Vastness of The Universe: Showcasing The Majesty of God The Creator

Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isa 66:1-2).



"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, 'My name shall be there,' that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place (1 Kings 8:27-29).

God is immensely bigger than anything existing or what you can even imagine. The God of the Bible is a BIG God. He is not contained by space, that even “the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain” Him (1Kings 8:27). God fills His entire creation, they cannot contain Him (Jer 23:23 – 24). Lets ponder and meditate on this truth about the infinite vastness and immenseness attribute of God. Consciously, lets put the brake on our busy lives, take the time to meditate constantly on this wonderful truth about God. When we grasp the true vastness of heavens, the truth about God's infinite vastness and immenseness humbles us as we truly behold His greatness and glory and power and dominion. It is important to keep this truth in mind, for John Calvin said "men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.”. When we seek to see and understand the vastness of the universe, we will be awe by this truth about God. We will be blessed when we catch a glimpse of His awesome power and glory! Then and only then, true worship can come forth from frail and insignificant creatures. God, THE Creator, He created the earth and the entire universe. He understands the stars and the black holes, for He made them. God is the source of infinite wisdom, we need to search no where else. When we need true wisdom, we look to Him for "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him".

As created beings, we ought to be humble when God revealed Himself within the scriptures and when we believe Him, we will be blessed by Him. God, though infinitely vast and immense, is near to those "who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word", it brings great peace, rejoicing and wonder into the core of our being. We shall then respond like David in that "such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it." (Psalms 139:6). It will always be great joy to hear and believe the good news in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel that God, by His grace and mercy, has appointed one and only one way, one truth and one life that sinners, like you and me, may be reconciled to Him. He is forever a Holy and Just God. As only those who are pure in heart will get to see God. Sinners on our own effort and strength have no hope, we can't have the purity in our hearts because our sins and unrighteousness condemned us. However, God has made it possible for sinners to come to Him, it is only through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ's great accomplishment at Calvary, God has made a Way. It is through God the Son's finished work on the cross bearing their sins and atonement, God can redeem sinners to be His children that they might know Jehovah and behold His glory, the infinitely, immensely big God, the great "I AM" Who is near His children and Who hears the prayer and pleading of those who cry out to Him (1Kings 8:28-30).




See a related post: We are not the centre of the Universe, God is.

What Kind of Worship God Desires From His People ?

'Worship is not an addendum to life, it is at life’s core. You see, the people who worship God acceptably enter into eternal life, but the people who do not worship God acceptably enter into eternal death. Worship, then, becomes the core. Time and eternity are determined by the nature of a person’s worship.

Now, there are only two kinds of worship that can be offered-acceptable or unacceptable worship. The majority of the world offers unacceptable worship, and God will not accept it. The Bible is explicit on this. There are people today who say that ultimately everybody is going to be saved, but that is not true. The Bible does not say that. But it does say that there are only two kinds of worship - acceptable or unacceptable worship.' True Worship by John MacArthur, Jr.

In this embedded sermon, Pastor John Macarthur explained what is unacceptable worship:

1. The worship of false gods of any kind
   


2. The worship of the true God in a wrong form


3. The worship of the true God in a self-styled way


4. The worship of the true God in a wrong attitude or heart

True worship that is acceptable to God must not be conformed to this world. It is a form of worship from a worshiper that is reflective of the heart of a believer that has been transformed by God's power and from a mind that has been renewed.


'I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.' Rom 12:1-12

There is a right way to worship God, it is the only kind of acceptable worship that God desires.

'Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.' Psalms 24:3-4

There is a place for corporate worship in the lives of believers. Believers to be found gathering to worship by honoring and praising God through Jesus Christ.

'Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.' Hebrews 13:15-16

Reflections on the Doctrine of the Trinity

The Trinity being of the One and only living God is something a finite creature, which man is, cannot fully grasped or explained. It is the very being of the One everlasting and ever existing God, who is The Creator. How can we fully grasp or explain it ? However, the scriptures are abundantly clear that God has revealed Himself as such. To worship God in spirit and truth, in exercising our biblical faith, we need to know God as fully as He has chosen to reveal Himself, our reliance must be based on His written Word.

What do we mean when we say the Bible declare that God is incomprehensible? When the Bible states that God is incomprehensible, we mean God through scripture is saying that there is much about Him that is still mysterious. God is simply beyond our understanding and comprehension. Augustine of Hippo was trying and struggling hard to understand the Trinity nature of God without success until he recognized the humbling fact that as a finite creature he was merely trying “to cram the ocean of God’s truth about Himself into his little box of brains”.

"There is nothing that the Father is that the Son is not, except that the Son is not the Father." * Quote from Notes on Hebrews 1:1-4 by David Linden

There is nothing that the Father is and the Son is that the Holy Spirit is not, except that the Holy Spirit is not the Father and the Holy Spirit is not the Son.

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Mat 3:16-17

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Cor 13:14

In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. (Of God, and of the Holy Trinity. Chapter 2 - III. THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH -1646)

Here is a sermon by Pastor Alistair Begg expounding the Trinity truth based on the teachings as revealed in the bible.

God does all that He pleases.

There is but one only, living, and true God, who is .... most free (Of God, and of the Holy Trinity -WCF Chapter II -I)

Psa 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Psa 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Eph 1:11 "..according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,"

Rom 11:36 "For from him and through him and to him are all things..."

1 Cor 8:6 "...there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."

"The Sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say that God is Sovereign we affirm His right to govern the universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i. e., that He may mold that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any." Arthur Pink's "THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD", CHAPTER ONE, GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY DEFINED


"No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees." John Macarthur's "Ashamed of the Gospel", God’s Absolute Sovereignty.


"“He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”Up till this moment his decrees have been fulfilled, and his eternal purposes accomplished; he has not been asleep, nor oblivious of the affairs of men; he has worked, and he has worked effectually, none have been able to thwart, nor even so much as to hinder him. “Whatsoever he hath pleased”: however distasteful to his enemies, the Lord has accomplished all his good pleasure without difficulty; even when his adversaries raved and raged against him they have been compelled to carry out his designs against their will. Even proud Pharaoh, when most defiant of the Lord was but as clay upon the potter's wheel, and the Lord's end and design in him were fully answered. We may well endure the jeering question, “Where is now their God?” while we are perfectly sure that his providence is undisturbed, his throne unshaken, and his purposes unchanged. What he hath done he will yet do, his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure, and at the end of the great drama of human history, the omnipotence of God and his immutability and faithfulness will be more than vindicated to the eternal confusion of his adversaries." C. H.Spurgeon on Psalms 115:3

Our Greatest Reward

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. Hab 3:17-19














Lean on the all sufficient Creator, we can always trust Him.
In poverty or in riches, God promises to supply our every need.
In sickness or in health, remember God is always good.
Lets thirst and hunger after the Giver, not his earthly gifts.
Lets our rejoicing be in the Giver, not His worldly gifts.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,
How will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
In worshiping God, remember He is our greatest reward.

God, If You're Real, Show Me a Sign ?

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Rom 1:18-25