Brand New: God
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Text
Sermon Text
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Introduction
Introduction
Where We Heading
Where We Heading
Where We Starting: God
Where We Starting: God
As I’ve mentioned the past several weeks, the Bible is a book first and foremost about God. Not about us.
So, when we approach the Bible, we should approach it looking to first learn what it’s saying about God…
And when we do, we will learn how this God is connected to us...
As we look at God first, our purpose, our direction, and our destiny rounds into shape.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
True wisdom begins with a healthy and reverential fear of God
You probably have often heard it said, don’t miss the forest for the trees…GOD is the forest, we are the trees. When we fix our attention on the individual trees first, we are not only going to miss the forest but we are going to miss knowledge that will help us better understand the trees.
This goes for EVERYTHING in Scripture. Every subject including our subject for the next few months: the subject of salvation.
Before we can understand the nature of OUR salvation, we must understand the nature of OUR God.
Part of the reason, I think so many unbelievers AND even some believers are so unimpressed by the Gospel story and what God accomplishes in saving us is because they have yet to grasp how unbelievably impressive God is.
Pastor and Author Greg Gilbert captures our unimpressive view of God this way:
“You might want to lower your voice a little before we go in. He might be sleeping now. He’s old, you know, and doesn’t much understand or like this “newfangled” modern world. His golden days—the ones he talks about when you really get him going—were a long time ago, before most of us were even born. That was back when people cared what he thought about things, and considered him pretty important to their lives. Of course all that’s changed now, though, and god—poor fellow—just never adjusted very well. Life’s moved on and passed him by. Now, he spends most of his time just hanging in the garden out back. I go there sometimes to see him, and there we tarry, walking and talking softly and tenderly among the roses. . . . Anyway, a lot of people still like him, it seems—or at least he manages to keep his poll numbers pretty high. And you’d be surprised how many people even drop by to visit and ask for things every once in a while. But of course that’s alright with him. He’s here to help. Thank goodness, all the crankiness you read about sometimes in his old books—you know, having the earth swallow people up, raining fire down on cities, that sort of thing—all that seems to have faded in his old age. Now he’s just a good-natured, low-maintenance friend who’s really easy to talk to— especially since he almost never talks back, and when he does, it’s usually to tell me through some slightly weird “sign” that what I want to do regardless is alright by him. That really is the best kind of friend, isn’t it? You know the best thing about him, though? He doesn’t judge me. Ever, for anything. Oh sure, I know that deep down he wishes I’d be better—more loving, less selfish, and all that—but he’s realistic. He knows I’m human and nobody’s perfect. And I’m totally sure he’s fine with that. Besides, forgiving people is his job. It’s what he does. After all, he’s love, right? And I like to think of love as “never judging, only forgiving.” That’s the god I know. And I wouldn’t have him any other way. Alright, hold on a second. . . . Okay, we can go in now. And don’t worry, we don’t have to stay long. Really. He’s grateful for any time he can get.
I believe Gilbert captures this right...
We are unimpressed by God...
For far too many of us, God feels outdated, out-of-touch, distant, passive, ineffective…
For many of us, God feels like a fumbling bumbling man past his prime…someone that we go to out of sheer guilt and see every blue moon but no one that we are building our lives around. Someone that we turn to only when we absolutely have to and we’ve exhausted every other resource..
As a result of that posture towards God, the way we view salvation is ultimately impacted.
We are unimpressed by God and as a result we are unimpressed by His Gospel...
I mean sure it’s important but we don’t treat it as earth shattering…
It certainly gives us a decent way to raise our children but truthfully, as long as they grow up, don’t get in any trouble, get really good jobs, and raise good families, go to church a little here and there, we probably won’t mind all that much if they come to know Jesus in any deep way.
It certainly gives me a decent way to live my life, with a good group of folks that I can build connection and community with but but it’s not essential to me and if somebody Christianity away from me, I wouldn’t die from a heart attack or anything...
We are unimpressed by God and His Gospel...
However, one person who is impressed by God is the Apostle Paul. We see how impressed in Romans 11
Paul, An Impressive Man
Paul, An Impressive Man
What’s interesting about Paul being impressed by God is the fact that Paul himself is an impressive man...
He is not a man with subpar credentials, inferior intellect, and a lackluster prominence in his community...
No, on paper before Christ Paul STACKS up well with the men of his day:
Comes from good stock
Well-established
Well-educated
Highly-regarded
Deeply-respected
In fact when speaking about impressive resumes, Paul said this of himself in Philippians 3
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Paul, says if any of you consider yourself to be impressive…CHECK MY RESUME
Paul before Christianity would be the guy in your circles that EVERYBODY wish they could be AND yet after He lays all of this out, we get this word from Paul...
BUT!
BUT? What is there left to say Paul, your resume is impeccable…in the words of Aloe Blacc, we can tell everybody…we can tell everybody…we can go ahead and tell everybody…You’re the man, You’re the man, You’re the man...
But no…Paul says “BUT”
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
When I considered my resume, all the connections I had established, the good stock I was born into, the strong education that I possessed, and I placed it against Christ, the impressiveness became manure.
“When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride”
Paul is saying “when I turned my gaze to Jesus, I realized that nothing and no one was more impressive. So instead of staking my life on advancing my interest and my resume…I began to stake my life on “KNOWING HIM MORE!”
It’s this passion, this enthusiasm to know God more that we see on display in Romans 11, verse 33-36
The Impressive God
The Impressive God
Spontaneous Worship
Spontaneous Worship
Romans 11:33-36 is a passage that has long been known as a passage of doxology...
It is a spontaneous moment of worship for Paul. It seems like it comes out of nowhere…He was having this very technical discussion about the nature of God’s salvation for Israel and for the Gentiles but as he ponders God’s masterful control over the salvation of Israel and the world, it leads Paul to sing a song that basically says HOW GREAT IS THIS GOD!
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
Paul begins with a praise for God’s wisdom and knowledge...
Who on Earth could come up with this? NO ONE?
in the words of one theologian:
“Who but God could have conceived a plan that would turn disobedience into an occasion for mercy and in the process reach out universally to all who would believe?”
Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, p. 227). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Think about that…It feels like things are off course,
It feels like the car is speeding fast down a narrow winding road and the breaks have gone out. And yet hear is God not only saying that I’m in control but this is very much a part of my design...
We see the same thing with Christ in His Crucifixion. What appears to be absolute chaos is all apart of the design and plan of God.
The apostles while they often panicked before the resurrection…after the resurrection they came to realize, that “this God actually knows what He is doing!” in Acts 4 we hear that...
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
Here’s what Paul is saying and here is what Scripture testifies…GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING!
7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
HE KNOWS THE NUMBER OF EVERY SINGLE STRAND of HAIR on every single head in the world throughout all of time!
4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
The next time you gazing at the night sky and wondering what beyond what you can see remember GOD KNOWS THE NUMBER OF STARS IN EVERY GALAXY IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, BOTH KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, and HE KNOWS EACH OF THEIR DATES OF ORIGIN and the DATE OF THEY WILL DIE
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
The next time you get a notification in your phone reminding you about a friends birthday remember GOD KNOWS THE DATE OF EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BIRTH AND EVERY SINGLE HUMAN DEATH THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY and HE KNOWS HIS PURPOSE AND DESIGN FOR EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE.
The next time you’re on a beach and you scoop into your hands a pile of sand that you can’t count. Remember that GOD KNOWS THE COUNT OF EVERY SINGLE GRAIN OF SAND ON EVERY SINGLE BEACH IN THE WORLD.
Not only that HE KNOWS THE COUNT OF GRAINS OF SAND SITTING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.
Not only that HE KNOWS THE COUNT OF EVERY GRAIN OF SAND ON MARS and ANY OTHER PLANET THAT HAS SAND
GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING!
When we think about all that God knows versus what we know, It’s no wonder that Paul quotes the prophets in verse 34 saying:
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
90% of us don’t know what we’re eating tomorrow...
99% of us don’t know what we’re wearing tomorrow...
Most of us don’t even know tomorrow’s date...
100% of us don’t even know if we will be here tomorrow...
And yet we are convinced that we know what God is supposed to be doing in this world and with our lives...
How often do you explain the budget decisions in your home to your cat or your dog? How often do you explain your decisions to get their vaccination shots? Do you spend time breaking down your vacation plans and why you have to board them for a week?
Why? Because the dog is not only intellectual level…the cat is not on your intellectual level. GOD IS INFINITELY MORE BEYOND US THAN WE ARE BEYOND our dog and cats.
It is demonstration of UNBELIEVABLE GRACE AND MERCY that God takes the time to explain ANYTHING to us…more less giving us a collection of 66 books breathed out from His own mouth.
God KNOWS EVERYTHING
Paul understands this hence the reason he is SO IMPRESSED BY THIS GOD…And so impressed that this God would come to save...
But not only is this God all KNOWING…HE IS ALL SUFFICIENT
The ALL-Sufficient God
The ALL-Sufficient God
35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
God literally has no need. NO NEED...
Throughout all of Scripture, without question next to Christ himself there is no other person who experienced more trials than Job…
Job spends a great deal of time in the Scripture asking the Lord what are you doing and for most of the book God is quiet, but in chapter 38 God finally speaks and when he does we learn a number of things but among those things we learn two very important things...
#1: God KNOWS MORE
#2: God HAS NO NEED
When He first appears to Job in the whirlwind to respond, we get these words:
1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
In other words, yes I know you are suffering but do you dare suppose that I don’t know what I’m doing just because the only thing you know is your suffering???
You know about your suffering but I know about the WORLD…You think you understand what’s happening in your family, but I understand what’s happening in all the UNIVERSES KNOWN AND UNKNOWN. I KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING THROUGHOUT ALL OF ETERNITY, BOTH PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE
You know something. I KNOW EVERYTHING but then in chapter 41 we get this God as a part of God’s response...
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
I don’t owe you ANYTHING. I don’t need ANYTHING from you! I own EVERYTHING!
The Bible says it plainly in Psalm 24
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
God KNOWS EVERYTHING AND GOD NEEDS NOTHING
Sometimes we lose sight of this, we try to broker deals with God…
“If you give me this, then I will do this for you”
“If you do this for me, then I will serve you.”
I understand those words sometimes are spoken out of desperation for God to move, but we must refuse to live a life that communicates such a posture...
A posture that says:
“I’m doing what I’m doing because God needs me to do it.”
“I’m worshipping God in life because it is privilege for God to receive my worship”
Let me share something hot off the press with you this morning...
God has no need of you…He doesn’t need your service…He doesn’t need your worship...
He desires it, but He doesn’t need it...
When Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey in his final days leading up to his crucifixion and people were crying out: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord…The Pharisees grew angry saying, “Jesus get your people!”
Jesus’ response back to them was simply:
Luke 19:39–40 (ESV)
... 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
I don’t need anybody to worship me…I can bring life and intellect to dead and dumb things in order that they may worship me.
God KNOWS EVERYTHING AND GOD NEEDS NOTHING
No really He needs nothing...
Illustration: Some of the wealthiest people in the world, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, recently orchestrated back to back trips to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. Sticking their toe into space so to speak...
We often look at these men and we say that they are in need of NOTHING.
But of course they are in need...
They needed all of the workers that make their organizations as successful as they are…They need the ingenuity of others to help design and build the spaceships they flew to the earth in…They need the raw materials that were used to construct the spaceships…They need ideal environmental conditions that they cannot create, they must wait on. They need experienced pilots. They need all systems functioning when they get in the air because if they malfunction there is nothing they can do. NO THEY NEED AND THEY NEED A LOT!!!!
On the other hand when we say God has no need…we mean he has no need.
He doesn’t need any raw materials from anyone to construct a ship…He made the raw materials
He doesn’t need any ingenuity from scientists and pilots on how to create the right ship and fly it…He created the scientists and pilots and gifted them with the intellect.
He doesn’t need to wait on the environmental conditions to do what He wants to do. The winds and wave move at the sound of His voice. The sun rises and sets with the wave of His hand.
God literally owes no one ANYTHING!
God KNOWS EVERYTHING and He NEEDS NOTHING
Paul understands this hence the reason he is SO IMPRESSED BY THIS GOD…And so impressed that this God would come to save...
But not only is this God all KNOWING and NOT ONLY IS HE ALL SUFFICIENT…HE IS ALL POWERFUL
The ALL-Powerful God
The ALL-Powerful God
Romans 11:36a (ESV)
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
God KNOWS EVERYTHING. God Needs NOTHING. And EVERYTHING that EXISTS EXIST through Him...
FROM HIM
FROM HIM
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Think about this for a moment…Close your eyes if you have to…Literally before the grass…before the waters…before the buildings and the skyscrapers…before the planes, trains, and automobiles. THERE WAS NOTHING.
And God just simply spoke...
UNIVERSE
MARS, VENUS, PLUTO, SUN, STARS, EARTH
And as He spoke it and willed the process of design began...
No starter’s kit. No raw materials. Just a ALL POWERFUL SPEAKING God
But that’s not all...
THROUGH HIM
THROUGH HIM
Not only is everything created FROM Him. Everything is sustained and kept THROUGH HIM!
Nothing that remains remains apart from His sanctioning. NOTHING
The Stars are suspended in the air because He wills it. The earth remains on its orbit and doesn’t drift a single degree towards obliteration from heat or cold because He wills it
Every single breath you have ever taken in your life was a breath that HE AUTHORIZED and the moment He wills that is time for your breathing to stop it will...
28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
TO HIM
TO HIM
Our Response
Our Response
Romans 11:36b (ESV)
...To him be glory forever. Amen.
Paul ends his song of worship with these words...
When you think about how glorious this God is? How perfect He is…How Holy he is…How powerful he is…How self-sufficient He is…How KNOWLEDGEABLE HE IS…Aren’t you just amazed that He would also include in his plans saving a people like us?
The Gospel becomes more amazing when seen in the light of how amazing our God is!
As we began to understand who He and we look at Him in light of who we are, the only response is worship!!!