Zac Poonen - The Fear of the Lord is the ABC of Spiritual Wisdom

Zac PoonenNovember 25, 202458mWatch on YouTube

In this collectionZac Poonen379 messages

Speaker: Zac Poonen Title: The Fear of the Lord is the ABC of Spiritual Wisdom Date: 11/24/2024 Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the Son of God (Romans 8:29) We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3) We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning members of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Summary

The fear of the Lord is the foundational foundation of Christian wisdom and spiritual maturity, comparable to learning the alphabet before advancing to higher learning. Speaker Zac Poonen contrasts the apostles, who learned reverence for God for 30 years before encountering grace, with modern Christians who hear only about grace and forgiveness from childhood, resulting in a shallow faith that lacks power and victory over sin. True forgiveness from God is meant to deepen our fear and reverence of Him, not to enable casual disobedience.

Outline

The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.

Why did early apostles have such power?While apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, they also grew up hearing about the fear of God for decades before hearing about grace, unlike modern Christians who only hear about grace.

Why did God forgive your sin?Psalm 130 reveals that God forgives sin so that He may be feared, not merely so people can escape hell and go to heaven.

The fear of the Lord is the ABC of wisdomProverbs 9:10 establishes that fearing the Lord is the kindergarten of the Christian life; without it, believers remain shallow and confused by deeper spiritual truths.Proverbs 9:10

The sevenfold Holy Spirit and the fear of the LordIsaiah 11 outlines seven aspects of the Holy Spirit resting on Christ, with the spirit of the fear of the Lord being the one He delights in most.

Not judging by what eyes see or ears hearBecause Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord, He never formed opinions or made decisions based solely on what His eyes saw or His ears heard.

Jesus did not entrust Himself to superficial believersJesus knew the hearts and hidden motives of the crowds in Jerusalem, teaching that believing in His name is different from having Him commit to a person.John 2:23

The Old Testament law on thorough investigationGod commanded the Israelites in Deuteronomy to inquire thoroughly and establish facts before acting on reports of wrongdoing.Deuteronomy 13:12

Meditating on God's word for spiritual prosperityPsalm 1 promises that the person who delights in and meditates on God's law day and night will be fruitful and prosper in all they do.

The conclusion of the whole matterEcclesiastes concludes that everyone must fear God and keep His commandments because He will bring every hidden action and motive to judgment.

Jesus prayed with reverent submissionHebrews 5 shows that Jesus prayed with loud crying and tears, and His prayers were heard because of His godly fear.Hebrews 5:5

How temptation leads to spiritual deathJames 1 explains that yielding to enticed lust conceives sin, and finished sin brings forth spiritual death.James 1:14

The command to flee sexual immoralityFirst Corinthians 6 distinguishes sexual sin from other sins and commands believers to flee from it like someone running from a lion.

Resisting the devil versus fleeing sexual temptationJames 4 instructs believers to resist the devil so he will flee, but regarding sexual temptation, the Bible commands running away entirely.James 4:7

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Zac Poonen - The Fear of the Lord is the ABC of Spiritual Wisdom

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