Days Of Awe - Return To God - Yom Kippur

2023.09.24.Sermon Notes. The Days of Awe! Return to GOD. YOM KIPPUR DAY OF ATONEMENT

William Akehurst, HSWC

Rosh Hashanah, the Days of Awe, Yom Kippur. The Fall Feasts of the LORD.

BIG IDEA: The Days of Awe, 10 days of repentance, 10 days of fearing GOD. The Shofar has sounded the Alarm. These are the last 10 days before Judgment Day. It is a time to humbly submit ourselves to GOD, to turn from the world and to return to GOD. A time to forgive and be forgiven. And the question lingers, Am I truly submitting to GOD?

GOD is Awesome, Forgiving, Merciful, Loving and Good for those who love HIM and are called according to HIS Purpose.

Scriptures Referenced: Psalms 33:8, Psalms 47:1-2, 1 Samuel 12:24, Genesis 3:10, Exodus 3:5-6, Matthew 4:17, Matthew 10:28, Romans 6:23, Mark 1:14-15, 2 Corinthians 7:10, 1 John 1:5-10, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Psalms 139:23-24, Psalms 51:1-4, Psalms 51:7-15

Psalms 33:8 (NKJV) 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him!

THE DAYS OF AWE are a time for repentance, reconciliation, and restoration.

We are living in a shattered world, and longing for restoration and hope.

But are we willing to submit ourselves fully to GOD?

And once again, do we really understand what it means by the “fear of the LORD”?

GOD IS AWESOME AND TO BE REVERENTLY FEARED

Psalms 47:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!

Shout to God with the voice of triumph!

2 For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.

(ESV) 2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.

FEAR AND SERVE TRUTHFULLY WITH ALL YOUR HEART.

1 Samuel 12:24 (NKJV)

24 Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.

FEAR: to be afraid, to revere, to have a positive feeling of reverence for GOD

WEBSTER - profound reverence and awe especially toward GOD

THE DAYS OF AWE 2023

The ten days between Rosh Hashanah (beginning at sundown on Friday September 15th) and Yom Kippur (ending at sundown on Thursday, September 28th) are known as the Days of Awe, or Yameem Noraeem. The Hebrew root word is “yare” which means to be afraid, to fear, to revere, to have a positive feeling of reverence for God.

FEAR OF THE LORD

TO BE AFRAID OUT OF GUILT

ILLUS: Child and the cookie jar

Genesis 3:8-10 (NKJV)

8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

TO BE AFRAID OUT OF RESPECT (AWE AND REVERENCE)

Exodus 3:1-6 (NKJV)

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

GOD CALLS TO MOSES

4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

JESUS CALLS US

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

THAT’S A SERIOUS STATEMENT TO REFLECT UPON REGARDING THE FEAR OF THE LORD.

Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.