Sunday March 7, 2010

"My God IS Greater Than Your God"
Ps. 34:2 "My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;

Intro:
When I was growing up in the 50s, kids- boys especially, would love to brag about their dads. Two boys would get into an argument and one would say my dad is smarter than your dad. The other kid said, "O yeah, well my dad is stronger than your dad!"

Three boys were heading home from school one day when one started the time-honored game of paternal one-upmanship. He said, "My dad's way faster than any of yours, he can throw a 90-mph fast ball from the pitcher's mound and run and catch it just after it crosses the plate!"
One of the other boys said, "Oh yeah? Well, my dad can shoot an arrow from his bow and run to the target and hold it up to make sure the arrow hits the bull’s eye!"
The last boy said, "Your dads don't even come close to being faster than mine. My dad works for the government, and even though he works every day until 4:00 he gets home at 3:30!"
I guess it is ok for a young boy to be proud of his dad and brag about his dad. But normally we don't want to be guilty of being a bragger do we.
There are a lot of arrogant people around today. Politicians are braggers! Athletes are braggers! Hollywood actors are braggers! We hand out trophies and other honors and awards to the best and people brag about those things. Teacher of the Year! Most Valuable Player!
Those who win brag and boast about their achievements and how much better they are than others. Arrogance and pride leads to boasting.
Who remembers a fellow named Walter Brennan? Walter Brennan played the lead role in a tv series called "The Guns of Will Sonnet." He had a line that he said every single show. "No Brag. Just fact." Some say that it is not bragging if its true, but pride is something that God hates. He hates looking down with disdain on others, acting like you are better than others.
But look- David says I'm going to boast in the LORD! God had just delivered him from and awful, terrible and life threatening predicament. God had stepped in to save David's life. David knew that it took an unusual ability for him to be delivered. His God- the LORD Jehovah was the one who did it-
He was going to boast and tell everyone what his God had done for him. By doing it, he would be telling what a great God Jehovah was. He would be boasting that his God was stronger than their god. His God was greater than their god.
In Old Testament times, battles between nations were often considered as battles between nations gods. II Chron. 32:10-19; 20-22
Now it is really something when you can say not only that your dad is bigger and better- but when you can say something like, "My God is greater than your God."

But that's what we can say! Because its the truth!
Our God is AWESOME!

Why is it alright to boast in God?
1. The first reason why it is alright to boast about God is because of what He has done: Creation!
Ps. 19: 1-6 General revelation: stars, skies universe, creation. Creation tells us that there is a God and he is a tremendously great being.

There are TV shows like Planet earth, How the earth was made, National geographic. I love watching these channels because they show me what my God can and has done.

Evolutionist: Everything I can see, or taste or hear or smell or feel tells me that it is physical- materialistic. It tells me nothing about a supernatural Being. In fact, it tells me that this universe must be billions of years old. You people who believe the Bible refuse to accept the findings of science and you are utterly stupid to think that the universe is only 5 to 10 thousand years old. If you would just lay aside your superstition and believe your senses you would be fine.

I believe that someday an evolutionist is going to stand before God and say to Him: You know I looked at the world and the universe and I didn't see You at all. It all looked like it was billions of years old. It all made sense to me that it started with a big bang and evolved from there. You can't blame me- I just believed what my senses told me was the truth. And I believe God is going to say to that evolutionist: "But I told you the truth in my book!"
And if that never happens because there really isn't a god and it all just happened by accident and chance- I'll never know it and neither will anyone else. But if there IS a God who revealed Himself in the Bible- somebody is going to be awfully sorry for not believing it.

2. The second reason why it is alright to boast in God is because of WHO He is!
Ps. 19:7-11: SPECIAL revelation: God has revealed the truth about His Person on the pages of the Bible

The Bible tells us that God:
Is eternal, unchangeable, omnipresent (He is everywhere), omniscient (He knows everything), omnipotent (He has all power and authority), omnisapient (He has all wisdom), infinite (without limitations), incomprehensible (incapable of being completely understood but God is knowable), and PERFECT (without any faults or weaknesses)!

God is LOVE not God loves but HE IS LOVE! True! Just and righteous! Faithful! Good! Merciful!
Total all of these characteristics up and the total is that God is HOLY!

There is only one true and living God. He eternally exists in three persons: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
There is none like HIM! If you know Him you SHOULD boast about Him because He is great. There is nothing that we could say about Him and His perfections that would be over the top. Everything we say about Him is an understatement, it falls short of the reality of His perfections.
If we're going to boast about anything, we it should be that we know the God of the Bible:

(Jer 9:23) Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; (Jer 9:24) But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.

And this God-
He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you! He created you so that He could love you and so that you could love Him back.
More than that, THIS GOD sent His one and only Son into the world to die for you and to make it possible for you to know Him and have eternal life.

John 3:16, Rom. 5:8

3. The third reason we can boast about God is because of what He can do that no other God can do:
(Heb 7:25) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

There is no other God Who can save you. There is no other God who can and will forgive you of your sin and free you from having to spend eternity in hell.

"All that the Father gives to me shall come to me and he that comes to me I will in no case cast out"

"Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest"

It’s close to spring and in spring the thoughts of all young men turn to what the girls have been thinking about all winter: BASEBALL! Spring training is right around the corner!

What if your Father could hit a home run every single time he came to bat? He never missed. He never grounded out to short. He never popped up. He hit a home run every time. What if He pitched a perfect game every single time He pitched. What if He never threw a ball and every single batter he faced struck out? Wouldn’t you boast about that?

What if your dad could get a hole in one every single hole? Wouldn’t you boast about that?

One day Jesus and Moses were golfing. Moses stepped up and hit the ball and it was a terrible shot that sliced off and was headed right for a pond. Moses stepped up and held his club out and the water in the pond parted and the ball hit on dry land and rolled right up to the green. "Nice shot, Moses." Jesus said.

Well, Jesus stepped up and He hit the ball and it too sliced toward this pond but it rolled out on top of the water and Jesus walked on the water and chipped the ball up on to the green and into the cup. "Nice shot, Jesus" said Moses.

Well, then this little old guy stepped up who was playing with them teed up and hit the ball. It dribbled out about 20 yards and rolled into a stream. But right away this big carp jumped up and spit the ball up in the air, where a crow caught it and carried it 300 yards to the green and dropped it so that it was rolling right toward the cup- but it was just about to stop rolling when a squirrel ran out and nudged it right into the cup for a hole in one.
Jesus walked up to him and said, "Nice shot , Dad!" a little bit later Moses walked over to Jesus and whispered, I hate it when your dad plays."

YOUR GOD can save everyone who comes to him in faith and trusts Jesus as savior. Go out and boast about knowing Him. Go out and tell everyone what a great and powerful God and Savior you have.

God can do anything, anything, anything
God can do anything but fail,
He can save He can cleanse He can Keep
And He will God can do anything but fail

He's the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.
God can do anything, anything, anything,
God can do anything but fail.


Be glad that you know Him, and that this God is your heavenly Father. Go ahead and boast in God. Your God is AWESOME!