Embracing Yahweh: Joy, Presence, and Unchanging Faith
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "Joy is an option. Because joy is not based upon your circumstances. Joy is a choice we make to choose. It's not happiness. It's choosing to find your joy and your fulfillment in the Lord. And so I just kind of said in the first service, you know what? I'm going to be joyful. I'm going to be joyful about all that's going on. I'm going to worship. And so I hope that no matter what you've come here today with, whether it's good, bad, indifferent, that you'll choose to have joy and worship today." [05:51]
2. "God didn't create us to live in Egypt. He created us to live in promise. You ought to write that down. That's really good. He didn't create you to live in Egypt. He created you to live in promise. So why do we settle for Egypt? It was never his intention. But what happens is, despite the fact that they've compromised themselves over and over and over again to the point where they don't even know where God is. They don't even know if they still believe in God. They're just so miserable and so desperate. They cry out for something. But because he is a covenant God. Because he has given them a covenant promise. Which, by the way, if you're a child of God, he's made a covenant with you as well. He shows up. And he hears their cry. And he takes them on a journey from Egypt to promise." [54:57]
3. "What am I gonna put my trust in? Do I truly believe that Yahweh is my God? That he's present, that he's self-existent, that he's personal, that he cares about me? Or do I believe something different? Because it will determine how you live your life. It will determine who you trust in. Am I gonna trust in God? Am I gonna trust in myself? Am I gonna trust in something else? I was reading this week in Isaiah and I stumbled across what is really a famous passage of scripture. I'm sure you've heard it. It's Isaiah 40 and something caught my attention. In it, it says Yahweh is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. And here's what caught my attention. He doesn't faint or grow weary. He doesn't get tired. He doesn't run away. Why? Because he's big. Yahweh is big. He's powerful." [49:50]
4. "So the question is, what are the implications of this? What does it mean that he is Yahweh? What does it mean for us? I think there are four things today that we can pick out. We could spend a lot more time than four things, but due to time and everything else, these are the four big ones, I think. First, Yahweh means God is. It means God is. It means that God exists. Francis Schaeffer said it this way, God is there. So he tells Moses, tell the people that I exist, that I'm present. Now, you might think this is obvious, but it really is not that obvious. In fact, as I think about people, there are people today who say, oh, I believe in God, and yet there's nothing about their life that says they believe." [40:59]
5. "Did you know that Paul warned about this in Romans chapter 1? I want you to listen to Romans 1, starting in verse 18. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the unbelievers, ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known about God is present in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God. Nor were they thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for the images made like corruptible men, birds and four-footed animals and creeping things." [43:27]
### Quotes for Members
1. "The more miserable you're going to become. God didn't create us to live in Egypt. He created us to live in promise. You ought to write that down. That's really good. He didn't create you to live in Egypt. He created you to live in promise. So why do we settle for Egypt? It was never his intention. But what happens is, despite the fact that they've compromised themselves over and over and over again to the point where they don't even know where God is. They don't even know if they still believe in God. They're just so miserable and so desperate. They cry out for something. But because he is a covenant God. Because he has given them a covenant promise. Which, by the way, if you're a child of God, he's made a covenant with you as well. He shows up. And he hears their cry. And he takes them on a journey from Egypt to promise. Let me tell you why that's so cool. Because when we were in bondage to sin, when we are living in a foreign land, a land that was never intended for us, God provided for us an exodus. He provided a way for us to escape the bondage of sin. And the beauty of it is, it shows up in the person of Jesus. If you fast forward from the exodus to the incarnation, God steps out. Out of heaven and into flesh. And he lives a perfect, sinless life." [54:57]
2. "You know what? I don't know that I wanna be Christian today. I think I wanna be a jerk. I think I wanna give somebody a piece of my mind. I think I wanna show someone what I think they deserve. Don't look at me that way. I know that you do it too. God doesn't wake up and go, I don't wanna be God today. He is immutable. He is unchanging. Malachi 3 says, I, Yahweh, do not change. I do not change. Therefore, O sons of Jacob, you are not consumed. What does this mean? It means that he is all-sufficient. He is self-sufficient. He cannot be determined by forces outside of himself, nor is he subject to change like we are. Whereas we might change our minds because of unforeseen circumstances and poor decision-making, because he is omniscient, knowing all things, foreseeing all circumstances, and because he is omnipotent, having no weakness. Listen to this. This is so good. Nothing in all creation surprises him, catches him off guard, or backs him into a corner. You know what that means? Your God cannot be bullied because he's unchanging and all-powerful." [52:14]
3. "As they're climbing in the boat, do you know what the disciples said? Matthew chapter 14, verse 33. Remember, we're two and a half years into him discipling them. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him. Saying, truly, you are the son of God. Truly, you are the I am. They finally got it. They finally understood. Two and a half years into the journey, they finally recognized that Jesus was the great I am. That he was present with them. That he was for them. And so you think about it. If you look at the whole story of the Bible, back in Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve were created. They have a relationship. They fall. God provides a sacrifice in the garden. He's present with them, provides a sacrifice so that he can be with them. Fast forward to the Exodus. The people are away from God again. They're in bondage to the Egyptians. And God comes along and says, I'm present. And I'm here to rescue you. I'm here to be your God. I'm here to be, I'm here to be Yahweh. Fast forward to the cross. And God looks at all of humanity, including you and me. And he says, and when you were dead in your trespasses and sin, when you were in bondage to sin and condemned, I came to rescue you. The great I am. The beauty of the third time, it's not temporary. He doesn't have to come again. And once you believe and receive that, you can have certainty. That God has provided everything that you need to save you, to rescue you, and that he will be present in your life." [01:01:05]
4. "I am the gate. I am the good shepherd. He tells them I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and life. And then the last thing he did on his way to Gethsemane was say I am the true vine and you are the branches. And each one of those discourses was intended to help us help the 12 to know that the God of the Old Testament, the God who showed up at the exodus, the God who told Moses I am who I am, that right there in their presence, physically, Jesus is the I am, the great I am. What's really interesting to me about that story is that two and a half years into the journey, Jesus takes the disciples. He sent them out. They come back. They come back from doing all kinds of incredible miracles. They've literally seen people healed and the dead raised all through the power of God. He brings them together and they show up on a hillside in Gethsemane, excuse me, in Galilee. And a crowd of people gather around. It was estimated the crowd was a minimum of 5,000 men, maybe as big as 20,000 people. And he says, hey guys, feed them. And they were like, if we had a year's wages, we could only give, we could only give, we could only give. he takes a few fish, a couple of loaves of bread, and he feeds them to the point that when the people are done, the disciples are holding baskets full of the glory of God. Why? Because he was trying to reveal to them. At this point, they still had not understood that he is God in the flesh, that he's the I am. And so what happens? He sends them, he puts them on a boat. He goes up to pray. He goes up to pray. He goes up to pray. And all of a sudden, a storm blows up, and he comes walking on the water. You may have missed this, but this is really pretty awesome. In Mark's gospel, it says, he meant to pass them by. Do you know why he meant to pass them by? It actually goes all the way back to Moses. Do you remember when God was revealing to Moses his glory, he told Moses to hide his face in the cleft of the rock, and the glory of God walked by? Jesus was walking by to show that he is the I am. But then they go, it's a ghost. And so he stops, and he engages them. Do you know what he said? This is pretty cool. He looks at them and says, take courage, it is I. Do you know what scholars say that meant? What he really says is take courage because I am. I am the I am. He tells them who he is. And here's where it gets really cool. Peter gets out of the boat. He walks on the water, sinks. Jesus gets back up and takes him back to the boat." [58:07]
5. "What am I gonna put my trust in? Do I truly believe that Yahweh is my God? That he's present, that he's self-existent, that he's personal, that he cares about me? Or do I believe something different? Because it will determine how you live your life. It will determine who you trust in. Am I gonna trust in God? Am I gonna trust in myself? Am I gonna trust in something else? I was reading this week in Isaiah and I stumbled across what is really a famous passage of scripture. I'm sure you've heard it. It's Isaiah 40 and something caught my attention. In it, it says Yahweh is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. And here's what caught my attention. He doesn't faint or grow weary. He doesn't get tired. He doesn't run away. Why? Because he's big. Yahweh is big. He's powerful. One commentator said it this way. He says, if God is the everlasting absolute reality, then he is the creator of the ends of the earth and the universe. And if he's the creator of everything, then all energy, motion, combustion, fusion, and fission originate in him. Somehow all the energy of the universe had to have a beginning and it started with Yahweh, the first and absolute embodiment of the divine and infinite power. So think about it this way. If in the beginning, God, the infinite almighty, also fish one, created the heavens and the earth, he's spoken into existence, then what limitations does he really have? You know what the only limitation he has? The only limitation he has is the limitations you put on him in your unbelief. That's it. Someone said it this way. I thought this was so good. They said their encouragement was, if you put God in a box, let him out. Let the walls fall down. But here was their statement. If the grave couldn't hold him, what makes you think your life, lack of faith can? Isn't that good? If the grave couldn't hold him, what makes you think your lack of faith can hold him back? God is. And God is big. He's also unchanging. Yahweh means that he's unchanging. The big word for there is that he's immutable. He's absolute. And so you never have to worry about whether God's gonna be faithful to his promise, whether God's gonna be God. He's not gonna wake up one morning and go, I don't think I wanna be God today. I don't know about you, but there have been days I've woken up and I've thought," [49:50]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "Joy is an option. Because joy is not based upon your circumstances. Joy is a choice we make to choose. It's not happiness. It's choosing to find your joy and your fulfillment in the Lord. And so I just kind of said in the first service, you know what? I'm going to be joyful. I'm going to be joyful about all that's going on. I'm going to worship. And so I hope that no matter what you've come here today with, whether it's good, bad, indifferent, that you'll choose to have joy and worship today." [05:51]
2. "God didn't create us to live in Egypt. He created us to live in promise. You ought to write that down. That's really good. He didn't create you to live in Egypt. He created you to live in promise. So why do we settle for Egypt? It was never his intention. But what happens is, despite the fact that they've compromised themselves over and over and over again to the point where they don't even know where God is. They don't even know if they still believe in God. They're just so miserable and so desperate. They cry out for something. But because he is a covenant God. Because he has given them a covenant promise. Which, by the way, if you're a child of God, he's made a covenant with you as well. He shows up. And he hears their cry. And he takes them on a journey from Egypt to promise." [54:57]
3. "What am I gonna put my trust in? Do I truly believe that Yahweh is my God? That he's present, that he's self-existent, that he's personal, that he cares about me? Or do I believe something different? Because it will determine how you live your life. It will determine who you trust in. Am I gonna trust in God? Am I gonna trust in myself? Am I gonna trust in something else? I was reading this week in Isaiah and I stumbled across what is really a famous passage of scripture. I'm sure you've heard it. It's Isaiah 40 and something caught my attention. In it, it says Yahweh is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. And here's what caught my attention. He doesn't faint or grow weary. He doesn't get tired. He doesn't run away. Why? Because he's big. Yahweh is big. He's powerful." [49:50]
4. "So the question is, what are the implications of this? What does it mean that he is Yahweh? What does it mean for us? I think there are four things today that we can pick out. We could spend a lot more time than four things, but due to time and everything else, these are the four big ones, I think. First, Yahweh means God is. It means God is. It means that God exists. Francis Schaeffer said it this way, God is there. So he tells Moses, tell the people that I exist, that I'm present. Now, you might think this is obvious, but it really is not that obvious. In fact, as I think about people, there are people today who say, oh, I believe in God, and yet there's nothing about their life that says they believe." [40:59]
5. "Did you know that Paul warned about this in Romans chapter 1? I want you to listen to Romans 1, starting in verse 18. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the unbelievers, ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known about God is present in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God. Nor were they thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for the images made like corruptible men, birds and four-footed animals and creeping things." [43:27]
### Quotes for Members
1. "The more miserable you're going to become. God didn't create us to live in Egypt. He created us to live in promise. You ought to write that down. That's really good. He didn't create you to live in Egypt. He created you to live in promise. So why do we settle for Egypt? It was never his intention. But what happens is, despite the fact that they've compromised themselves over and over and over again to the point where they don't even know where God is. They don't even know if they still believe in God. They're just so miserable and so desperate. They cry out for something. But because he is a covenant God. Because he has given them a covenant promise. Which, by the way, if you're a child of God, he's made a covenant with you as well. He shows up. And he hears their cry. And he takes them on a journey from Egypt to promise. Let me tell you why that's so cool. Because when we were in bondage to sin, when we are living in a foreign land, a land that was never intended for us, God provided for us an exodus. He provided a way for us to escape the bondage of sin. And the beauty of it is, it shows up in the person of Jesus. If you fast forward from the exodus to the incarnation, God steps out. Out of heaven and into flesh. And he lives a perfect, sinless life." [54:57]
2. "You know what? I don't know that I wanna be Christian today. I think I wanna be a jerk. I think I wanna give somebody a piece of my mind. I think I wanna show someone what I think they deserve. Don't look at me that way. I know that you do it too. God doesn't wake up and go, I don't wanna be God today. He is immutable. He is unchanging. Malachi 3 says, I, Yahweh, do not change. I do not change. Therefore, O sons of Jacob, you are not consumed. What does this mean? It means that he is all-sufficient. He is self-sufficient. He cannot be determined by forces outside of himself, nor is he subject to change like we are. Whereas we might change our minds because of unforeseen circumstances and poor decision-making, because he is omniscient, knowing all things, foreseeing all circumstances, and because he is omnipotent, having no weakness. Listen to this. This is so good. Nothing in all creation surprises him, catches him off guard, or backs him into a corner. You know what that means? Your God cannot be bullied because he's unchanging and all-powerful." [52:14]
3. "As they're climbing in the boat, do you know what the disciples said? Matthew chapter 14, verse 33. Remember, we're two and a half years into him discipling them. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him. Saying, truly, you are the son of God. Truly, you are the I am. They finally got it. They finally understood. Two and a half years into the journey, they finally recognized that Jesus was the great I am. That he was present with them. That he was for them. And so you think about it. If you look at the whole story of the Bible, back in Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve were created. They have a relationship. They fall. God provides a sacrifice in the garden. He's present with them, provides a sacrifice so that he can be with them. Fast forward to the Exodus. The people are away from God again. They're in bondage to the Egyptians. And God comes along and says, I'm present. And I'm here to rescue you. I'm here to be your God. I'm here to be, I'm here to be Yahweh. Fast forward to the cross. And God looks at all of humanity, including you and me. And he says, and when you were dead in your trespasses and sin, when you were in bondage to sin and condemned, I came to rescue you. The great I am. The beauty of the third time, it's not temporary. He doesn't have to come again. And once you believe and receive that, you can have certainty. That God has provided everything that you need to save you, to rescue you, and that he will be present in your life." [01:01:05]
4. "I am the gate. I am the good shepherd. He tells them I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and life. And then the last thing he did on his way to Gethsemane was say I am the true vine and you are the branches. And each one of those discourses was intended to help us help the 12 to know that the God of the Old Testament, the God who showed up at the exodus, the God who told Moses I am who I am, that right there in their presence, physically, Jesus is the I am, the great I am. What's really interesting to me about that story is that two and a half years into the journey, Jesus takes the disciples. He sent them out. They come back. They come back from doing all kinds of incredible miracles. They've literally seen people healed and the dead raised all through the power of God. He brings them together and they show up on a hillside in Gethsemane, excuse me, in Galilee. And a crowd of people gather around. It was estimated the crowd was a minimum of 5,000 men, maybe as big as 20,000 people. And he says, hey guys, feed them. And they were like, if we had a year's wages, we could only give, we could only give, we could only give. he takes a few fish, a couple of loaves of bread, and he feeds them to the point that when the people are done, the disciples are holding baskets full of the glory of God. Why? Because he was trying to reveal to them. At this point, they still had not understood that he is God in the flesh, that he's the I am. And so what happens? He sends them, he puts them on a boat. He goes up to pray. He goes up to pray. He goes up to pray. And all of a sudden, a storm blows up, and he comes walking on the water. You may have missed this, but this is really pretty awesome. In Mark's gospel, it says, he meant to pass them by. Do you know why he meant to pass them by? It actually goes all the way back to Moses. Do you remember when God was revealing to Moses his glory, he told Moses to hide his face in the cleft of the rock, and the glory of God walked by? Jesus was walking by to show that he is the I am. But then they go, it's a ghost. And so he stops, and he engages them. Do you know what he said? This is pretty cool. He looks at them and says, take courage, it is I. Do you know what scholars say that meant? What he really says is take courage because I am. I am the I am. He tells them who he is. And here's where it gets really cool. Peter gets out of the boat. He walks on the water, sinks. Jesus gets back up and takes him back to the boat." [58:07]
5. "What am I gonna put my trust in? Do I truly believe that Yahweh is my God? That he's present, that he's self-existent, that he's personal, that he cares about me? Or do I believe something different? Because it will determine how you live your life. It will determine who you trust in. Am I gonna trust in God? Am I gonna trust in myself? Am I gonna trust in something else? I was reading this week in Isaiah and I stumbled across what is really a famous passage of scripture. I'm sure you've heard it. It's Isaiah 40 and something caught my attention. In it, it says Yahweh is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. And here's what caught my attention. He doesn't faint or grow weary. He doesn't get tired. He doesn't run away. Why? Because he's big. Yahweh is big. He's powerful. One commentator said it this way. He says, if God is the everlasting absolute reality, then he is the creator of the ends of the earth and the universe. And if he's the creator of everything, then all energy, motion, combustion, fusion, and fission originate in him. Somehow all the energy of the universe had to have a beginning and it started with Yahweh, the first and absolute embodiment of the divine and infinite power. So think about it this way. If in the beginning, God, the infinite almighty, also fish one, created the heavens and the earth, he's spoken into existence, then what limitations does he really have? You know what the only limitation he has? The only limitation he has is the limitations you put on him in your unbelief. That's it. Someone said it this way. I thought this was so good. They said their encouragement was, if you put God in a box, let him out. Let the walls fall down. But here was their statement. If the grave couldn't hold him, what makes you think your life, lack of faith can? Isn't that good? If the grave couldn't hold him, what makes you think your lack of faith can hold him back? God is. And God is big. He's also unchanging. Yahweh means that he's unchanging. The big word for there is that he's immutable. He's absolute. And so you never have to worry about whether God's gonna be faithful to his promise, whether God's gonna be God. He's not gonna wake up one morning and go, I don't think I wanna be God today. I don't know about you, but there have been days I've woken up and I've thought," [49:50]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from May 26, 2024. Do you have any questions about it?