Sermon Central
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The God We Worship Series
Contributed by Brad Beaman on Nov 29, 2022 (message contributor)
Summary: The Christian view of God comes from the biblical revelation. We must therefore examine Scriptures carefully. Human language is all we have, and it is inadequate to fully comprehend God.
The God We Worship
What advise did the old preacher give to the young preacher when the young man asked him about what to preach? His answer, preach about God and preach about twenty minutes.
Children ask the darndest questions. Many of their questions are similar to the questions of the great philosophers. They ask, what is God like? This is an important question. A right view of God is basic to all Christian understanding and living.
The importance of answering this question is understood from the quote by A. W. Tozer, “The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of God, and of the church.”
We must use that which is not God as the building blocks to develop our concept of God.
When the prophets speak of God, they use words and phrases of approximate, “likeness”, “appears” “as it were” and the likeness of the appearance.”
God also, the scripture says, reveals himself in the creation as is said in Romans. There is enough revealed about God in creation to hold us accountable for our sins. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)
The Christian view of God comes from the biblical revelation. We must therefore examine Scriptures carefully. Human language is all we have, and it is inadequate to fully comprehend God. Our human minds too fall short in taking in the massive theme of the greatness of God.
God’s Character
We have the names of God to understand God. El, Elohim. We are totally dependent on Almighty God. These names convey the thought of transcendent, set apart, God who everything else depends.
The name Adonai, the one who rules over everything. God has rule over all creation.
The name Yahweh is the covenant name. When God first stated this name to Moses at the burning bush it meant, “I am what I am” And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7)
The names of God compounded with El and Yahweh or pronounced Jehovah each give us more knowledge of the God we worship.
Elohim – (Genesis 1:1)
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/1-creation-god-39-s-work-brad-beaman-sermon-on-creation-265776
The Lord Hears - Ishmael (Genesis 16:11)
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/live-by-gods-promise-brad-beaman-sermon-on-promise-265857
El-Rohi: The Lord Sees - (Genesis 16:13)
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/live-by-gods-promise-brad-beaman-sermon-on-promise-265857
El-Shaddai- God Almighty (Genesis 17:1)
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/10-is-anything-too-difficult-for-god-brad-beaman-sermon-on-names-of-god-265874
Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord our provider (Genesis 22:14)
https://bradbeaman.wordpress.com/2022/06/04/the-lord-provides/
Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord is our healer. (Exodus 15:26)
https://bradbeaman.wordpress.com/2022/05/19/the-lord-our-healer/
Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord is our banner, our victory. (Exodus 17:15)
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-lord-is-my-banner-brad-beaman-sermon-on-banner-265767
Jehovah-Kanna: The Lord Whose name is Jealous (Exodus 34:14)
https://bradbeaman.wordpress.com/2022/07/21/the-lord-whose-name-is-jealous/Jehovah-Kanna
Jehovah-M’Kaddesh: The Lord is our Holiness. (Leviticus 20:8)
https://bradbeaman.wordpress.com/2022/07/12/the-lord-who-makes-you-holy/
Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord is our peace. (Judges 6:26)
https://bradbeaman.wordpress.com/2022/07/15/the-lord-is-peace/
Jehovah-Rohi: The Lord My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
https://bradbeaman.wordpress.com/2022/08/09/the-lord-is-my-shepherd/
Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:6)
http://the%20lord%20our%20righteousness/
Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord is present. The Lord is there (Ezekiel 48:34)
https://bradbeaman.wordpress.com/2022/07/09/the-lord-is-present/
God is All Powerful and Sovereign
God has a plan His creation. He has been in control of the events of history, and He is bringing all events in order, for his purposes. Despite disobedience of humans, despite satanic obstruction, God achieves his pre-set objectives. God ordained everything. He is all powerful and can do everything.
God is self-existent, self-sufficient and self-sustaining. No one created God and he He is eternal. We live a short span on the timeline of history, but God has a timeline with both ends knocked out. God is Perfect and Unchangeable.
God cannot change, not for the better or for the worse. He is perfect and he cannot rise above it. He cannot go below it. God is perfect in time past, the present and the future. How God deals with us may change. There might be manna in the wilderness one day and no manna the next. But God did not change. God is infinite, all present and all knowing. God is personal. He is the living active Lord of history.
God is One in Essence
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
The Christian view of God is called Theism. The view that that there is one God. The Bible denounces polytheism that is many gods. Israel took a radically different approach to the world around them in Theism. They would drift from their position and be rebuked. God called them back to Himself.
