October 15, 2017
Morning Worship
Text: Deuteronomy 6:4
Subject: The Foundation Series Part 2
Title: Who Is Your God
We began a new series Last week that we are calling the Foundation Series. How important is it to know exactly what you believe and then be able to articulate it to others. Unfortunately many church - goers cannot do that. Nor do they see the importance of it.
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV2011)
15 … Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…
Now the only way that you can do that is to be sure that the things you believe have a foundation set in truth. Let me give you an example: Our government operates under the false pretense that the best way to get out of debt is to borrow more money so they can spend more and somehow spend their way out of debt. But we know that the best way to get out of debt is to limit spending and quit borrowing until you can afford what you need to purchase; or at least until you can afford to make payments. That truth comes from common sense.
Now as Christians we have a set truth that comes by knowing that this bible is the inspired Word of God. “All Scripture is “God-breathed…” Isn’t that right? We established that fact last week and it is the starting point of everything that we believe.
Now starting from that point, with God’s word as our foundation, we can only surmise that everything that we need to know about God can be found by what His own word says about Him. So if we are going to grow in our relationship with Him, which should be our goal in this life, we want to try to find out as much about God as we can.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV)
4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
I will appropriate it to my life today…
I am going to begin this morning with a basic introduction to who God is by talking about the one thing that is probably the most difficult to understand. In fact, if you think you understand it then you are considerably more intelligent than any honest theologian that ever lived.
That one thing about God is this – the concept of the Trinity. We believe, because the bible teaches it, that there is One God and that in this Godhead we find three persons. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit.
In Deuteronomy 6:4, where it says that the Lord is one, that Hebrew word translated as “one” is actually a plural word…
'echad (ekh-awd')
1. (properly) united, i.e. one
2. (as an ordinal) first
It comes from the root 'achad (aw-khad') v.
1. to unify
Though the word “trinity” is not found in the scriptures, the concept of God in three persons is ever present.
Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…
Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Jesus Himself clearly understood that concept… John 15:26 (NKJV)
26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
OK then. Let’s move on to what we can understand about God and what it can mean to us.
First of all the scriptures tell us that God is eternal… The name that the LORD told Moses to tell Israel was “I AM”. Literally “I BE”. The Lord has always been and will always be… Again, that is a concept that we may have difficulty in grasping. We are finite beings, living in space and time. Now, our understanding is often limited to that.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV)
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
There is something in us that desires to have that connection to eternity. The Lord has placed in everyone a desire to know Him that way. And that can only come through the work of the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit.
As you read through the Old Testament we see the variety of Covenant Names associated with God.
· Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)
· Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
· Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)
· Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
· Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
· Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
· Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
· Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)
Each of these names gives us a little clearer understanding of God very nature…
And you can get hold of those and claim them as your own… because it’s His word and it is true.
WE know that God is eternal. He is also all-knowing (omniscient); is everywhere (omnipresent) and all powerful (omnipotent). He is sovereign. He is Creator. He is the beginning and the end…
You can stop and contemplate the significance of each of those, but today I really want to get to a couple of areas where I think that the church may miss it on occasion.
First of all, We know that God is love… “Yes Jesus loves me… the bible tells me so!
1 John 4:8 (NIV2011)
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Much of the church world will focus on that very promise. But they do so with a false assumption that since God is love then there isn’t much that you can do to have that love taken away from you. Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And while that is true for everyone – even those who are unsaved – (God so loved the world…) God’s love does not signify God’s approval.
But wait a minute… Doesn’t Hebrews tell us that we can approach the throne of God with confidence?
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV2011)
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
It’s God’s word right? Isn’t it true then?
Yes it is very true…That is what He wants for us. You have heard me say any times before that for every promise God has given us there is a God part and a man part. If God has promised it He will be faithful – and in most cases has already done what He has promised.
But so many of His promises are conditional. They have that word “if” attached to them…
God desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance… He has already done His part… but Romans 10:8-9 (NKJV)
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Now about approaching the throne of grace with confidence… there is only one way to do that. And here is where we may fall short at times. We often forget what it means to “Fear the Lord”.
Luke 12:4-5 (NKJV)
4 "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
So what does “fear” mean? Should we be scared of God? Well what kind of loving relationship could we ever have if it was based on being afraid of the other person? In Exodus 20 we see Moses calling the people into a closer relationship with God and he gives a pretty clear definition of fear.
Exodus 20:20 (NIV2011)
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
Does it sound like Moses’ words contradict themselves? They don’t! He makes a clear distinction between being afraid of the Lord and fearing Him.
The one who is afraid of God has something to hide. What did Adam do when the Lord came down to the garden after he had sinned?
Genesis 3:9-10 (NIV2011)
9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Can you see that? God wanted fellowship, but because of sin Adam was afraid and he hid.
On the other hand, the one who has a fear of the Lord is afraid to be away from Him. He runs away from disobedience. Instead of running away when he sins he runs to God. So fearing God involves a desire to always be in His presence.
The fear of the Lord means to honor, respect, value, and reverence Him above anyone ore anything else. It means to love what He loves and hate what He hates.
When we fear Him, we will tremble at His word. If that is so doesn’t it mean that we will live a life of obedience. We will obey Him instantly and without hesitation. Even when it doesn’t make sense, or when it hurts, or when we don’t see the benefits of obedience. We just do it. And we do it to completion. The manifestation of the fear of the Lord is adherence and obedience to His word.
Proverbs 9:10 (NKJV)
10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Or we could say it is the “foundation” of wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to make right choices according to the Word of God and the will of God. Those who fall to the teaching of the world under pressure from the world lack wisdom and its connection to Godly fear.
There is only one way that we can approach God with the kind of confidence Hebrews says we can. And we see the work of the Holy Trinity being manifested.
1. We are called to approach God… We have to do that by faith.
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV2011)
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
2. We can only approach God because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:19-23 (NKJV)
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21 and having a High Priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
3. It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that draws us to Christ and it is the sanctifying power of the spirit that keeps us near to God.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV),
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The only reason we have to be afraid of God is if we are in sin… And he has made a way for us to have fear removed… simply by confessing our sins and repenting with a pure heart and a sincere intention to turn away.
Without repentance sin will keep you away form God and all His promises. You cannot come into the throne room with sin. It’s too dangerous. Oh, but if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
I began the sermon with the title, “Who is Your God?”
The scriptures say that our God cannot stand to look upon sin…
I implore you today, do not let sin become your God and keep you from receiving God’s best for you.
Romans 8:15-17 (NKJV)
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Are you willing to put everything else aside and commit yourself to the “fear of the Lord?”
