Hello, I'm God! - Part A

The best way to learn about God is from God himself to to enter into a relationship with him and hear from him. What he says about himself. Moses does that. Moses grew up in his life. You learned about that as he was raised in Egypt but in the last few chapters he has had more intimate contact with God. Many people try to tackle the subject of God and is, we should hear about that from God himself today on connect with Skip Heitzig Skip explores God's autobiography in Scripture you know him even more personally. The first want to share about what you can you even more encouraging vital messages from Skip what I want you to know that because of support from listeners like you. Our media ministry is expanded our weekly half-hour TV program is continuing to grow. In addition to our weekend broadcast on the worldwide health song channel we are now being seen each week on the Trinity broadcasting network. Thank you for your donations that make this expansion even possible. It's a joy to see the teaching of God's word reach even more people there are other viewing details for health song and TVM lots connect with Skip pricing on a hillside channel on Saturdays at 4:30 PM Mountain orchids on TPN onset made at 5:30 AM Eastern. The certitude in mind here more solid Bible teaching from Skip now Exodus chapter 30 as we dive into our study with Skip Heitzig. There was an eight-year-old third-grader who was given the task of explaining God and he wrote a few paragraphs listen to one of them. He said one of God's main jobs is making people.

He makes these to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things here on earth. He doesn't make grown-ups just babies. I think that's because they're smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't take up his valuable time teaching them to walk and talk. He can just leave that up to the mothers and fathers, God, second most important job is listening to prayers and off a lot of this goes on as some people like preachers and things. Other times. Besides that time, God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV on account of this, as he hears everything not only prayers. There must be a terrible lot of noise going into his ears. Unless he has thought of a way to turn it off. One of the people pouring noise into the heirs of God was a man by the name of Moses who has a conversation with the Lord for a few chapters in the book of Exodus very intimate encounter with him and we pick it up in Exodus 34, when the Lord speaks to him a revelation of himself in verse five of Exodus 34 now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him. There and proclaimed the name of the Lord and the Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. So Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. I remember the night that I met my wife when you I saw her across the room, I noticed what she was wearing. I notice how pretty she was and I didn't talk to her and introduce myself but I remember that she came across a room, and she put out her hand and shook my hand and a was struck by the fact that she shook it so firmly and she said hi I'm Linea and I was the beginning of a very long and satisfying relationship turn into a marriage and the flame is still burning, but after that.

I remember calling her roommate or the girl who was about to be her roommate. She was going to move in with an eye, the Vanessa tell me about Linda tell me what is she like what is she like to do, etc. and then I finally said now give me her phone number, color, and escrow so I called her ass out, and on that first date. She told me about where she was born what she grew up doing told me about her testimony. How she came to Christ who told me about what she hoped to do and be in life when it comes to knowing God you can do a couple of things you can talk to people about God or get information about God from other people.

We do that we read books we read what an author says about God.

What I really like this author the way he writes about God or we listen to the lyrics of a song written by a Christian musician and it speaks to us assert my but at some point the best way to learn about God is from God himself to to enter into a relationship with him and hear from him.

What he says about himself. Moses does that. Moses grew up in Israelite. He knew he was a Jewish person.

He learned about that as he was raised in Egypt but in the last few chapters he has had more intimate contact with God and in the previous chapter he says God show me your glory and you remember God said what you can't see the full expression of my glory you'll die like a bug zapper we said last time you get too close to it. Should you just freak out. There's no way but he said I'm in the past by and you're going to see something about passing, but I am going to tell you about myself, to proclaim who I am to you and we can enter into that relationship.

As you learn more about me. So God's answer to Moses is not an appearance but a list of attributes theology lesson if you will.

God gives him words 51 words in my English translation and something about the passage that we just read. It happens to be one of the most important Bible passages in the entire Scripture. I know that because of how many times Old Testament Bible writers refer to Exodus 34 Moses later on will remind God of this incident that Takes Pl. in Exodus 34 when he intercedes for his people as they failed to take the promise land in numbers 13 Nehemiah will pull truths out of this passage as he confesses his sin in Nehemiah chapter 9 Jeremiah will quote this passage when he prays, facing the Babylonian captivity in Jeremiah 32 David will make reference to Exodus 34 in Psalm 103 in Psalm hundred and 45, and two minor prophets Joel and Jonah knew this passage by heart. They quoted it freely. Shades of this passage also appear in Deuteronomy chapter 5 first Kings chapter 3 Lamentations chapter 3 Daniel nine and Nahum chapter 3, so Bible authors clearly understood that Exodus 34 is a foundational statement about God, the answer is pretty clear as to why it's the only place God himself tells you what he is like it is God's autobiography now as we go through this little section that I just read that we just read together. I want you to notice a couple aspects about God's personality, his designation that is his name and his description as well as his expectation.

We begin with his name. His designation notice that God begins this little dialogue or this monologue at this point with Moses by introducing his name. He said in verse six the Lord, the Lord God, stop right there know when you meet somebody. The first thing you tell a person generally is their name.

Hi, I'm Linea you give your name so that people can identify you from that point onward. God is out with Moses the Lord, the Lord God in Hebrew, Yahweh.

Yahweh L by the way, it's the only place in Scripture where this precise formula occurs, Yahweh. Yahweh L word L that's a generic word for God found in the Old Testament. A somatic term. Even used to describe God's of other nations, but the word Yahweh is specific.

It means I am. I am, it's the name that God introduced himself to Moses with at the burning bush number when God spoke to Moses and said Moses are to be the deliverer of the children of Israel and Moses, or whether to say who sent you and I got it I got to get my name.

So what is your name and God said to him in Exodus 3 I am who I am and he said thus you shall say to the children of Israel.

I am has sent me to you.

He goes on to say this is mine name forever so he introduces himself with a name Yahweh. Yahweh LY twice my not just Yahweh wants why Yahweh. Yahweh is simply for emphasis to emphasize to Moses that the same God who called him in Exodus 3 is the one who was talking to him at that point.

Another words I am is the first person form of the Hebrew verb hi yacht, which means to be the name Yahweh is just the third person form of that were it means the self existent one Edwards God and depend on anybody for his existence. We depend on God for our existence. God depends on no one for his existence. So he is the self existent one also the name IM refers to his eternal nature. He is is not the great. I was is not the great.

I used to be.

He's I am his eternal also the name IM refers to his active existence. The verses show that God is involved in humanity. God is not aloof detaching us enough in heaven twiddling to some snoring and nobody sees nothing like is nothing was going on on the earth is very much involved.

He is right. That's what Hebrews that if you cannot come to God. The writer of Hebrews said, you must first believe that God is IM that I am and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him notice something look in your Bibles at the word Lord it's all in capitals right LORD know that's not always the way it is in the Old Testament sometimes is L small ORD but whenever you see all capitals capital LORD you're dealing with the name Yahweh are dealing with the word that is for consonants.

We would call it YH WH and we think it's pronounced Yahweh surrendered his Yahweh. I say we think because the Israelites at some point in their history felt it was better to avoid using the term Yahweh then chancing abusing the name of God so they just stopped saying that they thought human lips are our two sinful that even utter the name of God so they replaced the name Yahweh with the term Adonai, which is the mighty one or Lord capital L ORD so we think it's Yahweh I am that I am. That's what God introduces himself to Moses hi I'm God in the Bible. The idea of a name is and more is more than just a tag to identify a person on name carries a reputation mean somebody's character or somebody's authority. We are told to pray in Jesus name I come to the father using my reputation and my authority in the Hebrews believed that there is a connection between a person's name and a person's nature. By the way modern experts would agree. One psychologist study 15,000 juvenile delinquents discovered that those who had odd or embarrassing names got into trouble four times as much as other kids with more normal mix. Register the word of advice of your thinking of the goofiest name you can think that newborn coming up. Be careful there's a connection between name and nature are some real names like you do not doubt if you if you if you take a book and you really are loving the book that you're reading you call it, it's a real page turner user right but imagine being called page turner, and less sugar to be an author to be a tough name to carry around with you probably Artie liked Leo Tolstoy was a Russian author who wrote the famous book of war and peace, so the piece family decided they would call her son Warren were in peace, but the third one, that's a tough one took to live with. Though everybody loves bacon have your name Chris B. Bacon and if that's Kevin Bacon's idea who came up with that that be a tough nut back to the Bible when parents named their children in biblical times they would name their kids with the hope that their child would live up to the name so the name Judah means praise the ideas. I hope my child grows up, praise the Lord or the name Samuel means God hears. It's the hope that my son will grow up hearing the voice of the Lord and crying out to God and God will hear him when he does all of that.

That hope was built into the name sometimes parents named their children based upon the circumstances that were going on at the time of the birth so when Isaac and Rebekah had Jacob and Esau. Esau was born first and when he came out he he had a lot of hair on more than most babies. So they called him Harry that that's what they saw when the baby can wear babies very well become very networks and then the second son came out grabbing the heel of Esau, and they called him heel catcher that's with Jacob over Jacob means one who grabs the heel of another.

So these were named at the circumstances of the birth. Some people because of that sort of got a raw deal.

So one kid when he was born. It happened to be the exact same time that the ark of the covenant was being stolen by the Philistines, so Phineas and his wife had a baby boy and she called him Ichabod which means the glory has departed. That would be a tough name to go to school with.

What's your name glorious departed you live with that. Your whole life. But God's designation is Yahweh. I am that I am I am the eternal being the all self existent one then we have a list of words that describe God's personality. These are attributes of God and what I've done is I've categorized them into three categories benevolent attributes bountiful attributes and balanced attributes. Let's begin with the benevolent ones.

God says the Lord, the Lord God hears the first word merciful first word God wants you to know about himself is that he is merciful. Some translations say compassionate. The Hebrew root word refers to a mother's womb because it describes the feeling of a superior being for an inferior being like a parent for a child David in Psalm 103 said just as a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him to first attribute. God is gracious or sees me God is merciful God is compassionate.

I remember when we had our son Nate and I held him in my hands and I was so apprehensive about being a father, I just did know, however, I was going to manage never done before. So you know most as is he really scared about this young dads I discovered but I was like I was thinking how my going to love this baby so helpless. I've never done this before, but you know God gives the emotional equipment along with the child to the parents.

So I discovered this growing sense of compassion for this child and one time we were in a restaurant locally and my wife and I were eating lunch. We put our little baby Nate in a high chair. By the way, not all highchairs are created equal.

I discovered this was sort of a rickety one and when my son was arching his head back. He went backwards. The whole high chair fell backwards. He hit his head on a wooden floor in the restaurant. I just stood up and there was a surge of compassion. This emotional outburst that I wanted to protect this little child. So God looks on his people, much like parents look on their children knowing their limitations. David said God knows our frail frame and he remembers that we are dust, so attribute number one God is merciful.

Notice the next word is gracious word that is used 13 times in the Old Testament, it refers to the feeling of one stronger poor one who is weaker, almost always used of God is the subject when Jacob later on when he meets up with Esau again in Genesis 33 when Jacob wants to explain to Esau why he has such a big family and and and he is so wealthy and he has so many flocks and herds. He says, because the Lord has dealt graciously with me.

That's the word to use God's gracious in second Samuel 12 David son was near death and David fasted and prayed that God would spare his life, he says, who knows Yahweh may be gracious to me now you know if you know the Bible. The theme of grace goes throughout all of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, but it finds its fullness in the New Testament right John writes of the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. So grace find finds its full expression in the New Testament Charles Wright rewrites Christianity is distinct from all other religions because it is a message of grace God's undeserved favor Jesus Christ is the supreme revelation of God's grace. Salvation is by grace and grace governs and empowers Christian living without grace.

Christianity is nothing this what it means God treats you well.

Not because you are strong not because you are deserving God treat you well because you are not strong, you are not deserving so God is gracious, that Skip message from the series 2020 right now to share about an exciting resource to discover the power of prayer. Recent research is done that Google searches for the word prayer surged worldwide alongside the spread of the novel coronavirus Google trends data shows that the search intensity for prayer doubles for every 8000 2/19 Jesus, but is there a right way or a more effective way to bring just best-selling author King Arthur where the battle is raging were to be on the frontlines on the front lines on her knees on the front line standing in the full armor of God Chi's book, Lord, teach me to pray in 28 days offers simple but powerful instruction on how and what to pray and what to expect when you do, and it's on our way to say thank you when you give the gift of $25 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air. Give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer for 800-922-1888.

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Tune in tomorrow explains many of God's attributes giving you great and encouraging insight into God's character either Jesus takes the punishment for your sin before you do what you want you want to stand before God under I'm good with it. I'll take my chances dumb idea to sell like Jesus takes it for me and God is willing, ready so Skip presentation of connection communications to God's unchanging truth