Standing in Awe of God - #221

God loves you. Of that you can be certain. The love He has for you is so deep, so expansive, and so precious that there is absolutely no way He would ever give you less than the best of anything. You have nothing to fear.

Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at  http://www.thepuritycoach.com

Transcript

God loves you. Of that you can be certain. The love He has for you is so deep, so expansive, and so precious that there is absolutely no way He would ever give you less than the best of anything. You have nothing to fear.

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A powerful weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity and godliness. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #221 entitled “Standing in Awe of God.”

In Matthew 7:9-11 Jesus said, “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

Why would the perfect God, in His perfect love for you, take away something that is bad for you and not give you something far better, something absolutely perfect for you in its place? You can live securely in His love; you have nothing to fear. 1 John 4:18 tells us “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

Yes, God wants to completely remove King Me from your life. Yes, it will be hard and even “painful” at the start—not because God is causing the pain or is punishing you, but because King Me is kicking up a royal fuss as he is being ousted from the throne. Remember what you I just quoted to you from 1 John 4:18. “Fear has to do with punishment.” You have nothing to fear because the punishment for all of your sin was already given at the cross of Calvary (John 3:16-19).

1 Peter 2:24 declares that Jesus “personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5 tells us that Jesus “was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

I want to share with you two very powerful passages of promise. As I read them to you I challenge you to listen closely and carefully consider what God is saying to you about your fear of losing something precious when God removes the beast from your life. Both of these texts are probably familiar to you. Do not let that familiarity breed contempt. Make sure you stay focused both of these texts all the way through. Ask God to show you how these truths apply to the death of LuPoMas in your life.

Our first passage of Scripture is found in Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus says, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

“The second passage I want to read to you is found in Psalm 23:1-6 which says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:1-6)

A few years ago, a man by the name of Mark Altrogge was inspired by God to write a beautiful song about standing in awe of his heavenly Father. This is what he wrote:

“You are beautiful beyond description,

Too marvelous for words,

Too wonderful for comprehension,

Like nothing ever seen or heard.

Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom?

Who can fathom the depth of Your love?

You are beautiful beyond description,

Majesty, enthroned above!

And I stand, I stand in awe of You!

I stand, I stand in awe of You!

Holy God, to Whom all praise is due,

I stand in awe of You!”

(Mark Altrogge, 1987)

Can you say that? Do you stand daily in awe of God? Are your thoughts constantly drawn to Him? Is your heart inexplicably pulled toward Him? Are you standing, not just in awe of the Lord, Jehovah, your light, your salvation, your stronghold, your shepherd, but in utter and total confidence in Him and His perfect love for you?

In Psalm 27:1 David writes, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” The word David uses for “fear” is not referring to terror; it is not about cowering in the corner afraid of God. It refers to standing in awe of someone or something. That person or thing is to be revered, respected, honored.

Consider what David is saying. The God who deeply cares about me is my light. He is the One I am to follow. He is my salvation. He is the One—the only One I am to revere, respect, and honor. No one else and nothing else is worthy of my worship.

Only God truly knows your genuine needs. Only God will perfectly meet those needs—every need, every time. As you cast all of your cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), He “will supply [meet, take care of] every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). How many needs will He meet? How many of your needs will He supply? How many of your needs will He take care of? All! And “all” means all and that’s all “all” means. Truly “the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:32 that “He who did not spare his own Son but delivered him over for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things?”

When you’re worried about what might happen if / when God takes away your sinful passions, the answer to your “fears” is to choose daily to stand in awe of the right person; to revere, respect, and honor the true King. Psalm 37:4 gives this awesome promise: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Let me repeat Psalm 37:4 again. Listen carefully, attentively, intentionally. “Delight yourself in the Lord [in Jehovah, in the God who cares for you], and he [Jehovah, the almighty God who cares for you] will give you the desires of your heart.”

I want to unpack a powerful truth for you here. I want you to notice what this verse is not saying. It is not promising that if you delight in the Lord, then He will give you whatever your heart desires. And for that we should be eternally grateful. Why? Because as Jeremiah 17:9 warns, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” And Jesus tells us in Matthew 15:19 that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, adultery, and sexual immorality.” No, your heart cannot be trusted on its own to desire good and godly things consistently and continuously.

Psalm 37:4 is not promising that the one who delights in the Lord will receive whatever their heart wants. It is, however, a wonderful promise that as you daily focus your entire being around worship of the almighty, all-powerful, most holy, sovereign creator of the universe, He—the God who cares for you—will place within your heart the right desires. As Jesus put it in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (NIV’84).

OK. Now let’s take a few moments here to do a quick review of what we’ve learned over the last 2 or 3 episodes. 

In the chaos of life, where do we turn for safety and strength? The answer lies in the profound truth of Psalm 27:1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?"

Let's pause for a moment and reflect on those two little words: "is" and "my." God IS my light, He IS my salvation, He IS my fortress—right now, in this very moment. It's not a future promise or a past memory, but a present reality. This truth forms the bedrock of our faith and shapes our understanding of God's character and our position in Him.

When I declare that the Lord is my fortress, I am affirming that I’m completely secure within His protection. This isn't just poetic language; it's a bold statement of faith that has practical implications for our daily battles against temptation and sin.

Think about what a fortress represents—an impenetrable stronghold, a place of refuge that enemies cannot breach. That's exactly what God is for us. As the Psalmist beautifully expresses: "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety." (Psalm 18:2)

In times of trouble, when the earth seems to give way and my world feels like it’s crashing in all around me, God remains my refuge and strength. He is my ever-present help, my safe harbor in the midst of the fiercest of storms.

But here's a challenging question: Can you find this kind of refuge in your own desires or self-centered pursuits? Can King Me protect you from the relentless attacks of temptation? Of course not. Only God can be our true fortress, our deliverer, our rock of refuge.

When temptation roars and foams at the mouth, when it swells up and appears larger than life, we can resist because God is our stronghold. He conceals us under the cover of His wing and lifts us high upon a rock. This is who He is, and this is what He does for those who trust in Him.

However, for many of us, fully trusting God with our lives and our struggles feels risky. We fear that if we surrender completely, God might take away the things we enjoy—even our sinful habits—and as a result leave us feeling empty, unfulfilled, dissatisfied and utterly miserable. This fear often keeps us trapped, unwilling to let go of our self-centered delusions.

But this fear is based on a misunderstanding of God's character and His immeasurable love for us. The Bible repeatedly affirms God's deep, unfathomable love: in John 3:16 Jesus exclaims, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." And Romans 5:8 assures us that "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."

God's love is so vast and all-encompassing that nothing in all creation can separate us from it (Romans 8:38-39). 1 John 4:18 tells us that God’s perfect love casts out fear. When we truly grasp the depth of God's love, we realize we have nothing to fear in daily, fully surrendering our lives to Him.

Consider this: God's perfect love ensures that He will never give us less than the best. Yes, letting go of our sinful habits might be painful at first, but that's not because God is punishing us. It's because our ego—"King Me"—is throwing a tantrum as it's being dethroned.

Jesus reminds us not to worry about our needs, pointing to how God cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. If God so wonderfully cares for these, how much more will He care for us, His beloved children? Our task is to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," and trust that He will provide everything we need.

As we saw earlier in this episode, Psalm 23 paints a beautiful picture of God as our perfect shepherd, leading us beside peaceful streams, renewing our strength, and preparing a feast for us even in the presence of our enemies. His goodness and unfailing love pursue us all the days of our lives.

The key to overcoming our fears and finding true fulfillment lies in truly delighting ourselves in the Lord. As we do this, He shapes the desires of our hearts, aligning them with His perfect will. In a world full of uncertainty and danger, we have a fortress that cannot be shaken. We have a light that cannot be extinguished. We have a salvation that cannot be taken away. This is the God we serve—a God of unfailing love, boundless power, and perfect wisdom.

Let's choose right here and right now, every moment of every day, to stand in awe of the One True God. Let's revere, respect, and honor the true King. As we seek first His kingdom and delight ourselves in Him, we'll find that He is more than enough. In His presence, our cups overflow with blessings, and we lack nothing of true value.

May we live each day secure in the knowledge that we are held by the hand of God, protected in His unassailable fortress of love.

OK, I’m going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode. In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com     

One of those resources I would like to highlight for you here is my book entitled “Removing the ‘I’ from L.I.F.E. – the Dethroning of King Me” available on Amazon.com. Let’s face it, life gets messed up when King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart. You know I’m right. To become the man or woman who is living a life that consistently honors God in all you say and do, you must first remove the “I” from your life. It’s not about you. It never was. It never will be.     

In this interactive Bible Study, “Removing the ‘I’ from L.I.F.E.” examines such questions as: Why do I keep doing the things I don’t want to do? Why can’t I gain victory over the stupid issues in my life? Why can’t I be consistent in living a life that glorifies God? How on earth do I live a life that is fully surrendered to God? The answers to these questions, and many more, are found in Scripture, and my book “Removing the ‘I’ from L.I.F.E.” helps you unpack them and understand how to apply them to your life.     

So, if real change – lasting change – is going to happen, you need a different leader sitting behind the big desk in the oval office of your heart. Whomever is reigning in your heart will be calling the shots in your life. You must choose to remove the “I” from L.I.F.E. and allow God to take your place – His rightful place.      So head on over to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Removing the ‘I’ from L.I.F.E. – the Dethroning of King Me” today

And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes! So, until next time this is Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry – reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.