THE FEAR OF THE LORD 🔥🔥🔥 · Prolific Kingdom Academy

John Whitfield

Oct 29 • General discussion

THE FEAR OF THE LORD 🔥🔥🔥

For those who could not open the PDF this morning, here is what Pastor John read concerning the Fear of the Lord 🙏

1. What is “the fear of the Lord”?

The fear of the Lord is not panic that God will hit you.

The fear of the Lord is the violent, sobering awareness that:

He is God.
You are not.
He sees everything.
He will judge everything.
And you will answer to Him.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10 KJV)

Translation: you’re not even wise until you fear Him. You’re just talented, loud, and deceived.

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” (Proverbs 8:13 KJV)

If you don’t hate sin — especially your own — you do not fear God. Period. Stop telling people you “have a relationship with God.” Demons have a relationship with God. They just don’t repent (James 2:19 KJV).

2. Why does the modern church avoid the fear of God?

Because the fear of God kills pride, entitlement, spiritual celebrity culture, and casual sin.

People want God as Father and Savior, but not as Lord and Judge.

But Scripture does not apologize for the fear of God. It commands it.

“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalm 2:11 KJV)

Look at that: rejoice — with trembling. Joy is not supposed to cancel reverence. Real joy and real trembling can live in the same body.

3. God is not “your little buddy”

We’ve turned Yahweh into a brand. We talk to Him like He’s our assistant.

The Bible does not present Him like that.

“Our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29 KJV)

Fire does not adjust to you. You adjust to fire.

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31 KJV)

Fearful. That’s New Testament. After the Cross. Written to believers.

God did not soften after Calvary. Grace removed the barrier to approach Him, not the responsibility to fear Him.

4. What does it look like when a person FEARS God?

1. They obey quickly.

Delayed obedience is disobedience dressed up as “I’m praying about it.”

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV)

Whole duty. You were created to fear God and obey God. Everything else in your life is side work.

2. They do not play with secret sin.

When you fear God, you stop managing sin and start murdering it.

“Be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23 KJV)

God is not mocked. You can hide sin from your spouse, your pastor, your team. You cannot hide it from the One whose eyes are “as a flame of fire.” (Revelation 1:14 KJV)

3. They repent clean, not cute.

People who fear God don’t offer fake apologies like “Lord, you know my heart.”

They confess, turn, and break agreement with darkness.

“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.” (Isaiah 1:16 KJV)

“Cease” means “stop doing it.” Not “manage it better.”

4. They guard their mouth.

When you fear God, you fear speaking against what He has anointed, you fear lying, you fear using your mouth like a weapon on people made in His image.

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” (Matthew 12:36 KJV)

Every. Idle. Word.

Screenshots in Heaven are permanent.

5. What happens to a church / household when there is no fear of God?

Leaders get bold in flesh.
People get comfortable in sin.
The presence lifts, but the program keeps running.
The building stays full, but Heaven has stepped back.

This already happened in Scripture.

In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira lied about their offering. They weren’t atheists. They were in the early church. They dropped dead in the presence of the apostles.

Watch the response:

“And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.” (Acts 5:11 KJV)

And what happened when “great fear” came? Revival.

Fear did not stop the move of God.

Fear protected it.

6. The fear of the Lord cleans the room so God can dwell

God is not just trying to “make you feel loved.”

He’s trying to make you a place He can live.

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord… and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17–18 KJV)

Notice the order:

Come out.
Be separate.
THEN — I will receive you.

We preach, “He’ll receive you no matter what.”

God preaches, “I’ll receive you when you step out of what I already judged.”

Holiness is not legalism.

Holiness is access.

7. The fear of God is protection, not punishment

People hear “fear of the Lord” and think abuse, trauma, unworthiness. No.

God’s fear on you is what keeps you from destroying yourself.

“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:27 KJV)

Fear of God keeps you from traps.

No fear of God walks you straight into traps with confidence.

“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” (Proverbs 16:6 KJV)

Notice that: fear of the Lord makes men depart from evil.

You don’t “drift out of” sin.

You leave it because you fear the consequences of mocking God.

8. If you’ve lost the fear of God, here’s how you get it back

This is repentance work. Not emotional work. Not “cry at the altar and go right back.” Real turn.

Step 1. Acknowledge you’ve become casual with Him.

Own it out loud. No excuses. No “but I’ve been under stress.” Just: “God, I have stopped treating You as holy.”

“Woe is me! for I am undone… for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5 KJV)

Isaiah didn’t say, “Lord, You know my season.”

He said, “I am undone.”

That’s what humility sounds like.

Step 2. Ask God to restore clean fear.

Yes, you can ask for it.

Pray this:

“Lord, put Your fear back in me. Let me hate what You hate. Let me love what You love. Don’t let me play with what You died to free me from.”

Step 3. Bring your sin into the light immediately.

Not next month. Today. The sin you hide is the sin that owns you.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13 KJV)

Confess AND forsake.

Confession without forsaking is performance.

Forsaking without confession is pride.

You need both.

Step 4. Rebuild reverence in your daily routine.

– When you pray, stop talking to Him like He’s beneath you.

– When you worship, stop scrolling while telling Him He’s “worthy.”

– When you speak of Him, use weight. Use honor.

“Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9 KJV)

Hallowed = sacred, set apart, holy, not common.

God’s name is not content.

God’s name is holy.

9. Final charge

If you truly fear God:

You will stop treating sin like therapy content and start treating it like treason.
You will stop taking grace as a free pass and start taking it as a rescue rope.
You will stop acting like you’re running your own life.

Let’s be real:

Some of us don’t need another prophetic word.

We need to tremble again.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12 KJV)

Not vibes.

Not aesthetics.

Fear. And trembling.

Because He’s not just Savior.

He’s King.

And the King is returning.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body.” (2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV)

You will stand in front of Him.