2. OUR GREATEST BOAST: The Joy of Knowing the Lord

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Hebrews 12:19 ESV
and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
Hebrews 12:20 ESV
For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”
Hebrews 12:21 ESV
Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
Hebrews 12:22 ESV
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
Hebrews 12:23 ESV
and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
Hebrews 12:24 ESV
and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Hebrews 12:25 ESV
See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
Hebrews 12:26 ESV
At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
Hebrews 12:27 ESV
This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
Hebrews 12:28 ESV
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
Hebrews 12:29 ESV
for our God is a consuming fire.
INTRODUCTION - ILLUSTRATION
MANY OF YOU WHO KNOW MY MOTHER KNOWS THAT SHE AND MY DAD ARE PEOPLE WHO WILL DO AND CARE FOR PEOPLE IN EXTRAORDINARY WAYS
GROWING UP WE NOT ONLY WERE RECIPIENTS OF THIS KIND OF CARE BUT WE WITNESSED ON COUNTLESS OCCASSIONS AS THEY SERVED AND CARED FOR OTHERS
AND YET, THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW MY MOTHER ALSO KNOW THAT MARY FRANCIS – AKA “FRANKIE” DON’T PLAY: AT ALL
THIS IS SO TRUE THAT O RECENTLY BROUGHT A SHIRT THAT DESCRIBES HER AND IT READS AS FOLLOWS:
YES I AM A SPOILED SON
BUT NOT YOURS
I AM THE PROPERTY OF AN AWESOME MOM
SHE’S A BIT CRAZY AND SCARES ME SOMETIMES
BUT SHE IS THE PERFECT MIXTURE OF
SUNSHINE AND HURRICANE
SHE LOVES ME SO MUCH
AND IF YOU MESS WITH ME
THE BEAST IN HER WILL AWAKE
AND THEY’LL NEVER FIND YOUR BODY
YES, FRANKIE DON’T PLAY ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU MESS WITH THAT WHICH IS HER GREATEST JOY – HER FAMILY
BUT SHE GET’S IT HONESTLY BECAUSE HER FATHER DOESN’T PLAY EITHER
· NOT TALKING ABOUT HER EARTHY FATHER – BUT HER HEAVENLY FATHER
TRANSITION

BUT I WANT YOU TO CONSIDER WITH ME THIS MORNING THIS THOUGHT ABOUT THE LORD AS OUR TITLE FOR TODAY’S MESSAGE:

HE IS: THE GOD WHO IS DANGEROUS .

(ON YOUR GUIDE)THE PROBLEM WITH CHRISTIAN SONGS AND SERMONS TODAY

BUT THIS NOT WHAT WE THINK BECAUSE ITS NOT WHAT WE HEAR
ALL WE HEAR TODAY IN SERMONS AND IN SONGS IS HOW GOD IS ALL ABOUT US!
THESE SONGS, NOR SERMONS evoke THE Fear of God today: ONLY THAT HE IS FOR YOU, ABOUT YOUR HAPPINESS, YOUR BREAKTHROUGH, HOW YOU’RE GONNA GET YOUR BLESSING RIGHT NOW, THAT HE SAW THE BEST IN ME.

(ON YOUR GUIDE) THE GOD OF THESE SONGS AND SERMONS IS NICE: BUT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE IS DANGEROUS!

(ON YOUR GUIDE)THREE REASONS WHY THIS GOD OF THE BIBLE MUST BE OUR GREATEST BOAST:

I. HE IS HOLY

Exodus 15:11 ESV
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
By Holy We Mean This About God:
That He Is Separated from Sin And Devoted To His Honor
It means that God is perfect in every conceivable way without flaw or change

THAT GOD IS HOLY MEANS THAT HE IS MORALLY DANGEROUS

AND YET, BEFORE THIS HOLY GOD, THIS MORALLY DANGEROUS GOD, THERE IS LITTLE TO NO REVERENCE FROM THOSE WHO CLAIM TO KNOW HIM.
FOR MANY THE LORD IS A DOMESTICATED GOD
HE IS MORE LIKE A HOBBY TO US THAN HOLY
HE IS MORE LIKE A ASPIRATION THAN HE IS ADORED
HE IS WINKED AT RATHER THAN WORSHIPPED
BUT THIS GOD WE CLAIM IS A DANGEROUS GOD AND DEMANDS THAT WE GIVE HIM REVERENCE (HONOR) IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES -
IN OUR ATTITUDES
IN OUR ACTIONS
IN OUR AFFECTIONS
IN OUR AQUAINTENCES

BUT IT IS NOT UNTIL WE SEE HIM AS HE IS - DANGEROUSLY HOLY WE - ONLY THEN WILL WE LEARN WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE REVERENCE TO THIS GOD

THE REASON WE DON’T REVERENCE HIM IS BECAUSE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HIM IS
a. Weak
b. Worldly
c. Wrong
WE KNOW MORE ABOUT
· The show Power – than we do about God’s POWER
· How to Get Away with Murder – than we do the commandment to Not Murder
· We know More about the show Martin – Than we do the Master
· We know more about CNN than we do about SIN
· We know more about FOX News, than the Father’s News

BUT HOW CAN WE, AS PROFESSING FOLLOWERS OF THIS DANGEROUS GOD, TOLERATE UNHOLINESS IN OURSELVES AND OTHERS?

· HABAKKUK SAYS - HAB 1:13
Habakkuk 1:13 ESV
You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?
1ST PETER TELLS US
1 Peter 1:15–16 ESV
but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
· 1ST JOHN TELLS US – 1 JOHN 1:5-6
1 John 1:5–6 ESV
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

(ON YOUR GUIDE) WE STRUGGLE WITH HOLINESS BECAUSE WE DON’T SEE THE DANGEROUS GOD THAT ISAIAH SAW

WE ARE PLAYING AND POSTURING IN WORSHIP WHILE GENUINE DISCIPLES LAY PROSTRATE IN WORSHIP

WHY: BECAUSE THEY SEE THE LORD

1. Isaiah said
Isaiah 6:1 ESV
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
HIGH AND LIFTED UP DOES NOT MEAN THAT GOD IS UP THERE: THERE ARE WORDS TO SIGNIFY THAT HE, IN HIS CHARACTER AND BECAUSE OF HIS HOLINESS – IS INFINATELY UNLIKE US...
THEN HE SAYS iv v1
Isaiah 6:1 ESV
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
- THE TRAING OF HIS ROBE FILLED THE TEMPLE WITH GLORY. IN ESSENCE, THE GOD WHO IS INFINATELY UNLIKE US IN HOLINESS HAS COME NEAR - IN ALL OF HIS GLORY INTO THE PLACE WHERE ISAIAH IS
Isaiah 6:2–3 ESV
Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
V2 - HE SEES THE SUBMISSION OF THE ANGELS, AND HE HEARS THEIR CONSTANT CRY OF HOLY, HOLY, HOLY!!!

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: COSMIC TREMBLING

The Foundations of the temple tremble
Isaiah trembles and falls before the face of this Holiness in utter depravity and fear:
Isaiah 6:5 ESV
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!”

THE HOLY AND DANGEROUS ONE HAS COME INTO MY PRESENCE AND I SEE MYSELF AS FULL OF SIN!!!!

I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
When Is The Last Time You Trembled Before The Presence Of This Dangerous God?
When Is The Last Time You Read His Word And Your Soul Was Shaken To The Core (Trembled)?
ISAIAH 66:2-b
Isaiah 66:2 ESV
All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
IF WE CLAIM TO LOVE JESUS WE MUST REMEMBER THAT WE SERVE A GOD WHO IS DANGEROUS.
POINT TRANSITION

WHEN WE SEE HIM TRULY, AS HOLY, WE WILL UNDERSTAND THIS SECOND REASON WHY GOD IS DANGEROUS:

II. HE IS A CONSUMING FIRE – hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:27 ESV
This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
Hebrews 12:28 ESV
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
Hebrews 12:29 ESV
for our God is a consuming fire.
HERE IT IS YET AGAIN! WE ARE CALLED TO SHOW THANKFULNESS AND WORSHIP TO THE LORD FOR THE KINGDOM HE IS HE BRINGING NEAR: BUT NOTICE THAT THE HEBREW WRITER CALLS WORSHIP THAT IS ACCEPTABLE GOD AS THAT WHICH IS WITH REVERENCE AND AWE!

TO STAND IN AWE OF SOMETHING IS TO BASK IN THE WONDER OF IT’S BEAUTY; TO LINGER AND BE CAPTIVATED BY WHAT YOU SEE:

DRIVING BY THE GRAND CONYON WILL GIVE YOU SOME APPRECIATE OF IT; BUT STOPPING AND GAZING AND TAKEN IN WHAT YOU SEE WILL LEAVE YOUR SPEECHLESS
THE HEBREW WRITER SAYS WE OUT TO DISPLAY THIS ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP AS A LIFESTYLE: OF REVERENCE AND AWE PRECISELY BECAUSE: GOD IS A DANGEROUS GOD - HE IS A CONSUMING FIRE

TO CONSUME MEANS: To destroy completely; to devour everything in totality

These words were spoken by Moses when he exhorted the Israelites not to serve idols.[1]
GOD SAYS HE IS LIKE A CONSUMING FIRE - DESTROYING EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT LIKE HIM AND EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT HONOR HIM - EVEN THOSE WITHIN THE LOCAL CHURCH
THOSE IN THE LOCAL CHURCH WHO KNOW GOD BUT ARE NOT KNOWN BY GOD
THOSE IN THE LOCAL CHURCH WHO WORSHIP GOD BUT IN WAYS ACCEPTABLE TO THEMSELVES (CONVENIENT)
THOSE IN THE LOCAL CHURCH WHO LIVE IN UNGODLY WAYS AND IN DISREGARD TO THE LORD
GOD CONSUMES SUCH PEOPLE BECAUSE, WHILE THEY APPEAR TO BE WORSHIPING GOD IS IT IS ACTUALLY IDOLATRY . THEY ARE WORSHIPING OTHER gods ALL THE WHILE CLAIMING TO WORSHIP THE TRUE GOD.
THE WORSHIP SUCH PEOPLE OFFER TO GOD IS A “STRANGE” WORSHIP.
ASK NADAB AND ABIHU HOW GOD FEELS ABOUT “STRANGE” WORSHIP
Leviticus 10:1 ESV
Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.
Leviticus 10:2 ESV
And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
WHEN MY MOTHER WOULD TELL US NOT TO TOUCH SOMETHING AND WE LOOKED LIKE WE WERE THINKING ABOUT TOUCHING IT SHE SAID: TOUCH IF YOU WANT TO
THE FIRST TIME I WAS A BIT CONFUSED: IS SHE TELLING ME TO DO WHAT I WANTED TO DO EVEN THOUGH SHE JUST TOLD ME NOT TO DO IT?
BUT THEN I LOOKED AT HER FACE AND SAW DISPOSITION
a. “NAH, I’M NOT EVEN GONE TOUCH THAT; IMMA LEAVE THAT ALONE”
THE GOD WE SERVE IS A DANGEROUS GOD - HE IS A CONSUMING FIRE.

WE TRIFLE WITH THE LORD BY LIVING SPIRITUALLY TRIFLING LIVES AND THEN WE THINK THAT GOD WILL LOOK THE OTHER WAY. HE CANT. HE IS HOLY AND BECAUSE HE IS HOLY HE WILL CONSUME EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE THAT IS NOT LIKE HIM

BUT THERE IS ONE IMPORTANT THING WE MUST CONSIDER ABOUT THIS DANGEROUS GOD BEING A CONSUMING FIRE.

CONSUMING FIRE IS REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD’S WRATH

PAUL TELLS US
Romans 1:18 ESV
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Lit: The wrath of God IS BEING revealed!
it is true as Mal 3:2- says
Malachi 3:2 ESV
But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.
BUT LET US NOT THINK THAT THIS DANGEROUS GOD IS WAITING TILL THE END TO UNLEASH HIS WRATH!
NO, PAUL SAYS, LOOK AROUND YOU!: LOOK AT THE LIST OF THOSE WHO CAN RECEIVE THE WRATH OF GOD BEFORE THE END: we always talk about the BIG one’s but let me focus on the ones we might choose to neglect
Romans 1:29 ESV
They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
Romans 1:30 ESV
slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
Romans 1:31 ESV
foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Romans 1:32 ESV
Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

“God’s holiness will consume all that is false and evil. Those with wickedness will be consumed by the fire of this judgment. Those who profess faith in Christ cannot expect mercy if they willfully turn from Jesus back to sin, disobedience, the Law, or a false god. We must show the reality of our confession by our obedience and worship.”

BUT HERE WE ARE IN THIS NEW AND UNIQUE SEASON IN OUR COUNTRY AND THE CHURCH. I THINK HISTORY WILL SHOW THAT COVID DID MORE THAN KILL PEOPLE: IT EXPOSED MANY AND THEIR UNACCEPTABLE WORSHIP; THEIR STRANGE FIRE WORSHIP: FOR MANY HAVE CLAIMED TO KNOW THE LORD BUT:
A love of sleep over a love for the Savior (STRANGE FIRE)
No preparation to hear his Word just roll out of bed (STRANGE FIRE)

III. HE IS JESUS CHRIST1 COR 10: - HOW PAUL DOES IT

A. Explain why this Point is here
THIS DANGEROUS GOD, POISED AND READY - HIS BOW TRIGGERED TO LAUNCH IN A DIVINE ARSENAL ATTACK AGAINST SIN - DID SOMETHING THAT IS INCREDIBLE AMAZING: HE CAME DOWN AND TOOK ON THE FLESH OF MAN IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST.
Hebrews 2:14–15 ESV
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
AS IVE SAID BEFORE AS A BOY I LOVED THE CARTOON MIGHTY MOUSE: HIS JOB WAS TO SAVE RODENTS FROM THE CLUTCHES AND TYRANY OF THE CAT MENACE! EVERY TIME THE RODENTS WERE IN TROUBLE, THEY WOULD HEAR MIGHTY MOUSE SAY:
HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY
AT THAT POINT YOU KNEW THE CAT MENACE WAS TOAST
YOU KNEW DELIVERANCE FROM HIS TYRANY WERE ABOUT TO BE OVER
ON EARTH WE HAD A MENACE. WE HAD AN ENEMY WHOSE TYRANY BROUGHT OUR SPIRITUAL DEATH
BUT THEN THE DANGEROUS GOD, IN THE FORM OF A BABY, SAID
HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY!
AND IN CHRIST - THE ONE WHO TOOK ON OUR FLESH
AND THROUGH HIS PERFECT OBEDIENCE
THROUGH HIS SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT
JESUS DESTROYED THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL DEATH AND DELIVERED US FROM THE DEVIL’S TYRANNY

WE CAN BOAST IN THIS GOD WHO IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE HE CAME AND DID BUSINESS AGAINST SIN AND SATAN TO RELEASE THOSE WHO WOULD BELIEVE AND FOLLOW HIM FROM THE GRIPS OF HELL!

1 JOHN 3 8-b
1 John 3:8 ESV
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

ISAIAH PUT IT THIS WAY

Isaiah 53:3 ESV
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:4 ESV
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:5 ESV
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
PAUL PUT IT LIKE THIS
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

BUT IN 1875 PHILIP BLISS SAID IT THIS WAY

BUT IN 1875 SHORTLY BEFOR HIS DEATH, HYMN WRITER PHILIP BLISS, CONTEMPLATING THE BEAUTY OF THIS DANGEROUS GOD IN CHRIST, IN THIS MOST INCREDIBLE HYMN -

"Man of Sorrows" what a name For the Son of God who came Ruined sinners to reclaim Hallelujah, what a Savior

RUINED: Having become damaged beyond repair

BUT THIS DANGEROUS GOD, BECAUSE OF MY FAITH IN CHRIST, DID WHAT COULD HAVE NEVER BEEN DONE WITHOUT HIM

Bearing shame and scoffing rude In my place condemned He stood Sealed my pardon with His blood Hallelujah, what a Savior

THE SHAME OF MY LIFE AND MY SIN; THE SHAME OF MY REBELLION; THE SHAME OF MY IDOLATRY; THE SHAME OF MY LUST; THE SHAME OF THE WHOLE OF MY PAST
THIS DANGEROUS GOD, WHO COULD HAVE RIGHTLY CONDEMNED ME, CAME IN GREAT AND INFINATE MERCY IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST
WITH HIS BLOOD HE BORE MY SHAME
WITH HIS BLOOD HE RIGHTED MY REBELLION
WITH HIS BLOOD HE INCINERATED MY IDOLATRY
WITH HIS BLOOD HE LEVELED MY LUST
WITH HIS BLOOD HE PURCHASED MY PAST
HALELUJAH WHAT A SAVIOR

Guilty vile and helpless we Spotless Lamb of God was He Full atonement can it be Hallelujah, what a Savior Hallelujah, what a Savior

EXPLAIN
NOW, WHAT IS THE ONLY RESPONSE TO THIS DANGEROUS GOD WHO HAS MADE THOSE WHO FOLLOW CHRIST HIS FRIEND? ABSOLUTE ADORATION, WORSHIP AND REVERANCE

BUT THERE’S ONE LAST THING

THE LAST STANZA

When He comes, our Glorious King All his ransomed home to bring Then anew this song we'll sing Hallelujah! What a Savior Hallelujah! What a Savior

The presence of Christ is THE proof that He is a Dangerous God
How?
WE ARE SPIRITUAL SLUGGARDS - WE ARE SPIRITUALLY LAZY AND OUR WORSHIP IN LAZY SLOPPY UNTRUTHFUL AND WORLDLY.
LAST POINT
WITH ALL OF HIS BRUTE FORCE WITH ALL OF THE INTIMATE POWER OF HIS HAND HIS MIND HIS HEART AND HIS ANGER
GOD UNLEASHED ON JESUS
WHAT WE RIGHTFULLY DESERVED
HOW ARE WE
focus on the holiness of God. It is his holiness that makes him dangerous.
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