#2 The “Names of God”
Series
"JEHOVAH-OLAM!"
("The everlasting
God!")
TEXT: Gen.
21:33; Psalm 90:1-2; 102:25-27; 1 Peter 1:13-2:3; Jeremiah
31:3-6
INTRO: One brand
of vacuum cleaners recently on TV portrayed their product as lasting well into
the 21st century ... practically
everlasting!
We have long lasting nasal sprays ...
their selling point; they last longer than brand X, they almost last forever!
(Almost?)
Midas claims their mufflers will last
almost indefinitely, they are almost everlasting! (As long as you own the car and it is still
running that is.) (More: Steel
belted radials, alkaline batteries, -- everything last “longer” these days!
etc.)
We can’t even conceive of “everlasting” … and even if we could we would
likely try and find a way to misuse it!
ILLUS: A man
asked God how long a million years was to Him. God replied, "It's just like a single
second of your time, my child." So
the man asked, "And what about a million dollars?" The Lord replied, "To me, it's just like
a single penny." So the man
gathered himself up and said, "Well, Lord, could I have one of your pennies?"
And God said, "Certainly, my child,
just a second." -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton:
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 410.
For all the products man has made, none
has yet proven to have achieved the goal of being “everlasting!” In fact not even creation itself will be
as we now know it!
PROP.
SENT: The Scriptures teach us
that we serve an everlasting God; we have our security and our eternal life
because He is the Everlasting God!
I. HIS PERSON IS EVERLASTING! Psalm 90:1-2;
102:25-27
A. Reliable
Psalm 90:1
1. “Throughout all
generations.”
a. “Dwelling
place” in the past.
b. “Dwelling place”
in the present.
c. “Dwelling place”
in the future.
2. God has clearly created in
mankind the sense of “eternity.”
Hence our need to experience Him.
ILLUS: If you
ever get the opportunity to visit
The answer is that the Egyptians
understood full well they would spend a lot more time in the afterlife than they
would spend in this life. Granted, some of their conceptions of what would
happen in the afterlife were a little skewed. But the point is, they understood
to the core of their being that the afterlife was a whole lot more important
than this life, and so they prepared for the afterlife during this life. God had
placed eternity in their hearts. -- Bill Hybels, "Your Ever After: Heaven," Preaching Today,
Tape 34.
3. God is reliable -- you can
count on Him!
a. Not just
now...
b. But
forever!
4. This prayer of Moses, found
in this Psalm, establishes the fact of God’s
reliability.
B. Refuge
Psalm
90:1
1. A place of safety -- “Dwelling
place.”
a. Our peace and
security is found in God, not goods!
b. Since this was Moses’
prayer, if anyone knew how important a “Dwelling place”
was in the desert, Moses would … and he was clear that God was their
dwelling place, not the desert! “Lord, you have
been our dwelling place…”
c. Our rest is in
God, not property or material things.
Heb. 4:3
d. This rest is a never
ending one, a Sabbath principle!
e. There is nothing
else in this world that seems to satisfy the human soul, nothing material or man
would never have sought out God.
ILLUS: If I find
in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most
probable explanation is that I was made for another world. -- C. S. Lewis -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited
(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 172.
2. A place of
protection.
a. Satan can't tread
on us -- we are hid in Christ!
b. We are Christ’s; Satan
has no power or claim on us!
C. Ruling
Psalm 90:2;
102:25-27
1. God rules creation and over
His creatures!
2. His being is eternal. “Before the
mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from
everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
a. God is hard to
comprehend because we have not physically seen Him except in
Christ.
b. This sometimes is the
reason I think so many struggle over God.
c. But, this still
doesn’t change His essential character, He is Eternal or
Everlasting!
ILLUS: The Roman
general Pompey noticed how the Jews fought to defend their temple. He was anxious to see what was in their
most sacred room, the Holy of Holies. He was surprised to see that it was
empty. He wondered why they fought
so hard to defend an empty room! He
didn't understand their concept of a God "eternal, immortal,
invisible." -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio:
Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
3. He never changes or wears
out. “They will
perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and
they will be discarded. But you
remain the same, and your years will never end.” Psa.
102:26-27
4. He is the one constant in
existence, He is overall! “For a thousand
years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the
night.”
II. HIS PRECEPTS ARE EVERLASTING! 1 Peter
1:13-2:3
A. Righteous 1 Pet.
1:13-21
1. God doesn't change his ideas
of righteousness -- what was sin thousands of years ago is still sin today, and
will be sin a hundred years from now if Christ doesn't come until
then!
a. God is not
capricious.
b. God is not reticent
either, He has spoken!
c. The problem is
that man is recalcitrant in nature!
2. "He's as good as
His word!"
a. That is true of
God!
b. That is true of His
Word too!
c. God and His Word
are everlasting!
ILLUS: In Greek
mythology, Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, fell in love with Tithonus, a mortal
youth. Zeus, the king of the gods,
gave her the privilege of choosing a gift for her mortal lover. Aurora asked that Tithonus live forever;
however, she forgot to ask that Tithonus remain forever young; consequently,
Tithonus grew progressively older; in fact, he could never die. The gift became a curse. The God of the Bible is not like a
mythological god. He never forgets
anything that is not considered before He answers our prayers. He does not grant us a request which
ultimately will become a burden. He
is never a deceiver. Therefore, we must accept His answers as the best for
us. -- Source Unknown
3. Those who try and change
God's standards are trying to change God!
4. God's call to righteous
living will not change for His people, it is everlasting because His Word
is!
a. We must not try
and explain it away.
b. We must not water it
down.
c. We must not try
and update it.
d. Our call is to obey
it! “Therefore,
prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled;” 1 Pet. 1:13a
B. Renewing
1 Pet.
1:22-25
1. His Word renews us who have
faith in Him.
2. His Word damns those who do
not have faith in Him.
3. This renewal for His people
enables us to love deeply -- from our hearts. 1 Pet.
1:22
4. Our birth and renewal is
ongoing ... there will be growth continuing. 1 Pet.
1:23
5. God's precepts will continue
to bring His people renewal!
a. God’s principles
never wear out, some stuff in this world claims to never wear out, but that is
just hyperbole.
ILLUS: The other
day I caught myself mumbling, "I hate these No Expiration Date coupons. You can never throw them
away." -- Miriam Martin,
b. God’s love is powerful,
but even the offer of salvation has a “time frame” … this lifetime only. We need to take advantage of it while we
can.
C. Receiving
1 Pet.
2:1-3
1. Receiving God's Word as a
baby does milk.
a. Source of growth
and strength.
b. Desiring it like a baby
does milk.
c. Without doubting
its contents!
d. Receiving energy for
living!
2. It will make us mature if we
receive it, sickly if we ignore it!
a. Many Christians
have stunted growth because they are not receiving God's
Word.
ILLUS: In 1958, a
As he stepped through the arch
where the doors had once been, of course he wasn't inside anything. What was
once a place of worship had been reduced to a patch of stone pavement and open
sky. Not so with the Door -- Jesus
Christ! As we step into Christ, we
enter into his unshakable, eternal presence. It cannot be reduced; it can only be
experienced -- forever. -- Coleman L. Coates,
b. God’s Word will not
pass away; we need it in this life to prepare for the
next.
c. Without it we are
spiritually malnourished! God's
Word builds strong bodies!
III. HIS PATIENCE IS EVERLASTING! Jeremiah 31:3-6
A. Restoring
Jer.
31:3-4a
1. An everlasting Love. “The LORD
appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
Jer. 31:3
a. Love is patient
and kind.
b. God allows time for our
growth … “I
will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin
c. Babies don't grow
up overnight.
d. Patience restores us to
God's favor so God can work in and through us! “…Again you will
take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the
joyful.”
2. God is working in us and
through us.
ILLUS: There is a
legend told of an ancient kingdom whose sovereign had just died, and whose
ambassadors were sent to choose a successor from twin infants. They found the little fellows fast
asleep, and looking at them carefully, agreed that it was difficult to decide,
until they happened to notice one curious small difference between them. As they lay, one infant had his tiny
fists closed tight; the other slept with his little hands wide open. Instantly they made their selection of
the latter. The legend very
properly concludes with the record that, as he grew up in his station, he came
to be known as the King with the Open Hand. We could say the same thing of our
God. His hand is always open to
give. -- Source Unknown
a. He doesn't give up
on us, even when others do! His
love is everlasting. Jer. 31:3
And his love comes with an “Open Hand” … He died and rose again to
grant us His grace.
b. God allows for growth
to take place over time.
c. He will build us
up! “I will build you
up again and you will be rebuilt…”
Jer.
31:4
B. Rejoicing Jer.
31:4b-6
1. We can rejoice because His
patience is everlasting.
a. He gave the
Amorites and Canaanites and the other wicked tribes in the
b. God is longsuffering in
grace, and gives great opportunity for repentance but a day does come for
judgment.
2. We will rejoice in our God,
who loves us with an everlasting love.
Jer. 31:4b-6
ILLUS: Martin
Luther once was so depressed over a prolonged period that one day his wife came
downstairs wearing all black.
Martin Luther said, "Who
died?"
She said, "God
has."
He said, "God hasn't
died."
And she said, "Well, live like it
and act like it." -- Robert Russell, "Releasing Resentment," Preaching Today,
Tape No. 136.
a. We should not act
like God isn’t real or everlasting!
b. God as an everlasting
God impacts our life NOW and FOREVER!
c. This reality
should reflect in our actions today, as well as
tomorrow.
3. We can celebrate -- God is an
everlasting God! There is hope for
today, and for tomorrow!
CONCLUSION: “To Him who is
able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence
without fault and with great joy -- to the only God our Savior be glory,
majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages,
now and forevermore! AMEN!”
Jude
24-25