Summary:

The fear of the Lord is an aspect of the anointing. It is respecting God with the audacity to obey Him and His Word. When you respect God, it will restrain you from doing things that
displease Him and go against His Word.

1. To fear the Lord is to have respect for Him because of Who He is and what He has done in your life.
   1. The fear of the Lord is an aspect of God’s burden-removing, yoke-destroying power (Isaiah 11: 1, 2).
   2. When you fear the Lord, you respect Him enough to have the audacity to obey Him.
   3. God must be respected in order for you to obey Him.
      1. When you disobey God and His Word, you demonstrate your lack of respect for Him.
      2. There are consequences for disobedience, even though God loves you. He is still a God of judgment.
   4. To fear the Lord is to love and serve Him, walk in His ways and obey His commandments (Deuteronomy 10:12, 13).
   5. Fearing God and keeping His commandments are Christian duties (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
      1. The purpose of God’s commandments is to help you avoid the pitfalls of life.
      2. The fear of the Lord is the answer to everything.
      3. If you fear God and keep His commandments, God promises that things will go well for you and your children (Deuteronomy 5:29).
         1. It is important that you teach your children to respect God and adults.
   
   
2. To fear the Lord is to hate evil (Proverbs 8: 12, 13).
   1. Believers must hate what God hates.
      1. Pride
      2. Arrogance
      3. The evil way
      4. Perverted and twisted speech
   2. When you fear God, you will turn away from sin (Proverbs 16:6).
   
   
3. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7).
   1. The first step toward attaining wisdom and knowledge is walking in the fear of the Lord, which is respecting God and His Word.
   
   
4. Great people of the Bible demonstrated their respect for God through their actions.
   1. Noah obeyed God when God instructed him to build an ark (Genesis 6:13,14).
   2. Abraham obeyed God through his willingness to sacrifice his only son because he feared God (Genesis 22:1-12).
   3. Out of respect for God, Isaiah followed His instructions to strip himself and walk naked for three years (Isaiah 20:1-3).
   4. Ezekiel laid on his side for over a year because God told him to do so (Ezekiel 4:1-9).
   5. God told Hosea to marry a prostitute to demonstrate the sin of the nation of Israel and Hosea obeyed out of fear of God (Hosea 1:2).
   6. God told Ananias to go pray and lay hands on Saul. He demonstrated the fear of the Lord by doing what was commanded of him (Acts 9:10-17).
   7. Jonah feared the Lord (Jonah 1:9).
   8. When you walk in the fear of the Lord, you will be comforted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31).
      
5. Respect for God causes restraint from sin.
   1. You can restrain yourself from giving in to your flesh when you respect God and His Word.
   2. Respect God because of the mercy He has shown toward you.
   3. The fear of the Lord will keep you holy and in agreement with God.
      
   
   

   Scripture References:

   • Isaiah 11:1,2
   • Deuteronomy 10:12,13
   • Ecclesiastes 12:13
   • Deuteronomy 5:29
   • Proverbs 8:12,13
   • Proverbs 16:6
   • Psalm 111:10
   • Proverbs 1:7
   • Genesis 6:13,14
   • Genesis 22:1-12
   • Isaiah 20:1-3
   • Ezekiel 4:1-9
   • Hosea 1:2
   • Acts 9:10-17
   • Jonah 1:9
   • Acts 9:31