The Greatness of God

Father God, we thank you, Lord, for this wonderful opportunity to come and praise your name. And Father, as we come together this evening tonight to celebrate the greatness of your name, Our prayer, Father, is that you would teach us more about how to praise you and lift your name up on high. And prayed that all that come on Wednesday nights would come to understand our God. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Tonight is a time in which we begin probably the great series I've ever had the opportunity to study for and to deliver here at Christ Community Church.

It's all on the attributes of God. The title of the series is God Exploring His Essence. And I am convinced. That the problem in Christianity today is the fact that most people do not know who God is. We do not know the God and whom we worship. And because we do not know God, our worship is feeble, our faith is weak, and our lies are not near as strong as they ought to be. It is my desire to be able to use Wednesday evenings to instruct you in the ways of God, specifically concerning the nature of God, His attributes, who He is.

And as a result of who he is, what is our response to God? That's our desire. And we trust that as you come, in fact, I promise. In fact, I'll refund your money. That's what I'll do. I promise that if you come on Wednesday nights, your whole life will change. I promise. In fact, you can't not come. and study about God and come to grasp with who He is without your life changing. And so I promise that your life will change drastically over the next 32 weeks that we're together on Wednesday evenings because we're going to spend 32 weeks talking about God.

Now, saying that, I find it really ironic that we can think we can come to grasp God in a 55-minute sermon. That we can grasp the mercy of God or the wrath of God or the justice of God or the goodness of God or the greatness of God in that sort of time sp. We can't do it. So, my prayer is that when you come, you will be so hungry to hear about God that you're going to leave even more hungry than when you came. So, that you will leave and go home and say, I want to know more about my God. I want to know how to study Him more so I can come to grasp with who He is, that I might worship Him in a way that brings glory.

To his name. Tonight, just by way of introduction, because we're beginning with a celebration of praise, I want to talk to you about what I call the greatness or what the Bible calls the greatness. God. We want to talk a little bit tonight about His greatness. If you got your Bible, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 95.

Psalm 95 says this: So come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms, for the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. And then it says in verse 6, Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His Hand. So we are to come and worship at the greatness of who God is.

It says over in Psalm 96, verse number 4. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. And then over in Psalm 150. Verse number 2 says, praise him for his mighty deeds. Praise him according to his excellent Greatness. Our God is a great God. And I'm not sure we understand that. In fact, J. I. Packer, in his book Knowing God, says this specifically about the greatness of God. He says that this knowledge of God's greatness is lacking greatly in Christians today.

He says it is the one reason why our faith is so feeble and our worship so flabby. We are modern men, and modern men, though they cherish great thoughts of man, have, as a rule, small thoughts of God. When the man in the church, let alone the man in the street, uses the word God, the thought in his mind is rarely of divine majesty. We are poles apart from our evangelical forefathers at this point, even when we confess our faith in their words. When you start reading guys like Luther or Edwards or Whitfield, you soon find yourself wondering whether you have any acquaintance at all with the mighty God whom they themselves knew so intimately.

Today, vast stress is laid on the thought that God is personal. But this truth is so stated as to leave the impression that God is a person of the same sort as we are: weak. Inade, ineffective, and a little pathetic. But this is not the God of the Bible. Our personal life is a finite thing. It is limited in every direction, in space and time, in knowledge and power, but God is not so limited. He is eternal, infinite, and almighty. He has us in his hands, but we never have him in ours. Like us, he is personal, but unlike us.

He is great. In all its constant stress on the reality of sympathy, patience, or excuse me, on the reality of God's personal concern for His people. And on the gentleness, tenderness, sympathy, patience, and yearning compassion that he shows towards them, the Bible never lets us lose sight of his majesty and his unlimited dominion over all his creatures. We serve a great God. When we come to worship, we must see God as great. Tonight, Very briefly, three things I want you to notice that comprise the greatness of God.

Number one is the fact that he is incomprehensible. Turn with me to Judges chapter 13. Judges chapter 13. It's a great story about Manoah and his wife. Manoah's wife was barren. She was unable to have children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to her one night and said that she was going to be with a child. She is no longer going to be barren, but that she was going to give birth to a boy. So she ran. To her husband, and told her husband that an angel of the Lord had appeared to her, and because she did not ask him where he was from or what his name was, she didn't know how to contact him again.

So Manoah says in verse number 8, O Lord, please let the man of God whom thou hast sent come to us again, that he might, or he may teach us. What to do for the boy who is to be born. Now that's very important. Manoah was not upset because his wife saw the angel of the Lord and he didn't. But he was concerned that somehow this man would come back, whoever he was, so that he might know how to properly raise his child. That's important. Manoah knew that God has all the answers for raising children. And the text says in verse number 9, and God listened to the voice of Manoah.

Whenever you ask God for things that pertain to His will, you can be assured of the fact that God listens and God is going to answer. And so.

The angel of the Lord came back and again appeared to Manoah's wife. And when he appeared, she ran to her husband, got him, so he would be introduced to this angel of the Lord. And it says this in verse number 12, And Manoah said, Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy's mode of life and his vocation? So the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, Let the woman pay attention to all that I said. She should not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.

Let her observe all that I commanded. Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, Please let us detain you, so that we may prepare a kid for you. And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, Though you detain me, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord. For Manoah did not know that he was the angel. Of the Lord. And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, What is your name? So that when your words come to pass, we may honor you. But the angel of the Lord said to him, Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?

Seeing it is wonderful. Here's the point. We don't need a new revelation of God. We need to be able to have our eyes focus in on the revelation that has already been given. Manoah missed the fact that this was a pre Christ, the pre-in Christ, coming to his wife to tell him that she was going to have a son. He missed it. But seeing his name is wonderful. Remember Isaiah 9:6? His name shall be called what? Wonderful. Wonderful shall be his name. So wonderful that he's amazing. So wonderful that he's incomprehensible.

Now, listen to what it says. So Manoah took the kid. With the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, and he performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. Now the angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah or his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord.

So Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, for we have se God. The point you need to understand is that even when Manoah saw God, he could not understand God. God is so incomprehensible that He does the things that are literally impossible. Here's a woman who could have no children. But God can make her have children. You see, the book of Judges comes on a scene where they're in the midst of apostasy and anarchy. And whenever God wants to do a great work, what he does is send not an army. But an angel, and he comes to Manoah's wife to help her understand that he's going to do an impossible work.

As he did for Abraham and Sarah, as he did for Mary and for Joseph, as he did for Hannah and Elkinah, whenever God wanted to do a great work. That he sent a child in a miraculous way to accomplish his purpose. Our God Is a God that is completely unfathomable. It says over in Romans chapter 11, verse number 33: How unbelievable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways. It was Job who said in Job 42, verse number 3, that God's ways are too wonderful for me. I can't even know them. You see, as God touches the lives of ordinary people, God will do extraordinary things that are incomprehensible to the average man.

God wants to touch your ordinary life. But for that to happen, you've got to be able to see God for who He is. When you see God for who He really is, God will do such great works through you. Those around you will not even be able to comprehend the magnitude of God because he is so great. It says over in Psalm 145, verse number 3: His greatness is. un. It's unsearchable. In the Hebrew it means it's without investigation. No matter how much you investigate the greatness of God, you'll never comprehend the greatness of God because God's greatness is in Comprehensible.

The next thing you need to know is that God's greatness is incorruptible. Listen to me very carefully. Think in your mind. Don't raise your hand. Don't say anything. Think in your mind. Is our God a holy God? If you answered yes, you answered wrong. Our God is not a holy God. Our God is a holy, holy, holy God. There's a big difference. And as we talk about the holiness of God in weeks to come, you're going to realize that the holiness of God is the centrality of all of his attributes. The Bible never says that God is grace and grace, grace.

God is mercy, mercy, mercy, or even that God is love, love, love. You know why? Because he's not. But he is holy, holy, holy. Let me explain to you this way: 1 John chapter 1, verse number 5.

John says, this is our message. This is our message that we have heard and we announce to you. Here it is. You ready? It is not God is love. It is not God is life, but it is God is light. And in him is no darkness at all. Now the implications of that are tremendous. Why? Because what does 1 John 1 verse 4 say? These things are written, that your joy may be full. So, he follows that with verse number five and says, if you want your joy to be full, if you want your life to be blessed, you must understand the ultimate message of God, and that is God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Therefore, because God is of pure eyes than to behold evil, because God is holy, holy, holy, if you don't get rid of all the rubbish and all the backlash, the sin and all the depravity of in your life, if you don't rid yourself of those things, You can't have fellowship with God because God does not fellowship with darkness. There is no darkness in Him. He is completely incorruptible. He is totally separate from sin. And so, if you decide you want to live in sin, you're never going to know the God of light because God is incorruptible, because God is holy, holy, holy.

See that? That's so important to understand. God is light, and in him is no darkness, no darkness. At all. If you don't understand the holiness of God, you will never understand the love of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, the justice of God, the greatness of God, the powerful riches of God. You'll never understand. Understand God, unless you first of all understand the fact that He is primarily holy, holy, holy.

That's so important. And boy, when we get into this study, you're going to see God as you've never seen Him before. In fact, I venture to say that when you leave this place, you'll say, I never knew that about God. And you'll leave as I leave. I don't know my God. There's so much I don't know about him. That's because he's incomprehensible. Unfathomable are his ways. He is incorruptible. He is totally separate from sin. He is totally separate from creation. And all that he created, not like the New Age New Age movement says that he is in the chairs and in the trees and he's in all these things.

No, he's not in them, he's above them, he created them. See God is totally separate from all those things. So, God, number one, His greatness is incomprehensible.

Number two, His greatness is inc. And lastly, His great is incomparable. His greatness is incomparable. Why? You can't compare it to anything because he is in a position much higher than we will ever be. Philippians 2 says that he has been exalted to a place. In the heavenlies, where he sits down at the right hand of God the Father. He is totally above us. Isaiah 5. Verse number 15 says this: For thus says the high and exalted one who lives forever, whose name is holy, I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit.

In order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrites. Contrary to what our president said at prayer breakfast this past week. When he said that he had a contrite spirit but a strong heart, you can't have that, according to Isaiah 57, verse number 15. If you have a contrite spirit, you have a contrite heart. You can't have a strong heart and a contrite spirit. You either have a strong heart and a strong spirit, which is egot And prideful, or you have a contrite heart and a contrite spirit.

And God says, even though I'm high, And even though I'm holy, and even though I'm way above everybody else, he still dwells with man.

I can't ever fathom that. Our body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit, God dwelling in man. I'll never understand that. How God, who is so high and so holy, would lower him, humble himself to become a man, that he might die of the sins of man. Therefore, send a spirit to ind, man, that man would live as he wants him to live. But on top of that, God is incomparable not only because of his position, but because of his power. Our God is mighty in power. It says in Psalm 66 these words: Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.

Sing the glory of his name, make his praise glorious. Say to God, How awesome are thy works. Because of the greatness of thy power, thine enemies will give feigned obedience to thee. All the earth will worship thee and will sing praises to thee. They will sing praises to thy name. Come and see the works of God, who is awesome in his deeds. Toward the sons of men. And then in Psalm 68, it says, This: Sing to God, verse number 33:3: Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praises to the Lord, to him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient.

Times. Behold, he speaks forth with his voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God. His majesty is over Israel, and his strength is in the skies. O God, thou art awesome. From thy sanctuary. The God of Israel him gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God. O God is so great that even though his position is so far above us, he would humble himself to ind man. And our God is so powerful that he wants to bestow his power upon us that we might live the way he wants us to live. Live, that's the kind of God we serve.

That's a great God. I mean, if He wants us to know, as Paul said in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 19, that we might come to know the surpassing greatness of His power. That we might know and experience the power of God that was wrought when He raised His own Son from the dead. That's the kind of power He wants you and me to experience on a daily basis. So when you come and you realize that that your marriage is falling apart, that financially you're you're out the lunch and that physically you're deteriorating, that you have a God who is all powerful that will come alongside you and mobilize you and energize your life.

That you might be all that God wants you to be. We serve a great and awesome God. He's an awesome God. You can't say that my football team is awesome. You can't say that my house is awesome. You can It's not. God is awesome. So don't say anything on earth is awesome because if you do, you minimize God and His mightiness, His greatness. His power, his awesomeness. Only God is awesome. And because God is awesome, it should never be a part of our vocabulary. Unless we say God is awesome. He is the only one that is awesome.

And so, so sadly, we have diminished the power and presence of God. By trying to understand him on human terms, trying to make him relate to us instead of us relate to who he is. I promise that in the weeks ahead, all your views of God will change. Whatever your view is today, it will not be the same next week. It will not be the same the week after that. I promise, every week your view of God will change. Why? Because when you look into His Word and see Him for who He really is, your life will be changed.

Because you saw God. And like Manoah, you'll say, I should die because I've come to see my God. Let's pray together. Father God, we are so grateful for the Word of God that teaches us so clearly about the character of God. And Father, the Bible says that we are to sing aloud of the greatness of God.

We are to shout His name from the mountaintops and the rooft. We are the kind of people that are to gather together and sing joyfully to the Lord because you're so great. Forgive us for coming to church to sing without recognizing who you are. Forgive us for coming to worship you without understand you. Help us, Lord, to have a heart that hungers for you. Help us, Father, that even though in our little brains we'll never fully comprehend God with our heart's desire, may it be our pursuit, may it be our ambition.

To know our God, that we might fully worship you and then fully represent you to a lost world. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.