GTM speaker Durrell Brown is discussing the topic of who God is and what we should know and understand about him. Durrell mentions that there is much information in Scripture about God and his attributes. Durrell also talks about how God is the creator and that we are in the process of becoming His offspring. He references a passage in Acts that talks about how in God we live and move and have our being. Our GTM speaker mentions that some believed in God and some caused trouble because of the proclamation that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.
A pleasant good Sabbath evening to all of you in the listening audience. It certainly is a pleasure to be able to speak to you this evening. My subject is God is. For some reason I was inspired to do a study on who God is and what we should know about him and understand about him so that we can please him. I was amazed when I saw how much in the scripture deals with God and creator and that he is in Acts the 17th chapter beginning in verse 28.
We see that, let me see if I can see it. For in him we live and move and have our being. That is an amazing proclamation on the part of God. In him we move and have our being. As some of the poets among you also have said, for we are his offspring. Now we have learned that earlier in the teachings in our group that God is birthing sons of God. And we are in place to become the first fruits of this noble experiment.
So God is. And we are going to see as we approach the scriptures that describe him and what he has been doing in the earth realm since creation. He is an amazing God. And we are going to look at some of his attributes. I was just amazed at how much information, and I've been studying the Bible and reading it for a long time, but I was just amazed at how much is said about God and who he is and what he is and what he is going to accomplish.
And the fact that we have been called and chosen at this time to understand him in his fullness. There are over 2,500 mentions about God, who he is, what he's like, and what he is accomplishing and what he's been doing since eternity. The 17th chapter here of Acts tells us in verse 28, in him we live and move and have our being. That is an amazing proclamation. When we understand that God is, he has always existed, and he has a great, awesome plan that since eternity he's been putting into effect.
And we find ourselves at this particular juncture on the broad expanse of eternity at one of the most monumental points in the very plan of God. Because we come to understand that we are made in his image and our goal is to submit ourselves to be grown into beings just like his son. What an awesome thing to comprehend. That at this point in the expanse of eternity past and eternity future, that we have been called at this particular juncture to be given the opportunity to become the first fruits of his creation and become like he is.
God is, for in him, verse 28, we live and move and have our being as some of the poets among you also have said, for we are his offspring. That is an amazing proclamation, an amazing thought that we are the offspring of God. Now, here in this 17th chapter, we see that the Apostle Paul is journeying and being escorted. And back up in verse 2 of chapter 17 of Acts, and as was the custom with Paul, he went into them for three Sabbaths.
He went in Thessalonica there for three Sabbaths and reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, expounding and demonstrating that it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and testifying this Jesus who he was proclaiming to them is the Christ. Some of them were convinced. Some of them, their minds apparently were open and they were convinced and joined themselves, Paul and Silas, including a great multitude of the devout Greeks and of the chief women, not a few, but the unbelieving Jews caused a ruckus and not much success was there.
And when they did not find him, they dragged Jason, verse 6, and certain of the brethren before the magistrates, crying out, those who have set the whole world in confusion have come here also. So the proclamation that God was working and that Jesus Christ was the Son of God caused quite a stir. Those who have set the whole world in confusion have come here and whom Jason had received and these, all this was contrary to the decrees of Caesar saying that there is another king, Jesus.
So we see there was a lot of uncertainty there and they had to secure Jason and get Paul out of there. Verse 10, then the brethren immediately sent away by night to Berea, both Paul and Silas, who when they arrived, went into the synagogue of the Jews. And verse 11, now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica for they received the word with all readiness of mind examine the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
And a great number of them believed and among the honorable Greeks as well received the message that God is and that he has a great plan of salvation. So there was trouble beginning there, so they secreted Paul away and we go down to verse 16, but while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he saw that the city was wholly given to idolatry and his spirit was sorely moved within him. Being as converted as he was and understanding and having experiencing the problems of preaching, the fact that God is caused him to have a lot of persecution.
Now then, verse 18, then some of the philosophers of the Epicureans and the Stoics encountered him and some of them said, what will this babbler have to say? And some said he seems to be a preacher of foreign gods because he was preaching to them. The gospel of Jesus and the resurrection and they took him and brought him to Mars Hill saying, may we know what this new teaching is that is spoken by you. For you're bringing certain strange things to our ears, so then we desire to know what these things mean.
Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning among them spent their leisure in nothing other than to tell and to hear something new. They had a lot of time on their hands and they were wealthy enough that they could do this. Spent a lot of time talking about things that were new. Then Paul stood in the center of Mars Hill. I've often thought what it would be like to have been there, to see Paul as he made his way into this area and approach the center of Mars Hill and address the men there, the Athenians.
He said, I perceive that in all things you are very reverent to deities. As I was passing through and observing the objects of your veneration, I also found an altar on which was inscribed to the unknown God. So then he whom you worship in ignorance is the one I proclaim to you. It's an amazing thing that the Apostle Paul was that observant and was willing and led by God to make this interaction with the Stoics and the Epicureans.
He said, he is, verse 24, he is the God who made the whole world and all things that are in it because the Lord of heaven and earth, he does not dwell in temples made by hands, nor is he served by the hands of men as though he needs anything for he gives to all life and breath and all things. And he made of one blood all the nations of men to dwell upon the face of the earth, having determined beforehand their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling in order that they may seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel him and might find him, though truly he is not far from each one of us.
I have thought of a number of places I would love to have been and observed what went on as various of the Apostles, Paul and others, interacted with the people that God was attempting to call, whose minds were open. Verse 27, verse 28, for in him we live and move and have our being as some of the poets among you have said, for we are his offspring. So God is and we come to understand that we are his offsprings.
Back in Genesis we come to see that we have been created in the image of God, this awesome part of his process. God is doing a wonderful thing here. Over 2,500 times, and I was amazed to realize that, and I've been reading the Bible and studying the Bible for a long time, but I was amazed to see that over 2,500 times, God is mentioned in Scripture, who he is and what he has been doing since eternity.
It is an amazing concept that so many of our wise men and people who have great giftedness, who actually read the Bible, who are scientists and who have observed things in the heavens, and it's amazing they have come to understand so much about this universe, but they can't bring themselves through their logic and reasoning to be forced to conclude with all of the billions of stars and galaxies that something awesomely powerful has to be behind all that is.
When we look at, right out of my mind, when we look at Job, who was one of the wise men of his age, amazingly understood many of the scientific principles that our scientists yet have not come to understand and see. I marvel at the fact that they can come so close to being forced to conclude that God is, but somehow their minds will not allow them to make that step. When you look out into the universe, hundreds of billions of stars and galaxies, there is no explanation for it other than there has to be some being that has that power to do that kind of creation.
So we see from scripture that God is. Some over 2,500 times here in the word of God, we see who God is and that he is the creator of all things. He spoke the universe into existence. In Ecclesiastes 3.14, that's back on 8.36, in the faithful version, let's go there and see what is said here. 3 and verse 14. I know that whatever God does, this is verse 14 of Ecclesiastes 3, I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it and God does it so that man should fear before him. So that's an amazing thing that we learn about God. He has created this awesome universe. Awesome things, unbelievable stuff is going on out there and we now have a telescope. We have a number of telescopes helping us to see the awesomeness of God's creation and what he is doing and has been doing since eternity. I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it. God does it so that man should fear before him. That which has been is now and that which is to be has already been and God requires an account of that which is past. Here we see part of what the gospel is about. We have to give account for what we understand and what we see and understand that God is doing in this earthly realm. That which has been is now and that which is to be has already been and God requires an account of that which is past.
That's an amazing revelation as to how God is dealing with those of us who have been created in his image. We understand that God is and that we have created. We are the only creatures that have been created in his image and we understand that in his awesomeness, in his glorification of who he and what he is, he will create continuously. He is that loving and kind to continue being in his image. Verse 17 of Ecclesiastes 3 here.
I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked for there is a time there for every purpose or every work. I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of men, may God reveal to them that they might see that they themselves are but beasts. But God has a great plan to change all of that and grow us into beings like his son. We see in Ecclesiastes 1.4 The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanity says the preacher. Vanity of vanity, all is vanity. What profit does a man have in all his labor which he labors under the sun? One generation passes away and another comes, but there it remains forever. The sun also rises and the sun goes down and hurries it to its place, etc. I forgot what I was going to say about that. But this is all God's doing. And the circumstances in the universe that are perfectly working is a proof that God is.
To have all of these billions of galaxies, obviously a pattern that only a God could design, rotating out there, suns, galaxies. And what is so amazing about it, we've come to see that whole galactic systems are going into black holes. That's an interesting concept. It appears that God is recycling His creation into black holes. Nothing seems to be coming out. It gives me some level of understanding what the end of the fallen angels will be. If they're all dragged into, thrown into a bottomless pit.
God concludes His pronunciation of what happens after this phase of His creation process has been brought to a close. That those who do not grow sufficiently in grace and in knowledge and become like His Son, Jesus Christ, will end up destroyed and the fallen angels who have sinned will be cast away into a bottomless pit. So it's amazing how much wisdom we come to see and understand as we see that God is and what His master plan is.
That it will not cease after these phases of it that we have come to at this point in our existence. But going back to the fact that God is, we see what He has been doing since eternity past. And we see what He is going to do forever. He's going to create a new heaven and a new earth. The old will pass away. I have wondered, and I think I see the answer, I have wondered, those who are not called at this juncture, who come up in the second resurrection as physical entities, to what extent, since they have died once and been resurrected, to what extent will they be able to remember things that they experienced in their first life? We know that our sins, as we repent of them, are covered and wiped off of our chart.
When we are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the first resurrection, as first fruits, will we be able to go back and revisit some of the activities in God's plan that took place that maybe we experienced and that the other generations experienced? Those, our sins, once we repent of them, are erased and not held against us. We don't have to worry about them. I ask the question, what happens to those who come up in the vitro judgment, who were never called, who are going to be given an opportunity for salvation? We, as those who are part of the first fruits creation, will become the bride of Christ and assist him in bringing into the kingdom of God not only the millennial generations, but those who come up in the white throne judgment.
I wonder, and I have not seen yet, how much will they remember of their past lives? Since they were not called at that time, this will be their first opportunity for salvation. I wonder what will Uriah the Hittite, when he reads what David did to him, will he have that memory when he comes up in that resurrection? I wonder if we will be able to go back and revisit some of the activities that shaped the earth and God used to bring, not only those of us who are hoping to be in the first resurrection, will we be able to remember, what will we remember? Because once we repented of sins, God cast them away, as far as they could be cast, and erased those things from our record.
So I have a lot of questions about God's plan and just what we will be doing, because God is, and he is a rewarder of them, who will be in the first resurrection. Because God is, and he is a rewarder of them, who diligently seek him. John, the third chapter, verse 16, we read that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son to die for us. You can't beat that concept of love.
Are we willing to give our lives, as Christ did? I toy with the idea that perhaps in some future galaxy, we, after this course is finished, may have an opportunity to do a similar thing that Christ did for us. But God is, and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. At this juncture, our thoughts are not his thoughts, but we are exhorted to put on Christ, and put on his mind, let us put on Christ, and put on his mind, let his very mind dwell in us, and be grown through our efforts, and the empowerment of God's Holy Spirit to become just like Christ.
So that we can have a part in this great, awesome, creative process where he's going to bring multiple billions of beings created in his image into the kingdom of God. And after all of that is finished, he's going to start over with something that is unimaginable to us at this time. What a great God we serve. He is a great God. He is God. Deuteronomy 7, 9, let's go back there and pick it up again. Deuteronomy 7, 9.
Therefore, know that the Lord your God, he is God. The faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. And he repays those who hate him to their face to destroy them. He will not be slow to repay him who hates him. He will repay him to his face. God is love, but this is the way he deals with sin. You shall therefore keep the commandments and the statutes, verse 11, chapter 17 of Deuteronomy 6, 7 rather.
You shall therefore keep the commandments and the statutes and the judgments and which I command you today to do them. And it will come to pass if you hearken to these judgments to keep and practice them, then the Lord your God shall keep with you the covenant and the mercy, which he swore to your fathers. And he will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your hand, land, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep in the land which he swore to your fathers to give to you.
You shall be blessed above all people. There shall not be a male or female barren among you and your lifestyle. And the Lord will take away from you all sickness and will put none of these evil diseases of Egypt, which you know upon you, but he will lay them all upon all who hate you. It's amazing the awesomeness of God's plan. And. Who he is. He is God and there's no none like him. He is. King.
And he is forever being. He is a helper for me and everyone who trusts in him. He is our salvation. He is a father to all the fatherless. He is a judge. He is greatly to be praised. He is a merciful God. He is a merciful God. He is the Lord. He is awesome. He is majestic. He is righteous. And above all, he is love. He is holy. He is rich in mercy. Great in love. And he is a jealous God.
I had forgotten about that until I saw that again. He is a jealous God. He is holy. And he is love. He is an awesome God. Who has given us the opportunity to live with him forever. Scripture says God is. And he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. We go back to the beginning in Genesis 1. I'm getting close to time to close here. Genesis 1, we go back. I'm just amazed. In the beginning.
In beginning, God. We have to stop right there and ponder the awesomeness of that statement. God is. The statement of this book. About God and all that he's doing. It's an amazing work, isn't it? How many pages? I had it written down here. How many pages there are in the book? Can't see it. God. The father and the son. Formulated in their mind this plan. And in the beginning. God created heavens and the earth. What an amazing being he is.
And for the purpose he has created it. We come to a point. When we come to see. 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8 1 John 4.8
