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May 13, 2020 1:00 am
Jesus taught us to call God “Our Father.” In the Bible, God has revealed many names, but only one character: absolute holiness combined with infinite power, love, and justice. In this message, we’ll come to grips with “The Father We Worship.”
Click here to listen (Duration 25:02)One reason for us to Jesus longer. Remember, Jesus taught us to call him our father in the Bible God is any names, but only one character absolute holiness combined with infinite power, love and justice. The day will come to grips with the father we worship from the Moody Church in Chicago this morning when one looks or is clear sauce make it across the finish line.
Esther lutes or why is our concept of God so important, so important for us to view God correctly. To the extent we can know is I've studied the doctrine of God. I discovered that God is very very complex being all of the attributes that you have mentioned along with others, all residing in one being all acting together. Three persons, yet the Godhead is one and so as we come before the Lord. We are reminded of the fact that we are his people, and we should come to know him as far as we can in this life you have the ministry of running to win exists to help people make it across the finish line. And it's because of people like you are listeners that help us get this program to many different countries of the world would you consider becoming an endurance partner endurance partners are people who stand with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. If you might be interested, here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 thank you so much to the many of you who have joined the running to win the family now we go to the Moody church and begin our discussion of the father we worship.
It is often said that it is completely true that the most important thing about you is what you believe about God. Toes are said that, but today in America.
To say I believe in God is one of the most meaningless state that anyone possibly make and the reason is the word God is a canvas upon which people have been able to paint whatever culture they want, of the Almighty. So we have different God's all manufactured according to our image and our liking we have today, the God of my health and wealth he exists to make me happy.
I want you to be happy and God wants you to be rich and God wants you to be prosperous and healed. So there's that God that's out there. We have the God of my self authentication that's who God is God exist to make me feel better about myself. God is there to show me how valuable I really am. We have the God of my gender. We have female goddesses that people write about and talk about the God of my inner child. If you want to find God what you need to do is is to go deep within.
I don't know about you but when I go deep within I find the sin I don't find God.
And then there's the God of my near-death experience, the God of light who doesn't judge anybody and who allows everybody to go into heaven. There's that God and dozens of others. To quote again.
The words of Don McCullough, the worst sin of the church has been the trivialization of God. We preferred the illusion of a safer deity. We have paired dog down into manageable proportions.
Somebody said we have cows for milk.
We have sheep for wool and we have God to come along and to affirm our every craving. Is this the God that we worship. I think not.
But who is the father whom we worship. Who is this father who is this God and before I tell you about him. I have another question I have to ask you what is the purpose of your life. Anyway, is it to make a lot of money, to become relatively well-known to be able to have a really great retirement account and then in the end, I have cancer, which is what everybody seems to be doing. Is that really the purpose of life or is that somewhat higher than that. The Bible says this about us it says that we are a peculiar people. That's the King James and I kinda like it don't you think we are a little bit peculiar those of you are visiting. You may think that about us. It does mean special people and then it says that you should show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Those of you in the balcony who know Jesus as Savior.
Did you know that that's your calling and those of you on the lower floor and those of you are watching by means of the Internet or listening on the radio. Did you know that as a Christian, your purpose is to show forth the excellencies of God and make God look good in the presence of a very, very skeptical. So what I'm going to do in the next few moments is to show you how every attribute of God that our response to that attribute enables us to show forth the excellencies of God. Everything that you learn about God's transforming sometimes a series like this is thought to belong to the theologians, could I speak candidate and tell you that theology is too important to leave with the theologians because theology God is completely transforming. So let's just dig right now without any more ado. The first attribute I'd like to introduce you to of this father whom we worship is self existence, self existence, Exodus chapter 3 verse 14 God says to Moses, I am that I am I exists because I exist and I am who I am and not who you want me to be Psalm 90, verse two, from everlasting to everlasting lowered God his E turn Alateen and self existence while did you know that God always existed.
God is the uncaused cause nobody created God. He was always there. Now you can't get your mind around that there been moments when I meditated on it and it seems as if it your mind just goes to the edge and then you pull back and say Lord I can't go any further because everything that I know at the beginning to think that God always was, well, that's the answer. God always what I can prove to you logically that it is so because all of us know that I would have nothing follow this carefully.
Now, if you've just been have to give it the full blast here okay out of nothing, nothing comes if there were nothing in eternity past, there'd be nothing today because out of nothing, nothing comes the fact that you are in existence or something exists means that there was something that always existed and was not created because you can create anything out of nothing to God always has existed, you know, the scientists who say and time magazine had an article about this. Not too long ago, you know that the stars were formed so many billions of years ago. Thank you very much word all that stuff come from in the first place did nothing, create nothing, no, something created and that something has to be of necessity, uncreated. The self existence of God is how do we show forth that excellency. While we do, my friend, because once we understand this, we realize that God is the only independent being in the universe. All of us are dependent anything that we have is derived. It is not intrinsic to us. God is the independent being, and since the fall, man has always wanted to be in the pen.
That's our biggest struggle is to submit to God because sin says I'm my own God and others. Beautiful babies that we just dedicated a few weeks ago a few weeks ago few moments ago, I should say say to God thousand years as a day and a day know those babies which is dedicated, sweet as they were all boys you could give them little T-shirts the moment they were born and the T-shirt would say worship me and will get along just fine and there are some adults who don't outgrow that T-shirt. You see there's something within us that says what we want to do is to is to be our own God.
We are dependent, and how does that work itself out in our lives. First of all, we are all humble people. A proud Christian is a contradiction in terms. It's a square circle. How could you possibly be proud of anything to make it the two differ from another or what is now that that was not received and if I was to receive that widest glory. As if thou hast received did not. We don't take any credit for what God does to us because we know who we are.
We are very dependent and we are a very thankful people thankful for the least of God's mercies because we know that we are undeserving we bring nothing to the table except our great need and we come to God who is the only independent being in the universe we come with helpless and broken dependency and we make God look good and show his excellencies to a skeptical look at a second attribute holiness. The opening chapters of Isaiah, he pronounces six woes low to the drunkards go to the people who cheat widow spoke to the people who are dishonest in their gains and in their dealings. Well hello hello and you think well utilizing got 67 is the perfect number where's the seventh bowl that's in chapter 6 where he sees God then he says whoa knee whoa is me because he seen the holiness of God. You see when we understand the holiness of God. We are not now quick to judge others because when we see other people said we know they were capable of doing the very same thing so when we do judge, and sometimes it's necessary we do it with a heavy heart because we know no, we know that in the presence of God.
We are all sinners and world saying whoa is me so we are very careful in what we say and also because we know God is holy. We actually hate sin and love righteousness, and when we love Sam as sometimes we as Christians do. God rebukes us and God begins to work in our lives in such a way that we begin to hate iniquity and love righteousness because God is righteous and his Holiness reminds of what that standard is and God works in our heart to love of holiness that we didn't have before and it has to come from God because that's not something you and I generate just by going to church the holiness of God. Third, you have the wisdom of God the wisdom of God. Romans 1133.
The passage that I hope someday to preach a series of messages on all the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out who's known the mind of the Lord who's been his counselor for Scott ever get his angels together and say Michael teach me a little bit of philosophy because I'm weak in that area.
Scott ever ask anybody for counsel's knowledge is innate. His knowledge is immediate and his knowledge is exhaustive and he's got it all and he is a very wise God.
He can see around corners like you and I can't and as a result of that, we trust him. We are at trusting people. We don't trust many human beings because we been disappointed. Too often, but but we trust God couple of months ago I was walking in the forest preserve with my five-year-old grandson Samuel. We decided to go off the beaten track and take a different trail that led beside the river and I had an idea as to where the trail would come out and then we came out of nowhere on the beat track on the way home and we got to the point where we had turned on the fork of that wrote sentences probably go this way. I say no honey, you don't go that way. Pop this is the way, no Samuel, we don't go that way. I think you're wrong Papa know I'm sorry you follow me, I said you trust me and this little boy said yeah but it's so hard to trust Papa and I was in a place this is the forest preserve where I walk regularly and I was in a place that I had been probably on times, I knew exactly where we were, but little Samuel was saying it so hard to trust Papa and I had to myself, you know, God's been down the road that you and I are concerned about God's been down that road, as we shall see in a moment. But you see, because he is a wise God.
We are a trusting people.
We actually believe that God's way is best.
And so we entrust our way to God and we live with that sense of anticipation and dependence on his wisdom and where praying people because we don't know that we have enough wisdom to live in this we know that and so we cry up to God and say what shall we do and we expect them to answer because he alone answers and then we are a wise people were not caught up with all of the trappings of the world cannot be forgiven if I were to tell you that I don't really know who in the world. Jessica and Nick are and would be okay if I were to tell you I don't really care whether they're dating whether there divorced, how many times they been married or whatever they're doing, that there are no more important than other couples that I know in my mind are not nearly as important.
I have no idea why there on all of these newspaper covers and magazines who Jessica and Nick, what have they done for society. I have no clue. Maybe they done wonderful things. Is it okay if I were to tell you that the baby was born to Tom Cruise. While this publicity is that baby that he and his girlfriend had any more important than any other baby that was born in Cook County this week to two unmarried parents.
Is it any more important. I don't think so or to married parents as far as that's concerned. It's okay if I tell you that I don't know the name of his girlfriend now. After that, I expect to be arrested and hauled into court and politically correct court charged with cultural insensitivity. Christians know the difference between food and trash all right. They are not seduced by the values of this world. Why, because we know that God's wisdom and we are wise people we know the difference between time and eternity. And we know that eternity is longer than time and we live that out in our values and her lifestyle.
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, thou remain this, they shall wax old as doth a garment and as a vesture. Thou shalt roll them up and they shall be changed by power at the saying that thy years shall not fail one tenant following Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever. The motto here at the Moody church. I am the Lord, and I change not.
And you know my friends when we think about the faithfulness of God. I'm reminded of the fact that Rebecca and his celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary recently and we have an interview that was done and the purpose of this interview is to encourage you in your own marriage and if you're not married, it will still be a celebration of God's faithfulness and a reminder of the fact that God is faithful no matter where we find ourselves or if you're divorced once again.
But we tried to do in this interview is to point to the fact that we are believing in a God who can be trusted. If you want to know more about our story. You can ask for the story of our marriage. 50 years of God's faithfulness, you'll discover how we met some of our trials.
Some of our blessings all of that for a gift of any amount you can go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for the story of our marriage. 50 years of God's faithfulness how he helps us how he guides us, directs us RTW offer.com or call us 1-888-218-9337 it's time again for you to ask pastor looks or a question you may have about the Bible or the Christian life.
Today's question comes to us from Texas from Christina. She writes I feel I am very ineffective at prayer in just a few days ago a passage of Scripture struck me in a way that gave me pause. I was reading in Matthew chapter 21 in this verse jumped out at me. Truly I say to you. If you have faith and do not doubt you will say to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea, and it will happen and whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive. If you have faith. I know God can do anything, but I doubt because I also know that he does only what he wants. That is what is divine will is I'm not so bold as to presume that my prayer will change his mind.
I've been praying for someone who was seriously ill because I don't know God's will. My prayer is vague if it's not God's will for this person to be healed, then he won't be healed, no matter how much I pray it seems to me like a self-defeating circle. Well Christina, I've been sitting here listening as Dave McAllister is been reading your question to me and wondering exactly how to answer because I could give you a very long answer to many excellent questions that you've embedded in your letter, but just a couple of comments. First of all, when Jesus said if you have faith you can move this mountain from here to there. Obviously, he is using hyperbole he just means to say that faith can do mighty things, and why is it that he goes on to say that if we ask in faith without doubting will receive it well. In cases like that. It appears to me that God shares with us what he intends to do and therefore when we begin to pray we are, in effect, praying his will back to him. There are instances like this in Scripture, and of course at a time like that you can really pray in faith because God is granting you the faith and the ability to know that this is his will. Now the other question regarding your friend who's sick and the whole matter of the will of God. There times when we don't know God's will, and we can't pray with great faith that God is going to heal someone, but we should pray for that person and we should commit them to God in something like Jesus in Gethsemane. Father, if it is your will let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will but is you will.
That's the bottom line for every growing Christian let God's will be done, but we do bring our petitions to him like the apostle Paul says very clearly. He says you know that we come before God we bring our cares before him, and the peace of God which passes all understanding keeps our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ and therefore we should come with all of our petitions, but there's finally I do need to add this you say that you would not presume that you could change God's mind. Well that might be true because that we don't know what God's mind is but remember this, Christina prayer changes things.
It may not change God's mind in the sense that you and I think of it, but prayer changes things your prayer might under the divine will of God make a huge and lasting difference.
Keep praying. Keep praying. Keep seeking and you'll grow in faith. And who knows but you may even see some miracles. Thank you Dr. Luther if you'd like to hear your question answered. You can go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask pastor looks or or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. How can one describe God. How can one describe anything infinite.
The best we can do is to list his attributes when certain is teaching about the father we worship he's doing that by giving us the primary qualities God has these qualities open the door of understanding door thing us catch a glimpse of his greatness as well as his grace. Next time I'm running to win that door will open for you for Dr. Erwin will certain this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the move nature