21 Mar It is What It Is (Discovering the true character of God…because He is not a car-wrecking, cancer causing Creator, but a loving, life giving Lord!) part 30

A while ago, I met a wonderful couple who had just moved to the Nashville area from Indiana.  They had come to Joy Church for the very first time and loved it!  We had a great conversation and as we talked, the husband informed us that he had recently had a stroke that had been quite debilitating.  We were of course, very compassionate and encouraging, and the man then said something very revealing.  He said concerning this stroke, “God gave this gift to teach me something.”

Unfortunately this reflects the understanding of many Christians.  They truly don’t understand the nature and character of God!  God is not a car-wrecking, stroke-causing Creator but a loving, life-giving Lord!

Over the last  number of months we have shared with you our key verse for this series found in Hebrews 11:6, “For without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

From there we shared three very important takeaways:

1. Notice the word “cometh”.  The Greek tense for the word “cometh” is in the continual tense, meaning it is discussing those who continually come to God.  It could read “those that cometh and cometh and cometh to God”.  It describes a continual, communicative relationship.
2. When we continually come to God, we must believe that “He IS”…not He was or He will be.  That describes a vast majority of the Body of Christ.  “God did a miracle in Biblical days” or “One day when we all get to Heaven, He will heal then.”  God is not the Great I was or the Great I will be…He IS the Great I AM!
3. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  Now we’ve left behind three quarters of the Body of Christ.  Most don’t believe He is a rewarder…most believe He is a taker!

Then we gave you 4 View Verifications:

1. How you view Him will determine how much you come to Him.
2. How you view Him is how you will treat others.  In other words, if you think He’s mad at you, it will be very difficult for you to treat others kindly.
3. How you view Him will determine your outlook on life.
4. How you view Him will determine your destiny.

Then we began to discuss 11 Characteristics concerning the Character of God:

1. You can’t create God in your own image (Rom. 1:25).  
2. Heaven yes…Hell no!  
3. Sin ruins the view
4. Will the real God please stand up?  (John 10:10)
5. The weather outside is frightful (Rom. 8:19-23, Matt. 24:1-8)
6. Who’s in charge here?  (II Cor. 4:4, Luke 4:6)

This month let’s continue with the section “Who’s in charge here?”.  We have already discovered that the Bible tells us the devil is the god of this world (the Greek word “kosmos” which means world system).  While everything happens for a reason, that “reason” may not be God.  Yes there is a good God, but there is also a bad devil, cursed world and stupid people (see James 1:13-17)!  If everything that happens in life was simply the will of a sovereign God, then why even put James 4:7 in the Bible?  

Here the Bible tells us “Submit yourself therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  Please allow me to give you “Four Submit and Resist Reasonings”:

1. If everything that happened was the will of a sovereign God…then you should submit to everything and resist nothing.
2. Clearly we should submit to God and His Word, and resist the devil and his works.
3. If your “resister” is not working, check out your “submitter”.  In other words, if you are resisting the devil and he is not fleeing…check out your level of submission to God.  You can’t play “footsie” with the devil under the table and expect to resist him over the table.
4. You must get under what’s over you so you can get over what’s under you!

Join us next week as we continue to answer the question “Who’s in charge here?” continuing our series – It Is What It Is.