Seeking the Lord for Breakthrough - Ryan McAdams
Session 5 - The Fear of the Lord
1/31/2015
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Proverbs 1:7
Introduction - Through lack of teaching and understanding, most of the Body of Christ either dismisses or is confused
about the fear of the Lord and how it relates to our Christian walk. But the fear of the Lord has always been the bedrock
of our faith and it must be recovered and put in its rightful place for us to experience the fullness of the Spirit and the
manifest glory of God that the Lord wants to pour out on the Church in these last days.
I. Dream 12/2014 - The Lord said, "Every life not founded on the fear of the Lord, a life of destruction awaits." The
finality and soberness of this statement is startling in its implications. God is saying we must get the fear of the Lord.
II. What is the "fear of the Lord"? The Hebrew word Yirah can mean "to be terrified", but mostly as it relates to God it
means "to be in awe" or "to revere/respect/honor". It is the reverence that is due a king, because of his majesty. To
fear the Lord is a verb that requires corresponding action in our life.
1. The fear of the Lord is one of the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit that rested on Jesus, the Anointed One.
Isaiah 11:2-3 "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight (fragrant incense)
in the fear of the Lord." (also see Rev. 5:6)
The fear of the Lord is not just a doctrine or belief that is grasped by the mind, but a reality that God give to the
heart (Jer 32:40) and an anointing from the Holy Spirit that we need to ask for and seek diligently.
Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil."
2. The fear of the Lord is the impartation to hate what God hates, and to love what God loves. It is the desire to
please and not offend God, and is joined to intimate relationship to Him. We cannot truly love God unless we
revere Him, nor can we revere Him unless we love Him - for God is our Father and our Lord/King. Along with the
love of God, the fear of the Lord is the foundation of a believer's life before God. God's love and grace allows us
to approach Him, but we must do so with reverence and godly fear.
1 Peter 1:14 "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your
ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is
written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.' If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according
to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth."
God is our Dad and our King, which points to intimacy and reverance - both require holiness of us. We are to
live in balance between informal relationship, and respect and honor in that loving relationship (like a child with
a Father, who is a king). Our love toward God is limited by our lack of fear, because true love is found in
intimacy with a holy God. God is love, but He is also a consuming fire. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge of God.
Psalm 25:14 "The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant."
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Seeking the Lord for Breakthrough - Ryan McAdams
Revelation knowledge of God comes to those who fear Him. God does reveal His depths to those who take Him
and His Word lightly or who do not honor Who He is. Can God be one with someone who does not know and
relate to His holiness? We are to be conformed to the image of God in Christ, to reflect His glory.
Leviticus 10:3 "To those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy."
Psalm 5:7 "In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple."
3. All true worship is anchored in reverence for God and His presence. We cannot live or worship before God
with flippancy and/or presumption. We are deceived if we think the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is going to
come to a place where He is not given the proper honor and reverence. The Lord does not come to a person or
place where He is not revered, but He manifests His glory where He is revered.
Corporately, we are His family, but we come to serve and worship the King. The Majestic One is in our midst
and He is at work - we need to take notice and show respect for Who He is and what He is saying and doing. We
must acknowledge His greatness and His glory. Today, God's glory is reduced to the glory of men.
Isaiah 29:13 "Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they
remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of traditions of man."
We are surrounded by a culture and the Church that worships man. We need to comprehend God's greatness.
Psalm 145:3 "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!...On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on
Your wonderful works, I will meditate."
III. The Fear of the Lord will be our safe foundation in the coming days.
Isaiah 33:5-6 "The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. He
will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is His
treasure."
1. In the midst of God's judgment on a sinful world, the fear of the Lord is the key to God's sure foundation.
Right relationship with God will release all the wealth of provision we will need - spiritually and materially.
Psalm 34:9 "O fear the Lord, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want."
2. The fear of the Lord will protect us from judgment. The fear of the Lord causes us to stand confidently before
the Lord in the face of evil and deception (2 Tim 3:1-5).
Proverbs 16:6 "By the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil."
3. The fear of the Lord will keep us in God's protective canopy of glory (Isa 4:4-6), for God's glory can only stay
where there is divine order and obedience. The Bride will be clothed in the fullness of the Spirit and the divine
glory, because she will be mature and delighting in the fear of the Lord, like her Bridegroom.
Revelation 22:17 "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come'."
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