The Pre-Eminence of God - Holy One of Israel Part 11

We are involved in a series of messages entitled the holy one of Israel. But before we go on this morning and talk about our next attribute of God number 11. I want to tell you that this is the final message in the series and so before we actually dig into that attribute. I, like to make a few summary comments. If I may about the whole series you know Jeremiah chapter 9 says, verse 23 thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom or the strong man boasted his strength or the rich man boasted is well but let him who boasts boast about this that he knows and he understands me.

Now that's what this series of messages has attempted to be all about. That is, namely, we haven't been focusing in on the series so much on what God does. We've really been trying to look at and learn who God is, because I don't miss this my friends because everything that God does is a direct and a linear consequence of who God is.

Let me repeat that everything that God does is a direct and linear consequence of who God is.

Or to put it another way, God always acts incomplete consistency with who God is and therefore as followers of Christ as we begin to understand who God really is.

As we begin to understand God's character we begin to understand better why God does what he does and I like to go a step beyond that, even say is we really begin to understand who God is. We can even reach the place where we can begin to anticipate we can begin to almost predict if you will what God is going to do in a given situation because we know who God is in Ceylon. It sounds strange to me know it isn't. There are people you know in this world so well your husband, your wife, your children, your parents, some friend you know them so well that if someone tells you what kind of situation that person is going to be thrust into with almost perfect accuracy.

You can tell me what that person is going to say and how that person's going to react and how you know this because you know that person and they're going to act in consistency with who they are, that you may never thought about it but you and I can actually reach the place where we can begin to do this with Almighty God, we can begin to know God, deep enough that we after walking with God for years after learning who God is. For years after watching him in action for years, we can begin to anticipate what God's going to do now. We never get it right perfectly.

God is far too complex for us to be able to figure out exactly what is going to do his ways are not our ways and their above our ways, but in broad strokes, we can often get a really good idea what God's going to say doing react in a given situation. If we know him well, you know, I knew that I was coming here to McLean Bible church as your senior pastor 10 months before it actually happened in time and in space. There were series of events going on over a five-year period in my life on a number of fronts that I had been praying about in thinking about and trying to figure out what the world God was up to and saying God, what are you doing, and finally in 1979. In prayer one day it all fit together and I said oh my gosh I see were God's going now and I went to Brenda and I said to her in the fall of 1979.

I said Brenda we are going to McLean Bible church one day and I said the senior pastor and she said really she said well what do you think the man who's there now is the senior pastor might say about that and I said look I don't know exactly how God's going to do it possible Brenda.

I know God and I'm watching all that God is doing and I can smell this what I said to her, I can smell were God's going with this because I know God will you don't believe me you asked Brenda if I didn't say that to six months later the pastor here McLean Bible church resigned unexpectedly, I have nothing to do with that. I swear, I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I wouldn't even working here.

Then I nothing to do with it. But as soon as I heard it at work one day over when I was teaching at the seminary over in Maryland. I came home that afternoon I said to Brenda. Brenda I want you to go up to Giant Food. I want you to get some boxes and I want to start packing because we're going to northern Virginia and four months later in August 1980. We were here and you see you Cesar Lalonde you see now here you go here you go. You're starting to sound like one of those wacky TV preachers. Now you know saying that we can know what God's going to do you know this is crazy know it isn't know it isn't.

The apostle Paul says this very thing. Listen, he says, first Corinthians 210, the Holy Spirit fathoms all things Paul says even the deep things of God. Watch verse 12 as followers of Christ. He says we have received the spirit who is from God, in order that we too may understand the deep things of God for verse 16 we have the mind of Christ, the Holy Spirit living right inside of us. The apostle Paul says here that with the Holy Spirit's help, we can go deep into God. We can go deep into God into his character into his value system into the way he ticks so much so that we can start to begin to understand the ways of God. The reason he does why he does and you know that's what the Bible says, Psalm 103 verse seven about Moses is that God made known his acts to the children of Israel, but his ways. He made known to Moses. In other words, the Israelites got to see what God did, but Moses got to know God so well that he began to understand why God did what God did, and this is why at the Red Sea, Moses was able to stand there calm as a cucumber watching the chariots of Pharaoh sweep down on him and the Israelites without breaking a sweat. And you know why he didn't know for sure God was going to open the Red Sea, but he knew God was going to do something to deliver those Israelites. Why, because Moses knew God was faithful in God he made a promise to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob that God could not break without stopping to be God and God told him of the burning bush. I'm going to lead you out and take you back to the land of Canaan and God had not lied and so Moses said because God is faithful and Break those promises. He's gonna do some I'm not worried about those chariots.

I think of Jonah because he knew God so well. He knew God was merciful and he knew if the Ninevites repented he knew God was going to spare the city even wanting to, but he knew God was going to do it and then I think of Mordechai Mordechai new God so well that when he saw what Heyman was up to, because he understood that God was sovereign. He immediately understood why his knees.

Esther was now the Queen of Persia, and he understood exactly what she had to do friends because each of these men understood God to the level that they did, they were able to look at the situation in front of them and anticipate what God was going to do because they knew God.

Now this is my goal for every one of you here McLean Bible church. My goal is that just like Moses and just like Joan, I just like Mordechai and many others through the ages that you will get to know God so deeply and so intimately and so thoroughly that by the study of the word of God each and every day by your time in prayer with him each and every day asking him to reveal himself to you that you will get to know God so well that you will be able not only to understand why God does the things he does sometimes but you'll even be able sometimes to predict what is going to do as you know and that's what this series is been all about.

I hope it's been at least a small help in getting us to the place we really know God. Now this is deep talking to deep as the Bible says what I'm saying to you here, but I believe you guys are following me you follow me. Yeah, all right, you with me understand all three of your that's wonderful.

Okay now today what we want to do now is we want to go on and we want to look at attribute number 11 in this list we looked at the fact that God is eternal and God is holy and that God is omnipotent, and God is merciful and God is sovereign and and God is faithful and and and others. If you miss the message pick up the tape or the CD or downloaded off the Internet. But today we want to talk about number 11 and I say this on purpose to last. We want to talk about the pre-eminence of God. So what is the Bible say about this when you remember Exodus chapter 3 Moses was 80 years old. He was out in the desert attending Jethro sheep on the backside of the desert and he passes this bush one day in the bushes on fire but is not burning up. So Moses goes over to check it out and God speaks to him from the Bush remember here you go. Verse six Exodus 3 and God said to Moses, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob, and I've seen the misery of my people in Egypt and I've come down to bring them out of Egypt into a good and spacious land. So now Moses go. I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people Israel out of Egypt. So far so good.

And then Moses said to God was suppose I go to the Israelites, and I say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you and they asked me what's his name where my supposed Italo you need to understand in Hebrew culture name was more than just a place of anger, a name was meant to indicate something about the very character of a person. That's what a name Jacob supplants her because you know what he did to his brother. It was a very appropriate name. Well, when Moses asked God what is your name is not asking God what is the nice term they used to refer to you is asking you what is your character God. Who are you really what you really like and God said to Moses, I am who I am. Moses, this is what you're to say to the Israelites, you tell him I am has sent me to you here in saying that I am what is God really saying about himself. While the verb here that's translated IL means to have existence and so would God is saying is Moses, I am the being in this universe who has existence in and of himself.

I am the being in this universe to exist and has life in me in and of myself here in Exodus 3 God presents himself as the one and only self existent independent, being in the entire universe and the rest of the Bible echoes this all 90 Moses said before the mountains were born, and before you ever brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God in Isaiah 43 God says before me know.

God existed and there will be none after me.

I am the first and I am the last I am he.

In Revelation chapter 1 God says I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end the one who is and was and is to come. Which is why in first Timothy six, Paul says he is the King of Kings and the Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality.

You know when I was younger, dad.

My son Jamie came to me once just a little boy and he said that he asked me a string of questions.

He said that he he said where the trees come from and I so I got an answer for that.

God made him a Civil War where the stars come from and I may answer for that. I said God made him and he went to all of his questions and I had an answer for ball and then he said that he where does God come from well.

Suddenly a man answers friends is no answer that question. I said to him, Jamie. God doesn't come from anywhere. God is and he always has been and always will be. Now Jamie have found that really hard to grasp, but not nearly as hard as I find that the grass as an adult because saying that makes me realize that it makes you realize that we are dealing here with a being that is preeminent above any other being in the entire cosmos. So this is God the one and only self existent independent unbounded preeminent being in the cosmos. God is accountable to no one but himself. God is responsible to no one but himself. God is limited by no one but himself. God is restrained up by no one but himself and God is answerable to no one but himself. He is the I am of this universe. The eternally self existent one, beyond whom we cannot think and beyond whom does nothing to think about anyway. He is God, preeminent in this universe now. That's as far as we want to go in our theological treatment of this because now we want to stop and we want to ask our most important question so here we go. Let's gear up for this very go ready ready ready want to raise yet you say Lawrence. What say you know that's good and I understand what you're saying to God's preeminent and that's great but what differences is made to me tomorrow morning well let's talk about that and let's go back for a moment to the burning bush 08.

Let's remember at the burning bush. What God said to Moses, God said Moses you want to know who I really am okay while I in the end the one in the universe who exists who has existence in and of myself. I am the one and only being in this universe. He said to Moses, who has life intrinsically in myself and this is what the Bible says throughout the Bible reverberates with this true John chapter 1 verse four said the Bible says in him that is God is life. John five verse 26 says the father has life in himself. In first Timothy chapter 6 remember why what the Paul said, Paul said God alone possesses immortality and just a verse or two before that.

He said God gives life to all things. God is the one who gives life. This explains Genesis 2, where the Bible says the Lord God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. See folks as human beings we are alive, but the life that were living is not inherently our life, the life that were living was breathed into us. It was a gift from the one who has life in himself, Almighty God, this is not our life were living out its life, that he gave us as a gift as human beings we are dependent on God for every moment of our existence.

Every breath we take is at the pleasure of God. Every ounce of life we live is at the pleasure of God. The point that I want you to get is that there is an utter dependency about all of this that you and I must grasp if we are going to relate properly to the living God of the universe.

And conversely, it is our failure to grasp this dependency that lies at the heart of all sin in this universe. All sin in our world and all sin in our life.

I think of Lucifer you remember the angel before he became Satan.

The Bible says Isaiah chapter 14 that at some point Lucifer said as an angel I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne. I will make myself like God.

In other words, I will act independent of God. I'm going to run my own destiny and wanted God say to him in this chapter he said Lucifer you have sinned. This was the first sin in the universe.

Adam didn't commit. The person in the universe. Lucifer do, but Adam walked in his footsteps.

You remember in the garden. What Adam did you say I remember what he did. He ate an apple. Well first of all, we don't know. It was an Apple and second of all, that wasn't really the problem he could've eaten a persimmon or an apricot fruit what the problem. The problem was. Adam made up his mind just like Lucifer did that he was going to live independent of God. He was going to be the captain of his own fate and he brought a curse on the entire human race. Because of that, Lucifer and Adam both made the same mistake they began to act like independent beings instead of the deep pendant beings that they were they rejected God's preeminence over their life in favor of their own preeminence over their life and friends sin.

They have many out workings but there's only one essence to sin. Isaiah 53 verse six. Here it is. All of us like sheep gone astray, each of us has turn here is to his own way there in a nutshell, is the essence of all human sin, the essence of sin is when any created being decides to take over and sit on the throne of their own life and to declare I'm going my way there. You got it that soon and may I say that if you're here today and you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal savior that this is really important for you to understand and think about because friends, the first step that any person ever takes towards God comes when that person realizes that they are a usurper that they are sitting on a stolen throne.

You see, God made everyone of us, my friends, and God breathes into every one of us the breath of life. Every second of every day, and he considers the throne of our life to belong to him because of that, not us. It's his throne.

We are the dependent beings. And when we finally realized that and become willing to abdicate our throne and repent of having taken it and give it back to God word belongs and use the blood of Christ to be able to come to God and do that.

That's when people begin to get ready to do business with God. Member the Ayatollah Khomeini member him overthrew the Shah of Iran sure you do.

What if a year later, the Ayatollah had had a pang of conscience and decided he felt bad about what he done and decided to send the Shah of Iran a bunch of nice presents to apologize without a fix the problem will know it wouldn't fix the problem because the Shah of Iran didn't want all of Ayatollah Khomeini's presence what anyone he wanted his throne back to wanted to been stolen from them. That's what he wanted and friends. If you're here and you've never trusted Christ want to listen to me. That's why all the religious activity and presence that you're trying to give God are never going to work. God doesn't want your presence. He wants his throne back the one you usurped the one in your life that belongs to him and it's only when we become ready to give the throne of our life back to God that we are ready to come to Christ and do business with God I love what AW toes or cities of the Lord will not save those whom he cannot command he will not divide his offices, meaning Lord and Savior.

He won't divide him, you cannot believe on half a Christ.

He goes on to say we must stay Christ for what he is. He is the Savior, who is risen, but he's also the Lord was King of Kings and Lord of lords. If you're here today and you're tired of running your own life and let me just say sooner or later you gotta get tired because none of us can do a very good job. I mean I ran my life 21 years and made an absolute disaster of one of the things that convinced me to come to Christ is when the street preacher that talked to me. He said you run your life for 21 years. What makes you think if you take 21 more you do any better. Well, that's a good point. I made a complete disaster of it and I done the best I knew how 21 more years.

I knew I'd be dead and I knew I needed somebody else to come in and run my life because I'd run it and on a pretty lousy job of it and it was that decision that open the door for me to turn and repent and come to Christ and friend of you're here and you're tired of running your life that I'm here to tell you the somebody else offered to do it and he's the one who can really run a right and make it worth getting up for in the morning. I hope you will think about abdicating be the best decision you ever make in your life to get off the throne and let the Lord Jesus get on the throne your life. I love the bumper sticker that read one time it said God is my copilot.

Remember that I did the bumper sticker to say I'm out of the cockpit altogether because that's really what God is looking for. We don't want you in the left seat. The right seat of the backseat. He wants out of the cockpit and he'll take it from there. When you go on though and say if you're here today and you've Artie trusted Christ this and this is still very applicable to loss because the Lordship of Christ in our life is not just an issue for nonbelievers friends the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

As a follower of Christ is the very linchpin of the Christian life. Listen to what Paul said. Romans 12 one. I urge you he says as followers of Christ, to present your bodies to God as living sacrifices, which is your reasonable service as a living sacrifice, God is not asking you and me to kill ourselves literally.

He's asking us to be as dead as a sacrifice at the Temple was when they slit its throat as dead is that when it comes to running our own life and instead to let God do it and you know this is how the Lord Jesus lived here on earth. He lived under the Lordship of God when he was here on earth. He said John 434 my food is to do the will of him who sent me. He said John 828 I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak only those things which the father tells me to do. He said John 638.

I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me, and he said in the garden of Gethsemane, not my will but thine be done here. The Lord Jesus while he was on earth was a man that lived under the authority of God and the authority of his written word. He didn't run his own life, even as the second person of the Godhead.

He didn't and you know folks that's exactly how he tells us to live. I love it. AW toes are said he said man is willing to share himself sometimes even to sacrifice himself for desired and but never to dethrone himself very interesting, and you know Matthew 2819 says, go ye into all the world. The great commission and make church members nope nope nope nope nope go ye and all the world and make professing Christians nope nope nope nope nope go ye and all the world and make churchgoers go say that, go ye and all the world and make what disciples you know it sets a disciple apart from a churchgoer or church member or or or or professing Christian I'll tell you what it is. A disciple is a person who has dethroned himself a disciple is a person who has dethroned herself a disciple is a person who has restored the throne of their life to its rightful owner. A disciple is a person for whom submission to God is not just a buzz phrase. A disciple is a person for whom obedience to God is not just a buzzword but these two words and phrases obedience to God and submission to God.

These forms are very warp and Wolf of how a disciple lives disciple understands that they don't live the way they want to live. They don't live the way they feel like they should live. They don't live the way their friends telling the limb. They live the way God tells them to live in the written word of God. The authority for their life is not what they feel like or what they want or what their friends tell him to do.

It's what God says in the word of God. End of discussion.

That's a disciple now.

We always get it right.

No, we sometimes fall short. Yes, but friends we never lower the bar of your disciple. You may come to God and confess you fell short but you don't change the bar. The bar is the written word of God is the authority for life and that's how you live and you know before to reach Washington DC for Christ. We believe that's our mission is to make an impact on every life in the city for Christ. I'm here to tell you some.

It's not going to happen with a bunch churchgoers not going to happen.

Would a bunch of professing Christians not going to happen because a bunch of church members decide to do this. Only a bunch of disciples only a bunch of disciples can God use to blow a city apart from Christ, you look at the early church. They were churchgoers, church members or professing Christians.

They were disciples.

That's what we have to be.

And you know being a disciples in all or nothing deal, my friends. I love what Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China said. He said that Jesus is either Lord of all or he's not Lord at all. I love that on my saving simpler than that and friends in your life and in my life. Jesus is either Lord of all or he's not Lord at all. So let me just ask you as we get ready to close as a follower of Christ. Today I need to ask you this, when it comes to your sex life and the movies you watch in the magazines you read and the things you lead into your home and watch on television when it comes to how you love your wife or how you respect your husband or how you treat your children or how you honor your parents who's on the throne your life. My friend, you are Jesus Christ when it comes to how you serve your boss or how you speak about your fellow man or how you forgive people that have hurt you or how you handle your money or how you you keep your word or how you fill out your 1040s.

Ouch. Or how you seek to live with integrity in every part of your life who is preeminent in your life you or the Lord Jesus Christ can be both can be both.

He's either Lord of all or he's not Lord Atul can't be both.

And you can have half Christ easy to Lord Orian. So who is why I can answer that question for you, but I can tell you the answer to that question is the deciding factor on whether your disciple or not, really. It's the deciding factor.

I believe in many cases, whether even a true follower of Christ are not this idea that you can come to believe in Jesus as your Savior and then you can reject him as your Lord and go on living anyway you want to live that is not a biblical concept, my friend. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it's true, we grow in our surrender to his Lordship over the years, we've never start. There's no place to start the Christian life say well I'm wonderfully happy he's my Savior and I'll make up my mind later if I'm going to do what he says sorry God doesn't take people on the basis friend.

If that's the basis you came. I think there serious reason to examine whether you really belong to Christ because he doesn't take people on that basis, and so I want to give you a chance this morning to answer the question of who is really on the throne of your life. And if you've usurped some of the throne your life as a follower of Christ. If you're out there, living on your own authority in this area or that area.

I have a challenge for you and that is we need to make him Lord of everything, the whole thing I can't do that for you.

I can only do that for me but I'm challenging you. You want to be a disciple and this is how a disciple lives and these are the people's lives. God blesses God honors I wanting to honor your life.

I wanting to bless your life and I'm telling you how to do it and I hope you listen not to me but you hope you listen to him spray together or Jesus, thank you for reminding us today as we wind down this series that if everything we have learned and studied about you is true. And it is that you are omnipotent that you are eternal that you are holy and righteous and faithful and merciful and loving and preeminent temblor there is no choice. Who needs to rule our lives to no-brainer and yet Lord were so human in sin is such an endemic part of our flesh, that sometimes even without even trying.

We push right off the throne and say Lord I'm taking this one over, forgive us father and give us the hearts and the lifestyle of a disciple who put you on the throne and keeps you there or Jesus, we do fall short of living up to what you ask us to every day but help that never change our understanding of where the authority is in our life purpose. Never dilute that just because we can always live up to it, may you be Lord. May you be preeminent over every part of our life, and if there are some things we need to go change in order to restore you to the throne, the Lord Jesus, you give us the courage to go change in by your grace. Lord help us get to know you well enough that we understand your ways and help us get to know you well enough that we fear you for what you are to the degree that we won't lay hands on the ark that we won't touch the throne. It's yours to change our lives because we were here today because we been here for this series, and we pray these things in Jesus name God's people said Amen