Fear that makes God worth obeying

Ga 2:11-14 - But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

I don't think I would have like to be at the receiving end of rebuke by Paul, but I guess he deserved it. Peter, the great Peter, was fearing what people would think of him so that he would not eat with the gentiles for fear of what the Jews would say. Fear does that. It raises the value of someone or something over God. Simply put, he feared the Jews rebuke more than he feared God's rebuke. It is possible that Peter could have justified it as trying to reach more Jews for Christ or something like that, but in reality, his fear of man, at that moment, was greater than his fear of God.

Ps 33:8 - Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.

The whole purpose of Paul's ministry was to bring the gentiles into the kingdom of God. He was a Jew who had been sent to minister to the gentiles that God was welcoming them into eternity through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And here was Peter, fearing what the Jews would think, when instead, he should have been fearing the Lord that the whole world should be revering. This is a great wake up call to all who fear man over God. Turn your eyes heavenward and let the greatness of God make the weight of your friends or co-workers or family seem small.

Fear, Serving and Obedience

Dec 25

Is 41:13 - For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

We are commanded to “Fear Not!” But this command is surrounded by two comforting promises. This verse is broken into three parts, and for each part, God clarifies His authority and identity by saying “I”. I, the Lord your God. I Say to you. I am the one. And the two comforting promises that surround the command are that he holds our right hand, like a father to a child, to guide, protect and to offer assurance that he helps us. The reason we fear not is because he is intimately involved in the affairs of our life to protect and help us.

1 Sa 12:14-15 - If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

It is impossible to separate our fearing the Lord, serving the Lord and obeying the Lord. These three seem to fit together as one. I do not think it is possible to do one without the other. You will not obey God without fearing Him. You cannot fear Him without serving Him. You will not serve Him if you do not obey Him. In this verse there is an encouragement and a warning. It is a striking image that when we fear Him, his hand his holding our hand. But when we do not fear him, his hand will be against us. It is so apparent how fear can be used for good or for bad. And, so much rides on how we treat this emotion. Will we in our lack of faith fear those circumstances around us? If we do, not only will our peace be disturbed, but God’s hand will be against us. But, if we seek Him in faith in our fear, God will hold our hand and He will help us.

fearfully at peace

Dec 21

Is 35:3-4 - Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Fear produces anxiety. The answer to anxiety is that God will come and He will save us. It is promise that we can bank on. Therefore we are to strengthen our hands and our knees and walk confidently in the power of our God. The answer to our fears is God. As Php 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Dt 17:19 - It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees

Reverence leads to obedience. Simple as that.

Sleep Well

December 18, 2007

Pr 3:24-26 - If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

My daughter has this verse written out and put above her bed. This verse is so poignant because when we are afraid, sleep is the first thing to go. We are either are afraid while we sleep or we can’t sleep because we are fearing something. Sleep signifies peace and rest. Fearful lives don’t sleep well. Just like yesterday’s passage, I am not afraid of bad news or sudden disaster. We are not afraid of accidents because we know that God is in control of everything. God is our confidence in good and in bad. In his goodness, we rest.

Dt 6:24-25 - The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

The fear of God leads to obedience which leads to prosperity. Though prosperity is an old testament concept, I think it still serves true for us that fearing God leads to a fearless life. The only thing we need to be careful of is to obey all the laws of the Lord our God.

Fearing to be not afraid

December 15, 2007

Ps 78:52-54 - Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.

When God leads, we are not afraid. Fear comes from the unknown, from danger, from doubt, from confusion and from danger. But, when God leads us we are safe in his hand. The issue isn’t safety, it is being in the will of God. When we wait on the Lord, we can be confident that His hand leads us.

Dt 8:6 - Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and revering him.

I think it is this simple. We observe the commands of the Lord as we walk in his ways and fear or revere him. It is impossible to do the commands of the Lord unless we fear Him and walk in His ways. How do we revere him? We recognize Him as the one whose authority and power requires of us that we obey Him and imitiate His righteousness and Holiness. Fear is a necessary part of obedience. It is the reason we obey.

Trust and obey, there is no other way

December 12, 2007

Ps 56:3 - When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

This is so simple. Not if I am afraid or questioning why he is afraid, but when I am afraid. Fear is normal and to be expected, but the response is not. If when I feel fear, I allow fear to dominate my thoughts, my actions and and my life, than it is wrong. But, if my feelings of fear, I put my trust in God, my fears can be relieved. It is not accident that the word trust is there. In whom will you put your trust, your dependence when hard times come. Yourself, your friends, your family or your career? Who will you trust? God is the worthy one for your trust, the one who is trustworthy, who is faithful and good, gentle and powerful.

Dt 28:58-59 - If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God— the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

The opposite of putting our trust in Christ is putting it in ourselves or our nation or countless other things. Not only does God provide comfort when we are afraid, he also demands that we trust Him. By carefully following all the word of the law, we are revering Him as Lord. The things which cause us fear may come as discipline to help us realize that He is all we need to fear.

How considering God leads to Godly fear

Do not Fear and Fear God

1 Sa 12:19-25 - And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.”
And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

There are many passages that include both a command to not be afraid or fear not AND fear the Lord. This is one of them. After the Israelites wanted to be like all the other nations and have a king, they realized their sin. And Samuel, as the prophet and mediator, assures them that they have done evil, but they need not fear. God will not forsake his people. But, they are commanded to fear the Lord by considering the great things that he has done for them. This is a great description of how to fear the Lord. We fail in fearing God because we do not consider all that He has done for us. When we see His mercy towards us, His love, His holiness, His power, His sovereignty and His grace, when we see how good He has been to us, we grow in godly fear. Consider what the Lord has done for you today. Consider His faithfulness and grow in gratitude. As we consider the Lord, we serve Him.

Day 34 - Faith is the fuel for fearing God for fearless living

Do Not Fear
Jdg 7:9-14 - That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

I am not sure why God allows Gideon to hear what he does and gives him the grace that He shows here, but it is encouraging. We learn from the character of God that he is gracious, kind and gentle even in our humanly fears. Not that they are right or it is ever glorifying to God to fear, but in this case, he bends over backwards to fill Gideon with courage. Perhaps because God has twiddled the number down to 300, or to give him courage as a leader or just maybe because God has a sense of humor and delights in doing a miracle like this. Regardless, Gideon hears this and is filled with faith. Faith is fuel for fearless living. As Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ." Faith leads to courage and courage leads to action.

Fear God
Le 25:35-36 - “ ‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you.

The fear of God should dictate how we treat the poor among us. God has given the command to not take interest among a poor countrymen and the reason you are to obey the command is because you fear God. Fear leads directly to obedience. This is true because we fear consequence and we know that God is just. Faith is also the fuel for fearing God. Faith leads to obedience and obedience leads to righteousness (rom 5:19), others praising God for your obedience (2 Cor 9:13) and our showing our love for God through our obedience(2 John 2.6). Fear is the end, but all of this starts with faith, and faith begins with the words of God.

Faith is the fuel for fearing God so you may live a fearless life. Allow the words of God to dwell richly in you so that you may hear and obey and rejoice.