Who is God? #2

by James M
(Melbourne, Australia)

In part one of this sermon I began to describe God, from the Bible. We have already noted several characteristics:

1. God is Loving.

2. God is Faithful

3. God is Strong


Let's continue in the description of our great God:

4. God is Forgiving.

Matthew 18:21-22

We were all slaves to our lives, slaves to the world, slaves to sin. Yet God broke that and sent his Son from heaven to earth and set us free! For that, he has forgiven everything we have done in our past life and forgotten so that we can start afresh with him.

How amazing is that?! Because God forgave us, we need to learn to forgive others; God did not judge us, so we should not judge others. Think about this, add up all the sins that people have committed and everyone has sinned more than once so that’s a lot to count but God’s Grace is so big, so humongous that he is willing to forgive all of our sins if we surrender to him.

That is a graceful, forgiving God! When I was a sinner, I was a wanderer, I carried my shame. But when God forgave me, he gave me a purpose, he forgot my sin and he lifted my shame, he lifted the weight of the world off my shoulders!

I heard from a young man, who was listening to a debate in his classroom on the subject, "if someone murdered 100 people, should they be given a death sentence?" Everybody was just shouting and screaming their opinion and thoughts, and soon the teacher asked him what he thought as he kept quiet.

And that man said "The bible says we shouldn’t judge people, even if that man did murder 100 people, he might find God, be changed by him and soon find the cure for cancer or something big."

When I heard that, I was like WOW! It’s so true, all you need to remember is, we all were slaves to sin, so we are not different from them so we need to learn to forgive like God forgives! God is loving, faithful, patient, strong and forgiving!

5. God is Wise.

Job 9:4

God is the wisest; God is the all-knowing God. You can’t fault him; you can’t mock him, or test him to make a mistake. The reason God is wise is because he is the King of kings, the Name above all names. He has the authority all over us and this world that nobody can try and get there way around.

As you know, with great power, comes great responsibility. With authority, you need wisdom. God’s wisdom is so vast that our minds can not comprehend it. When Jesus evangelised, he blew people’s minds away. It was just so simple yet so powerful and that is just a taste of God’s wisdom.

Deuteronomy 32:4

He knows everything that has happened to you, that is happening to you and what will happen to you. We don’t even know all that about our own life. I guess it’s best to say God knows what is best for our life.

Who is a better person to put all our trust in? Who is a better person to put our faith in? Most of all, who is a better God to submit our life to? No one is better; there is no one like our God. The immovable, unshakable, indestructible God, no one is better!

As I said earlier, the enemy tried to beat him, but he fell way too short. People have tried to prove him wrong, but no one has been successful. People have tried to destroy the Bible, but after thousands of years, it still lives as the oldest book and the best-selling book. God is our loving, faithful, strong, forgiving and wise God!

6. God is in Control.

1 Chronicles 17:2

On the topic of our God is wise, He is in control because he never misses a moment or loses a beat. He has created the beginning, the middle and the end. He has made a way for everything to happen at the right time. Just like the moment you were born, the moment you endured a tragedy and came out stronger, and the moment you struggled and ended up with a triumph!

God gave you your life, and when you submit your life to his will. God will take control of your life and you can embark on a wondrous, amazing journey. You will be stronger, joyful and truly blessed if you stick with God through good and hard times.

Never lose the thought that God will never leave you and he is always working with you. God is in control and he has never made a mistake, why would he start making one with your life? He won’t. God is loving, faithful, strong, forgiving, wise and in control!

7. God is UNBELIEVABLE!

Psalm 103

All those words I mentioned and the verse I just read and every other name, all that makes God just absolutely unbelievable! The sad fact is that there are people all over this world that think he is some guy who ignores your prayers, or a God who enjoys watching his creation suffer, or is just a powerful name people worship.

None of that is what God wants you to think. God may be the King of kings, Name above all names and the Creator of the universe but he is an intimate personal God; he wants to have a powerful, strong, unshakable relationship with you.

Just thinking that makes me feel amazed.
Part of knowing God is recognizing who he really is. He is not just a nameless supreme being. He’s not just some kind of force. He is not just some kindly gentleman. He is the Living God of the universe! The great God of the universe knows you intimately.

I am not telling you how you should view God; I’m still learning new things about him, just like in any other relationship. But I do know he is my God, my dad, my friend and my provider. My God is all of what I have described in this message and much more.

I can’t explain him adequately in words. I just want you to develop or keep developing a strong, intimate relationship with him because that is what he is waiting for! God is here, and he is waiting for your invitation for him to enter your life, and as I said – Don’t waste it.

I don’t want you to go home knowing that you had the chance to establish something significant with him. If you want you can pursue a closer, more intimate relationship with him than you thought you could.

I want to encourage you to come to the front and we will have a prayer, but I have to tell you, it won’t happen like that. You will need to follow through, but the outcome will be better than you think.