series artseries art

The Awe of God

“… I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” JOHN 14:21 NKJV

“… For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” EXODUS 33:16 NLT

“… In Your presence is fullness of Joy;” PSALM 16:11 NKJV

“How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing…it is irresistible.” C.S. LEWIS

Positional Holiness

He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, EPHESIANS 1:4 NKJV

Behavioral Holiness

Live as children of obedience to God; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires that governed you in your former ignorance when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel. But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. … 1 PETER 1:14-15 AMPC

Pursue… holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. HEBREWS 12:14 NKJV

Pursue: “Chase after with the intent to apprehend.”

The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever really loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him. JOHN 14:21 AMPC

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. … MATTHEW 28:19-20 NKJV

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. JOHN 15:14 NKJV

… As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. …” 2 CORINTHIANS 6:16 NLT

And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” ISAIAH 6:3 NKJV

Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations… ISAIAH 6:4 NLT

So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! …For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” ISAIAH 6:5 NKJV

When we preach the love of God there is a danger of forgetting that the Bible reveals not first the love of God but the intense, blazing, holiness of God, with His love at the center of that holiness. – Oswald Chambers

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself… JOB 42:5-6 NKJV

Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” HEBREWS 12:21 ESV

… His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. … REVELATION 1:16-17 NKJV

… As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 2 CORINTHIANS 6:16 NLT

And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 CORINTHIANS 6:18 NLT

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 CORINTHIANS 7:1 NKJV

Filthiness of the flesh

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 1 THESSALONIANS 4:3 NLT

… he who rejects this does not reject man, but God… 1 THESSALONIANS 4:8 NKJV

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. HEBREWS 13:4 NKJV

… I will be careful to live a blameless life – I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I will refuse to look at anything worthless or wicked. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. PSALM 101:2-3 NLT & ESV

… Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-10 NLT

Filthiness of the spirit

… Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. 1 THESSALONIANS 2:4 NLT

But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. ACTS 5:1 NLT

… a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas, sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. ACTS 4:36-37 NLT

He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. ACTS 5:2 NLT

As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. ACTS 5:5 NLT

Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened. ACTS 5:11 NLT

… having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 CORINTHIANS 7:1 NKJV

… The fear of the Lord is His treasure. ISAIAH 33:6 NKJV

His delight is in the fear of the Lord… ISAIAH 11:3 NKJV

The fear of God is not to be scared of God

And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” EXODUS 20:20 NKJV

The Fear of God Is to stand in awe of and tremble before Him

Prioritize Him far before anything or anyone else

When we Fear God…

We love what He loves

We hate what He hates

All who fear the Lord will hate evil. … PROVERBS 8:13 NLT

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. PHILIPPIANS 2:12-13 NKJV

Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him. With them alone he shares the secrets of his promises. PSALM 25:14 TLB

And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God… GENESIS 22:12 NKJV

The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body… But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God… Yes, he’s the one to fear. LUKE 12:2-5 NLT

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. HEBREWS 4:13 NLT

The sins of some men are conspicuous (openly evident to all eyes), going before them to the judgment [seat] and proclaiming their sentence in advance; but the sins of others appear later [following the offender to the bar of judgment and coming into view there]. 1 TIMOTHY 5:24 AMPC

So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. 1 CORINTHIANS 4:5 NLT

… you live in the holy awe of God—which brings you trembling into his presence. God will continually revitalize you, implanting within you the passion to do what pleases him. PHILIPPIANS 2:12-13 TPT

12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

My Notes

Personal Reflection Guide

Locate a quiet place away from distractions to calm your thoughts and feelings. If you sense the need, take a walk and enjoy nature. Taking several deep breaths can also help. When you are ready, think about your experience of the presence and intimacy of God. Picture what that experience looks like. Recall a recent time in which you sensed His presence. As you reflect on this experience, what are your thoughts and feelings? Ask Him to help you discern the extent to which you are experiencing this intimacy and His awesomeness. Pray He will reveal any of your behaviors that are hindering your sense of awe and closeness to God. Ask Him to lead you this week in taking an action that He will use to help you obey Him from the heart and experience His presence in a deeper way. Close your time by thanking Him for His help as He enables you to pursue intimacy with God and holiness through obeying His commands.

Discussion Questions

Choose a couple of the following questions from each section that best fit your group. Or, have everyone read the questions, choosing which one(s) from each section that they feel led to respond to.

  1. START HERE: From 2010 to 2020 over 45 million Americans stopped praying and over 30 million walked away from the faith. Why do you think this is?
  2. START HERE: What comes to your mind when you think of the word holiness?
  3. START HERE: What is the difference between being good and being holy?
  4. KEEP GOING: Read 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT). The goal of holiness is deep intimacy with God. Does holiness feel unattainable to you? How does knowing that God already sees you as holy impact your thoughts on that?
  5. KEEP GOING: How might our lives look different if we were to intently and urgently chase after holiness?
  6. KEEP GOING: Read Psalm 25:14 (NLT). Do you tend toward being scared of God, in awe of Him, or indifferent toward Him? How does this impact your closeness with Him?
  7. KEEP GOING: When have you felt an intimate closeness with God? What was that like for you?
  8. LIVE IT OUT: What practical steps could you take to have such closeness with God that you could hear the whispers of his heart?
  9. LIVE IT OUT: Hebrews 4:13 emphasizes that nothing is hidden from God. What do you need to be more real with God about? Spend time this week being intentional about expressing these things to Him in prayer.