Whoever honors God will obey God. They will hate all evil and fear the Lord. Those who honor and obey God will experience God.
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:1 to imitate God. As you imitate God, your experience with God will become your story. The Bible will become your story. The Bible won’t just be the story of other men and women of God; it will be your story, too. When you imitate God, the Word of God becomes yours. Jesus’ story becomes your story.
The Bible needs to become your story.
If you continually imitate evil, you will become evil. If you continually imitate God, you will become like God. If you continually imitate God, you will receive His wisdom.
Who will be wise? Those who are honest and truthful.
If you fill your heart and mind with the things of this world, with evil things, you will become more confused and dark and deceived. But if you fill your heart and mind with the Word of God, you will become more and more wise and clean and discerning.
The fear of the Lord is to obey God and to hate all evil.
Why do people in this world have fear about everything? They do not know who they are. They don’t realize that they are limited or that they struggle to do things without God. We must come to the place where we recognize how much we need God.
Why do people have fear? They feel like they need to protect themselves because they don’t know who they are in Christ. They don’t know who God is in their life. When you depend on God, you will have less fear. The more Jesus you have, the less fear you will have.
God spoke to Abraham and told him that He would bless him for honoring Him. Abraham honored Him when He chose God over his son and was willing to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God.
How do we bring blessing to our lives? By obeying and honoring God.
Genesis 22:9-18
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
God told him that he didn’t have to sacrifice Isaac because he showed that he honored and feared the Lord. Even more, God blessed his generations after him.
But those who dishonor God will eventually pay the price.
The greatest gift that you can give your children is to teach them to honor and fear the Lord, to obey Him and serve Him. Those who honor God will receive wisdom and direction and will continually be blessed. A gift of money will only last a very short time, but the gift of honoring God will bless them for the rest of their lives.
Psalm 128:1-6
1 Blessed is every one who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
2 When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your children like olive plants
All around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.
5 The Lord bless you out of Zion,
And may you see the good of Jerusalem
All the days of your life.
6 Yes, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
Proverbs 14:26
26 In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And His children will have a place of refuge.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.
The fear of the Lord is blessing and confidence and refuge and life. When you honor and fear the Lord, God will rescue your children in their time of trial.
When you honor God, He will send His angels to deliver your children from the hands of the enemy.
God is so good. How can we dishonor or disrespect Him? God will judge those who disrespect and dishonor Him but He will reward those who honor Him. (Revelation 11:18)
Teach your children to honor God.
God bless you,
Pastor Sun Hui East