It's ALL about Him!

The week of 03/29/10-04/04/10 was "Fear of the Lord" week.

This week was by far the most amazing, freeing, and challenging week of my DTS. Our speaker, Mark Parker, is an extremely passionate (and loud!) man of God. We went through an abundance of notes and scripture during the week, which all led up to a day of ministry on Saturday. We spent all day Saturday (9am-9pm) worshipping God, surrendering all aspects of our life to Him, repenting of our sins, declaring God's character and truth, and just experiencing the power and freedom of God's presence. I will never forget this day... God spoke many things to me and I felt the Holy Spirit like never before. It was incredible! God is so good.

Amazing revelations from the lectures this week:

• It's ALL about Him. He must become greater and greater and I must become less and less (John 3:30).
• Love and fear MUST be in balance. It's not just knowing the Lord, it's knowing His will and obeying it (Matt 7:21).
• Fear of the Lord is: (1) Awe of God: He is God, you are not, Respecting God; (2) Holiness: Being set apart- love what He loves, hate what He hates; (3) Continual awareness of the presence of God; (4) Wisdom (Prov 2:5)
• The opposite of fearing the Lord is fear of man. Prov 29:5- Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
• Characteristics of "fear of man": 1) Self doubt; 2) Focuses on "safe option", takes no risks for fear of failure; 3) Blocks affirmation; 4) Justifies a lack of personal responsibility; 5) Develops out of discouragement; 6) Defensive and unteachable(Prov 1:7 and Prov 18:1-2; 7) Keeps you locked in the past and under its control; 8) Causes you to compare yourself with others and pass judgement; 9) Resists connecting relationally; 10) Has to control or be controlled; 11) Compromises.
• We have ALL of the Holy Spirit, but does the Holy Spirit have all of you? Is the veil really torn in your life?
• The Word of God cuts through and exposes all. You must decide if you want to be "cut through"- vulnerable with God. This is true sanctification. The power of God is released through our vulnerability.

The most significant thing I learned this week was about true humility before the Lord. I laid down the things that I was still holding onto at the foot of the cross and experienced the freedom of God's presence. The Holy Spirit convicted me that fear of man and fear of failure often hinder me from fully obeying God's voice: Am I seeking the approval of man or of God? This is a challenging revelation, but one that will allow me to live in the fullness of God's will. I have found that there is such power in bringing out sin into the light- once it is out, it gives God a chance to heal and restore, bringing us closer to Him. This is something I will practice throughout my life.