Reverence and Awe

 

This week, Michael writes: Have you ever been in the presence of God?  We must prepare our hearts in order to approach the throne of God. To enter into God's holy presence, we need God's grace and mercy. We cannot enter on our own merit for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We can enter into God's presence by God's mercy only because of the sinless innocent offering Jesus Christ paid on our behalf. For He who was without sin became the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. To serve God we must serve Him with reverence and awe. If Israel did not escape when they disobeyed, much more shall we not escape if we do not listen to the voice from heaven.

Hebrews 12:18, and 21-29says, “For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake: But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear (awe and respect): For our God is a consuming fire.”

The fire represents God's judgement. Holy and righteous is he that judges all the earth. The eternal fire is not cast away from God but rather the fire remains in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb of God -Jesus Christ. Our God is a consuming fire. The question is not whether all roads lead to God ... they do not. The real question is "How do I get there and what will you do when you get there?"  Isaiah 61:10says when we get there, we who are born again, will put on robes of righteousness: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

Isaiah 66:22-23 says, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

23. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”

To the redeemed and righteous, judgement is not a fearful concept. It's only fearful to the unredeemed and unrighteousness.  Isaiah 33:14-15says, “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.”

Psalm 24:9-10says, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.”

To stand before a holy God, we must stand in the righteousness of Christ alone, faultless to stand before the throne. According to Matthew 16, there is a chasm fixed between the saved and the unsaved, however they are both in close proximity.  The chasm prevents those in hell from entering into heaven.  

Hebrews 12:14-15says. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;”

Satan has tricked some churches to stop preaching about "holiness".  Holiness is to be set apart, sanctified according to the purpose for which the Lord designed us. To know God is to walk in righteousness … in a right relationship with the Lord. Eternal life is to know God and Him (Jesus) whom he has sent. Those who have seen the presence of God cannot leave unchanged. Every child of God's work shall be tested by fire. The fire is that which consumes and separates the righteous from the unrighteousness ... the holy from the unholy.  

For those who have been “born again”, transformed and regenerated in their heart, are clothed in righteousness, the righteousness of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ protects them from the judgement of God's holy fire. We can, in reverence and awe, rejoice in the holy presence of Almighty God, clothed in the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May God richly bless you,

Your brother in Christ, Michael