God is an Awesome God!

Today my message is “God is an Awesome God!” There is so many examples in the Bible of God’s mighty work and guidance. I want to look at some of the times where the people were in awe of God and what that means, to them and to us today.

First, let’s look at what awe means so we understand its use in the Bible.

AWE – “A mixed feeling of reverence, fear and wonder, caused by something sublime.”   1 (Webster’s New World dictionary)

Psalm 33:8 NIV

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him.”

In the book of Job, chapter 25:2 NIV, Bildad the Shuhite states: “Dominion and awe belong to God; He establishes order in the heights of heaven.”

AWESOME – “Inspiring awe, showing awe.”  2(Webster’s New World dictionary)

In Exodus, we read the song of Moses and Miriam in chapter 15 and particularly verse 11.

Exodus 15:11 NIV

“Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

Moses speaking to the Israelites in the desert, about their enemies, gives us this verse.

Deuteronomy 7:21 NIV

“Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.”

A little further along Moses adds:

Deuteronomy 10:17 NIV

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.”

Then we have Nehemiah’s proclamation in his prayer in:

Nehemiah 1:5 NIV

“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and obey His commands.”

And again in Chapter 9:32a NIV

“Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love,..”

In Psalm 47:1-2 NIV, we hear from the Sons of Korah:

“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!”

King David, in Psalm 68:35 NIV sings,

“You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise be to God!”

Daniel, in Daniel 9:4 NIV, prayed

“O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands.”

Now let us look at times when Jesus caused the people to react or respond in awe. Remember that we too can be in awe when we see God at work in our lives.

Jesus is asked to heal the paralytic and tells him that his sins are forgiven. The teachers of the law get upset so Jesus heals the man’s physical incapacity and tells him to rise up and walk. The result causes a reaction in the people watching.

Matthew 9:4 NIV says,

“When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.”

Jesus raises the widow’s son from death and the people once again react to God’s work.

Luke 7:16-17 NIV gives us,

“They were filled with awe and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help His people.’ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”

Think about your own life. Has God done wonders that put you in awe of Him? Have you rejoiced, praised and admitted that God is great? Have you spread the news about our awesome and great God throughout your family and community? God wants us to spread His good news to everyone! God gives us the gifts and experiences to help us in this task. As we go into celebration through Communion, we need to realize what we are celebrating – an awesome, amazing, great and holy God who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and obey His commands.