God is Great

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Intro
Psalms 145, the last Psalm of David in the book of Psalms
it is a very intentional psalm, song
it is an acrostic psalm - the first word of each verse in based on the Hebrew Alphabet
All of the people went to town
because the sun went down
carefully they packed their bags
dare not pack any rags
makes it easier to memorize
some Jewish communities would recite this Psalm three times a day
the point is that this psalm was purposely written to that it could be memorized and shared
by its very nature it is telling us that the information in this particular psalm is essential, and the concepts are very important
it’s a building block of what you know about God
and this Psalm teaches us that God is great!
we serve a great God
not only is he good (character/nature)
but he is great (speaks to his relativity to everything else)
our central verse will be verse 3
Psalm 145:3 KJV 1900
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And his greatness is unsearchable.
Great is the Lord!
in other words, the God of the Bible is great!
This is not an opinion
This is not the result of a vote, or general consensus or poll
It is just a stated fact, a recognition of the fact, acknowledgment of the fact, a revelation of that fact that God is great
Unmovable truth
Just the way it is
You can ignore it, not believe it
try to resist, you can even argue against it
it doesn’t matter . . . . Great is the Lord
if you read the entirety of this Psalms, it teaches us the various way that God is Great
Psalms 145 reminds us that God is King
teaches us that God has all authority and power
his kingdom is not temporary but everlasting
his dominion endures through all generations
he is majestic and powerful
I know we have presidents, premiers, prime ministers, chiefs, other kings
democracies, commonwealths, confederacies, communist governments, republics, and other kingdoms
but over it all is the king of kings, and that king is God
God is great!
Psalms 145 teaches that our king is gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger
God didn’t get us, when he should have gotten us
God gave us another chance, when chances should have been all used up
God gave us a do-over, when we should have been one and done
he is good and kind and extends tender mercies
God is great!
Psalms 145 also says that God is a helper
helps those who fall
he hears our cries
he rescues those who call on his name in truth
he protects and keeps and preserves us
he sustains every living thing
God is great!
Psalms 145 reminds us that God is holy
there is none one nor anything like him
he is one of a kind
exceptionally special, uniquely unique
remarkably original
utterly incomparable
God is Great
Psalms 145 reminds us that He is righteous in all his ways
everything he does is perfect, every decision correct, every judgment right
his timing is impeccable
we may not comprehend his ways
we might not understand his ways
but in the end it will be proven that he is righteous in each and every way
God is Great!
Psalms 145 repeatedly talks about how he is great from one generation to another generation
The Bible says that God was, is, and is to come
so in the past, God was powerful, mighty, merciful, faithful, awesome, holy, good, righteous, and just
and right now God is powerful, mighty, merciful, faithful, awesome, holy, good, righteous, and just
and tomorrow God will be powerful, mighty, merciful, faithful, awesome, holy, good, righteous, and just
so when Moses lived and died, God was still all of that
when David lived and died, God was still all of that
and when your die and check out of here God will still be all of that: powerful, mighty, merciful, faithful, awesome, holy, good, righteous, and just
God is great!!!
that’s something basic we need to remember
a building block of basic knowledge about God
Cause some of us still think that God is, um . .you know . . .alright, decent, slightly above average
He comes in handy at times
we invoke his name at ball games, weddings, graduations, funerals, and holidays, but he is not great enough to be our full time God, just our ceremonial God
many of us act like God is simply ok . . .
we treat him like McDonalds, McDonalds is . . . ok . . . I like it . . . it’s convenient
I believe that if I invite the whole church to McDonalds on me tonight . . . all kinds of excuses
pastor we would love to come, but
if this was on Saturday, we would
i’ll be at work, but I pray you all have a blessed time
or I have to be at work tomorrow
it’s just too cold
and I believe if I invite the whole church to flight out to a playoff game in a luxury football suite, 1st class service all the way. . . (plane, meals, gear)
what time did you say?
what do I need to do
I’ll let my boss know, I might be a little late tomorrow
why the change in attitude, schedule, because I am offering something great! vs ok
Let’s not treat God, like he is just ok
let’s not treat God like he is just take it or leave it
Read the Bible, and sometimes we don’t read the Bible
Pray, and sometimes we don’t pray
trust him or don’t trust him
obey him or don’t obey him
if I don’t have any other plans, only then am I going to go on to church
If we remembered that God was great, there would be more praying
if we remembered that God was great, there would be more studying His Word
If we remembered that God was great, we trust him with all of our hearts
If we remembered that God was great, we would be more obedient
if we remembered that God was great, our first question about a church wouldn’t be, “How long does service last?” but “How early can I get there?”
If we remembered that God is great, we would tell more people of his greatness
the psalms says what one generations praises his works to another generations
We tell people about a great mechanic, great beautician, barber, the great restaurant, great sale, great song, great movie, great vacation spot, a great game . . . but how often do we share that God is great?
If we remembered that God is great, we would praise him more . . . that’s why the next part of the verse says . . .
and greatly to be praised
Greatness calls for a great response
Notice the “and”, there is a connection of these two phrases
They work in tandem
You cannot leave “Great is the Lord” by itself, it must be joined by “and greatly to be praised” . . .
The two must travel together
The only way to complete “Great is the Lord” is with “and greatly to be praised”
If you don’t, it’s like saying, “Man let me tell you what happened yesterday! . . . .”and say nothing esle
and it is just as wrong to stop with “Great is the Lord!” you must finish it with “and greatly to be praised”
in other words . . . if God is great, give him great praise
If God is your all, give Him all your praise
If God is your everything, praise Him with everything you have
If God is the strength of your life, praise him with all your might
If we say that we love God, we should love praising Him . . . for he is greatly to be praised
another way of saying greatly to be praised is that God is “most worthy of praise”
the song says, “My Hallelujah belongs to you (all the glory, all the honor) . . . you deserve it
and if we take this basic understanding into account, and are honest with ourselves, we all owe God praise
Our praise has not matched his greatness
Our praise has not matched his goodness
Our praise has not matched his faithfulness, awesomeness
if his greatness and our praise worked like a bank account, we all would be operating with a praise deficit, a negative balance in praise
we should all be thankful that bill collectors don’t call about the praise we owe!
Phones would be ringing off the hook
Sir, our records indicate that you have had 38 birthdays, but we have only received 5 years worth of praise.
When do you plan on making a praise payment? Can you make one this Sunday?
Ma’am, our records show that you have praised God for keeping you from dangers seen, and that’s good . . . but the Lord has also protected you from dangers unseen
When can heaven expect the rest of the praise you owe?
Sir, our records indicate that you thanked God for all the meals you ate last year, but you never thanked God for the snacks . . . Will you be making a payment this Sunday?
What if we were called to account for all the times he made a way? How much praise would you owe?
for all the times he brought you out?
rescued you?
for all the times you received grace and mercy?
we need to start catching up on our praise payments right now!
Somebody shout glory, thank you Jesus, Lord you’re good
That’s why David said, “I will bless the Lord at all times . . . .”
he knew he could never praise God enough
let me just continually make some praise payments!
and his greatness is unsearchable
NLT says that you can’t measure his greatness
That’s our problem, some of us think have measured God’s greatness
and that causes us to put limits on God
Limits on his power
Limits on how goodness
Limits on his faithfulness
Mercy and patience
So we miss out because we think we’ve measured how great he is, what he can do, what he will do
but the scripture says that his greatness is unsearchable/unmeasurable
and if we end up in a situation that goes beyond what we think God can do, and we miss a blessing
so when we deal with a problem that we think God can’t handle, we give up and don’t give God a chance to step in (trouble, sickness, finances)
or We’ve done so much wrong, messed up so bad, that we won’t allow God to restore us because we put limits on his mercy and grace
surely God is through with me
surely God doesn’t want me anymore
surely God can’t use me now
Or God brings us through this, and then brings us through that, and then brings us through that again, but the next time we think we won’t call on him, because we have put limits on his faithfulness
Or we put limits on God’s wisdom, surely God was not wise enough to produce a book over two thousand years ago to deal with modern problems . . . so we start living the way we think best, the way that seems right in our own eyes.
or we put limits on god’s timing, surely it’s too late, surely I’m too young, surely i’m too old
but God used Moses at 80 years old
God used Samson after he had turned his back on God
forgave David after adultery and murder
delivered the three Hebrew boys from within the fiery furnance
delivered Daniel while surrounded by lions
his greatness is unsearchable!
Take the limits off of God, he is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think
don’t miss out on God’s greatness
Nobody likes to miss out on great food, great game, great deal, great job, great opportunity
But when you forget that God’s greatness is unsearchable . . . . you miss out
you miss out on opportunity!
you miss out on success!
you miss out on your destiny!
you miss out on greatness!
we need to resolve today that we will not miss out on anything else!
you’ve missed enough already
there are still great blessings with your name on it
testimonies with your name on it
miracles with your name on it
God still has a job for you to do!
but you must believe that God’s greatness is unsearchable!
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And his greatness is unsearchable.
You also face adversity different when you remember that God is great
a team faces adversity different when they know they have a great coach
a wife faces adversity different when she knows she has a great husband (vice/versa)
a child . . . parent
a church faces adversity . . . pastor
fan . . . team (I gave up hope for sure about three games in)
when Cowboys are down two touchdowns, it’s over
when Chiefs are down, it’s just getting good
when I think of our salvation, nothing but greatness!
Our Great God had a great plan and sent his great son
to live a great life and teach great things and do great miracles
then for us he did a great thing
and he shed his great blood to save us from our great sin
and while on the cross, he showed great compassion,
he saved a thief, who believed that he was great
and when he died, great things began to happen
there was great darkness over all the land
and there was great earthquake
and there was a great tear in the veil of the temple that separated God and man
signifying that through Jesus, we can come in the presence of our Great God
and this death was so great that the soldier said, “surely this was the son of God”
and then they rolled a great stone in front of his tomb,
but early, on a great day, a great angel came and rolled the stone away
and asked a great question, “why seek you the living among the dead?”
Jesus is alive for everymore! And he has great power: all power in heaven and earth
then he gave a great commission that we we go and teach all nations!
And so the only question that remains for us all is, “why do we have so little faith?”

Invitation

Have you put limits on God’s love?
Have you put limits on what God can do with your life
The greatest thing you can do is give your life to God
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