Who Is God?

Introduction

    Today is the first Sunday of Lent.  As we continue our forty day preparation for Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I want us to spend these days pondering three questions.  These questions are not original to me for they are timeless questions.  In fact, these questions are pondered in Bishop Ruben Job’s new book Three Simple Questions: Knowing the God of Love, Hope, and Purpose.  The three simple questions are: “Who is God?”, “Who am I?”, and “Who are we together?”
    During Lent our book club will be meeting on Thursday afternoons at noon to discuss Three Simple Questions.  So if you would like to continue the conversation we begin on Sunday morning with my sermon, then you are all welcomed to do so at the book club.
    Today on this first Sunday of Lent, I want us to ponder the first question, “Who is God?”
    This is a timeless questions.  Folks have been trying to figure out the answer from the time folks began figuring.  Over the past two weeks on my trip to Israel, I saw historic evidence from 10,000 years ago where people were trying to answer the question “Who is God?”  Some of these sites went back to the bronze age.  They were places where people would sacrifice animals hoping to please and gain favor with their tribal gods.  Some of these sites went back to the Old Testament.  I stood on Mount Carmel and saw where the Prophet Elijah went to war against the Prophets of Baal.  Elijah was able to prove that his God was far more powerful and real than the false and impotent god Baal. 
    Last week I saw historic churches that dated back to the early days of Christianity.  For nearly 2000 years Christians and tourists have visited these churches as a way to connect with God. 
    I learned so much on my Holy Land trip, but this morning the one lesson that comes to mind is this--We all have a god in our life. 
    All of us have something in our life that serves as god.  Even the atheists who reject the idea of any supernatural deity have something that serves as god in their life.  Even the agnostic who doubts or believes we can’t really know if there is a supernatural deity have something that serves as god in their life.
    All of us have something in our life that serves as god.  It might be fame. It might be fortune.  It might be power.  Your god might look at you every morning in the mirror as you comb your hair and brush your teeth.  All of have something in our life that serves as god.
    When it comes down to it, what we think of god-that is how we answer the question “Who is God?”, shapes how we live. 
    This book is on my to read list, so I’ve yet to read it; however, I guess I can still agree with a man whose book I’ve yet to read.  But several years ago the late Christian scholar JB Phillips penned his famous book Your God is Too Small.  Like I said this Christian classic is on my to read list, but I bet some of you all have read this book or you’ve at least heard of it.  But I think JB Phillips was right because I know so many people whose god is too small.
    Let me share what Bishop Rueben Job has to say about this.  He writes:

    Far too often we are content with a god too small to be Creator of all that exists.      We are content with our own form of a “tribal god” that belongs to us rather than     a God who belongs to no one but who gives love, grace, and blessings to     everyone. (Three Simple Questions, page 17).

    Is your god small enough to fit in a box?  Is your god a god just large enough for you to limit and control?  Is your god a god who is just large enough to fit your agenda. 

    Or consider this:

    Far too often we are content with a god too tame and domesticated to shake us to the very roots of our being and send us out of worship trembling in aw and amazement, clearly headed in a radical and countercultural direction.

    Is your god tame enough to leave you comfortable?  Is your god sophisticated enough to enjoy garden parties and an active member of your favorite social club?  Is your god a good boy? (Job, 17).

    Or consider this:

    Far too often we are content with a god who offers a band-aid for our wounded souls rather than the God of radical mercy, justice, and love--who forgives our sins and wipes them away just as soon as we offer that same forgiveness to those who may have wronged us; who not only forgives our sins but also heals our wounded souls, mends our broken relationships, and sends us on our way full of hope, confidence, trust, and strength to transform the world by living in the kingdom of God already being formed “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Job, 17).
   
    Is your god simply a band-aid or an aspirin?  Is your god just a feel good friend?  Is your god too small?

    “Who is God?”  The way we answer this question shapes the way we live.  As Christians we have a unique understanding of God.  As Christians we have a unique answer to the question “Who is God?” 
    We find this answer in scripture, the inspired Word of God.  Listen again to the scripture we heard this morning from Hebrews chapter 1.

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

    For Christians we can answer the question “Who is God?” by looking at Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews recalls how in the past God was revealed to us as word.  God spoke.  God was a revealed voice.  But for Christians we believe...:The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
    For Christians we can answer the question “Who is God?” by believing God is revealed unto us as Jesus Christ.  If we want to know who God is all we must do is look at Jesus. 
    The writer of Colossians has this to say about God:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
    These are some of my favorite verses of scripture.  These verses speak of grander, magnificence, and power.  These verses speak of a great, big, powerful God.  These verses speak of a god that isn’t too small.  These verses speak of a God that can’t be controlled, tamed, and manipulated to fit our personal needs and agendas.  These verses speak of a God of amazing love, hope, and purpose.

    The writer of Colossians continues:

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

    Wait.  Let me read that last part again...”by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
   
    I think the question “Who is God?” is very appropriate as we begin Lent.  Lent is the season in which we prepare for Easter.  I also like to think of Lent as a season of journey.  During Lent we traverse from the Mount of Transfiguration, the great tall peak where God’s divine glory in Jesus Christ was revealed for just a moment to the disciples Peter, James, and John to a little hill known as Golgotha, skull hill, where God shed his blood on the cross.
    Yes I think “Who is God?” is very appropriate as we begin Lent.  Lent calls us to consider the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of God in Christ.  Lent reveals to us who God really is.  Lent reveals to us the God who showed his love to all creation in that he died for us while we were yet sinners.  It is the cross that ultimately tells us who God is.
    But Lent will also answer the questions “Who am I?” and “Who are we together?”

So this morning I want to conclude this sermon by asking...”Who is your god?”