MONTHLY NEWSLETTER WITH Rev. Dr. C. A. Onitiri (June 2024 Edition)

JUNE 2024 SCRIPTURE: PROVERBS 1V7

THEME: “THE FEAR OF THE LORD”

Bless you beloved of God.

I welcome you to the month of June, the sixth month in this year 2024.This month you will experience an angelic visitation just as Sarah did in Genesis 21v1 and you will celebrate God’s faithfulness. What He says He will do, He will do. Praise God!

Our Scripture for this month of June is taken from the Book of Proverbs: Proverbs 1v7.
“THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE:BUT FOOLS DESPISE WISDOM AND INSTRUCTION.”(KJV)

THEME: “THE FEAR OF THE LORD”

INTRODUCTION:

To properly analyse and understand the THEME for the month, I will refer us to read DEUTERONOMY 6v1&2
v1:” Now these are the commandmends, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you,that you might do them in the land whither ye go to posses it.
v2:
That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandmends which I command thee, thou and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life:and that thy days may be prolonged.”(KJV)

In the O.T. a frequent command given to God’s people is to “Fear God” or to “Fear the Lord”.
It is very important for us as believers to know what this command means. Only as we truly fear the Lord will we be delivered from slavery to all abnormal fears.

PART 1: MEANING OF THE FEAR OF THE LORD.

The comprehensive command to “FEAR THE LORD” involves a variety of different aspect of our relationship with God:
1—Essential to fearing God is a recognition of His holiness, justice and righteousness as a counterpart to His love and mercy ie,knowing Him and understanding fully who He is.Such fear is based on the acknowledgement that God is a holy God, whose very nature causes Him to judge sin.

2—To fear the Lord is to regard Him with holy awe and reverence and to honour God as God because of His great glory, holiness, majesty and power.

Example: When the Israelites at Mount Sinai saw God manifest Himself through “thunder and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud” they all “trembled” in fear (Exodus 19v16) and beg Moses to speak to them rather than the Lord God Himself. (Exodus 20v18-19).

Again in Psalm 33, the Psalmist in his reflections on God as creator, states very clearly “Let all the earth fear the Lord:let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him:For he spake and it was done;he commanded and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33v8&9)

3—As believers,the fear of the Lord causes us to place our faith and trust in God alone for salvation.
Example: After the Israelites crossed over the Red Sea on dry ground and saw the enormous destruction of the Egyptian army, they
“feared the Lord and believed the Lord.” (Exodus 14v31)

Similarly in Psalm 115v11,the Psalmist calls upon all those who fear the Lord to “trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.” In otherwords , the fear of the Lord produces in us a confident hope and trust in Him. It is little wonder then that such people are saved (Psalm 85v9) and recieve His forgiving love and mercy (Luke1v50)
“And his mercy is on them thar fear him from generation to generation.”

4—Finally to fear God is recognising that He is a God who is angry about
sin and has the power to punish those who transgress His righteous laws, both in time and eternity (Psalm76v7&8)
v7–
“Thou, even thou,art to be feared:and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
v8–
Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven;the earth feared and was still.”

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were afraid of the Lord and tried to hide from His presence (Genesis 3v8-10)
Moses experienced this aspect of the fear of God when he spent forty days and nights in prayer on behalf of the sinful Israelites:
“I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you.” (Deuteronomy 9v19)

Similarly in the N.T.,immediately after acknowledging the coming vengeance and judgment of God, the writer of Hebrews wrote
in Hebrews 10v31 “IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD.”(KJV)

PRAYER

May the fear of the Lord produce in us a great and wide knowledge of Him, so we learn to know Him and trust Him and follow His righteous laws and say “NO” to sin
Amen.

Wishing you a glorious, and fulfilled month in Him.
Shalom.

Note:
Expect Parts 2 & 3 in the coming weeks.
Part2–
REASONS FOR THE FEAR OF THR LORD.

Part3–
PERSONAL IMPLICATIONS ABOUT THE FEAR OF THE LORD.