The Fear of the Lord

"For I AM a great King," says the LORD of Hosts, "And My Name is to be feared among the nations."  

- Malachi 1:14

The church has lost her fear of the Lord. The Lord's holiness and righteousness is no longer being taught nor is it being lived out in the daily lives of Christians as a whole. That is dangerous. In the book of Malachi (all four chapters), we see where the Lord calls out the priests of that time. 

He says that they are cheats, swindlers, and liars, guilty of bloodshed, violence, unlawful divorces, and worst of all....complaining of their priestly duties and services to the Lord. He calls them out because they vainly go about their duties and offerings, yet their hearts are far from God. In fact He says that the priests are weary of serving the Lord. (Malachi 1:13)

The Lord has nothing praiseworthy to say of the priests, which is incredibly sad. How did the priests of the Lord's temple reach such depths of immorality and moral lacking? If you read the whole book of Malachi, you can see that the Lord is not being unfair with the Israelites. Does He not deserve all honor, glory, and respect? Is it a small thing to mock the Lord Almighty?

It should be noted that the daily sacrifices and offerings did not stop, but they were being done in a way that was insulting and abominable to the Lord. So, it's not like the Israelites and the Levites just up and abandoned God. No, they still walked the walk and talked the talk, but their hearts were so far from the LORD, that they lost the fear of the Lord. They forgot His holiness. They took Him for granted and their daily duties became a burden and a complaint amongst them, as well as a means to profit over others. 

How like today....I honestly can't see any difference with today's church. We have lost the fear of the Lord, to our own detriment! Like with the temple priests in Malachi's day, we see all the same things. Just look at recent news, how many "pastors" and "ministers" have been caught in a sexual scandal? How many churches preach the "prosperity gospel" saying "Give! Give! Give! And God might bless you..." all while they live in their luxury homes (note the plural) with private jets and exotic rare car collections. 

How many Christians today complain about the Lord's work? Or rather, how many complain about the Lord's holiness in how He calls us to live? If they aren't complaining verbally, they are complaining virtually through their lack of fruits and carnal living (rebelling). Yet, when the Lord sends a messenger (preacher) or a prophet or a watchman to call out the church, does anyone listen? No. They love this world too much and are burdened by the call of the Lord, they find even the simple acts of obedience to be...distasteful  in their apostate minds.

Instead, we get responses much like the Lord received when speaking through the prophet Malachi:

"In what way have we despised Your Name?" ( Malachi 1:6)

"In what way have we wearied You?" ( Malachi 2:17)

"What have we spoken against You?" ( Malachi 3:13)

I can only imagine the Lord's face at that. My spirit grieves for the church! Flee from your wickedness you who call yourself Christian! Wake up and smell the manure pile you've given yourself as a blanket! I know that's a harsh and rude thing to say, but it's too late in the game not to say it. 

Many Christians don't realize that they do not live with a fear of the Lord. Many ask for wisdom, but they only want earthly wisdom, a form of gnostic "knowledge", all the while ignoring that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD. They think they are on the high and dandy path to a nirvana "Heaven", all because they associate with a church building, or volunteer with a ministry, or said the "Sinner's Prayer" or got baptized when they were such & such years old. 

Many will sing the hymns and worship songs (maybe...many don't even do that!), yet they are quick to belt out idolatrous songs to whatever, quick to sing songs regarding sex, violence, and just outright immorality. They will preach against adultery, yet lust in their hearts after even unclean things! Some even justify pre-marital sex, sodomy, and masturbation! They speak against greed, yet can't wait to get their hands on the latest iPhone, dig into that buffet (pre-COVID obviously), or buy this or have that or do this or do that. They agree that witchcraft and sorcery are evil and wicked, yet they immerse themselves in wickedness like Harry Potter, Disney, and all sorts of other "entertainment" that promotes that which the Lord says will send you to Hell. 

There are many in the church who complain about servitude, or complain about this and complain about that. I used to be a ministry leader at a reasonably large congregation and I can't tell you how many times I saw and heard nothing but disdain and complaining. Gossiping, backstabbing, and hushed secrets happened one too many times. Those participating in it thought I or others didn't notice, but I did unfortunately. Granted, I myself was prone to complain - but it was never a complaint against work or against ministry or against the Lord. My complaint was against the people who claimed to serve and know Christ, yet they did not show it in the way they lived nor ministered. (Jude 1:16) 

Don't get me wrong, I was not a perfect ministry leader and before my transformation by Christ, my circumcision of the heart, I did mess up and allow my sinful flesh to dictate my actions. But I repented, I confessed, and I gave myself fully and wholly to the Lord for refining. So to those who know the congregation I refer to, please forgive me for the times I acted just like what I am warning against. And know, that if you repent and seek the Lord with all of your heart, He will forgive you too.

The saddest thing during my time at that particular church though, was how we had to literally beg the people to volunteer and serve. And this was a congregation of over 500 people. We didn't ask for much, yet you would have thought that we were asking the congregants to burn their paychecks, earn a PhD in advanced linguistics within one month, and spend 100% of their time doing nothing but our ministry. In other words, you would have thought that asking for 30 minutes of someone's time (no money involved) once a week was too high a price to ask of them. 

The people in today's church have lost their fear of the Lord. I am sick and tired of all the idolatry that gets passed off as fun entertainment, as culturally relevant, as even one's patriotic duty! The church has taken the Lord's Name and made it a cliché and a byword, making the Lord and His Word fit cultural and modern perspectives rather than conforming themselves to His Word. 

The Lord told me, when preparing my family that we would be leaving the church we had called home for over a decade, that though the people there worshipped Him with their mouths, their ministries, and their tithings, that their hearts were actually far from Him. (Isaiah 29:13) It pained me and grieved me to hear that! I didn't understand how that could be at first, but over the years, He began to reveal to me the health of that particular congregation and then showed me how their condition is no different than the church as a whole here in America. The church has lost her fear of the Lord.

The holiness of God and His righteousness is not being taught. His Word is often used only as a sermon preview, rather than the sermon itself... a topical header, rather than the meat of a message. And it's no wonder that our youth are becoming immoral adults, rebelling against everything holy. It's no wonder that our nation, our world is becoming what it is. It's no wonder that the average Christian is lukewarm and weak in faith. Yes, Biblical prophecy must be fulfilled and God's Word will come to pass. But, it doesn't eliminate the pain and hurt caused by watching it pass.

Scripture tells us how the love of many will wax cold, men will become selfish and hate others, people will be given over to apostate minds, and that there will be a falling away of many from the Truth. (Matthew 24:12, II Thessalonians 2:3) Oh how that is so apparent today! My heart is ripped in two over the wickedness found in churches and in the hearts of "Christians" in America today. And most don't even realize the danger they are in! Most do not even know....

Why? Because pastors and shepherds have neglected to teach the fear of the Lord. Pastors and shepherds have purposely made the truth of hell forgotten. Pastors and shepherds have listened to the toxic grease-covered whisperings of wolves, vipers, and demons rather than listening to the Lord Himself. They seek books written by man rather than seeking the Lord. They search the internet rather than the Word of God. They fast from the Holy Spirit rather than fasting from the desires of the flesh. They have allowed their flocks to be led astray, and call it good! Woe to them....

Church, it is high time we get that fear back! See the LORD as He truly is: a HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, and JUST God. Yes, God is love, very much so! He is so incredibly loving that His promise of mercy and grace through His Son, Jesus, is true and abundant. But, how can we only focus on that and forget the rest? 

Test your faith, and see if you are approved. May you not fail that test. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, remembering our Holy God. He tells us to be set apart as a royal priesthood, to be holy because HE IS HOLY. (I Thessalonians 2:4, II Corinthians 13:5, Philippians 2:12, I Peter 1:15-16, 2:5)

So read the entire book of Malachi (it's only four short chapters) today, this week, whenever you can, but soon. Seek the Lord in honest and earnest prayer. Ask Him to reveal to you His holiness and to uncover any wayward way in your heart, to reveal all wickedness in your life. Then repent! Repent with a humble and contrite heart. Draw near to the Lord, that He may draw near to you. Ask the Lord about your church congregation: is His Spirit there? Do they seek Him and are they obedient as a whole? Is their foundation rooted upon Christ and His Word? Do they worship Him in spirit and in truth? Are there demonic doctrines being taught or is there a spirit of error and religion there?

If He gives you doubts about any of those things and especially if He reveals to you things about your church, then immediately write them down, complete with Scripture, and bring it before your pastors, elders, bishops, leaders, etc... If they respond in repentance, praise the LORD! If they scoff and mock you or ignore you, leave. Leave that place quickly, dust off your shoes, pray for them, and let the Lord guide you. Leaving a church isn't easy, it wasn't for us. But, we cannot allow ourselves to associate with those who are rebellious to the Lord and refuse to seek Him nor listen to His Holy Spirit and His Word. They will be swept away with the wicked as the apostate. The time is late. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of all wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). 

"But to you who fear My Name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet. On the day that I do this, says the Lord of Hosts." 

- Malachi 4:2-3