Open Heaven of Friday 2nd August 2013. WHO DO YOU FEAR? Memorise: The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. Proverbs 29:25 Read: Proverbs 29:25-27 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. Proverbs 29:25 Many seek the ruler's favour; but every man's judgment cometh from the LORD. Proverbs 29:26 An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked. Proverbs 29:27 Bible in one year: Lamentation 3-5 Message The favourites of God often share similarities with eagle. One outstanding trait of the eagle is its ability to see its enemy coming long before it arrives, and as a result, decide on how to deal with it. Usually, when a snake is about to penetrate the nest of an eagle, the latter would have seen it earlier. The eagle will wait for the right moment to strike. Without warning, it will strike by grabbing it by the neck, take it to a great height and drop it from there. This will lead to the death of the snake. As a favourite of God, when the enemies are planning their evil attack, the Lord will reveal it to you so that you will know how to handle your enemies. How often does God forewarn you of the plans of your enemies? When Herod was seeking the life of baby Jesus, Joseph was warned. If you hardly ever get divine warning about the scheme of your enemies, it is doubtful if you are God’s favourite. It simply means you need to work on your relationship with God. In addition, the favourite of God enjoys divine security which leads to unusual boldness. Hence, Proverbs 28:1 says such believer have the boldness you find in lions. If you are a divine favourite, you will fear no man but God. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” Whenever you are afraid of a man, you will definitely fall into a pit. There is a link between the fear of man and snares. If you carry out a fact-finding quest on those who found themselves in one trap or another, you will discover that majority of them got there because they were afraid of somebody or some persons. The fear of the Israelites made king Saul to be rejected. If you are afraid of offending men because you do not want to be sacked, spoken against or prosecuted, you will definitely offend God. Men are not to be feared but loved, respected or honoured. God is the only one you should fear. God’s favourites do not care about the opinions of men but about what God thinks about them. What do you fear? ACTION POINT Ask God to help you grow in love and in the fear of God.