What the Fear of the Lord Will Do For You

Now, let’s take a little while to consider what the fear of the Lord will do for you. And if you can listen to this and not want it, I don’t understand you. I mean, you may, but you and I have got different points of view. That’s all I can say. Let’s turn to Job 28:28, an easy text to remember. Job 28:28.

“And to man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.’”

So, what is wisdom? Fearing the Lord. And he said, “To depart from evil is understanding.” Notice again, if you want the fear of the Lord, you have to depart from evil. You cannot combine the two in your life.

And then in Psalm 25, verses 12 and 14, one of my favorite Psalms.

“Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way that He’—the Lord—‘chooses.”

“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.”

What are the blessings there? The first one, God will teach the one who fears Him. He will teach him in the way that He chooses. I’ve told people many times, you can enroll in any Bible college or any other kind of college or seminary, but that’s no guarantee that the Lord will teach you. Because the Lord chooses His students by character. And number one character requirement is: fear the Lord.

There are a lot of practical implications of this. I’ve been a missionary in two different lands in the past, and one of the mistakes that missionaries have often made is teaching people who don’t fear the Lord. And you know what those people usually did? Kicked the missionaries out. But it was their fault. We are not expected to teach people who don’t fear the Lord. In fact, we can’t teach people who don’t fear the Lord, because God won’t teach them.

And then, in the next verse, I think this is perhaps one of the most amazing statements:

“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.”

I think one of the modern translations says, “The Lord confides in those who fear Him.” He shares His secrets. If you don’t have an ambition to share the secrets of the Lord, you and I just think differently. To me, that’s a privilege.

Then we look on in Proverbs 10, and most of these next scriptures are taken from Proverbs. One of the main themes of Proverbs, really, is the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 10, verse 27:

“The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.”

Now, there’s one keyword that will come out as we go through these next verses from Proverbs. I want you to be listening for it. There’s one word that is more directly associated with the fear of the Lord than any other. So, as we go through them, see if you can pick it out. Proverbs 14:26.

“In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.”

So, when you cultivate the fear of the Lord, you have strong confidence. You’re not easily frightened or upset. And God promises a place of refuge to your children. You remember what we said about choosing life and blessing? That it affects your descendants? Well, having the fear of the Lord affects your descendants, too. The one who has the fear of the Lord can expect a place of refuge for his children. And believe me, in this contemporary world, it’s pretty important to have a place of refuge.

And then in the next verse of Proverbs, verse 27, Proverbs 14:27:

“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to avoid the snares of death.”

So, the fear of the Lord is a fountain that is continually pouring out life into you. Isn’t that exciting? If you don’t get excited, you and I have different ways of reacting. But that’s all right.

Then we go to Proverbs 19, verse 23, which I think is one of the most amazing verses in the Bible. I don’t know of any verse that promises more than this verse:

“The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction, and will not be visited with evil.”

So, it leads to life. If you have it, you’re going to be permanently satisfied. So, remember, if you’re frustrated and dissatisfied, one thing that’s lacking in your life is the fear of the Lord. And then you will not be visited with evil. You could spend an hour just thinking about those three statements. It—it leads to life, you’ll abide satisfied, and you will not be visited with evil.