Know God: The Love of God & the Fear of the Lord

“My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1-5

This passage in Proverbs 2 says that if we receive God words, cry out for understanding and discerning, then we will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. The fear of the Lord is the key to the knowledge of God.

We already visited the fact that God is Love, and perfect love casts out all fear. But, this “fear of the Lord” is a different kind of fear. It is a reverence, awe, respect, trembling – that is required before a Holy God.

God does not contradict Himself, so He can be love and holy, merciful and just, high and lifted up and yet near – all at the same time. It is difficult for us to comprehend, but He is like a multi-faceted diamond that everytime the light reflects in a different way, we see a new glimpse of who He is.

I love what author and speaker Bob Sorge says, “The fear of the Lord and the love of God are like a gas pedal and brake pedal in a car. You need both. With only gas—you will die, and with only brake, you will go nowhere. We need both.”

It is so true. If we only focus on the love of God, we will only depend on His mercy and forgiveness, and forget about holiness and righteousness. If we only focus on the fear of the Lord, we will not identify ourselves before Him as His beloved sons and will be afraid to approach Him, living in condemnation and religion. We need both the Love of God and the Fear of the Lord in our lives.

Scripture: “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1-5

Prayer: Lord, I want to know You more. I am hungry for the knowledge of God. I am hungry for relationship with You and to know you more. I cry out for knowledge and discernment. I lift up my voice to You. Give me the fear of the Lord. Let me know Your love and my place as a son (daughter) before You, but let me tremble before Your Word. Let me have a deep respect and honor for Your Holiness and Majesty that shakes me to the core. Give me the Fear of the Lord that I may find the knowledge of God. I cry out to you for understanding and discernment.

Continuing praying in your own words.

Prayer Posture: In Jewish culture and throughout Church history, physical posture affects even our internal heart posture sometimes. In many cases in the Bible where people came into contact with the Holiness of God – they laid face down before Him, or got on their knees or extended their hands out before Him. In your quiet place, alone with God. Try one of these postures of prayer and honor and respect toward the Lord, and prayer in your own words. Pause and see if you encounter a sense of His presence or feel His holiness or fire.

Write: Write what you sensed or experience in your prayer journal. Go back and reflect and revisit it at different times when you desire more holiness or the fear of the Lord in your walk with God.

For more resources on praying Scripture or going deeper in the knowledge of God, check out the “knowledge of God” blog series.

God is Love: No Fear in Love

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:17-19)

We are going to be filled with something. But in order to get rid of darkness, the answer is not to try to cast out the darkness, but to turn on the light. What is the antidote to fear? Love. Perfect love casts out all Fear. God is Love and He is perfect, and His love toward us is perfect. How can we be filled with more of His Love and be free of fear? We need to “behold” (look, think deeply, meditate, chew on in thought) His Love for us.

I John 3: 1-3 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

In this passage, John actually says, “Behold” or look, gaze, meditate on, chew on, think deeply about -- God’s love. And specifically, in this passage, it says to think deeply about His love as a Father, and our position or identity as His children. In the last lesson, we looked at God’s love through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, and in this lesson, we are looking at the Love of God as a Father to His children.

When we want to get the Love of God deep into us, or know an attribrute or characteristic of God more, we need to study those passages of Scripture about Him, but also, we need to look at various ways those Scriptures can get deep into our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits, so that we can love God with all of our being (Matt. 22:33-40).

And right now, we are focusing on God’s love as a Father that fills us and casts out fear. Romans 8:15-16 further develops this thought, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…”

Again, here we see that our identity as children of God frees us from every fear. But how can we be filled with God’s love and be freed from fear? The key to this is in I John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us” – which means that the love that we have for God, and God’s love that we can feel does not originate with us, but it originates with God. But does that mean that we are helpless to do anything about receiving the Love of God? The answer is no, of course not.

God is Love, which means that His love is ALWAYS there, whether we feel it or not, whether we experience or see it manifesting as a reality in our lives. It is there and exists and is moving constantly. But we need to receive it, and how we do it goes back to this idea of “Beholding” (look, meditate, think deeply, chew on, etc). 

2 Corinthians 3:18 says that, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This means that in order to transform (change) our thoughts, emotions, and will (choices, decisions, desires) that we need to behold (look, meditate, chew on, etc) the Glory of God – or His attributes, characteristics. This is why growing in the knowledge of God is so important – not only in head knowledge, but heart knowledge, and relational experience with Him. And we do that through praying, singing, and interacting with Scripture until it becomes a part of us and changes us.

So, let’s try that today with beholding the Love of God. Try these interactive methods of praying Scripture, and adapt them to how you see fit. You can even try this as a family with your kids, or your spouse, or with a group of friends, as well as alone in your quiet time with Jesus.

Scripture:

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:17-19)

Prayer Points:

• Jesus, I just declare who You are. You are Love. I worship You, and behold You as Love today. I want to behold and ponder Your Love as a Father toward me and How great Your Love is toward me!

• Your love is GREAT toward me, Lord! I thank You and Praise You for it.

• Show me how much You love me today, and let me feel Your Love and know it personally deep inside.

• I give you all of my fears. You said those who are in fear have not been made perfect in love. So, I give you my fear today – my fear of …….. and I ask that You would make me perfect in Love. And you would cast all fear out of my mind, will, and emotions.

• Holy Spirit, you said that those led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God, and we have not been given a bondage of fear, but a spirit of adoption. And so I cry out to you, “Abba! Father!” Come and touch me. Come and hold me. Come and give me peace. Fill me with Your love today.

• Give me boldness. Give me boldness to speak your Word to my friends and neighbors. Give me boldness to live without fear in an unstable environment.

• Make me perfect in love, Father.

• I just set my eyes on Your love today. I behold it. I receive it. It is wonderful and it is perfect. I love You, because You first loved me. You are the beginning of love and your love is eternal. Thank you, Father. I love you!

Sing: You can do this a Capello or turn on a little instrumental music or grab an instrument, and sing these phrases and prayers, and allow them to go even deeper into your heart. Allow your own words and thoughts to come out of your spirit. Allow yourself to take more or less time as you need it, and open your heart to God.

Listen: Ask Jesus to talk to You about His love for you, and just take a few minutes to pause in silence and see if He shows You anything. You might feel certain fears come up inside of you. Tell Jesus about them and ask Him to take those fears out of your life. Declare His Love and truth over yourself. Pause to see if you feel or sense anything that He might be saying to you. See if He brings anyone to your mind to pray for and pray for Him to show His love to them.

Write: Write down your thoughts or impressions in a journal, and write the different Scriptures that touched you the most, and maybe some of the reasons why they impacted you so much in this season. In times when you need encouragement, go back and read them and speak them over yourself again.

Draw or color: This is especially great for kids, or creative types. Close your eyes, and ask Jesus to give you a picture of His love for you, or have your kids do this. And then have them draw or color what they saw.

Humanism: Adversary to Understanding God's Justice

The base premise of humanism is that man is inherently good. If man is good in his very nature, then man will be able to progress to have unity, equality, tolerance, and great accomplishment. Humanism has permeated every area of our society, & even societies all over the world.

If we do not believe that humans are evil in their very nature, then we will constantly be at war with the idea of God’s justice. Justice is when God gives the just reward for an action. However, if men believe that they are “good people,” then they will see no need for salvation, and they will not rightly understand the mercy or justice of God.

Men blame God when something bad happens—“If He was a God of Love, then why did He allow this to happen?” However, humans do not understand that God is also Just, and He allows actions of sin and lawlessness to reach the maturity of their fruit, which is actually a fulfillment of justice.

The reason we do not understand the Justice of God and the need for His judgments is because somewhere in the dark recesses of our mind, we believe that we are good. Although we would never say it, we actually believe that in some way, we can fulfill our own righteousness. Somehow, we believe that we deserve better than what God is giving us.

The main reason for this war in our minds is believing that men are good by nature. When we finally see that men are not good by nature, we will begin to understand the need for God’s justice, and we will begin to be thankful for His mercy & forgiveness.

If you need to be convinced of the inherent evil nature of man, just watch a couple of toddlers play together for a few minutes. That will do it.

Implementing the Five-Fold Ministry: Fathers Releasing Sons

Before looking at strategies and programs for implementing the five-fold ministry, it is necessary to implant foundational principles at the root of the process for the development to actually work. Another foundational principle that is necessary for the five-fold ministry to work is that of fathers releasing sons who become fathers.

One huge area lacking in our society is that of fathers who know how to call forth a younger generation and release them into what God has called them to do. Although God can come and transform the existing church structure, many people become set in their ways, making it difficult to make a new definition to old ways of doing things. However, the best way to transform a culture is for those fathers in the older generation who have seen the wrong ways of doing things, to impart their wisdom and anointing to the next generation and release them to go farther than they did.

The problem is two-fold. First, many older people where never fathered themselves, and do not know how to properly be fathers. Second, many young people are rebellious against authority and want to usurp the authority of the older generation rather than learn from them.

However, God’s design was for the older generation to pave the way for the younger generation and create a new, higher foundation for the young ones to walk on than what they had when they were young. Furthermore, His design is for the young ones to walk on that old foundation and build on it, rather than tear it down and move to another place to build.

In the previous teaching on Love & Service, we looked at the verse where Paul was speaking of Timothy as being the only one who was like-minded and served as a son serves a Father (Phil. 2:19-22). Even in Paul’s day, he was looking to raise up sons who would care for the Church as much as he did—and even in his day, it was lacking.

Not only did Paul raise up a son in Timothy who would serve and love the Church, but he raised up a son who also became a father in the church (I Cor. 4:14-17). God is not looking for sons who drain the life out of the older generation to take what they need for themselves. He is looking for sons who are so thankful for being called sons that they—in turn—call forth others as sons.

Also, God is looking for fathers who call their “children” into the identity and callings that are over their lives. A father who is secure in the love of His heavenly Father can see the God-given destiny on a person and call them forth into what God has called them to do.

Implementing the five-fold ministry cannot be a sterile process learned from a book or manual. It must be birthed. It must be birthed in prayer and birthed in lives. This takes labor and it takes trying and failing. It also takes learning from the mistakes of the older generations—and also learning from their successes. We must have the hearts of fathers turned to children and children to the fathers in order for the five-fold ministry to work in the Church.

Restoring the Image of God: Beholding & Becoming

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, & where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

(II Cor. 3:17-18)

Jesus came to reveal the Father to us & restore the original intention of the image of God in man. He came to show us the Father & how the Father births sons into His very same image. Likewise, the Holy Spirit also comes to transform us into His same image.

As the express image of God, Jesus gave us the picture of what we are longing to become. He is the picture of God's intention for us. It is the Holy Spirit's job to transform us into His image as we behold Him.

So many times, we set our eyes on our weaknesses & feel that we are failures. This is a huge hindrance to the work of the Holy Spirit, because His intention is for us to behold Him and become more like Him as we see what we are supposed to look like. Jesus is the ultimate example for us for our entire lives.

I John 3:2-3 says, "Beloved, now we are children of God; & it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies Himself just as He is pure..."

We must not set our eyes on what we are now, but set our eyes on what we shall be--setting our eyes on this hope that one day we will be like Him & we will see Him in all purity without that dim glass of our own thoughts & wrong views of God. One day, we will see Him for who He really is. It is this hope that purifies us & transforms us from glory to glory...

Intention of the Image of God in Man: The Father revealed by Sons

God intended man to reveal God Himself to every generation. Man was created in the image of God—not to replace God, but to point everything in heaven & earth to God. Man’s rejection of God & the introduction of sin led to a broken image of God being revealed to further generations.

Each generation becomes more & more broken, unless there is a repentance & returning to God. The priests were meant to be the inheritance of the Lord that pointed others to God, but in the book of Malachi, they were rebuked because they were leading the people astray. The problem was that they had no honor or reverence for God as their Father or master. They had become over-familiar with Him & did not maintain the respect & honor that a father deserves. This is the foundation for the Fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is clean & the revelation of it must be in conjunction with the Love of God so that a spirit of fear is cast out of us, love is perfected, & we can be subject to the spirit of adoption that cries out, "Abba, Father!" (I Jn. 4:17-9, Rom. 8:15).

When Jesus came, He restored the image of God in human form. He was fully God. God chose that in Him all the fullness of God would dwell (Col. 1:19). This was so that He could reconcile all things to Himself through the finished work of the Cross (Col. 1:20).

Jesus was also fully man & He was the exact representation of God. He fully restored the image of God in a human frame. He told His disciples that if you have seen the Son, then you have seen the Father.

He came not only to save us, but also to show us the Father. Not only did He restore us as sons, but He also restored the image of God in human frame that we can behold Him & become more like Him (I Cor. 3:18). As we become more like Him, the image of God is restored from glory to glory in our lives, & we become more like the Father. This is the only way we can become fathers ourselves.

Jesus is the perfect example of how we are to also represent the Father to others. This is the reason Paul could say, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ…” (I Cor. 4:15-1, 11:1). Paul told the church in Corinth that they may have 10,000 instructors, but they don’t have many fathers. He said that they should imitate him as He imitated Christ, because he birthed them in Christ. He labored for them to know the Father.

He said to imitate Him, but the amazing thing is that he sent Timothy in his stead because Timothy was a beloved & faithful son. The church was being taught to imitate Christ through Timothy who imitated Paul who imitated Christ. This is the inheritance of sons & the way that we should reflect the image of God to the world as fathers who are rooted in being sons.

This is the foundation for being a father to others in the spirit, and a necessary concept for those who are called as messengers that will “turn the hearts of the Fathers to the children & the hearts of children to the Fathers…” (Malachi 4:6).

“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.” (I Cor. 4:15-17)

Devo 59: The Genesis One Creativity of Healing

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 1:1-2; 26-27; 2:7

Imagine Jesus kneeling down in the dirt, making the first man. He probably put some dirt in His hands and spit in it (sound familiar?). Forming clay, He molded hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth, nose…Not only that, but He shaped organs. He shaped the lungs—the bronchial tubes, the alveoli, pleural membrane, cilia—little intricate organisms. He shaped the cells—mitochondria, DNA, ribosomes, chromosomes…He shaped the heart and arteries. He shaped the brain—the different hemispheres, the brain stem, the synapses, nerve endings, spinal chord, nervous system, etc…He sculpted every nook and cranny of the colon, stomach, liver, spleen, diaphragm, muscles, bones, veins, tendons, ligaments, cells…Every little part of the human body, Jesus formed it by hand.

He is a Craftsman. Proverbs 8 personifies Jesus as Wisdom. As He speaks of the formation of the world, Jesus says, “Then I was beside Him as a Master Craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men” (Prov. 8:30-31). Jesus was creative—of course. He is the Creator.

Psalm 139 speaks of how God cares about the human body. The psalmist says:

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psalm 139:13-15

Our physical bodies are precious to the Lord. He made them. He also loves to heal them. Asking for healing, releasing a prophetic word, or praying for heaven to come to earth are actually ways to release the creativity that God has given us.

We are made in His image, and He is Creator. We cannot create anything, but through us, the Holy Spirit can create. He can speak through us with the same power and authority that He created the world.

When we realize our God is the Creator, we can understand why humans love creativity. We love art. We love knew ideas. We love to see beautiful structures that man has built. Man is made in God’s image, therefore creativity is part of human design.

Even natural men can be artistic, creative, and have ingenuity. However, men cannot create in the natural. They can only take what is already created and reform it to make something out of it. Jesus did that when he formed man. He formed man out of dust—but of course, He was the one who spoke the dust into being.

When we partner with the Lord, however, we can see things in heaven and call them into existence on earth. It’s called faith. Faith is the substance of things unseen, and the evidence of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1). We can bind and loose things in heaven and earth (Mt. 18). When we behold God the Creator and get a grasp on what things are like in heaven, we have the boldness to pray for them on earth.

Jesus told us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” (Mt. 6, Lk 11). Although this does pertain to the time when Jesus establishes His reign on earth, it is not limited to that time. The kingdom is our inheritance as sons and daughters. The Lord originally designed men to have dominion over the earth, but man gave his dominion over to Satan when he sinned.

However, as we come under the reign and dominion of Christ and are seated with Him in heavenly places, we also have His authority through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many times, we try to fight our way up to heavenly things as though we could do anything on our own strength, but God puts everything in us, and He is the one who has called us sons. He made us sons and also heirs (Gal. 4). We are already seated with Him in heavenly places. We can do nothing to earn it.

We often have so many reasons in our mind why we should not pray and believe for healing—mostly unanswered prayer. We prayed and the person died anyway. Our hearts were broken. We ask why. We have physical problems in our own bodies. We do not understand and become discouraged.

All of those thoughts, feelings, and emotions are real. However, we must have faith and just keep asking, keep believing, keep asking, keep believing. The problem is that sometimes we feel it is just too painful for our hearts. We do not want to put ourselves out there anymore. Its too vulnerable, too painful, too difficult…So, we become burned out, discouraged—and if we let that go long enough—offended, bitter, and angry. We stop believing and stop asking.

But, the testing of our faith produces patience, and when patience has its perfect work, it brings us into maturity, lacking nothing (Js. 1). Not only that, but our faith is accounted to us as righteousness (Heb. 11). Not only that, but faith is the foundation for the kingdom of God. We must become like a little child (Mt. 18:3). Little children just believe. They do not know any different.

Also, healing is real. It actually happens today. The kingdom of God really exists and people are actually healed.

In Matthew 8, a centurion came to Jesus and asked for his servant to be healed. The centurion said that if Jesus only said the word his servant would be healed without Him even going back to his house. It says that Jesus marveled at the man. I heard someone pray the other day, “Jesus, Give me faith you can marvel at.” What a wonderful prayer. Jesus, give me faith you can marvel at.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He said, “Let there be…” and there was. God took so much care in sculpting the human body. He cares what we do with it, how we take care of it, and He loves to heal it. So, let’s just ask—and keep asking, and ask again—and just believe, keep believing, and believe again.

Blessings,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved