Seeing God results in changed lives…

 

Understanding God requires revelations of Himself both in details and in a broad perspective of His nature and attributes. I’m a detail person, yet He reveals general truths that open my eyes to how He works in this world. Today, He points to how He created order and that there is a hierarchy or levels in that order in which each serves that which is above them.

For instance, humans were made over animals, and God is over humans and thus we were created to serve Him. BUT sin messed up that order. The Bible reveals many examples with this the most plain:

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. . . .  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10–18)

As Jesus said, even those who call Him Lord struggle with obedience: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46) We pray, “Thine is the kingdom” yet so often act as if it is ours. Again, sin messes up the order of the greater Being honored and served by the lesser beings. This is a big picture…

Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. (Jeremiah 10:7)
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)

God is the final cause, the One to who I owe my existence. All my actions and thoughts ought to be addressed to His glory. My whole being ought to be consecrated to His honor, yet I deserve no reward but the honor of having been subservient to the will of my Creator.

Yet God also is too gracious a Sovereign to neglect those who are mindful of his glory. The Bible says, “I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.’ ”  (1 Samuel 2:30)

The only thing that prevents anyone from honoring God as He created us to do is sin. Sin is defined as: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way…” and the rest of the verse reveals what God did about it: “and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

Because of sin, all turn from God to do our own thing and to deserve His wrath, but instead of destruction He sent Jesus. . . . and some said YES to Him: 

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:36–41)

From the history of this event, I see the power of God to bring me and many others into His kingdom and under His sovereign order. You: God — me: servant.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. (Psalm 22:27–28)

PRAY: Jesus, I now can call You my Teacher and Lord. You have washed away my sin and I now see that this servant is not greater than You, my Master, nor am I not greater than the one who sent You, or even equal. You have shown me these things, and as You promised, I have been blessed in both the knowing and the doing. You are always and forever my Lord and my God. 

He is Lord of All

 

Rather flippantly, some call God the man in the sky, or the big boss. This is like the disrespect given to an earthy father by calling him ‘my old man’ instead of father, dad, or daddy. I’m finally understanding His total sovereignty and feel even more angst at the inadequacy of such titles. Our God is far more than those words convey.

This morning, Charnock points to Scriptures that I’d not noticed nor thought about. His examples expand my concept of God and fill me with thoughts of worship and much gratitude, just as the OT prophets said: 

You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known. (Isaiah 48:6)
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3)

Charnock reminds me that angels and all creatures belong to God's authority. He is called “The Lord of Hosts” which often refers to angelical legions. They are “His hosts” and “ministers that do his pleasure.” For example, when Jesus was born, the gospel writer said:
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:13–14)

The OT prophet also declared what God told him: “I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.” (Isaiah 45:12) “All their host” is employed by God to do His will and not one resists Him. This includes all the inanimate creation in heaven. He calls the stars by name (Psalm 147:4) and He rules them to do His will like a general of an army appoints the position of every regiment in a battle. 

Imposing names is also a sign of dominion. I’m reminded of how God told Adam to name all other living creatures, and later told to have dominion over them. The stars, named by God, are under His sovereign dominion. Along with kings, and a raging river, this is what God says of them:

The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver. From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might! (Judges 5:19–21)

The sun also serves God's purposes:

At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. (Joshua 10:12–13)

Creation obeys God without resistance as if they desire to share in the ruin of the enemies of their Creator and Sovereign God. The weather also does His bidding:

Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. (Psalm 148:7–13)

I know Jesus commanded storms to cease and am fully assured that global warming is the least of our worries should God tell the weather to declare His wrath against sin.

PRAY: Jesus, You control all creation. If You say GO, all go. If You say COME all come. We humans are the only ones who resist You and want our own way. Yet mercy and grace changes that resistance to praise. I see Your power in many ways, and my desire deepens to see it and Your incredible goodness in the hearts of all who vainly want to run their own lives. Remind me often that You are Lord of all. Amen.