Amazed and astonished
The hymn, “I Stand Amazed in the Presence,” would have been appropriate for the message this morning. Listen to these lyrics:
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.
(Chorus)
For me it was in the garden
He prayed, “Not my will, but thine.”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.
(Chorus)
In pity, angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows
He Bore for my soul that night
(Chorus)
He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary
And suffered, and died alone
(Chorus)
(Chorus) How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be;
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me.
I want to make sure you understand that there is nothing wrong at all about being astonished by the love of God toward us. What is wrong would be to allow the astonishment to fade, to not change or impact us in any way. Isn’t this exactly the charge against the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:2-4: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
It is far too easy to coast, to rest on what we have done before, to then take for granted the mercy and grace of God, to allow the astonishment of His greatness to be swallowed up by the distractions of life. Rituals in life help us to maintain daily focus, but we must resist allowing our rituals to become rutuals (ruts in our life) — doing the same thing over and over while losing the wonder, amazement and overwhelming thankfulness for the works of God.
May we stand amazed in the presence of all that Christ Jesus has done and is doing in our lives in an ever-expanding gratitude and devotion.
Pressing on…
Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor
