Fear the Lord, You Will Never Forget Him

Men in Ministry, I recently read a book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In the work, he makes the statement: “Satan does not fill us with hatred to God, but for forgetfulness of God.” A while ago I read an excerpt from an interview with Jimmy Baker. The interview was conducted after he had served his time, in prison, and

had reconciled with the Lord. The interviewer asked: “When did you stop loving God?” The answer came quickly, “I never stopped loving God I stopped fearing Him.” Bam! Can these two statements be related?

The Bible in Proverbs 9:10 tells us: “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” How can I possibly forget God? If I fear Him, how can I forget Him? This may be the better question.

God is minimized in American Society. The references to God are many. Most of the references are totally irreverent. The man up there, the big guy, not to mention taking His name in vain.  We hear the reference when someone dies, “they are in a better place.” If the person who died, is not born again, the place they are in is far from better than earth. They are in hell, burning in a relentless fire.

 

Hebrews 12:28 “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,” Acceptable is relative, however, “with reverence and awe,” leaves no room for interpretation.

Psalm 89:7 “In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.” Our God deserves reverence, no, our God demands reverence. The fear of the Lord is important to our life with Him. First God loves us more than we can imagine. God is love! He gave His son for us so that we might have eternal life. There is no greater love than this.

Fear of the Lord will keep us from forgetting God. The devil and the flesh

have placed these irreverent statements in the mouths of the wicked to minimize God. If everyone who dies is in a better place, what is there to fear. You might as well forget God. Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

The fear of the Lord is not fear that comes from an unpredictable parent or boss. God is 100% predictable. He tells us everything about Himself in His Bible. Fear of the Lord is a wholesome fear. It is a fear for us when we sin and do not repent. Then, fear Him! In the garden, one day God said to Adam and Eve: “Where are you?” Adam answered: “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked.” Adam did not fear the Lord because he was naked. Adam walked with God in the cool of the afternoon for years and years, all the time Adam was the same naked as he was on this day. Adam feared the Lord because he knew he had disobeyed the Lord. This is a good time to fear the Lord.

Back to the two statements, one referring to forgetting God the other fearing God.  When Adam ate from the forbidden tree, did he forget God? When I sin do I forget God?

Men in Ministry, if I fear Him, I will never forget Him.

Glad Tidings Men in Ministry