The Church Before God

Amen. It's good to be with you all this morning. Enjoyed the good singing, good teaching this morning, brother.

I really enjoyed that. Talked to Brother Jacob this morning, and they called, mainly probably just to make sure that I had not forgotten to come to Perryville instead of Parthenon.

If you know where Parthenon is, it's, I don't know, probably two and a half hours the other direction.

And so they wanted probably to make sure that I was going to be here more than anything else. But they did want to know too, or let us know that they'd been in prayer for this service and for the sermon and everything here today.

Their hearts are truly knit to Perryville. And that was encouraging for me.

You've got some good shepherds that love the sheep and they love the flock here, and they are anxious to be back and are seeing a good work there where they are.

So please be in prayer for them, as I know you have. And we'll pray that they'll be back.

You'll be even more anxious to see them after I preach this Sunday. I'm sure you'll say, praise

God, we have a good pastor. Quatro and Pastor Jacob to come back and preach to us instead of this rambling hillbilly to come down here.

But we're grateful to be with you. And I would, if you would turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 12.

Hebrews chapter 12 is where you'll find the text this morning. Hebrews chapter 12.

I thank God for his good blessings on us this morning. I'd like to see all the kids too.

What a blessing to have all the kids hollering and everything. God gave us amplification for that very reason,

I think, so that we could multiply and fill the earth and still preach over the kids.

So Hebrews 12. I don't know what is your custom here, but if you would stand so we can reverence the word of God.

Hebrews chapter 12 and verse number 18. For you're not come unto the mouth that might be touched and burned with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest and the sound of trumpet and voice of words, which voice they heard and treated that the words should not be spoken to them anymore.

For they could not endure that which was commanded. And if so much as a beast touched the mountain, it should be stoned or thrust through with a dart.

And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.

But you're common to Zion and to the city of the living God and the heavenly

Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven and to God, the judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect.

And to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

See that you refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, how much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth?

But now he has promised saying yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but heaven also.

And this word yet once more signify the removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve

God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our

God is a consuming fire. Father, I do pray,

God, as we look at your word this morning, and that we would approach it very carefully, very reverently, that our hearts would be attentive, not just to what

I have to say, but what thus saith the word. I pray, God, that your spirit would do a work in us this morning, that it would not just be sounding brass and tinkling cymbal, but your spirit would be like a hammer to our hardened heart, that it would be like the balm of Gilead to our wounded soul.

I ask God that you do work in us this morning, and please bless this people here in Perryville, that they may honor you greatly by their work.

I pray that you would be with the pastors that over this flock, that you may keep them safe and bring them back safely.

God, I pray that you would bless the unity here between them. We ask in Jesus precious name.

Amen. Amen. Thank you for standing this morning. The brother asked me this morning, he said, well, what's your title?

And I kind of hesitated a little bit, because I had a real fancy title that I wanted to give it.

I wanted to give this message the title, The Church Before Her Transcendent God.

And I backed up a little bit, and I said, no, if I'm going to have a title that sounds that long and fancy, I've got to preach long and fancy, and I can't do that.

So I'm going to back up a little bit. But what I want to talk to you about is what the church looks like standing before God.

Just simple as that. The church as she stands before God. The eternal

God. The God who spoke in all of creation was. The God whose spirit hovered over the deep, and everything that was not was because of Him.

I want to talk to you about how she, the church, stands before God.

Now, many of us know the book of Hebrews was written by who we do not know.

I know that I believe it was Paul. And I was talking to Brother Randall Easter this morning. He said, you tell them that I believe it was written by Luke.

And I said, I'll be sure to tell them that there are a few crazies out there. As Brother Easter.

But regardless, it was inspired by the Spirit. Regardless whose hand the pen was in, the

Spirit was flowing through the ink as it laid on the page.

And when I say that, the reason I say that is you and I can look at the Scripture, regardless if we're going to agree on who the author was, and we can say we know who the ultimate author is, and we can trust that His words are yea and amen.

The book of Hebrews is nothing more than a constant flowing or a threading through, being shot through with a reminder that we have a better covenant.

We have a better sacrifice. We have a better hope.

We have a better high priest. We have everything better. And it was brought to us through God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Now the church, as she stands here before God, He gives us a picture of the

Old Testament. He gives us a picture of what it was for Moses there on Mount Sinai.

He gives us a picture from what they seen there as the children of Israel saw the smoke and the fire there on that mountain.

When God called Moses up to talk to him there, He told Moses, He said, Set a boundary around the mountain.

Don't let anybody or anything come beyond that boundary, because if they come beyond that boundary, they will die.

What does God hate? People to get close to Him. He tells us to draw nigh unto

Him, and He'll draw nigh unto us. No, it is not that He does not want us close.

He knows that His holiness, our sinfulness cannot stand. There must be a border there.

They and we could not stand in the holiness of God. We would be better off today trying to stand as we are on the face of the sun.

We would be better off than if we were to stand before God in His holiness as we are as sinners.

So what the writer of Hebrews here brings us is this picture.

He says, You're not come unto this mountain that might be touched.

You're not come unto Sinai. You're not come unto a place that I have to put borders around.

It's a better place. It's a more holy place. If you think

Sinai is holy, wait till you get to Zion. If you think that Sinai is terrifying, wait till you look at Calvary.

If you think that Sinai deserves all of your reverence and respect, when

God spoke and there was thunder and there was lightning, wait till you hear God speak from Calvary.

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani. My God, my God, why have Thou forsaken me?

If you think that that was powerful at Sinai, wait till you look at Calvary. What I want to say to you, church, is you and I have something stronger even.

You and I have something more powerful even. You and I have something more holy and deserves more reverence even.

So we ought to bow before this crucified Savior, this risen Savior, and we ought to sing as we have here before,

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. All has been made more clear for us today than it was even for those that stood.

Could you imagine those in Israel that were with Moses and they stood at the foot of the mountain and all they seen was thundering and lightning and smoke and fire and a border and they seen

Moses going up to this place to speak to God? They were terrified. They knew that something was going on up there.

They knew that it was strong and powerful. Moses comes back down and he says,

God said to do this and this and I'll make a covenant with you and I'll be with you.

And they said, hey man, we'll do it. We'll do that. We done seen your power. We're going to do it.

Read a chapter on later. What does the children of Israel say after he gave the commandments, the ten commandments?

They said, Moses, tell God we don't want to hear from him. Now you talk to us, but it's so terrifying.

We don't want to hear the voice of God. But if you'll talk to us preacher, we can handle that.

If you'll speak to us. Now, sometimes I'm afraid that in the church, and this is somewhat of a call and a warning,

I believe, that the terrible exceeding fear that Moses had before God on the mountain.

We as Christians, if we can allocate that out or distance ourself from the raw presence of God, we can be more comfortable.

Before long, we will start throwing earrings in the fire and making golden calves. Everything's been made more clear here for us than it had them.

And you and I can run the risk and the same danger, just as our brother talked to us this morning, how that Paul said to the

Galatian people, he said, I marvel how you're so soon removed.

And I want to preach that to myself constantly. Randall, can you not remember the night that God saved you?

Can you not remember what he brought you out of? I marvel that you're so soon removed.

I marvel that you turn your back to God. I marvel that you are able to come to church and sit through a service and not be broken when you hear about the gospel of Christ.

I marvel at that. You and I ought to consider as Christians, the same thing when we read things like we just read in Hebrews, how that Moses exceedingly feared and quaked before this sight.

I think about an employee on a dangerous job. I know that you work in the construction business, brother, and you probably see this all the time.

I remember when I first started, I was started in construction and we had these trestle ladders.

So a wooden trestle ladder, it goes up like this and then has a trestle go straight up out of the middle.

That's the most terrifying ladder you'll ever climb. And it's the biggest one we had was about 14 foot this way and it extended to 20 something feet.

And so you went up 14 foot at an angle, which was fine. And then you went straight up another however many, six to 12.

And so when you was over at that point on this wooden trestle ladder that creaked and popped as you was up there,

I can remember the first six months I was absolutely terrified. And I wasn't really that scared of heights, but that thing was just looked dangerous.

But after a year, I was standing on the top rung tightening wrenches.

You say, what happened? I became comfortable with something that ought to have terrified me.

Many of you have heard stories about people that are in dangerous jobs or dangerous positions like that.

And it seems to be after 14, 16, 20 years, they make the silliest mistake and it just either destroys equipment or it even is fatal.

Why is that? We have a tendency as fallen men and women, we have a tendency to become comfortable with the thing that is terrible.

We have become comfortable with the thing that is powerful. We have become comfortable with the thing we ought to stand in awe of.

Think back to the night that you were saved. Think back to that morning, that day. Was not all the stars on dress parade for you?

Did not the light seem to shine brighter when you knew that your sins were gone? Did not every single word that you read from this book seem to be, you may not have understand it, but you said there is something real, there is life in that.

I heard a preacher one time tell me, I started out preaching and I did not preach any better then than I do now.

And man, I had such a zeal and a passion, a desire to preach.

And I just preached like my head was on fire and my tail was catching. And I heard a preacher tell me one time, he said, well, just give it a little time, he said that will wear off.

And I remember going home and saying, God, please do not let that wear off. Church, never lose your holy awe of God and of His transcendence.

Now, you say you have talked a lot, now get to the word. Here is where I want to look at.

He says in verse 18, He says, For you are not come unto the mount that might be touched and that burned with fire, nor with blackness and darkness or tempest.

Look how that He is building, He is talking about Mount Sinai, where God gave

His commandments through Moses and through Aaron. And look how that He gives this illustration, this mountain is on fire, this mountain is full of blackness.

Verse 22, And to the city of the living God, to that heavenly Jerusalem. You say, why?

I want to touch this before I get too far here. Why do you want to remind us?

Or why do you think that the Scripture reminds us that we'd better guard ourselves?

From becoming too casual with worship, too casual with the holiness of God?

I think the Scripture over and over reminds us just like He does here. The writer says, this is bigger, this is stronger, this is more powerful, you better get a hold of it, do not let this slip.

I think all of us would probably, or most of us would be in the conviction of, or the line of the reformers, maybe let's think of it like that.

You realize that many of the grandchildren of the reformers turned to deism and atheism, not all of them, there were some that stayed faithful.

One of the strongest, doctrinally strong eras in Christianity, and you give them two generations and they turn around.

Don't think that we're above that. God has given us a great grace in our day.

The fact that Providence Baptist Church is right here in Perryville, that the

Word of God is so strong in this place, that worship is so real in this place, the fact that that is, is

God has given a great grace right here. Don't take it for granted.

Because I promise you, as an itinerant pastor and preacher bouncing around, it's not everywhere.

You've got something that God has gifted you with here. The sons of Eli, it says in 1

Samuel, the sons of Eli, the high priest, were sons of Baal.

They sat and watched worship services take place. Give them a little time.

It says in the book of Judges, which this is a terrifying verse, very first chapter, second, maybe it's chapter two and verse one.

It says, and there arose a generation who knew not God. Are you kidding me?

Joshua was just before that. How did they not know God? They had become comfortable with Him parting the

Red Sea. They had become comfortable with Him splitting the Jordan. They had become comfortable with the deliverance of Egypt.

Just common and normal things. Church, we should not become comfortable with this holy hill that God has brought you to.

Even those that watched Christ's miracles, even those that walked with Him at the

Sea of Galilee, even those that witnessed His power there at His crucifixion, the

Bible says, and many forsook Him and fled. What I want to encourage you to this morning is continue to labor.

Continue to labor for reformation and revival, but also labor for reverence to God.

It says, there's a few things that I want to say this morning that marks this church, a church that stands before its

God. You and I, we're not standing before, you know, just a lighted stage and a good time.

When we sung together this morning, all of heaven was interested in what you were doing.

The praises of heaven was going, or praises of the people were going up to heaven.

And I'm reminded in this text that we're come to a higher place, a more reverent place.

And so the first thing, and I did kind of alliterate this, and I usually don't even do that.

But the first thing that I want to look at this morning is the contrasted position.

The contrasted position. In verse number 18, He said, you're not come to Mount Sinai.

But in verse 22, He said, but you are come unto Zion. Now there is a difference in the two.

Both of them were pointing to a holy and a just God. They were both pointing to a

God that is mighty. They were both pointing to a God that was powerful. But He says in verse 26,

I believe, 26 and 27. He said, He shook the things in earth then. But now, as He promised once more,

He's going to shake not just earth, but heaven. So could you imagine there with Moses and the children of Israel, when

God is speaking, the whole earth is quaking, the mountains on fire, people are trembling.

Now here's the contrasted position. That's a walk in the park to what it is when

God manifested Himself in Jesus Christ, took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man.

And being found in the fashion of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Sinai was just a little glimpse of what Christ done on Calvary.

Stand in awe, church. That's a lot more than just a mountain smoking.

That's a lot more than just the earth quaking. That's God sending His Son. What the brother was talking to us this morning and teaching us about is we ought to have the gospel continually as Christians.

Yes, many of you would say, I'm a believer. I don't need that same old story. Tell that same old story to your soul every day, every night.

That's the only fuel you'll have for your fire. There's no ten steps to make your life better.

There's one step and it's down on your knees and say, God, I can't understand it, but it's huge.

It's bigger than I can comprehend. Your glory is wonderful. Now, this is a contrasted position from Sinai, yes.

Sinai was pointing. Think about that mountain that they could not touch.

They couldn't get near it. God says, it's too dangerous for you. As a matter of fact,

God even says, He said, don't even let the priests come close or I'll go after them. Be careful with the holiness of God.

They couldn't touch that mountain. But what did Jesus say? He said, come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.

So take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Now, that almost seems like a contrast to me that you can't, don't even touch this mountain.

But then when God puts himself in the flesh, he says, I want to get close. And I want you to come close to me.

Because now that Christ has become a man, he's made access for you and I to come into the holiest of holies boldly and find grace.

Remember what? And if you go back and you read in Exodus there in Exodus 18, 19, 20,

God tells Moses, he said, don't let them get close and don't let them get a glimpse. Matter of fact, just the passing by, when

God passed by and hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and Moses just seen the back of God as it were, it gave him a holy glow so much that they had to cover

Moses' face when he come down from the mountain. God tells him, he said, don't let the people even get a glimpse of me.

They can't handle it. What did Jesus say after his resurrection to Thomas, who was so doubting about his resurrection?

Jesus said, look at my hand, touch them, touch them.

Do you see this contrasted position? When Christ came to you, you no longer have to be distant, no longer have to be in an absolute terror, but you have to be in an absolute reverence.

That God would bow or come down low to us and offer himself for us.

This is where the church stands before its God in a holy reverence of him.

Now, think about your life before you were saved. That was a contrasted position.

You went from death into life. That ought to set your soul on fire.

You who were sick in trespasses and in sins.

I was trying to see who all was paying attention. You who were dead, dead in trespasses and sins.

You hath he quickened. He's made you alive. That is a contrasted position.

That is from the grave to upright in life. That's a contrasted position.

He's brought you from darkness into light. He's brought you from the old man and you've taken off that old coat and you've put on the new one.

Christ in you has made a contrasted position.

Now, if that means very little to you, I beg of you to go back to the

Scripture and back to the Word and look at the glory of His holiness and stand in awe of Him.

He says there in verse number 19, He said also on that mountain, it wasn't just smoke, it wasn't just fire, it wasn't just earthquakes, but He says the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words.

Which voice that heard and treated that the Word should not be spoken to them anymore.

Now, not only when the church stands before its God, not only is there a contrasted position, but there's also a convicting

Word. When all of Israel stood before the mountain and there was voice and there was thunders and the

Word of God came down from that mountain, it was so convicting to them that they basically stopped their ears.

That's what I was saying earlier when they said to Moses, Moses, won't you talk to us? We can handle the preacher talking to us, but when

God talks, it's too terrifying. Now, this is something that I want to remind you of this morning, even if you are a

Christian. If you're not a Christian this morning, please listen closely to what

I'm going to say. The children of Israel could handle a man speaking.

They couldn't handle God speaking. You and I today, we can handle a man speaking.

But when the Spirit of God begins to make that Word alive, if you're a lost, if you're a sinner,

I can do all the saying that I want to say, and I can say the gospel and I can articulate it perfectly, but until the

Spirit of God makes your heart alive to it, it's just sounds.

Now, dear Christian, we can set through services over and over.

We can come to Mount Zion. We can come and we can celebrate the fact that we're

Christians. We can celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but until that is made alive in us, until it's real, it could be nothing but words if we're not careful.

I think about, you know, if all we have is just a polished doctrine, if that's all we have as the church gathers, mama, you just well start sowing phylacteries for your grandchildren.

I was thinking about that just a minute. That might just be a King James word. Let me back up. If all we have is a doctrine that's just here, and it's polished, and it's perfect in our minds, but it's not shaking our soul to the point where it changes our life, our kids and our grandkids will be just as much as a

Pharisee as they were in Christ's day. What I mean by sowing their phylacteries,

I'm saying you just well start to get their garments ready so they can prance up and down the street and tell everybody how holy they are instead of how holy their

God is. Yes, we ought to have right and sound doctrine.

We ought to have truth, and if we don't, we don't have much. But let it impact your soul.

The children of Israel, they had the mountain and they viewed it, but if they got too comfortable with the mountain and they stepped across the line, it was death.

You and I have come to a much holier mountain. We have come to the blood of Christ shed for your sin.

When we come to the table here and eat and take of the cup and of the bread, is it not more to us when we see that sacrifice?

I went to one not long ago, and it was so casual I almost got sick to my stomach.

The preacher just said, well, here's your cup, and it's got a little kind of gross tasting piece of bread, and I thought, dear

God, it ain't the bread. It's not the flavor of it that we're here for.

But when we come to this mountain with a holy reverence, with a holy terror, a convicting word where it goes into our heart more than just our head, that's what changes our life.

Many of you remember 9 -11. You remember the sight of those two towers with the smoke and the fire, and everyone was in terror about that.

They'd seen something that was real and physical, and it shook them. I remember my dad was a pastor at that time.

Church was packed to the gills for the following month or so. And you gave it some time.

It'd become casual. It was a common thing to see the sights on TV then.

When Sinai was on fire the first time, they were terrified. Give them a little time, though.

And it'd become commonplace. When you first heard the

Gospel and it hit your soul and it convicted, the Word came to you in convicting power.

Man, you trembled. You wept. Give it a little time.

Does it still impact you? A sister shared her testimony with me here this morning.

She was telling me how she was a new Christian, and I'd seen the zeal. I'd seen the zeal and the passion that she had.

If you've been saved for a long time, I would desire, and I believe God would desire, go back to the mountain.

Go back to where God has brought you to. Go back to Christ and see that glorious sacrifice there for you, and realize that's a big thing.

Stand in awe of Him. And there was a convicting word in verse number 25.

He tells us, okay, so 19, they heard the voice and they stopped their ears.

Verse 25, now this is for you today. He says, see that you refuse not

Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, how much more shall not we escape if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven?

Now, here's where you and I stand in awe of our transcendent God. They've seen God speak there as it were in Sinai, and they've seen the lightning, and they've seen the fire, and they've seen the earthquake, and they trembled.

And what the Scripture's calling you and I to, how much more should you and I tremble when the

Spirit of God through His Word speaks to your heart? That's a big deal.

There is a convicting word that comes. Thirdly, there is a covenant promise.

When God's people stand before their God, when the church stands before their transcendent

Lord, there is a covenant promise that they can take a hold of, that they can see, that they can hold to and hope to in Genesis chapter 19,

I believe it is. I don't know if I put Genesis 19. No, I'm sorry, not

Genesis, Exodus. I knew that wasn't right. I put that wrong in my notes. Exodus chapter 19, verse 5, when they stood there before Mount Sinai, that smoking mountain where God's power was revealed,

He says, Now therefore, if ye will obey

My voice indeed and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto

Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine, and ye shall be unto

Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which shall speak unto the children of Israel, He tells

Moses. You say, what's the big deal about us, the church standing before our

God, our God that transcends time, our God that is above all? What's the big deal about it?

The big deal is that right in front of your face is a covenant promise that Jesus Christ, His blood was shed, the new covenant was made in His blood.

Now, I think we take too lightly, I know this church probably doesn't, because y 'all went through some preaching and teaching on the covenant recently.

But we take so lightly the word covenant. You can attest to that just in the divorce rate in our country, things like that.

But that covenant being so strong there with Christ, it is right before us as the church stands before its

God, just like as Israel stood before the mountain, and the words came down from the mountain through Moses, and God says,

I promise you'll be My people. Here's My words. You'll be My people and I'll be your

God. Now, Jesus is before His church, and His covenant promise is before His people.

That He would be the mediator of that new covenant, that He would be the go -between.

You can't stand on Mount Sinai, but Jesus can. Jesus can go where you could not, and He could suffer for what you couldn't suffer for.

He bled in your place and died for your sins and rose when you could not arise.

And He makes that covenant promise for all of those who will believe.

All of those that will come to faith in Christ will be His. And lastly this morning, as the church stands before her

God, I've already mentioned this several times, there is a clear reverence.

A clear reverence. I like the fact that this morning and every time

I've been down here, I believe you all take worship seriously. But don't become callous.

Don't become comfortable with taking worship seriously. Let that impact your soul.

There was a clear reverence here. You can go all the way back to verse number 9 when the author of Hebrews is building up to what we read.

He said, furthermore, we have fathers of our flesh which gave us correction, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much more rather be in subjection unto the

Father of spirits and live? He says in verse number 21, he said this was so terrible, this mountain at Sinai was so terrible that Moses said,

I exceedingly fear and quake. Do you see the reverence? Do you see the respect for the holy thing of God?

Verse 28, it says, wherefore we receive in a kingdom which cannot be moved. Let us have grace whereby we may serve

God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. When the church stands before her

God, this is not a suggestion. There will be a clear reverence.

It's not going to be a suggestion. It'll be clear that all of God's people, when they view their

God, there's going to be a seriousness, a humility, a fear, a godly fear, and an eternal joy.

There's going to be more emotion there than what I think we can even realize. But one thing that has always marked the church as she worshiped, just like we worshiped this morning, one thing that's always marked the church is they stand in absolute awe.

Of their God. I want to encourage you and remind you church this morning that that's where you and I stand.

If you're a Christian this morning, if you're part of the church and you stand before God and worship, don't become comfortable.

Just because you've been coming to Perryville for a long time and the singing is theologically sound, the teaching is some of the best that I've heard in a long time.

You've got one of the most solid preachers, two of the most solid preachers here, pastors, that I know of.

Don't get comfortable with that. Stand in reverence and awe. Not because Brother Quatro or Brother Jacob or anybody else is an eloquent speaker or anything.

It's because they're talking about their God. They may not always talk it right and they may not always get every word perfect and they might stumble from time to time, but they're coming to you with the

Word of God. I want to encourage you. This is a holy mountain that we've come to.

Calvary is a holy place. When God told Moses, take off your shoes, when he saw that burning bush, he said, take off your shoes

Moses, you're on holy ground. That's multiplied by 10 ,000 when you come to Calvary.

And I know that's not a good illustration, but we are in the most holy, the congregation of the saints.

Let's reverence it. Let's reverence our God this morning if you're outside of Christ.

And you say, well, I've heard your words this morning and something has happened in my heart while you's up there talking.

I see the value of Jesus Christ. I see that if I come to Him in faith and I turn from my sins, then

He'll save you. If you're outside of Christ this morning, do not tarry.

Do not wait. Come to Him. Today is the day of salvation and now is the accepted time.

Do not tarry. Turn from yourself, turn from your sins and come to Christ. Church, be encouraged to glory in holy reverence to your transcendent

God. Father, we thank you. God, that you go beyond time.

That you have shaken the earth before and now you've shaken our souls through your son.

I pray, God, that we would be like Isaiah there in chapter 6.

He stood in all the year that King Uzziah died and he saw you high and lifted up.

I pray that we'd join in with the angels, with the cherubim and the seraphim and cry, holy, holy, holy is the

Lord of hosts. I pray, God, that you would change us and strengthen us as Christians and if there's any that's lost here this morning, that you would redeem them.