Praise Be To Our God
Intro: This has been an interesting Summer for me ! I went to two places that I had never been before
A)And in each place I was
reminded of a side of God that I don’t really think about that much –
often times take for granted
B) In July I went on a missions trip to Africa – It
was there in Africa seeing all the different animals up close & in the wild
1)
I was reminded of how Creative the Lord is
!!!!
C) Animals of all shapes, sizes, colors – coexisting in this vast land that God has made
1) Seeing the Giraffe w/ it’s various colors – long
neck – little legs holding everything up – Huge – yet blends incredibly in a
group of trees
D) Elephant – Huge massive creature – Running to
water whole – 20 mph
1)
Leopard
/ Impalas / the Elk / Buffalo’s
E) All of that just reminded me of How Creative God
is – Not boring / not Predictable – Creative w/ the body of Christ { Not all
the same
1)
Don’t
all have the same functions or gifts -
A)Beautiful country: Reminded of what an Artist our
God is – Some of the most Beautiful country I have ever seen
B) Majestic mountains
/ Tree lines / Rivers / lakes and Valleys that are all breath taking
1)
And
to think that God made all of that for us to enjoy { SIMPLY
INCREDIBLE !!!!!!
C) Well in our text today Paul gives us 3 descriptions of God that we don’t often think about { 3 Reasons to give Praise to God – Rd v. 3-5
The
phrase Blessed be is literally Praise be or Glory be to God why?
Paul
gives us 3 reasons { 3 Things He REMINDS us about God
A)1st – He is the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ / 2nd He is the Father of Mercies / 3rd He is the God of all comfort
B) Three reasons to give
praise & Glory to our God : The first speaks of Salvation
/ the 2nd Speaks of the Blessings available
after Salvation
1)3rd speaks
of the Strength God gives to us in our times
of struggle & trials
C) This morning I want
to consider each one of these in some detail & speak about it’s
significance to us as a Christian
So
first we consider the statement He is the God & Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ
A)In the OT times, God was identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," this spoke of God’s covenant-relationship to them & their seed;
B) But in the NT, He is not identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.
He is identified as the blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That
statement speaks of all that God did to win our Salvation / It is this first
thing that makes possible the other two
A)He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
B) Now in that great title the "Lord Jesus Christ," you have all of the redemptive work that the Lord came to do.
1)Lord = title speaks obviously of His deity. Lord speaks of sovereignty.
C) Jesus,= name is the grk translation of Joshua which means Jehovah is Salvation or Savior So His name speaks of sacrifice, & Salvation/
1) He is the one who came to save His people from their sins...
D) Christ is the term for anointed one, or Messiah.
So when
Paul says praise be to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
A)He is saying Praise the Father who supplies His own
Son to be the one who would come as the Savior
B) Praise be to God who gave his very best – so that you & I could be saved
It costs God nothing, so far
as we know, to create beautiful places; but to convert rebellious wills cost
Him His Son - C. S. Lewis
C) Salvation is Free but it
isn’t Cheap – it cost God the Father His Son
1) Story of the man w/ the Bridge
D) Only Jesus could pay the Price – He willingly went
1) Praise be to God who now lives in a Covenant
relationship w/ Man based upon the Redemptive work of His Own Dear Son !!!!
E) We are now Beloved of
God & Accepted in the Beloved because of the work of His Son – Our Lord
Jesus Christ
Side note- Doctrine: Now the Terms God
the Father & the Lord Jesus Christ speaks of the fact they are equal in
nature.
A)Hebrews Times past
spoke to Fathers by Prophets – last days His Son who is the Radiance of His
glory exact representation of His Nature
B) In John's gospel chapter 1 we couldn't have it
more clearly put, "No man has seen God at
any time, the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has
revealed or explained to Him."
C) You can't see God but when you see Christ you see
God. Jesus said, Jn 14 "If you've seen
Me,", "you have seen the Father."
C) In John chapter 5, a most significant portion of
Scripture, verse 17, Jesus said, "My Father is working and I am working."
1)
In
other words, He said to those Jewish leaders, what
God does I do.
D) Now those Jewish leaders
were saying Jesus as a man is violating the Sabbath, and His answer was,
"God can do anything He wants on the Sabbath and
so can I."
E) And they got the message. He was claiming to be
God. “And all the more, it says, they were
seeking to kill Him not only because He was breaking the Sabbath but He was
calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
This is at the
heart and soul of Christianity, that is that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh.
A) If you don't believe that, no matter what else
you believe you cannot be a Christian.
B) But there's more. Look back at that phrase in
verse 3.
God
is not just seen as the Father of our Lord Jesus but notice, God is seen as the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A)So How can He be one with God and have God as His
God?
That's a fair question.
B) Back in John 20 verse 17, Jesus said, "I ascend to My Father and your Father, My God and
your God."
1) On the cross He said, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
C) Listen carefully. In His deity He is equal to
God. But In His humanity, He is submissive to the Father !!!
1)
In
the incarnation He is God and He is also 100 percent man. As man He must submit
Himself fully to God.
D) Paul in Phil 2 puts it
well 6 who, being in the form of God, did not
consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation,
taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And
being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to
the point of death, even the death of the cross.
So
Jesus in His submission comes down, takes on the form of a servant and obeys
God and identifies God as His God.
A)As a MAN - He submitted Himself to not using His
attributes voluntarily, taking upon Himself the form of a servant.
B) God becomes His God, that is to say the one over
Him, to whom He submit TO !!!
1) And so you have in this marvelous blessing both the humanity and the deity of Christ brought magnificently together in that one statement...
C) So you put it all together & Paul is saying Praise be to God who partnered w/ His Son – Whom He was one
in Essence to Bring Salvation to lost man 1) Praise be to God who now
lives in a Covenant relationship w/ Man based upon the Redemptive work of His
Own Dear Son !!!!
Now
the 2nd thing that Paul REMINDS us about God / the 2nd
title that he gives to him is that he is the Father of Mercies
A)Now the term father used here means the "originator of." Used elsewhere to describe Satan is the father of lies because lies originated w/ him.
B) According to Gen 4:21, Jubal was the father of musical instruments because, he originated the pipe and the harp.
C) Here Paul refers to God as the Father of mercies because all mercy originates with Him and can be secured only from Him.
1) Grace is getting what we don’t deserve – Mercy is not Getting what we do deserve
D) So we are told in (Lam 3:22). "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed"
1) Listen to how the Bible describes the Mercy of God
Neh
9:19 God's mercy is manifold meaning it is
exceedingly full or great abundant in quantity, size, age, number, rank,
quality
A)No matter how great the sin – the Mercy of God is greater to cover that Sin inexhaustible is the supply { New Every morning
B) Isn’t that Great thought – I fail so often { Lose my temper I say things I shouldn’t say to wife & kids
1) Hiked up to Inspiration pt – Kissed – what you do
C) 30 minutes latter I lost my temper w/ her – over something { Italian passionate
1) God has mercy enough for all my failures – Never have to go to bed worrying that I used up the supply – New every morning
D) The Psa 100 Everlasting It just keeps going & going – It is as eternal as God is eternal
1) Psa 136 enduring forever
Ps
25:6 is one of 10 places in the word that describes God’s mercy as being tender / Describes a woman nourishing &
cherishing her baby
A)Beautiful picture –the mercy of God isn’t viewed as something that he gives begrudgingly – Oh must I forgive him again ?
B) That is so often how I feel – But God’s mercy is tender in the sense that He wants to hold me in His arms – forgive –extend grace
1) He wants to win me to righteousness if at all possible thru his Love
C) And even when He disciplines it is mercy – being extended because He holds back greatly – Instead of banishing me to Hell – He chastens me
D) My Dad & Discipline – This is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you – After spanking me – Hold me tell me He loved me!!!!
1) God As a Father is the same – after the Chastening He holds me in His arms & reminds me of His love
He
is the Father of Mercy – and in Psa 32:10 the Psalmist boldly proclaims that those who
put their trust in the Lord – Mercy will surround him !!!!
A)What an awesome thought that is surrounded –covered – eclipsed by the Mercy of God !!! Revolving around you !!!!
B) If you are a believer in Jesus Christ here today: Tomorrow you head off to work – Know this – you go surrounded by God’s mercy
1) Home in your house – The Mercy of God is there
Now
we could stop there – but Paul isn’t finished He has a 3rd
Description of our God that we often don’t think about –
A)Notice v 3 again – He is the God of all comfort – The words comfort or consolation (same root word in the Greek) are repeated ten times in 2 Cor
B)Now what comes to your mind when you think of the word Comfort ?
1) DO you think of lying
on a beach in Maui reading a good book – watching the waves
C) Lying on the couch –
grass is mowed chores are done – kids are gone
1)Well the word used
here for comfort has nothing to do w/ ease . It is not talking about ease or
softness or even a settled feeling
D) Nor does it mean
sympathy because sympathy can weaken us instead of strengthen us.
1) Listen God does not pat us on the head and give us a
piece of candy or a toy to distract our attention from our troubles.
E) No, He puts strength
into our hearts so we can face our trials and triumph over them.
1) Our English word comfort comes from two Latin words meaning
"with strength." Speaks of Bravery courage & Strength
What
Paul experienced was the strengthening of God to give him a peaceful, restful spirit
to meet the pressure & the stress w/ which he lived. That is what
Christianity is all about.
A)It is what allowed –
Todd Beamer to declare boldly on Flight 93 Lets Roll as they over took the
Hijackers
B) Jairus Don’t be
afraid only believe
C) Now "Strengthen," in the Greek, is a word that is used also for the Holy Spirit. Your Bible frequently calls him "The Comforter,"
1) but really it is "The Strengthener," The one called along side to Help the one who strengthens you. This is God's provision for affliction.
D) The ministry of the HS is to come along side of us to
strengthen us in our times of weakness – Paul- Grace is sufficient
1) Think about all the times God has super naturally strengthened you
It is amazing to me how many thousands of Christians are dreading facing their daily lives because they feel pressured & stressful & tied up in knots, A)Problem is they never avail themselves of God's provision for that kind of pressure.
B) Listen God's strengthening, is available for whatever puts you under stress. He is the God of all Comfort –
1) He wants to give you strength in your weakness
C) I say that thousands do not avail themselves of it.
1) The reason I say that is because they give every evidence that they do just like anybody else around who is not a Christian at all –
D) they try to escape their pressures. Or, if they are Christian, they are praying that they will be rescued from their pressures,
1)Praying that the problems will be taken away.
E)All
their hopes are for escape, somehow, and all their reactions are either worry
or a murmuring, complaining spirit, anger and fear.
1)Now, that is not Christianity in action.
Red Sea – Took them thru
Acts Prayed for Boldness
God answers that by supernaturally coming to our aid – to help us in our time of need
He is the God of all comfort
Another side to this look at Wed. He supernaturally aids us in our times of affliction – brings comfort = so that we can minister that to others