Responding to God
- anyone who has ever studied God, in the way that he has intended, knows what David meant when talking about one of God’s attributes in Psalm 139:6
- (Psalms 139:6) Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
- when we study what the Bible teaches about God, we encounter some marvelous truths – ones we’ve talked about these past months
- the sufficiency of God; his holiness, sovereignty, and goodness
- the fact that he is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient
- we see God’s justice, but also his love and his grace
- we can use all the fancy terms in the world, but let’s boil it down to something we can all agree on: we have an awesome God!
- Amen?
- I don’t think words could ever do justice to the great God we worship
- far from being dry and dusty, the study of God unlocks truths which are mind-stretching and life-changing
- Hebrews 1:1-3 tell us about the ultimate revelation of God’s character to human beings
- (Hebrews 1:1) In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
- (Hebrews 1:2) but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
- (Hebrews 1:3) The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
- don’t miss what verse 3 says!
- (Hebrews 1:3 NLT) The Son reflects God’s own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly.
- did you realize that Jesus is the exact representation of God himself
- he is God – the very God who spoke in Old Testament times; he very God who worked with the Father in creating the world
- he is the full revelation of God
- in fact, you can have no clearer view of God than by looking at Christ
- Jesus Christ is the full and complete expression of God in a human body
- as Jesus said to Thomas in John 14:
- (John 14:9) Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
- if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus
- the search for God ends in Christ
- only once has God become a man and shown us, in the flesh, what God is really like
- Jesus showed us God’s compassion when he healed the sick
- he demonstrated God’s grace when he forgave sins
- he gave us the ultimate expression of God’s love when he suffered the most terrible death imaginable to pay the penalty for our sins
- and he demonstrated God’s remarkable power when he conquered death, bringing new life to all those who trust in him
- now remember – God didn’t have to reveal his qualities to us
- he could have kept them hidden from us
- but God chose to reveal himself to humanity, most powerfully in the life of Jesus Christ, and most notably in the death, burial, and resurrection of his only Son
- what I’m saying is this
- the doctrines we’ve been studying are fine and good
- the Bible is a wonderful gift from God
- but Jesus is not a doctrine, a theology, a book, an abstract principle, a ministry, a church, a denomination, an activity, or even a way of life
- Jesus is a person – a real person
- a person who walked this earth as we do
- a person who lived a perfect life and died a painful death on our behalf
- a real person who rose again from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God praying on your behalf
- what’s more, he’s a wonderful person
- a person who demands a real response from you and from me
- if Jesus is God, and reveals God perfectly, how can we ignore him?
- how can we skip over him?
- IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO KNOW JESUS INTELLECTUALLY
- a lot of people have great theology, but don’t really know God
- it’s possible to read the Bible every day of your life and never really know God
- you can know the Bible and not know God
- you can love the Bible and not love God
- you can read the Bible without ever hearing God
- somebody has pointed out that the Pharisees knew the Bible, loved the Bible, and read the Bible, but they did not know, love, or hear God
- one day Jesus said to them:
- (John 5:37) And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
- (John 5:38) nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.
- (John 5:39) You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,
- (John 5:40) yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
- these men spent hours studying the Scriptures, yet the Son of God said they had never heard the Father’s voice at any time
- it’s shocking for me to read these words, but they’re true: "It’s possible to read the Bible every day of our lives and never hear the voice of God!"
- intellectual belief is not enough
- (James 2:19 NLT) Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror!
- one preacher I read of this week plead guilty to loving the Bible more than he loved God
- let me read for you what he said
The majority of my efforts and time were given to understanding the Bible and orthodox theology rather than pursuing the Son of God and becoming like him. I had no idea of the depth of deception that had gripped me.
Here are some obvious signs in the lives of those who put the Bible ahead of Jesus. They talk more about the Bible than they do about Jesus. Having right doctrine is more important to them than having a right life. This means the ultimate test for admission into their groups is what you believe, not how you act. Their leaders can be harsh and authoritarian. Sins of pride, arrogance, and religious cruelty are often excused or overlooked. Preaching the Word is more important to them than modeling the Word.
I hate to admit this, but all those characteristics were true of my life when I put the Bible above the Lord Jesus. The problem was not that I loved the Bible too much, but that I loved Jesus too little in comparison with the Bible. (Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit)
- I’ll say it loud and clear: Bible knowledge is not enough
- knowing about God is not enough
- this study was never intended to be an intellectual exercise
- KNOWING GOD DEMANDS A RESPONSE
- when a man and a woman begin a relationship, they are usually very guarded
- gradually, they begin to open up and reveal more of themselves, until finally, if the relationship progresses, there is little hidden between them
- the whole purpose of revelation is relationship
- the whole reason God has revealed himself to you, friends, is so that he can have a relationship with you
- God loves you and God desires that you love him as well
- Jesus said that the summary of all the Scriptures of his day is summed up in two simple commands
- (Matthew 22:37) 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
- (Matthew 22:38) This is the first and greatest commandment.
- (Matthew 22:39) And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
- (Matthew 22:40) All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
- the whole point of our lives is not knowledge, but relationship
- do you love God this morning?
- you see, loving God involves our whole being
- the command Jesus gave is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind"
- in other words, it involves all of you
- don’t hold anything back!
- about ten years ago I had a good friendship with a woman
- she had grown up in a Christian home, but had never given her life to God
- one day she told me she believed the facts of Christianity, but wasn’t prepared to give her life to Jesus
- she hadn’t traveled what somebody has called the longest distance in the world – the distance from your head to your heart
- ten years later, she hasn’t changed her mind
- how can you know that God is holy, just, loving, and sovereign, and hold back from giving your life to him?
- it boggles my mind to think that somebody could believe that God loves them so much, that his Son was willing to die so that they could have eternal life, and yet refuse to accept that free gift
- I urge you this morning, if you haven’t given everything to Jesus, that you come to him this morning
- (Hebrews 2:3 NLT) What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself?
- I urge you to respond right where you’re sitting and accept the free gift of salvation offered to you this morning
- loving God also means we’ll honor him in our lives
- Jesus said:
- (John 14:15) "If you love me, you will obey what I command.
- if we love God, the natural result will be that our burning desire is to please God in every aspect of our lives
- every decision we make will be based on one question: "Does this decision please my God?"
- Billy Graham said once, "I would rather be struck down dead than to discredit God"
- you and I are both aware of things in our lives that bring disgrace to God
- if we love Jesus, we will be eager to get rid of any action, habit or thought that is not pleasing to God
- some of us need to come to God this morning and say, "In light of the tremendous sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the cross, bringing me salvation, it is my desire to give up anything that is not pleasing to my heavenly Father"
- loving God also means that we will have a greater passion for him
- have you ever noticed that new Christians start out passionately in love with God?
- when this happens, I’m always scared that these new Christians will hang around us long enough to have their fire put out
- shame on us for accepting a lukewarm Christian life!
- shame on us for loving Christ with a lukewarm love!
- (Revelation 3:15) I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
- (Revelation 3:16) So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
- (Revelation 3:17) 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.
- the Psalms show us how we could and should feel about God
- (Psalms 42:1) As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
- (Psalms 42:2) My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
- (Psalms 63:1) O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
- (Psalms 27:4) One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
- (Psalms 119:148) My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.
- when was the last time you stayed awake at night to meditate on God’s promises?
- how come we don’t feel passionately about God?
- why have we accepted a Christianity which says it’s okay to hunger for food, and it’s okay to cheer at a sports event, but don’t ever hunger for God and exuberantly worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?
- why have we separated emotion and passion and desire from the Christian life?
- if you’re like me, and you want to recapture this passion for God, I’m going to suggest three simple steps for you this morning:
- these steps come from the Christian author Jack Deere
- the first step is obvious: you cannot love someone or have a passion for someone you do not know
- like Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus while Martha rushed around, we must take time to get to know Jesus
- "The more we sit at his feet and listen to him, the better we will know him. And the more we know him, the better we will love him"
- we need to set aside a regular time for personal meditation in the Scriptures and prayer
- we must remind ourselves that the purpose of our devotions is not to learn facts, or to bring a shopping list to prayer, but to meet with a real Person
- "This Person speaks, guides, encourages, reveals, and convicts. He gets angry, and he forgives. We are capable of grieving him or making him rejoice" (Jack Deere)
- and we have come to meet with him
- listen: there is not one biblical hero who did not come into the presence of God on a regular basis
- follow Mary’s example and sit at the feet of Jesus
- you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner
- the second key to acquiring a passion for the Lord Jesus is this: remove the barriers between you and God
- in every relationship, from time to time, barriers are erected that disrupt the relationship for a time
- whenever we sin, that creates a barrier between us and the Lord
- only one thing can remove the barrier of sin between God and his disobedient children: the blood of Jesus Christ
- (1 John 1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
- (1 John 1:8) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
- (1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
- whenever we confess our sins, the guilt of that sin is taken away by the power of the blood of Christ
- so why do so are so many Christians weighed down by the guilt of sin?
- they don’t feel forgiven, or they’re scared to come back to God after sinning
- listen: remove the barriers between you and God
- come back to him in repentance, and accept the forgiveness he freely offers
- the third key is to ask God to grant you a passion for the Son of God more than you ask him for anything else
- in perhaps the greatest prayer in the Bible, the great high-priestly prayer of John 17, Jesus prays:
- (John 17:26) I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
- Jesus prayed that his disciples would love him like his heavenly Father loves him
- he wanted the love the Father has for him to be in his disciples
- how can this be possible?
- "The Father loves the Son more than anyone or anything else. He is devoted to the Son. His eyes never leave the Son. All that the Father does, he does for the Son. Jesus prayed that we would be driven by that same passion." (Jack Deere)
- we can paraphrase Jesus’ prayer and pray it like this:
- "Father, grant me power from the Holy Spirit to love the Son of God like you love him"
- pray it when you wake up; pray it during the day; pray it when you go to sleep
- ask that God would grant you a passion for the Son of God
- Jack Deere writes:
If you begin to pray this prayer on a regular basis, passion for the Son of God will start flowing into your heart. It may take you months, even years, before you notice a significant difference. In fact, you will probably never be able to point to the day or the hour when you began to be consumed with a passion for the Son of God, but others will notice. They will say you have changed; that you seem different. They will say there is a kindness, a gentleness in you they hadn’t noticed before. There is an infectious quality in your love for the Son of God that didn’t seem to be there before, and they will want to know what you have been doing.
- we only have a brief time on earth
- God has revealed himself to us in his wonderful attributes, and he has sent us his Son to die for our sins
- he was raised again to give us new life
- one day we will have to stand before the Lord to give account of our lives
- "How did you respond to the revelation I gave you?"
- we can respond by loving God with our entire being, asking that Jesus Christ would become the consuming passion of our lives
- we can have a relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
- why would you want to settle for anything else?
Don’t be passive about acquiring a passion for the Son of God. Make it the focus of your life. Put your eyes on the Son of God and leave them there (Hebrews 12:2), and you will find yourself becoming like him. You will find yourself falling with him as you ask God day after day to consume you with a passion for his glorious Son. And that passion, as it begins to occupy your heart, will conquer a thousand sins in your life. You will begin to love what he loves and hate what he hates.