The fear of God exalts a man (part 2),
contnue from part 1
The fear of God requires worshiping Him
The fear of God requires the children of God to worship Him for who He is apart from esteeming the word of God and being faithful to it. Worshiping God incorporates
- Aweing Him
- Reverencing Him
- Adoring Him
- Honoring Him
- Worshiping Him
- Thanking Him
- Loving Him and other human beings
- Forgiving others because He forgave you
What else can I mention? His creations and daily works upon our lives are miraculous. The gift of life accorded each one of us cannot be comprehended. The Bible states,
“Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits” (Ps. 68:19)
Unfortunately, we all enjoy the goodness of His creations and works upon our lives to the extent that many often forget to fear Him. We forget to give Him His due honor and respect. We take His glory to be our achievement. Anyone that tends to abrogate God’s glory for selfish purpose does not fear God. Let me remind you, God does not share His glory with any human being or thing. His wrath can be frightening.
The scripture states, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31)
While Daniel was in a strange land, he was surrounded by enemies who wanted to implicate him by passing a decree that would forbid Daniel from worshiping his God; the enemies trapped him by his faith. But Daniel worshiped and prayed to his God in the open. Not only that his God delivered him from the plot of his enemies, but his enemies were destroyed in his stead. The Bible stated that Daniel prospered under the rule of three different kings in the land of his captivity (Dan. 6:28): He prospered under Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus.
Therefore, in whatever situation we find ourselves, good or the contrary, let us worship Him for who He is; that is part of our fear of Him. Our exaltation is in His hand.
The Bible states further,
“For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another” (Ps. 75:6-7).
A God-fearing person will stay away from deceit.
Joseph’s brothers did not fear God; they deceived their father, Jacob. The scripture states,
“Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe. “He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces” (Gen. 37:31-33). They deceived their father,
Deceit is the weapon that satan used to misinform and deceive Eve in the Garden of Eden. Since then, man has been using this weapon to deceive and cause havoc to other human beings. Most people have been victimized using this deadly weapon. Unbelievably, many Christians engaged in deceit today.
There are seven things that God hates; nearly all are rooted in the word deceit. They are.
- A proud look
- A lying tongue
- Hand that shed innocent blood
- A heart that devices wicked plans
- Feet that are swift in running to evil
- A false witness who speaks lies
- One who sows discord among brethren (Pro. 6: 16-19)
Any person that engages in any of the above is one of the worst enemies of God and therefore does not have the fear of God in him/her. When you claimed to have the fear of God in you, you must love God, and love your neighbor. That is a mark of respect for God and His word.
Many people are being deceived today because they hate what is true. When a person hates what is true, the person must prefer falsehood. Falsehood is substantiated by deceit. When it comes to the fear of God, you cannot be on the fence; you are either for the truth or for deceit. If you don’t obey the truth, then you will obey a lie.
Such is the case with Ahab and Jehoshaphat: Ahab rejected the word of the true prophet of God. Micaiah, because each time Ahab inquires a directive from the prophet, he wanted the prophet to prophesy in agreement with his evil agenda. Because Ahab rejected the word of Micaiah, a lying spirit deceived him leading to his destruction.
On the other hand, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, is the opposite of Ahab. He seeks the truth and often worshiped God even while in danger. Ahab had invited Jehoshaphat to help him in war against his enemies. Customarily, during war at that time, the king is the main target. The party that kills the king of the other party has the victory. Deceitfully, Ahab had disguised by not putting on his royal apparel in the war front but had Jehoshaphat put on his. His intention was to have Jehoshaphat killed in the war. The Lord protected Jehoshaphat in the war, but Ahab was killed. God later exalted Jehoshaphat because he had put his trust in the Him (Read 2Chro. 18, key verses are in 18-22, 28-32).
If you see any Christian who engages in an act of deceit, beware of him/her. The Bible described them as having“lying lips and deceitful tongues”, it is an arrow to inflict evil
A Christian, who claims to fear God must not deceive; he/she,
- Must not give false information
- Must not lie against others
- Must not deceive others
- Must not bear false witness
- Must not lead others to error
- Must not be a talebearer or gossip or backbite others
- Must not be an eye service etc.
Therefore, to be God fearing is to be truthful in all areas of your being, in thought, word and in deed. Joseph was a god-fearing man, God exalted him; but his brothers were full of deceit, God made them to serve Joseph.
“But God is the Judge: He puts down one and exalts another” (Ps. 75:7).
The fear of God exalts a man.
By Lawrence Abitogun
Lawrenceabitogun.com or christianedification.org