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Volume. XXXVIII, No. 59 The Fear of God and Revival (Part 1)Introduction Acts 9:31 says, “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.” We live in an environment where there are many irrational fears and phobias in our lives. We live in a world of terrors and fears daily. Some people are scared of confined spaces (claustrophobia), height (acrophobia), thunder (brontophobia), strangers (xenophobia) and even the fear of fear (phobophobia). There are hundreds of phobias in the world.
But there is only one person we ought to fear and that is God. He commands us to fear Him. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
The Necessity / Basis of Godly Fear for Revival Deuteronomy 6:2 says, “That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.”
The Commandments of God were given to His people so that we might fear Him and keep these commandments as we be revived in our hearts.
In Deuteronomy 6:13-15, we are again instructed to fear God and serve Him. A godly fear is not equated with the kind of irrational fears mentioned earlier; it is not a morbid phobia that is debilitating and weakens us. Instead, a godly fear involves a sense of awe, regard, veneration, and respect. It is a fear that stems from love and is positive and healthy and this is present in a true revival.
This godly fear must be founded on a personal relationship with God. We are told to apply this godly fear by seeking and serving Him. Worshipping God in spirit and in truth is the highest form of service we can render to God if we are revived in our souls.
In Deuteronomy 6:15, God is described here as jealous. In our normal understanding, jealousy has some negative connotations. However, here, this is a righteous jealousy, depicting God’s intolerance of the worship of idols and disobedience to Him.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” These two verses are the conclusion to the whole book of Ecclesiastes written by Solomon. We are once again instructed to fear God and to keep His commandments, and this is the whole duty of man. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is: “What is the chief end of man?” We can define the answer from this verse. Our chief end is to glorify God (by fearing Him and keeping His commandments) and enjoy Him forever – and what an honour and privilege it is for us to do that.
Those who break God’s law will try and escape from the law, especially from the law-enforces. But from v.14, we know that there will come a time when both believers and non-believers will be held accountable for all that we have done. A question to ask ourselves today is, “Are we ready to see Christ face to face?”
We need to cultivate and nurture this godly reverential fear in ourselves and our children that we be obedient unto God.
To be continued… By Rev Jack Sin Sovereign Hope BPC Church, Singapore |
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