The character of God.
The sovereignty of God
The compassion of God
The justice of God
The eternity of God
EX 3:11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
EX 3:12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."
EX 3:13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, `What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?"
EX 3:14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.’ "
EX 3:15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
This week Riversdale’s oldest citizen died – His name was Paddy Stanton and he was born over 101 years ago.
Paddy for all his years was an astute man and a man who allowed me to pray with him.
He had a respect for eternal things.
World’s Oldest Person Turns 128
by Thomson Fontaine
Dominicans yesterday celebrated the birthday of the World’s oldest living person Elizabeth (Ma Pampo) Israel who turned 128 even as government vowed to increase pressure on Guinness World record officials to officially confer the title on the Dominican.
Unfortunately, the Guinness World record has not officially recognized Ma Pampo since they are still in the process of verifying the claim. A Baptismal certificate has been issued by the Roman Catholic Church with her birth date stated as January 27, 1875, but since it is not an official record, it cannot be used to authenticate the claim.
Ma pampo died in 2003 when Paddy Stanton was born Ma Pampo was already 31 years old – staggering –
But all of these ages pale into insignificance when we consider the time span of God.
EX 3:13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, `What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?"
EX 3:14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.’ "
This seemed to be a strange answer to Moses’ simple question. God said his name was , “I am who I am.”
Is that even an answer?
What does it mean?
God is not evading Moses’ question.
He has revealed His name.
God’s name reveals something profound about Hmself, something we must grasp.
As the name Yahweh was uttered by God, there wa an explosion of knowledge about God on the Middianite desert.
What is so revealing in the words:-
I AM WHO I AM.
This morning I would like to introduce a word to you that RC Sproull quotes in his book The character of God.
Aseity.
Aseity means “self existence”
Aseity is the characteristic that separates God from all other things.
God is the only one who can say. “I am who I am.”
Sproull sets up a dialogue between a child and there Mother.
It goes like this.
“Mummy, who made me?”
“God made you darling.”
“Well, Mummy, who made the sky and the trees?”
“God made the sky and the trees, God made everything.”
“Mummy who made God.”
Aseity means God exists.
God does not provide us with a answer but by saying Iam that I am God is saying He is eternal.
When you think of eternity stretching out of the distance in time beyond our comprehension or philosophical ability to conceptualise you realize that the origons of God are not only beyond us but involve time space and creation concepts that are beyond us.
I AM WHO I AM. Says God alone has the power of being. He alone is eternal and He alone is supreme.
Apart from God I can not exist I need a supreme being to sustain my life.
But apart from me God is certainly able to exist because he is surpreme over all and certainly superior to me.
You might want to say to me what is the significance of that.
Are we just enjoying theological thought. Displaying knowledge or is there a point to the truths that we are discovering?
Some years ago I stood by the bed of my Mother she lay in bed peaceful and quiet.
I loved her and had about twelve months earlier led her to a firm commitment to Christ and had baptized her.
But now she lay dead in her bed.
I could not communicate with her and felt her loss deeply.
What does that have to do with the eternity of God?
I want, as we have done in each of these studies on the character of God to draw your attention back to the first chapter of Genesis.
GE 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
If we are made in the likeness or image of God then we need to understand that we are like him except by dearth of the fall we lost eternity and it was replaced by death.
So death is a distortion bought about by the fall.
The eternal character of God then, takes on profound importance in relation to our own lives.
In the book of Ezekial we discover the prophet facing the exile of the Israelites into the hands of the Babylonians.
Once more Israel was finished.
Their groans rose towards heaven.
God spoke to Ezekiel.
He carried him off and put him down in a mass graveyard, a valley of dry bones.
The bones had been bleached white by the sun.
On this site God questioned Exekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live again?”
“Lord God you know Ezekiel replied.
God told him to call upon the four winds to blow upon this lifeless mass, so Ezekiel spoke to the bones.
EZE 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
EZE 37:11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, `Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ "
In this famous prophecy God enlivens the dead Israel – Eternity is in the hand of God.
God brought life out of death.
In Revelation chapter one we read:-
REV 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
If we connect up two important facts
1. God made us in his image and loves us.
2. God is eternal.
On our own tainted by the fall we are powerless.
But restored to God through the power of the cross then not only are we reempowered to be all that God created us to be in the first place but also eternity is our inheritance as spelt out in that passage which keeps reoccurring in this series of sermons – John chapter 3 and verse 16
JN 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 1
But have eternal life.
Not only does God have eternal life but jesus tells us emphatically that the same eternal life is the inheritance of the followers of Jesus Christ.
No human being can bring life out of death; no human being can make something out of nothing.
But God can.
What does that mean ?
It means our deepest fears our greatest concerns are scattered and destroyed.
If part of God’s character is eternity and eternity is your inheritance through Jesus Christ then one of the key things that happens when you receive Christ is that fear is dealt a fatal blow because eternity is now yours.
The Apostle Paul in discussing death says –
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
1CO 15:55 "Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
1CO 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
How could Paul say this? Because he knew where he was going when he died!
Eternity in god dispels all fear.
If you would like biblical proof of that then consider the death of Stephen who was stoned while the future Apostle Saul who became Paul looked on.
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
AC 7:57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
AC 7:59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Looking for a human illustration on how God takes away fear I was looking in the book The heavenly man the remarkable true story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun.
Yun in the mid eighties had been put into prison as a counter revolutionary and one day he had some visitors and was worshipping god in the toilets as the only place available to them.
Here is his story.
My two visitors also knelt down next to me and hand in hand we prayed to the Lord and encouraged each other
At that moment one of the prisoners, a man named Yong, came in and saw us. He was a bad man with a violent temper. Because he continually reported on the other prisoners he’d been promoted to the position of group leader. Yong shouted, “Yun, how dare you bring outsiders into the camp to conduct supersticious activities
! I’m going to report you to the wardens!”
The Holy spirit filled me and I commanded him, “In the name of jesus, how dare you speak against the living God?. Now I command you to kneel down and repent of your sins. Receive the Lord and perhaps he will forgive you!”
Immediately, as if struck by lightening, Yong knelt down and the three of us laid hands on his head and prayed for him.
After Yong became a Christian he became a good friend of mine.
One day during the lunch break yong lay down on my bed and secretly read my bible. Yong was discovered. The guards took my bible away. Yong lost his temper and started to fight with them and almost bit off one of the guards fingers.
Finally they overpowered him.
I saw one of the prison wardens, a man who was often ill, I ran to the gate and spoke with him, “Captain Wong, it was my bible. I know it is serious but can you please get my bible back?”
Afew days after getting my bible Captain Wong called me into his office.
“Yun I’ve been reading your bible but I don’t understand it.”
“If you wasn’t to understand the bible.”I told him”First you will need to receive jesus into your heart.
I saw the Holy spirit was touching him. I said “Captain Wong please kneel down. Jesus is coming to bless you.”
He knelt down and prayed, “Jesus< I believe you are God please heal me.”
I laid my hands on him and he repented and received the Lord.
God set him free from his affliction and he was gradually restored to health. From that moment on Brother Wong became a disciple of Jesus.
Fearlessness inprison bought many people to know Christ in Brother Yun’s ministry.
More people came to Christ there than come to Christ here in our own area in the same period.
Fear of man is a snare but with eternity in our hearts we are fearless.
Another aspect of the eternity of God is Hope.
Because God is eternal we can not possibly be without hope.
You may remember that some years ago I preached a sermon using the acrostic for HOPE
His over all pur[pose is our elevation.
If we are partners in God’s eternity then it seems to me whatever it is we endure int his world is minor compared to the riches that await us in Christ Jesus.
If you are suffering something in this world you need to understand that in light of eternity it is a small matter.
Many people in the West suffer some small skitrmish in their faith and it is too much for them – they give up.
Someone recently told me of visiting a church in Gore. She told me how she saw a woman she knew and she only talked to her for two minutes so she said she wouldn’t be going back to that church. That woman will not suffer much for God as long as her faith remains so small.
In about ten days I will be traveling to India and also will be spending some time in Thailand. I found, that in India, people are prepared to suffer great things for the gospel for they have great hope in Christ.
I well remember gathering with a group of believers in an upper room in India after a church service one Sunday. The neighbouring Ywam base had been attacked and there was a sense of threat in the air. The men discussed the suffering and threat of the militants who were at that time threatening the Christians. I realized that this was the suffering church and that these men were like countless Christians who through the centuries had suffered for the cause of Christ.
What sustained them in the midst of this and still sustains them to this day is hope.
His overall purpose is still our elevation – God will raise you up in due season if you are faithful to him.
The other aspect of the eternal character of God is you can seize every moment that you live for God.
You need never panic about the passing of time as God is in control of your life.
I spoke to a friend who is a minister and has recently retired. He spoke to me of taking a supporting role instead of the leading role he had taken in earlier years.
I admired greatly his humility and love for Christ’s church.
What a godly man.
If you can sieze the moment for God you are already living the eternal life.
And you can life that life all of your life.
A great example is the life of Polycarp of Smyrna:-
If you listen carefully to the following account from his life you will see that even though he was 86 years old he lived a busy life for Christ.
(Died c. 155)
Contemporary Christians spoke with reverence of St. Polycarp not only because of his own venerability, but because he had been a disciple of St. John the Apostle. Indeed, some have said that he was named bishop of Smyrna by the beloved disciple.
As bishop, Polycarp is known for two things in particular. First, he wrote an epistle to the Christians of Philippi around 110 to accompany copies of the letters that St. Ignatius of Antioch had written to several dioceses when en route to martyrdom in Rome. In this covering letter, Polycarp defended to the Philippians the truth of the Incarnation; he drew a picture of the ideal priest, he urged almsgiving, and he commended to their prayers the heads of nations.
Secondly, Polycarp himself journeyed to Rome in 155 to discuss with Pope Anicetus certain ecclesiastical matters, especially the manner of figuring the date of Easter. The East and Rome had different ways of determining it. The bishop of Smyrna was not persuaded to abandon the Eastern calendar, which he had from St. John. Nevertheless, the bishops of Rome and Smyrna parted on good terms.
Only shortly after his return from Rome, Polycarp was called on to shed his blood for the faith. We possess a letter written as early as 156 by a Smyrnean Christian who had been witness to his trial and death. It is the first extant account we have of the death of an individual Christian martyr.
Eleven Christians had already been executed at Smyrna when the bloodthirsty mob in the stadium shouted, "Go and get Polycarp!" Forewarned, the bishop went into hiding, since Christ had said that we must not court a martyr’s crown. But eventually the posse learned of his whereabouts and closed in on him.
Polycarp greeted them cordially. Indeed, he invited them to dinner, asking only that he be given an hour alone to pray. He prayed for two hours with great devotion, and many of his captors were sorry to have to arrest such a holy old man. They took him off to the stadium, nonetheless, where the mob of pagans was drooling for another spectacular execution. The governor first examined him, threatening him with being thrown to the beasts or burnt to death if he did not first swear "by the Genius of the emperor," and then curse Christ.
With joyful courage, Polycarp replied, "For eighty-six years I have been His servant and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme against my King and Savior?"
The governor therefore ordered that the bishop be burnt to death. The sneering mob shouted, "Here is the schoolmaster of Asia, the father of the Christians, the destroyer of our gods." They hastened to gather wood for the fire. Polycarp was led to the pyre and the executioners started to nail his feet to one of the timbers. "Leave me thus", said the bishop. God, he said, would give him strength to stand fast. Then he uttered a long and beautiful prayer, praising the Father, through the Son and with the Holy Spirit, for the privilege of drinking of Jesus’ chalice of suffering.
When the fire was set, marvelous to say, the flames rose and surrounded the martyr’s body like a vault. His flesh was not consumed, but browned, and gave off the sweet odor of incense. At length the governor ordered that he be stabbed to death.
The writer of this account says that after his death even the pagans of Smyrna spoke well of St. Polycarp. He was indeed, says the narrator, "Not only a great teacher but also a conspicuous martyr, whose testimony, following the Gospel of Christ, everyone desires to imitate."
EX 3:14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.’ "
This statement of God’s has significance it introduces us to the unique character of God and today we have looked at a small part of His character, eternity, but we have only considered some of the impact of eternity on our own lives.
There is far more.
But let us summarise.
Because God is eternal salvation means we are partakers in His promise of eternity.
On our own tainted by the fall we are powerless.
But restored to God through the power of the cross then not only are we reempowered to be all that God created us to be in the first place but also eternity is our inheritance as spelt out in that passage which keeps reoccurring in this series of sermons – John chapter 3 and verse 16
JN 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 1
It means our deepest fears our greatest concerns are scattered and destroyed.
If part of God’s character is eternity and eternity is your inheritance through Jesus Christ then one of the key things that happens when you receive Christ is that fear is dealt a fatal blow because eternity is now yours.
The gift of eternity allows us to live our lives to the full because of the great promises that await us.
John Calvin once said, “Man never attains a true self knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God and come down after such contemplation to look unto himself.”
