Standing In Awe of God
Notes
Transcript
Intro; In worship through music we have the privilege to sing wonderful songs about our amazing God;
How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone, Worthy of Worship, Graves Into Garden, Trust In God, Heart of Worship, Majesty, etc…
But there has been one song stuck in my mind as I’ve been studying the Book of Habakkuk, especially since I’ve been in chapter three. That Song is “I Stand In Awe of You” written by Mark Altrogge.
[I asked Jerry to lead us in that song this morning]
…You are beautiful beyond description, Too marvelous for words:
Too wonderful for comprehension, Like nothing ever seen or heard.
Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depth of Your love?
You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty, enthroned above
… And I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God, to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of You
… You are beautiful beyond description, Yet God crushed You for my sin:
In agony and deep affliction, Cut off that I might enter in.
Who can grasp such tender compassion? Who can fathom this mercy so free?
You are beautiful beyond description, Lamb of God who died for me.
… And I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God, to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of You, O God
… I stand and I will
… I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You (holy God)
Holy God, to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of You
… Holy God, to whom all praise is due (holy God)
I stand in awe of You (awe of You)
That song is exactly where Habakkuk is this morning. As he is in his prayer of faith and praise, he’s Standing In Awe of God! This is where we need to be more often in our lives!
Text; Habakkuk 3:3-4
3 God came from Teman, The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise.
4 His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden.
Habakkuk couldn’t even get through one frame of the song and he used the word “Selah”, pause for praise and reflection!
Let’s look and see why Habakkuk is “Standing In Awe of God”!
1 God Came; 3a
1 God Came; 3a
God came to the prophet Habakkuk when he cried out to the Lord in prayer. Though it wasn’t what Habakkuk wanted to hear at the beginning, now he is okay with it because he remembers that God came to Israel earlier.
Teman and Paran are mountain ranges in southern Israel bordering on the Sinai. So Habakkuk is saying that God came out of the Sinai, where he had met with Moses, in order to deliver the people from Egypt. Habakkuk is looking back to that great deliverance.
16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.
The reason God comes to us is for us to “know” Him. There is a phrase used 29 times throughout the scriptures, “that you may know”, so God’s children will have no doubt of His glory and power!
It is used 7 times in the Book of Exodus concerning the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt, that there is a difference in Israel and Egypt, and for Israel to keep the Sabbaths.
It is used in the Book of Deuteronomy to remind the people they were led through the wilderness for 40 years and didn’t lack food, water, shelter or clothing that they may know that the lord is God
It is used in the Book of Joshua in keeping your eye on the Ark of the Covenant so they would know which way to follow God because they have not been this way before.
It is used in Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, several times in each of the Gospels, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy and 1 John.
But my favorite scripture where it is used is found in;
10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior.
Just like Habakkuk, we should “Stand In Awe of God” because we are “witnesses” of His delivering power from our SIN through the saving grace of Jesus Christ!
2. God’s Glory; 3b
2. God’s Glory; 3b
Habakkuk says, “God’s glory covered the heavens”
Glory- splendor, majesty, shekinah
The presence of God is so magnificent that it outshone the light from the sun! Let me try to give you a picture of this!
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
26 And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it.
27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.
28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).
26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
Do you know what each of these scriptures have in common? When one truly recognizes the glory of God, it brings about praise!
3. God’s Power; 4
3. God’s Power; 4
Habakkuk describes the coming of God to earth at Sinai was like the splendor of a sunrise!
When you look at a sunrise it is the most magnificent part of the day. The rays of the sun began to burst through the darkness over the horizon and God begins to paint a new picture for the day.
But it’s easy to forget that the light that bursts on the scene every morning and showers the earth with it’s warmth and blessings comes from a ball of fire that could consume the globe in a moment.
God’s power is hidden in His glory. Man could not see the fulness of God’s power and survive!
18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.
23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
The power of God hidden in His glory is Jesus Christ who went to the cross for our SIN and rose again the third day!
Close;
When we face trials in life, the first thing we want to know is “will we be okay”!
God has given us 66 books and 1189 chapters of proof that we will be okay no matter what - if we belong to Him.
His glory has no rival, His power knows no end, and His wisdom is unmatched throughout. And He will come to you when you call out to Him.
Do you Stand In Awe of God this morning?