Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, June 18th. God is active and involved in our everyday lives. Let's learn how to recognize the greatness of God in today's podcast. When you think of God, what comes to your mind? Is it a person?
Person with a body. A force Some kind of power. Maybe some kind of ethereal kind of energy. Or maybe you just draw a blank. You don't have any idea what God is like.
Well, one thing for certain, all the way through the scriptures, it's very clear. God's opinion of Himself. God's revelation of Himself and what He wants you and me to know about Him. I would not even begin. to be so prideful as to tell you that I'm going to tell you what God is like.
Because I don't believe there's anybody on the face of this earth who can do that adequately. I don't believe there are any words to convey adequately who God is and what He's like. In the light of the way I would like to know all that there is to know about him. But one thing for certain, If you're going to get a proper accurate view of God. You'll have to open this book and find out what it says about God because this is God's revelation.
This is God's unveiling of His character. Of His being, of His attributes. His attributes are those characteristics of God, those things that describe who He is in His being and what He is able and capable of doing and what He does. And I want you to turn, for example, just for one verse or two there, in Psalm 92. And listen to how he begins on 93, verse 1 of chapter 93, how he begins this psalm.
He says the Lord reigns. He is clothed with majesty. God is clothed with greatness. And then if you slip all the way over to 2 Peter, for example, chapter 1. And here is a reference to what Peter was more than likely referring to when he and James and John met the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the Lord Jesus was just transformed right in front of them with Moses and Elijah.
And he says in verse 16 of this first chapter of 2 Peter, For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses of His Majesty. We witnessed his greatness as he spoke. with Moses and Elijah. Then go back two or three books here to Hebrews chapter 1 for a moment.
And notice how the write of Hebrews begins this entire book. Because it is all about Jesus and his atoning death at Calvary. Listen to how he begins. Speaking of Revelation, he says, God. After he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways.
in these last days has spoken to us in his Son. Whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world. And he is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature, referring to the Father, and upholds all things by the word of his power. When He, that is Jesus, had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Jesus recognized the majesty of the Father.
All through the Old Testament, the New Testament, when we recognize who God is, we certainly say He is majestic indeed. God is a great God. And we sing majesty. We sing of His majesty. And we refer to His majesty, the Lord Jesus Christ, His Majesty, God the Father.
We think of His majesty being His greatness.
So when you think about God, And somebody says to you, Well, tell me about your God, what would you say? If you could not give them just simply verses of Scripture, or if you could not say to them, Here's what God does. No, that's not the question. The question is not what does He do, but what is He like? Who is this God?
I wonder how you would answer that. And what you'll find is oftentimes a person who is not a Christian, a person who is not a believer, they will tell you what they think God is like. And usually, here's what you're going to find. You're going to find that he certainly is good most of the time, that he's in control of some things, and that he's really not all that hard on sin. And they certainly do not believe that He's going to have any big-time judgment.
Anybody's going to hell. And so, their whole idea of God, if you'll think about it for a moment, the words they use and their concept about God is more not what He is and who He is, but sort of more like what He's going to do and what He does and what He doesn't do. And usually, what you'll find out if you listen carefully, they're not talking about the God of the Bible, they're talking about a God that they have imagined. A God that really best fits the way they want to live. And a God who really is, he compromises a little bit here and there.
You're not going to hear them talking about holiness. You're not going to hear him talking about his righteousness. You're not going to hear him talking about his judgment. But you're going to be talking about a good sort of grandfatherly type God that is acceptable to everybody. But my friend, that is pure deception.
What I want us to see in this message entitled The Greatness of God is who God says he is. Who does God say he is? What does God say he's like? Who is this God? That you and I say we love.
that you and I want to worship. that we say we believe in him enough. To make a decision to trust their whole eternal future that's beyond death. And death is very final from a human point of view. But who is this God about whom we've said now?
Even beyond death, I'm trusting him. Who is this God? And I want you to be able to show that you can define to someone. To the best of my knowledge, here is the God whom I serve. And if you let them tell you who their God is in comparison to who your God is, you're going to want to pray for them because they'll want to know Christ is their Savior sooner or later.
Once they understand they have no earthly idea. Concerning the God of the Bible. That's the God I'm going to have to face in the judgment. This is the God who is our Creator. This is the God with whom we live every day.
This is the God. To whom we have to give an account for our life. Who is this God? Well, I want you to turn, if you will, to Isaiah chapter 40. And what I'd like to do is to take just a portion of this chapter to give you an idea of his greatness.
And I want us to look at several verses, and I want you to notice. Just several verses in this 40th chapter. Because here's what he says: Isaiah saying, God is greater than. This is this majestic God whom you and I serve. First of all, he's greater than his own creation.
Look what he says. Verse 12. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the heavens by the span? and calculated the dust of the earth by measure. and weighed the mountains in a balance.
and the heels and a pair of scales. Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or who is his counselor, or who has informed him? God is greater than the creation. He's greater than everything is great. He says, listen.
He says, who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? Think about all the oceans. All the seas, all the lakes, all the streams, all the rivers, he's put them in his hand. He says, Not only is he greater than the creation, but he is greater than the nations. Verse 15: Behold, look, he says, the nations of the world are like a drop of water from a bucket.
And they are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales. How heavy is a speck of dust on the scales? It does not even move the scale. God is not impressed by our nations. He says they're like a drop of a bucket in his might and power and his greatness.
Look, if you will, in verse 18, all the idols that people worship. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with him? As for the idol a craftsman casteth. A goldsmith plates it with gold.
A silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering selects a tree that does not rot. He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman to prepare an idol that will not totter, an idol that is lifeless, an idol that cannot speak, an idol that cannot hear, cannot smell. Cannot see, cannot answer your prayers, cannot empower you, cannot go with you, an idol that is absolutely worthless. He says, God is above and beyond all idols.
Then, if you'll notice, he says he's above and beyond all of this world. Verse 22: It is he who sits above the vault or the circle of the earth. Its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Verse 23, He's greater than the greatest of all men. He it is who reduces Rolus to nothing.
who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. He is greater than all the heavens, all the galaxies. All the constellations, everything he's created in the heavens. Look here in verse 26. Lift up your eyes on high.
and see who has created these stars. The one who leads forth They're host by number. He calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of his might, the strength of his power, not one of them is missing, not a one. Then I want you to read a passage because I just want you to remember this for your own good.
Look, if you will. If you'll notice in Verse uh twenty eight. Do you not know, and have you not heard, the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth? He doesn't become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
He gives strength to the weary. To him who lacks might, he increases power. Though the youth shall grow weary and tired. Vigorous young men shall stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles, run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
That is the great God whom you and I serve.
Now he gives us a warning. Here's the warning. I want you to go back to the Ten Commandments for just a moment because I want you to notice something, because this is what happens when people do not worship God in the right manner. Back to this twentieth chapter of Exodus now. Then I want you to show you why idolatry is so heinous in the eyes of God.
Why? It's such blasphemy in the eyes of God. Why it is so horrible in the eyes of God. Listen to what he says. Verse 1 now, back to chapter 20.
Then God spoke all these words, saying, I'm the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
Now, listen to this next verse. You shall not make. for yourself an idol. Or any likeness of what is in heaven above. or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
What is he saying? He says, you're not to take anything that is in existence and make a God out of it.
Now, why? Why does that bring God such grief? Here's the reason. Because of who he is. Listen, he is the majestic, great, awesome God of this universe, above and beyond every single thing that there is, holy above all things that are holy.
Wiser, more omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, all the characteristics, all the attributes of God. No human tongue can spell them all, no mind can conceive of them all. And here he is, the awesome God. And here's what idolaters do. They create something.
Four-footed living beast.
Something that crawls, something that creeps, something that flies. And they bow down to worship that. Here's what they've done. They have taken this awesome God. This and this eternal, everlasting God, and they have brought him down out of his majesty and greatness and holiness and power, and they have confined him to an oxen or a calf, and they, in the Old Testament, made a golden calf so that they could worship this calf.
What have they done? They have absolutely insulted God. They've made the God of the universe look like a calf. They've made the God of the universe look like an eagle or a reptile, something that is creeping, sleething along in the earth. That is absolutely totally dishonoring to God.
God hates idolatry. And this is why he said to Israel over and over and over again. You must not make anything, listen, that is similar to anything on the earth. Anything that looks like it. He says, I forbid you to do it.
I'm a jealous God. I made you for myself. And my friend, listen. Do not insult Almighty God as to confine him to something that flies, swims, walks, or crawls, or creeps. That is not the God of this universe.
God is greater than all of that. God forbids it. And he forbids any type of idolatry. And if you want to see how absolutely. Angry God can become.
And if you want to see how God's judgment can be poured out in great wrath, See what he did to his own people Israel when they fell into idolatry or walked into it or chose idolatry. When they chose to make things that they would worship, When they chose other gods, the gods of other nations, God hated it. And he sent them into captivity over and over and over again because of their idolatry. It is an insult to the holiness and righteousness and the greatness and the majesty of God to worship anything other than himself because anything other than himself is unworthy of our worship. He says, You're to worship me and worship me only.
So when you ask a friend, well, tell me about your God. See if they say anything in the world about the fact that he is spirit. See if they tell you anything in the world about The fact that he because he's spirit That means he can be infinite. God is absolutely infinite. Take any one of his attributes, justice.
Righteousness, judgment, love, Kindness, whatever it is, here's what you'll find. In every single attribute, he is infinite in that area. Think about this. God's love is infinite. Immeasurable.
Indescribable. But listen, wonderful enough to know that when you and I are loved by him, When you and I are loved by Him, there is this awesome sense of wonderful joy and peace and contentment and happiness knowing that the God of this universe has condescended to love people like you and me. Infinite is righteousness. How right is God? in the absolute infinity of what right can be like.
How merciful is God? More merciful than the whole human race could possibly be.
So he's infinite. That means time and space cannot contain him. As we said, being spirit, being infinite. You can't say he's over yonder back here and over there. That He is everything that He is in His absolute total.
Total possibility. And only God knows how infinite He is.
So, if you and I, for example, we say, Well, how much do you love somebody? We had a line on a sheet of paper, we'd say, Well, that far. But now I love them this much further and this much further. If you drew a line to explain the infinity of the love of God, listen, you couldn't see the end in either direction. Nor would there be an end in either direction, because it is indescribable and immeasurable.
What I think about lost people And I'm not being critical, my friend. When I think about people who do not know God, tell me, well, here's what I'm going to do. When I get before the God of judgment, here's what I'm going to tell him. You're not going to tell him anything. Absolutely nothing are you going to tell him.
Remember who he is. He is the God of this universe who controls every single drop of water, every law, every principle. He is in absolute control of every single thing. There's not anything that is out of his control. He is infinite.
Where is he? Go back to Psalm 139 for a moment. Psalm 139, look at this wonderful passage of Scripture. Matthew living in sin is not a very good passage, but it's a great passage if you're not. Look at this.
The psalmist says in verse 7. Psalm 139. Where can I go from thy spirit? He didn't say, where can I go from your body? He said, Where can I go from your spirit?
Listen to this. Where can I flee from thy presence? Why do you want to get away from God? If I ascend to heaven, You're there. I'll make my bed in Sheol.
Behold, they are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea. Even there thy hand will lead me. And thy right hand will lay hold of me. If I say she Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night.
Even the darkness is not dark to thee. And the night is as bright as the day, darkness and light are the same to thee. Or why are you going to get away from God? I don't know about you, but I'm glad. I'm grateful that he's a person with whom I can talk, and he is spirit.
That is, I can't get away. Listen, even though sometimes I may have wanted to get away from him, thank God I couldn't. Thank God you couldn't. The last thing you want to do is to be able to get away from God. You cannot.
It doesn't make any difference what you do, where you go, how much you cover it up. He says the darkness and the sun shine are just the same with him. He sees through it all. There is no escape from God, who is this wondrous, great, mighty, awesome being, person. Who is spirit?
Who is infinity? And so, what did he say to his disciples? He said, As you go, make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them, he says, in the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit. Teaching them, he said, to observe all the things that I've commanded you.
And he says, Lo, I'm with you all the way, even to the end of this age.
Well, how could he be with the Apostle Paul? And Peter and James and John and other pastors and myself and you and everybody else. How can He be with us? Because He is a person and He is a Spirit and He is unlimited by anything. That means that listen, when every single one of us goes home today, let's say that all of us got on our knees at the same time to pray tonight.
Let's say at 11 o'clock tonight we're all in prayer.
Well, is God in your bedroom or your dent? Yes, He is. In mine? Yes. Because you see, he's spirit.
He cannot be contained by man. He is so awesome He can't even be contained in the mind of man. in the verbiage of man. In the presence of man, in the body of man, absolutely, totally infinity, he is unlimited in every aspect. And so, when I read these passages and all the things that he says about himself and think, well, Lord, how could you do that?
And how could you do this? Simply because He is absolutely infinite. He is spirit. Listen, that doesn't mean that God is just scattered all over the place. It means God in His whole person, in His whole being.
It's wherever we are. And we are always in His presence. Thank you for listening to The Greatness of God. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org.
This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
