The Fear of God!!!
This teaching is a bout brazen acts of treachery and wickedness and consequences of lack of the fear of God.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge …” (Proverbs 1:7)
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. -Proverb 8:13.
What is the true meaning of fear?
1a : an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. b(1) : an instance of this emotion. (2) : a state marked by this emotion. 2 : anxious concern : solicitude.
Many at times, human being just because they believe that God is far off or always slow to anger compared to even mortal gods or idols they tended to worship, they sometimes put off acts of wickedness, treachery, deceit and cruelty thinking they are deceiving God.Can God be deceived in the real sense of the word ?
God is not mortal that you can deceive, so let the fear of God rule our lives. Having an appropriate reverence and holy respect for God is the beginning point for all true knowledge about spiritual realities. “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Why is fearing God important?
First, fearing the Lord will give you wisdom (Psalm 111:10). Second, fearing the Lord will keep you from sin (Exodus 20:20). And third, fearing the Lord will motivate you in evangelism (2 Corinthians 5:11). All kinds of good will flow into the life of the person who fears the Lord..
What happens when the fear of God is missing ?
The Bible says when the fear of God is missing, sin increases and there is no godly wisdom.
Why do people throw away the fear of God ?
Because God is a God that is slow to anger, most people harbour the believe that , judgement day might not even come, or if it would come, it would be long, perhaps, they might have repented, especially when others who commit heinous crimes more than they do are still walking like a free man, but truth is that the judgement of God may be slow, but it is sure ..
Wise King Solomon wrote that it is “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil” (Eccl 8:11).
What are the reward for those who fear God?
THERE IS A PROMISED REWARD
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God has promised to reward all those who fear Him. “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life” (Prov. 22:4). Other promised rewards include security and protection from death (Prov. 14:26-27), provisions for daily needs (Ps 34:9; 111:5) and a long life (Prov. 10:27.
To fear God is to take refuge in Him – to draw close to Him (Psalm 31:19). Those two things may seem like opposing forces as typically you run from the person you fear to your place of refuge.
In fact, Proverbs mentions the fear of God over 20 times. In total the Bible mentions the fear of God over 100 times. The point of Isaiah's prophecy is that Jesus is the summation—or personification—of the Proverbs Man.
The scripture also made us to understand that no sin will go unpunished and we can not hide our transgression for ever.
“on the Day of Judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt 12:36-37).
Let it be known, His long wait on judging sinners is absolutely not God’s condoning approval or winking at sin. All sin will be judged.
In life, people commit all sorts of sins, abuse of office, embezzlement, weaponising poverty through impoverishment of the people,murder, arson, and all sorts of evil deeds.
Even, most men of God who are putting on the so-called collar lie on the altar in the name of God; some commits adultery and fornication, thereby desecration the house of God and their body which is also the temple of God; some enriches themselves, using God as a cover up. Some other people are backbiting ,using their tongues as a bile to take others down, while some abuse their position of authority, all due to the lack of fear of God.
The judgement is now!!!
I have seen and have always told people within my circle that most of the times, judgement day for some is right on heart and not until we get to heaven. Maybe, when we get to heaven, it may be consolidated, but most people do get the rewards of their good or bad deeds, even while on earth. Some practical Bible stories will suffice here :
CONSEQUENCES FOR LACK OF FEAR OF GOD.
The Story of Anania and Sapphira
Acts 5:1-11
New International Version
Ananias and Sapphira
5 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself,(A) but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.(B)
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan(C) has so filled your heart(D) that you have lied to the Holy Spirit(E) and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?(F) 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?(G) What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”(H)
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died.(I) And great fear(J) seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body,(K) and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”(L)
9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord?(M) Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died.(N) Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.(O) 11 Great fear(P) seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
*The story of Cain and Abel*
For a quick overview, Cain and Abel were the first and second sons of Adam and Eve. While Cain was a farmer, Abel was a skilled shepherd who took care of the family's animals.
One day Cain and Abel made sacrifices to the Lord to worship and thank Him. Cain brought some of the produce from the land while Abel brought the firstborn of his sheep.
God showed favor upon Abel's sacrifice because it was an offering that came from the best Abel had to give. This made Cain very angry and jealous. Cain lured his brother Abel into the fields and killed him with a rock. The Lord called to Cain asking what happened and after Cain lies about killing his brother, God punishes Cain. While God's harsh punishment on Cain was that he would no longer able to grow crops on his land, He did promise Cain that no one would kill him.
Truth is that, man has the inclination to cover up their sins and they sometimes concort all forms of lies to escape or evade punishment. But, come to think of it, we cannot hide our sin from God. Even though Cain tried to cover up his sin by lying, God already knew what he had done (Genesis 4:10).
The scripture reveals nothing can be hidden from the Lord who knows and judges all things (Hebrews 4:12-13).
This means no sinner will ever get away with their sins. All people throughout history will stand before our Lord and receive His holy, righteous judgment. Those who have not put their complete faith (trust) in the saving work of Jesus Christ are doomed to pay the price of their sin by spending eternity in hell (1 Thessalonians 1:5-9.
Conclusion.
It is important for us to know that, when we fear God, our ways will be smooth and there will be peace on the surface of the earth. God is not man that anyone can deceive. He said in the scripture, to Prophet Jeremiah, "before I formed thee, I knew thee..
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations"- Jeremiah 1:5.
How can you deceive a man who oversees the affairs of all men and give to everyone according to what they deserve? How can you deceive a man with a lot of characteristics: Omnipresence refers to a God who exists everywhere all at times once. Omnipotence describes an all-powerful god, and omniscience refers to an all-knowing god. A fourth concept, called omnibenevolence, refers to a god who is always good.
I will leave you with these scriptures:
"Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”
- Revelation 22:11,
But, remember this scripture that says: "Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. REVELATION 22:7-21.
Let us pray...!
May the Lord open our eyes and heart of understanding and cause us to continue to live in the fear of God so that we shall continually take our hearts unto righteousness. May he give us the grace and enablement to rule over the flesh and be filled with the fear of God. May the knowledge of good deeds and evil deposited in us not deafened by our evil deeds and thoughts. Let the thoughts of righteousness rule our lives and fear of God be our cornerstone. Amen.
God bless us all.
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