Scripture:
Isaiah 6.1-7; Rev. 4-5; Rom. 8.28; Rom. 9; Gen. 1-4; Matt. 1.18ff; Rom. 8; Acts
2; Ex. 3.13-15; Job 1; Rev. 19-22; Ps. 75; Prov. 16.4, 9, 33; Prov. 15.3; Ex.
34.6; Ps. 139
Translation: Ex. 3.13And
Moses said to God, “Look, I’m going to the sons of Israel, and I’ll say to
them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you.’ And they’ll say to me, “What is
His Name?’ What should I say to them?” 14And God said to Moses, “I
am who I am. And as I said you should say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM sent me
to you.’” 15And God said again to Moses, “You should say this to the
sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, sent me to you.’ This is My Name forever. And
this is how I’ll be remembered from generation to generation.”
Exodus 34.6And Yahweh stood in front of
him and shouted, “Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,
and great in loyalty and faithfulness! 7Showing loyalty to thousands
[of generations], taking away guilt, rebellion, and sin, and He never ever
leaves [sin] unpunished, bringing the sin of the fathers against the sons and
against the sons of the sons to the third or fourth generation!”
Isaiah 6.1During the year King Uzziah
died, I saw my Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and the edges of
His robe filled the Temple. 2Saraphim were standing above Him. There
were six wings, six wings for each one: with two he covered his face, and with
two he covered his feet, and with two he was flying. 3And this one
shouted to this other one and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy is Yahweh of Armies! All
the Earth is filled with His glory!” 4And the foundations of the thresholds
shook because of the sound of the one who was shouting. And the house was
filling with smoke! 5And I said, “Woe to me, because I’m ruined,
because I am a man of unclean lips, and I am living among a people of unclean
lips! Indeed, my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!” 6And
one of the seraphim flew over to me and in his hand was a live coal, with tongs
he had taken it from on top of the altar. 7And he touched it on my
mouth and said, “Look, this has touched on your lips, so your guilt is gone and
your sin is covered.”
Proverbs 15.3Yahweh’s eyes are in ever
place, watching evil people and good people.
Proverbs 16.4Yahweh made everything for
His purpose, even a wicked person for the day of evil.
Proverbs 16.9The human mind plans its
path, but Yahweh establishes its steps.
Proverbs 16.33The lot gets thrown into the
fold of the garment, but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.
Rom. 8.28And we know that for those who
love God all things work out for good, for those who are called according to
plan, 29because He also predestined those He pre-knew to be
conformed to the image of His son, so that He could be the Firstborn among many
brothers, 30and those He predestined, those same people He also
called. And those He called, those same people He also made righteous. And
those He made righteous, those same people He glorified!
Applications
1.
Outline
a.
What is Our God like?
i.
God is Holy
1.
He is unique
a.
Ex. 3.13-15
b.
Isa. 46, esp. v.9
2.
He is Transcendent and
Immanent (Separate and Present; Above and With)
a.
Gen. 1-4
b.
Acts 2
c.
Rev. 4-5
3.
He is glorious
a.
Ex. 19-20
b.
Isa. 6.1-7
c.
Matt. 17.1-7
d.
Rev. 4-5
ii.
God is Self-Existent
1.
Ex. 3.13-15
2.
Rom. 9 (God is the Potter,
His existence is assumed, no one/thing makes Him)
iii.
God is Infinite
1.
In knowledge
a.
Knowledge
i.
Prov. 15.3
ii.
Acts 4.
iii.
John 21.17b
iv.
Ps. 139.1-18
b.
Intelligence
i.
Isa. 55.8-9
c.
Creativity
i.
Gen. 1-2
ii.
Rev. 21-22
2.
In power
a.
Eph. 3.20
b.
Rev. 1.8
c.
Rev. 4.8
d.
Rev. 19-22
3.
In presence
a.
Ps. 139.7-12
4.
In goodness
a.
Overall
i.
Ps. 119.68
ii.
James 1.17
b.
Love
i.
1 John 4.8
c.
Justice
i.
Isa. 61.8
ii.
Luke 18.1-8
iii.
Rom. 3.26
iv.
Rev. 19-20
d.
Mercy
i.
Ex. 34.6
ii.
Eph. 2.4
e.
Grace
i.
Rom. 9
ii.
Eph. 3.7
f.
Compassion
i.
Ex. 34.6
g.
Patience
i.
2 Pet. 3.9
h.
Loyalty
i.
Heb. 13.5
iv.
God is Unchanging
1.
Ps. 102.25-27
2.
Heb. 13.8
3.
James 1.17
v.
God is Sovereign (His character
in action): (Prov. 16.4, 9, 33; Rom. 9; Rom. 8.28; Job 1-2; Isa. 46.10-11)
1.
He is in control of all
things
2.
He is bring His plan about
b.
Our Response to Our God
i.
Connect (relationally)
1.
When we see how awesome and
great our God is we should find ourselves drawn to truly know and connect with
Him. Our desire to have a thriving relationship with Him should be strengthened
ii.
Worship
1.
Awe
a.
As we saw in Isaiah and
Revelation, seeing God for Who He is pulled Isaiah and John in to awe and
worship. There is a majesty and magnificence to God that leaves us in awe,
amazed at God’s perfection, His beauty, His Holiness
2.
Joy
a.
Yet, it also results in
joy, we have the God that we can trust and that can save us—that has saved us!
We have the God Who is crazy creative and powerful! We have the God Who knows
us inside and out and still loves us!
iii.
Trust
1.
For eternal life/future
a.
Because God can save us, we
can trust Him to do so ultimately speaking, we can trust Him for a life that
never ends
b.
Yet we can also trust Him
with the future, with the things that we can’t know or foresee, the things that
could worry us, because we know that He is Holy and Righteous and Just. We can
trust Him to give us a calling, a job, a husband/wife, children, friends,
provision, etc.
2.
For daily life/the present
a.
We can trust Him in the
midst of difficult circumstances, whether that is financial hardship, parents
that are fighting, siblings that are driving you crazy, tests and papers
stressing you out, because He is both in control of all of it and with you in
the midst of it! He is using it for your good
3.
For the past
a.
Trust that God knew what He
was doing and planning. Maybe you have had something miserable, or unspeakably evil
happen to you, or maybe you’ve done something that makes you so ashamed you
can’t talk about it, even that Yahweh will use for your good, not merely
something that is good for the plan of God, but something that can even become
good for you!
iv.
Repent
1.
Yet, when we look at the
holiness of God, we should see that we do not reflect that perfect moral purity
perfectly, in fact sometimes it is so maimed and corrupted in our lives, that
no one would ever think that we are even a Christian. But that should bring us
to respond like Isaiah, who confessed his sin and failure, along with that of
his whole community
v.
Imitate
1.
Seek to reflect God by…
a.
loving those who don’t
deserve it
b.
living Holy lives
c.
creating new things,
enjoying art, forging relationships
vi.
Hope
1.
We hope in Christ for His
return and salvation
2.
We hope in difficult
circumstances, because we trust God’s Sovereign Plan
3.
We hope for more
opportunities to worship God in Spirit and in truth
4.
We hope for Holy Lives
marked by repentance, because it is a richer life and a life of worship
2.
Discussion Questions
a.
Why do you think it is the
Holiness of God that the angels celebrate in heaven? Why not His love, or His
justice, or His power?
b.
Why is it important that
God is self-existent? What would it mean if He wasn’t?
c.
What would you tell someone
who is struggling to see or understand God’s goodness?
d.
Why is it important that
God never changes, that He is the same forever? Would it be easier or harder to
trust Him if He changed whenever He wanted?
e.
Image you or someone you
love is going through a really tough situation. How could you try to comfort
them with God’s Sovereignty or any of His other attributes?
f.
Reflect on God’s Holiness
how you as an individual better reflect His Holiness? What our about our
community, how could we better reflect His holiness as a group? Where do you
and we need to repent?
g.
Pray a prayer of worship to
God for Who He is, try to incorporate aspects of awe and joy into your prayer.
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