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Leeds Vineyard

Love God - Who is he? What is he like? How can I know him?

Psalm 63:1-5

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
 
Does this resonate with you? Do we have time in our busy lives to have any sense of what this means? Yes we do. Especially when hard times come or something happens that allows us to stand back from the pre-occupations of day to day life.
 
We recognise this. In the Vineyard our first value is;
 
The Pursuit of God, “We are hungry to know His presence, hear His voice and follow hard after Him”.
 
When I invite you to “Love God” I am not suggesting that you add him to your Spottify playlist or that you invite him to become a Facebook friend. I don’t mean Love God in the same way that I love Lamb Balti with boiled rice or that I love to read a Grisham novel on my first day of a holiday.
 
I introduced the theme Love God, love people, love in action a few weeks ago as an invitation and a challenge. It’s a big deal. On the one hand we are desperate for that “richest of foods” and on the other hand we realise that to Love God is a major commitment, it involves life change.
 
Today this type of commitment is thought to be foolish.
Dita von Teese, the burlesque actress typified a more modern attitude when she said, after her failed marriage to Marilyn Manson, “I love the rituals of being married but if I marry again I would change the vows from “Till death us do part” to “I’m really in love with you right now.””


Our society does, however, tend to place great value on the commitment of a parent to a child (less so, perhaps, of a child to a parent). When a child is born we assume a lifelong relationship has begun. This is a commitment. There is an invitation, to child and to parent, get to know this new person and also, believe me, a challenge or two along the way. Building that relationship involves sacrifice.
 
Likewise, being a Christian is not just about turning up on a Sunday, giving some money and trying to be good. It is a commitment. It is an invitation into a relationship with a person. And this relationship is a major challenge. Jesus describes it as sacrificing your life in order to gain life.
 
Building a relationship with someone starts from the point of knowing only a little about them. The bible describes it as looking at a reflection in a dull surface where you can’t see clearly.
 
1 Corinthians 13: 12: Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror (mirrors weren’t very good then); then we shall see face to face.
 
We get to know our children better and there is that promise that one day we will know God better. We will see him clearly, and we will kneel and worship and know how much we have been forgiven. But we don’t know him very well to start with.
 
So it is perfectly legitimate for you to ask me, “You want me to love God. Well who is God? What is he like? How can I know him?”
 

Let’s try and define god first.

What do you think of when you think of God or a god? What comes to mind?
 
Many gods. Religious ones, cultural ones, material ones.

One of the ways of identifying a god is by how people react. If you consider someone or something worthy of your worship, if you moderate your behaviour when they are near, if your decisions are influenced by, if you give celebrity status to, if you give money to or sacrifice to, if you live in fear of or faith in – then the object of these feelings and behaviours is a god.
 

Modern idols and gods

If you think about my definition of knowing a god by the effect it has on people, I would say that examples of idols or non-religious gods in our society are:
  1. Football – many people think about football (I read last year that nearly 60 percent of British men mull over football for more than an hour a day). There are lots of football worshippers paying a lot of money, giving up their time, talking about it, wearing appropriate clothing and raising their hands as they sing songs.
  2. Fashion – last week it was announced in the fashion media that “Ozwald Boateng is a fashion god; there is no disputing it as a fact”. So there is a fashion god. Fashion and the fashion gods influence our behaviour and perspectives, dominate images that we see, take our money and receive our praise.
  3. Fame – there are people who have achieved some level of celebrity whose opinions are therefore sought as though fame = wisdom. We want to be like them – hence the proliferation of talent shows and reality TV.  
    Katie Price. “I'm so loud, as if I know what I'm on about, but deep inside, I'm so insecure. Just a little girl”.
  4. Financial success – financial success itself or people who have made it. Someone who has material wealth can sometimes evoke a worship-like response in people. Think of the success of Dragons Den. This is not a modern idol; James says in his letter, “My brothers, don’t show favouritism to the wealthy man who comes to church”.
  5. Atheism – there is a school of thought in our culture that elevates atheism to an idolatrous level. Regrettably, it often tries to drag along scientific and rational thought too.
  6. Nihilism – perversely, the truly modern person is encouraged to believe in nothing, or perhaps in everything, so long as this belief rests on faith in nothingness. It is the primal modern ideology, there is nothing out there to guide our lives. To be precise, this is nihilism (David Bentley-Hart).

Traditional religious gods

There are the traditional and obvious gods – Buddha, Allah, Vishnu, Vahiguru or the Shens of Chinese folk religion. Many of the religious people of the world broadly believe in one god but some religions allow a wide range of gods. These gods will have temples where they can be worshipped, people usually give money and gifts and they seek their gods in prayer for help and comfort when in need. The worship of gods usually implies a moral code of some sort too – a way of behaving.

Last year I knelt in a Buddhist temple in Pnom Penh amongst several praying Cambodians looking up at a large bronze statue of Buddha. Pressed into crevices and left on shelves were gifts of food and drink and money.
 
But Psalm 135:15-18 defines the problem well,
“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is their breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them”.
 

The God of Abraham

The dominant religious God in our culture is the God of the Jewish, Christian and Moslem religions. All three of these religions describe their God as the God of Abraham. In the UK much of our culture and society is based on and influenced by our Christian heritage. Think of Christmas and Easter (whether or not people know what they mean). We make jokes about walking on water. Our national anthem starts with “God save” … and many of the songs sung on our sporting terraces are hymns. The prevailing religious icon of our culture is the cross. And we swear using his name. This is a cultural God.
 
You get the picture; some gods are very present idols. Others are distant deities or cultural habits. They provide us with a way of interpreting our lives and trying to find meaning and a narrative.
 
But neither our modern idols nor cultural religion nor the gods of antiquity satisfy our basic needs for meaning, purpose, home, relationship with our creator.
 

Who are these gods?

 

I have described how most gods appear to us. Some are ancient religious idols, other are modern ones: fame, football, fashion, fast cars and big houses. For some it is the embedded Christianity of our culture.

 

What are these gods like?

 
I read a description of what happens when Peter Andre, of ex-Katie Price fame, does a CD signing.
“When he appears in public, he is mobbed. At a signing in Asda in Bexleyheath, the queue to meet him snakes around the car park: there are pensioners in wheelchairs, nervous gay teenagers, adolescent girls and single mums.- all of whom have a sad story to tell. “I love you too”, he keep saying, “you’re beautiful, it’s going to be OK”. Some fans are so dazed they leave behind the CD they have just bought. The impression is of devotees coming to see an icon.” (The Week 13 November 2010).

These idols, whether they are objects in a temple or icons of the screen, are dumb, blind and deaf. They can’t hear or see us and have nothing to offer beyond platitudes. If you think a celebrity is a god, just wait until they say something.


How can I know a god?

 

You can’t, not idols and gods like this, not in a personal, relational way. These are gods that suck up our emotions, energy and money but, when our heart cries out in the privacy of our anguish and desperation, these gods go silent. The Buddha is mute.

 

But our God is awesome

I have fantastic news though. The God of the Christian faith is very different.
The God whom we worship does speak.
Our God wants to know you and for you to know him.

 

How do we know this? In many ways:

  • The story of the bible;
  • Personal experience;
  • Philosophical discovery.

But the main way in which God makes himself known to us is through a human being. 2000 years ago a man was born miraculously and claimed to be the Son of God. His life went on to demonstrate the truth of that extraordinary claim.

When we get to know Jesus we get to know God, His Father – that is why we are called Christians, followers of Christ, because Jesus is the way to God and by following Him and believing in Him we connect with God.

 

Who is God?

Although man constructs idols and worships various gods, the big debate is over who created the world.

In his latest book, The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking’s has been widely quoted as saying 'It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touchpaper and set the universe going.' (He’s a bright bloke but he also suggests that we are going to be colonised by aliens in large ships).

 

I tend to disagree with those who conclude from this that there is no God.

There is a God, he is responsible for the creation of the universe and he intends a relationship with us. How long he took to create the world is a bit of a mystery.

Genesis 1:1 says,

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

He is the creator and sustainer of the universe – of galaxies and genetic codes.

In Revelation 22 it says,

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End…. And I am coming soon.

He is the one before whom all kings, presidents, prime ministers and celebrities must bow.

 

What is God like?

We see his likeness in Jesus. John’s gospel starts with the words,

“In the beginning was the Word (another name for Jesus), and the Word was with God and the Word was God … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the Glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 

What is God like? He is Jesus - who loves the poor and the unlovely, he forgives the sinner, he heals the sick, he is full of wisdom yet unafraid to speak hard truth. A man with no flaw in his integrity, he reveals a God who loves us so much he gave up his life for us. He rose from the grave and he is victorious over death.

 

How can I know God?

Later in John, Jesus says (14:6),

I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

We know God by following Jesus. Before his death and resurrection he explained how we would continue in our relationship with him.

 

He says in John (14:16),

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans.”

 

That is why we talk about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are one God and three persons. This is the way we can know God. The Father who brought us into being, the Son who loves us and the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

 

How do I get to know God better?

  • I pray – talk with Him – alone and with others (like in a housegroup);
  • I read His book – if reading isn’t easy for you choose one of the contemporary translations such as the Message;
  • I connect with other people who follow Jesus, that’s called the church, the best way is in a housegroup;
  • I do stuff that isn't just for me. There are plenty of ways you can serve God around here as well as at home and at work. As I seek to serve Him like this I leaern more about Him;
  • I try to be generous. I give some of my income to the church and share what I have with those who have less. As I work through my reluctance to give I am opened up to understand Him better;
  • I worship – alone, with others, music, creative expressions – give him worth. For me it's mainly musical.

Maybe you haven’t yet made a decision to love God, to build relationship with the Father who made you and who loves you.

 

In Revelation (3:19-20) we are given the ultimate invitation,

 

“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”

 

Do you want to invite him into your life, to eat and drink with you – in other words to share your life? Then you need to do three simple things:

  1. Choose to believe in Jesus (although you may not know him very well yet, you know enough) and invite the Holy Spirit to fill you;
  2. Say you are sorry for living life your way and turning your back on God. Repent – which means to say, I was walking that way, doing my own thing, now I am going to turn and walk the other way and do God’s thing;
  3. Receive his forgiveness and start to live a new life.

Psalm 136

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skilfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights.
His faithful love endures forever.
the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to him for the friends we make in this community
His faithful love endures for ever
Give thanks to him for the PFI and Ralph Thoresby
His faithful love endures for ever
Give thanks to him who created the Yorkshire Dales
His faithful love endures for ever.

Give thanks to him for sun and rain to grow our provisions
His faithful love endures for ever
Give thanks to him for the taste of good food and the flavour of wine
His faithful love endures for ever
Give thanks to him for the wisdom of scripture
His faithful love endures for ever.

Give thanks to him who hears us when we cry
His faithful love endures for ever
Give thanks to him who understands our loss
His faithful love endures for ever
He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.

He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.

 

David Flowers, 14/11/2010
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