The Seven Spirits Before The Throne of God - The Fear Of The Lord
I grew up very sheltered. My father was old-school and he did not tolerate any foolishness. If he said to do something, then you did it. If you tried to respond otherwise he would say, "Are you talking back?"
Of course my response better be, "No sir".
My father had three roles in our family; provider, protector and punisher. He exceeded and succeeded in all three.
My father made sure we always lived in a nice middle class neighborhood, attended a safe school where we could receive a good education and we were always involved in some type of extracurricular activity. He used to say we had to stay busy so we would not run the streets.
My father took us on family vacations, he made sure we ate together as a family every night and he mastered the art of saying, "No". I remember when Jordache and Bonjour jeans were popular and I wanted a pair. I asked my father if I could have a pair and he said, "No...I am not paying that kind of money just to have some name sown on your butt."
My father knew all of our friends and their parents and he made sure we attended church every Sunday. He did not allow us to work during the school year as teenagers but when summer came, all bets were off. My sister and I could not wait until the last day of school. Many times we would have two to three jobs already lined up. Looking back, that made us appreciate hard work and the privilege to earn money.
My father enforced our weekly chores; dishes, sweeping, mopping, cleaning our bedrooms, the bathrooms, living room, family room, dining room, garage, cleaning the woodwork and washing walls. We were rewarded with an allowance.
My father believed in and practiced corporal punishment. I received many whoopins as early as I can remember, until I was eighteen. He used to always say, "A hard head makes a soft behind."
Even today I still have a fear of disrespecting or disappointing my father. I'm not afraid that my father is going to discipline me or turn his back on me. No, I have a reverence and respect for him because of the sacrifices he made for me out of love. The bible says, "We have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them." Hebrews 12:9
That is what the fear of the Lord is, having a respect or reverence for God because of who He is. Once the Holy Spirit revealed who God is, I worked out my salvation. There is no question who my heavenly Father is...just like there is no question who my earthly father is.
The bible says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7
I discussed in my last blog, "The Seven Spirits Before The Throne of God - The Spirit of Knowledge", the function of the Spirit of Knowledge is to provide a clear perception of God. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us who God is, then we start respecting and reverencing God. We begin to understand that outside of Him we are powerless and even the very breath in our lungs depends upon Him.
Having a reverence for God means having a reverence for His word as well. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
We have to believe all of the bible. The bible is God's wisdom and instruction for our lives. Just like my earthly father had rules...the bible has rules that we as Christians are to follow. We can't bargain with God on the rules and tell Him we don't like His rules...they are His rules...period.
If we are disobedient then we can expect for God to discipline us but out of love. "Because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." Hebrews 12:6.
At the same time we can be confident in His love for us. “I will never leave you, nor forsake you”. Hebrews 13:5
