Devotion 16 - Fear of the Lord & Lordship of Christ

Gen.22:12 – “And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Obedience is closely linked to and is in fact a tangible expression of our fear of God. Abraham obeyed God’s command to sacrifice Isaac because he feared God.

Matt.28:19-20 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

The end result of the Great Commission is to lead people ultimately to the authority of Christ, to fear Him and to walk in His commandment. The fundamental characteristic of a person who fears God is the commitment to live all of his life under God’s authority. To live under Christ’s authority means to live under the authority of His Word and to let His Word mould our opinions and values.

We fear the Lord by acknowledging His lordship over our lives and obeying him. The measure of our obedience is an exact measure of our reverence for Him. If the fear of the Lord is the root in our lives, then obedience will be our fruit.

Deut.6:1-2 - “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,  that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

We are expected to tremble at His Word and Presence

Isa.66:2 - “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word”.

Jer.5:21-22 - “Listen, you foolish and senseless people-who have eyes but do not see who have ears but do not hear. Do you not fear Me? Why do you not tremble in my presence?”

To tremble at His Word and presence is to obey what He has commanded us through His word and Spirit. Fear of God means giving Him the place of glory, honour, reverence, thanksgiving and praise He deserves. We hate what He hates and love what He loves, trembling in His presence and at His Word.

Foundation

“He will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure”

What is foundation? Many equate foundations with knowledge of the Bible. But what is Jesus’ definition of foundation?

Matt.7:24-27 - “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

In this passage, Jesus was making His conclusion on the Sermon on the Mount where he taught on the Kingdom of God from Matthew chapters 5-7. Here, He gave the illustration of two groups of people to teach on the importance of having a right foundation.

These two groups of people have the:

• Same desire - to build a house (to attain spiritual maturity)
• Same competence – know how to build (can understand the Word) unlike the multitude and the disciples.
• Same resources – same material (same quality of God’s Word)

However, they have different results - One stood tall in times of tribulation while the other one fell from being a testimony. Why? – Foundation!

True foundation is found in obedience. Our knowledge and understanding of the Bible are not our spiritual foundation – obedience is! For that reason, many aspire but few attain to true spirituality.

Lk.6:46-49 - “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

We need time and knowledge to grow, however, our growth is not measured by time or knowledge but by life transformation which is through obedience – the Lordship of Christ over our lives!