PART 3: --> UNDERSTANDING THE FEAR OF THE LORD = LIFE, WISDOM

The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are reliable and altogether righteous. (Psalm 19:9)

In this short three part series, we have arrived at the point which many believers (and non-believers to be sure) have a little trepidation. It involves the “Fear of the Lord”. We all know that our God is both a consuming fire and greatly to be feared. The demons feared the Lord Jesus on His brief 33 years here on earth as a human, and they recognized Him immediately, when the learned men of the Faith did not. But....Jesus did say to us that we should only fear the One Who has the power to cast both body and soul into Hell.

This is not the fearsome God of Wrath, of which David speaks in here Psalm 19:9.  Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, He says “the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever”. This kind of “fear” is directly connected to the awesome power, awe, majesty and glory of God Himself.  The Proverbs tell us that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. This is true. The more we are immersed in the purity of The Word of God – the Bible – the wiser we get in His Mighty ways and not only do we come to love and appreciate Him….we come to fear Him in both His power and love and ability to rain down wrath.

His Holiness is what should impress us the most as it then becomes the standard for us, the more we know about Him, from the Word and prayer.

Due to the fact that He is God, from Eternity Past to Eternity Future, all His precepts, commands and decrees reflect His permanent attributes of Holiness, Righteousness, Steadfastness, Purity and Truth. They remain the forever standard in both the Heavens and in our brief lives on earth.

This incredible attributes – Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Ominiscient among them – make His judgments true and right.Psalm 19:9b reflects this truth.  The Word of the Lord mirrors His nature. He cannot be otherwise.

In light of all of this, we, who are called by His Name, are expected to rise to the place where He is. It is not an impossible task. The closer we get to Him, the more realize that 1. He cannot be stopped and 2. Why do we want to stop Him? Let’s join Him where He is.

To so do, we learn from all He has said about Himself, and His Word in the previous verses of Psalm 19:7-8 and what we learned in this three part series. We then embed it in our souls and intentionally live it out. It is requires an intense love for the Lord and His Word, His people and a committed desire to a lasting relationship with the Eternal Truths of Scripture, all the days of our lives.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved

THY WILL BE DONE: PRAYER- "BE PRACTICAL"

PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM NEHEMIAH'S PRAYER

I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and loving-kindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. 

7 We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 

8 Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 

10 They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”(Nehemiah 1:4-11)

There are so many great prayers in the Bible, they can fill many books and sermons about their content, meaning and message. One of the greatest leaders and men of God of all time, is Nehemiah, the first Governor of the Judean district (where Jerusalem was) after the Babylonian exile. Nehemiah was chosen by God to rebuild the city after the remnant of the Jewish people had withstood 70 years in exile, in pagan Babylon. As Nehemiah began to rebuild the wall, he faced a lot of opposition, taunts and real enemies from people like Sanballat, Tobiah and their Arab friend. Still Nehemiah and the faithful remnant stayed focus on rebuilding their portion of the wall (read the rest of the Book of Nehemiah), while keeping a vigilant eye open for danger. This is a great example for God's people for all time about practical living in the face of evil while persevering.

This entire prayer of Nehemiah's, to the Lord (see verses 4-11 above) stand out as one of the most powerful in all Scriptures, as the Lord not only granted victory but did it in a spectacular way.  So what was it about this was so powerful that the Lord my God responded with overwhelming victorious response. Let us briefly look at how Nehemiah wasted no time or word and was both practical and proactive in his methodology of praying.

Verse 4: "I was fasting and praying..." -  While some Christians do not fast or even believe in fasting, I can testify to the fact that an intentional fast signifies a willing heart open to hearing from heaven. Fasting sharpens the senses, and especially the spiritual senses as our hearts are more in tune with the Holy Spirit Who is our guarantor that God will hear our prayers. In dangerous times, the practical thing to do is to pray like Nehemiah - in submission, and temporarily depriving ourselves of the things of this world.

Verse 5: “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God...". Practical praying gets to the Point by acknowledging openly and truthfully, the Sovereign Power of God - His Might, His Majesty and His Mind Which attends the affairs of mankind. He responds any way He wishes, because He is sovereign over all.

Verse 6: "let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant..." Practical praying is pro-active in immediately asking the Father for His full attention to your petition, problem or issue. Notice how, after you read the entire verse above, after Nehemiah asked the Lord's full focus on the matter at hand, Nehemiah went on not just to confess the sins of the people but HIS OWN SINS. In verse 5, the Judean Governor praises and acknowledges the Sovereignty of God, and in verse 6, the petition and confession begins. This is our cue to lay are our souls bare before Him. Every hidden sin must be confessed before God and repentance must begin.

Verse 7: the confession and repenting of sins continues and Nehemiah uses the Plumb Line of Scripture to show just how horrible the departure from God's statutes was. We are in the same boat. Nothing in modern life matches up to Scripture and almost everything in life today, violates the Word of God. The road to restoration continues down the path of repentance.

Verses 8 and 9: "Remember the word..." Here Nehemiah "reminds" the Lord what He said He would do to His people if they strayed and while He disciplines, He is divinely merciful and loving like the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son. Practical praying for a solution is first to KNOW the promises and proclamation of God and secondly, how to apply them appropriately and recall these promises, WITH GREAT AWE AND RESPECT - back to Him! We can say something like "Heavenly Father, remember when You said "If Your people return to Your Word, obey Your commandments and statutes You will hear from Heaven, and if Your people who are called by Your Name....Lord I long to follow You more intentionally and walk in ALL Your Ways, please hear my prayer as I stand on Your Promise to hear from Heaven and heal....."

Verses 10 and 11: Notice that Nehemiah, in essence summarizes, presents and then yields to the Lord with expectation in the positive result. He is actually practical, concise and given the fact that the Holy Spirit included this short prayer in Scripture. Some of the most practical (and effective) prayers in Biblical history have been short, to the point and sweet. When Peter started walking on water towards Jesus, than took his eyes of the Lord and started to sink, he did not pull out his book of prayer from the Christian bookstore and launch into eloquent speech. Peter simply cried out "LORD, SAVE ME"...and He did! Here Nehemiah summarized effective in Verse 11 "I beseech thee"...."may Your Ear be attentive"....and I "revere Your Name"...so "make Your servant successful and grant Him compassion"

That is it! With this in mind, in spite of obstacles, in spite of serious spiritual attack, with this prayer as the foundation, Nehemiah led his people to a victorious conclusion. They were buffeted by Ezra the Scribe reading from the Word of God for hours, aloud, to ALL the people.  The lesson for us is this: be practical, be fully prayed up, be clear and be buffeted by the Word of God.

777 - SEVEN DAYS OF PRAYER (JULY 1-7, 2014)

DAY 2 (JULY 2, 2014):

PRAYER FOCUS: THE AUTHOR OF LIFE

Peter, the man with the "keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" (which is actually the Living Word of God" in the most stirring sermon by any mortal man, in an act of divine revelation, called Jesus "The Author of Life" in Acts 3:15. The man who ran like a coward and denied Jesus three times when the high priest of Israel had Him arrested, was now boldly preaching Christ in the marketplace, as an example for us to proclaim the Word of Life. (Thousands were convicted and saved that very day).

The word Author is translated from the original Greek word "archégos" which the Holy Spirit put in there to designate Jesus as  the Originator, the Founder, the Leader, the Predecessor, the Creator of Everything. We know that He is the Word. We know that Jesus is the Word Who was with God. We know He is the Word Who IS God. We know He is the Creator of ALL things so let's go directly into prayer at this time:

Most Holy and Righteous Father, I thank Thee on this very day for the Life You have breathed into me, which is meant to glorify You in every way. I thank Thee for Thy Grace which thought of me...and everyone around me which brought this entire paradigm into being, for such a time as this. Lord, I thank You for Your Son - Jesus Christ - the Way the Truth and the Life. I have Life today, because of Him. I have breath today because of Him. I have Eternal Life as well as physical Life today, because of Him.

I have Liberty today, because of Him. I have bread today because of Him - not just the bread that temporarily feeds the body, but the living Bread that nourishes and feeds the soul. Oh living Word of Life, the grave could not keep the King and the Universe cannot contain Your Glory. I magnify, glorify and cry out in praise this very day to the Heavens in gratitude for the Life You have given,

Most merciful and compassionate God, Your blessings are for all generations, Your compassion never ceases, they are new every morning. Even when I fall short of Your Glory, Your irresistible Grace aboundeth. Even when I fail to see the Majesty and Splendor around Your throne, because I look around instead of UP, Your Love draws me in. Even when I followed a path You did not set, Your Spirit guided, provided and protected me back into alignment that the very angels of Heaven were sent to watch over me in my failures. In my sin you rescued me. From my Egypt, You delivered me. From my woe, You encouraged me. From my despair, You lifted me. From my own wilderness of Zin, You directed me. From my loneliness, You gave me love. From my hopelessness, You gave me hope....and from my dark night of the soul - YOU GAVE ME JESUS!

Lord, most Holy God, You are the only Way, not just to Heaven, You are the only Way to live daily. You are the only Way to live righteously. You are the only way to live a productive life as a member of the fellowship of the saints...so that while we live in this world, we will not be conformed to this world.

Lord, most Holy God, You are the Truth. Your executor in Jerusalem Pilate asked you "what is Truth"? There is none truer that You. Your Word can be trusted. Your Word can be proven. The perishing world which denies you proves You daily by not just archaeological finds which confirm the Scripture but gives us the Hope that You can be believed. 

Lord, most Holy God, You are the Life - the Giver of Life and the Author of Life. Oh Living Savior, Who sits on the very Throne of Heaven, I worship and adore you and thank You for as the Scripture in Hebrews 12 as I fix my "eyes on Jesus, the Author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God". Thank You Lord, as that Author of Life. Thank You Lord, as the Author and Perfecter of the Faith You have given me, for writing my name in YOUR BOOK OF LIFE. Thank You! I bless and praise Your Holy Name and bow before You in gratitude and awe, in the Strong and Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.

A LIFE WELL LIVED, Part 4 - AWE

Webster's dictionary describes AWE as an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred.Another dictionary defines awe as "a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder". In both cases, we see two things - the use of the words "feeling (or emotion)" and secondly - "sacred (or reverential)".

Both definitions include the words "dread and fear" and both have the same word, wonder, at the end of their respective definition. So that does that mean to us? No one could have said it better than the great prophet Isaiah in Chapter 6 of his book. Remember, as you read this short passage, Isaiah was already a servant of the Lord - as we are! Remember also, and then search your own soul, that we are no better than Isaiah!

Why do I say that? Well, we live in the same corrupt and profane world as Isaiah. Just like when King Uzziah was reigning, we live in relative prosperity, ease and comfort. Just like that time in Judah's history, we are a corrupt, foul-mouthed and perverse generation. Just like these early days of the ministry of the great prophet, the people of God are tolerating perversion, misrepresentation and misapplication of the Word by politicians and pastors who are no more sons of God than the fig tree that Jesus cursed.

ISAIAH 6 (NKJV):

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,And your sin purged".

When we have an encounter with the Living God like this, it is all we could do to react in the same way as the Prophet did in Verse 5 (re..."woe is me, for I am undone..."). The Word which is used in the Hebrew for "undone" is "DAMAH". In the AWESOME Presence of the Great God of Heaven, he became completely "destroyed physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and any other "-ly" you can think of!

In using the word "Damah", the Holy Spirit Who wrote this Scripture through Isaiah is recounting exactly what happened to Isaiah in the awesome presence of God! He was not just "undone" but was brought to the end of his corrupt earthly tradition! The word also means "silenced" and "ceased". The profanity and cultural "Christianity" (to put it in today's terms) which Isaiah was living had now been silenced and ceased/destroyed/wiped out and cancelled forever!

Isaiah was sanctified, literally sanctified, right in front of God...and it was confirmed in verse 6b, when The Seraphim touched his mouth with the hot coal to now, physically purge his mouth from speaking the world's stuff, so he could now speak clearly and cleansed for God!

The key to a Life Well Lived is being in that same place as Isaiah - UNDONE! DAMAH! It is only the cleansed and transformed vessel that God, through Jesus Christ, can send to the World, to speak and live and minister for Him. But it begins as with falling at His feet in completely awe, reverence and submission and then saying to the King - "Here I am, send me"!

WHAT IS THE GLORY OF GOD?

Most Christians associate the word "Glory" with God. This is as it should be. But what does Glory mean. What does it mean when a song's lyrics rise up in your heart even as you prepare the meet the challenges of this day? Well the English online dictionary has the following definitions of "GLORY":
glory [ˈglɔːrɪ]

 1. exaltation, praise, or honour, as that accorded by general consent the glory for         the exploit went to the captain

2. something that brings or is worthy of praise (esp in the phrase crowning glory)

3. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) thanksgiving, adoration, or worship glory be to God

4. pomp; splendour the glory of the king's reign

5. radiant beauty; resplendence the glory of the sunset

6. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) the beauty and bliss of heaven

7. a state of extreme happiness or prosperity

(Source - the Free Online Dictionary)

The Hebrew word from the Bible, which is what we are really MORE interested in, is tremendously beautiful. The word is "Kavod". Now this is very interesting concept. Kavod literally means "armaments"! As in the battlefield gear covering the Lord God or YAHWEH (Jesus). That tells me all I need to know about, love about and have a righteous and Holy fear about in God - He is a Warrior, He is not to be trifled with and He is serious about Who He is.

Most Christians sleepwalk through their lives not knowing fully, this God. They know the Western God Who will overlook any and every transgression. But here are some examples of the Warrior in Him:
Psalm 3:3 says the Glory (Kavod) of God is His Shield
Psalm 24:8 we read "who is this king of the kavod, YHWH is strong and mighty, YHWH is mighty in battle."
Job 29:20 associates His Glory (Kavod) with His "Bow" - a weapon!
Exodus 16:7 says "In the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?" This means - He will deal with these people, and you will not just His Power but His fury in dealing with this situation.

The thing to ponder this day and always, is what does the glory of God really mean to us, to our spirit? Are we in a place - through obedience, prayer, fasting and submission where we are so tuned in to His Spirit that when He speaks, we instantly perk up and listen? OR are we in a place almost of the unredeemed - floundering, rebelling and almost shaking our fist at Him?

This is not the way to God. Beholding His Glory is the True Mark of a believer, a follower and the man or woman. Capturing the TRUE meaning of His Glory is the TRUE mark of the person who is serious about seeking after Him. Amen