How To Get To Know God
Getting to know God series – 1
Series based on Exodus 20:1-11
Tom Bartlett, Celebration Church – April 8, 2007 - Easter
Exodus 20:1-3 (NIV) “And God spoke… "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me.”
WHO IS GOD?
God – Jehovah
Isaiah 40:25-28 (NLT) "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One. Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out one after another, calling each by its name. And he counts them to see that none are lost or have strayed away. O Israel, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case? Have you never heard or understood? Don’t you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.”
What sets God apart? (Attributes)
• Holiness
Isaiah 6:3 (NLT) (Angels) “In a great chorus they sang, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!"
• Faithfulness
2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT) “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”
Lamentations 3:23 (NLT) “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.”
• Compassion
1 John 3:1 (NLT) “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children…”
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
FOUR KEYS TO KNOWING GOD
Key #1 - Stop looking at God as if He’s like you.
Isaiah 40:25 (NLT) "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One
Key #2 - Don’t reduce him to an idea that is controllable or measurable.
Isaiah 40:27-28 (NLT) “Don’t you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.”
Key #3 - Allow nothing to take His place in your life.
Exodus 20:2 "You shall have no other gods before me.”
Key #4 – Understand and accept what He’s already done for you.
Exodus 20:1 “…I am…God… brought you out of Egypt…out of slavery…”
• Delivers people from a place not meant for them
• Releases the captives
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT) “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
TO KNOW GOD PERSONALLY
Romans 10:9 (NLT) “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
A – Accept what He’s already done for you
B – Believe and receive this free gift
C – Confess God as your number One
TEXT
How To Get To Know God
Getting to know God series – 1
Series based on Exodus 20:1-11
Tom Bartlett, Celebration Church
April 8, 2007 - Easter
For 430 years the Israelites were captives, slaves in Egypt. What started out as a good thing, a way to survive turned into a place of captivity.
Each day the Israelites were forced to serve the Egyptians. To care for their children to clean their homes, to gather grain and prepare food.
Where was God during this time? Had He not chose these people as His special people?
DOES GOD REALLY CARE ABOUT THE DAILY STRUGGLES WE HAVE? IS HE REALLY CONCERNED WITH OUR LIVES?
Eventually God brings out the people of Israel. He does so in spectacular fashion defeating not only Pharaoh’s plan but his whole army as well.
In doing so He declares many things about who He is, His power and authority and time table among other things.
When they’re finally delivered he takes them to a place to camp, Moses goes up the mountain to meet with God and God gives him the commandments.
Exodus 20:1-3 (NIV) “And God spoke… "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me.”
WHO IS GOD, WHAT IS HE LIKE? IS HE KNOWABLE, APPROACHABLE, TRUSTWORTHY, PERSONABLE?
VIDEO – What is God like? (Highway video 2 min)
The Bible teaches us that God the creator of all is named Jehovah – Yahweh as our Jewish brothers speak it.
The very name of God was given as a way to express who He is. The Jews didn’t write the name of God with vowels. It was spelled with just consonants.
His name was always whispered in great respect when mentioned.
If you were to say the name of God in a whisper without the vowels, it would sound something like two breaths of air combining.
YYHHAA - WHHAAY
The Bible says that God is a spirit. He’s not like us in the way we are confined to our bodies. He’s not limited by time or space. God goes beyond all that. No one can compare to Him in any way.
YET THIS GREAT BEING, THIS SPIRIT, THIS CREATOR, SUSTAINER OF ALL THINGS – wants a relationship with every person on this earth!
IS THERE ANYTHING LIKE HIM?
Isaiah 40:25-28 (NLT) "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One. Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out one after another, calling each by its name. And he counts them to see that none are lost or have strayed away. O Israel, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case? Have you never heard or understood? Don’t you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.”
What sets God apart to us?
To tell you fully what sets God apart from other things you could worship or from anything or anyone else, would take a years if not longer.
Today I want to share 3 simple attributes of God. AW Tozier a great Christian writer lists some 20 attributes in his work as a starter. For this service I’ll share these three.
• Holiness
I don’t know what you think of when you hear the word holy, but let me give you an understanding of this word.
The word holy, literally means set-apart, different – complete or “Whole”.
God is complete, set apart from you and me. HE IS COMPLETE LACKING NOTHING!
When we sing, You are so holy…” we’re not saying, You’re so good and I’m so bad…” While that’s true, the emphasis is on His completeness.
What we’re saying is, “God You’re the only one worthy to receive thanks and praise. YOU’VE GOT IT ALL TOGETHER! YOUR COMPLETE, YOU’RE WHOLE.
You’re the one who forgives and restores. You’re glory fills the whole earth, it’s extends to the ends of the earth for anyone, anytime
Isaiah 6:3 (NLT) (Angels) “In a great chorus they sang, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!"
There have been many people throughout time who have experienced God’s love, forgiveness and relationship...
HERE’S ONE…
Vignette #1 - Mary Magdalene
Another attribute of God is His:
• Faithfulness
When God says He will do something – it’s as good as done. He’s never said, “hey I will do this then said just kidding!”
His faithfulness is not dependant on our behavior.
IT’S BASED ON WHO HE IS, HIS CHARACTER!
2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT) “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”
Lamentations 3:23 (NLT) “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.”
Everyone who encounters God truly will know that He will always be faithful. But… even though you encounter God, that doesn’t mean that you will have the same character necessarily.
Listen to this guy…
Vignette #2 Judas Iscariot
The next attribute is…
• Compassion
One of the things that makes God what He is, is this tremendous love for you and me.
1 John 3:1 (NLT) “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children…”
I love how the prophet wrote about this in Zephaniah…
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
Few people have experienced the love and forgiveness of God like this next fellow.
Vignette #3 - Peter the apostle
We know that God is holy, faithful and compassionate but how do we get to know Him personally?
FOUR KEYS TO KNOWING GOD
Key #1 - Stop looking at God as if He’s like you.
I hear people say things like, “I like to think of God as….” Or I think God is this or that…”
They are typically using some comparison to try and describe God.
Many people also fall into the trap of thinking things such as, “God couldn’t love me” OR “God isn’t interested in me…”
PEOPLE SAY THOSE THINGS BECAUSE THEY TYPICALLY THINK OF GOD AS SOMEONE WHO IS LIKE THEM.
Someone who is not able to love unconditionally. Someone who will hold a grudge or want to get back at you when you do something wrong.
THAT IS INCONSISTANT WITH THE CHARACTER AND NATURE OF GOD!
Isa. 40:25 (NLT) "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One
GOD IS NOT LIKE YOU OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU’VE EVER ENCOUTNERED!
Key #2 - Don’t reduce him to an idea that is controllable or measurable.
How do you measure the ocean? Can you figure out how long the universe is?
God is not an idea or just some force. He’s a personality of limitless power and creative ability. You cannot define Him in terms of height, weight, time or space.
HE SIMPLY REFERS TO HIMSELF WHEN TALKING TO MOSES AS “THE I AM”
He is! He is beyond your thoughts. He is beyond your ability to figure out or explain. He is more than you can imagine, stronger than you could believe and infinitely beyond our comprehension!
HE IS!
Isaiah 40:27-28 (NLT) “Don’t you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.”
Key #3 - Allow nothing to take His place in your life.
If you truly want to get to know God, there is one thing you must do. You must remove the things in your life that block the view of God.
Anything that you worship is a God in your life and it is keeping you from seeing and knowing the one true God.
For some of us it’s being in control. Or for others it’s all about what we own. We all worship something. It’s about where our time and energy go and it’s all about where our focus is.
If anything in your life is more important to you than God, you’re going to have a hard time getting to know Him. You won’t be able to see Him through the clutter.
ILLUSTRATION: Tank with dirty water. Add chemicals to clean the water and reveal the word God.
Exodus 20:2 "You shall have no other gods before me.”
Key #4 – Understand and accept what He’s already done for you.
Some people think that God couldn’t want to love them or that He couldn’t forgive them because of the terrible things they had done.
My answer to that is, you’re wrong. The Bible says that God already knew about all your mistakes and all the mistakes of everyone on this earth and still chose to die for us.
Remember what he did for the Israelites? He brought them out of slavery. Then He made promises to them.
Exodus 20:1 “…I am…God… brought you out of Egypt…out of slavery…”
This is what God does… He:
• Delivers people from a place not meant for them
• Releases the captives
If you’re in a bad place today in your life, if you’re enslaved to a past or an emotion or a drug…
HE WANTS TO SET YOU FREE!
THIS IS WHAT EASTER IS ALL ABOUT! IT’S ABOUT BEING DELIVERED FROM A PLACE NOT MEANT FOR YOU AND BEING FREED.
Easter is all about God proving Himself to you before you would be able accept His love and forgiveness.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT) “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
The reason Jesus went to the cross was to take on Himself your sin debt. At the cross He paid for that sin.
Now look at that verse and circle the words “made right with God.”
That’s the same idea as “holy” God makes us able to have a relationship with him based on the forgiveness, compassion and faithfulness of Jesus.
GOD WANTS TO MAKE YOU LIKE HIM – COMPLETE, WHOLE!
Easter is all about starting over. It’s all about resurrecting ruined lives. It’s all about the power of good over the power of evil.
IT ALL BEGINS WITH A YES TO JESUS. Yes Jesus, I’ll accept Your love and forgiveness. Yes Jesus, I will follow your path to know You and have relationship with You.
TO KNOW GOD PERSONALLY
Romans 10:9 (NLT) “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
A – Accept what He’s already done for you
B – Believe and receive this free gift
C – Confess God as your number One
Time of Commitment
Prayer of Salvation: Dear God, thank You for loving me and being faithful to me even when I didn’t deserve it. Right now, I accept what You’ve done for me on the cross. I believe in You and I receive Your free gift of salvation. You are my Lord, my boss. I will live for you from today forward. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name A-men.
