Grace World Outreach Church
Pastor Daniel K Norris
Romans 1:19-23 ESV
Pr 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
(Ps 8:3–4)
An Appropriate Fear of the Lord will Steer your Relationship with the Lord
In the Grand design of the universe, we are so small, so insignificant
In Contrast our God, the creator of that universe, is so Great, So Awesome
Yet, David writes, that this Great, Awesome God is “mindful of” insignificant you.
How mindful? He knows your name (Isaiah 43:1), numbers the hairs on your head (Luke 12:7), has written out every one of your days (Psalm 139:16)
He is Jealous for you
“for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,” (Ex 34:14).
Jealous - proper title for God, demanding exclusivity, not bearing any rival,
Rom 1:19 For what can be known about Godis plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
(Ro 1:19–23)
Scripture offers a frightening example of this…
Ex 32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
(Ex 32:1–6)
Don't forget the context of this event
40 days earlier
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear (Yr’), for God has come to test you, that the fear (Yirah) of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
(Ex 20:18–21)
Don’t be Afraid of God (run from), be in Awe of God (run to)
Seeing the Awesome Wonder of God produced two very different responses
- Moses Feared God and drew near
- The people were Afraid of God and stood far off
Three things we need to note
1) The Sound of God’s Voice was still ringing in their ears
It’s only been 40 days since they heard directly…
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God (Ex 20:4–6)
How quickly we are prone to forget the word, forget what God has done!
Rom 1:19 For what can be known about Godis plain to them, because God has shown it to them… So they are without excuse.
We are guided by that which we gaze…
Why its so important to daily hide this word in your heart! (Psalm 119:11)
2) The Sight of God’s Glory was still before their eyes
They are still camped around Sinai, the cloud of God’s glory can still be seen
They said, “We can’t see Moses!” They were looking for a Man… Missed God
3) Within the Sight and Sound of God, they exchanged His Glory for an Image
And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” (Yahweh)
Remember what Paul said…
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Exchanged the Glory of God, for an image
Man created in the Image of God, because of the lack of a fear of God, seeks to recreate God in the image of Man
Make the extraordinary to the ordinary
Making the uncommon common
Making the supernatural natural
Why did Moses have the opposite response to Israel?
- Israel Saw God throughout the eyes of a Slave
- Moses saw God through they eyes of a Son
4 Places we need to seek out
1) Seek to demolish false images, ideas of God
2) Seek repentance where we exchanged His Glory for Our image
3) Seek to truly see God, gaze in his direction until we are in awe
4) Seek to revere Him for Who he is, not who we desire him to be
Challenge:
1) What false images or ideas of God have you observed?
2) How have those false ideas robbed God's children of the close, intimate relationship that God jealously desires?
3) How have any of these affected you?
4) What do you need to do to let an authentic fear of God steer your relationship with God?