Sunnyside Church of the Nazarene
Sunday, May 1
  • Great I Am
  • Blessed Be Your Name
  • Yes I Will
  • How Great Is Our God
  • We took a little break from our Artiös series about reaching our potential in Christ. And that’s the vision – to become a church that helps people reach their potential in Christ. And our are two primary Scriptures regarding potential comes from
    2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV
    All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
    ​
    Complete (artiōs) means to be well fitted for a purpose, capable, or proficient. God, though His word can make us capable to be and do whatever He calls us to be and do.
    Ephesians 2:10 ESV
    For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
    ​
    Remember, reaching our potential in Christ involves knowing our identity, discovering our strengths, and then serving our world. Who am I in Christ, how has He wired me, and what do I do with that to advance the Kingdom of God? We’ve talking about identity, and
    Knowing our true identity begins with knowing God.
    This is critical because,
    If our perception of God and His character is misaligned, our character will be misaligned.
    I was hoping to find a different word other than misaligned so I looked in the thesaurus and found two words that I think could be substitutes. One is “messed up.” If our perception of God is messed up - our identity will be messed up. Another synonym is
    Foozle - to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way.
    Had no idea foozle was a word, but it works because if you try to create your identity apart from God’s identity, well you are foozling or creating your identity in an unskillful way. Just a little FYI.
    So, knowing our true identity begins with knowing God, and knowing God means we know His attributes. And
    An attribute is the unchanging consistent character or nature of God as revealed in Scripture.
    The challenge is …
    We must keep the totality of God’s attributes in mind all the time.
    God is never, at any given moment, more or less than the totality of His attributes. Unfortunately, as humans we often get spiritual amnesia and that is why we constantly must remind ourselves and others of who God truly is.
    God’s attributes - He’s Compassionate, Faithful, Good, Gracious, Holy, Just, Love, Merciful, Omniscient, Self-existent, Sovereign, Omnipotent – again, His unchanging consistent character.
    Now, doesn't do a lot of good just to know His attributes. What must we do with them? Assimilate, meditate, believe …. And why is that important? We are His ambassadors, His priests, we are the aroma Christ. We are to represent God and His character well. We can't represent God well if we don't know and believe in His character.
    How do people outside the Church formulate God’s identity? How do they determine who He is?
    Exodus 20:7 ESV
    “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
    Now most people would agree that we should not misuse God's name. Probably not the best thing to go around saying, “Oh my God” or “OMG.” That's disrespectful of God because it's taking His title and making it a common word that is void of respect and honor. The phrase “in vain” means to devalue. It’s making God less than who He is. However, this command is not necessarily about His title.
    This command is about misrepresenting or devaluing God's character. This command is more about how we live than what we say.
    This has to do with what we call name theology, and we’ll get more into that later, but in short whenever you see “the Name,” especially in the Old Testament, understand that
    “The Name” is indicative of God’s character and presence.
    Wherever God’s name is, He is. For example,
    Psalm 20:1 ESV
    May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
    ​
    Or
    Proverbs 18:10 ESV
    The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
    ​
    So, what is protecting us? It's not the name of God in and of itself, but God Himself who is the one protecting – it’s His power and character and presence …. Ultimately this is about having a genuine relationship with God and not merely claiming His name.
    Another example:
    Exodus 23:20–21 ESV
    “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
    ​
    “In him,” - what does that mean? He has a T shirt with Yahweh on it? No. This is about presence and character.
    ​
    Deuteronomy 12:2–5 NIV
    Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places. You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
    ​
    And this is not just an Old Testament thing.
    John 17:6 ESV
    “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
    ​
    when we see Jesus, we see God's name - His character, His presence in action.
    ​
    Exodus 20:7 ESV
    “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
    ​
    This is about how we represent God. This is about our identity conforming to God’s identity so that we can best represent the real Jesus to the world.
    How well do you represent Jesus in public and private?
    Not trying to get into legalism but … clothing, movies, language, work ethic, interaction with others …. God doesn’t call us to fit in, He calls us to be different to represent Him. How are they to see who He truly is if we don’t accurately reveal His true character?
    How do we find out who God is? It always goes back to the Word.
    Our theology must derive primarily from God Himself (His Word).
    and not from YouTube, obscure self-proclaimed Bible teachers, not from latest church trends or ideologies.
    It is imperative to know the Word of God in order to know God.
    The Scriptures are God’s revelation of Himself. In the OT God said, “I am Yahweh,” or “I am the LORD,” 188 times. What do you think He’s trying to communicate? He is revealing Himself. Why? “I want you to know me so you can be like me.” I’m compassionate – I want you to be compassionate. I’m holy – I want you to be holy.” Being like Him is the best thing for this chaotic world.
    Remember, knowing our true identity begins with knowing God, and we know God first by believing in His Son. We know God by spending time with Him and His Word.
    Personal example: 1 Corinthians – eagerly seek spiritual gifts. Friday morning, I was reading
    Matthew 10:1 ESV
    And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
    ​
    Wrestled with that verse. Luke 9 – power and authority.
    Opened a book by Jack Deere – Surprised by the Power of the Spirit –
    “… our motives are a significant factor in the release of power in our lives. Remember what moved Jesus to heal and to do miracles. He did miracles to prove that he was the Son of God, to show the truth of the gospel,
    to bring glory to God, to display compassion for the hurting … and so on. When we share his motives, he can trust us with his power” (Jack Deere – Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, 130).
    Compassion? I go to thinking - how much does compassion play a part in my pursuit of spiritual gifts? Go back to Matthew 10 and then I see it …
    Matthew 9:35–36 ESV
    And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
    This has now become a matter of prayer – being transformed …
    ​
    ​
    Set aside time each day this week to reflect upon God’s attributes. Record your discoveries as we will briefly share these in the next lesson. Here are some ideas:
    ​
    https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/scripture-engagement/
    https://bibleproject.com/
    ​
    Attributes of God
    × Choose 3 or 4 attributes below that seem most intriguing to you. Meditate upon throughout the week.
    × What truths do these attributes reveal about God and/or life?
    × What might God want you to know about Him? How could this knowledge effect your life and your relationship with God and others?
    × What attributes are challenging to you and why?
    ​
    Divine/ Transcendent – Gen 1:1; Num. 23:19; John 4:24
    Eternal- Deut. 33:27; Gen. 21:33; Isaiah 40:28; Rev. 1:8
    Faithful- 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 2 Timothy 2:13, Exodus 34:6-7
    Triune– John 14-17; 1 Peter 1:2; Romans 8
    Goodness- Psalm 135:3, 145:9; 1 Chron. 16:34
    Gracious- Psalm 86:15; John 1:16-17; Rom. 5:15-21; Eph. 2:4-9
    Holy - Lev. 11:44-45; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Isa. 6:3; Leviticus 19:1–2
    Immutable- Mal. 3:6; Psalm 102:27; Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:17; James 1:17 Malachi 3:6; James 1:16–17
    Incomprehensible- Psalm 145:3; Isa. 40:28, 55:8
    Just- Rev. 15:3-4; Deuteronomy 32:4; Job 34:10; Rev. 15:3-4
    Living – Job 19:25; Psalm 18:46, 42:2; Dan. 6:26; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 4:10
    Love(Loyal and selfless) – Exo. 34:6 (loyal); Psalm 136; Jer. 31:3 (selfless); John 3:16 (verb, deep affection); 2 Cor. 13:11; 1 John 4:8, 16
    Merciful - Psalm 145:8-9; Jonah 4:1–2
    Omnipresent- Psalm 139:6-12; Jer. 23:23-4; Acts 17:24
    Omniscient- Psalm 139:1-5; 1 John 3:20; Heb. 4:13
    Self-existent / Self-sufficient - Exo. 4:14; John 5:26; Acts 17:25
    Sovereign / Omnipotent - Gen. 18:14; Psalm 135:5-6; Jer. 32:27; Matt. 19:26; Matt. 28:18; Jeremiah 32:17–18; Psalm 135:5–7
    ​

      • 2 Timothy 3:16–17ESV

      • Ephesians 2:10ESV

      • Exodus 20:7NIV2011

      • Psalm 20:1NIV2011

      • Proverbs 18:10NIV2011

      • Exodus 23:20–21ESV

      • Deuteronomy 12:2–5ESV

      • John 17:6ESV

      • Exodus 20:7NIV2011

      • Matthew 10:1NIV2011

      • Matthew 9:35–36NIV2011

  • Resurrecting
Sunnyside Church of the Nazarene
office@sunnysidenazarene.com
503-771-3934
http://www.sunnysidenazarene.com
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