{"id":1371,"date":"2014-11-29T18:31:54","date_gmt":"2014-11-30T02:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2014-11-29T18:31:54","modified_gmt":"2014-11-30T02:31:54","slug":"week-ten-book-notes-beholding-a-lesser-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/?p=1371","title":{"rendered":"Week Ten \u2013 Book Notes &#8211; Beholding a Lesser God"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Week Ten \u2013 Book Notes Beholding a Lesser God<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Introduction:<\/p>\n<p>In the first part of the book, the time was taken to examine our view of God and to ask ourselves if our view of God is truly Biblical.\u00a0 The lesson moves on to obstacles that would hinder all efforts to live upon the things we have wrestled with.\u00a0 Those are listed in the workbook but I\u2019ll list them here since not everyone has the workbook.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Idolatry<\/strong>: beholding a lesser god and then presenting that lesser god to people through our words and choices.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pragmatism<\/strong>: choosing what appears to work over obedience because we doubt the sufficiency of God.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you were to ask church members how many of them read their bibles daily, the numbers would probably vary widely.\u00a0 But if you were to ask non-believers how many read their bibles daily, I would guess the answer would be pretty consistent.\u00a0 Probably as close to zero as you could imagine, if not zero.\u00a0 Most un-churched people will get their idea about who God is by watching our lives.\u00a0 One way I have heard this expressed is that your life is the only Bible some people will ever be exposed to.<\/p>\n<p>Series of quotes from others:\u00a0 (not the whole quotes)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hindu preacher \u2013 call God by any name, God has given freedom to do our own thinking.\u00a0 Has said, listen to all I say but make your own decision, we are all allowed to choose our own path.<\/li>\n<li>Student \u2013 God is a guy in high top sneaker with his feet up on a desk.\u00a0 His attention is directed to somewhere else.<\/li>\n<li>University student \u2013 God loves and He or She has a great compassion but I believe that God has some faults just like everybody else.\u00a0 He is overwhelmed by what is happening.<\/li>\n<li>Teacher in a seminary \u2013 God is in love with me.\u00a0 Somebody who is utterly convinced of my worth and my value.\u00a0 God has been trying to get a message across to all of humanity through all kinds of means and ways.<\/li>\n<li>Episcopal deacon and seminary professor \u2013 I prefer \u2018Great Spirit\u2019 which the Cherokee nation uses or \u201cMaster of the Universe\u201d which is Hasidic.<\/li>\n<li>Catholic priest and author \u2013 God is an unrestrained adolescent, showing off, an excessive, exuberant, playful whiz, determined gamester, is charming and just a little daft.\u00a0 Will God grow up?\u00a0 Will She become mature?\u00a0 No Way!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of course none of these are even close to a biblical understanding of Who God is.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Psalm 115:2-3 &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Day One<\/strong>:\u00a0 Revisiting the Theme of Idolatry<\/p>\n<p>What is Idolatry? It is the willful or unintentional embrace of an inadequate view of God. It can exist my manufacturing a wrong god, as with the ancient idol Baal; or it can exist in the more subtle form of manufacturing a wrong version of the true God.\u00a0 The story of Aaron and golden calf was striking.\u00a0 They were attempting to worship Jehovah but because of the building of their effort to represent God, it was idolatry.<\/p>\n<p>Why Idolatry? This is usually difficult to admit. \u00a0The purpose of idolatry is to find a substitute for God that we are comfortable with. \u00a0We seek something that serves our own wants and desires more than serving something for another\u2019s sake. \u00a0We prefer a manageable God, a comfortable God.\u00a0 Idolatry also creeps in when we are the primary focus of our life.<\/p>\n<p>There might also be the tendency to treat God as if He were a cosmic soft-drink machine. \u00a0If we put in the right coins, we get the expected benefit. \u00a0You will hear this in the prayer that questions what God is doing because it doesn\u2019t align with our expectations of what we expect from Him.<\/p>\n<p>There might be an image in our minds of a doting grandfather who is kind and understand, never ruffled and never stern. \u00a0Such a God would never discipline us but rather we expect Him to indulge us. \u00a0And in terms of being active in our lives, this kind of God would not interfere in our lives so we much take care of ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Some have an image of God as angry, stern judge who sees our miserable attempts to do better and yet is never satisfied. \u00a0He expects perfection and He points out our failures.\u00a0 He is waiting for us to get it right and we sense a growing impatience with our continued failure. \u00a0We consider our performance as the foundation for all God\u2019s actions hence we are still in charge of our relationship with Him.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe to some, God is the coach there to help us reach our potential.\u00a0 He makes sure that we are trying to get better and is there to let us know that we have amazing potential.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest trouble with these is that there might be a measure of truth in all the parts but when the focus is out of balance with the biblical God, we have a God of our own imagination. \u00a0This God is a God of our own design because He is not the God of the Bible. \u00a0We have created a God with Whom we are comfortable and we seek a church that accommodates that errant view or permits that errant view. \u00a0Some churches have embraced a certain view of God because they believe it is the avenue to church growth. \u00a0There are churches that have tailored their messages and services in order to attract people who don\u2019t know God or who have a non-biblical view of God.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ<\/strong>: Isaiah 44:9-20 \u2013 Helps us know how to identity an idol. \u00a0What are the parts of this?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Day Two<\/strong>:\u00a0 Beholding a Lesser God in our Actions<\/p>\n<p>If we hold to a lesser god, it will show up in our actions. \u00a0\u00a0The way we choose to live will show our view of God. \u00a0This is perhaps the most cutting examination of our view of God. \u00a0If you possess a lessor view of God, then the hidden things of our hearts and minds reveal this to us.<\/p>\n<p>Atheism is rejected by all believers but there is a danger when our lifestyles seem to imply that God doesn\u2019t exist. \u00a0When people view our lives, they may call into question God\u2019s existence or His character. \u00a0Your life either denies or affirms the existence of the God who is in the Bible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Confessing Believer, Practicing Atheist <\/strong>\u2013 Turn with me to a passage that is one of the most profound messages I have ever heard and I might have preached it here before because it touched my life so profoundly. \u00a0<strong>The Feeding of the 5,000 Matthew 14:13-21.<\/strong>\u00a0 The Feeding of the 5,000 &#8212; It is very hard not to preach this passage.\u00a0 After the reaction of Herod and the death of John the Baptist, Jesus seems to pull back His disciples and His followers.\u00a0 When Jesus withdraws He was left with 12 of His closest followers. Jesus, always the teacher, is still teaching them things as they escape the crowd and get on a boat.<\/p>\n<p>The crowds not only followed Jesus, but anticipated where He would get out of the boat and met Him there.\u00a0 Did Jesus have a sense of excitement that the ministry was truly coming together and that maybe things might start to get really serious now?\u00a0 No, He felt compassion for them and began to heal their sick.\u00a0 This is a picture of God in the flesh, Jesus showing compassion on those who are weaker (and everyone He meets is weaker).\u00a0 But a problem is approaching.<\/p>\n<p>Note the problem stated in verse 15.\u00a0 Even the slow but practical disciples saw it coming.\u00a0 \u201cThe place is desolate, and the time is already past: so send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.\u201d\u00a0 Normal question: \u00a0We have a hungry crowd.\u00a0 Human solution: Let them take care of their own needs.\u00a0 One problem that got in the way: Jesus was not your average person.<\/p>\n<p>So Jesus asks a question.\u00a0 Do you think that Jesus needed direction?\u00a0 Do you think that Jesus didn\u2019t know what to do?\u00a0 Usually when Jesus asks a question of the disciples, it is to help the disciples understand their own hearts.\u00a0 Jesus wants the disciples to reveal their own hearts to themselves for Jesus clearly understood their own hearts. \u00a0Jesus wants to reveal what going on inside of the disciples to the disciples.\u00a0 By the way, do you ever have questions that come to you in your own life?\u00a0 Jesus permits questions to arise sometimes so that our own hearts can be revealed to ourselves.\u00a0 Believe it or not, it is in these times of questioning that we learn if we really trust God or not.\u00a0 This time is no exception to that principle of testing the disciples.\u00a0 Turn to John 6.<\/p>\n<p>Philip is the first one that gives the totally human response to the problem.\u00a0 What do you suppose that would be?\u00a0 Well, you want to feed 5,000 people (plus women and children) then you got to have money, Moula, cash on hand.\u00a0 But when Philip opens the little black treasury box, there was only 200 denarii.\u00a0 In modern day counting, that is around 2,000 Big Mac Value Meals.\u00a0 [Min. wage X 200 days]\u00a0 (But most likely, you have between 15,000 to 20,000 people present.\u00a0 Philip is what one preacher called, \u201cA professing believer but a practicing atheist\u201d.\u00a0 When Philip looked at how he should solve a problem, he counted only his human resources.\u00a0 This is the response of a Professing Christian, Practicing Atheist.<\/p>\n<p>Then there is the response of Andrew, Peter\u2019s brother.\u00a0 It\u2019s a little to a healthy believing response.\u00a0 Andrew gives what he has to the service of the Lord but then answers his own question by asking \u201cWhat good is this for so many people?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His first act of giving what he has is an act of obedience.\u00a0 His comment is a question of \u2018what value could there be in this gift\u2019?\u00a0\u00a0 Really, the only one who seems to understand what Jesus can do is the little boy who gives up his lunch for God to turn into something remarkable.\u00a0 Andrew probably only brings it to Jesus because the little kid wouldn\u2019t let him do otherwise.\u00a0 Where as Philip wouldn\u2019t throw in his resources because he believed the problem too big, Andrew throws them in but isn\u2019t convinced that it will be of any good purpose.\u00a0 Both of them forgot that they were dealing with the One who made manna for 40 years without their help.\u00a0 Only one little boy senses that Jesus can do anything.\u00a0 What do you suppose the lunch was worth in Jesus\u2019 time?\u00a0 How much would it have cost you to buy 5 loaves and two fish during the time of Jesus? \u00a0I couldn\u2019t find an exact number, but my best guess would be between \u00bd and 1 denarii. \u00a0\u00a0They could have gone out and bought another lunch like his 200 times but that would not have fed the crowd. \u00a0The little boy is an example of a confessing believer and a practicing believer. \u00a0He believed Jesus had the power to accomplish anything.<\/p>\n<p>When Jesus has your resources, He is ready to do something remarkable with them. He tells His disciples to announce to the people to take a seat.\u00a0 We are about to serve dinner to 15,000.\u00a0 The Bible says very little about the meal, I\u2019m sure that the fish was fresh and the bread was good.\u00a0 What it talks more about is the leftovers.\u00a0 Just in case the disciples didn\u2019t get the point the first time around, Jesus arranges for there to be how many baskets of leftovers?\u00a0 Now they can be \u201cProfessing Believers and Practicing Believers\u201d.\u00a0 Each disciple got his own basket of leftovers to stare at after the conclusion of the meal.\u00a0 It gave them the perfect reason to marvel about Jesus.\u00a0 Now that they have seen more of Jesus, they get a chance to have some personal response to this information as Jesus walks on water.<\/p>\n<p>When we spend our days in worry about God\u2019s ability, we are living like the Professing Believers and the Practicing Atheist. \u00a0As well as practical deist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Practical Deism<\/strong> &#8211; This is a lifestyle that is based on the assumption that while God really exists, He will not again be intervening in human lives. \u00a0In other words, He is the God of the past but we don\u2019t expect all those wonderful descriptions of God to carry practical implications for today. \u00a0In order to be a practical deist, you simply have to make all your decisions without considering the activity of God in your life.\u00a0 Living as though God has no role or place in your practical life.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Week Ten \u2013 Book Notes Beholding a Lesser God Introduction: In the first part of the book, the time was taken to examine our view of God and to ask ourselves if our view of God is truly Biblical.\u00a0 The &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[53],"tags":[68,69],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1372,"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371\/revisions\/1372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hobart-community-church.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}