Understanding the Fear of the Lord

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

The fear of the Lord is to love and obey God’s word, and to understand it means to turn away from evil (Job 28:28). As simple as it sounds, it’s scarce today, and I believe that’s by the devil’s design because it’s the most important attribute of Holy Spirit. The devil does this by utilizing our lack of knowledge of the Bible (Hosea 4:6), having us come into agreement with the kingdom of darkness, and diluting our dependency upon Holy Spirit by feeding our minds lies and deception. If we feel so emotional about any given situation, our own mind and feelings become “god” and we don’t ask and wait for Holy Spirit to teach us what He is doing or sees. In the spirit, demons don’t care about your intentions. All they look for is your agreement. If you are stepping onto the devil’s playground, then the only thing being played with is you, so we must be aware and not ignorant of what the devil owns and influences in order for us to turn away from that evil (2 Corinthians 2:11). 

Satan owns this world, and we know this because when Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, he brought Jesus up to a high mountain to show Him all the kingdoms and their riches and he offered to give it to Jesus if He would bow down to worship him (Matthew 4:8-9). The devil makes that same offer to people today. Satan has studied humanity from our conception and knows how to deceive and control the vast majority of the human race. Today, he does this through entertainment and culture, so if the entire secular world is moving and preaching in one direction, then God is moving in the opposite direction. There are people who pull the strings with our food, medicine, news outlets, music, civil conflicts/movements, and they are all influenced by demonic forces, and have been for generations hiding in the shadows. The devil seeks to destroy or control entire bloodlines because he is the enemy of every generation. If somebody sings, speaks, or acts good enough then we assume that they could do no wrong, but, as there are ministers of God, there are ministers of the devil, and they are popular and beloved. There are many demonic traps to lull people into delusion and deception everywhere and all it takes to be captured is to entertain demonic works, willingly or unwillingly. The most deceptive works don’t come in red horns and pitchforks, they come in what looks like gifts, love, acceptance, and healing (2 Corinthians 11:14). The most effective weapon the devil has is our own ignorance. If we fall for a trap, he will pry open even the smallest crack, accuse you of engaging with him, and then he will come in and set up shop to steal, kill, and destroy you because he has a legal right to do so. Legal rights are only broken by 1) Recognizing the source/permission whether it’s willful/unrepentant sin, ancestral demonic altars, or unresolved trauma,  2) Desiring freedom and coming into agreement and belief in Jesus, 3) Confessing, repenting, and renouncing all ties to the demonic by the authority of Jesus and in His name (John 10:10) (Luke 10:19) (Ephesians 4:27).

  Life is spiritual and it really is that deep. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)” What we entertain dictates how many demons and legal rights are in our life. Likewise, what we absorb dictates how much of God we can get as well. If the light is truth and darkness is ignorance, which it is, then today we’re dealing with mass ignorance orchestrated by the kingdom of darkness. The fear of the Lord guards us from our own ignorance. It’s the bedrock for the supernatural knowledge, protection, favor, and power of God to flow into the church today. To fear God is mentioned more than 300 times in the Bible, and out of the 7-fold-Spirits of God, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord is the only one mentioned twice:

 “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him– 

The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding

The Spirit of counsel and of might,

The Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord– 

And he will delight in the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:2-3)”

Jesse is the father of king David of the tribe of Judah, and from king David’s line came the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Lord Jesus perfected walking in the fear of the Lord, completing the Father’s Will in total obedience. Even as the Pharisees of that time were plotting on killing Jesus, He responded to them saying, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (John 5:19)” In other words, being a complete copy of the mind, heart, and will of God is what the fear of the Lord looks like. It’s a surrendered heart longing for none of me and all of God. If you’re asking yourself if this is possible, then you’re asking the wrong question. The real question is asking God how much more of You can I get. Obedience is the key to expressing the fear of the Lord, but love is the fuel you need to walk it out daily. 

Whoever has been forgiven much, loves much, and whoever has been forgiven little, loves little (Luke 7:47). I cannot express fully how grateful I am to God for forgiving me of the darkness I entertained and enjoyed. I turned my eyes to filth constantly, I made my body into an instrument of defilement, my heart grew so cold, I turned to divination and witchcraft which is an abomination to God, I caused others to stumble away from God, and every last one of those things in themselves would have sent me to hell in a handbasket to be tortured for all eternity. I’ve had moments deep in my sin where He still spoke to me and preserved my life from tragedy because I listened to that still small voice. There’s a multitude of ways God has spared me, and I know for certain that if it weren’t for God’s voice in my life, I’d be getting tortured in a regenerating body by demons in a jail cell in hell where there is no light, rest, or hope. There’s only a constant wasting away in the most horrific ways imaginable for eternity. I end most of my prayers by telling God I love Him because I know, in part, how severe my offenses were against Him and I also know the lengths He went through to give me the gift of salvation and forgiveness for my ignorance. The wrath meant for me was put on Jesus, the most perfect man to ever exist, and the nails hammered into His hands and feet that held Him up on the cross were because of my choices. Even now, if I go on to sin, I’m recrucifying Him and the holes in His hands and feet are still open with fresh blood. I do not want to continue on to hurt my God and saviour because of a deep love I have for Him just as I wouldn’t want to intentionally hurt my wife. I deserved to be thrown in hell, I was already sending myself there, but Jesus made it so I wouldn’t have to. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about God. It’s impossible for me not to obsess over Him because I’ve tasted His goodness, and even through everything He’s seen me do, He still has drawn me to Himself. He tore the veil and spoke audibly to me, plucking me out of the deep darkness I was in, and I’ve seen Him be with me every step of the way ever since. The first thing He said was, “It’s okay to be fearful, but the only one who you can fear is the One who can destroy both body and soul.” That’s from Matthew 10:28, but the emphasis on His initial words to me cannot be minimized.

As much as God is loving, merciful, and compassionate, He’s also severe, unchallengeable, and irrefutable in who He is and what He says. It’s those who do the will of the Father that have citizenship in Heaven (Matthew 7:21). What is the Father’s will? Before anything else, believe in the Lord Jesus. Believe that God sent Jesus, His only Son, to take our place to receive the wrath of God so that we may not perish, have forgiveness from our sins, and have eternal life. When God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus and His life was sacrificed, He resurrected three days later and is now seated at the right hand of the Father as the King of kings and the Lord or lords. He reconciled us back to God for all who believe in Him. After that, we deny ourselves, and follow Jesus. We have the greatest commandments, love God with all you are, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. That second part means to love the literal power of hell out of those God has placed in our path. These are the golden standards to being in the Father’s will. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres with wrongs. (1 Cor. 13:4-7)” There’s no greater expression of love than to lay down one's life for a friend (John 15:13). 

To be the living embodiment of Jesus’s earthly ministry is the ultimate practical example of operating out of the fear of the Lord. Everywhere He went, Jesus was known for healing the sick, casting out demons, teaching with authority, and planting seeds leading to repentance to those with ears to hear. Jesus was also known for being controversial, offensive, a troublemaker, and a blasphemer and the world hated Him because He preached that its works were evil (John 7:7). That means following Jesus fully will be labeled as being hateful for those who are perishing (John 15:18). For us, we take Jesus everywhere. It can be your home, place of work, grocery store, public transit, or anywhere you find yourself to be because there’s not one person God doesn’t want to bring home to Himself. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)” Are we going to be perfect in copying Jesus’s mission? No. However, we can set ourselves apart so that as the Lord calls many, we can be among the few that are chosen to bring Heaven down here.

Prayer for the Fear of the Lord:

Heavenly Father, 

You’re rich in wisdom and in love, and you yearn for the day that I can call you my Father and I’m grateful that you are. Forgive me for all offenses I’ve committed against you whether consciously or unconsciously and thank You for calling me to yourself as your child. I surrender all that I am to you, and I ask that I see as you see and love as you love. Pour the gift of discerning of spirits upon me and keep me from the forces of darkness by filling me with an extra measure of the fear of the Lord and zeal for your glory, in Jesus name. Amen.