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Join Wayne Burger each week as he explores various topics and scriptures and challenges listeners to meditate on God's Word more deeply.
How would you feel if while you're sitting in your house someday, all of a sudden God himself speaks to you? What would your reaction be? What would you do? How would you feel? Maybe it's a booming voice, or maybe it's a mild voice. But it's God speaking to you right there in your house. Maybe you'd be afraid.
Maybe you'd fall down in terror. Maybe you'd fall down in worship. What would you do when the Word of God himself speaks that word to you?
It is interesting to note that there are several passages in the scripture where we have the reaction of people when the word of God spoke to them directly. The first one of these that I'm going to read is when God came down on Mount Sinai and gave the law of Moses.
You may not realize it, but God spoke the first 10 commandments to everybody. Now here was the reaction of these people when they came to Moses after that event. This is Exodus 20, verses 18 through 21.
All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes in the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen.
But let not God speak to us or we will die. Moses said to the people, do not be afraid, for God has come in order to test you and in order that the fear of him may remain with you so that you may not sin. So the people stood at a distance while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Here were people who have been slaves. They have been in Egypt for a long time. They have come to Mount Sinai where they now have become a nation.
And God is giving them a special religion. And God is giving them special law in written form that they had never had before. What was their reaction? I realize that some of their reaction was because of the thunder and the lightning and the trembling and all of that.
But they were afraid and they trembled at the word of God. And they said, Moses, you talk to God and you tell us what he wants us to do. And so we see that they were trembling and afraid.
Now it is interesting that Moses said, God in essence does not want you to be afraid. Notice what he said about that. Moses said to the people, do not be afraid, for God has come in order to test you in order that the fear of him may remain with you so that you may not sin.
He said, God speaking to you is not just to make you afraid, but to make you respect him and live so that you will not live in sin. That's why he's done that. God says, I want you to respect me in my word.
Let's read another passage. This was in Isaiah 66, verses one and two. And again, it tells about God and his activities and the reaction that people have about it.
Thus says the Lord. Heaven is my throne in the earth, my footstool. Where then is a house you could build for me.
And where is a place that I may rest? For my hand made all these things. Thus all these things came into being declared the Lord. Now notice the next verse.
But to this one, I will look to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at my word. God said, I've made all these things, but I'm looking for the person. I'm looking for that person that will humble himself, have a contrite that is a broken spirit.
One that realizes his sinful condition to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at my word. God's word should make us tremble because of the fact that it is the word of God. And so their reaction was, and he said, this is what I want out of you.
And that's what my word should create. It is also interesting, in Daniel 10, verse 11, that Daniel's reaction, not just to the word of God, but when an angel came to bring him the word of God. And so it says in Daniel 10, verse 11, he said to me, O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I'm about to tell you and stand upright, though I have now been sent to you.
And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Again, notice Daniel's reaction. God was giving him a message through this angel.
And even though it came as it were second hand, Daniel said, when I stood up, I trembled. Notice what we've seen in the reaction of these people. The people at Mount Sinai trembled and were afraid.
Isaiah said, I'm looking for those who are humble and contrite and who would fear. And Daniel said, when this angel got ready to talk to me about what God said, it made me tremble. Why would they react that way? Maybe because they recognize the holiness of God and realize their unholyness.
Anyone who knows anything about God recognizes that he is holy. Old Testament passage and also the New Testament passage in 1 Peter 1, 15 and 16, be ye holy for I, the Lord, your God, and holy. You remember that great event when Isaiah saw the throne room of God, and Isaiah 6, 1 through 8. Let me read that together what reaction Isaiah had when he saw the throne room of God.
In the year of King Messiah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, who lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above him, each having six wings, with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
The whole earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of the threshold trembled at the voice of him who called out. While the temple was filled with smoke, then I said, whoa is me.
For I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among the people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. When Isaiah got to see that throne sing, he recognized how unholy he was.
When he heard that word of God again, the attitude is he was trembling. Maybe people tremble at the word of God. Because they recognize his great power and how weak we are.
God is called the Almighty. God spoke this universe into existence. God can do anything.
God can accomplish anything. Now then here is my question for you to think about. It calls us any less reaction.
We might think, if God spoke to me, I would do it. Or if God spoke to me, I'd be shaking in my boots. Friend, in your hand, you can hold the very word of God.
Is it less powerful because it's in written form? No, it's just as powerful as the verbal word of God. And so as we think about the word of God, we have his word right here in our hands. We have that written law of God that we might read it again and again, that we might study it and think about it and understand it.
We have the literal word of God, which is not any less powerful just because it's in written form. The commands of his written word are just as demanding as the oral word word that he spoke on Mount Sinai that day. The promises of his written word are just as motivating.
In written form, we can read it over and over, so we can better grasp what he says. When someone tells us something orally, we may forget it, or may get it mixed up. God said, I'm going to put my word in written form so that you will have it.
You can hear his word over and over. You can understand it. You don't have to be confused by it.
It calls, we can read God's word over and over. It could make us more fearful rather than less fearful. I almost guarantee that if God verbally spoke in this room at this time, we would tremble.
We would be in awe. We might fall to the ground, but for some reason, when God writes that word down, we don't think it's just powerful. We don't think it should bring about that kind of reaction.
We think it's something we simply can lay aside and look at from time to time. It's something we can read over and over should make us more fearful rather than less fearful. It also ought to make us more obedient because we can read and better understand what God wants us to do.
If God spoke his commands to us orally, we might forget. We might get them mixed up. What would you do if you had a map to a buried treasure that you knew for certain reasons? The treasure which God's word holds is far more valuable than in earthly treasure.
The map of God is more accurate than any man-made map to a hidden treasure. This book that you can hold in your hand is the map to the greatest treasures of life. Tell us how to live a good physical life, enjoying life to the fullest.
Isn't all that we have and given even more reason to meditate on the Word of God? Think about the blessings we have. Isn't that motivation? I want to close with a couple of passages. First of these is a familiar one in Psalm 1. It's probably no accident that the first Psalm is kind of summary of all the Psalms.
Notice what the first three verses say about God and meditating. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the path of sinners or sit in the seat of scumfers? But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does he prospers.
What a tremendous blessing he offers. That's a blessing for all those who are righteous. Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked nor stand in the path of sinners nor sit in the seat of the scumfers.
But you see in his law he meditates day and night. And he says that will make you just like a tree that's firmly planted by streams of water and it will yield its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. And whatever he does he prospers.
Do you want that promise from God? Do you want that kind of life from God? Then we must have the proper kind of respect for God. His word written in book form for us is just as powerful as that oral word that he spoke to people long ago. Their reaction was fear and trembling.
That's the reaction that God wants from us today. He wants us not only to fear his power but to reverence his name and to reverence his word and be obedient to it. You remember what God said to Joshua? Be strong and very courageous and meditate on that word day and night.
And so that's my encouragement today to think about what is your reaction to having the word of God in your hand. And what are you going to do with it? Thanks for joining us this week and spending time in God's Word. Special thanks to Mac Graham, John Kachelman and Lightway Media for recording, producing and making this podcast possible.
If you're ever in the Littleton, New Hampshire area we'd love to have you join us for worship and Bible study on Sunday afternoons at 4 at the Senior Center. You're always welcome. For more information about this podcast visit lightwaymedia.com slash meditating on the word.
And find the link there to email me to subscribe to my free weekly newsletter with more information you can use in your personal Bible study. Be sure to like, subscribe and follow us on your favorite podcast app so that you never miss an episode. And if today's message encourages you, share it with someone else and consider leaving a review.
It helps others find us soon. Until next week, keep meditating on the word.