Exodus 34:29-35 Matthew 22:34-40

Imagine with me for a moment that you are attending a convention in Chicago. You are at a rather plush hotel there and your day went well, but there is nothing for you to do in the evening. Rather than go back to your room and just sit and watch television, you go to the bar for a drink. While you are sitting at the bar, an attractive person of the opposite sex comes up and sits beside you and begins to chat with you. You get talking because you like to talk about yourself. The next thing you know, you wake up in your hotel bathtub. Your body is packed with ice and there is blood in the water. There is a clock on the side of the bathtub and a cell phone with a note. The note says, “Do not get up out of the bathtub or you will die. You've got twenty one minutes to call 911 and get help.” So you reach over to the cell phone that's on the edge of the bathtub and you pick it up and dial 911. Desperately, you call for help. The operator on the other end says, “Yes, there is a band of organ thieves and they probably have stolen your kidney. Don't move. We will be there right away.” What would you do while you waited? Would you kick yourself for going to the bar? Would you wish that you didn't drink? Would you wish you weren't attracted to the opposite sex? Or would you pray? I am urging everybody to pray when there is a crisis. But you know, that is easy sometimes, isn't it? Rev. David Nasser says that we turn to God to the degree that we perceive how much He loves us. Do you perceive that God loves you so much that you would turn to Him in prayer in a crisis situation? When else would you pray to Him? How often do you think of Him and is He the center of your life? That is our #1 priority.

What is your view of God? Psychologists tell us that frequently our view of God is determined by the parents who raised us, specifically our fathers. So if we have a good father, we might think of God in a benevolent way. If we had a father that wasn't so hot, we may have a less approachable view of God. I read a book years and years ago that impressed me greatly. That book was by J. B. Phillips and the name of it is Your God Is Too Small. In it, he said that we have multiple views of God. Some people view God as a cop hiding behind a billboard ready to catch you in your sin. The book said that some people view God as a judge ready to punish you. We are standing in front of a black robed God and He's ready to pronounce sentence upon you. Last week, we read&by your words you will be acquitted or by your words you will be condemned. So is that your only view of God, that He is the great judge? Phillips says some people view God as a waiter. I can put my order in. After all, Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in my name it will be given to you,” so why don't we put our order in and constantly ask for things in His name? Basically, we want to say, “Gimme, gimme, gimme.” That is human nature. So do we view God as a waiter to wait on us? Some people view God as a grandfather figure, kind of warm and fuzzy but retired. Maybe not too involved in our lives but fun to visit on Sunday.

So how are we supposed to see God so we approach Him frequently? How do we know who God is and what He is like? Philip, the apostle, asked Jesus this at the last supper. He said, “Jesus, when are you going to show us the Father?” And Jesus' answer was, “Philip, how long have I been with you and you do not know me?” Listen to how Jesus worded it. “Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.' And Jesus said, 'Don't you know me, Philip? Even after I have been with you for such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you are not just my own. Rather it is the Father living in me who is doing the work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles that I show you themselves.'” How do we know who God is? We know God by knowing Jesus Christ. It is that simple. How do we know who Jesus Christ is? By studying His Word. By inviting Him to live within us. By finding Him in other Christians. It is all about the relationship. The more we have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the more we know God the Father. It is really fairly simple. What are some of the images of Jesus in the Bible that are given so that we understand who God is? He is a father. He's a bridge. He loves to pull us under His wings like a hen would pull in her chicks. He wants us to trust like children in order to know Him and relate to Him. He is a friend but He is also a person who was crucified and gave His life for us. Therefore, He is a loving God  an amazingly loving God ready to forgive and accept us.

Don't some people approach God as we approached romance as a teenager? Have you ever thought about this, that&He loves me, He loves me not (pulling apart a daisy)? He loves me, He loves me not. Did you say that as a teen? Did you think about a boyfriend or a girlfriend that way? She loves me, She loves me not. Sometimes when things are going well in our life, we say, “Ah, God loves me. I got the raise I wanted.” “I was in a car accident. He loves me not.” “I gave birth to a child. God loves me.” “My child got sick. God loves me not.” Do we look at God that way? God doesn't want us to approach Him that way. God doesn't want us to be that simplistic. Again, He wants us to view Jesus Christ. As we see Jesus Christ, we can keep our flower together. We don't have to tear it apart because we understand the whole picture. If we understand who Jesus is, and we understand how we can relate to Jesus, then we know God. And as we invite Jesus into our life through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we really begin to know God. And we can really put Him in our life. This is a wonderful thing! We don't necessarily only go to Him when there is a crisis. We go to Him every day. We go to Him in spare moments. We go to Him when we are having fun. We go to Him when there are joys in our life. And we thank Him and we praise Him. We acknowledge the fact that He is present with us and always near us, that He is able to help us through any event of life. He is able to share the joys in life. When we have crises in life, it is not His fault. Frequently they are self-made because of our choices. We understand He's always with us through these crises. He will be there when we need Him. Yet at the same time, He's there through every good thing in our life, too. In other words, God wants us to have such a close relationship with Him that we are constantly aware of His presence, His friendship, His love for us. The cross is the symbol of that. The cross is the symbol of God's great love for each and every one of us. Paul said we can't even fathom the height or the depth of the love of God that He has for us when we need Him but it is revealed in Christ Jesus. So that is what we need to focus on. Knowing the love of God is a great privilege. Being loved by God is our greatest pleasure.