Today’s Sermon by Evangelist Samuel Etijoro: 21/10/18
Topic: The fear of the Lord part ll.
Proverbs 14:27
[27]Fear of the lord is a life-giving fountain;
it offers escape from the snares of death.
Fear in Scripture is used express a filial or slavish passion. For the purpose of this message I will dwell on filial passion.
Therefore the fear of the Lord is a holy awe or reverence of God and His laws, which springs from a just view and real love of divine character leading the subject of it to hate and shun everything that can offend such a holy being and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience.
Jeremiah 32:39(kjv)
And I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them and their children after them.
Abraham demonstrated this kind of fear and God affirmed it.
Genesis 18:19
[19]I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”
But Abraham’s fear of the Lord that led to obedience started in Genesis 12:1-3
[1]The lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
[2]I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
[3]I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Here comes the real instruction in Genesis 22:2,9-12
[2]“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
[9]When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
[10]And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.
[11]At that moment the angel of the lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
[12]“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”
It takes a man who truly love the Lord to obey God to the killing of a child of promise without questioning. If this instruction was given to bread and butter Christians of today, the first response will be “Away from me devil I rebuke and bind you then speaking in diverse tongues will follow” or rather 7 days dry fasting with all attention to devil the enemy while it is an outright disobedience of God Almighty. In fact the Madam need not know about it so that hell will not let loose.
Joseph in Egypt is another case.
Genesis 39:2-3
[2]The lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.
[3]Potiphar noticed this and realized that the lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.
Genesis 39:6-9
[6]So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man,
[7]and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.
[8]But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.
[9]No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
We all all know how the story ended.
Read Genesis 39.
If you take your mind back to Genesis 18:19
[19]I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”
God truly kept His part. Joseph dreams came to past for he truly feared God and demonstrated it.
And to Abraham also in Genesis 22:15-18
[15]Then the angel of the lord called again to Abraham from heaven.
[16]“This is what the lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that
[17]I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.
[18]And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
Proverbs 1:7
[7]Fear of the lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
To be continued.
Till the next Sermon, May the lord bless you
and protect you.
May the lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the lord show you his favor
and give you his peace.’ in Jesus precious name.