Standing in the Presence of God

Imagine you are out for a stroll through the park. The sun is shining, warming your skin to the perfect comfort. The leaves are rustling in the slight breeze. You notice the birds in the branches singing their songs and the squirrels chattering at you as you disrupt their hunt for acorns. The many colors of the leaves, grass, flowers, and birds blend together more perfectly than a rainbow. You can’t help but be thankful to God for providing such a beautiful place to enjoy His creation.

Then He suddenly appears face to face with you. When you think of God’s character, what attributes come to mind? What would you do when confronted by Him? What would you say? How you answer the questions will give you some insight into how highly you think of God and of yourself. A proper understanding of God’s Holiness and your own sinfulness drives you closer to the Savior and deeper into your calling.

The word holy is very difficult to define. Literally, it means to be separate. In Bible study, we once talked about what it means to be consecrated and we discussed it as being set aside for specific use. When we are saved, God makes us holy, cleansing us and making us different from the world to be used for His glory. Holiness encompasses all that is God: His purity, righteousness, goodness, love, and sovereignty. The depths of God’s holiness are so great that I could never cover them in such a short piece like this. I only want to mention a couple interesting points about the holiness of God and discuss how a few people in scripture react to His holiness (for deeper study on holiness check out The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul, Holiness by J.C. Ryle, and The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges).

Exodus 33:12-23 gives us a glimpse into the relationship of God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness. God is talking to Moses on the mount explaining His commands for Moses to lead Israel and Moses asks God to let him see His face. God tells Him that it cannot be done, because nobody can see the face of God and live. God is so holy, and we are so sinful, that we would be consumed faster than a dry leaf on the surface of the sun. He tells Moses to hide in a crack in a rock while He passes by and will allow Moses to see His back but not look upon His face.

In Hebrew language, when you want to place emphasis on something you are saying, you say it repeatedly. Jesus often said to those he taught, “Truly, truly” or “Verily, verily.” He was telling His listeners that what he was saying is extremely important. A few times scripture expresses the importance of something to the third degree, emphasizing its supreme importance. In Revelation 8:13 the angel calls three “woes” upon the inhabitants of the earth. Jeremiah (7:4) addresses the hypocrisy of the people by saying “This is the temple of the LORD” three times. Only one of God’s attributes is raised to the third degree. You would think that listening to today’s Christian music or many popular Christian messages that it would say God is “love, love, love.” Isaiah shares his vision of God (chapter 6) and says the angels surrounding Him were saying, “holy, holy, holy.” God isn’t simply holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy.

Isaiah 6:1-8
Isaiah records his experience of seeing God sitting on His throne and then his response to such a revelation. He didn’t say, “Oh boy, I feel so comforted in the presence of God.” Or, “I feel such an overwhelming joy in your presence Lord.” Isaiah cried out, “Woe to me. I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips and live with people of unclean lips and I have seen God.” He was immediately aware of his utter sinfulness and knowing what God told Moses about seeing God and living knew that he should die. Isaiah called a curse upon himself and said he was “undone,” or “coming apart at the seams.”

Mark 4:35-41 (Luke 8:22-25)
Consider the story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples were afraid their boat was going to sink and they would die, but Jesus was sound asleep. They were extremely frightened and they woke Jesus up to help. Jesus didn’t respond to them at all but simply commanded the sea to be calm. Even though Jesus controlled the sea miraculously, the most surprising part of the story is the reaction of the disciples; “They were terrified…” Their lives were spared. Their boat sat still. The sun was shining. No wind. Birds chirping. And they were terrified! They knew at once they were in the presence of the holy God.

Luke 5:1-8
Finally, look at the story of Jesus taking Peter off shore and telling him to drop his net in the water. Peter complains, saying he has been fishing all day and night and hasn’t caught a thing, but despite not being able to understand, he obeys anyway (another great sermon in here). They ended up catching so many fish that when other boats came to help they all began to sink.

In a book I just read and reviewed, the author explains that knowing the fear of God prevents us from being casual about sin and that it actually encourages us to flee to Him for holiness. These men knew that the Person who was in their presence knew every intimate detail about them. There was no hiding, no running, and no making excuses for their sins. There was nothing they could do but be terrified and hope for mercy. This is a proper reaction to the presence of God. Part of us should fear God for we are unclean and He is righteous; another part runs to His holiness for we know we must be holy and only he can grant that to us.

The good news, however, is that God did not leave these men in their condition. An angel came to Isaiah with a hot coal and purified his lips. Ultimately, Christ died on the cross and was raised from the dead so that we could be made holy and righteous. Though we are sinful and unclean, He cleanses us from our unrighteousness, then calls us to obedience. There is a pattern in of these stories (as well as our stories), it starts with brokenness and ends in a mission. If you have been broken over your own sins, repented and trusted in Christ, you have been called to serve Him.

Now the trick is deciding what He wants you to do.