The Fear of the Lord

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Luke 5:8 (KJV)

How many of us literally get down upon our knees before God almighty? Words are cheap, but getting down upon our knees is a sign of a truly contrite heart. Sometimes my knees hurt and it's tough to get up from them, but God deserves that respect regardless of how I feel. Similarly sometimes I have to force myself to praise God, especially when I don't feel like it, for the exact same reason. Yes, God knows when we don't feel like it, however He recognizes our humbling ourselves before Him as an act of obedience. To God obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22 KJV).

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 (KJV)

Sin cannot stand to be in the presence of God in any of His forms. That is why Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden and why Peter asked Jesus to depart from him in the opening verse. But unlike the Father whose face no sinful man can see without being destroyed, and the Holy Spirit who becomes grieved by sin and will depart from us, Jesus can be in the presence of sin. That is the only reason we are able to come boldly before His throne of grace to receive forgiveness for our transgressions.

And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
Daniel 10:7-8 KJV)

When the angel of the Lord came to visit Daniel the men that he was with did not even see him, yet their flesh immediately responded to his presence. Quite often our flesh and our souls are not in agreement. This is something interesting that God has been bringing to my attention. For example, I have been in situations where my body was shaking with fear yet I myself was not afraid. That is adrenaline, a bodily chemical reaction, not fear.

The fact of the matter is that our salvation experience is largely based upon not only denying our flesh, but actively defying it. Think about the human experience and all the complex emotions we have to deal with. We defy our flesh when we fast, ignoring our growling stomachs. The same can be said for anger, lust and all the other physiological responses. Our bodies may involuntarily react to stimuli but we can choose to ignore it.

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Hebrews 10:26-27 (KJV)

When we first sinned we sensed it was wrong, but as we continued in it we lost that fear. As Christians our job is to get back to that place of fear. But Satan's plan is to normalize all forms of sin. Even now adultery, fornication, homosexuality and mark my words soon even pedophilia will all be tolerated as merely the life choices of people who were 'born that way'. I have news for you folks; we were all 'born that way'. Although we may express it in different ways we are all born sinners.

We Must Warn Others

Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Ezekiel 3:20 (KJV)

If you were fleeing a building on fire would you just leave others there to burn? Just smile and say 'God bless you' as you continue to safety? Or would you warn them to run? Once we recognize our own areas of weakness, the stumbling blocks we have removed from our paths how can we not warn others? And these fools actually wear their lack of concern for the souls of others as some sort of badge of pride. "Oh, it is not my job to judge them". No it isn't, but it is our job to warn them!

From the way some people react when you warn them you'd think they were being harassed, but the truth of the matter is that they usually give us signs to go by. Take for example the social media. We often see things like "Going to my Yoga class" being announced without a second thought. Don't they know Yoga that is sun worship disguised as exercise? Now the first thought that comes to mind is they don't know Yoga is bad, let me show them and they will be grateful. Ha!

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 
Psalms 51:11 (KJV)

This is the Godly fear that every Christian needs. David understood that God may withdraw His Holy Spirit from us if we give Him ample reason. Let me be clear; we do not become saved and unsaved every time we sin and confess. However, once the fear of the Lord has departed from us and we get into a 'sin comfort zone' where we no longer struggle with it we risk having the Holy Spirit taken from us without our even noticing. That's why every time I stumble in my flesh this is my prayer to God. It is comforting to know that I am walking in the footsteps of men like David who experienced this same sting of sin and wretchedness before our God.