God Is Who He Is

God is not shaped by us; we don't get to define Him. It matters that we align with how He defines Himself.

Exodus 3 - God's Introduction

In Genesis, God is active but doesn't introduce Himself. He's the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of creation and the flood.
In Exodus 3, God hears the cries and sees the suffering of His people in Egypt. He comes down to deliver them from Pharaoh, crush the Egyptian gods, and lead them to the promised land.
Moses asks God His name. God replies, "I am who I am." This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I am has sent me to you."
God further identifies Himself as the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is His name forever, to be remembered in every generation.
"I am who I am" is meant to challenge our limited understanding. It's not a great English translation but emphasizes God's consistency and unchanging nature.
Theologians refer to God's unchanging nature as immutability. God is not shaped or changed by others.
God is ultimate reality, existing in the past, present, and future. He is Yahweh, Jehovah God.

God Is Love

Many people define God as "love."
1 John states, "God is love."
However, "love" is often used as a catch-all term lacking specific meaning. Love in our culture is a junk drawer.
People might say God is love, but define it as indifference, letting people live their "authentic selves."
Holiness: Wholeness, entireness, perfection in a moral sense.
God's love is informed by His holiness, not the other way around. His holiness makes His love reliable.
God's love is whole, entire, and morally perfect, not indifferent. He hates sin because it destroys things.

Revelation 4 - The Throne of Jesus

The book of Revelation centers on Jesus reigning victoriously.
Jesus is on the throne, with 12 thrones on either side representing the tribes of Israel and the apostles.
The church, gathered from every tribe, tongue, and nation, worships King Jesus.
Symbols of covenant faithfulness surround the throne, including a rainbow and crystals of gold and sapphires.
Four creatures described with hooves, feathers, human faces, and eyes all over, constantly proclaim, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
These creatures echo Exodus 3, emphasizing God's unchanging nature.
God doesn't offer to make us transcendent, omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent.
Holiness is attainable: God wants to make us holy.

Consequences of Fractured Relationship with God

Fracturing our relationship with God leads to not knowing ourselves and a broken relationship with our creator.
This results in constant internal conflict because we're disconnected from the source of life.
The Bible says we are all guilty.

Romans 1 - Nature of Sin

We prefer creation to the creator, using God's gifts for our pleasure without worshiping Him.
The pleasures of life on earth are not meant to terminate on themselves, but meant to bubble up over, this happens when we worship.
We believe lies over the truth of God, thinking we're smarter than Him.
We fail to acknowledge that all we have comes from God, attributing our gifts to ourselves.
To take in the time of your glory, well, that's blasphemy.

God's Wrath

God's wrath is not mindless rage but a priestly essence that destroys sin.
God is priestly, the very essence of what he is destroys and melts and obliterates sin and sinners.
To fix this, God sent His Son, the second person of the Trinity, to become flesh and blood.

Jesus' Sacrifice

Jesus, co-eternal with the Father, took on human form and perfectly fulfilled the law.
He died on the cross, and His blood establishes the new covenant.
Christians frequently sing about the "blood" of Jesus, which represents life in the ancient Near East.
The blood of Jesus establishes the new covenant.
The old covenant was based on the moral and ritual law, scoring a zero.

Blood of Jesus

Atones for all sins: Past, present, and future are forgiven.
Cleanses our conscience, removing shame.
Redeems and gives a new identity.

God's Desire for Us

God wants to rescue, ransom, and make all things new.
He offers an identity spoken by the one who designed us.
Through the blood of Jesus, God sees us as perfect, holy, and blameless.
The holiness of God exposes our righteous acts as filthy rags.
True righteousness is imputed by God, not earned through self-will.

God Wants All of You

God wants all of you, mind, body, and soul, forever.
There is nothing in your life Jesus wants distance from.
He wants the things you hide because healing is found there.
Unlike other offers that leave you empty, Jesus wants all of you.
Other Offers:
- Culture: Chase comfort, accumulate stuff, marinate in mediocrity - end up in the landfill.
- Wealth: Consume your time at the cost of meaning and connection.
- Hookup Culture: Take your body but rot your soul.
- The Current Political Environment: Puts your hope of a good life squarely on the shoulders of a political party, but it's only gonna leave your soul angry and disappointed.

Story

The speaker shared the gospel with a girl.
I took her to a "true love weights rally". It was not a good first impression to christianity.
The speaker there that night, was terrible, speaking shamefully about women, making everyone feel condemned.
Sin has already been paid for.

Closing Thoughts

We need a morally perfect king, Jesus.
We love God with everything we have.
Know what Jesus was buying when he died for you. He knows what you did.
It took seeing the king to help him realize, oh, man, I got unclean lips.

Isaiah 6:5. Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among people of unclean lips and because my eyes have seen the king, the lord of hosts.