Good morning. A quick word of prayer, and then we'll get into the text.
Lord, bless us as we open your word, as we meditate and dwell on your attributes, on your very essence.
Lord, we ask that you will open our eyes to your truth.
Help us to read your word in a more profound way with this truth in our hearts.
And Lord, help us to just focus this morning. In Jesus' name, amen.
You may be seated. It's really good to see you guys. It feels a bit more full than normal. It's very good.
So, like George mentioned, we're in this summer series. This is week two on the attributes of God.
And, you know, I'll be honest with you. It's been...
Normally, like George mentioned, we preach through books of the Bible, and it's not like I'm flippant when I prepare for a sermon.
But looking at the attributes of God has been a bit of a...
It's been a bit of a tough time because I am wanting to communicate the truth of God.
The creator of heaven and earth, the very one that spoke everything into existence.
And I don't want to get it wrong.
We come before the living God and his word, and we realize that he deserves all of the divine majesty and glory.
And we come before God, of course, through Jesus, knowing him and boldly coming before the throne of grace, calling God Father.
But he is also God. He is also a king. He is also the Lord.
And that's what we're going to be looking at.
George talked about God's sovereignty, but another way of understanding it is the lordship of God.
I wouldn't waltz my way into Windsor Castle and say, you know, what up, Liz?
There is this aspect where we ought to come with reverence before the living God, right?
So that's what we're going to be taking a look at this morning.
Just a bit of a story that kind of helps me understand it.
So all of these attributes are so interconnected.
We can't say of God that he is all-powerful, but say that somehow he doesn't know everything.
Or that he is everywhere, but, you know, he's actually, he's not in control of all of history.
All of these attributes are connected.
To take one away is to say that God is no longer God.
So here's a story.
In high school, I played basketball through high school, and we had this.
So when you play team sports, or if you've ever played, like, varsity sports in high school,
you have, like, the core guys that you play with.
And then there's always a couple guys that show up for one season.
They want to get in shape.
They ride the pine.
They're kind of like guys you beat up in practice and never, ever play.
One of those guys was this guy that I grew up with.
I don't, I haven't talked with him since.
I don't know if he would watch this, so I'll use his real name.
His name was Tommy.
And after a practice, we decided we were going to go to an all-you-can-eat buffet
because that's what we do when we're 16 and we have allowance or extra money.
So I ride with Tommy, and I get in his car, and he doesn't have side mirrors in his car.
And he doesn't have a rearview mirror.
And in fact, the seat that I'm sitting on is super wiggly.
The seatbelt, for sure, I mean, I put it on, but I'm almost convinced it didn't work.
This car rattled.
There was missing knobs all over the front dash.
And I was scared.
Tommy also didn't drive the speed limit.
Tommy also had a number of tickets.
He was a nice guy, very reckless guy.
Anyways, I was very nervous getting in his car.
But his car, although missing a bunch of parts, was still a car.
It didn't cease to be a car because it was missing its side mirrors and rearview mirror,
all these different knobs.
I mean, I'm almost, I'd be surprised if the lights worked at night.
I was glad we were driving in the day.
But it was still a car.
It was still a complete car.
We're going to be looking at the sovereignty of God.
And we're going to be looking at three things.
We're going to be looking at God's omniscience.
That is his complete and perfect knowledge of all things.
His omnipotence.
That's a way of just saying that God is completely powerful.
That he is in control of all things.
Unlimited power and influence.
And also, finally, very connected to these two is his omnipresence.
That is God being everywhere.
And unlike Tommy's car, you take one of these pieces away and God ceases to be God.
He's just not God.
You can't have God without omnipresence or omnipotence or omniscience.
So it's really important that we take a look at all three of these attributes.
And there are more.
We have a whole summer series on them.
But we're just looking at these three.
And how we look at them as individually, individual attributes, but never forgetting that they're interconnected to one another.
And that to put more emphasis on one than the other or neglect one at the expense of the other is to do a disservice to God.
And then we go back to why I had a bit of a tough week struggling through some of this.
Anyways, if you have your Bible, we're going to be all over the Bible today.
I think the majority, if not all, of the scripture references will be up on the screen.
It would be great if you guys had your Bible.
If you use a Bible app, that's fine as well.
We have Bibles up here you can grab.
But follow along with me.
So we're looking at first God's omniscience.
God knows everything.
There's nothing that can be known that he doesn't know.
It's not as though God is this studious, this big, beautiful mahogany desk surrounded by books, just studying everything.
He somehow has developed this incredible bank of knowledge.
God, just simply, by virtue of him being God, he knows everything.
There is an inability for God to forget.
It's not just that he knows everything, but it's impossible for him to forget something.
Every little molecule that has ever existed, every scientific law, every thought of the human heart, he knows.
There is nothing that you can think of that God doesn't know.
And not only that, but he knows it a lot better than you.
In fact, he knows everything exhaustively.
A story that might help.
So my brother-in-law, out in B.C., Christine's brother, is a birder.
I don't know if there's any birders here, but Joel is a birder, and he's an excellent birder.
So Christine, the kids, we're out for a walk.
I was like, hey, it was a pond.
Hey, there's a heron.
I was like, that's a blue heron, Christine.
She's like, actually, it's white, and I think that's a crane.
And so we were like, well, what is it?
It was kind of far off.
It wasn't like right there.
So what do we do?
We snap a picture.
We send it to Joel, and he goes, oh, that's a great egret, actually.
And so neither of us were right.
And I have never heard of an egret in my life.
It had a long neck.
It looked like a fancy kettle.
I don't know.
But Joel is a birder par excellence.
He's on all sorts of online forums, and nobody knows that he's like 20-something, but he's
this authority in his area.
And yet Joel will spend the rest of his life trying to knock off his bucket list, his life
list of birds to see.
And my guess is that he will end up at some weird, obscure corners of planet Earth with
a camera and binoculars trying to just glimpse at, I don't know, whatever birds.
See, I don't know birds.
Joel knows them.
But he's going to spend his life, and he's not going to see every single bird.
He will know all about avian taxonomy, but he will not know it exhaustively.
And he is like the expert that I know, anyways.
God's not like this.
He knows everything exhaustively.
It's not just that he knows all of the birds.
He knows what they've eaten that morning and what's about to eat them.
God knows everything exhaustively.
This might be a very comforting thing for you.
Because for God to know everything, it means that he knows some of the brokenness that you've
gone through, some of the secrets that you are embarrassed of.
The shame, some of the things that you're not willing to admit because you don't want to look weak.
He knows it all, and there is nothing that will surprise him in your life.
For those that are actually, that have gone through abuse and brokenness, those that have been neglected or misunderstood,
God doesn't misunderstand you.
He knows you exhaustively.
He knows your situation exhaustively.
And that's a great comfort.
It's a great comfort.
We'll see a bit later on and then in weeks to come.
I think Matt Usherwood is going to be speaking on God being love.
But because God, again, we don't talk about his different attributes apart from one another.
We know that because God knows us exhaustively, and he loves and he desires to bless and not curse, to redeem,
that that's a very, very comforting thing.
That whether in this life or the next, there is a, you will know redemption, you will know peace,
because God, who knows everything, is at work in your life to redeem and restore.
It's a wonderful, wonderful truth.
He's not ambivalent.
He's not ignorant of your sorrow.
He sees you.
He really does.
He knows your heart.
But if you're a proud person, and if you're egotistical,
and you've made it a bit of a thing to step on people to go hire yourself,
or you have a real history of belittling people,
abusing people, neglecting people, forgetting people,
this truth is less of a comfort.
It strikes fear in our hearts, in a sense, doesn't it?
Because you can hide over all sorts of different things.
If you are, you have enough clout, you can force people to sign, you know, very, very abusive,
non-disclosure agreements.
If you threaten people, whether that's, you know, a hardcore threat or soft threats.
You try to sweep things under the rug.
God sees it all.
He sees it all.
And in the same way that God is love, he is also justice.
And he will not let things go unpunished.
And if you, if you have been hurt by somebody,
and there is injustice in your life that, that, that you, you have not been hurt,
you, you are seen, and God will make everything right.
God knows all.
He sees all.
And it's exhaustively how he sees things.
It's, it really is something of a, to strike fear in the hearts of the proud and egotistical.
Hebrews chapter 4, verses 12 and 13, it says this.
I'm just going to read off of my notes.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow.
And here it is, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Verse 13, and no creature is hidden from his sight,
but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
And you will give account.
Not as comforting when we understand that God sees all.
Last week, George, one of the passages he preached on was the story of the paralytic being lowered through the roof.
And Jesus seeing the faith of the paralytic's friends,
forgiving their sins, healing the paralytic.
I just want to draw your attention to one thing here, because this is the attributes of God.
We must remember, as George preached on last week about the Trinity,
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, three persons, one God,
that Jesus himself knows all exhaustively.
It says this in verse 21.
I actually forgot to...
Is it Mark, right?
Mark chapter 3 or Mark chapter 4?
Mark chapter 2?
I do not know the Bible exhaustively.
Verse 21 says,
And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question Jesus,
or question, saying,
Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who can forgive sins but God alone?
Verse 22,
When Jesus perceived their thoughts,
he answered them,
Why do you question in your hearts?
And then he goes on.
Jesus perceived in their hearts.
It wasn't just...
You can't really read this and say,
Well, Jesus was great at body language.
He kind of knew what they were thinking.
He had a good guess.
A good educated guess.
He knew the hearts of them.
Why?
Because he is God.
Because he is omniscient.
He knows all.
Psalm 139 says this,
Verses 1 to 6,
O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down, when I rise up.
You discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in behind and before
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
It is high.
I cannot attain it.
God knows all.
So I talked about the comforting bits.
If you are a broken person,
if you have gone through abuse,
if you have been misunderstood, neglected,
and then the proud aspect of it.
But here is the thing.
Aren't we all mixed bags?
Aren't we people that have experienced hurt
but also hurt people?
Aren't we people that have been neglected
and then go ahead and neglect others?
Aren't we people that have been sinned against
and yet sinned so grievously?
Aren't we mixed bags?
In the comfort of knowing that God knows all
is also a great fear of ours that God knows all.
Because we are bent people, broken people,
a mixed bag, like I've said.
So what do we do?
God knows all.
And I think ultimately we need to remember
that the currency that,
if you want to use that term,
that we bring towards God is humility.
And wherever we are in the midst of the cycle of sin
and being sinned against abuse and being abused,
we come humbly before God.
And what do we do?
We throw ourselves at His feet.
You know all.
How can I run away from you?
Have mercy on me.
Confess your sins and pray
so that you may be healed.
Every single Sunday,
whether we do morning prayer,
whether we do Holy Communion,
we confess our sins together.
We do.
I would encourage you
to confess your sins personally every day.
Confess your sins to other people.
But more than anything else,
just confess your sins to God.
Throw yourself at His feet,
at His mercy.
And remember,
we don't pit one attribute against the other.
God is rich in mercy,
abounding in steadfast love.
He desires to pardon.
He desires to heal.
He knows it all.
Confess it.
Don't hide from God.
When we confess,
we can be sure that He hears us.
Why?
Because Jesus has died,
making a way,
dying on the cross,
being buried,
rising again,
so that through Him,
we might have access to God.
He hears our prayers.
He hears our prayers,
and He is just.
And it's important for us to understand
that as God is omniscient,
He understands everything,
that His knowledge is deeply connected
and rooted in His wisdom,
and in His justice,
and in His love.
It's not some,
like I've mentioned,
it's not just that God
would just kill it on
who wants to be a millionaire.
I don't know if the show exists anymore,
or Jeopardy.
It's not a trivia type of knowledge,
but it's rooted in Him as Creator,
Him being the very essence
of what truth is.
We can trust that He is not going to take
our confession and our lives,
the knowledge of our lives
that we're ashamed of,
afraid of,
and He's not going to abuse us with it.
He's going to help us to order our lives
according to His will,
which is excellent.
And this is connected, then,
with God's omnipotence,
because it's not just that God knows everything,
but He has, then,
the power over everything,
the control over everything.
And control, in many ways,
sounds kind of like a yucky word to us,
but it is not.
Why?
Because God knows everything,
and He is perfect.
We all of a sudden, again,
I'm saying it so much,
but we see how these attributes
are so interconnected,
and we can't talk about one without the other.
So let's take a look at God's omnipotence,
that God has complete control
over all of creation,
and also all of Himself.
He is fully in self,
it's perfect self-control,
if you want to use that term,
that there is no,
that God relies on nothing
for His own being.
He is self-existing.
That's going to be a topic
in the upcoming weeks.
There is nothing
that is over God
in terms of His control,
His ability,
His authority,
but that doesn't mean
God can just do anything.
God is limited,
but He's limited
in that He can't do anything
that's contrary to His will.
Or His character.
What does that mean?
It means God can't do evil.
He can't.
God can't lie.
It means God is completely consistent
in every aspect of who He is.
If He says something,
it's going to happen.
If He has promised something,
it will come to pass.
That God is trustworthy.
It means that we can put our hope,
ultimate hope,
in God
because He can only do
things that are consistent with Him.
It also means that God is rational.
He is logical.
Why?
Because He is the creator.
He created everything.
And everything is good,
He declared.
It is,
it is,
it,
all of creation,
it works
so interconnectedly.
It's,
it's just a beautiful thing
that God has created everything
that works in the way it does.
He is a logical God.
He is a rational God.
It's important for us again
because we're going to come across
in the months and years to come,
Bible studies,
sermons,
personal devotions,
parts of Scripture
that seem to contradict that.
how is it that,
that Abraham somehow
has this ability
to change God's mind?
Or Moses for that matter?
What of these passages
where God seems to
come across as petty
or vengeful
or irrational?
What do we do
when we come across
those types of passages?
Well, this is why
a study,
a sermon series rather,
like what we're doing
is excellent and important
because it helps us
then read the Bible
properly.
We're not going to
read a passage
that makes God look
in a way
that would negate
the fact that He is God.
Then it forces us
to ask another question.
Well, what is God
really doing
when His mind
is changed
by Moses?
What's really going on
in the story?
What is God
really trying
to tease out?
How is God
incredibly relational
in this passage?
It forces us
to wrestle
with the passage
afresh
because if He's God,
He is all-powerful.
His mind can't change.
He can't be manipulated.
So it's really important
that we go through
a sermon series like this.
It's going to help us
to read the Bible
in greater ways.
But here's the thing.
God is indeed
all-powerful.
Nothing happens
apart from His knowledge
or His will.
So in Matthew 10, 29-31,
this is the passage
that George read.
Jesus says,
Are not two sparrows
sold for a penny
and not one of them
will fall to the ground
apart from your Father?
But even the hairs
of your head
are all numbered.
Fear not,
therefore,
you are more valuable
than many sparrows.
He knows
the minutiae
of creation.
He's in control of it.
But He's also in control
of the big aspects
of human history.
Acts chapter 17, 26,
it says this,
And He made from one man
every nation of mankind
to live on all the face
of the earth,
having determined
allotted periods
in the boundaries
of their dwelling place
that God has directed
human history.
He has.
There's a whole other
aspect to this
where we have to ask
the question,
well, why is there war?
Has God somehow
sanctioned evil
and genocide?
These are all really
important questions.
And the classic thing
is either God
is not all-powerful
or all-good
or all-knowing
or He's evil.
That's kind of like
the classic apologetic
pushback against God
being in charge
of everything.
And I would just say
that we do have
human agency
in all of this.
We're not going to get
into a discussion
right now
about free will
versus predestination.
But suffice it to say
that God
is in charge,
in authority,
wills everything
that happens,
and yet
we have agency.
We do.
Not in a libertarian
type of understanding
of free will,
but it's important
that we understand
that we have
our very beings,
that God,
He is the one
who animates us,
that we have agency
within Him,
but nevertheless,
we have agency.
So that's why
Genesis chapter 50,
the wonderful,
beautiful,
incredible story,
one of my favorite
stories in the Bible
of Joseph
being left for dead
by his brother,
sold into slavery,
somehow,
by God's
incredible
work,
he gets up to
essentially the second
in command
over all of Egypt,
saves his people,
and then at the end
when his father dies,
his brothers,
they're like,
Joseph's coming for revenge,
and what does he say
in Genesis 50,
verse 20?
He said,
for what you intended
for evil,
the Lord intended
for good,
that even his brothers,
their best efforts
to kill Joseph,
but really to stymie
God's will,
came to nothing.
Acts 2,
verse 23,
I'll read this one,
Acts 2,
verse 23,
this is the absolutely
incredible sermon
that Peter prays
at Pentecost
after the Holy Spirit
comes.
Verse 23,
it says this,
I'll read at verse 22,
men of Israel,
hear these words,
Jesus of Nazareth,
a man attested to you
by God
with mighty works
and wonders
and signs
that God did
through him
in your midst
as you yourselves know,
verse 23,
this Jesus delivered up
according to the
definite plan
and foreknowledge
of God,
you crucified
and killed
by the hands
of lawless men.
In the same breath,
God's plans
can't get destroyed,
but it's on you.
You guys,
you guys,
you guys sent Jesus
to the cross.
It's a problem.
That's a sin.
Human agency
at work
and yet God's plans
succeed everything.
It's this incredible tension
worth meditating on.
In the end,
it is still God
who gives us agency.
If you can put up
the picture,
I don't know if
we'll end up getting up.
Okay,
so I pulled this
from one of my textbooks
I took from seminary
and I like it.
On the left,
we see
kind of like a,
maybe,
maybe an understanding,
like a common understanding
of free will.
That God does his own thing,
we do our own thing
and there's these other
kind of natural factors
that influence us
or it's kind of,
but it's not really
kind of connected.
And in this scenario,
God's will bumps up
against our agency.
But on the right,
if we understand
that in,
that we have
a very being in God,
that God here,
we have our agency
within God's definite plan.
It's not as if
we have carte blanche
do whatever we want.
God has set up
within creation
like natural guardrails
to our agency
and yet we are still
responsible for our sin
and yet in this,
there's nothing we can do
to thwart the plan of God.
Thanks for putting that up.
And isn't this
the gospel itself,
a picture of God's omnipotence,
where
from all of,
from the beginning
of creation,
mankind sins
and God,
because of his all-knowing,
he knows this is going
to go down,
but then sets
it in motion
that Jesus
would die on the cross
for our sins
and God would delight
in his son
dying on the cross
for our sins.
that God,
he has this plan
from the very beginning,
by the way,
it's not a plan B,
it's always a plan A,
and all of the junk
in human history,
how it goes down
from genocides
to natural disasters
to wars
to infanticide
to all of this horrible things,
things that happen,
somehow God's plan
doesn't get thwarted
and Jesus himself,
he dies on the cross
as God foretold.
If God wasn't all-powerful,
he wouldn't be God
and if he wasn't God,
then all of the things
that he said
would come to pass
would not come to pass.
It would just be,
it would be chance.
It would be chance.
We'd leave it to the fates.
But that's not what happens.
God not only knows everything,
but is in control of everything,
and by virtue of his goodness
and his love
and his justice
and his mercy,
he redeems and restores
and he blesses
and he removes the curse,
he unites
all of the wonderful things
that we hope for.
That's what he does.
God knew that we would sin
and he set in plan
a motion
before we even sinned
to redeem us.
And it was never thwarted.
It was never thwarted.
So if God's knowledge
is everywhere
and God's power
is unending,
then it would lead us
to understand
that God is everywhere.
There's no place
where his presence
doesn't exist.
So we're going to look
at God's omnipresence
and again,
you can't take one
without the other.
So these,
God's omnipresence
is deeply,
deeply,
deeply rooted
in his omniscience
and his omnipotence.
So simply put,
if God is all-powerful
in every place,
in every situation,
if he has knowledge
of everything,
then he is,
by virtue of those two things,
he is there,
he is present.
Psalm 139 again,
verses 7 to 12,
it says this,
where shall I go
from your spirit
or where shall I flee
from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven,
you are there.
If I make my bed
in the grave,
you are there.
If I take the wings
of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost
part of the sea,
even there your hand
shall lead me
and your right hand
shall hold me.
If I say,
surely the darkness
shall cover me
and the light
about me by night,
even the darkness
is not dark to you,
the night is bright
as the day,
for darkness
is as light with you.
God created everything.
Time does not constrain
him nor place.
He is with you
in the darkest moments
of your life.
He is there.
He is not absent,
although it might feel
like that.
He is there.
He truly is everywhere
because he has created
all things,
but God's presence
isn't just talked about
in scriptures
as God's ubiquity
is being everywhere
in all places,
but his presence
is talked about
in terms of relationship
with his people.
From the garden
to the tabernacle,
to the temple,
to God himself
coming in the form
of man in the incarnation,
literally tabernacling
amongst us,
God desires
to be present
with his people.
And he is.
He's present.
He's present right here.
He is present
when you hear
the word proclaimed
and the Holy Spirit
is active
and at work
in your heart.
If you're not a Christian
and you call upon Jesus
to save you
from your sins,
he is with you
in a present
relational way
that is good pleasure.
It is God's good pleasure
to be present
with his people.
This is a wonderful thing
about these attributes
because the times
that we feel
like God is distant,
we know that he is present
and we can cry out to him.
Here's a thing
worth considering.
This idea
of an omnipotent God,
an omniscient God,
an omnipresent God,
I think this is something
that all human beings desire.
But as we,
as a society,
as individuals,
as country,
whatever,
when we deny
the existence of God,
when we deny
the very truth
of the scriptures,
we don't all of a sudden
become irreligious.
We just shift our religion
a little bit.
So all of a sudden
what we do is
we attribute
an omniscience
to other things.
Case in point,
this isn't a bash
against science one bit.
I think science
is fantastic.
We have the life
we have
because of scientific
advancements.
But scientists
aren't omniscient.
They aren't.
Some are very smart.
But it seems like
in the past while
we have put
scientists on a pedestal,
in a sense
deifying scientists.
And I'm not suggesting
we do the opposite
of kicking them
to the curb
and treating them
with contempt.
That's not what I'm saying.
But I'm saying
we have
disordered views
of life.
No scientist
is omniscient,
all-knowing.
Only God is.
No politician
is omnipotent.
No person
is omnipotent.
No thing
is omnipotent.
No job promotion
is omnipotent
as if we
would get it.
Like,
every roadblock
would be removed,
every red light
would turn green,
there would be
nothing impossible
for us.
Nothing is
omnipotent like that.
Everything will rust
and decay
or die
or come up short.
And that's not,
again,
a diss
to those things,
those people,
those situations.
There's nothing
wrong about getting
a promotion
and being excited
about it.
but all of those
things aren't
omnipotent.
They aren't.
All of these
things,
it's as if God
made us
to worship him.
And he put
desires that
would want
an omniscient
God,
an omnipotent
God,
and a God
that is everywhere.
It's like he
fashioned our hearts
to want that.
And that stuff
doesn't turn off
because we disregard
God.
He sees you,
he knows you,
he has the power
to save,
and we ought
to come humbly
before him.
We ought to,
we do.
Jesus is the
perfect picture
of God's sovereignty
because he is
all-knowing,
he is
all-powerful,
and he is
present
everywhere.
This is the
greatest longing
for our hearts,
our hearts
will be
restless
until they
find the
rest in
God,
until we
put ourselves
under the
sovereignty,
so to speak,
as if God
isn't sovereign
unless we
recognize him
as sovereign,
but if we
put ourselves
under the
sovereignty,
the lordship
of God,
we will,
we will not
know the
benefits and
the beauty
and the
truth and
the goodness
that is at
our fingertips.
We will
struggle with
the weight
of sin
and death
that hangs
over our
heads
all the time.
The guilty
consciences
that are
in this room,
and I say that
just because I
have it too,
I do,
I have a guilty
conscience,
it is like my
default,
I have other
bad defaults,
but that is a
big one.
All of the
guilty consciences
that could be
erased because
we don't
understand the
sovereignty of
God,
the lordship of
God,
the good rule
of God,
the healing
that is not
taking place,
the wayward
lives that are
being lived.
And that is not
to say that as
soon as you
put your,
you recognize
the lordship of
God,
things become
peachy,
and beautiful
immediately.
It is a process,
of course.
But this is what
we were designed
for.
We were designed
to be ruled
by God
in the most
loving,
just,
and incredible
way.
The end of
Romans chapter
11,
the big
three chapter
heavy weight
of a portion
of scripture
that talks of
God's sovereignty.
The apostle
Paul,
he says this,
and I'll just
say one thing
before I read
this portion
and then we'll
wrap things up.
Theology
has to lead
to doxology.
What do I mean
by this?
Knowing God
has to lead
us to praise
God.
If we understand
who God is
in light of
who we are,
how can we
not have a
burden lifted
and sing for joy,
whether that's
proverbially
or literally.
That something
excites you
in your heart
and you praise
God.
That theology
has to lead
to doxology.
And listen to
Paul.
After hammering
some of that
most thick
theology in
all of the
scriptures,
he ends
Romans 11
verses 33
to 36
by saying
this,
Oh, the
depth of
the riches
and wisdom
and knowledge
of God.
How unsearchable
are his judgments.
How unscrutable
his ways.
For who has
known the mind
of the Lord
or who has
been his
counselor
or who has
given him
or who has
given a gift
to him
that he might
be repaid.
For from him
and through him
and to him
are all things.
To him be
glory forever.
Amen.
When we know
God, we are
moved by God
when we truly
know him.
And as we grow
in our knowledge
of him,
we continue
to be moved
by him.
The things
that we found
palatable before
lose its taste.
We feast on
God.
That is the diet
that will satisfy
us.
If you
are a Christian
whose heart
has grown cold,
feast on God.
Feast on him.
Feast on the
fact that he
is sovereign
over your life,
that he knows
everything.
He's all powerful.
He is everywhere.
He is with you.
Feast on that.
Feast on it
until it warms
your heart.
If you're not
a Christian,
this is the
life worth
living.
It is.
And you will
try to find
it elsewhere.
And you will
try to find it
elsewhere because
that's the way
you were created.
But it will
come up short
because you
are designed
you are made,
you are fashioned,
your heart
beats to know
the sovereign
lordship of
God.
And today is a
great day to
come to know
him.
Let's pray.
heavenly father,
heavenly father, we
thank you that you
truly are lord of
all, that you are
sovereign over all.
And that means that
you know everything
exhaustively, that you
are all powerful, that
you are completely
consistent, that you
are everywhere, that
there's no place where
you don't exist, no
place that can shut
you out.
And lord, there are
people here this
morning from all
sorts of different
walks, people here
from all, that have
had all sorts of
different weeks, some
good, some bad.
Some people that are
watching online or
are here that have
cold hearts towards
you, where there once
was warm hearts, or
people that just have
never known your
goodness.
Lord, would you help
us to see that
knowing you is the
way we were meant to
live, that as we
engage in theology, we
will engage in true
doxology.
When we know you, we
will praise you.
Lord, help us, especially
this afternoon and the
days to come, because
we know that there is
our flesh, there is the
devil, there is the
world that would want
to rob us of this joy,
this truth of who you
are.
Help us to feast on you
daily.
Help us to humbly feast
on you daily.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.