The Root Of Character
Foundation Statement: The fear of the Lord is
the foundation of character.
Without the fear of the Lord being in place in our lives we cannot be
people of character. – Ecclesiastes 12:13
I.
Fear is satanic, and it
is in no way tolerable or okay in the life of a believer
A. Revelation 21:8, 2
Timothy 1:7, Romans 8:14-15, 1 John 4:18
II.
What is the Fear of the
Lord? (Fear-Reverence, honor, respect, and be in awe)
A.
It’s vitally important
that we get the true meaning of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 29:13 AMP)
1.
We need to give thought
to the meaning with the help of the Holy Spirit
B.
Respect
1.
To value or esteem highly
2.
To feel or show
admiration or appreciation
3.
To feel or show deference
4.
Be considerate – To
show consideration or thoughtfulness
a.
Considerate –
Mindful of the needs, wishes, feelings of others
5.
Not go against or violate
something – To pay due attention to and refrain from violating something
a.
Respect the law or
Respect another’s privacy
C.
Honor
1.
To esteem– To have
or show great respect and admiration
2.
A showing of merited
respect
3.
A gesture of deference
4.
A keen sense of ethical
conduct
D.
Reverence
1.
Feelings of deep respect
and devotion
2.
Devotion
a.
Deep love and commitment
b.
Great dedication and
loyalty
c.
Strong enthusiasm and
admiration for somebody or something
d.
Fervent religious or
spiritual feeling
3.
To regard somebody with
deep respect
4.
Honor
or respect felt or shown; deference
5.
Profound adoring awed
respect
E. Deference
1. Polite respect
2. Putting another person’s
interest first
a. Precious
regard for another's wishes
3. Submission to judgment,
opinion, or wishes of another person
4.
Respect and esteem that a superior
deserves
F. Awe
1. Feeling of amazement and
respect that is often coupled with feeling of personal insignificance or
powerlessness
III.
The fear of the Lord is
the root of character (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
A. Root
1. The bottom or base of
something
a. The fear of the Lord is
the base or foundation of character
(1)
If
the fear of the Lord isn’t in place a lifestyle of character can’t be built or
developed
2. The fundamental cause
a. The fear of the Lord is the
fundamental cause of character
(1)
People
walk in character because they fear the Lord
3. The source from which
something derives
a. The fear of the Lord is the
source from which character comes
(1)
EX:
If you lose the source of your electricity you have no electricity; If you
don’t have the source from which character comes you have no character
(2)
That
if will learn and walk in the fear of the Lord character will come flowing out
of that lifestyle
4. The basis or essence of
something
a. The fear of the Lord is the
essence (the core, the real meaning, the heart, and fundamental nature) of
character
(1)
You
can’t walk in character without walking in the fear of the Lord
B. The fear of the Lord is:
1. The end of the matter
2. The foundation to all
happiness
3. The adjustment in
inharmonious circumstances
4. The whole duty of man
5. Translations
a. CEV-Everything you were
taught can be put into a few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is
all about.
b. DARBY-Let us hear the end
of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments;
for this is the whole of man.
IV.
If you’re going to walk
in character it requires that you fear the Lord (Proverbs 14:2)
A. The person that walks in
character fears the Lord
1. The fear of the Lord and
the walk of character are directly connected
a. The more you fear the
Lord, the higher level of character that you’ll walk in
2. Without the fear of the
Lord you will not be a person of character
B. The fear of the Lord is a
spiritual mark of a person who walks in character
1. CEV-By living right, you
show that you respect the LORD;
2. NCV-People who live good
lives respect the Lord, but those who live evil lives don't.
3. NLT-Those who follow the
right path fear the Lord; those
who take the wrong path despise him.
V.
The fear of the Lord is
something that we have to be taught and learn
A. Coming out of
self-deception where the fear of the Lord is concerned
1. Don’t be under the
assumption that you know what it means to fear the Lord or that you’ve arrived in this area
2. If you’ve never been
taught to fear the Lord, then chances are you are underdeveloped in your
understanding of it and application of it
a. We need to be taught how
to fear the Lord; How do I do this?
How do I honor God? How do I
respect Him and revere Him?
b. There’s a necessity to be
taught when you don’t know how to do something
(1)
The
fact that the scripture is telling us we to learn the fear of the Lord tells us
that don’t know how to do it
c. It’s interesting that
this is discussed in the Word so often, but not preached on very much
3. This is area is going to
demand our focus and attention
B. What do we have to do to
be taught the fear of the Lord (Psalm 34:11, 2 Kings 17:28)
1. Come – We have to
spend time with the teacher
a. It’s hard to learn what’s
being taught if you don’t come to class
2. Hearken – To hear,
to listen, and to obey; To hear with attention or interest, listen to
a. It’s hard to learn what’s
being taught in class if you’re not hearing with attention and interest
3. Teach – Train,
teach, exercise in
a. John 14:26 – The
Holy Ghost is going to be your personal teacher and your personal trainer
(1)
He’s
going to walk with you daily in this area and show you when you’re fearing the
Lord and when you’re not
4. We need to claim this
promise by faith – “I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”
C. How are we going to learn
to fear the Lord
1. Deuteronomy 4:10,
31:12,13-We’re going to learn to fear him by gathering together and hearing his
words
2. Deuteronomy 14:23-You’re
going to learn to fear the Lord by eating spiritual food at the place where’s
he called you to get fed and you’re going to bring your tithe there and learn
to fear the Lord
3. Deuteronomy 17:19-You’re
going to learn to fear the Lord by reading His Word
4. Proverbs 2:5 – 5
Keys to understanding the fear of the Lord
a. 1) Receive the Word
– You have to receive the Word even when it says something that your
flesh doesn’t like
b. 2) Get the Word in you
c. 3) Listen attentively to
Wisdom (The Word) – Pay attention
d. 4) Apply all your powers
in your quest for understanding – Be Diligent
e. 5) Lift up your voice for
knowledge and understanding – Release your faith
f.
6)
Value the Word and seek it as valuable
VI.
It’s God’s will that we
fear him
A. 1 Peter 2:17
1. Fear – To reverence,
venerate – (To regard
somebody with profound respect or reverence; To honor somebody or something as
sacred or special), to treat with deference or reverential obedience
B. Hebrews 12:28
1. Godly Fear –
Caution, circumspection – (watchfulness, alertness, care, caution)
discretion – (maturity, good judgment, tact), reverence, veneration,
2. Acting with caution,
making sure I don’t do anything to displease the Father. Not because if I do He’s going to hurt
me, but because He’s my Father and I want to honor him and please Him and I
would never want to do anything to hurt him.
C. God compares the
relationship of wife with her husband to the relationship of the church and
Jesus. However he commands a wife
to treat her husband, that’s how the church is supposed to be treating
Jesus. We get insight into how we
are supposed to treat the Lord, by looking at the Lords command of how a wife
should treat her husband.
1. Ephesians 5:22-24,33 AMP
1 Peter 3:2 (AMP)
2. All that reverence
includes:
a. 1) Respect, 2) Defer, 3)
Revere, 4) To honor, 5) Esteem, 6) Appreciate, 7) Prize, 8) Adore, 9) Admire,
10) Praise, 11) Be devoted to, 12) Deeply love, 13) Enjoy, 14) Notice, 15)
Prefer
VII.
Keys to Walking in the
fear of the Lord
A. The fear of the Lord is a
choice (Proverbs 1:29)
1. You have to choose this
an act of your will
B. Being devoted to the fear
of the Lord (Psalm 119:38)
1. We live in a
non-respectful, non-submitting, non-honoring, non-reverencing, and
non-deferring society. This doesn’t
come natural to us.
2. To walk in this it’s
going to require our focus and attention
C. The fear of the Lord
should be our treasure (Isaiah 33:6)
1. It’s what we value and
strive towards
2. Matthew 6:21-Treasure the
fear of the Lord and your heart will be in it
3. If you’ll treasure this
you’ll have plenty of treasures
D. One key to walking in the
fear of the Lord is to remember all the things that God has done for you (1
Samuel 12:24)
VIII.
Results of walking in the
fear of the Lord
A. Psalm 25:12-14
1. The Lord will teach you
the way to choose
2. The secret of the Lord
will be with you – Sweet satisfying companionship and conversation
3. He will show you his
covenant (That means his word is manifesting)
B. Psalm 31:19 – You
will receive and walk in the great goodness of the Lord
C. Psalm 33:18 – The
eye of the Lord will be upon you
D. Psalm 34:7 – The
angel of the Lord will encamp about you
E. Psalm 34:9 – You’ll
have no want
F. Psalm 85:9 – His
salvation is near you and his glory will dwell in your land
G. Psalm 103:11,17 –
Great mercy to those that fear him
H. Psalm 103:13 – The
Lord pities those that fear him
I.
Psalm
111:5 – He has given meat unto those that fear him and he is ever mindful
of his covenant
J. Psalm 115:11 –
He’ll be your help and shield
K. Psalm 115:13,128:1,4,
112:1 – He’ll bless those that fear him
L. Psalm 145:19 – He
will fulfill the desire of those that fear him
M. Psalm 147:11 – The
Lord takes pleasure in those that fear him
N. Ecclesiastes 8:12 –
It shall be well with people who fear the Lord
O. Proverbs 2:5 –
You’ll find the knowledge of God
P. Proverbs 9:10 –
You’ll have wisdom
Q. Proverbs 10:27 –
Your days will be prolonged
R. Proverbs 14:26 –
You’ll have strong confidence
S. Proverbs 14:27 –
The fear of the Lord is the fountain of life
T. Proverbs 19:23 –
You’ll have abundance and be untouched by evil
U. Proverbs 22:4 –
You’ll have riches, honor, and life