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If you've ever wondered what the fear of the Lord is, then look at Proverbs 8:13: "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil...." That's it.

The Amplified Bible says, "The reverent fear and worshipful awe of the Lord [includes] the hatred of evil."

It continues to say, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."

There's nothing difficult about that. There's nothing religious about that. It's just simply hating evil. You could say that the fear of the Lord and holiness are synonymous. It's loving what God loves and hating what God hates.

Let's define what evil is and see if we truly hate it. W. E. Vine's defines the word "evil" as things that are bad, contemptible, wicked, harmful, wrong, and worthless. Webster's Dictionary defines evil as that which is morally bad or morally wrong.

The word "hate" simply means to despise, to greatly dislike, to have no tolerance for.

Now let's inject these definitions into this Scripture and see how it comes out. The fear of the Lord is to despise, to greatly dislike, and to have no tolerance for things that are bad, contemptible, wicked, harmful, wrong and worthless.

Now let's inject Webster's definition into the verse: The fear of the Lord is to despise, to dislike greatly, to have no tolerance for anything that is morally bad or morally wrong.

Does that describe the way most of the Body of Christ lives? No. We have become desensitized to what is morally wrong.

Have you ever been told at some time in your life, "Let your conscience be your guide?" Where do you think that came from? It came from the Bible.

"Well, Brother Jerry, I didn't know that what I was doing was wrong."

Yes, you did! Your conscience warned you. That inward witness warned you. You have to go against what the Spirit of God is saying to you to engage in things that are morally wrong.

There was a person I had to minister to about some morally wrong decisions he had made in his life, and I said, "You did wrong. You knew it when you went into it, and you had to be willing to do it to allow it to happen."

And the person said, "Well, are you going to condemn me over this?"

I said, "No. I'm not. But it's time for you to crucify your flesh, then you're not going to be doing these things that God considers morally wrong."

Doesn't the Bible tell us we are to consider ourselves as dead to sin, and alive unto righteousness (Rom. 6:11)?

So for you to do something that is morally wrong, then you had to raise that old dead man. You had to raise that old dead man in order to get involved in something that you know displeases God. You had to go against your true nature. If you are born again, your nature is the nature of God.

To continually engage in things that are morally wrong means that either there was no revelation of the fear of the Lord or no willingness to walk in that revelation. When you find yourself in a situation that is questionable, then just ask yourself, "Does God hate this?" And if you're not sure, then go read your Bible.

The word hate is also defined as to regard with extreme aversion, to have great dislike for, to detest, and unwilling to tolerate.

If you're not at the place where you detest hearing God's name used in vain, then you've become desensitized. The world thinks you can't make a movie without using God's name in vain in every other sentence. They think you can't make a movie without using four-letter words that you hope your children never hear. They think you can't make a movie without nudity. And if we get to the point where we're so desperate for entertainment that we become desensitized to watching something that God hates, then we simply don't hate evil anymore. We've become tolerant.

We should be unwilling to tolerate anything that displeases the One who gave His life for us. That's not hard. Walking in the fear of the Lord is not hard, and it's not bondage. It's just a matter of choice.

I'm not trying to put anybody down or condemn anyone, but at the same time, I'm not going to whitewash the Word of God. I've got to speak the truth. I'm not telling you to do something that I haven't had to put into practice in my own life.

What will walking in the fear of the Lord produce?

"The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it (this revelation of the fear of the Lord) shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil" (Prov. 19:23).

The Amplified says, "The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord leads to life."

What kind of life? The abounding, abundant, overflowing, and blessed life. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7). In other words, you have to have a revelation of this if you are truly going to walk in the knowledge of God. A revelation of walking in the fear of the Lord will lead you to God's best!

How Would You Describe Your Life?
Hating evil. Does that describe your life? Does that describe how you feel? Do you hate what God hates? Can you go to places that God would consider evil, and it not grieve your spirit? Can you listen to things that God considers evil and not sense that you're displeasing Him? Can you watch things that God would consider evil and not be convicted by it? If so, then you've become desensitized.

However, there's hope. All of us have been guilty of this in one way or another. But God is saying all you've got to do is repent. Return to your first love (Rev. 2:4-5). In other words, turn around. Make an about face. Stir yourself up. There is hope.

But we can't take this lightly.

"By mercy and truth iniquity is purged" (Prov. 16:6).

When we hear the truth, and we're willing to receive it, then God provides the mercy and the grace. God says, "Yes, you've been wrong. Yes, you've not pleased Me in some areas of your life. However, you've heard the truth, you've received the truth, and you've yielded to the truth, now receive My mercy" (Author's paraphrase.).

God doesn't condemn you. He says, "Now, receive My mercy. Pick yourself up. Brush yourself off. And now get on the right course."

When you have a true revelation of the fear of the Lord, you are not going to allow yourself to be desensitized to things that God considers evil. You will depart from it. You will remove yourself from it.

Psalm 15:1-2 asks this question: "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?"

Verse 2 (AMP) says, "He who walks and lives uprightly and blamelessly."

That's another key to living a blessed life...to live uprightly. God wants you to live a holy life. He wants you to hate what He hates and love what He loves.

Find the Treasure
"The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure" (Isa. 33:5-6).

The Bible tells us that there is a treasure to be found only by having a revelation of the fear of the Lord. What is that treasure?

"He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures" (Jer. 10:12-13).

This treasure is where all of God's power emanates from. This treasure is where the signs and the wonders come from. This treasure is where the supernatural resides.

When we begin to walk in the fear of the Lord, then we'll begin to witness the glory of God in our lives as never before.

That's where God's leading us! He said, "The glory of the latter church shall be greater than the glory of the former church" (Hag. 2:9). We will never see the greater glory without a revelation of this and the application of it in our lives. I'm going for that treasure! And I hope you'll go with me. That's where our breakthrough is.

Don't allow anything to stop you from receiving the breakthrough you've been believing God for. Continue to meditate the Word, feed your spirit man, correctly appropriate the laws of faith, release all unforgiveness and begin walking in the fear of the Lord. Now you're ready to begin to experience God's best.

Source: The Last Frontier by Jerry Savelle
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries International

Author Biography

Jerry Savelle
Web site: Jerry Savelle Ministries International
 
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
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