Truly Rich With No Sorrow: The Blessing of Fearing the Lord
Dr RJ Sing, 42 min
Originally recorded as “The Blessing of the Lord (13 July 2011)”
Sermon outline
The blessing of the Lord that makes truly rich comes to rest on the person who develops a healthy, reverential fear of the Lord and keeps serving Him until it comes.
Main text
- Psalm 111:10
- Proverbs 10:22
Opening
He greets the church, trusts they have come with a hungry heart and asks them to turn to Psalm 111:10 and mark the scriptures as he reads. While they turn, he goes back to Proverbs 10:22, which they had studied at length before, and says he wants to speak about the blessing of the Lord.
The blessing of the Lord makes truly rich
The blessing is God's empowerment to prosper, to take you up and over in life. Favour, prosperity and peace come from God, and the Amplified Bible adds that toiling does not increase it: many work hard all their lives trying to make happen what only the blessing can. It comes without sorrow, which does not mean a life without challenges but a life without regret.
Illustration: Someone who knew you twenty years ago meets you again and says you really look good. That is the blessing of the Lord.
“The blessing of the Lord is indeed an empowerment to prosper you.”
- Proverbs 10:22
- Joshua 14:12
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
This is not the tormenting fear he had taught them to be free of, which comes from the devil and has been replaced with boldness. It is a reverential, healthy fear of the Lord that leads you, opens doors and keeps you green and fruitful while others are in the desert, whether in church, at home or where nobody is looking.
Illustration: Joseph refused Potiphar's wife, not because he was afraid of Potiphar but because he feared the Lord.
“It is a reverential fear of the Lord. It's kind of a healthy fear.”
- Psalm 111:10
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Proverbs 28:1
- Psalm 1:3
- Genesis 39:9
The fear of the Lord is an attitude and a mindset
It is an attitude of respect that does not want to get on the wrong side of God, and it moves you towards holiness, so that you are the same person in public and in private. It is a mindset that hates what He hates and loves what He loves: His house, His Word and people. As you grow, you stop obeying out of pressure and begin doing right simply because you want to.
Illustration: When he first served the Lord he did right because he was afraid to do wrong. Now he gives his tithes, offerings and pledges, and blesses people in need, because it is a joy and he wants to.
“I want to do the right thing because I love Him too much.”
- Psalm 27:1
Three things God does when you take His side
God honours you, revealing things to you and granting the desires of your heart. He blesses you, so that your dreams are realised quickly while others struggle. And He empowers you: an ability and a surge of power comes on your life that you cannot explain, much like the new birth.
Illustration: He used to pray a long time to get a prayer answered; now, he says, before he has a thought his prayer is answered, because he has developed a reverential fear of the Lord.
“The blessing of the Lord is like a coat or a jacket that comes on you and you can wear it.”
- Proverbs 10:22
How we experience this blessing: follow Him, fear Him, keep His commandments
Do these three things and the blessing falls on you, and the people of the world will envy you as the Philistines envied Isaac. If you are not yet experiencing it, keep serving Him until the empowerment comes, and pass the tests, because God has blessing on His mind and not a lesson to sort you out. To cleave to Him is to become one with Him.
Illustration: While the ark was in Obed-Edom's house, everything grew: two chickens became ninety-nine, the hens laid dozens of eggs and the pigs grew from ten kilograms to five hundred. And sitting in church, the Word fills your bucket drop by drop until one day it overflows.
“When you cleave to God, you and God become one. You become a force to be reckoned with.”
- 2 Samuel 6:11
- Genesis 26:12-14
- Genesis 22:1
- 3 John 2
- Deuteronomy 13:4
- Genesis 2:24
To fear the Lord is to hate evil
Scripture defines evil as pride, arrogance, the evil way and the froward mouth, and God resists the proud. A testimony after a test is good, but showing off is not. When you fear the Lord and rest in His promises, angels work on your behalf while you sleep, and God can move on anyone, believer or not, to bless you.
Illustration: The king in Daniel whose heart grew arrogant and who lived like a wild beast, eating grass, for seven years. And if God could speak through a donkey, He can speak to any man or woman to move on your behalf.
“The fear of the Lord means we take side against evil and adopt his attitude.”
- Joshua 4:24
- Proverbs 8:13
- James 4:6
- Daniel 4:28-33
- Numbers 22:28
Benefit number one: the fear of the Lord leads to abundant life
He announces nine benefits of fearing the Lord and gives only the first. Abundant means life to the full: the dry pond filled, the few loaves multiplied, the water turned to wine. If this teaching is a struggle, renew the spirit of your mind, because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
Illustration: Years ago he fought the prosperity message, arguing with Pastor Zubeda all the way home from church about preachers who spoke as if money grew on trees. He fought healing too, answering every altar call for a condition that never changed until his mind was renewed by the Word. Coming from a Hindu background, all of it was new to him.
“Where there's lack, all of a sudden there'll be an overflow.”
- John 10:10
- John 2:1-11
- Ephesians 4:23
- Proverbs 23:7
- Proverbs 19:23
- Psalm 128:1
Putting it into practice
- Develop a healthy, reverential fear of the Lord, in private as much as in public.
- Put away pride, arrogance, the evil way and the froward mouth.
- Keep serving God and doing what is right until the blessing comes on you, and do not fail the test.
- Renew your mind with the Word where the teaching on healing or prosperity is still a struggle.
- Do not miss church: the Word fills your bucket drop by drop.
Closing
He says that a household which sees you fear the Lord will fear the Lord too, and that the blessing will cause you to flourish as Abraham was very rich in cattle, silver and gold. He has the church stand, prophesies that they will fear the Lord at home, at work and among friends, and leads them in a prayer with raised hands before having them tell three people 'I'm truly rich'. He ends by repeating a word that their children will never suffer hunger or lack, and says the teaching will continue the following Wednesday.
Declarations he led
- Lord, develop in me a healthy fear for you.
- Lord, give me fear in my heart for you. Lord God, I don't want to touch evil. I don't want to do evil. But Lord God, steer me away from evil into the good land, the land of the living.
- I'm truly rich, truly blessed.
- You're looking at a very rich man, very rich woman. I'm abounding in the blessings of the Lord.
In his words
- “One man with God, one woman with God is a majority.”
- “I want to do the right thing because I love Him too much.”
- “The blessing of the Lord is like a coat or a jacket that comes on you and you can wear it.”
- “It didn't come to me overnight. It came by perseverance and by persistence.”
- “When he looks at you, he looks at you as an object of his blessing.”
Every scripture in this message
- Psalm 111:10
- Proverbs 10:22
- Joshua 14:12
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Proverbs 28:1
- Psalm 1:3
- Genesis 39:9
- Psalm 27:1
- 2 Samuel 6:11
- Genesis 26:12-14
- Genesis 22:1
- 3 John 2
- Deuteronomy 13:4
- Genesis 2:24
- Joshua 4:24
- Proverbs 8:13
- James 4:6
- Daniel 4:28-33
- Numbers 22:28
- John 10:10
- John 2:1-11
- Ephesians 4:23
- Proverbs 23:7
- Proverbs 19:23
- Psalm 128:1
- Genesis 13:2
- Psalm 34:10