Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Fear of the Lord: Honoring God His Way


I would like to share with you something the Lord helped to make clear with His wisdom on this past weekend during a time of ministry. While discussing the topic “The Fear of the LORD” from the book by John Bevere, Father revealed how sometimes we treat the presence of others with more respect and honor then we do with His holy presence.  Following is the example He allowed for me to use as an illustration. While working in the marketplace a few years ago, the Director of the department I worked for came to the floor looking for one of the managers one day.  As the Director walked from one end of the floor to the other; you could hear one surprised response after the other. Oh hi, how are you? Great, it’s good to see you! What brings you up here? Etc. etcetera. Additionally, you would began to hear the sudden and quick typing of fingers upon keyboards along with papers being shuffled upon desks as she walked by each section.  I would sit at my desk still working and smh at the sudden activity of productivity because the big boss was on the floor.

Interesting to note after many of these surprise visits, one or more of the employees would come to my desk which actually happened to be the first desk after the entrance of the section and say to me, “Why did you not call to tell us that she was coming back our way?” One time I simply replied, “What would it look like for me, jumping on the phone calling to alert everybody when we should always be working as unto the Lord daily anyway. My response was based on Colossians 3:22 where the word of God states; “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.” Unfortunately, hearing the truth of God that day did hurt the feelings of my former co-worker even though I spoke it in a gentle manner. A good question to have posed on that day would be, “Should the Director of the department I worked for have asked for permission prior to visiting our section or should she have free course because she is of course the Director? Before you answer the question, let’s take it a step further.

Now imagine God and the fullness of His glory entering your home without a moment’s notice. Would you be prepared to receive His presence or would you have to shuffle things around pretending like you have been busy doing the work of the Kingdom? Following His departure would you then proceed to call your neighbors asking “Why did you not call and tell me that God was coming to our neighborhood today?” Same scenario as the first but different on so many levels because God of course is the Sovereign and Holy God and He is much more worthy of the honor and the glory. Although some may think this would be an interesting situation to find oneself in, it can very well begin to happen especially if we as the people of God continue to treat the presence of the Father as something common.

Each day as God allow for us to get up from our bed; it is then that we can make the conscience decision to serve Him and reverence Him as the Sovereign God that He is. Also as we begin to walk in the fear of the Lord on a daily basis we are ensuring that we are taking advantage of the opportunity to get to know the Father in a personal and intimate way. The word of God states in Proverbs 9:10 that the “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One understands.” These powerful words should be viewed as extremely important in the life of every Christian.  The word “Wisdom” as described in the Leadership Bible is “the ability to use the best means at the best time to accomplish the best ends. It is not merely a matter of information or knowledge, but of skillful and practical application of the truth to the ordinary facets of life.” By understanding and walking in the fear of the LORD, our obedience to God in honoring Him will help to unlock and keep open the doors to the things that are needed for us to carry out the divine will of the Father in our daily lives. Attempting to live our lives without respecting and honoring God, can only lead to the pathway of walking in the impure wisdom of the world. The wisdom of the world is definitely no match for true wisdom which can only come from relationship with the Heavenly Father.

So how can we as Christians continue to honor and reverence God His way?


1.      First, we have to search our hearts and repent for any of the times that we treated His holy presence as something common.
2.      Seek to spend more time reading and mediating upon the word of God. This will help us to know Him in a greater capacity.
3.      Taking time during the course of our day to spend quality quiet time in His presence. Doing this allows for us to know Him in a more intimate way.
4.      Opening our hearts and accepting His wisdom and instruction by making application to our daily lives.

May your life from this day forward be greatly enriched as you begin to walk in the fear of the Lord by reverencing God as the Sovereign God that He is.     



Blessings,

Arnita L. Fields

A Scribe to the Lord, a Scribe for the Lord


References:



Zondervan Publishing House, the Leadership Bible; NIV. Grand Rapids, Michigan.


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Prayer of Salvation
I repent of all of my sins and right now I do confess that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for the remission of my sins. I believe that Jesus died and was buried and rose again, and is now seated at the right hand of God in Heaven. I receive Him now as Lord of my life and I now commit to serve him for the rest of my days. It’s in Jesus’ name I do pray, Amen.
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