The beauty of an undivided heart

Eze 34:25-31 - “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

What an encouraging passage which refers to the new covenant to be put into operation in the Milennial kingdom. It goes to show how full his blessing will be that will bring peace, security, full knowledge of the Lord and a lack of fear. The promise is that they will know God is with them and we will rest in dependence on God. This is a great prophecy of not only the future, but also a reminder of what God desires now, in that we submit to the Lord our God as our shepherd now in whom there is nothing to be afraid. Psalm 23 Psalm 23:1-6 [4] Even though I walkthrough the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me… He is the answer to our fear.

Ps 86:11-13 - Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

To know the fear of God, we must have an undivided heart. We must learn the way so that we can walk in this truth. If we have a divided heart, if we don’t know the shepherd of our souls, many things will come in and cause fear in our lives. If we understand that the God we glorify, we will glorify forever, it will give us perspective in our days on earth. We must pray for an undivided heart to truly know God and fear Him only. Than weill be able to praise and glorify Him as he deserves.

Be Still and Fear God only...

Eze 11:7-8 - You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God.

It seems that often the Lord’s discipline is often the result of our fears. When we fear something besides fearing God, he might discipline us with that fear itself. This discipline which came to the rebellious house of Israel shows how fear makes us do wrong things. They decided to fight instead of trust God. They feared the people and yet the thing they feared ended up killing them. What an urgent warning to us all to lay our fears down at the feet of God and spend more time worshipping Him than thinking about our problems and worries and fears. Worship Him alone.

Ps 46:10-11 - “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.Selah

What a great verses to come back to in our fears. In the midst of chaos and difficulty, we are called back to quietness and rest. God is in control. He will be exalted among the nations. He is with us. He is our strong fortress. All we need to do for God to be exalted is to be still and know, to really know, to feel the effects and understand the implications that He is God.

Fear that instructs

Eze 3:8-11 - Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

Fear them not nor be discouraged by their looks… Don’t allow these stubborn people to cause you to fear nor do not allow their looks to dismay or discourage you. Don’t allow bad news to discourage. Don’t let threats or evil intentions or anything that like the cause you to fear. I am in control. I have a plan. I am compassionate. I understand these people. Therefore fear me by listening to me and obeying me. Fear me, not them.

Ps 25:12 - Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

This verse describes so many of the saints of the Bible. God is looking for people who do not fear anything except himself so that He can use them to accomplish feats for His glory. Fearing gives power and thus glory to those with less power and glory than God. Fearing God enables us to live without regard for anything else.

How Fear leads to worship

Eze 2:5-7 - And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

We are not supposed to be afraid. Of anything. Period. And then God labels what could cause fear. Don’t be afraid of them. Don’t be afraid of their words. Don’t be afraid of their looks. He does tell them not to be afraid of their words twice. God says “Do not be afraid” because they are a rebellious house and you are going to speak my words to them. If Ezekiel were afraid, he would give have given more power to evil than to good. But, God is above all and therefore, just as important as it is to not be afraid, it is just as important to fear God rightly. We will do one or the other when faced with a hard time. Do not fear God because fearing God replaces fearing words, people or looks. Fearing God frees to face our fears with confidence and victory.

Ps 22:23 - You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

In the midst of fear, the fear of God will not only replace our fear, but also lead us to praise Him. It is impossible to truly fear God and not be moved to praise by His power, love, goodness and mercy. As we grow in fear of God, we will grow in our confidence and our praise. The fear of God leads to the worship of God!

The blessings of right fear

La 3:55-57 - “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’

La 5:19 - You, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.

Fearing God resolves the fear we feel. How we resolve our fear determines the result of our perspective that will either encourage or discourage us in difficult times. He comes near when we acknowledge our fear and responds with a tender command, “Do not fear!” His throne endures for ever. He is in control. But unless we go to Him in our fears, we will never fully understand that our fears will be swallowed up in His nearness. His fear is a gift. The more we seek Him the bigger He becomes and the smaller our fears become. The hard part is humbling yourself to seek Him.

Ps 33:18-22 - But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

This is a promise. Those who fear the Lord have the assurance that the eye of the Lord is on them. There is something special and unique about a person who fears God more than he fears anything else, and as you draw near to the God you fear, you will have a renewed awakening of fresh hope in his unfailing love. Fear involves an active hope and a faithful trust in God. It is that dependence perhaps, thrills the heart of the father, to keep His eye on you.

Don't be afraid of fear

Je 51:46 - Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler.

Don’t listen to the papers, the news or the gossip. Don’t listen to the predictions or the fears of man. Don’t listen to bad reports from anyone. Nothing is bigger than God. Nothing is more true than His words. Trust in God and His word as your answer and security. If we fear God as the only one worthy of fear, than you will not need to fear anything.

1 Ch 21:30 - But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

I think this is a great example of the only thing that is worthy of fear. Fear God only and be afraid of Him only. Rest in his His power, control, and his goodness.

Fear defined

Je 46:28 - Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

This promise to discipline but not destroy Israel is a promise later confirmed by Paul in Romans 11. Despite their exile and the bleak future, when all seems lost, God again, gives them a promise that He will save them and so they do not need to fear! When it is true that even in discipline and bleak days that we do not need to fear, when ever should we fear?

2 Ch 19:7 - Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”

If the fear of the Lord is upon us, we will have no reason to fear anything. To often our worries are upon us, or our stresses, or our fears or our burdens. We must do what Peter commands us in 1 Peter 5:7: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Fear is believing that you are without help in the world. Fear is belief in something that is not God, that is bigger than God, that threatens God's sovereignty. Fearing God is belief in a God. Fearing people or circumstances or systems or governments is belief that there is no God.