A Strong confidence in God and a place of refuge

I have seen many believers either fall away from the faith or fall back into a life of fear and defeat. This should not be.

We are called to walk as overcomers. As we learn to receive God's love we are also learning to fear Him. In fearing our Heavenly Father we find a place of refuge and a confidence that He not only holds our hands, but He holds our life and our very existence. 

Proverbs 14:26 ESV In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

This is the last post of this study. Here is a recap of each one. 
The complete list of rewards for walking "in the fear of God" which we have studied so far.

What is the Fear of the Lord (See Parts 1-2)
Reward #1 is "Riches, Honor, and Life" (See Part 3)
Reward #2 is "Turning from Evil" (See Part 4)
Reward #3 is "Wisdom and Knowledge" (See Part 5)
Reward #4 is "A Prolonged Life & A Fountain of Life" (See Part 6)
Reward #5 is " A Place of Contentment" (See Part 7)
Reward #6 is "True Healing and Refreshment to the Body" (See Part 8)
​Reward #7 is "True Biblical Worship" (See Part 9)
Reward #8 is "Having God’s Provision" (See Part 10)
Reward #9 is "Access to God’s salvation" (See Part 11)
Reward #10 is "A Strong confidence in God and a place of refuge" (See Part 12)

​Access to God’s salvation

Psalms 85:9-10 ESV Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. (10) Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.

The complete list of rewards for walking "in the fear of God" which we have studied so far.

What is the Fear of the Lord (See Parts 1-2)
Reward #1 is "Riches, Honor, and Life" (See Part 3)
Reward #2 is "Turning from Evil" (See Part 4)
Reward #3 is "Wisdom and Knowledge" (See Part 5)
Reward #4 is "A Prolonged Life & A Fountain of Life" (See Part 6)
Reward #5 is " A Place of Contentment" (See Part 7)
Reward #6 is "True Healing and Refreshment to the Body" (See Part 8)
​Reward #7 is "True Biblical Worship" (See Part 9)
Reward #8 is "Having God’s Provision" (See Part 10)

Having God’s Provision

There is s great difference between want and need, although sometimes it can get cloudy when we are walking with covetousness in our heart.

However, when we have great need, we also have a great promise, if we are walking in the fear of God.

Psalms 34:9 ESV Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!

Psalms 111:5 ESV He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.

The complete list of rewards for walking "in the fear of God" which we have studied so far.

What is the Fear of the Lord (See Parts 1-2)
Reward #1 is "Riches, Honor, and Life" (See Part 3)
Reward #2 is "Turning from Evil" (See Part 4)
Reward #3 is "Wisdom and Knowledge" (See Part 5)
Reward #4 is "A Prolonged Life & A Fountain of Life" (See Part 6)
Reward #5 is " A Place of Contentment" (See Part 7)
Reward #6 is "True Healing and Refreshment to the Body" (See Part 8)
​Reward #7 is  "True Biblical Worship" (See Part 9)

WORSHIP: The most misunderstood and misused word in the Bible.

Explained in a minute-with a Biblical challenge.

So far we have covered:
​Defining the Fear of the Lord (See Parts 1-2)
Reward #1 is "Riches, Honor, and Life" (See Part 3)
Reward #2 is "Turning from evil" (See Part 4)
Reward #3 is "Wisdom and Knowledge" (See Part 5)
Reward #4 is "A Prolonged life & A Fountain of life" (See Part 6)
Reward #5 is " A place of Contentment" (See Part 7)
Reward #6 is "True Healing and Refreshment to the Body" (See Part 8)
​
Now back to "WORSHIP."

Reward #7 is  True Biblical Worship

Just as an quick statement and a challenge for you to use the Word of God and not "what you believe" or "how you feel" to prove my next statement right or wrong.

The first time the word worship was used in the Bible was when Abraham was about to ascend the mountain to sacrifice Isaac. 

Genesis 22:5 ESV  Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

The Hebrew word is shâchâh (shaw-khaw') and is used 171 times in the O.T. It means to depress, to prostrate, to bow in homage to royalty or God, to bow down, crouch, fall down flat, and to do reverence.

Now to touch all those religious spirits:

There is NOT ONE VERSE were worship is used denoting music or having anything to do with music. There are over 20 words for praise. To sing, to dance, to clap, to leap, to shout, to herald, to run, to spin violently, to play an instrument, etc. is all tied to PRAISE.

But worship, is to do something physically that is tied to the heart spiritually. It is to bend, to bow, to kneel, or to lay before the Lord.

The reason we don't mind calling the team a worship team with worship songs for our worship time is because we don't understand Biblical worship, nor do we understand the Biblically, the fear of God. 

The challenge: Use your word studies, your concordances, and your Bible and prove me wrong. But please don't respond with, "well, I feel", or "well, I believe." We are staying with the Word of God only.

By the way, the Greek words for worship mean the same... to bend, to bow, to kneel, or to lay before the Lord.

Psalms 5:7 ESV But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

Who wants healing? Available through the fear of God.

So far we have covered:
​Defining the Fear of the Lord (See Parts 1-2)
Reward #1 is "Riches, Honor, and Life" (See Part 3)
Reward #2 is "Turning from evil" (See Part 4)
Reward #3 is "Wisdom and Knowledge" (See Part 5)
Reward #4 is "A Prolonged life & A Fountain of life" (See Part 6)
Reward #5 is " A place of Contentment" (See Part 7)

​​THE REWARDS FOR WALKING IN THE FEAR OF GOD: part 8

True Healing and Refreshment to the Body

Proverbs 3:7-8 ESV Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. (8) It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

So far we have covered:
​Defining the Fear of the Lord (See Parts 1-2)
Reward #1 is "Riches, Honor, and Life" (See Part 3)
Reward #2 is "Turning from evil" (See Part 4)
Reward #3 is "Wisdom and Knowledge" (See Part 5)
Reward #4 is "A Prolonged life & A Fountain of life" (See Part 6)

Now in reward #5 we see that the fear of God can bring into a place of Contentment

Proverbs 15:16 ESV Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.

So far we have covered:
​Defining the Fear of the Lord (See Parts 1-2)
Reward #1 is "Riches, Honor, and Life" (See Part 3)
Reward #2 is "Turning from evil" (See Part 4)
Reward #3 is "Wisdom and Knowledge" (See Part 4)

​Reward #4
A Prolonged life & A Fountain of life

Proverbs 10:27 ESV The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

Proverbs 14:27 ESV The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

RECAP:

Definition of "The Fear of God" (See Parts 1-2)
Reward #1 is "Riches, Honor, and Life" (See Part 3)
Reward #2 is "Turning from evil" (See Part 4)

NOW
REWARD #3 Wisdom and Knowledge
​
Proverbs 1:7 ESV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10 ESV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

REWARD #2 Turning from evil

The rewards of developing the fear of the Lord are emphasized throughout Scripture. Having the fear of God gives strength to turn away (truly repent) from evil.

I have people tell me all the time that they have repented of such-and-such sin, only to have them fall back into it in the matter of a short time. The problem was that they did not really repent, but confessed.

The word "confession" means to come in agreement with. When the Holy Spirit convicts us of a sin and we confess it, we are coming in agreement with the Holy Spirit that we had unconfessed sin in our lives we needed to deal with. When we confess our sins to the Father we are not telling Him something He does not know. When we confess we are coming in agreement with what He knows and has revealed to our heart.

The same is true about a spiritual truth we read from Scripture. When we confess that we are a royal priesthood, an overcomer, and a child of the King we are not confessing what originated with us. We are confessing or agreeing what the Word of God has already said about us. 

But repentance is different. To truly say we have repented means we have made an about face and headed away from the sin and to the opposite, which is what God says in His Word. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of heart, which results in a change of behavior.

The greatest asset to true Biblical repentance is having the fear of God. The fear of God causes to hate the sin within us the way the Father hates it. One of the problems among many believers is that they have a love/hate relationship their sin. I have been in to many services when the preacher will mention a sin he does and then makes a joke about it. This si especially true when it comes to gluttony. The issue is that the sin is either nor really regarded as sin or there is no fear of God concerning it.

Proverbs 16:6 KJV  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Proverbs 8:13 KJV  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 14:16 KJV  A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

REWARD #1 Riches, Honor, and Life

Okay, God's Word says this. ​The rewards of developing the fear of the Lord are emphasized throughout Scripture. Having the fear of God is a requirement for riches, honor, and life. A person may have worldly riches, honor and life, but they are a fleeting pleasure that will wane away. 

This may not mean that we will be millionaires, but it does mean that we will not suffer lack or need of any good thing.

Proverbs 22:4 ESV The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.

Psalms 34:8-10 ESV  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  (9)  Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!  (10)  The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Psalms 112:1-3 ESV  Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!  (2)  His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.  (3)  Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

The discipling of our Heavenly Father.

​THE FEAR OF GOD: Defined

The next study I actually get into the rewards of walking in the fear of God. I wanted to continue one more study on defining the fear of God, along with sharing about the discipling hand of God.

A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin.

We as believers say at sometime that we love God. But it takes God to love God. He loves Himself through us. I loved Him because He first loved me. (1 Jn.4:19). None of us can possibility love God with our four fleshly loves like God can love Himself through us.

The same is true with hating sin. We may all have said at some time in our Christian walk that we hate sin. Most of the time we may have been talking about the sin in the world, or in someone else. We may have actually said or thought that we hate the sin we see in our own lives. However, Just like we can't love like God loves, we also can't hate the way God hates. God hates sin. He hates it so much that He sent His Son to die for us to redeem us from the sin nature and the power of sin over us. When we learn the fear of God we will find that our hatred of sin increases.

The Father disciplines us for the same reason our earthly fathers should  have disciplined us, to modify behavior. With our earthly father it was to modify moral behavior. It was so that we would talk and act the way our earthly father believed we should. But there were no standards because each earthly father had their own view of what to discipline and what was acceptable behavior.

With God the discipline was to modify righteous behavior. It was so that we would think, say, and act the way our Heavenly father does and in alignment with both His Word and His character. The joy of this is that the standard is absolute. The same standard the Father set for you, He set for me. That which is acceptable behavior is that which looks like Him. In this He is forming His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ in us. 

Hebrews 12:5-11 ESV  And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  (6)  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”  (7)  It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  (8)  If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  (9)  Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?  (10)  For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  (11)  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline or chastening of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some evil actions. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him. It is not being afraid of God but in awe and reverence, fear His holy presence in the midst of a disobedient heart.

​We live in a society that is reward motivated. This is not new, just different motivations. I just finished 11 studies on my webpage blog and on facebook on the fear of God. Now I want to address the rewards of seeking, embracing, and walking in, the fear of God. First I will give a short definition of the fear of God. It was also associated with the first time the word "worship" was used in the Bible.  

Genesis 22:5-6 ESV  Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and WORSHIP and come again to you.”  (6)  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

Genesis 22:12 ESV  He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you FEAR God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

THE FEAR OF GOD: defined

The believer's fear of God is a holy awe and reverence of God. It is realizing that God is love and that along is greater than our minds can absorb. However His justice and judgment are as great as His love and that is also terribly beyond our comprehension and understanding. The consuming fire of His judgment is equal to the fire of His Holy presence.

Hebrews 12:28-29 ESV Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, (29) for our God is a consuming fire.

This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.