Let’s see your bibles today, let’s see your bibles today. Take a deep breath in. Hold up-hold up-hold up-holdup. Take a deep breath in. Say wooooooooooooooooooord. Let’s see your pens, lesson plan. Let’s turn to Exodus 3, 2nd book of the bible, Exodus 3, Exodus 3. Let me pray for you all.
Lord thank you so much for your faithfulness. Thank you for your word. Thank you for being faithful to us and we pray that we can be a blessing to you. We pray that your word would speak powerfully to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
I was on a plane talking to a guy about ah the Lord and the plane is a very good place to witness to people. You know why? They can’t go nowhere right? You don’t want, you don’t want to be a pain in the neck but you know you just want to take advantage of the fact that his person is going to be next to you for 2-3-4-5 hours. So we were talking and when I witness to people usually I start out with asking questions. You know I just don’t bombard people. You got to do this, you got to do this. It’s more – What do you believe? And help them understand where you’re coming from etc. so I could understand what they believe.
And so I was asking this particular person I’ve had this identical conversation with many people with identical answer. Tell me about you know God and tell me about what you believe and they said – Well you know I don’t believe that there’s not one God. I believe that we all have a god and our concept of god and whatever our concept of god is as long as it’s good you know it’s ok. You know I believe we all have a light within us. We have to follow that light. We have a conscience and we kind of know good from, right from wrong and we should treat people the way we want to be treated. I believe that that’s very important and I’m listening to this and then you know it sounds pretty good. You know I, I’m feeling it. Let’s just – what about heaven and hell? Well you know if we treat people the way we’re supposed to be treated and the way we want to be treated and be treated with you know respect. I believe God because He’s a God of love will bring us to heaven. He’s not gonna send us to hell cuz He knows we’re sinners and blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. So ok I said – Let me ask you a question. Where do you get all this stuff from cuz I want to read about it. I want to learn about your god and your philosophy cuz it sounds very interesting to me. Well it’s not written anywhere. You know it’s just something that’s in you. So I said – Basically you made all that up.
Now when you talk about God and when you think about God it is very important, muí importante that you get it right. You don’t want to almost get it right. Now whether you believe in God or not, whether you worship God or not you will cry out to God one day. It’s gonna happen.
I was watching this show a long time ago, long before you all were born, a show called Dy nasty. Has anybody heard Dy nasty? Dynasty, Dynasty that yeah Dynasty. How many of you all heard of Dynasty? Ok good. Anybody not heard of Dynasty? Ok so Dynasty was, it was like 20 something to 30 years ago. It as a nighttime soap opera about these very wealthy families in Texas. I believe it was Dallas. Was that right? And it was like the Dynasty you know they, they had all this money and they had big ranches and they would just you know, they’re very wealthy people but in the show it was soap opera so this person would sleep with this person. It was you know cheating on that person, just drama and so these, these, these people where this man and this woman were having, were in the bed and they were cheating on each other’s spouses. They were committing adultery and the guy has a heart attack in the bed and the lady cries- Oh God help! And God’s like – I ain’t got nothing to do with that~
But the point is here they are doing, doing what they shouldn’t be doing and yet as soon as something happens they go – God!! You will cry out to God. By the way if you have the privilege and honor of knowing that you are going to die, in other words it doesn’t’ happen suddenly, you’re gonna cry out to God. You’re not gonna say you know – Mommy can you help me? You may want to see your mama but your mama can’t help you. You’re not gonna be talking about how much money you have in the bank. You’re not gonna talk about how good you look or whatever. You’re gonna want to talk to God because you do not know what’s gonna happen when you die and only God, if there is a God knows that answer.
So the point is we’re gonna talk about who is God and why it’s so important is because you don’t want to miss who God is. Not only because of what happens when you die but what can happen when you live cuz a lot of people who are living without God that are missing out on all the blessings that you can have. You have a sub par, second class existence on earth. Matter of fact are, are, they’re awake but they’re dead.
You know the Night of the Living Dead? Did you ever see that show? They’re walking around ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Do you all know Night of the Living Dead? Yes or no. Yes and, and, and I saw the black and white version 30 years ago. Now they got the new version. Ok? And they just, you die or somehow you get some disease. I don’t even know what makes you this way and you wake up with an ax in your head that kills you right? And you walk around looking for people who hadn’t died and you want to just kill em so they, they bite you and they eat you and they, and then you die and then your eyes roll back in your head and walk around like a zombie. Ok.
There are people who live like that but they haven’t died yet like people, like us. We’re alive! And you’re walking around, you’re eating, you’re drinking, you’re doing everything but you have no spiritual life. You’re dead, spiritually dead. The bible says you’re spiritually dead. You don’t have to be. You don’t have to be. You can be spiritually alive. So you don’t want to miss it. So we’re gonna talk about God.
Now over the next 5 weeks we’re gonna talk about who is God. What we’re gonna talk about today are 6 characteristics of the God that I’m gonna talk about for the rest of the time. It’s very important we understand what God we’re talking about. We’re not talking about an idol that can’t speak or can’t hold you, or can’t listen. We’re talking about a very personal God. But the characteristics about God are very important to understand. So when you talk to Him, or when He talks to you, or when you pray to Him, or when you ask for something you know to whom you are speaking because if God is this big but you’re talking to Him like He’s a midget you miss it. Ok? So we’re gonna talk about 6 characteristics of God today and for the rest of the series when I refer to God I’m referring to that God and by the way the God that I’m talking about is the God that’s in the bible. It’s not a god I made up. It’s not something that’s in my head, in my heart. It’s in the bible. Ok? And I believe and, and, and it’s my opinion and I’m, I’m pretty confident we’re gonna do this. Over the series as we get into what this living room’s about cuz this living room is very critical to us understanding God. Evidence that there is a God and evidence that the God that exists is the God of the bible. Hopefully it will become very plain to you. It will be indisputable. That’s the goal, indisputable.
So let’s look at Exodus 3, Exodus 3. In this particular story there’s 6, 6 characteristics, in this particular story Moses is walking through the wilderness. He sees a bush that’s burning and the bush is not consumed. So the bush is like this. The fire’s going on all around it but the bush ain’t burning, leaves are still green. The branches still brown. They’re not turning black and it’s, he’s like – why is this happening? And God speaks out of the fire, everyone say fire. God speaks out of the fire and Moses listens and Moses speaks back to the fire which is even more interesting and they have a conversation ok? In verse 10 we’re gonna learn 1 characteristic about God in these 4 verses.
Look what it says – Come now therefore and I will send you, this is God talking to Moses – come now therefore and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. But Moses said to Pharaoh – who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? Moses said to God – Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? And that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? He said – I will certainly be with you and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt you shall serve God on this mountain. And Moses said – Indeed when I come to the children of Israel and say to them – The God of your fathers has sent me to you and they say to me – What is his name? What shall I say?
In other words –God what is your name? Now in the, in the bible when you had a name that meant something, had significance. Our names mean nothing, at least most of our names. My name is Miles. It’s a distance. It doesn’t mean anything. Matter of fact I have a friend of mine, she is um I don’t’ know if, I think she’s Chinese. She can’t say Miles, she says mile. I’m 1 mile. She broke me down ok. It means nothing. You know I‘ve heard the kilometer jokes – Oh you’re a kilometer. You’re not miles you know all this stuff. Um in the bible names mean something.
God’s name means something. Look what His name is verse 14. God said – I am who I am. Now what’s your name? I am who I am. Where are you? I am where I am. Look what He says verse 14 – I am who I am. He said – Thus you shall say to the children of Israel I am has sent me. I am, Jehovah. Here’s what it means. This is the most powerful name there is Jehovah. Of course God has the best of everything right? Right? Ok. He does just in case you didn’t know He does. I am means I always was in the past, I am right now, right now I am right now, and I always will be. Let me, let me say it again. Before there was time, and there was a time when there was no time and then there was a time when God said time begins now, moments start right now. But before time was there was no time. God was then at you, he existed then too. So in other words He exists, this is goin, this might mess your mind up, He exists in eternity past and eternity stops when time stops. Eternity has to stop when time stops and then He existed before that. Ahhh I don’t know how that works but He existed. So God existed somewhere, no time, so we can’t say He existed because we can’t measure the time cuz there was no time. He existed, then time began. One day God said – Time starts. He was already existed and then He exists now and then when time whatever it does in the future He’s gonna exist past that.
Here’s the thing. No one ever created Him. He’s un-created. No one can destroy Him. He’s indestructible. So what you and I think, or do, or say against God it doesn’t’ change Him at all. He is consistently the same forever and beyond forever because forever is within time, even beyond time. Ha-ha.
#1-God is self existent. He is self existent. In other words God doesn’t need you or me to validate His existence. We cannot destroy His existence. We cannot slow it down. We cannot speed it up. We cannot make it better or worse. He is independent of all that we know. That’s God. I am who I am. Why is this important? On several reasons: 1-You never have to worry about Him going away. You never have to worry about Him changing because He’s consistent forever. You never have to worry about Him being unfaithful or one day being something and another day being another thing. He is the same.
When I went to college um when I got out of high school and went to college my other friend went to college. There was like 4 of us that hung out together and then one he didn’t go anywhere. He stayed and he said – I’m gonna get a dog because all my friends are leaving. My dog will always be with me. I said – Brother that dog is gonna get hit by a car and die and you’re gonna be by yourself again. Come on now a dog? A dog? Everything we know comes to an end except God, everything we know comes to an end.
#2-God is omnipotent, everyone say omnipotent. Ok it’s a very good word to know. Let me spell it and write it down and then I’ll explain it. Omni potent, a, OMI, O you can spell it. Everyone say omni potent. Omni means all, potent means powerful. That means God is all powerful. Say omnipotent.
Turn to Revelation 19, Revelation 19. Now there’s evidence through, throughout the whole bible that God is omnipotent. He created the heavens and the earth. He created the moon and the stars, the whales, ah the elephants, hippopotamus.
Has anybody ever been to Africa and seen, seen a elephant in real, in, in the, in the wild? When you go into the wild and see animals that you see in the zoo it’s different. If you go to Africa and see animals in the wild it is a whole different deal. See when you go to the zoo animals are chained up. They can’t do nothing. There just kind of like this. But you know what they’re thinking in their head? Man if you just let me out of here I’ll tear you up. You go to Africa even the squirrels are talking trash. They’re like- Get out of the car. Come on get out of the car. Cuz you’re on their property. You see big elephant walking, I’m talking about elephant is like you know as high as this ceiling. Not really but boom-boom crushing the ground.
We’re driving down the street and a baby elephant, a whole herd of elephants were walking across the street and the baby came last and we got too close to the baby with our car and big mama, big Bertha, big 20 tons of fun Bertha looked at us and came at us like – no, no this ain’t the zoo. This ain’t the zoo. God made the elephant like this. God put the stars in the sky like this. He’s all powerful.
Look what it says in Revelation 19:6. In Revelation 19:6 it says – And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, as a sound of many waters, and as the sound of mighty thundering saying – Hallelujah. Everyone take a deep breath in, say hallelujah. For the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Omnipotent means God is all powerful.
Let me explain what that doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean God can do all things. Oh-oh we got a problem. What is that? Someone came up to me and said – If God can do all things can God create a rock that He can’t lift? Think about it. If God can do all things can God make a rock He can’t lift? And I said – Your premise is wrong. God can’t do all things. God cannot lie. He can’t sin. He can’t deny His own righteousness. God can do all things that are consistent with who He is. He cannot contradict His holiness. Can He make a rock He can’t lift? No cuz He can lift all rocks. Can He make a wrong triangle? No. Can He can make a white black person or a black white person? No. A white person’s white and a black person’s black.
And by the way there are no white people and black people Everybody’s brown. You all, you all know that? Some of you deal with this guy, your life is shattered right now. ¬___________________. I hate to break it to you white people but you’re really brown. And all you black people you’re really brown too. The Mexicans you all got it! Oh the brownies up in the house that are brownies.
But my point is this God, God said, God can do all things and will choose to do only that which is consistent with Himself. Why is this important? When you pray to God you want to pray – God, ah I need this, I need this in Jesus’ name which means whatever is consistent with your character and whatever is consistent with your plan for my life. If God does not want you to work in a, as a scientist and you’re praying to be a scientist, you better pray to God that God doesn’t give you what you ask for. You’re no good. God I want to be a singer. You can’t sing! For reals you can’t sing. Most people and I will argue all people but I want to say most think more highly of themselves then they are. God I can do this. I can do this, I can do this. And God is – No, no I ain’t answering that prayer. But if God is all powerful when you pray to Him if He’s all powerful don’t help God out by doing something wrong.
For example – God I need a job. And then you pray God get me a job and then you lie on the application. God get me a man. And then you wear the rubber band. I don’t even know what they, it ain’t a skirt. It can’t be a skirt. It’s not enough material to be a skirt. It’s like a rubber band. And go bham right there. What is that called? What’s it called? A thong, no-no-no-no-no the thing that wraps around like that, like a, no-no it’s not a skirt. It can’t be a skirt. Ok we’re getting a little wild here. Let me change the subject.
God, here’s, here’s what God is, God says – I made man out of dirt. That’s why men are dirt bags. I made him out of dirt. Can I get an amen ladies? Fellas can I get an amen? Yeah we know, we know, we know. He says – so if I could just go puh and make man you know don’t worry about it. I can, if none’s available I’ll just make one.
But my point is this is that is God is all powerful. God I need, I need some food. Don’t go steal food. Trust God if He’s all powerful. So if the God we’re talking about, let’s back up if the God we’re talking about is all powerful what are you worrying about. God how are you gonna deal with this problem? I got you. How are going to deal with this? $300, you’re gonna kill yourself over $300? Come on I own the planet. I own the planet. Do you have any idea why the world’s still spinning around? Because of God not you, not the boss, not your boss, God’s spinning the globe just making it go. Even the Globe Trotters they spin the ball they got to keep.
Look at-look at-look-at, look at #3, #3-God is omnipresent, God is omnipresent. What does that mean? He is er-where. There is nowhere He is not. That means that if you run over here and hide God is there. If you run over here and hide God is there. If you run over here and hide God is there and He’s not there waiting for you He’s already there. The people watching online, everywhere they are all over the world right now God is just as much where they are as He is where we are and when you leave here and go home, even though you don’t got to go home but you got to go and get up on out of here wherever you go God is gonna be there.
Look what it says in ah, turn to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. I changed my mind. Man I just found it. Turn to Jeremiah 23, Old Testament. If you have the same bible I have it’s on page 539. Jeremiah 23:24. This is, this verse is so powerful it is ridiculous. Jeremiah 23:24 let me read it to you as you turn there. Give you 5 more seconds, 4-3-2-1 Can anyone hide himself in secret places so I shall not see him? Says the Lord. Do I not feel heaven and earth says the Lord? Where are going to go? Now this has several applications. 1-You can’t hide from God but the other thing is this. There’s a better way of looking at it that everywhere you go He is with you. You are never alone, everyone say never alone.
I was scuba diving last year my son and I scuba dived twice in our life and we you know whenever we get a chance we go, we went too 40’ of water and I really wasn’t, I don’t want to say taking it serious but I was like – Yeah ok we take the lesson, no big deal. And we go down and it was no big deal, no big deal. Next thing I know I was 40’ below the water, below the surface. Not below the water below the surface and it dawned on me I could die! It’s like – Wait a minute. There’s a lot of water and I can’t just like go up. There’s techniques I got to remember. And then I though – God is down here. Now it doesn’t mean I can’t still die. It just means I’ll go to heaven from down there.
But the point is He’s there. Everywhere you go and whenever you feel like you are alone you have to remember – Wait a minute God is omnipresent. He’s with your mother, your grandmother, your uncle, your grandfather, your brother, your son right now. Same God, same God and you are never by yourself and by the way the God that never leaves your side is all powerful. Oh-oh and He’s always existed and He can never be destroyed. This is the God we’re talking about.
#4-God is omniscient, omni-scient, omniscient, ah SCIENT it’s from the word science, knowing, God is all knowing, hmm, all knowing. Turn to Job before Jeremiah, before Psalm, Job, Job 37, Job 37 God is all knowing. God knows all things. Job 37
How many of you do not have children or have never had a child? Raise your hand. Most of you all, ok. Hmm. When you have a child you are going to have to learn how to manipulate your children’s minds. This is truth. It’s a technique you know that we teach in parenting classes when no, only parents are allowed. It’s top secret informacion. Ok. And one of the things you have to manipulate your children’s to think that you know everything. You have to, your kids have to think you know everything. Once they believe you don’t then they’ll take over your life and your house and everything. They’ll steal all your money and just ruin it. I’m only kidding for all you all who don’t know me. I’m just joking around somewhat.
So my son he does something, he’s little, he does something and we thought we knew something. We knew something happened but we didn’t know the whole story. So we brought him in the room and we says – We know. We wanted to lead him to believe we were omniscient, all knowing. So we told him – We know what happened but we want to give you the opportunity to confess before we tell you because if we tell you you’re gonna get in more trouble than if you confess. But we didn’t know what we didn’t know and he didn’t know we didn’t know it but we wanted him to think we knew what we knew but we didn’t even know if there was anything to know. So he’s sitting there going – Nothing happened, nothing happened! And we’re like – We know, don’t lie to us. Tell us the whole story and we went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth and what we wanted him to…. We wanted to lead him to believe that we had all the information and then he had to figure out - How much do they really know?
God has all the information, all the information. There’s nothing secret to Him. Look what it says in Job 37:14 - Listen to this ole Job. Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. Job is a man who was very wealthy at the time God allowed the devil to take everything from him and God blessed him with more.
Verse 15 – Do you know when God dispatches them and causes the light of His cloud to shine? Do you know how clouds are balanced? Those wondrous works of Him who is perfecto in knowledge. God is perfect in knowledge.
How many of you would agree that you don’t perfectly know yourself? I would argue that you know way less than 50% about yourself. God knows what you do, why you did it, the ramifications of what you did, how you did it. He saw it before it happened. God knows what your stomach looks like. You’ve never seen your stomach. God knows what your liver looks like. You’ve never seen your liver. Some of you all in here are – What’s a liver? God knows what your heart looks like. God knows what your brain looks like. You don’t even know if you have a brain. You can’t prove you have a brain. God knows every cell in your body. He knows when and if you will get sick. He knows when you will die, how you will die, where you will die, who you will be with when you die, what you will be worrying about when you die. He knows what’s gonna happen tomorrow and next week. He knows everything and He knows it perfectly. He doesn’t know you’re gonna die in New York or L.A.. He knows the exact, the exact moment and spot on His planet, what you will be wearing, what every cell in your body will be doing at the moment you die. He knows, everything. He knows what you worry about, why you worry. He knows your strengths, your weaknesses. He knows how to overcome your weaknesses with your strengths. He knows exactly what you’re supposed to, what you were created to do. He knows all your talents and how to maximize those talents. He knows all the situations you’re gonna be in, and all the people you’re gonna meet, all the tough times you’re gonna be confronted with and He knows exactly how much pressure and stress you can handle. Perfectly He knows all that.
So why won’t you talk to Him? And ask Him. The bible says tell me, call to me and I will tell you great and mighty things you don’t know. How many of you by a show of hands would know that God has some great and mighty things that you would love to know? Oh great and mighty things. How about – God who am I? How about – God what’s my purpose in life? What are my strengths? Why am I here? God knows all of that. He knows all of that. He is omniscient.
Let’s back up. He exists all by Himself. You can’t destroy Him, can’t change Him. He ain’t going anywhere. He’s all powerful. He’s everywhere at the same time and He knows everything! And that sounds like a, that sounds like a good God. That’s the God the bible says, the God of the bible is. He’s a good God.
Now you may say –Well I got my own god. Well good is he like that? And where do you, how do you know? Where do you get your information from? Where do you get your evidence from? Ok.
#5-Ooh this one, this one, this one’s good too. This one’s good too. God is holy. God is holy.
Turn to 1 Peter all the way in the back, chapter 1. 1 Peter 1 Holy means set apart for a divine purpose. That means you have something and you separate it from everything else and say – This is what God wants to do with it.
If you ever go to Catholic Church, how many of you all have been to catholic church at some point in your life? Most of you. I grew up in Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has holy water. The reason the holy water I holy is not because it has H2O and something else in it. How many of you all thought if you drank holy water you would glow? Like something’s gonna happen if I drink this water I’m gonna be like good. No you’re just gonna have water in your stomach. The reason it’s holy is because they set it aside and say – We’re only gonna use it for these purposes you know whether it be the sign of the cross when you walk in or baptizing the babies but it’s H2O and they pray for it and bless it and all that kind of stuff but it’s H2O! Holy means set apart.
When my first daughter was born we you know, it was, it was a incredibly happy experience to have your own child and you want your child to be separated. Matter of fact all you all out here how many of you don’t have kids? Raise your hand again. Raise your hand. Ok very good. The, I’m gonna make you a bet. How you live your life now and I’m gonna give you an example. You’re out there partying. You’re sleeping around, doing whatever, dating this guy, dating this girl, whatever-whatever-whatever you do and when you have a kid you are not gonna want your kid doing anything you do now.
Matter of fact all you guys out there, all you guys, all the guys say amen. Come on fellas. Amen. I’m not gonna get you. All the guys say amen. Ok. When you have a girl, when you have a little girl if you have a girl oh you are gonna all the sudden see all these movies of all this scandalous stuff you did and you’re gonna be like – Oh no! And every other guy is gonna be like a target for you to kill cuz they are not gonna come near your little girl. Are you following me? And you’re gonna think – Man God’s gonna get me back for everything I did. When you have a girl your whole moral compass changes. When you have a little baby either way.
And all you ladies out there rrrhhh you got, you got a little boy and all these little girls that come around, oh yeah you know how girls can be. You’re gonna want to take those babies you’re gonna say –I’m gonna protect them. They belong to me.
God is holy. He is set aside as perfect. He has set Himself aside as righteous. He has set Himself aside as pure and nothing can stain Him. He’s holy. Him and Him alone. Now He can make us holy. We are not holy. We are not pure. We are not righteous. We are sinners but when we come into contact with a holy God guess what? He purifies us. When Jesus walked the earth if you had a disease or a woman was on her monthly blood flow ok, she was religiously unclean. She had to go outside of the town for 7 days until the blood stopped and then, but if she was in town and she touched something, sat on something that thing became religiously unclean. And if you touch that thing you became unclean. Or if you had leprosy or disease you are unclean. So when people were unclean you couldn’t touch them or anything they touched and if you are unclean you had to go through some purification process before you could go back into general public and especially go to synagogue.
So here’s Jesus walking around and a leper is walking around – Unclean, unclean, and goes up to Jesus – Are you willing to heal me? Normally he would say – yeah but stay over there. And then they go – Go through this, go through that blah-blah-blah-blah-blah but Jesus was – No-no-no-no-no. Come here. He went up and touched a leper and everybody went – haaaa. Jesus said – Hold on, hold on, hold on. He didn’t make me unclean. I made him clean because I’m Mr. Clean. I’m holy. His leprosy cannot stain me.
Why is this very important? Because your sin no matter how great can’t stain God. God’s holiness purifies you. You can bring to God all the sin in the world and God goes – Give it to me. Give it to me. That’s the great thing about the gospel. It’s the great thing about God. God’s like – I am constant. I’m not going anywhere. I am holy. I’m all powerful. I know everything so whatever your problem is bring it to me. And when you come into contact with a holy God guess what happens to you? God doesn’t change cuz He’s forever the same. We’re the ones who change.
How many of you used to do something but because of God in your life and only because of God in your life you don’t do it anymore? Very good. You know what God does with His power? He changes people’s lives. That’s what He does. Changes lives.
I had a, I had a guy come up to me or someone told me about this guy we’re gonna meet next week and he got out of prison 2 days ago. He’s in prison, he was in church today, got out of prison 2 days ago. I was like so happy. The guy said – Come on. He got saved in prison by the way through our prison ministry. He was a gang member and now he’s walking with God and says – I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to serve in a ministry. Amen! God changes lives. You want to know how, you want to know someone who has come in contact with God? Their life is changed. Not information, it’s transformation. Information’s part of it but it’s transformation.
When you ask Christ to be your Savior He clothes you, not with clothes but with righteousness. So when Jesus looked at people/sinners who He has forgiven He sees His righteousness. He is not yours. So God, God is a sea of holiness. It’s like you are to the ocean and you try to put a little ink in the ocean and you think you’re gonna make the ocean stained. No. It’s gone, bham! It’s so big. When you take your sinfulness to God, God comes – come here, and hugs you and all the sudden (whish) it’s all gone. But over time you experience that change and over time, you are transformed if you obey Him, if you submit to Him, things you used to do you won’t do, things you didn’t do you will do as He transforms you but because He’s holy and we are becoming like Him. This is the God we’re talking about. He exists forever past, forever future. He exists now. He’s all powerful. He’s everywhere. He knows everything and He’s holy. So you’re thinking about something, this sounds like a perfect God. Exactly! He is perfecto, perfecto.
#6-Everyone say 6-God is love, love, LUV, love. Everyone say God wants to love me, love me. He wants to love you. Love. Turn to John 3:16 please and as you turn to John 3:16 let me tell you about 1 John 4:8. 1 John 4:8 says – God is love. Everyone say God is love. Follow my hand say God, say is, say love. One more time say God, say is, say love. So what is love? Love is God. So love is anything you do that’s consistent with God. You can’t act inconsistent with God and say it’s love. You can’t. I’m gonna say it again. You can’t act inconsistent with God in a way that’s contrary to God and it be love. Now you can say it’s love but it’s not cuz it’s God. God is love and everything God does is based on who He is. He can never do anything unloving because He’s love and He’s consistent. He doesn’t change. So when we act towards somebody else in a way that’s consistent with God that’s love. Now some people will act in a very selfish/odd/dysfunctional/perverted way and say it’s love because it’s a very strong feeling. It’s not love. God is love.
So here’s God He is all powerful, all knowing. He’s holy. He’s everywhere. He’s eternally existent. He’s the same yesterday, today. He will never change. He’s basically perfect and He says – You know what? You guys are sinner unfortunately and you’re not worthy to be in my presence so you have a problem. Because you’re sinners I can’t accept you. But what I’m gonna do because I love you I’m gonna send my Son Jesus to die for you.
Now when you have a baby, let me go back to that, you are gonna experience love on a level you never imagined. If you all can remember the first crush you had, you all remember that? I mean whoever it was you thought they were like it! Perfect. You all remember that? And they were, now looking back they were probably jacked. But at the time they were perfect. Can I get an amen? And you were just like thinking about him day and night. You looked at him and just they’re perfect and everything they did was perfect. They giggled, they laughed, whatever they did was all – Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhh or however you acted. When you have a baby it’s gonna be that times 100. It’s very different as well. That’s why you want to hold them to yourself. But if you think about it the baby does nothing to deserve your love, to earn your love, it can’t pay you back. Babies can’t do anything. They can’t even hardly look at you sometimes. They just front you up. They’re like this. I mean you’re talking to them and they’re asleep. They can do two things. Barely eat and go to the bathroom. That’s it! And they sleep. That’s it. Yet you love them this much. You brag about everything they do. Look they burped. Oh it’s so cute. And it’s like, it’s like, it’s like the most incredible thing you’ve ever seen and by the way what you’re tripping on is not what they’re doing. It’s your love for them.
When God looks at you He loves you like that. Our problem is that we think we do things to earn it. Of course God loves me. Look what I do. Look at what I say. Look how I act and it’s the opposite. God is saying – Are you kidding me? We need to have a relationship with each other that’s why we can’t do it alone. We shouldn’t try to do it alone.
But #2-We need to have a relationship with Him. It all starts and comes from a relationship with Him and that comes from you admitting, you and I admitting we are all sinners, you and I admitting that the penalty of sin is death, and that Jesus died, that we’d be forgiven of our sin, and that we could have a relationship with Him by being forgiven of our sin, that we would accept Christ as our Savior, saying Jesus died to pay the price for my sin and I want Him to forgive me and when He forgives me we’re gonna have a relationship. He’s gonna live inside of me in the form of the Holy Spirit and He will walk with me, speak with me, guide me, encourage me, teach me, direct me, empower me, use me. I am now following Him by faith in the context of relationship.
So when you seriously surrender your life to Christ all this makes a whole bunch more sense. Then you realize that every thing you have that’s good is from Him. And you at, and you want to honor Him.
You know when I hear people sing, I can’t sing. That’s obvious, when you hear people sing that God gave us, gave some the ability to sing well. He gave, we can all sing. Just cant’ sing well and that God, here’s God Master He makes vocal chords and He says – You are gonna be able to make sound, beautiful sound. God did that to glorify Him.
So God says – When we, when we become, when we come into relationship then I can do some things in you and through you. And so in a minute we’re gonna pray and my challenge to you is this, is that you acknowledge that Christ loves you, that He has a plan for your life but it has to come, and happen in the context of relationship. You can’t do it by yourself. You weren’t created to do it by yourself. You are living against nature to do it by yourself, especially to do it without God.
Let’s all bow our heads and pray. If you’re watching online we want you to stay with us and listen very carefully cuz we’re gonna be able to communicate with you after we pray and we want to pray with you and stay in contact with you.
As our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed if you realize what the bible says is true that God loves you and He has an amazing plan for your life. If you realize that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead for your sin, and you’re like Zaccheus in the tree. You’ve been looking at Jesus. Now he’s saying – I want to come live in your house. I want to come live in your heart. What are you gonna say? Are you gonna say no to Him or are you gonna do what Zaccheus did receive Him joyfully? My encouragement to you: receive Him joyfully. So if right now you want to come out of your tree like Zaccheus and invite Jesus into your life pray this prayer with me in the privacy of your hear and if you’re watching online wherever you are I hope your heads are bowed, your eyes are closed and everybody in the room with you just please close your eyes and bow your head out of respect for somebody there may be giving their life to God right now. Eyes closed, heads bowed if you want to ask Christ to be your Savior just pray this with me in the privacy of your heart. Pray:
Dear God, I believe that you love me. I believe you have a great plan for my life. And I believe that Jesus knows who I am and that He died for my sin and that He rose from the dead. Jesus please forgive me. Please come live in my heart and be my Savior and my Lord and my God. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. I want to be born all over again. I want Jesus in my life. I want Jesus to take over my life. Thank you God.
As our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed if you prayed that prayer in a minute I’m gonna ask you to stand and by standing you are acknowledging publicly – Yes I am giving my life to Christ. If you’re watching online you can stand too. So right now eyes closed, heads bowed if you prayed that prayer and you’re saying –Lord I, I want to get out of my tree. I really want to walk with you. I want to invite you to my life. Just stand to your feet and acknowledge that publicly stand to your feet. God bless you. Very good. Stay standing. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Very good. God bless you. We see you all over the room. We see you in the balcony. God bless you. God bless you. If you’re watching online stay with us, stay with us. God bless you. We see you. God bless you. We see you. God bless you. We see you. Anybody else? Good. We see you all over the room. You’re not alone, you’re not alone. You’re making a good decision. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. This is not a career decision, a relationship decision, this is an eternal decision. Eternity with God. Anybody else? Stand to your feet. We see you all over. God bless you. Very good. God bless you. Very good.
Ok now in a minute we’re gonna ask all you who are standing here in the sanctuary, in a minute we’re gonna ask you to come to the altar. If you’re online we want to click and tell us that you made a commitment to Christ. We want to chat with you even now. So right now in a minute we’re gonna ask all you to come down. If you’re in the balcony all you have to do is turn around and walk up and they ushers will bring you down. And the rest of us I just want you to not leave so we don’t lose them in the traffic and let’s celebrate with them. So let’s, if you’re standing up come out of your seat and come on down to the altar. Let’s give them a hand, come on. Say Jesus!
