Welcome to the In Touch podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, June 19th. Scripture assures us that God never changes, but what does that mean for us today? Let's explore the impact of that unshakable truth in part two of the greatness of God. How would you describe God?
Now, don't tell me what he does, but how would you describe his being? Who is and what is this God? 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?
And what I'd like to do is to take four of his attributes. Attributes are his characteristics. Listen, characteristics of his being. This is what he is. This is who he is.
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? One of his attributes is that he is a person. God is a person.
So many people think in terms of God as being a force. An invisible force in the universe that we have to deal with. God is a person.
All through the scriptures, what do you find? As you look at the Word of God, what you'll find is He is continually being referred to as who, as Him. Jesus spoke of God the Father as who, Him, He.
Nowhere in the Bible is God related to as an it. And if you'll think about, for example, that he has all the attributes and all the faculties of being a person. What does it take to be a person? Intelligence to be able to think and reason. Emotion to be able to feel.
And a will to be able to make decisions. And the Bible says that God, in verse 26, that first chapter of Genesis says, God created us, He created you and me in His own image.
Well, God certainly has the faculties of being a personality, a person. He has intelligence to think. He chose to create this world in a certain way. He certainly has emotions because the truth says in the scriptures that when he had created the world, that he looked upon it, he says it's good. He was pleased, he felt good about what he did.
For example, he certainly has emotions because the Bible speaks of the anger of God, the love of God, and God rejoicing. And so he somehow has a will. He made a choice. He willed to create the earth. He wills to bless us.
He willed that Adam and Eve replenish the earth and rule over it. God is a person.
He is not a thing.
Nowhere in the Bible is it referred to him as a thing. God revealed Himself as the person of the Godhead. He revealed Himself as a person in that moment, willing and ready to relate to a person, Moses. When Jesus spoke of him, he said, he is I am. And God addresses us as persons.
He calls us his children. He calls us his followers. God sees us as his persons. And so he is not something, he is somebody. He is this awesome, glorious, majestic, great somebody who loves every single one of us and has chosen the best for us in our life because he recognizes us as his children.
Not only is he a person, the Bible says that God is spirit. Isn't I wait a minute now? How can God be person and spirit at the same time?
Well, that's exactly who he is. He is spirit. And so you say, well, now, why would God want to be spirit? Why doesn't God have a body? I mean, if I'm to be able to worship Him and praise Him, why would God just be spirit?
Now, for example, go back to John chapter 4. Because here Jesus tells us what the Father is like. And you'll recall this fourth chapter of John that Jesus was sitting at the well, and this woman comes up and they get into conversation. And she's a Samaritan, he's a Jew. And so he asked her to give him a drink of water, which is most unusual.
Jews and Samaritans didn't have anything to do with each other.
So they get in this conversation about worship. And she says, Now, here's where we worship, and you worship over here. And they get in this conversation about where you ought to worship for God and so forth. And so Jesus, in responding to her, talks about something here about who God is. Listen.
Verse 22. You worship that which you do not know. We worship that which we know for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming. And now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth.
For such people, the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit. And those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.
Now, what's this conversation all about? This conversation is all about who God is. And what he's saying is this. You see, because God is Spirit, He's not limited to being over yonder or over here or back yonder or out there. Because He's Spirit, there is no limitations on God.
Secondly, He is unlimitable. You cannot put limitations on God. He's not confined to a body. He's not confined to a place. He says, He who does not have the Spirit of God does not have God.
So the fact that He is Spirit, He can indwell every single person who is one of His children. Unlimited, unlimitable. You cannot limit God in any point. Why? Because the Bible says that He is Spirit.
So he was simply saying to her, You cannot say that you can only worship God over here because God is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth, which means. If we to worship him in spirit, it is my spirit worshiping and and interrelating with His Spirit. God has made us person so we could relate to Him, so we could worship Him and bring Him glory and honor and praise because He is spirit. He can relate to your spirit and mine. When you and I kneel to pray and we sense the presence of God, what is it?
It is the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit of God revealing Himself. The Spirit of God expressing Himself in your life and my life. The Spirit of God expressing Himself in our presence. We talk about God being in our presence and we being in the presence of God.
That is the Spirit of God.
Somebody 10,000 miles away can feel the very same thing we feel: the Spirit of God in their presence, absolutely, totally unlimited. Why? Because he spit not confined by space or time.
So he's a person with whom you and I can speak and with whom we can fellowship and love. He is Spirit who lives and abides and dwells and has sealed us as his own. With us at every single moment, no matter what. There will never be a single moment in your life when He is not present. Listen, you may not even be a Christian, you're still in the presence of God.
God is in control and awesomely overseeing every single thing. That's this God whom you and I serve. Absolutely unlimited and unlimitable. You can't put any limits on God.
Well The third attribute I want you to notice is that he is eternal. In the 28th verse of this. Of this 40th chapter, listen to what he says. Do you not know, and have you not heard, the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of earth, does not become weary or tired? He says he is absolutely eternal.
Now, what does that mean?
Well, hold that and go back to Psalm chapter 90, the 90th Psalm and verse 2. Ninetieth Psalm and verse 2. He says, Lord. Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born, or thou didst even give birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Now, what does it mean that he's eternal? Here's what it means. Isha, I just can't even fathom this.
Well Thank God. I mean, if you and I could figure him all out, he wouldn't be gut. Listen. You and I can look back. backwards in history.
When did God begin? No beginning. Look into the future. When will God end? No ending.
He is eternally God. Listen to this now. He is the self-existent God. If there's anything on the other side of God, Then there is something greater than God.
Somebody greater than God. Or How did God come into existence? Who created him? He was not created. You say, I don't understand how he could be.
eternally past, eternally future, and eternally present. You know why? Because when man fell in the garden, man lost some of his capacity to comprehend who God is. Neither can I comprehend the fact that God is eternally existent, but he is. Eternally past, eternally future.
God has always been, is, and always will be. Unlimited by time, unlimited by space, above and beyond it all. He is the everlasting and eternal God. For example, the scientists say, well, let me tell you how the world began. out yonder in the billions of years in the past.
There was this awesome big explosion.
Well, let's just go along with that. It's okay. Not that I do, but let's just say, okay, big explosion, we go with that. On the other side of that explosion, what is there?
Well, matter is there. Fine. What's on the other side of matter? It does matter. What's on the other side of matter?
Because They can only go back so far, and then you know what happens? Their reasoning and their philosophy is totally blank. There has to be something beyond all matter, That something is somebody, He is the eternal God. who has always existed. All the way through the scripture, he is viewed as the eternal, everlasting God who knows no end, who knows no beginning and knows no end.
He says, I am the Alpha and Omega, which does not mean that He started here and stopped over there. But when time and space began, He's the one who started it. When it ends, he'll still be there. He is the eternal God. And when you think about What Jesus said about himself.
For example, if you want to find out how the Sadducees and the Pharisees loved Jesus, here's what he said to them: He was in a conversation with him in the eighth chapter, the 57th, 58th verses, John. He said, Before Abraham was I am Day through a fit. You know what they did? They didn't only threw a fit, they picked up rocks and getting ready to stone him to death. Because he was claiming to be eternal.
He was claiming to be one with God. God is eternal. And when I think about The fact that he is a person. Who is spirit? Who is absolutely unlimited in every single aspect, infinite in every aspect.
And that He is the eternal God. What is man compared to Almighty God? Nothing. What has God made us?
Sons. How much then does He love us? The cross. That's who God is. This infinite, awesome God who has every single solitary thing absolutely in his control.
He is eternal in every aspect of his being. What's this last attribute? He is unchangeable. God is unchangeable. He does not change.
He's unchanging. Listen, somebody says, What do you mean he's unchanging? God doesn't change. The word is immutable. He's unchanging.
Now, listen carefully so you'll understand. When the Bible says that God is unchanging, In Malachi chapter 3, verse 6, I am God who does not change. What does he mean? Listen to this. It means that in his being, In his substance, it does not change.
The truth is that so much of what you and I believe and so much of what we depend upon depends upon his unchangeableness. For example, maybe you weren't too familiar with that passage in Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. Look at that, if you will. He says Verse 6 of the third chapter. For I the Lord, the Lord Do not change.
Therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. What is he saying? He says, I made a covenant promise to you. And I don't change my covenant promises, therefore, I'm not going to consume you and destroy you.
Now, for example, look in James chapter 1, and you'll notice in this very first chapter. He says a word about the same thing. James chapter 1. He says, verse 17, every good. Bestowed and every perfect gift is from above.
That is, every good thing that comes away from God. Coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation. or a shifting shadow. There's not anything about his being that changes. For example, we know God is holy and loving and kind and gracious and good.
We know a God who's made us these awesome promises. To answer our prayer. He says that one of these days Jesus Christ is coming back, going to take us home to be with him. We're going to live him forever. He says he's going to prepare a place for us.
If he's going to prepare a place for us, he's going to come again and receive us to himself. Where he is, there we're going to be also. Praise the Lord. We can face death with that.
So listen, your hope and mine is in the fact that God never changes. Jesus Christ the same what? Yesterday, today and forever.
So, tonight or today, you get on your knees and you begin to talk to the Lord. Why do you think God's going to answer your prayer? Why do you think He's listening? Because it is his nature to listen. It is the fact that he is unchangeable.
Listen, you can put that on the absolute bottom line of the foundation of everything you and I believe. If he can change one eye or my faith has some cracks in the very foundation. if he is absolutely unchangeable. Then all I have to do is to pick up this book and say, Here's what God says. If I follow the principles and the laws and the rules of this book.
If I seek to obey Almighty God, Then what do I know? This is some things I can know for absolute certainty. I can live by them and die with them. But if he's changeable I'll have to say Maybe. I'm not sure.
I hope so. Let me tell you something, friends. You and I don't have a hope-so faith. Thank God this is not hope-so, this is no-so. This is absolutely no-so.
How do you know? Because here's what the Bible teaches, and I can tell you this much. He has never violated one single part. Of that Scripture. Friend, that's enough for me to go on for the rest of eternity believing that if God hadn't changed anything now and He says He's unchangeable, then I don't have to worry about Him changing in the future.
Let me ask you this: Have you got a God? Who is a personal God. Do you have a God? whom you can call your Heavenly Father with all the attributes of a Father. Do you have a God who is spirit?
from whom you can never escape. And who will always be with you? Do you have a God who is infinite in every single aspect of His being? Do you have a God who is absolutely eternal, no beginning and no end? Do you have a God who is absolutely totally unchangeable?
He is constant, the same all the time.
Well, if you don't, You might need to consider the God that I'm talking about. Jehovah Elohim, Yahweh, infinite in power, eternal in his being, absolute in his faithfulness. Why? Because he's unchanging. When I think about who he is, I can tell you personally this morning.
When I got on my knees this morning before I came, and I was just thinking over this message, I found myself weeping and weeping and weeping and weeping and weeping. Why? Just one reason. When I think about how great he is, And that he would save me as a 12-year-old kid. And that He's answered thousands of prayers and been good and kind and gracious and loving and forgiving over and over and over again.
Who makes his presence known speaks to my heart and lets me talk to him. and assures me he's heard me. And that he loves me unconditionally. How could I ever choose? Not to worship him and praise him and love him.
And obey him to the best of my God-given ability. How could I do otherwise? How could you do otherwise? That's just a little glimpse of who God is. And I'm going to ask you, my friend, if you've never trusted Jesus as your Savior.
What do you have? You don't have anything. And he said, He that comes to the Father must come by me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.
If you wanted to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin. He will wipe your slate clean. He wipes him the blood of the Lamb, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. who died at Calvary. He will change your life.
Listen. He won't change, but I guarantee you, he will change your eternal destiny. In a split second, faster than you can batch your eye. That's the offer of God. And if you're wise, You'll take the offer.
Thank you for listening to part two of 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 InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
