Who Is God? | Pastor Gus Davies (Sermon)

you can say amen to that i hear some of that good morning church those of you here in the room and those joining us online if this is your first time or continuing time i want to encourage you if you're already coming keep coming and invite the others and for those of you online if it's the time for you to come and join fill the seats here you're welcome and those who may be just joining online or in person we want to encourage you that what we do here is what we're going to be talking about you already experienced that in singing of songs and reading scripture and all of these things that god has called his judge to be and to do well you saw that video where pastor it's really pastor john tedonia i think i can see that now that uh was the voice over that that we built this series we're going to go through is talking about build and today we'll be talking about one of the foundations we want to stat on when we talk about building and we'll be answering that profound simple clear question who is god but every believer of jesus christ everybody who trusts him who follow him who is a disciple-making disciple you need to know that god wants us to build this is a physical building that we know that it was built based on some ideas that people have but that was a foundation a design that was made jesus said he will build his church and he has chosen you and i to be part of that building of his kingdom the kingdom of god is the now and not yet the present and to come so we're living in this kingdom time that god has called us to build and we want to know god more who is the builder god himself built in creation and god wants his church to be in the business of building his kingdom building is hard work you know if you look here we some of the guys who know how to do this well they pulled some of these designs in the back if we can get a camera on this one this is something they looked at to build this church this is actually for those of you and the ring this was the blueprint the design in which people drew and then they built the rink many years ago but this building you are in and any of your own buildings you know at your home your place of work there's an also design this is the one for this building where in here if you are able to capture that you can see there were some specifications to build and we don't have to ask questions because we are already sitting in it god wants you and i to build whether it's our individual lives whether we're building our career whether we're building our families whether you're building your business god is in the business of building and so today as we start the series next week we'll pick up after we know who is this god we answer that question next week we'll be talking pastor rob we'll be back here with if we worship god how do we worship god he who wants us to build then we're talking about prayer and reading the bible but today the profound question is who is this god who is this god who is asking each one of us in this room and online each one of us god wants to be in the build business of building his kingdom there's no other job description that is given whether you're building it in parenting in your marriage wherever god is calling you you need to have a commitment to build maybe sometimes we even need to build our reputation we need to show that we are christians we belong to jesus followers of jesus we want to build hymn's kingdom so the bible story we're going to look at we always want to start with one story in one scripture it's moses in the book of exodus and moses is a great example for us to see who is this god that has called us to build we're going to be talking about god his name because he's the one who told us to build our idea of god changes everything that we build so we do not look at it from a human perspective whether it's a pastor where there's a member but you look at kingdom building from the eyes of the almighty god so we're going to read the story where we see god has already revealed himself in many parts in the bible but we come to exodus chapter three where we're going to look at where god tells who he is and he said if you know me you know my name then you can build upon what i have told you to build up so if you can you are able i'll be reading you could please stand we'll be reading exodus chapter 3 verses 1 2 15 where we'll see we'll be basing some of us passage on today now moses was tending the flock of detroit the father his father-in-law the priest of medium and he led the flock up to the far side of the wilderness and came to horeb the mountain of god there the angel of the lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up so moses thought i will go over and see the strange sight why the bush does not burn when the lord saw that he had gone over to luke god called to him from within the bush moses moses and moses said here i am do not come any closer god said take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground then he said to moses i am the god of your father the god of abraham the god of isaac the god of jacob and this at this moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at god the lord said i have indeed seen the misery of my people in egypt i have heard them crying out because of of their slave drivers and i am concerned about their suffering so i have come down to rescue them from the hands of the egyptians and to bring them up out of the land into a good and spacious land a land flowing with milk and honey the home of the canaanites the hittites the amorites the perizzites the hevites and the jebusites and now the cry of the israelites has reached me and i have seen the way the egyptians are oppressing them and now go i am sending you to pharaoh to bring my people the israelites out of egypt but moses said to god who am i that i should go to pharaoh and bring the israelites out of egypt and god said i will be with you and at this and this will be the sign to you that it is i who i've sent you when you have brought the people out of egypt you will worship god on this mountain and moses said to god suppose i go to the israelites and say to them the god of our fathers has sent me to you and they asked me what is his name then what shall i tell them and god said to moses i am who i am this is what you are to say to the israelites i am has sent me to you and god also said to moses say to the israelites the god the god of your fathers the god of abraham the god of isaac and the god of jacob has sent me to you this is my name forever the name you shall call me from generations to generations so now lord we are calling upon the name that is above all the names the name jesus the name god our father and holy spirit may you hear us now lord in your name we pray amen please be seated names are very important and names reveal a lot the weeks a couple of weeks ago we talked about when paul was in prison in rome and he wrote the names of his friends to the church in colossae and he was commending those who were there and those who were with him names reveal a lot about the character the nature of that person those of us who come from our west african culture sometimes some of our cultural things don't transfer over here when we start to live in america so there are three experiences i've had here and one of those are personal but the first one is we have a nigerian family they have their first son right over here at 434 hospital and in that culture in their tribe and culture the naming is a very special ceremony so they were not going to reveal the name at the hospital well you just can't do that you know you're not going to have all the documentation social security the login all of that so sometimes we just have to sneak the name but they didn't give the name we just say this is the son of sean and mo so they came home and then later on they found that it's a long process when you leave the hospital to reveal the name naming also takes a very special grand event we've had some of those on the campus here so we have a ghanaian family they had richard and anastasia they had their son their firstborn and so we're going to have a naming ceremony they really prepared the room we've had two of their two boys one in the rink and one in a room upstairs here prepared like it's a wedding ceremony the tables and everything and then it will be a special reveal of that name because the name is going to show the character the family and everything that they do and my son-in-law 2 is a rule follower they now had three boys and each one of those we they have to reveal that name you know i think the first one every name has a meaning and every name had to be revealed in a special way so their first son we actually had to do that and i told them the lesson outlined just let the hospital know don't broadcast it to all your friends to know that but then they gave the names you know roman christian and also now wells each one of those are names that reveal those three boys god had to make his name known in the story with moses so that moses can know that i have an authority i have someone behind me that i build with so if you're thinking about how does god want northland to build today we're answering that question who is god what is his name and how do i build upon that name so we're going to be looking at a couple of those scriptures we just read but aw stosur is a great man of god a historian he told us some things about when we have to know a name he said you can never know who or what we are till we know at least something of what god is think about that for a moment you may have think you figured out life but adobe told her and we'll see how that is supported by scripture today that you have to know something about this great god who has called us to build so we see in the scripture here how moses and god are going to have this encounter this conversation that god reveals himself to moses so here are a couple of things if we go back to the text or the scripture we just read where we start to see who is god you know that's a great question and let's see the answer can come only from scripture because the reason why that question is important because mankind had shown their own way to answer that question some have actually produced their own gods some have really made who is the god you know when you created god that's how small your god is you worship it if it doesn't work we saw that in the book of genesis the people wanted to make a name for themselves that didn't last paul in acts chapter 17 you know with people in athens they had made a god and they said they got the unknown god you and i will worship a god who has a name and that name has been revealed his character his nature his attributes and those are what show who god is so let's start by looking at some of these in the scripture verses one to five god in this encounter with moses shows who he is by his attribute that he is holy and loving who is god god is holy the experience in the place where moses was he said i see this fire but nothing is burning the majesty the grandeur of god but that reveals a holiness of god that is a set apart god is pure god is clean god is above any reproach and that is the holiness of god there are no evil doles in our god but at the same time how do we know that god is loving in the context of his creation he did not distinguish he did not destroy this bush that was burning he just showed look i love you i am holy but you can come to me the bible over and over tells us that god is love god is holy those two things go together so moses was able to experience that so think about who is god he's holy and loving next we see in verses 4 to 6 that when god has a god is a god of relationship because he calls moses by his name he said moses moses well god our father who is holy but still can be personal and relational so god in his relationship he knows your name he knows your name he knows your name he knows all of us our names wherever we are with him he knows the name so god makes a call to moses by his name because god knows his name and his holiness in this place that was you know when it says that god told moses i am holy take off your shoes there was a culture cultural expression of respect and submission that you're in the presence of the holy one i have a relationship with so god has a relationship not only with us by knowing our name but the father the son and the holy spirit that is god's expression of his relationship all equal god is 100 percent father god is 100 son in jesus christ and god is 100 percent in the holy spirit the mystery that you and i cannot just explain but god continues with moses here to make it clear that i am a god i see verse seven i have sinned a god who sees everything means that god is house is omniscient god knows everything he sees us here there online god sees us there's nothing we can hide from god god knows our thoughts our attitudes our actions god is all seen and he said all all knowing i'm sorry god is all knowing when he sees his omniscient the knowledge of god is great the knowledge of god in his word the knowledge of god of all things god knows all things that happens when we teach kids maybe in sunday school at church or in school they ask these questions oh god knows me i cannot hide from god science and technology are just a means to show who god is because god who sees and god who has all knowledge moses also writes here when god is speaking to him god said i have heard god is present everywhere there is no place that a holy and righteous god cannot dwell said if you go to the heavens i am there if you go to the bottom of the earth i'm there god is present everywhere he says god fills the heavens and god fills the earth he is present paul writes in ephesians chapter 1 verse 22 and 23 he said the almighty god he is in everything that he has created his power and his greatness leads there which we also see in verse seven and eight he said i am concerned i have come down so god ushers himself into this world by showing that he is all powerful omnipotent the power of god to sustain what he has created the power of god who knows you the power of god who knows me and the power of god who can see everything know everything that it is so we worship that god even these days as we think about members of our body who are suffering that is afghanistan whether it's down in haiti or wherever god is present god is present because he's all-powerful evil does not take away god but he's there so like moses when you encounter the majesty the greatness of god how does moses get to know god and this is what we see in the next verses verse 11 and 13. he says in eleven who am i that you i you should go and tell pharaoh verse 13 suppose i go and tell them what will i send them so anytime you want to know god bring him the questions god can answer any question as he chose it so moses said who am i what is your name how can i know your name and so questions inquiries are important if you've never come to faith in christ seek him by answering questions read his word because he reveals himself in his word as if we answer the questions god is the one that will meet us where we are or if you're a christian you're walking with god you have the why what is happening god in his word will reveal himself and tell us that i have a name and you can know me by my name i read a story some time ago they've even shared that story some of you remember on this platform about somebody who was trying to find out you know from her the story is told of denver airport and when the flights are all grounded nobody's going to be on a flight or overbook and everybody's waiting and so you know how the agent is going to be at that gate trying to talk to everyone you know calm writing your questions down and just waiting and they are everybody in the terminal the line can be from here way there and so this businessman just came right up to the front to the agent and said hey lady you need to book me on the next flight and i'm in first class you need to get me there wait a minute the latest the agent said so i think there are other people who are before you and the guy said do you know who i am do you know my name huh then the agent just picks up the microphone and now this is going to go all throughout the timer now ladies and gentlemen there's a man in front of me here who does not know his name can you help him and everybody just laughed because he didn't know his name she said go back to the back of the line and you will come to the front and i will serve you when it's the right time god has a name you know there are so many names of god that in every language tribe and kingdom that uh tribe that god has given there people can say god in many names i cannot give you all the names of god will be here till he comes because everywhere from genesis to revelation god has made his name known we may look at some of these and the names are his covenant his relationship with people every name of god is to meet a need we have so as we go through these names of god we're going to be looking at that we said god that name meets my need this is where i am today that name is what i need i will call upon the name and i will show those names secondly all of these names of god are revealed in his son jesus christ and we can see that every name is in christ jesus so with moses here we'll go back to the text in verse 14 where god reveals his name he said i am who i am verse 14 and then i am the lord so let's take a look at these names that god reveals and i hope you will be able to memorize all of these names there's so many of them and maybe some of these are written in a language you can read but these are in many different languages everybody has a name of god that is based on scripture and the first three that we see reveal in the text here in verse 14 he says i am that i self-exist not created not been but has always exist and god says i am and the same i am you can say that is yahweh or it can also say elohim l is power majesty and greatness all of these are human words trying to describe a majesty of a great god and even the hebrew people sometimes they don't even want to say the word jehovah it is so holy and sacred that they just use some alphabets you know or consonants that they can use j w and jw that to show yahweh god who is ever present god who is everywhere and jesus himself says i am who i say i am that jesus is it so even when people can't say the name they use the other name here in verse 15 when it says the lord the god of our father abraham jacob and isaacs so that's the god do you know him do you know this great creator have you experienced it do you live every day in the power of a god who is the creator the god who exists the god who is the person the god who speaks the god who exists three in one he said elohim jehovah i am that is god the rest of the scriptures you can go from genesis to revelation you can read so many names of god like i said some people said 365 days of the year i can have a name of god but you can have all of those in one day in walking with god so we're going to be looking at some of these names i will just mention them and we are challenged every time you read the scripture look for god and his name is right there in his encounter with people the lord the creator that is a name that is given to god the lord the creator the one we read in genesis who created all things he gives himself name he said i am the lord creator jehovah ball and he says i am the one jehovah that is the mighty one the great one that created everything in life all days of the week that god created and he continues to live in his creature and we are the ones that god has created and through jesus christ god has created us a new life in him he is the god the creator next we see that the lord our god the lord our provider now the story that reveals that name of god because like i said each of these names revealed is the story in genesis chapter 22 when we were in genesis we read about abraham going up to the mountain to sacrifice and by faith as he was going he was carrying his son and he was carrying wood and his son said dad here's the word for the burnt offering but where is the sacrifice and we read in genesis chapter 22 where this name comes from the lord will provide the lamb for the sacrifice jehovah jarrah we all have needs in our life we have questions that we don't answer needs for our life day by day whether it's in your family in your business or whatever you do god is the god who is the provider we want to build a church we want to build a career we want to build a family god is the one that we provide every need you have will provide jesus said i am the bread of life if you come to me you will never never be hungry again i am the living water you will never thirst again god is our provider do you trust him do you count on him to meet those needs but also god says i have another name and the one will look at the lord our banner and the story there is told in the book of exodus everywhere the children of israel to possess the land they were going to conquer the land every time they had victory and they will have to call upon the name of god jehovah naci the lord who is our banner the lord who will protect us the lord will be over us have you experienced that in your daily life that there are times that you just went through something you will know only god has been my pro my banner jehovah nisi right now brothers and sisters were in haiti trying to get protection provision of those in afghanistan and our brothers and sisters in the mountains and the hills in the valleys and everywhere they are hiding we pray that jehovah nessie his banner will be over those brothers those even who are going through suffering right now jehovah nisi will be their banner and you know one of the things we heard one of our elders here shared this with us you know what the people are saying we trust these jehovah nieces so much that we're not about the government it is about the gospel you know that was very touching to some of us hearing that because they know that jehovah nisi wants us to proclaim him and he is our banner he protects he is over us jehovah neesee next we love the lord our healer jehovah rapha god knows our needs because of sin there is sickness there's disease there's pain and suffering in life and so we need healing sometimes that healing is going to come from a real uh physical healing by seeing the doctor or taking treatment that healing but god knows that when jesus came jesus went among them he said he was doing good he was healing the sick he can bring healing to us and he will choose many ways to bring that healing in our bodies in the pain and the suffering we have god is our healer jehovah rapha our healer you know sometimes the healing is not going to take place because some of you i can see from the room you have the same disease i have that is healed in a different way you figure that out you know this is this is something that is wrong so the healing only takes place this way that i can be able to come back and read my text jehovah chose to bring healing through that maybe you have contact or whatever god is the healer he can do miracles he's the same yesterday today and forever he never changes he's our healer and also he said the lord is our shepherd a popular scripture we read that even tells us many of the names of god in psalm 23 we read and in john chapter 10 the lord is our shepherd he will guide and he will protect us he will be in the confusion in the world god is going to be there in these troubled times to be the shepherd that would lead us you know by his lord and the staffing we direct us do we trust that name of god that wherever there is a doubt and confusion and you don't have answers god has promised he will be your shepherd the lord is our peace jehovah shalom or how we long for that in these days whether wherever you get news from whether you follow things just bring pain you just can't have peace in this time of storm you know the healer and the confusion we have peace over this year we've been going through pandemic and different variants of virus god our healer is the one we trust to be able to protect us you know that same god is the one we call our father we read in galatians abba father and we've all taught the prayer our father who dwells in heaven and he also dwells on earth god is daddy we can call him that in our local language we read that prayer it's a prayer that we talk to our father father of the homeless father of those who are not faithful he is still your father father of those who know that somebody has abandoned me god our father will never leave us call upon our father the need you have our father will be there and we read also in the story we read in in genesis the god who sees he says here in the scripture in exodus 3 7 i have seen you know there's another story in genesis where we see that god sees everything we read the story of hagar this young girl was was destitute a single mom she was running away with a baby and don't know what to do and god says reveal himself by his name jehovah elroy the god who sees are you hiding from god he's seen you stop doing that he's there he's present god who sees everywhere there's nothing hidden from him and also back in exodus here we see el shaddai you know songs and scriptures that people have had to this wonderful name of god god almighty the god who has all power the god who is majestic even abraham when he was going into enemy territory when he was struggling god said el shaddai i am almighty i will defeat the enemy i will be with you are you in a tight spot these days in life whether by yourself or the situation around you el shaddai el shaddai he will never leave you nor for sick no forsake you the everlasting god el olam the god who brings hope to us the god who says i am there i am the everlasting lord you have been our dwelling place from generation to generation you know that's a wonderful thing in the body of christ you see god's faithfulness to one generation of families he continues he is everlasting god is eternal the god of victory and god made it personal when he came to us through jesus christ and one of the names are called jesus is god we call him emmanuel god with us god tabernacled god dwelt among us he is there he is present and through his son jesus christ and who said he will send him he will be the savior of the world god is present and then god says i'm never going to leave you i will always be with you i am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end a to z oh that i will trust this god i will build upon him who has called me to be the god forever and ever now every time you read the scriptures i'll give you a summary list of just the ones i have mentioned because all of this is so many you're not going to remember those and great team of people they do all of this i just talked and they were able to to give us at least that you could see just the 15 or 16 names we've mentioned today but every time you read in the scripture start looking start desiring that i want to build god show me who you i am the god who is self-existent that is my name the lord who is the one that we provide the god who is the lord my shepherd will guide me the father who sees everything the almighty and victorious god do you know him he said i am and he is the everlasting god our father father in every way you can ever know god i desire that northland church we want to build our individual lives we want to build our career we want to build the church of jesus christ who he's the chief shepherd but he says know my name and you go out and build if god is asking us to build there is a response when god reveals himself to us and he said this is who i am well that's not just a fancy name every one of us we have a name we don't just want that name that name tells me you do something you know and the people who chose your name they know there's a vacuum there's a nature there's a there's something in you that your name so if god tells us he has a name what how do we respond moses did he ask questions verse 11 you know moses is questioning god ask the questions about god if god reveals himself to you the questions will bring clarity but also god says in verse 10 i am sending you when you know god he is going to send you you need to inquire i said god okay what's this thing i belong to a church where are you sending me where am i going to be part of adding and multiplying the kingdom of god at northland i'm already here but god says i am sending you like like moses in the wilderness here god said go and release people there are people in suffering in bondage in pain you and i are the one that are called to it's not easy to go into some places last week pastor rob was telling us about let's go let's go to the schools educators teachers family friends as you get to go god also says i will be with you he said to moses he said in verse 12 i will be with you the presence and the promises of god are always going to be with us what are you holding back in telling his story what is stopping you from proclaiming the great commission what is stopping you from declaring that yes i need to tell the world about jesus his promise is i will never leave you or forsake you he was with moses in egypt in the pharaoh but he will be with you and fourthly god who says i hear we promise he had said like moses you will experience all the power the verses you continue in exodus chapter 3 i hope you take time to dig deeper and read more in the bible study god showed his power in the presence of a pharaoh there is no power on earth today that limits the power of our almighty god who we can never contain i trust that we stand upon those promises we'll be able to say oh god i trust you you are all powerful you are all knowing i am going to be with you but it doesn't just come easy like that you know it's important for us even as we think about this that there are things that are clear in the scripture i want to bring up a quote that was written by one of the pastors you know we've all know pastor rick warren for over years he said you were made by god and for god and until you understand that life will never make sense are you tossing what is your purpose what is your reason why do you exist no god do you know how we're going to build northland church do you know how we're going to witness and fill the seats and populate the kingdom of of of heaven is that we need to know the the god that we're building upon and he gives us let me give you this couple of steps that we can think about that these are just steps that come right out of the scripture we'll see we need to know the salvation he has given to us we need to know that we trust jesus christ our savior if you've known him you believed in him then you have a mission but if you've been wondering well i don't get this gut thing keep coming that's what church is for you know we we we talk about we disciple people you have to be a believer and unbeliever we can prove that in scripture that you don't have to trust god to start to follow him just keep coming but you have to trust jesus christ as your savior that you know you're a sinner god loves you and you can trust in his love and you said i repent i forgive me of my sin that my salvation or maybe you've been in church but you don't know when last you told people about this power of god that he has given to you you have to you have not declared that for others you're just one of those christians in hiding do that let the worship of god another think we can take out the worship of god takes us everywhere we go worship in this place worship online wherever you are declare god's greatness by his glory by worship be on mission with god get hold of that mission this place you've been wanting to go for god you're not yet there but god wants you to get there if there's any way we as the church can help you to grow deeper in jesus to take a next step to say okay i know jesus how can you disciple what can you tell me we are here for that oh you said i can figure this thing i will walk with you through your mission building relationship for eternity we're going to go into a time of prayer where i want to challenge all of us and say god i haven't really no i've known your name and i want to build upon your name but i haven't gotten hold of your mission we need to pray a prayer of dedication and recommitment to build to after this kingdom of god they are all you know sometimes when you are building you have to dismantle some old stuff some bad stuff that has gone on you know those who do remodel you need to implode the building and rebuild we may need to build our lives in christ by putting off so that we can put on we need to rebuild by saying god the reputation of jesus christ i need to build that i need to be above reproach i need to be the kingdom i don't know where you are this morning on the sound of my voice but you are called to build the kingdom of god at northland build upon god don't build up on a building or a person build upon him let me invite us all to please stand for this prayer of commitment rededication wherever you may be i want us to pray that god we're going to build your church god we're going to build your kingdom god we're going to make a difference in our homes in our neighborhood and pray that god will show you he will that we will build so in a moment of silence pray your prayer of commitment and dedication and i will close us out before we go into our next worship song to father in the quietness of these moments you hear my brothers and sisters and those online in any way they are asking you lord we want to build build our lives build our character build our families build our church build our community build our countries our nations so god will you answer these prayers and for those who we trust you as their savior receive them further because they are building on the firm foundation of god our father in his name we pray amen let's worship in the song

Channel: Northland Church

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Length: 41min 5sec (2465 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 23 2021