What is the Fear of God?

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Albert Barnes, condemnation, curses, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, freedom, God's love, joy, judging others, love, obedience, peace, spiritual blessings, spiritual power, T.A. Sparks, true faith

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (Jn 15:10-11 ESV) – Picture credits http://deeperwaters.us/the-joy-of-obedience/

Although this article springs from my own experiences with the fear of God, I did not describe here how it really feels to be struck all of a sudden by this special spirit of Him who rules the universe. If you like to read more about that, though, click here. In this entry you will rather find a definition by T. Austin Sparks’ of the fear of the Lord and some implications of what it means to truly belong to God’s people. Contrasting the evil of fear imposed on us by Satan in order to torment and paralyze us, TAS wrote regarding the fear of God,

But this fear is a holy fear. Let no one think for a moment that this fear of the Lord is death, bondage, stultification and repression. Not at all. Wherever you find this fear of the Lord you find joy, love, peace and liberty. People are not afraid of the Lord. But they are careful not to grieve the Lord. They do not take liberties with the Lord. They do not think of spiritual liberty as spiritual licence. They do not cast off restraint, they do not ride rough-shod over all sacred things, calling it liberty. No, there is holy fear which restrains and in restraining keeps things pure and keeps things clear and makes a straight way for the Lord. The true fear of the Lord is not dread. It is a very blessed and precious thing.

Satan’s Counterfeit Spirituality

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carnal, counterfeit gifts, deception, delusion, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, faith, feelings, God's will, joy, spiritual, suffering, walking by faith, Watchman Nee

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Lk 9:23-25 ESV)
Picture credits http://cornerstone-marion.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/mission-website-cross.jpg

To begin with, I want to make a distinction between the carnal believer who is fully carnal and spiritual believers who can be both carnal or spiritual. That might sound a bit strange in the beginning, but I am going to explain it right now.

When does God hear (all) our prayers?

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ask and receive, being born again, experience, faith, new creation, prayer, the new self, the old self, true faith

Abiding IN Christ like these crocuses in the vase, everything we ask for will be received
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Today as I heard someone praying about their personal issues, I suddenly heard the question in my mind, “Will God hear these prayers?” At first I thought, “Well, I am not God. How could I know which prayers He might hear and which not?” 🙄 But then as I considered this topic more closely, I had the idea that there are certain conditions that must be met before God is inclined to listen to our heart’s pleas, even continually. Having found some Scriptures that display the connection between true faith and God’s immediate response by hearing all our prayers, I decided to highlight some parts I found enlightening there (emphasis in italics mine).

Being led by the Holy Spirit

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Baptism in the Holy Spirit, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, justification, killing sin, Matthew Poole, peace, prayer without ceasing, sanctification, sealed with the Holy Spirit, T.A. Sparks, the law, the new self, the old self, Tullian Tchividjian

We know we are God’s children if we have been sealed by Him.
(Picture credits http://knowing-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/Ephesians-1-13-Sealed-With-The-Holy-Spirit-red-copy.jpg)

The Holy Spirit’s method is to set His seal upon us as we move according to His leading; not according to our fancy, choice, aptitude, predilection or ambition. – T. Austin Sparks

Being Blessed by GOD or… Satan’s Sensual Substitutes for the Truth

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deception, discerning the spirits, ecstasy, exhortation, experience, eyes of the heart, feeling, God's guidance, joy, Matthew Henry, peace, sensual experience, spiritual blessings, T.A. Sparks, the new self, the old self, worldly spirits

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (Jn 14:15 ESV)
Picture Credits http://www.pamelavcarmichael.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/the-blessed-life_4034.jpg

Are we still looking for continued peace, joy, and wellbeing? If we only learn to listen to His Spirit’s guidance more closely and more often, we will experience all of God’s blessings in an ever increasing measure, for it is written,

But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’
But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. (Jer 7:23-24 ESV)

Speaking the Truth IN Love

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Albert Barnes, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, God's love, joy, love, peace, Truth in Love

LOVE – the more excellent way
(Picture credits https://denigustafson.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/0522-joh013035engkjv08000480-000.jpg)

As these two caps in my headline might already point to, speaking the truth in love is not something we can do on our own. Actually, we must be in love with our Creator through Jesus Christ, so that we can behave toward all other human beings as we should. Loving them unconditionally does not mean that we cave in if we disagree with them. No, if God wants us to take a stand, we should do it – always. However, if we are not IN love with God, what will happen is most probably something that some of us already did: they tried to speak the truth in love by telling others what they believed, and perhaps it was really the truth (!), but they did not wait on the Lord to nudge them to do so and thus it got all harsh and judgmental. They might have felt that there was something wrong about it and thus they added some pleasantry in order to show that they really loved the other person. Well, I believe that is not the way God intended it to be.