SettledInHeaven.org (Blogger): Existence Of

Have you ever stopped and thought about who is God and how great is He? It is a mind boggling endeavor. Being able to identify God and begin to grasp His greatness is almost an impossible task. But, thanks to our God, and Moses his servant, we have both of our questions answered in one short passage of scripture.

In our text, Moses, the leader of the nation ofIsrael, publically declares the identity and greatness of the God of this world, allowing us all to answer the question… “Who is God?”

THE SCRIPTURE:

Deut 32

1) Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2) My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

3) Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

4) [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.

THE STUDY:

The Context of this message –

Deut 31: - Moses hands authority for leadership of Israel to Joshua

Deut 32:-33: - Moses farewell address to the Israelites

Deut 34: - Moses dies

Here in Deut 32: - We have a part of the final message Moses delivers to the Israelites. What did he want to leave with the Jews? The greatness of his God!

Vs 1- The Importance of the message – “Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. “

Both men and angels, I am calling upon you to listen carefully to what I have to say.

I “will speak” – to arrange words carefully

The “words of my mouth” – speech, phrasings

Vs 2- The Results of this message - “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:”

“my doctrine” – “the received thing” the truths which I have received through revelation and experience I will now hand down to you.

“as rain”, “as dew”, “small rain”, “showers” – all speak of gentleness – Through Moses gentle words and sayings great truths would be handed down. They would be truths that would bring about growth, nourishment and increase for all the nation of Israel.

Vs 3 – The Purpose of this message “Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.”

“I will publish the name” - To reveal the identity of God

“ascribe ye greatness” – To explain the greatness of God.

“LORD” – “Jehovah” – “The Existing One” – Jehovah is the only TRUE GOD. He is the only God that actually exists. Other men may create Gods but Jehovah is the only True God. That is why He told Moses to call Him “I AM”… in other words, “I exist”. (Exodus 3:13-15)

“God” – “Supreme One, Worshipped One” – This same Jehovah is also described as God by Moses. This teaches us that He is the One who is over all of us. He is Supreme and deserves our worship.

Vs 4 – The Message – “[He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.”

“He is the Rock” – Jehovah is the Creator and Sovereign Lord of all. He does nto change. He is the firm foundation upon which everything exists. He can be relied upon for our physical life and needs, our spiritual life and needs, our daily walk with Him, and our eternal existence. He is the refuge to Whom we can run.

“His work is perfect” – All of His works are without blemish and complete. He leaves nothing undone, He commits no sin, He makes no errors.

“all His ways are judgment” - His workings among men are always fair, He never mistreats anyone nor does He unfairly favor anyone.

“a God of truth” – His teachings are actual to fact, He is faithful to His promises, He can be relied upon

“without iniquity” – He can do no sin. He is not tainted with the filth of sin, He is not dirtied. His nature is pure and untouched by sin

“just” - He lives by the same set of rules that He Himself sets. He keeps His own laws

“right” – He is straight, forthright, and honest. He is not shady, sneaky or misleading.

Jehovah is the Only True God. He is the Creator, the Lord, the Redeemer and the Holy One.

You can personally know this same God by simply turning from your sin and coming to Him in faith, trusting Him to forgive you of your sin debt, and grant you eternal life. May the Lord bless you in your search for the True God and a relationship with Him.

1Thess 1:9-10 (KJV) - For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

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To see this lesson taught on video please go to my Video Blog at http://www.youtube.com/settledinheaven

If you have any questions concerning this blog, or if you have a subject you would like discussed, please feel free to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I will answer all emails via my blog, email, or both.

Take A Look At My Wife’s Artistic/Scriptural Devotion Blog http://alivewithchristart.blogspot.com

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May the Lord bless your study of His Word. Like God’s Word… may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”

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As the Christmas season approaches, Atheist billboards are beginning to pop up declaring that the virgin birth, and even God’s existence, is only a myth. One example is this billboard…

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/atheist_billboard_near_lincoln.html

With all of this world’s mixed messages about the Lord’s person, His work, and even His existence; I thought it was wise to remind every one of some of the results of denying what the Lord clearly told us in His Word.

The Word of God addresses many subjects including:

the proofs of God’s existence – (Psa 19:1-6, Jer 10:10-16, Acts 17:8-9, etc etc)

the proofs of Christ’s coming to the earth and the work which He performed (Acts 5:29-33, Acts 2:29-36, 1 Cor 15:1-11, etc etc )

as well as many other truths that help us to understand who the Lord is and what He has done for us.

The Lord, by His grace and love, has revealed to us the serious results of denying what He has clearly told us in His Word. May the Lord bless each of us with an understanding and acceptance of this crucial truth…

THE SCRIPTURE:

Heb 10:19-31

19Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;...30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.31[It is] a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

THE STUDY:

In Hebrews 10:19-25, we find the importance of not taking God’s gracious workings in the lives of His people for granted…

19Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And [having] an high priest over the house of God;

The Lord has given sinful mankind the privilege to enter into His presence now (through prayer and Bible study) and throughout eternity (dwelling with Him face to face).   Although we are sinful, through the death and shed blood of Jesus Christ, we can receive forgiveness of sins and communion with Almighty, Holy God. It is though His work on our behalf that He becomes our intercessor (or priest), standing between God and sinful man, working peace, communion and forgiveness on our behalf.

22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.23Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;)24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Because the Lord has brought us into a close relationship with Himself, we are to draw near to Him, knowing that He has cleansed us from our inward and outward sins. This forgiveness was applied to our account when His Spirit applied the Word to our hearts and lives (Eph 5:26).

We are also to be telling others of His workings in our lives and we are to aid others to serve Him in love (by meeting together to worship, learn and encourage other Christians).

All of these acts of appreciation, we are to observe in a greater way because our time is running short. Soon our God will be coming back to take us home and be with Him forever.

In Hebrews 10:26-31, we find the solemn results of rejecting the truth by those who are not His people...

26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

After we receive the truths God has shown to us, and then count them as being false, there is no reason to believe that the Lord has, or will, forgive us. If we remain in a state of denial of His truths we should fear, knowing that we are facing the judgment that is prepared by God for those who are His adversaries. This judgment includes God’s fiery indignation (burning wrath) upon those who oppose Him.

28He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Now our attention is turned to the penalty of breaking God’s laws given to the nation of Israel. According to the law given to them… if there were two or three witnesses to the commission of a crime worthy of death, that was ample proof for execution.

We are to compare that type of sin with the rejection of Christ, His work and His shed blood. After hearing of Christ and His great sacrifice and then counting that as untrue, worthless, or of no benefit, we commit a very heinous sin in God’s eyes. It is as if Christ and His work is being tred underfoot, dirtied, buried and ignored.

Even if the initial receipt of the truth affects our life causing a worldly, outward, reformation (sanctification) , this is not proof of spiritual life being present.   Simple good works shown in the life is no guarantee of acceptance by God.

A heart of repentant faith in Christ and in His work is an absolutely necessity for the forgiveness of sins. This type of belief cannot be turned from, nor denied. (2 Cor 7:9-10)

30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.31[It is] a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The Lord is plain throughout His Word, not only is He a God of love and grace; He is also a God of justice. The Lord makes it clear that He will send judgment and deserved punishment upon those who reject the kind, loving, gracious, most valuable work of His Son.

This truth will bring terror upon those who reject Him. To deny God’s existence and work is to sentence themselves to an eternity of separation from God in eternal misery in the lake of fire.

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION

For those who are saved…

Let us never forget all that our God has done for us. He not only created us, but then He saved us from our deserved punishment through the sacrifice of His Son.   How much more should we be motivated to serve Him after all He has done for us? (Rom 12:1-2)

For those who have never trusted in Christ…

Please take time to, honestly and with an open heart, study God’s Word and come to an understanding of the many various proofs of God’s existence and His Son’s work on your behalf.

The Bible makes it plain that we have all sinned and are facing punishment for those sins. (Rom 1:18-21, 2:11-12, Acts 17:30-31) This is why rejecting the existence of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, is tantamount to sentencing yourself to an eternity of suffering at the hands of a Just God. (Rom 2:5, 2 Pet 2:9, 3:7, Rev 20:15, 21:8)

Things do not have to be this way, however. This same God, who is just in punishing sin, is also a very kind, gracious and loving God. He has sent His Son to the earth to save His people from their sins. (Matt 1:21)

Through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross, the payment for the sin debt of God’s people was made in full.

By turning from our disbelief, and by trusting in Christ and His work on the cross, we can find forgiveness for our sins and peace with God. (Rom 3:26-28, 4:17-25, 5:1-2, 15:13)

Oh, won’t you change your mind and attitude about God and Christ?   Won’t you believe that God and His Son exist, and that they have performed the necessary work to forgive you of your sins? By looking to Him and placing your life and future in His hands you will be assured of a life of peace with God.

May the Lord bless you as you seek the truth about Him.

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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Who is God?

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Atheist Billboard: Tis the Season to Deny the Existence of God