I Tim. 6:15-16 - Bible Lessons from Jeff Gulleson

WHAT MOTIVATES THE CHRISTIAN – PART B

(I Tim. 6:15-16)

Overview of I Tim. 4:1-6:16

4:1-2 How False Teaching Enters the Church

4:3-5 Common Grace

4:6 Word of God in Life of the Believer

4:7a Godliness – Divine / Human Role

4:7b Train Yourself to be Godly

4:7c Spiritual Disciplines (The Word of God)

4:7d Spiritual Disciplines (Devotions, Worship)

4.7e Spiritual Disciplines (Church Attendance, Journaling, Practicing Presence of God)

4:8-9 Why Godliness Has Great Value

4:10 Putting Our Hope in the Living God

4:12 Setting an Example for Believers

4:13 What a Christian Worship Service Looked Like in the First Century

4:14 Neglecting the Spiritual Gift God has Given Us

4:15-16 Getting Home Before Dark

5:1-2 So, How Should We Describe the Church?

5:3-16 God’s Tilt Towards the Disenfranchised

5:3-16 Sorting Out those Worthy of Relief – A Biblical Approach to Social Welfare

5:3-16 The Biblical Rationale for Providing for Relatives

5:5-16 The Tale of Two Widows – A Biblical Approach to Pleasure

5:9-10 The Good Works of a New Testament Woman

5:11-14 The Younger Widows – Breaking Celibacy Vows

5:11-14 The Younger Widows – Gossiping False Teaching

5:15 Satan’s Effort to Keep Jesus from Fulfilling His Mission

5:17-18 Honoring the Work of Elders

5:19-20 How NT Church Discipline Illustrates Cultural Formation

5:21 Partiality – A Christian Problem?

5:22-24 Selecting Church Leadership

5:23 The Christian’s Use and Abuse of Alcoholic Beverages

6:1 Honoring God’s Name

6:1-2 A What In Christianity Undermined Slavery?

6:1-2 B The Evangelical Awakening and Abolition of Slavery

6:1-2 C Masters and Slaves / Employers and Employees

6:3-5 Why Do Some Christians Become False Teachers?

6:6-8 Christian Contentment

6:9-10 For the Love of Money

6:11 Holiness – Living on the Run

6:12 Fighting for the Faith; Holding on to Life

6:13-14 What Motivates the Christian – Part A

6:15-16 What Motivates the Christian – Part B

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

INTRODUCTION:

1. The remainder of this letter has Paul issuing five charges:

a. To False Teachers (3-5)

b. To the Christian Poor (6-10)

c. To the ‘man of God’(11-16)

a. The Threefold Appeal

1) The Ethical Appeal – Flee/Pursue (11)

2) The Doctrinal Appeal – Fight (12a)

3) The Experiential Appeal – Take Hold (12b)

b. The Grounds of the Appeal (13-16) –Why should Timothy heed the appeal?

d. To the Christian Rich (17-19)

e. To Timothy (20-21)

THE GROUNDS OF THE APPEAL OR “WHAT MOTIVATES THE CHRISTIAN.”

Christians are motivated to obey God because:

1. We are conscious of God’s pervasive presence

2. He is our only source of life

3. Christ is our example in doing the will of God

4. Christ is coming again

5. The greatness of our God

(He is the only King, the Lord of lords, sovereign [invincible], immortal, invisible, inaccessible)

6. God finds pleasure and joy in our obedience

I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame (I Tim. 6:13-14).

Paul tells Timothy: Flee evil, pursue good character, fight for the truth, take hold / embrace the abundant life. Why? What should motivate Timothy?

QUESTION: Based on our text, I Tim. 6:13-16, what motivates the Christian to obey God. Who can remember the four motivators of the Christian that we talked about last week?

I. WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF GOD’S PERVASIVE PRESENCE

II. HE IS OUR SOLE SOURCE OF LIFE

III. CHRIST IS OUR EXAMPLE IN DOING GOD’S WILL

IV. CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN

V. THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen (I Tim. 6:15-16).

These verses are considered an ancient Doxology. Where did it come from?

“Kelly is probably right calling this ‘a gem from the devotional treasure of the Hellenistic synagogue which converts had naturalized in the Christian Church’” (Fee, pg. 153).

Some feel that it may be part of an early Christian hymn.

It is very similar to the doxology in I Tim. 1:17: Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen (I Tim. 1:17).

QUESTION: What is the difference between the two doxologies?

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen (I Tim. 1:17).

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen (I Tim. 6:15-16).

QUESTION: What is the same?

God is King eternal, immortal, invisible, honor forever

Some commentators call this doxology a “Portrait of God.”

QUESTION: If we were to make a “Portrait of God” based on this doxology what would we include in the picture?

God is blessed, sovereign, king/ruler, Lord of lords, immortal, unapproachable light, invisible (unseen), worthy of honor, eternal power.

John MacArthur: (1) the power of God, (2) the invincibility of God, (3) the blessedness of God, (4) the sovereignty of God, (5) the eternity of God, and (6) the holiness of God.

QUOTE: “Who is YHWH?” inquires Pharaoh, “that I should hearken to his voice to send Israel free? I do not know YHWH, moreover, Israel I will not send free” (Ex. 5:2). These are the first words the new god-king speaks on his first appearance in the Book of Exodus. The words of this question, like the notes of an identifying musical phrase in grand opera, give us the principal “notes” of Pharaoh’s character. The question is the key that opens up Pharaoh’s soul to public view. But more than this, it is a leitmotif [a dominant, recurring them] not only for Exodus, but for many of the books that make up the library that we call the Bible — to such an extent that it could almost be said to the be central question posed by these scriptures” (The Gifts of the Jews, Thomas Cahill, pg. 113).

This portrait of God in the doxology gives a partial answer to the question, “Who is Jehovah?” In our “Portrait of God” we will include the following attributes of God listed in the doxology: He is immortal, sovereign / all-powerful; unapproachable, invisible, blessed.

The importance of a correct portrait of God can not be overstated. A.W. Tozer stated in his classic work The Knowledge of the Holy “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. … The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen about its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God …. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like …. Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, “What comes into your mind when you think about God?” we might predict with certainty the spiritual further of that man (Tozer, pg. 9).

IMMORTAL

QUESTION: What is the difference between God’s immortality and our immortality?

Literally, “He possesses immortality.”

Paul is countering the cult of emperor worship. The Romans imagined that the emperors were immortal. Paul is saying that God alone is immortal.

While humans are immortal, God is inherently immortal, eternal and incapable of dying. He has given immortality to men and angels.

The Psalmist wrote, “With Thee is the fountain of life” (Ps. 36:9); Jesus said, “The Father has life in himself” (John 5:26). Moses wrote, “Before the mountains were born, or Thou didst give birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God” (Ps. 90:2).

Thy life is one unwearing day;

Before its Now Thou hast

No varied future yet unlived,

No lapse of changeless past.

Thou comest not, Thou goest not;

Thou wert not, wilt not be;

Eternity is but a thought

By which we think of Thee

No epochs lie behind Thy life

Thou holdst Thy life of none;

No other life is by Thy side;

Thine is supremely lone

OUR GOD IS A GREAT GOD – He is immortal, having life within himself. He had no beginning, an uncaused cause, and has no end. He is eternal.

SOVEREIGN / ALL POWERFUL

QUESTION: What do we mean when we use the term “Sovereignty of God?”

“King of kings” was first used of the Babylonian and Persian rulers (Dan. 2:37).

Psalms refers to Jehovah as God of gods and Lord of lords to show His absolute sovereignty over all other deities.

Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever (Ps. 136:2-3).

This statement is a slam at Roman emperor worship that claimed the emperor was the Lord of lords, the King of kings.

The title in this doxology is not referring to Christ who has the title “King of kings” given to him in Revelation. Here it is given to God the Father who “no one has ever seen or can see.”

Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God” (Isa. 37:20).

“This is what the LORD says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (Isa. 44:6).

But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath (Jer. 10:10).

How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth! (Ps. 47:2)

Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth (Ps. 83:18).

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him (Ps. 115:3).

QUOTE: The Sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Ps. 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Ps. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleases Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible. (The Sovereignty of God, A.W. Pink)

GOD CONVERTED PAUL: But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison” (Acts. 8:4). “…Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem” (Acts. 9:1-2). Converted on the way to Damascus even though he “… was once a blasphemer, and a persecutor and a violent man” (I Tim. 1:13).

GOD BLINDED ELYMAS: But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun” (Acts 13:8-11).

GOD MADE NEBUCHADNEZZAR INSANE: (Read Daniel 4:28-37) He was bragging about his kingdom, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built ….” The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven sending him out the pasture. At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble (Dan. 4:34-37).

GOD PERMITTED JAMES TO BE KILLED BY THE SWORD.

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword (Acts 12:1-2).

GOD FREED PETER FROM PRISON: (Acts 12:1-17)

He had the dream, his chains fell off, the guards didn’t see him escape, the believers had been praying for him and he did come to their house.

GOD HAD HEROD EATEN BY WORMS:

Read Acts 12:19-25. “They shouted, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man.’ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he eaten by worms and died” (Acts 19:22-23). And the following verse says, “But the Word of God continued to increase and spread.”

OUR GOD IS A GREAT GOD – He is King of kings and Lord of lords and does His will in the kingdom of men.

John Wesley said, “God does nothing on earth save in answer to believing prayer.”

SO WHAT????

1. Our God is immortal, He had no beginning and will have no end. He will never die.

2. Because God is in total control of our destiny there is no need to fear. We are immortal until our task on earth is done.

3. “Because He is in total control, there is no need to worry, to compromise, to equivocate, or to manipulate to achieve a goal” (MacArthur, pg. 276).

REVIEW OF FORMER LESSON:

I. WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF GOD’S PERVASIVE PRESENCE

II. HE IS OUR SOLE SOURCE OF LIFE

III. CHRIST IS OUR EXAMPLE IN DOING GOD’S WILL

IV. CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN

V. THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD

IMMORTAL

INVINCIBLE (SOVEREIGN / ALL-POWERFUL)

UNAPPROACHABLE

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen (I Tim. 6:15-16).

QUESTION: Why is God unapproachable?

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (I John 1:5).

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain (Ex. 24:15-17).

He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent (Ps. 104:2).

Come, O my soul, in sacred lays,

Attempt thy great Creator’s praise:

But, oh, what tongue can speak His fame!

What mortal verse can reach the theme!

Enthroned amid the radiant spheres,

He, glory like a garment, wears;

To form a robe of light divine,

Ten thousand suns around Him shine. (Thomas Blacklock)

Because He is absolute light, a consuming fire He is unapproachable.

“Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).

Five bleeding wounds He bears,

Received on Calvary;

They pour effectual prayers,

They strongly plead for me.

“Forgive him O forgive!” they cry,

“Nor let that ransomed sinner die.” (Charles Wesley)

OUR GOD IS A GREAT GOD – He lives in unapproachable light yet He has made a way into His presence through the blood of Christ.

INVISIBLE

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen (I Tim. 6:15-16).

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen (I Tim. 1:17).

GOD said to Moses: “All right. Just as you say; this also I will do, for I know you well and you are special to me. I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please. Let me see your Glory.” GOD said, “I will make my Goodness pass right in front of you; …. but you may not see my face. No one can see me and live.” GOD said, “Look, here is a place right beside me. Put yourself on this rock. 22When my Glory passes by, I’ll put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I’ve passed by. 23Then I’ll take my hand away and you’ll see my back. But you won’t see my face” (Exodus 33:17-23).

QUESTION: What does the Bible say for the reason that God is invisible?

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

“God is transcendent, totally beyond us. He is, in Martin Luther’s words, Deus absconditus, the hidden God. Had he not revealed Himself and come out of His holy habitation, man could have no knowledge of Him.” (John MacArthur, Pg. 277).

Poets try to write about / describe God’s invisibility:

I with life and love diurnal, (diurnal = having a daily cycle)

See myself in Thee.

All embalmed in love eternal,

Floating in Thy sea:

‘Mid Thine uncreated whiteness,

I behold Thy glory’s brightness

Feed itself on me.

Splendors upon splendors beaming,

Change and intertwine;

Glories over glories streaming,

All translucent shine! (translucent = clear, transparent)

Blessings, praises, adorations

Greet Thee from the trembling nations

Majesty Divine! (Frederick Faber, 1814-1863)

Lost in Thy greatness, Lord! I live,

As in some gorgeous maze;

Thy sea of unbegotten light

Blinds me and yet I gaze. (Frederick Faber, 1814-1863)

HYMN – “IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, GOD ONLY WISE”

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most bless’d, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;

Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above

Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;

In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,

And wither and perish; but naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render; O help us to see

‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,

I. WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF GOD’S PERVASIVE PRESENCE

II. HE IS OUR SOLE SOURCE OF LIFE

III. CHRIST IS OUR EXAMPLE IN DOING GOD’S WILL

IV. CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN

V. THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD

Immortal

Invincible (sovereign / all-powerful)

Unapproachable

Invisible

VI. GOD FINDS PLEASURE AND JOY IN OUR OBEDIENCE

QUESTION: What is the meaning of “impassability?” Theologians talk about the “impassability of God.”

Definition = Not able to suffer, experience emotion. A theological doctrine that God does not experience pain or pleasure from the action of another being.

Ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato challenged the idea that God could experience pain and pleasure and introduced the concept of God as a perfect, omniscient, timeless, and unchanging being not subject to human emotion (which represents change and imperfection). The concept of impassibility was developed by medieval theologians like Anselm and continues to be in tension with more emotionally satisfying concepts of God.

QUESTION: From Genesis 1 how would we reason that God can experience pain or pleasure from the action of another being?

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, …. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Gen. 1:26-27).

QUESTION: Image of God – what does that mean?

It means most likely that God has created man with mind, will and emotions.

By “reverse engineering” we can conclude that God can will, God can think and God can feel.

QUESTION: What are some of the descriptors of emotion used for God in the Bible?

The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain (Gen. 6:6).

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6).

For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land (Deut. 6:15).

God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day (Ps. 7:11).

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, …(Ps. 86:15).

Therefore the LORD was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance (Ps. 106:40).

The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love (Ps. 147:11).

No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, … as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you (Isa. 62:4-5).

Yet they rebelled and grieved (vexed) his Holy Spirit. So he turned … and fought against them (Isaiah 63:10).

But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath (Jeremiah 10:10).

The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself— …: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses …” (Amos 6:8).

The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies (Nah. 1:2).

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zepheniah 3:7).

Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven (Luke 1:78).

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him (John 3:36).

The Lord is full of compassion (pity) and mercy (James 5:11).

QUESTION: Knowing that God is omniscient as well as being able to feel, what emotions might He feel every day as He observes the lives of the human race?

“RENASCENCE” (Rebirth/Revival) – EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

Each suffering, I craved relief

With individual desire,—

Craved all in vain! And felt fierce fire

About a thousand people crawl;

Perished with each,—then mourned for all!

A man was starving in Capri;

He moved his eyes and looked at me;

I felt his gaze, I heard his moan,

And knew his hunger as my own.

I saw at sea a great fog bank

Between two ships that struck and sank;

A thousand screams the heavens smote;

And every scream tore through my throat.

No hurt I did not feel, no death

That was not mine; mine each last breath

That, crying, met an answering cry

From the compassion that was I.

All suffering mine, and mine its rod;

Mine, pity like the pity of God.

Ah, awful weight! Infinity

Pressed down upon the finite Me!

Young’s Literal Translation of “blessed” in our verse is “happy.” When “blessed” is used in the Beatitudes it probably is better translated “approved.” In this verse may “happy, content, fulfilled” would be acceptable.

The ascription “The Blessed God” is only found in the pastoral epistles.

“Makarios (blessed) means “happy,” “content,” “fulfilled.” When used in reference to God, it describes His lack of unhappiness, frustration, and anxiety. He is content, satisfied, at peace, fulfilled, and perfectly joyful. While some things please Him and other things do not, nothing alters His heavenly contentment. He controls everything to His own joyous ends.” (MacArthur, 275).

We have no problem reflecting on God’s will, His intelligence but I don’t think we focus much on His feelings. When is the last time you said, “I know that this will please God” and so we do it. We make that same decision for our spouse or child. Or have you every said to yourself, “I can’t do that. That would really disappoint or hurt her or him?”

ILLUSTRATION: Story about the young girl that would not participate in her peers misbehavior. When she said she was afraid to do it because of her parents her peers responded, “Are you afraid your father will hurt you?” she responded, “No, but I know if I did this it would hurt him.”

When you love God with all your heart you move towards law keeping not out of fear of God’s wrath but because of a desire to please and bring joy to His heart.

The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain (Gen. 6:6).

We have the option of either filling God’s heart with joy and pleasure or with pain. When you love God with all your heart you avoid adding pain to His heart and instead live to fill His heart with joy.

This is what Jesus did: [Jesus said] The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (John 8:29). ….. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Mt. 17:5).

SO WHAT?????

God commands us to flee from materialism and sin, He wants us to pursue character development, to be like Him. He wants us to fight for the faith and embrace the fullness of the salvation He offers. Why should motivate us to do these things? We should do these things because:

I. HE IS ALWAYS PRESENT IN OUR LIVES

II. HE IS OUR SOLE SOURCE OF LIFE

III. CHRIST IS OUR EXAMPLE IN DOING GOD’S WILL

IV. CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN

V. HE IS A GREAT GOD

Immortal, Invincible, Unapproachable, Invisible

VI. HE EXPERIENCES REAL PLEASURE AND JOY WHEN WE OBEY HIM.