Fear of the Lord: Holy Spirit's help - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) March 18, 2022

Learning about the fear of the Lord has been eye-opening. This series taught me there's so much to learn and that there's a lot we neglect to pray for. Praise the Lord, He is so mindful of us and always teaches us so we don't miss out on His grace and mercy.

What I thought would be a one-day lesson and message, turned into a full month of learning on the topic. Glory to God for taking us through this teaching and helping us to recognize the great value of living in fear of Him. As a quick refresher, we've come to understand that some resulting benefits are blessings, praises, favor, long life, healing, hearing God's voice and receiving His security. All we have to do is make sure we aren't stiff-necked!

Today, we look at a description of the life of Jesus because it teaches us something new - we need Holy Spirit's help to receive the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 11:2-3 - The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

Notice the Holy Spirit had to rest on Jesus in order for Him to receive the Spirit of the fear of the Lord? Though this scripture was uttered 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, we know that indeed the Spirit of the Lord descended upon Him after His baptism by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:16). Jesus was likely well-versed in the fear of the Lord prior to this - given He came from heaven and already knew to live in awe and dread of His Father. However, this visitation by the Holy Spirit was for our benefit. It was a testimony to the significance of God's Son (1 John 5:6-8).

Another thing to note in this scripture is the result of the Holy Spirit resting on Jesus - He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears. That is an additional benefit that flows out of the fear of the Lord. Those who receive the fear of the Lord will be guided by the Spirit of the Lord. They will no longer perceive things as other people. Instead, the Lord will grant them Spirit-led discernment which will guide their walk in the natural as well as the spiritual.

Finally, notice the other blessings that arrive when the Holy Spirit descends on a person - wisdom, understanding, counsel, might (strength), and knowledge. Those with the Holy Spirit will actually delight in the fear of the Lord and it will be a joy to obey God because they will live to please Him.

We've spent time learning about the fear of the Lord and how important it is. We've prayed to the Lord to help us live lives reflective of this attribute. However, today, the Lord is calling us all to ask for the Holy Spirit to descend upon us so we can receive this blessed gift. And that's exactly what it is. A gift that will transform our lives, those of the people around us, plus future generations in accordance with the word of the Lord.

To receive the Holy Spirit, we each need to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He promised His disciples He'd leave but send them the Holy Spirit to help them. He kept His word when in a room on Pentecost, people received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues (Acts 2:1-4). It is time to submit to Jesus so we can receive the Comforter who will place upon us the fear of the Lord so our walk with God can either begin or be deepened to His glory and by His grace.

Are you ready?