The Awe of God

Series: “Ready, Set, Go” part 5

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Chris Vaught, Lead Pastor

Welcome.

A news article released on February 20, 2024 describes a great move of God on the campus of Florida State University. FSU is slated as the #2 Party School in the country.

Pictures of the event on screen.

This event was called, UNITE FSU and saw more than 4500 students attend. More than 400 students came forward to receive Christ as LORD and 300 were Baptized.

One attendee posted on their Social Media account, “What a powerful God we serve! Prayer precedes a move of God. And God heard our prayers! I’m in AWE of our God!” (Tonya Prewett, Facebook post).

This past Sunday night, we held our first Interest Night at our Bollinger County campus. We haven’t done much promotion in the area yet, and still had 125 people in attendance and the air was electric with the moving of the Holy Spirit. Our Volunteers were absolutely amazing!

A couple pictures from BOCO Interest Night.

God is still moving today as He did in the lives of the early Church. Turn with me to Acts 2: 42- 43.

Acts 2:42–43 CSB

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.

What does it mean to be caught in the AWE of God?

Awe = Amazement, Fear, Respect, Reverence, Adoration, Wonder and Mystery.

Being in the Awe of God leaves you speechless at times. How do you describe the Awesome nature of our God?

Here is how Moses described Him to the Hebrews.

Deuteronomy 10:17 CSB

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.

The Proper Prospective of the Awe of God is…

More about WHO God is and Less about what you FEEL.

These early Christians were in awe that God would send His Son. That Jesus would take their place on the cross. That He arose from the Grave and offered them forgiveness and eternal life. They were astonished that God would send them His Holy Spirit and call them to represent Him to the world. This awe of God fueled them into Action.

How the Awe of God fuels our Faith into Action.

The Awe of God INSPIRES you to GO!

The book of Acts is a 30 year history book of the first followers of Jesus GOING…Fulfilling the Great Commission. They were Connecting, Growing and Going! They boldly shared the Gospel. They worshipped God inspite of Persecution. They sacrificed, gave, prayed and fasted expecting God to work through them. They gave all the glory to Jesus.

They prayed for the sick, preached to the multitudes, stood before political and religious leaders and proclaimed the Name of Jesus. They discipled one another. They cared for one another and they motivated one another to keep Jesus first.

They could not get over the Wonder and Amazement of God.

God MOVES in response to your OBEDIENCE!

Pastor and Author Charles Stanley said,

“Obedience unlocks Miracles.”

- Charles Stanley,

Over and over again in the Bible we see this great truth; God releases his power the moment you take a step of faith.

Joshua and the Children of Israel were faced with a barrier they couldn’t overcome on their way to the land God had promised them.. The Jordan river was at flooded. The floodwaters of the Jordan River receded only after the leaders stepped into the rushing current in obedience and faith. Obedience unlocks God’s power.

Joshua 3:15–16 CSB

Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah—the Dead Sea—was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho.

How many of you have noticed that God often waits for you to act first. You don’t wait to feel powerful or confident. You must decide to move ahead in your weakness, doing the right thing in spite of your fears and feelings.

Get this, effort has nothing to do with your salvation, but it has much to do with your spiritual growth. At least seven times in the New Testament we are told to “make every effort” in our growth toward becoming like Jesus (Luke 13:24; Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:3; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 4:11; Hebrews 12:14; 2 Peter 3:14).

You put your faith in Action and God moves. When God moves…

The move of God CREATES more Awe!

REPEAT!

Question: Do you ever find yourself in the AWE of God?

It would do us all some good to Slow down and Look around to recognize how God is moving around us.

We need to listen to the stories of how God has moved in the lives of other people. This is one reason being in a Group is so important.

It’s vital for us to dive into the Scriptures and open our heart to Him.

I encourage you to make the most of these 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting and allow yourself to get caught up in the AWE OF GOD AGAIN!

Listen, I said earlier, the Awe of God has less to do with your feelings and more of how you view God. You are going to experience Highs and Lows in your walk with God, just like you do in any other relationship.

Did you know that the Bible illustrates our relationship with God in Christ, much like that of a Husband and Wife?

No relationship stays in the Honeymoon phase forever. Love grows and matures yes, BUT the married couple must also work to not lose the awe in the marriage.

Psychologist Robert Sternberg’s Theory of Love suggest all love falls in 3 categories and the marriage that is strongest is one that includes all three areas.

Sternberg’s Theory of Love -Musicians come play

Intimacy = which involves feelings of closeness, and connectedness.

Passion = involves feelings and desires that lead to physical attraction and romance.

Commitment = involves feelings that lead a person to remain with someone and move toward shared goals.

Here is how the Bible says it.

Ephesians 5:22 CSB

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,

Ephesians 5:25 CSB

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her

Ephesians 5:33 CSB

To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

When you read 1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 CSB

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Why is this important? Love is as much a VERB as it is a NOUN. This is true in your marriage or other relationships. It is also true in staying in the AWE of GOD. We must be striving to stay Connected through an Intimate relationship with the LORD. We must keep our heart Passionate for Him and Committed to Him.

The Big Take-Away:

The Challenge before us is to NEVER LOSE the Awe of God.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews brings the entire book into perspective in this one verse. The writer is encouraging these Jews to understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of all Scripture. You don’t need Jesus, plus the Old Law. The writer reminds them what Christ has done for us and what we have to look forward to.

Hebrews 12:28 CSB

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,

This is the heart of putting our Faith into Action. To be a thankful people, serving God with reverence and awe. Don’t ever lose the Awe of God.

Prayer: - Invite to simply come and bow and worship Him. To allow yourself to be caught up again in the AWE of God.

Response/Reprise

Dismissal