Sermon Central
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Understanding Who God Is Series
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Oct 25, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: Understanding who God is not an easy task. The 10 commandments let us know that if we do not get the first 4 commandments right, we will not get the last 6 correct and our relationship will suffer both with God and each other.
Understanding who God is
Exodus chapter 20:1-17
Introduction-
This morning we begin a new series called connecting with God and others.
The purpose of the series is for us to see that a right relationship with God is needed before we can have a right relationship with each other.
If you noticed on your sermon notes that I have printed the 10 commandments.
That will be our test this morning as we look at God and others.
Truth be told, people say that they live a good life and live by the 10 commandments. Most people cannot even recite the 10 commandments, so it is highly unlikely that they live by them.
Let me lay down some groundwork here as God gets ready to give Moses’ the Commandments that he is to deliver to the people of Israel.
Chapter 18 of Exodus- Moses is the Man! No other way to say it!
He is listening to everyone’s complaints and settling all disagreements and after getting some wise counsel from his father-in law Jethro, he builds a leadership team to help him handle some of the problems.
Chapter 19- As the Man, God calls Moses to Mt. Sinai to receive instructions for Israel.
Moses, this is what you are to tell them”
You know first-hand, what I did to Egypt, your enemy.
You experienced how I brought you out of Egypt
If you obey me fully, keep my covenant, you will be a nation blessed by God.
Moses goes to the top of Mt. Sinai to get the words of God for Israel, He receives them and God sends him down the mountain to deliver the warning of approaching God falsely and delivers the law to which He expects them to live by.
Exodus chapter 20:1-17 Read (pause a minute)
(20:18) “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
1000’s of years later, we still have the mindset of the Israelites.
Keep God at a distance and listen to man.
They sometimes feared the messenger more than God.
They fear what man sees and forget or ignore that the God of the universe is watching.
It is easier for us to build a relationship horizontally with each other than to be determined to build a relationship vertically with God.
Paraphrase first 4 Commandments:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and body.
Have no idols
Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath.
Repeat:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and body- Problem!
Have no idols- Ouch!
Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain- Oops!
Remember the Sabbath- Too busy!
The first 4 are relational with God!
They are our duty to God.
They needed to be first.
We need to love God our creator before we can love correctly each other.
It is a 3 way cord-
One- He is God!
Jehovah Jirah, my provider.
He is self- existent, not one of many gods, He is God.
Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end.
He is all-knowing and all-powerful. There is none like Him.
He is the creator of everything.
He took an interest in His creation, and wants to have a relationship with us. One that is not superficial, but intimate and long lasting.
Omni-present- means that God is present at every point of the universe at every moment.
Omnipotent- all powerful. God created everything. He didn’t create anything that could defeat Him.
When God said “Let there be…” there was!
Light, moon, stars, animals, angels, humans, there was at His spoken Word- existence!
2nd cord- He was their God- (personal)
There was a covenant. Standing on His promises,
He will do what He has said He would do.
Wanting a relationship with us that He was willing to die for each one of us.
3rd cord- He was their redeemer-
He brought them out of Egypt .
Because of the goodness of God, He brought them out of slavery and into liberty.
They were eye-witnesses to His deliverance.
3 cords
He is God
He choose to be their God
He was their Redeemer
This year is the 400th year of the King James Version of the Bible. There are some that believe this is the only interpretation of the Bible and all else is counterfeit and uninspired.
Do you think that the God of the universe that inspired 66 books of the Bible through over 40 writers would not protect the inspiration of His Word?
Illustration- (Sermoncentral)
Blaise’ Pascal- a philosopher known for the principals of geometry as we knonw it, and inventor of what is now the calculator said these words- “Within each of us there is a God shaped vacuum that only God can fill” if that is true, then everyone of us was made to seek out God.
