SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Scripture: Matthew 1:1-23

One of the great correlations in Scripture exists between holiness and the fear of the Lord. That connection is powerful and it needs to be explored. When the bush burned for Moses, God said, ‘Take your sandals off, this is holy ground.’ Moses tried to prepare Israel to meet God for the receiving of the Ten Commandments but when they saw the lightning flashes and the mountain smoke they ran in fear. Holiness and the fear of God go together like a hand in a glove. The fear of God is a vehicle for the unfolding of the end-time harvest! Fear is a subject in Scripture that needs to be studied because it is one of the keys enabling us to fully embrace the will of God. We have to be fearless in that pursuit. The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. The Greek words of fo-ba-o and fo-bas and how they are used in the New Testament is a real study that can equip us to walk with the Lord and birth the fear of God that is an agent of salvation in the last days. So the entire panorama of fear and how to walk free from it and how to walk in that reverential, healthy, holy fear of the Lord is essential. All the different aspects of it are really worth studying. The Greek word for fear in Ephesians 5 first appears in Matthew 1:20-23. This passage says, “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Joseph was questioning Mary’s faithfulness due to her pregnancy but God revealed His will and settled the issue. After hearing the angel, Joseph had the faith to walk out the will of God. He would need supernatural help to avoid the threats against the child’s life. Natural wisdom tells him that he really should go another direction. Embracing life free from the fear of circumstances is an aspect of the fear of the Lord where the fear of worldly circumstances is eclipsed by faith in the direction of the Holy Spirit.