Scripture Readings
Let us Pray
Father, I surrender to you this morning. Use me to speak to us. Teach us Father, encourage us, rebuke us, correct us and guide us in your way. In Jesus Name, Amen
Sermon
Our theme this morning is ‘Living in the Fear of the Lord’. The scripture readings we heard earlier will guide our lesson this morning.
Let us start off with some definitions so that we are clear on what exactly it is we are talking about this morning.
- What is fear? “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat”
- What does it mean to have the fear of the Lord? “ ‘Fear of the Lord’ generally refers to a specific sense of respect, awe, and submission to deity, while ‘Fear of God’ suggests apprehension of Divine Punishment”
To live in the fear of the Lord therefore implies living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ; walking in obedience to His Word. Just like the old hymn reminds us trusting and obeying moment by moment day by day. It means that every area of our lives, including what we use our data bundles on the phone for is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our money, our time, the friends we hang out with, our talks (public and private) our actions are pleasing unto the Lord.
Now that we have a glimpse of what it means to ‘live in the fear of the Lord’ let us turn to our scripture readings and see what the Lord would teach us this morning on the theme.
I see four lessons for us one from each reading.
- How to ‘live in the fear of the Lord’
- Who is the Lord
Two things that keep/can keep us from living in the fear of the Lord
- Living in the fear of ourselves
- Living in the fear of men/others