The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge.

“The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”

Brendan Mc Crossan

The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge

Brendan Mc Crossan

The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge

Brendan Mc Crossan

12-1-2011

Chapter one Learning truth is understanding knowledge

Proverbs 1-7-The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Every Christian needs knowledge especially in their Christian walk with God, and in their Christian life. The previous scripture Proverbs 1-7- tells us that the Fear of the Lord in the beginning of knowledge. But that fear is not the fear most of us have been brought up with, a fear that God is going to punish us for things that we have done wrong; but a fear that is called reverence knowing that God is God the awesome creator of all life everywhere in heaven and on earth and wherever he has planted life on whatever planets he may have life on.

The word “fear” in our normal understanding means, terror, horror, dread, fright and trepidation and apprehension, apprehension means anxiety uneasiness. And that is what fear is in this world, terror that you are about to experience something terrible about to happen to you a foreboding that there is some frightening going to happen to you when you finally stand before God when you die. And for unbelievers that is a fear they are going to experience when they stand before the mighty judge of all of heaven and earth, and give an account of their lives; but for the Christian there is nothing to fear or dread because they have passed their judgement already and been declared righteous by Jesus Christ their lord and saviour.

The word “fear” in regard to God is a holy “respect,” a holding God in awe of who and what he is and that he is a holy God who lives in unapproachable light, that only the children of light can approach in confidence and that is us the born again Christian. Respect means, reverence admiration, high opinion, revere, hold in the highest regard, be in awe of, venerate, worship. This is the fear of God everyone should have, no taking his name in vain, of which I am guilty of at times, ‘forgive me lord,’ and those who read this who may also have taken your name in vain. To hold God in reverence because he is a holy God, an awesome creator the creator of the entire galaxies and universes, the one who created space and light and darkness, the rain and sun and moon, and stars {planets} and cosmic universes, is to know who and more important for this lesson is to what he is.

As Christian’s we think of God as Father God, but God is more than a Father God to us, he is the planet maker, the cosmic creator, the heavenly light displayer, the endless space and quantum space architect. We think of God today in this present times as Father and that is so very true but we forget that he is not just Father to us but a Holy God who is beyond our comprehension of his size or breath or depth, he is so immense that we cannot even begin to think how vast our God is and so we diminish him as to just being “our Father,” which of course is true but we minimise God to being just “Father,” think of this and you will see that I am correct. Because if you could think of God as your Father, your real father as he says he is, then that means that you are his child and if you’re his child then you are of him and what does that make you? It makes you a child of God, correct! But much more than that it makes

you with the same abilities as him, because you’re from your Father, you’re from his seed as scripture says in 1-John, and it means when God said in* {Genesis 1-26-Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,” so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.27 So God createdmankindinhisownimage,intheimageofGodhecreatedthem;maleandfemale he created them. {Amplified Bible}

*Let us make man in our image that you are indeed made in his image and that is not just spirit as you may think, it means that you are made the same as God as he is, and that is beyond our comprehension, and sounds blasphemous, but is still true, we just can’t get our head around this it’s too big to understand, but that is not what I am even talking about in this book, I am talking about the size of God and the fear of God and the reverence that we need to hold him in. Knowing exactly what, and I mean what not who God is hold us in reverence of him who is holy and breath-taking.

Proverbs 1-7-The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, to fear God holding him in awe and worship is the true beginning of all knowledge and this believe it or not is a promise from God in his word, because he says but foolsdespise wisdom and instruction. God so much desires that we hold him in the awe he deserves that he is asking you to repent and change your thinking and believe in him and how breath-taking he is, we know he is God but do we stop and think how immense he is and how vast his greatness is.

I had an awesome experience once, when I was spending time seeking God and ministering to him. I had this incredible experience of standing on the very edge of eternity in darkness and lights from the stars and planets the only light that I remember when suddenly as I stood there in breath taking awe and wonder at what I was seeing, an eye opened right in front of me and I looked right into the eye of God, I felt so much love directed at me as this eye looked at me so overwhelming it was all that I could do was just stare back. No one spoke neither God nor I, we just stood there looking at each other or rather I stood looking into the eye of God, the eye covered the length and breadth of the vision I was having. I was staring at endless universe and the eye filled that universe in front of me, then I was right back in the room where I was ministering to God. Now and again I think of this experience as I minister to God and I am overwhelmed in my comprehension of his vastness, and I realise how vast is God, but even then I still cannot comprehend his size, its only with my tiny brain do I try and take in this information and vision. And I thank God for granting me this grace and blessing.

Two Repent at the spirit of wisdoms rebuke!

Proverbs-1-20- 20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; 21 on top of the walls she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: 22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?

23 Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to

you my teachings.24 But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,25 since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, 26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakesyou27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you 28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, 29 since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD. 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 32 for the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Proverbs 1-23-Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.

The spirit of wisdom is calling the Christian to repent from their indifference, unthinking towards the fear of God. It is saying “Repent at my rebuke,” rebuke meaning reprimand, and haul over the coals, admonishment, to scold.

It is saying to begin thinking about God and what God is, and what it is to fear the lord of heaven. And if the Christian repents and begins to think about the vastness and immensity of God and who and what God is then the spirit of wisdom promises to give you its teachings.

I had great difficulty when I read this scripture many years ago because the scripture declares that the spirit of wisdom is female, and that didn’t sit with me the right way, it made me uncomfortable to be truthful as I always considered that God is male as he describes himself as Father, but years later I seen in

Genesis-1-26- {that God talking to the Holy Trinity} said let us make man. Someone like ourselves, to master of all life upon the earth and in the sea and skies; so God made man like his maker, like God did God make man; Man and maid did he make them.

The scriptures from proverbs bothered me so much that I avoided the book of proverbs from then on, because scripture referred to wisdom as “she.” But the word of God in Genesis says ‘man and maid did ‘he’ make them’ and previously ‘he’ said ‘let us make man in our image,’ and ‘he’ used the word “our” not ‘his,’ ‘he’ being God the Father; But now I have seen so many things in the word of God that I didn’t understand before come alive over the years that I am willing to comfortably read and write on this scripture, Proverbs-1. I still don’t know if the spirit of wisdom is female or male and I don’t care anymore, because either way I want wisdom in my life, and anyway a woman has more wisdom than a man and that is fact. I know somewhere in the scripture God talks about the multi faceted of his spirit, so who am I to discount the word of God. I just don’t know for sure on this particular point, but as I said I don’t care if the spirit of wisdom is male or female, I still with all my heart desire to have the wisdom of God in me and so I surrender to you spirit of wisdom here and now come fill me with your knowledge and wisdom. I want the blessings of God in my life and in the lives of those who read my books, I know that as I write this book that I am under an anointing when

writing, I have four other little books started but felt compelled to leave them and go to this subject, so I obey the prompting of the spirit. I pray that you also ask for wisdom to come into you like you asked Jesus and the Holy Spirit to come into you, it is still God’s spirit. 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” There is a great promise from the spirit of wisdom whoever listens to me, will, not might or maybe but will live in safety and be at ease without fear or harm in any situation. That is reason enough to ask wisdom to come and fill us.

Three

Proverbs-1-24-But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,25 since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, 26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you 28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, 29 since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.

Since you refuse to listen to wisdom when it calls, and you pay no attention to the rebuke wisdom gives you, when you’re in trouble you on your own and that my friend is a terrible place to be in; I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. 28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, When you refuse to come to wisdom you are on your own when trouble comes around and trouble comes to everyone in this evil world at some time in their lives, and if you don’t have the Fear of the lord then as the saying goes, you’re up that proverbial creek without the paddle. What more do I need to write to those who refuse to listen, they will not listen to what I a mere man has to say if they will not listen to what the spirit of God is telling them.

Christians come very close to this creek without the paddle because in many instances they don’t care about growing in the knowledge of God, they’re saved or they go to Mass and think they’re ok, no they’re not, indifference to the things of God are not pleasing to God; searching for God and for all he wants you to know and understand is what pleases God, and ends with a promise to be with you in trouble at all times and keep you safe. 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Christian believer learn not from me but study your own scriptures and see for yourself what God has to say to you; I am only a guide to help you find God’s hidden treasures, you are the one who needs to do the digging, check out what I say in your bible and the bible I have used here is the NIV2010 Bible, and the Amplified Bible. Amen

But for those who don’t repent!