God Is Great God is Near

May 26, 1991

Psalm 145:3,4;17-19

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

Introduction

[Today is Trinity Sunday, when it is customary to think about the mystery of God.] IT IS A DIFFICULT THING TO THINK ABOUT GOD. Usually we find it more comfortable to think about God-things; and the God-things we like to think about are commonly things that have to do with what God is doing for US. OUR needs. OUR desires.

To think about God Himself means that we will ask impertinent questions like: IS THERE A GOD? and, WHAT IS GOD LIKE? To think about God requires that we ask ourselves, WHAT IS GOD TO ME?

I. IS THERE A GOD?

[To ask "IS THERE A GOD?" in a Nazarene church seems almost somehow sacrilegious, doesn't it! But Hebrews 11:6 indicates that faith in God is not "automatic."

1. "IS THERE A GOD?" If we had to answer this question, not with our WORDS, and not with (mere) intellectual assent, but with the way we LIVE— ah, that might be a different situation!

   If faith in God is more than an intellectual assent, and if we are supposed to witness with our life-styles, [to BE men and women who act as if God really IS!], then we face a challenge! Many Christian churches are populated with practical agnostics.

   But that is another sermon, sometime.

2. "IS THERE A GOD?" The reality of God is a "revelation matter." Faith is a gift! Faith is a gift of spiritual insight; we peer into the mystery of Life and somehow we know that we are not alone. God the Father is declared in His handiwork, and He has spoken in Revelation. (Psalm 19)

   In the Creation story God is seen as coming to where Adam and Eve are and walking with them in the cool of the day. God is still coming where we are. God speaks from faith to faith!

Illustration: Cosmonauts ("I didn't see God!") versus Astronauts ("In the beginning...!") Faith to faith!

[But ...]

II. WHAT IS GOD LIKE?

There are plenty of people who are willing to help us. Some of them may actually be helpful!

1. We have our 'official' definitions of God; the writings of the ancients; the creeds. We even have the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene, which states:

   "We believe in one eternally existent, infinite God, Sovereign of the universe; that He only is God, creative and administrative, holy in nature, attributes, and purpose; that He, as God, is Triune in essential being, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

   Official definitions are necessary. But they don't always leave us with a very warm feeling.

2. The Bible, read as a textbook, BEGINS to unfold the mystery of God, in terms that relate to us. The names of God as found the in Old and New Testaments are a good place to begin.

   The first name God used of Himself is the name Elohim, which comes from a word relating to "power." It would suggest that God is the Source of all energy and power.

   The second name God uses of Himself is the 'unspeakable name' which the ancient Hebrews would not speak, the name we call Jehovah, and scholars usually call Yahweh. THIS NAME IS A PROPER NOUN THAT MOSES HEARD AS I AM THAT I AM.

   The Jews used compound names: Jehovah-Jireh "the Lord will provide"; Jehovah-Nissi, "The Lord my banner"; Jehovah-Shalom "the Lord send peace"; Jehovah-Shammah, "the Lord is there"; Jehovah-tsidkenu, "the Lord our righteousness."

   Another Hebrew name for God is "El Shaddai," our "God our Nourisher" or "Strength-giver." "Adonai" which means Lord or Master was often spoken when the 'unspeakable name' of Jehovah was read with the eye. These are some of the names or concepts of God we see in the Old Testament.

3. The New Testament story of Jesus opens the door of revelation wider, and shows us that God is LIGHT, that He is LIFE, that He is LOVE. As we search the scriptures, and let them speak to us of the nature and attributes of God, we come to say that God is SPIRIT, that God is HOLY, that God is ETERNAL. We say that God is OMNIPRESENT, and there is no place hidden from His immediate knowledge. He is OMNISCIENT, and there is nothing He does not know or understand. God is OMNIPOTENT, with the only things impossible to Him being those things which contradict His own nature. He is good, so He cannot be evil. He is holy, so He cannot love uncleanness.
4. But the highest insight into this question 'WHAT IS GOD LIKE?' is found in WHO JESUS IS, and WHAT JESUS HAS DONE AND IS DOING. He is called "The WORD" because He is sent from the Father. He said, (John 14:9) "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." And Paul tells us (2 Corinthians 4:6) that: "In the face of Jesus is the light of God's glory!"

   HOW CAN JESUS TEACH US MORE THAN THE LETTER OF THE WORD? [John 5:39] Jesus WILL NEVER CONTRADICT THE WORD; but Jesus is somehow always more than the sum total of the "letter." We do not need some esoteric scholar to sift out the "real Jesus" behind the written word on a pseudo-intellectual basis. Jesus IS the Eternal Contemporary!

   THIS, TOO, IS A "REVELATION MATTER!" It is a miracle of God's grace that enables us to believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God, and that He makes God "come alive to us."

   What is God like? E. Stanley Jones said, "We have a Christ-like God!" Simply put, inasmuch as we can understand Him, God is like Jesus!

[But there is a THIRD question . . .]

III. WHAT IS THIS GOD TO ME?

1. The two questions merge into a third; This God who IS . . . who IS LIKE JESUS . . . WHAT IS THIS GOD TO ME?

   It is possible to be persuaded about God, even in a correct way, and still not KNOW Him!

2. HOW DO WE COME TO KNOW GOD IN THIS PERSONAL WAY?

   She was doing a routine task, so her mind could freely wander. She was thinking serious thoughts as she moved along. Thoughts about life and death, about God and worship were all mixed in with thoughts of her present situation.

   She had really made a mess of her life. It wasn't all her fault. Everybody thinks about serious things sometimes.

   As she arrived at the well her thoughts were interrupted by a Jewish gentleman sitting right on the low wall that surrounded the well itself. He startled her by asking her for a drink.

   And it was simply amazing! One good word led to another, and soon she was engaged in the most thrilling conversation of her life. She expressed some of the questions she had just been pondering.

   She thought that maybe that her deepest need was for religion. "Are the Jews correct in saying we have to go to Jerusalem to worship? Or can we Samaritans get along by worshiping right here on this mountain?"

   Her heart and mind were open. She longed to know what God was really like, what He demanded of her.

   This Stranger began to give her a disturbing but yet deeply satisfying answer!! He told her "You don't need more religion! You've got too much already! What you need is contact with GOD!"

   "What is God like?" That day the woman at the well received one of the greatest discourses ever spoken on the nature of God.

   "GOD IS SPIRIT! THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH!" The place and the method may vary. God is interested in the heart condition.

   She saw the pieces of scriptural revelation begin to fit together and make sense. She said to the Jewish gentleman: "I know that when Messiah comes He will explain everything to us!"

   Her longing and her mixed-up life and her whole heart together said within her: "Couldn't this great God SOME DAY do something wonderful for me?"

   And THEN came the EARTHQUAKE! The Jewish gentleman said: You don't HAVE to wait any longer! "Messiah is here! NOW! I AM Messiah!"

   All of a sudden this very REAL God, the very GREAT God, was also VERY NEAR!

3. HOW DO WE DRAW NEAR TO ALMIGHTY GOD? How do we find Jesus as Savior and Lord? The answer is: WE DON'T! I know the Word says: "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you!" But in every case, our drawing near to God is a response to the invitation He gives us! We may draw near, we can draw near, BECAUSE GOD ALREADY IS NEAR!

Conclusion:

1. It is easier to think about God-things than it is to think about God Himself. But when we DO put God at the very center, we discover that all we have been seeking for all along is found in God Himself! The things we think will satisfy elude us. Then we discover Jesus Christ is very near, making Himself known, and we discover that "well of water springing up within us."
2. When we are (1) in our daily routine (God is NEAR!). When we are (2) mixed up, messed up (God is NEAR!). When we are thinking of how we can do better, draw closer (God is NEARER THAN YOU KNOW!).

Two-hundred-fifty-three (253) years ago last Friday evening, about 9:15 London time, marked the anniversary of one man's discovery that God is Great and God is NEAR! He had been a priest for 13 years! He had served God and His kingdom in sacrificial ways. HE KNEW THERE WAS A GOD; AND HE KNEW BETTER THAN MOST OF US WILL EVER KNOW WHAT GOD WAS LIKE. BUT THAT EVENING JOHN WESLEY CAME TO KNOW GOD IN A PERSONAL, HEART-WARMING ASSURANCE!

Prayer: Help us to think about You today! Amen.

(EH) #14 Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven