Who is God? 4

In our consideration of who God is, we have seen who he says he is, what the Bible reveals as his nature & character, and who his actions and works reveal him to be. This week we will be considering the last parameter, who people say he is.

Now the comments/opinions of people about you do not really define you, but what those close to you say about you is a good enough approximation. Let us hear from six persons who knew God in scripture what they have to say about God.

1. The first person and indeed the last person we will hear from is God in human form, Jesus Christ. His testimony of God is the most crucial as he alone came down from heaven and has seen the Father. And we know that his testimony is true.

But the time is coming—indeed it's here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit & in truth. John 4:23

2. Abraham: the friend of God

And Abraham came close and said, Will You destroy the righteous (those upright and in right standing with God) together with the wicked?... Far be it from You to do such a thing--to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as do the wicked! Gen 18:23

Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth execute judgment and do righteously? Gen 18:25

3. Moses: the servant of God who spoke with God face to face

He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes. Duet 10:21

But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him... For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made... Duet 4:29-31

4. David: the man after God's heart* David has a lot to say about God, he wrote 73 chapters of the book of Psalms after all. (No, he didn't write D whole of Psalms)

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. 

Psalm 103, 11-14

5. John the beloved: the only Apostle of the lamb that was not and could not be killed. (he came out unscathed from hot frying oil)

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 1John 1:5

Because God [is] love--so you can't know him if you don't love... (John 4:9) God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.1John 4:17

6. Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles Paul with the help of the Spirit wrote the most books in the Bible.

 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. "His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist... Acts 17:26-27

For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead. Acts 17:31

7. Jesus the image of the invisible God He is the final authority.

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike… Matt 5:44-45

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible. Matt 19:26 

The Father and I are one. John 10:30.

Who is God? 3

 In our consideration of who God is, we have seen who he says he is and what the Bible reveals as his nature & character. 

This week we will be considering his actions & works. 

How does his actions align with his revealed nature.

Now, it is often inaccurate to define a person by one action, but a body of actions presents a correct representation of the person and as Jesus said "by their fruits you shall know them"

So what do God's actions and works reveal about him?

1. His works are good

God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning--Day Six. Genesis 1.31

2. He has made provisions available before you need them

GOD said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion."... Genesis 2.18

GOD put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. GOD then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man. The Man said, "Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man." Genesis 2. 21-23

3. He is merciful even in judgment

And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife... Genesis 3.21

Cain replied to the Lord, "My punishment is too great for me to bear!... Genesis 14.13

Anyone who finds me will kill me!" The Lord replied, "No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him. Genesis 14.15

4. He is a just God

GOD said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds--the works. I'm sorry I made them." But Noah was different. GOD liked what he saw in Noah. Gen 6.7-8

5. He restores times and lost opportunities

After Job had interceded for his friends, GOD restored his fortune--and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble GOD had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts. GOD blessed Job's later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. 

He also had seven sons and three daughters. Job 42.10-13

6. He attends to our call for help and mercy

Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please don't be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?" And the Lord replied, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."... Gen 18.32

"All right," the angel said, "I will grant your request. 

I will not destroy the little village. But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there."... Gen 19.21-23

But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. *Gen 19.29*

7. *He loves us and gave his son for our salvation*

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. *John 3.16*

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? *Romans 8.31-32*

God's Character and Nature

This is the second parameter we will be considering in knowing who God is.

What has scriptures said about the character and nature of God?

1. Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1John vs 6-7

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. IJohn4 vs 16-17

2. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, *for our "God is a consuming fire. Heb12 vs 29

3. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, LORD, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Ps36 vs 6-7

They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. Ps38 vs 8-10

4. This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him. If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth--we're not [living] what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin. 1John1 vs 5-7

5. But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Look down and have mercy on me. Give your strength to your servant; save me, the son of your servant. Ps86 vs 15-16

6. For no one on earth—from east or west, or even from the wilderness— can raise another person up. 

It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall. 

For the LORD holds a cup in his hand; it is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours the wine out in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs. But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done;... For God says, "I will cut off the strength of the wicked, but I will increase the power of the godly." Ps75 vs 6-10

7. "You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Matt7 vs 9-11

Who Is God? 1

This is the first and perhaps most important topic to consider because God is at the center of it all for in him we live, move and have our being. 

How do you know who a person truly is? I believe there are four parameters to consider in answering this The four parameters are :

1. Who he says he is

2. His character and nature

3. His actions and works

4. Who people say he is.

This week, we will be considering who God says he is. 

Let us hear who God says he is from his own mouth. Let God introduce himself. 

Who God Say He Is 

1. The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, "Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness  I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations." *Exo 34, verses 6- 7* 

2. And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you! Exo 13, verses 13 - 14.

3. GOD's Message: "Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don't let heroes brag of their exploits. Don't let the rich brag of their riches. If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you understand and know me. I'm GOD, and I act in loyal love. I do what's right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks." GOD's Decree. *Jere 9, verses 23 - 25*

4. I am GOD--yes, I AM. I haven't changed. And because I haven't changed, you, the descendants of Jacob, haven't been destroyed. *Mal 3 verse 6*

5. "I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end," says the Lord God. "I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One." Rev 22 verse 13

6. I and the Father are one. *John 10.30*

7Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. *John 14 verses 9 - 10*

False Testimonies!

Gen 27:20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.

You know it's easy to make the statement Jacob made before his father Isaac when things turn out fine for us. Everybody likes it and it's already a cliche, "na God o!" But Jacob was in the real sense lying. He and his mother had worked out a plan to steal the blessing of Esau his brother from their aged father. All their plans before now had worked out well, but Isaac was surprised that his "Esau" returned early that day, so he needed to ask and be sure.

Anyone who came in just when Jacob made that statement would see nothing bad in what he said. In fact, some would see him as a pious person. So let me ask you, have you seen someone whom you know very well that acquired something wrongly either by stealing or by a false means come out boldly to the public and testify how God brought that gift to them? The way you feel is exactly how I am feeling reading about what Jacob did here.

A lot of people go all out and do all sort to make wealth, not minding the negative effect of their actions on others then to appear nice before people, they say God did it for them. And it's not that God can't do such things, but don't use God to cover up your evil deeds. Don't be quick to raise your hands to share testimony in church that God blessed your family with a new car when you defrauded your company to buy it.

God is not interested in such honour. God wants to take all the glory in our lives but not this type. He loves to be exalted but not when we know this didn't come from him. He loves sincere worship and praise not just from the big things that happen in our lives, but also from seemingly insignificant events in our lives. Therefore next time you are tempted to share a "testimony", or say, "it's by the grace of God" be sure the Lord is the one that did it, and not yourself. 

Lead with Compassion

Rom 12:1 CPDV And so, I beg you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, with the subservience of your mind.

In Paul's style of introducing Christian believers to how they should conduct themselves in their daily living, he starts by begging them to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Doesn't it appear odd to you? I must confess, it took me a while after reading this verse over and over again to see this truth. I also understand that because of our different biblical leanings, we might see it differently, so I will explain. 

I will start by asking you when last you heard a sermon in church begging you to live up to your status as a believer or a message about eternity that admonished you to keep standing in Christ and the preacher was practically begging you to make it your top priority. I am almost certain that if Paul the Apostle were to be preaching this verse as a sermon in the church in Rome, he would most likely be on his knees urging them while also showing them the importance. 

How would you feel seeing your Pastor on his knees begging you to do God's will, not his personal standard or obligations, but to live indeed as Christians during his sermon? I am so sure even if you forget the topic that day, the graphics of the message won't be lost. Instead what is common is using the fear of hell to make believers live right. 

I also personally believe there is a leadership principle we can learn here. It's not all the time commanding and ordering people because they are "under" us and we are their leaders or superiors so we dole out commandments for them. Many times this doesn't work because people have a mind of their own and what is in their heart to do is really what they will eventually do, it doesn't matter what you say. Maybe you have not realised, the reason why anyone will follow you headlong is most likely because of their paycheck or favour they have received or will receive from you.

The whole essence of my story today is to make you realize there is another way to get people do what you want them to do without forcing or raising your voice. Maybe it's time you considered urging them instead as an alternative to shouting that has not proved to be effective. Whenever I try to correct someone and this person still goes ahead to do the wrong thing the next time, I like to believe I probably didn't pass my message well to this person and try to be better next time.

I know it's not culturally a norm for a senior to plead with their juniors to get a task done, the usual mentality is to use the age difference as a point to get them to work, but you will soon realise with your own relationship with your seniors that it doesn't always work well. Next time you want to reach out to someone to get something done, instead of going through the bossy route, try a more compassionate way and make them see reasons with you.

Faithful Men

2King 12:15 Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.

One of the definitions of being faithful I like a lot is: “reliable; worthy of trust". This means that you can be relied upon, trusted to do something or given privileged access without a second thought. This is one of the most sought virtues today. 

In the Bible passage above, money was needed for the repairs of the Temple so, the high priest created a means for people who visited the temple to contribute towards it. As soon as enough money was raised, it was handed over to work supervisors who in turn payed the workers their wages.

Giving that the most sacred place to work then was in the temple, the supervisors must have had a reputation for their expertise and faithfulness, even with respect to money, for them to have been chosen to oversee the repair. They, in turn, made sure the money was used for what it was meant for. 

Money matters has caused a lot of fight and bitterness among people, close relatives and even believers. But it doesn't matter how corrupt the world might be, there will always be people who stand out at what they do because they are trustworthy like these supervisors.

Many times, faithfulness is all that is needed to open doors that have been shut to more skillful people. They will keep getting referrals from those who were pleased working with them in the past that they will not easily run out of new businesses.

I am sure those supervisors weren't the only ones who could perform such duties excellently in the whole nation of Israel at the time, but they were the ones chosen and called. In some instances, you find people who are gifted or skilled and believe that is all there is. So, they don't mind lying, cutting corners, stealing or cheating others just to find a way for themselves. This has made faithful people to be held in high esteem because they possess valuable virtues above the skills they have. 

We can all be born again but God will only entrust things of immense value into the hands of his children who have shown themselves reliable. You know not everyone is allowed to count money in church even when they are all saved. You might be believing God for something great not knowing God is waiting to see how reliable you are. If you do a self-appraisal and no one can vouch for you, then it means it's time for you to pay attention to this virtue and make it bud in you.