Title: The Awesome Holiness of God

Focus: God is holy, awesome, and mighty, and we should not respond to him flippantly

Function: To motivate the audience to honor God in humility since God is holy

Intro:  Responding to God
	1.  Will be spending a lot of time in O.T. to understand worship
		a.  It was the Bible of the Early Christians
		b.  Rom 7:12 - Law is holy, commandement is holy, righteous, and good
		c.  Matt 5:17-19 - Did not come to abolish the law
		d.  Matt 22:37-40 Great commands on these depend whole law & prophets
	2.  New Testament very very lean on theology of worship
		a.  Nothing proactive, nearly all of it is reactive in the N.T.
		b.  Heart of worship begins with O.T.
		c.  Continuity/discontinuity with O.T.:  
			worship/redemption/passover/atonement/tabernacle/sabbath/
	3.  Definitions:
		a.  Proskuneo (most common) Usually to "fall down and worship"
		b.  Leitourgia/Latrueo - Religious Service (ministering to the Lord)
		c.  Threskia - Ritual Service (religion)
		d.  Shachah - To prostrate
		e.  Sharat - To serve or minister
		f.  Abad/Abodah - To serve, service
	4.  Is all of life worship?
		a.  From these words, can see 2 kinds of worship (worship and service)
		b.  Eg:  Matt 4:9 - Proskuneo - Satan did not have in mind a life of service
		c.  All of life is Latrueo, not all of life is proskuneo
         5.  English word:  WORTH   -  SHIP  - TO ATTRIBUTE WORTH
         6.  Our Worship should attribute to God the Highest Worth
         7.  Reason we should ascribe to God extreme worth:


I.   He is Holy, holy, holy
	A.  Holiness of God speaks of his "otherness" (opposite of common)
            	1.  Most today do not understand what Holiness is all about
		2.  1 Sam 2:2 - There is no one Holy like Yahweh
            	3.  Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts..."
		4.  Song "Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I"
		     -We are like a worm trying to comprehend God)
	B.  ILL:  
		1.  Rabbi Malaki - Please reveal true name so can know it as the 
			     angels do.  Terror.  Hid under bed praying to forget it.
		2.  Preacher visiting holy land and pass by tradition spot of Uzzah
			a.   Why God so hard on him?
			b.  Jews not ask why.  God is God
			c.  If ask question, would ask why God so easy on us?
	C.  Biblical people who encountered God's Holiness:
		1.  Isaiah 6:1-5 - I am ruined
		2.  Exodus 19:16-25; 20:18-21 thought they were going to die
		3.  Job 40:1-4; 42:4-6 - When was the last time you repented
		      in dust and ashes?
		4.  Luke 5:8 - After miraculous catch, Peter "Go away from me, for 
			     I am a sinful man
		5.  Rev. 1:11-17 - Fell at his feet like a dead man
	D.  People who treated God as Holy received mercy
		1.  God killed those who gazed into the ark at Beth Shemesh  (1 Sam 6:19)
		2.  No one to touch Sinai; or break through and gaze (Exod 19:12, 21)
		3.  Moses hid his face at burning bush (Exod 3:6)
		4.  **(Exod 20:21-20) - Their response was appropriate


II.  How should we respond in worship to his holiness?
	A.  Don't respond flippantly to God
		- Later Jewish practice of not pronouncing Yahweh
		- Scribes wash and clean self when come to that name
	B.  Exodus 32:1-14 - Worship God in a way that honors his holiness
		1.  No idols in the O.T.
		2.  May seem irrelevant to us
		3.  Modern people have idolized man himself
			a.  We are guilty of ethnocentrism. pride, overconfidence in self
			b.  Humility seen as a weakness
	C.  Micah 6:1-8 - Sacrifice your pride.  Walk humbly and do right
		1.  Israel's downfall was pride (thought they were invincible because of Yahweh)
		2.  Hosea 6:1-6
		2.  Zion was never taken (until Babylon)
		3.  In Ezekiel God leaves the temple and then it is open territory for the
		     Babylonians (1:15; 10:9; 11:22)

Concl:
1.  God is holy
2.  We should approach him in humility