Are You in Awe?

Sermon Summary

Main Message

This message challenges us to reevaluate our approach to understanding and teaching about God. We often come across as arrogant, assuming we can fully comprehend the vastness of His nature in just a few years on this planet. However, the Bible reminds us that God's ways are higher than ours and His thoughts deeper (Isaiah 55:8-9). This truth should humble us and lead us to approach our understanding of God with reverence and awe.

Key Scripture References

• Psalm 90:1-4 - "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. You have laid the foundation of the earth so that it would not be moved forever. You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took flight." This passage highlights God's power and majesty, reminding us of His immense strength and authority.
• Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." This verse emphasizes the vast difference between God's nature and ours, warning us against assuming we can fully comprehend Him.
• Job 26:14 - "Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him!" Job's words express the awe-inspiring mystery of God's ways, which far surpass human understanding.
• Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." This passage encourages us to trust God's wisdom above our own, recognizing that His ways are better than ours.
• Isaiah 40:12-14 - "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or with the reed marked off the heavens? Or who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has informed him?" This passage highlights God's immense power and knowledge, reminding us that He is beyond human comprehension.
• 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 - "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person, however, can distinguish what is from God's Spirit and what leads to death, for the spiritual person holds on to what is good." This passage explains that our limited understanding hinders us from comprehending spiritual truth.
• Psalm 131:1-2 - "Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not busy myself with great matters or with things too wonderful for me." This psalm expresses humility and a willingness to acknowledge the limits of our understanding.
• Job 42:1-6 - "Then Job replied, 'I know that this is so; he removes kings and raises up others; because when he has executed his purpose for the cycle of a thing, then he will act in behalf of him whom he has appointed to be heir of it.'" This passage shows Job's humility as he acknowledges God's sovereignty and wisdom.

Key Takeaways

• We should approach our understanding of God with reverence and awe, recognizing the vast difference between His nature and ours. We must avoid assuming we can fully comprehend Him, instead trusting in His wisdom above our own (Proverbs 3:5-6).
• Our limited understanding hinders us from comprehending spiritual truth, which is only accessible through the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Therefore, we must be humble and willing to acknowledge the limits of our knowledge.
• We should not try to explain or define God's nature in simplistic terms but instead approach Him with humility and awe. This means recognizing that our understanding is incomplete and that there are aspects of His character that remain mysterious (Psalm 131:1-2).
• As we seek to understand God, we must be willing to submit to His wisdom and acknowledge our own limitations. This involves trusting in His sovereignty and acknowledging the vastness of His knowledge (Job 42:1-6).