Be in awe of God more than overwhelmed by anything else that comes your way!
This was the essential theme laid out last Sunday as we launched into a year of study we are calling, Knowing God.
Just contemplate that for a minute: Be in awe of God.
The story from which we are launching our year is Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush (Exodus 3). Essentially, Moses was just minding his own business, tending the sheep. He was 80 years old—far beyond the retirement years that we set, not to mention at a time in history when the lifespan of many people was about 40 years! He was NOT seeking God or looking for a next step in his career. Then he had encounter with God in the desert, at a bush that was on fire but would not go out. Moses learned right there to be in awe of God more than of any other event, obstacle, or hurdle in life. The rest of Moses’ life (his story line is found in narratives from Exodus through Deuteronomy) is a series of being awed by God.
In the men’s study group this week, one of our guys brought up a quote from a well-known ancient theologian. The quote (not an exact one) was that mankind does not seek God, but God seeks out mankind. Mankind does not seek God, but instead seeks freedom, happiness, self-fulfillment, solutions, power, and much more. When we say “mankind” here, we are not discussing everyone else—we are discussing you…and me.
Is Billy just grandstanding? Well, what does the Bible say about this very subject?
Romans 3:10-18 (NIV) "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Before you decide that this was just the Apostle Paul grandstanding about the depravity of man in a letter to the Romans, let’s look carefully and come to realize that in these 7 verses, he (Paul) is quoting Psalm 14:1-3, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Psalm 5:9, Psalm 10:7, Isaiah 59:7-8, and Psalm 36:1. That’s six Old Testament quotes in these verses in Romans.
What’s the point? Left to ourselves, we will always seek some other path or route; we are swayed to be in awe of everything and anything else except the Great I AM. But we can come to know God because HE KNOWS US and reveals himself to us.
This coming Sunday as you prepare for our study, read the story in Exodus 3 of Moses and the burning bush, but go all the way to the end of the chapter (Exodus 3:1-22). Pay attention this time to these two important lines:
- v. 15: “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”
- v. 16: “The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…”
What does it mean to be the God of the generations? What does it mean that this God is the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? What does this say about who God is? What changes in my life when I have an encounter with the Great I AM?
Don’t forget, the basic assignment I am asking us all to do for the next three months is to read carefully through the book of Exodus.
See you Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
