Awe of God Conference, Ann Arbor, MI 11/18/2023 (Joyelle Lee)

We can’t know our IDENTY without FIRST knowing our identifier!!
    
Exodus 3:11 (OPEN BIBLES)
“….But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
   
I would have said say: “You’re amazing & enough, Moses!”

But not God.

“God answered, “I will be with you. “ (ex 3:12)
   
“I AM WHO I AM! (Ex:3:14)

———

Camels get rid of their burden through a 2-step process:

  1. it kneels down

  2. It rolls to the left, and the load falls off the camel's back.

HEBREW WORD for ROLL is = Gilgal

Joshua 5:9
“Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.” (First territory in Promised Land- after Jordan River crossing!)

In order to ROLL away our burdens to God— we have to first KNEEL before him!!

  • Not just:  “Feel to heal.

  • But…. “Kneel to feel to heal to ZEAL

Who’s looking to RESTORE some spiritual ZEAL in your life ?????


"Eye of the Needle"
(Mark 10:25)
“It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

EYE OF NEEDLE= a “low & narrow gateway (DOOR)” into Jerusalem.

  • Since camels were heavily loaded—they crawl on KNEES in order to pass through the DOOR!

  • (Jesus was inviting the rich man to UNLOAD the weight of his possessions before entering in the DOOR!!)

we can’t serve 2 masters!!!

We need to GET LOW today & ROLL OVER our burdens— to go through the DOOR!

  • My “keep low” story

  • #4 (4th letter in the Hebrew alphabet- DALET )

  • Door & keep low
    (BOTH)!!

  • ‘45’ = Door to grace

In order to enter into God’s door— we have to keep LOW
(I must DECREASE so that He can INCREASE)
________

God is called:

  • HOLY - 400X

  • LOVE - 2x

“His love FLOWS from His holiness— & not the other way around!”

  • God LOVES because He is holy!

Only once in scripture is a characteristic of God mentioned 3x    
                                (= HOLY) Isaiah 6:3
“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty.
Who was? Who Is? Who is to come? “


————
BUT… HOW do we find that door (now that we know we must KNEEL & ROLL OVER)

1. Ezekiel’S DREAM ~ Ezekiel 8:7-8
“Then he brought me to the DOOR of the Temple courtyard, where I could see a hole in the wall. He said to me, “(Ezekiel), now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a hidden DOORWAY there.”

  • Ezekiel’s standing at a crossroad

  • a large open door on one side & a small hole in a wall on the other.

You been there? Me too.

But God doesn’t have Ezekiel walk through the open door.

Nope, that’s too easy.

  • Instead, He tells Ezekiel to go to the wall & DIG till he finds a hidden DOOR.

God directs him to the wall… NOT the open door.

  • One led to familiarity; The other to mystery

  • One led to comfortability; The other to uncertainty

  • One led to visibility; The other to humility

  • One led to easability; The other to difficulty

  • One led to self-adjusting; The other to God-trusting

  • One led to complacency; The other to destiny

“….So I dug into the wall and saw a hidden doorway there.” (Ez 8:8)


It’s time to dig, my friends.


Luke 13:6-9 NIV
parable of FRUITLESS fig tree (us!)
“Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now, I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll DIG around it and dung it (KJV-get messy!)
9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”


Bearing FRUIT= REQUIRES  digging (& dunging)

  • —> It’s the messy tears that fertilize the soul!!!


Digging & Dunging (the messy) REQUIRES being on knees

  • Dig into God’s alive Word; Dig out lukewarm stale Christianity.

  • Dig into God’s immeasurable grace & dig out inordinate affections.

  • Dig into God’s pure love & dig out toxic bitterness.

  • Dig into God’s majestic glory & dig out counterfeit comforts.

  • Dig into God’s boundless peace & dig out crippling anger.

  • Dig into God’s anchored security & dig out poisonous jealousy.

  • Dig into God’s unfathomable kindness & dig out relentless regret.

  • Dig into God’s tailor-fit calling & dig out demonic shame.

  • Dig into God’s chain-breaking freedom and dig out harassing addictions.

  • Dig into God’s established promises & dig out echoing worry.

  • Dig into God’s mighty power & dig out buried impossibilities.

  • Dig into God’s matchless holiness & dig out paralyzing fear.

Because it’s in the divine beauty of the digging— you WILL find God’s “hidden doorway.”

  • A doorway echoing a gentle whisper, saying…

 “Yes, I am the door. Those who come in through me will be saved (rescued, healed, delivered, protected.) They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” (John 10:9)

———-
Mark 2:1-1
Luke 5:17-26

2. Story of man being let down through the roof on a stretcher — by FOUR men
“Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

  • “(1)Get up & (2) pick up your stretcher & (3)go home.”

  • “The man jumped up, picked up his stretcher & went home praising God— they were filled with reverential FEAR, and kept saying “we have seen wonderful incredible things today!”

Holding his PAST PA-RAL-ISIS in his hand — & keeping it before him ALWAYS!

  • He “DUG-INTO” faith— he “DUG-OUT” paralyzation (of the heart)

  • a person who DIGS & DUNGS finds FREEDOM!

 ————————————
STORY- bought an 1890 farmhouse in 1999.

  • demo/digging day (MESSY!)

  • We found treasures in our kitchen!!

We don’t come to His word as an ORPHAN digging for food IN the DUMPSTER
But as an ARCHAEOLOGIST digging (excavating) for treasures! (Excited & EXPECTANT to find treasure!!!)


LUKE 6:47-48 (NLT)
“I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.
It is like a person building a house who
(1) digs deep  &
(2) lays the foundation on solid rock.
“When (not  “if”) the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.”

  • we can NOT build our life on Rock without first DIGGING DEEP!!!!

  • We must first DIG to find the DOOR/ the ROCK on which we stand!

In Michigan— you MUST DIG  38 inches to lay the foundation (to not cause shifting of the ground)

  • DIGGING ALWAYS precedes the BUILDING-on-the-Rock (the fruit produced)


———l
But..
SATAN IS BANKING ON YOU, LOSING THE AWE OF God!

And if you lose the AWE of God, you won’t:

  1. KNEEL (revere)

  2. ROLL {burdens} (repent- mercy )

  3. Dig (PURSEU/ HIDDEN door)


————
GRAND CANYON STORY
(a white-out) (watched YT in the parking lot )


We CANNOT receive God's LOVE  until we first step into God's HOLINESS!      

  • that’s why there’s a LOVE-DEPRIVATION in the local church

  • we’ve ignored & put a VEIL over God’s holiness !!!

  • satan’s work:(

The more the world waters down God’s holiness, the more His love is polluted, diluted, & perverted!

  • Today, the Western church sees the “Grand Canyon GOD” in a whiteout!  

   
2 cor 3:18
“So all of us who have had that veil removed can SEE and REFLECT the glory of the Lord.
And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”


The WHITEOUT VEIL prevents me from:

  1. Seeing Him

  2. Reflecting Him

But— Jesus died so that…
the VEIL could be TORN!!!  (OPEN DOOR!)

Heb 4:16: “Therefore we should come with boldness to the throne of grace so that we may receive MERCY and may find grace for help in time of need.”

(MERCY+TRUTH !!). With NO mercy— NO TRUTH!

Isaiah 6

  • Isaiah sees God high & exalted on the throne.

  • TRAIN of ROBE filled the temple

  • ANGELS covering their faces calling:

    • “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord Almighty.

    • The whole earth is full of His glory.”

  • Doorposts & thresholds shook

  • Temple filled with smoke

It was in the HOLINESS of God’s throne room:

  • Isaiah saw and EXPERIENCED THE AWE of God (kneeled)

  • & ROLLED OVER His sins!

  • (WOE / WORSHIP)


———

AWE acronym: (found IN the door)

  • A=  Acknowledge (kneel)

  • W= WOE/ Worship (Isaac/sacrifice/letting go) (roll burdens)

  • E=   Engage (“to bind oneself to GOD—pursue Him!!!”) (Dig & Dung/ the door)

And it was here God asked:
“WHOM SHALL I SEND?”
“Here I am (MAT IN HAND) ….. Send me!