Apostle John Eckhardt - Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom

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Many are familiar with the verse, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Of course, wisdom is the principal thing. Wisdom and the fear of the Lord are connected. When you don't fear God you will not have wisdom. I often do a study on the fear of the Lord because I see a lack of the fear of the Lord in so many people, such a lack of God's fear in our nation, in society, in the way people live. I'm even seeing a lack of the fear of the Lord in the church, even among ministers, because of all that is happening. The lack of the fear of the Lord is dangerous to a society, to a family, and to a person's life, because the fear of the Lord restrains you. It keeps you and prevents you from living a lifestyle that is offensive or displeasing to God, because you fear God.

The word “fear of the Lord” simply means the awe of God. One scripture actually says “Let him be your fear, let him be your dread.” I did a teaching on the word “dread.” Dread is a word we don’t use much in today’s English. But remember when Jacob went to Bethel and had a dream, he woke up and said “How dreadful is this place!” There was a fear, a dread in that place after having the dream of the ladder going up to heaven. The word “dreadful” means to have a large fear or awe. It means something that is so fearful it's on another level – it’s dreadful.

Often when you think of the fear of the Lord, if you look up “fear of the Lord” in the Hebrew, it means reverential fear, the reverence of God. I want to release this word about the importance of having reverence. If you look up the word “reverence” it means a deep respect and awe. So when you have reverence for God and the fear of the Lord, you have a deep respect for God and for the things of God.

You have a deep respect for holy things like prayer, worship, praise, the Word of God, and the house of God. You have a deep respect for holy things. Fear of the Lord will prevent you from moving into areas that will bring death and destruction. We need to be taught the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord brings life, deliverance, and health. It restrains you from living in a way that is offensive or displeasing to God. Make sure you have the reverence of God in your life. Make reverence one of your most important attributes. Be a person who always reverences the Lord and has respect for holy, righteous, spiritual things. Never mock or joke about holy things.

When a society loses the fear and respect of God it loses one of its most important characteristics for being successful. You cannot operate in success, prosperity and abundance without the reverence and fear of God. When a society loses this it moves toward destruction, debauchery, perversion, murder, bloodshed, and iniquity. You lose respect for life and for people made in God’s image. This is the problem we have now in America and nations around the world.

People have become blasphemous when it comes to holy things – the way they speak about the Word of God, the church, God Himself, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus warned about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. To have no respect or reverence for the Spirit of God is an unforgivable sin. We must be taught the fear of the Lord. The next generation needs to be taught to fear God. They should see it modeled in your life as you show reverence and respect for the things of God. Never take holy things lightly or be frivolous with them.

Those in ministry who handle and teach the Word of God should have great respect for it. They are handling something sacred. There should be reverence in worship leadership. Prayer is sacred and should be treated carefully. There should be reverence for God’s presence and glory when it comes. Often we bow down, kneel, or weep to show reverence for God’s presence. Build a lifestyle of honoring and revering holy things.

There should be reverence for authority figures like parents, grandparents, and spiritual leaders. When respect for authority is lost, society breaks down. Make sure you stay close to those who fear God. Never lose your awe and reverence for God. If you find it slipping, take time to fast, pray, repent and refocus. Living with reverence for God will lead to blessing.