Malachi 2:5 “My covenant
with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a
covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.”
Continuing Pastor Obie's message on doing a film study of the Word of God, he explains the acronym F.I.L.M.
(1) “F” stands for reverential fear, aka “in awe of God”
– His Power, His authority, His love and His merciful grace towards His people.
This kind of fear is the pathway to godly knowledge, wisdom and peace. It is
not fear because the Lord can punish us. He loves us and sent His Son to die
for our sins, in our place. Father God created us, provides everything for us
and how we live, breathe and have our being. Fear of God refers to a specific
sense of respect, awe, and submission to a deity. It is like, out of
reverence of God, we never desire to “let Him down” by our thoughts, words or
actions in doing what we shouldn’t do or lack thereof in not doing what we
should do in the eyes of the Lord. The Word of God will come into our mind and
soul, then out of our heart in thoughts, words and action aligned with the
Spirit. Start the communication: Speak with God, pray intimately and study the
Holy Scriptures. Proverbs 1:7 makes
it clear, “The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and
instruction.”
Malachi 2:6 “True
instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He
walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from
iniquity.”
(2) “I” stands for Intimately Know God. The words that
come out of our mouth are the outflow of our heart. So, to change the words
coming out of the mouth, we must change the heart. That is why it is critically
important to stay in God’s Word daily, to write them on the walls of your
heart. Proverbs 7:2-3 says,
“Keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” The
God rejecting world system is preaching a sinful materialistic and humanist
message of godless naturalism to distract us from the truth. Intimately know
God, Know true love, joy, and peace.
Revelation 2:4 “But I
have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
(3) “L” stands for Lovingly follow God. We need to
lovingly align our will with God’s will, that we may obediently follow the Lord
with a natural desire for good works in Christian action out of our gratitude. Jesus
Christ died for us because He loved us and wants us to follow Him in ministry
to others. James 2:15-17 says, “If
a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one
of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them
the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by
itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” There is a world of hurt out
there, so do not neglect to follow the Lord (surrender yourself to Him as
necessary) and do good.
Malachi 2:7 “For the
lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek
instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of
hosts.”
(4) “M” stands for Model Christ of others and be His
messenger to all. We have all been inspired by somebody’s model to make a
change for the better and live a healthier life. The model that we set as
Christians inspires others in godliness and righteousness in speech and action
by standing up for God, talking the walk and walking the talk. We need to let
our light of Christ shine today because the world is getting darker. Be an
inspiration of what it means to love Jesus. Model Jesus with pure honesty, true
integrity, godly morals and wholesome manners becoming of a child of God. This
world, our culture and society needs good, godly models.
Let's all do a F.I.L.M. study. Trust and know the Lord,
your God; the leader of your life.
In Christ, Brian
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