Bible
Study – Tough Questions (2) – Is There
a GOD? – December 8, 2019
This is lesson two (2) in our series
entitled “Answers to Tough Questions.”
Our focus scripture is Psalm 19:1-6;
111:7-10.
GOD has given us ways to know HE
exists.
Many years ago, I struggled with “Is
there a GOD?”
GOD must be experienced through an intimate, personal relationship with JESUS CHRIST.
My struggle happened after a little
boy wandered away from his home in December. It was the warmest day but the
coldest night. They found the little fellow that next morning with a tear
frozen to his cheek. I wrote GOD off. But guess what? GOD did not write me off.
It took me awhile to come around that there was a GOD. What caught my attention first was the order of the
universe. The universe did not come about by random probability but there was
order. The seasons and the movement of the sun, etc. Then this led to our
children being born. It is a miracle that the sperm and egg can come together
and grow a baby with its finger, toes and detail of nerves, blood flow and all
that it takes to create a person. Then I thought about my own body and how
wonderfully it was made. How someone could touch me any place on my body and I
would know it. I thought about our senses and that it was amazing that we can
eat and our food provides energy and nutrients for our body and when all is
said and done only GOD could design all that is necessary for humans to exist.
The Bible gives us the attributes of
GOD. The Bible tells us about GOD but HE guides us to discover HIM. Life is a
journey of discovery and when you earnestly seek GOD, HE delights in it. When
we earnestly seek GOD, it personalizes our relationship with HIM. I am 82 years
old and have been building an intimate, personal relationship with GOD since I
was about 9 years old. There have been many ups and downs but one thing sure
and two things certain, GOD never abandoned me regardless of what I was going
through. I have found that GOD never led me over or around many issues in life
but right through the middle. When I came out on the other end, I was stronger.
What does that do? It builds
relationship. GOD desires to be our very best friend. When GOD is our bestie,
we share the most intimate and secret things in our lives with HIM. Hold back
nothing. Be honest with GOD because HE already knows.
Every born-again Christian can write a
Psalm. What Psalm would you write? Let’s continue to explore!
Let’s read Psalm
19:1-6:
The
Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A
psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the
glory of God,
and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[a]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[b] has gone out to the whole
earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming from his home;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to
their other end;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
This Psalm was written by David.
He sees GOD in nature. Nature communicates the Glory of GOD to mankind. The
Apostle Paul confirms this in Romans 1:20 - 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and
divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world,
being understood through what he has made. As a result, people
are without excuse.
People can imagine all sorts of things but GOD speaks truth
through nature. But we are not to worship nature but worship GOD Who created
nature.
Moses spoke to GOD, when GOD called him to lead the Israelites out
of Egypt as recorded in Exodus 3:1-6 - Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law
Jethro,[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the
wilderness and came to Horeb,[b] the mountain of God. 2 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within
a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed.
3 So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this
remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him
from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
“Here I am,” he
answered.
5 “Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals
from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then
he continued, “I am the God of your father,[c] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid
his face because he was afraid to look at God.
GOD gets our attention
any way HE can for the purpose of revealing Himself.
Moses pressed GOD to
tell him HIS name. HE did, as recorded in Exodus 3:13-15: 13 Then
Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God
of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what
shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”[a] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also
said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,[b] 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, and thus I am to be
remembered throughout all generations.
Later, Moses wanted to
see GOD but GOD told him in Exodus 33:17-23: 17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do,
for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will
proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will
show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see
me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on
the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the
rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my
face shall not be seen.”
GOD revealed Himself
in the flesh through the birth of JESUS. Do you want to know GOD; then accept
JESUS as your Savior and you will. Through the miracle of Spiritual rebirth,
you become GOD’S Son or Daughter, have eternal life and you become a citizen of
GOD’S Kingdom.
So, who is GOD? You
will never figure HIM out but you can build the right relationship by asking
JESUS to forgive you for your sins and for JESUS to come into your heart. That
is the beginning of building that Spiritual relationship with HIM.
Psalm 111 is an
acrostic poem. An acrostic poem is a poem in which the initial letters of each successive line form a
word, phrase, or pattern. The acrostic Psalms tend to
use the twenty-two letters with a few slight variations, of the Hebrew
alphabet - the first word of the first verse
beginning with aleph, the first word of the second verse beginning with bet,
and so on.
Let’s read Psalm 111:7-10:
The works of his hands are truth and justice;
all his instructions are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and
ever,
enacted in truth and in uprightness.
9 He has sent redemption to his people.
He has ordained his covenant forever.
His name is holy and awe-inspiring.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his instructions[b] have good insight.
His praise endures forever.
These words are an expression of GOD and Who HE is.
The “fear” of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. This is not being afraid of
GOD but honoring and showing GOD respect and honor. Through reading and
studying GOD’S Word one reads that through faith in JESUS, a born-again
Christian has an eternal covenant with GOD. GOD gives the Holy Spirit to every born-again
Christian as a security deposit that he or she is secure as a Child of GOD and
has eternal life.
At the instant of salvation, the born-again believer
needs to feed on the milk of GOD’S Word through study, talking to GOD in prayer
and putting into action as he or she is led by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
It is an awesome journey. You will be sanctified as
you journey through life. Blessings!!!
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