Isaiah 66:1-2 - Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this on I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word."
Are you humble?
Are you contrite of spirit?
Do you tremble at His word?
God looks to those who can say yes to all three of these questions. If you desire to grow closer to God then strive to make improvements in these areas.
However, we will only be looking at just one part of this...trembling at His word.
Does anybody here want just a lifeless, dead, useless religion? If you don't tremble at the word of God...then that is all you will ever have. Just a dead religion that is based more upon your performance then it is on Christ's finished work.
2 Corinthians 7:1 - Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Growing in holiness is a huge part of spiritual maturity...there is no such thing as a immature Christian who excels in holiness and you are not going to find one. But notice that in the above verse, Paul closely related holiness with the fear of God. Why?
Well look what all these verses just from Proverbs has to say in regard to fearing the Lord.
We get a clear picture that there are many many benefits to fearing the Lord which also means that if you don't fear the Lord...none of the things listed there will apply to you which is a very scary thing.
Jeremiah 32:40 - "I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me."
I just want to make this clear...I should of started this post with this verse instead of putting it down here, but if you don't have a fear of God and His word...then that's a clear indicator that you may not know the Lord. He says here that He will put His fear in your heart so that you will stay obedient and not turn away from God.
So far, I showed you that God looks toward the ones who tremble at His word. I showed you from Proverbs what fearing the Lord will result in. I also showed you that holiness is perfected through this fear of the Lord and I also showed that it comes from God. He places it in our hearts. Now I want to get to the real issue with spiritual growth in relation to having this fear of God in you.
Take note however, that when I refer to trembling or fear of the Lord and His word, I am not talking about a trembling or shaking of the body...but of the soul and heart of a person in reverence towards God.
Having this fear of the Lord is the result of being in His presence...not that you are scared of Him for perfect love casts out fear and we are to love God...but it's the result of knowing Him and realizing that this God is unimaginably majestic and glorious and holy and supreme that if He were to show up it would cause your knees to break and for everyone to fall to their faces in worship. Having this fear of the Lord is what drives a Christian to maturity, to holiness, to knowledge and wisdom and so much more. It affects our prayer lives and how we act towards others. It changes the way we think, how we dress, how we feel, what we eat, what we do...so it is not something to brush aside.
This thread...just like my last two on Christian maturity, is a call to examine yourselves in light of what was said. Do you have this fear of the Lord where when you read His word you get a sense of the power of God and how big He really is. Does it cause you to obey and seek after Christ? Does it cause you to strive to run this race harder because you know it will glorify Him? Can you see where this trembling at His word is changing your life and transforming your mind so that as days, weeks, months and years go buy you can see that you are making progress towards holiness and Christ likeness?
Honestly, just be honest and come clean. Stop holding on to false professions. Don't toy with them. Your eternal soul and body are at stake. Don't play a game just to be received by Christians. Don't play a game just to join a church. If your not saved, come clean and flee to Christ. If your wrong...your wrong and it's going to cost you dearly. If you seek Him you'll find Him. If you call upon Him, He will save you. If you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ...there is salvation to be had.
You either have this reverence for God that is truly from Him and it causes you to grow spiritually in maturity or you are just holding on to a false profession that will damn your soul to hell...so don't play games. Examine yourselves, test yourselves to see if you are in the faith.
God Bless.
Are you humble?
Are you contrite of spirit?
Do you tremble at His word?
God looks to those who can say yes to all three of these questions. If you desire to grow closer to God then strive to make improvements in these areas.
However, we will only be looking at just one part of this...trembling at His word.
Does anybody here want just a lifeless, dead, useless religion? If you don't tremble at the word of God...then that is all you will ever have. Just a dead religion that is based more upon your performance then it is on Christ's finished work.
2 Corinthians 7:1 - Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Growing in holiness is a huge part of spiritual maturity...there is no such thing as a immature Christian who excels in holiness and you are not going to find one. But notice that in the above verse, Paul closely related holiness with the fear of God. Why?
Well look what all these verses just from Proverbs has to say in regard to fearing the Lord.
We get a clear picture that there are many many benefits to fearing the Lord which also means that if you don't fear the Lord...none of the things listed there will apply to you which is a very scary thing.
Jeremiah 32:40 - "I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me."
I just want to make this clear...I should of started this post with this verse instead of putting it down here, but if you don't have a fear of God and His word...then that's a clear indicator that you may not know the Lord. He says here that He will put His fear in your heart so that you will stay obedient and not turn away from God.
So far, I showed you that God looks toward the ones who tremble at His word. I showed you from Proverbs what fearing the Lord will result in. I also showed you that holiness is perfected through this fear of the Lord and I also showed that it comes from God. He places it in our hearts. Now I want to get to the real issue with spiritual growth in relation to having this fear of God in you.
Take note however, that when I refer to trembling or fear of the Lord and His word, I am not talking about a trembling or shaking of the body...but of the soul and heart of a person in reverence towards God.
Having this fear of the Lord is the result of being in His presence...not that you are scared of Him for perfect love casts out fear and we are to love God...but it's the result of knowing Him and realizing that this God is unimaginably majestic and glorious and holy and supreme that if He were to show up it would cause your knees to break and for everyone to fall to their faces in worship. Having this fear of the Lord is what drives a Christian to maturity, to holiness, to knowledge and wisdom and so much more. It affects our prayer lives and how we act towards others. It changes the way we think, how we dress, how we feel, what we eat, what we do...so it is not something to brush aside.
This thread...just like my last two on Christian maturity, is a call to examine yourselves in light of what was said. Do you have this fear of the Lord where when you read His word you get a sense of the power of God and how big He really is. Does it cause you to obey and seek after Christ? Does it cause you to strive to run this race harder because you know it will glorify Him? Can you see where this trembling at His word is changing your life and transforming your mind so that as days, weeks, months and years go buy you can see that you are making progress towards holiness and Christ likeness?
Honestly, just be honest and come clean. Stop holding on to false professions. Don't toy with them. Your eternal soul and body are at stake. Don't play a game just to be received by Christians. Don't play a game just to join a church. If your not saved, come clean and flee to Christ. If your wrong...your wrong and it's going to cost you dearly. If you seek Him you'll find Him. If you call upon Him, He will save you. If you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ...there is salvation to be had.
You either have this reverence for God that is truly from Him and it causes you to grow spiritually in maturity or you are just holding on to a false profession that will damn your soul to hell...so don't play games. Examine yourselves, test yourselves to see if you are in the faith.
God Bless.
