Our God is Too Small

I want to ask you to open your Bibles again to Psalm 85. I don't remember this ever happening before, but Jeff was preoccupied and wasn't in the men's prayer time with us before the service, so he had no way of knowing that Adam read Psalm 85 in the men's prayer time. And I intended to conclude with Psalm 85 the first hour, those of you that were here the first hour. And I want to call to your attention what Micah was prophesying when he said, God will perform the mercy to Jacob, or the truth to Jacob, and God will perform the mercy to Abraham.

That performance was accomplished at Mount Calvary. That's where verse 10 was fulfilled. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. The only way that God could be just and justify sinners. The only way that he could show us his mercy and maintain the truth of his holy righteousness was to place our sin on his sinless son and to pour out the full wrath of his justice on our substitute, our sin bearer. And that's the whole gospel. And that's the whole message of God's word. Mercy and truth met together at the cross.

Righteousness? God demands perfect righteousness. He cannot settle for anything less. How are we going to have peace with God when our righteousnesses are as filthy rags? We have no righteousness. How can righteousness and peace kiss each other? Well, they kissed each other in the kiss of death at Mount Calvary when God Almighty plunged the sword of his justice into the heart of his own son and put him to death for our sins. This is the whole truth of God.

Thank you, man, both of you. And thank you for the messages last Sunday. I was so blessed to hear both Jeff and Adam's preaching of Christ to you here last Sunday. Hebrews chapter four, Hebrews chapter four. Before we read the verse I want to call your attention to, I want to say that I do not believe that it's an overstatement. And I do not believe that it is an oversimplification to say that all bad doctrine all false gospels, every experience with sin, every demonstration of self-righteousness, every murmuring, every anxiety, every fear, every doubt, Every conflict, every act of disobedience, every sin of the flesh, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life have one root cause. Have one root cause.

And that cause is a low view of God. a low view of God. I've titled this message, Our God is Too Small. All of the things that we struggle with in this world would, well, there'll be no more when we have the view of God that we ought to have. when we see him as he is, and when we are made like him, all of those things that we wrestle with in this world as a result of our low view of God. We have never viewed God as he is. And I've titled this message, Our Low View of God.

Obviously, obviously, those who have fashioned in their darkened imagination an idol that depends upon them to do something in order for that god, small g, to be able to save them have a Not just a low view of God, they don't have a God at all. The God that they imagine exists is nothing more than a figment of their imagination. He doesn't exist. He's not God at all.

Turn with me to, well, let's read the verse first. In Hebrews chapter four, look at verse 13. Neither is there any creature, that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. There is a God in heaven whose eyes are open to everything. A God with whom we must do. And to perceive of that God as being a God that needs something from us in order for him to be able to save us, that's not God at all. Turn with me to Psalm 2, if you will. We hear men say things like, give your heart to Jesus, or invite him to come into your life, or Christ died for a body and wants our body to be saved, but his hands are tied unless you let him have his way. Our good friend, Brother Henry Mahan, who's gone to be with the Lord in his Southern style, used to call that God a peanut God. A peanut God.

That's about all he is. He doesn't exist. That's not just a low view of God. That's not knowing, not having any view of God. Psalm 2, here's what God says about those people who would have that view of God. Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? They imagine something that doesn't exist. That's what vain means. Vain means empty. Why do they even rage against God? They raise their fist to heaven. They demand things from God. They say that God requires something from them. They imagine, and that's all it is, just an imagination, an empty thing.

The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. And this prophecy was fulfilled when the Lord Jesus went to the cross and Pilate and the rulers of the Jews took counsel as to be rid of Christ. But the fulfillment of this is experienced every time a man views God as a God who needs something from them. Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us.

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. God's not bothered by man's unbelief. God's not bothered by man's blasphemy, not in the least. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. He shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. That day of judgment will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is God. He's King. He's the Savior to the glory of God the Father. They will see God for who he is. Verse seven, I will declare the decree the Lord has said unto me, this is the Lord Jesus speaking, thou art my son, this day I begotten thee. Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

I can remember in my lifetime when the only people that professed to be atheists were those proud, high-minded, pseudo-intellectuals who took no shame in outwardly professing that there was no God. Now I find I meet people all the time who proudly profess themselves to be atheists. And I say to that person, you won't always be an atheist.

There will come a day when you will know that there is a God, and you will bow. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings, ye that have set yourself up on the throne of God, ye that have made God, you have fashioned a God who is dependent upon you. Be wise, be instructed, ye judges of the earth, you who hold God in judgment, you who accuse God of wrongdoing, You who say that it's not fair that God would save whom he would save and that God is sovereign and all-powerful and holy and he does what he wants, when he wants, with whomever he wants, however he wants, and because he did it, it's right? You and I have to evaluate our choices based on right and wrong before we act. God never does that. Because he acted means that it's right. That's who God is. We bow, we bow to that God.

Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. I feel like I have spent too much time over the years trying to define faith in light of all of the false faiths, in light of all the false gospels, in all the light of the spurious faiths that there are among men, who men call it faith, and then they use their faith as a work for salvation. And I felt a need to define faith. And the same thing with fear. The Bible speaks of the fear of God. And there is a slavish fear, there is a fear, a sinful fear that men have. But I'm coming to a conclusion about faith and fear. And that is that it really can't be defined adequately. It must be experienced. It must be experienced.

I can't describe faith to you. I can't define faith to you. God has to give you faith in order for you to know what faith is. In all the things we say about the fear of God in order to try to soften the edges of it, I can't really describe the fear of God to you. But if God's giving it, you know what the fear of God is. You know what it is to bow before Him. You know what it is to depend upon Him for all of your salvation and to plead with him for mercy. That can't be put into a definition. It must be experienced.

So how is it that we experience true faith? And how is it that we experience true fear of God? By exalting God. by just preaching God as God. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to me. We cannot preach Christ high enough. We cannot lift up God high enough.

And I've titled this message, Our God is too small, because though we've taken a few minutes and described the foolishness of a works gospel, a freewill gospel, a man who in the blindness of his own darkened mind has fashioned a God that needs him to do something in order for that God to be able to save him, and there are others who would reject the existence of God altogether, brethren, Every time we experience anxiety, doubt, sinful anger, fear, self-righteousness, oh, it leaks out, doesn't it? It is all because we have too low a view of God. Our God is too small. You cannot estimate God high enough. Look out in the world and we get all upset about what's going on in the world. Your God's too small. God's just too small.

You see what's going on in the world and see the hand of God at work. God's doing that. You don't like what's going on? God's doing it. And if you get upset about it, and you get worried about it, and anxious about it, God's just too small. You think that God has relinquished his power and his authority to men and he's letting men run willy-nilly and do what they would do? No, no, they're puppets in the hand of God.

It's just that simple. That's why the Lord has said to us over and over and over, yo, there is a true, reverential, worshipful fear of God Almighty. The Lord tells us over and over and over again, fear not. Fear not. He's not telling us not to fear God. He's telling us not to fear all this other stuff. Why are you afraid?

I'm doing that. We watch the news and read the newspaper to see what God's doing. I wonder what's happening over in the Middle East. Well, let's see what God's doing. That's who our God is. And not just in the big things of the world, but in the minutia of your life and my life. God's doing it. Our God is too small. During the Psalms, turn with me to Psalm 50. Psalm 50. Verse 20, and there's much before this, but we'll just read the last few verses.

Verse 20, thou sinneth and speaketh against thy brother, thou standeth. Thou slandereth thine own mother's son. These things hath thou done, and I kept silent. God speaking, thou thoughtest, thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself, but I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver.

Whoso offereth praise and glorifyeth me, to him that ordereth his conversation aright, him will I show the salvation of God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Be still and know that I am God. That's where it all begins. We take things into our own hands. Worst thing God could do for us is let us do what we think. You thought that I was like you? The Bible says of the unbeliever, there's no fear of God before their eyes. But how often that's true of our own unbelief. We fear not God as we ought. And until we see him, we're going to be always guilty of that accusation.

May the Lord be pleased to reveal just a little bit more of his grace and his glory to us that we might have just a little bit better understanding of what it is to fear God. Eternity. This is how glorious our God is. We misspeak when we say that when we see him as he is, that we're going to see him in the fullness of his glory. But that can't be. Because the truth is that all of eternity, that's a long time. Forever and ever and ever and ever without end will not be sufficient for us to see the fullness of His glory.

It's what's going to make heaven heaven. The Lord is going to be revealing more of His glory Genesis chapter one, verse one. In the beginning, God. God. The beginning of what? The beginning of time. That's what Genesis 1.1 is referenced to. Our God is eternal. And as difficult as it is for us to comprehend existence without time, it becomes even much more difficult for us to comprehend past without time. But that's who our God is, the beginning of time, God.

And there are two words in the Old Testament for God. One of the words is El and the other is Elohim. Elohim is the plural form of El. And in Genesis chapter one, verse one, it is Elohim, it is the plural form. for the name God. It is a reference to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Let us make man in our image. It's the triune Godhead, the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

And forever, and those words are not sufficient. We're creatures of time. We can't speak outside of time, but we know that that God created the heavens and the earth, and that before there was a heaven, and before there were angels to sing his praises, and before there was any man to save, or any creation to uphold by the word of his power, there was God. And he needed nothing then, and he needs nothing now.

That's who our God is. They tell me, and I have no reason to doubt it, that light travels over 186,000 miles per second. They tell me, and I have no reason to doubt it, that it would take 100,000 years for light to travel through our galaxy, the Milky Way. They tell me that outside of our galaxy, there are perhaps as much as two trillion other galaxies And God spoke, and it was. And someone said, well, is there life on other planets? Why would God go to so much trouble? And my response is, what trouble? There's no trouble. No trouble. Now this Bible speaks of a third heaven. When John and Paul were caught up into the third heaven, is there an end to the universe as we know it?

Yes, there is. And the end of the universe is the beginning of eternity. This thing that we call the physical universe was created by God. In the beginning, God. And when the Bible speaks of the first heaven, it's talking about the atmosphere, the air we breathe, the clouds, the rain, that's the first heaven. The second heaven is what I just described. All of the stars of the universe, all of the galaxies of the universe, that's the second heaven. The third heaven is where God is.

That's eternity. That's where Paul went. That's where John went when he said, I saw things that were unspeakable. God told John, he said, put down your pen, John. There's no words in any human language to describe what you're seeing right now. That's the God that we worship. That's the God who is. Our God is far too small. Why would we ever fret? Why would we ever fear? Why would we ever worry?

Why would we not believe everything that he has spoken? Why would we not, as Psalm 2 says, kiss the son lest he be angry with thee? Why would we not bow to him and worship him? with all of our heart, mind, and soul, confessing our complete dependence upon Him, knowing that it is He that puts breath into our nostrils, knowing that He is the one who holds our lives in His hands. Why would we not believe Him?

Because our God is too small. All of eternity. Our God is self-sufficient. He didn't need us. You think about eternity now. Just let your mind... You're in the Psalms. Turn to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. Because David... I know you think about these things. I think about them. Think about God. David was contemplating what we're talking about right now. the glory, and the existence of God. By the way, the word exit, you see the signs over the door, that word comes from the same word that the word exist comes from, and it means out of.

Often we speak of God as being self-existent. Technically speaking, that's not true. God didn't create himself. We exist and everything else exists because it came out of God. But to say that God exists is to say that God is self-existent is to suggest that God created himself. A better way to define God is to just say, I am. or to say the isness of God, not the existence of God. I hope in light of what I just said that technically what I'm trying to say to you right now is that God doesn't exist. God is. Everything else exists because everything else comes out of him. God just is. When he said to Moses, I am, Moses, I just, I'm self-contained. I'm self-sufficient. I is. I am. I'm self-satisfied. I'm the uncreated creator of all things. Why won't you believe me? Why do you worry? Why do you doubt? Why don't you believe me? What greater offense is there than for us as sinful creatures to say to God, I don't believe you.

If God ever is pleased to show us, oh, Psalm 139, verse one. David is contemplating this eternal existence of God and the omniscience of God. God's never learned anything. God's never asked a question he didn't know the answer to. God never taught, no, it's never been taught by.

If I was hungry, I wouldn't tell you. I own the cattle on a thousand hills and I own the hills too. Everything is mine. I'm not in doubt of anything. I don't have any questions about anything. It's impossible for me to learn anything. I'm omniscient. I'm omnipresent. I'm omnipotent. I have all power. Is anything too hard for God? No, nothing's too hard for Him. Nothing. David's thinking about these things and he says oh lord thou has searched me. You know me Lord you know that every thought of the imagination of my heart is only evil and that continually You know what I think and you know why I think it you know what I say before I say it Or do God Thou knowest my down sitting.

Thou knowest my uprising. And this word knowest is not just cognizantly aware of what you're doing. I know why you did it. I knew when you were going to do it. I know everything from the past to the future. Thou knowest my down city, my uprising. Thou understandest my thoughts afar off. Before I think my thoughts you already know my thoughts. Thou compassest my path and my lying down. You're acquainted with all my ways. You're acquainted with what I do and you're acquainted with why I do it. Everything about me you know. For there is not a word of my tongue, but, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. You knew what I was going to say before I said it. Thou hast beset me behind and before. Thou hast laid thy hand upon me."

And then David says this, such knowledge. Lord, I'm thinking about these things as far as I can think, and then I can't think anymore. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain unto it. But I know, Lord, that you are glorious beyond anything that I can possibly comprehend. And Lord, in light of who you are, everything about me is sinful. Everything about me falls short of your glory. If God ever shows us a glimpse of his glory, our mouths will be shut. And if we speak, it will be to our own condemnation.

I saw the Lord, Isaiah said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. And his train filled the temple. And there were three Sarabims that were hovering over the throne of God. And they were crying, holy, holy, holy. The father's holy, the son's holy, the spirit is holy. Holiness is not just moral perfection. Holiness is what we're talking about. Holiness means that he is in every way other than we are. He's God.

It's the first thing out of Isaiah's mouth. Woe is me, I'm undone. My eyes have seen the king. I'm a man of unclean lips. I live among a people of unclean lips. There's nobody that can save me. I've just found myself in the presence of God. All I can do is worship him and depend upon his mercy. And God took a coal from off the altar. That's the gospel. He touched his lips. The altar of the cross. Where mercy and truth met together, righteousness and peace kissed each other. And God takes that hot coal of his wrath and his justice, and he touches the lips of his children. And he says, yes, you are, but I just made you whole. I just made you clean.

When Daniel saw the Lord high and lifted up, You know, there's two characters in the Bible that nothing negative is said about, that I can think of, Daniel and Joseph. All the other Old Testament and New Testament characters, we see things about them that, you know, it's not. Daniel, nothing was bad said about him. Not that he wasn't a sinner, but that the Lord didn't put that in his word. But Daniel said something bad about himself.

When he saw the Lord, he said, my comeliness, my strength, my beauty, my ability, that which I thought was good about me has been turned in me into corruption. I've seen God. When Peter saw the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, he fell at his feet and he said, depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. Depart from me.

When the Lord said, who is this that darkens counsel without knowledge? He's talking to Job. Job was blaming God for his situation. God never asked permission to do what he did. And God did it. You say, well, the devil did it. No, God did it. He was the first cause. And the book of Job tells us that God did it. God killed Job's children. God put Job in a place he was at. And God never asked Job for permission. And God never apologized to Job. And God never asked anybody for permission. And God never apologizes to anybody. He's God.

And God says to Job, who is this that darkens counsel with words without knowledge? Job, you're speaking word, but you don't know what you're talking about. Gird yourself up like a man, Job. I'm going to ask you a few questions. And then for four chapters, God just reveals himself as God to Job. And Job said, oh, truly, Lord, I had spoken without knowledge. I didn't know what I was talking about. I just bowed. Behold, I see things about myself now that I never saw before. I'm violent. And he repented in dust and ashes.

The only reason that a man, a child of Adam, does not believe themselves to be full of sin is because they've never found themselves standing alone in the presence of a holy God. That's the only reason. If you ever find yourself standing alone in the presence of a holy God, you're going to believe yourself to be a sinner. Completely dependent upon him for all of your righteousness. And you're gonna give to him all the glory. Why does God show forth his glory? Why does he save?

I mentioned in the first hour, I was asking the children why their parents provided for them. And one of the children spoke up and said because he had, because they have to. And I suppose that child heard daddy say, I gotta go to work. And so I have to go to work. And so the child thinks, well, he has to provide for me. And I was able to talk to them and show them, no, they do it because they love you. And because they know that you cannot provide for yourself, that's why they do it.

Why does God show forth his glory? Does our praise of God add anything to God? Can God be added to? Can He be added to? No. Does our worship increase God in any way? No. Why does He do it? Two reasons. First cause of everything that God does for His people is love. He said, I've loved you with an everlasting love. I'm sharing with you my glory because my glory is your greatest need. My glory is your greatest blessing. Your praise doesn't add anything to me. I don't need anything. You need everything.

If God is just preached, if he's just revealed, if he's just lifted up as God, sinners will see themselves in a need of a savior. And faith will be their only way. And the fear of God will be understood by experience. I want to show you one verse of scripture in Psalm 16. Turn with me there.

Now Psalm 16 is the Psalm that Peter quoted from on the day of Pentecost, when he put all the blame on his hearers for what they did to the Savior. But though they bore all the responsibility for having crucified him with their wicked hands, he also makes it clear that this was ordained of God before time ever was. And then he quotes from Psalm 16 when he says, God would not, could not, did not allow his holy one to see corruption. He raised him from the dead.

And when Christ was preached to them, and their sin was revealed to them, and their need for God was preached, they were cut to the heart and said, men and brethren, what shall we do? How can we be saved? What are we going to do? We've got a God with whom we must do. How are we going to do with the God that we just crucified?

And Peter said, believe. Repent, change your mind about God. He is not like you. Change your mind about yourself. That's what repentance is. You've got nothing to offer God. Change your mind about how it is that God's justice is satisfied through the sacrifice of Christ and that alone. That's what repent is. Peter said, repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now in Psalm 16, we're talking about whether or not, what Christ did in glorifying his father. Don't think for a moment that Christ glorifying his father added to the glory of God. God's glory cannot be added to. He glorified his father For us, like our children, we love them and we know they cannot provide for themselves. God loves his children. He loves us so much more than we could ever love our own. You know that. And he knows that we cannot provide for ourselves. We cannot provide for our sin. We cannot see him for who he is if he doesn't reveal himself to us. But even what the Lord Jesus did, this is my point.

You have your Bibles open to Psalm 16. Look with me at verse one. Preserve me, O God, for in thee do I put my trust. Now this psalm, all the way through this psalm is the Lord Jesus talking to his father. Look at verse two. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, this is Christ speaking, I have said to my father, thou art my Lord, my goodness extendeth not unto thee. But to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight.

Now here's what the Lord Jesus is saying, brethren. Father, what I'm doing in glorifying you is not adding to your glory. I didn't come into this world and die on this cross because you needed something. My goodness extendeth not unto thee. Now, if what the Lord Jesus did doesn't add to God, what makes us think that we can add to God? And what the Lord Jesus is saying, no, Father, my goodness is not extended unto thee, but for the excellent ones that are in the earth, the saints, but to the saints, they are the ones in whom I have delight.

I delight in showing to them mercy. I delight in revealing the glory of God to them. That's what Christ came to do. And all of his glory, all the glory of God is on, is on fullest, fullest display. Because it's going to be on display and we'll never, never be able to comprehend the fullness of his glory. But the fullest display of the glory of God ever known to man happened at Calvary's cross. His holiness, his righteousness, his justice, his love, his mercy, his immutability to keep his promises, his faithfulness, fullest display at Calvary's cross.

There is a God with whom we must do. Oh, what must I do? Change your thoughts about God. Ask God to show himself and your thoughts will be changed. And they will continue to need to be changed the rest of your time in this world because we're going to have a low view of God long as we live. and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who himself is the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and your only hope of being complete is to be found in him. All right, Tom. What's the number again? 37 in the heart, back, temple. Let's stand together, number 37. We'll skip the second verse, just verses 1, 3, and 4.

Our God is Too Small

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Our God is Too Small

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