Robert Morris – Enjoy The Ride – God Is...

we're going to begin a new series and the title of the series is God yes and then just dot dot dot it makes a difference what you think about God in what you believe about God and there are a lot of people who believe that God is mean or that God is mad some people believe that God got mad in the Old Testament and so he sent his prophets and we didn't listen to him so he got madder and then he sent his son and not only they were not listening to him but we killed him so now he's really mad and then he's sitting he gave us a book and we don't do what's in the book he's coming back and then he'll be real really really mad you know so it's very important what you believe about God so I'm gonna talk to you over the next few weeks about God yes I've been studying the nature and the character of God for almost 40 years now and I feel like that there are so many people that have been taught incorrectly about who God is and so I want to help you understand that God is good the God is kind the God is merciful that God is gracious and even when they God is just but even in his justice he's merciful so we're gonna talk about that all right so this the title of this message is enjoy the ride now you won't understand that until just in a few moments okay in order for me to to to share this message with you I'm going to share an illustration something that happened on our family vacation and I'm going to show you some pictures and some video and you're gonna like it hopefully you'll never forget this is just a chance to show family video so it's uh no you're you're you're really gonna I promise you hopefully you'll never forget this illustration I'm using because it will remind you of the truth alright and you might even get ahead of me as I'm sharing this because I'm gonna relate it to the Father God okay so so the first thing you need to do is I have to tell you a little bit about my son James my son James is very strong he was born strong I some people are just that way I mean he just he's always been strong when uh he was young I traveled and preached and sometimes Debbie would be able to attend the services most of the time she traveled with me and but sometimes she might not be able to because the kids had to be in bed we were going to be out late or something so one night I'm leaving the hotel room and at that point we only had Josh and James Josh our oldest son James was three years younger then Elaine came along five years later but James was about 18 months old at this time so I'm at the door telling everyone bye and she's holding James in her arms and I said to her make sure and latch through the burglar latch you know when when I leave walked the door completely you know and so she did that latch when I closed the door then and James reached up and grabbed it and she thought oh look he's playing with it and then he just kind of went and pulled it out of the wall now this is what protects us from the burglars and my 18 month old just pulled it out of the wall he when he was about that same age Debbie's dad got a new car and he got any one day and he thought well what's what can he do he pulled all of the air conditioner vents out of the dash so when he was young we called him bambam do you remember that the Flintstones okay they had the Barney had the son named bamm-bamm they hit he was just he did he just did supernatural feats of strength from the time he was young and I I'd like all dads I would wrestle my boys you know growing up and of course as they get older they start you know getting stronger they give their teenage years and what you do if you don't know this if you don't have a teenager yet just so you know dad once they start getting a little stronger use your weight advantage and I weigh 207 pounds I don't know the exact numbers I wouldn't want to lie but it's over 200 and so I would just just you faint eventually I find you I was losing I just lay on top of them you know kind of like a tea you just lay across their chest and their arms and just kind of walk them down so I did that to James one time when he was about 15 years old and the next thing I know he just picked me up like this in the air and then to show off he just started bench pressing me like this and then he just set me down and so I grounded him for life but anyway so first thing you need knows he's very strong he's just always been strong second thing is he's very good at watersports he's just he just for some reason became very very good at watersports we were looking for one of the pictures he was about 12 years old he was slalom skiing started out skiing and then wakeboarding and now surfing but when he was skiing he was doing a slalom with a rooster tail and his shoulder was just a few inches off the water he was only like 12 years old so he's just he's always been very good and I actually brought a few pictures I've been wakeboarding because yeah I want you to get this so here a couple of pictures of James wakeboarding he's probably 12 to 15 feet off the air off the water there here's another one you can go and he's doing tricks there where he goes up and he flipped does a flip or something then lands another one and then you keep going guys this is where he's actually doing a 360 hits the wake and he turns completely around and lands perfectly on the other way there again you see how high years of air just kind of flying through there and then again tricks and then just go the next picture oh that's actually me I don't know how that picture got in there I don't know I don't know why I have that I was actually probably about 15 years ago and I think I fell right after the picture was taken but I just I thought I'd show you that okay so so in family vacation James is teaching his kids to surf it's where you go behind the boat the boat we have the propellers under the boat so it's very safe and it makes a weight and you can just you get up with a rope and then you can if you're once you get good you can throw the rope in and the weight just you know you can surf and James can do it he just tricks he can do it both ways he's going either side of the boat he can go up in the air he can do all these tricks so he's teaching his sons to do it well his son Mitchell who's four years old was scared and he so James is holding him to try to comfort him so here's a picture a James surfing with Mitchell but zoom in there Oh Mitchell's face so he is totally he's not enjoying it okay and then I even have a little video where they're trying to get him to enjoy watch this little video here thumbs up or say thumbs up now watch you go right back to grab that light Jack so he's not enjoying it so I'm watching this in the book and here's what I'm thinking I'm thinking if Mitchell just knew how strong his father is if he just knew how strong his father yes if he knew how good his father is how able his father is at watersports and how much his father loved him he would enjoy the ride okay I'll get to the application in a minute in case you didn't catch it so when Mitchell got in the boat the other grandchildren my grandchildren the other he changed his nephews and nieces wanted him to do them so he does him again he gets up on the board he's well good enough to get on the board with one hand pull his weight up plus the child and hold another child and then sometimes you'll set him on the board and sometimes he'll put him on his shoulders and you know he just says all shorts up so Mitchell's watching him now do this with all of his cousins and so I went over to Mitchell and I said to him did you know that your father is one of the strongest people I've ever met in the whole world he's one of the strongest that I know and his eyes lit up he said really I said yes he's very very strong and did you know that he's one of the best surfers that I know in the whole world and he said really and I said and do you know how much your father loves you he said oh yeah he loves me a lot and I said Mitchell there is no way that your father would drop you there's no way so at lunch he said to his dad I want you to take me surfing again so look at this picture after he understands about his father and then do a zoom in on his face there and then again are just just a little video watch him he's even having fun [Applause] here's my point I'm sitting there in the boat watching this having this thought and I know that God wants me to preach to you about who God is so listen to me very carefully I'm thinking to myself about you and I'm thinking because I've studied God for 40 years and I'm thinking if they just knew if they just knew what I know about their father if they knew how strong he is how able he is and how much he loves them they would relax and enjoy the right they just enjoyed the right so I hope you remember that because you need to understand that your father is obviously my son's a human but God's not and he loves you and he's able and we worry a lot when we shouldn't worry because he's got us so let me tell you some things about God number one God does because he is now this is important to understand and I'm gonna explain it God does because he guess it's not the other way around it's not that God does something so he is something it's he does because he has something let me show you the verse psalm 119 verse 68 you are good and do good okay listen to me God is it good because he does good God does good because he is good are you following the difference that's a big deal here it's huge because God isn't good because he does good he does good because he is good say he just is good by the way this is what's great about grace when you understand it you're not good because you do good you're good because a good God made you good and even if you do something bad that doesn't make you bad because God made you good because Jesus took your punishment on the cross see that's what's great about Christianity is every other religion in the world tells you you have to do to be Christianity says no I'll make you you can be and then you'll do see I want to do the right thing now as a believer I don't always do the right thing but I want to the reason I want to is because God made me want to do the right thing he make you you follow me so God does because he is that's important for us understand now it's important in how you think about God and I'm gonna make some strong statements here this these are really strong statements all right so just stay with me we don't really worship God we worship our concept of God see I know we worship God but every one of us here you're worse be who you think God is and there are some people who come to church out of fear instead of joy because they think God would get them if they don't see we don't really pray to God we pray to our concept of God we don't really here's a sad one witness about God we witness to others about our concept of God so the more you can understand of who God really is the more it'll change your life again I've known I've known the Lord now for almost 40 years and I've been studying him going to school studied been studying preaching teaching and getting to know than who God really is so it helps me like in that helicopter when when I'm dying he have the first responders without them I would have but also I knew that God was faithful and he gave me peace and Debbie who's driving back to the hospital two hours she had peace because we knew that no matter what happened even if I did die God was still faithful we knew God's faithful see so it matters for you know so mark and San Joe mark job's the Camerons pastor here at South Lake and I've known mark and Sandy for probably almost 40 years right almost 40 years by the way and they live for seven years they lived around the corner from us their daughter is Kari Jobe Karns the worship the famous international worship recording artist you know and she's married to Kody cards and he's saved my recording artists as well for many years obviously she was just known as Kerry joke but when they were growing up they're just around the corner so Kerry and Chris that's Carrie and her sister Chris would come down the street and they were play with our boys Josh and James they were about the same age and I heard this story one time Kerry told me this story after chapel one time they said you know we used to try to get your boys to let us bring our Barbies and they wouldn't let us bring our Barbies and one day they said okay you could bring your Barbies and so we got so excited we brought our Barbie dolls down she said they put our Barbies in this truck and they put it out by the fence and they blew it up with firecrackers [Applause] she said we took home burned and balled Barbies they caught on fire and so after Chapel I called a Josh and again she had not met Kody then so she just carried Jobe known as Carrie joke so I said Carrie job just told me that you blew up her Barbies when she was young is that right and Josh said yeah that's right and I said to him son I have never been more proud of you what way to go okay alright so the point he has ice funny though it's just funny story so one Taylor point is I've known mark a long time we went to school together Crystal Bible College so I've known him for almost 40 years if you said to me though hey uh where does Mark live and I said I don't know and you said well what are his hobbies I don't know or what are his likes and dislikes I mean what what what what what does he do for fun what what what tell me something about I don't know what would you think you think well how well do you know him I thought he's one of your best friends okay listen to me what's God like I mean you say you've known him all these years what's he like where does he hang out what is hobbies what is likes and dislikes well there is interest see that's what this series is forced helps understand so here's point number two what are attributes so we're gonna talk about the attributes of God but you need to know what the word means you know I I'm kind of a wordsmith and love words and and Debbie heard they heard pastor Jimmy Evans I think use the word one-time and so she said to me at first she said what what does that word mean and I said well let's break it down and she said nevermind I'll just google it but that's what I do is I break a word down and that's how we go to the to understand the mean so let me show you the word attributes so here's the word attribute we're gonna know about two attributes of God now we're gonna help break it down so you understand just take one T out of the word attribute attribute when you give someone a tribute you tell us some of the distinct qualities and characteristics of that person we did that for the officer today attribute we gave a tribute he deserved a tribute but it's to attribute is to someone who deserves what we're tell talking about but we're talking about the distinct qualities and characters of that person character is that person all right but there's another root word here look at the other Greek word it's tried here here by the way the definition tried the distinct characteristics of a group of people who have descended from one person the distinct characteristics of a group of people who have descended from one person okay so we're talking about the attributes of God so here's what I'm gonna do I'm gonna tell you the distinct characteristics of God but here's the great thing because of Jesus Christ we now have become a part of his tribe and so because God is good we can be good because God is merciful we can be merciful because God is loving we can be loving because God is kind we can be kind because we have to be part of his tribe now see so you got to understand these these attributes a pastor Jimmy in the summer when you preach some grace I thought he was on a preach my series form along one of his messages there but he used this first exodus 34:6 the Lord the Lord God merciful gracious long-suffering abounding in goodness and truth so there are some of God's attributes here's the list of some of his attributes in first Timothy 1 verse 17 now the to the king eternal immortal invisible to God who alone is wise taught and boy forever and ever those are some centuries now let me something about his attributes that we even them some of his attributes are communicable and some are in communicable communicable mean can be imparted can be shared I know this is probably not a good illustration but strep throat is a communicable that bacterial you know bacterial something I had the exact I wanted to know whether it was a virus or bacteria but you know I apparently didn't write that down and so we'll just edit all of that part right there but it's communicable you know they tell you don't get around anyone in the first 48 or 72 hours before you enjoy that so it's so so what I'm saying is some of God's attributes are communicable in other words because he's merciful we could be merciful because he's good we can be good because he's kind we can be kind some are in communicable God is omnipotent and beings his he has all power you'll never have all power but here's what is good that is communicable but you can't have power you'll never have all power but you can have the power of God working in your life the power of the Holy Spirit eternal God's always existed here's what's incredible we get the gift when we come to Christ of eternal life immortal well we're mortal but one day the Bible says we're going to put off our mortal life and we're gonna put on immortality and I'm good but again there are some that that are in communicable ok let me just add a first 7117 let me just tell you you'll never be invisible just give up so that that one same chemical here's one that's in communicable omniscience God is all-knowing you'll never know everything but we will know as he knows the Bible says and we don't know what that means when we get to heaven will know there be more that we know but we really never be omniscient the closest thing we have to omniscience on this earth or mother's a mother seemed to know everything you ever noticed how they they look at you an actually question and you like to them and then they say tell me the truth okay so just wants you to know that so let me just take one attribute now and and we'll talk about it for just a little while okay and that is point number three god is good god is good he is good and he does good now here's the great thing about attributes God is all of these things at the same time I see so what do you what do you what do you mean okay let me say give you another attribute of God God is infinite the word infinite me said he has no bounds no limits and he cannot be measured he's infinite he has no bounds no limits and cannot be measured okay so why am I telling that because I'm telling you that God is good listen to this his goodness has no limits no bounds and cannot be measured God is infinitely good you see him say so the more you know about God see it's so good because his goodness will never run out he's infinitely good he's omnipotent he has all power so his goodness will never be limited because he's all-powerful he's omnipresent that means his goodness is everywhere God is immutable immutable again if you want to break it down mute in there in the middle mute would be mutation it means to change em would be you can't change God can't change so here's what's good God can never not be good well y'all follows me this is better than you think it is God is incredible he's wonderful and he could never change his goodness is not limited [Music] do you know the one thing God looked for in creation every day at the end of the day he checked for this one thing let me show it to Genesis 1 for this is the end of the first day and God saw the light that it was good here's the end of the second day verse 10 and God called the dry land earth and the gathering together of the waters he called seas and God saw that it was good the scripture is and God saw that it was good that little phrase I'm just going to kind of show you that phrase verse 12 he creates trees and plants and it ends with and God saw that it was good verse 18 he created the Sun Moon and stars and God saw that it was good verse 21 he created the animals of the sea and God saw that it was good verse 25 he created animals on the earth and God saw that it was good verse 31 he created man and woman on the sixth day he did create man first and we'll talk about that the moment they created man and woman then God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good but there was one thing though that God created that wasn't good Genesis 2:18 God says that the Lord God said it is not good the man should be alone now I don't know if Adam was running around the garden with scissors or what but basically God the Father said to the Sun those hey this is not good this is that's not good and so God created a whoa man whoa whoa man whoa so this is our first responders famous last words before an ER visit hey babe watch this whoa let's not jump off the roof into the swimming pool okay onto the trampoline in the pool okay that's the only thing that wasn't good okay but the greatest display of God's goodness was not his creative goodness but it's his infinite goodness let me say no way the greatest display of God's goodness was not his first creation but his second creation let me say it another way I know this is theological so hope you'll stay with me when man fell from God's created goodness he sent Christ so that we wouldn't fall from His infinite goodness the greatest display of God's goodness was not the first atom but the second atom they James says everything good comes from the father everything good comes from the father okay let me just give you a theological interpretation that banana pudding is from God well because it's good and God's good here's what Satan does say he tells us to look at this world and the horrible things we see in this world and he tries to impugn God's character and he says this if God is good then why did this happen if God is good then why did this happen okay listen to me please hear me it's actually the easiest theological question the answer people will say if God's good why did he create such a messed up world okay that's easy theological dancer God didn't create a messed up world we did we created the messed up world God do disease is not a blight against the goodness of God it's an advertisement for the work of Satan because God is good and God is infinitely all-powerful all-knowing and cannot change good that's how good yes there's a missionary named Amy Wilson Carmichael she was a missionary to India for 55 years she was born in Ireland most of the her friends of the young girls in Ireland had blue eyes but she had brown eyes so when she was young she would pray every night that God would change her brown eyes to blue every night and every morning she'd look in the mirror and should be disappointed and she said I almost got placed when I thought God wasn't a good God because he wouldn't answer this prayer she didn't felt she grew up and felt the call to be a missionary she went to the missions board and she wanted to go to China because she heard Hudson Taylor speak and they turned her down and said we don't need any more missionaries in China we need missionaries in India she said I don't have any burden for India they said well that's the only place you could go so they sent her to when she got to India she found that families were keeping their boys because they could work but they were selling their girls to the temple to be temple prostitutes sex trafficking this is the late 1800s Early 1900s these girls were kept in chains in the basement and people would give gifts to the Hindu temple and have sex with these young teenage girls and treat him horribly so Amy began spreading coffee grounds on her skin to make her skin darker dressing up as an Indian woman and going and buying these young girls freedom but it was very very expensive but she say and God did it and then as she begin to she people were getting to ask her what she did she begin to tell them people you begin to invest eventually even the Queen of England invested in her ministry and they built an orphanage and over her 55 years she saved over 1,000 girls she bought their freedom over a thousand now here's what's amazing all every girl she rescued accepted Christ and most of them went back in and would buy girls freedom and the ministry still going on now the India has outlawed this to this day but they're still this ministry is still involved in stopping say sex trafficking around the world but here's what I want you to remember remember every morning she look in the mirror to see if God had changed her brown eyes to blue and one morning she'd already spread the coffee grounds on her skin to make it dark she dressed up she had her Indian garb own just her eyes could be seen she looked in the mirror and then all-knowing all-wise all loving and all good God said to her this is why I never changed your brown eyes to believe so that you could rescue these girls this is one so even when you don't understand God is still good and when you know God's good you can enjoy the right

Channel: gatewaychurchtv

Views: 144,739

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Keywords: gateway, Gateway Church, gatewaypeople, Sermon, Jesus, God, Dallas, Texas, Robert Morris, Whatever it is, Enjoy the ride, God is, New Series

Id: eYwSrdx91-U

Length: 32min 36sec (1956 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 09 2019