BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
[PART 5]
WE NEED TO KNOW GOD
(NOT JUST A HEAD KNOWLEDGE, BUT A HEART KNOWLEDGE THAT COMES FROM HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM).
BRIEF
RECAP.
WE NEED TO KNOW WHO WE ARE WORSHIPPING!
JESUS SAID TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN
John 4:22.
You Samaritans worship what you do not know;
John 4:22.
We worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
THE JEWISH GOD IS THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT!
MANY CHRISTIANS DON’T EVEN KNOW THE OLD TESTAMENT.
THE GOD OF THE BIBLE, IS NOT THE INVENTED GOD OF THE LIBERALS
WE NEED TO GET TO KNOW THE TRUE GOD WHO HAS REVEALED HIMSELF THROUGH HIS WORD
THERE IS ONLY ONE BIBLICAL GOD.
HE HAS REVEALED HIMSELF IN THE OLD AND NEW
TESTAMENTS AND IS:
A GOD WHO HATES SIN
A HOLY GOD!
A TRIUNE GOD
AN INFINITE GOD![ we have a
finite mind so there are aspects
we do not understand]
A CONSUMING FIRE!
A PATIENT MERCIFUL GOD![ next time]
AND THE REASON IS THAT WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND HIM.
Isaiah 55:8-9.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
GOD doesn’t require us to understand HIM!
GOD IS A HOLY GOD.
The Hebrew word for “holy” literally means “separate” or “set apart.” This is helpful for us because it means, at least in part, that when we're talking about God's holiness, we're talking about His absolute purity. He is unstained by sin and evil. He is perfect in every way, and perfectly good all the time.
GOD IS HOLY..
GOD IS HOLY..
This means that the moral code we find in Scripture, the commands for how God’s people are to conduct themselves, are a reflection of His holy nature. They are not there to rob us of joy or prevent us from living a full and complete life. God gives His commands for our good, to help us pursue holiness.
Leviticus 19:1-2.
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
1 Peter 1:15-17.
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy. Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
GOD HASN'T CHANGED ,HE WANTS US TO LIVE AS FOREIGNERS, WE SHOULD STAND OUT, BECAUSE WE ARE DIFFERENT
GOD IS HOLY..
GOD HAS CALLED US TO A LIFE OF SEPARATION
FROM THE WORLD
1 Peter 2:11.
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
LIVING GODLY LIVES IN A PAGAN SOCIETY..
2 Corinthians 6:17-18.
Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.
And I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
GOD IS HOLY..
FOR US HOLY DOESN'T MEAN SINLESS
PERFECTION BUT SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD
GOD IS INFINITE,
AND WE HAVE A
FINITE MIND.
WE CANNOT
UNDERSTAND
ETERNITY YOU
CANNOT FIT
THE OCEAN INTO A THIMBLE
GOD IS INFINITE..
GOD IS WITHOUT BEGINNING OR END
Revelation 1:8.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
GOD IS INFINITE..
Isaiah 44:6.
This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.”
ETERNAL PRE-EXISTENCE.
Revelation 1:5-8.
From Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
GOD IS WITHOUT BEGINNING OR END
Revelation 1:8.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
GOD IS INFINITE..
TRY TO EXPLAIN ETERNITY..
A BIRD AND A MOUNTAIN.
IF YOU CAN IMAGINE A ROCK THE SIZE OF THE EARTH AND EVERY MILLION YEARS A BIRD COMES AND RUBS IT’S BEAK ON THE ROCK, WHEN THE ROCK IS RUBBED AWAY COMPLETELY A SECOND OF ETERNITY HAS GONE PAST.
TRY TO EXPLAIN ETERNITY..
In a story called “The Shepherd’s Boy” by the Brothers Grimm. The bird sharpening its beak isn’t the actual story. In the context of the original text, it’s about a shepherd boy who has to answer several riddles, one of which is “how many seconds of time are there in eternity?” The boy answers by telling the story of a bird who sharpens its beak every hundred years on a mountain. When the mountain is gone, one second of eternity will have passed.
TRY TO EXPLAIN ETERNITY..
There is no second in eternity. It’s not a literal answer. The legend is a metaphor to represent the vastness of eternity and infinity.
TRY TO EXPLAIN ETERNITY..
The infinite nature of God simply means that God exists outside of and is not limited by time or space. Infinite simply means “without limits.” When we refer to God as "infinite," we generally refer to Him with terms like omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence.
GOD IS INFINITE..
Omnipotence means that God is all-powerful or that He has unlimited power. Having all power is significant because it establishes God’s ability to carry out His sovereign will. Because God is omnipotent and has infinite power, nothing can stop His decreed will from happening, and nothing can thwart or stop His divine purposes from being fulfilled. There are many verses in the Bible where God reveals this aspect of His nature. One such verse is Psalm 115:3: “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” Or when answering His disciples' question “Then who can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25), Jesus says, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”
GOD IS INFINITE..
Omniscience means that God is all-knowing or that He has unlimited knowledge. His infinite knowledge is what qualifies Him as sovereign ruler and judge over all things. Not only does God know everything that will happen, but He also knows all things that could have possibly happened. Nothing takes God by surprise, and no one can hide sin from Him. There are many verses in the Bible where God reveals this aspect of His nature. One such verse is 1 John 3:20: “...God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”
GOD IS INFINITE..
Omnipresence means that God is always present. There is no place that you could go to escape God’s presence. God is not limited by time or space. He is present at every point of time and space. God’s infinite presence is significant because it establishes that God is eternal. God has always existed and will always exist. Before time began,
GOD IS INFINITE..
God was. Before the world or even matter itself was created, God was. He has no beginning or end, and there was never a time He did not exist, nor will there be a time when He ceases to exist. Again, many verses in the Bible reveal this aspect of God’s nature to us, and one of them is Psalm 139:7-10: “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Thy hand will lead me, And Thy right hand will lay hold of me.
GOD IS INFINITE..
Because God is infinite, He is also said to be transcendent, which simply means that God is exceedingly far above creation and is both greater than creation and independent of it. What this means is that God is so infinitely above and beyond us and our ability to fully comprehend that, had He not revealed Himself, we would not know or understand what He is like. finite, thankfully, God has not left us ignorant about Himself
GOD IS INFINITE..
Instead, He has revealed Himself to us through both general revelation (creation and our conscience) and special revelation (the written Word of God, the Bible, and the living Word of God, Jesus Christ). Therefore, we can know God, and we can know how to be reconciled to Him and how to live according to His will. Despite the fact that we are finite, and God is infinite, we can know and understand God as He has revealed Himself to us.
GOD IS INFINITE..
Isaiah 40:6-8.
A voice says, Cry out. And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.
GOD IS INFINITE. .
Isaiah 40:9-10.
You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God! ”See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.
GOD IS INFINITE..
Isaiah 40:11.
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
GOD IS INFINITE..
Isaiah 40:12.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, nor weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?
GOD IS INFINITE..
Isaiah 40:13.
Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counsellor?
Whom did the Lord consult to
enlighten him, and who taught
him the right way?
Who was it that taught him
knowledge, or showed him
the path of understanding?
GOD IS INFINITE..