Purpose: To establish the awesome holiness of Christ.
Aim: I want the listener to submit wholeheartedly to Christ.
INTRODUCTION: How can we be sure that we will have the help and the blessing of God on our lives and on our church? Isaiah answers that question for us in today’s text. The answer is found in how we react to God Himself.
Christmas provides an illustration of how people react to idea of God. During the Christmas season many will admire the baby Jesus who was born in a stable. The problem is that very few lives are changed by this celebration.
"Many people set a great deal more stress on religious rituals, than upon practical obedience. They will be faithful in attendance upon church services, devout and reverent in worship--and yet in their daily life, they will disregard the plain commandments of God! They fill the week with selfishness, pride, bitterness, and evil-speaking, and then go to church on Sunday, with great show of devotion, to engage in the worship of God!" J.R. Miller
The difference between someone whose life is changed by worshiping Jesus and the one whose life stays the same depends on whether they tremble before God.
A man had just completed his first major mountain climb. As he reached the summit of the high and dangerous mountain he leaped to his feet with a loud shout of victory. But, his guide pulled him down and warned him, "Don’t do that! The wind will blow you off. We stand on this mountain only on our knees!"
Do you remember how the shepherds reacted to announcement of Christ’s birth? Luke 2:9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. (NAU)
How did the wise men react when they saw Jesus as a young child? Matthew 2:11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh....
How did the women react when they went to Christ’s tomb? Mark 16:5,8 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 8 They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (NAU)
How did John react when he saw a vision of Jesus Christ? Revelation 1:17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. ... (NAU)
I. Why Should We Tremble Before God?
Out text gives us 6 reasons why we should tremble before God.
Vs.1 A. We should tremble before God because He is unlimited
God is using a figure of speech to picture how immense He is. The Jews were very proud of the great Temple that they had built to worship God in. God is saying that at best earth (let alone the Temple) is nothing more than a resting place for His feet.
"But first and foremost, God is a Spirit, not a physical creature. Logically, then, He sees the physical universe as a showcase for His glory and the physical temple as a means to spiritual worship." [1]
Men tend to take more pride in what they do than in who God is.
Jesus told the woman at the well how God is worshipped. John 4:23--24 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (NAU)
Psalm 99:1 The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake! (NAU)
God does not need our worship or our help in any way at all. He is unlimited.
Vs2a B. We should tremble before God because He made everything
Jeremiah 5:22 ’Do you not fear Me?’ declares the LORD. ’Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it. (NAU)
Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing. (NAU)
Imagine that you are at a Christmas party. You meet someone you don’t know and strike up a conversation. He seems like a really nice person. You laugh and joke with him for awhile, then the conversation turns to the New Year and subject turns to income taxes. You call him aside from the group and ask him if he’d like some tips on how to avoid paying income taxes. He says, "Sure" so you proceed to share some questionable tax tips with him. Later you happen to ask him what he does for a living so he shares that he is an investigator for the IRS.
Now your laughter turns into fear. Why? You learn about his position. The same thing should happen when we learn about Christ’s position.
Psalm 114:7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, Before the God of Jacob (NAU)
Vs.2b C. We should tremble before God because we need His favor
Humility is the only way to experience God’s blessing. Otherwise the God of all creation is our enemy. 1 Peter 5:5 ... all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (NAU)
"Without a humble heart and a contrite spirit, and without trembling at the Word of the Lord, our worship cannot be pleasing to God." [2]
Vs.3a D. We should tremble before God because He hates hypocrisy
The Jews were worshiping God by sacrificing oxen, lambs, grain, and incense. When God looked at them their worship looked like human sacrifice, dogs with broken necks, pig’s blood, and idol worship. God is not impressed with ceremony without a sincere desire to glorify God.
Isaiah ends this book the same way it began. Isaiah 1:11 "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. (NAU)
Vs.3b-4 E. We should tremble before God because hypocrites are doomed
When we choose our own way, then God says He will choose the punishment. We can choose our actions, but we cannot choose the consequences.
Romans 1:32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (NAU)
This is why David prayed: Psalm 139:21--24 Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. (NAU)
Vs.5-6 F. We should tremble before God because God will bless His own
Now God speaks to the few who still tremble at His Word. Isaiah was one of those few. Isaiah 6:1--5 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (NAU)
The few faithful worshipers of God may have to endure the hatred and shunning and ridicule from the hypocrites. When hypocrites look at humble worshipers they may even mockingly ask them to put on a show: "Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy." Notice that they did not ask them to worship God so that God will see their joy.
These two verses are words of encouragement to the humble. One day (Vs.6) God will roar from the very Temple that the hypocrites were so proud of. Psalm 2:9 ’You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ " (NAU)
II. Who Will Tremble Before God?
A. The world will tremble before God
Isaiah 64:1--2 Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence-- As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil-- To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence! (NAU)
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation. (NAU)
B. God’s enemies will tremble before God
Psalm 97:3--6 Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory. (NAU)
III. When Should We Tremble Before God?
A. When we surrender to God
Paul trembled when he surrendered to God. Acts 22:6--8 "But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ’Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ "And I answered, ’Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ’I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ (NAU)
A hardened jailer trembled when he surrendered to God. Acts 16:27--32 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!" And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. (NAU)
B. When we serve God
1 Corinthians 2:3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, (NAU)
Philippians 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out [Lit. "carry to its ultimate goal"] your salvation with fear and trembling; (NAU) In the previous verse Paul told us what our ultimate goal is: Philippians 2:11 that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NAU)
IV. What Is The Result Of Trembling Before God?
A. A joyful relationship with God
Psalm 2:11 Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. (NAU)
Psalm 5:11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. (NAU)
Psalm 32:11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart. (NAU)
B. A joyful fellowship with other believers
Psalm 40:16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, "The LORD be magnified!" (NAU)
Psalm 34:1--3 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. (NAU)
CONCLUSION: Do you have a joyful relationship with the God who created you? Do others see a joyful spirit inside of you? If not, maybe you need to come to God and tremble before Him because of your sin. Then and only then, can you have the joy that is missing in your life.
Joel 2:10--13 Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. The LORD utters His voice before His army; Surely His camp is very great, For strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it? "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil. (NAU)
"Without faith we are not fit to desire mercy,
without humility we are not fit to receive it..."
Stephen Charnock [3]
[1]McKenna, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1994). Vol. 18: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 18 : Isaiah 40-66. The Preacher’s Commentary series (267). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.
[2]McKenna, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1994). Vol. 18: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 18 : Isaiah 40-66. The Preacher’s Commentary series (268). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.
[3]Thomas, I. (1996). The golden treasury of Puritan quotations (electronic ed.) (189). Simpsonville SC: Christian Classics Foundation.
