A Deep Sense of Holy Awe Swept Over Everyone
Can you imagine what it would be like if a deep sense of holy awe swept over everyone? This is what occurred in Acts 2:43 as the Lord was birthing his church and expanding the Kingdom. Recently, I heard the Lord speak, “In this season of shaking, I need my people to not just hang on for dear life, but to manifest the kingdom.” I saw people trying to ride out the shaking, much like I imagine people riding out an earthquake. They were grabbing a hold of anything they felt could hold them up and they were trying to stabilize themselves by bending their knees to retain stability.
As many of you know, there have been many who have prophesied, “ A shaking is coming.” But just like in the picture of the tunnels, it is not always easy to see what is coming. How can we prepare? For the past couple of years, I have been pondering Hebrews 12:26-29 TPT
“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 unshakable will remain. Since we are receiving our rights to an unshakable 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!”
We have been told in this verse we are part of the unshakeable kingdom, but I am not sure we know how to manifest this unshakeable kingdom. There are the obvious things like staying out of fear, but it seems like there is so much more. According to Dictionary.com, unshakeable means utterly firm and unwavering. I love the picture of me being unwavering. No inner debate going on in my head about what should or shouldn’t be done. No worrying about circumstances or if I have enough faith. Firm. Unwavering.
It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” How do we become steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord? I think some of the keys may be in Hebrews 12:29. First we need to acknowledge we are part of the unshakeable kingdom. It is part of our identity. For example, we might say, “I am an American.” As an American I have an identity, rights, and privileges as well as responsibilities. In the same way, I am part of the unshakeable kingdom. It is part of my identity, but also part of my inheritance. Because we are part of the unshakeable kingdom, there are four ways verse 29 says we should respond.
1. Be extremely thankful. Gratitude is a door to peace and contentment. It shifts our focus off of what we don’t have and onto the blessings before us. An attitude of gratitude seems to shift the atmosphere around us. Circumstances may not change, but our ability to be at peace does. From the place of peace, we can hear the Lord more clearly.
2. Offer Him pure worship. Worship given from a grateful heart without an agenda is honoring to the Lord and refreshing to our spirit. When our focus is on Him, He is magnified, and our eyes don’t focus on the challenges around us. We can position ourselves in faith to move forward.
3. Lay down our lives in absolute surrender. There is an absolute surrender that He is worthy of. He paid a huge price for us and so we want to live in a way that he gets the reward of his suffering. To surrender is to relinquish control. Ponder that for a moment. What am I trying to control? What do I have to be right about? Am I focusing on guarding my reputation or my belongings? Absolute surrender. In mathematics there is something called absolute value. If a number is inside the absolute value sign ( | | )it doesn’t matter if it is negative or positive, it retains its positive value. I have seen that works in life too, that if we stay in the place of absolute surrender, it doesn’t matter if circumstance come that are negative or positive, the value remains positive.
4. Be filled with awe. Awe is that overwhelming sense of reverence and admiration for the Lord. It is akin to the Fear of the Lord. It is interesting in the early church, “ a deep sense of holy awe swept over everyone” ( Acts 2:43 TPT) Think about that with me, it swept over EVERYONE! Next, we read how from that deep sense of holy awe, the early church experienced God working in miraculous ways, unity, deep community and generosity. These very things would help us manifest the kingdom in the midst of shakings. Let’s pray the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2) once again sweeps in over everyone.
Let’s not reach out to “things” to stabilize us, let’s bend our knees to the King of Kings and cry out to him for mercy and grace during these times. This is a season to watch over our hearts, “So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.” We are living in critical times, and we want to be living so close to the Lord that we can be of use to Him in these coming days . Let’s do like Philippians 2:3 TPT says, “Don’t allow self-promotion to hide in your hearts, but in authentic humility put others first.”
Let’s be ones who manifest the Kingdom with boldness, humility, courage, love and kindness. Have you seen the Kingdom of God manifesting in your area? I would love to hear about it in the comments section. If this has encouraged you, please feel free to share it with your friends.