Published by admin on 04 Mar 2011 at 01:55 pm
WHAT DO YOU FEAR?
It is said that everyone is afraid of something. Some people have a fear of spiders, some fear losing their hair, some fear being rejected by others. There are as many fears as there are people, if not more. There is a fear of poverty, a fear of dying of a disease, a fear of having a piano fall out of the sky on your head, you name it, the devil can come up with something for you to fear. Yes, even I have a fear, but that is being found not believing God’s Word. Look at Hebrews 4:1-3:
Heb 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
I’ve been told there is no such thing as “good” fear, but in the right environment, fear can save your life. You should fear to step out in front of a freight train going seventy miles per hour. Fear of your watch dog could keep a burglar from breaking into your home. On the other hand, the devil perverts fear, which the Lord uses to warn us of impending danger, to hold people captive their entire lives. The Lord Jesus told us in Matthew 10:28 what we should fear: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
These days, people fear everything EXCEPT God. Sin and rebellion against God’s Word has hardened people’s hearts and made them think there is no consequence to their rebellion, because they have not yet seen God take action against it. Having no fear of the wrath of God, instead they fear not having enough money, or a good job, or a place to live, or not having enough to eat or drink. There are oppressive governments that hold entire their entire population hostage to the fear of death, lest they rise up to throw it off. We see this in the news continually. All through history, the devil has used fear to keep people captive in every walk of life. But God would not have it be like that for us.
The Ten Commandments were given to Israel to teach the people how to live free from fear and worry. People today say that Jesus did away with the Law, but what did He have to say about it? Matthew 5:17-19 says:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
The Commandments show us how to reverence God and obey Him, and how to treat our fellow man. If everyone obeyed those commandments, there would be no war, no murder, no theft, no adultery, no lust, and NO WORRIES! You see, people put their fear in the wrong area. We should fear God, not that He would destroy us, but rather that we would show Him the love and reverence due Him.
Everything God tells us is for our good, and not to destroy us. But we have turned His loving concern for us, to selfishness on our part that we would not have our own way. By focusing our attention upon ourselves, rather than giving God the fear and awe that He deserves, we open up every door for the devil’s fear to move in and take over our lives. When we distance ourselves from the protection of God’s law, we allow the devil’s lawlessness to rule over us, and he does that by fear. Finally, there comes a point where we are so accustomed to living in fear and oppression, we think it’s normal to live that way. It often looks like there is no way of escaping the devil’s clutches, but that is just another of his lies.
If people had enough fear of God to actually obey Him, there would be no lack of any good thing in their lives. Sickness and disease were taken care of by the Lord Jesus on the cross, in that He bore our sins and diseases upon Himself, so that would be out of the picture entirely. Instead, because people don’t fear God these days, they don’t believe His Words either. And because they don’t believe His Words, they don’t have the benefit of living under His covenant. Lacking the benefits of God’s covenant, basically, they are on their own, and the devil will see to it that he steals everything he can from them and has them living in constant fear that what little they do have will be taken from them.
So, won’t God do anything about it? He already has. He has provided His Word that promises if we do such-and-such, He will do such-and-such. You can read in Deuteronomy 28:1-2: And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
That is just the first two verses. Reading down to include verse 14, you will find the benefits of obeying God. And, He spells out exactly what will happen if you don’t obey Him. Not that He wants that to happen, it’s just that by your choice to disobey the LORD, you will be placing yourself outside the covenant and the bad stuff will happen to you because of your decision to fellowship with the devil and his crew.
It is written in Proverbs 1:7, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. So today, you’re being instructed in the fear of the LORD. If you will fear HIM, you need never fear anything else, ever!
John Foster on 05 Mar 2011 at 5:23 am #
There is no fear in love. Perfect loves casts out fear. Fear hath to do with torment. I John 4:18
Good article brother Jerry!
Michele on 06 Mar 2011 at 4:43 pm #
great word!!