, and because He holds the power of life and death in His hands, we must have a healthy, reverent fear of Him. 

Psalm 2:11 says, “Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling.”

5. To reverence the Lord means to respect Him deeply. It means to regard Him with deep respect.

6. To fear the Lord means to respect the Him. 

What is respect? Respect is recognizing someone else’s worth, honouring them for what they have done and for who they are. In a very real sense, it is a gift you confer on someone, a gift of valuing them highly. To honour and respect others requires humility on your part, because you are making others look good without trying to make yourself look good at the same time.

7. To respect the Lord means to depart from evil. When you fear God you will depart from everything that is contrary to the Word of God.

Proverbs 16:6 says, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” 

8. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, arrogancy, and the evil way. 

Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”

9. Your reverence for God should keep you from doing anything contrary to the Word of God (Gal. 5:18-19).

In Exodus 20:20 Moses said, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come in this way to show you His awesome power. From now on, let your fear of Him keep you from sinning!”

Conclusion: Do you understand that when you respect the Lord, it will be well with you and your seed forever? Your decision to respect the Lord will tremendously benefit your life and that of your posterity. Therefore, I challenge you to start respecting the Lord today! Make up your mind and start doing it right now. It is for your own good.

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit! 

Your friend: I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor).