Awful Solemnity of a Holy God
E.A. Johnston passionately calls the church to recognize the awe-inspiring holiness of God as the essential foundation for true revival and warns that without honoring God's sovereignty, judgment or blessing will manifest.
In this powerful sermon, E.A. Johnston confronts the modern church with the sobering reality of God's holiness and sovereignty. Drawing from the example of Isaiah and the history of revival in America, Johnston challenges believers to seek a genuine encounter with God rather than superficial religious experiences. He warns that without reverence for God's holy name, judgment or revival will manifest. This message is a clarion call for the church to return to true worship and experience the transformative power of revival.
Full Transcript
I was praying at the grave of Azahel Nettleton, who was so mightily used of God in revival during the Second Great Awakening, and as I stood praying in that graveyard in East Windsor, Connecticut, beside the brown, mossy tombstone of Azahel Nettleton, I was suddenly overcome with the awful solemnity of a holy God. It was as if God was still honoring the memory of his faithful servant, Azahel Nettleton, and reminding anyone interested in revival that Almighty God is still the God of Revival. And I believe that's the missing ingredient from our church's today, friends, the dread presence of a sovereign.
In his absence, we have filled the void with loud music and entertainment, and we, like the prophets of Baal, cut ourselves, jump around the platform, and holler in the hope that these antics will pass for true religion. Yet God is gone from the American Laodicean church. This is the reason why our young people today want nothing to do with our Jesus.
He is as artificial to them as their parents' artificial Christianity, where they are one thing at church on Sunday, and altogether another in the home during the week. In the book of Isaiah, in chapter 6, the prophet Isaiah becomes undone beneath the awful solemnity of a holy God, as the posts of the door moved at the voices of the seraphim, as they cried to one another, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. And in verse 5 we read, Then said I, woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for menais have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
And that's what we need so desperately today in our church's friends. We need his glory in our midst once again. We're in a season of powerful revival.
The most hardened sinners would be bowed under the awful presence of a holy God. America used to be the land of revivals. The last spiritual awakening that gripped this nation was 161 years ago, during the businessman's revival of 1857 to 1858.
Why has 161 years passed without revival in the land? Why has God withheld the dew of heaven from this country for 161 years? I don't have the answer to that stirring question, but I believe if the people of God could thirst and hunger for the reality of God instead of programs, God may seem pleased to visit us again with his manifest presence in revival. We need King Jesus back in our sanctuaries today, reestablishing his prominence and preeminence once again. This I know, if the church will not defend his holy name, then the almighty must.
God will either pour out his blessings in revival to defend his holy name, or he will pour out his judgments upon mankind to avenge his holy name. It will either be a defending or an avenging to show forth his glory and to remind mankind he alone is the sovereign ruler of all. All I know, friends, is that this land of ours is torn by violence and natural calamities like we've never seen before.
Is it not time to seek the Lord, that he may rain righteousness down upon us once again? Let us pray.
Sermon Outline
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I. The Awful Solemnity of a Holy God
- Reflection at Azahel Nettleton's grave
- God's holiness demands reverence
- The missing ingredient in modern churches
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II. The Crisis of Contemporary Christianity
- Replacement of God's presence with entertainment
- Artificial Christianity alienates youth
- Lack of genuine reverence for God
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III. Isaiah’s Vision as a Model for Revival
- Isaiah’s response to God's holiness
- The need for God’s glory in our midst
- The power of revival to humble sinners
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IV. The Urgency for Revival in America
- Historical context of past revivals
- The long absence of revival and its consequences
- Call to seek God for righteousness and revival
Key Quotes
“I was suddenly overcome with the awful solemnity of a holy God.” — E.A. Johnston
“God is gone from the American Laodicean church.” — E.A. Johnston
“If the church will not defend his holy name, then the almighty must.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Cultivate a deep reverence for the holiness and sovereignty of God in personal and corporate worship.
- Reject superficial religious entertainment and seek genuine encounters with God's presence.
- Pray earnestly for revival and righteousness to be poured out in your community and nation.