[Chris Rowland] I really liked my first-grade teacher. Now, Mrs. Edna Fisher was her name, and she taught in room 102 at Lew Wallace Elementary where I grew up in Indianapolis. I looked up to her. Not just because I was shorter than her, but because she was kind, she was smart. She seemed to know all the answers. You know, I considered her to be a best friend. She was a lot of fun. I loved coming to school. At least I thought she was fun, until the first time that I got in trouble.

Well, in our class, there was a rule that when the teacher-led a class trip down the hall to the restrooms, we knew that we weren't supposed to talk while we were in there. Well, that day, there must have been something important. It must've been, right? It must have been something important that I needed to tell my best friend, Brandon. Well, my name got reported to the teacher. And when we returned to the classroom, Mrs. Fisher announced my name and said that I needed to report behind the piano where there was a small cloakroom behind one of those six-foot-tall pianos. And she called out additional names, you know, the groups of my classmates who usually got their names announced that way.

But this was the first time, it was the first time that my name had been called for this honor. I didn't quite know what to expect behind the piano, but what I saw was somewhat terrifying. I saw other children there and they had to bend over, and Mrs. Fisher gave them a swat with a meter stick. I'm pretty sure this wasn't a yardstick because this was the 1970s and the school still liked to pretend at that time that we were all going to adopt the metric system at any time. So why not start with metric forms of punishment? Right?

So, when she got to me, Mrs. Fisher said, well, since this was my first time, I was only going to get a warning, but next time if I came back there again, I was going to be paddled. I was quite relieved. You know, I was able to return to my desk. I was able to sit in comfort. Things went back to normal. You know, I still liked Mrs. Fisher. She was so nice. And you know what, she let me go free without any punishment.

But a week or two later, can you guess what happened? Yes, I talked to someone in the restroom again. That day I got to experience the pain of that meter stick. This was also the last time that Mrs. Fisher paddled me. I began to realize something. I began to realize that, you know, while she was a loving, intelligent, and sweet lady and teacher, I also needed to respect her. You know, I needed to respect those rules that she made. Or you could say that developed a sense of fear. I feared Mrs. Fisher. You know, I wasn't scared of her. You know, I wasn't afraid of her. She was still my favorite teacher. I loved talking to her. I loved coming to class, but I had grown to fear her. I respected her. You know, I understood that I needed to follow her instructions and things would go well with me for my own good. Maybe it's because she'd been so nice and friendly before that I thought, well, maybe I could escape punishment if I could rely on her kindness. But I learned that the rules were the rules. It didn't matter who you are and that if I wanted to please her, there were some simple instructions that she'd given that I needed to follow.

Now, Mrs. Fisher didn't enjoy punishing my classmates any more than they enjoyed going behind the piano and reaping the consequences of their misbehavior. But she punished us because she had a purpose. You know, she wanted us to develop into responsible adults. So I believe that I developed that right kind of fear of Mrs. Fisher. I never had to go behind that piano again.

So let's begin to think about our heavenly Father. You know, have we developed the right kind of fear of God? Do we understand those rules that He has established for us? And do we understand how He loves us? He wants us to develop godly character? How do we think about God? Are we always careful to give Him the respect and the reverence that He deserves? You know, popular Christianity today seems to characterize God as someone who's happy with us, no matter how we might want to worship Him, no matter how we might talk with Him, no matter how we want to behave. You know, all the rules are done away.

It seems to me that most of Christianity doesn't really understand what it means to fear God. So let's turn to 1 Samuel 4. 1 Samuel 4. And today we're going to look at a story that teaches us a lot about this proper fear of God. This is the story where the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. You turn to 1 Samuel 4. We're going to begin in verse 1. The second sentence here. It starts a new thought in verse 1. It says, "Now, Israel went out to fight against the Philistines and encamped beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field." Take note here of how many thousand people were killed because they're going to be lots of numbers that come up later in this story. So, 4,000 soldiers were killed by the Philistines.

Verse 3. "And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, ‘Why? Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, then when it comes among us, it may save us from the hands of our enemies."

So here we see that the Israelites weren't happy. They weren't happy with God because He let 4,000 men be killed. So what did they do? Well, they decided for themselves how they were going to get into God's good graces so they could beat those Philistines. They decided that they were going to bring the Ark of the Covenant.

Now usually, when God was with Israel in a battle, He would tell them the steps that they should take that would assure victory. But here, by sending for the Ark to come to them, we see them basically telling God that they want Him to tag along with their plans so that He might give them victory.

Continuing in verse 4, "So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas were there with the ark of the covenant of God."

Now, something you have to know if you're not familiar with this story is that God didn't really like Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas. God had already prophesied against these two priests because they had treated God's offerings with contempt and they wouldn't listen to their father Eli when Eli rebuked them. So having Hophni and Phineas join them on the battlefield was another not very good idea.

So continuing in verse 5. “And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook." They were excited. “Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, ‘What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?’ Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. So the Philistines were afraid, and they said, ‘God has come into the camp!’ And they said, ‘Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hands of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and conduct yourself like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!’”

Now, it's surprising to me reading this sometimes to realize what the Philistines and other nations knew about the things that God had done for Israel and the things that they feared might happen to them too.

Verse 10, “So the Philistines fought,” well, “and Israel was defeated. And every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. Also the Ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.” So they thought that it might've been bad during that first battle to lose 4,000 soldiers. And now, how many have they lost? Now, they've lost 30,000 more. So what happened? What happened? Why did it turn out this way? Why didn't the presence of the Ark of the Covenant with them save the day?

Well, let's move ahead a little bit into chapter 5 and in verse 1. Because now the Philistines have the ark. "So then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebeneezer to Ashdod." And verse 2. “When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon.” So the Philistines, they put the Ark, they put it there in their pagan temple, right next to the idol of their God.

Now, here comes my favorite part of the story. I really like this part. Verse 3. “And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, well, there was Dagon, fallen on its face before the ark of the Lord.” Oops, that was weird. “So they took Dagon and set it in its place again.” You know, everything's fine.

Verse 4. "And when they rose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon and Ashdod to this day."

So you know, that idol falling over one time might've been a coincidence. You know, maybe when we set the Ark down, it kind of shifted the weight a little bit and something happened, but twice it happened. You know, twice, God toppled the image of Dagon in that temple. And He didn't just make it fall down. He basically made it to bow before the Ark of the Lord. If there's any passage that shows how God is supreme over the gods of this world, this one shows it. This false god could not stand in God's presence.

Now, continuing in verse 6. "But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, ‘The God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh towards us and Dagon our god.’ Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines and said, ‘What shall we do? What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ And they answered, ‘Let the Ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath.’ So they carried the Ark of the God of Israel away."

Now, continuing in verse 9. "So it was after they'd carried it away, that the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction." So Gath didn't fare much better. "And he struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them." Verse 10. "Therefore, they sent the ark of God to Ekron." "Let's try another place." And the Philistines quickly came to realize that this ark was something that they really didn't want to have nearby. "So it was as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, ‘They brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!’ So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, ‘Send away the ark of the God of Israel, let it go back to its own place, so that it doesn't kill us and our people.’ For there was a deadly destruction throughout the whole city; the hand of God was very heavy there. And the men who did not die were stricken with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven."

So God heard them crying out for deliverance from these plagues. It looks like the Philistines had made a big mistake and they really didn't know what they'd gotten into by bringing this Ark home. They were not ready to have God's presence among them.

Let's read chapter 6 and see how they finally got rid of this curse upon their land. 1 Samuel 6:1. Says, "Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. And when the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, ‘What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.’ So they said, ‘If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

“And then they said, 'What is this trespass offering which we shall return to Him?’ And they answered, ‘Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines." So I guess one rat for each Lord. "Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravaged the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians?" And Pharaoh hardened their hearts. So, didn't we learn the lesson? Didn't we know what happened to those other people “When he did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, so that they might depart?”

"Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and then take their calves home, take their calves away from them. And then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold, these articles of gold that you're returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. And watch." You know, it's a little experiment here. "And watch: if this cart goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He, God has done us this great evil. But if not, you know, if the cows like wander off some other direction, then we shall know it wasn't His hand. It wasn't God that caused all these plagues. It just happened by chance.” So they were going to figure out once and for all, why did these curses come upon them?

So these pagan priests, these pagan diviners, they were not really as dumb as they might sometimes be portrayed. Were they? It's a little unsettling how these Philistines here, they fear God more than His people in Israel feared Him at that particular time. At this point, I get the feeling that the Philistines were filled with awe. They were filled with terror at this God of Israel. And compare that to the way that the Israelites had treated Him.

Continuing in verse 10. "So then the men did so; they took two milk cows and they hitched them to the cart, and they shut up their calves at home. And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of the tumors." Then what happens? Well, then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh and went along the highway mooing as they went. You know, moo, moo. They're having a great time. “They didn't turn aside to the right hand. They didn't turn aside to the left.”

And it says “The lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.” So you know, they're spying, making sure you know what's going on? Where are these cows going? Is it really what's happening? So I guess that settles it, right? The path that those cows took confirm that the God of Israel had deliberately inflicted those punishments on the Philistines and they all realized that at that point.

So let's continue and see what happens when the Ark gets back to Israel in verse 13. It says, "Now the people of Beth Shemesh they were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and they rejoiced to see it." You know, that's wonderful. “And then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord."

Verse 15 says, "The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord. So when the five lords of the Philistines," who were still kind of spying to see what's going on here, "had seen that, they returned to Ekron the same day. "

From that passage, it sounds like the Israelites did the right thing. They made a burnt offering. You know, they also remembered that moving the Ark off of the cart, that was the Job of the Levites. So they had the Levites do that. So that was great. It sounds like the people were rejoicing. It sounds like they were pleasing God, but, of course, there were some bad apples among them. I'm sure there were some people that maybe they were only excited to be there because everybody else was excited to be there. You know, maybe they didn't really understand what that Ark represented. You know, maybe they didn't understand or fear God the way that they should fear him.

Because listen to what happened in verse 19. It says, "Then he struck the men of Beth Shemesh." Well, why would he do that? It says because they looked into the Ark of the Lord. And then it says, "He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter."

Well, look at how many people it says died this time here in the New King James. It says 50,000. That would far outweigh the 30,000 people who had died from that earlier foolishness or the mere 4,000 who had been killed by the Philistines. Well, this verse says that the men of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark. Now, I could imagine a few people possibly lifting the lid, you know, maybe taking a peek. Well, if that were the case, you know, maybe I could imagine a dozen or so people might've been killed. So, how did this action result in the death of 50,000 people?

Well, we're not really sure. It turns out that this phrase, which is originally 50,070 is expressed in a very unusual manner in the original manuscript. According to Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible, the original says something like this. “He smote in or among the people threescore and 10 men.” 50,000 men. He records that Josephus recorded that only 70 men were smitten in this episode. And the footnote in the New King James version says that it could signify that He struck 70 men of the people and 50 oxen of a man. So there's not really consensus on what exactly this means.

Most who review this verse tend to agree that the number of people killed was likely not 50,000. I mean, you'd have to have quite a group of people organized to go pass this Ark and all look into it. But it was probably more like 70 because I can imagine 70 people crowded around to take a peek. But fortunately, knowing the exact number is not my point today, and the exact number of people who were killed is not important to the sermon, but it's just interesting to think about 70,000 people all looking in there. So, not quite sure.

Verse 20, though, it says, "And the men of Beth Shemesh said, ‘Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?’" So, here God had killed their people. It says with a great slaughter. The people were lamenting, you know, “Who is able to stand before God? Look, here we have His ark. We tried to have the burnt offerings and you know, who can stand before this holy Lord God?" They certainly didn't want the Ark around them either.

You know, it ended up being a bad day after that happened, after such a number of men were killed. You know, I wonder what their tone was when they asked this question that's recorded here in verse 20 where it says, "Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?" Were they afraid? Were the men of Beth Shemesh saying this in a way that was murmuring about God, how God was harsh, how He might be unjust with them? Or were they asking this question because they had awe or reverend adoration of God? It's hard to say what tone they would have asked that question.

Well, throughout these episodes, the Israelite people had tried to please God according to the ways of men. They had relied on their own human reasoning. And I think it's clear from God's reactions to the way that His Ark was treated, that there's a right way and then there's a wrong way of doing things. And we need to continually seek God's will so that we can follow those right paths. When we decide for ourselves what is the right way to honor Him the results that come about can be disastrous.

But these men of Beth Shemesh asked an interesting question. And the question that I'm posing today in the sermon. "Who can stand before this holy Lord God?” It's a really good question. I've titled this sermon, "Who Can Stand in God's Presence?” Who can? Who can stand in God's presence? The Bible has a lot to say about standing in God's presence and it has a lot to say about having a proper fear of Him.

There is something powerful about the presence of God that causes most people to want to avoid it, right? Most people want to avoid being in the presence of God. In Genesis 3, for instance, it says that "Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” They didn't want to be in his presence at that particular time. So, going all the way back to the first man and first woman, there's been a certain discomfort at times with being in God's presence. The Israelites who were delivered from Egypt, they witnessed many miracles that demonstrated the great love that God had for them and the way that he cared for them. But when God Himself began to talk to them, they were afraid to be in His presence and they said, "If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die."

So let's turn to Job 23. There's a certain element of fear that I think God really puts or Job really puts into words the type of fear that most people have of God. The book of Job 23:13. Job really explains it well why it is that people are uncomfortable. You know, why are people uncomfortable with this idea of being in God's presence?

Well, listen to what Job says here in Job 23:13. Talking about God, it says, “But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him. Therefore, I am terrified at His presence; and when I consider this, I'm afraid of Him. For God made my heart weak, and the Almighty terrifies me.”

So many people are terrified by God. Is that how you feel about Him? I hope not. But in this particular case, Job here is saying that he was terrified of God's presence. How would you feel about being brought into God's presence? If you knew that He was coming to talk with you very soon, how would you react?

Let me read these same verses here in Job 23 from the New Living Translation. Job 23:13. It says, "But once He has made His decision, who can change His mind? Whatever He wants to do, He does. So he'll do whatever He has planned. He controls my destiny. No wonder I am so terrified at His presence. When I think of it, terror grips me. God has made me sick at heart; the Almighty has terrified me."

Does terror grip you when you think of God? Now, I certainly was gripped by terror the second time that Mrs. Fisher called me back to come behind the piano. At that particular moment, I was sick at heart. I was terrified of what was going to happen.

Let's turn to Nahum 1:6. Nahum comes after the books of Jonah and Micah. Nahum 1:6. As the Israelites who survived the situation with the Ark of the covenant asked, “Who can… is able to stand before God?" Let's read what the prophet Nahum wrote in Nahum 1:6. As he asked an interesting question here. It says, "Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him." When God is angry, when God pours out His fury, nobody can endure it. I would certainly not want to be near God when He is angry. Has there ever been someone in your life who you knew not to make angry because of how fiercely angry they could become? Truly, we do not want to stand before God when He's angry when He's ready to pour out His fury.

Let's turn now to Psalm 76 and see further what is written about standing in God's presence. Psalm 76:7. Psalm 76:7 says, “You, Yourself are to be feared; and who may stand in Your presence when once You're angry?" Clearly, nobody can stand in God's presence when He's angry.

So, what is the answer to the question that was posed by the men of Beth Shemesh? "Who is able then to stand before this holy Lord God?" Our God does not want His people to be terrified of Him. You know, He's promised in the future that he's going to dwell with us. We're going to be in His presence a lot. You know, we will forever be in His presence. So, how should we as God's people think about that? You know, how should we think about this idea of coming into God's presence?

While we're here in Psalms, let's turn a little bit earlier in the book to chapter 33 because we shouldn't feel the way that we've just seen described. We should not be terrified of our God. We should want to come before God. We should delight long to be in His presence. Kind of like was explained in the special music today. We should be in His presence, but with the right kind of fear, not a sense of terror. Psalm 33:8. Psalm 33:8 says, "Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him."

Now, this verse uses a parallel construct to explain that a proper fear of God is a fear where we stand in awe of Him. Do you stand in awe of God? I mean, have you ever looked at part of His creation and maybe stood in awe like, "Wow, that is amazing. That's so beautiful." The freedictionary.com defines awe this way. "It's a mixed emotion, of reverence, of respect, of dread, and of wonder inspired by authority genius or great beauty, sublimity or might."

Now, there should be an element of the awe that we have for God that maybe does frighten us just a little. Just like I had grown to be just a little frightened to disobey my first-grade teacher because there would be consequences. We should be frightened in the same way at the consequences of disobeying God and bringing on His anger. But that's a healthy feeling. That's a healthy feeling that's mixed with reverence and wonder that we have for Him and love for His greatness.

I'd like to turn to Jeremiah 5:22 and see what God told the nation of Israel through Jeremiah. Jeremiah 5:22. We read this. “'Do you not fear Me,’ says the Lord? ‘Will you not tremble at My presence? Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. But these people has a defiant and rebellious heart; they've revolted and departed. They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” Your iniquities have turned these things away, your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withheld good from you."

God explained in this passage how much more powerful He is compared to what man can do. He created this universe. He set boundaries and rules as to how everything like the sea must operate, but yet people didn't respect Him. They didn't acknowledge his greatness. The people were rebellious. They were defiant towards Him. The people had no desire to fear God. They refused to acknowledge God, that He is the one who brings the rain. God is the one who brings the harvest. But what is it that turned those people away from Him? It's explained right here. What turned the people from that proper respect and that proper fear of God. We read in verse 25 it says, "Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withheld good from you."

So why can't people stand in God's presence? It's because of their iniquities. It's because of their sins. People know that they've done wrong and they know that there's a punishment that's due for having done wrong. But if our iniquities and our sins could be taken away, then there would be no penalty ahead of us. Therefore, we would have nothing to be afraid of to stand in God's presence.

Just as when I was following the rules that Mrs. Fischer made for our first-grade classroom, I was not earning any sort of penalty, so I didn't have any reason to be afraid of her if I was doing what I should. There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. And we can't decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. We have to be taught. We have to be taught. We have to learn to operate under the moral principles that God has given to us.

Let's turn to Ezra 9:15. Back to Ezra 9:15 and read a part of a prayer that Ezra made to God at a time when the people of Israel had sinned. They committed a very great sin. Ezra 9:15. Let's see what he said in this prayer to God. He says, "O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this."

Ezra knew that it was this guilt of the people that caused them not to be able to stand before God. Their sins had separated them from him. As Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 59:2. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."

So what do we need to do? What do we need to do? How can we remove this separation that sin brings? How can we be brought back into a right relationship with our God? Well, to draw near to God we need to be cleansed from sin and to be holy as He is holy. We need to keep God's commandments and to develop the proper fear and respect of Him.

Let me read to you what God spoke to the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 5:29. And He said this. "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” If we want to be able to stand in God's presence, we must fear Him. We must keep His commandments.

When I did those things that my first-grade teacher expected of me, then I would fear her, but I wouldn't have any reason to be afraid. In fact, I loved to be around Mrs. Fisher and to spend time in her class. I was not afraid to be in her presence even though I knew that she was more than capable to deliver punishment or render justice when it was needed.

The apostle Peter, when he was preaching from Solomon's porch in Acts 3 said this. He said, "Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." To keep God's commandments, to fear him properly, we must repent. We must have those sins blotted out. If our sins have been blotted out, then we will be able to stand in God's presence and we can be refreshed.

Let's look at an example in Haggai 1:12 Haggai 1:12. This was the time when the remnant of the people who had returned to Jerusalem had been putting off rebuilding God's temple. They had been following other priorities and they weren't obeying what God had asked them to do, but the people did respond to the message that was sent to them through the prophet Haggai. Haggai 1:12 says, "Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people,” did what? Says, "they obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, spoke the Lord's message to the people saying…"

So how did God respond here to the fact that the people changed from what they were doing? And now they obeyed. They obeyed what God asked. They obeyed what the prophet was telling them. So, God sent a special message to them saying, "I am with you. I am with you, says the Lord." So what did the people do? They obeyed the voice of the Lord. The people feared the presence of the Lord, it says here, with the right kind of fear. And how did God respond? He said, "I'm with you." What could be better than for God to tell us that He is with us? God can be with us also.

Let's turn now to Psalm 51:10. This Psalm written by King David talks about being in God's presence, which we're talking about today. Psalm 51:10. He writes, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit." David did not want to be cast away from God's presence. He wanted to continue in the presence of God's Holy Spirit. But David knew that if he didn't want to be cast away, that he needed to do something. He needed to repent so that God could create a clean heart within him. He couldn't remain in God's presence with a defiled and with an unclean heart.

So in the same way, we need to have our hearts cleansed. We need to live with a new heart that only our God can give to us. And with that pure heart and steadfast spirit that comes from our repentance and from God's forgiveness of our sins, we can stand in God's presence.

Let's turn to Malachi 3 and read of the coming time when Jesus Christ returns to the earth. In Malachi 3:1. Malachi 3:1 says, “'Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts.” It will be a wonderful time that mankind has been waiting for and longing for." He says he is coming this time when Christ returns.

Verse 2. But then verse 2 it says, "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?" Not everyone is going to be happy when Christ returns. Not everyone is going to be able to stand in His presence and endure that day. "For He is like a refiner's fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness." God is going to purify His people at that time. He will refine, He will cleanse them. But the wicked, the wicked will be unable to stand.

We can turn to Psalm 68:1. This passage here in Psalm 68 describes the different reactions of the wicked and the righteous at being in the presence of God. Psalm 68:1. Here it says, "Let God arise. Let His enemies be scattered; let those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God." Verse 3. “But,” so in contrast here, “let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.” So there are two very different reactions that David shows here in this Psalm from being in God's presence. It's quite a contrast. In verse 2 it says, let the wicked perish at the presence of God. So the wicked have a very legitimate reason to fear, to be terrified at being in God's presence. But in verse 3 it says to let the righteous be glad. The righteous aren't terrified. Let them rejoice before God. The righteous are going to stand before God rejoicing and being glad because they will be standing there with a clear conscience. They will have been cleansed and purified.

There is a day coming when everyone is going to have this opportunity. Everyone's going to have this opportunity to be in God's presence. Paul wrote in Romans 14:10. "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." And as John recorded in the book of Revelation 20. It says, "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened." So everyone who has ever lived is going to have this opportunity to be in God's presence. This will be a time when the wheat is separated from the chaff. Who is going to be able to stand?

Let's turn to Psalm 140:13. Because as believers, we should not be terrified of our God. We should be looking forward to this opportunity that we are going to have to dwell in God's presence. It should be something that we eagerly await. Psalm 140:13. The last verse here in Psalm 140 says, "Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence." God's people are ultimately going to dwell in His presence. They will be the ones who dwell on His holy hill as Psalm 15 describes.

Let's turn to another Psalm. Psalm 16:9. Psalm 16:9. To read how David describes being in God's presence. Psalm 16:9. He says, "Therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh will also rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol [the grave], nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Now, we don't really know what it's like to be in God's presence. If you're expecting me to explain that to you, I can't give you those details. But we do know that there's fullness of joy. That's a lot of happiness. We know that they're going to be pleasures forevermore. It's not going to be a boring existence. God has wonderful things in store for you. He has wonderful things in store for us. So, how can we ensure that when we come before God's presence that we are going to be able to stand? Remember how the idol Dagon, could not remain standing in God's presence. Remember the men of Beth Shemesh who died from looking into the Ark of the Covenant. As Nahum had written, "Who can stand before His indignation and who can endure the fierceness of His anger?"

How can we ensure that we're not going to perish like God's enemies? God is to be feared, but we shouldn't be afraid to talk to Him. We shouldn't be afraid to talk to God and to come before Him. We need to learn that proper fear and that proper respect for Him so that we will be able to come before His presence with thanksgiving. Ultimately, it all comes down to how we deal with sin in our lives. The transgression of God's law. Sin is what separates people from God. Sin is what causes those wicked to be cast out from His presence. But there's good news.

Let's turn to the book of Jude near the end of the Bible. The little book of Jude. We're going to read verse 24. Fortunately, we have an advocate. We have someone who wants to help. We have an advocate who intercedes on our behalf, someone who's taken our sins from us and washed us so that we can be made to stand in the presence of God. And this advocate is Jesus Christ. Jude 24. Here at the 24th verse of Jude says that our Savior is “able to keep you from stumbling.” He's “able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” God can keep us from stumbling. He wants us to succeed. Jesus has the ability to present us faultless. His sacrifice can remove our sins. So we need to continue to repent and ask God to help us to grow in righteousness. As it says in verse 24, we will be presented before the presence of God's glory with exceeding joy.

Let's turn to 1 Thessalonians 2:18. In this passage, Paul explains one of his greatest hopes and joys. One of Paul's greatest hopes and joys is listed here, speaking to the church at Thessalonica. 1 Thessalonians 2:18. He writes, "Therefore we wanted to come to you— even I, Paul, time and again— but Satan hindered us." Verse 19. "For what is our hope? What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy." Paul's great hope and Paul's great joy was to be able to see the brethren. To see those people whom God called in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. He wants to see you there.

Let's end by turning to Hebrews 10:19-25. Hebrews 10. Now, in the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant was kept in an inner room called the Holy of Holies. As we saw, the Ark was something to be feared. And to approach the Ark, it was not something that just anyone was allowed to do. But here in verse 19 of Hebrews 10, we're told that we can boldly enter that area, that Holy of Holies. By the blood of Jesus, we will be able to boldly stand before God. So Hebrews 10:19 says, "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest…” and where do we get that boldness? It says here, “by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart.” Let's draw near. Let's not be afraid of our great God, but let us want to draw near, to come into His presence.

Continuing here. Verse 22. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." We are no longer going to be guilty. Our conscience will be cleared and we will be cleansed. We must be quick to confess our sins and to repent whenever we miss the mark of righteousness. Verse 23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching."

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we need each other. You need me and I need you. We must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. We must exhort one another. Exhort your brethren. We must encourage one another in this race that we're running. It's important for us to continue to learn God's instructions, to understand them, and to follow them. And we can help one another do that. And when we get to the finish line, we can have confidence that we will be able to fearlessly stand in the presence of God.