200 1 10 month
This morning's meditation was quoted from the World Reformed Fellowship Conference.
"The preacher said, vanity, vanity, everything is vanity. Moreover, the preacher, because of his wisdom, still teaches people knowledge. Meditate, check and recite many proverbs. The preacher devotes himself to seeking pleasing words, which is based on justice.
Tell the truth. The words of the wise are like thorns. The teachers' words at the meeting were like nails nailed firmly. It's all from the shepherd. My son, there is one more floor. You should be warned. There are too many books to finish. Read a lot,
Physical fatigue. I heard all these things. It roughly means to fear God and keep God's commandments, which is the duty of human beings. Because God will judge everything a man does, whether it is good or evil. "preaching
12:8- 14
When I was a student, I lived in a dormitory, and we had worship when we ate. A student will read the Bible, sing poems or hymns, and then lead us to pray. During the exam, some students read Ecclesiastes 12: 12: "There are too many books to finish. Reading too much makes you tired, which seems to mean that students should be careful not to study too hard!
Of course, this is not the original intention of this poem. When we look at this passage in context, it means that if we read and study books, it will not lead us to grow up in fear of God, and such books are useless.
This is related to the whole message of Ecclesiastes, that life without God is meaningless and empty.
Starting from chapter 1, the whole book measures what many people think is meaningful to their lives. Then at 12: 8, the author summed it up with seemingly depressing words: everything is vanity.
However, he went on to say that in the search for the greatest meaning of life, he found the ultimate meaning of life: fear of God.
For many Christians, one of the most confusing commands in the Bible is to fear God. They are very uncomfortable with such an order. Through Christ, we call God the Father, so there is still room for fear of God. God certainly wants us to love him, not be afraid of him. Doesn't it mean that when love is perfect, fear is removed (1 John 4: 18)?
However, I firmly believe that the concept of fear of God is the core of the Reformed Spirit.
The Bible clearly points out in many places in the Old Testament and the New Testament that the core of true faith is this fear of God.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9: 10).
Since you call the Lord who judges people without partiality and according to deeds your father, live as a stranger in the world with fear. 1: 17).
In fact, God's intention for his children is to make them fear him. According to Deuteronomy 5: 29, God said to Moses, "Oh that they would fear me like this and always keep all my commandments, so that they and their children would live forever."
Blessed are you. "The greatest wish of any real children of God is to truly understand this fear of God, so every real children of God will sincerely pray, as David prayed in Psalm 86: 1 1," Lord, please.
Teach me your method. ..... Please let me fear your name with all my heart. "
What does it mean to fear God?
It is not easy to say the exact meaning of Hebrew original translation. In English, it is sometimes translated into awe and sometimes into severity. Perhaps one of the German translations of this word (Gotternst Machine) is the closest to the original meaning.
The true fear of God is almost impossible to determine, because it is actually synonymous with worshipping him from the heart, because God is God and because of what he has done.
We should understand clearly that the expression of fear of God does not mean that we should fear God, nor does it mean that Christians should feel uneasy and fear God.
In fact, the Bible expresses the fear of God in two different ways. Sometimes it means fear, even fear of God. But this is the fear of a sinner who lives in great hostility to God and has not been pardoned (for example
Gen 3: 10). This is a slave's fear of his master, because he thinks his master is like a tyrant. Metaphorically speaking, a servant with a thousand pieces of silver is afraid of his master. He said:
Lord, I know that you are a person who is willing to harvest where there is no seed and gather where there is no dispersion. I am afraid, go and bury your 1000 silver in the ground. (Matthew 25:25). We don't owe it to God.
That awe.
The real fear of God is the fear of children. Some Puritans call it "children's awe", which is a combination of sacred respect and passionate love. To fear God means to be sensitive to his divinity and his grace, that is, when a person begins to understand who God really is and what he has achieved for us, he will experience great fear and deep joy at the same time.
Therefore, the real fear of God is not a fear that makes people run away from God. This is a kind of awe that drives him to God. Therefore, love for God and fear of him are not incompatible. Think they are incompatible, which
We just can't see the richness of the attributes of the gods we worship. The fear of God means that no matter how we know him and all his attributes, we will respond to him correctly and extend our emotional potential to the limit. sage
It describes that fear of the Lord and love for the Lord are two kinds of feelings that accompany each other.
F. Faber clearly saw this, and he wrote:
Those who are not very afraid of you, if they really love you, they love you very little: if love is your attraction, Lord, fear is your personal touch.
This is a deep awe and respect for his greatness. It gives God's children inner peace and tranquility. This made him say loudly, "Lord, our Lord, how beautiful your name is in all the earth!" " "
This spiritual experience makes a person kneel before God, full of surprise, praise and deep gratitude for his indescribable kindness. This completely shocked him and shouted, "Look at how much love the heavenly father has given us, which makes us worthy."
Children of God! "This is how you know the fear of God? Do his words sometimes catch you with such great power that you realize that he clearly knows your inner intentions (Hebrews 4: 12)?
Do you sometimes meditate on the cross of Christ and find yourself saying, "wonderful love!" " God, how could you die for me? "
This is the fear of God, that is, to experience shock, praise, surprise and love at the same time in front of his glorious majesty. If you know that experiencing this kind of children's general fear of God will have an impact on all aspects of your life. Let's see how this spirit affects our lives.
The Influence of Fear of God on the Life of God's Children
The most obvious influence of the fear of God is that it produces holiness in our lives, which provides a spirit through which we can fear and tremble and be saved (Phil. 2: 12).
There are many examples in the Bible of being sanctified by the fear of God:
1) It stopped us from committing crimes. Look at 20:20. When God gave the law to his people, Musa said to them, "God has come to test you, so that you may fear Him forever and not sin.".
Maybe you know the story of Yue Se very well. Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him. She rudely invited him to sleep with her, but he insisted on not doing so. How could he do that? The answer is clear. He said: How can I do such a great evil and offend God (Gen. 39:9)? His fear of God prevented him from committing a crime.
Why do we experience such naked infidelity, moral decay, corruption and even homosexuality today? The main reason is that the fear of God has almost disappeared. According to the Bible, the fear of God is the foundation of true Christian morality.
Dear parents, do you want your children to live a clean and pollution-free life? Then teach them to truly fear God from an early age. Make your own life an example of true fear of God.
2) The reverence for God's children makes you an honest and reliable person.
Nehemiah is such a person. His then ruler took bribes and was corrupt. In Nehemiah 5: 15, he said that the governors before him increased the burden on the people, demanding money, food and wine as bribes, and their servants also ruled the people. Then he finally said, but I didn't do it because I feared God.
If we have the same understanding that we live in front of God (coram Deo in Calvin's words), what we say will have a brand-new honesty, which makes us different in this world.
3) The awe of God's children urges us to obey God's commands in our lives.
When Noah was ordered to build the ark, he obeyed. He ignored the ridicule of people at that time and built an ark on land. At 1 1:7, we saw Noah build the ark out of holy awe and save his family.
4) The fear of God dispels your fear that others may hurt you. Jesus said, let us not be afraid of him who can only kill the body, but of him who can destroy the body and soul in hell.
Many Christians are afraid to show that they are followers of Christ. Here we can find the answer that we lack courage in the testimony! All the great reformers in history acted with fearless courage. For example, about
John Knox
His friends and enemies say that he is not afraid of people because he fears God. This is one of the reasons why only one year after Knox started working full-time in Scotland, the whole of Scotland passed the decree of conversion. Someone said that about him.
The sermon said, "others cut branches, but this man cuts roots."
5)
The true fear of God provides vision and passion for missionary work. See how Cor is. 5: 1 1 made this point clear. Paul explained what made him such an enthusiastic missionary, and then he said, because we know that the Lord is.
Awesome, so advise everyone. For him, devoting himself to missionary work is not a special hobby or emotional exercise as some Christians and churches think.
Those who fear God, those who are caught, shocked and shocked by their knowledge of God, will naturally use all their energy and gifts to lead others to believe in such a gracious savior. The early church was like this: the Holy Spirit strengthened it, encouraged it, its number increased constantly, and it lived in fear of the Lord (Acts 9:3 1).
This applies not only to individuals, but also to the daily life of the whole party and their common worship.
Read 1 Corinthians. 14:24-25. Paul said that when Christians worship, people should feel the existence of God, so that an unbeliever is in it and is moved to "bow down and worship God and say that God is really among them."
How can people have such a childlike fear of God?
When you realize the greatness and majesty of God, when a kind of respect and awe falls in your heart, then you really begin to fear God. When God revealed Job's great majesty, he asked, "Are you like God? 」
Arm? Can you thunder like him? "(Job 40:9), Job replied," I know you can do everything. Your will is unstoppable. ......
I have heard of you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. Therefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes "(Job 42: 2,5,
6)。 You see, realizing our smallness before the powerful God, let us kneel before God with respect and real awe. But this understanding is not enough for us to have real respect for God in our hearts like children.
Fear. To produce this childlike awe of God, it is mainly to understand God's pity for us lost sinners.
But now you have forgiveness, so that people may fear you. 130:4).
What does this mean? That is to say, the ultimate understanding of God's compassion and love gives birth to true awe of God in our hearts. Realizing that the supreme, great and powerful God should condemn me for all my sins, he forgave me.
I sent his son to save me, accepted me as his child and made me his heir. This knowledge produces a real fear of God. As John Newton wrote in his poem "Wonderful Grace", "Indeed.
Okay, teach me to be afraid. "
The Holy Spirit gives birth to this true fear of God in people's hearts. He did this by spreading the gospel. Where Jesus Christ is faithfully preached, God allows us to see his heart. This is a heart full of love for the broken, lost and condemned world, so that he dedicated his beloved only son to saving sinners.
Oh, you who fear God, kneel before him and admit, "But now you have forgiveness, so that people can fear you" (Ps. 130:4).
pray
O Lord, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, you have made a loving covenant with those who love you and keep your commandments. Please open your eyes and listen to the prayers of the servants who pray before you. Holy Father, we come to you with humble praise.
We don't know how to pray to bring real glory to your name. Oh, God, Shen, your rich wisdom and knowledge. How unpredictable your judgment is and how hard it is to find your trail!
Lord, who knows your heart? Who is your counselor? Who gave it to you first, so that you can return it later? Because everything comes from you, depends on you and belongs to you. Glory always belongs to you and him!
How great is the favor you have accumulated for the people who fear you and take refuge in you and do before them!
We admit that we have sinned against you, we have done evil to you, and we have not acted, lived and worked with awe, fear and surprise in front of you.
Even in our worship and gatherings, how many times have we been so frivolous and superficial? So many times we are afraid of people instead of having a childlike awe of you. Oh, father, in the name of your beloved son Jesus Christ, please forgive us and see us through his blood.
Please use your Holy Spirit to teach us how to always walk in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and the fear of God. Make us loyal and humble, and also boldly witness your glory and greatness to all countries, nationalities and countries in the world.
We are looking forward to that great and beautiful day, when the gospel will spread to all the people and your electorate will be full. Our Lord and Savior will come back with glory, wipe away all our tears and be with us forever, so that we can serve you in complete holiness.
So as your church, we pray to you: the Lord Jesus is coming, please come back as soon as possible, amen.