In a couple weeks Wendy and I head north and then west, living nomadically again for a season, with a goal of planting and encouraging microchurches wherever God opens a door. It looks like we'll come back the southern route, returning to Sarasota in the fall. Lord willing.

Right now we seem to have open doors in Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. I can't wait to connect again with people in those places. We also plan to spend some time in Pennsylvania and Texas learning more about what other house church networks are doing. And we pray for open doors as we travel between those places.

But the phrase "planting and encouraging microchurches" gives me pause. I said the same thing last year when we set out on our first U.S. mission trip. And what I learned is that the "encouraging" part is easy. At least it's not difficult. It's not impossible. Coming alongside people who are already doing it is wonderful. It's mutually satisfying.

But the "planting" part is hard. I mean, piquing the interest of people who aren't doing it is actually easy. Everyone seems interested in a simpler church model. Finding common ground with people is easy. Having enthusiastic conversations is easy. Even redirecting people's grumblings about bad church experiences is fairly easy. 

But maturing those conversation to where there are people gathered in homes? That's hard. And it causes me to reflect: Why should they? Why do I want them to? Why do I think it's good? Why am I getting ready to do this again?

Barriers to Entry
I got back from my first mission trip seven months ago. And since that time we have been trying to get another church rooted here in Sarasota. So I've been reflecting, and I see two barriers to entry. Two reasons that people who like the idea of house church usually don't do it.

1. They already go to church.
There are people in the faith who think simpler church would be refreshing, but they're already committed to a conventional church, either with responsibilities, or just habit. And the church offers programs they enjoy, or have come to rely on, like a weekly worship concert or hymn-sing, a meaningful and helpful message, and kids church. It's easy to criticize that as "consumeristic," but the things they're consuming aren't bad. It's not a junk food diet, it's just a sedentary lifestyle. A sedentary faith experience.

But many people attend traditional churches for more relational reasons. Their family has been going to this church forever. They know each other's stories and relatives. They share a common history. Church functions for them sort of like the romanticized version of the small town. Where I grew up and now live, I was part of a religious enclave within the city, and it's very nice to still feel like I belong to it. I actually believe this is a good thing.

Then again, others go to newer churches that have an on-fire mission. The church talks about itself as a movement. They have big hairy audacious goals to win the city and all that. They have a pastor who hears directly from God, and has a bold confidence about promising good things for the church, as if it's the kingdom of God itself. Often these kinds of church are a bit of a hype-loop where they hype what's going to happen and then hype what did happen, but still, it's energizing to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

For whatever reason someone is in a conventional church, the reality is that, with finite energy and attention, if they're going to seriously plant a microchurch in their home, they would need to stop "going to church." And that can feel like death.

2. They don't go to church.
There are other people who are in the faith but don't go to church at all. They left church at some point, for some reason, and they've gotten used to it.

Some have started totally neglecting their faith and they realize that their life didn't fall apart because of that. They're at peace. Others are self-directed in their faith. They read their bibles, watch teaching podcasts, and listen to recorded worship music. They're not in any formalized fellowship and they usually like it that way. And they're at peace. 

For these people, the decision to stop doing nothing and start doing something is significant. It's a commitment. It's a death to what has been. The fear of tethering themselves to other people is greater than the fear of finding themselves alone when they need people.

So Why Do It?
I said during the pandemic that God was shaking his church. I pleaded, "After the shaking has stopped, please, let's not just put everything back how we had it!"

Well, it feels like a long time since then. And it seems apparent that a lot of churches just put things back how they had them. But God shook his church. And I believe he is going to shake us again. In fact, I believe he is still shaking us, even if we've grown accustomed to the tremors.

Some of us remember how, when a celebrity pastor got caught having an affair, it absolutely rattled us. It shook us to the core. Now it seems like we hear about something like that every month or so, and we just shake our heads with a bit of disgust and go on about our life as if it's to be expected. We've grown accustomed to the shaking. But remember, it is part of the shaking.

God is showing us the depth of depravity and deception in the church. Like Peter said in 1 Peter 4, "For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household..." And this is always grace.

Like Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3, "No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames." 

God is graciously shaking apart what will not survive his judgment, so that everyone who has built their faith on those things can escape the same judgment.

In Numbers 16, when God judged Korah and his followers by causing the earth to open up and swallow them, Moses first warned everyone: “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”

Still, that doesn't mean conventional church is bad, or that house churches are good. It doesn't say anything about how we do church. Or be church. It just says what we're susceptible to. And I would say that, no matter how we meet, we are susceptible to error. But I also believe that, for this time, and in the time to come, the errors we find in large pastor-centric churches are often more egregious. And I believe a network of simpler churches are needed. Because it is the antidote to consumerism church, and empire church, and celebrity pastor worship.

So that's my why. I think people need it. And I think the Church needs it. 

That's Why I Desperately Need Prayer
I alluded above to "open doors." I draw inspiration from Paul's request in Colossians 4. "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

And I'm encouraged by the relational and nomadic tone that we read 1 Corinthians 16, as it is my heart as well: "After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me." And my hope, especially, is to be able to say that last part: a great door for effective work has opened to me. 

So, thank you for adding us and this request to your regular prayers. God knows how I pray for you often, as well. 

Finally, as we prepare to hit the road June 16, I just want to say thank you to those who help support this work financially. Please know that I pray over each gift with special gratitude for the giver. I'm humbled. God is honored. Yes, Lord.

​Much love to you all.

With this post I am now reducing the frequency of this blog. In lieu of it, I'd like to focus on connecting via Telegram, which allows for more social interaction and networking between members of microchurches, without requiring people to sign up with one of the social media platforms. On Telegram we are able to share teachings, updates, and prayer requests, and to discuss bible topics, recipes, and anything else related to being followers of Christ in a simpler church environment. Please email me for an invite!

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PREFACE
If I might preface this week's teaching with a comment that I made in response to someone on the YouTube forum (edited here for relevance):

There are generally two credible ways to read Revelation, but no consensus. That's why I try to say "I think" or "I'm speculating." I know that sounds like I haven't studied it, but I really just hope that by demonstrating a more conversational approach to these things, we can learn to stay away from the doctrinal certitude that divides the body of Christ around disputable matters. The helpful conversation allows for different views. So if I explain another view, please don't hear it as me shutting out yours.

Generally some people say that Revelation is to be read literally (although they would probably still say the beast and dragon are not literal, but symbolic). Others say it is to be read figuratively (although they would probably still say the angels and martyrs, etc. are literal). I land in the second camp.

In the first camp, people would say the prophets are literally two people. (Although they wouldn't say they're literally "two olive trees" and "two lampstands," which I find a bit ironic.) Of those who believe they're literally people, some would say they're two resurrected prophets of old. I think the best case for that is Moses and Elijah who Jesus talked to on the Mount of Transfiguration. Others would say that it's two new prophets that come onto the scene, like we see in the pop eschatology of Left Behind, etc.

In the second camp where I'm at, people would say the prophets are symbolic. Every time I study it, I'm most satisfied by the interpretation that the two witnesses are "the Old Covenant and the New Covenant." Embodied, we can speak of them as "Israel and the Church." But at the heart of it, it's the OC and NC. If you read the book of Revelation in sections, allowing the "sevens" to divide it (churches, seals, trumpets, plagues), you'll see the same story being told in parallels, and this will become more clear.

All that said, if two literal prophets show up on the scene, it won't frustrate my faith at all. And if they don't, I'll be ready for what comes. That's my prayer and my desire in bringing this teaching.

TRANSCRIPT
​If I could just piggyback off of my comments from last week when I was talking about Israel and Hamas or Gaza. I mentioned about Israel and the church being the two witnesses in the end time and in that I talked about Israel as the holy people of God. And someone asked me, how do I define Israel as the holy people of God? 

And I think that's worth clarifying.  

I do not believe that nationhood makes Israel God's holy people. In other words, what happened in 1948 or 1967 or whatever the dates are, the current nationhood of Israel doesn't secure their holy people status before God. Nor do I believe Zionism is the same thing as Israel, the holy people of God.  

I don't believe that them occupying a certain land with specific boundaries, even though I know that the promised land was given and the boundaries were marked out. It's clear in scripture. But even though there is a land element to it, I don't believe that them occupying a specific land is what makes them holy before God. 

I do believe that God choosing Abraham for himself and saying, " I am going to establish a covenant with you, not that you asked for it, but I am choosing you. You will be my people and I will be your God" -- that declares Israel, through Abraham's seed , the people of God.  

Now here's the difficulty. Here's the tension I have with the whole thing. I don't believe you can reject Jesus as Messiah and still be right with God. And by and large, the Jewish people reject Jesus as the Messiah. I don't believe they're right with God. I believe they have a call on their life, but I don't believe they're right with God. You can't reject God and be safe with God. You can't reject God's son and be safe with God's son. You can't reject the Lord and be safe with the Lord.  

And so I would stop short of saying that they are in God's favor. To the contrary, I believe that as long as they persist in rejecting the Holy Spirit's witness about Jesus; as long as they persist in the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, ascribing the witness of the Holy Spirit to the witness of demons; as long as they persist in rejecting the Holy Spirit's witness of Jesus, they are not safe with God. And they are not holy unto the Lord.  

Now when we talk about "holy," we think about it a couple different ways. Holy unto God is to be dedicated to God, to be set apart for a sacred purpose, to be devoted to him. And in some sense God declares us holy. He declared the Israelite people holy. He called them out of and set them apart for himself.  

And for the Christians, he calls us out of and sets us apart for himself. He declares us holy by his own declaration, and it doesn't always line up with the decisions we make in life or how we act, but we're still declared holy. 

And yet there's another way to look at holiness where, if I am living my life devoted to the Lord, I can be described as living a holy life, a life set apart for the Lord. And the same would be true for those in Israel, the Jews, the Israelites. 

As I'm recording this, the conflict in Israel between Israel and Hamas or Gaza or the Palestinian people, however you want to frame it, is still something that's ongoing, and as I listen to what everyone is saying, there is this outcry against the Jews.  

I was surprised at how quickly people jumped on the Jews in favor of the Palestinians. I'm not going to attempt to dissect why that is here, but I was surprised at how quickly hatred for the Jews comes up. I'm not saying that everyone who has compassion for the Palestinians has hatred for the Jews. I'm talking about hatred for the Jews.  

And I was surprised to hear of the hatred for the Jews. And I started to ask, why is it? Why do people hate the Jews so much? They're not that different from an awful lot of people in the world that the world doesn't hate. Why is it that they have hatred for the Jews?  

I believe it's because they live and exist as a witness of God's selection. God selected them out of the world as a people for himself. And historically that meant sending them in to take land from enemy nations, meaning not enemies just of the Jewish people, but enemies of God -- people who had made themselves a stench to God, who had defied God, who had defiled the land. And he sent his people in to rid the land of them. Through violence. And that's enough to register some bitterness. I wonder if that's a part of why the world hates the Jews so much. 

And yet behind that would be why does the world hate God so much?  

I don't think that every time the Israelites or every time the Jews kill their enemies that that's of God. But I have to admit that there's times in scripture where God sent them in to do things that I actually find objectionable. And yet I believe that God, because He's God, I believe that anything God does is righteous. It is good. It is right. It is wise. It is true. Like, I don't question anything God does because He gets to decide these things. If God asks someone to do something, it's good. It's good. I don't question that.  

I wonder if that's why the world hates the Jews so much. Because God used them to exact his vengeance on people who had done really bad things. I'm talking a long time ago. A long time ago.  

I think also the Jews live as this ongoing witness of God selecting people and that in itself is kind of incriminating for people. It's insulting that God would pick these people and not those people. And so those people could easily, legitimately, justifiably be offended that God would pick the Jews and not them. And that could settle in as this grudge that gets nursed over generations and generations. It could be that. 

When I heard last week that there was a call for a global day of jihad, which was turned into a global day of rage, however people talked about it -- I'm just being transparent about my thought process -- my first thought was a bit of fear. Like just doing the assessment of what do I need to do to protect my family and all that. Just doing that assessment, I quickly said, "Well, yes, looking at me, I could pass for a Jew, but I'm not Jewish. I'm probably safe. I probably don't need to worry about global jihad." 

And then I realized Israel lives as this witness of God hated by the world. And the church lives as this witness of God hated by the world. If the Jews are chased down, it's reasonable to expect that the Christians too will be chased down, especially by people who have declared their hatred for both groups. And that's pretty sobering. 

Now, I'm not saying the sky is falling, I'm not a doomsayer, like, that's not my thing. And yet, I think hardship is coming. And so when I read Revelation 11... This morning, I was studying Revelation 11 and it took me back into Ezekiel. (I'll put this in the description below so you can press pause, read it, whatever you want.) It took me back to Ezekiel. And then to Daniel chapter seven and chapter 12. And then Revelation 11 and then Revelation 13. And as I was reading through all this, there is a consistent, profound, explicit witness that God's people will be defeated for a time. 

An explicit witness, prophetic witness that God's people will be defeated for a time, and then they will possess the kingdom. Then they will be given their reward. This is consistent.  

When I read Revelation 11 about the witnesses prophesying for forty two months or twelve hundred and sixty days, which is three and a half years. And when I read Daniel and see the same numbers, and that God's people are going to be defeated for a time. 

And I read Ezekiel, and Ezekiel is given a measuring rod and told to go measure the temple. And when I read Revelation 11, John sees an angel who has a measuring rod, and is told to go and measure the temple. And I read the outer courts has been given to the Gentiles to be trampled on for a time.  

I believe Revelation 11 is saying that the two witnesses -- and I could be wrong. This is speculating. It doesn't say the two witnesses are this. I'm saying I think the two witnesses are this: Israel and the church. I believe it's the two witnesses who for three and a half millennia, have been a witness of God.  

Israel and the church. It just might be that where Revelation 11 says that they're prophesying for the 42 months, the 1,260 days. It might be that this is the time that Israel and the church are going to be defeated, overthrown, for a time, for three and a half days, whatever that means. 

And then after that, the breath of God enters them and they stand to their feet and they rise up to meet God in the air, to meet the Lord in the air. 

It might be that that's what this is. It might be that we are facing that time. 

Here's my concern. Many say that this is a time where the church is supposed to take over the kingdom and we're supposed to establish the kingdom on the earth and God wants to prosper us and all that. If that's this, and for some reason God allows, as he's decreed, he allows for the witnesses to be defeated and to lie dead in the streets where the enemies refuse them a decent burial, and they come from all over to gloat over them and give each other gifts and high fives. If this is the time for that, and we're prepared only for prosperity, we will be defeated in our souls, in our spirits. On the other hand, if we understand that, yes, there is a time that God has sovereignly decreed that his people will be defeated for a time, and then after that receive the kingdom; if we believe that there is a time we can be prepared for that. And if for some reason God chooses to give us favor and prosperity, man, so be it. Amen.  

My challenge, my encouragement to you is be strong in the Lord. Be strong in the faith. Choose faithfulness, no matter what. Pray for peace. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for peace in Israel, pray for peace in the church. Pray that our witness would be complete. That it would be of grace. That it would be of Jesus. Pray that God's sovereign plan would be fulfilled, even in our lifetime. 

Many of us live with this sense of, come Lord Jesus, come quickly. What if this was it? What if it was time? That's my prayer. That it would be time. I leave you with that.  

If you have any other thoughts on this, please leave a comment below. I would love to interact with you. We're figuring this out prayerfully, asking God for wisdom and discernment.

​Amen.

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Anything I say about the Israel/Hamas/Gaza conflict has the danger of having a short shelf life--if I speak too much to the current state of affairs. Today what I have to say is a long shelf life comment about it all. 

I'm speaking to Christians here and I'm specifically imagining those who are in my network of microchurches or who are gathering together with other believers.  

Like you, when I saw the atrocities, I cried out for vengeance, just at a guttural level. And then when I saw how divided the world is, I realized this is not just an easy thing to address.  

 As you have conversations with others, like, we're all going to be bringing our political biases and the things that we saw on the news that we thought were true and someone else said it wasn't true, and we believed them, or we didn't believe them, and we're going to argue about all sorts of things that the world argues about. What I would suggest, what I think is helpful: Focus on Justice, Witness, and Promise.  

As you talk about Justice, yes, we should rescue the oppressed. And God says, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And historically, he has called his people to exact vengeance for him. We have to be slow to that. And so I think the best word is Justice. Be ready to rescue. If it's in your power to rescue the oppressed, rescue the oppressed.  

The second word is Witness. We need to be ready to preach. Anything we do has to be consistent with this gospel. It's tempting to imagine, if it comes down to a fight, going down in this hailstorm of bullets with a "yippee ki yay" kind of mindset. That's an ugly way. For the church I'm talking. I'm not saying there's not a place for nations to war. I'm not saying that.  

But if we think of the church's witness, we could go down fighting for our rights, fighting for our freedom, fighting for this and that. Or go down with a witness of: "Repent, the kingdom is near. Repent while there's still time." Because for us, the gospel is you can repent from all this evil. the gospel is preached across enemy lines. It hurls not grenades across the line. It hurls this promise across the line, that you can be free from this sin, from this evil. You can be restored to God. You can be reconciled. You can be renewed. It's a gospel that preaches across the enemy lines, "Come here. We will receive you. We will give you life. Come here. Jesus loves you. He died for you. He wants to give you life."  

As you think about the church's response, let it be a witness that we believe God wants to reconcile all who have alienated themselves through sin. And that includes our enemies.  

And then third: Promise. Promise. We live with a promise of eternal life. We believe in this, and it affects everything we do. Even if we have to lay down our lives right now, we believe that we will be raised up.  

In my reading right now, it just so happens that I'm reading in Psalms, Judges, Matthew, and Revelation. And it affects my perspective on this whole thing. And I would suggest that you read Psalms, Judges, Matthew, Revelation. Start today with Chapter 1 of each book, and then tomorrow Psalm 2, Judges 2, Matthew 2, Revelation 2. Psalm 3, Judges 3, Matthew 3. Revelation 3. Just start reading and let it affect your perspective more than what news channel you listen to. Sure, stay current on the news, that's fine. But let your perspective be influenced by scripture.  

The reality is that this conflict goes back millennia. In Judges 1, you will read "Gaza," when Judah overthrows Gaza, 3500 years ago or whatever. It's not a current thing. We think in terms of 20 years, 60 years, 80 years. It's millennia. And so let that affect you.  

And when you read Revelation, there are two witnesses of God. Revelation 11 says that these two witnesses will be defeated and will lie dead in the streets three and a half days. And their enemies will refuse them burial, they'll come and gloat over them and they'll give each other gifts and the whole world will celebrate over it. And then after three and a half days the breath of God will enter those two witnesses and they'll rise to their feet and they'll be taken up into heaven. There's different ways you can read it. I believe those witnesses are Israel and the Church, what God has put on this earth as prophetic witnesses . Even if Israel and the Church don't do it well, still God's prophetic desire is that Israel and the Church live as a witness against evil and for good. I believe this is God's holy people. I believe Israel and the Church represent that. 

As we interact with this, we need to focus on justice, witness, and promise. And so my appeal is this: as you're around the table with other people. Talking about this. Don't fight politics. Discuss justice, witness, and promise. And let our prayer be for those things, and for peace.

​Amen. 

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Have you ever been in a church service where they gave the altar call and you felt just compelled to go down, but you were already right with God? You felt guilt, like if you don't answer this altar call to go get right with God, that somehow you are confessing that you don't love the Lord?  

And yet everything about your life is that you do love the Lord. You do live for Him.  

I've experienced that. I would say I experience that every time. I've learned to overcome that, but I experience it every time.  

There's something about the heart that is tender before God that wants to respond to any appeal. Like, of course I'm a sinner. Do I need to repent again? Sure, I'll repent quickly. But then I also live a life with a very, very short confession scope. Like if I sin, I confess. That's just how I live.  

And so if I'm in a situation where someone is making me feel like, if I don't come down front or raise my hand or whatever to demonstrate that repentance, that somehow I haven't, if I'm in that situation, I have learned to just resist it. And I've learned to go inward and decide whether I am in the faith or not. And that's as someone who is in the faith. And that maybe is where you are.  

But I think there's also another resistance: people who confess Jesus, but they live like the devil and they have learned to resist that call, too. And I think that resistance can look the same but it's totally different.  

And so my messages recently have spoken to the latter. 

That's my preacher's burden that I'm carrying these days. There are many who say, "Lord! Lord!" But they live like " The Devil! The Devil!" And honestly, they live like " Me! Me! I am my own Lord." And I just want to say that's a scary position to be in. 

I want to be clear. I do not believe that if you sin, you have to get right with God again. On the other hand, I do believe that if you sin willfully, you do need to get right with God again. Let me explain what I mean.  

"All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved!" When you put your faith in the Lord, when you call out to him, "Save me from my sins," when we put our faith in Jesus, he frees us from our sins. He does. You receive eternal life when you put your faith in Jesus.  

But, I've noticed that some believe that if they've simply prayed the prayer, they can go on living however they want to, and they have a get out of jail free card, a get into heaven free pass. 

 If you are someone who prayed the sinner's prayer, "Lord, save me, I'm a sinner." And you believe that that has secured your position in heaven. And so now you are living after sin. With no gut check, with no self discipline, you are simply living a flesh driven life. A worldly life. Then you need to tremble. Not because God is paying attention to all your little sins and saying, "Yep, he did another one; she did another one. I don't think I can save her now." It's not about that. He forgives you when you seek him. He forgives you when you call out to him. But he also calls your bluff when you're not sincere in it.  

And so we read where Jesus said, in Matthew 7, he says, " Not everyone who says to me, ' Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven. But only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." He says, " Many will say to me on that day, ' Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?'" And he says, "Then I will tell them plainly, ' I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.'" 

It's possible to be one who calls out, "Lord! Lord! Jesus, you are my Lord," and to even demonstrate faith by casting out demons and prophesying, and even demonstrate faith in ways that we might look and the world might look and say, "Ah, it's signs and wonders." It's possible to be one who does those things, who demonstrates their faith -- and I'm not saying this to upset you. I'm saying this to encourage you to lean in and to get rooted -- it's possible for those who say, "Lord, Lord," to also be those who do not do the will of the Father.  

Now I'm not talking about God's will for your life, whether you become an accountant or a carpenter. That's not what this is. The will of God is to put your faith in Jesus, to follow after him, to live for him, to open your heart to the Holy Spirit, to let the Holy Spirit lead you, to know him intimately like that. 

And so recently I read in Hebrews 10, where it says, " If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment, and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." It says, "For we know him [God] who said, ' It is mine to avenge. I will repay.'" And again, "The Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."  

And we read on down, it says, "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. We do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved."  

Yes, that passage is not about whether you accidentally give in to that sin that trips you up. It's not about that. That passage is not about whether you give in to anger or give in to lust or give in to greed . That passage is about whether you call out "Lord, Lord," and then you don't do the will of God; you call out "Lord, Lord," and then you turn your back on Him; whether you call out "Lord, Lord," and then you deny Him. 

Everything in me wants to make it easy for you to have assurance that you are in the faith. But when I read scripture, it tells me that I can't give assurance to someone who isn't living a faithful life. That's not to say that you earn your salvation by ticks of faithfulness. That's not at all to say that you earn God's salvation through accumulated righteousness. It's not that at all. It's not to say that if you do God's will exactly, you will get into heaven. It's not saying that at all. 

It's saying if you cast yourself on God's mercy and then live independent of his mercy, you should not feel assured that you've really cast yourself on his mercy.  

And so I have this pastor's burden. And if you are the one who is tender toward God, as some friends of mine -- and I love that people have asked questions on this -- if you are someone who is tender before God, you called out "Jesus," and you live your life in dependence on him, and in fellowship with him, in intimacy with him -- and yet you also live for a time in this flesh and you do things that you had decided you weren't gonna do, and you don't do things that you had decided you were going to do, and you screw up, you sin, I don't want you at all to think that you have to go back to God and plead to be saved. His righteousness covers you, His mercy covers you, His grace covers you. If your heart is bowed down before the Lord, if you are that tender person, wow, receive it. Be encouraged, be encouraged.  

His salvation is secure for you. God is not fickle. He's not yes and then no. And God is not easily offended. He doesn't see you make a mistake and say, "Well, okay, I don't know if I'm on his side anymore. I don't know if I really love her anymore." That's not God. God loves you completely.  

Everything about my message, if you listen long enough, is that forgiveness is complete. He doesn't forgive just this sin, and then that sin, and then that sin. And, oh, you gotta repent of that sin, and ask forgiveness for that sin, or else God won't forgive you. That's not how God does it. He says, "I forgive you. I forgive you all of your sins. I forgive everything you've ever done. I bestow forgiveness on you so that we can be in relationship again."  

And so, if that's you, if you're tender before God, don't receive condemnation by this word.  

But if you're someone who, you believe that, because your parents were Christians, or because you simply call yourself a Christian, that somehow you love God, and yet you live in a way that doesn't love God? You may have affection for God, but you live in a way that loves the world, that loves the flesh. You give into whatever comes along and you're just kind of cherry picking your way through life and you're not living a life that's bowed down before the Lord, I can't tell you to be assured of your salvation.  

I can tell you, look at your life and if your life is not producing fruit in keeping with repentance, then my call to you is just as gentle, but it trembles a bit. My call to you is: repent. open your eyes. Turn toward the light of Jesus, away from the darkness. Turn away from the power of the Accuser, the Tempter; turn away from the power of Satan and turn to the power of God. Let Him fill you, let Him renew you, and He will. Bow, not just your head, but your shoulders. Bow your life completely to God and allow Him to renew you. Make sure -- when you test yourself -- make sure that you are truly in the faith.  

This isn't a message of condemnation. It's a message of encouragement. And it's in keeping with the same message that the Lord charged Paul with when he sent him as an apostle to the Jews and to the Gentiles. And Paul explains it this way in Acts 26. 

He's talking about when he was called by God and God told him, "I am sending you to your own people, the Jews, and to the Gentiles, to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me," Jesus says.  

And so Paul goes on and he says, that's what I did: "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds."  

And this is simply my message to you, of encouragement, of rebuke if you need it. 

If you are tender before God, don't receive the rebuke, receive the encouragement.  

And if you are hardened toward God, the Lord rebukes you, not me. The Lord rebukes you. But he does not come to bring condemnation. He comes to bring conviction and salvation. He wants to restore you. 

Stop being distracted by the things of this world. Turn your heart to the Lord. And give your full attention to the Lord. Today. Even if you can look on your life and see times that you rebuked demons, or times that you spoke for God, or times that you demonstrated this sign or this wonder, even if you can see things like that, even if you know that you prayed the sinner's prayer when you were eight or whatever it is, that you were baptized, today, simply give your heart to the Lord anew.  

If you are tender before God, you say, "Amen!"  

If there's anything in you that resists that and says, "But I already did!" Ask yourself why you would resist an appeal to renew your devotion to the Lord. 

And so, today, may the Lord open your eyes, and turn you from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God and forgive your sins and give you a place among all who are sanctified by faith in Jesus. And there, may you demonstrate your repentance by your deeds. And I believe that when you see that in your life, you will receive that assurance that, Yes, I am in Christ.  

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I told my wife recently that I'm falling more and more out of love.

​With myself.  

We live full time in this RV and we have a travel channel and the nature of that travel channel is that we take video of sometimes candid moments and I get to edit it. 

And so I watch myself and I don't like myself. I told her I'm falling more and more out of love with myself all the time.  

I don't like how I talk to her. I don't like how condescending I am. I don't like how passive aggressive I am. And these are things that, if I didn't have to look at myself, I wouldn't know it. I would insist that my heart is kind and patient and I would never be passive aggressive with my wife. I would never be condescending and yet when I watch the footage, man, I don't like me. I'm falling more and more out of love with myself all the time.  

I'm condescending. I'm a know it all. I am impatient. I'm irritable. I can be angry. I'm fearful and that comes out in anger. I don't like me.  

And I can be defensive about it. And that's one of the things I see is that I'm defensive. I could be defensive about this and say, "That's not what I'm like. I'm not like that at all!" But the Lord said "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." And you could say out of the overflow of the heart, the life is. So I can be defensive about it, or I could just say, "Nah, I just learned something about myself, and I don't like that about me."  

And so I'm working on it. I'm making it a part of my contemplative moments in the morning. I'm making it a part of my confessions during the day. If I respond to her poorly, I tell her right away, "I'm sorry, that's not who I want to be. I'm sorry." And I name what it is. " I'm sorry I'm irritable." "I'm sorry that sounded so condescending."  

I'm falling more and more out of love with myself every day.  

Now, when I turn to scripture, it's a lot like looking at that video content. If I allow it to be. If I read scripture and it tells me that I'm a sinner, I can say, "No, I'm not! You should see my heart!" Or I can say, "Ah, yeah, this is the mirror. This tells me the things about myself that I don't yet understand." I can be defensive about it, or I can say, "Okay. Okay. I'll deal with the reality of this." 

I wonder how often you open the scripture as a mirror, as video footage of yourself. Not to defend yourself against it; not to sit in judgment on scripture; not to sit in judgment on God for claiming that you are a sinner, that you have erred and that you are still inclined to err. I wonder how often you open up scripture, not to argue with it, but to let it show you you yourself; to let it hold up a mirror for you to see, "Oh, that's why I need Jesus. That's why I need a savior. That's why I need to learn over and over and over again, through and through and through to make this private and public confession that Jesus, you are my Lord. You are my Lord. I am not my Lord. I die to that. Lord, you are my Lord. I live to you."  

So I want to ask you, how often do you open up the scriptures to let it sit as a mirror for you? 

In 2nd Corinthians 13, Paul writes, " Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves."  

And I'm saying use this to test yourself.  

In Ephesians, Paul says that " Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers..."-- and when we open up scripture, we are devoting ourselves to the apostles teaching and the prophecies, and the euangelion: the gospel, the evangel, the evangelists. "Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people and their deceitful scheming." (And we will even name our own deceitful scheming, how we deceive ourselves into doing the things that we've already decided we won't do again.) 

And then he says, "So I tell you this, and I insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do," meaning those who don't know the Lord. You must no longer live as those who don't know the Lord " in the futility of their thinking." Don't live like they do. "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over..." Now let this be a mirror for you. "Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life that you learned." I'm reminding you, don't live the way you're inclined to live. That's not the new way of life. He says "that, however, is not the way of life that you learned" -- the new way. "... you were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by his deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."  

See whether this, like myself, where I say I'm just falling more and more out of love with myself every day, meaning I'm learning to love holiness and righteousness and to pursue something that I'm not inclined to be in the flesh.  

"Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood..." says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you... Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

But among you, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking which are out of place, but rather let there be thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure, no immoral, impure, or greedy person, such a person as an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of God. Let no one deceive you..."  

You can read the rest yourself.  

I wonder if you've bought into this lie that we're supposed to love ourselves, that we're supposed to learn to more and more love ourselves, that we're supposed to become in love with ourselves? It's a lie. It's a lie. Become more and more in love with Jesus. 

Colossians 3: " Set your minds on things above." Set your hearts on Christ. Revere Christ and worship Him. Bow your life in His honor.  

Stop looking into the mirror to gaze upon your loveliness. Paul says elsewhere that "those who judge themselves by themselves are not wise." It's foolish. Stop gazing at yourself to reawaken love for yourself. That is not where the strength is, that is where the weakness is. 

Rather, stare into scripture. Let it be the mirror that shows you yourself. If you object to it, don't argue with it. Accept it. Accept it. 

Are you falling more and more out of love with yourself every day? You should be. And that's not saying you need to walk around mopey and everything. That's saying that, until you learn that this life is not about you, but that your life is all about him, you will continue to live in this self absorbed misery about how much you hate yourself and you just need to learn to love yourself and all that. 

But when you die to self, and when you prefer Christ's honor above your own, and when you are quick to confess your failings and your needs, and you are quick to, every day, say, "I'm a sinner, Lord, in need of mercy. Thank you for your mercy." When you learn to do that, then you can live with gratitude that's rooted in reality, not in just what you wish things could be. 

I think it's a hard message these days. It used to be the norm. I think it's a hard message these days for people to hear because we have been so inundated with this false teaching that we just need to love ourselves. Love God. Love your neighbor. Do that, and it'll go well with you. 

So, more and more out of love with myself every day, and it's good. There is peace there, and there is joy there, and there is a "speaking the truth in love" there. And that's what I do to you today. I hope you receive it. Amen. 

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​When God described himself to Moses in Exodus 34, he said that he forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin. But THEN he said that he doesn't leave the guilty unpunished. How do we make sense of that? I think there are two ways to understand this, but they're not either/or, they're both/and. Let's get to know the forgiving and punishing God. 

TRANSCRIPT
So, imagine God comes to you and he takes your face in his hands and he says, listen to me. I am the Lord. I'm the Lord. That's my name. Yahweh, Yahweh. I'm not some impersonal force. I am the personal God. I am Yahweh. I am the Lord, the Lord. You can know me.  

And then he says, let me tell you about myself. I am the compassionate and gracious God. I am kind. You can trust me.  

And he says, I am slow to anger. I am patient. I don't want anyone to perish. I am patient so that everyone has opportunity to turn their lives around and get right.  

I am kind. I am patient. I'm slow to anger.  

And I am abounding in love and faithfulness. I love you so much. I love you so much. I am the loving and faithful God. I maintain love to thousands and I maintain love to you. I am good toward you. I am inclined toward your good. I am full of love and faithfulness. You can love me. You can count on me. 

And then he says, And I am the forgiving God. I forgive wickedness, rebellion and sin. Anytime that you have chosen to do what is wicked -- something that's not good, that's evil -- chosen wickedness, I'm inclined to forgive you. And anytime you have rebelled against me, knowing that I said one thing and you've done another thing, I am inclined to forgive you. And any time you have erred, any time you have sinned, any time you decided you weren't going to do something and you did it anyway, or any time you decided that you were going to do something and you failed to do it, I forgive sin. I am inclined to forgive you. I am inclined to forgive wickedness and rebellion and sin. That is my nature.  

What if God came to you and said that? What if God came to you and described himself to you that way? You would be enthralled. You would be filled with joy. You would be ready to turn toward him with anything that has been turned away from him. 

This is God. Yahweh, Yahweh, the Lord, Lord, he's kind, he's patient, he's good, and he's forgiving. He's forgiving.  

But then what if he said, Oh, I also punished the guilty. I will not leave the guilty unpunished. In fact, I punish the children and their children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation. I'm a forgiving God, but I'm a punishing God. I will not leave the guilty unpunished.  

What would you do with that?  

There's two ways we can hear it. If he's saying that I forgive wickedness, rebellion and sin, but I will not leave the guilty unpunished, we could say the difference is people who ask for forgiveness or people who persist in guilt. We could say that, that forgiveness absolves the guilt. We could say that and that would be true.  

One John one says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." This is our God that is not punishing the guilty for their sins. It's forgiving and purifying them from their sins. And this is a clear, true way to read it. 

But even with that, if there is forgiveness through repentance, and yet God punishes the children and their children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation, does that mean that if my grandparents failed to ask forgiveness that God is going to punish me? What's with that? Or if I ask forgiveness, then somehow my kids don't have to pay for it.  

I think the second way we can hear this -- like, not to take at all away from the fact that there is forgiveness and that those who seek God's forgiveness are not punished as guilty. They will inherit eternal life. They are freed from the penalty of death. All that. That is slam dunk, done, deal.  

But, there's another way to read this, an additional way to read this, that God has woven wisdom into the fabric of creation. And part of that wisdom is that we reap what we sow.  

And so if someone commits an act of wickedness, they will experience things they're not supposed to experience and they will live with the consequences of that for the rest of their life. 

Now they may seek forgiveness. You may seek forgiveness and be granted forgiveness. You won't die in your sin, but you will live out the consequences of that choice. Someone who persists in wickedness will live with multiplied consequences of those choices. And they may, on their deathbed, or they may, at age 30, ask God to forgive them for all the wickedness they've done. And He will forgive them, and yet they will live out the consequences for as long as they're here. They will live out the consequences of that wickedness and their children and their children will live out the consequences for the choices to persist in wickedness.  

Or rebellion. If you walk down the rebellious path, you will end up in places that God said, don't go, and you will experience the consequences of that. 

The guilt of that action will bear punishment for you because God has sown wisdom into the very fabric of creation, and we reap what we sow. And so if you walk down the path of rebellion, not only will you suffer the consequences of that, but your children and their children will, because we wear out paths in rebellion and it's hard to get back out. 

Now you can ask God to forgive you and he does. He will free you from the penalty of eternal death. He will give you eternal life. He will even relate to you as if you are pure with him. He will forgive you. He will reconcile himself to you and he will reconcile you to himself. He will redeem you. All that. And yet you will likely need to live out the punishment of that guilt.  

And if you sin, if you decide to do something and don't do it, or if you decide not to do something and you do it anyway, and you err and you sin, you can call out to God and he'll forgive you for it. But the actions bear consequences. You reap what you sow.  

And so we can read this, that God allows our decisions to bear the consequences that they bear. We reap what we sow.  

And this is true. Is it unfair of God to let that happen? No, the opposite would be that anyone can do the worst things imaginable and they simply say a prayer and suddenly it undoes everything. And that would be to take away our free will. And God has -- whether you like it or not -- God has chosen to not take away your free will. And because of that free will, you get to sow good or bad. And because of that, you get to reap good or bad. You reap as you've sown.  

And so God, he comes to you, he takes your face in his hands and he says, I'm the Lord, I'm the Lord, you can know me. 

I'm kind. I am the compassionate and gracious God. This is my nature.  

And I'm slow to anger. You experience my patience that I haven't wiped you off the face of the earth. You experience my patience every day. That is so that you can be right with me. That you can turn from your sin, because I don't want anyone to perish.  

I am God. I am kind. I am patient. And I'm good. I am abounding in love for you. And I am faithful to the nth degree. And I am inclined to forgive you. I'm inclined to forgive you.  

Even if you may need to live out the consequences on this earth of the decisions you've made, I forgive you. I forgive you. And I will give grace to you to make amends. I will give grace and wisdom to your children to make right what you made wrong. And I will give grace and wisdom to their children to continue the process as you and your family "choose this day whom you will serve: we will serve the Lord."  

And if you find yourself paying for the consequences of your parents or their parents, God gives you grace and wisdom because he is God. He is kind. He is patient. He is good. And he forgives.  

And so now as you have time, turn to him, turn to him. And be forgiven and be reconciled. This is our God.  

And this completes Exodus 34, where God spoke to Moses and revealed himself. This is the God that we serve and that we have always served. This is "the LORD, the LORD." And Jesus is the exact representation of his being.  

Colossians 1. "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now, God has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy, in His sight, without blemish, and free from accusation, if you continue in your faith, established and true, and do not move from the hope held out in the Gospel. This is the Gospel..."  

The LORD, the LORD. He can be known. He is kind. He is patient. He is good. He loves you with all that he is. And he is inclined to forgive you. Turn from sin. Turn to him. And he will make you holy and pure and blameless and free from accusation. This is our gospel. This is our gospel. Turn to the Lord through faith in Christ.

​Amen. 

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So this is week four, looking at how God describes himself. 

We've been looking at Exodus 34:5-8, where God comes to Moses and he says of himself, "the LORD, the LORD (Yahweh, Yahweh), the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."  

We've already looked at how when he said, "Yahweh, Yahweh," he said, "I am your God. I'm who I am. And you can know me." And then he said, "I am kind." Then he said what we saw last week, "I am patient." And this week we'll see how he describes himself as good.  

Now in the passage that I just read, the translation I just read, He describes himself as "abounding in love and faithfulness." Now, I could say that God describes himself as loving and I could say that he describes himself as faithful. But the way we relate to loving has mixed meanings for us. And the way we relate to faithful has some mixed meanings, and so I'm saying God is good. And that'll make sense as I explain.  

Now, if I told you God loves you, that's a welcomed thing. If someone tells me "God loves you," oh, that's such good news.  

But what if he's bad? What if he's bad and he loves me? That's not so good news. Like, what if he's malevolent? What if he's not good natured and he loves me? That becomes actually bad news. That becomes something I need to be afraid of. So God loves you, but what if he's bad? What if he's malevolent?  

Or what if he is benevolent? What if he is goodwilled, but he's just bad at loving? What if he's not good at it? What if he means well, but is unreliable in his love? Again, that's bad news. That's not good news.  

And so if I tell you, God loves you... What is he like? I'm saying he is good.  

If God is not trustworthy, He is not loving. And if God is not loving, He is not trustworthy. But if God is not good, He is neither loving or trustworthy. And so I'm saying God is good.  

Let's lean into this. Let's pick apart the loving and the faithful and you'll see why it means good. 

Now, when God describes Himself as abounding in love, the abounding is plenteous. It's abundant. It's enough. It's more than you could ever need. He has that much love for you.  

But what is love? In some of the translations, it would be described as good. Some would describe it as loving-kindness. This is love.  

We might relate to love as affection, because that's how we relate to others; "I have such affection for you." And I would say it's true that God has affection for you. But when he describes himself as abounding in love, it's not abounding in affection. That can come and go. If you become less than lovable, affection can come and go. 

But when he says, I am abounding in love, he says, I have more love for you than you could ever need. And that kind of love can be described as not just enjoyment of us, but goodness and kindness for us or toward us.  

He is abounding in love. He has more love for you than you would ever need. He redeems us from our enemies. He redeems us from our troubles. He redeems us from sin. He keeps his covenant with us. He is merciful toward us. He has good deeds toward us. And some of this overlaps with what we looked at in the second week on this.  

In 1 John, we read about God's love when we read, "God is love." This is 1 John 4. Read this and just, wherever there's "love," put a heart around it or something like that, and you'll just see how often John talks about love in this. And he says, verse seven, "Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." Verse 16, "God is love." That's the second time John says it: "God is love." We could read on and on and on. 

God is love. He is abounding in love for you. And this is how he showed his love for us. He gave his Son as an atoning sacrifice for your sin... He, being very God became flesh and lived for awhile among us so that he could die our death, and defeat death, and be raised to life to give life to whoever would choose it. 

He loves us that much that he paid our penalty. He wouldn't have had to. He did it by his choice. He is abounding in love for you.  

But not just abounding in love. He is abounding in faithfulness. 

When we think about faithfulness, let's not think so much about how we might use it in our relationships. When you think of this kind of faithfulness of God, don't think so much of fidelity, as we might in a marriage -- faithful in marriage, fidelity in marriage. If I describe myself as faithful to my wife, people would understand that means fidelity to her. Or if I might describe myself as faithful to a certain group of people, I am loyal to that group of people. We recognize it as that. But when God says he's abounding in faithfulness, let's not hear it quite so much as fidelity and loyalty, although it has elements of that, but let's hear it more as trustworthy and true. 

Trustworthy; he can be relied upon. And true to himself; true to truth. He is true. He's not wavering. He represents stability, continuance, truthfulness, rightness. In a word, he is trustworthy. He's faithful. He is abounding in faithfulness. He is trustworthy.  

In 2 Timothy, Paul describes God and says, "Here is a trustworthy saying, If we died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot disown himself."  

He is faithfully who he is. He's abounding in love and faithfulness. He is trustworthy. He is good.  

Like I say, if he's not trustworthy, he's not loving. And if he's not loving, he's not trustworthy. But if he's not good, he's neither loving or trustworthy. He is good, because he's abounding in love and faithfulness. 

In Psalm 145, this Psalm of David, he mentions the same phrase of Exodus 34 and other places where God describes himself. And this is verse 8. "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love..." And so this is that same concept. It says, "The Lord is good to all. He has compassion on all he has made."  

And David says, "All your works praise you, Lord. Your faithful people extol you. They tell of the glory of your kingdom, and they speak of your might, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom." He says, "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And your dominion endures through all generations."  

And then he writes this: "The Lord is trustworthy." "The Lord is trustworthy in all the promises, and faithful in all he does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down." He says, "The eyes of all look to you and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and you satisfy the..." -- listen to how good God is -- "you open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him. He hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy."  

Now we'll get to that in a week or two. The punishing God. That's a part of this. But listen: "The Lord watches over all who love him... He hears their cry... He saves them... He fulfills the desires of all who fear him..."  

Then David says, "My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name forever and ever." 

Do you believe God loves you? Do you believe he is trustworthy? And probably, the people I'm talking to would say yes, he loves me, he is trustworthy.  

But let me ask you this: Do you believe he's good? Do you believe he is good? That when he loves you, he's not bad, and he's not bad at it; he is good. And when he is faithful, when he is trustworthy, he is good. 

Do you believe, not just that he loves you and is trustworthy, do you believe that God is good? To his core, good?  

This is God's self revelation: I am God, you can know me. I am kind, you can trust me. I am patient, repent while there's time. And I am good, so you can love me.  

If you've ever loved someone who was bad, who was malevolent, who was not "worthy" of love, you know how painful that is. But God is good, and so you can love him. Apply yourself to loving God this week. It's the essence of worship. Make sure that you know God.

Amen. 

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If you say to someone, "Don't be angry with me," you can say it either as, "Don't you be angry with me," or you can say it as, "Please don't be angry with me."  

The first one, "Don't you be angry with me," is this insinuation that you have no right to be angry with me either because I did nothing wrong or, looking at you, you know, you're no better than I am. " Don't you be angry with me."  

On the other hand, if it's, "Please don't be angry with me," it's this admission of guilt and that, "Yes, you have every right to be angry with me, but please have mercy. Please be patient with me." 

When God revealed himself to Moses, he said -- we've been looking at this the last few weeks -- he said in Exodus 34, " I am who I am. I am God. And so you can know me." And then he said, "I'm full of mercy and compassion." And I said last week, that's like saying, "I'm kind."  

So "I am God; you can know me." And "I'm kind; you can trust me."  

And then he said, "I am slow to anger."  Slow to anger. And the word I'm giving that is: Patient. God says, "I am God, I am kind, I am patient."  

Question: Is patience strong or weak? Like, how do you normally think about it? Is patience strong or weak?  

Like I've had people say, "Well, you're way more patient than I would be." And it's almost like this insinuation that, "You're way weaker than I would be. I would never let someone get by with that. You are way weaker than I would be." Is patience weak?  

Or I've had people say, " Wow, I don't know how you can stay so patient." And it's sort of like this sense of, "You are strong enough to be patient."  

Like, how do you relate to it? Is patience strong or weak?  

As I've thought about it, it depends on the context, whether I think of it as patient or weak. 

If it's being patient with a child while they learn to walk, that's strong. Or even being patient with a child while they learn obedience to a parent. In that context, patience is strong. And even where it's with peers, if it's patience with a spouse, as they learn to live respectfully in close quarters with another, that's strong. Like, please be patient with me. I'm trying. That is strong. Patience is strong.  

But if it's patience with an abuser while they try to abuse you, or if it's patience with a thief while they try to steal from you, I don't think patience is strong. I relate to that as weak. It's being reluctant to take action where action should be taken. 

Patience is sometimes strong and sometimes weak. I mean, it depends on the context.  

And it also depends on who is the one being patient. If we talk about a two year old throwing a temper tantrum with their mom, we get that. That's one kind of impatience.  

But if we talk about a judge patiently listening while you make a thorough defense before they pass judgment, well, that's a strong patience.  

And so it depends on the context of what we mean. Like, is patience weak or strong? It depends on the context and it depends on who the person is being patient.  

God says, "I am slow to anger. I am patient."  

We read it in Exodus 34. "The LORD, the LORD (Yahweh, Yahweh), the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger."  

He's slow to anger.  

Now it's tempting to say, Oh, he doesn't get angry with us. God, he knows what we're like. He just kind of gives us a buy. He's like, "Nah, you and me, we're good. I get you. We're fine." Like that kind of a God never gets angry at anything.  

But, if we talk about a God who is slow to anger, we're talking about a God who does get angry. We're talking about a God who does get angry. In fact, slow to anger only means something if God does get angry. And it's only meaningful if slow to anger is not about temper tantrums, but it's actually about judgment.  

God describes himself as slow to anger. 

Romans 2.  

In Romans 2, Paul says, "Do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" He says, "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed." 

Then he says this Romans 2:6. Know this verse; this is true. "God will repay each person according to what they have done." He will repay each person according to what they have done. "To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self seeking, and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good. For God does not show favoritism."  

God will repay. So he is slow to anger, but he will get angry.  

In fact, as we keep on working through Exodus 34, we'll get to that part where he says he is a punishing God. We'll get to that in more depth. But for today, he's slow to anger, which means he will get angry. It doesn't mean he won't be angry. It says that he is slow to anger. He's not quick-tempered. 

He's not quick-tempered.  

In Proverbs we are challenged to not be quick-tempered. This is the wisdom of God and we learn it from God. In Proverbs 14:17, "a quick tempered person does foolish things. And the one who devises evil schemes is hated." And verse 29. " Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly." We learn this from God. We are not to be quick-tempered, and He is a God who is slow to anger. He is not quick-tempered. He is patient.  

He's patient, but He will get angry. Wrath is coming for all who choose evil. He will repay everyone according to what they have done. 

In 2nd Peter there's so much that we could read about this. Spend time in 2nd Peter. I mean, 2nd Peter is beautiful. It starts off by saying, "His divine power has given us everything we need for living a godly life." That we can actually "participate [with him] in the divine nature." And it says, because of these things, "make every effort to add to your faith, goodness," and all those things. 

Read that. That's first chapter.  

But there's also this warning in 2nd Peter two and three, which I'm just going to read parts through it, just skipping down through. I would suggest that you spend time dwelling on it more than I want to in this format. But just reading through here:  

" For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless.... If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority." 

He says, "They will be paid back harm for the harm they have done..."  

He says, "Blackest darkness is reserved for them..." They're "slaves of depravity."  

He says, "Dear friends, I've written these things as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking."  

And then he says this: "You must understand that in the last days, scoffers will come scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where's this coming he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation!'" And Peter says, "But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word, the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."  

Then he says, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends." He says, "with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you." Like he said in Exodus 34, "I am slow to anger." Peter says, " He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  

He's slow to anger, not because he won't bring judgment, but because he wants everyone to have opportunity to repent.  

And Peter says, "The day of the Lord will come like a thief." When it comes, there will be no warning, it'll surprise us, it'll overtake us, and everyone who's not ready will be shocked and awed by it. And those who are ready will say, my reward is here.  

"The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar." You know, everyone is talking about this these days. Is the Lord's return imminent? Yes. Do we know when he's coming? No. Should we be ready right now? Yes. Yes. I think I'll talk another time about signs and wonders and the possibility of deception in that, but right now, listen. This will happen. This is how it will be. 

The Lord is slow to get angry, but one day -- just like a thief breaks in at a time you're not expecting him -- the day of the Lord will come like a thief, the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare."  

It'll be over. It'll be done. If we're still walking this earth, we will suddenly be done and we will suddenly face God.  

He's slow to anger, he's patient, but one day he will bring judgment. And it will be sudden and it will be with finality. 

Once the elements are destroyed, there's no going back. Once the earth is laid bare, once the heavens disappear with a roar, there's no going back. He's slow to anger, but he's not slow in keeping his promise. And one day he will come and he will rescue all of us who've put our faith in him. And he'll bring judgment on all who rejected him. That's how it is.  

And Peter says, "Since everything will be destroyed in this way what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed it's coming."  

I was reading this and reflecting on it: "live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God." Now we live in this world where we are all lamenting the passing away of things, whether it's climate change, whether it's the earthquakes, whether it's the fires, whether it's the hurricanes... whatever it is, we all have this sense that the earth is groaning and it's getting ready to give up. And we lament it, we mourn it. And we should take care of creation, absolutely, this isn't about that. But Peter says, "You ought to live holy (devoted to God, sacred, set apart, holy) lives, and godly lives, like he says in chapter one, "You may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." Where he says, "make every effort to add to your faith, goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self control, to self control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, mutual affection, and to mutual affection, love." 

He says, so what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives "as you look forward" -- lean in toward the day of God, his judgment, and "speed it's coming."  

He's slow to anger, but one day it will be sudden and it will be with finality. He will call all this to account. And we are to live holy and godly lives and look forward to that day, not with an eagerness to see our enemies perish, but like with this eagerness to see God fulfill his promise. 

And when he does bring justice on the righteous and the unrighteous, it will be what is fully, completely right. And just. And we will all answer to him according to what we've done; he will reward each person according to what they've done. 

He says, "That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells . And so he says, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him. Bear in mind..." -- and remember: "I am slow to anger, I am patient" -- "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation."  

Our Lord's patience means salvation. 

" Therefore, since you've been forewarned, be on your guard so that you're not carried away by the error of the lawless, and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forevermore." He says, "Amen!"  

God is slow to anger. He's patient. And our response to this is that we recognize that His patience means salvation. So my appeal to you is while God is being patient, while he is being slow to anger, recognize that this isn't the eternal delay of his anger. This is just the temporary delay of his anger. He will bring judgment.  

But in the meantime, he is saying to you, " If you are pursuing evil or wickedness, or even just your own desires," he says, "repent! Repent now!" Repent, because one day, and it could be today, it could be tomorrow. It could be soon. He says, "One day I'm bringing all this to account and what you have chosen is what you will be rewarded."  

If you have chosen to pursue godliness and honor and immortality, you'll receive eternal life. Put your faith in Jesus. Confess your worthlessness, confess your sinfulness and bow before God. Put your faith in him because, he is God; he can be known. He is full of mercy and compassion, he's kind; he can be trusted. Put your confidence in him.  

But, if you're someone who says, "Nope, I just want to do it my own way," recognize that one day that will be the end of you, with great pain, great sense of loss. And that is coming. You will suffer the consequences of your own decisions right now. Right now.  

So my appeal is: repent. And repent doesn't mean wallow in self pity. And it doesn't mean just speak bad about yourself, hoping that God will say, "Well, no, you're not really that bad." Don't do that.  

Repent doesn't mean beat yourself up. Repent means beat your chest in remorse and say, "Lord, forgive me. I'm so sorry."  

It's like Jesus talked about the despised tax collector and the Pharisee. And the Pharisee stood with his chest puffed out before God and said, "I thank you God that I'm not like all these other sinners. I thank you, Lord, that I am more worthy of your love. I thank you that I'm special."  

And the tax collector stood off at a distance and beat his chest and said, "Lord, have mercy on me. I'm a sinner." Don't beat yourself up. Beat your chest and show remorse. "God, I'm sorry." 

And then beat your body and make it your slave. Like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, "I beat my body and m ake it my slave, so that I won't be disqualified."  

Repent. Turn from the things that would incur God's wrath, that have incurred His wrath, even though He is being patient. Turn from the things that make you worthy of his wrath and let him bring freedom. Let him fill you with peace. Let him make you holy and godly.  

Okay, Exodus 34, "I am Yahweh, Yahweh, I am who I am, I am God, I am always present to you, you can know me. I am kind. I'm full of mercy and grace and compassion. I'm kind. You can trust me. And I am slow to anger. I am patient. Repent. Repent. I have given you time. And I won't give you time forever. I am being patient with you, and it is so that you can come to salvation." 

God says that's what I want of you, because that's who I am.  

Romans 2. "Don't show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience, but realize that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance." 

Respond to that.  

Next week we'll look at his next statement. He says, "I'm abounding in love and faithfulness." This is our God. This is why we love him. This is why we serve him. And this is why I want to make sure that you are reconciled to him in every way.

​Amen. 

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There's a difference between nice and kind. A nice person is pleasant and polite. They will spare the truth in order to spare your feelings. A kind person does acts of good and they will hurt your feelings in order to spare you even greater harm. 

Last week we started talking about how God described himself to Moses. And we read in Exodus 34 where the Lord came down to Moses in the cloud, and he stood there with him and proclaimed his name: the Lord (Yahweh). And it says, "He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming: the LORD, the LORD, (Yahweh, Yahweh)." Then he describes himself as "the compassionate and gracious God."  

Now that's what we're gonna deal with today, but just so we have it all in context, and we know where this is going, he says, "Yahweh, Yahweh, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished." That's the context.  

Today we're dealing with that second statement. Now, last week I talked about how God revealed himself to Moses, even going back to Exodus 3. He said, "I AM who I AM ," meaning, "I always have been who I have been, and I always will be who I always will be. I. I AM. I am the root and cause and the sustainer of everything. There is none other but me. I AM. I'm self-sustaining. I AM the LORD." 

And we connected that to this sense of his name. Yahweh. Yahweh. In the Hebrew it sounds a lot like "I AM." Yahweh.  

He revealed himself to Moses and he said this is my essence: I am the one who was, who is and always will be. I am Yahweh; that's my name. And then he says in my relationship with you, I am the God of your fathers, and I'm your God.  

This week he reveals himself as "the compassionate and gracious God." now both of those words have some overlay in their meaning and how we might translate them into English, and they carry this sense of "showing favor, being gracious, yearning towards, longing for, being merciful, being inclined towards." It gives this sense of "bending or stooping in kindness towards someone who is inferior." Not like looking down on them, condescending, but technically condescending; coming down to; descending from a place that is superior to someone who occupies a space that is inferior. Again, this isn't the insult, this is just the reality. Condescending, coming down, stooping down; as if someone who stoops down to a child in order to show kindness, to be at their level. The words "gracious and compassionate," it has this sense of mercy, of pity. And not pity that's insulting. But a condescension, a stooping down, a showing kindness, granting favor.  

 So I'm wrapping up that "gracious and compassionate and merciful" and I'm just saying, when he revealed himself, he said, "I am kind. I AM Yahweh, the LORD, God; I am kind."  

If you believed God was kind, would it change how you relate to him? Whether you relate to him, whether you call out to him. 

In Jonah, the book of Jonah, God taps Jonah on the shoulder and says, I want you to go to the people of Nineveh. The Ninevites were brutal toward the Jews, they were enemies. And God says, I want you to go and tell them that if they don't repent, I'm going to come and destroy them. 

And Jonah resisted. But he eventually went and he proclaimed to the Ninevites. He says, "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown." Prophetically, he says, "God is going to overthrow you because of your sin." But "the Ninevites believed God, a fast was proclaimed, and all of them from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloths. And when Jonah's warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat down in the dust, and he issued this proclamation: by the decree of the king and his nobles, do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything. Do not let them eat or drink." He proclaimed a fast. "But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence." And the official proclamation said, " Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion, turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."  

And the Book of Jonah records that "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. But to Jonah, this seemed very wrong, and he became angry and he prayed to the Lord," and he says, "isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is why I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish," Jonah said.  

He said, "I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God. Slow to anger and a bounding in love. A God who relents from sending calamity."  

This is the nature of God. He's kind.  

Now in Romans 11:22, Paul says, "Consider the kindness and sternness of God." God is not just nice. He's not just pleasant and polite. He is demanding. He does call us to what is best and tries to protect us from serious harm. He risks offense. He hurts our feelings in order to spare us from great harm. 

He's not nice, but he's kind. And he's stern, as we'll look at in coming teachings that yes, he is a punishing God, but he's kind. He's kind.  

In fact, even when we look at how Jesus related to people, he wasn't always nice. He was kind, but he wasn't always nice.  

In our house church, we were studying one of the stories in the gospels, and I always ask the question, after we read things, " Does this create any tension for you?" And someone said, "You know, I really think that I would've been nicer than Jesus there."  

And at first we think, "Oh, you're not allowed to say that!" But I do believe that's true. Many of us would be nicer than Jesus. He called people out. He told them truths they didn't want to hear. He spoke their condemnation -- the condemnation that they themselves had chosen, but he named it in a way that allowed it to rest on them. He wasn't always nice. He was always kind. He was always calling people to something greater than just leaving them comfortable in their sin.  

Consider then the kindness and sternness of God.  

In Titus 2, we read that the grace of God has appeared to all people and it offers salvation to everyone, and it teaches us to say no to ungodliness. The grace of God, the kindness of God. 

If you believed that God was kind, would it change how you relate to him? 

I think a lot of people think that God is actually unkind and that it's their job to protect themselves from God, from this unkind God. That this unkind God is inclined away from them rather than toward them; is inclined to show disfavor rather than favor toward them; that this unkind God is just waiting to catch them in a bad situation so he can say, "See, I got you."  

I think a lot of people think that God is unkind. When God described himself to Moses, he said, "I'm kind; I'm kind."  

And so I want to encourage you, relate to God as if he's kind.  

In the same way that if we believe that he is the I AM -- he is -- then yes, we want to know Him, who he really is. He is Yahweh. And if we relate to him as genuinely kind, we will trust him. We will trust him.  

So my challenge to you as you chew on this in this coming week, relate to God as if he's kind, as if he is condescending to you, as if he leaves his lofty place and comes to where you are. And he stoops with a gentleness, with a kindness -- not always nice. He will tell you things you don't want to hear -- but a kindness because he wants to spare you from great harm.  

Begin to relate to God as if he's kind, and you will trust him. You'll trust him with the things you face. This is the message this week. 

Now, next week, we'll look at the next phrase where he says, "I am slow to anger. I'm slow to anger." Lean into this. God is kind. He's kind. Not always nice. He's kind. So you can trust him. Trust him. 

Amen.

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Lots of people say they believe in God and that they love God, but what if they don't love the same God? Like what if our understanding about who God is is different? Does that mean that we're worshiping a different God? Are all versions of God, really just a pursuit of God himself? Or is it possible to know a God who isn't the real God? To worship the wrong God? Is it possible to love God who isn't the true God?  

In Exodus 34, the Lord revealed himself to Moses, and he did it in a way that described who he is. Now, I've heard it said -- and I understand the sentiment of this -- I've heard it said that God doesn't want us to know about him, he wants us to know him.  

Anything I say in this is all about us knowing Him. It's about the relationship. And yet in the same way that if I know my wife, I will know about her, and if I don't know about her, I don't really know her -- in that same way, I think it's important that we also discuss who God is, what he's like and learn about him. But not just so that we can learn a theology and pass a quiz. It's so that we can know who he is and know him personally. 

In Exodus 34, the Lord goes to Moses and he describes himself. It says in verse five that "the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses and proclaimed his name, the LORD (Yahweh)." And it says he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming:  

"The LORD. The LORD." -- "Yahweh. Yahweh." -- "The LORD. The LORD. The compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger , abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin yet..." as God reveals himself, as God proclaims himself, he says, "yet, he does..." talking about himself, "he does not leave the guilty unpunished. He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." 

Now to complete this, for those of you who are followers of Christ, as I am, Hebrews 1:3 says, "The son [Jesus]..." And this is what I believe. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." 

I believe that about Jesus.  

And so back to the question. Does everyone who says they know God really know him? So I would challenge you if the God that you're worshiping would not be described as, "Yahweh! Yahweh! The compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. And yet does not leave the guilty unpunished" -- if that doesn't describe your God, it might be that you're pursuing the correct God, "Yahweh! Yahweh!" but you have fallen short in your understanding of who he is. And so he proclaims himself to you today.  

Now I think this is an important message and my intent right now is to spend the next several teachings on this, so that we can unite around God's self proclamation, his self revelation. To make sure that we are all knowing God by knowing about God.  

Today I just wanna deal with the first two words there: "The Lord. The Lord." "Yahweh, Yahweh." 

In Exodus 3, God reveals himself to Moses for the first time. Now, Moses was born a Hebrew. All the Hebrews were slaves, at the time, of the Egyptians. And Pharaoh had told all the Hebrews to throw out the little boys; put them in the river. But Moses got rescued by none other than Pharaoh's daughter, and was raised in Pharaoh's house. And then Moses, when he grew up, he went and defended a Hebrew by killing an Egyptian, and then he went to defend a Hebrew against a Hebrew, and they called him out, so he fled for his life and he was gone for 40 years. He was 40 years old when he left. He was gone another 40 years. He was 80 years old, and then God went to him out in the middle of nowhere, in a burning bush. You've heard the story.  

Moses goes up to it to see what it is. And there it says, verse four, " God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!' And Moses said, 'Here I am.' And God said, 'Don't come any closer. Take off your sandals. It's holy ground.' And then he said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And at this, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God."  

God went on and talked to him and told him: I want you to go rescue my people. He says: I will be with you and you'll be successful.  

But then Moses says to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and I say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' And they ask me, 'Well, what's his name?' what should I tell him?"  

And God said to Moses -- and here is his self revelation of his name -- God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you." 

Now another way to interpret that is "I will be who I will be." Tell them 'I will be who I will be' has sent you."  

Another way to interpret it is "I have been who I have been." "'I have been who I have been' is sending you."  

In the Hebrew, the "I am" doesn't really even have a present tense. It has more of a past tense and a future tense. And so like in English, we will say, "I am hungry." In Hebrew, you say, "I hungry." You can say, "I have been hungry" and "I will be hungry," but you don't say, "I am hungry." You just say, "I hungry."  

And so God here is saying, "I am who I always have been. I am who I always will be. I." I. It's a statement of his essence that he is who he always has been, he is who he always will be, he is. He.  

Now the Hebrew word for "I am," and I don't speak Hebrew, I'm just looking at these letters that, transliterated into English, is E-H-Y-E-H. Eh yeh. And that means this statement of being. Now some would say that it's more than just a statement of his being, but it encompasses his creative being, his generative being, that he is responsible for all this, that he is the origin of all this, that he is who he always has been. He will be who he always will be. He.  

" I am who I am. Tell them eh yeh has sent me to you." 

Then it says verse 15, God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'the LORD...'" again, this is Yahweh. Now, some of your Bibles or your traditions would say Jehovah. Jehovah was a poor transliteration of Y H W H. In Hebrew they didn't write out the vowels. They wrote out the consonants. But they pronounced the vowels. It's somewhat of a lost pronunciation, but when it was being translated from Hebrew into Latin, there was no Y' for Y H W H. And so they transliterated that with a J and they came out with Jehovah. 

So it's a Latinized transliteration from Hebrew to Latin to English. But if you go straight from Hebrew, transliterated into English, you get Yahweh. Y H W H, Yahweh.  

God says, "Tell them I AM has sent me to you." And then he says, "Say to the Israelites, 'Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever. The name you shall call me from generation to generation.'"  

Yahweh, Yahweh. 

Now this name, Yahweh, can be thought of as his formal name. It's his name. And it sounds as if it's from the same root word as eh yeh. Yahweh.  

So you've probably heard it as I've heard it, that Yahweh just means "I am." But it doesn't really mean that. It's not that God just said, "Yahweh, Yahweh. Tell them Yahweh has sent me to you. I am Yahweh." It's not. He said, "Eh yeh, eh yeh. Tell them eh yeh has sent you. I am Yahweh."  

And so it's not the same word. It probably has a same root, but it's not the same word. And so let's recognize that there is a connection to it. "I am" and God's formal name. "I am who I always have been," "I am who I always will be." (And as we read later in Revelation, the God who was, who is and is to come: I am.) But let's not think that "I am" and Yahweh are the same thing. Let's just recognize that they're a similar thing.  

It's not the same word with different meanings, like "Roger that. Tell them Roger sent you." Same word, different meaning. Or, "I'll be frank with you. Tell them Frank has sent me." Like same word , different meaning. It's not that. Nor is it a word that sounds the same, but just has different spellings like, "Surely you can count on me. I am Shirley." It's not that. It's more like a near rhyme. Now it's not truly this, because there is some connection at the root, but it's more like they would've heard it as "I make all things new. Tell them Mike sent me." Or, "It is done. Tell them Don sent you." Or, "I am. Tell them Liam..." or "Diane..." some-- you know, that's kind of strange, but it's more like a near rhyme. And yet in their sense there would've been a common root that would've connected back to the "I AM." 

So when Moses asks God, "Who should I tell them is sending me?" He says, "I am who I am. Tell them I AM has sent me to you. I am also, my name is, Yahweh, the LORD. The LORD. And I am not just the LORD. I am the God -- Elohim -- I am the God of your fathers. I am the LORD who has been the God of you and your ancestors. That's who I am."  

And so in that he speaks his essence, he speaks his name and he speaks his relationship. "I am who I am. My name is Yahweh. And I am your God." My essence, my name, my relationship to you.  

And so if we go back to Exodus 34, where Moses has already rescued the Israelites out of Egypt, and they're at Mount Sinai and he's bringing down the 10 Commandments. He's bringing down the tablets. He's up on the mountain and God passes in front of him and proclaims his name: " Yahweh. Yahweh."  

There are so many different gods. I recently watched a political thing where one of the candidates starts out by saying, "I believe in God," or "I love God," or whatever it is, and you just go, but which God? Which God is it? Like it could be any number of Gods, right?  

The one that we worship is Yahweh.  

Now, I say this with respect. The Jews won't say Yahweh. I get it. Like I actually respect this. They treat it as such a holy name that they will say Hashem: the Name. Or if they're writing out God, they'll write it as G-d. If they're reading scripture and it says Yahweh, they say Adonai. The LORD. And so that's translated into our English versions where it says "the LORD." I respect that. And I believe that we should have a certain healthy fear about accidentally misusing his name.  

On the other hand, the Lord said, out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. And when we call out to Yahweh with a heart that just says, "Lord, I'm not worthy of you, but I seek you and I desire you, and I desire your honor;" when we come to him bowed, not just at our head, but bowed at the shoulder. When we come to him like that and say the name Yahweh, we are declaring that he is the LORD. He is who he always has been, he is who He is, and he is who he will always be. And all things exist by his powerful word.  

In fact, as we already read in Hebrews 1, it says of Jesus, " The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being sustaining all things by his powerful word."  

He is who he is. He sustains all things. He is Yahweh. And he is the God of all who have come before us in this beautiful faith.  

So this is the God that we worship. I'll leave it at this. Next week we're gonna go to the next statement: the compassionate and gracious God.

Amen.