#16a Are you derelict?

Why do most of us

- fear what we should not fear,

- and do not fear what we should fear??





'The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom'

Psalms 111:10



To fear God is to acknowledge His omnipresence



'Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord. At the presence of the God of Jacob'

Psalm 114:7



To fear God is to obey His commands



'My son, forget not My law; But let thine heart keep my commandments;

Proverbs 3:1



'For the Lord giveth wisdom; Out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding'

Proverbs 2:6



To obey God is to

- love Him with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind

- love your neighbour as yourself





Yet, many of us find it hard to want to obey or even believe in an 'invisible God'

Many never find the desire or time nor the will to want to come into His presence.



'..where is now their God?'

Psalm 115:2



Many prefer to pay obeisance to 'gods' that they make like unto them



'Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands'

Psalm 115:4



A friend just shared with me an interesting statistic based on data collected

- 1 out of every 4 successful people (ie as measured by wealth, position, power and other accoutrements of society) will acquire the 5th C(ie Cancer) in their life.



- One major explanation for this is when men push themselves into doing things that they are not made for or gifted with. Do spend some time reading Romans 12. God addresses this issue of 'job fit' biblically.



Inevitably, some will dispute both the mean accuracy of such fearful information or want to attribute the cause to other less compelling reasons.



Do reflect upon the Word of God



'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service'

Romans 12:1



God commands us to love Him, love others, show kindness, patience, meekness, self control, and other positive attributes collectively known as the fruit of the Spirit.



God commands us to not be like the sinful world



'And be not conformed to this world...'

Romans 12:2



If you were to sit down to diligently classify the news that we read in the papers everyday, one obvious conclusion is that the world is fairly skewed towards

- hatred and anger

- lusts, greed and debauchery and immorality and materialism

- pride and self righteousness and selfishness and fear

and so forth, collectively known as the fruits of the evil world





God wants us to let Him lead and we respond



'..but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God'

Romans 12:2



because He could see the consequences of our continued disobedience.



'Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord'

Psalm 115:11



Yet, many continue to choose not to fear God but rather let their heart and souls be gripped by the fear of things of this world be it

- the loss of financial security

- the fear of ill-health or even death

- the loss of their standing in society

- the erosion of their physical attributes

- opportunities of the seductive world lost to them when they put God first



The illusory richness of life is often matched by the actual weariness of life.



In the Bible, God has clearly shown men the follies of their thinking and the futility of their seemingly endless pursuits

- death is but a short breath away

- the lilies in all its glory will but be thrown into the fire

- God who so provided for the birds will definitely provide for you

- men actively try to bring certainty to what is a temporal life yet barely pays attention to working on their salvation and the promise of eternal life.



'....you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away'

James 4:14



It is God who made us.



For all of us, there should only be one fear that you should be concerned with and that should the focus of your life



'The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom'

Psalms 111:10



'For I am God and there is not other. I am God and there is none like Me'

Isaiah 46:9



To bring an end to this fearfully long platitude,

let me conclude with the verses that Scripture shared on the life of Job.



A very blessed man, a godly man yet one who was, for a brief interlude, put through unimaginable great sufferings and distress. Yet, who with the grace of God , he overcame his emotional struggles and need for an answer to his woes and instead, stop questioning God but fear, trust and love Him. He received this wonderful understanding in the midst of his pain and fear



'...Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding'

Job 28:28



'Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man'

Ecclesiastes 12:13



Are you, like me often derelict in carrying out this simple but profoundly important duty???



God blesses