Yahweh: The Personal God of Holiness and Mercy

Although Jesus is God, he stepped into time and space to be born as a baby, to experience the humiliation of the incarnation, to be a little baby that was dependent upon a human mother, to be a little baby that had to have his diaper changed, to experience the humiliation of ultimately the cross, to go and to be murdered and killed by his creation, the ones that he could wipe out with a snap of the fingers. He experienced that. Why? Because he's a human being, a personal God who wants you to know Him. [00:18:42] (31 seconds)

And the way that we come to Him is by faith in what He has done on the cross and in the resurrection for us. This is the angel of Yahweh stepping into time and space to do for you what you could never do for yourself, that is to pay for your sin and to give you the righteousness of God. [00:19:14] (17 seconds)

So through the holiness of Jesus Christ we too can become holy. I don't know if you need to know this, this good news for you, but there's forgiveness for each and every one of your sins. That none of you are perfect. That if you messed up this past week and you will mess up again, there's the holiness of God for you through Jesus Christ. I need that good news. [00:30:55] (27 seconds)

And although we are creating his image, he is never changing, and he's different from us, and that is good news because that means his promises will never fail. His promises will always be true, and you can claim them to the day that you go to see him. Yahweh is eternally immutable. [00:34:32] (26 seconds)

Yahweh passed before him and proclaimed, Yahweh, Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. This is how he's describing himself, full of mercy and grace, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, that's covenant love, that's unending love, that's faithful love, faithfulness, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin. This is our God. [00:38:48] (34 seconds)

He's not an angry God in the sky waiting for you to mess up so he can throw a lightning bolt at you. He's slow to anger. He's merciful. He's gracious. He loves you. He wants you to know him. He wants you to experience his presence. This is who God is. He is merciful. He's merciful. He's so merciful that the reason why you just took that last breath was because of his grace to you. [00:39:22] (23 seconds)

But then he finishes his statement of who he is. He says this, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the children's children to the third and fourth generation. What he's saying, God is saying, he is love, he is gracious, he is merciful, he is slow to anger, but his holiness demands justice. And unless you repent from your sin and turn to him, you can fall from Yahweh. [00:39:47] (33 seconds)

So while you're experiencing God's mercy, remember, God's judgment is also a reality. So while you have time, turn to him by faith. This is not fear-mongering. This is not me trying to get you scared to say a prayer. This is just the reality. We experience the mercy of God, the steadfast love. He's slow to anger. But there's coming a time where he will be. Anger. Anger at our sin and our iniquity. And so while we have breath, we turn to him by faith today. [00:40:29] (36 seconds)

``Paul said, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the glory of God the Father, so since your knee one day will bow to the angel of Yahweh, to Yahweh himself, choose now by faith to bow your knee. Every one of us will one day. Some of us by choice. Some of us will be forced. But today, in light of God's mercy, his mercy and grace is here now. You're hearing it. You can turn to him by faith and be saved. [00:41:06] (42 seconds)