We Gain By Fearing Jehovah

Study: # 742 – Church in the Houses From: September 18 – 24, 2012 TOPIC: “We Gain By Fearing Jehovah” Proverbs 28:14

Who is who prospers in everything if not those who fear God? In Deuteronomy 10:12 the Bible speaks clearly of what Jehovah asks of us. It says we should fear Him, to walk in His ways and to love Him. Then, we should serve Him with our heart and soul. This is our duty and it is very clear for those who say they don’t know what to do. We should fear Him as a great God and Lord and love Him as a good God and Father. We should serve the Lord if we are His children. We serve Him, God, who is known. He is not a stranger; He is not someone who is far away but near. How can we say that we are His children and then we forget about Him and walk as we please and in great disorders? Your heart should always be ready for Him. We cannot say that we are His children if we walk mistakenly and we don’t go to the Fathers House. How will we say that we are His children and don’t eat the bread with Him, we don’t listen to His voice or His advice! Wherever our heart is, what we do and seek is also there. Proverbs 28: 14 is clear: “Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord…” That fear refers to sin, because to sin is to offend God. To sin knowing is defiance towards God. It is that man , not caring about God, were engaged in sinning habitually and in this way corrupted what was more beautiful: to speak to Him, to wait in Him and rest in Him. It is good for every man and women to be able to lift their hands in worship and praise, to sing, smile and be in peace. All that and even more, was lost along the road for lacking that fear. Happiness is lost, life fades out. The terrible consequence of sin is that the heart becomes hardened. Understand: anyone who toughens the heart rejects the fear to God, scorns God’s punishment and sins deliberately. When one no longer fears God there is no restraint, life becomes a total disorder. That fright, that reverent fear is prudence before the danger. But, for having a hardened heart, they become recklessly bold and commit insanities. Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole (duty) of man. Salomon investigated and discovered which the happiness of the children of men was. That is, what does true happiness consist of and by what means is it found? Salomon speaks to us and tells us that men toil under the sky every day of their lives. But, human beings can find true happiness only if they fear God. Since ancient times God taught men the importance of fear, of reverence and of separating from the evil; we can see this in Job 28:28 “And he said to man, ‘The fear of the Lord-- that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’” Therefore sincere compassion is the only path that leads to the real happiness. To be a believer is to fear God and preserve His commandments. The root of mercy is the fear towards God that reigns in the heart. It is respect to His majestic holiness, to His sovereign authority and a deep fear to His terrible wrath. The fruit of compassion is seen in the observance of God’s commandments. That compassion and its fruit are seen in someone who complies and obeys the commandments of the Lord, who lives for them, who looks after and takes them into consideration. If you are truly merciful it is seen when you pay attention to the commandments, when you are capable of

obeying the Lord. One who is impious should not say that he/she fears God when he/she never observes God’s commandments. The Bible clearly says about the commandments: THIS IS EVERYTHING IN MANKIND! With this men comply with all their duties and this is where their happiness is. The response for happiness that men yearn is fear towards God; in everything else he will be pure. That is where the happiness is in men’s life because by means of wisdom and intelligence he will separate from the evil. Many of us fear men who can harm us physically, but the Bible says in Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” We worry about having an accident, a robbery, anything. But, we need to fear the one who can destroy the soul and send the body to Hell; that is who we should fear: God! If you fear God, then, be careful who you walk with. 1 Peter 1:17 “Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear…” if we invoke for Father, God, who judges according to our deeds, well, let’s conduct ourselves always in fear. It is comforting to present ourselves to the judge knowing He is our Father. But it also instills fear; this is a reverent respect. The thought is that the Father, whose holiness we are to imitate as children, is the judge. He is the judge before whom we are accountable for everything we have done. Let us fear and with all our heart love and serve Him so that we can be truly happy, in this life and in the future! Amen.