BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
[ PART 7 ]
WE NEED TO KNOW GOD
(WITH A BIBLICAL HEAD KNOWLEDGE, AND A HEART KNOWLEDGE THAT COMES FROM HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM).
BRIEF
RECAP.
HE HAS REVEALED HIMSELF IN THE OLD AND NEW
TESTAMENTS AND IS:
A GOD WHO HATES SIN
A TRIUNE GOD!
A HOLY GOD!
AN INFINITE GOD!
A CONSUMING FIRE!
A MERCIFUL GOD!
GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE..
JUDGEMENT TO COME.
PAST JUDGEMENT .
I AM GLAD THAT HE IS NOT OR WE WOULD ALL BE DEAD
Luke 9:51-55.
Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
GOD IS NOT LIKE US..
Luke 9:51-55.
But He turned and rebuked them, and
said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”
GOD IS NOT LIKE US..
JAMES AND JOHN WANTED TO CALL DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN ON THE SAMARITAN VILLAGE.
AS I HAVE LOOKED AT HAMAS STANDING AROUND WITH THEIR MASKED FACES AND SEEN HOSTAGES RELEASED THAT HAVE BEEN ABUSED AND MALNOURISHED, I HAVE THOUGHT THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED
AM I ANY BETTER THAN JAMES AND JOHN?
JESUS CAME TO SAVE.
WE HAVE BEEN SAVED BY GRACE, ALL OF US DESERVE HELL
GOD IS NOT LIKE US..
WHEN WE LOOK AT CALVARY, WE MUST REMEMBER THAT GOD HATES SIN.
WHEN WE LOOK AT CALVARY, WE ALSO SEE THAT GOD LOVES SINNERS,
AND WE ARE ALL SINNERS!
Romans 3:23.
For all have
sinned and fall
short of the
glory of God.
GOD IS GRACIOUS & MERCIFUL.
MERCY:
IS GOD NOT GIVING US WHAT WE DESERVE
(IE: HELL)
GRACE:
IS GOD GIVING US WHAT WE DON’T DESERVE
(IE: HEAVEN)
The Greek word ‘charis’ that is usually translated ‘grace’ is
used 148 times in the NT, 103 of which are in Paul’s epistles.
The word literally means:
“that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness…” 1
GRACE = God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
1 http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/charis.html
GRACE
MANASSEH was the fourteenth king of the Kingdom of Judah. He was the oldest of the sons of Hezekiah and Hephzibah
(2 Kings 21:1). He became king at the age of 12 and reigned for 55 years
(2 Kings 21:1; 2 Chronicles 33:1).
GOD IS MERCIFUL..
MANASSEH IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF GOD’S MERCY
2 Chronicles 33:1-6.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations
the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished;
he also erected altars to the Baals and made
Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry
hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the
temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said,
My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever. In
both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built
altars to all the starry hosts.
2 Chronicles 33:7.
He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
2 Chronicles 33:8.
He took the image he had made and put it in God’s temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever.
2 Chronicles 33:9-13.
Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites. The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So, the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.
In his distress he sought the favour of the
Lord his God and humbled himself greatly
before the God of his ancestors. And when
he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by
his entreaty and listened to his plea; so
he brought him back to Jerusalem and to
his kingdom.
2 Chronicles 33:13-16.
Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher.
He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah. He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the
altars he had built on the temple hill and in
Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city.
Then he restored the altar of the Lord and
sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank
offerings on it, and told Judah to serve
the Lord, the God of Israel.
Luke 18:9-14.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and
looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: God, I thank you that I am not like other people robbers, evildoers, adulterers or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
ARE YOU TRUSTING IN YOUR OWN GOOD WORKS?
DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU NEED MERCY?
DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU NEED MERCY?
LORD HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER
WE ARE ALL SINNERS.
Romans 3:9- 18 & 23.
Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the
power of sin. As it is written: There is no
one righteous, not even one; there is no
one who understands; there is no one
who seeks God. All have turned away,
they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
WE ARE ALL SINNERS.
NINEVEH IS ANOTHER PRIME EXAMPLE OF GOD’S MERCY
Jonah 3:3-9.
Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown. The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Jonah 3:3-9. (cont.)
When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.
Jonah 3:10.
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah 4:1-8.
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live. But the Lord replied, Is it right for you to be angry?
Jonah 4:1-8. (cont.)
Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, It would be better for me to die than to live.
Jonah 4:1-8. (cont.)
But God said to Jonah, Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?
It is, he said. And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.
But the Lord said, You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals.
Jonah got sunburnt
Jonah was comfortable
Jonah’s comfort was more important to him than the souls of the Ninevites
JONAH WAS UPSET BY GOD’S MERCY; HE WANTED GOD TO DESTROY NINEVEH.
IT IS EASY TO CONDEMN JONAH,
BUT WHAT ABOUT US, ARE WE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR COMFORT ZONE THAN WE ARE ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE AROUND US THAT ARE HEADED FOR HELL?[EVEN OUR ENEMIES!]
Luke 6:27-36.
But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Luke 6:27-36.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
Luke 6:27-36.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the
Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful
James 2:12-13.
Speak and act as those
who are going to be judged
by the law that gives
freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
NONE OF US CAN BOAST.
WE ARE ONLY SAVED BY GOD’S GRACE