Youth and the Awesomeness of God (Part 1 of 2)

Introduction to the Series

This series is on the awesomeness of God. The purpose is to create within us an attitude in relationship to God where we're enthralled with the awesomeness of God—to look at God with intense fascination and total impressment with His awesomeness. We need to recognize God as the greatest good of our lives and that everything that is not God is not great and is not awesome.

Throughout this series, we'll compare the awesomeness of God to other things. It's hard to genuinely compare something to God and not conclude that God is infinitely more awesome. Nothing can hold a candle next to God. It's futile to even compare certain things. This creates a radical lifestyle where non-God things are pronounced non-awesome.

There's a three-step process we'll go through. First, behold God as He's revealed Himself in Scripture—amazingly and infinitely awesome. Second, understand what God says about humanity and Jesus Christ, recognizing that human experiences apart from God are not awesome. Third, become enamored and enthralled with the awesomeness of God.

We'll examine God's awesomeness in who He is, His sovereignty, His judgment, and His mercy.

God's Awesomeness Compared to Humanity: Psalm 39

Tonight, we examine one passage that relates to how God has revealed Himself, especially in comparison to mankind—Psalm 39:5-8.

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather.

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of a fool.

The psalmist, beholding the awesomeness of God, concludes that his own existence—and all humanity's—is closer to nonexistence than existence when compared to God. We exist; we can see, touch, hear each other. This is how people normally define existence. But beholding God changes that perception.

All mankind stands as a mere breath. Breathe in, hold it, breathe out—that's your existence. A man goes about as a shadow. You don't behold a shadow and say, "That's awesome." For nothing they are in turmoil—pointless racket, insignificant noise compared to God. Man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather—lifestyles entirely pointless.

Things we consider awesome—financial stability, big TVs, cars, sports victories, movies, theme parks—are insignificant compared to God. Even the bacteria on our skin experiences more awesomeness than humanity apart from God. God is the epitome of existence. We're not awesome. God is.

The Hope Found in God's Awesomeness

One incredible conclusion: instead of hopelessness, the psalmist says, "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions." Beholding God's magnificence gives hope. Sin is not awesome. By virtue of God's awesomeness, He can save from sins. The psalmist wants freedom to wait for the Lord and experience all that is awesome.

Without God, there is no awesomeness. Perceived freedom to sin is non-awesome—non-God things.

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

—Proverbs 16:9

We plan courses, but God determines steps. If we trip on a curb, thank God—He's planning your path. This frees us to pursue holiness, experiencing God's awesomeness. Ask: Is what I'm doing conducive to sin or a stumbling block? Does it hinder God's awesomeness?

Everything compared to God is not awesome. The only way to experience awesome things is apart from sin, with thanksgiving, praise, honor, and adoration to God. If something prevents experiencing God's awesomeness, it's not worth it.

A Personal Illustration

I remember when soccer was awesome. In the 2003 state championship, our team was winning 5-0. I had a wide-open goal but missed it. My dad still reminds me. It haunts me. But in eternity, who will care about that story amid worshiping God forever? Accomplishments fade.

Even non-sinful activities aren't awesome compared to God unless experienced with Him—through sanctification, thanksgiving, making God's name famous. If I'd honored God in that game, it would have been awesome because of His sovereignty orchestrating it.

God's Awesomeness in What We Have or Lack

It's because I'm awesome that you would be in this game. That's the expression of God in Scripture, in any particular activity. It's because I'm awesome that I'm going to give you something good. And so if I don't have a relationship with somebody in the opposite sex, if I don't have a marriage, if I don't have children, if I don't have a job, if I don't go to public school or I do go to public school, all of those are answered by the significant fact that God is awesome. He's awesome and that's why. And therefore because of what I have or what I don't have, it's awesome because all I have is Christ.

See, if I'm looking to creation, I'm looking to the world around me, I'm looking to relationships, I'm looking to activities, and I'm trying to find awesomeness in those activities, I'm going to experience the greatest potential for disappointment. And even if I don't think I'm being disappointed, the reality exists that non-God things are non-awesome things. There can be awesomeness from the perspective of humanity, but given the reality of the existence of an awesome God, the peak, the pinnacle, infinitely awesome, is our God.

Given the reality of the existence of Him, if I'm pursuing other things that I could consider to be awesome from a human perspective, they're ultimately not awesome because they're not the awesome God. If my existence, which is a total concept of existence, this is genuine existence, it can be defined as existence—in comparison to God who is the epitome of existence, our existence is as nothing. So if we compare the awesomeness of humanity to the awesomeness of God, it would be as non-awesomeness.

Aligning Our Plans with God's Purpose

Proverbs 19:21: "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

If my purpose in life is not to align my purpose with God's purpose, my purpose fails. If my desires in life are not aligning with God's desires for my life, I'm wanting the wrong thing. If my will is aligning with God's will, then I get everything that I want. Isn't that mind-blowing? Isn't that an incredible picture that because of the awesomeness of God, His plans are going to prevail for your life, and so when I'm wanting His purposes, then I receive what I want.

That's why the Bible says to delight yourself in the Lord, to recognize God as awesome, then He will give you the desires of your heart. The Bible even says in terms of the things that we need to seek first the kingdom of God, seek the awesomeness of being a citizen of heaven, and then all these other things that you require that are necessary for your life, these things are just simply going to be added to you. It's not that you explode in wealth, it's not that you explode in health because we already saw that wealth is entirely pointless and meaningless. The things that God wants you to have to sustain you are the things that He is going to omnibenevolently give to you.

Lamentations 3:37: "Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?"

The very fact that I was planning to do this series is entirely irrelevant. The very fact that I couldn't even talk now is all because of God's decree. The very fact that we're sitting in this room, the very fact that we're inhaling, that we're exhaling, that we're going to go out from here. The very fact that anything that happens to us that would be considered bad to us, all of these different things are because of the decree of God. God said in relationship to your life, here's how it's going to go.

That's offensive, especially to unbelievers or to individuals that just don't want to see God in terms of that light, that I don't have the ultimate ability to determine what happens in my life. But I'm not awesome, so why would I want that? God is awesome. And everything that God does is awesome. And everything that God wants is awesome. And so whatever God would want for my life is that apex, that epitome, that pinnacle, that highest level of awesome. I can't get that level of awesome. I'm all stuck in the world of non-existence and in the world of non-awesome. I need God's awesomeness to direct and determine what is supposed to take place within my life because he's going to direct and determine awesome things for my life.

Submitting to God's Will

James 4:15: "You ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"

Talking in James about, here's my plans. Here's my future goals. I'm even saving for the future. I'm even storing up funds to be able to do what I want in the future, which of course it's frugal, it's financial planning. All of that stuff is great. You talk about Proverbs where the ant is collecting food and so forth. Even the Sabbath was talking about being diligent to work a specific six-day week and then have your seventh day off where you're not working. So you're planning for things in the future.

But ultimately, we should be saying if the Lord is permitting me to do something, if it's God's desire for me to do something, if God wants me to do something, then I will actually do something. And then with that understanding, I can branch out and do things. And then I'll be like the Apostle Paul who wanted to spread the gospel. Why would that not be an admirable, awesome thing to go from place to place evangelizing? And yet in the book of Acts, we can read that he went from one place, the door was shut. God didn't want him there. So he had to move on to another place. That door was shut. So he had to move on to another place until he got to Macedonia. And the door wasn't shut. He wasn't run out. He wasn't kicked out or anything like that. Now he knows where he's supposed to be.

Just live by faith in recognition of the awesomeness of God and allow God to carry you where he wants you to go. We shouldn't say that I will do this. I will live and I will do that. We should say if it's the Lord's will, I will live and I will do this or I will do that.

Essential Realities of God's Awesomeness

A few points in closing here.

Number one, God is awesome and all non-God things are non-awesome. God's awesomeness would cause us to despair of Godless things. It's not awesome. I don't even want to do it. I'm bummed out that I have Godless things. I'm bummed out that I have Godless areas of my life. It's despairing. I don't like Godless things. I don't like non-awesome things.

Number two, God's awesomeness causes us to view our lives correctly. I'm not awesome. In Christ I become awesome because I'm awesome with the awesomeness of Christ. You understand who you really are. I don't plan awesome things because I'm not inherently awesome. I shouldn't be concerned or even necessarily trust myself with planning awesome things. I should trust God's awesomeness and have a trust in His plan and direction for my life.

Number three, God's awesomeness leads us to an understanding of what is awesome. It's a part of that hope. Forgiveness of sins is awesome. Sinning is not awesome. Having my sins forgiven is completely awesome because God is awesome and having my sins forgiven is a way in which I can have a connected relationship to the awesome God. Everything that He does is awesome. Everything done without Him is vapor, shadow, it's not awesome. It's all pointless. It's all meaningless without Him.

Number four, based upon understanding what is awesome, we know what we should be pursuing and we know what we should be looking for. The most consistent activity that we should have that would be considered awesome activity is dealing with the sin that's within our life through the awesomeness of the gospel which awesomely deals with sin.

And the number five kind of essential reality of the study is that everything that is not awesome would be super disappointing to us if we didn't have them, if we didn't have things that are awesome. It would be very disappointing if we had something that was less than awesome. So without the awesomeness of God, we would be living lives that are not awesome. And that's what we would want. That's what we would strive for. That's what we would run after.

It would be so obsessed with searching the scriptures, looking and reading about the awesomeness of God. And saying where He takes us from there. You know what's such an easier way of living life is being so concerned about one's own holiness. And then seeing what God does within your life. And trusting that He's going to do something awesome.