God’s Character
Various Scriptures
January 10, 2021
Well, I have to admit I thought about today’s message, had a plan of action about 2 weeks ago, then changed my mind about the direction, then changed my mind again, and then again! Exhausting! That’s what it is! As I sat down to write this message, if I am to be really honest and vulnerable, I don’t know what I’m going to say. But you know me . . . I will say something!
This week, we’re beginning a new series on God’s Character, and let me tell you, we need to know about God’s character. But there were some things that happened in our country this week, which I also believe need to be addressed. I’m not sure I have the answers, well, if I can be so bold, I DO have the answers. But sadly, not everyone will agree with me. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t.
The easy answer is we need Jesus. And in our world, that’s not always a given. To me it seems like it should be a given. But many of the people who were protesting last week were protesting and rioting, were doing it in the name of Jesus. I think many of them would say they have more of Jesus than you and I.
That saddens and sickens me! I don’t want any part of association with them. Yet, the world saw Christians in action. And if that is the only Christian they know, then that leaves a really bad taste in your mouth.
Now, let me give a couple of disclaimers as I start. I’m not going to go on and on about what happened. I believe the violence was wrong . . . period! End of sentence. I don’t believe in the damage done this summer in protests, nor in the damage done this week. I have no issue with protests and demonstrations, if done in manner which causes no damage to human life and physical property.
I believe in our world, at least in our country, there are so many people who have felt they have NOT been heard, and the only way to get someone’s attention is to become violent. After all, don’t we do that in our homes when we’re angry at a loved one? We raise our voice! Why? We want to be heard. So, I get it, I’ve been there and I’ve done it. I’ve raised my voice too many times in my day!
Beth Moore wrote – “I don’t know the Jesus some have paraded and waved around in the middle of this treachery today. They may be acting in the name of some other Jesus but that’s not Jesus of the Gospels.” That’s not my Jesus! He went to the cross and died for me. He had the power and strength and courage to go to the cross for me! Thank you, Jesus!
Some people were saying it was really Antifa causing the mess, others said it was Trump supporters. In the summer some said the riots were caused by Trump supporters, others said it was Antifa. Can we agree to say that our country is broken?
I really don’t know who to believe anymore. I honestly try not to watch the news. There’s the liberal channels and the conservative channels. I just want a simple news channel. One that gives me the entire picture and doesn’t distort anything. But in our world, I don’t know if that is possible. We’ve all taken sides.
Jesus said, “you can’t serve 2 masters.” That’s so true. He was talking about money and faith, but it extends to the way we live our lives. Something is always first in our lives. Who or what is it? That’s really the call for us. It can’t be God on Sunday’s and the world Monday-Friday, then I get a day off on Saturday’s. It doesn’t work that way. I’m either serving God or I’m not. I can’t sit on the fence.
One of my favorite statements from Jesus was in Revelation 3:16 —
16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. - Revelation 3:16
Is that not what so many of us have become? When life is good, we are hot for God, when life is not so good, we get a little cold. Nobody likes that fair weathered fan.
So, where does that leave us? And to be really honest, the purpose in the 3 weeks of preaching on God’s character was to bring us absolutely great news! But, I feel like this is just a downer of a message. Maybe that’s necessary to get us jump started, but what I really want to do in the next few minutes is start to look at who God is. I want to look at God’s character. We so desperately need it.
Why shift at this point? Because we need good news and I really believe the answer to what ails the world is the fact that God is good and He is good all of the time. Can you say that at home?
God is good! God is good! God is good all the time!!
Now, I really need to hear you. I want you to say it, even to shout it, even in the midst of tough times in your own life. Let’s do it again! Let’s be serious and have your neighbors hear you!
God is good! God is good! God is good all the time!!
I have to tell you my spirit is grieved. You know . . . one of the things I’ve learned over the years and I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve forgotten a lot. That’s aging. But one of the things, actually 3 of the things I’ve learned are these - - -
I don’t have all of the answers! I don’t know it all! I wish I did, but I have become comfortable saying “I don’t know!” Because sometimes that is more important than making it up on the fly.
A second thing which goes along with the first is you want a leader, a pastor who is more real, than more right. If I can’t be real, I can’t expect you to be real. I’d rather be real than fake!
And thirdly, LOL . . . after writing the first 2, I forgot the third! That’s my brain at work.
OK - in our world, we need something, we need someone who is there for us. We need someone who will be constant and present and never have to wonder if they really care for us or love us.
It doesn’t matter if it’s good news, bad news or a quiet day. We need God in our lives. You see, God is that constant presence. He is the One who will be real and never fake and never abandon you and never forget an appointment. And God has certain qualities, or we can say characteristics which will help us move forward to navigate this thing we call life.
I also believe that we can claim these attributes of God for ourselves, not that we have some of them, because we don’t, but when I say claim them . . . we need to claim their realities in our lives and believe and trust through His power and strength that we can and will make it.
When we talk about God’s attributes, we’re trying to answer questions like, Who is God, What is God like, and What kind of God is He? An attribute of God is something which is true about Him. We will never fully understand who God is, yet, God makes Himself known in a variety of ways and these ways can help us see His power and goodness.
Even as we attempt to describe God, our words fall short of capturing who He totally is -- our words simply cannot do justice to describe our holy God.
Theologically, God’s attributes are listed as “incommunicable” (those are qualities possessed by God alone) and others are “communicable” (qualities that both God and we possess, but only God possesses them perfectly).
So, let’s look at a 2 of them today, and then more in the next few weeks. We’ll take short looks at them and what they mean and why they matter.
The first two attributes and we could look at them in any number of ways -
GOD IS ETERNAL and GOD IS INFINITE
For me, these go hand in hand. They work together. Because God is eternal, He is also infinite. Let me try to explain what this means and why it’s important for us.
The word ETERNAL simply means - - - "everlasting, lasting forever, having no beginning and no end." Psalm 90:2 tells us about God’s eternal nature -
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Let me add other scripture as well, in Revelation 1:8, Jesus said --
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
In the last chapter of Revelation, He then added -
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” - Revelation 22:13
In Psalm 102, the Psalmist wrote - - -
25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
And finally, from Isaiah 40 - - -
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.
Those all lead us to the same meaning about God. He has no beginning and no end. And sometimes that is difficult for us to grasp. How can you not have a beginning? We can accept the no ending part, but it’s harder to say, sure, there never was a beginning. God has always been here and always will.
It’s what I love about what Jesus said in Revelation 1:8 by saying I am the Alpha and Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. That’s a great reminder God always was, always will be and always will be in the future.
We measure everything according to time, but God’s nature has no time constraints. Time doesn’t matter to God, but it certainly does to us. Anyone struggle with patience?! The Bible doesn’t try to prove God’s existence or His eternality, but simply begins with the statement “In the beginning God…” in Genesis 1:1. It shows that God was already in existence from the beginning. God was and is forever.
When God called Moses to lead the people out of Egypt, Moses asked God what His name was, and God said to Moses - -
14 I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you." - Exodus 3:14.
While we may struggle with what that name means, it really is a description of who God is. He’s limitless. God is describing who He is, not only I am what I am, today, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and I shall be what I am.
Then we look at Jesus, who is God’s Son. The apostle John declared this truth about Jesus in John 1:1 saying - - -
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God - John 1:1
Jesus also proclaimed His eternal nature in John 8:58, when He declared - -
58 Before Abraham was born, I AM. - John 8:58
Jesus was claiming to be eternal, just as His Father is eternal. The Jews were furious and wanted to stone Jesus for what they believed was blasphemy towards God and worthy of death.
Paul tells us in 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. - Romans 1:20
So, we see God’s creative nature at work in the midst of creation. We see it in the seasons, in nature, in the sun, moon, wildlife and more. We see it when we look at one another. All of this attests to God’s eternal power and plan for the earth.
The good news comes — when we consider the end times. Even the hope we have in death. One day, God will create a new heaven and new earth and they, like Him, will continue into eternity. We who belong to Christ through faith will continue through eternity as well.
Passages like Romans 6:23 comfort us in knowing - -
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23
It’s the promise from God that we take as fact. It’s not hopeful or wishful thinking. It’s believing in the promises of God. There is a life yet to come and that is great news from God.
Because God is eternal, He is infinite. God has no limitations. Which gets into other attributes, but that’s for next week.
Because God is infinite, He is far above creation and is both greater than creation and independent of it. It means God is so infinitely above and beyond us and our ability to fully comprehend Him. So, we do our best, with our words which seek to describe who He is.
Our words seem to fall short, but we do our best to proclaim who God is. This is why faith is so important for us. If we didn’t believe, oh, how difficult it would be to embrace Jesus. Because it all seems unbelievable.
Yet, we have this God who is eternal and infinite. And that’s great news. Our God is above all that is going on in the world. He is perfect, He is without sin.
I want to conclude with 2 passages from Hebrews. The writer tells us in 12:1-2 - -
1 since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Can we do that in the midst of these days? Can we lay aside all that weighs us down, can we rid ourselves of the sin which we cling to . . . and in its place, can we run - with the image of doing it as a marathon, so it’s not a sprint, but can we run the race with endurance with our eyes focused on the finish line - towards Jesus. For He is the author and perfecter of our faith. The One who died for us so that we could gain eternal life.
That’s great news for us. It takes work on our behalf, but can we do that? I believe if our focus is really on Jesus, then we can be part of the movement which changes the world.
You see, we look at our country, and many of us believe this is ridiculous, stupid actions of destruction. You can’t always fix people! But the good news comes when we understand that while God is eternal and infinite . . .
Our government is not! That’s important to know. Presidents will change, their minds will change, their nature will change, their interests will change. Our laws and moral laws have changed. They not only change, but they are limited! They are finite. There is a beginning and there is an end to all things.
But - - and this is so huge for us. We trust in God’s promises, in His power, in His love, grace, mercy, compassion, presence and more . . . WHY? Because in God’s limitless nature we are reminded - - -
8 God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. - Hebrews 13:8
Can we hold onto that great news? Can we bless one another?! Can we celebrate Jesus, no matter who the president is. Trump or Biden or whoever is not our king. Jesus is our Lord, He is our King, He is eternal and infinite, and nobody else is!
Praise God for that!
