Frequently, I hear people say God does not want to be feared. He wants you to be His friend, which is not a lie, so we get so familiar with Him that we get carried away and forget Who He is. Generally, familiarity breeds contempt so that since we decided that we ought not to fear God, we then get so familiar with Him that we begin to treat Him contemptuously. That only allows God very little or no impact in our lives because He is just a friend and should allow you express yourself as you deem fit. Unfortunately, the God we serve not only wants to be Lord in our lives but also demands that we fear Him albeit, reverentially.
Hebrews 12: 28 “since we are receiving a kingdom that is unshakeable, let us be thankful and please God by worshipping Him with Holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.
If we must follow God and serve Him acceptably, we must fear Him. The age that we live in is amazing. I like democracy. I like to know that to some extent, the destiny of my nation is in my hands. I like liberty and freedom to say and do what I want to do. I like to have confidence but I am also aware that even good things, when pushed beyond reasonable limits become bad and /or distasteful. It appears we are pushing the benefits of democracy beyond reasonable limits. We must remember that not only was God not elected, He made you and me, and then gave us the honor of allowing us make decisions. We must not abuse that privilege.
1 Peter 2: 17 “Respect everyone and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king.”
In my Country, it is common for believers to say “God understands” which usually means “He knows I don’t mean to insult Him” but then you are being rude. If we fear Him, it will be manifestly evident in everything we do and say. Our views on everything and our position too will be affected. Reverential fear is an attitude of mind that is reflected on the outward. God is who He is; it then becomes your responsibility to learn to deal with Him as He should be dealt with. When Cain treated Him disrespectfully in bringing an unacceptable sacrifice, His sacrifice was not accepted. When Uzzah got too familiar, He died. Indeed God Himself said for the children of Israel to put a reasonable distance between themselves and the ark. I would like to suggest that that instruction was to help the children of Israel so that they don’t get familiar with the ark. Sometimes we think that is the Old Testament but the scripture above in Hebrews is in the New Testament.
Psalm 25: 14 “The Lord is a friend to those who fear Him. He teaches them His covenant.
Just like you and I appreciate those that treat us respectfully, God loves even more those that show Him the respect that is due to Him which is why He would let them into His secret or be friends with them. Recall that God calls us friends so that presupposes that we ought to be a people that fear Him. We must stop paying lip service to fearing God. Though Jesus was God, He had so much respect for the father that the father hid nothing from Him. God reveals things to whom He chooses and to others, most things are parables. Those that fear Him are the ones that have revelation knowledge.
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