Lectures on God

So we've been talking about God from the last time we met, and we are trying to build some facts about this God thing, or this idea that Christian propagandists have a unique, independent, personal belief of God. And who is He, how He operates, and what He does in our society today. And so it was important to us to agree that there is God, since we have tried to speak to some argument about His existence. Although we understand that we can't 100% understand God, but to an extent we can be able to argue for the existence of a complete being. From the facts of faith, and from the facts of what we see in our society in general. And so our society and life in general do portray some truth about the existence of God. And so today we want to build it from understanding the personal view of God in terms of His privacy, identifying Him. And the way to do that is to ask God, who are you? Because we know names are very important. We have those things we call nicknames, and each one of us has a nickname. When you grow in the room you have a nickname. Maybe in town I don't know. But there is something that people see you to be, and then they give you an identity with it. And that identity is coming in terms of names. Names are very good in privacy. And whenever we are given a name in the room, sometimes we need to understand what does that name mean to the person who is giving it to us. It may mean a lot. Sometimes I may name my daughter, my mother, in the name of my mother. It means a lot to me. It may not mean a lot to you who are the name. But the person to whom the name is given, there is a lot that is coming out. And so what we are trying to say is that whenever we speak about God in terms of a name, we are portraying some identity of God. We are describing God in a certain way because we all know that names have attachment to something that they reveal. They talk to us about something on that person. So in many times when we are talking about God or we are talking about a personal being of a person, naming it becomes very important because it portrays an identity of that kind of a person. So in many ways we understand God in terms of name. Now we have two categories of names that God holds. One category is the category of self-identity. What did God say about himself in terms of a name? Then the other category is what do people see or say when they relate with God? Because the minute you realize that some names are relational, they are given to you because you have a personal relationship with somebody. And so they give you a descriptor, something that describes you, who you are. And these days I think we use several terminologies to describe a relationship. Maybe there is a honey, or there is a daddy, or there is something. You are an attachment to somebody and then in that relationship you describe that person in terms of what you give that person as an identity name. So naming is very important in this society. So when we talk about an identity, then we are talking about putting somebody with some kind of a particular name. So the question that we have in the Old Testament, which I believe many of you have with Dr. Kisoi, or Reverend Kisoi, is what name did God give himself? How did God describe himself? What identity did God give himself? And maybe this is a good time to reflect a little bit on that, because we need to have good knowledge of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Which name did God give himself? Who is God? If you ask your God, what is your name? What is God's answer to any of the Old Testament studies that you have, or any of your learning? What name did God give himself? Yes? He gave himself the name Ayan. Any other questions for any one of us? What is your name? Ayan. Is that a root? It is a root in the South. It means in the Middle East. Ayan. Can I ask you, what is your name? Is it Ayan? What would be the Hebrew context of the Ayan today? What does that mean? What was God trying to tell the children of Israel about himself? Who is he in the context of the Ayan? Again, let's go back to the question. What term did we use? Yahweh? Speaking about Ayan. In the Old Testament, a kind of a terminology used, tetragrammaton. The Y-W-H-W. Remember those in the Old Testament studies? So that there is that Y-W something, and then you add another Y, and then it becomes Yahweh. Consonants are two things. You use the tetra, and then it becomes Yahweh. How much do they all cost in Greece? Those who have come to the original temple, do you want to go back to them now? Because you didn't. In a sense, what is Ayan? What does that imply about God? Say that again. He is present. He speaks to who he is at the point. His name means He is. Remember when we were talking about God in creation, and how God is outside of time. How when we are talking about seasons, and we are talking about January through whatever, we are talking about the period of time. The time concept is outside of God. God is not bound by time. So any time thing does not describe who God is. God is described outside of time. To an extent that past, present, and future, that is a drift in God's future mind. His mind is here now, because past, present, and future is His own creation while He is at the present. So He is God now, regardless of past, present, and the future, because He is outside of time. Time doesn't bound Him. In the exact way, to the Jewish history, because the Jewish are not people who are coming from Egypt, and there is a history that they are coming out with. They were people at one time created by God. Then through the Genesis story, they went into Egypt. And the Exodus story is now bringing them out of Egypt into a place called Canaan. So they are in the wilderness, and so they are asking Moses, they were just coming for interaction with God, and they asked God, Who are you? So God needs to bring from history to present, to the future in place. That who are you? Now, I am here. And that's what it means. I was there, and I will be there, and for now I am here. And so I am. So that's the concept that I am very keen in understanding this world here. One of the implications of that is, God does not have a beginning or an end. Because He is. And because He is, and He is not bound by time, He does not have the beginning of being born. He does not have an end of death. In other words, He will continue to be, because He is. There is no bound of time with God. That's another critical part of what God is trying to reveal to us, even as we talk about His identity in naming. So what we then think, when we look at God's name, or the naming of God, we are trying to consider the different context. The Jewish or the Hebrew people there. Why would their name become so important to them? Even as they ask God, Who are you? Or what is your name? Or even as God in His self-revelation disclosed Himself. I hear these days, people have already run away from TikTok, or at least we have been to Facebook. You have already gone to Instagram, right? Sometimes I also go there to find out what people are talking about. There are such things. When you meet some people, what comes to your mind as you want to break this kind of thought? What is your name? Who are you? Now, why is that important? If you are new here in our time, when you are young, when you meet somebody, you ask them, Who are you? Tell me your name. I don't know whether to say how old you are. Maybe today, because of social media. What do you do? How do you break into a discussion with somebody you meet? In this generation, that's what I am talking about. When one brings home, when we go back to the history of the Jewish people, and they meet God, or they find an encounter with God, then the name of God becomes very important to them. Now, let's break into this. So, how do you understand? How do you break into people's lives as you want to? You want to get a gift out of that. How do you break in? Maybe that helps. How do you guys break in? When you meet, maybe for the first time, over ice cream. Do you have ice cream there? Or, over some, a cup there. Why do you guys want to sit on a cup? You are sitting there a lot of times. You guys are sitting there. Why do you guys sit on a cup? Because up here, I don't go there much, so I don't know where you guys sit. Now, if you are sitting where you guys sit, and you find somebody there, and you want to break in, with some nice one like that. How do you break in? I'm not saying that's how you do, but how does generally people do, so that it does become possible? Break in. Somebody break in. You want to give a discussion, a talk. Somebody, maybe you don't fast, or you just eat. Somebody, maybe you don't fast, or you just eat. You start for long, eh? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? How long have you guys sat there for? I think that is common with all cultures. I think that is common with all cultures. Where people give names to things and to people based on relationship. Where people give names to things and to people based on relationship. Where people give names to things and to people based on relationship. Where people give names to things and to people based on relationship. It tells a little bit of a deeper something about the body, It tells a little bit of a deeper something about the body, because it is within relationship because it is within relationship that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody that you have a relationship with somebody God has always about me God has always about me because people are deprived by their actions so when you look at God in general when you look at God in general from the beginning we can know that God can be known in terms of impersonality and in these four ways God can be seen and known the concept that God has the capability of the capacity to know capacity to feel capacity to have self-decision or willingness to do things and the capacity to act and that can be described of God in terms of relationship that they have with each other if that happens it is very easy for somebody to describe you so how do you know each other so how do you know each other how do you know you know people in terms of a close relationship that you have with people the deeper you begin to know them because they begin to reveal themselves to you on what you need to know I know you have and one of the things that somebody reminded us is that we need to make these powerpoints available, which we will do because they are not hidden so you will be able to read some of those particular names that particular names that God has been given over time and what does that mean in terms of understanding who God is okay and those are the Yahweh and how this YHWH is called Tetragrammaton and how you add Adonai into it and now you can have Yahweh and you can have Jehovah because remember the name of God was not supposed to be mentioned anyhow and so they could not mention the word Yahweh they have to find a way of mentioning a name so they added a consonant of Adonai which means Lord and so they can have Yahweh and I trust that you had some good time understanding those in your own personal experience now understanding God as a person how does that help what implications do we then have in understanding God as a person for example these things are important because relationships require people to be personal engaged and so for God to be understood in terms of a person it means we are talking about relationship that we can relate with God in a personal way very personal way and that was what was happening in the Old Testament where God would come let us see what would happen in Genesis when God had created the Heaven and gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to be in Mirac that was the day and then in the evening of the day God would come and that's when one time when God came Adam and Eve are saying that they have run away from Him so that then means that the personal nature of God then makes God become a relational being we can't relate with God because He has a personal nature, personal being He can feel He has a will He can understand He has knowledge, that kind of things are very key in terms of relationship building so we can't relate with God because He is a personal being we say sometimes that the personal being is in spiritual form and our spirits we cannot touch them or see them but that personal being is very key that is the concept of who God is in terms of relationship when we are talking about Jesus as part of the Trinity, you see how that place becomes key when the church is saying that any kind of personal relationship with Jesus or with God is very key because of His personal nature what else does that say? somebody read for us number 2 again remember this is after Luke number 2 what does the personal nature of God imply? God let me approach it this way in a minute read the 4 comment on any one of them because I want us to engage I don't want us to be limited I want us to engage, read the 4 points in a few minutes, comment on any one of them as you understand it or as you feel take it as a prayer anyone responding? to any of the 4? what does it mean? what are the implications of the personal nature of God? very practical message very practical goal and the personal meaning of personal life and that one you better know because you know what AI is AI is a motivator and give an idea anyone want to comment on any one of those? the implications of God's personal meaning and maybe as you think about it we will be talking about this when we are talking about the Holy Spirit how people have taken the Holy Spirit in their heart? notice like a father remember we are talking about God we are talking about God the father so the 3 of them we are talking about so how do you see people like us relate to the concept of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit kind of seen as a father or the Holy Spirit is seen as a thing that I can hold on to throw it on you and then you are letting the Holy Spirit you begin doing all this let me be careful using all these things that I see is that the Holy Spirit? again I am not passing any judgment or any judge because I am one of them so one of the things we are trying to build in us is that God is a personal being we are not in a position to manipulate we can't manipulate because he is beyond us he is the creator he is outside of us he is not part of and part of creation he is outside of creation as much as he is making sure that creation works he is God up here and creation down there and they are the creation kind of thing now the challenge that is coming when we are talking about Christ is how then will humanity kill Christ and those kind of questions are yet to come how then does God become God and yet in a position that we can lay him on the cross those are paradoxes which we will deal with when we talk about Jesus but if we get there then we are saying we have a God who is personal in nature a God of relationship God of all knowing, loving and a good father he is unfathomable and he is somebody we can't talk to we cannot treat God for the purposes of what he can't do he is God so whether he does it to our expectation or not he is still God and this is where we talk about people who know God suffer we are talking about suffering and depression sometimes when we see people dying in accidents or maybe a car crash and some people say I don't believe in this God some people say God if you don't do this then he gives you very clear any last comment when you say that the fatherhood of God is a fatherly relationship are two different things definitely it means that this is something that God wants us to be a part of and the fatherhood is something of a punishment compared to this punishment of the confused and the punishment of the confused and about all the the the the the the the the and you are that's why because one of the things that maybe we might talk about is the justice of God and how this person who makes him again I think he uses this word seldom, this jealous of and has a relationship that somebody else has with his own and then try to find ways to bring back to himself you know and he rejoins that and then he rejoins back to what I was saying thank you God's justice and God's existence is way too hard to comprehend but when you bring up God's justice and but you think that you are disrupting the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the