The God Who Meets Us

All right.

It is awesome to be with you guys.

My name's Russ.

I'm one of the pastors here at Church at the Grove.

If I haven't met you, I want to say welcome to Church at the Grove.

And this might be your first Sunday, or it might be your second Sunday, and I'm so thankful that you were here.

I was just told by one of our one of my friends, he he said the word for the day is mayonnaise.

That means mayonnaise for July mayonnaise a lot of people here today.

And so at least Walt's being honest.

If he's being cruel, he's at least being honest.

So uh no.

Um hey, uh, alright, so uh Exodus chapter 19 is where we're gonna be.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

Exodus chapter 19.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

We're in this story called Moses, uh, titled Moses, and and looking at the life of Moses, but really this series is less about Moses and more about God and and his work through Moses' life.

Um several years ago, I can't, I know it was before we uh had the property and the building.

Um I was in I was invited to to speak um uh uh at an event over in Fayette County in Fayetteville, Georgia, and and you know, how traffic can be in Atlanta.

So I left at uh you know 10 o'clock in the morning.

Um might be joking a little bit there, but I left very early and got over there very early, and uh and they have a you know they have a unique some of these uh Chick-fil-A restaurants are a little bit different than others.

I don't know if you've ever been to a dwarf house.

Anybody know what a dwarf house is?

And so I think one this might even have been one of the originals over in in uh Fayette County, and so I had a I had a friend with me that was part of the church, and we sat down and we're eating, and and and guess who walks in uh to the dwarf house where we are sitting and sits just a few seats uh a few booths over from us, um a man by the name of Truett Cathy.

And so he he had he he was in his latter years um and he had he had two young men with him.

I think probably he probably has you know had a couple guys that would travel with him, and and and he's probably invested in them and and they're helping him uh with everything.

And and so uh I had my friend, I I I looked across the table, I said, I said, I really want to go over and and and and speak to him.

I don't know if that's the you know the the most appropriate thing to do or not, but I I said I'm gonna do it.

I mean what uh uh uh this may be my only opportunity, and I I I went over and I'm you know and I I know people talk well about him, but I'm telling you, he was so kind.

And I said, uh Mr.

Kathy, I I you know I I I know I don't want to bother you.

I said, but I'd love just to chat with you for a couple of minutes.

He said, sit down.

And before I could start asking him questions, he's asking me questions about my life, and I really want to ask him questions about his life and his vision and and and and and his faith and and what turned you know into what turned into Chick-fil-A that we know today.

And so I felt uh this almost sense of a definite sense of respect uh for a man who has lived his life in a way that honors God.

And so every time we talked about something related to chicken or um or Chick-fil-a sauce, or because I'm like, you know, where how did you come up, you know, I'm asking questions about the the business and all that, and it but everything came back.

He would bring the relationship back to uh he would bring the conversation back to his relationship with God.

And and and and so so and we all know that that that Chick-fil-A, and I love the fact that I'm talking about Chick-fil-A because I'm gonna whet your appetite, and then you're all gonna think, man, we're gonna go out and eat lunch at Chick-fil-A.

Well, that ain't gonna happen.

Um but but so sorry about that.

Uh but but so so here here's just a few things that that um I've learned about about Chick-fil-A, is they've created a culture.

They they've created a culture where they don't really have to um, you know, they they don't have a lot of uh a lot of rules or or or things.

There's a culture developed that you find yourself wanting to step into and respect.

Whether it's ordering something, you know, and I've seen people that have acted disrespectfully and and you know, where they shouldn't ever do that.

Um but but there's something about walking in and and and they uh you know they um uh you know if if they have a culture, it is a culture of excellence.

And so when there's a culture of excellence, it I think it breeds respect and and it and it breeds um uh uh you know I don't necessarily want to use the word uh sacred kind of ground per se related to chicken.

But I but there's something about the whole company, Chick-fil-A, not just a restaurant, but but what they do with Windshape, what they do to help marriages, what they do to help young people, what they do to invest in students getting scholarships that work at Chick-fil-A.

It's just a culture of excellence.

And and there's and and there's nothing like having a couple of things that that we measure a culture by.

Because if you go to Chick-fil-A and you place your order, whether it's at the drive-thru or whether it's at the counter, and um, and and that person is helping you, they give you some change or they or or they give you a ticket and and and you say thank you, and they say back to you, it's my pleasure.

So I uh sometimes I I love it when I can um where I can I can trick them into saying thank you, and then I'll say it's it's my pleasure.

And so so so uh so Chick-fil-A, they really here's here's my point, is there's nothing, there really isn't anything sacred uh about them.

They don't have any special type authority over the food world per se, but but but you end up going back because they've earned your respect.

There's a measure of trust.

And and there's a culture.

They're trained.

You know, and I know there's maybe some exceptions or whatever, but but but but let's talk about uh another organization that may or may not be uh as similar to Chick-fil-A.

And so uh, and this is just this is fresh on my mind because I I flew to uh um Tulsa, Oklahoma last weekend.

Uh Craig and Tonya Calhoun are they're one of the families that helped us plant church at the grove.

And their son, I know they're so proud of their son, Jack.

He graduated in May from the Air Force Academy.

Um he had to go meet a girl that was from the other side of the world somewhere, and uh she's actually from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

So I flew into Tulsa, Oklahoma, and to fly into Tulsa, Oklahoma, you have to go by way of what's called Hartsfield, Atlanta, Hartsfield Jackson something, you know, airport.

And so um you don't always have a culture that's real positive when it comes to to the to the security personnel, TSA.

And and they don't have a very good sense of humor.

And so it's like it's like move it on, move it on through.

Mmm, mmm, that's how you feel.

All I know is this this is this is the first time I've traveled where I've been able to keep my shoes on, which is a uh a little bit of an extra blessing.

And so, so so there there is a culture.

There's a culture there, but it is a completely different culture than the culture that's cultivated at Chick-fil-A.

Now I'll tell you a funny story.

I've got to tell you a funny story.

And this is back way back before 9-11.

And so um I was on a team traveling to uh Eastern Europe.

Specifically, we're gonna spend most of our time in the country called Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and the Ukraine.

And um and and so and so I thought that it would be really funny.

So as we're going through security, um, you know, we had a team uh on the mission trip, and so we're passing out all these little tags, you know, the rep with the rubber bands that you know put your name and your address and the whole deal, and we're filling those out for each other and making sure everybody's got them filled out.

Well, I had a young intern named Seth, and I thought it would be really funny, and for those of you that are that are old enough like me to remember um this name, so I took I took uh Seth's little tag, and on all his tags, I wrote the name Eric Rudolph.

So you know those little rooms where they take you.

I mean, I thought that was so funny.

They didn't.

And those little rooms, they look like they're a little cleaner on TV.

They're nasty in person.

Uh I think they're called interview or interrogation rooms.

And so um, me and Eric or Seth, we we we made it.

We made it through the airport.

Um, but they they didn't have much of a sense of of uh uh they didn't have a sense of humor.

But but but here's the thing Chick-fil-A doesn't carry an authority over your life, and they don't have to carry an authority, they win you over with a culture of service and kindness and excellence.

And so the um TSA or or or the DMV or or or other other, and and by the way, if you if I if you work for any of those organizations, I'm so thankful that we have believers that are working in those organizations, working hard, they have have tough jobs.

But but you don't you don't you don't see necessarily the same culture.

You know why?

Because they have an authority.

They don't necessarily have to lead through excellence, they don't necessarily have to lead through kindness, they don't have to necessarily lead through service, they don't have to establish an authority because they're given an authority.

And so I don't know if you know this, but but my response to true cathy was was respect and and an honor.

And he he asked me to sit down and talk with him.

And so my res my my my my response sometimes to being herded through a security area, I can feel it inside my heart.

There's a bit of resistance, almost this rebelliousness.

You know, I want to tell him what I think, and I and I've I I learned a big lesson from Eric Rudolph.

Don't don't mess around.

Uh you know, don't joke.

Uh you know, keep keep things, you know, uh serious.

And so, but but it's interesting.

And so we're uh this is this is this example is not a perfect example of what we're talking about necessarily this morning, but I want you to get the idea behind behind this comparison between Chick-fil-A and airport security or other types of organizations that that have authority over us is when it comes to rules, many of us have a love-hate relationship with rules.

And for some in the room, you you you are you are by definition a follower.

You're a rule follower.

How many of you say would say you're a rule follower?

All right, the rest of you are re re rebels?

Is that y'all it's okay.

Uh we gotta you gotta have a few rebels, right?

All right, but y'all aren't gonna admit it.

Um and so so so you you you you you don't, you know, those of those rule followers, you don't cross the street unless there's a crosswalk.

Not me.

Uh you never you never go above the speed limit.

You always stay below the speed limit.

Not me.

Uh listen, you always return the grocery cart uh to the grocery corral.

I actually do do that.

I do that, and and and I I feel like it's it's respectful.

Um uh but but but you know sometimes those things are are more suggestions to us.

And so um and so it even takes me back to schools and teachers that I had.

Uh some of my teachers, whether it was whether it was high school, uh, college, uh, MDV, masters, or doctoral work, I I had teachers who who would teach, and they would teach, and you could tell it was a job.

There's just there wasn't a relationship.

Uh and and that but I but then we had teachers, we've had we all had teachers who had uh you know they had there's uh both have authority, but but teachers that want a relationship with their students.

They're they their their character is identified.

It it's it's easily seen.

And so um and so it's it's it's cool to see a teacher who not only knows how to teach, how to communicate, but they care deeply about the students that they're teaching.

Let me ask you something.

How about your view of God?

How about your view of God?

Do you view God in in a is God a uh uh you know, is he a God that carries um a level of excellence?

Does he uh what's his character like?

Is he is he uh is he sit back in a old rocking chair, stroking an old white beard, and and he's kind of disconnected from this world?

I mean, he created everything and he's really there, but but he's he's sitting back kind of just watching what what's happening.

I mean, he's checking the news like you and I are every morning.

Wonder how things are gonna.

Or is God a cosmic sheriff in the sky, and and man, he is waiting for you to step out of line, and and he's gonna um he's gonna let you have it.

Uh you know, at least give you a shot with a BB gun, just so you know you're you're you're you stepped out of line a little bit.

You hope something heavier isn't coming later.

But what what what do you think about when you think about God?

Do we treat him, do, do we treat God, you know, uh with uh with respect?

Do we treat God with an awe?

Do we uh is are we reverent?

Are we respectful?

Are we responsive?

Or are are we distant?

Is God like that person that works in in an organization where where they don't they don't understand people, they don't see faces.

They just they just run you through a system.

And is is that God?

Is that how we view God?

Where he's distant, he's disengaged, he's just waiting to get um, you know, we're we're kind of waiting to get what we need from him, and and he is a little hesitant to to let us have what we need.

And I mean, I mean, you get the idea.

And if we're gonna have if we're gonna be the people that God is calling us to be, it starts with us first having a right view and understanding of who God is.

And as we continue this morning, I want you to see this.

I want you to see this big idea.

And and we're and we're I'm not gonna rush through this, but I but I so so the big idea for today is this is when you see God clearly, when you see God clearly, say clearly.

When you see God clearly, you'll fear him rightly and follow him gladly.

When you have an accurate view of who God is represented in Scripture, you get it, you you have a you begin to have a I think all of us have a distorted view at times of God, but he wants us to see him clearly.

We find that in scripture, we find that in the person and the life of Jesus and the gospels, and we'll we'll we'll we'll fear him rightly.

There is a right kind of fear of God, a respect.

And we'll follow him gladly.

Jesus is my rabbi, and I'm gonna follow Jesus.

The disciples, if if you had a rabbi, everybody if you wanted, if you wanted to grow in faith, you you would you would hopefully you would find you a rabbi.

And a lot of times rabbi would you know check you out, interview you, and say no thanks, you don't have what it takes, go back and find a really good job, get married, have kids, help grow the kingdom of God in all the different ways you can.

Um but but you just can't follow me.

But but when someone would follow the rabbi and and Ray Vanderlein would say this, he said they would they followed so closely and they did everything that Jesus did.

Um and and it says that they were they they followed Jesus in such a way that they were covered in the dust of the rabbi.

And I that's the that's I want to get dirty.

I want to get dusty following Jesus.

And so so if you're joining us this summer, we're in this study of on the life of Moses, and we've seen that that Moses didn't start as a hero or a great leader.

He he's actually uh he's been a fugitive and a murderer.

God has called him to be a major part of freeing the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt.

God uses Moses to confront Pharaoh, unleash plagues, part the Red Sea, ultimately lead the nation that was formerly enslaved.

And he leads them into freedom.

And so we're picking up this morning after the Hebrew people have been rescued from Egypt and they're not in the wilderness of Sinai.

As we saw last week, God provided miraculously for the people while they were in the wilderness, showing that he is a God who can be trusted.

Mani did such a great job.

As I was able to go back and listen to his message to understand that God can be trusted.

God will provide.

God is a is going to deliver, he is going to meet our needs.

And so God uh God's plan didn't end with the Hebrew people uh having physical freedom.

Uh the rescue from Egypt was only the beginning of what God wanted to do in the lives of the chosen, of his chosen people.

God didn't only want to bring the people out of Egypt.

Now, listen to me, listen to me.

It was one thing for them to physically leave Egypt, for God to take them out of Egypt.

Now God's task is to make sure that he gets the Egypt out of them.

It's one thing to be saved, it's another thing to be sanctified and have our character changed.

And so and so that's what we see in Exodus 19 is is studying this passage, there I came across uh a couple of different uh scholars that that talked about this passage, it seems a bit obscure.

That it doesn't really you know have a lot to say, but I I I I um respectfully disagree.

So two months after crossing the Red Sea and um and and we see the defeat of the Egyptian army, um uh we see the Lord speaks to Moses on top of Mount Sinai and gives him instruction to prepare the people for his presence.

So Exodus 9.

Exodus 19, we're reading verses 10 through 15.

10 through 15.

Then the Lord told Moses, Go down and prepare the people for my arrival.

Consecrate them today and tomorrow.

And have them wash their clothing.

That word consecrate means to cleanse, to set apart, to be it's a right, and it can not not just physically, but even you're at a heart level, a righteous level.

And so be sure they are ready on the third day.

Listen, be sure they're ready.

So this is about preparation.

For on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch.

Mark off a boundary all around the mountain.

Warn the people be careful, do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries.

Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death.

No hand may touch the person or the animal that crosses the boundary.

Instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows.

They must be put to death.

However, when the ram's horn sounds, a long blast, and the people may go up on the mountain.

So Moses went down to the people.

And so Mount Sinai wasn't just a location, it is a location.

You know my affinity for maps, right?

So I've got actually got a map that I pulled out of my collection.

And so you see what's now called the Gulf of Suez, but that's the Red Sea, and they would have crossed up north, and then they're over into the Sinite Peninsula, and then they end up working their way down south, and you can see the mountain range at the bottom of the peninsula.

And so now, if you physically went there, you might see some outcroppings like this.

Some scholars they call the place where they believe Moses went up on top, the very specific place where he went up top.

They call it the fist of God because it just resembles this gigantic hand, you know, and they call it the fist of God.

And I know one of the highest peaks in that mountain range there at the bottom of the peninsula is as high as 8,000 feet.

And so Moses went down.

Let's see, no hand may touch, verse 13, no hand may touch the person, the animal that crosses the boundary.

Instead, stone them or shoot them with theirs.

They must be put to death.

However, when the ram's horn sounds a long blast, I should have brought my ram's horn, then the people may go up on the mountain.

So Moses went down to the people.

He consecrated them for worship and they washed their clothes.

He told them, get ready for the third day, and abstain from sexual intercourse.

And so Mount Sinai, it wasn't just about being a location, but it was a place.

Listen to me.

It was a place of the revelation of God.

It was a place where God would reveal Himself.

It was a place where God chose up.

See, I don't want us to build a building.

I don't want to just build a facility.

I want to build a place where God's people can encounter God on a personal level.

Every generation.

But you know what?

I do care about people.

And I see, I see, I see the demographics, and I see the growth that is already here.

And which, by the way, we're probably a little behind where we should be.

We should have started this a little sooner, but we hopefully we'll be ready.

And I'm telling you, next spring, buckle up.

Buckle up because God is going to work.

It's going to be, we're going to see God do some amazing things, and God's going to bring people.

And I'm telling you, we've got to be ready.

Because God is going to bring people and we need to be ready.

We need to be ready to meet God.

We need to be people who are connected and focused and lifting up the person of Jesus Christ.

And when these people come in, sure we want to welcome them.

We want to show hospitality.

But what I really want them to see is a body of people that is caught up in the presence of Jesus.

No better way to share your faith.

That's not in the notes there.

So here's what we're learning.

So Mount Sinai is not just a location, it's a place where the revelation of God comes.

It's where God is going to reveal himself to his people.

However, before the Lord comes, he tells Moses that he needs to prepare the people.

And here's the principle that we learn from this is that preparation always precedes revelation.

Preparation precedes revelation.

Now God can break through and reveal himself in anybody's life, in anybody's situation, in any circumstances.

But from the perspective that we're talking about, when we're talking about corporate gathering, and as I look back at what Exodus says and try to apply that to where we are in the 21st century, it's about preparing to be in the presence of a holy God.

While this isn't always the case, most more often than not, preparation is going to precede revelation.

Before the Lord came down on the mountain in all of his glory, the people needed to prepare their hearts.

What were the specific commands?

Wash your clothes.

By the way, that's just a good idea, okay?

Wash your clothes.

That was that was that was that was the middle school pastor trying to emphasize that.

Wash your clothes.

Listen, the 11 o'clock hour is gonna really make y'all look bad because they're gonna laugh at that a lot harder.

He says this set a boundary around the mountain.

Set a boundary around the mountain.

And then he says, abstain from sex.

And so this is all about physical ways that they would prepare themselves to experience the presence of the Lord.

It wasn't just about external cleanliness, but it was about an eternal, internal, internal readiness to hear from the Lord.

God wanted the people to reflect, to slow down, to purify themselves, to set aside the distractions so they could be fully present for the moment he could reveal himself.

What was your preparation for church this morning?

Did you get up, spend an hour in prayer?

And then get ready, like physically, shower, get, you know, brush your teeth, the whole deal.

No, you did all that, then you spent an hour in prayer.

And I'm not, this is I'm that sounds like I'm being, I don't know, I feel like I'm talking down to you, and I'm not trying to talk down to you, but because I I I didn't spend an hour in prayer this morning.

But I but but I but I'm telling you, I I have a routine that that the routine and it that routine leads all the way up to me stepping up on this platform.

And and and and you may or may not ever notice, you might pay attention now, but a lot of times I I take a step forward, and then and then I take a step back.

And taking that step back and saying, God, remove me.

Remove remove my shortcomings, remove anything that would that would keep the word from being clear.

And and then and then and then God forgive me, cleanse me.

There's times where I've I've had to call my wife before she arrives at church because I may have said something.

Um more than likely she said something, and I know I need to give her.

No, okay.

She's gonna be at the next service, so uh you'll forget about that by then.

Um so there's all these physical ways that they could prepare themselves to go into the presence of the Lord.

And so you wake up, you're tired, I mean, sleepy, you got kids going crazy, um, Sunday morning services sometimes, you know, especially uh, I mean, God has blessed us immensely with bringing people to our church and seeing how God can work and new people coming.

But preparation precedes revelation.

And if we want to experience the presence of God, we must learn to pause and prepare.

And sometimes it is, it's taking time a day or two before.

Just just you know, remind yourself, hey, you know what?

Sunday morning, I'm gonna be with God's people.

And by the way, this isn't the church.

This isn't, you don't come to church.

You are the church.

And then we as the church gather at different times.

We gather on Sundays, we gather on Wednesdays, we gather uh at other times.

I know we we've got uh groups that gather.

And you're you're just as much the church in those settings as you are on a Sunday at 9 o'clock or 11 o'clock.

And so um sometimes it means, hey, I'm gonna arrive early and I'm gonna sit quietly.

And I'm not saying you have to do that every week because I want people greeting and talking.

I love seeing the fellowship.

Um, but but it's but the point is creating space during your week for silence and scripture and to prepare to hear the voice of God.

And when we call our church to prayer and we have a prayer night, whether it's in social circle or whether it's here, man, let's gather and let's pray.

Let's push forward.

Wednesday mornings at 8 o'clock, there's a there's a 30-minute prayer time.

And I know that doesn't work with everybody's work schedule, but it's it's it's a Zoom call.

So you could, you could, you know, some of us can do it with our phones and in different ways.

And so my whole point is prepare, prepare, prepare for the presence of God.

Exodus 19, verses 16 through 20.

Exodus 19:16–20

He says, On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain.

There was a long, loud blast from a ram's horn, and all the people trembled.

Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke.

Because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire.

The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.

As the blast of the ram's horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.

Oh, can you imagine?

The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.

So Moses climbed the mountain.

Eighty years old.

And so here's what I want you to see.

When we see God's holiness, when we see God for who he is, when we see God's holiness, our resistance begins to fade.

And our reverence rises.

Resistance fades.

The Spirit of God will break down every wall.

The New Testament talks about this related spiritual warfare.

He wants to break down every stronghold in our life.

And I think I think that our view of God and seeing him for who he truly is as he is, it breaks down our our um resistance and it lifts up our reverence.

And when when we have a proper reverence of God, we listen, it changes everything.

It changes our heart, it changes our character, it changes our worship.

And you thought that you you knew how to worship, and then all of a sudden God shows up in a different way, and you find your posture beginning to change.

Sometimes you can't help it, but you just gotta kneel before God because that's what you do before things that are holy and reverent.

Sometimes you find yourself, whether you're a Baptist, a Presbyterian, Episcopalian, or whatever your background is, you man, the Bible says lift holy hands before the Lord.

And we find our posture changes.

And so when we see God's holiness, our resistance fades and our reverence rises.

And so there's thunder, lightning, there's a thick cloud, there's a trumpet blast that grows louder and louder.

Smoke billows from the mountain like a furnace, earth shakes beneath their feet, and the voice of God echoing through it all.

And this is a scene like a volcano erupting while a hurricane is moving through at the same time.

It makes me think of C.S.

Lewis, the lion, the witch in the wardrobe.

There's a conversation between Mr.

Beaver and Susan about Aslan, and Aslan in that story is the Christ figure.

And here's the conversation.

Aslan is a lion, the lion, the lion, the great lion.

Oh, said Susan.

I thought he was a man.

Is he quite safe?

I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.

Safe?

You could hear Mr.

Beaver giggle.

Who said anything about Safe?

Of course he isn't safe.

But he's good.

He's the king, I tell you.

And so I mean, I love that.

If you've not seen that, read it.

It's such a such an encouraging C.S.

Lewis such an encouraging writer, powerful voice for you know for really our generation as well, as he spoke during his generation, wrote so many things.

And and then let's take a look.

Just move forward a little bit.

Exodus chapter 20, verse 18.

Exodus 20:18

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram's horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

And I wonder if we if we saw if we really saw God more clearly, more accurately, there would be some points and times where we would tremble.

And there is an appropriate fear.

God is a God of love, but He is a holy God.

He's a God.

We don't talk about the wrath of God, the wrath that's going to be poured out on sin, but God is a God of wrath.

But He's also a God of grace that gives us the invitation.

You don't have to continue down this path to incur my wrath.

You can repent and say yes to Jesus and not only have your sins forgiven, but write your relationship with God.

Where you can walk with Him and journey with Him.

And so when we see God's holiness, our resistance fades and our reverence rises.

And our culture and among many Christians today, we've lost that fear and that reverence of the Lord.

John Bevere, which I would encourage you, he's written recently, he's written written on the holiness of God.

One of my daughters and sons, all three of my kids now live in Tennessee.

God help me.

So one of them has a really close friend that works for John Bevere.

And it's cool to hear him share about this man's character as he writes about the character of God.

But here's what John Bevere says.

He says, We've reduced God to a harmless deity who exists only to bless and forgive.

But the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

By the way, that's the Bible verse.

When we lose all, we lose our direction.

Will you say that last part with me?

When we lose all, we lose direction.

And so what I mean by this, we see this sometimes in a, in a, certainly in the world, we certainly see in the culture, but you know where it's creeping in?

It's creeping into the church.

We're losing this reverence for God.

And sometimes we develop uh even our worship services are developed flippantly.

And I don't believe that's the case at Church at the Grove because I know our worship leadership, and I know our staff leadership, and I know I know our Bible teachers and our uh what Bible study teachers.

I mean, they're there I I feel as if that we are in the right direction.

We're certainly not perfect.

And so the fear of the Lord, Proverbs 8.13.

The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.

Hatred of evil.

And John Calvin said this.

John Calvin, one of the reformers, he says, nothing is more powerful to overcome temptation than the fear of God.

I'm gonna say that again.

And again if I need to.

Nothing is more powerful to overcome temptation than the fear of God.

A holy fear of God.

And so, um, finally, uh, can we just talk about the character of God a little bit?

God's commands reveal his character and they lead to life.

God's commands reveal his character and they lead to life.

I love what Tim Keller says.

Tim Keller says this.

He says, God's commands are not chains, but wings.

God's commands, see a lot of people think that Christianity is just about do's and don'ts.

Um, and if that's your attitude, let me go ahead and tell you, you'll you'll never do enough, and you'll never get rid of the, you'll never be able to stop doing some of the things that plague you enough to please the Lord.

But in the midst of that, Jesus reveals himself to you.

You experience the forgiveness and the redemption.

You repent and you believe, and you turn and put your Faith in Christ.

And your sins yesterday, all your sins in the past are forgiven.

When you put your faith in Christ, all your sins in the present are forgiven.

When you put your faith in Christ, and this blows your mind, every sin you commit in the future is forgiven.

That doesn't give you license to sin.

That's what Paul.

Paul said, may it never be.

He said, you don't go sin more so you can get more grace.

So not giving you excuses or freedom to go just just do what you want to do.

What I want you to do is I want you to understand that the more that we're caught up in the character of God and who he is and what he wants for our life, God.

God has attributes.

God has characteristics that are divine.

His divine nature says he's eternal.

His divine nature says that he is self-existent.

I am who I am, is what Yahweh means.

God's divine nature is that he is immutable, which means he is unchanging.

God's divine nature says that he is infinite.

He is without limits in being or power.

Psalm 147, 5 says, Great is our Lord and mighty in power, his understanding has no limits.

And so I can can I just keep going for one second here?

And I'm going to ask you to participate in a second.

So be ready.

So God has what we call moral attributes.

And another word for that is communicable attributes.

Attributes that we can communicate.

And God is holy.

God is holy.

He's set apart.

He is so other than us.

What do I mean by that?

I mean just I don't have to think very long about how ungodlike I am.

Well, God is other than that.

He is perfect and he is holy.

But he still wants relationship with me.

He's loving.

His nature is love.

He is just.

So could you help me out a little bit?

What are some, let's have some audience participation.

What are some characteristics of the Heavenly Father or the person of Christ?

Or the third person in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

Tell me something about them that just resonates with your heart.

Love.

Grace.

Say it again.

Huh?

Sovereignty.

Sovereignty.

God is sovereign in control.

Who else?

Always faithful.

What else?

Unchanging.

Healing.

Strong.

Say it again.

Powerful.

Protector.

He's a protector.

Giving.

Did I hear that?

Forgive.

Forgiving.

Absolutely.

Say it again.

He's patient.

Omnipresent, man.

He is everywhere all the time.

Omnipotent means he's all powerful.

All knowing.

My guidance.

Did I say that right?

What else?

Precious.

Righteous, righteous.

Omniscient?

He's a father.

He is a father.

And so listen, as we come right now and we celebrate these attributes, as we celebrate coming into the presence of God, I want to ask you, when was the last time you were awed by God?

When was the last time that you were just caught up?

And listen, you say, well, I don't know, I don't know what it means to for God to come to me like that.

Well, you keep pressing, you keep asking, you keep praying, you keep worshiping.

And so we're going to have a time of just worship and response.

And we always say, listen, you're welcome to come and to be prayed for.

I'm going to have some guys on both sides over here, and I want a couple ladies that would be willing to be available as well.

If you want somebody to pray for you and just pray for God's power to come and to be real in your life, to pray for healing.

Maybe you've got a specific need.

Maybe there's something going on with one of your family members, one of your kids, one of your um one of your work associates.

Maybe there's something going on, and you need somebody just to kind of pray with you and agree with you.

There's something powerful about that.

So, so, Father, we ask that you would work in this time of response as we worship.

God, I pray that you would speak, and I pray those that if there's somebody here that needs to be drawn to a relationship with Jesus, that they will step forward and they'll say yes to Jesus.

That is that is good and he is powerful.

God, that they they could receive that touch.

Father, we love you and we worship you.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

And everybody said together, Amen.

Would you stand up and let's