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May 14, 2020 1:00 am
How can one describe God? How can one describe anything infinite? The best we can do is to list His attributes. These open a door of understanding, a door that lets us catch a glimpse of His greatness as well as His grace.
Click here to listen (Duration 25:02)Looking to Jesus in perfect or how can one describe God. How can one describe anything. The best we can do is to list his attributes. These qualities open door of understanding the door lets us catch a glimpse of his greatness as well as his grace from the Moody Church in Chicago. This is with Dr. Irwin, Sir, whose clear teaching make it across the finish line. Estimates are as you teach today will be listing more of God's attributes remind us of the attributes you've already explained what you know date.
We've talked about the fact that God is faithful. We've spoken about his and affinity's immutability and now were going to be talking about other attributes, but I need to emphasize this we as human beings can know God truly, but we can never know him fully in my desire and I hope yours as well is that we know him to the best of our ability in this life and of course we will learn more about him in the life to come. I like to concentrate on the faithfulness of God. The faithfulness of God in his promises to us recently. Rebecca and I celebrated 50 years of marriage, and as we did that we recounted God's faithfulness in the midst of struggles, like all marriages hours hasn't been a perfect marriage.
We've had our disagreements. We've had our times of struggle, but in the end God has brought us through. I think that our story will be an encouragement to you if you'd be interested in this interview. It's entitled the story of our marriage. 50 years of God's faithfulness. It's really a window into the Luther home.
Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 for a gift of any amount. It can be yours.
The story of our marriage.
50 years of God's faithfulness and that we go to the pulpit of Moody church were we continue our study of the father, whom we worship God is wise. Number four. Immutability immutability means that God is unchanging thou, Lord, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the works of thy hands they shall perish. Valerie manus, they shall wax old as doth a garment and is a vesture, thou shalt roll them up and they shall be changed by power at the same and I years shall not fail one tenant following Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever.
The model here at the Moody church. I am the Lord, and I change not.
What's the first thing you say to your mate after you been gone all day you say something like this. I don't you. How are you doing please don't ever ask God. I know somebody used to say God are you doing this morning that just plain silly.
How is God doing is doing very well thank you very very much and he's doing just as well as he did yesterday morning I write. He hasn't learned anything since yesterday he hasn't forgotten anything since yesterday. He's no less in control today as he was in control yesterday and he is the Lord.
Any changes not immutability. God exists outside of time, but he recognizes time jerk prophets prophesied he recognizes days and months and years in our existence, but he sees everything as having already been completed. Because he is immutable he learns nothing. If he were to change what it be for the better. Unthinkable because he's already absolute perfection. What he change for the worse, thinkable God would do that so God is the same, even though you and I aren't and as a result of that time goes by.
Our lives go by. God gives consistency to history because he's always here and he's always immutable. So how do we live out that excellency before a skeptical world. We are now at people who live with less stress because we recognize that because God is immutable you know tomorrow that you're worried about that relationship that you have to give to God or else even be more worried about you realize of course that God is already lived your tomorrow is already lived your tomorrow is already lived last week. He already knows what is going to be set at your funeral all those nice things that we say it people's funerals, all of which I'm sure is true, but but everybody get something I said about at a time like that… Knows all that already, so why should you and I be so anxious about tomorrow are not two sparrows sold for farthing and get your father feeds are you not have much more value than they got your immutable you don't change. We sang moments ago. Great is thy faithfulness and you'll be here after we leave and after other people take over in the leadership of this church and after other people use our new Christian life center, and we've passed on off the scene, God will be there God will be converting changing people's hearts doing his work. The immutability of God.
The weight of the world is on his shoulders. He can handle your particular need the sovereignty of God, we could talk about the fact that we are loved we are loving people because we been forgiven. We are a forgiving people. But let me hurry on to sovereignty. God is sovereign.
I love it. Psalm 115 verse three, but our God is in the heaven is done whatsoever. He has please nobody tells God what to do. Nobody has suggestions to make to him.
He is God and he is sovereign and he proved that when he decided to create the moment he created.
He knew about sin he knew about all the dominoes that were being set up that would take place throughout history. He knew about you and me about her failures and sins, and there is nothing that you and I have done or could do in the future that would catch him offguard and it safe why on on second thought, I don't know why save so-and-so because just look at this. None of that for God is sovereign.
He created and also he redeemed is that big huge God redeemed sovereignly working out the details of Jesus Christ death, choosing us to belong to him. All of that is under his control.
If God doesn't approve a fly doesn't move the very hairs of your head is numbered and as I look across the auditorium. I see that God has less and less to worry about as he counts the hair of some of you, myself included. Every time you wash your hair and you see various hair in the sink God's total just completely changed the whole computer just goes berserk for a minute and there's a brand-new total never thought of the absolute detail of God sovereignty. Somebody said well is God big or small, depends on how you want to calculate it because he is vague and he inhabits the heavens. Solomon said the heaven of heavens cannot contain the how much less this house that I have built and yet the Bible says in Isaiah and it's confirmed many times in the New Testament that God's greatness is chosen to dwell in the hearts of those who believe in his son what God we worship what I God we believe in and trust. Now all of that leads us to the question of worship. I want you to come with me to a remote village want you to be introduced to a woman. She was a woman who had a series of bad marriages. Five. As a matter of fact, and when she was living with the six man. She decided to do that because after all, to be married again would just be a charade. Why even go through the act. Just simply live common law. That's what you did most of the women in her village would go to fetch water at the local well and they would do that usually early in the morning before got to hot but very probably, they didn't want her long because after all, she had a really bad reputation, and there are some people you know who can handle people who have bad reputations, so she came alone at noon, and she met a stranger at the well, and he said give me to drink and she said how is it that you being a Jew asked drink of the which of them woman of Samaria is what you know is actually your task. I could give you living water. Oh, she said, give that to me so I don't have to come here and draw day after day. Then he said to her.
Hey, go, call your husband and come here.
She says that I don't have a husband telling the truth after manner of speaking, you had five of them and the man that your living with isn't your husband so you are being truthful, which may show. By the way that God doesn't accept common-law marriages. He says that she says you must know more than most people that you know when the Messiah comes to tell you to tell us everything and Jesus looks at utterances I speak onto the and he first person in the Gospel of John, to whom he revealed his Messiah ship fallen despised woman who had nothing but a history of failure in her life you're talking to Messiah. She said well she said you know, our fathers worshiped in this mountain mount terrorism fact they altar was actually found there by archaeologists. A number of years ago but she says that you say that Jerusalem is the place where we ought to worship Jesus said, let's get this straight. Two things about worship.
First of all, it's not a matter of place. The time is coming and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the father in spirit and truth.
It's not a matter of place it doesn't happen just because you're in a temple and it doesn't happen just because you're in a church. It doesn't happen just because you're singing the right songs and at Moody church. We know that you're singing the right songs because we choose them doesn't necessarily happen. No, no, no, it's a matter of spirit. It's a matter of heart.
It's a matter of bringing yourself into the presence of God. It's a matter of that doing that. Jesus said well did Isaiah speak about you and say that this people they honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me you can be here today and have some of the songs and listen to the sermon and have heard the prayer in your heart far far from two Jesus said to clarifications. First of all, it isn't a matter of location so matter fact, if you don't worship God at home. It is very doubtful, perhaps impossible for you to worship when we come to church so it's a matter Jesus said of heart. Secondly, Jesus said it is also a matter of truthfulness and honesty. When we come before God.
This is not the time for hypocrisy. This is not the time. You know, when you put the right spin on it were coming into the presence of the sovereign, immutable, all knowing, holy, self existent God and he knows more things about you, then you know about your self. He knows the number of grains of sand that were on your shoes when you came to.
That's how exacting his knowledge is so we come into that presence and we open our lives and we say God my life is an open book to you. Walk through every room, show me what you see.
Search me oh God, and know my heart because you already know it been finally I have the nerve to invite you in, and let you look around. Jesus is talking to this woman is talking to somebody who hasn't amounted to anything so far as this world is concerned, and then he throws this bombshell on her.
He says the father is seeking such to worship.
He sang woman in the eyes of the world you been a failure of the fathers looking for people like you to worship him. The fathers on the hunt.
Why does he go to the rich, rich, often times not always, but often times are self self absorbed that they do they really need God. Why does he go to the famous people listen to famous people around the covers of the magazines are not looking for a God to worship their looking for worshipers goes to the lowly contrite the people who know that they are sinners. The people who know that they need grace.
The people who have not been a success and he goes really to all of us whether all of those descriptions belong to us or not, but it is almost impossible to develop fervent worshipers in an affluent society because we have so many things that satisfy our appetites temporarily, but the real needy, the ones who are desperate for whom success has passed by. They often times are the best worshipers and they delight the heart of the father, the self existent father. The holy father the all-knowing wise father. They delight that holy father yes they delight the sovereign, because that's what he's looking success as we generally think of it is not open to everyone.
Being a worshiper of God is so when we come into the sanctuary at Moody church on Sunday morning. We know that we are leaving the profane and were coming into the sacred. We know that we are leaving earth for a little taste of heaven. And we know that we're making God look good, because we worship well in the eyes of others and most of all. Hopefully, in the eyes of God, and we proclaim his excellencies, not just by words but also by heart. We come plan. We come with our consciences silenced because of forgiveness and repentance and we come with her. I on God.
I hope that's one of the reasons the primary reason why you come to Moody church in your worship doesn't and when the singing is over.
It continues through prayer, through our gift I mean imagine coming to God and and bringing him nothing. It continues through the message and we leave saying the transforming moment of my life has just happened. Time this week I have beheld the Almighty and he has my heart. Will you join me as we pray father we ask in the name of Jesus, that we might understand the father whom we worship.
We pray father that we might love him, adore him, give him all that we have and worship him in spirit and in truth.
Now right now were going to have a few moments of silence and I want you to talk to God of God's talk to you if it's a conscience. The troubles you, would you confess that sin and promise that that sin will be taken care of if it's a divided heart confess that let's come into the presence of God and let us do business, as it were with him who is monitoring every single thought. Right now, looking scanning for worshipers. Will this is Pastor Luther is wonderful that we have the opportunity of worshiping God you know in our marriage. Rebecca and I have worship God independently. We oftentimes worship God together in our home but we've also had her struggles there been times. I'm sure that as we encounter difficulties of relationship and differences of opinion. It's been difficult, but it's also been a tremendous blessing is God's helped us and we have seen his faithfulness every step of the way. Would you like to know more about our story. What we were interviewed. It's called the story of our marriage. 50 years of God's faithfulness for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 it's time again for another chance for you to ask pastor votes are a question about the Bible or the Christian life.
Today's question comes to us from Alex who lives in Connecticut. Here's a story although I was raised a Roman Catholic, I was saved and ended up joining the Baptist Church, which I later found out was a fundamentalist church. I didn't even understand what that meant. At first, but eventually found myself walking on egg cells in the midst of the fundamentalists and in some ways worse off than when I was a Catholic I am studying for the ministry and feel a strong call to it. But when I wanted to marry a divorced woman. This church objected, they advised me to find another woman. I have tried to rationalize my engagements because my fiancé has strong reasons to believe that when she was still married her former husband was cheating but there is no real proof and she is unwilling to find out. There certainly is no shortage of sin around Christ died that we might live.
Despite our sins my fundamentalist church says that an elder or pastor should never have been divorced or married to a divorced woman based on first Timothy and Titus, but since I have never been divorced, myself, and she will be my only wife. Don't I meet the qualification to be the husband of one wife, as the Scripture says what I be sending and therefore an adulterer if I marry her and if I do marry her. Should I not try to enter the ministry.
Well Alex, you have asked many questions like to begin by saying that there could be worse things than attending a fundamentalist stick church as you described it in a fundamentalism itself is usually a defense of the Scripture.
It is usually you find churches that love God's word and preach the gospel but some of them yes it's true become legalistic and that is a danger, isn't it. Now, in your case, however, I'd like to suggest that Tim to marry a woman who's been divorced. I don't think that that would disqualify you based on what the Bible says in Titus and in Timothy because there it does say that you should only be the husband of one wife, but since you have not been previously married, you are indeed the husband of one wife, whether she was divorced or not. But the more fundamental question is this.
Should you marry her.
When you marry her, would you commit adultery. Now you say in your letter that she is not willing to investigate her former husband that strikes me as a little strange because why wouldn't she be willing to has he been married if he has been married then in my mind that bond would be broken and you would be free to marry her. Perhaps he is living with someone, it seems to me that it would be worthwhile to investigate that fact then you asked the question of whether or not you can enter the ministry. Well it depends, of course. And what denomination and what church there's some denominations that have no rules at all and so they would indeed welcome you, no doubt with open arms into the ministry. I cannot answer that question because of the difference of opinions but getting back to the bottom line.
I believe that if you marry her and her divorce was not legitimate in God's eyes. You may indeed be committing adultery.
And that's tough news, but I suggest that you do some investigation regarding her former husband, and then based on wise counsel. You make your decision. I pray that God will give you both the grace and the strength to choose wisely. This is a huge decision and it does not have a simple answer. Thank you Dr. Luther for that answer if you'd like to hear your question answered. You can go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask pastor Luther or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337.
You can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. God is so vast and incomprehensible that in less direct action would never understand him in a meaningful sense that action 2000 years ago when Jesus appeared on her.
The Bible reveals that Jesus is the son of God and that all the fullness of God dwells in him now to see what God is all about. All we need do is look at Jesus. Next time I'm going to win will take that look a look at the sun we followed. Thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin lutes are this is Dave, how was going to win his sponsor by the nature