Who is this God?

Daniel Holdings – Oct 13, 2013

To serve the God of the Universe is an awesome responsibility.  However, the word “awesome” has taken a different connotation in our modern vernacular.  When someone says that something is “awesome” today, they mean that it is cool, good, big, etc.  Yet, in the Old Testament, when someone used it particularly of God, it meant that they were fearful and scared in His presence because of His power and majesty.  The greatness and totality of Yahweh was overwhelming to those who understood who and what He really is.

In churches all around the country today, Sunday, there are congregants singing worship songs that declare, “I am a friend of God…”, “[God} You are good!”, “[God] You are faithful!” and still other songs that talk about His love and mercy. 

Yet, when someone is asked what is God like, very few could give a straight answer; not because they haven’t heard it, but because they refuse to acknowledge who He is in His totality.  To do so would seriously impede their view of life.

That is because we choose to focus on the attributes of God that are beneficial to us.  We choose to see God in His loving-kindness, full of mercy and grace.  While He is certainly loving and kind, He is also righteous and holy.  And because he is an entity, if I can use that term, that is perfectly balanced in all of His character traits, we cannot ignore the other parts of his attributes that should cause us to fear the awesomeness of Him!

So who is this God?  What is His character like?  Here is a list of attributes from the Bible.

God is:

 

In this, His loving-kindness and mercy prompted Him to send His Son, Himself, to earth to die for our sins.  But it is His righteousness and holiness that will cause Him to judge our nation and the peoples of the earth – YOU CANNOT HAVE PART OF HIS CHARACTER AND NOT THE OTHER!

Likewise, Ezekiel in his day was mocked, scorned and ignored for reminding the Israelites that Yahweh was righteous and would judge the same people He loved.

Hear the stern words that He gave Ezekiel, 25:21-28, to speak to Israel in their day:

“²¹ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this proverb you people have concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are long and every vision fails’? ²³ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “I will make this proverb cease so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.” But tell them, “The days draw near as well as the fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For there will no longer be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I the Lord will speak, and whatever word I speak will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, for in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it,” declares the Lord God. ²⁶ Furthermore, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be performed,”’” declares the Lord God.”

It is very interesting that Ezekiel was dealing with the same kind of attitudes that we have in the Church today.  Those that lean on the pleasant attributes of God’s love and mercy will say that the prophecies for judgment and tribulation will come true – but many years from now.  “We don’t have to worry about it.  God loves us.  After all we are a ‘Christian Nation’.”

Ah, huh… tell that to the Israelites that went to church… I mean synagogue, every weekend.  They too thought that because they were God’s chosen people, they were immune to the attributes of His character that required Him to judge them for the sin of their nation.  That is not doom-n-gloom, that is a fact.  God is HOLY and HE REIGNS IN HOLINESS.  He is the same God that said, “YOU WILL BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY”!

We, like our spiritual brothers the Israelites, ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM HIS ATTRIBUTES.  If He is our God, and we are His people, then like a father who loves his children and disciplines them for their continuing rebellion, He WILL discipline us.  If He doesn’t, then the Word says that we are “bastards” and fatherless.

You cannot say that you’re His, and not own up to the sin of our nation and Church community – It is really that simple.

It is true that Christ died for our sin – but it was “our” sin; Our individual sin that is removed and placed under the Blood of the Lamb – if we REPENT and walk in right relationship with Him.  And, to be clear, Yeshua did not die for the sins of our nation.

As a country, like the Israelites before us, we honor Him with our lips but our hearts are far from Him.

It was the Israelites misguided belief that their pious religiousness could save them from the judgment of an awesome God whose full attributes would require Him to discipline them.  Today, He is the same God.  And because all of His words come true, as Ezekiel pointed out, “The days draw near as well as the fulfillment of every vision.”

In addition, we would do well to remember this: Before you can fire a single bullet; before you can eat your first granola bar from your food stores; before you could ever get down into your bunker or to the top of your mountain, judgment will be swift.

It doesn’t matter how you have prepared.  If you have not prepared your heart before God, you too will be swept away in the coming judgment – It is as simple as that.

We have a choice.  We can walk in a spirit of repentance and fellowship with Yahweh, through Yeshua, or we can go it alone.  We can depend on our wits and our self-sufficiency or we can throw ourselves at His feet and ask for his protection and direction (that, by the way, does not preclude prepping).  We can ignore the signs that are present all around which Jesus told us to look for as markers for The End of the Age, or we can continue to say “The vision that he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies of times far off”.

Regardless of your choice, understand that we will all soon live with the choices we made, good and bad, because as Yeshua said at the onslaught of “signs” all around us:

“Look up for your redemption is nigh.”

1) Self-Existent, 2) Self-Sufficient, 3) Eternal, 4) Infinite, 5) Omnipresent, 6) Omnipotent, 7) Omniscient, 8) Wise, 9) Immutable, 10) Sovereign, 11) Incomprehensible, 12) Holy, 13) Righteous & Just, 14) True, 15) Faithful, 16) Light, 17) Good, 18) Merciful, 19), Gracious, 20) Love, 21) Spirit, 22) One, 23) Three in One