The Fear Of The Lord

by Pastor Mark
July 03, 2025

Lessons about the fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is a vital concept for us to cultivate in our lives. It is to have a sense of reverence and regard for the Lord, who He is and all that He does. Yet, it is not just a feeling but also a practical way of life and ministry. It affects all areas of our lives, including our worship of the Lord and our walk with Him. As I reflected on this concept, I identified several significant lessons that I would like to highlight.

1. Fearing the Lord as a preventive measure

  1. I appreciate the link and flow between our previous theme, “Such Great Faith”, and the current theme, “The Fear of the Lord”.
  2. On the one hand, we want to venture forward with faith.
  3. However, we also do not want to overreach as Peter did when he asked the Lord to call him to come to Him on the water (Matthew 14:28).
  4. We can prevent ourselves from overreaching by having a fear of the Lord.
  5. It helps us be wise and good before Him…doing what He would want us to do.
  6. There is a vital balance between faith and fear of the Lord.

2. A fundamental aspect of our life

  1. The fear of the Lord must be regarded as a fundamental aspect of our lives.
  2. The Lord had to teach Israel to learn how to fear Him (Deuteronomy 4:10).
  3. There was the initial sense of fear when they came before God at Mount Horeb.
  4. But the initial fear had to be internalised and become part of them.
  5. The Lord was teaching the people to make the fear of the Lord fundamental in their lives.
  6. There is the danger that we can lose this sense of fear easily.
  7. The challenge is for us to internalise this fear in our regard for the Lord and His Word.

3. The “Shema”

  1. The fear of the Lord affects our relationship with God.
  2. We ought to recall and recite the “Shema” to express our love for the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4).
  3. As we internalise a fear of the Lord, there should come a greater love for the Lord, too.
  4. It is a love that is expressed with all our heart, mind and strength.
  5. Let us express a greater love for the Lord consistently.

4. Strong confidence

  1. We can learn to have strong confidence in the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 14:26,27).
  2. The world is filled with many uncertainties, both globally and locally.
  3. Our confidence should not be in the things of the world.
  4. As we fear the Lord, we can find confidence in Him.
  5. As children of God, we have His promises that He will be our place of refuge.
  6. We can trust in His power and presence in facing the uncertainties of life.
  7. As we are greatly blessed, we can become a fountain of life.

5. A God-fearing man

Our challenge is to become a God-fearing man, as described in Psalm 112. He delights in the Lord’s commandments and is upright, righteous and gracious in life (Psalm 112:1,4). His deeds reflect his fear of the Lord as he deals graciously and gives to the poor (Psalm 112:5,9). Others will see how blessed his life is both physically and spiritually (Psalm 112:2–4). Let us determine to practise the fear of the Lord more consciously and diligently in our lives and ministries.

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