1Sa 11:4  Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.

1Sa 11:5 And, behold Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.

1Sa 11:6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.

1Sa 11:7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

1 Samuel 11: 4-7

I am fully aware that sometimes the messaging we leave you with isn’t always in dealing with the power of our words, and today, the focus isn’t going to be so much about words, but about fear.  So let’s get the lesson about words into the spotlight first.

If you hear someone say that we, as Christians, do not need to fear the Lord – RUN!.  That is completely contradictory to what the Word of God states things such as “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:…” (Proverbs 1:7) and “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12)  Now that you know which words to watch out for when somebody is speaking to you, let us review just one part of understanding why the fear of the Lord is a critical part of our faith.

In the passage today taken from First Samuel, Jabesh’s messengers go throughout all the land and the people of Israel are wailing because the messengers of Jabesh said that the covenant being offered for their surrender is to remove the right eyes of each person.  After Saul hears this message in verses 4 & 5, it states that the Spirit of God came upon Saul and his anger was kindled.  WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD, WE WALK BOLDLY!  When we walk with the Lord boldly, PEOPLE ARE UNITED! How many times have you seen in your life, even in elementary school, where a person stands up boldly and the rest of the people follow?  Mix that boldness with a righteous cause and watch out! If you continue to read the story, Saul was able amass an army of 300k people and they went on to win the war against Nahash the Ammorite.  Do remember how empowered you felt when you stood up boldly for a just cause!  You probably felt unstoppable!  That is why we need to fear God – wisdom, discernment, boldness, unity, and righteousness.