Returning to Reverence

((applause)) Well, I just love that time of worship. Um, I really need prayer this morning and so I just want to start again um just with another word of prayer coming before God and asking him to speak through me. Um would you join me right now? Father, by your grace, would you open our eyes right now to who we are speaking to? just give us a glimpse of how sacred this is when human beings come before Almighty God.

It's a big deal, God. Today, would you open our eyes to who you are? God, get rid of all the arrogance that's in my heart, that's in my head. We want to humble ourselves before you. We need your help to just humble ourselves. Give us just new eyes to see what an awesome privilege it is to speak to you, sing to you, and have you dwelling in us.

God, I pray that nothing is of the flesh. If I could just preach one sermon where nothing is of the flesh and everything is of the spirit. Oh God, that'd be so amazing. Could that be like right now for the first time in my life? Can I just put to death everything that's of Francis and have your spirit speak through me to build up your children to bring glory to your name to experience the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

It's in the matchless name of Jesus we pray. Amen. This morning I I I was thinking about okay one I've been coming here for 20 years um doing chapels at APU for 20 years and there were a few passages this morning that really struck me. Um they were in John 5, John 8, and John 12 where Jesus would say, "I don't say anything out of my own initiative, but I only speak what the father tells me to speak."

He says, "I don't do things out of my own initiative or authority. I only do things if the father does them. I see him doing it, so then I do it. He tells me to say something, then I say it. And I'm looking at these passages and I'm going, "God, could I do that this morning?"

And I was a little embarrassed of how many times I've walked on this stage. And I just start speaking out of my own initiative of what Francis wants to say rather than really saying, "God, could I be that close to you the way Jesus was on the earth where he could actually hear you speaking and then say what you said?" cuz we live in a time when everyone is so quick to state their opinion.

Everyone wants to talk and our our our hearts are bursting and we've got to just say something. And I feel like I've done that out of my own initiative. When I was taught how to preach decades ago, I was told, "Man, get up there, tell a story, tell a joke, do something to get everyone's attention because some people won't be listening.

There'll be people up there kind of nodding off. There'll be people thinking about all these other thoughts. So get up there and get their attention. Draw them in with something. Look at me. Look, look, look. And just do that. Get their attention. Then do this, then do this.

Then do this, then do this. And then I read Jesus. Then I read about how the Apostle Paul says, "I I made sure that I didn't use eloquent speech or superior wisdom because I didn't want to diminish the cross of its power. and that there's something I can do when I rely on my strategy, my ability to speak, my ability to draw a crowd in that's actually going to diminish the power.

And I'm just at an age and season in my life where I really feel like I could care less what anyone thinks. I just want to experience his power and have it really be him. I think we're afraid of silence. I get afraid of silence. When I go somewhere to speak, there's like an expectation of the people in the room, the people that brought me there, that you better keep things going. you better move people.

That's I'm not saying that's what APU is thinking. I'm just saying that's a typical expectation. Um, and so there can be a fear of like waiting for the spirit and not saying anything unless God wants you to speak. You know what Jesus taught was that there would be some of you here that it doesn't matter how I communicate to you, you don't have ears to hear.

That's what Jesus said. That's what Jesus would say to a crowd. He goes at the end of his messages. He's the only one that said it. He's like, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." In other words, Jesus, the son of God, says there's there's nothing I can do.

Either God's given you ears to hear this or you're not going to get it. and others. He told his disciples like, "You have ears to hear. So, I could say it in any way and you're going to come at me and say, explain that to me because you're hungry for it."

But see, I wasn't taught that way. I was taught that there are people that don't want to hear it, but you can talk them into it. That's just not what Jesus says. Some of you, I could just read some verses and you'll walk out that door so full cuz you're hungry to hear the word of God.

So, I just confess and apologize that I know there have been times I've been on this stage or over at Turner Center where some of you guys are. I miss that place. Actually, I love teaching there. Um, they're probably yelling right now. Um, there's just been too many times where I came in the flesh or too much of the flesh and actually emptied its power.

And so, let me just read from Hebrews chap 12. This has been a passage that has been just constantly just I I'm just constantly meditating on it. I find myself meditating on this for the last month um because I forget who I'm dealing with sometimes. Hebrews 12 verse 18, for you have not come to what may be touched. a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.

This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken that is things that have been made in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 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, for our God is a consuming fire.

Man, I love that passage. Hebrews 12. Read it for yourself. Meditate on it. This is such an important passage for this generation because we have forgotten what God is like. We sometimes treat him like he's our pet, like he's some little power that we can harness to help us fulfill our dreams.

And we have no clue what we're talking about. He says, "You," that first verse, you haven't come to some person that you can touch. Wh what what do you think God is? You you you when you close your eyes, who do you picture? What do you see? You think it's just someone you can go up and grab?

He says, "You haven't come to what may be touched." He says, "A blazing fire." He says, "I'm not someone you can just come up to and hug." He goes, "Man, I'm like a blazing fire. You can't touch me. I am a blazing fire." Like 1 Timothy 6 says that that he's he he dwells in unapproachable light.

He's a blazing fire. Then he uses these words. This is how he describes himself as darkness and gloom. When is the last time you heard a message, a sermon where the preacher read a passage like this and explains to you that God refers to himself as darkness and gloom and a tempest, a storm.

God refers to himself as a storm. when when Job questioned him, it says God answered him out of the whirlwind. Here's a a reference to to uh um the the Exodus when he made everything dark and gloomy and and he had these hail storms that were just killing.

He He's just see we don't The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Like for for any of us to to have any ounce of wisdom, it has to start or begin according to scripture with a fear of him going, "Okay, I get it.

He's not just someone that that I can, you know, bring along with me. He's he's this untouchable blazing fire, darkness, gloom, tempest." He goes, "Do you get that yet? Cuz that's the beginning of wisdom." And I and I was thinking about this this morning even during worship. I'm thinking, okay, some of this I don't want to say it's it's all your fault or anything like that.

Many of you grew up in homes where your mom and your dad, you know, taught you that your opinion matters. And it's just not true. Now, now when you're standing before a tempest, picture a a tornado coming at you at that point, does your opinion matter? Do your feelings and everything you feel in your heart, does it matter?

No. You recognize, man, I'm before a blazing fire. There's tornadoes coming out. Who cares about my opinion? That's where we've got to start with wisdom. It's an understanding of who God is. I'm not coming before some. And who do you think you're going to come before at the end of your life?

Someone who values your opinion. He says, "You haven't come to what may be touched. You can't even touch me. I'm a blazing fire. I'm gloom. I'm darkness. I'm a tempest." and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

We throw these things around like I want to hear the voice of God. I want to hear the voice of God. The people back then were like, "Please don't talk anymore. Your commands are so intense. Your voice is like a trumpet. Moses, you go up there and talk to him for us.

I I I I can't I can't endure this anymore." And then it says, Moses, it says, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I'm trembling. I am I am out of control trembling. I'm not trying to work up some, you know, a little, you know, like chills during worship.

He goes like, I see him and I just start shaking uncontrollably with fear. This is Moses. This is who you're coming before when you pray. He goes, "You've come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels in festal gathering." Man, so right now there's this throne where this being sits and there are innumerable, you can't count the number of angels celebrating in some sort of festal gathering.

Do you ever think about that when you pray? I was catching myself so many times when I pray I'm thinking about me. I'm not thinking about this being up there. Darkness, gloom, blazing fire and innumerable angels up there. I'm so focused on me like somehow this centers around me.

So that being's on a throne with innumerable angels worshiping him and somehow I'm going to think about me because that's what our culture teaches us to do. But how do you feel, Francis? Who cares? That's why I get so frustrated with with worship services where people go, "Well, who's speaking?

Who's singing? Who's leading worship tonight? Is Francis speaking? Wait, wait. So, so there's a God, darkness, gloom, fire, tempest, innumerable angels, and you want to know Francis is going to be there. Really? Like, have we forgotten the object of our worship? Who we've come before? We've come to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven and to God the judge of all and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and a sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

And then he gives a warning. He goes in verse 25, see that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they didn't escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. And here's the phrase.

This is crazy. Try to even understand this. He says, "At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. What does that even mean? How do you shake the heavens?" He says, "One more time."

He goes, "That time I spoke, that little and and that little planet of yours started to shake." He goes, "Well, I'm about to speak again, and it's going to shake. Not just your little planet that you dwell on, but all of the heavens are going to shake. This being is going to do that.

This is why I don't really think my opinion matters. He's going to shake the heavens and the earth." He says this phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken. That is things that have been made in order that the things that cannot be shaken remain.

So everything that you can see, everything that was created, he says it he's going to shake. He's going to shake it to the point where they disappear. And the only things that remain are the things you can't see. My mind is blown when I read that. I don't even understand how that works.

How do you shake something with your voice and then you end up shaking away everything that was made so the things that cannot be shaken remain. See, this is why you got to understand even when when we were singing, I was like, God, I want my soul. I want inside that immaterial part of me.

However that looks, I want my soul. Bless the Lord. Oh my soul, the invisible part of me. I want it connected with you right now as I'm singing. Can my soul right now as I'm speaking? Lord, can my soul be just knit together with yours? This cannot be shaken. me and God.

This bond we have, height, death, life, death, angels, principalities, nothing can separate me from that kind of intimacy, that type of love with so that when he shakes the heavens and the earth and everything we know and see, then my soul is perfectly intact with his, his spirit perfectly in mine.

This is insane. This is intense. We don't get this. I'm begging God to help me understand what this is all about. He says, "Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. I'm a part of a kingdom that can't be shaken. See, my body, my body is falling apart.

I'm actually shocked. I forgot my glasses. I'm blown away. I can read this right now. I mean, it is getting it just everything is falling apart. And yet, he says, "I've inherited a kingdom, a part of something that can't be shaken. It's going to survive that last time when he shakes the earth."

And he says, "Therefore, let us offer to God acceptable worship." Did you know there's worship that's not acceptable? This is something I think we forget. We just think, "Well, if I show up and sing, he's happy." No. Tell that to Cain. I mean from the beginning there's that which is acceptable and that which is not.

And he says we need to come before him with acceptable worship with reverence and awe. Man, I want to thank your worship team too this morning cuz I feel like you brought us there and I loved even listening to you pray at the end. The reverence, the holy, holy, holy.

He for worship to be acceptable, it has to be with reverence and awe. Even Jesus in Hebrews 5, it says that his prayers were heard because of his reverence. That blows me away. Jesus was heard because he revered the father. So, who are we that casually go, "Hey, God, can you help me with this?

Can you help me this? Can you help me with this?" All the while I'm thinking about me, me me, forgetting about who he is. And he says, "Let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Our God is a consuming fire."

You see, it starts with the fear of that. And then when you understand that that God is for you and that God because of the riches of his grace and and his incredible love for you went after you to pursue you then suddenly it's like you get to this place where I don't care what anyone else thinks because the darkness fire gloom tempest untouchable one that is innumerable angels up there who's going to come back and he's going to shake the heavens and he shakes the earth.

He is he's given me the keys. I'm part of his kingdom that's invisible, that's unshaken. And when everything else is shaken to where it somehow just dissipates, disappears, I'm going to be there with him. You start having confidence that that God is with you and in you and for you.

You start living a fearless life. You start believing, "Wow, I actually have value because I'm one with him. I'm a part of his temple and a part of that unshakable kingdom." Father, may we leave this room in awe of you. May our worship today be acceptable, reverence, and awe.

May we walk around today recognizing what's going on in heaven and what needs to take place on this earth. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. We worship you in the precious name of G Jesus. Jesus Jesus. Amen.