80 - Fear of the Lord

Rebroadcast of Episode 30
 
 Fear of the Lord.  Proverbs 9:10 says – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. What is the fear of the Lord?  Join Debora as she interviews Kay Williams, who has devoted many years to creating beautiful banners and other instruments of praise to use in processionals to ascribe majesty to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Listen in on their conversation and learn about the meaning of the fear of the Lord.

Stay tuned for our next episode where we will discuss – Abiding in Christ

Links

Engage with Debora Barr at https://tbtwpodcast.com/

Transcript

Announcer

Welcome to transformed by the word, a podcast about discovering how to live your life with gratifying purpose. God created you for a reason and the Bible contains the keys to unlock your transformed life. Now, here's your host, Debora Barr

Debora 0:26 

Thanks for joining me for Episode 30 of Transformed by the Word!

One of my favorite scriptures that define my early walk with Jesus Christ is found in Proverbs, chapter nine, verse 10, and it says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 

Having a proper reverence for the Lord is essential for us to live our lives in accordance with the will of God - to truly understand that he is righteous and holy. 

And if we want to have understanding, we need to have knowledge of Him, we need to know him. 

Today I've invited a very special guest to the show, to talk about the fear of the Lord. Her name is Kay Williams, and I first met Kay when I began attending Covenant Baptist Church in Shepherdstown, West Virginia many years ago. Kay was instrumental in shaping my early understanding of the holiness of God, through her teaching me and in my participation in worshiping God with flags and magnificent banners as part of her ministry. I was also privileged to travel to Israel with Kay and her husband Pete in 2005, which really brought the Bible to life for me, early in my walk with the Lord. 

Kay Williams is the executive director of the Acts of Praise. It's a ministry that facilitates through biblical truth, the creation and implementation of articles of worship. While earning her Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education, Kay accumulated many hours in art, design, and textiles. All of these things have been officially supported the focus of acts of praise. Kay believes, like King David, that the Lord's house must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all the lands. Therefore I will prepare for it. That comes from first Chronicles 22 verse five.

In 1981, Kay was motivated by Psalm 96 verse six, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary, honor and majesty are before him to design and make banners to bring them forth in processionals. The central theme of her design is to ascribe to Him the glory due his name, magnifying the kingship and sovereignty of Jesus Christ, crowning him with many crowns. This began a 37-year succession of prolific creations preparing the way for worship to our coming King. 

Kay has taught many seminars and directed processionals in churches and conferences all throughout America. And she had a leadership role in the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem for many years. She teaches and exhort on the subject of worship, preparation for ministry, fulfilling your destiny in the kingdom, developing and creating banners and the importance of processionals in worship today. Her teachings are rooted in the scriptural truth of this extraordinary expression of worship and its benefits to the kingdom. 

Stay tuned. We'll be back in just a moment. 

<<MUSIC INTERLUDE>>

Debora 5:14

So good with you what a blessing to come in to see you in person again.

Kay 5:17  

It's been a long time to have with the break we've had. But I really do so appreciate you calling me about this because it was right on the topic that I feel like the Lord has been leading me for a number of months now. So I'm looking forward to this interview. 

Debora 5:33  

Yeah, I believe this was a divine moment, because every time I started thinking about this topic that we're going to talk about today, you kept coming to mind. So I know that God has something for you to share with our listeners. 

But before we get started, I'd like to know, just if you would share a little bit about how you got involved in worshiping God with these magnificent banners and creations that you have created. 

Kay 6:04

Well, good. I love that question. But the situation is there is that I have been a worshiper, even when I was a small child, I loved to worship the Lord. And so I found myself an adult walking with the Lord and, and I feeling like I was jack of all trades and master of none. I had friends I was always on the worship team because they were always dragging me and they could sing and write cantatas and sing them and dance and do all this. And, and so they Oh, we need finger cymbals here, okay. But we moved into, during this process, we moved into a new building with vanilla walls and everything. And I would just sit there and it was really uncomfortable for me to see nothing of the depiction of the glory of God. 

And so you know, I would pray about that. And then the Lord brought me to Psalm 96, Psalm 96:6 that says, honor and majesty, strength and beauty are in my sanctuary, honor and majesty are before me. And I had no idea what that was about. I knew it was his voice. So I said, Okay, well, we'll just go along. Well, pretty soon they asked me if I would put some decorations up in front of the church every Sunday. So I did that. 

But also in that chapter, that chapter has been kind of my foundation. Psalm 96, is a chapter of worship, that David said, when he brought the tabernacle back from captivity, and set it up. He said, the Psalm 96 and in first Chronicles 16. And so you'll find Psalm 96, almost verbatim to that prayer and worship that David did. David began kind of my foundation of, of worship, because I realized that God through the Scripture, realize that God was pleased with him, because of his worshipful heart. 

So anyway, I follow that along, they have been one thing led to another. In 1981 I went to Jerusalem for the first Feast of Tabernacles of the modern times. And my friend was on the choir and ladies, one lady brought a banner. And she said, can I take a picture of that manner and repeat it? And she so she came back and said, can you, you know, want to do this? And I said, Oh, sure. So anyway, if she called me to do it that day, and I couldn't find wallpaper hanging halfway off the wall. But anyway, she went ahead and did it. And thus we then began to make banners together, Laura Allison is her name and she's become quite a banner maker. And she's more of a prophetess and uses them you know, with the Word of God on where my heart was more towards the Name of the Lord ascribed to the Lord, the glory to His name, it says in Psalm 96. So that is kind of what launched us into it. 

That ensued, many, many years of making banners and being invited when we made the standards, the tribes of Israel to Israel, and I'm saying this right now in this process, because it has been a prophetic outpouring. As I grew with the Lord, I had no idea neither what on earth we were doing. And so we just dug into the word, which is what I recommend when God calls you into something new, that no one else seems to be doing. Nada. 

And so, so we began to make banners together. Several years later, I came up here and made banners by myself and she didn't likewise and, and it began to grow into this picture of a king. So that's what is brought us to this study.

Debora 9:41  

Wow. And I wish all of you could see where we are right now. Just surrounded by these magnificent, beautiful, gorgeous banners. I feel like I'm in the throne room of heaven right now as we're together. 

You know, our topic today is about the fear of the Lord. What is meant by the fear of the Lord when we see that repeated in Scripture?

Kay 10:05  

Well, it's interesting because I have always been kind of snagged with that, because I didn't quite understand how I needed to relate to that, and then relate to the Lord. And then I began to study the seven-fold, or functions of the Holy Spirit. And in Isaiah 11, which is the chapter in Isaiah that tells about the reign of the Messiah King. It says that the Messiah would spring up, be a rod, out of the branch, I mean, out of the stem of Jessie. And of course, we know Jesse was David's father. 

And so David was the kingly tribe coming out of Judah, who was the kingly son. And so then that began to unfold the seven aspects that are in the Holy Spirit. And so that is how Jesus functioned. And it says, and the branch, shall sprang forth, you know, out of his root, so then says, and the Spirit of the Lord will be on Him, wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might, knowledge in the fear of the Lord, all those seven things upon Him, remember, when Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came up on Him, the Holy Spirit came, we connect with Jesus and believe that he is our Lord, the Holy Spirit comes upon us, to encourage us to empower us to be what he who he wants us to be. 

So it's all already given to us, say, including fear of the Lord. And if you look at all that, those different things I, after I studied a while, this is a simplistic version. I know I'm not a theologian. And so I try to boil it down to what is practical. So wisdom, then is really the mind of God. And understanding is his, him imparting to us what to do with that mind. 

In other words, let's just take me for instance, when I was making the standards of the tribes of Israel I thought, you know, I'd like to make the standards the tribes of Israel and I knew that was God, because I knew it'd be a lot of work and I didn't know what on earth I was doing. But understanding came then when someone came to me and said, Would you connect with me that would be Bobby Roma, from the American Christian Trust, would you partner with my group will raise the money and the prayer base, and if you would take the opportunity, you know, then to make them? So I said, We'd pray about that. So that was wisdom and understanding, then counsel was very much needed, when you're making 13, huge banners. How are you going to approach this? How are you going to get it done, then the Holy Spirit is in us, you know, working to do it, we cannot do any of these works of God on our own. 

And I think it's an affront to God to think we can, you know, so he has empowered us to do that. Alright, so then what happens when you get that thought finished that God wants you to do, then he comes with his might and power and anointing, and makes the display of himself to glorify himself, then we have a deeper knowledge of Him. Every time we do something with him, we know him better. And so having known him better than we fear him more, because fear to me is, as it happens in the soul and the spirit of us. 

There's a meekness that we have to have in order to fear the Lord. I mean, a lot of people say, what, what does God believe? Maybe we need to look at all all of the word again, listen to all the counsel, we can get, again, those kinds of things. It's so there's a majesty there. There's a reverential, all, that we begin to develop with God, the more we work with him, we begin to understand more of his sovereignty and our lives, sovereignty and everything that's doing, if it gets done, it's because he does it, you know, and then that kind of thing. 

And then lastly, just this loving, you know, this love attachment to the Lord because we know him more and he first loved us, you know, so those kinds of things begin to happen and, and that fear of the Lord then becomes a very natural part, because it's a natural supernatural part because it's already in us in the spirit. See, it's just like he tells us to love, love unconditionally. We can't do that without the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is in us. So we have these functions of the Holy Spirit, the seven fold functions and interaction Revelation, it refers to that in Revelation one as the lamps. So I look at each one of these things as an illumination of God, they illuminate God in us and through us to others. So I think that is, that is kind of how I've handled what I know so far. I mean, I'm just, I'm just beginning. But I've been excited about that, because it didn't really relieve me, we have those functions, the seven fold, Spirits of God is what it calls and some of us, which was always confused me, you know, but now I understand it's within a spirit, as kind of like, the fruit of the Spirit are all wrapped up in love, you know, but love is a fruit of the Spirit, same thing all within us, and the gifts of the Spirit within us. So all these things working together, then don't give us any excuse not to do what God says, say, because he were totally equipped to do that.

Debora 15:59  

Yeah, I think of the times that you see people encountering God in the Scriptures, and how they just, I mean, they fall to the ground. They, God is so powerful, and so mighty, and so awesome. And many Christians have a very narrow understanding of who Jesus is. They see him as the gentle Shepherd, the healer, all of those things and teacher but they don't see him necessarily as Judge and King, and the kingship and the Lordship. So how can we truly comprehend the royalty and the Lordship of Jesus Christ? When most of us have grown up in places where we don't even think about kings and queens?

Kay 16:42  

Well, I think so again, I think we develop and learn as we know him more and more, it's all about knowing the Lord and that I think, sets what the Holy Spirit would say to us all today, we need, he needs and wants to know us more, and we need to know him more. 

So we do that in I think a number of ways. Some of it has to do with their own giftings and motivations, you know, but definitely know the word. What does the word say about King? What does the word say about the Lord? What did the prophets say about the Lord, we cannot disconnect and discredit the prophets? Peter says, you know, he calls him the majestic glory Peter does well, you know, that's pretty. that's out there. You don't think about Peter being all that. Descriptive, you know, the king that he's saying he called him a majestic glory. 

And so you have John who is wonderful John one, it just blows your circuits, then it and John and David, David over and over the Psalms, the Chronicles, especially Chronicles, one where David was speaking so much and leading so much, Moses coming up out of the Red Sea, Exodus 15, Psalm 91, these people knew him very well. 

And so I think I remember when I first came to the Lord and was getting serious about him, the Lord said, if you want to develop your giftings, you need to attach yourself as close as you can, to people who have already gone before you and can mentor, either by long distance are just by following them. But I have a friend who just picked up from Israel and came and sat down at a worship leader’s side and sat there for four years, you know, and he just blossomed, so learning from others how to worship the king kingly, you were asked specifically about the king lay part. And I think, number one, what does Jesus say about his kingship? You know, he came as the suffering servant before, but what does he say? 

And who did the Prophet say he is, because we just said in Isaiah 11, that's the reign of the Messiah, which is another word for King. So we see this total coverage on the prophets and in Psalms, and in even in the Gospels, but somehow we just kind of, it's just kind of a little bump, you know, we think more of the cross in the crown of thorns, which is exceedingly important to connect to the king. But then you understand a better about his coming, you know, which you were going to ask me about, yeah.

Debora 19:28  

What is important for our listeners to know about his impending return to Earth?

Kay 19:35  

Well, number one that he is coming. There is no doubt about it. And I don't think you can be interested in the word in the Bible without taking it very seriously. And if you are interested in have been into the prophecies of the Bible, even then you look around us and you see our world in turmoil. So and when the world isn't nice one thing when We're in turmoil are the country's in turmoil are the states in turmoil. But it's another thing when the world is in turmoil, that is a sign to me that there's an impending coming of the Lord may not be in my lifetime because I'm 80. But it might be in yours, you know, certainly might be in younger people and the next generation that's coming up. 

So it's very important that we learn the protocol of the king. You know, we just rush through life. We never stop, boom, we're going to be there and his presence one time, or he's coming, and how can we prepare and be who he wants us to be? When we see him face to face, because it's just going to be in the flickering of I, you know, it's all going to change, and we're going to be who we are. Hello, Lord. Help us all. You know what I've got to say, but we need to take him seriously. Because this is a huge part of the Word of God is the prophetic word that he is coming that He is King, and it's far ever. That's right, and we best prepare forever.

Debora 21:07  

Yeah, we definitely have to prepare for that. And Christians need to know that all of us are going to stand before Jesus one day, for judgment, we have to account for our lives and what we did with the gifts and the things that God gave us. And I don't want to be standing there and say, I didn't do anything with what you gave me more.

Kay 21:30  

Well, I think that that is exactly the way I think believer needs to look at the judgment of God, because he's going to be asking us that very thing. That's what's going to come up before him on his little wonderful brain, that he already has to look at us automatically, you know, no, you know, have we been a faithful, faith filled? servant? Or have we been a fearful, obstinate, arrogant servant, you know, and these are the things we need to constantly come before the Lord. 

And in this hour, I beseech us all on a daily basis to seek God, wherein we need humility. Because with the things that are going on, we can't just pitch it to the world. I mean, God comes to the church and the kingdom first to say, you know, clean up your act, and I can heal your country. But I have a feeling we're very arrogant in some ways, you know, and we need each one certain, search the Lord for that, that and secondly, it is about your giftings. It is about that. That's what it's about. He made us all for a special reason. I think Ephesians says, He made us He made us master make his masterpiece, to do his purpose. While each one each one of us. I mean, we are in this ministry that has an outward expression. But many people all of us are a masterpiece of God made for a certain purpose in a certain time. And it is for a time such as this.

Debora 22:59  

As I'm sitting in your studio, and I'm looking at these beautiful banners and, and implements of praise, can you just describe what it what happens in a church or in a location, when these are moved throughout the atmosphere? What happens?

Kay 23:17  

Well, a variety of things happen. Of course, it depends on the day and the people and what God wants to do. But usually, there'll be a motivation for the processional, you'd asked about choreography, towards what we feel like God is going to say, that's what we want to do. We want to take these, and then act out if you will, to worship or whatever parts of worship whatever other artifacts we can bring forward that would bring home the whole story. So God loves this because it lifts up his name. It gives him the glory do his name, as it says in Psalm 96. 

And, and when he when we lift these up, there's something spiritual that happens in the heavenly realms. When you lift these up, you know, there's something special when somebody speaks, I mean, vibrations and how the spirit takes that, you know, and it just infuses the place. But it's also a very special anointing, who we lift up these names of the Lord that are dedicated to bringing him glory, because the enemy has to flee. See, because we, the enemy, has come in and taken the, the air principalities and powers of the air have taken over and God gave us the authority to take it back. So this is the way we say what no Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world, you know, and sets the enemy to flight over that thought. So there might be in that audience, people who have either been walking away from the Lord or haven't come to the Lord, when they come to know Him as Lord and Savior, because he that's the reason he came is to save us and to take us forward

Debora 24:59  

And I I've seen it myself. It's just a powerful move of God, when these praise instruments are moved throughout the atmosphere, I mean, people get healed, people are touched by God, through this beautiful art that you have created. You and your team in my team, yes. Is there anything else that you would like to share with the listeners, especially about the fear of the Lord, and how we are to reverence and to kind of reset our minds as Christians, of who God really is?

Kay 25:37  

I would have, in fact, one of the things that God has shown me during this kind of two, two year kind of whatever, you know, I'm sure everybody just sat down says, whoa, God, what's happening here. And the Lord just took me along the path that I had mentioned earlier about knowing Him. And He brought me to his father, the fatherhood of God, and us being his children. And him being the creator of us. 

Now, fathers pass on their traits to their children. And so the big trait of our father is he's holy, and he's a spirit. See, so that set me thinking about this whole spiritual realm, that he is healing in us, because when we fell in the garden, they would have been created to be forever. We were created for before the foundations of the earth. But when we fell in the garden, we became aware of all the good, the bad, and the ugly, let's put it that way. And it has marked our lives so that we have to decide make a decision to go a different way, even though the Holy Spirit's in us. 

And so I think that's the reason we carry a lot of wrong thinking about the Lord, because we are His children, okay. And so he then brought Jesus along so that we can be reconnected completely with his spirit. So we connect with our spirit through the salvation that Jesus gives us, and brings those things we were talking about the seven fold, parts of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, gifts to the spirit, which are just abounding with the character of our father, say, and so I think when we look at ourselves, and look at him, as our True Father, I mean, we have an earthly father, thank God. And I had a great earthly father in the big scheme of things, but nobody's perfect. And this father is, and he will take us, heal us, forgive us of all our sins, you know, and heal us and make us whole and make us able to then function with him as we know Him every day, day by day. 

But I just think that knowledge that he is, we are part of him, you know, we are set aside for God's good deal and work. So I just like to encourage people to accept the fatherhood of God in your life, and the son who has given us new life through his cross, and then the power of the Holy Spirit, to live this life the way he wants us to live and to share it, as God would have assured. And to have that reverence for God. 

Well, that will totally transform us It has transformed a lot of the way I think, I think and do life is to just think of him, me as a part of him, because I don't know, you know, growing through at all and the kingdom, somehow, you know, when you say, accept Christ into your heart, I think about this a little bit. And all of a sudden, I just found myself, no, you know, take over everything. He takes over, he wants to take over and he's there for it. And if we're just faithfully move out on that, you know, and let him transform our minds until we're thinking like he thinks working like he works, living like he lives, this kind of thing.

Debora 29:26  

Yeah. Well, before I let you go, would you please pray for our listeners out there who maybe never really understood what the fear of the Lord was before and you've awakened something in them and, or someone who God has told them that he wants them to do a specific thing, and they haven't yet done it. If you would pray for them, to take those steps of faith and do what it is that God has called them to do. Would you do that for us now?

Kay 29:55  

Father, we thank you so much, Lord, that You are good good Father, Lord, that You love us, Lord, that you have a plan for us, Lord and you plan to for us to succeed not to fail. And Father right now bind every fear in us father that keeps us from going forward in those things you've called us to, Lord, whether it's to walk with you and you don't know you, Lord, or we know you, Lord, but we're still afraid Lord hovering over in the corner instead of using the giftings and talents that you have given us. 

Father, I pray, Lord, that as we speak today, and as we pray today, that lives would change or that they would embrace you and love you and be loved by you. There is no love on Earth, like you can give nothing on this earth Lord, it at all, fades into deep dark shadows, Father, but you bring the light to us, you bring the love to us, and you bring us into a place Lord, are we are your children, and you will not forsake us. We just praise you and thank you in Jesus name.

Debora 30:59  

Amen. 

Don't go away. We'll be right back. after this short break.

<<MUSIC INTERLUDE>>

Debora 31:47  

We just heard from Kay Williams, about the fear of the Lord. She reminded us about the splendor and majesty of God, and has devoted years of her life to creating beautiful banners to be used as instruments of praise and worship. 

You can learn more about Kay's ministry on the web at actsofpraise.org. That's a actsofpraise.org. 

We don't hear much about the fear of the Lord today. In an era of hyper grace, people want to believe that God is gracious, loving and kind, and that he looks the other way when we mess up or forgives us when we miss the mark. Yes, he is gracious, loving and kind. But he is also holy and righteous. And he is a fearsome judge who does not tolerate sin, nor can he tolerate sin. 

Kay mentioned the passage of scripture found in Isaiah chapter 11, referring to Jesus. Let me read the first four verses to you. It says, 

There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness, he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth, with the rod of his mouth, and with the breadth of his lips, he shall slay the wicked. 

Jesus is the righteous judge that all of us will face on Judgement Day. 

Do you have a relationship with him? Have you surrendered your heart to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve for our sins. When he died on the cross, was buried and rose again. And his free gift of salvation is available to all who believe by faith that he did this for them. If you don't have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, you can surrender your heart to him right now. For it is by faith, that we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. exercise that faith right now and declare that you will place your trust in the Lord of Jesus and receive this forgiveness of all of your sins. 

Pray this prayer with me right now. 

God, I confess that I'm a sinner and I need Jesus in my life. 

I repent of my sins and I turn toward you. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. 

He was buried, and rose from the dead. 

I accept this by faith, and invite Jesus to be Lord of my life, to reign and rule in my heart. 

Thank you, God for forgiving me, and saving me. Amen. 

Now, if you just prayed that prayer, and made a decision for Christ, I would love to hear from you. You can visit my website at TBTWpodcast.com. That stands for transformed by the word podcast. TBTWpodcast.com. Click the link and let me know about your decision for Christ so that I can reach back to you and encourage you with the next steps of your faith. 

My prayer for you today is that you will grow in the fear of the Lord and in the knowledge of the Holy One. May God bless you. 

Stay tuned for our next episode of transformed by the word where we will discuss abiding in Christ.

Announcer 36:39  

Thank you for listening to transformed by the word with your host Debora Barr, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or Google Play and connect with us at TBTWPodcast.com. Until next time, be blessed.