Psalms 34:4-7 ESV
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.”
There are at least two kinds of fear. One is healthy and one is not. One paralyzes the one who is fearing, keeping him from doing things he ought to do, while the other is a fear of respect. And I see two aspects to that fear of respect. One is that of being cautionary and wise and discerning so as not to walk into situations where we might get burned (literally or figuratively), and the other is that of the fear of God where we take God and his word seriously, and so we obey it, and where we honor God as Lord of our lives.
Now the fear which paralyzes and which keeps people from doing the good they ought to do, out of fear of what other humans might do to them, is an unhealthy fear, and not the kind of fear we should have as followers of Christ. And those who live in that kind of fear are not walking by faith, for they are letting other people intimidate them, and they are living by their emotions, and they are desiring oftentimes the approval of other humans over the approval of God, because they fear man more than they fear God.
Now it is not wrong to have an emotion of fear, though, for fear is a natural human emotion which is given to us by God to warn us of danger ahead, and to serve as a caution to us to “stop, look, and listen.” So this can be a healthy fear which warns us of danger and which cautions us from moving ahead in some situations, and which says, “Watch out!” And it calls for discernment and wisdom and wise judgment, but it doesn’t paralyze us and keep us from moving forward. It just teaches us to move forward in wisdom.
And then another healthy fear is to fear God. And that means that we take God to heart, and we believe his word, and we respect him and his word, and so we do what he says. We are not those who read the Scriptures and who then decide whether or not we want to obey the Lord. And we are not those who are “testing or tempting fate” by taking risks we ought not to take, thinking that God is not watching, or that he will do nothing because he hasn’t yet done anything to stop us from our sinful course.
For to fear the Lord is to honor him as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and it is to submit to him as Lord, and to surrender our lives to Christ. And it is to follow the Lord in obedience because we take God and his word seriously. For when he says that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will inherit the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven,” we take that seriously. And so we don’t continue living in sin, but we now follow our Lord in obedience, and in practice.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Video Talk
https://youtu.be/OntAjcUs4-k
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Fear Not, Little Flock
An Original Work / February 10, 2016
Based off Luke 12
Fear not, little flock,
Your Lord’s always near.
Jesus will come and
Wipe every tear.
Trust in His mercy,
Rest in His love.
He’ll give you comfort
From heaven above.
Our precious Redeemer,
Jesus, our friend,
He will be with us,
True to the end.
He will not leave you,
Faithful He’ll be.
Believe His promises,
Rest on His knee.
Our God, and provider,
He knows our need.
He’ll not forsake you.
Follow His lead.
He’ll love and comfort you
To the end.
Know, on His Word,
You can always depend.
https://vimeo.com/154896384
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