With the recent happenings in our world today, it’s not news anymore that many no longer see the need to go to church. The church has lost its first mandate “Soul winning”. The church is the vehicle by which Jesus speaks, asks and moves; Everything God wants to do here on earth, He wants to do through his church. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ gave birth to the church. Who is the church? You and I. We are the body of Christ, the channel through which He sees the world. Many don’t even understand why they should go to church or what the church is or represents”
The fear of the Lord is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible as the beginning of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.” Most of the churches today don’t preach that. My concern is that this is coming from leadership. They feel mentioning the fear of the Lord will only make people sad, uncomfortable and leave the church and so it’s completely avoided. Just writing that sentence makes me feel uncomfortable. “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him…”(Psalm 147:11). Joshua encouraged the people to “fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness” (Joshua 24:14). As the body of Christ, we are to serve him faithfully.


It’s clear from Genesis to Revelation that we are to “serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling” (Psalm 2:11). Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mathew 10:28). Jesus spoke about the rewards of both heaven and hell, laid precise emphasis on them both. The church should show men how to make heaven by constantly teaching the words. When you look around today especially in the church, you will discover that the people’s lives are no affected after church service. Does it mean the word of God no longer has value? Is the Holy Spirit not functioning anymore? Why so much hatred and envy amongst brothers and sisters in the house-hold of faith?


The overall direction of the church away from the fear of the Lord is a sad reality. It is an indication that we may fear men more than God. Those who avoid teaching the fear of the Lord to soften the message are missing the balance. We are running from the very thing we need: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come” (Revelation 14:7 ). Acts 9:31 says that the early church walked “in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” Did you catch that: the church was powerful and multiplied because they walked in the fear of God (not man), and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Anointing and fear go hand-in-hand. Paul reminds us in Phillipians 2:12 that we should work out (not work for) our own salvation with “fear and trembling.”

We must lovingly proclaim the fear of the Lord again in our pulpits if we are to experience genuine change and be the church Jesus Christ is coming back for. The church that is spotless and rapturable. Fear often motivates a person to repent. The fear of the Lord will cause an adulterer to seek forgiveness. It will motivate the prodigal to return. It will cause pastors to spend extended time in prayer for anointed sermons. When the fear of the Lord is preached the world will repent: “Falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you” (1 Corinthians 14:5). A true fear of the Lord saves man from himself, is also the beginning of wisdom. We should take His commands seriously…not legalistically, but reverence.


Fearing the Lord isn’t the type of fear one would have toward an abusive father or mother, but rather, it’s the type of fear that involves respect and reverence for God. For example, we fear jumping off a 100-story building because we respect gravity. Fear, in this sense, is good and God-given; it protects us. to Christ and redemption. The church should not neglect, water-down, or avoid preaching the fear of the Lord in the hope of not offending, or securing an audience. The fear of the Lord offends, and rightly so. The goal of the church is faithfulness to God, not crowd appeal. The church, as a whole, may have forgotten the fear of the Lord, but it doesn’t follow that we should.

Jesus said; we are the salt of the earth, but what good is salt if it’s lost its flavour? Can we make it salty again? No. It would be thrown out and seen as worthless. We are the light of the world, like the city on the hilltop that can not be hidden. The church can not afford to loose it’s influence in the world, we can’t afford to loose our influence in the world. The world needs us, the truth of God should not be trampled upon. 


It’s time for us to wake up from our sleep and endow ourselves with Christ’s authority. We are the CHURCH Jesus Christ is coming back for and not the building. “DON’T GO TO CHURCH..BE THE CHURCH”.



Whitney Edna Ibe is the Executive Consultant, Life & Mental Health Coach, and Writer/ Editor at Whitney Edna Ibe Consult (Blog), Flyhiee.com, The Social Talks, Penprofile.com, and Mental Wellness Society International. She is in charge of consultations, services, and implementation.

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