Now, therefore, fear the LORD
Insights: For some time now we have
been on a journey regarding the subject of unity. The lack of unity within a local church is
the number one reason floodwaters of revival do not fall on that congregation. I believe this statement is also true
nationally as well. If a church is not
experiencing the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit, then they will also
not be evangelistic either. At the
Alabama Baptist Evangelism Conference in February of this year they shared with
us that only 5% of all Southern Baptist even attempt to share the gospel with
lost people. They further went on to
tell us that in 2011 there were over 10,000 Southern Baptist churches that
baptized zero converts. It is my belief
a lack of unity is the major problem. In
Jesus high priestly prayer found in John 17, Jesus asks the Father to make us
one as He and the Father are one. Having
established the significance of unity and also having looked at a significant
number of sins that cause disunity within the Body, we now move to the next step. In other words, if we have truly repented of
our sins which caused disunity, what does the Father require next for unity to
take root within the DNA of a church?
Over the next several weeks, we are going to attempt to answer that
question. Even more specifically, over
the next two weeks we are going to unpack Joshua 24:14-25, because the first
step regarding unity, is CHOICE. Do we
choose to pursue unity or not? This
passage found in the book of Joshua really lays that question on the table. In today’s passage Joshua tells us the first
step regarding choice is to fear the Lord.
We are going to talk even more about this subject tomorrow, but the
first thing I want you to understand about fearing the Lord is in reference to
Proverbs 1:7 which states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.” Solomon is pointing his son to
the nature of God as Creator. In other
words, God is the One who placed ALL the stars in the heavens and named each
one of them. He holds the power of life
and death within His hands. He
orchestrates events in human history for His glory and no others. He IS God and you and I are NOT! It would do us good to pause this day and
reflectively think about God’s omnipotence and then give Him the proper fear
and praise!
Questions:
- Do you recognize God as the supreme sovereign of all
creation?
- Do you have proper fear of such power and greatness?
Prayer: O Great Elohim, Creator of all things. I am thankful You are God and I am not. Help me to have the proper perspective of
Your majesty and may I not just flippantly take for granted Your immense mercy
and grace. Amen.
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