Fear of God

God is bigger than our choices but he will never override them; your calling is greater than your capacity to do it. We are finite beings that desperately need God to walk this out. Matt Rawlins was our speaker this week and he brought down the house! His content and the way he presented it was so logical and legitimate.

As humans we often times have issues with control, myself included. When we lose control and put ourselves in vulnerable situations defensiveness is the initial response. Defending yourself is a gift from God that he has given you delegated authority over your lives. This genuine freedom has costed Jesus a great price: his life. Because excuses and defensiveness have been abused we are now defined by power and control but we are not equipped to be in control; WE ARE NOT GOD! God will not give us certainty pertaining to control...all He promises as safety is love.

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness towards those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Juse as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." -Psalm 103:11-13

The nature of God is his reverance and sovereignty. He is infinite in nature. The character of God is his intimacy. His choices. When the Bible talks about us being made in God's image it's talking about his character; we are finite fallen beings. God is neither one or the other but both/and. In our relationship with Him we must operate in fear and awe with friendship and intimacy. Reverance without intimacy would result in pure fear, and intimacy without reverance would give us Santa Clause. There is no formula to know when to be reverant and when to be intimate but to know the voice of Him just like a child knows the "different voices" of their parents.

"For since creation of the world His invisible attributes. His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
    -Romans 1:20

Marriage is a perfect example of man and the church and reference point. Women are called to respect their husbands and men are called to be loving and intimate. It's a two legged truth we must find balance in. In the church the fear of the Lord produces reverance and the power of the Holy Spirit is intimacy with God. The Holy Spirit's role will not make us God but just give us supernatural power to work through our character to make us more like Him.

GOD IS BIG. GOD IS GOOD. greatness+goodness=God's authority