Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. I found a definition of the "fear of the Lord" which does a good job in describing this fear in the life of a child of God: it is a, "reverential fear, (1) of God, as a controlling motive of the life, in matters spiritual and moral, not a mere fear of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him, a fear which banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence." (Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p 424) It is the fear of the Lord which keeps us going in the right direction, keeps our motives in order and our heads at the proper hat size. It is my observation that those associated with Praise Baptist Church have an increasing desire to please God in the way they carry out their lives. As this attitude increases the role of God as the "gimme God" and the Holy Spirit as the "power club" diminishes and God takes His proper place on the throne as Lord and the Holy Spirit becomes the one who strengthens and encourages. The idea of the "fear of the Lord" is not the same for one who is a child of God and one who is not. For the one who is not it carries the anticipation of judgment - "sinners in the hands of an angry God." With His own it is the anticipation of standing in the presence of a loving Father with no regrets and nothing to be ashamed of.

Living in the Fear of the Lord