Who is God?
Notes
Transcript
Basics
Who is God?
INTRODUCTION
What’s more important? To know about someone or to know them?
To understand God begins when we know him personally.
Why I am not arguing about the existence of God?
Arguing about the existence of God isn’t profitable in most cases.
Seldom does an argument change someone’s mind. It is more likely just going to cause them to draw the line in the sand deeper.
Saying the complexity of the world and not knowing what started creation argues from the unknown.
I find it more helpful to talk about the personal side of God that proves he is real to me.
a belief that God started the Big Bang is a very long way from someone believing God is a personal God who loves us and sent His Son to die for our sins.
Do I believe creation matters? Yes- by all means- and we will get there.
But spending time today answering if God exists I don’t believe to be very helpful.
Lets talk about Who God is.
Moses and God
Exodus 3:1-14
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
7 Characteristics of God (Not an exhaustive list)
1- Creative (2)
1- Creative (2)
Exodus 3:2
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
Why does this bush get Moses’ attention?
It breaks the laws of creation.
Fire consumes whatever it touches.
Only God has the power to break these rules.
Jesus’ miracles- showed his power of the order of creation.
Calming of the storm-
Law of Motion- an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless an external force acts upon it.
Water cannot be calmed instantly by natural means.
Cause and affect tells us the waters will remain choppy for awhile after a storm.
God created the world and all that is in it.
Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Romans 1:20
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Colossians 1:16-17
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Think about God’s creativity in creation.
A Penguin and an eagle.
A platypus
Black holes to comics to the relationship of time and space.
He created every one of us different.
2- Personal (4)
2- Personal (4)
Exodus 3:4
4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
A personal being called Moses by name.
Takes place on Mount Horeb-also known as Mount Sinai
This is a mountain that becomes the most holy place for Moses’ relationship with God.
10 Commandments
Glow on face.
ILL- my salvation and call to ministry/ call to FBC Wewoka.
It’s more than God knowing the number of our hairs. He knows what makes us happy and sad. He knows our greatest desires and needs.
3- Present (5)
3- Present (5)
Exodus 3:5
5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
Omnipresent- Presence is the personal side of omnipotence
ILL- Watching kids play soccer or being at field in the car on the phone with work.
He didn’t just kick things off and then sit back and watch it fail.
God is active in creation.
He is here now. You cannot get away from his presence unless you reject him until death.
4- Eternal (6a)
4- Eternal (6a)
Exodus 3:6
6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
No beginning and no end.
The God of every generation.
5- Holy (6b)
5- Holy (6b)
Exodus 3:6
6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
He is perfect in every way.
There is no trace of evil in his character.
Isaiah 57:15
15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
He always makes the right decision.
Deuteronomy 32:4
4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
To question God is to question his holiness.
We do not always understand because we do not know all God knows.
6- Loving (7-8)
6- Loving (7-8)
Exodus 3:7-8
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Grace
We live in a fallen world because of sin. It is what we have earned. It is our fault.
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
When God shows us favor despite
our sin it is grace.
He knows what we are going through and cares.
7- Triune (14)
7- Triune (14)
Exodus 3:14
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
John 8:58
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Elohim- plural with singular verbs
Same as Genesis 1:1 (plural Elohim and singular verb)
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 3:22
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
The Bible teaches the Trinity in this way.
The Father is God
Jesus Christ is God
The Holy Spirit is God
There is only one God
Galatians 3:20
20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
1 Timothy 2:5
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
Michael Houdmann in Gotquestions.org blog, “Nearly all of the debates result from individuals or groups who attempt to make sense of the Trinity. Whether it is Modalism, Monarchianism, Sabellianism, Patripassianism, or some other Trinitarian "heresy," the cause is the same — trying to explain the unexplainable. In a sense, it is pride, maybe even arrogance, that continually motivates people to try to develop a theology that results in the Trinity making sense.
Therefore, I will not give any analogy here today.
God is bigger than our finite mind.
All three persons of trinity pursue man.
CONCLUSION
God is a person who deeply cares for you.
Because of these characteristics he is a God who pursues man. Because it is about relationship.
He pursued Adam and Eve in the garden.
He pursued Moses hiding in the wilderness
He sent Jesus to a people who did not want him.
Luke 19:10
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
John 3:16-17
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
God is pursuing a relationship with you. He has done everything he needs to do.
Will you accept the relationship God is offering you through Jesus Christ?
