“This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.”
Acts 19:17

I believe we’re in a season where God is restoring the Spirit of the fear of the Lord back to the church. You can either fear God or you can fear whatever the world is fearing. God is saying, “Choose this day whom you will fear. Whoever you fear, you give preference to. Will the people of God tremble before Me once again?” When you fear God, darkness is confronted and the name of the Lord Jesus is magnified.

A few weeks ago, I was leading worship at a great church, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord came in the room (see Isaiah 11:2). The atmosphere was charged with the majesty of Christ. A prophetic word came forth to the pastor of the church about God releasing the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, but what I didn’t realize was that this was actually something God was doing in the broader body of Christ.

The two passages that came to mind were Acts 5 and Acts 19. In Acts 5, the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who died because of their irreverence, ended up in the fear of the Lord gripping the church. In Acts 19, a failed deliverance by the seven sons of Sceva resulted in the fear of God falling on a city and the name of the Lord Jesus being magnified. So much so, that $7.5 million worth of witchcraft books were burned.

While I’m not saying that people are going to fall dead in church because of compromise, I am saying that compromise needs to die in the church. I believe God wants to release His fear back in the church so that darkness will be confronted and cast out and that Jesus will be magnified. And most of all, that we would tremble before God again in His majestic Presence and give Him the honor that is due His name.

Here are a few key things about the fear of the Lord:

1. It’s not a concept, it’s an atmosphere

In prophesying about Jesus, Isaiah said:

“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”
(Isaiah 11:2)

One of the aspects of the Seven-fold Spirit of God is the fear of the Lord! When we were worshipping that Sunday, a massive awareness filled the room of how great God is. When the pastor went to introduce me (as I was also preaching that day) he just started weeping. God was in the place.

Before I get into the pragmatics of the fear of the Lord, you have to know that it is not a concept to only be understood in the brain, it is an atmosphere of the Spirit of God that is to be experienced.

When you experience this atmosphere, trembling comes automatically, bowing, reverence, prostrating yourself, and catching a glimpse of how small you are and how great God is — is truly experienced. You can’t help but fall on your face and worship Him.

Isaiah saw the Lord on His throne, high and lifted up. He saw how these fiery burning angels flew around the throne crying out “holy.” They had six wings—with two they covered their feet, with two they flew, and with two they covered their faces (Is. 6:2). Why would they cover their faces? Because God is too great to behold!

Why would John fall on his face like a dead man at the sight of the majestic Son of Man? (Rev. 1:17) Because created beings have a hard time handling the weight of that kind of glory.

The fear of the Lord is an atmosphere.

2. It’s a way of life

Isaiah went on to say about Jesus that “His delight is in the fear of the Lord.” (Is. 11:3) The writer of Hebrews said that Jesus “was heard because of His godly fear.” (Heb. 5:7). The early church was “walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:31). They took the atmosphere of fear of the Lord and implemented it into their daily lives. 

Peter said to live your life with “reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17). When Proverbs 3:6 says “In all your ways acknowledge Him” it means to take your relationship with God into every area of your life. Not just in a church service or a Bible study.

This is where reverence for God is applied to everything: How you treat people, who you have relationship with, what media you consume, etc. It shows in matters of integrity, purity, holiness, and soberness. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.

David taught the fear of the Lord in Psalm 34:

“Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.”
(Psalm 34:11-14 NIV)

If we look like the world around us and live lives that have no distinction, how will we make a difference? When the world gets in the church, the church loses its impact in the world. Kick compromise out of your life! It’s the fear of the Lord that will put an edge back to the church and make her a force to be reckoned with.

Bottom line, is Jesus being honored in everything you do? You may not be falling on your face in reverent worship in every area of your life, but you can still revere Him and turn everything into an act of worship unto God.

3. It’s our proper response to who God is

I love the fact that we’ve been given the spirit of adoption, and we can call God our Dad. It’s true that He loves us with unconditional love and there is no disappointment in His eyes towards us. But we have to hold that in tension with the truth that He is King of kings and Lord of lords and deserves the utmost reverence and fear.

John the Beloved was leaning up against Jesus at the Last Supper. He called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. It’s a beautiful picture of intimacy with the Lord. (John 13:23)

But when you flip the pages to the right to Revelation 1, you see the same John but a new facet of Jesus was revealed. The majestic Son of Man in all of His glory. When John saw Him, he didn’t go to lean on Him again! He fell on his face like a dead man! (Rev. 1:17)

If God is revealing Himself as Abba, then approach Him that way. But I believe God is restoring the majesty of Christ in this hour which calls for His church to embrace the fear of the Lord and give Him the reverence and honor that is due His name.

This is when compromise gets kicked out of the church and consecration is welcomed back in.
This is when darkness gets confronted and put in its proper place.
This is when purity is embraced from the pulpit to the pew.

It’s interesting that the same word for “fear” is used in the New Testament for both fearing God and fear in a negative sense. I believe God is asking what side of fear do you want to be on? When you fear something, you give preference to it. I’d rather give preference to the Lord in every area of my life, than to give preference to the False Evidence Appearing Real.

The entire world has been captivated by a spirit of fear which leads to torment and anxiety. It’s time we return to the fear of the Lord and rise above the fear in the earth. Instead of being a fearful church in a fearful world, we will be burning ones anchored in the higher reality of the King and His kingdom. This is how we will impact the world around us with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Question: Why do you think the fear of the Lord is important to have in these days? Comment below!

Watch the messages I ministered on this topic here:
Centerpoint Church (start at 1:21:38)
The Fire & Glory Outpouring