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Exodus 3:1-15 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Good morning. Open up your Bibles to Exodus chapter 3.
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! So whether it was planned or not, I don't know, but a lot of the songs and even what
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! Aletheia Way was focused on this morning is our topic today.
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And how many of you are aware of your need for a great and glorious God today?
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And we're all in need of Him, and that never changes.
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Just the awareness of our need increases, I hope, day by day, of how much we actually
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need God. And I hope that the message today encourages you. It really has me, and I'm not
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just kind of saying that because I'm filling in today.
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But just a little introduction, like why should we listen? And we all need a great and glorious
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God, and we all sang that just a little while ago. And I hope that it was true as it came
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out of your mouth, and that you weren't singing nonsense or lies to God. You were genuinely
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aware of how great He is. So why listen to this message? But Tozer, in one of his books, said this,
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were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to this question, what comes into your
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mind when you think about God? We might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.
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Without doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God. And the
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weightiest word in any language is the word for God. Yeah, so the greatest thoughts we have,
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the mightiest thoughts we have are those that we think about the living God. Our beliefs concerning
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Him affect how we live in public and in private behind closed doors. How we manage our days,
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how we manage our time, what we do with our time is affected by how we view God. Not just our actions,
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but the motives behind our actions relate to how we view the person of God. And God cares about how
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we see Him. He cares about how we understand Him. He's not satisfied or okay with warped views of who
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He really is. I think for many of us, whether you're married or single, I think one of the greatest
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desires you have is you want to be understood. You want people to know you for who you really are.
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You hate it when people misunderstand something that you're doing and interpret it in a wrong way.
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You want to be understood. And it's no different with God. But understanding who He is can mean the
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difference between life or death. And many people in the world, even this morning, are committing
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idolatry because they're worshiping a God of their own imagination rather than the God of the Scripture
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and the God who says, I am this way and I won't be changed by your opinions of me.
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And Jesus said in John 4 that it is possible to worship God in the wrong way. And so we should
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pay attention to this time. J.I. Packer in his book, Knowing God, he mentioned three things about
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how we think about God. He said, those who know God have great thoughts of Him.
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So if we have a very small view of God, if we have a very puny view of God, it will affect our life.
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People who refuse to enlarge their view of God will be left in a very pitiful state.
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A long time ago, during the Reformation, Luther said to Erasmus,
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your thoughts of God are too human. You think that He is just like us. You think that He behaves like us,
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acts like us, and you're wrong. So are your thoughts of God, even this morning, too human?
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There's enough of the person of God to go around forever, like for our souls to feast on,
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and enough of God to fill our hearts and minds with awe and wonder for all eternity.
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High thoughts of God keep us humble, dependent, and obedient, and in awe to Him.
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David wrote concerning these things in Psalm 139, something I've really been reading a lot of lately.
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He says,
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beyond reach and beyond our power, like to fully comprehend the person of God.
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It transcends in a way that even we can't attain it, and even if we could, we wouldn't understand it.
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But don't misunderstand me. God can be known. He can be known. He can be understood.
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That it is false to say that He can be fully and exhaustively known.
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The finite cannot fully contain the infinite.
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And that's where we find ourselves this morning, so it keeps us humble.
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So those who know God have great thoughts of God.
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The second way, Packer said, those who know God have great boldness for God.
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If you truly know Him, if you've been brought near to Him by the blood of Christ,
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you can throw yourself recklessly into His mission, into His purposes.
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There's no need for fear at all.
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So many of us are timid about facing everyday trials in our lives,
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and facing anything that has been touched by sin.
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We're afraid because we have a small view of our God, or we've lost sight of how big He truly is.
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So those of us who have an enormous, glorious view of God,
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we can face life without fear, and even death itself.
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In Daniel chapter 11, verse 32, it says,
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But the people who know their God shall be strong, stand firm, and take action.
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That phrase means to strive valiantly, or courageously prevail, or to stand firmly resolute.
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That's how understanding God really, truly is, can impact us.
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Then lastly, he said, those who know God have great peace in God.
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Not a peace that the world gives, as Jesus says,
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but when we really understand God for who He is,
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our minds are possessed with such a strong assurance that anything could come our way,
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and we would be okay, not in our own strength, but in His.
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A relationship that we have that's guaranteed by the blood of Jesus,
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and His favor towards us.
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We have nothing to fear.
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Trials come.
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Anything come.
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We're fine.
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So even death is welcomed at the end of the day,
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because we have a great peace in God.
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So, we cannot misunderstand who the person of God is.
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And so just to catch a glimpse of this,
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we're going to look at Exodus 3 today,
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the encounter of Moses and God on Mount Sinai.
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But just the background,
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Moses has fled the land of Egypt because he killed an Egyptian that he saw beating a fellow Hebrew.
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And he flees to the land of Midian,
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which is basically where modern Saudi Arabia is today.
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And he kind of lives a very low-key life there,
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and is married to a Midianite woman,
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and lives in obscurity until he wanders to the base of Mount Sinai.
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So there, Moses, God experiences like the God of covenant faithfulness,
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and a great compassion to come and deliver his people from the bondage in Egypt.
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It's a divine human encounter that we can learn a lot from.
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So he faces the person of God here,
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and in words that cannot be described,
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he is overwhelmed.
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So let's read this together.
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Let's start in verse 1.
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It says,
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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Let's read this together.
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And he said, Here I am.
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Then he said, Do not come near.
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Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.
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And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
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And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
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Then the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt.
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And I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters.
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I know their sufferings.
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I have come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land to a good and broad land.
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A land flowing with milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
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And now, behold, the cry of my people of Israel has come to me.
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And I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them.
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Come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.
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But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?
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He said, But I will be with you, and this shall be a sign for you that I have sent you.
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When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.
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Then Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me.
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And they ask me, What is his name?
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What shall I say to them?
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And God said to Moses, I am who I am.
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And he said, Say to this people of Israel, I am has sent me to you.
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God also said to Moses, Say this to the people of Israel, The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.
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This is my name forever, and thus I am remembered throughout all generations.
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So, I'll stop there.
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If that's not enough for us to chew on for a little while.
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So, in the Bible, names carry a lot more meaning than most people today in our culture seem to think about.
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In the Scripture, the name of a person signifies their character, their ability, their mission,
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especially when the name is actually given by God Himself.
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So, example, Adam names his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.
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And even greater example, the Son of God came into the world, and Mary was told,
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You shall call him Jesus, for he will save his people.
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So, their names are connected to their mission.
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So, names have a lot of meaning.
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And in the Old Testament, we just read,
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I am who I am in Hebrew is the verb to be or to exist.
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So, simply put, and this is overstating the simplicity of this more than likely,
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but simply put, God told Moses,
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I will be what I will be.
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I have always existed, and I will always exist.
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I just am.
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And we look in a lot of our English translations,
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there's a substitute word to throw in, the capital, all caps, L-O-R-D, LORD.
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And in the Hebrew, when they read out loud,
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they would not read God's precise name,
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but substitute it with Adonai.
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Where they saw the four-letter word,
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Y-H-W-H,
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meaning Yahweh.
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God's proper name in Hebrew,
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used around close to 7,000 times.
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A lot of emphasis there.
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That's three times as much as Elohim.
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That's still a very significant name.
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And the aim of this was,
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God wants to show that he's not just a generic deity,
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that he wants to be known for who he actually is.
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So, God's name carries his unique character and his mission.
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So, when God said this,
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when God said,
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I am who I am,
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we can somewhat derive a few things of what he actually meant when he said that.
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So, here's the first thing.
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What is God saying?
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What is God trying to communicate to us through his name?
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The first thing is,
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God is one.
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God is one.
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This is also called in theological circles,
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the unity of God.
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But it means that the person of God
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is not divided into parts or sections.
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In the old,
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there's several,
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I think two,
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old church catechisms and statements of faith
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that say,
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they call this the simplicity of God.
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Not saying that God is simple,
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meaning that he's small and unintelligent,
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but simple meaning like this is a simple device.
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It's not complex.
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It doesn't have a lot of parts to it.
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So, it means that the person of God
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is not divided into parts or sections,
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but yet we can see
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different parts of God's character
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emphasized at different times.
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God is all that he is all the time.
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Get your head around that statement.
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Write it down if you have to.
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God simply is all that he is all the time.
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And God reveals himself to us in such fullness
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that there can be nothing boring about him.
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So, let's unpack this a little bit.
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How do we relate this idea that God is one
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or God is simple to his attributes?
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Those of us who have looked into this before,
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we know that we've chopped God up
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into his attributes,
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which is okay.
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I'll explain.
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But there's the incommunicable attributes,
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which means that we as human beings
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cannot relate to these attributes at all.
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They're only divine attributes.
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Things like omnipotence,
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omnipresence,
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omniscience.
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Those are things that we as humans
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have no idea about.
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We can't touch them.
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Only the person of God
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possesses those attributes.
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And on the flip side,
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we have the communicable attributes.
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Things like goodness,
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love,
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mercy.
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Those are things that we as humans
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can have some taste of in this life,
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though we don't perfectly
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experience all those things all the time,
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obviously.
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And how do we relate this to the idea
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that God is one?
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It means that
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every attribute of God
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is true of God
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all the time.
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And to give you an example,
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those of you who do read your Bibles,
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unlike us,
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God is his attributes.
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God is love.
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He doesn't just occasionally act a certain way.
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He is those things.
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Example,
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God is love.
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1 John 4.8
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God is a consuming fire.
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Hebrews 12.29
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God is holy.
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Psalm 99.9
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verse 9.
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So,
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when God demonstrates
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his love,
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he doesn't cease to be
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just and holy
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when he does that.
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And how many of you do that
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when you read the scripture?
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You say,
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here God is displaying his love,
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but he is not being merciful.
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Or,
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here God is
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displaying his holiness,
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and so he can't be loving.
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Y'all do that?
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Like,
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he just destroyed
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3,000 people.
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So,
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this surely is just a demonstration
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of God's wrath
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and God's holiness.
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And I'm not telling you
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not to do that.
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But,
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here's what you need to understand.
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In those situations,
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God did not cease to be
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one of his other attributes.
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Example,
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we read
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sections in
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the Old Testament
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where we see God
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judging the nation of Israel
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or judging other
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people groups
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and he,
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you know,
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annihilates a large number of them.
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Well,
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in that moment,
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we're tempted to think
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in that
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he is just
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displaying his wrath.
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But,
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he didn't cease to be
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a loving God
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in that moment.
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Let me explain.
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Is it a loving thing
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to allow
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sin and evil
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to flourish
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and to go on
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conquering the world?
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It's not.
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So,
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God destroys it.
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So,
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in that same act,
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God was loving
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and he was just
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in the same act.
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Right?
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And,
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obviously,
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the greatest display
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of this is the cross.
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And we know that.
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So,
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when we're thinking about it,
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it means that God's attributes
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are so connected,
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so intertwined,
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that he's not separated.
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his attributes
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are these little
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individual components
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that we bring together
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and that are held together
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by a divine superglue,
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if you would.
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They're not
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different components.
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It means that
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God's goodness
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is his justice
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and his justice
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is his goodness.
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Get your head around that.
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So,
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we want to chop him up
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to understand him.
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And why do we do that?
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It's probably because
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none of us can bear,
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like,
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on our soul
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all of who God is
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at one time.
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So,
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he accommodates us
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in terms of attributes.
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He breaks himself down
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in order to show us
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who he is,
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which is such mercy
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on his part.
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He can't,
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we can't take
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all of him
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at one time.
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As he said later on
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to Moses in Exodus 33,
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when Moses said,
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show me your glory,
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Moses said,
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I will make,
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or God said,
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I'll make my goodness
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pass before you,
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but my face
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you cannot see.
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No man
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can see me
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and live.
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So,
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I can show you
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my mercy
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and show you
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my goodness,
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but you can't
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fully take
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all of who I am.
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And so,
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you can't bear it
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on your soul
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or otherwise
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it would kill you.
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So,
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every attribute
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of God
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is completely
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true of God
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all the time.
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It's so unlike us.
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Augustine wrote,
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what is my God?
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What I ask
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but the Lord God.
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For who is the Lord
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but the Lord himself?
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Or who is God
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besides our God?
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Lord God,
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you are stable
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yet not supported.
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Unchangeable
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yet changing
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all things.
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Never new
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yet never old.
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Making all things
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new
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yet bringing
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old age
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upon the proud
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and they know it not.
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Always working
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yet ever
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at rest.
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Gathering
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but yet needing
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nothing.
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that's
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just a
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tiny picture
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again
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of just how
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great our God
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is.
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So,
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he has
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accommodated us.
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He has
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broken himself
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down for us
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to understand
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in his grace.
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Kind of like
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how a ray of light
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comes through
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a window
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and we
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have to
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it breaks
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itself up
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into different
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colors
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so we can
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understand
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and see it.
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Tiny example.
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that everything
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in the scripture
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from the
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tabernacle
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to the
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temple
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is some
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sort of
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prism
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of God
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showing us
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who he
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is.
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Breaking
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himself
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down
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for our
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finite
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minds
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to
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understand.
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Job
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said,
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Behold,
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these are
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but the
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outskirts
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of his
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ways
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and how
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small
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a whisper
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do we
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hear of
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him
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but the
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thunder
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of his
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power
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who can
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understand.
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God
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is one.
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That's
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one thing
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we can
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draw
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a
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conclusion
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from
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by
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God's
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name.
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Secondly,
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we know
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that
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God is
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saying
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I am
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eternal.
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God
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is
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eternal.
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I
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am
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who
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I
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am.
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I
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will
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be
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what
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I
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will
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be.
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I
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am
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eternal
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meaning
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that
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he
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always
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has
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and
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he
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will
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always
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exist.
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God
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said to
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the
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apostle
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John,
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I
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am
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the
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alpha,
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the
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omega,
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says
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the
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Lord
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God
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who
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is
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and
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who
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was
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and
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who
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is
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to
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come
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the
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almighty.
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So the
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first and
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last letters
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of
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the
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Greek
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alphabet
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saying
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that
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the
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living
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God
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encompasses
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all
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things.
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He
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has
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no
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beginning
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and
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he
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has
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no
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end.
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Again,
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he
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doesn't
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live in
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the
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confides
23:59
of
23:59
time
23:59
like
23:59
we
23:59
do.
24:02
He
24:02
doesn't
24:02
need a
24:03
watch
24:03
to
24:03
understand
24:04
what's
24:04
happening
24:04
in
24:05
his
24:05
universe.
24:07
Successions
24:08
of time
24:08
are for
24:09
us.
24:09
He
24:09
is not
24:09
bound
24:10
by
24:10
time.
24:11
He
24:11
sees
24:12
the
24:12
past,
24:12
the
24:13
present,
24:13
and the
24:13
future
24:14
as
24:14
clearly
24:15
as you
24:15
and I
24:16
see the
24:17
present.
24:18
It's all
24:18
before him.
24:19
He is
24:20
eternal.
24:21
I am
24:22
who I
24:22
am.
24:23
No
24:24
one
24:24
created
24:24
me
24:25
and
24:25
no
24:26
one
24:27
has
24:27
the
24:27
power
24:27
to do
24:28
what
24:28
I
24:28
do.
24:29
I
24:30
exist.
24:31
No
24:31
one
24:31
shapes
24:32
my
24:32
personality.
24:33
I
24:34
have
24:35
no
24:35
beginning
24:35
and I
24:36
have
24:36
no
24:37
end.
24:38
And
24:38
Moses
24:38
understood
24:39
this.
24:40
prayed in
24:40
Psalm
24:41
90
24:41
verse 2,
24:42
before the
24:42
mountains
24:43
were brought
24:43
forth,
24:45
or you
24:46
had formed
24:46
the earth
24:47
and the
24:47
world,
24:48
from
24:48
everlasting
24:49
to
24:50
everlasting,
24:51
you
24:51
are God.
24:53
So
24:53
all of us
24:54
will come
24:55
and go
24:55
as
24:56
generations
24:57
before us
24:58
have,
24:59
but God
25:00
will remain.
25:02
It's
25:02
good.
25:03
We can
25:03
hang our
25:03
hat on
25:04
that.
25:04
God
25:04
is not
25:04
going
25:05
anywhere.
25:06
He
25:06
is
25:06
eternal.
25:09
Thirdly,
25:10
God
25:11
is saying
25:11
that He
25:11
is,
25:13
pick the
25:14
word you
25:14
want to
25:14
use,
25:14
unchangeable
25:15
or
25:15
immutable.
25:17
The
25:18
word,
25:18
our God
25:19
is
25:19
unchanging.
25:21
I
25:21
am
25:21
who I
25:22
am.
25:23
Connected
25:24
to this
25:24
is God
25:24
saying I
25:25
am
25:25
unchangeable.
25:26
I
25:26
don't
25:27
change.
25:28
God
25:28
forever
25:29
remains
25:29
the same
25:30
in His
25:30
nature,
25:31
His
25:31
person,
25:33
His
25:33
mission,
25:34
His
25:34
purposes,
25:35
His
25:35
promises,
25:36
they all
25:36
remain the
25:37
same at
25:38
all time.
25:40
That's
25:41
such a
25:41
comfort.
25:43
It's
25:43
just He's
25:43
saying to
25:44
Moses,
25:44
I can't
25:44
be anything
25:45
other than
25:46
what I
25:46
am.
25:47
I am
25:48
God.
25:51
Some of
25:51
the old
25:52
writers used
25:52
to say
25:53
this means
25:54
that there
25:54
is no
25:55
potential
25:55
in God.
25:57
He
25:57
can't
25:58
improve
25:59
Himself.
26:00
He
26:00
can't
26:00
pick up
26:01
the slack
26:01
and become
26:02
something
26:02
different.
26:03
There's
26:03
no
26:04
potential
26:04
in God.
26:04
He
26:05
fully
26:05
fills
26:06
His
26:07
potential
26:07
at
26:07
all
26:08
times.
26:10
He
26:10
said in
26:10
Malachi,
26:11
I am
26:11
the Lord
26:12
and I
26:12
do not
26:13
change.
26:14
There's
26:14
no
26:15
force
26:15
or
26:15
influence
26:16
out
26:16
here
26:16
that
26:17
can
26:17
come
26:17
against
26:18
me
26:18
and
26:18
make
26:18
me
26:19
be
26:19
different
26:19
than
26:20
who
26:20
I
26:20
am.
26:22
That's
26:22
encouraging.
26:23
We're
26:23
not like
26:24
that at
26:25
all.
26:25
We
26:25
change
26:26
daily.
26:26
Our
26:27
attitudes,
26:28
our
26:28
actions,
26:29
our
26:29
motivations.
26:31
I'm
26:32
sure many
26:32
of us
26:32
can say
26:33
something
26:33
like,
26:34
do you
26:34
remember
26:34
so-and-so?
26:35
She used
26:36
to be
26:36
such a
26:36
kind
26:37
and
26:37
loving
26:38
person,
26:39
but when
26:39
this
26:39
tragedy
26:40
happened,
26:40
she became
26:41
sad and
26:42
angry and
26:44
bitter.
26:45
We
26:45
change
26:46
and not
26:48
always for
26:48
the good.
26:50
And as I
26:50
said before,
26:51
it isn't that
26:51
God just
26:52
has goodness
26:53
and has
26:53
justice.
26:54
He is
26:55
goodness
26:56
and he
26:56
is
26:57
justice.
26:59
So,
27:00
thankful again
27:01
in James
27:01
1-7,
27:02
there is
27:03
no
27:03
variation
27:03
or shadow
27:05
due to
27:05
change in
27:06
relationship
27:06
to God.
27:08
He promises
27:09
to us that
27:10
he remains
27:11
the same.
27:12
So we
27:12
can take
27:13
him at
27:13
his word.
27:13
When he
27:14
says
27:14
something,
27:14
he is
27:15
true.
27:16
He's
27:16
not going
27:17
to change
27:17
his mind.
27:18
It's
27:20
something that
27:21
many of us
27:21
are used
27:22
to.
27:22
We're used
27:22
to being
27:23
deceived,
27:23
lied to,
27:24
and we've
27:25
also deceived
27:26
and lied
27:26
to other
27:26
people.
27:27
But if
27:28
God is
27:28
unchangeable,
27:30
his promises
27:31
and his
27:31
purposes,
27:33
we can
27:33
always rely
27:34
on.
27:36
So,
27:38
fourthly,
27:40
when God
27:41
says,
27:42
I am
27:42
who I
27:43
am,
27:44
we can
27:45
clearly see
27:47
that God
27:47
is independent
27:48
or self-existing.
27:53
God
27:54
doesn't need
27:54
us or
27:55
any other
27:56
part of
27:56
creation to
27:57
be who
27:58
he is.
27:59
That's a
28:00
misconception
28:00
in our
28:01
modern day.
28:03
We feel
28:03
like God
28:03
created us
28:05
because he
28:05
was lonely
28:05
or because
28:06
he was
28:06
bored or
28:07
he needed
28:07
something to
28:07
do up
28:08
in heaven.
28:10
Not so.
28:12
And he
28:13
gives Moses
28:13
this,
28:14
I guess,
28:15
tiny,
28:15
tiny example
28:16
of the
28:18
burning
28:18
bush.
28:20
And
28:20
as it's
28:21
saying,
28:21
there's
28:22
nothing I
28:22
can provide
28:23
for you
28:23
by way
28:24
of analogy
28:25
to describe
28:26
who I
28:26
am and
28:27
the very
28:28
essence of
28:28
my being.
28:31
God
28:31
needs
28:32
nothing,
28:32
but we
28:33
can enjoy
28:34
him and we
28:34
can glorify
28:35
him and he
28:36
delights in
28:36
that.
28:38
But this
28:38
fire that
28:39
was in
28:40
the bush,
28:41
we see that
28:42
it was a
28:42
very pure
28:43
fire.
28:44
It wasn't
28:44
made up of a
28:45
lot of different
28:46
compounds to make
28:47
a fire.
28:48
It just
28:49
existed.
28:51
No other
28:51
energy sources.
28:52
It just
28:53
had energy
28:53
in itself.
28:56
And God
28:56
was,
28:57
again,
28:57
trying to give
28:57
him just a
28:58
picture of
28:58
this is
29:00
kind of how
29:01
I am.
29:02
And even
29:03
just with
29:04
that,
29:05
Moses hid
29:05
his face
29:06
from God
29:06
in that
29:07
response.
29:08
But we're
29:09
messed up to
29:10
think that
29:10
God needs
29:11
us.
29:13
In Acts
29:15
17,
29:15
the Apostle
29:16
Paul,
29:16
when he
29:16
was in
29:17
Athens,
29:17
he said,
29:18
the God
29:19
who made
29:19
the world
29:20
and everything
29:20
in it,
29:22
being the
29:22
Lord of
29:23
heaven and
29:24
earth,
29:25
does not
29:25
live in
29:26
temples made
29:27
by man,
29:28
nor is he
29:29
served with
29:30
human hands
29:31
as though he
29:32
needed anything,
29:34
since he
29:34
himself gives
29:36
to all
29:36
mankind life
29:38
and breath
29:39
and everything.
29:41
So,
29:42
God exists
29:44
freely and
29:44
independent from
29:45
any other
29:45
part of
29:46
his
29:46
creation.
29:48
So,
29:48
from
29:48
eternity
29:49
past
29:50
into
29:50
eternity
29:51
future,
29:52
Father,
29:53
Son,
29:53
and Holy
29:53
Spirit
29:54
lived in
29:54
perfect
29:55
completeness,
29:56
joy,
29:57
and unity
29:58
with each
29:58
other.
29:59
Perfect
30:00
satisfaction.
30:02
If you
30:02
glance later
30:03
on,
30:04
go back and
30:04
look at
30:04
John 17
30:05
that we
30:05
preached
30:06
through a
30:06
long time
30:06
ago,
30:08
but Jesus
30:08
prayed to
30:09
the Father,
30:09
God
30:10
said,
30:11
I'm
30:13
praying for
30:13
those
30:15
whom you
30:16
have given
30:16
me,
30:17
that they
30:17
may be
30:17
with me
30:18
one day
30:18
to see
30:20
your glory,
30:21
the glory
30:22
that I
30:22
shared with
30:23
you before
30:23
the world
30:24
existed.
30:26
Such joy
30:27
and
30:27
completeness
30:29
in the
30:29
Godhead.
30:30
So,
30:31
God didn't
30:31
create us
30:32
out of
30:32
some
30:33
dependence,
30:33
but
30:34
out of
30:35
an overflow,
30:35
an abundance
30:36
of his
30:38
glory and
30:39
excellence.
30:41
So,
30:42
again,
30:43
I've just
30:43
been reading
30:44
Augustine a
30:45
lot lately
30:45
for some
30:46
reason,
30:46
but he
30:48
said,
30:48
what would
30:49
have been
30:49
lacking in
30:50
your goodness,
30:51
God,
30:52
which you
30:52
yourself are,
30:54
even if
30:54
these things
30:55
of creation
30:56
had never
30:56
existed and
30:57
had remained
30:58
unformed?
30:59
You didn't
31:00
create them
31:01
out of any
31:01
lack,
31:02
but out of
31:03
an abundance
31:03
of your
31:04
goodness.
31:04
You
31:05
ordered them
31:06
and turned
31:06
them toward
31:07
form,
31:08
but not
31:09
because your
31:09
joy had to
31:10
be perfected
31:11
by them.
31:13
Really
31:13
incredible
31:14
thought that
31:15
though God
31:16
doesn't need
31:16
us,
31:16
he created
31:17
us,
31:17
and he,
31:18
it's good
31:19
for us,
31:19
he takes
31:20
delight in
31:21
us living
31:22
for him.
31:23
He can
31:24
take delight
31:24
in his
31:25
creation,
31:26
even though
31:26
he doesn't
31:26
need us.
31:28
So,
31:30
I could
31:31
go on and
31:31
say that,
31:33
what's that
31:33
famous quote
31:34
that we
31:34
always throw
31:35
up there,
31:36
everything in
31:37
the universe
31:37
plugs into
31:38
God,
31:39
and if he
31:40
shut down,
31:41
there would
31:41
be absolute
31:42
nothingness.
31:43
He doesn't
31:44
need us.
31:46
And
31:46
fifthly,
31:48
and lastly,
31:49
God is
31:50
saying by
31:50
saying,
31:51
I am who
31:51
I am,
31:53
it's
31:54
implying that
31:54
God is the
31:55
creator and
31:55
sustainer.
31:57
He's the
31:57
creator and
31:58
sustainer,
31:59
inexhaustible
32:00
source of
32:01
divine power
32:02
and energy.
32:04
That's what
32:05
omnipotence
32:06
means,
32:06
all powerful,
32:08
possessing all
32:08
power.
32:09
So,
32:10
it isn't just
32:10
that God
32:12
has a lot
32:13
of power,
32:14
and then
32:15
there's all
32:15
these other
32:16
small powers
32:17
that exist
32:17
outside of
32:18
him.
32:19
It means
32:20
that he
32:20
gives them
32:21
power.
32:22
He delegates
32:23
that power,
32:24
and if he
32:24
was to take
32:24
it away,
32:25
they would
32:25
cease to
32:25
exist.
32:26
Christ.
32:27
So,
32:28
even the
32:29
very breath
32:30
that we
32:30
breathe right
32:31
now is
32:33
a gift of
32:33
God's
32:34
sustaining
32:34
power in
32:35
our lives.
32:36
Every
32:37
heartbeat,
32:38
a gift of
32:39
grace to
32:40
us.
32:42
In
32:43
Isaiah
32:43
chapter 40,
32:46
God says,
32:49
have you
32:49
not known,
32:50
have you
32:50
not heard?
32:52
The Lord
32:52
God,
32:53
the everlasting
32:54
God,
32:54
the creator
32:55
of the ends
32:55
of the
32:56
earth,
32:57
he does
32:57
not faint
32:58
or grow
32:58
weary.
32:59
His
33:00
understanding
33:00
is unsearchable.
33:03
He gives
33:03
power to
33:04
the faint,
33:05
and to him
33:06
who has no
33:06
might,
33:07
he increases
33:07
strength.
33:09
So,
33:10
God,
33:10
by his own
33:11
power,
33:11
upholds all
33:12
the universe
33:12
and sustains
33:13
us,
33:14
and all
33:15
energy,
33:16
all power
33:16
outside of
33:17
that,
33:17
finds its
33:18
source,
33:18
in him.
33:20
He is
33:20
the source
33:21
of all
33:22
power.
33:23
So,
33:24
he sustains
33:24
us.
33:26
Isn't that
33:26
just crazy
33:27
to think
33:27
about,
33:27
that you're
33:28
going to
33:28
walk out
33:28
of here
33:29
today by
33:29
his
33:30
sustaining
33:30
power,
33:31
that you're
33:32
going to
33:32
go on
33:32
this week
33:33
and do
33:33
this or
33:34
that because
33:34
of his
33:36
grace and
33:36
his
33:36
sustaining
33:37
power.
33:40
He doesn't
33:40
need to be
33:41
recharged or
33:42
backed up.
33:44
He is the
33:45
source of
33:45
all our
33:46
strength.
33:47
So,
33:48
those five
33:50
things we
33:50
can draw.
33:51
There may
33:51
be more,
33:53
but those
33:54
things we
33:54
can definitely
33:55
see when
33:55
God says,
33:56
I am who
33:56
I am.
33:57
I will
33:57
be who I
33:58
will be.
34:01
So,
34:01
some application
34:02
for us.
34:04
As we've
34:04
been talking
34:05
about,
34:06
most all
34:07
of us are
34:07
aware of
34:08
our need
34:08
for a
34:09
great and
34:10
powerful
34:10
almighty
34:11
God.
34:12
this journey
34:16
probably began
34:17
for me in
34:17
2006 when
34:19
I was in
34:20
the hospital
34:20
in Atlanta
34:21
and I
34:23
received news
34:23
that I
34:24
was a
34:25
lot sicker,
34:27
more sicker,
34:29
not the right
34:29
phrase,
34:30
that I was
34:33
not doing as
34:35
well as I
34:35
thought I
34:36
was.
34:36
they had
34:37
been running
34:38
some of my
34:38
tests wrong.
34:40
And so,
34:41
I was about
34:42
to go home.
34:42
My bags were
34:43
packed.
34:43
I was getting
34:45
ready to leave
34:46
and my doctor
34:46
came in and
34:47
he pulled out
34:48
the papers and
34:49
he said,
34:49
let me just
34:49
look at
34:50
something really
34:50
quick.
34:51
And he
34:52
did some
34:52
math and
34:53
he showed
34:55
me,
34:55
like,
34:57
they haven't
34:57
been doing
34:58
this right.
34:59
Like,
34:59
your lung
34:59
function is
35:00
actually a lot
35:01
lower than
35:02
we think it
35:03
is.
35:03
you thought
35:04
it was.
35:05
And so,
35:07
he said,
35:08
I need you
35:08
to stay
35:08
another week
35:09
so we can
35:10
work on
35:10
this.
35:12
And at
35:12
that point,
35:13
that's when I
35:13
realized there
35:14
was a lot
35:14
other suffering
35:16
that was ahead.
35:18
And in my
35:18
hospital room,
35:19
I had the
35:20
Bible and
35:21
I also had
35:22
Arthur Pink's
35:25
Attributes of
35:26
God book.
35:27
And that's
35:28
the two things
35:28
I just kept
35:29
storing in my
35:30
head.
35:32
So,
35:32
this isn't
35:33
cool,
35:33
nerdy,
35:33
theology.
35:34
This is
35:35
truth for
35:36
your real
35:36
life.
35:37
It's truth
35:37
for life
35:37
and truth
35:38
for death
35:38
for you
35:39
to live
35:40
in.
35:40
We all
35:40
need a
35:41
powerful,
35:42
sovereign
35:42
God.
35:44
So,
35:44
strive to
35:45
know God
35:45
as he
35:47
is and
35:48
realize it's
35:49
so hard.
35:50
Your feelings
35:51
and your
35:51
emotions don't
35:51
affect the
35:52
person of
35:52
God.
35:56
So hard
35:56
to not do
35:57
that.
35:59
Meditate
35:59
on the
35:59
person of
36:00
God in
36:01
his word
36:02
and allow
36:03
it to
36:03
enhance
36:03
your
36:04
awe
36:04
and your
36:04
wonder
36:04
of him,
36:05
your
36:06
worship
36:06
of him,
36:07
and strive
36:08
to know
36:09
Jesus
36:09
Christ,
36:11
who said
36:12
in John
36:13
8,
36:14
verse 57,
36:15
he was
36:15
facing a
36:16
hostile crowd.
36:17
They were
36:17
questioning
36:18
him.
36:18
so the
36:20
Jews said
36:21
to him,
36:22
you are
36:22
not 50
36:23
years old
36:24
and yet
36:24
you say
36:24
you have
36:25
seen
36:25
Abraham.
36:27
And Jesus
36:27
responded to
36:28
them,
36:28
truly,
36:29
truly,
36:29
I say
36:30
to you,
36:31
before
36:31
Abraham
36:32
ever
36:32
existed,
36:34
I am.
36:35
And he
36:35
used that
36:36
name of
36:36
God,
36:37
like I
36:37
existed
36:38
before
36:39
Abraham.
36:42
And as
36:42
expected,
36:42
they didn't
36:43
like that.
36:43
I am
36:45
Yahweh.
36:47
So in
36:48
Jesus,
36:49
the God
36:49
man,
36:50
God
36:50
accommodated
36:51
himself in
36:52
the greatest
36:52
way possible.
36:54
If you
36:54
see Jesus,
36:55
you have
36:55
seen the
36:56
Father.
36:56
As you
36:57
have received
36:57
Jesus,
36:58
you have
36:58
received
36:58
the
36:59
Father.
37:00
God
37:01
has drawn
37:01
near to
37:02
us in
37:02
the person
37:02
of Christ
37:03
for us
37:04
to know
37:04
who he
37:05
is.
37:06
Beginning
37:07
of John's
37:08
gospel,
37:09
we have
37:09
seen his
37:10
glory.
37:11
So strive
37:12
to know
37:13
Christ.
37:14
Flip over,
37:15
again,
37:16
I don't
37:16
know if
37:16
this is
37:16
planned,
37:17
but
37:17
Colossians
37:17
chapter
37:18
1.
37:25
Colossians
37:25
chapter
37:25
1,
37:26
we can
37:26
see it
37:28
in just
37:28
verse 15.
37:33
He,
37:34
being
37:34
Jesus,
37:35
is the
37:36
image of
37:37
the
37:37
invisible
37:37
God,
37:39
the
37:39
firstborn
37:40
of all
37:40
creation.
37:42
For by
37:42
him,
37:43
all things
37:43
were created
37:44
in heaven
37:45
and on
37:46
earth,
37:47
visible
37:47
and invisible.
37:49
Whether
37:50
thrones or
37:50
dominions or
37:51
rulers or
37:52
authorities,
37:53
all things
37:53
were created
37:54
through him
37:55
and for
37:56
him.
37:57
He is
37:58
before all
37:58
things and
37:59
in him
37:59
all things
38:00
hold
38:01
together.
38:03
You see
38:04
some of
38:04
that?
38:04
He is
38:05
the creator.
38:08
He is
38:09
the ruler.
38:09
He is
38:11
the
38:11
sustainer.
38:12
We see
38:13
that all
38:13
in these
38:14
verses.
38:15
And he
38:16
became
38:16
before
38:17
anything
38:17
else
38:18
came.
38:19
He is
38:20
the head
38:20
of the
38:20
body,
38:21
the church.
38:21
He is
38:21
the beginning,
38:22
the firstborn
38:23
from the
38:23
dead,
38:24
that in
38:25
everything
38:25
he might
38:26
be
38:27
preeminent.
38:28
For in
38:29
him all
38:29
the fullness
38:30
of God
38:31
was pleased
38:32
to dwell
38:33
and through
38:34
him to
38:34
reconcile
38:35
all things
38:36
whether on
38:38
earth or
38:38
in heaven
38:39
making peace
38:39
by the
38:40
blood of
38:40
his cross.
38:43
And there
38:43
it's this
38:45
idea of
38:45
Christ bringing
38:46
together
38:47
everything
38:47
that's been
38:48
breaking
38:48
apart by
38:49
sin.
38:50
And it's
38:52
also this
38:52
idea of a
38:53
reckoning,
38:53
not just
38:53
like to
38:54
bring together
38:55
reconcile,
38:55
but a
38:56
reckoning.
38:58
We see
38:59
that Jesus
38:59
is those
38:59
things.
39:00
So if we
39:01
want to
39:01
know the
39:01
person of
39:02
God,
39:02
we look
39:02
at the
39:03
Son of
39:03
God.
39:04
and he
39:05
shows us
39:05
who he
39:06
is.
39:07
Isn't
39:08
it
39:08
interesting,
39:08
just in
39:09
closing,
39:09
that many
39:11
of our
39:12
modern day
39:14
books and
39:14
stories that
39:15
are out
39:15
there about
39:16
people
39:16
encountering
39:17
the person
39:18
of God
39:18
have nothing
39:19
at all in
39:21
relationship to
39:22
Scripture.
39:24
People are
39:25
like, oh,
39:25
it was just
39:26
a happy
39:26
moment,
39:27
just me
39:27
and God.
39:31
So not
39:31
what the
39:32
testimony of
39:32
Scripture
39:32
is.
39:34
You see
39:34
that Moses
39:35
was terrified.
39:37
We know
39:37
that in
39:37
all three
39:38
Gospels,
39:39
Matthew,
39:39
Mark,
39:40
and John,
39:42
there's the,
39:43
not John,
39:44
but Matthew,
39:44
Mark,
39:45
and Luke,
39:46
where Jesus
39:47
is transfigured
39:48
before them.
39:50
Matthew and
39:50
Mark say
39:51
that they
39:51
were terrified,
39:52
which actually
39:53
means scared
39:54
out of their
39:55
wits in
39:57
Greek,
39:58
scared out of
39:59
their mind
40:00
when they
40:01
saw this
40:01
transfiguration.
40:04
And then in
40:04
Luke's gospel,
40:05
it implies
40:05
that they
40:05
were like
40:06
in a deep
40:06
sleep.
40:08
And could
40:09
it be
40:09
possible that
40:10
it just
40:12
describes the
40:12
sheer exhaustion
40:13
they had
40:14
of encountering
40:15
this scene,
40:17
overwhelmed,
40:18
put on the
40:19
ground,
40:19
where they
40:19
lost all
40:20
their strength.
40:22
And we
40:22
know that
40:22
John,
40:24
who calls
40:24
himself the
40:25
beloved
40:25
disciple,
40:26
the same
40:27
guy who
40:27
Jesus,
40:28
he rested
40:28
his head
40:29
on the
40:29
shoulder of
40:30
Christ.
40:30
Same
40:31
disciple.
40:33
At the
40:33
beginning of
40:33
Revelation,
40:35
he is
40:35
terrified and
40:37
cannot even
40:37
look at
40:38
the Son of
40:39
God.
40:41
So we
40:41
have to
40:42
come to
40:43
the Scripture
40:43
to know
40:44
the person
40:45
of God.
40:45
We have to
40:46
pray that
40:46
God applies
40:48
his truth to
40:48
our hearts
40:49
and our
40:49
lives.
40:51
But I
40:52
pray that
40:53
just seeing
40:55
how big our
40:56
God truly
40:57
is,
40:57
is convicting
40:59
to you,
40:59
maybe even
41:00
scares you.
41:01
I don't
41:01
know where
41:01
you are.
41:02
You might
41:02
need to be
41:02
scared out
41:03
of your
41:03
wits.
41:04
Or you
41:04
might need
41:05
to be
41:05
encouraged
41:06
that such
41:07
a God
41:07
stands on
41:08
your behalf
41:09
and that
41:09
you are
41:10
made right
41:11
with him
41:11
through the
41:12
person of
41:13
Christ.
41:15
So we
41:15
can stand
41:16
boldly
41:16
because of
41:18
who God
41:18
is.
41:20
Praise him.
41:21
Let's pray
41:22
together.