Bible Studies 10 (For newest Bible Study see "Bible Studies 19")
Transformation (added 7/25/14)
I was sitting there watching TV and I just happened to land on a program that caught my eye. After actually listening for a few minutes I have to admit the speaker floored me. He was talking directly to me! The speaker was Matt Tapley, Senior Pastor @ Lakemount Worship Centre in Ontario Canada. His message was titled “The Transformed Life.” Now if you’re like me, you’ve watched Joyce Meyer (and love her). One of the main themes she weaves into most of her teachings and sermons is on renewing your mind. She is spot-on and what she says is good stuff. So, I’ve heard about “renewing your mind” allot! But have you ever heard something so many times it just becomes routine and you kind of gloss over it? And then another person says it in a different way and it’s like POW! Right in the Kisser! That’s what happened to me this morning. So, I’m going to try to do Pastor Tapley the proper justice as I recap his message here and throw in some of my own stuff. If you want to see the message it was on GodTV and he was speaking @ the Pursuit Conference in 2013 (I think).
Pastor Tapley started by saying allot of Christians pray something like this: “God please change me” or something along this line. They ask God to make them a different person. But is that really going to happen? Will there ever really be any change because of prayers like that? Yes, God can change people – He has the ability, but He is not going to do it. Romans 12:1-2 tells us what we must do in order to change - to live like, to be like Jesus – how to keep our body, mind, and spirit in check – in line with Him. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (King James Version)
Pastor Tapley tells us there are three things we must recognize (do):
1. Live our whole life with God’s mercy in the front of our minds. We need to realize, and know, that all things are because of His mercy. God is merciful and His loves endures forever. Everything that we are, that we have, that we’ve experienced, is because of His mercy. God shows His love to us by being merciful towards us. He wants to be able to bless us and shower His love on us. Just like a human mom or dad likes to do for their children (Matthew 7:9-11).
The Pastor was very adamant in reminding us that just because God is merciful and He loves us, this Does Not mean we have free reign to sin. If a person is saved, there must be a change. Once we’re saved we should abhor sin and want to be removed (Or turn away) from it. Do not confuse grace with mercy. We are saved through His grace and the sacrifice of Jesus, but God is merciful towards us because we became His children once we accepted Jesus as our Savior.
2. Offering our body is a Spiritual act of worship. We do this to offer a “living sacrifice” to our God, to our King. We must recognize that there cannot be a separation in our mind or soul that allows us to live and act one way in our “Christian” life and allows us to live and act another way when we’re in the secular world. There cannot be a dividing line. Everything we do, everything we think, everything, we say, EVERYTHING must conform to God’s standard (Jesus - our example).
Allot of Christians seem to think there is a secret place where they can be where they can get away from God. Sorry. News Flash – nothing is hidden from God. He sees and knows everything we think, we know, we do, we feel, we believe, etc… So, we cannot claim to be a follower of Jesus and live a secret life where we are separated from God. It cannot work like that. If you have a “secret place” you are living a lie and trying to deceive God. But really you are just deceiving yourself.
3. The transformation of your life is not spiritual. It is mental. That’s why Paul said it like this: “Be transformed BY the renewing of your mind.” It is a continual, never-ending process. That does not mean we make excuses for our actions or decide we can’t do it. And we also cannot decide that level of change is just for preachers or others. It is for all of us. We are responsible for our actions, thoughts, deeds, emotions – everything. We can pray for God to change us, but can we really expect Him to do that if we’re not putting forth the effort and showing a desire to change?
We have to admit we’ve sinned and that we are not living the way God expects us to. Yes, God expects His children to live separated, set-apart lives from the secular world. We are to live in it, but not be a part of it. We must repent (Revelation 3:18-20), which is to turn away from our sins, profanity, envy, lust, pornography, lying, stealing, cheating, etc… Remember God knows EVERYTHING we do, and have done. There is no “secret Place.”
Humans have a body, soul, and spirit. Our body is easy. That’s our skin, muscles, joints, brain, organs, etc… Our spirit is eternal. Our soul is who we are. Our thoughts, actions, emotions, etc… The soul is what we need to change. We do this by recognizing we must change. God has the rightful expectation (demand) that we live according to His word (the Bible). In order to do this we must sacrifice the “old man” and pick our cross daily to follow Jesus. We must continually renew our minds and be a living sacrifice to our God. NOTHING else is acceptable to God. It is our “reasonable service” to God.
Who is God? (Added 8/5/14)
Who is God to you? What does His name mean to you? When you hear God’s name spoken what do you think of? Do you think of some ancient story about a being that created the universe? Or perhaps you think of some distant God who is always angry or, on the other end, a God who says He loves you? Or you even think of His name (and that of Jesus) as a curse word and you use their names freely in all manner of speech? What should we think when we hear His name?
Let’s look briefly at what God says about Himself in the Bible. The following is from gotquestions.org
“Question: ‘What are the attributes of God?’
Answer: The Bible, God’s Word, tells us what God is like and what He is not like. Without the authority of the Bible, any attempt to explain God’s attributes would be no better than an opinion, which by itself is often incorrect, especially in understanding God (Job 42:7). To say that it is important for us to try to understand what God is like is a huge understatement. Failure to do so can cause us to set up, chase after, and worship false gods contrary to His will (Exodus 20:3-5).
Only what God has chosen to reveal of Himself can be known. One of God's attributes or qualities is “light,” meaning that He is self-revealing in information of Himself (Isaiah 60:19; James 1:17). The fact that God has revealed knowledge of Himself should not be neglected (Hebrews 4:1). Creation, the Bible, and the Word made flesh (Jesus Christ) will help us to know what God is like.
Let's start by understanding that God is our Creator and that we are a part of His creation (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1) and are created in His image. Man is above the rest of creation and was given dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Creation is marred by the fall but still offers a glimpse of God’s works (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 1:19-20). By considering creation's vastness, complexity, beauty, and order, we can have a sense of the awesomeness of God.
Reading through some of the names of God can be helpful in our search of what God is like. They are as follows:
Elohim - strong One, divine (Genesis 1:1)
Adonai - Lord, indicating a Master-to-servant relationship (Exodus 4:10, 13)
El Elyon - Most High, the strongest One (Genesis 14:20)
El Roi - the strong One who sees (Genesis 16:13)
El Shaddai - Almighty God (Genesis 17:1)
El Olam - Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28)
Yahweh - LORD “I Am,” meaning the eternal self-existent God (Exodus 3:13, 14).
God is eternal, meaning He had no beginning and His existence will never end. He is immortal and infinite (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17). God is immutable, meaning He is unchanging; this in turn means that God is absolutely reliable and trustworthy (Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 102:26, 27). God is incomparable; there is no one like Him in works or being. He is unequaled and perfect (2 Samuel 7:22; Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 40:25; Matthew 5:48). God is inscrutable, unfathomable, unsearchable, and past finding out as far as understanding Him completely (Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 145:3; Romans 11:33, 34).
God is just; He is no respecter of persons in the sense of showing favoritism (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30). God is omnipotent; He is all-powerful and can do anything that pleases Him, but His actions will always be in accord with the rest of His character (Revelation 19:6; Jeremiah 32:17, 27). God is omnipresent, meaning He is present everywhere, but this does not mean that God is everything (Psalm 139:7-13; Jeremiah 23:23). God is omniscient, meaning He knows the past, present, and future, including what we are thinking at any given moment. Since He knows everything, His justice will always be administered fairly (Psalm 139:1-5; Proverbs 5:21).
God is one; not only is there no other, but He is alone in being able to meet the deepest needs and longings of our hearts. God alone is worthy of our worship and devotion (Deuteronomy 6:4). God is righteous, meaning that God cannot and will not pass over wrongdoing. It is because of God’s righteousness and justice that, in order for our sins to be forgiven, Jesus had to experience God's wrath when our sins were placed upon Him (Exodus 9:27; Matthew 27:45-46; Romans 3:21-26).
God is sovereign, meaning He is supreme. All of His creation put together cannot thwart His purposes (Psalm 93:1; 95:3; Jeremiah 23:20). God is spirit, meaning He is invisible (John 1:18; 4:24). God is a Trinity. He is three in one, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. God is truth, He will remain incorruptible and cannot lie (Psalm 117:2; 1 Samuel 15:29).
God is holy, separated from all moral defilement and hostile toward it. God sees all evil and it angers Him. God is referred to as a consuming fire (Isaiah 6:3; Habakkuk 1:13; Exodus 3:2, 4-5; Hebrews 12:29). God is gracious, and His grace includes His goodness, kindness, mercy, and love. If it were not for God's grace, His holiness would exclude us from His presence. Thankfully, this is not the case, for He desires to know each of us personally (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 31:19; 1 Peter 1:3; John 3:16, 17:3).
Since God is an infinite Being, no human can fully answer this God-sized question, but through God’s Word, we can understand much about who God is and what He is like. May we all wholeheartedly continue to seek after Him (Jeremiah 29:13).” (What are the attributes of God?)
So, that’s a pretty good beginning of who God is. The beautiful part is He told us everything we need to know about Him in His Word. (There’s allot more in there than just what’s mentioned above.)
When we think of God we need to make sure to put our thoughts, our words, and our beliefs in order. Through our thoughts, our actions, and our words we put God in a box. We have come up with our own, little, easy-to-please version of God. We freely use His name in vulgar, hate-filled, slanderous, disgusting speech. That’s not right. We need to think of God how He told us to think. God is supreme in all of creation. He has no equal, no rival, and no need for anything or anyone. He is completely sovereign, just, righteous, holy, perfect, and true. There is never any shadow or gray area with God. He alone is worthy to be praised, adored, worshipped, exalted, lifted up, and loved. He created us and He loves us. But He does not condone or look the other way when we sin against Him. We cannot earn His favor or be good enough to secure our place with Him. There is only one way and that is through Jesus Christ.
This is an awesome resource someone put together listing some of the attributes of God and Praising God From A to Z (the people’s church).
And this link gives us 30 Days of Praying the Names and Attributes of God
American Christians are … (added 10/2/14)
In Luke 8:5-8 Jesus tells the parable about the man who sows the seeds for his crop in his field. Some of the seeds fell by the wayside (like on the footpaths), some fell on the rocks, some fell among the thorns, and still others fell on good ground. Later in this chapter Jesus explains to His disciples that the “seed” in the story is the word of God and how different people receive (act upon) what they hear.
The verse I am going to touch on now is verse 14: “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” These are people who hear the word of God, accept it and want to do right, but then are too overwhelmed with the cares of their lives (chasing the “American Dream” or perhaps JUST surviving) to continue to allow the word of God to grow and mature in their hearts. These are the people who allow the word to die by being too busy to nurture and grow their relationship with God. My friends, how many of us in the church today are these people?
In Revelation 3:14-21 Jesus addresses the Church in Laodicea. This church represents most of the churches in America. Jesus said in 15-17 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
When Jesus said to the man in Mark 10:21 “come, take up the cross, and follow me” He was telling the man (us) he must be willing to sacrifice everything for Him. (Jesus also talks about taking up our cross in Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; and Luke 9:23.) To most of us we interpret “cross” as some burden we must carry in our lives: a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness. We say, “That’s my cross. I have to carry it.” But in Jesus’ day the cross was something else entirely! When Jesus carried His cross to His crucifixion (His death), that cross represented a person who was condemned, humiliated, hated, despised, ridiculed - rejected! The cross was the lowest form of death to a Jew. So, when Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him, He’s not saying suffer a little bit by missing a meal, or putting an extra dollar in the plate, or just tell someone Jesus loves them (that’s me BTW), or etc… He’s telling us we MUST be ready, willing, and obedient to surrender and sacrifice everything for Him and to Him.
We (most Christians in America) have become complacent and wallow in our own self-importance and self-worth. We are deceiving ourselves with our watered-down religion and our willingness to allow everything else to take the place of our King and our Lord. Everything MUST come second AFTER Jesus. We MUST get a passion for serving Christ! Not serving ourselves by doing those things that are convenient and easy - those things we do to make ourselves “feel” better about ourselves and how much we “sacrifice” for Jesus by “bearing our cross.” We have to get it into our minds, our spirits, our souls that it is not about us AT ALL! It is only about Jesus and furthering His kingdom and bringing others to Him.
My prayer: Dear heavenly Father, please forgive me for being a watered-down Christian. Please forgive me for serving you on my terms, when it’s convenient for me. Dear God, please help me to be in constant communion with you - to abide in you. Help me to make a commitment to you now to do everything, to sacrifice everything to serving Jesus and to truly, completely, totally pick up my cross and follow Him. In the name of my Lord, my King, and my Savior. Amen and Amen.
Do we Really Think This? (Added 10/19/14)
AS Christians we sometimes exalt ourselves and think “Jesus, I can’t wait for you to come back and judge all of these filthy, unrighteous sinners!” And we are quick to quote Revelation 22:20 which says “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” I have said these words and heard others say them as well. We are like the Pharisee Jesus tells about in Luke 18:10-12 “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.’’’
We walk through our lives thinking how great we are. We look down on those we consider “sinners” and we judge them. We think we are better than they because we’re saved, we’re going to heaven. We’re doing such great works for Jesus and His Kingdom. “I am awesome!” “Wow, look what I just did for you God!” Hmm? Really?
But are we REALLY thinking this? Don’t we realize this is life and death? This is ETERNAL! These are Eternal Realities we're dealing with. God does not mince any words in the Bible about His coming judgment and eternal life in hell for those who are going to be convicted of their sins and sentenced accordingly: Isaiah 17:10-11; Joel 2:11; Joel 3:12-14; Matthew 13:24-30; Matthew 13:37-42; and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 all describe the coming judgment and there are numerous verses where Jesus says there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” to help describe the torment, separation, and suffering of those who are sentenced to hell. The flames and suffering in hell is not just an intellectual "Oh well, glad I'm not them" type of a reality. This IS Death and eternal suffering for ever and ever reality! We must be about our father's business! Time is short and the laborers are few.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36-37 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” And in Ephesians 4:29 Paul says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” What do Jesus and Paul mean by this? It means just like they said: We justify ourselves and we condemn others (or are we condemning ourselves as well?). But what are we doing to ensure their salvation (and ours), their place (and our own) in God’s kingdom? Our words are supposed to glorify God. We are to make disciples, be a disciple, and share the gospel. Someday we will stand before Jesus (yes He is our Savior, but He is also going to be our Judge) and we will give an accounting of every idle word. And lest anyone think I’m just pointing my finger and “looking down on” my fellow Christians, as Paul said I am the “chief of sinners,” and like the tax collector in Luke, my prayer surely must be simply “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” And Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” What does this mean? Jesus knows our heart, our sincerity, our love for our fellow man. He can see if we are truly His disciples or if we are just Pharisees. Those who are just going through the motions “pretending” to be Christians will be judged accordingly and sentenced accordingly. God knows His children and those who are children of Satan.
There are approximately 4.5 billion people on earth right now who do not claim to be a Christian. That is at least 4.5 billion people who are bound for hell for all eternity. What are we doing to make disciples of them? To share the gospel with them? James 2:14-17 says “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” And 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We must be servants of God and do His work here on earth.
I close with the lyrics to one of Charlie Daniels songs
“Pharisees”
They go walking into church every Sunday morning
They the self-appointed sin patrol
Well they whisper and they gossip behind the back
Of anybody that they can't control
See that girl in the choir she's got evil desires
She must be drinking from the devil's well
She's a downright disgrace with that paint on her face
She looks just like a Jezebel
And they're running around putting everybody down
What are you trying to do
You need to pick up the Book and take another look
Cause brother I've got the news for you
You know Jesus was sent with a new covenant and he even died for you
New pharisees like a fatal disease
Always flapping your jaws trying to live by the law
You see that boy over there with that long shaggy hair
Ought to be ashamed of hisself
He wearing hip-hop clothes got a ring in his nose
Don't he know he going straight to hell
And then yesterday morning me and sister Johnson
Were talkin' on the party line
She said that Deacon Brown was having dinner downtown
Somebody seen him with a glass of wine
And you act so righteous and you look so pious
You always pay your tithe
But there's a rock in your heart and a fire on your tongue
And there ain't no love in your eyes
Bad news is begotten and the devil is smiling you gossip and you criticize
New pharisees like a fatal disease
Always flapping your jaws trying to live by the law
Well you can't get by the law so quit flapping your jaws
New pharisees yes you're a lot like me”
I was sitting there watching TV and I just happened to land on a program that caught my eye. After actually listening for a few minutes I have to admit the speaker floored me. He was talking directly to me! The speaker was Matt Tapley, Senior Pastor @ Lakemount Worship Centre in Ontario Canada. His message was titled “The Transformed Life.” Now if you’re like me, you’ve watched Joyce Meyer (and love her). One of the main themes she weaves into most of her teachings and sermons is on renewing your mind. She is spot-on and what she says is good stuff. So, I’ve heard about “renewing your mind” allot! But have you ever heard something so many times it just becomes routine and you kind of gloss over it? And then another person says it in a different way and it’s like POW! Right in the Kisser! That’s what happened to me this morning. So, I’m going to try to do Pastor Tapley the proper justice as I recap his message here and throw in some of my own stuff. If you want to see the message it was on GodTV and he was speaking @ the Pursuit Conference in 2013 (I think).
Pastor Tapley started by saying allot of Christians pray something like this: “God please change me” or something along this line. They ask God to make them a different person. But is that really going to happen? Will there ever really be any change because of prayers like that? Yes, God can change people – He has the ability, but He is not going to do it. Romans 12:1-2 tells us what we must do in order to change - to live like, to be like Jesus – how to keep our body, mind, and spirit in check – in line with Him. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (King James Version)
Pastor Tapley tells us there are three things we must recognize (do):
1. Live our whole life with God’s mercy in the front of our minds. We need to realize, and know, that all things are because of His mercy. God is merciful and His loves endures forever. Everything that we are, that we have, that we’ve experienced, is because of His mercy. God shows His love to us by being merciful towards us. He wants to be able to bless us and shower His love on us. Just like a human mom or dad likes to do for their children (Matthew 7:9-11).
The Pastor was very adamant in reminding us that just because God is merciful and He loves us, this Does Not mean we have free reign to sin. If a person is saved, there must be a change. Once we’re saved we should abhor sin and want to be removed (Or turn away) from it. Do not confuse grace with mercy. We are saved through His grace and the sacrifice of Jesus, but God is merciful towards us because we became His children once we accepted Jesus as our Savior.
2. Offering our body is a Spiritual act of worship. We do this to offer a “living sacrifice” to our God, to our King. We must recognize that there cannot be a separation in our mind or soul that allows us to live and act one way in our “Christian” life and allows us to live and act another way when we’re in the secular world. There cannot be a dividing line. Everything we do, everything we think, everything, we say, EVERYTHING must conform to God’s standard (Jesus - our example).
Allot of Christians seem to think there is a secret place where they can be where they can get away from God. Sorry. News Flash – nothing is hidden from God. He sees and knows everything we think, we know, we do, we feel, we believe, etc… So, we cannot claim to be a follower of Jesus and live a secret life where we are separated from God. It cannot work like that. If you have a “secret place” you are living a lie and trying to deceive God. But really you are just deceiving yourself.
3. The transformation of your life is not spiritual. It is mental. That’s why Paul said it like this: “Be transformed BY the renewing of your mind.” It is a continual, never-ending process. That does not mean we make excuses for our actions or decide we can’t do it. And we also cannot decide that level of change is just for preachers or others. It is for all of us. We are responsible for our actions, thoughts, deeds, emotions – everything. We can pray for God to change us, but can we really expect Him to do that if we’re not putting forth the effort and showing a desire to change?
We have to admit we’ve sinned and that we are not living the way God expects us to. Yes, God expects His children to live separated, set-apart lives from the secular world. We are to live in it, but not be a part of it. We must repent (Revelation 3:18-20), which is to turn away from our sins, profanity, envy, lust, pornography, lying, stealing, cheating, etc… Remember God knows EVERYTHING we do, and have done. There is no “secret Place.”
Humans have a body, soul, and spirit. Our body is easy. That’s our skin, muscles, joints, brain, organs, etc… Our spirit is eternal. Our soul is who we are. Our thoughts, actions, emotions, etc… The soul is what we need to change. We do this by recognizing we must change. God has the rightful expectation (demand) that we live according to His word (the Bible). In order to do this we must sacrifice the “old man” and pick our cross daily to follow Jesus. We must continually renew our minds and be a living sacrifice to our God. NOTHING else is acceptable to God. It is our “reasonable service” to God.
Who is God? (Added 8/5/14)
Who is God to you? What does His name mean to you? When you hear God’s name spoken what do you think of? Do you think of some ancient story about a being that created the universe? Or perhaps you think of some distant God who is always angry or, on the other end, a God who says He loves you? Or you even think of His name (and that of Jesus) as a curse word and you use their names freely in all manner of speech? What should we think when we hear His name?
Let’s look briefly at what God says about Himself in the Bible. The following is from gotquestions.org
“Question: ‘What are the attributes of God?’
Answer: The Bible, God’s Word, tells us what God is like and what He is not like. Without the authority of the Bible, any attempt to explain God’s attributes would be no better than an opinion, which by itself is often incorrect, especially in understanding God (Job 42:7). To say that it is important for us to try to understand what God is like is a huge understatement. Failure to do so can cause us to set up, chase after, and worship false gods contrary to His will (Exodus 20:3-5).
Only what God has chosen to reveal of Himself can be known. One of God's attributes or qualities is “light,” meaning that He is self-revealing in information of Himself (Isaiah 60:19; James 1:17). The fact that God has revealed knowledge of Himself should not be neglected (Hebrews 4:1). Creation, the Bible, and the Word made flesh (Jesus Christ) will help us to know what God is like.
Let's start by understanding that God is our Creator and that we are a part of His creation (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1) and are created in His image. Man is above the rest of creation and was given dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Creation is marred by the fall but still offers a glimpse of God’s works (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 1:19-20). By considering creation's vastness, complexity, beauty, and order, we can have a sense of the awesomeness of God.
Reading through some of the names of God can be helpful in our search of what God is like. They are as follows:
Elohim - strong One, divine (Genesis 1:1)
Adonai - Lord, indicating a Master-to-servant relationship (Exodus 4:10, 13)
El Elyon - Most High, the strongest One (Genesis 14:20)
El Roi - the strong One who sees (Genesis 16:13)
El Shaddai - Almighty God (Genesis 17:1)
El Olam - Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28)
Yahweh - LORD “I Am,” meaning the eternal self-existent God (Exodus 3:13, 14).
God is eternal, meaning He had no beginning and His existence will never end. He is immortal and infinite (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17). God is immutable, meaning He is unchanging; this in turn means that God is absolutely reliable and trustworthy (Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 102:26, 27). God is incomparable; there is no one like Him in works or being. He is unequaled and perfect (2 Samuel 7:22; Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 40:25; Matthew 5:48). God is inscrutable, unfathomable, unsearchable, and past finding out as far as understanding Him completely (Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 145:3; Romans 11:33, 34).
God is just; He is no respecter of persons in the sense of showing favoritism (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30). God is omnipotent; He is all-powerful and can do anything that pleases Him, but His actions will always be in accord with the rest of His character (Revelation 19:6; Jeremiah 32:17, 27). God is omnipresent, meaning He is present everywhere, but this does not mean that God is everything (Psalm 139:7-13; Jeremiah 23:23). God is omniscient, meaning He knows the past, present, and future, including what we are thinking at any given moment. Since He knows everything, His justice will always be administered fairly (Psalm 139:1-5; Proverbs 5:21).
God is one; not only is there no other, but He is alone in being able to meet the deepest needs and longings of our hearts. God alone is worthy of our worship and devotion (Deuteronomy 6:4). God is righteous, meaning that God cannot and will not pass over wrongdoing. It is because of God’s righteousness and justice that, in order for our sins to be forgiven, Jesus had to experience God's wrath when our sins were placed upon Him (Exodus 9:27; Matthew 27:45-46; Romans 3:21-26).
God is sovereign, meaning He is supreme. All of His creation put together cannot thwart His purposes (Psalm 93:1; 95:3; Jeremiah 23:20). God is spirit, meaning He is invisible (John 1:18; 4:24). God is a Trinity. He is three in one, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. God is truth, He will remain incorruptible and cannot lie (Psalm 117:2; 1 Samuel 15:29).
God is holy, separated from all moral defilement and hostile toward it. God sees all evil and it angers Him. God is referred to as a consuming fire (Isaiah 6:3; Habakkuk 1:13; Exodus 3:2, 4-5; Hebrews 12:29). God is gracious, and His grace includes His goodness, kindness, mercy, and love. If it were not for God's grace, His holiness would exclude us from His presence. Thankfully, this is not the case, for He desires to know each of us personally (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 31:19; 1 Peter 1:3; John 3:16, 17:3).
Since God is an infinite Being, no human can fully answer this God-sized question, but through God’s Word, we can understand much about who God is and what He is like. May we all wholeheartedly continue to seek after Him (Jeremiah 29:13).” (What are the attributes of God?)
So, that’s a pretty good beginning of who God is. The beautiful part is He told us everything we need to know about Him in His Word. (There’s allot more in there than just what’s mentioned above.)
When we think of God we need to make sure to put our thoughts, our words, and our beliefs in order. Through our thoughts, our actions, and our words we put God in a box. We have come up with our own, little, easy-to-please version of God. We freely use His name in vulgar, hate-filled, slanderous, disgusting speech. That’s not right. We need to think of God how He told us to think. God is supreme in all of creation. He has no equal, no rival, and no need for anything or anyone. He is completely sovereign, just, righteous, holy, perfect, and true. There is never any shadow or gray area with God. He alone is worthy to be praised, adored, worshipped, exalted, lifted up, and loved. He created us and He loves us. But He does not condone or look the other way when we sin against Him. We cannot earn His favor or be good enough to secure our place with Him. There is only one way and that is through Jesus Christ.
This is an awesome resource someone put together listing some of the attributes of God and Praising God From A to Z (the people’s church).
And this link gives us 30 Days of Praying the Names and Attributes of God
American Christians are … (added 10/2/14)
In Luke 8:5-8 Jesus tells the parable about the man who sows the seeds for his crop in his field. Some of the seeds fell by the wayside (like on the footpaths), some fell on the rocks, some fell among the thorns, and still others fell on good ground. Later in this chapter Jesus explains to His disciples that the “seed” in the story is the word of God and how different people receive (act upon) what they hear.
The verse I am going to touch on now is verse 14: “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” These are people who hear the word of God, accept it and want to do right, but then are too overwhelmed with the cares of their lives (chasing the “American Dream” or perhaps JUST surviving) to continue to allow the word of God to grow and mature in their hearts. These are the people who allow the word to die by being too busy to nurture and grow their relationship with God. My friends, how many of us in the church today are these people?
In Revelation 3:14-21 Jesus addresses the Church in Laodicea. This church represents most of the churches in America. Jesus said in 15-17 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
When Jesus said to the man in Mark 10:21 “come, take up the cross, and follow me” He was telling the man (us) he must be willing to sacrifice everything for Him. (Jesus also talks about taking up our cross in Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; and Luke 9:23.) To most of us we interpret “cross” as some burden we must carry in our lives: a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness. We say, “That’s my cross. I have to carry it.” But in Jesus’ day the cross was something else entirely! When Jesus carried His cross to His crucifixion (His death), that cross represented a person who was condemned, humiliated, hated, despised, ridiculed - rejected! The cross was the lowest form of death to a Jew. So, when Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him, He’s not saying suffer a little bit by missing a meal, or putting an extra dollar in the plate, or just tell someone Jesus loves them (that’s me BTW), or etc… He’s telling us we MUST be ready, willing, and obedient to surrender and sacrifice everything for Him and to Him.
We (most Christians in America) have become complacent and wallow in our own self-importance and self-worth. We are deceiving ourselves with our watered-down religion and our willingness to allow everything else to take the place of our King and our Lord. Everything MUST come second AFTER Jesus. We MUST get a passion for serving Christ! Not serving ourselves by doing those things that are convenient and easy - those things we do to make ourselves “feel” better about ourselves and how much we “sacrifice” for Jesus by “bearing our cross.” We have to get it into our minds, our spirits, our souls that it is not about us AT ALL! It is only about Jesus and furthering His kingdom and bringing others to Him.
My prayer: Dear heavenly Father, please forgive me for being a watered-down Christian. Please forgive me for serving you on my terms, when it’s convenient for me. Dear God, please help me to be in constant communion with you - to abide in you. Help me to make a commitment to you now to do everything, to sacrifice everything to serving Jesus and to truly, completely, totally pick up my cross and follow Him. In the name of my Lord, my King, and my Savior. Amen and Amen.
Do we Really Think This? (Added 10/19/14)
AS Christians we sometimes exalt ourselves and think “Jesus, I can’t wait for you to come back and judge all of these filthy, unrighteous sinners!” And we are quick to quote Revelation 22:20 which says “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” I have said these words and heard others say them as well. We are like the Pharisee Jesus tells about in Luke 18:10-12 “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.’’’
We walk through our lives thinking how great we are. We look down on those we consider “sinners” and we judge them. We think we are better than they because we’re saved, we’re going to heaven. We’re doing such great works for Jesus and His Kingdom. “I am awesome!” “Wow, look what I just did for you God!” Hmm? Really?
But are we REALLY thinking this? Don’t we realize this is life and death? This is ETERNAL! These are Eternal Realities we're dealing with. God does not mince any words in the Bible about His coming judgment and eternal life in hell for those who are going to be convicted of their sins and sentenced accordingly: Isaiah 17:10-11; Joel 2:11; Joel 3:12-14; Matthew 13:24-30; Matthew 13:37-42; and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 all describe the coming judgment and there are numerous verses where Jesus says there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” to help describe the torment, separation, and suffering of those who are sentenced to hell. The flames and suffering in hell is not just an intellectual "Oh well, glad I'm not them" type of a reality. This IS Death and eternal suffering for ever and ever reality! We must be about our father's business! Time is short and the laborers are few.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36-37 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” And in Ephesians 4:29 Paul says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” What do Jesus and Paul mean by this? It means just like they said: We justify ourselves and we condemn others (or are we condemning ourselves as well?). But what are we doing to ensure their salvation (and ours), their place (and our own) in God’s kingdom? Our words are supposed to glorify God. We are to make disciples, be a disciple, and share the gospel. Someday we will stand before Jesus (yes He is our Savior, but He is also going to be our Judge) and we will give an accounting of every idle word. And lest anyone think I’m just pointing my finger and “looking down on” my fellow Christians, as Paul said I am the “chief of sinners,” and like the tax collector in Luke, my prayer surely must be simply “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” And Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” What does this mean? Jesus knows our heart, our sincerity, our love for our fellow man. He can see if we are truly His disciples or if we are just Pharisees. Those who are just going through the motions “pretending” to be Christians will be judged accordingly and sentenced accordingly. God knows His children and those who are children of Satan.
There are approximately 4.5 billion people on earth right now who do not claim to be a Christian. That is at least 4.5 billion people who are bound for hell for all eternity. What are we doing to make disciples of them? To share the gospel with them? James 2:14-17 says “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” And 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We must be servants of God and do His work here on earth.
I close with the lyrics to one of Charlie Daniels songs
“Pharisees”
They go walking into church every Sunday morning
They the self-appointed sin patrol
Well they whisper and they gossip behind the back
Of anybody that they can't control
See that girl in the choir she's got evil desires
She must be drinking from the devil's well
She's a downright disgrace with that paint on her face
She looks just like a Jezebel
And they're running around putting everybody down
What are you trying to do
You need to pick up the Book and take another look
Cause brother I've got the news for you
You know Jesus was sent with a new covenant and he even died for you
New pharisees like a fatal disease
Always flapping your jaws trying to live by the law
You see that boy over there with that long shaggy hair
Ought to be ashamed of hisself
He wearing hip-hop clothes got a ring in his nose
Don't he know he going straight to hell
And then yesterday morning me and sister Johnson
Were talkin' on the party line
She said that Deacon Brown was having dinner downtown
Somebody seen him with a glass of wine
And you act so righteous and you look so pious
You always pay your tithe
But there's a rock in your heart and a fire on your tongue
And there ain't no love in your eyes
Bad news is begotten and the devil is smiling you gossip and you criticize
New pharisees like a fatal disease
Always flapping your jaws trying to live by the law
Well you can't get by the law so quit flapping your jaws
New pharisees yes you're a lot like me”
