All Out Sunday — “God Is Good”

All Out Sunday — “God Is Good”

1 Chronicles 16:34 “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

Psalm 86:5  “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”

Who am I? I googled myself to see, who is D Karl Thomas. It was interesting.

Any Concept of God that is built through a preconceived filter will limit your ability to connect with God. 

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”   A.W. Tozer  (The Knowledge of the Holy)

So many things in our world contribute to hoe we see God. Media – Education – Parents – Friends

On Good Friday in April 8, 1966,  Time magazine published its famously controversial cover story, “Is God Dead?

Moses was called by God to lead a people out of 400 years of slavery. Generations of defeat and mistreatment. Authority figure a brutal ruler. Pharaoh.

Even when they we released they had difficulty connecting with their God. Moses you talk with him for us.

“He’s trying to kill us!”

Moses and the people of Israel spent their whole lives seeing God through this Pharaoh filter.

Exodus 33:18 “And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’”

Exodus 34:6-7  (NET)  “The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love for thousands, 

forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Hebrews 1:1-3 “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.  And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son …. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God,…”

It’s much better if we allow God to define Himself for us.

The Lord

Yahweh:— Self Existent One, whatever I am, I will be. In other words, whatever this God is like, he’s that way consistently…24/7.”  Whatever he is, he always is.

Compassionate

Realated to the word “Womb” A strong, deep emotional bond between a parent and child.

Luke 7:13 “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’”

Gracious

Mercy is not getting what you deserve.  Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.

John 1:14, 16 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us …And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

Grace (charis):– good will, loving-kindness, favour. The merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles virtues.

Ephesians 1:6-7 “…to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…”

Galatians 2:21 “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

John 8:10-11 “Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Slow To Anger

Hebrew word picture long nosed.  Long suffering or Patient.

Luke 24:14, 30 “Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. … He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him;…”

Loyal Love

“ḥeseḏ” :— combining the ideas of love, loyalty, and generosity. 

An unconditional expression of enduring character, Inner conviction. God loves for His own sake. He is!

Hebrew Dictionary (Hesed) God’s commitment to do a generous and surprising amount of good in another person’s life over the long term, not based on their performance but based on his own promise.

Faithfulness

Fixed, True, Stable, Reliable. Related to another common untranslated Hebrew word “Amen” 

:— That’s Truth!   He is not fickle. He is my ROCK!

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Accepting what Jesus did at the cross removes the filter so that you can know God as He really is!

John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”

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