Greater God

Haggai 2:1-9 NIV
On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of
the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Speak to
Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of
Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask
them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How
does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But
now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua
son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’
declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares
the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you
came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more
shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will
shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I
will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘The silver is
mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory of
this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’
says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares
the Lord Almighty.”
If you’re waiting for things to get back to normal, you’re thinking too
small!
“While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there
is a God who hasn’t surrendered His authority.” – A.W. Tozer
Isaiah 40:12-31 NLT
Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off
the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Who is able to
advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice
or teach him? Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he
need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is
right or show him the path of justice? No, for all the nations of the
world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust
on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain
of sand. All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals
would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God. The
nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count
for less than nothing—mere emptiness and froth. To whom can you
compare God? What image can you find to resemble him? Can he
be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and
decorated with silver chains? Or if people are too poor for that, they
might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman
to carve an image that won’t fall down! Haven’t you heard? Don’t you
understand? Are you deaf to the words of God—the words he gave
before the world began? Are you so ignorant? God sits above the
circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from
them. He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to
nothing. They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on
them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff. “To whom
will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. Look up
into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like
an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his
great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O
Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never
heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one
can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the
weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak
and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust
in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like
eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not
faint.

Our Response to the GREATNESS of God:

1. The Fear of the Lord
Exodus 20:18-21 NIV
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
The fear of the Lord is living in a reverent awe of God, realizing how much greater than me He is.

“In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that— and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison—you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” – C.S. Lewis

2. The Worship of the Lord
Our Response to the GREATNESS of God:
Worship – Old English “Weorthscipe”; acknowledging the worth and
the worthiness of the object of worship.
Hebrews 12:18-29 TPT

For we are not coming, as Moses did, to a physical mountain with its burning fire, thick clouds of darkness and gloom, and with a raging whirlwind. We are not those who are being warned by the jarring blast of a trumpet and the thundering voice; the fearful voice that they begged to be silenced… By contrast, we have already come near to God in a totally different realm, the Zion-realm, for we have entered the city of the Living God, which is the New Jerusalem in heaven! We have joined the festal gathering of myriads of angels in their joyous celebration! And as members of the church of the Firstborn all our names have been legally registered as citizens of heaven! And we have come before God who judges all, and who lives among the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect in his eyes! And we have come to Jesus who established a new covenant with his blood sprinkled upon the mercy seat; blood that continues to speak from heaven, “forgiveness,” a better message than Abel’s blood that cries from the earth, “justice.”

Make very sure that you never refuse to listen to God when he speaks! For the God who spoke on earth from Sinai is the same God who now speaks from heaven. Those who heard him speak his living Word on earth found nowhere to hide, so what chance is there for us to escape if we turn our backs on God and refuse to hear his warnings as he speaks from heaven? The earth was rocked at the sound of his voice from the mountain, but now he has promised, “Once and for all I will not only shake the systems of the world, but also the unseen powers in the heavenly realm!” Now this phrase “once and for all” clearly indicates the final removal of things that are shaking, that is, the old order, so only what is unshakeable will remain. Since we are receiving our rights to an unshakeable kingdom we should be extremely thankful and offer God the purest worship that delights his heart as we lay down our lives in absolute surrender, filled with awe. For our God is a holy, devouring fire!