The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O LORD, The floods have lifted up their voice, The floods lift up their pounding waves. More than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty. Your testimonies are fully confirmed; holiness befits Your house, O LORD, forevermore. - Psalm 93:1-5
When we sit and consider the wonders of God - not only what He has done for us, but who He is - the thoughts that we have should make us marvel. It is extremely discouraging to me that so many professing Christians have such a small view of God. This week, we continue with part two of our sermon about the LORD. We began by discussing His existence as one God in three Persons (The Trinity) and we'll conclude by looking at some of His attributes, as stated in the underlined sentences below. The Baptist Faith & Message summarizes the Baptist's beliefs about God as follows -
"There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the
Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections.
God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and
future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and
obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct
personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being."
God is intelligent. He acts thoughtfully, doing the things that He does with purpose and intentionality. He is not sporadic, disorderly, or random. On the contrary, God is wise. He knows what He is doing - He's the expert - and He doesn't make mistakes. As such, we can trust in Him completely.
God is spiritual. He is not material or physical like we are. Therefore, He is not limited by time or space. However, the Bible often describes God as having human features, such as hands and feet. Therefore, although God is spirit, He can and does manifest Himself physically and visibly at times.
God is personal. He desires to have a personal relationship with mankind. He is not distant or inaccessible to us, but rather is very close and longs to commune with us. He understands the heart of man, He feels our sorrows, and lovingly desires to comfort us. He made us that He might have fellowship with us.
God is holy and perfect in every way. He is completely without spot or blemish. He is sinless and perfectly righteous. His holiness separates Him from creation, because it is corrupt and stained by the consequences of sin. People, no matter how "good" they might seem, are unholy and in desperate need of a Savior.
God created everything that is. He preserves and sustains it by His great power. Every heartbeat, every gentle breeze, every drop of rain, every sunrise - everything functions in its proper order by the preserving power of God. He reigns over His creation, exercising complete sovereignty and authority over it. God is in control, and nothing happens that He does not permit. He is also our Redeemer, rescuing and delivering nature and His people for the corruption of their sin.
God is all-powerful. He can do anything that can be done - so long as it is consistent with His divine nature. He has the almighty strength to accomplish His will. God is all-knowing - past, present, and future. His foreknowledge allows Him to know what choices we will make before we even make them, but He does not impede upon our free will. In other words, He doesn't decide for us, but He does know what we will decide in advance. God is also everywhere-present. His locality is not limited to a particular place. He is always there, even when we don't sense His presence or He hides it from us.
How marvelous is our GOD! To Him we owe the highest love and affection. He is worthy of our reverence and praise. He deserves first place in our lives, the greatest priority in everything we say and do. He is our Lord, and we should obey His commands joyfully as we demonstrate our great love for Him. Praise the LORD!!!
Next week we will begin looking at the three Persons of the Trinity separately, starting with God the Father. How is the Father distinct within the Godhead? What does He do? What is He like? Come and join us as we explore this topic. Until then, I love you all and have a great week.
When we sit and consider the wonders of God - not only what He has done for us, but who He is - the thoughts that we have should make us marvel. It is extremely discouraging to me that so many professing Christians have such a small view of God. This week, we continue with part two of our sermon about the LORD. We began by discussing His existence as one God in three Persons (The Trinity) and we'll conclude by looking at some of His attributes, as stated in the underlined sentences below. The Baptist Faith & Message summarizes the Baptist's beliefs about God as follows -
"There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the
Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections.
God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and
future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and
obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct
personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being."
God is intelligent. He acts thoughtfully, doing the things that He does with purpose and intentionality. He is not sporadic, disorderly, or random. On the contrary, God is wise. He knows what He is doing - He's the expert - and He doesn't make mistakes. As such, we can trust in Him completely.
God is spiritual. He is not material or physical like we are. Therefore, He is not limited by time or space. However, the Bible often describes God as having human features, such as hands and feet. Therefore, although God is spirit, He can and does manifest Himself physically and visibly at times.
God is personal. He desires to have a personal relationship with mankind. He is not distant or inaccessible to us, but rather is very close and longs to commune with us. He understands the heart of man, He feels our sorrows, and lovingly desires to comfort us. He made us that He might have fellowship with us.
God is holy and perfect in every way. He is completely without spot or blemish. He is sinless and perfectly righteous. His holiness separates Him from creation, because it is corrupt and stained by the consequences of sin. People, no matter how "good" they might seem, are unholy and in desperate need of a Savior.
God created everything that is. He preserves and sustains it by His great power. Every heartbeat, every gentle breeze, every drop of rain, every sunrise - everything functions in its proper order by the preserving power of God. He reigns over His creation, exercising complete sovereignty and authority over it. God is in control, and nothing happens that He does not permit. He is also our Redeemer, rescuing and delivering nature and His people for the corruption of their sin.
God is all-powerful. He can do anything that can be done - so long as it is consistent with His divine nature. He has the almighty strength to accomplish His will. God is all-knowing - past, present, and future. His foreknowledge allows Him to know what choices we will make before we even make them, but He does not impede upon our free will. In other words, He doesn't decide for us, but He does know what we will decide in advance. God is also everywhere-present. His locality is not limited to a particular place. He is always there, even when we don't sense His presence or He hides it from us.
How marvelous is our GOD! To Him we owe the highest love and affection. He is worthy of our reverence and praise. He deserves first place in our lives, the greatest priority in everything we say and do. He is our Lord, and we should obey His commands joyfully as we demonstrate our great love for Him. Praise the LORD!!!
Next week we will begin looking at the three Persons of the Trinity separately, starting with God the Father. How is the Father distinct within the Godhead? What does He do? What is He like? Come and join us as we explore this topic. Until then, I love you all and have a great week.