Children: Who is God? (Part 1)

I'm going to talk about who God is. What do you think about that? So what did you learn about today? Did you learn anything? (unintelligible) What does that mean? Did you learn something about God? (unintelligible) What did you learn? Child: He's the Creator. Tim: Aha... now see, that one's interesting. What did you learn? You what? Child: That God is true. Tim: God is true? What did you learn? Child: Attributes Tim: What about His attributes? He has some. Okay. I guess I've got to go that way. Is that God? Children: No. Tim: How do you know that's not God? He finds that funny, but you know there are probably people who bow down and worship before stones. There are some people that have lived and are alive right now that don't think it's so funny to think that a rock is God. What is it, sweetie? (unintelligible) Child: God is everywhere. Tim: God is everywhere? She knows that. Now that's good. That's one of God's attributes right there. Is that rock everywhere? Children: No. Tim: Well, see, that's a dead giveaway that we're not dealing with God, right? The attributes fail. If God is everywhere, that rock's not everywhere, is it? Somebody said that rock is created and that's exactly right. That rock is not God. But you know what? There are people that look at things like that and they say, oh, that's special. We should fall down and worship before it. But we should never do that. Because only God is worthy of our worship. That is not God. But you see, I'm asking myself, okay, I'm going to stand before all of you today and we're going to ask this question: Who is God? Now, can I put a picture of God up on this screen? I'm going to try. I'm going to try. I tried by this rock, but you all caught me. You figured me out. That rock isn't God. Okay, I'm going to make a better shot at it right now. Is that God? Children: No. Tim: What is that? Children: Nothing. Tim: I actually went the wrong way. What about that? Children: (unintelligible) Tim: Okay, now why isn't that God? See, the rock wasn't alive. Is God alive? Children: Yes. Tim: Yes. That rock isn't alive, and that rock isn't everywhere. But this. What is this? Children: A turtle. Tim: But isn't the turtle alive? Children: Yes. But God doesn't have a shell. Tim: God doesn't have a shell. So if we start thinking about God's attributes, this one doesn't line up either. This turtle isn't everywhere. Children: (unintelligible) Tim: It has eyes. Does God have eyes? Children: Yes. Tim: Does He? Children: (unintelligible) Tim: Let me ask you this. Does God have eyes? Is God a man or is God spirit? Does a spirit have eyes? Children: No. Tim: No. Now, we know this, God became man. When He became man, He became like us - we know that. But we're going to get to that later. So you caught me again. The turtle's not God. Because God doesn't have a shell. And where is God? Children: Heaven. Tim: Is God just in Heaven? Is He here today? Children: Yes. Tim: Is He at your home right now? Children: Yes. Tim: He's everywhere. The turtle's not everywhere. And do you know what else? God knows everything. That turtle - he doesn't know you. And you know what else? God is very wise. That turtle's wisdom is pretty limited. He probably knows how to swim. Do you know what? God specifically said: do not bow down to the sun or to the moon or to the stars. Do you know why He told men that? Many people worship the moon or the sun. Is the moon God? Children: No. Tim: Is God big? Children: Yes. Tim: Is the moon big? Children: Yes. Tim: The moon is big. It may look small in the sky, but it's big - real big. So if God's big and the moon's big, is the moon God? Children: No. Tim: Is the moon bright? I see you've got a moon over there. There's lights behind it. Is the moon bright at night? Children: Yes. Tim: Does the Bible say God is light? Children: Yes. Tim: So is that God? Children: No. Tim: Why not? Children: (unintelligible) Tim: God made the universe. Right. The moon is created. The moon is part of what God made. I'm going to give you another one here. Brother John Dees, who's that? That is called Ganesh. You may think that's funny. You may think that's strange. But if you went and lived in India, you wouldn't think it's strange because you'd see it everywhere. And they worship - this is one of their gods. This is what many of the billions of the people in India believe is a god. Does that look like a god to you? Children: No. Tim: It looks like a god to many people. How do they worship Ganesh? (unintelligible) Okay, shush, everybody. Let's listen to John just a second. John: Gifts and offerings and prayers. Tim: Gifts, offerings, and prayers. Now, prayers is a huge thing. You know why people have gods? Because they want something from those gods. They try to appease them and they pray to them. Listen. Is God - the true God - is He a God you can pray to? Children: Yes. Tim: Why would you want to pray to Him? Children: (unintelligible) Tim: But what does that mean for Him to be a god? Why pray to God? Why should I pray to God? Why should you pray to God? Hm? What's that? Because we love Him? But what's another reason? That's a good reason. Why pray to God? Tell me. Children: Because God takes care of us. Tim: There! Right there! He takes care of us. You know why we pray to God? Because we have a God who answers prayer. We have a God who's kind. We have a God who saves. We have a God who gives. He is the Father of lights from whom every good and perfect gift comes. Not that. You pray to that? You know the best you'll get if you pray to that? You'll get demons. That's the best you'll get there. But they don't love you and they don't have your good in mind. You see, we have us a God we can pray to and He helps those who come to Him. If you pray to that god and you get an answer, it's an answer of deception. And all they mean to do is damn your souls. That's not God either. Now how about this? Is that God? Children: Yes. Tim: No! That is not God. That is a picture - for one, it's a picture. No picture is God. You can't put God on a screen. You can't put God in that tent. You can't build a house for Him. That's what Solomon knew when he built a temple. There's no building that can hold God. And you can't put God on a screen. And you know what? Even though God became man, and that God-man was Jesus Christ, that is not Him. And we have no picture of Him. That right there is probably the creation if I understand right of medieval Roman Catholics and they basically simulated one of their priests. That is not God. Now, my great-grandmother, I think she had that exact picture. That is a very well known picture. I think she had that exact picture on her wall in her bedroom. She was a foul-mouthed, wicked, year old woman. She could swear with the best of the sailors, but she had that on her wall and she trusted it. Don't ever trust a picture. That is not God. That is not God. That is a photo of who knows who, but it's not even an accurate picture of Jesus Christ. We do not know what Jesus Christ looked like. Pictures of Him never are right. Never. That is not God. Sometimes God is portrayed as just being light. You think of the glory of God or bright or a brightness or light. But listen, no picture can capture God. How can we have a picture of somebody who's everywhere? And who is spirit? I can't put a picture up here. But I'll tell you this, listen. Listen to what God says. "Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form..." This is what God's saying. God says to Israel: You did not see any form. You didn't see Me. "...When the day that God spoke to you up on Mount Sinai out of the midst of the fire." And He said this, "Beware, lest you act corruptly by making any kind of carved images..." You don't want to make pictures. You know why? Pictures can never represent Him. He's far greater. Far, far greater. Nothing can hold God. He is so big. But you know what? As big as He is, and He is big, He is everywhere at the same time. He knows everything all the time. And He's good. And you know what? He saves sinners. He's good. But He said, "Don't make any form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, any animal, the likeness of any winged bird, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, any fish in the water..." "Beware, lest you raise your eyes..." Here it is, "...to heaven, when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, and you be drawn away and bow down." You know what? This is what it means to bow down. It's right to bow to God. You want to bow. Falling on your knees, you know what? Many of your parents who are Christians, we get on our knees at times and maybe some of you do too, but there are times we bow before Him. You never bow before the moon. Never bow before some elephant-headed god. Never bow before a picture that's supposedly of Jesus. Our God - He dwells in the heavens, but you now what, even the heaven of heavens can't contain Him. We'll take you to another one. Look at this. "To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare Him with?" Listen to that. To whom will you liken Him? None! There's no equal. You cannot equal God to anybody. He's far greater than everything. Now watch this. (incomplete thought) To whom will you liken God? This is I want to leave you with and it seems like some of the others here, they took you in the same direction. One thing we know about God is this - and the Bible starts with this - God created everything. "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator..." This comes up so much in your Bibles. "...The Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable." Watch this. This just takes you quickly through the six days. You know what? God created it all. Think about it. He created those apples. You saw a picture of apples. You know why He created those? For you to eat. You know what the Bible says? That God shows you kindness. Because the Lord would have you to repent, trust Christ. But I want you to know, this God, He's big. He's great. You can't put Him on that screen. You can show pictures of what He created, but I can't put a picture of God up there. There is no picture of God. The picture of God is found in your Bibles. It tells us all about Him. If you want to learn about this God, you don't go look in a book at pictures. You go look in your Bible and you read about what it says about Him. And this is one of the first things that it says about Him: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Our God is the Creator. And so that's what I want to leave you with. Okay? Let's pray. Father, I pray that these children would have their minds opened up to behold greatness, glory. Father, we don't grasp, and how much we desire to have You open up the eyes and the hearts of our children to recognize the greatness. We know what they're going to be attacked with. We know that the schools and the colleges and the very mindset of the world, the worldviews around us that proclaim evolution and they dishonor You and they spit at Your glory. Lord, we know You created. Lord, we know that our views of You are yet too small. And we hear those words ring out to Job: "Where you there when I laid the foundations of the world? If you were, if you have understanding..." But we weren't there. We weren't there, but we can behold. We can see what You've done. And we know that You are a God who does love sinners and we're thankful for that. I pray for these children. Lord, in Your kindness, open their eyes to behold Your glory. I pray in Christ's name, Amen.