The Bible is an Awe-Inspiring Book!

Jonathan Douglass

Practical Christianity • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Introduction:

Two California highway patrol officers were monitoring a location on I15 for speeding violations, just north of the Marine airfield at Miramar. One of the officers was using a handheld radar device to check vehicle speeds of traffic approaching the crest of a hill. The officers were surprised when the radar gun began reading 500 mph. The officer attempted to reset the radar gun but not only did it not reset, it also shut down. Just then a deafening roar echoed around them and revealed their radar gun had, in fact, locked onto an F-18 Hornet roared over head which was engaged in a low-flying exercise at that location.

Back at the station, the patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the Marine base commander and, in true Marine style, the Marine Commander sent a communication back that read like this,

“Thank you for your letter. We cannot complete the action you request. You may be interested to know the aircraft detected and subsequently locked onto your hostile radar equipment and automatically jammed your unit which is why it was shut down. Furthermore, a missile aboard our aircraft automatically locked onto a hostile radar signal at your location. Fortunately, the Marine pilot recognized the situation for what it was and quickly responded by shutting down the missile before it could destroy the hostile radar position.”

“Our pilot also suggests your officers cover their mouths when cussing at them since the video systems in these jets are very high resolution. Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose. Also, the snap is broken on his handgun holster. Thank you for your concern, Semper Fi.”

Human beings have a problem. When we are regularly around powerful things we lose the awe, respect, and wonder for those things that we once had. We think we are bigger than we really are. We forget our place in this tiny universe. We forget we are under God’s mighty authority so we talk to God as equals, or make demands, and some even are so bold as to send God scathing, “How dare you” messages while cursing at Him and shaking their fists in the air at Him. We are a nation who has lost our awe for God, and even more sadly, many Christians have lost their awe of God. This has always been a problem and so God gave us the Bible which is supposed to constantly provoke us to worship God with the awe He deserves!

The Bible is an Awe-Inspiring Book! (Ps 33:8; Heb 12:28-29; Deut 6:2)

It is packed with verses and true stories to cause us to remember, “oh yeah, there is nothing which God cannot do!” Look at these three examples:

SLIDE: Psalm 33:8 (ESV) 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

SLIDE: Hebrews 12:28–29 (ESV) 28 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, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

The Bible tells us that God visited humanity when Jesus came to live as a man for about 40 years, then God visited his people when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and at salvation. Then God visited his people by speaking His words to faithful men, who faithfully recorded his words, and then gathered and compiled all those words into what we call The Bible. The Bible teaches us to...

SLIDE: Deut 6:2 “fear God and keep all His commandments.”

We are in possession of the greatest gift ever given mankind but we often don’t have the awe at holding God’s precious words in our hands like we should because it is too accessible to us! We have to remember that for about 5 thousand years, this complete, neatly compiled book was not accessible to the masses! For several thousand years before Jesus’ birth, only portions of Scripture was preserved and available, but only to the Jews. During Israel’s captivity, much of Scripture vanished, and was only rediscovered hundreds of years later, so what little snippets of text the Jews could recall was passed down by word of mouth and recorded in song.

We also need to know that since the Gospel exploded throughout Gentile nations, that for most of these past 2,000 years, most people could not read fluently, so they depended on the snippets of text that was preached from the pulpit. The problem was that they had no idea if Scripture was being interpreted faithfully or unfaithfully. Church empires were built on man’s unfaithful interpretation of Scripture because the masses didn’t know any different. They couldn’t read nor was Scripture available for them to read. We’ll learn more about Biblical history over the next few weeks, but please don’t miss this critical point.

We are blessed to have what most people across humanity’s history did not have: The Bible, in our own language, in our hands, available at all times.

To prove that point, would you please hold up every single copy of Scripture you have at your disposal right now!

Ask congregation hold their Bibles up, phones/devices, pew Bibles. Ask, “How many physical copies of a Bible do you have at home?” (“Thanks, you can put them down now”)

In 2017 a survey stated that American homes contain an average of three physical Bibles. I wonder if that number has begun to dwindle in recent years. I mention all this to make a point.

People across the timeline of human history would be incredibly jealous of the resources that just were in our hands a moment ago. We have so many resources that should be inspiring us to be in awe of God, yet I believe the church today and America today awes God much less than it did even only 200 years ago.

We need to be daily in awe of God. That is why God gave us Scripture.

Scripture reminds us to daily be in awe of God.

When we remember and respect His power, we can then call on that power and rely on that power to get us through incredibly hard things. The first thing we must know about the Bible is this:

The Bible is THE book about God.

We are easily awed! When I complete a maintenance project, I feel pretty good about myself! I enjoy standing back or showing off my work in awe of what I had accomplished. I was especially awed when I ran electric wires, switches and lighting in my garage. I really awed by that when everything worked the first time!

When my kids learn a new trick on their bike or scooters, they can’t wait for me to be in awe, “Dad, watch my new trick!”

Being American, it is hard for some of not to marvel at a hemi-powered muscle car or the next great automotive innovation!

Some of us are awed by a single-game winning incredible catch, or juke, or gravity-defying maneuver that tends to win a hotly contested sporting event. We are a people who are easily awed, and we can often be more in awe of ourselves than our mighty God. The Bible is the book about God...

Genesis 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

It begins with God! (Gen 1:1)

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

How can you or I or any other human even top that! Book 1, chapter 1, verse 1 directs us to be awed by our all-powerful God who did something so powerful that we look tiny, puny, weak, and insignificant.

SLIDE: Psalm 119:161 (ESV) 161 Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.

(pretend I have something in my hands)

It would be like me saying, “Hey God look at what I.... Oh. you did that (hide hand behind my back, whistle awkwardly, walk awkwardly away) Nevermind, God it is not important!” then say under my breath, “well that was awkward!”

SLIDE: Deuteronomy 8:17 (ESV) “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’”

Nothing we do holds a candle to what God did in the beginning, so why do we boast?

And, oh by the way, God creating the heavens and the earth is ONLY JUST THE BEGINNING! YOU THINK THAT IS AWESOME?!?! JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU READ WHAT HAPPENED ON THE NEXT PAGE, AND THE NEXT PAGE, AND THE NEXT PAGE! WAIT UNTIL YOU GET TO THE GOSPELS! WAIT UNTIL YOU GET TO THE END OF THE BOOK! IT ONLY GETS BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER!!!

SLIDE: 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?”

The Bible begins with God and the Bible...

It ends with God! (Rev 22:17-21)

You might wish to flip to Revelation 22, the last chapter in the Bible...

Revelation 22:21 (ESV) 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Jesus, who is God, Jesus who did the most awe-inspiring thing ever in the history of humanity, who loved us when we were desperately wicked, when we were desperately sinning and cursing him and shaking our fists at him overhead, loved us, died for us, and has a home in heaven reserved for us! God is in the first and last verses of the Bible. That was not a mistake!

The bible begins with God, it ends with God, and...

Everything in between is all about God! (Rev 22; Ex 15:11; Is 29:23; Ps 33:8; Acts 2:43)

I encourage you to read Revelation 22 at some point this afternoon. I think it is quite accurate to say that this last chapter of Revelation sums up the entire Bible. The whole Bible exists because we take God’s power for granted!

If you are in Revelation 22 already, you might want to look at verses 8-9. John, who wrote Revelation, fell down at the angel’s feet in awe of him. Then in verse 9 the angel says....

Revelation 22:9 (ESV) “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

The Bible snaps shut just after that resounding message, “Be in awe of God! Live in awe of God, Worship in awe of God, read the Bible to regain awe of God.”

So, here are some verses contained between the beginning and end to remind us to be in awe of God...

SLIDE: Isaiah 29:23 (ESV) “they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.”

SLIDE: again, Psalm 33:8 (ESV) Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

SLIDE: Acts 2:43 (ESV)43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

So the Bible says, “Be in awe of God” or as the angel said… “Worship God” (boom) Bible closes, case closed, mic drop.

We cannot worship God when we try to do it on our own. We need to access these precious pages! The Bible is not dead. It is alive and contains God’s living words.

The Bible is God’s living Word.

God’s Word is alive! (Heb 4:12; 2 Peter 1:3-11)

SLIDE: Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Please flip to 2 Peter 1 and while you are doing that, I’ll share with you that my wife and I have been talking about replacing the shrubs in front of our house since before we even moved in. The shrubs are overgrown, old, woody, and seem to be at the end of their useful life. The plants we wish to replace them with should be much like God’s word. God’s word is alive and will never become old or outdated. It never needs to be pruned. It will never stop being true. It is always alive, vibrant, colorful, and beautiful, and reveals something exciting during every season of life!

Listen to what...

2 Peter 1:3–11 (ESV) says about God’s Words

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises

(How are promises given? Through words, God’s words), so then, God’s words were given...

so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

God’s Words have always inspired awe! (Ex 3:5; Is 6:5; Ps 119:161)

Moses was in awe when receiving God’s words.

SLIDE: Exodus 3:5 (ESV) 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Moses heard God’s words and even being in the presence of God’s words was an awe-inspiring, holy occasion and place. Isaiah compared his words to God’s word in...

SLIDE: Isaiah 6:5 (ESV) 5 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!”

My mouth and words are unclean, but your words are pure, and perfect, and Holy! David said...

SLIDE: Psalm 119:161 (ESV) “my heart stands in awe of your words.”

God’s Words always breathe life. No other words have the power to completely transform and reshape life. When God speaks, there is nothing like it.

SLIDE: Circle Graph

I want to read a few excerpts from a Lifeway Research article entitled “Americans Are Fond of the Bible, Don’t Actually Read It.”

“Americans have a positive view of the Bible. And many say the Christian scriptures are filled with moral lessons for today. However, more than half of Americans have read little or none of the Bible.”

i.e. Americans place little value on God’s words. Americans/we are not in awe of God!

“Less than a quarter of those who have ever read a Bible have a systematic plan for reading the Christian scriptures each day. And a third of Americans never pick it up on their own, according to a new study from Nashville-based Lifeway Research. Most Americans don’t know first-hand the overall story of the Bible—because they rarely pick it up,” McConnell said. “Even among worship attendees less than half read the Bible daily. The only time most Americans hear from the Bible is when someone else is reading it.”

About half of Americans (53 percent) have read relatively little of the Bible. One in 10 has read none of it, while 13 percent have read a few sentences. Thirty percent say they have read several passages or stories.

Those with evangelical beliefs (us) are more likely (49 percent) to read a little bit each day than those without evangelical beliefs (16 percent). Protestants (36 percent) are more likely to read every day than Catholics (17 percent).

The more often Americans attend church, the more likely they are to read the Bible daily. Thirty-nine percent of those who attend worship services at least once a month read a bit every day, while only 13 percent of those who attend services less than once month pick up a Bible daily.

Men are more likely to skip Bible reading than women. Thirty-nine percent of men say they do not read the Bible on their own, compared to 31 percent of women. Folks in the Northeast (48 percent) are more likely to never pick up a Bible than those from other regions.

Overall, Americans seem to like the Bible but don’t have much urgency about reading it.”

If anyone wants it, you can have the printed article, just ask me for it after the service.

So, I have to ask the question, based on that survey, does it sound like American Christians believe God’s Word is an awe-inspiring, jaw dropping, life-altering, absolutely powerful book?

We must be wholly dependent on every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Our faith and the works that faith produces depends on our belief and attitude toward Scripture.

How should this effect my feet? (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:3)

We should daily be in awe that we have God’s Words at our fingertips at all times!

How good we have it! We can simply ask Google, or Siri, or Alexa, or Cortana, “What does, Mt:10:28 say” and it will dictate the verse back to us. We can open any internet browser and quickly search Bible topics or references. We can open the Google Play store or the Apple store and download any one of dozens of Bible apps.

Most of us have more than one Bible on our bookshelf. We have unprecedented access to God’s direct message to us any time.

For decades, Russian and Chinese Christians literally depended on tiny scraps of God’s word. One Russian even found just one page of the book of John and placed his faith in God’s life-giving power contained on only one of the thousand sheets we have in front of us this morning. How do you thing that person might respond to the great abundance of God’s Word, we have today? Those dozens and dozens of instantly accessible WHOLE copies of Scripture instantly available in a variety of translations? That person would be amazed, most of the would cry deep sobs of joy!

What if the martyrs persecuted for owning Scripture came to visit us for a day? What might illiterate Christians from time past say, if they were to visit us for a day and discover that we have literacy, we have full copies, of scripture, but still the average American Christian only hears God’s Words from a person’s lips once a week!

We don’t need to “give the Bible a try” we must wholly depend on and cling to every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God because our very lives depend on it!

We should believe God’s Words are profitable for all things!

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV) 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Bible is not about “good morals” as 52 percent of people surveyed in the Lifeway article believe it to be. Only 32 percent of people believe the Bible is life altering. Only 32 percent of people surveyed could not open Scripture without being in complete awe of God’s life-altering, life-breathing power. Only 32 percent of people believed Scripture will completely alter all things in our lives.

We should evaluate everything!

This only works if you and I believe that God’s breathed out Scripture is profitable for all things pertaining to life and Godliness as 2 Pet 1:3 declares. Evaluate everything. Know scripture inside and out. Sift the chaff from the wheat and to do that I am going to introduce you to or maybe remind you of two words. The first word is...

“Theocentric” =

“Theo” means “God” and “centric” means centered. So anything that focuses on God and makes God the most important element, most elevated, most worshipped, most awed being, is a theocentric view. The second word is

“Anthropocentric” =

“Anthro” means “man”; therefore, anything, any word, comment, or neat sounding phrase that focuses on a person or elevates or promotes a person, or people or person-centered emotion, has an anthropocentric view.

Is the music I am listening God focused and God’s glory focused or is it wishy-washy? What does music, what does an article, what does someone’s social media comment promote? Does (fill in the blank) promote me to awe and worship God or does it cause me to awe and worship something else. God should always get the glory for everything. He alone is worthy. He has created all things and by Him all things exist.

Ask myself, “What is being worshipped here?” If I am not in awe of God, then I am awe of something else!

Closing Statement:

So this morning, I am challenging all of us to commit to reading God’s words more faithfully. God’s word compels us to be in awe of Him every moment of every day. Gods Word will give us strength, peace, confidence, knowledge, and power for how to succeed in whatever challenging situation you are in right now. The Bible is an awe-inspiring book, God’s words to us. We can read it! Wow! God didn’t leave us on our own! Wow, God gave you and I the privilege of being born at this point in history so we can know Him! Amazing! Let’s be awed by God through His word this week!

Song

Challenge:

What do you want to know?

The Bible? Grace? Worship? Finances? Music? Friendship? Forgiveness? Marriage? Patenting? Substances? Work? Theology?

Any of these topics has tons of sub-branches! I would like to know what you want to learn, what questions about those topics you want to hear preached from the pulpit! I want to get as practical as possible in this series, but I need your feedback as we go along!