WEEK TWO OF TEN
Before His Throne: Lesson 1 ~ The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom
1st half – focus on descriptives from Psalms and Proverbs regarding the one who “fears the Lord” – that this is a desirable disposition! God “discloses his covenant,” he reveals himself – both in power, as a mighty ruler, and as a gentle comforter! to those who fear him. We reviewed how the Israelites were to prepare themselves to hear from the Lord; and we saw how the power that descended on the mountain in flames so great as to obscure the sky with the smoke was mingled with God’s GRACE in protecting the people from “catching even a glimpse” of him so they would not be destroyed.
2nd half – focus on Isaiah ch. 40 and Psalm 33 from our lesson; and summarizing from Romans 1 concerning our alertness to ~not exchange the truth of God for a lie or a half truth~ but rather to trust God’s self-revelation.
Concerning the “fear of the Lord” we talked about our “perspective” or how we “perceive” God – SEEING Him as he is, and how like in Isaiah ch. 6 and Revelation ch. 1, the first response of our hearts should similarly be a “posture” of falling face-down in worship. But we can also trust God to remove the obstacle to our fellowship and intimacy with him (as with the “burning coal” to Isaiah’s lips). This prompts us to ask the question: When we examine our “posture,” what does this reveal about what we perceive or believe about God? (Have we believed a lie? Are we coming too casually into his presence? Have we taken him for granted? Are we “exchanging the truth of God for a lie” even in how we worship him?)
Lastly, borrowed illustration from John Piper concerning his recent analogy in a conference sermon to the effect of “There are no mirrors in heaven; we will BE the mirrors in heaven, reflecting back to God his own glory.” Do we desire to be holy and righteous, do we long for heaven just because we want to look at ourselves and finally like what we see? Or do we desire holiness and righteousness because we LOVE God?
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