Just Exactly How Great is our God?

John 4:24

God is. This is the theme of the Bible. The Bible does not seek to prove the existence of God. It accepts it. This is where we must begin in this message on the doctrine of God. If we cannot believe in the existence of God or the testimony of the Bible, we might as well burn our history books. The man who says there is no God is called a fool:

I. The magnitude of God’s person.

A. The names ascribed to God denote personality.

1. Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will provide:

Genesis 22:13–14 “13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

2. Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord that healeth:

Exodus 15:26–27 “26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” 27 After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.”

3. Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord our Banner:

4. Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord our Peace:

Judges 6:23–24 23 “It is all right,” the Lord replied. “Do not be afraid. You will not die.” 24 And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the Lord is peace”). The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day.”

5. Jehovah-Raah: The Lord my Shepherd:

Psalm 23:1–2 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He leads me to rest in green meadows; he leads me beside still waters.”

6. Jehovah-Tsidekenu: The Lord our Righteousness:

Jeremiah 23:6–7 “6 And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. 7 “In that day,” says the Lord, “when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.”

7. Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord is present:

Ezekiel 48:34–35 “34 And on the west wall, also 1½ miles long, the gates will be named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali. 35 “The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles. And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The Lord Is There.’”

B. The attributes of personality are ascribed to God in the Scripture. Let’s now see how God reacts to situations that we face daily.

1. God repents: What?????God repents? We read in:

Genesis 6:6–7 “6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”

So we read here, God changed His mind, sin caused God to have Noah to build the Ark, to wipe out the sinful world population, all but Noah’s family.

2. God grieves: Again, we read in Genesis 6:6 “6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.” So do you think God has great deep feelings? It tells us here in Genesis that He does.

3. God is angry: So we are seeing the emotions of God. We read about them mostly in the OT.

1 Kings 11:9–10 “9 The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command.” Remember King Solomon? God gave Him anything, hear that church, ANYTHING King Solomon wanted.

4. God is a jealous God.....Deuteronomy 6:15–17 “15 for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth. 16 You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah. 17 You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you.”

5.Thankfully though, Our God is a loving and forgiving God: We read in Revelation 3:19–20,

19 “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”

Are you seeing the love and desire for relationship from God? He wants to have a loving relationship with us but we must obey His will, His commands.

6. God hates: This one is kind of obvious if we read this carefully.....

Proverbs 6:16–21 “16 There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family. 20 My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. 21 Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck.”

II. The magnitude of God’s power:

Paul tells us in : Romans 1:20–21 “ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

A. He is omniscient. We have all, well probably all heard these next 3 terms I am going to throw at you. Have you ever taken the time to learn exactly what they mean concerning out Father? He knows all things: Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Ps. 147:4; Matt. 10:29.

Proverbs 5:21 “21 For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.”

Proverbs 15:3 “3 The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.”

Psalm 147:4 “4 He counts the stars and calls them all by name.”

Are you getting this people?

B. He is omnipotent. He brings to pass everything He wills, anything He wants:

Job 42:2–3 2 “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.

Are we seeing a pattern here? He see’s and can do everything, whatever He wants that will bring Him Glory.

C. He is omnipresent. He is everywhere present:

Jeremiah 23:23–24 “23 Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. 24 Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord.”

Psalm 139:7 tells us: “7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!”

What? He is everywhere? Do we see this? We must always be conscious of our actions and choices. He is with us, He is there!. Ps. 139:7.

D. He is immutable. He is the same: Mal. 3:6.

Habakkuk 1:12–13 “12 O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins. 13 But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?”

When we read and learn about the methods of God, when we study, we see why He does what He says He will do: His patience is because of His love for us. Do we mess up, Yep!

I’m going to close this morning by pointing out the greatness of God’s Purpose:

III. (Ps. 103)., scripture reading, by Carol earlier, God’s Purpose. Go home and re-read Psalm 103.

A. God’s Main Purpose of course was The Son, Jesus Christ, is the special object of God’s love:

Matthew 3:16–17 “16 After his baptism, (Jesus) as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

This church was a gift, a blessing of great love that God has done for us. We, are a part of God’s Great purpose.

B. The believer, YOU AND I, are the special object of God’s love:

John 16:27–28 “27 for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. 28 Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”

C. The sinner is the special object of God’s love: Again, You and I.

John 3:16–17 (KJV 1900) “16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

When we consider the magnitude of God, the conclusion we reach is that God is very much alive and active in the affairs of men. We are loved, He commanded us to obey and love Him as he loves us.

AMEN