Session #1 Who Is God (2)

Just a little bit about Kimberly and myself, we are married and live in Meadow lake, we moved here in May, and we love it here. We both recently graduated from Nipawin Bible College with a Bachelors in Christian Ministry.

And now I work in meadow lake, if you have heard or Turning Point youth Centre that is where i work, as the Program director and it has been a really fun job! i get to hang out with youth from ages 13-18, and play games, and teach them about Jesus and the bible. I atttend the E-Free church which has been an amazing blessing for Kimber and I as we have been blessed to have met so many nice poeple who have just loved us so well.

Before we start, I just want to go over one simple rule: My only rule for when im speaking is respect..when myselff or Kimberly are speaking, we ask that you listen and be respectful. There will be times when we’ll want you to join in, and we’re totally up for interaction, but let’s keep it focused when it’s time to talk.

Also, we love questions! Every chapel session, we’ll start with time for three questions—about anything at all. And if you think of something later, come chat with us, or ask us at the beginning of the chapel!

Lastly, we’re not just here for the campers, but for you leaders too. If you ever want to talk, have questions, or just want us to hang out during cabin times, or you guys need a break, we’re here for that. We’re really looking forward to getting to know all of you!

So if you guys have any questions now for the sake of time i will answer 1 question about anything right now!

Awesome God-Song

Alright… well Today we are going to explore the question Who is God, I’m sure that at times you guys have heard names like God, or Jesus… I want to say that this week we are going to be going through answering questions like Who God is, Who Jesus is. What is this thing called sin?

But today we are going to talk about Who Is God?

And firstly i need one volunteer!

Act 1: Setting the Scene

What’s your name?

Awesome! Now here’s a question for you:

Is there somoene here that you know super well?

(If their best friend is at camp, you can call them up too!)

Ask them:

What do you like about them?

What is there favorite color?

How many times have you been tothere house?

Tell the friend to sit down, and ask Cory, or Kai somoene random to come up

Tell them to describe Corie Doll or random cabin leader with the same questions

What do you like about them?

What is there favorite color?

How many times have you been tothere house?

Tell them both to sit down..

We will come back to this real soon, I just want to pray and then we can get started..

Act 2

But i want to go back to this question, who is God.

Well Did you know that each and every one of you can know God personally?

1. You Can Know God Personally

How do we get to know God personall?

We know God through what He says about Himself in the Bible and through what He’s done for us." We cant just say we know God, when we don't know who he is ?

Just like we know people by how they act and what they say,

___ was able to say everthing about his friend because he personally knew him, But guys did you know, that you can personally know God!

We can know God through what He says about Himself in the Bible, and through what He’s done.

Just like you get to know a friend by how they talk and act, we get to know God through what He says in the Bible and what He’s done.

Friends thus question.. who is God, I believe that there is no other question on this earth that is as important than this question here.

A.W Tozer says this…

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” — The Knowledge of the Holy. A.W Tozer

The way you answer the question who is God not only affects your entire life, but even beyond.

And so i want you to know that when we come to questions like these, i want you to know that all of the answers come from this? Does anybody know what this is? Yes it is the bible, In todays age we see people going to there own opinion about God and saying “well i think God is like this.. Or i feel like God is like this… Let me tell you something,

God tells you everything you need to know about him in this book… the Bible, this is the word of God.

It has lasted thousands of years has been written by many different authors but inspired by one ultimate author.. And that is God.

The Bible is a collection of books that connect together to serve as one uniformed story about God and his relationship with humanity.

So if you do not have one of these i would ask you campers to ask your cabin leaders to get you one, and when you get one, that is your bible to keep. And i would encourage you to always bring it to the chapel because we will be using it lots.

I want to teach you guys something, it’s called a sword drill. Now, before you imagine ancient Roman sword fights…nope, not that kind of sword. You see in the God’s Word is called the ‘Sword of the Spirit.’ So when we do a sword drill, we’re practicing how fast we can find verses in the Bible.

Everyone holds their Bible in the air as high as they can..closed, with both hands. That’s your ‘sword.’

I’ll call out a Bible verse (like ‘John 3:16’).

When I say ‘Go!’.. you race to find that verse.

As soon as you find it, stand up and read it out loud. First one to do it gets a prize! You guys want to play?

So for this first sword drill, Get your bibles up everyone, I want you to find Gen 1:1.. Ready Go! When you find it, stand up!

Genesis 1:1 NLT

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The first answer to who God is From the bible is that..

1.God Is the Creator

Just think about that for a second, God created. If there is a God.. a being who is so powerful that all he has to do is speak something into existence..

Then there is a massive gap between a creator and a created being .There is a God who says that he is the alpha and the Omega.. The Begininn and the End…and he decides to speak a world into existence, kim will talk about that tomorrow morning. How God created everything.

But there is a massive distance between him and us. And this distance is what and why we call God HOLY. Which is the second answer to who God is Holy

The second answer to who is God..

2. God Is Holy

Can everyone say Holy. This word Holy means that God is set apart, that he is different from us! In the book of Acts it says it is God “himself who gives life and breath to everything, and it is God who satisfies every need (Paraphrased- Acts 17:25). It is God who determined that you and i would exist and it is God who determines that we stay alive. And it is God who decided when we die.

Acts 17:25 (NLT) and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

Holiness means God is completely pure, perfect, and powerful , and we can’t just approach Him casually.

How many of you guys want to live the way that you want to live?

Because God is the creator and because he is holy, he has every right to tell me how I need to live.

“That may be hard to hear”. Like wow i want to live how i want to live, i know that may hit our pride a little bit. But becasue God created us, He has all the authority to tell us how to live.

We now have this idea that okay wow my life is in someone else's hands and he actually tells me how i am supposed to live my life down here…

Illustration:

Anybody here been on an airplane? I absolutely hate airplanes, they are scary and I am just scared when it is bumping around and I just hate them. And so every time I get on an airplane. My wife always makes jokes about the plane crashing and im always like “ wow that is sooo rude”

however when i head onto a plane I think of two things… 1. I hope we do not crash, and 2 I am so grateful that I am not the one flying this plane.. I am so thankful that there is someone here who knows how to fly this plane and it is certainly not me.

Well that is similar in the aspect of, God is the one who is in control of mine and your life,He has control over our lives and we need to trust him, even when it is hard.

For the most part of tonight we will be in the book of Exodus, which is the second book of the Bible—specifically chapter 33. This chapter is about a man named Moses, who was chosen by God to lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.

But here’s the thing, in chapter 32, the people had messed up badly. While Moses was on the mountain Sinaia meeting with God, recieving the 10 commandments , The Isralites built a golden calf and started worshiping it. They forgot all that God had done for them! It was a major betrayal. God had just lead them out of Egypt, and this is what they do..

In Exodus 33, Moses is talking with God, asking Him not to leave the people, even though they’ve sinned. Moses knows that without God’s presence, they’re lost. So he pleads with God to stay with them, and then in verse 18, he says something bold: “God, show me your glorious presence—let me see your glory.”

Exodus 33:18 NLT

Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.”

What exactly is Moses asking ? I want to see your glorious presence ?s.

Here it is talking about God’s glory:

And so..

God’s glory refers to His greatness and splendor. It’s the outer revealing of His being.

And so… So moses is saying “God, I want to know You more deeply, not just through your miracles or your laws, but through Your very essence. I want to see the fullness of who You are, Your goodness, mercy, holiness, and truth. Show me not just what You do, but who You are.”

In that moment, Moses wasn’t asking for a sign or a blessing, he was longing for closeness with the unchanging, eternal nature of God. Moses is essentially saying, “God, I want to know You in the deepest possible way.”

“But,” God says in (Exodus 33:20)

Exodus 33:20 NLT

But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.”

God’s glory is sooo Holy, so beyond something that we can understand, He is so pure, and we are so sinful/impure that we cannot be in His presence. And so right here this isn't rejection, it's protection. God’s holiness is so radiant, so pure, that our limited, fallen nature couldn’t withstand it. And this leads to my 3rd point answering the question who is God?

Who is God?

3. God’s Is Beyond Our Understanding

It's like trying to stare into the heart of the sun. In the book of Isaiah 6:2 it talks Even angels, who have never sinned, cover their faces and feet in His presence crying out “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty!”

Isaiah 6:2 NLT

Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.

God has this holiness that should lead us to approach Him with reverence, or a deep respect, awe.

But again remember God wants a relationship with us.

And so again, this isn't rejection, it's protection. And so God hides Moses in the cleft of a rock and does something infinitely better, in Ex. 34:6 the Lord God passes by Moses and proclaims…

Exodus 34:6 NLT

The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

Though Moses couldn’t see God’s face, God does something just as profound: He proclaims His name,

Whic leads me to my next point, on who God is.

4. God Is LORD

God Reveals His Character

God is the Lord, he is compassionate, he is merciful, slow to anger, and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness

This is God telling Moses, and us , who He truly is. Not just a holy, powerful being, but a compassionate, merciful, loving, and faithful God.

God is sayng that he is not just a scary powerfuly God, But He is good.

And so guys God Is LORD

Does anybody know what the word Lord means ?

The word “Lord” means Master, the One who is in charge, the One who has all authority. But it’s more than just a powerful ruler. When God says, “I am the Lord,” He’s saying:

I am Sovereign

meaning: God is the supreme ruler over all creation, with ultimate power and authority. He is subject to no one, and His will always prevails.

And in the original Hebrew, the word for YHWH or Lord, is God’s personal name.

“In Bible times, a name wasn’t just a label, it revealed who someone really was. So when God says, ‘Yahweh,’ He’s not just introducing Himself. He’s showing Moses, and us, His heart.”

And so i want to go through who he says he is.

“The God of compassion and mercy!”

God doesn’t look at our struggles and say, “Tough luck.” He sees our pain and His heart hurts for us. And That’s what we call compassion, He feels what we feel.

And mercy? Mercy means not getting the punishment you deserve. It’s when we are shown kindness and forgiveness instead of giving us what we have earned specifically when we have messed up.

“I am slow to anger.”

God is not like some people who blow up when they get irritated. He’s patient. He doesn’t snap or lose His temper. He gives us chance after chance to turn back to Him.

“Filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.”

His love never fails. It doesn’t run out. Even when we’re unlovable, God keeps on loving. It’s not a mood or a feeling—it’s who He is. God is love.

And faithfulness means He keeps His promises. Always. Even when we forget Him, and dont keep ours, God always keep his.

when we are unfaithful to him and hurt him He never forgets us.

So the answer to who is God?

"God is the holy and SovereignCreator, full of love, mercy, and compassion”

There is one more thing that i want to say about God

is that God is a truine God

5. God is a triune God

And so what does that mean? Stick with me here!

Tri means three.. and Une mean one.. So this means that

God is one God in three persons. That means there is only one God, but He has always existed as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

This is called the Trinity.

It is so hard an complex!

Think of it this way:

God is the one who planned everything from the beginning. God the Father

God is Jesus. He came to earth, became human, lived perfectly, died for our sins, and rose again.God the Son

God lives inside of believers, helping them grow, reminding them of truth, and giving them power to follow God.God the Holy Spirit

They are not three gods, they are one God. But each person of the Trinity is fully God and works together in unity and love.

Some of you guys may be so confused, and that is totally understandable.

There is no perfect way to describe it because we as humans cannot fully understand who God is; If we could understand evrything about God then he wouldnt be a God to worship

"The moment we think we have grasped God, it is not God we have grasped." — St. Augustine, Sermon 52

This quote reminds us that God is infinitely greater than our understanding; the moment we think we've fully figured God out fully, we're no longer dealing with the true God. His mystery is part of what makes Him worthy of awe and worship.

but here is a way to understand it better. ( before i say this i want you to know that there is no perfect way to descibe the trinity, everysingle explantayion falls short. But here it is

Imagine the sun:

The Sun (God the Father): Like the sun in the sky, God is the source of everything.

The Light (God the Son): Jesus is like the light , He helps us see what God is like.

The Heat (Holy Spirit): The Holy Spirit is like the heat , we can feel God’s love and power in our lives.

They are not separate suns, but different ways we experience the same one.

I want to say this again that this is an analogy, this falls short on so many levels, but my hope is that it helps you understand just a bit more.

Why does this matter?

The Trinity shows us that God has always existed in love and relationship. And now He invites us into that relationship through Jesus.

The same God who said, “Let there be light,” is the same God who said, “It is finished” on the cross, and is the same God who says, “I am with you always

I want to close with this..

God Invites Us Into Relationship

“They will be My people, and I will be their God.”

This phrase shows up all over Scripture:

God’s heart and purpose from Genesis to Revelation. this..

“ I will be there God”

Exodus 6:7

Jeremiah 30:22

Ezekiel 37:27

2 Corinthians 6:16

Revelation 21:3 in John

John 14:6 NLT

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

There is only one God,And there is only one way to God, and that is only through Jesus.

Closing Challenge

Campers, you were made to know this God, not just learn facts, but to walk with Him, love Him, and be loved by Him.

So don’t just admire God from a distance, run to Him. Through Jesus, you can belong.

Tonight, I want you to hear this deep in your heart:

You are loved by God

And so this week, my hope and prayer is that you will choose to be his people, and that you will choose to allow him to be your God.

Pray

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