ATTRIBUTES/NAMES OF GOD
Presented by Sidney Allen Crim at the AHS Class of
1968 October 7, 2018 Worship Service
I
want to welcome everyone here this morning.
I’m reminded of a scripture in Acts that says the Lord has determined
our pre-appointed times and the boundaries of our dwellings. It was no accident that we graduated as a
class from Amarillo High School in 1968.
And we’re here, now, in this room 50 years later, because each one of us
was meant to be here. We have certainly
had time to witness the effects of the fall in the Garden of Eden, one clearly
being the decline of the human body. But
we’ve also had time to hear the Good News…that it doesn’t end here. I know Don will share more about that later
in his message. We’ve all experienced losses,
trials, and tribulations in life, and as we age, they just seem to increase and
get more severe. We have an adversary on
earth whose full-time job is to cause us to doubt God. That list of doubts is almost endless and is
tailor made for each one of us, coming particularly at a masquerader, a
schemer, a deceiver, and comes falsely as an angel of light. But the more we know God, the better equipped
we are to fight this enemy, our doubts, and even our own fickle feelings. I began compiling a list of God’s attributes
and names that He laid on my heart a few years ago and have continued to add to
it, though it is incomplete at that. It
is certainly more endless than any doubts, fears, or difficulties we may face. That list was included in your worship
bulletin. In the interest of time, I
chose six attributes to talk about that have ministered to me. I’ll give a few definitions to grasp the full
meaning, as well as some scriptures.
1.
Sufficient: enough to meet the needs of demands of a
situation; able
2 Cor 12:9 My grace is sufficient
for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.
2 Cor 3:5 Not that we are
sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us,
but our sufficiency is from God.
Spurgeon: The Lord Jesus is
sufficient to uphold, to strengthen, to comfort, to make
trouble useful, to enable us to
triumph, to bring us out of 10,000 trials, and to take us
home to heaven. Whatever is good, Christ’s grace is
sufficient to bestow. Whatever
would harm, His grace is
sufficient to avert. Whatever we need,
His grace is sufficient to
give if it is for our good. Whatever we would avoid, His grace can shield
if His wisdom
dictates.
2.
Love: tender concern and regard; deep
devotion/attachment/or affection for; to embrace, delight in, take pleasure in;
unselfish loyalty and benevolent concern for the good of another; to hold dear,
cherish, treasure, value.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His
one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.
Rom 5:8 But God showed His love for us in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:8 God is love.
God doesn’t just love.
He is love. And His love is
unconditional. It can’t be earned. It, like salvation, is a free gift.
3.
Rest: A small word but full of meaning:
refreshment; relief from distress, annoyance, or weariness; peace of mind or
spirit; mental and emotional calm, tranquility; a stopping place, shelter,
support; quiet; to remain still; to be directed firmly or fixed; to rely,
depend on; to keep; freedom from labor, anxieties, or disturbance; to remain
confident, to trust
Matt 11:28 Jesus said, Come to Me all who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jer 31:25 He also said, “I will satisfy the weary soul
and every languishing soul I will replenish”.
Jesus is our rest.
4.
Timeless/Infinite: not restricted or affected by time or date;
having no beginning or end; enduring, everlasting, imperishable, forever the
same, never stopping, always true.
Deut 33:27 The eternal God is
your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Ps 31:14-15 But as for me, I
trust in You, O Lord, I say, “You are my God.”
My times are
in Your hand.
With 5 children, work, and caring
for my mom who lived with us for a number of years, I
witnessed God ordering everything
concerning me, my responsibilities, and my loved
ones with impeccable timing
because He is outside of it and knows the beginning from
the end.
5.
Perfect: complete; without defect or omission;
flawless; excellent, exact, pure, absolute, satisfying all requirements,
lacking in nothing, certain, sure.
Job
37:16 Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of Him who
is perfect in knowledge.
2
Sam 22:31 This God – His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; He
is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.
6.
Relational: closely connected; associated; interdependent;
similar nature, goals
God
is a relational God. He is Triune: God
the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
Not only is He relational in nature, but He is all about relationship
desiring a relationship with us.
All
of His attributes are perfect. Each one
is infinite. They are immutable so they
are constant and never changing. They
are harmonious, so His justice is not compromised by His love. Each one is inexhaustible, no matter how many
times we come to Him in need. God is
true and trustworthy. We can entrust our
lives to Him even when we don’t know the why’s.
We are not to lean on our own understanding, but in all our ways to
acknowledge Him, who possesses perfect wisdom outside of time, knowing
everything there is to know past present, future in what we would call “a split
second”, and He promises to make our way straight. He cannot lie.
He
is truth. As difficulties mount, our
bodies weaken, and we near the end of our road here on earth, we can be certain
about Him and that this is not all there is!
The best is yet to come if we are His.
We will see Him one day as He is in all of His glorious attributes,
including far more than any human mind, especially mine, can conceive.
Sidney
Allen Crim
