Sunday 15 September 2019

WHO IS OUR GOD?


WHO IS OUR GOD?
The question before us today is one that we won’t be able to answer even if we had all the day to search. More daunting is the fact that even when we have found out something there is more to God than we could find out. The Bible says of Him:

OUR GOD: THE ENIGMA
Romans 11:33
O the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!

Even the psalmist repeats this
Psalm 145:3
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

Ecclesiates 8:17
Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea farther; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

So if He is unsearchable, Is it pointless for us to ask this question? Is it pointless for us to search for God?

Our answer can be found in the scriptures:

Deuteronomy 4:29
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Proverbs 8:17
I love them that love me and those that seek me early shall find me.
Jeremiah 5:1
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

In another place, after man was created, we are told in Genesis that God will visit Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.

From all indications, we see a God who wants to be known to all men. if God wants to be known, how can we know Him who is unsearchable and past finding out? How can we know the one that cannot be completely known?

I Corinthians 2:9-11;
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor hear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.
John 4:24
God is a Spirit and they that worship Him (know Him) must worship Him (know Him) in Spirit and in Truth.
John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy Word is Truth.

Two ways. Through His word and Through His Spirit. You cannot have one without the other.

All Word and no Spirit we dry up, All Spirit and no Word we blow up. Word and Spirit,we grow up.
....Donald Gee.

I must state that God’s word is very important to knowing Him, no one can claim to Know God who is not a student of His Word, even moreso no one who is without the Spirit of God can claim to know Him.
God’s word is important because He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Because of this we can trust that the same God we see in the Bible is the same person now. Moreso, His Word is truth and to worship Him or Know Him we must know the Truth which is His Word.

However, just like someone who has read the autobiography of a person cannot claim to know that person, the same applies to every person who is a student of God’s word without the Spirit of God. To know a person is much more than just knowing things about that person. To know a person is to experience that person, not something you can find in a book. Therefore, to know God requires having the Spirit of God, Knowing the Spirit of God who Himself is God. The Spirit’s witness in our Spirit is to make us know and experience God.

Man is a Spirit; he has a soul and lives in a body. For us to experience (know) God, God connects to us through His Spirit. This is the Miracle of the new birth. In the new birth, out spirit that was dead is made alive through the work of Christ and we can experience (know) God like we never did before.
So I go back to my question at the beginning.

Who is our God?, Do you Know God?, Who is God to You?

I’ll go through what is revealed in the God’s word, but my Prayer is that the Holy Spirit will do His work of making you experience Him. Holy Spirit I ask that in the Truths about to be shared, people will see Our Father and Our God.

OUR GOD:THE EMINENCE
Genesis 1:1 – He is Creator of all things. He created everything you see today. Name it.
Exodus – He is a Deliverer of the Oppressed.
However, Lets turn aside to Exodus for a bit, In Exodus 3:14 God introduces himself as I AM.
He was saying to Moses I AM THAT I AM, you cannot box me in and declare that this is what I am. He was essentially declaring to Israel that He is who He is and who He is, is not something we can add to or take from. Who He is who He chooses to reveal at every point because we cannot with our minds know every aspect of Him. He is I AM THAT I AM.
Leviticus – He is a Holy God and there is no Evil in Him.
Numbers – God of numbers and seasons.
Deuteronomy – God of Order. The Law Giver.
Joshua – Our Possessor
Judges – The waiting Rescuer
Ruth – The Redeemer
Samuel – The Kingmaker
Kings – King of Kings
Chronicles – The Chronicler, The Record Keeper.
Ezra & Nehemiah – The Rebuilder of Walls for our safety
Esther – The Silent Worker
Job – The Restorer of All Things
Psalm – The refuge, The fortress, The Defence, The Shield, The Lord God
Proverbs – He is the Voice Wisdom in the Corner of the Street
Ecclesiastes – The Meaning of All things
SOS – The Bridegroom
Isaiah – The God of Reason
Jeremiah – The Pleading
Lamentations – The listener to our Cries
Ezekiel – The God of the New Covenant
Daniel – The Revealer of Secrets Past, Present and Future.
Hosea – The Faithful Husband of Prostitutes.
Joel – The Promise
Amos – The Voice and Defence of the Oppressed
Obadiah – The Enemy of our Enemies
Jonah – The Merciful One.
Micah – The Forgiving One
Nahum – The Judge of the Wicked
Habakkuk – Harbinger of Divine Justice
Zephaniah – The Restorer of Grace and Blessing
Haggai – The Waiting Bridegroom
Zechariah – The Rebuilder of Jerusalem
Malachi – The God that can be robbed my man

Let’s turn aside to Exodus again.

And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt you say unto the Children of Isreal, The Lord God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob hath sent me to you. This is my name and my memorial unto all generations.
Exodus 3:14,15;

This scripture points out an important truth. The truth is that God is more interested in being known as a God of People. He wants to be known to us, not as a mystery, but He wants us to experience who He is. Jesus revealed this truth when He walked on earth. When He would speak of God, He often Spoke of Him as Our Father.

We see this in the scriptures below:
” Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name”
Mathew 6:9
“Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect.”
Matthew 5:48

When Jesus was here on earth, He often referred to God as Father, saying in several places thy Father, Your Father, my Father. He repeated this so much for emphasis. He wanted us to learn that God was not just God but He was “Our Father”.
In Matthew, 42 times, 4 times in Mark, 22 times in Luke, 120 times in John.
What Kind of Father is our God.?
Is He the Father who is a terror to His Kids and abuses them?
Is He a Father who isn’t a terror but is absent in the lives of His Children?
Is He a Father who Loves, is present in their lives and takes care of them?
Is He the indulgent father, who says Yes to all His Children’s every whim?
What Kind of Father is God?
He is a Good Father. He is a Caring Father. He is a Powerful Father; He is a Great Father.

God is our Father and He calls himself our God and calls us Sons and Daughters.
John declared boldly saying “Behold what manner of Love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1)
Paul Declares in Galatians 4:5 that we have received the adoption of sons.
Ephesians 1:5 says We have been predestined to be Children of God by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His Will to the praise and glory of his grace wherein we have been accepted in the beloved.
So, we can say that from the beginning God’s intention was to make us sons of God and just like God has dominion over the universe, God intended that we should have dominion over the earth we see this in Genesis 1:26.
Has the fall of man changed this intention of God? No.
The Bible declares that those who are sons of God will receive the inheritance of Sons still. I Peter 1: 3,4 says we have been begotten to an incorruptible inheritance.
So, if God is our Father what should we expect of Him?

I’ll make an analogy of a Son who thought His Father was poor, He did not realise that His father was not only King of the Kingdom but was also the owner and creator of the Kingdom. That son will often come to His father and will ask for a loaf of bread, He will ask for a cup of water. He did not realise that His Father would give Him the entire Kingdom if He asked for it. That is the case with a lot of us Christians.

Another analogy is of a son who knew the King but failed to see that the King was also His Father, He would go to the King’s palace and stay for some hours and leave, He did not realise that He could actually live in that palace if he wanted to. A lot of Christians are like him. We fail to Have a balanced view of who God is.

We must learn that Our Father is not earthly, we must also learn that Our Heavenly Father is also our Friend and Comforter.
Jesus reminds us of this when He said “Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name He will give it to you”
He also says “If you, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good gifts to them that ask Him”

However, we must be reminded that Our Father is not an indulgent Father, He only gives to us what is good for us. If He withholds anything from us, it is because it is not good for us, if He gives us anything we have not asked for, it is because He knows our needs more than we do.

He is a Good, Good Father and He Loves us all so much. And I implore you to trust that goodness.
God is Powerful, He is Great, He is Unchangeable, He is Holy, He is Exalted, He is Sovereign, but He is even much more a Good Father.

I invite you to ask God to become your Father today. It will be the best decision you ever made.
Like a Good Father, He Protects
Like a Good Father, He Cares
Like a Good Father, He Listens,
Like a Good Father, He carries us
Like a Good Father, He Provides
Like a Good Father, He loves
Like a Good Father, He makes Sacrifices for us
Unlike Fathers, He is a Friend and Brother
He is Elshaddai. The Father you’ve never had.
Unlike a Good Father, He is a Good, Good Father.

THE GREATEST LOVE (GIFT) OF ALL

“Behold, what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God” - I John 3:1 John was so fascinated by...