God is great!

Introduction:

Today's post is all about considering the scriptures that refer to the One and only Living God by the title: "The Great God" or by references that speak of God as being "great". Why is God so great? By exploring the scope of scripture we will uncover key passages that refer to God as great and see why the God of the Bible is so great.

1. God is the Great Savior
The first time we see reference to God and the term "great" in the same verse is in Exodus 14:30-31 "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses." When Israel saw their enemies defeated, they saw in one event not only an end to their slavery, but also God defeat what Pharoah represented: the array of gods and goddesses worshipped by the Egyptians, the wealth and power of that nation and four centuries of tyranny wiped away in one night! When we come to the New Testament, Jesus is deemed the Great God and Savior in Titus 2:13 "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." Indeed God is great! God is the Great Savior! 

2. God is great because He is God
Sometimes the distinction is made between praise and worship, in that "praising God" has to do with what He does, whereas "worshipping God" deals moreso with the kind of God He is. Although pressing such a distinction can go to far, it nevertheless helps us in being reminded of the fact that God's greatness in Who He is in His being defines His greatness, followed by what He does. Deuteronomy 10:17 states: "For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward." (KJV) God is the "Great God" because He literally is the Only God in a class by Himself by virtue of His majestic being (God of gods), His majestic authority (Lord of lords) and that is mighty and to be feared (translated here in the KJV by the term "terrible"). God is depicted in Deuteronomy 10:17 as a God that is just and fair in his dealings with people (literally in the Hebrew "not preferring one person over another" or the KJV "regardeth not persons") and One who is not moved by bribes. God is clearly not like human beings in the sense He is not molded by circumstances nor capable of having His hand forced to bend to anyone's will. God is God. Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? God is great because He is, well, God." Malachi 3:6  “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed." Hebrews 13:8 states similarly -  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." The God of the Bible is great. He is great because He is the Great Savior and because He is God. 

3. God is great, worthy of worship.

What made the temple in the Old Testament so great? What makes our time at church and with one another so great? Ezra gives the answer in Ezra 5:8 "Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands." Nehemiah 8:6 records later on - And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground." God is Great, worthy of worship.

Worship and praise are the spill over of fervent love for God for all He is and what He has done. At first when we read Psalm 95:3, we may be tempted to think the Psalmist is contrasting God as the greatest among many - "For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods." However as you read on into the Psalm, Yahweh is affirmed as having formed every square inch of creation, which by default makes all other would "god" nothing more than non-existent, non-living idols of men's imaginations. Consider Psalm 95:4-6  "In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. 5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker." Proverbs affirms this role of the Great God as the Creator having the right to render judgment in Proverbs 26:10 "The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors." 

God is great, worthy of worship. In our worship of God in His greatness, we affirm He alone is worthy, since He alone created the world, knows everything present and also knows the end from the beginning. Daniel 2:35 says about this Great God "Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." Consider Daniel 4:35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand. Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’  

Any God that can do all these things and Be powerful enough, knowledgable enough and present enough in the past, present and future is more than worthy of our worship. God is Great. God is the Great Savior, great because He is God and worthy of worship. It would seem at this point we have reached the summit of this mountain of truth concerning the fact that "God is great". However what is the purpose of climbing any mountain? To see glories and wonders that can never be viewed on the ground. Only one more thought can complete today's study concerning why God is so great, namely...

4. God is greatly revealed in Jesus Christ

When we come to the New Testament, the Oneness, Greatness and Uniqueness of God in His being is still affirmed. Such a teaching of the Bible pertaining to God as being the only Great God is what we call "mono-theism". But now in the New Testament we find a second and equally important truth, namely the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Passages such as John 1:1 and Colossians 1:16 tell us that God in His Oneness of Being is also plural in His identity. The Old Testament hints at God's plurality of identity (i.e Genesis 1:26 "let us make man in our image and likeness") and the New Testament defines this plurality of identity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). This identity is not merely three names or modes or "masks" that God wears, but they are Three-Personalities and thus Three-Persons sharing in the One, undivided, eternal Divine nature. 

By affirming God as One God and Jesus the Son as God revealed in human flesh, the groundwork is laid for affirming the Trinity. Two New Testament scriptures use this title "Great God" to identify the Lord Jesus Christ. The first is one we looked at near the beginning of this post,  Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Hebrews 1:3 affirms the greatness of the Son that is stated in Titus 2:13 - "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exactrepresentation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." The second New Testament verse we'll consider features the last time we find "great" and "God" in the same verse, namely Revelation 19:17, wherein we see these words spoken by an angel in the context of Jesus' second coming - "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God." When we take everything we learned from the Old Testament usage of this title "Great God" and apply it to Jesus Christ, we now see the full and complete picture as to why the Great God of the Bible is so great. 

Conclusion

By this point our minds and hearts ought to be stretched beyond their limits and conclude that the only proper response is not analysis, but worship. God is great! This one key thought is what I want us all to focus upon today. Why is God great? He is the Great Savior, He is God, He is worthy of worship and God is revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ. God is great!

An explosive prayer-life moving in the power of God

Romans 8:26-27 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Introduction:
There is perhaps nothing that illustrates power in the physical realm quite like a tractor pull. The roar of multiple engines and the strain of two enormous tires eating the ground to pull a sled weighing thousands of pounds causes my heart at least to leap out of its chest. Such displays of power are fun to watch. There is another phenomenon of power that every Christian has at their disposal that exceeds any tractor puller and yet is often neglected. Of what power do I speak? God's power in an explosive-prayer life of the Christian. 

What constitutes powerful Christianity and church-life is the powerful prayer lives of Christians who walk with God. Our own sense of self-importance has resulted in a bloated American church that looks more like the culture and less like a counter-culture centered around the belief in the Risen Christ and the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the Word of God and transformed lives. 

Romans 8:21-28 gives the list of ingredients necessary for having an explosive prayer life. As one writer once put it: "a man (and for that matter a woman) of God can never exceed in their public life the level to which they are with God in their private life." If we can take note of the principles Paul lays out here for praying with power, then we will have the Christian lives and churches that are also marked with the Spirit's power and enduement.

1. Pray with eagerness. Romans 8:21-25 

Romans 8:21-25 states: "that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.22 For we know that the whole creationgroans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 Forin hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." Notice the underlined words in the text: "waiting eagerly" and "hope". Do we expect God to genuinely work when we pray? Are we expecting Him to act on our behalf. The tone of the Christian world and personal Christian living is often powerless due to the fact we don't believe God is powerful. We don't expect God will move on our behalf and are shocked to no end when we see Him move. We approach prayer with a "ho-hum" attitude, rather than seeing prayer as having a Personal conversation with the Omnipotent God that achieves all the purposes of His will. 

We have tamed our understanding of God and domesticated Him to operating on the same plane as we do. If God is powerful enough (and He is) to bring to a resolution the sin and decay of this creation through the redemptive efforts of His Son, surely he can act effectively on your behalf and mine. So to pray with power, we must pray with eagerness. This entails knowing that God is able to do whatsoever His will in His Word says he can and will do. But notice a second necessary element...

Pray with weakness. Romans 8:26 

Romans 8:26 states - "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." If there is one thing missing in our church world and Christianity as a whole in America it is the sense of dependency on God. We like to come off like we have it all together. Showing of strength, human ingenuity, professionalism, cleverness, no problems, personality and the like make for appealing to the crowds and attracting more people. However, does such an environment foster the type of atmosphere wherein the Spirit of God will show up in supernatural power? 

Consider again what we learn in prayer, and apply it in your Christian life or the church world: "His power is made perfect in weakness". Admitting that I don't have the answers. Acknowledging to God we need help with this or that. Coming to our heavenly father as a little wee child comes to their daddy with upheld arms, moistened eyes and quivering voice saying: "Daddy, please help me!" Would any decent father reject such a plea? Hardly! How much more our Heavenly Father will grant the co-equal, co-eternal Spirit in powerful aid to those crying out in prayer. 

Our strength lies in our weakness. Strength shown in weakness is a message so alien to our culture. Nonetheless, this is what is called for in praying with power, namely praying in our weakness and dependance upon God. As we already mentioned, we need to pray with eagerness. But notice the last ingredient for praying with power...

Praying with faith in God. Romans 8:27-28

Romans 8:27-28 "and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." In prayer the mind and the human spirit are linked together. The mind that has taken in the words of God from the Bible knows the will of God. The human spirit that is home to the Holy Spirit of God intuitively knows the will of God. Faith by its very definition in Hebrews 11:1 is the substance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not yet seen. 

Fear says: "Maybe". Faith says: "He can". Fear says: "I'm not sure". Faith says: "I know He will". Prayer crosses over that invisible boundary between human half-hearted prayers vs Spirit-wrought powerful intercession by what we can call "certainty" and "knowing that we know that we know". Romans 8:28 is an everest in the Christian's prayer life. You can take that one verse and pull it over every area of your Christian life and whatever is lacking in our local churches. Praying with power will lead to living with power, worshipping with power and preaching with power. 

Closing thoughts

We need the power and Person of God in our lives. May we pray with eagerness, weakness and faith. Those are the ingredients for having an explosive prayer life that moves forth in the power of God! 

How Israel is relevant to the Christian

Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Introduction:

Why should Christians be concerned about Israel? The Apostle Paul uses his burden for his fellow Jews and the Jewish nation as a springboard for consideration of God's plans for Israel and their salvation. Such plans are interlaced with the project God has at this current moment of calling forth specific people from every nation on earth to respond to the Gospel. Unless we understand the destiny of Israel as being interconnected to one of the main reasons why people are hearing the Gospel today, we will miss out on how Great God is in saving both Jews and Gentiles. How is Israel relevant to the Christian? Consider the following thoughts from Romans 11:25-36...

1. God's Greatness is shown because of Israel. Romans 11:25-27

Israel's persistent refusal as a people group to bow the knee to Jesus Christ is being used by God in His Sovereign plan to give space for Gentiles to hear the Gospel, respond to the Spirit's calling and to result in the salvation of large numbers of people from every people group. The proportion of Jewish people believing on Jesus as their Messiah will be relatively few, and that is in ways we cannot comprehend, part of God's design. The fault of any person, Jew or Gentile, for not believing, lies of course with that person. With that said, God's main focus in this current age is the salvation of many people from all nations. As only God can do, the temporary setting aside of Israel in this current age of grace, and the salvation of many Gentiles, will be used by God to make Israel jealous and prepared to look to Jesus as Savior and Lord at His second coming. Consider Romans 11:26-27 "and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” It is no mystery that in showing the great of God, the greatness of God in the Person of the Son would be close by in this passage. Jesus Christ is the full revelation of God, being "The Word made flesh" (John 1:14); God manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16) and the soon coming Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Israel's destiny in ultimately being saved is relevant because it points us to the Greatness of God. But now notice a second reason how Israel is relevant to the Christian...

2. The Gospel's Greatness is shown because of Israel. Romans 11:28-32

In Romans 11:28-32 we are given a set of binoculors through which we can gaze at the wonder of God's redemptive work. The amazing thing about binoculors is that through two eye pieces the viewer can get a closer perspective on otherwise far away objects. Each lens is designed for each eye. The way our eyes work are that each sees a portion of whatever is in front of our eyes for the sake of generating a three-dimensional view in our brains. If you take your finger and stretch out your arm and then close one eye, then another, you will witness your finger shift left, then right. Without this feature, we would lack the ability to have depth perception and things would look quite flat. Binoculors take advantage of this team work between our eyes and help magnify far-away objects so that we can see them as they really are. 

Paul is viewing Israel through two eyes pieces: the lens of the Gospel and the lens of Sovereign election. It appears through the lens of the Gospel that Israel is a total lost cause. She persists in her refusal of Jesus and her spiritual blindness and deafness to the Gospel is very evident. However, whenever we look through the second eye-piece, Sovereign election, the view is quite different. Israel is still God's chosen and elect people. Romans 11:29 states - "for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." 

What Paul then does is view God's plan for Gentiles in this current age through both lenses to reveal a fully-three dimensional picture. Sovereign election and human responsibility in believing or refusing the Gospel are part of God's plan in saving both Jews and Gentiles. The greatness of the Gospel is that those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ can only give credit to One - God. Sadly, those who persist in unbelief can only blame one person - themselves. Romans 11:32 states - "For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all." All humanity is born into this world in unbelief - whether Jew or Gentile. God's judgment rightly falls on all men and quite frankly, He is under no obligation to save anyone. Israel is used to illustrate a small slice of the fact that despite having done nothing to commend God to her, God has so chosen to set a time and place whereby He will suddenly call individuals within the nation of Israel to respond, freely believe on Jesus and be saved at His appearing. Galatians 3:22 sheds further light by using similar wording to what we see in Romans 11:32, notice - "But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."

The binoculors of Romans 11:28-32 shows how God is using Israel in the accomplishment of the greatness of the Gospel. If we as Christians can grasp the relevance of Israel, we will better appreciate the greatness of God and the Gospel. But now notice one final reason how Israel is relevant to the Christian...

3. Greater worship occurs when we consider God's plan for Israel. Romans 11:33-36

In writing out this post today, this writer admits that at best, only the faint outline of the tremendous richness of Romans 11:25-32 can be grasped. How God uses Israel to make room for Gentiles to respond to the Gospel, and how He in turn uses Gentile response to set the stage for what will be Israel's future salvation is amazing and mind-blowing. I suspect this is why Paul wrote his sudden explosion of worship (a doxology) in Romans 11:33-36. God's greatness is not full appreciated until it results in worship. God's purposes in the Gospel are not fully treasured until worship of God has taken place. Worship is astonishing in that on the one hand, we know full-well the God whom we praise and yet on the otherhand, barely comprehend the God Whom we are exalting. 

To illustrate the point just made, what response do you find when witnessing a beautiful sunrise or sunset? or standing in front of the ocean for the first time? how about seeing a bride come down the isle or beholding the face of your newborn child or grandchild? a person understands what they are seeing and yet cannot claim they comprehend it all in its fulness. The mystery of a new life and beholding a person never before seen in this world is all at once a reality that occurs daily and yet has the sense of being made possible by Someone whose thoughts are higher than our own. Scientists can explain the sun's refracting light through the layers of Nitrogen and Oxygen in our atmosphere to produce the sunset, and yet they cannot capture the feeling of awe and transcendance that often accommpanies such phenomena. Beholding the ocean for the first time is far different than seeing a glass of water. The ocean's immensity swallows up the viewer and elicits forth words such as "awesome" and "amazing". 

What is the point? The point is this: worship of God can only come about when we have a true vision of God's greatness and His greatness in the greatness of the Gospel. Romans 11:36 stands as one of the greatest verses in the Bible: "From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory for ever and ever, Amen." The destiny of Israel must ever be moreso in the forefront of our minds and hearts, since God uses it to enable us to worship Him all the more. We marvel at how He ever desires to show mercy to Israel, being reminded of the fact we had done nothing at all to solicit His mercy toward us. Psalm 122:6-9 gives us the best practical way to include Israel's destiny in our daily lives - Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:“May they prosper who love you. 7 “May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.” 8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good."

Closing thoughts:

Today we looked at Romans 11:25-36 to discover how and why Israel is relevant to the Christian. In better understanding God's destiny for Israel, we discover the following benefits and thus the relevancy of Israel to our lives:

1. God's Greatness is shown because of Israel. Romans 11:25-27

2. The Gospel's Greatness is shown because of Israel. Romans 11:28-32

3. Greater worship occurs when we consider God's plan for Israel. Romans 11:33-36

Why give tithes and offerings?

Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."

Introduction:

Why is it that on Sunday morning we have a portion of time in the church service dedicated to giving of monies into the offering plate? In hearing the attitudes and approaches to giving to God's work, three responses to that question are typically given. Some people honestly do not know why there is a portion of time in the church service for the giving of tithes and offerings. Within this first response there may very well be those who don't think tithing (giving 10%) is for today or others who don't feel there is a point. Others may even question the value of including the opportunity for people to give to the Lord's work, since it is perceived it may give off the "wrong message" of greed. This first response represents those who have not been introduced to the full biblical teaching on stewardship.

The second response represents those folks who give out of duty. Their parents taught them as children to give to the Lord's work, and so they do so out of duty. Duty is a good place to start when beginning to obey the Lord in an area, however if it does not graduate to delight and desire out of love for God, the joy that accompanies giving to the Lord's work will not be experienced. 

The third type of response is one of genuine delight, privilege and desire to give to the Lord's work. It is this third group of responses that is most remarkable, since the natural human tendency is not to give for the sake of others or for the sake of God's glory, but to keep and hoard for oneself. To give to God's work for the sake of advancing that work represents the right heart and response it the realm of giving. Giving of one's tithes (10% of one's gross earnings) is still for today, contrary to what some may teach. There is not one passage of scripture cancelling out the practice and if anything, the New Testament standard would suggest that tithing is the ground floor of where we begin to tithe. Offerings represents that level of giving beyond the tithe. Whenever Paul was telling the church at Corinth to give in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, he was reminding them to fulfill the love offering for the church at Jerusalem. 

Checking our motives for giving is a good practice. If someone where to ask me why give of one's tithes and offerings, I would cite the one and main reason: Because God in His greatness gave the Greatest. Think about the following thoughts below...

1. We give because God is Great
We focused in yesterday's post about how we need God's Greatness. God's Greatness must be the beginning and ending points of the Christian life, otherwise our motives for doing what we do and living how we live will quickly lead to shallow commitment and cold love. Giving in stewardship is no different. In the great tithing text of Malachi 3:8-12, we find a logical connection to Malachi 3:6 - “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed." Why focus on the Greatness of God's immutability in a blog post dealing with why we give? Think about how often your circumstances and finances go up and down. One sickness, one broken-down car or a sudden change in the economy can quickly change how we view finances and resources. But now God never changes. He is ever faithful. The way in which His promises work are based entirely upon His unvarying and unwavering character. On the churning seas of life, God must be the anchor and lighthouse to Whom we look. Unless we are convinced God will never change, then our motives for giving will quickly become man-centered. I am convinced that negligence in the area of stewardship is due to a diminished or non-existent vision of the Greatness of God. But notice also a second reason we give....

2. We give because of the Gospel

The clearest Old Testament command to bring one's tithes to the storehouse would be nothing more than a command of law if we did not consider it's wider context. Malachi 3 begins with a prophecy of how the Messiah will come in His first coming, as evidenced by the reference to the forerunner in Malachi 3:1. Matthew 11:10, 14; Mark 1:3; Luke 7:37 and John 1:6-7 point back to Malachi as one of the prophecies concerning John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah. Without a doubt the prophecy speaks mainly about conditions that will characterize Jesus' second coming, however the prophetic reference to Jesus' first coming is also included. The fact that John the Baptist's ministry is described by both Malachi's prophecy in Malachi 3 and the opening verses of Isaiah 40 testify to the Gospel setting that motivates why we give to the Lord's work. The law of God points to the Gospel. The giving of the Gospel to others and the anticipation thereof is the second reason we give of tithes and offerings, in addition to the first reason - God's greatness. Now lets consider one final reason.. 

3. We give because God gave Jesus as a tithe

This third reason truly ties together the first and second motives behind why God's people are to give to God's work. A curious phrase is used to describe the manner in which God gave the Son for our salvation. 1 Corinthians 15:20 states - "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." The title "first-fruits" comes directly from the Old Testament setting of the Jews giving of a portion of the first of their harvest. Passages such as 2 Chronicles 31:5 and Nehemiah 10:37 equate the giving of the first-fruits of the ground or the first-lings of the flock with the act of tithing. The logic of scripture is quite plain on this point:

Premise #1 To give of one's firstfruits is to give of the tithe

Premise #2 Jesus is the first-fruit, given by God

Hence, Jesus is God's tithe

To insure the point is made as clear as possible, we give because God gave. Consider Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" John 3:16 clearly reminds us - “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Closing thoughts

So in closing today, we proposed three reasons why God's people ought to give of tithes and offerings in addition to the fact that it is commanded throughout scripture. First, we give because God is Great. God is so great that He owns everything and His unchanging character guarantees the blessedness that comes with stewardship. Second, we give for the sake of the Gospel. Giving enables the giving forth of Gospel to those in need of it. Then thirdly, giving is done because God gave Jesus as the ultimate tithe or firstfruit. These are the motivations for giving of tithes and offerings. So what are we waiting for? Let's give for the glory of God!

Why we need God's greatness

Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Introduction

I will never forget one of the first times I ever traveled in an airplane. I was on a trip and had many things going through my mind. In the course of our ascent into the air, we went up above the cloudline and topped out at 35,000 feet. I recall vividly how when flying out the sky had been overcast and the threat of rain was imminent. My life, the specific events that were occuring at the time and the trip back home all loomed large in my heart. Yet when we went up above that cloud line, there was nothing but sunshine and blue skies. By the time we began to descend, I noticed how insigificant houses, cars and people seemed to look in comparison to the seen I had just witnessed outside the window seat. For me this illustrates why we need the greatness of God. Psalm 19:1-6 and other passages remind us of how the heavens declare the glory of God. I experienced the message of the created order about God through the general revelation of Himself above that cloudline. When I look into the pages of the Bible, God's special revelation, and read even more specifically about the fulness of revelation Jesus Christ, the greatness of God revealed in written form and personified by the Son in human flesh dominates the pages of scripture. We need the greatness of God. Today I want to outline in short order from Romans 11:25-12:21 why we need God's Greatness.

1. Evangelism needs God's Greatness.

Whenever you read Romans 11:25-32, the essential message is two-fold: Israel has not been ultimately rejected but momentarily set aside by God and the Gentiles are being now given the opportunity to be called by the Spirit to respond to the message of the Gospel. Evangelism and missions makes no sense without God's greatness. Romans 11:25-32 is tethered to the great doxology of Romans 11:33-36, which spells out clearly how great God is. When Jesus gave His great commission in Matthew 28:18-20, He reminded His disciples of the fact that all power had been given to him on heaven and on earth. Why? Because He promised them that He would remain with His church until the time He returns. Jesus could not make such a promise unless He was the Great God revealed in human flesh. Missions/evangelism needs the Greatness of God. If God is not great, then the Gospel is not good news, since it claims to reconcile sinners who respond by grace through faith to this Great God. So why else do we need God's greatness?

Worship needs God's Greatness

Romans 11:33-36 is an everest in the book of Romans. It is the continental divide of the book. Just read it aloud and you will see why these verses spell out the greatness of God: "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Such a series of verses ought to take out breath away! Romans 12:1 tells us then the only proper response: "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Author John Piper has noted that the reason missions exists in the world is because worship doesn't. As a corollary to his amazing statement, we could say that worship exists when we have promoted the glory of God in missions. Both evangelism and worship go hand-in-hand. The chief expressions of worship: preaching and singing, do not make sense if the God that is being preached or sung about is like us. Preaching will be flat if God is not exalted and worship will be a going-through-the-motions if our gaze never lifts above the horizontal sight-line of this world. Worship and evangelism need the greatnness of God, and now let's consider a third reason why we need God's greatness...

Serving God needs God's greatness

As one travels down from Romans 12:2-13, the emphasis shifts to God's people serving the Lord with their Spirit-given gifts. Why serve God in the church? Because He is so worthy of it! Churches all the time will try to convince people to "plug-in" and "get on board" with the church's ministries, schedule and routine, only to find apathy or lack of interest. Could it be because of lack of faith or unfaithfulness on the part of the church membership? Perhaps. However, I think the fault often lies behind the fact that the modern day church does not exalt the greatness of God and the glory of Jesus Christ. Wherever God is exalted, service will go from a duty to perform to a delight of pleasure. Giving, working and supporting the advancement of God's kingdom is a supernatural by-product of getting a glimpse of God's greatness through the scriptures, the singing and the salvations that can come when He is lifted on high. Service to God needs His greatness for motivation. Evangelism and worship needs God's greatness, but now consider one final area needing His greatness....

Everyday life needs God's Greatness

Romans 12:14-21 shifts gears one last time to life outside the church. Everyday life and rubbing elbows with unbelievers will test how committed we are to the greatness of God. If we are only interested in promoting our own greatness, our Christian testimony and depth of spirituality will be shallow and tepid. Show me a man or woman or child that views their life as literally being lived out before God's presence, and you and I will see such a person serious about making His presence known. This latter part of Romans 12:14-21 urges us to show the glory and love of God to difficult people. Unless we are convinced by faith that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and worthy of our lives, we will not make the connection needed for living godly lives in an ungodly world. The older Christians used two Latin phrases to summarize this point: we live coram dei (in the presence of God) contra mundum (in opposition to the world). 

Closing thoughts

Unless the Greatness of God is the priority of priorties in our lives, evangelism, worship, service and daily life for Jesus Christ won't make any sense. Only God's greatness can make sense of anything. 

Spiritual Fruitfulness Requires God's Word

Genesis 1:11 "Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so."

Opening thoughts on fruitfulness

Today's opening verse represents the first time we come across the concept of fruitfulness in the Bible. Admittedly, the concept of spiritual fruitfulness has been on my mind for quite some time. All the time as a pastor I pray for fruitfulness in my own life, my family, our church and abroad. Dr. Charles Stanley write this insight about the desirable qualities of spiritual fruitfulness in his book: "The Wonderful Spirit filled life", page 117: "(O)ne might mistakenly assume that the purpose of the fruit of the Spirit is merely to make us good people. That is certainly a nice-by product. But there is more to it than that. The fruit of the Spirit is one of two channels through which God releases His power in and through the believer. Whenever and wherever fruit is being produced, God's power is manifested. This power, as expressed through the fruit of the Spirit, enables us to witness in three ways: 

1). It attracts non-believers to Christ. 

2). It provides relational qualities necessary to enable members of the body to work together in harmony.

3). It protects believers from the destructive consequences of sin. 

One of the mysteries I find about spiritual fruitfulness is that as desirable as it ought to be among Christians, it seems to be often a matter of little concern. Furthermore, how often do we find out Christian lives, our families and our churches being unfruitful rather than fruitful? Questions such as these require answers, and those answers are found in the very collection of books that are by their very nature fruit producing - namely the 66 books comprising the Bible. Today's post features one of the first truths we discover about spiritual fruitfulness: it requires God's Word.

God's Word was necessary for fruitfulness in creation

Whenever one begins to read the Bible, it does not take long to learn how important fruit-bearing is to God. As God created the heavens and the earth, He wove into the fabric of the cosmos, every plant, animal and man himself the capacity for multiplying, being abundant and bearing forth fruit of some sort. None of the fruitfulness we witness in the creation accounts would had been possible without God speaking forth such fruitfulness. God's Word was required. 

For example, in Genesis 1:11 we read: "And God said: "let the earth sprout forth vegetation...". Embedded within the meaning of the verb "sprout" is the idea of God enduing his creation with the ability to produce fruit - all made possible by His spoken Word. Further evidence of the requirement for God's Word in fruitfulness is seen elsewhere in the creation narrative. Genesis 1:22 reads - "God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 "God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Whether in the inanimate parts of creation, the animal kingdoms or man himself, God's Word is required for fruitfulness. 

God's Word is required for fruitfulness in spiritual matters

To carry on this major point of spiritual fruitfulness requiring God's Word, we now transition from the natural realm to the supernatural realm. Does God's Word function in the same capacity? Isaiah 55:10-11 is a text that demonstrates this theme functioning in both physical and spiritual realms - “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." God's Word is required for spiritual fruitfulness. 

When Jesus was telling his parable of the sower in Matthew 13, he likened the seed being cast by the sower on the various portions of his field to the Word of God. Jesus states in Matthew 13:23  - "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” In future posts we will talk about the responsibility people have in the process of fruitfulness. Suffice it to say for now, wherever no fruit is borne, the failure is due to man's unwillingness and the lack of taking in the seed of God's Word. God's Word always has the power of life within it due to it being a direct by-product of the Spirit's Divine inspiration. As Jesus points out in his parable of the soils, the first three types of people failed to produce fruit due to them no receiving the Word of God in their hearts - whether it be circumstances, the lack of cultivation of their hearts or a combination of the two. The final person bore fruit because by the Spirit's working, the Word was taken into the soil of the heart the fruit was borne. Spiritual fruitfulness requires God's Word. 

Were it not for God's Word, fruit would not be borne in any preaching or church ministry. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 reminds us - "For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe." The Greek verb translated by the English phrase "performs its work in you" is the same word from whence we get our English word "energy". Quite literally, the Word of God has the capacity to do an "inward work". Hebrews 4:12 lays this point out  - "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Closing thoughts:

Today we considered how spiritual fruitfulness requires God's Word. We saw this principle illustrated in the creation narrative of Genesis 1 and also in the spiritual realm in key scriptures. I close this post with Romans 10:16-17 - "However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Spiritual fruitfulness requires God's Word. 

3 reasons why you and I need to pray

Ephesians 6:18-20 "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with allperseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and prayon my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassadorin chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."

Why pray?

Today's post aims to answer the simple question: "why pray?". The command to pray in Ephesians 6:18-20 occurs on the heals of Paul's extensive treatment of the spiritual armor and the need to fight the good fight of faith. As Paul prepares to close out his Epistle to the Ephesians, his final set of commands will deal with prayer and the need of it. In short order we will propose three reasons why we need to pray from Ephesians 6:18-20.

We need to pray because of alertness

Ephesians 6:18a notes - "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert....". The Christian walk can often be characterized as a slumber moreso than a consistent attendance to the priorities of the Kingdom. Prayer for the Christian life is like oxygen to the lungs - without it we suffocate and lag behind. When we read in the accounts of Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethesemane in Matthew 26:41 and Mark 14:38, His appeal to them is to "watch and pray". Alertness in the Christian life is held to such a high premium that it is plainly comanded of every Christian in Ephesians 5:14-17. Jesus Himself is portrayed at the beginning of his ministry literally waking up early in the morning to pray. (Mark 1:35) Spiritual alertness is an impossibility without prayer. Notice a second reason why we need to pray...

We need to pray because of God's power

Ephesians 6:18-19 continues with these words - "with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel....". Churches and individual Christian lives seem to be characterized more by activity than God's power. Prayer is the open window inviting the Spirit of God to blow His fresh Divine power on our otherwise weak and anemic human efforts. Jesus told his disciples not to fear, since the Spirit would grant them the words to say at just the right moment. (Matthew 10:19) No preaching of the word nor understanding of it can happen apart from the power of God's grace available to do either. (Psalm 119:27) When Jesus stood at Lazarus' tomb in John 11, He intentionally prayer aloud for the sake of those nearby to demonstrate the fact that He was relying on the power of His Heavenly Father and the Person of the Spirit to raise Lazarus from the dead. Prayer is needed because of the need for God's power. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 reminds us that the preaching and teaching of God's Word is effective insofar as it is accompanied by the Spirit's power. Lest the people of God and the preacher are devoted to prayer, no power from on high will be experienced. Jesus even instructed the early church to wait on the Spirit until He empowered them to do their missionary work. (Acts 1:8) The early disciples went into an upstairs room and prayed for ten days until the Spirit came and empowered them. We must pray if we ever expect to see God's power in our lives, as well as for the sake of alertness. Now notice a final reason to pray....

We need to pray because we need boldness

We read in Ephesians 6:19b-20 - "to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Without prayer, Christians can be lethargic, powerless and timid people. Is it any wonder why churches and Christians today are timid, not wanting to take or stand or stand for what is right? Could it be because of prayerlessness in both the pew and the pulpit? Again we see in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus praying three times to the Father, and meanwhile the disciples fast asleep nearby. Colossians 1:3-6 records these words - "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth." Wherever we see boldness in the people of God, prayer before and after is always present. In regards to the spiritual armor, prayer functions like the direct orders from the commanding officer. A soldier may very well have the weapons and armor he needs to fight the battle. However, if the soldier has no direction nor rapport with his commanding officer, his conflict will end in defeat. In prayer, I am yielding my will and allegiance to the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit inside of the Christian is the 1st Officer, with Jesus Christ as the Captain and Lord of the soul. When we fail to pray, we plan to fail. We need prayer because of the need for alertness, the need for God's power and the need for boldness in this 21st century world.